Venom's Prize (Devil's Riot MC Originals, #10) - E.C. Land Page 0,3

couldn’t get him to stop and then he’d puked on her. No parent in their right mind does that.

Refusing to listen to all of her excuses, I’d held Lincoln in my arms and threatened to call the police on her. Emilia begged me not to and said she’d do anything. She didn’t want to give up her son. But I demanded that she sign her rights over to me.

That had been five months ago. Being a parent scares the crap out of me, I didn’t have the best role models growing up. It was always Emilia and me. Now it’s only Lincoln and me facing the unknown together.

Two months into being Lincoln’s guardian, Emilia came over to the house drunk off her ass crying about who she’d called Isaac, wanting to make things right. This confused me. For the longest time she’d been upset he’d left her and all of a sudden, she is calling his number seems strange to me. Not that I knew he had the same number. He and I never spoke to each other.

Emilia begged me that night to give her Lincoln back. She claimed to want to do better to be a good mother to him. I’d told her to go sober up and we’d discuss it the next day. She never showed. And in the past three months, I haven’t seen her or heard from her.

Guess she didn’t want him as much as she claimed.

Then yesterday, out of the blue, I received a call from her asking to see Lincoln. I’d been apprehensive about it but I wanted to make sure she was okay. So I told her to meet us at a local Mexican restaurant. When she showed, she didn’t look to be herself and she kept begging to hold Lincoln and in the state she’d been in, I didn’t trust her. Her gaze flashed and she leaned forward and snapped at me, “You can’t keep the one thing from me that connects me to the man who I love.”

I didn’t know what to do at the time but I knew now what I needed to do. Lincoln needed his dad and I couldn’t wait any longer. It was time to move.

Sighing, I pull out more of his clothes and put them in the duffel bag. We need to get out of here and as much as I’d love to keep Lincoln to myself, I really need to find Isaac. He has a right to know about Lincoln. I never thought it fair Emilia kept this little boy a secret. Then again, I can believe it. She’d been furious with Isaac for leaving her.

Four Years Ago

I’m standing to the side of the room, listening to the two of them argue. They’d been doing this a lot lately. I want to side with my best friend, I really do, but Isaac’s right. Emilia is getting out of hand with her wild child antics. It’s time for her to grow up. I know she loves to party and go out clubbing, doesn’t matter to her if we’re only nineteen. She’s all about the good times. And, of course, I go along to keep an eye on her.

Isaac, on the other hand, is one you don’t not listen too. He’s in the military and, though I see the love he has for Emilia, you can tell it’s really pissing him off. Emilia and Isaac have been together for a year now and through this time, I’ve kept myself in the background to keep my own feelings hidden.

Emilia is the type of woman who when she sees something she likes, she goes for it. Me on the other hand, nope, I’m shy and can barely say two words to a guy without jumbling my words. This is the reason I stay in the background. That and Emilia is my best friend, I couldn’t hurt her feelings by trying to get attention from the man she says she loves. I’m not one for confrontation.

“Emilia, I’m not gonna tell you again. I’m over the fuckin’ bullshit. I don’t know how many times I’ve told you; I’m not playing fuckin’ games with you. I’m done. I’m about to deploy for a minimum of twelve months and I don’t need the headache,” Isaac growls, raking a hand through his close-cropped hair.

“You can’t be serious; I’ve done nothing wrong. You know I’m only playing,” Emilia quips, batting her lashes in the way she does when she’s trying to get her way with