Brittany whimpered and careened off into the living room, putting her cell phone to her ear. David hoped she was calling the cops. He hurried to help his brother, leaning his own weight on the door.
“Get out of here, Susie!”
“Who the fuck are you?”
David glanced at Nick, who shook his head. Susie had met David before and had practically fawned all over him. Hopefully, he could get her to leave.
“It’s David, Nick’s brother. You need to leave right now. Brittany is calling the cops and you’re going to scare the girls.”
Susie barked out a laugh.
“She won’t be calling the police. She hates the cops. And I want my baby now!”
Evidently his tactics weren’t going to work. Nick growled and leaned harder on the door.
“You’re not having Melanie.”
“Who says I want Melanie?”
David wondered if he had heard that correctly. He and Nick looked at each other in confusion. What was she…?
Another slam hit the door, almost knocking David off his feet. For a small woman, she certainly was strong.
“Rachelle’s not even related to you!” David shouted.
“But she’s a baby.”
“Not your baby.”
Susie made a sound that could have been taken as a wail.
“Trudy’s children were taken away. Luke signed his rights away to Melanie because he was forced to. He never wanted to let Melanie go. All of my children have had their children taken away. I was the one who raised the kids. I have no one now and I want a baby.”
“Then go and adopt or foster.” Nick gritted his teeth. “Don’t come trying to take ours.”
“I want a baby!”
This woman was on some sort of drugs. She had to be if she thought grabbing a baby who wasn’t biologically related to her was a good idea. And it had to be the reason she was suddenly so strong.
Nick cried out suddenly. Susie had managed to sneak her arm through the gap and grabbed at his throat. It was hard enough that Nick had to push the arm away and pull away from the door. That left David being rocketed across the hallway when another thump hit the door and shot inwards, the force of it knocking David onto his hands and knees.
Susie came charging in with a snarl. She kicked Nick in the face and ran into the living room. David heard screams coming from there but his primary concern was Rachelle, who was in the playroom at the back of the house. Pushing himself up, he ran through the house and found his infant niece fast asleep in her bassinet. She looked so peaceful David didn’t want to pick her up. But he did and turned with her in his arms just as Susie came in. Her short, graying hair was stuck up at odd angles and she looked like she had taken an injection of adrenaline. She was practically foaming at the mouth, her eyes widening even more when she saw Rachelle. She reached for her.
“Give me my baby.”
“Not yours.” David took a step back, glancing towards the door. If he could get outside and around to the front of the house, maybe he could get some help. “Not a chance.”
Susie let out a feral scream and attacked him. David held Rachelle to him, the little baby awakening and wriggling in his arms as Susie punched and kicked him. It hurt and David wanted to push the woman away but Rachelle was his priority.
Then Susie kicked him between the legs. Pain shot through David’s body and he doubled over. Susie used that moment to snatch Rachelle from his arms and then she ran from the room. David could see stars in front of his eyes. He tried to get up but the stars got worse.
No. He couldn’t stay down. He had to run.
Then he heard a scream. And then more screams. One of them was Nick.
*****
Dagmar was pulling onto the sidewalk outside Nick’s house, behind a bright pink rundown SUV, when a petite woman with gray hair and holding a bundle in her arms ran out of the house. She was screaming something but Dagmar couldn’t make out what she was saying.
Then, as she watched, the woman tripped off the porch and landed on the ground. She didn’t turn and protect the bundle as she fell; the bundle flew from her arms and landed on the lawn.
That was when she heard the screams.
Dagmar’s heart dropped.
“Oh, shit.”
She scrambled out of the car and ran across the lawn. There was little Rachelle on the lawn, face down and screaming her head off. Dagmar fell to her knees and gently turned her over. She did a quick onceover with her eyes. Nothing seemed to be broken. She couldn’t see anything out of place. But she didn’t pick Rachelle up.
“Dagmar!”
Nick charged out the house and vaulted the porch, running to his daughter. He collapsed beside his daughter, tears streaking his face and mixing with the blood around his mouth. He reached for Rachelle and Dagmar passed her over carefully.
“There’s nothing broken that I can see but I need you to hold her for now. Don’t rock her, just hold her still.”
Nick didn’t look like he had heard her but he nodded eventually, holding onto his daughter for dear life and stroking her face. Dagmar’s hands were shaking as she watched the sight.
She heard footsteps on the porch and looked up. Brittany, her face red around her eye, was coming out into the front yard. Her eyes widened when she saw Nick and Rachelle.
“Oh, God.”
She started running towards her boyfriend, only to be tripped up. Susie had rolled over and grabbed a hold of Brittany’s ankle, making her sprawl on the grass.
“You’re not going anywhere near my baby!”
Her baby? Dagmar had no idea what was going on.
Then another man came out of the house. Tall, slim, with raven-black hair, he wore a suit like he had walked off a GQ magazine and his expression said he was going to rip Susie apart. He charged onto the lawn and grabbed at Susie, yanking her away from Brittany.
“Don’t you dare try that, you little bitch!” he snarled.
Brittany scrambled up and went to Nick. Dagmar checked Rachelle one more time and hurried over to help the man tackle Susie away from the group. Susie began whimpering and yelping in pain.
“Let me go! You’ve hurt my ankle! Ow!” She tried to grab for her ankle but couldn’t with David trying to wrestle her onto the ground. “You’re hurting me!”
“Considering what you’ve just done, do you think I’m going to be nice with you?” the man snarled. “You’ve harmed my niece!”
Chapter 3
Niece? Dagmar glanced at Nick. He didn’t look anything like Brittany so this had to be Nick’s brother. Nick had mentioned him several times and seemed to be in awe of his big brother. Now Dagmar could see why with the Papa Bear coming forth.
“She was meant to be for me!” Susie screamed.
The neighbors were staring to come out of their houses. Several of them came hurrying across, aiming for Brittany, Nick, and Rachelle. Two more were starting to make calls. One of the teenagers across the street began filming it with his phone. Dagmar wished she could yank the phone out of his hands. This was not something to be made viral.
Nick’s brother snorted.
“I didn’t see Brittany being a surrogate for you. Came out of her, her baby. Not yours. And now you’re going to be arrested for harming a child.”
Susie glared at him. Then she screamed again and lashed out. Dagmar had had enough. Clearly, Nick’s brother had no idea how to take her down. Either that or he was enjoying the confrontation. She grabbed Susie’s arm, twisted it around enough to make Susie fall to her knees, and then she rode Susie down with a knee to her back, twisting her arm up behind her.
“That’s enough from you, ma’am.”
“Let me go!” Susie bucked but Dagmar leaned more weight into her as she reached for her other arm and brought it behind her. “Who the fuck are you?”
“The person who’s going to make sure you stay until the cops get here.”
Susie laughed.
“The cops won’t be here. Nobody called them.”
“I can talk to the cops.”
Dagmar shook her head.
“My main concern is for the children.” She nodded at Nick and Brittany, who were both crying as Nick cradled their daughter. “Those two are going to go off like rockets any moment now and I need you to be a buffer, Mr…”
“David. David Mach.”
Dagmar nodded briskly.
“Dagmar Gable. Go and check on Melanie and your brother. I’ve got this one.”
*****
Rachelle didn’t have any broken limbs. She didn’t even have a broken back considering how hard she had fallen. The doctors were worried about her skull and internal swelling so after the x-ray they put her in a private room in the children’s department and kept her under close observation.
Considering what could have happened, Rachelle had escaped having her bones intact. Dagmar was grateful babies’ bones were incredibly difficult to break but she was worried about the brain swelling.
Brittany was the same. She had gone in the ambulance with Rachelle, pleading to go with her daughter. Nick wanted to go as well but Melanie was in tears in the doorway after David had checked on her and Dagmar managed to get him to look after his adopted daughter. David followed behind Dagmar’s car as they convoyed to the hospital with Rachelle’s ambulance. A second ambulance had to turn up to take Susie to the same hospital with a police guard.
Dagmar wished she could have stayed behind to see how her friends in the police department dealt with the screaming, psychotic wreck trying to roll around on the lawn but she was more concerned about Brittany and Rachelle. Rachelle had been screaming in pain and Brittany had been a mess.
Now Rachelle was sleeping, albeit very fussy sleep, and Brittany was pacing around her daughter’s room, wringing her hands. Susie had clobbered her hard and there was a bruise over one eye and spreading across her cheekbone. Her lip was also split. For a small woman, Susie packed quite a punch.
Dagmar stood by the bed watching her friend work herself up into hysterics. It was difficult seeing her like this and Dagmar understood, but Brittany was babbling away and not really taking action. She knew what she should do in that situation.
“I can’t believe this happened.” Brittany ran her hands through her hair. “I can’t believe she would actually kidnap my youngest.”
“You need a restraining order, Brittany.”
“Susie was a mean old bitch to me when I was with Luke.” Brittany didn’t seem to have heard her. “She didn’t give a damn about me and she certainly doesn’t care about the children. She just wants a trophy to show off to everyone and play with like a doll, to say she’s the world’s best grandma.”
“Get a restraining order, Brittany.”
“She wants to make me suffer.” Brittany slapped the wall and winced, shaking her hand as she paced again. “I can’t be happy and if I’m happy, then she’s going to make sure I’m not.”
Dagmar sighed. She was beginning to sound like a broken record.
“Britt…”
“What?!?”
Brittany swung around on her, eyes flashing fire. Dagmar didn’t even blink.
“Get a restraining order. You’ve got more than probable cause for it.”
“I…” Brittany paused, her anger deflating a little. She looked unsure. “Will they help me with it?”
“Absolutely. The cops aren’t all bad.”
“Really?”
“Really. I work with them every day. Just because Luke and Susie hated them doesn’t mean you have to hate them. It doesn’t mean they’re not good at their jobs. They can protect you.”
Brittany looked miserable and frightened at the thought of talking to the cops.
“Susie’s eldest daughter had a restraining order against her mother. It didn’t work. Susie still kept bothering her to the point the daughter left the country. She hasn’t contacted anyone for five years.”
Dagmar wasn’t surprised. That woman was enough to make anyone want to leave the country. It was fair enough with that previous experience that Brittany had fears. But a restraining order, even an emergency one would work.
“Your friend is right, Brittany.”
Dagmar felt a shiver through her body when she heard the deep voice of David. He loomed in the doorway, his jacket off and his sleeves rolled up with his collar undone. He looked like the billionaire rogue Dagmar had read about in her search of him on her phone.
He was the type of man that Dagmar should stay away from. But from the way her body was reacting, from her head feeling foggy and heat pooling in her stomach, her body had other ideas.
Brittany spun around and relief made her body sag.
“David!”
She practically flung herself at him, but David managed to grab her arms before they went around his neck. David looked over at Dagmar and Dagmar felt her mouth go dry. There was nothing sexual in it but it was enough to make her pussy clench. Dagmar wished she was sitting down; her legs were going funny.
“Dagmar is right, Brittany.” David turned back to Brittany, who was looking at him like he was the only one in the room. “You do need a restraining order. It might not slow Susie down, as you keep saying, but it will bring a chain of evidence of harassment and could result in prison time for her.”
“Exactly,” Dagmar added. “Restraining order, plus documenting everything on what she’s done. Have safety measures in place so she can’t do this again.”
David nodded at this, giving her an approving look. Brittany bit her lip.
“If you’re sure.”
“I’m certain.”
That was when Dagmar saw Brittany lift her chin, square her shoulders, and nod.
“Okay. I’ll do it.”
“Good girl.”
Watching the two of them, Dagmar felt a pang of annoyance. She had been saying the same thing over and over again for the past half-hour since she had been in the room and Brittany had either ignored her or been very apprehensive. The moment David entered the room Brittany agreed and was practically all over it. Dagmar didn’t know if it was David’s charisma or if Brittany had a crush on him, but, either way, it hurt that she had been ignored.
At least David was giving her credit. Maybe he knew that she was the driving force and Brittany would only listen to him.
“How’s Susie getting on downstairs?” she asked.
David made a face.
“I went through the ER when they were trying to deal with her.”
“Trying to?”
“Well, she wasn’t making it easy on the nurses trying to take off her shoe. I think they were going to do an x-ray on the ankle. The cops are guarding her right now.” David grunted and rubbed at his eyes. “She kicked a nurse in the face when I went past.”
Dagmar winced.
“Was the nurse tall with red hair and freckles?”
“Yes, how did you know?”
“That’s Nurse Shirley Sage. She’s the nurse in charge this shift and takes no prisoners at all.” Dagmar smirked. “Knowing her, she’s going to make the stay for Susie very uncomfortable indeed.”
David chuckled.
“From the look on her face, I wouldn’t be surprised if that happened. They were also trying to put the handcuffs on her and cuff her to the bed rails.”
“And I hope that they do a tox screen on her.” Dagmar stroked Rachelle’s head gently. “She had far too much strength and delusions to be lucid.”
“I don’t think she’s ever been lucid in her life,” Brittany said grimly. She gravitated back to the bed as if she had remembered she was meant to be there for Rachelle. Even then she looked back a
t David. “How are Nick and Melanie? I can’t get any signal in here.”
“They’re fine. Nick’s still upset and Melanie cried herself to sleep. Mom and Dad are with them now.” David swallowed. “I spoke to Melanie and she says she’s scared for Rachelle.”
Dagmar could understand that. Melanie was a protective big sister. To be in that situation and not be able to do anything had to hurt. She had been there herself.
David looked at Dagmar.
“How’s Rachelle doing? I don’t see any casts. I take it that’s a good thing.”
“It is, in a way. No broken bones but they’ve done a full x-ray with extras on the skull. They’re worried about swelling on the brain so they’re going to keep her in for a while.”
The relief on David’s face was palpable. He rubbed his hand over his face and nodded.
“So she’ll be on the mend soon.”
“Why couldn’t I protect my daughter?” Brittany stared down at her daughter, taking a small hand in hers. “Why couldn’t I do that?”
“Britt, I was holding Rachelle.” David winced and shifted himself. “I let her be taken.”
Dagmar noticed his stance and raised her eyebrows. David shook his head.
“The bitch kicked me where it hurts.”
“That’s enough to make anyone let go.” Dagmar felt bad for him. He had tried to protect a child and he had been faced with a banshee from hell. “It’s not your fault. It’s Susie’s for being a psychotic bitch.”
David scowled. He didn’t look like he agreed with that. Then he looked at Brittany.
“Are you going to stay here, Britt?”
“Absolutely.” Brittany looked at him and pouted. “I take it you can’t?”
“Sorry, got to be in the office tomorrow. Early start, I’m afraid.”
“But you’re the boss. You can always come in late,” Brittany protested.
“Not when it’s a meeting I organized. My colleagues won’t be too impressed with it, seeing as I’m the same with them.”
Brittany looked crestfallen. Dagmar was confused. She was meant to be in a relationship with Nick, so why was she making eyes at David and acting as if they were dating? She turned to David.
“Would you mind giving me a lift back to my car? I’ve got a shift tomorrow.”
Fallen For A Biker_BWWM Romance Page 3
