by Addison Jane
Her body shook, her teeth chattering as she forced a very slow nod, telling me she’d heard me and she understood. I took her hand and turned my back, slowly walked around the truck and into view. Meyah stayed behind me, her clammy hand clutched in mine and her forehead pressed against my back.
Kev met us in front of Leo’s truck, his hands still in the air.
“You people really d-do care about your k-kids, huh?” Allen stammered. I knew he was trying to taunt us, but the way his voice shook showed me more. It showed me he was a desperate man.
“Why are you doing this?” I pleaded, strategically stepping closer to Kev so that our bodies were touching.
Allen shuddered and his finger twitched against the trigger causing my heart to stop momentarily until he had himself back under control. “Jayla was meant to bring me m-money. After we p-proved she was Edward’s, she would have got part of t-the inheritance he left. Over o-one hundred thousand dollars.”
With part of my body hidden by Kev, I slowly lifted my arm, sliding it up underneath his T-shirt to his lower back where I could feel the leather of his holster.
“Man,” Kev sighed, trying to distract the crazy man. “What do you need the money for? Maybe we can help?”
“It’s Edward’s fault,” Allen snapped, making me jump for a second. I squeezed Meyah’s hand reassuringly when she whimpered. “He started me gambling and let m-me get into a debt he k-knew I couldn’t pay back. T-They won’t leave me alone now. I n-need to pay it.”
His voice was almost filled with heartache. Nevertheless this was the same man who had blackmailed Edward Dean even after knowing he had impregnated his fifteen-year-old daughter. He should have gone straight to the cops, but instead, he booted Hayley out and took advantage of her situation.
As if he realized what was going on, his body straightened and he focused in on me. “Hand over the girl b-behind you.”
Meyah clutched my shirt.
“She has nothing to do with this,” I protested, pushing my shoulders back as my fingers continued to unclip Kev’s gun.
“She has now. I bet you lot would pay a shit load to get her back?” A dark smirk played at the corner of his mouth. “Now g-give her here.”
With the gun finally secured in my palm, all I needed was a good shot.
“You’re not taking her,” I told him, my voice unwavering.
He lifted his top lip, sneering at me, hate and desperation flowing off him in waves. “Give her to me, bitch.”
The cold metal chilled the palm of my hand as I waited for the perfect moment.
“You’ll have to go through me first.” I took pleasure in the way his eyes widened, obviously surprised. Good. He should be wary. He should be nervous. He should be scared. He underestimated what I would do to protect her, and if that meant taking his life, I’d do it and dance on his grave afterward.
Kev stepped in, feeling the tension rising as I refused to back down or cower to this man.
“Hey man, come on. How much money do you need? There’s no need to take her. We just don’t want anyone to get hurt. I can get you the money,” Kev offered, taking a step forward and drawing Allen’s attention.
I took a deep breath. It was now or never. His attention wasn’t on me, which would give me the chance to draw and shoot. I was quick, and a damn fucking good shot, but no matter how fast I was, he could still have time to pull that trigger as he went down, and who knew where those bullets would fly.
“Meyah,” I inhaled, speaking softly to the young girl who should have never been put in this position. I wasn’t about to let anything happen to her. “Run.”
Thank God, she didn’t waste a second, turning her body, her shoes slipping on the gravel behind me as she dug her toes in and pushed off. I pulled my hand from behind Kev’s back and on a deep exhale I pulled the trigger, over and over and over.
By the time Allen realized what was going on, my bullets were already hitting their target, throwing him backward with each jolt to his body. The gun slipped from his fingers, as he stumbled, no longer able to find the strength to squeeze the trigger. Kev and I both watched on as he fell to the ground, blood beginning to seep from the holes in his chest and stomach.
My heart started to race, my breathing becoming erratic.
I was struggling to pull in a breath, the pressure on my chest too much to handle.
Then everything went black.
Leaving my security team to clean up the aftermath, the brothers and I were on our bikes and heading to the clubhouse within seconds of me reading Kev’s text.
There was no time to even call him back.
I knew we just needed to get there and get there fast.
As I pulled into the compound, my brothers at my back, I took in the scene. There was a body on the ground close to my truck, it wasn’t moving and the blood that stained the ground around him was obvious. Hadley was sitting against the tire of the truck, holding her head in her hands as Kev crouched next to her. I pulled up my bike, kicking out the stand and throwing my body off as I rushed to her side.
“Baby,” I whispered, skidding to my knees in front of her and pulled her hands into mine as I fought to get her hazy eyes to concentrate on me.
“She passed out,” Kev told me, pushing to his feet. “Other than that, we’re okay.”
“You need to go find Meyah,” Hadley hummed. “Told her to run and hide.”
I flicked my head to where my brothers crowded behind me, my eyes searched until I found Ham, the only other person I knew would find Meyah and keep her calm while I dealt with my woman. “Ham, get Meyah, she’s hiding in the clubhouse somewhere,” I snapped.
He didn’t waste a second, rushing to the doorway, his voice calling out desperately for my niece.
“Leo, I’m okay. Go to Meyah,” Hadley protested as I took her hand and pulled her to her feet.
I spotted Blizzard out of the corner of my eye, pulling what looked like a body from the bushes next to the open gates. “It’s Neil!” he called out and more of my brothers rushed to help him. “He’s breathing, a gash to the head.”
“Where are the girls and the kids?” Op asked, clear tension in his features.
“Chelsea and Rose took the girls to Blizzard’s place,” Kev answered.
“Good. Camo, get this body inside before someone shows up,” Optimus ordered as he stomped toward us. “Let’s get inside and you two can tell us what the fuck happened.”
I hefted Hadley into my arms, carrying her bridal style into the clubhouse and laying her down on the nearest sofa.
“I’m fine, just a little dizzy,” she told me, patting my hand in comfort.
Soft sobs drew our attention and we both looked over to see Ham carrying Meyah down the stairs, her legs and arms wrapped around him like a monkey as he whispered softly in her ear.
“Meyah.” Her body went stiff at the sound of my voice and she fought to get loose. When Ham finally placed her on her feet, my brothers stepped away as she ran at me, throwing her body against mine and sobbing into my chest.
“It’s all right, girl. Nothing’s going to hurt you,” I soothed softly, holding her tightly and rubbing a hand up and down her back.
Kev started to explain what went down, Allen showing up waving a gun around and demanding he needed money to pay his debts. Then how Hadley had stood in front of Meyah and refused to let him take her while she slipped Kev’s gun from his back.
Meyah shook in my arms and anger filled my veins.
“Mother-fucker!” Blizzard cursed, throwing his fist at the wall in rage. “I should have put this asshole down. I knew he was dirty.”
Optimus placed a hand on his shoulder as he heaved, trying to control his breath.
His eyes met mine. “I’m sorry, brother. This should have never been put on Hadley or Meyah.”
“Blizzard, it’s fine,” Hadley said, forcing herself into a sitting position. “It’s not your fault.”
He didn’t reply, his eyes continuing to burn
into mine, full of apologies and regret.
“What’s done is done,” I answered simply, no malice toward my brother.
Hadley was right, this wasn’t his fault. Desperation makes men do crazy things, and Allen clearly was in a place that he knew he couldn’t escape. He took a risk, and it ended his life. No one was hurt, thankfully.
But Meyah was distraught, clearly frightened by her experience and I didn’t blame her.
She was just a kid.
If anyone needed to apologize it was me, for not protecting her from a world she obviously was not ready for. I looked over at Ham and I knew he could see it too. He wanted to hold her, protect her, but this life we lived, it was serious. Sometimes bad shit happened. Shit that none of us had any control over.
It took strong women to love men who lived in the world that we did. And I knew in that moment, Meyah just wasn’t there.
Not yet.
“I’m going to ring Deacon and let him know what happened,” Optimus said, pulling his phone from his pocket. “Blizzard, ring your woman and tell her not to bring the girls back until we’re done. The police are gonna be here asking questions. Eagle get me the security tapes. They’re gonna wanna see them to prove our story.”
My brothers rushed off to their duties.
I sat down next to Hadley, placing Meyah between us. We both wrapped our arms around her, surrounding her with the safety net she desperately needed right now.
After a few tense hours with the police interviewing Hadley and Meyah and Kev, they finally left, Deacon reassuring us that from what he could see, Hadley acted in self-defense.
With Carly blowing up my phone, I knew it was finally time to take Meyah home. She argued, saying that she wanted to stay with us. I knew she was scared, but I reassured her that there was nothing else that could hurt her and that if it made her feel safe, I’d station a man outside her house during the night until she felt better.
As Op waited out front, watching the cop cars pull away, Hadley and I led Meyah outside to the truck to take her home. Before we could climb inside, there was a squeal of car tires, which had both Optimus and I reaching for our weapons.
When Carly jumped out of the car and begun stomping toward us, I knew this was bad.
“Mom!” Meyah yelled, running over to her.
Carly wrapped her up in her arms, tears shining in her eyes as she glared at me over Meyah’s head. “It’s okay, baby. We can go home now,” Carly told her, patting her hair softly and placing a kiss on her forehead. “Go get in the car.”
“Mom, please,” Meyah pleaded, turning to look at me with sad eyes, knowing that this wouldn’t be good.
“Get in the car, Meyah,” Carly ordered sternly, holding her daughter’s face in her hands. “Please.”
Meyah swallowed the lump in her throat. “Bye Uncle Leo.”
“Bye girl. You remember what I told you.”
She nodded before jogging out to the road and climbing into the front seat of Carly’s minivan. Op moved closer to us, standing with me, offering me his strength.
Carly stormed closer. “How could you let this happen?”
At this stage I wasn’t even sure how she found out or what exactly it was that she had heard. But obviously, the news had already spread.
Tears sat at the brim of her eyes, threatening to fall at any moment. “You’re meant to look out for her! She won’t be coming back here, ever.”
“Carly, listen—”
“No! This stupid club and everything it stands for, you bring trouble and death, and I won’t have my daughter anywhere near this environment. If I had it my way, Macy wouldn’t be here either,” she screamed, her face going red in anger.
“This wasn’t anything to do with the club,” I snapped, the need to protect my family and stand up for the people I cared about was stronger than anything else. “This was a crazy fucking asshole with gambling issues. When the court saw through his bullshit and refused to give him custody of Jayla, he took it to the extreme. This was not an attack on the club.”
She scoffed at my words before turning her attention to Hadley who stood at my side, holding my hand in support. “You will never be Kim. She would have never let this happen! I trusted you with my daughter—”
“She stood in front of your daughter, ready to take a fucking bullet for her if she needed to,” Optimus cut in, agitation clearly evident in his voice. “Before you come in here, running your damn mouth and making accusations, you need to think. We all loved Kim, any fucking one of us would have traded places with her if we could have if it meant that you and Leo and Macy could have kept her in your lives. But she’s gone, and we all live with that fucking pain. Right here is a young woman, not asking for anything. Not asking to take her memory away, but to join in our memories of her and support her man and his daughter in remembering her, and be willing to take a fucking bullet for Meyah because of how much she means to Leo. Maybe you need to start taking a look at yourself and open your eyes to see that you should be happy that he’s found someone like her.”
I let Optimus say his piece. It wasn’t often that he got involved in family matters, but when it came to standing up for the club and for its members and women, he was the first man to have your back.
As much as I understood Carly’s frustration and knew that she had every right to be angry at me for promising to look after Meyah, and then finding her in a situation like this, Op was right.
Carly had been through a lot, but losing her sister was the thing that almost broke her. Her kids and Macy keep her going.
“Hadley is going to be in my life forever,” I told her simply as I watched tears drip down her usually strong face. I slowly walked forward, seeing the pain in her eyes, seeing her mind clicking over, wondering what she would do if she’d lost Meyah. “She would do anything for these kids. She loves Macy and Meyah and Denver. You have to realize that the club isn’t the enemy, and if you would let us in, we could be there for you.”
She shook her head, squeezing her eyes shut as a sob burst from her lips. I lurched forward, pulling her into my arms.
At first, she fought me, but her body finally let go and she crumbled, fisting my club cut in her hands as she tried to stay standing. “I miss her.”
My soul ached, desperate to get out of my body and wrap itself around her in a protective cocoon. I’d seen Carly at her weakest and at her strongest, but I’d never seen her broken.
I heard footsteps behind me disappear inside the clubhouse and I knew my president and my woman were giving us this moment. A moment we both knew, mourning for a woman we both loved more than the earth itself. No matter how much she fought me, I wouldn’t let her go through this life alone.
After Carly and Meyah had left, I watched Ham pull out of the compound behind them. Even though it was clear that Meyah wasn’t ready to deal with club life, he was still determined to watch over her and that gave me some comfort.
Opening the door to my bedroom, I found my woman sitting on our bed, waiting patiently for me.
“I’m sorry,” she gulped, twisting the blanket beneath her in her hands.
I raised my brow at her as I pushed the door behind me closed and began to remove my cut, hanging it on the back of the door. “Why?”
She sighed. “I really fought to have Meyah around more. With me helping her study and the problems she was having at school, I thought it would be good to see that she had the club at her back. This place, it gives people strength… reminds them that they aren’t alone.”
My heart soared.
My woman understood.
“And that’s exactly what she needed,” I agreed. “I’ve seen that girl grow in so many ways since she’s been coming around the club. Her confidence is stronger. Her smile is brighter and I know Carly see’s that, too. I just wish we’d seen it all sooner.”
Hadley had a way about her. A sweetness that was beautiful and also crippling. While she loved fierce, she also fell hard. She took everything to heart,
she let it eat away at her and fill her with guilt over things she could never change. Sometimes I was afraid she didn’t see what real strength lay inside her.
Her confidence to stand up for herself and what she believed in was obvious, and she did it with pride. She made herself prepared, ready to fight and protect the people she cared about like a lioness protecting her cubs. However, when it came to failure, when people got hurt, it dragged her underneath and she had to fight her way back to the surface to breathe.
But that’s where I came in.
I stood at the end of the bed and crossed my arms across my chest, making sure I had her full attention before I spoke. “I fucking love you.” The small smile that tugged at the corner of her mouth encouraged me to continue, “You’re passionate, sweet, and ferocious. You give a shit about not just me, but my daughter, my brothers and our families. I know you take things to heart, and they make you feel like you failed or that you should have controlled the situation better. But I’m telling you now, you’re wrong.”
She chewed on her lip, it was almost amusing to see her so nervous.
“I’ve learned over the last few months that there’s more to you. Your quirks, your insecurities, your ability to make people smile and unwavering loyalty to the people you love. Every day my love for you grows, and I’m the kind of man who doesn’t wait when he sees something he wants.” My voice was scratchy and as I reached into my pocket, I looked over at the photo of Kim that sat proudly on Macy’s nightstand.
I knew in my heart that this was what she would want for me.
Happiness.
A gasp left Hadley’s lips and her hand flew up to cover her mouth.
I smirked. “This was meant to be your Christmas present, but I can’t wait for that shit any longer. I’ll get you something else.” With a deep breath, I kneeled down on the floor. Hadley scurried forward to the edge of the bed, tears shining in her eyes but a beautiful bright smile on her face. “I fucking love you, Hadley. Will you marry me?”
