by A. M. Myers
“Actually,” Noah whispers. “That’s the thing. It wasn’t a legal adoption but as my girl was saying, we don’t want to spread anymore pain around, which is why we’d appreciate if you’d hear us out.”
“What do you mean it wasn’t a legal adoption?’ Kelly asks, studying us and I suck in a breath as I raise the teacup to my lips and take a sip.
“That’s kind of a long story.”
She nods. “We have time.”
“The day after I discovered I was pregnant, I was kidnapped.”
Kelly gasps and TJ’s eyes widen.
“I was held hostage for a year where I gave birth to Tho… Nicholas. The man holding me captive took him away to get checked by a doctor and when he came back, he told me he had died.”
“Oh, God,” Kelly whispers, tears welling up in her eyes.
“I think you all know the rest of the story.”
“How did you get away?” TJ asks, still looking skeptical as he studies us.
“A man who was like my father found me and freed me.”
Kelly shakes her head as she stares at the table and I bite my bottom lip as I peek up at Noah. I’m sure this has got to be hard to hear and her mind must be spinning. When I turn back to her, she’s staring at Noah.
“He looks just like you,” she whispers and I grab his hand, giving it a squeeze as tears form in my eyes. She turns to me. “What is it that you want?”
“I grew up in foster care, myself, so I know how lucky he is that y’all found him and gave him a loving home. I don’t want to take him away from the only family he’s ever known but I very much would like to know my son,” I plead, gripping Noah’s hand tighter as I fight back tears. They share a look and my stomach heaves.
“Look,” Kelly sighs. “This is all a lot to take in. Could you maybe give us a minute to talk?”
We both nod and they stand before leaving us alone in the kitchen. I turn to Noah.
“What do you think?”
He shakes his head. “I don’t know but whatever happens, we’ll figure something out, okay?”
“Okay,” I whisper and he leans in, pressing a kiss to my forehead. I lay my head on his shoulder and count the minutes as my heart thumps in my chest. Time seems to slow to a crawl and when they finally walk back into the kitchen and sit at the table, I feel like I can’t breathe. They have the power to completely ruin me. Kelly sighs, folding her hands in front of her.
“Uh, let me just start off by saying that we’ve been open and honest with Nicholas about the fact that he was adopted but this is all a lot to take in and the fact of the matter is that we don’t know y’all, which makes it hard to decide if this is a risk we should take when it comes to our son.”
Noah’s body tenses next to me and I give his hand a squeeze as TJ’s eyes narrow on him.
“That being said, we’d like to ask you guys to give us a little time to think this over and if we decide it’s okay, we’ll leave it up to Nicholas to decide when he would like to meet you guys.”
Noah’s jaw tenses. “I see and we’re just suppose to wait indefinitely? We came to you because we hope to work with you but we have no qualms about taking this to a courtroom if we have to. You two are the ones with no rights here.”
“Noah,” I hiss, my heart pounding and my stomach churning. They are standing between us and our son right now so threatening them isn’t his brightest idea. TJ holds his hand up.
“We understand that this was not your choice but we’ve been the ones taking care of him for the past seven years and I think that will count for something.”
Noah’s eyes get that determined glint in them and my heart feels like it’s going to burst. “Is that how it’s going to be then?”
TJ nods.
Shit.
This is not going as planned… at all.
Both men stand, looking like they are ready to face off and I jump up, holding my hands out between them.
“Wait, please. If we do this, if we go down this road then Nicholas is the one that’s going to get hurt.”
“She’s right,” Kelly says, standing up with the rest of us as she turns to me. “Please give us two weeks to decide and we’ll let you know.”
I nod. “I guess I can live with that.”
The boys continue to glare at each other as Kelly and I exchange numbers. She promises to contact us before the two weeks are up and Noah threatens her with a lawsuit if we don’t hear from them by then before we manage to make it out of the door. As soon as we’re outside, TJ slams the door in our face and I spin on my toes, growling as I march down the front step and cross the street to the truck.
“Kady,” Noah calls, jogging to catch up with me and when he reaches me, I shove him.
“Why couldn’t you just be nice?”
He sighs and wraps his arms around me as I continue trying to fight him but without warning, all the fight leaves my body and I start to cry, gripping his t-shirt.
“It’s going to be okay, baby,” he whispers to me and I nod my head, hoping against hope that he’s right.
Chapter Twenty
Noah
“I really shouldn’t leave you,” I mutter as I turn to look at her as she lies in bed next to me in a tight little tank top that draws my gaze down to her tits. When I glance back up at her face, she rolls her eyes.
“Noah, the club rigged this place up with a shit-ton of security and you’re having two of them come babysit me today. I’ll be perfectly fine.”
I cross my arms over my chest and stare up at the ceiling as I grumble. Something about leaving her on her own to go on a run with the club doesn’t sit right with me but she won’t listen. She thinks it’ll be good for me to get back into club life now that she’s actually convinced they have changed but there is just this gnawing sensation in my gut that I’m having trouble ignoring. We haven’t heard from Biche since his guys showed up here at the cabin and the lack of contact is driving me out of my mind. If he were making moves or coming at us, I could face him head-on but when he’s cowering in the shadows like the rat he is, I can’t see his attack coming. And if he manages to get his hands on her again…
Pushing the thought away, I roll over and hook my arm over her belly as I lean in and nip at her skin. “Maybe I just can’t stand to be away from you.”
“You expect me to buy that line?” she asks, laughing and I scowl.
“What? It’s the truth.”
Laughing again, she reaches up and smooths her thumb down the middle of my forehead. “Tell that to your worry lines.”
“You saying I have wrinkles?”
“I don’t know,” she muses, cocking her head to the side as she studies me. “You are going to be thirty in a couple years.”
“Shut the fuck up,” I growl and she throws her head back, laughing. I’m not necessarily concerned with how old I am but when she reminds me that I’m almost thirty fucking years old, I can’t help but think of all the years I wasted behind bars. I glare at her. “If I didn’t have to go soon, I’d strip you out of these clothes and make you pay for that.”
She smiles. “I suppose you’d better hurry back, then.”
“You gonna be naked when I do?”
“How would that work?” she asks. “Are you suggesting I strip down to nothing in front of Fuzz and Moose?”
The image of her naked in front of them pops into my mind and I clench my jaw as my stomach tenses. “Absolutely not.”
“That’s what I thought.” She laughs before dragging her fingers over the stubble on my jaw as she bites her bottom lip. “After they leave, though…”
I hum, grinning as I roll on top of her and hook her leg over my hip. I lean in to steal a kiss when the roar of bikes fill the air and a moment later, the motion sensor goes off, blaring through the cabin and ruining my fucking day. I scowl. Throwing her head back, she laughs and the sound is music to my ears. She’s been so damn sad since we met up with Kelly and TJ and I’ll do just about anything to make her laugh
these days - even at my own expense.
The roar of the bikes cuts off and I sigh as I release her and roll to the side of the bed, pouting like a fucking baby. She comes up behind me on her knees, wrapping her arms around me as she presses a kiss to my neck. My eyes close and I drop my head back as I groan, loving the feel of her lips on my skin.
“Don’t tease me when you know I have to leave, woman.”
She giggles in my ear. “I’m not teasing. It’s just an appetizer.”
“Appetizer, my ass,” I gripe, standing up and spinning around before pushing her to her back on the bed, flashing her a grin as I lean in and steal another kiss. Her soft moan is tempting as hell and just as I lean in for more, one of the guys knocks on the door. Jack goes crazy, scrambling to his feet and barking as he runs out of the room and I sigh as I pull away, shaking my head. “Hey, I have an idea. Why don’t you get all dressed up and when I get back, you let me take you out and show you off?”
“Hmm,” she hums, zoning out a little as she thinks it over. “Okay.”
“That easy, huh?”
Her eyes narrow but she’s fighting back a smile. “Just this once. Now, get going.”
I reluctantly climb off her and storm out into the living room as I order Jack to his bed. He side-eyes me as he snorts and does as he’s told, sitting in his bed by the fireplace as I shake my head. Jack and I have a tumultuous relationship - some days he’s my best damn friend and other days he’s one misunderstanding away from ripping my throat out. It’s annoying as hell but he adores Kady and would defend her with his life so I can’t hate the pup too much.
“Come on in,” I say to Moose and Fuzz as I open the door and they nod before stepping inside. The small cabin seems to shrink with the two of them in here.
“Where’s Kady?” Moose asks.
“Right here.” She walks out of the bedroom in a tank top and a tiny pair of shorts and I glare at her. Would it have killed her to put some damn clothes on? She doesn’t need to be showing off those gorgeous legs of hers. I glance up as Moose’s gaze falls to said legs and I snap in front of his face.
“Eyes up here, asshole.”
He nods. “Sorry, brother.”
“I’m not sure how long I’ll be but I’ll have my phone with me and the motion sensors and cameras are up and running. If y’all get into trouble, there’s more guns in the bedroom closet.”
Kady rolls her eyes and crosses her arms over her chest as she leans against the wall. “Noah, I’m not a child. We’ll be fine.”
“We’ll take care of her,” Fuzz assures me and I look between them before sucking in a breath and nodding. I swipe my bike keys off the counter and cross the room, pulling Kady into my arms. She brushes her thumb over my cheek and smiles up at me.
“I’ll be fine. Stop worrying.”
I scowl. “I’m not worrying.”
“Yes, you are but like I’ve said three times now, I’ll be fine. Go. I love you.”
“I love you, too,” I tell her before leaning in and claiming her lips. She hums as she grips my t-shirt and arches into me, her body craving me even though she’s telling me to go. Pulling away, I flash her a grin and a wink before releasing her and walking out of the cabin.
Storm, Blaze, and Smith are waiting at the end of the driveway on their bikes while Chance waves from behind the wheel of his truck and I put the kickstand back before walking my bike down to them. They all look grim as fuck and I scowl as I study each of them.
“All right, what’s the deal with this one?” I ask. When I was first released, Blaze explained the work the club does now helping those who can’t help themselves and I thought it sounded cool but this seems like a little much.
“If I tell you,” Blaze prompts, sighing, “you have to remain one hundred percent in control. This is about the girl we’re helping, not you. Are we clear?”
I nod. “Yeah.”
“Today, we’re helping a girl named Sammy. A friend of hers first came to us a couple years ago when Storm first met Ali but when we went to pull her out, she disappeared and we lost contact with her. We searched for a while but came up empty every time and the friend had no idea where she’d gone.”
“When did she get back in contact?”
“Last week,” Chance answers from the open window of the truck. “Apparently, her man trusts her more now and he has allowed her a little bit of freedom. She managed to get her hands on a cell phone and called us immediately. He’s keeping her in an apartment on the other side of town and we only have a short window to get her out of there.”
I nod, studying their cautious expression. What the hell am I missing here? “And how is all of this going to make me out of control?”
“Because,” Blaze mutters. “The man we’re saving her from is Biche.”
I take a step back as my eyes widen. “What?”
“She is Biche’s girl,” Storm says, enforcing the words and I shake my head.
Jesus Christ.
This is a cluster fuck.
“Well, technically, knowing what we know now about what happened to Kady,” Chance muses, staring up at the cabin. “Maybe she’s not his girl voluntarily.”
“Do any of you know how long they’ve been together?” I ask, my mind spinning as I wonder if the math works out correctly. Did he really just go and take a new girl as soon as he lost Kady? They all shake their heads, each one looking around the group like someone might have an answer to my question but when no one steps forward, I nod and swing my leg over my bike. “We’d better get going then. If she’s been through anything like Kady has, we shouldn’t make her stay there another minute.”
“You heard him,” Blaze calls and everyone nods as they start their bikes. Storm and Blaze ride out in front with Chance following behind them in the truck as Smith and I bring up the rear. We pull away from the cabin and start off toward the other side of town. My mind races as we pull onto the interstate, wondering what the hell we’re going to find when we reach Sammy. Has she really been a prisoner like Kady was? And if so, for how long? More than anything though, I’m so fucking thankful that Bobby got Kady out when he did. I can’t imagine how much more pain she would have endured if she’d been captive this whole time. It’s too bad he’s not around anymore so I could thank him personally. That kind of debt, I’ll owe him for the rest of my life with no way to make us even.
We drive for ten minutes before getting off the interstate and taking a few back roads to a new apartment building on the nice side of town. I arch a brow as I pull behind the truck and park my bike. I’ve seen the house Biche kept Kady in and his captives sure have gotten an upgrade since she escaped but maybe there’s a reason for that, too.
“This place have security?” I ask Blaze as I climb off my bike and walk over to the truck. He glances up at the building.
“Not as far as we can tell.”
I shake my head. “Why would he just leave her here?”
“That’s a good question but it’ll have to wait for her,” he answers. “Storm and Smith, you’re with me. Chance, keep the truck running, just in case and, Henn, wait here with Chance.”
I nod, leaning against the truck as the three of them start up the sidewalk to the front door of the apartment. When they disappear inside, Chance turns to me.
“So, how is everything?”
I scoff. “A goddamn mess.”
“Heard you saw your kid, though. I bet that was nice.” My chest aches something fierce as I remember watching him from across the street as he played catch with his family - something that I should have been there to do.
“I didn’t really get to see him. Kady and I just sat in the truck across from their house and watched him play catch.”
He nods, his gaze drifting up to the apartment building. It may look casual to anyone else but I know both of us are on guard right now. “Did you talk to the folks who adopted him?”
“Yeah.”
“And?”
I grit my teeth. “An
d they need time to think about if they’re going to allow us into his life. Kady gave them two weeks.”
My muscles tense as I think of that pompous ass who calls himself my son’s father.
“That’s fucking bullshit,” he mutters and I nod in agreement. “Y’all are his parents.”
“Trust me, I feel you. I was ready to call in the best, most expensive goddamn lawyer I could find but Kady wants to find a way to work with them. She doesn’t want to cause him any pain.”
He nods. “Sounds like she’s a good mom.”
“She would have made an amazing mom,” I answer, my throat tight and he claps me on the shoulder. It fucking kills me that Biche took that from her. Of all the things he did, that is by far the worst and it boggles my mind how he can claim to be “in love” with her and then take away the one thing she’s always wanted - a family.
“Shit. I’m sorry, dude.”
I shake my head. “Not your fault.”
“Y’all gonna try again someday?”
Clenching my fists, I shake my head again. “Naw, can’t. Biche made sure of that.”
“What?” he asks as the door opens and we turn as the four of them step out. Smith and Storm are in the front and Blaze steps out behind them, scanning the area before Storm steps away to reveal Sammy. She looks terrified but that’s not what catches my attention most. With one look at her, I’m sucking in a breath as my eyes widen.
“What the fuck?”
“Dude,” Chance whispers. “Is it just me or does she look exactly like Kady?”
I blink, still not sure I’m seeing things right. “She could be her fucking twin.”
My eyes meet Blaze’s and he shakes his head as he rounds the truck and meets me.” Get on your bike.”
Storm opens the door of the truck for her and throws her bag in the back as Smith gives me a sympathetic look.
“What the fuck is going on?”
Blaze shakes his head again. “Not here. We’ll go back to the clubhouse.”
Delirious, I stare at her as I climb on my bike and she peeks over her shoulder, meeting my gaze, her eyes full of fear. What the ever-loving fuck? Even her eyes are the same damn color as Kady’s. I shake my head as Blaze and Storm pull away from the curb and the truck follows behind them. Smith nods to me and we slip behind the truck as I scan our surroundings.
