Walking The Line (Satan's Knights Prospect Trilogy Book 3) Read online

  “Carina, honey, how far along are you?” Maria questions.

  My father snaps his fingers in the air and jolts forward from his reclining position.

  “Yes, that’s good! Good thinking, Lady, if she’s not that far along we can have it taken care of.”

  I swear the man should’ve run for President of the United States. While I’m a passenger on the Trump train, I can admit our commander-in-chief doesn’t think before he speaks and apparently, neither does dad. He’s all for building walls too. Just the other day he had me and Bash, another prospect for the Satan’s Knights, building a wall around his tomato plants. The raccoons were getting to them and it was a better solution than the plan dad had to poison the creatures by setting out bologna sandwiches laced with antifreeze.

  A slap sounds diverting my attention and my eyes go wide as Maria shakes her stinging hand.

  “How dare you!”

  “What?” Dad growls, rubbing a hand over his bearded cheek. “Am I wrong?”

  “Yes, you’re wrong! Do I need to remind you I was fifteen when I became pregnant with Anthony?” Dad opens his mouth to say something, but Maria glares at him and holds up her hand, silencing him. “No, you shut it, Al. We have no right to tell this girl what she should do with her body. For crying out loud, that is your grandchild!”

  “We’re keeping the baby,” Frankie declares. “Nothing anyone says is going to change that.”

  For some reason, I look back at Green Eyes, only my gaze lands on her belly. It’s not a drastic change, but it’s noticeable to someone looking. I lift my eyes to her face and a sense of déjà vu washes over me as she lifts her hand to her mouth. Her eyes aren’t the only thing that’s green.

  I jump to my feet as my family continues to banter back and forth about the baby, the district attorney, Carina, and whatever else and I make my way into the kitchen. I tuck the Tupperware into the fridge, grab a bottle of water and a stick of pepperoni. Kicking the fridge closed, I go to the pantry and pull out a box of Ritz crackers.

  When I enter the living room, I throw the stick of pepperoni at my father.

  “Here, eat this and shut the fuck up,” I tell him, before moving to Carina. She lifts her chin and stares at me with a blank expression marring her pretty features. I shove the box of crackers into her hands and deposit the bottle of water on the coffee table in front of her.

  “You look like you’re going to barf,” I mutter, realizing everyone is looking at me. “And seeing as I’m the only one who lives here, I’m not really into cleaning up throw up,” I quickly add before turning and plopping my ass back in the chair.

  “Thank you,” she calls, but I don’t acknowledge her gratitude.

  Fuck, I don’t even look at her.

  Frankie smiles at me.

  “See, you always know what to do.”

  Yeah, fucking right.

  I wonder what he’d think about me if he knew the truth.

  Would he still think the sun shines out of my ass?

  “Frankie,” dad calls. “Does your mother know about this shit?”

  The smile falls from my brother’s face as he meets dad’s gaze.

  “So, funny thing…”

  Total man child.

  “I was sorta hoping you could tell her when you bring her alimony check next week.”

  “Of course you did,” dad growls. “Maybe it’s time that woman puts me out of my misery once and for all…seems like a great opportunity for it.”

  “Al,” Maria murmurs. “You know Carina has to stay with us until this all gets sorted, right?”

  Swiping a hand over his beard, dad mutters a string of curses before looking between Carina and Frankie. A moment passes and then his gaze is back on Maria.

  “I get I’m going to be a grandpa a whole lot sooner than I thought I’d be,” he begins, pausing to sigh. “I ain’t gonna turn my back on my kid, Lady, or his kid for that matter, but I can’t have the district attorney knocking on my fucking door whenever the urge strikes. I can’t…no, I won’t give that motherfucker that kind of power.” He looks to Carina. “No offense, honey, I know he’s your old man.” He lets out a sigh and cocks his head. “You sure he doesn’t know who the father is?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “So, what you’re saying is your father doesn’t know you have a boyfriend then.”

  I’ve been too shocked by Green Eyes to piece everything together, but now that my father says that, something doesn’t add up.

  I think back to the first time Frankie ever mentioned Carina to me, it was after I was shot, and I was still laid up in the hospital recovering. He told me he and our other brother, Enzo, had gone to the bowling alley with our dad and had been giving him some advice on how to woo Maria. That was well over a year ago. Even if they weren’t serious then, he’s been seeing Carina for a while—that’s an awfully long time to keep your boyfriend a secret.

  Then I remember the app she had on her phone…the tracking thing.

  Her father ain’t a schmuck. He’s the fucking district attorney. There is no way he’s in the dark about any of this shit.

  “That’s right,” Carina says, and my eyes shoot to her.

  “If I let you stay here, it’s going to have to remain that way,” Dad says.

  Wait…

  Stay here?

  Is he out of his fucking mind?

  My eyes snap to his as he continues.

  “We will get you the best care, but no one can know you’re here or that the baby is Frankie’s until I can get a handle on things. Are you good with that?”

  “Hold the phone,” I blurt. “What do you mean stay here? You mean here, as in this house?”

  “What the fuck do you think it means? Yes, in this house,” he growls. “This is my house, or did you forget that? I’ve already got one freeloader under this roof, what’s another one? Hell, after I get done telling Sophie she’s going to be a grandma, she’s going to probably kick Frankie out,” he continues, looking at my brother. “You all can play Three’s Company.”

  “You can’t be fucking serious,” I shout.

  “Sure, I am,” dad says, biting off a piece of pepperoni as he stands. He points a finger at Frankie. “Let’s go,” he orders. “I’ll follow you home to make sure our good pal Ritzer isn’t tailing you and we’ll tell your mother you’re going to be a daddy next week after I’ve had some fucking time to figure out how to handle her.”

  “I will gather some things, clothes, prenatal vitamins, things like that and I will drop them off tomorrow,” Maria tells Carina. “Don’t you worry about anything, okay? I’ve been where you’re at and I know how scared you are, but we’re going to take care of you and that baby.”

  I don’t know how we went from yelling and smacking each other around to rallying around the pregnant chick, but I am not going to be saddled with another hormonal woman—fuck, Green Eyes isn’t even a woman. She’s a kid.

  A fucking hormonal teenager.

  Just as Frankie starts to envelop Carina into his arms, I charge after my father. He pulls his kutte from the hook on the wall and shoves his arms through it.

  “This is bullshit,” I shout. “You can’t leave her here.”

  “Nico don’t bust my balls. I’ve had about all I can take today. It’s only temporary until I can find a better solution.”

  “This isn’t like your fucking tomato plants.”

  “The wall is working out swell, you guys did a damn good job,” he praises. “Now, go make up Frankie’s old room for your new house guest and leave me the fuck alone.”

  Clenching my fists at my side, I breathe through my nose and glare at my old man.

  “I’m tired of looking after pregnant chicks,” I growl. “I’m twenty-seven and have managed not to fucking get anyone knocked up, yet all I seem to do is take care of everyone else’s mistakes.”

  “You’re good at it.”

  “Fuck that, Dad. First Lacey, now this…”

  “If you want to e
arn your colors, you will do as your fucking told, prospect. This is what you wanted, remember? You wanted to ride with a club, right, Trigger boy, or whatever the fuck you call yourself—well, you got your wish.”

  Frankie steps beside me and lays a hand on my shoulder.

  “Bro,” he calls, and I turn my head. “Thank you,” he murmurs. “I know this isn’t ideal for you. You like your freedom and your privacy, but I’m really in a jam here. I can’t put her on the street, she’s my girl, and she’s having my baby. If it helps matters, I’d like you to be the baby’s Godfather.”

  I groan.

  He’s kidding me, right?

  “You’re Jewish, Frankie,” I remind him.

  He shrugs.

  “So, what? Carina’s catholic and so are you, Enzo and dad. Mom will get over it and if she doesn’t, it ain’t her fucking kid. What do you say, Uncle Nico?”

  Fuck.

  Fuck, fuck, fuck.

  That’s what I say.

  -Two-

  Carina

  Holy fuck.

  Those are the only two words that come to mind when trying to absorb everything that’s happened in the last…oh, I don’t know…three hours and twenty-six minutes. It’s amazing how a girl’s life can go to Hell in such a short span of time.

  One minute, I’m taking a shower, staring down at my slightly rounded belly, marveling over how I seem to have pop overnight, the next my father finds out I’m pregnant and throws me out of the house. He didn’t even give me a chance to explain. He was too busy screaming at me, telling me I was just like my mother—a whore who couldn’t keep her legs closed.

  That stung.

  Not just because he compared me to the woman who abandoned me for a man who was not my dad, but also because I was a good girl and that’s something my father never cared to acknowledge. Despite his lack of attention, I never got into trouble. I got good grades, made the honor roll and taught myself to have respect for my body.

  All the girls my age were giving their v-cards away just for the bragging rights, but not me. I wanted my first time to be something special, and I wanted to be sure. As soon as Frankie and I started dating, I knew he was the one. He was kind, funny, and so fucking cute but above all, he was super patient and I think that’s because we started off as friends…best friends. There was respect and admiration long before there were hormones.

  That’s not saying we didn’t fool around any chance we got. At the library when we should’ve been studying, underneath the bleachers after he scored three touchdowns and countless times in the backseat of his Maxima parked in the school lot. For a good long time, I’d pump the brakes before we took it across the finish line and officially did the deed.

  While I was sure I wanted Frankie to be my first and…hopefully my last; I didn’t like the sneaking around. It felt like I was cheapening what we had, and I hated that. Frankie was a great guy who adored me, and I thought my father would approve of him—but dad didn’t approve of anyone. It didn’t matter Frankie was the star quarterback of our high school football team with straight A’s across the board, boys were a distraction his little girl didn’t need. My father would blow a gasket if he knew I had a boyfriend.

  Therefore, we hid our relationship. Our friends at school knew we were together, but that’s where it ended. I wished things were different but wishing and hoping only got you so far in life. Frankie was turning eighteen, and I realized he’d be going away to college soon. I didn’t know what the future held for us and even though he swore we were unbreakable; I had read enough angsty new-adult romance novels to know everything had an expiration date.

  So a month before his eighteenth birthday, I told him I was finally ready. He must’ve asked me a thousand times if I was sure—that was just Frankie’s way. He probably had the biggest case of blue balls in our school, and yet, he wanted me to be one hundred percent sure. He was perfect.

  Our first time…well, that wasn’t so perfect.

  We tried…really, we tried.

  I told my dad I was going to movies with my friend Stephanie and Frankie parked his car at the Regal Cinema’s parking lot. I left my phone in the glove compartment so if my dad tried to track me, he’d see I was at the movie theater and Frankie called his brother Enzo to pick us up. Enzo was the first family member Frankie had introduced me to, and he was a trip. The total opposite of my Frankie. He was wild and you could just tell he was more of a bad boy than the adorable one I was about to give my virginity to. They had another brother, Nico, who was the oldest and lived alone in their father’s house. When Enzo dropped us off at their dad’s house, I expected to meet Nico, but I quickly learned he wasn’t home and that he rarely ever was.

  Frankie opened the door, and a gasp flew out of my mouth because there were flowers everywhere.

  Pink and red roses.

  There were candles too—lots and lots of candles.

  Frankie took me into his arms, asked me again if I was sure and then he kissed me. It was sweet and slow. Perfect, just like him.

  He took me up to his old room and his fingers fumbled as he undressed me. I could tell he was just as nervous as I was, but he played it off better than I did. When both of us were completely naked, we explored each other’s bodies on his twin mattress and then he went down on me.

  Frankie had done this to me one other time, and it was just as fucking amazing as it was then. I came hard and all my nerves seemed to disappear. He reached for a condom and I watched as he tore the foil and rolled up his thick shaft. I marveled at how well he did it and wondered if he practiced. Weird, I know.

  Then he was on top of me.

  Kissing me.

  Telling me I was beautiful and that he loved me.

  He fucking loved me.

  I parted my legs, and he positioned himself between them.

  Nothing in the world existed at that moment other than me and him.

  He pushed inside and the pain tore through me instantly. I gasped, and he stilled.

  More kisses came.

  More I love yous.

  And then I encouraged him to move.

  He went deeper, and I saw stars, but I bit through the pain and soon, my body got used to him. Naturally, I lifted my hips, and he pushed in again. We started to find a rhythm; the pain fading with every thrust.

  I watched his face as he went through the motions and saw him start to reach his peak. For a second I wondered why I wasn’t feeling the same way and then the thought left me as he groaned into my neck and came.

  He apologized over and over and I assured him it was okay, that we could do it again. He kissed me and pulled out and that’s when everything went to shit. He went to deal with the condom and realized it broke.

  It fucking broke.

  Frankie looked like he was going to have a heart attack and I feared he might—his father had a bad heart and had just suffered one not too long ago. He quickly rolled off the bed and called his brother, Nico, in a panic.

  There I was, naked in his twin bed, wondering how the fuck we had such craptastic luck and he was having a meltdown on the phone with his brother. I quickly dressed because I didn’t know what else to do and by the time he hung up, he was chanting to himself that everything was going to be okay.

  It was not going to be okay.

  Every day after that night, I’d find Frankie at my locker waiting for me and the first words out of his mouth were, did you get your period yet? I didn’t bother to tell him it was a monthly cycle and that we’d have to wait a couple of weeks before ‘Flo’ came. I simply kissed him and told him no.

  We didn’t try to have sex again.

  I think we were both too scared.

  The weeks flew by and dear old ‘Flo’ never showed.

  One day after school, we went to Target and Frankie bought me a pregnancy test. There, in the public bathroom of Target, I peed on a stick and learned I was going to be a mother.

  It was my turn to freak out.

  I was only sixteen an
d my father didn’t even know I had a boyfriend. Being the district attorney made him big on appearances. He portrayed himself to the public as a single father and used their sympathy for our situation to gain votes. It didn’t matter how wonderful Frankie was, having a pregnant teen wouldn’t bode well for my dad’s image, therefore, it was safe to say my father was going to fucking kill him and so, we decided to keep my pregnancy a secret—well, until we figured out what the fuck we were going to do.

  The crazy thing is, neither one of us even contemplated an abortion like it wasn’t an option for us. We were both scared shitless, but we had made a baby, a precious little baby that was half me and half him. A baby that was one hundred percent us.

  Our lives would be forever changed. The dreams we had were probably never going to come true, but we made a baby.

  Frankie started showing up at my locker every morning with a banana and some prenatal vitamins he bought at Target. We didn’t talk about what we were going to do, but every day I ate the banana and downed the vitamins.

  A month later, on the day of my road test, morning sickness kicked in. I threw up all over the driving instructor it was no wonder he passed me. After that, I didn’t go anywhere without crackers—Saltines were my favorite. We still didn’t have a plan, but Frankie was adamant about not telling our parents. I didn’t know much about his mom or dad and wondered if they would take it as badly as my dad would.

  At three months he told his brother, Nico, and that’s when we went to a doctor for the first time. Nico had given Frankie the cash for the appointment and a fake I.D. for me to check in with, Carina Ritzer became Carrie Scotto or at least that’s what it says on my sonogram photos. It wasn’t a phony driver’s license, just a simple identification card that was similar to an insurance card and stated my name, birthdate and some other useless information I’m sure was a lie.