THORN (A Brikken Motorcycle Club Saga Book 4)

by Debra Kayn

  Any negative movement from Talbot would force the knife to go deeper, severing his vocal cords. Thorn glanced at his MC brothers flanking Talbot. They let him go.

  "Move, and I won't give you a chance to walk out of here a traitor," he said.

  Talbot remained frozen to the spot, keeping his neck on the blade. He knew his choices were removed. He had to stay there, answer the questions honestly, or die.

  Unlike Brikken members who would rather die than give up any information on their club, their family, themselves, Talbot was weak.

  "Did you put your daughter in the car because you wanted to party and get your dick wet?" asked Thorn.

  Talbot squeezed his eyes closed preparing for his answer, and nodded once, impaling himself on the blade.

  Thorn's fingers tightened on the handle of the knife. He only had room for two more questions before blood would flow steadily out of Talbot.

  "Did you hide how you looked after your daughter from Jessy?" He stared at the man's closed eyes. If it was up to him, he preferred to end his life. Even then, his death would not remove the damage he'd put on his child.

  Talbot pissed his pants. Thorn refused to move the knife.

  Pressure against the blade came as Talbot lowered his chin in a nod. Thorn had given him the option to lie. He could've shaken his head and answered no, but in doing so, he understood that Thorn would've sliced him wide open.

  Ever weak, Talbot still held on to the hope that he could walk out of the garage minus his Brikken patch.

  With only one more answer needed, he said, "Have you kept that child in the car every time you had a chance to keep her over the last four years?"

  He held his breath. Until that moment, he hadn't realized how important it was to validate that he wasn't going crazy. That the nights he'd spent outside the clubhouse, straining to find the reason for the crying, weren't because he was paranoid or losing his mind.

  A guttural moan came from Talbot before he lowered his chin again and bayonetted himself on the knife. Thorn's hand shook, wanting to deepen the blade.

  He stepped closer and whispered, "If I ever see you or find out you went near that sweet child again, you will wish I ended your life tonight. You are no longer a Brikken member. If we see you or hear from you, we'll come after you."

  Stepping back, he pulled the knife out of Talbot's neck and turned his back on the motherfucker. "Escort him out on foot. He gets nothing that belonged to Brikken."

  He walked toward the door. Jett grabbed him. He ripped his arm out of his brother's grasp.

  "Not now." He went outside and walked straight to his Harley.

  At the gate, he caught sight of Chief. Meeting his dad's gaze, he revved the engine, letting him know he took care of things.

  Then, he opened the throttle and tore down the road. He'd searched for the reason behind the crying for too long to be satisfied with tonight's answers.

  He had an address.

  He had a name.

  The only thing he wanted to do was make sure that little girl never had a reason to cry again.

  Chapter Four

  Jessy's thoughts rode like a freight train through her head leaving her light-headed. She carried the lotion into Nikki's room. After two years of banging her head against a wall trying to figure out the psychological reasons behind her daughter's sudden refusal to speak, she finally received a shocking, almost unbelievable, answer last night.

  And, she couldn't deal with the truth.

  She had no idea her next step, except to make sure that Ed Talbot never got to see his daughter again.

  "All right, Nikki. Let's put the lotion on and get you dressed for the day." She sat down on the floor in the bedroom and swallowed her heartbreak at her daughter obediently dropping her doll and standing in front of her.

  At five years old, Nikki should be full of energy and have a hard time standing still. She should argue and whine about having her mom put lotion on her.

  Jessy rubbed her hands along the inside of her daughter's legs. The bumpy, irritated rash went clear up her back and on her stomach this morning.

  How many trips to the doctors had she made to find out why the rash never went away? It waned from better to worse every week. She'd changed laundry soaps, body soaps, and even bought sundresses for Nikki to wear, thinking the less constricting clothes would help. It'd been a mysterious rash since Nikki's first birthday, and all the allergy testing came back inconclusive. For the last couple of years, the doctor had suggested eczema could be the culprit to the irritating red rash and prescribed a special lotion.

  As soon as she thought the rash was going away, it'd come back. Until now, she hadn't noticed that the irritation came after Nikki spent the weekend with her dad.

  She put the cap on the tube. Thorn had informed her that Nikki had wet clothes when he found her. Not wanting to take the time to grab the soiled outfit he'd taken off her, she could only take him by his word and the proof of how her daughter smelled.

  Thorn had been telling the truth. Everything he'd done last night was to help her.

  He'd called her to come pick up her daughter.

  He'd held Nikki while she'd slept.

  He'd protected her against the other Brikken members.

  Thorn had acted more like a father figure than Ed.

  She grabbed the sundress off the bed. "Raise your arms up to the sky."

  Nikki obeyed. She slipped the soft, baby blue dress over her daughter's head and gently tugged it in place. Then, she leaned forward and kissed her nose.

  "You're such a good girl," she whispered. "Do you want me to put on a movie or are you going to play with your dolls?"

  Nikki pointed at her pile of Barbie dolls in the corner of her room. She couldn't keep from kissing her daughter again. "Okay, you play. I'm going to do another load of wash."

  Her daughter walked over and fell to her knees, picking one of the outfits to put on the doll. She stifled a sigh wanting to keep Nikki home where she could provide a quiet atmosphere for her, but as a single mom, she needed to work tomorrow. And, Nikki needed to go to school.

  A school that took sixty percent of her wages and left little else after she paid rent.

  She backed out of the room and walked into the kitchen where the stacked washer and dryer were located. They were doing okay financially, she reminded herself as she picked up the blanket Thorn had wrapped around Nikki last night and put in the washer.

  Bee's Diner had hired her at fifteen years old when she was five months pregnant, kicked out of her house, and scared to tell Ed she was pregnant. Bee and her husband, Charlie, helped her get into the apartment with the help of Section 8 housing. They stuck by her when she broke up with Ed and consoled her when she'd given birth by herself because she had no one to help her.

  She poured in a cupful of laundry soap and started the washer. Most importantly, Bee and Charlie treated Nikki as if they were her real grandparents. They even gave her time off for Nikki's many doctor appointments. While she wished for a better job with more money, she couldn't afford to quit with those benefits.

  She closed the washer lid and pushed the button. The pipes creaked at the gush of water filling the washer tub.

  A knock interrupted her chore. She glanced in the bedroom off the open living space and hurried to the door. If Ed thought he was going to come over and try and explain last night, he was crazy.

  She peeked out of the peephole in the door and found the biker from last night. Stepping out of view, even though he wouldn't be able to see her through the hole, she inhaled deeply. The bikers that had followed her home must've given him her address.

  Before he could knock again and draw Nikki's attention, she opened the door. Holding on to the handle, she kept her foot turned in case she needed to slam and lock the door. Not often would a man's height and size intimidate her because it was a rare thing to meet a man that tall and that wide.

  "Jessy," said Thorn.

  She shivered. His deep, gravely voice
soothed her which was the opposite effect it should've had.

  "Do you have a few minutes?" He gazed at her.

  She nodded, stepping back. He'd taken care of her baby when Nikki needed someone. She owed him.

  "Oh, let me move the laundry." She hurried around him and picked up the pile of clothes on the chair.

  In her rush, she spilled her socks and underwear. Seeing the flash of black lace, she scooped up the thong and dumped everything in the plastic basket she used to store her clothes in. Thank God, she'd folded the sheet and blanket she used to sleep on the couch earlier. The apartment only had one bedroom, and Nikki deserved a room of her own.

  She sat down on the edge of the couch. "I want to thank you for taking care of Nikki last night. When you called, I was scared, and I'm sure I wasn't the easiest or most grateful person to deal with."

  Thorn leaned forward, braced his elbows on his knees, and clasped his broad hands together. "It was expected. You're a mom. That's how you're supposed to react."

  She caught her bottom lip between her teeth. Mothers were supposed to be mature, calm, and responsible. She felt like a failure.

  "I wanted to swing by and let you know Ed Talbot has been kicked out of Brikken Motorcycle Club." He tilted his head, softening his words.

  She hid her surprise. From what Ed had told her, he took pride in belonging to Brikken, even when she questioned his involvement with a gang. She even made sure that he never took Nikki around the bikers because the thought frightened her. She shook her head, snapping out of the past and accepting that Ed had lied.

  "The consequences of him having his patch removed means he's probably halfway across the state, heading somewhere away from where any of the Brikken members would run into him." He rubbed his hands together. "I understand that this could put a hardship on you when it comes to child support." Thorn looked around the small room. "The club would like to make sure that your daughter doesn't go without."

  "Ed never paid child support." She paused, confused over why Thorn would believe the biker club would be responsible for Ed's child. "Are you saying that Ed won't be coming back to Tacoma?"

  He nodded.

  She stood, unable to sit still. Her desire to make sure Nikki had a father in her life battled with her hope that Thorn was telling the truth. After last night, she wanted nothing to do with Ed. Her daughter's wellbeing came first. That's all she ever wanted in her life and every time she thought she'd turned a corner, another barrier appeared.

  Thorn straightened. "Brikken isn't in the habit of breaking up families, but I think after I tell you what I found out last night, you can look at your situation differently."

  His words shocked her. She turned the numerous string bracelets on her wrist and whispered, "What can be worse than finding out the father of my child left her in a car alone for hours while he was doing something else than watching over her?"

  "Finding out that he had a habit of leaving her in the car for the last four years," he said, not softening his accusation.

  "Please, keep your voice down." Her muscles tensed and she stepped over and peeked inside the bedroom.

  The last thing she wanted was Nikki to overhear the conversation and worry that any of this was her fault. She returned to Thorn.

  "Do you know that for sure?" Her heart raced.

  What he claimed was unimaginable. Ed always brought Nikki back to the apartment after his weekend with her in a clean outfit. Her hair brushed. Her face clean. Sometimes, he even included a food treat that he claimed Nikki liked eating—knowing how picky she was about food.

  "Her crying." Thorn hesitated, the lines at the corners of his dark, brown eyes deepened. "I was the only one who could hear her. I know that sounds fucked up with how many people are at Brikken." He tilted his head, frowning. "The sound wasn't there all the time. Not even every week, but it happened often enough I thought I was hearing things."

  Her legs trembled. She sat down. "Did you see her?"

  He held her gaze. "Not until last night."

  "Then, you don't know—"

  "I know," he said quietly.

  The low level of his voice. His haunted gaze. The barely contained regret convinced her of the truth. In a split second, everything that'd happened to her daughter in five short years flashed in her head, aligning times to when Ed had Nikki, and she came back with a rash. To when Ed had Nikki, and she came back afraid to leave her side. To when Ed had Nikki, and she came back more obedient than a child her age should be.

  To when Ed had Nikki, and she came back as a silent child without the words that she used to freely speak.

  All the strength she'd carried through the years of frustration, anguish, heartbreak leaked out of her. She covered her mouth, afraid of making any noise and alerting Nikki to her upset.

  Thorn scooted to the edge of the chair and leaned closer. "What can I do?"

  She shook her head. It was all too much.

  A stranger sat in her living room giving her the answers to the questions that kept her up at night, worried about her daughter, and he never asked her if she was okay after he passed her the information. He understood she wasn't okay.

  Thorn was only interested in knowing what he could do to take her pain away.

  His gaze left her. She muffled her panting, afraid if he left, she'd completely lose it and then who would be here for Nikki?

  He looked around the room, stood, and walked over to the sink. He returned to her side and handed her a glass of water. She grabbed the drink as if it would provide the strength she needed.

  "I need to check on her." She cleared her throat and couldn't make herself stand from the couch. Helpless, she looked up at him. "What am I supposed to do?"

  She needed help. Someone to guide her in the right direction. Should she contact a lawyer and make sure Ed could never get visits with her daughter again? She'd need to save money unless the attorney would take payments.

  "Will Nikki be okay if I stick my head in the room and make sure she's not paying attention to what's going on out here?" he asked.

  She trusted him. No man would console a crying child, take care that she got out of wet clothes, and see to her comfort without having an empathetic personality. Besides, he would be in her view the five steps it took to cross the room. "I don't think you'll frighten her."

  He left her side. She watched him move over to the bedroom. The black leather Brikken vest taut across his back. How could she allow someone like him around her baby?

  How could she not when he'd done more to help Nikki than anyone?

  Without him looking, she set her glass on the floor and rubbed her face. There were steps she'd need to take. Nikki would need to go back to the therapist. Maybe with the new information on what traumatic event could've caused her to be non-communicative, there would be new drills they could try to urge Nikki to talk.

  Or, maybe she should call an attorney first. She had to stop Ed from having any contact with Nikki.

  She inhaled deeply, her pulse racing. What was her schedule tomorrow? Nikki went to school from eight-twenty in the morning until two-oh-five in the afternoon. She worked the morning shift at the diner. If she picked up Nikki from school, they could get one errand done before she'd need to come home and make dinner.

  Thorn returned and sat across from her in the chair. She could see the sharp angles of his cheeks above his beard today with his hair pulled back in a low ponytail. He was older than she'd originally thought. The sun damage, probably from hours of riding his motorcycle, added wrinkles to his forehead and the corners of his eyes.

  She lowered her gaze, doubting her estimate of fifty years old because he remained in solid shape with defining muscles along his arms. His hands, while broad and strong, had held her small daughter with care.

  "Nikki doesn't talk," she blurted. "There's no logical reason why she stopped two years ago. Do you think...?" She shot out of the chair and pressed her fingers to her temples. "Do you know what is going through my head?" />
  Thorn remained silent, but he listened, taking in all the information she provided. And, she talked, because she needed someone to tell her what to do.

  She was only twenty-one years old and had already faced so many obstacles in her life. No one showed her how to find a specialist for her daughter, but she'd done it. No one told her what to do when it was time for Nikki to start school and she refused to talk, but she'd found an educational atmosphere that would work around her disabilities.

  "Is it even possible that every time Ed took Nikki for the weekend, he was keeping her shut in a car by herself?" she said. "How is that even possible without me knowing?"

  "I heard her for at least four years, sweetheart," he said quietly.

  She stilled. "I need to make sure Ed has no contact with her. It's going to take some time until I can work extra hours to afford—"

  "He's gone." Thorn stood. "I can guarantee Talbot won't make contact with you or Nikki, so slow down. Take a deep breath. You can take the time to take care of yourself, for your daughter."

  "You're sure he won't come around wanting to see her?"

  "Yes." He gripped her upper arms, forcing her to lift her gaze to him. "To make sure, I'm going to put a couple Brikken members on you for a couple of weeks. They'll be around outside keeping an eye on things to make sure Talbot doesn't try and make contact. Take that time to plan how you're going to move forward."

  She latched on to his offer because she needed time. She needed help. She needed to make sure the new information she had on Ed's abuse of Nikki was given to her physician and therapist. She needed to find new ways to help her daughter talk again.

  Suddenly, hope filled her, pushing the old goal of keeping Ed in Nikki's life to give her that father-daughter relationship she deserved away. She focused on the only important thing at the moment.

  Her daughter and getting help, so that Nikki would talk again.

  From the other room, Nikki cried out. Thorn stiffened, jerking his gaze to the other side of the room.