Heathens Page 3

  He was an odd character in the otherwise rude, crude, and manly biker family. Jackie was quite sure that not everyone got to see this side of Nash. The stocky tattooed man could intimidate and fight with the best of them, though she had seen very little of that side of him.

  A knock on the door echoed through the apartment, and Jackie moved to leave the small bathroom. “You stay. Finish,” she ordered the large man while gesturing to the picture still sitting on the floor. “I'll get the door.” She slowly made her way back down the hallway towards the front of the apartment, muttering tempestuously as the knocking persisted. “You try walking any faster when you're carrying a watermelon in your stomach.”

  Opening the door, she rolled her eyes at the two almost childlike men in front of her, both laden with teddy bears and chocolates.

  “How's our favorite pregnant lady today?” Taco asked with a broad grin, bouncing on the balls of his feet in excitement.

  “We brought you presents!” Murphy added before she could respond to the other man's question.

  “Guys, I've been pregnant for eight months. You can stop bringing me presents.”

  “Well, Dean said you were really moody and that presents made it better,” Taco said innocently, inviting himself into the apartment only to be followed by the blonde man.

  “He said I was moody, did he?”

  “Uh, no?” The wide-eyed young man tried to backtrack, hoping to dig his friend out of the hole he'd accidentally thrown him into. “He said you were beautiful and lovely and-”

  “Shut up.”

  “Yes, ma'am.”

  Jackie turned to the seemingly more intelligent of the two and asked, “What are you guys doing here?”

  “We were hoping we could convince Nash to leave your side for a few minutes to deal with some shit at the garage,” Murphy said sheepishly. “We aren't so good with the paperwork stuff, and it's sort of gone to hell with Luke gone.”

  Entering the room, Nash shook his head and smiled sarcastically. “I told them not to leave you two in charge. Knew you'd fuck something up.”

  “Well, technically, they left you in charge, so if something is messed up when they get back, it's your fault.”

  Nash glared at Murphy, who looked to the floor and ran his fingers through the short hair on the back of his head. “My job is to watch Jackie until Dean gets back. Those were my very specific orders.”

  “I don't need a fucking babysitter,” she muttered angrily as she crossed her arms.

  “We'll stay with her, no problem.” Taco flung an arm over her shoulders and pulled her to his side in an embrace. Jackie elbowed him sharply and moved to sit down on the couch.

  Raising an eyebrow and smirking, Nash replied, “I think D was pretty clear when he said, and I quote, 'Do not leave her with Taco or Murph because those two morons can't do anything right.'”

  “Hey!” Taco cried indignantly before being waved off by Murphy, who merely smiled at words.

  “Yes, yes. But he said Taco or Murph. But Taco and Murph are like magic. We're the dream team. Ain't that right, Taco?” He slapped the lanky man on the shoulder, causing him to stumble slightly as he nodded in agreement. “We're totally up for the job,” Murphy continued confidently.

  “Just go deal with shit at the garage, take a shower maybe, whatever. We've got it covered.”

  “Yeah, and go get me some cookie dough and an order of onion rings.” The boys sent disgusted looks at Jackie as she rolled her eyes and stretched out. “Oh, shut up. It's not the worst thing I've eaten.”

  Nash sent a stern glare at all three occupants in the room before sighing in defeat and grabbing his keys from the table by the door. “Fine, I'll go fix the mess you idiots left at the garage, but then I'll be back. Two hours tops.” He slid his jacket on and walked to the couch, leaning down to place a kiss on Jackie's forehead before looking her in the eye. “If these idiots manage to do something stupid, call me. I'm serious.”

  “Yes, boss.”

  “And you two.” He stood up and stalked over to them, putting on his most intimidating face. “Don't fuck this up. If anything goes wrong, I will throw you two under the bus when Dean gets back, and he will kill us all. You don't leave this apartment. You don't let her out of your sight. You don't let her do anything strenuous. Understand?”

  “Yes, boss,” they chimed together, Taco adding in a mock-salute that earned him an extra glare.

  Nash stared at them for another moment before grunting and turning for the door. “I'm leaving before I come to my senses.” The door shut behind him, and the trio breathed a sigh of relief.

  “What does 'strenuous' mean?” Taco asked innocently, receiving only a shrug from Murphy and another eye roll from Jackie. “What?”

  “You're an idiot,” she replied, leveraging herself off the couch. “I'm going to take a shower.”

  The boys shared a look as she started down the hall. “Uhm, are we supposed to help you with that?” Taco hesitantly asked, moving to follow her.

  “Idiot!” Jackie yelled, not stopping in her trek. “Go make me a sandwich. Think you guys can handle that?”

  “Yes, ma'am.”

  Jackie took her time in the shower, letting the warm water soothe her aching muscles. Carrying around a baby was taking its toll on her body, especially when her brain had to focus on dealing with people watching her every move. Murphy and Taco took turns knocking on the door periodically to make sure she hadn't drowned, much to her annoyance. She just wanted a few moments of peace and quiet to herself, which was apparently too much to ask at this point.

  When she thought the boys would go crazy if she stayed in the bathroom any longer, she turned the water off and yelled at them to get out of her room so she could get dressed, dismissing their offers to help her. After a few moments of tense silence as the boys waited anxiously outside the bedroom, Jackie emerged, looking somewhat more kept. She shoved past them as they asked how she was feeling and headed down the hall.

  “Where's my sandwich?”

  They ushered her into the kitchen to show her their creation. She could only stare at the mess they'd managed to leave in a matter of minutes. A small, pathetic excuse for a sandwich was all they had to claim as a result of said mess.

  “Ta-da!” Taco exclaimed proudly, presenting it as though it were a masterpiece.

  “I'm not eating that.”

  “What?!” They shouted unanimously, looking at her indignantly.

  “That's not how you make a sandwich. Besides, I think I want fish sticks instead.” She moved to the freezer to retrieve the item in question, ignoring the boys as they sputtered out words of praise for their meal. Jackie stopped suddenly as she reached for the box, a grunt of pain escaping her lips as she braced herself against the refrigerator. She looked at the floor as a puddle of water formed at her feet and cursed. “You've got to be kidding me.”

  “I think your fridge is leaking,” Taco said, oblivious as always. “Want me to fix it? I'm good at fixing things.”

  “Dude, I don't think that was the fridge,” whispered Murphy in reply, pointing out the fact that her sweatpants were also wet.

  “Oh, shit...” The boys stared on in shock as Jackie gripped the refrigerator harder.

  “Guys?”

  “Oh, shit...”

  “Guys! Focus.” She turned around to face them, grimacing with every movement. “Taco, call Nash. Murphy, grab the car keys and help me downstairs.” When they continued to stare at her dumbly, she sighed heavily. “Now, please.”

  Seemingly jolted out of their stupor, the boys jumped into action, running around the small living room and muttering to themselves. Taco fumbled with the phone as he tried to pull it from his pocket and dial Nash's number. Murphy looked around aimlessly, trying to locate the keys until Jackie pointed them out by the door.

  “There's a baby bag on the floor in the nursery. Can you go get it?” She spoke slowly to Murphy, trying to keep him from freaking out. He nodded to her and quickly r
an down the hall. Jackie turned to Taco, who was mumbling incoherently into the phone. She could hear Nash's loud voice demanding answers on the other end. Holding her hand out, she gestured for the phone as she moved towards the door. “Nash, my water broke. We're heading to the hospital.”

  “Give me five minutes. I'll meet you there and take you-”

  “No, the boys can handle it. They're handling this really well right now.” She put a hand over the receiver as Murphy's frantic screeching came flying down the hall.

  “I can't find it! Where is it? Oh my god!”

  “Murph, it's blue. Has a little teddy bear on it. Right by the door.” Crisis averted, she turned her attention back to the agitated man on the phone, trying to ignore Taco as he paced rapidly. “Nash, I need you to call Dean. Please.”

  “Yeah, of course, sweetheart. I'll meet you at the hospital.”

  “Thanks.”

  She hung up the phone and handed it back to its owner. Murphy came skidding into the room, tossing the baby bag at Taco as he rounded on Jackie.

  “Do you need anything else?”

  “Yes. Get me to a hospital.” She headed towards the door slowly, the pair following behind her. She made it two steps out the front door before she had to stop, leaning against the wall as a wave of discomfort hit her. Breathing deeply, she closed her eyes and tried to tune out the rapid onslaught of questions coming from the men. “I'm fine,” she answered after a moment, slowly standing back up. Before she could take another step, she found herself being swept off the ground by the tall blonde, who started down the hall with Taco trailing him. “Murphy, I can walk. Put me down before you hurt yourself.”

  “How about you shut up and let me be nice for a change.”

  She huffed but was secretly very glad she wouldn't have to attempt the stairs in her current condition. “Fine, but not one word about my weight.”

  “Wouldn't dream of it, princess.”

  6

  It wasn't like he was nervous or anything because he didn't get nervous. Not about anything. It wasn't his style. Besides, it was his idea to keep coming on these trips anyways.

  But fucking hell, he sure was anxious. That didn't make him a bitch or anything. Men could definitely get anxious. Dammit, he had every right to be because Jackie was in Georgia.

  And he was here, in fucking Lakeside, Florida. Four hours away from his unborn child. What should have been a quick two-day break from baby stuff had turned into four days.

  Not that he cared or anything. It's just a baby, no big deal. Except it's his baby.

  Their baby.

  But she could take care of herself. And Nash was there to help her if anything went wrong.

  Life if she went into labor early or collapsed or whatever complications can happen with pregnant chicks.

  Hell, he was nervous, but he'd never tell anyone that. He would, however, smash the face of the next person that told him to relax, because that was seriously grating on his nerves.

  “Relax, dude. Baby won't be here for another couple weeks.” Ian slapped him on the back encouragingly.

  Fucker.

  Dean only glared in response and returned to his previous activity of staring out the window. Why the hell was this meeting taking so long? He couldn't even remember what they were here for in the first place. It was obvious that his head was anywhere but focused on his club duties at the moment, and for a good reason.

  “D, Nash is with Jackie. He said he would call if anything happened. Don't worry, man. Everything is gonna be fine.”

  No sooner had the words left his mouth, a shrill ringing pierced the silence of the room. Dean dug into his pocket to retrieve the phone, glaring first at the screen then at Ian when the name 'Nash' appeared on the caller ID.

  Ian gave him a sheepish look for seemingly jinxing the situation, then tried to cover it up with an encouraging smile. “I'm sure everything is-”

  “Shut up.” Dean answered the call and brought the phone to his ear, hoping the news on the other end of the line was nothing terrible. “Yeah. What's up?”

  “You're gonna want to get back here ASAP.”

  “What happened?”

  “Jackie just went into labor. She's at the hospital now.”

  “What?! She's not due yet. It's too early.”

  “Babies come early all the time. Look, I have to get over there. Just get here as soon as you can.”

  “Yeah, I'll be there in four hours.” Dean hung up the phone and shoved it back into his pocket with a grunt before heading towards the front door of the Lakeside clubhouse.

  “What's happening?” Ian asked as he jogged after the tattooed biker. “And where are you going?”

  “My girl is about to have a fucking baby, where do you think I'm going?”

  “Wait, right now?”

  “Yes, right now.” The man stormed out the door before Ian could gather any more information.

  “Wait for me, damn it!” He turned and sprinted down the hall to the room where Luke was currently talking with Vic and banged on the door, then stuck his head into the room. “Sorry to interrupt, boss, but Jack just went into labor. D and I are headed back.”

  The club president nodded with a smile before replying, “Make sure you keep an eye on him. Jackie will kill us all if he gets arrested and misses everything.”

  Ian grinned at the mental picture, then retracted himself from the room and dashed out of the building. With a quick shout to Mack, who was seated out front playing cards with some of the Lakeside boys, Ian and Dean were on their way home.

  7

  “Where is Dean? I'm gonna kill that stupid son of a bitch! This is all his fault!” She moaned as another contraction tore through her body, increasing the pain tenfold.

  “I called him, sweetheart,” Nash said sympathetically. “He'll be here as soon as he can. He probably got stopped by the cops for driving too fast.”

  “He needs to get here now!”

  “He was in Florida. Give the man some time. He'll be here.”

  As Jackie laid in a bed at Northside Hospital, there were two things of which she was very certain.

  The first, Dean was a dead man if he ever showed up, since he was entirely to blame for this whole situation anyways.

  And the second, labor was a total bitch.

  “I swear to God, Nash. If they don't cut this baby out of me in the next ten minutes, I'll do it myself.” Nash laughed softly at her threat, which only furthered her outrage. “Don't you dare laugh at me. I'm a severely pissed off pregnant woman in a severe amount of pain. I will end you.” He laughed openly at this and held her hand tightly as another contraction hit her.

  Less than four hours later, Dean and Ian came to a screeching halt in the parking lot outside of the hospital. Ian would be forever grateful that they hadn't been stopped by any cops on the drive up. Dean's current mood of annoyance and anxiety would surely have gotten them arrested. The younger man had to jog to keep up with his friend's quick pace as they entered the main lobby, where Taco was waiting for them. One look at Dean's expression, and the newest patched member decided immediately to keep his mouth shut.

  They made it to the fourth floor, where Elaine and Beth were seated in a waiting area just outside the hallway marked for maternity patients. An anxious Murphy stopped his pacing nearby as the trio entered.

  “What room?” Dean growled at Taco, barely slowing his stride as he tried to gather the necessary information.

  “Four thirty-two, but-” He was cut off as the door to the ward slammed shut behind the determined biker.

  Dean kept his eyes on the numbers by each of the rooms, ignoring the two nurses that had jumped from their seats at the desk the minute he had walked in.

  “Sir! You can't be back here. Only one family member is allowed in at a time.”

  “I'm looking for Jackie Reeves,” he stated firmly, disregarding their previous statements as they blocked his path down the hall.

  “Sir-”

  �
�She's having my kid. Where is she?”

  The nurses looked at him warily, unsure of the intimidating biker. “There's already someone-”

  Dean growled in frustration, his frayed nerves not able to keep a lid on his quick temper. “Look, I just drove four hours to get here in time to see my kid pop out. If I miss it because you two won't get out of the fucking way, that woman is gonna have my balls. So either move, or I will move you.”

  Two pairs of wide eyes glanced at each other quickly before scampering to the side, watching in apprehension as the leather-clad man continued on his previous path down the hall. A quick tap on the glass window of the waiting area had the nurses spinning around, a bashful Taco mouthing an apology to the women as Murphy cast worried glances after his best friend.

  As Dean ventured further down the hall, angry yelling floated to his ears from the last room on the left. He chuckled as he caught a few vulgar phrases and opened the door, immediately regretting it as fiery, pain-filled eyes landed on him.

  “You!” He backed up slightly as the woman glared at him. “You stupid son of a bitch! This is entirely your fault. When I get this baby out of me, I'm going to rip you apart piece by piece! They're never gonna find all of you!”

  “What she means,” Nash interrupted, “is that she's very excited you're finally here, and she would like for you to come hold her hand.” He smiled at Dean tiredly as he tried to pry Jackie's fingers from the death-grip they had on his hand.

  “I'm gonna break your fingers,” she hissed at Dean as he hesitantly took the seat that Nash had vacated. “What the hell took you so long?”

  “I was in another state. I got here as fast as I could. Besides, it's not my fault he's coming early. Can't you shove him back in or something?”