The prospects come in and take out a screaming Leo. “What the fuck, man, all this over a little bitch. Jenna and that fucking kid of hers are dead. You can’t fucking do this.”
“Shut him the fuck up.” I yell as they take him out of the trailer, throwing him into the back of the van.
I turn around and look at the guys, who are just as pissed off as I am. “I’m gonna look around the back bedroom and see if Bailey has anything she would want.” I walk towards the back and push open the bedroom door, seeing a dirty-ass mattress in the middle of the floor and a blanket that’s seen better days, and I know this is Bailey's room. It’s also fucking freezing in here. “Fuck.”
“Jesus, man, this is fucked up.” Hawk stands beside me, looking at the mold crawling up the walls as we both watch a rat race across the floor.
I don’t say a word, too pissed off to speak. I walk to the mattress to see a teddy bear lying there. I pick it up as Hawk looks in the closet, seeing nothing in there. “She really had nothing.” I shake my head just as Blade walks into the room with a bunch of papers in his hand, looking pissed off.
“What’s that?” I walk over as he hands them to me.
“Leo, by the time you read this, I will be gone. Don’t try to look for me because you won’t find me. I don’t care what you do with Bailey, but my days of being that brat’s mother are over. I found someone else, and a child doesn’t fit into my lifestyle. Hell, I didn’t even want her oryou;I just needed a place to stay.”
With each word I read has my blood boiling. I look through the other papers to see a birth certificate and other documents Bailey will need. I walk over to the wall and punch it, my fist going through the shitty-ass trailer. “MOTHRER FUCKER!” I yell. My chest heaves, trying to calm my racing heart as blood drips down my fist. How can they be so callous? Bailey is innocent in all this. She didn’t ask for any of this. She didn’t ask to be born to shitty parents or the hand she’s been dealt. It stops right here and now.
“Leo will get his brother. I can promise you that. We searched the rest of the place and found nothing except those papers. Though wedid find Leo’s stash of drugs in his room, it would explain the track marks on his arms.” Blade says as I turn around, seeing all my brothers standing there in support. This is hitting all of us hard, especially those with ole ladies who are pregnant. Knowing they are bringing a child into this cruel world. But we protect our own. We are a family who would fight for each other.
“Good, he can sweat out his high down in the basement. I want him lucid for what I’m going to do to him.” Walking out of the room, I head for the front door. I see a bottle of liquor sitting on the side table and wait for the brothers to file out before I pour some on the curtains, then smash the bottle on the couch. I pull out my Zippo lighter and throw it on the couch and watch as the flames crawl up the wall and walk out the door without a backward glance.
I stride to my bike, starting it up as the flames grow bigger, knowing this is the start of burying Bailey’s past. We pull out of the driveway and head for home, knowing I have two very important people waiting for me to return, and tonight after dinner we can finally settle into my house. I smile, knowing I will finally have Madison in my home. Hell, I don’t care how we got here, but knowing she’s going to be sleeping under the same roof as me has my body relaxing after all that’s gone down.
We ride down the highway as some of the brothers surround the van. We aren't taking any chances here. Leo will face his judgment, and I will enjoy every moment of doling out his punishment. We pull into the clubhouse ten minutes later as the prospects drive the van to the back so the girls don’t see and pull out a bound and gagged Leo.
We dismount our bikes, and I grab Bailey's bear, the paperwork and head inside. I let my eyes adjust until I can see the girls talking and laughing, setting the table, none the wiser. As soon as I walk in, Madison lifts her head and smiles at me, which hits me right in thefucking heart. God, she’s like a fucking dream I don’t want to wake up from. But as she walks my way, I know this is no dream. She’s here in real life, and that smile is directed at me. I don’t know what I’ve done in my life to deserve her, but I’m never letting her go. She’s mine to cherish, mine to love and protect.
As soon as she’s in front of me, I pull her into my arms and breathe in her scent, letting her calm me down. She wraps her arms around me, holding me just as tightly.
She pulls back, not much because I don’t want to let her go just yet. “How did it go?” She’s searching my face with worry.
I don’t want to lie to her, so I’m going with the truth. “We have him, and he’s in the basement, but Madison-that place was so bad. She didn’t even have a bed, and the walls were crawling with mold. Blade found a note from her mom telling Leo she left with another man and that he can do whatever with Bailey; she didn’t give a shit one way or another.”
I watch as a tear slips from her eyes, and I lift my hand, brushing it away. “That poor baby.” Her voice cracks, and I hate that I even have to tell her, but I won’t keep shit from her. We are in this together.
“I know, angel, but we have her now and will give her everything that she needs in life with a loving home. She will thrive and come out stronger. Just look at her. She has all that she needs right here with a family that’s going to love her. Hell, she even has Stone smiling.” I turn her around in my arms as we watch as she has a conversation with Stone, the man who only smiles at Savannah. But it seems our Bailey has brought out his soft side.
“She’s going to be okay, isn’t she?” Madison says as we both watch our family.
“Yeah, angel, she will be.” I kiss the top of her head as we both walk towards the table, and I smile and look at the floor, knowing Leo is chained up just waiting for me. Yeah, she’s going to be just fine.
Eight
Madison
I sit back in my chair and look around and smile at everyone. This right here is family, not by blood but an unbreakable bond, and I’m so glad Bailey has this now. I was a ball of nerves waiting for Joker and the guys to come back, wondering what they were doing and if they had Leo or not. But as soon as they walked in the door, the tension in my shoulders dropped, knowing they were safe. When they reached Bailey, and Joker handed her the bear, she burst into tears and hugged it tightly, saying it was a gift from her grandma before she died. She was heartbroken because she didn’t think she would ever see itagain, which just broke my heart. Though now that I know Leo is in the basement, I have an itch to go down there myself and beat his ass. I look down at the floor and smile, thinking about it.
“Thinking of beating his ass, aren’t you?” Joker whispers in my ear, scaring the crap out of me.
I turn my head, looking at him, giving him a sheepish smile. “That obvious?”
“Angel, you couldn’t be more obvious if you tried. You just growled, looking at the floor.” His shoulders shake with laughter as my face goes up in flames. I look around the table to see everyone smiling at me, knowing they had heard it as well.
“I mean, one hit won’t hurt, right?” I lower my voice so Bailey doesn’t hear me, but she’s engaged in a conversation with Scarlett about drawing. Joker looks at Blade and nods his head yes, and it’s taking everything in me not to jump around my chair in excitement. The guys get up from the table, and I follow. Bailey looks my way. “I will be right back. I'm just going to help Joker with something, then we can go home and get you settled, okay?”
She smiles at me, and she looks so carefree right now. “Okay.” She waves and goes back to her conversation with the girls, not knowing I’m about to beat someone's ass.
Joker takes my hand as he leads me down the stairs to the basement. Once we reach the bottom, he stops me before we go in and searches my eyes. “Are you sure you want to do this, angel?”
I pull my shoulders back and smile at him. “I’m sure I just need to see the man who has tortured Bailey. I need to tell him that his life as he knows it is over.” Right now I’m not Madison, the sweet baker. I'm pissed off, and rightly so. We walk into the room, and the guys stand around and nod their heads at me in silent support. Weapons line the wall, and Leo, chained from the ceiling with his feet barely touchingthe ground, glares at me; however, I am not fazed. I walk to the wall of toys and pick up a baseball bat and swing it in my hand, and stand back in front of Leo as Joker takes the gag off his mouth.
