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

  “Wait, so that means…”

  “Frankie and I are having a baby,” Carrie supplies.

  His eyes go wide again, and I shake my head.

  “Holy shit,” he exclaims, looking at me. “Is this why dad called me yesterday?”

  I shrug my shoulders.

  “Probably.”

  “Well, what’s she doing here and where the fuck is Frankie?”

  Setting her mug on the counter, Carrie sighs and looks towards me.

  “I’ll let you tackle that one,” she says quietly. “I’m going to take a shower. Frankie said he’s got some clothes here in the laundry room that I can borrow. Do you mind pointing me in that direction?”

  My eyes lock with hers and I notice how defeated she appears. Those green eyes that held me captive are dim as shit and there’s hardly any trace of the refreshing girl I met on the overpass who carried herself as someone who believed the glass was half full and not fucking empty. I suspect that has a lot to do with her current situation, but I’m sure my behavior towards her hasn’t helped matters and that knowledge weighs on my conscience as I stare at her. Sighing, I relent and tip my chin towards the doorway.

  “Swing a right out of the kitchen and you’ll see a door, the laundry room is in the basement.”

  She doesn’t respond as she turns and makes her way out of the kitchen. Enzo follows her, waiting until she disappears down the stairs before he turns to me.

  “What the fuck is going on?” he asks.

  Crossing my arms against my chest, my gaze swings to him and I answer his question with a more pressing question of my own.

  “How do you know her?”

  His brows draw together in confusion.

  “What the fuck do you mean, how do I know her? She’s our brother’s girlfriend.”

  “I mean, when did you meet her?” I bit out, losing my patience with this entire situation.

  Enzo narrows his eyes and shrugs.

  “A couple of months ago, I guess. I picked them up one night from the movie theater and took them here…” His voice trails as awareness flickers in his brown eyes and I watch as he swipes a hand over his face. “Shit.”

  “What?”

  He cringes, clearly not wanting to share whatever realization he just had.

  “The day I met her, Frankie asked me to help him out. She had given him the green light to do the deed, and he wanted to make it special for her. We put flowers and shit around the house…you know, a little Zayn on the Bose system and candles, lots of fucking candles. But I made sure he had fucking condoms so what the fuck happened? Did he not use them?”

  So Enzo met Carrie before she lost her virginity and I had the pleasure of meeting her before she lost her cookies or whatever the fuck it was that she threw up while standing on the edge of an overpass.

  Fan-fucking-tastic!

  Whatever happened to the days of bringing someone to meet the family at Sunday dinner?

  I look to Enzo, scrubbing a hand over my face.

  “Where the fuck was I when you two idiots were setting the scene for him to impregnate the district attorney’s daughter?”

  He shrugs his shoulders.

  “My guess, playing house with Lacey.”

  Great, so even he knows I’m a fucking idiot.

  “She’s pretty far along,” Enzo continues. “What is she doing here with you?”

  I realize he doesn’t look all that fazed by the fact her father is the D.A. and I take that to mean he knew that bit of information just as I did. We both should’ve fucking warned our brother he was playing with fire, instead, we threw him into the fucking flames.

  “Supposedly her old man threw her out when he found out she was pregnant.”

  Enzo quirks a brow.

  “He’s just finding out now?”

  “Aren’t you?”

  “Touché,” he replies. “But I don’t live with her and she ain’t my daughter.”

  “Exactly,” I say, pointing a finger towards the doorway. “That’s why I think this girl is playing Frankie. Her father has it bad for the club and after that shit went astray with Uncle Jack, he’s looking to put someone behind bars.”

  “What? You’re out of your mind,” he scoffs, reaching for the coffee pot. “Uncle Jack gave her dad the cartel. He doesn’t need to make another fucking arrest for years. The motherfucker got the key to the city and automatic re-election”

  “How do you know that?”

  “Dude, I read the newspapers. Well, not really,” he corrects, filling a mug. “I pull up the Staten Island Live app while I’m taking a shit and I read that. It keeps me informed and anyway, even if I didn’t read the news, I’d know Carina ain’t playing Frankie. She’s a good girl, man. What girl waits a year and a half to give up her virginity? These days the girls spread their legs on a dime. Sucks for her that she got knocked up, but shit happens. You people are paranoid as fuck and are making too much out of this.”

  I stare at him wordlessly, trying to understand how he can rationalize everything so easily.

  “Dad thinks her father is going to put Frankie in jail on statutory rape charges.”

  “Dad’s shot, Nico,” Enzo replies, turning around to face me. “He’s all fucked up since he took over as president and you people keep feeding him shit. He’s gonna wind up in the loony bin next to Uncle Jack and then you’re all going to be fucked because Uncle Pipe is a hothead who blows shit up before he thinks. What you got here are two dumb kids with shit luck. Maybe the father will press charges against Frankie, big fucking deal. That hotshot lawyer the Knights got in their pocket managed to get Uncle Jack off, Blackie in a rehab and now, he’s fucking performing some other miracle with that prospect, Bishop. Everyone needs to buy a box of diapers and relax.”

  Before I can respond, the front door opens. I move to the doorway and see our dad enter with Maria and Riggs. Maria’s arms are full of shopping bags and Riggs is carrying a box of equipment. Dad’s eyes shoot over my shoulder to Enzo and he shakes his head.

  “Look, who decided to show up for the family crisis,” he grunts.

  “How’s it hanging, Pops,” Enzo greets in response. “Maria, looking fabulous as always.”

  “Always the flirt,” she responds, pressing a kiss to his cheek before she turns her warm gaze to me. “Where’s Carina?”

  I glance over my shoulder and towards the open door leading to the basement.

  “She’s either in the laundry room or the bathroom,” I mumble. As soon as I reply, my father’s hand comes up and slaps the back of my head. “What the fuck was that for?”

  “How do you not know where the fuck she is?”

  I stare at him wide-eyed. Enzo is right—he’s fucking shot.

  “She didn’t leave the fucking house. What do you want me to do, follow her from room to room?”

  “Oh, this is so much better than I thought it was going to be,” Riggs comments. “You people are all crazy.”

  Pot meet kettle.

  “This coming from you,” I growl. “What are you doing here?”

  He flashes me a grin.

  Ever since he called me out on my feelings for Lacey and slapped me, I’ve been avoiding Riggs like the plague. I always have an excuse not to go to Maria’s family dinners and seeing as Riggs technically owns the damn bar, I rarely ever show up for my shifts at Big Nose Kate’s. I’m sure he’s got a couple of choice words for me, but instead of reaming me out, he answers my question.

  There’s a time and place for a lashing and even the self-proclaimed tiger knows this ain’t it.

  “I came to install a security system. We’re turning this place into a fortress for the baby mama. You won’t have to hold her hand when I’m finished,” he says, setting the box on top of the dining room table.

  My gaze shoots to my dad.

  “Is he serious?”

  “You got responsibilities other than this that you need to handle and she’s going to need to be left alone. We can’t risk it.”<
br />
  “Wow,” Enzo says. “You really are out of your mind. You can’t keep the girl hostage. She’s not a fucking terrorist, she’s pregnant and probably scared as fuck.”

  For my own selfish reasons, I don’t want to agree with Enzo, but he makes sense and I’m starting to think I’m jaded because she saw me on that ledge. Maybe subconsciously I want her to be the enemy so I can keep her close and ensure her mouth remains shut.

  If we see this through, keep Ritzer from his daughter and hide the fact that Frankie is the father of her baby, we might be starting a war with a man we don’t need to be starting a war with. Perhaps we should let the cards fall where they may and put our faith in our resources. If a man like Uncle Jack can still walk the streets freely, surely the club lawyer can handle anything Ritzer tries to throw at Frankie.

  “Pipe tailed Ritzer last night,” Dad starts. “The man tore his fucking house to shreds and this morning, he left the house like nothing happened. I don’t trust it.”

  Enzo rolls his eyes.

  “You’re starting to sound like Uncle Jack,” he fires back.

  That silences the room and I look to my father, watching as his jaw tightens. We all have a lot of respect for Uncle Jack, but no one wants to be compared to a crazed lunatic.

  Sighing, Enzo continues.

  “The man found out his daughter was pregnant, got angry and instead of asking questions, he threw her out on her ass,” he rationalizes. “There’s going to come a time when he starts thinking like a father and he’s going to worry about his kid. He’s going to want to make amends and if you stand in his way, that’s when he’s going to come for you.”

  Another point for the middle child—apparently, he’s the only one that got the smarts in the family.

  Cutting through the tension, Maria steps up from behind me and announces, “She’s not in the basement.”

  Without giving it a second thought, I start for the stairs, climbing two at a time until I hear the pipes kick on in the bathroom and the sound of running water.

  Breathing a sigh of relief, I bow my head.

  Enzo is right, we’re all losing our fucking minds.

  Making my way back down the stairs, I turn just as Maria drops the shopping bags on the couch and turns to us.

  “I think we’re going about this the wrong way,” she begins. “What if you sat down with her father, not as the president of the Satan’s Knights or the District Attorney, but as two concerned parents?”

  Riggs barks out a laugh, immediately earning him a scowl from his mother-in-law.

  “You mean like civilized human beings?” he scoffs, waving a hand dismissively. “Never happen, Mama Leone. We don’t do anything civilly.”

  “Frankie may be eighteen, Al, but he’s still in high school and he wasn’t eighteen when the baby was conceived. That’s gotta count for something.”

  “Lady, I didn’t get this far in life by doubting my instincts. When my gut tells me something is about to go bad, it usually does.”

  No one says a word because that’s true. My father has kept his club alive and thriving because he never doubted himself or his ability to see the Satan’s Knights through every fucking mess. They needed new blood so, he scoured the states and brought four nomads to Uncle Jack’s door. Some idiot Russian blew up their shit and nearly killed Linc. Dad went and mortgaged his house to get him the best care. Uncle Jack lost his mind and there was Dad, holding out his hand to take the mallet.

  Aside from keeping Linc’s identity a secret from the club, Dad has never made a bad call. He has proved his worth to the club and Uncle Jack trusts him— with his legacy and with his brothers. It’s why he’s sitting at the head of the table these days.

  “I hate to rush things along, here, but I told Kitten I’d be home for feeding time at the zoo. Am I hooking up the system or are we going to try to give this humanity thing a shot?” Riggs questions.

  “Hook up the system,” Dad orders. “We’re doing things my way.”

  I swallow hard at his words, realizing he does sound like Uncle Jack. My brother, on the other hand, shoves his hands into his pockets and shakes his head in disgust.

  “I’m out.”

  “What?” Dad asks, his eyebrows pinching together.

  “I ain’t getting involved in this shit. When all this goes south and it will go south, because, again, you people are fucking crazy, Frankie, is going to need someone to turn to and I’m going to be that guy. The rest of you can take credit for ruining his life.”

  He pads across the living room, drops a kiss on Maria’s cheek and then looks at me.

  “And you,” he begins. “You’re better than this and when you realize that, I’ll be there for you too.”

  Finally, he looks back at our dad.

  “She’s just a girl, Pop. She ain’t the enemy. You’re going to lose Frankie, and you’re going to lose your grandkid too if you go through with this shit.”

  Turning around, he pulls open the door and leaves, slamming it shut behind him. Silence fills the room and I look back at my old man. Our eyes lock and we stare at one another for a beat, simultaneously questioning ourselves for different reasons.

  “Nico blinked,” Riggs says, cutting through the silence.

  My gaze slices towards him and he quirks an eyebrow.

  “What? You guys weren’t having a staring contest?”

  A creak sounds on the steps, diverting my attention away from Riggs. I go to turn around, but my gaze lands on Maria first, watching as she smiles towards the steps in that warm way of hers.

  “Hi honey,” she murmurs.

  “Am I interrupting something?” Carrie questions in a soft tone.

  My dad sighs, swiping a hand over his face and turns his head away. Following his gaze, my eyes land on Carrie and my throat goes tight.

  Before I can acknowledge why I’m reacting to Carrie at all, the front door swings open behind her and Frankie enters holding a bunch of bananas, wearing a crooked smile. What happens next is like a scene from one of those cheesy chick flicks. Carrie charges for him and we all watch as he wraps his arms around her. The bananas fall to the floor as he grabs her face and presses his mouth to hers.

  “Jesus,” my father grunts.

  As the single word leaves his lips, it hits me why my throat suddenly feels like the Sahara. Carrie’s kissing my brother, wearing my clothes, not his.

  -Four-

  Carina

  Burying his face in my neck, Frankie gives me a squeeze and I choke on a sob. After our conversation last night, he told me he’d try to swing by after school, but he wasn’t sure if his father would allow it. When I stepped out of the shower and heard Wolf hollering, I figured the chances of seeing Frankie today were slim to none. I wasn’t sure I’d survive the day without him, especially if I had to deal with the Water Fairy all day. I was still recovering from watching him take a leak when he started getting on my case about my breakfast choices. I might not have minded if he was coming from a place of genuine concern, but he was just trying to get a rise out of me.

  “Whoa…babe…you’re cutting off my circulation,” Frankie teases, giving my hips a gentle squeeze before inching away. Bending his head, he tucks my damp hair behind my ears and searches my eyes. “What’s wrong?”

  Oh, I don’t know…everything.

  But let me keep it simple and start with the fact that I’m pregnant and my dad wants nothing to do with me. Then there’s your father who is simply batshit crazy and wants to hide me in this house with your brother who can’t seem to stand the sight of me.

  I can’t tell him any of that, though. It’s probably good for one of us to remain optimistic while our lives crumble to pieces.

  Swallowing, I force a smile.

  “Nothing,” I whisper. “I’m just happy you’re here. I wasn’t sure when I’d see you.”

  Technically it’s not a complete lie if the last part is true, right?

  “Why the hell aren’t you in school?” Wolf shouts f
rom the couch.

  Frankie’s gaze doesn’t waver from me as he answers his dad.

  “I went to school,” he starts, pausing to bend and grab the bunch of bananas on the floor. “…And then something happened,” he continues, pulling a banana from the bunch. “I went to our lockers and realized you probably didn’t have breakfast.”

  “So, you left school to bring her a fucking banana?” Wolf grunts.

  Ignoring his father, he hands me the banana. I stare at him in shock for a moment until he leans in closer and whispers, “You didn’t take your vitamins either, did you?”

  Before I can remind him that I don’t have my vitamins with me, Nico’s voice sounds.

  “This is ridiculous,” Nico hisses. “She ate a protein bar.”

  Seriously, what the fuck is his problem?

  Keeping my focus on Frankie, I try not to grind my teeth.

  I think I hate my boyfriend’s brother.

  “That was really sweet of you,” I say softly, taking the banana from Frankie. “I don’t have my vitamins with me.”

  Frankie winks at me before reaching into his back pocket, producing a bottle of prenatal vitamins—the same kind he bought me when we first discovered I was pregnant.

  “I figured that,” he says. “I stopped and got you some from Target.”

  Smiling, he shakes the bottle for emphasis and the vitamins rattle around inside. Everything about this sweet gesture reminds me of why I chose Frankie in the first place. They say young love is fleeting, that it isn’t made to last…well, I challenge those people to find a love like I have.

  “For fuck’s sake, son,” Wolf growls. “Did everything I said last night just go in one ear and out the other?”

  Finally acknowledging his father, Frankie drapes an arm around my shoulders and brings me to his side. He places a kiss on top of my head before slicing his gaze towards Wolf.

  “I respect what you’re saying, but I made a decision of my own. I’m telling mom tonight and then I’m moving in here with Carina. I’ll go to school, get a job—hell, I’ll get two jobs if I have to, but I don’t want her to feel alone in all this,” he announces.