by LeAnn Ashers
I head upstairs, into one of the guest rooms and into the bathroom, and I climb under the kitchen sink. His footsteps are loud against the hardwood floor—oh wait. I hid a water gun in here. I grab it and fill it as fast as I can. Then I slide back under the counter, holding my water pistol, giggling to myself. My heart is pounding as he gets closer and closer.
I hold my breath when I hear him outside the bathroom door. I position myself as quietly as possible so when he opens the door I can spray.
He opens the cabinet doors and I spray him. He jumps back and I crawl out. He wraps his hands around my feet, and I snort with laughter as he drags me toward him. I flip over onto my back as he grabs my arms, pinning them above my head. He nibbles the side of my neck.
I tilt my head to the side. “Where’s Reid?” I ask, my voice already breathless.
“He is in his playpen,” he says between kisses, licks, and bites. He grips the bottom of my shirt and pulls it above my head. He buries his head between my breasts and blows. I laugh and twist to the side. He pins my arms above my head again and moves further down, biting my sides.
“Uncle!” I scream with laughter, tears rolling down my face.
He pulls away, laughing; then he stands, taking me with him. He carries me to the bed and throws me down. I bounce and he pulls my shorts off.
I smirk at the sight of his face when he realizes I’m not wearing underwear. He runs his finger along the insides of my thighs. “Was my baby thinking she was going to get some?”
I lick my lips, and his eyes darken. I love the effect that I have on him. I have never felt so beautiful and empowered.
“I didn’t mean to be cocky, but….” I look at his dick, making my point known, and he is rock hard.
He smirks, knowing he is caught, and he gets down on his knees. He wraps his arms around my legs and pulls me until I am practically seated on his face. He licks me from top to bottom, and my legs shake instantly. He eats me like a man starved.
Right when I’m about to come, he pulls away. “You’re going to come on my dick.” He pulls his pants down and I crawl up the bed, making sure my ass sways, teasing him.
He kisses my stomach and moves between my thighs, and I circle my legs around him. My eyes roll back in my head when he slowly slides inside me. I’m already close from the almost-orgasm I just had.
I open my eyes and look at Aiden, who is staring down at me with so much tenderness and love.
Love.
I cup the sides of his face, pushing the small strands of hair aside. “I love you, so much.” One part of me is utterly terrified of what he will say, but I feel so safe with him I can tell him anything.
His head falls until our foreheads are touching. “I love you too, my Grace,” he whispers back. In that second, a part of me I never knew was missing is finally in place. I know he is the one for me. The one I’m going to spend the rest of my life with.
I feel this to my very soul.
This is one of the most magical moments of my life, being connected to someone on this level. This is what I have always dreamed of, but it’s better because I’m living it. So much better than I thought it would ever be.
A couple of months ago, I never would have thought this could happen. Then he popped into my life, and it changed in a split second.
I have not been back home in days. I go home to get clothes, and then I come right back here.
Later, he picks me up off the guest bed, carries me into our room, and lays me down on the bed. “Sleep, baby. I will fix dinner.” I pull the blanket over me and fall asleep almost instantly.
My phone starts ringing. I look over at the clock and see it’s eleven. The call is from Leah. She is calling from the phone I bought her, which she occasionally uses to text me to see if there’s practice.
“Hello?”
I hear crying. “Mrs. Gracie.”
I sit up in bed, already terrified at the sound of her voice. I can tell something is seriously wrong.
“What’s wrong?” I ask her, putting it on speakerphone so Aiden can hear too.
“My stepdad is being meaner than usual. I’m really scared,” she whispers into the phone.
Aiden has his phone out, texting someone.
“What’s happening, honey?” I get up, leaving the phone on the bed so I can talk to her as I get dressed.
“He is really high on drugs, he hit me bad this time. I’m scared. He is in the living room throwing things. My mom hasn’t been home for days, and I’m really hungry.” Her voice is shaking.
I look at Aiden in panic when I hear loud pounding on her door. “Let me in!” I hear a man yell. I cover my mouth, terrified for her. I’m not there and there’s nothing I can do. Aiden is putting on his jeans and grabbing his guns.
“I will be there asap, sweetheart,” I tell her, and I run downstairs and put my shoes on.
“Aiden, is someone coming to be with Reid?” I ask, my heart racing. I can still hear Leah’s stepfather screaming in the background.
“Joslyn is walking over right now.”
I walk outside with Aiden, and Joslyn is walking up the drive. “Thank you so much,” I say.
“No thanks needed.” Joslyn is carrying her toddler on her hip.
Wilder, Lane, and Logan pull up on their bikes, and Aiden starts his truck. I hurry into the truck, and we roar out of the gated community. I tell him her address; it’s in a very bad part of town. “We are a few minutes away, honey,” I tell Leah, listening to her stepdad pounding on her door.
“Okay.” She’s so quiet.
I close my eyes at this horrible situation; it’s one that I can relate to. You’re so terrified that you’re afraid to breathe in case they hear you or you trigger them.
It’s literal hell being so scared all the time.
A few minutes later we pull up in front of the most horrendous house. It looks like it’s going to fall down any second. The middle of the roof is sunken in; with one huge wind, I know it would collapse.
I get out and Aiden walks over to me. “Stay right by my side, baby.” Yeah, there’s no way I will be out of his sight.
Lane, Wilder, and Logan stand next to us. Wilder runs to the back of the house, and I stand behind the guys as they walk up to the porch.
Aiden kicks and the door falls in, and I hurry up the steps, following them into the house. The first thing that hits me is the heat. The house is really hot, and the smell is just as bad.
I look around the living room. There’s a leather couch that I suppose was white at one point, but it’s covered in mold. The walls are covered in black mold, and the floor is full of holes. One wrong step could have you falling through.
I hear Leah’s stepfather screaming as he runs into the living room to see what all the commotion is. Aiden moves forward and grabs him by the throat. I sneak past and run down the hallway to Leah.
“Leah? It’s me.” I call, knocking gently on the locked door.
Slowly the door opens a crack and she opens it. I take in the sight of her face, and fury like I have ever felt before in my life hits me.
Her face…
Her eyes are black and her cheekbone is bruised. “Oh, sweetheart.” I hug her and she cries into my shoulder.
I know one thing: I will make sure she never has to experience this again. “Go pack your bag.”
Her eyes light up with hope before she drops her head. “Where will I go?”
“Do you have any other family?” I push her hair out of her face.
She shakes her head. “My mom was a foster kid, she never had a family, and I don’t know my dad.”
My heart breaks for this little girl. She is truly alone in this world, and I don’t want to know what she has suffered. “You will come with me.” I will do whatever it takes for her to come live with me if it’s what she wants.
She hurries into her room to pack her bag, and I shut her door gently. I am shaking from head to toe, I am so mad. Who does he think he is, hitting a little girl?
>
I notice her softball bat leaning against the couch in the living room, and I snatch it up and walk over to her stepfather with one thing on my mind.
To beat his ass.
Aiden sees me coming, and his eyes widen as he sees my expression. I am someone who rarely gets mad.
This is unforgivable.
“You should see her face.” I shake my head, wanting the image out of my mind forever.
“Yeah, what the fuck you going to do about it?” Leah’s stepfather says.
“You’re just a pathetic piece of shit, do you know that? You’re weak and you have to beat babies to feel like something.” I grab my bat and swing, hitting him across the knee.
He starts to scream, but Logan covers his mouth so Leah doesn’t hear. I smack him hard across the face. “It doesn’t feel good to be hit, does it?”
He shakes his head. He can’t stand on the leg I hit with the bat. I hope I busted it.
“Where is her mother?” I ask. I need to make sure her mother isn’t coming back.
He laughs. “That bitch left. She packed her stuff and left with some guy to go to California.”
I just don’t understand how parents can be so heartless. Now that Reid is a part of my life, I could never imagine just leaving.
I look at Aiden. “I want her to come live with me, she has no one,” I whisper, not wanting her to hear.
He corrects me. “Come live with us.”
I smile. I hoped he would say something like that. “With us.” I say.
I hear footsteps coming down the hall, and Leah walks into the living room. Her face. I close my eyes a second, trying not to beat the shit out of him in front of her.
I hear growls all around me. I look at the guys, and I know they’re seconds away from killing him.
“Sweetheart, are you sure you want to come live with me?” I ask her one last time.
“And me,” Aiden pipes in.
“I am sure.” She looks at her stepdad, terrified.
“I will have the paperwork to you by morning. It pays to have people in your pocket.” Lane winks. I love that I won’t have to deal with the courts, and we can get all of this settled as soon as possible.
I walk to the door, my hand outstretched. “Come on, sweetheart, let’s get your stuff in the truck.” She walks over to me without looking at her stepdad.
One thing is for sure: I am going to give her whatever she needs. Therapy is going to be a priority. If I had started it when I was younger, I think my life would have been better. I waited until I was older, and destructive ideas were stuck in my head, so it was hard for me to change my way of thinking about certain things.
I look over my shoulder and nod at the stepdad. This is my way of giving Aiden permission to beat his ass. Aiden smirks at me like I’m hilarious for thinking anything different. I shut the door behind me, and I open the back seat for Leah to get inside. I get in the front, and I turn around in my seat so I can look at her. She is staring out the window like the world is on her shoulders.
Her mother just up and left her with someone who abused her. Honestly, this life is all she has known, and now she is going somewhere different.
It’s scary.
“It’s going to be okay. I know how you feel,” I tell her softly, my heart breaking a little when her tear-filled eyes meet mine.
“How?” she asks.
“I was in a very similar situation when I was your age. It’s scary but your life is going to be different now. I will take care of you, and you will never have to worry again.” I don’t know what else to say.
She sniffs, her tears falling, and I gently wipe them away. I wish I could just take the pain from her.
“Like I’m your daughter?” she asks.
I smile. “Yes, if you want to be.”
She smiles for the first time, giving me a glimpse of the little girl I have come to love. “Yes, I would.”
That just made my day, my year. “I would love that,” I tell her honestly. This little girl has been on my mind every single day since I met her. I know, in this moment, she was meant to be mine. I was meant to take her out of this situation and give her the life she deserves. Her life is going to be different from mine. I am going to make sure she thrives and all this shit doesn’t affect her like it did me.
A few minutes later Aiden walks out with the guys. I can tell by the satisfied look on his face he beat some ass.
I can’t believe that I slapped Leah’s stepfather and took out his knee. That is so out of character for me. I was just so mad. I know this happens, but seeing it happen to her hit really close to home, and I wanted to let him know that what he did is wrong.
“Myra is on her way to the house so we can get her checked out.”
“That makes me feel better.”
I peek back at Leah. She watches her house until it’s out of sight. I hate that she has to do this but, honestly, that house wasn’t fit for her to live in.
“So, Leah, Tiffany and I beat the guys in the MC at softball. I think a rematch is in order, with you showing them what you can do.” I look back and wink at her.
She giggles. “That’s right, Miss Gracie.”
“Just call me Grace or whatever you want, okay?” I don’t want her to feel obligated to call me Miss Gracie anymore.
“Okay.” She holds her bag in her lap.
I turn around and let the tears fall, and Aiden and Leah are silent as I stare ahead. Aiden touches my face, and I look over.
“It will be fine,” he mouths to me.
I nod and wipe my tears off my face, and I let out a deep breath. I need to be strong for her.
We reach the community, the gate opens, and we pull into our drive. One thing I love about this is that everyone lives close together. The first part of the community is like a suburb. Farther down there’s a tract of land accommodating bigger houses, and you have the option to build your own. It’s really safe. The kids can play outside and do whatever they want without the fear of something happening, because only MC members live here.
“This is your house?” She sits forward, her eyes wide.
“Your house now,” Aiden tells her, and I fall a bit more in love with him.
I get out and open her door. I take her bag from her and lead her up the steps. A strange vehicle is already here, and my guess is it’s the doctor.
Aiden walks in first, with me and Leah behind him. Joslyn is in the living room with another woman, who I assume is Myra.
“Hi, this must be Leah.” Myra gets off the couch and Joslyn follows suit.
“Thank you so much for babysitting for us.” I hug Joslyn and she waves her arm. “No big deal.”
I turn my attention to Leah, who is nervous; she is chewing on her nails.
“I’m a doctor,” Myra says. “I want to check to make sure you’re okay.”
I hand Aiden Leah’s bag, and I follow them into the kitchen, where Myra has Leah sit on a barstool at the island. “I need you to tell me where you hurt, okay?” Myra tells her.
Leah looks at me. “It’s okay, sweetheart,” I tell her.
She points to her face; then she lifts her shirt and I can see bruises on her stomach. “My head is sore, he dragged me by my hair.”
I close my eyes at the realization of how horrible her life has been. I should have done something sooner, and I will forever have that regret resting on my shoulders.
Myra starts looking her over, checking to make sure nothing is broken. Leah is just silent.
I’d rather have anything but her silence.
“Okay, sweetheart, one last question. Did he touch you somewhere that made you uncomfortable?”
Leah’s eyes widen. “Do you mean down there?” She looks toward her lap.
Myra nods.
She shakes her head. “He’s never done anything like that. He just got mad and hit me.”
I want to sink to the ground in relief.
“I’m going to take some blood, okay?” Myra looks at me fo
r permission.
“Yes, of course.” I walk over and hold Leah’s hand as Myra takes her blood. She doesn’t even flinch, and I’m sure this pain is nothing compared to the bruises on her face and stomach. I can tell some of the bruises are older than those inflicted tonight.
A few minutes later Myra is finished, and she leaves me and Leah alone. “Let me show you to your room. Tomorrow you and I will go shopping to get things for your room and whatever else you want.”
She smiles. “Thank you, Gracie.”
I laugh softly, loving seeing the real her. As I lead her upstairs, I pass Aiden, who is in the living room talking to Ryan. He’s a member of the Devils Souls and Myra’s husband.
I take Leah to the room beside Reid’s, not the room where Aiden and I had sex earlier.
“Here you go.” I push the door open and set her bag on the bed. I know one thing: she needs a whole new wardrobe; most of her clothes are very small on her. “Do you want to take a shower, while I fix you some food, before you take some meds for the pain?” I run my hand down her back. She looks a bit shell-shocked. “Towels are in the cabinets, soap and shampoo are too. Tomorrow we will get your own.”
She nods and looks at the floor. I am sure she needs a few minutes alone so she can wrap her head around everything.
I don’t like feeling powerless. I wish I could just take all of that away from her. “Just come downstairs whenever you’re finished.” I walk to the door.
“Thank you, Gracie, so much,” she says and I turn around, smiling.
“You’re more than welcome, sweetheart.”
I gently shut the door behind me to give her privacy. One thing I loved when I had my new home was my privacy. I needed that so much. I needed that place where I felt safe, something to call my own.
Everyone has left and Aiden is locking up. He turns to look at me, and I’m suddenly so extremely exhausted.
“You okay, baby?” he asks, pulling me into his arms.
I nod and grip the back of his shirt, hugging him tightly. “I just want her to be happy. I’m so afraid that all of this is going to affect her life.”
“No, baby. No. She is going to have you. We are going to make sure she is happy and thriving. She is going to have something that you didn’t…”
