“Sadie,” Caleb interjects, shaking his head and scrubbing a hand through his beard. The men in the room are visibly angry and frustrated. The air is vibrating with tension.
“Not another word, Sadie Jay,” Liz warns. “What your papa did or didn’t do is not open for discussion. You know better than anyone not to talk about things that concern this club but don’t concern you.”
“Don’t concern me? He’s the whole fucking reason this family fell apart! His crew is still running drugs and selling women and children to sick fucks across the United States, or have we all forgotten where I just came from? Where we just rescued Hawk’s sister from? How about Nora? You remember the little girl we saved? Any of this ringing any bells?”
The chatter gets louder, but none of it registers with me. The pounding of my heart is all I hear until a loud, ear-splitting whistle rents the air. Everyone falls silent again.
My heart is still pounding. My eyes sting. My hands are shaking. My head is spinning. I have no idea what she’s talking about, yet I feel like I should.
Did my mother know the man she laid with was so evil and vile? And what about Kaylie? Was her father one of those people who hurt children?
I feel like I’m going to pass out or throw up, maybe both. Then a tiny hand grips my thigh and pinches me. Kaylie’s little face is pressed into me as she tries to make herself small andinvisible against my body. I place my hand on top of Kaylie’s head and hold her to me.
“That’s enough!” Gabe shouts out over the room. His loud voice jolts Kaylie. She lets go of my leg, and Winston is forgotten on the ground as she runs to Mason, clawing and whimpering at him to pick her up, which he does. I watch in awe as she buries her face in his neck as he holds her, rubbing her back and whispering soothing words to her.
When the room finally goes quiet, I hear her ask, “You promise, Mason?”
“You have my word, Squirt.” Whatever promise he just made seems to console her a bit, but she’s not letting him go. When his eyes meet mine, they’re full of fury and something else I don’t recognize.
“Pres,” Mason calls. When Gabe sees Kaylie trembling in Mason’s arms, he sighs, then nods. A silent conversation takes place, and I don’t understand but am quick to catch on to. “Hey, Carter. Could you do me a favor?”
I didn’t know he was even here. But why wouldn’t he be? Everyone is here, even Skyler’s oldest Lilah, and her baby Emily. They weren’t kidding when they said they do everything as a family. Even argue and trash each other apparently.
Carter runs over to where Mason stands. “Would you go into my closet in my room? You know which one is mine?”
“I do,” Carter nods.
“Good. Go into my closet and find one of my hoodies, one like the one you’ve got on, and bring it out here to me.” Carter takes off to do Mason’s bidding. He takes less than two minutes to come back with the hoodie in question.
“Thanks, kid. I need one more favor. Hang on.” Mason lowers himself to the ground, getting on his knees as he stands Kaylie up in front of him. Her head is down, her shoulders up to her ears. The kid is terrified.
Mason unfolds the hoodie, showing it to Kaylie. Then he unzips her jacket, removes it, handing it to Carter.
“You see this hoodie? You see what it says on the back.” Kaylie shrugs. “It says Property of the Kings of Fury MC. Do you know what that means?” She shakes her head, still not speaking. “It means you’re one of us. You’re family.Myfamily. No one will hurt you while you wear this. Not here, not anywhere. And Carter here is a Prospect in training, isn’t that right?” Carter nods enthusiastically. “He’s not quite old enough to be a true prospect, but I have faith in him. He’s going to go with you to the playroom and make sure that no one bothers you or upsets you anymore.” Mason glares across the room at Sadie. She looks momentarily chastised.
He turns back to Carter. “I’m trusting you with my little sister here. It’s a big responsibility. She’s scared. She doesn’t feel safe. It’s your job to make her feel comfortable and take care of her until I get done talking with Pres. You think you can handle the job?”
I watch on as Mason looks past Carter to Declan, who grunts, nods, and smirks. I don’t know how to interpret all these facial tics and silent conversations.
There’s got to be a book on how to speak grunts and glares, right?
Note to self: Googlebiker grunts and facial tics.
Meanwhile, Carter beams. He salutes Mason like a soldier would his superior and smiles wide. “I can do it. I’ll take good care of her, Mason. Promise.” Mason gives a curt nod. Carter turns to look over his shoulder at Declan for approval. His little chest is puffed and his face is full of pride. Declan winks at his son, acknowledging what appears to be a big moment in Carter’s life.
He’s protecting his family.
I’ve never had this kind of loyalty or felt this kind of pride in my family. My mother was the town junkie and a prostitute. What pride could be found in that? The men she brought into our home never cared about us or our safety. Hell, they couldn’t be bothered to fix a leaky roof. They only cared about sex, drugs, and money.
And apparently, selling women and children.
Fuck me.
I can’t imagine mama would’ve been a part of any of that, as hard as she fought to keep me away from her men.
“Okay, Squirt.” Mason’s voice brings me out of my thoughts. “Take Winston and go upstairs with Carter. Remember what I told you to do if you get scared?”
Kaylie’s voice is soft, barely above a whisper. “Find a safe place to hide and wait there until you come to find me.”
