by Addison Jane
“How you feeling?” his deep voice asked as he eyed me carefully.
“‘Bout ready to take her and fucking run,” I growled lowly. A small pinch on my arm drew my attention to Jayla who pursed her lips tightly.
“Bad word,” she scolded quietly.
I grinned. “Sorry squirt.”
Matthew laughed loudly, before turning and holding his arm out. “Come on, they’re waiting for us.”
“Keep your head straight,” Optimus ordered from behind me as we followed Matthew.
I snorted. “Yeah, I got this.”
Matthew held the door as we filed into a room that reminded me of an office boardroom. It was small and had a large table that could probably seat twenty or more people taking up most of the space. My body went rigid as I noticed the older couple and a young woman in a sharp looking suit sitting across the other side of the table.
Rose gave me an encouraging push on the small of my back, forcing me forward. The only sound in the room was the shuffling of chairs as we all took seats opposite the others. Their eyes were focused on me. No, not me—on Jayla. I watched as they sat a little straighter, honing in on the little girl on my lap.
My fucking little girl.
These were Jayla’s grandparents.
Rose sat to one side of me, Matthew taking the seat to my right. Jayla clasped my club cut in her hands, and I knew she was scared. I didn’t blame her. Jay took a long time to warm to new people and this whole situation was out of the ordinary. Jay may be quiet, but she was intuitive. Her eyes were wide as she stared across the room, never once letting up on her grip.
Rose’s hand found mine underneath the table and I squeezed it gently. I could feel her shaking and it took every ounce of control I had left to stay sitting in that damn seat. These people were tearing apart my fucking family. As far as Rose and I were concerned, Jayla was ours. She was our kid, and no one could take her from us. But in reality, that’s exactly what these people were trying to do. They wanted her—she was their blood, their grandchild—but I didn’t care.
We might not be her blood parents, but we loved her with every inch of our bodies and soul. Why these people had appeared now, I had no idea. They hadn’t wanted anything to do with Jay and her mom Hayley when Hayley was alive. We were in the process of adopting Jayla as our own, we had temporary custody until a judge could approve our adoption request. It was on the horizon.
Then without warning we were delivered a court summons, saying there was someone objecting to our request.
The room was quiet as Matthew pulled his files out of his briefcase and laid them out on the table in front of us. He was professional, serious and as ruthless as they came. He had to be to protect our asses constantly. But he got paid fucking well to do just that. We were lucky to have him on our side and it made me feel a little more comfortable to know that he would fight for us tooth and nail until there was nothing left to fight for.
“Thank you all for coming and meeting with us.” The young girl across the table greeted us with a warm smile. “We haven’t formally met, but my name is Amy Shaw and I represent Mary and Allen Sanders, Jayla’s grandparents.” She indicated to the couple.
I’d seen Amy during our first appearance in court. Nothing much had come of anything during that short appearance, and I’d hoped that it was the end of all this bullshit.
But I was wrong.
I didn’t answer. The only reason we’d agreed to come and bring Jayla was because Matthew told us it would look good on our part, and maybe show the court that we were willing to let Jayla’s grandparents see her if we were given full custody. I wasn’t entirely agreeable with that idea either, but anything that gave us a leg up was good.
Amy smiled at Jay, who in response curled further into my chest, hiding her face. “She’s absolutely beautiful,” she commented.
“She is,” Rose agreed tensely. So far she had been the strong one here, but I could tell now that everything was becoming more real, she was starting to feel the pressure.
“Mary and Allen have been waiting a long time for this opportunity,” Amy continued despite Jayla’s obvious attempt to escape her attention.
I snorted. “Then maybe they should have made an effort to see Hayley in the last four years.” The comment earned me a subtle glare from Matthew who had told me at our meeting a few days ago to keep my smart mouth shut.
“Our relationship with Hayley was tense at the best of times,” Mary said quietly. “She wouldn’t agree to us seeing Jayla.”
I frowned, hitting the graying woman with a dark glare. “You threw her away when she needed you the most. I don’t blame her for being apprehensive.”
Mary sighed dramatically. “We panicked. I’ll admit that. We wish we could have done things differently, but the past is the past.”
Matthew cut in before I could respond. Probably for the best because this woman deserved a piece of my fucking mind.
“What is the main purpose of this meeting?” Matthew asked, intertwining his fingers and laying them on the top of the table casually.
“They would like to get to know their granddaughter,” Amy responded, mirroring Matthew’s pose. “If custody sways in our favor, Jayla needs to know and feel comfortable with the people who will be taking her home.”
Suddenly Jayla sat up straighter and instantly began squirming in an attempt to escape my arms. I released her and she dived into Rose’s lap, wrapping her arms around her neck so tightly I was surprised Rose could still breathe. Rose closed her eyes, burying her face in Jayla’s dark black hair and holding her securely to her chest.
Chelsea leaned in, rubbing her hand up and down Jay’s back and whispering in her ear. The fire inside me was fueled and I gripped the edge of the table in my hands as I struggled to control my anger. “Why the hell does she need to be here for this?”
Matthew coughed. “Jayla has built a family here. She loves and trusts these people who took her in, even though they had no obligation to. Blizzard and Rose have a home, she has everything she could possibly need and more. Why does that not satisfy you?”
“We’ve done our research on the club,” Amy countered before looking to Rose and I. “And on her potential guardians—”
Laughter burst from my lips and I shook my head.
Amy’s eyes narrowed on me. “It was Hayley’s affiliation with the club that led to her death.”
Matthew chuckled lightly. “That’s a wild accusation you’re making Miss Shaw.”
“A wild accusation written in police statements.”
A loud bang on the table drew all our attention to Allen who seemed to be breathing heavily. “You were responsible for her death!” he accused, pointing his finger across the table.
I snapped. “Rose, take Jayla outside.”
She didn’t waste one second, pushing back on her chair with Jayla clutching to her body like a monkey. Chelsea rushed to follow her out, one hand on Rose’s back and the other rubbing her growing belly.
Optimus took the opportunity to move closer, his eyes focused on me, sending me a silent message.
Keep my shit together.
Don’t give them anything they can use.
“You can’t take her!” Mary protested, standing to her feet while Amy pulled desperately at her arm. “We came here to meet her.”
“Listen here,” I snapped. “As far as I’m concerned, Jay is mine. And I’m going to protect her from anything and everything that could hurt her. Including this bullshit. I’m not going to sit here and let you talk that way around her. She’s fucking four years old and smarter than you assholes give her credit for.”
“Mister Stanford…” Amy began.
“No, she doesn’t need this crap. She doesn’t need to be torn away once again from the only people who give a shit about her. She lost her mom. She was devastated. She’s only just started to open up again, to be herself, to be happy. Now you want to rip that away from her all over again!” I tried to breathe, my face was
burning, it was hot, and my muscles were clenched so hard that they were beginning to ache.
“Brother…” Op warned quietly, “… fucking breathe.”
I inhaled deeply through my nose.
Everything I’d said was true. Thinking of how scared and quiet that little girl used to be. How long it had taken for her to trust me, and Rose, and the entire club. We still weren’t sure what kind of life she’d had with Hayley. The doctors that we’d spoken to had said there was likely some kind of trauma that had happened, and that was why her speech wasn’t as developed as it should have been for a child her age. But we still had no idea what kind of trauma it was.
Amy watched me curiously as I attempted to calm my body and my emotions.
“My clients want to be involved in that little girl’s life,” she said finally, but even I could hear question in her voice. Her poker face was slipping, and I could tell that unlike Matthew—who was a cold hard Lawyer who could disguise his emotions toward a case well—she couldn’t hide hers.
“Supervised visits are a good way to do just that, without disrupting Jayla’s life too much,” Matthew offered.
“She is their grandchild,” Amy shot back, but the fire in her words seemed to be fading.
“She’s my child!” I growled darkly.
“I think Jayla’s father would disagree,” Allen broke in suddenly with a smirk curling in the corner of his mouth.
We all sat in stunned silence for a few moments before Matthew found his composure. “What exactly does that mean?”
Amy looked sharply at Allen who simply shrugged and leaned back in his seat before she turned to address us.
She nodded. “We believe we have found Jayla’s father.”
“First of all, you better back this shit up with a blood test,” Matthew ordered, clearly angry with this new information. “And secondly, why does he not want custody himself?”
Amy cleared her throat, another mistake her on her part, letting her emotions once again show through. She was apprehensive. “He never wanted to be a part of Jayla’s life.”
Matthew laughed loudly. “Don’t bullshit me. What is it? He has another family? Cheated on his wife? Celebrity? Let’s be honest here.”
Amy squared her shoulders and began packing away her things. “We will organize our part of the DNA test and have it ready to be presented at court next week. Make sure you do your part or I’ll have your clients for obstruction.”
Mary’s eyes widened. “I thought we would be able to spend time with Jayla today.”
“Not happening,” I said sternly.
Amy sighed. “They have temporary custody,” she informed her client. “They aren’t obligated to give you time with her unless appointed by a judge. I don’t think Mister Stanford is feeling all that generous today.”
“Over my dead fucking body,” I answered.
She nodded and Mary sent me a dark glare across the table while her husband stood smugly.
The tension in the room was dark. I didn’t like it, it made me feel sick to my stomach. I could tell that Op could feel it too, his body tensed beside me like he was expecting some kind of fight. The three of us sat silently as they filed out of the room. I waited until the door clicked into place before I turned my attention to Matthew.
“What the fuck just happened?”
He scrubbed his hand through his hair in pure frustration. “They’ve just thrown a spanner, the size of the fucking state of Texas, in the works.”
“Can they do that?” Optimus asked gruffly.
I clenched my fists, sweat building at the back of my neck.
“I’ll do what I can,” Matthew replied. “But I think it’s time you guys did some digging.”
“You feel it, too?”
He nodded, his face serious and urgent. “We can’t let her go with them.”
“Trust me, she won’t be.”
“It was that intense, huh?” Hadley asked as we pushed our way through the bustling mall. There were people everywhere, arms overloaded with shopping items, practically running from store to store.
“I can’t even explain it,” I told her on a heavy sigh. The meeting with Jayla’s grandparents had been brief but extremely stressful. “I’m really scared.”
Hadley grabbed my arm as we sidestepped another dashing mall-goer before they could plow through the center of us. “Everything will turn out okay,” she answered, squeezing my forearm to reinforce her point. “Blizzard isn’t going to let anyone get between you guys and Jay. She’s going to be fine.”
“The final court date is a week before Christmas,” I fretted. “What if—”
“Rose, stop.”
I shook my head, realizing that I was getting caught up. I needed to stop stressing myself out and focus on the time I had with Jay, not what the future might hold. I’d become so attached to that little girl. I wasn’t sure how it happened, but I suspected it was something to do with the fact that I was in love with Blizzard, and she just happened to love him too. I found myself missing her when she wasn’t around. Her smile, her laugh, the way she’d come out of her shell since Blizzard and I had come together was crazy, and I relish every single day that I get to see her blossom.
Blizzard had found us a small house not too far from the clubhouse, and we had officially moved in as of two weeks ago. It had a gorgeous backyard, a porch, two stories and three big bedrooms. In less than a year we had become this small but strong family, and suddenly, everything I’d ever imagined having for myself had come true.
When it was just my mom and me, I dreamed of large family dinners, holiday get-togethers, and strange family customs that you think are embarrassing as hell, but that you wouldn’t change for the world. And now I had not just the love of my life, but a perfect little girl to spoil, and my club family full of overbearing brothers and crazy club girls and old ladies.
I couldn’t ask for anything more.
I still kept in touch with Angelo and my Uncle Anthony and cousins, visiting occasionally, but really, this was where I was meant to be.
With Blizzard.
With Jayla.
With the club.
No one was going to take any of those things away from me.
“Fucking Christ,” Hadley exclaimed as we slipped inside a store. “I thought the Christmas rush didn’t start until like the week before Christmas!”
I frowned. “I’m sure you can’t curse the Lord while discussing his birthday celebrations.”
She turned and narrowed her eyes at me. “Are you Christian now?”
I laughed so loudly I drew the attention of anyone within a twenty feet radius of us. Hadley rolled her eyes and grabbed my arm, continuing to pull me through the crowd until we appeared in the toy section. “Wow, good work.”
She brushed her shoulder off and flipped her hair. “I have a certain set of skills.”
We scoured through toy after toy, both trying to figure out what our girls would like.
“What are you getting Leo for Christmas?” I asked curiously as we picked random things off the shelf and began to fill our arms.
She shrugged. “I’m not sure to be honest. I was thinking maybe a tattoo.”
“Because he doesn’t have enough?” I laughed.
“I like them.” She grinned. “These guys, they can get anything they want or need themselves. So I feel like presents are harder, that they have to be more… sentimental.”
I nodded along as she spoke, as though I was agreeing but I could feel my face heating.
“Rose…” she said slowly, grabbing my shoulder and turning me to face her. The few toys I had in my arms flew out and slid across the floor. I could see her curious gaze turning into something more, something cheeky, something understanding. “What did you get for Blizzard? Tell me now,” she demanded, practically stomping her foot.
I shoved her off, a nervous giggle escaping my lips. “None of your business, lady!”
“Rose…” then came the whiny voice. For som
eone so strong and tough, Hadley could sure pull off the sulky, pouty woman to a tee. “Come on, I need ideas.”
I huffed. “You said you knew what you were going to get him.”
“It’s something dirty isn’t it?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I replied, acting innocent as I attempted to pick up the toys scattered across the floor. “Remind me again why we didn’t get a cart or something.”
“There weren’t any and stop deflecting. It was dirty…” I could hear the cogs turning in her head, “…was it handcuffs?”
I snorted, but then quickly covered my mouth. I really didn’t want to get into this in the toy aisle at Walmart. Blizzard and I had discovered an interest in sex toys over the past few months. I hadn’t told anyone about it. It was our thing, something that he hadn’t done much of before, something that we found exciting. And while the sex with Blizzard was more than amazing without them, the toys added another element to our relationship. We had to trust each other, we had to learn together about what worked and what the other liked and didn’t. Some might say it was a weird thing to say that it helped to strengthen our bond, but it did.
“Not handcuffs…” Hadley continued, clearly amused. Suddenly she turned to me with her eyes wide. “Oh my gosh… it wasn’t like a butt plug or something was it? Because I’ve heard—”
There was a loud gasp behind me and I spun around to see a lady standing there with her hands over her teenage daughter’s ears. The daughter was grinning from ear to ear, obviously unfazed by Hadley’s words.
“Sorry!” Hadley called in embarrassment as the woman dragged her giggling daughter away.
Laughing, I spun around and swatted at her arm. “That’s what you get for being nosy.”
“Okay, okay. I’ll stop.” We were silent for a few minutes as we plucked different dolls and toys off the shelves, but she couldn’t help herself. “Seriously, though, have you—”
“Hadley!”
“Okay…” she stepped back holding her hands up, “… I was just curious.”
