“Sorry, darling.”
Maggie’s tearful smile bloomed as she cupped my cheeks. “I love you so much Robert. You’ve been so strong the whole time; it’s okay to fall apart. It’s just you and me. You never need to hide from me.”
Lowering my head, I kiss her. Pouring all my worries, fears, and relief into the kiss because she’s right; it’s always been her and me with my brothers and Kate as backup.
Lifting my lips from Maggie’s, I swipe at the tears on her cheeks. “We’ve got a couple of hours but let's get the others up and let them know and then get down to the hospital to wait for them. I’m so fucking glad she’s okay, Mags.”
“Me too honey, me too. You wake the others; I’m going to finish getting dressed and pack up a cooler to take with us and spare clothes in case they’re needed. Those couple of hours are going to fly by.”
“Okay,” I press one last kiss to Maggie’s lips and do as she bids, leaving our wing. I knock on doors as I pass, waking up the house. Then I call Draco and Molly to let them know what’s going on.
All the Crow MC barring the children and those that stayed home with them are waiting for Bella when Cai pulls up tothe hospital. My heart clenches and Maggie gasps when we get our first good look at Bella as the large man with her gets out of the car cradling her in his arms. Holding her like she’s the most precious thing in the world to him. She’s covered in blood and bruises, but she’s breathing. That’s all that matters. She’s breathing.
Rea doesn’t mess around; we barely catch a glimpse of the boy with them. Rea and her team have them on wheeled stretchers before we can blink and rush them away.
Cai and the man he’s with turn towards us. He looks familiar, but I can’t place why. He’s big, muscular, with long hair, a beard, and he’s covered in blood.
The brotherhood is lobbing questions at them, but I don’t think he’s hearing a word; his attention is focused on the door that Bella’s been taken through. I want to hate the man but I know that look all too well. It's one that I see on my son’s faces when they look at their Old Ladies, the ones on my brothers’ faces and the one I know I have on mine every time I see Maggie. I can’t fault a man for loving my daughter the way he obviously loves mine.
Finally, Cai has enough and lets out a piercing whistle before informing us, “You need to wait and speak to Cahir and Bee. They have the answers you want. Until then, is there somewhere we can clean up?” He’s not one to speak much, so when he does, people tend to listen.
“Of course,” Maggie steps up. “Come this way. I’ll show you where you can clean up, and I’ll get you something to change into.”
I should have known she’d be the first one to help. It was in her nature, and if she’d seen what I had, she’d want to make Bella’s man comfortable. She disappears with the two of them, and the rest of us go to the waiting room in the private wing. The same wing that Bella had donated money towards years ago to have built. Rea was one of the reasons we had clout in the hospital, but the amount of money we’d donated over the years was another. We didn’t often throw our weight around, but when it came to our family, we weren’t shy about using our authority to get things done.
That’s where they find us when they’re done showering. You can see the exhaustion on their faces. Bella’s man sinks into a chair and leans back, closing his eyes. Not once has he seemed worried about being surrounded by bikers, but then, being who he was, I guess he wouldn’t be. I’d found out from Reaper while we’d been waiting for them to clean up who he was.
Copper, Vice President of the Queens Wraiths Southampton Chapter. I’d not met all of them, but I knew from those that had that they were well liked. Their VP in the States was related to one of our brothers and to Maura, Thor’s Old Lady.
It had filled my old heart with relief knowing she’d found a man like the ones she’d grown up with. Didn’t mean that I wouldn’t give him some shit, not a lot, but a little. She was my baby girl after all.
Pushing away from the wall I’d been leaning against, I walk towards him and take a seat next to him. Maggie wasn’t far behind me, and she settled next to me, narrowing her eyes when I grinned at her. I turn to the man who knows I’m there but is planning on ignoring me by the looks of it. Until I state, “So, you’re the one whose bike she was on.”
He opens his eyes and turns to look at me with raised brows; I see it then, the likeness to Hawk, another one of our brothers. It would seem we were tied in more ways than I’d realised. “I am,” he responds.
I frown. He’s not a chatty one, so I push, “That’s it? My daughter goes missing for years, and that’s all I get?”
He studies me for a beat, and I have to admit I’m starting to admire the man. He’s not one to rush into anything. I appreciate his taking time to answer. I like my son’s wives, but I always thought I’d have a hard time with whoever Bella chose, and while I’d known Sam all his life, and I’d known what a good man he was, I hadn’t been too keen on him and my baby girl when they started up.
But this man … yeah, this man I liked. And the more we spoke, the more I liked him for her.
“Yep,” he nods before continuing, “You need to get the rest from Bee. She had her reasons. But I won’t have you bullying my Old Lady. Spice will tell you what you need to know when she’s ready.”
His old lady? Spice? Well, hell!
The room around us has fallen silent as they watch everything unfold. Not that it seemed to worry the man I was questioning. If anything, he seemed bored.
“Your Old Lady?”
He straightens at the disbelief I’d pushed into my tone as if I didn’t believe him. Maggie knew, though. She squeezed my hand, muttering a soft warning, “Robert.”
But this man wasn’t one that could be pushed and not push back. Yep, I really liked him. I liked him even more when he told me in no uncertain terms.
“That’s right. My Old Lady. Mine to love. Mine to protect, even if that means protecting her from her family.”
Well, hell, that sealed it. He was family now, whether or not he liked it. He’d put my baby first, brought her home to us and now he’d made his intentions clear. Yep, he’d do.
Smiling, I hold out my hand for him to shake. “Fair enough. I didn’t get to introduce myself earlier. Name’s Dog. This is my Old Lady and Bella’s mum, Maggie.”
