I walked outside, hoping that some distance between mom and kid might be good for both of them. Bonny hadn’t cried the whole time I’d been there; she’d been smiling and playing contentedly until she’d seen her mom, and it didn’t take long for her to calm down once she was away from her. I sat on the swing seat that I’d fixed, and we swung back and forth until Bonny’s cries became whimpers and the whimpers turned into little snores. She fell asleep against my chest, her thumb stuck in her mouth as the tears dried on her cheeks.
I must have fallen asleep too, because when I woke it was to the sound of motorcycles driving toward the house. I sat up abruptly, causing Bonny to whimper in her sleep. She opened her eyes sluggishly before closing them again, her mouth working overtime on her thumb.
I stood up and looked down the long driveway, watching as Gauge, Butch, Dom, Ripped, and Lincoln headed toward us, the noisy bikes eventually causing Bonny to wake up. She gave a little startled cry but then calmed pretty quickly, especially when Quinn came out of the house. She looked over at the men and then up to me quickly.
Anger vibrated through my body, causing my muscles to twitch, and I felt a growl growing in my chest at the sight of Ripped. And at him still thinking he had any sort of claim on her when she was most definitely fucking mine now.
“Go back inside, Q,” I said, my voice low and threatening.
“What are you going to do?” she asked abruptly, sounding frightened.
I glanced down at her, and she must have seen something dark in my face because she blanched and reached for me, her hand hooking around my bicep.
“Please, Battle.” She looked back to where the Harleys were still coming down the long driveway toward the house, dust billowing up around them. “Not here. Not like this. It’s the last thing that Gracie needs right now. And Bonny…think of her. She doesn’t need some dumb bikers fighting and killing each other in front of her.”
I huffed out in annoyance because she was right. And the pudgy little bundle in my arms tugged on my beard as if to remind me that she were still there. I looked down at the kid, knowing that Quinn was right. It didn’t mean I had to like it though.
“You’re my woman now,” I growled out, and she nodded frantically in agreement. “He puts his hands on you I’m putting a bullet in his brain, whether the kid’s here or not. You feel me?”
“I’ll speak to him later. I’ll finish things, no matter what the consequences. I promise.”
My features softened at the obvious worry and fear on her face. “I don’t expect you to do this on your own, Q. We’re in this together now. It’s you and me against the fuckin’ world.”
I wanted to reach out and stroke my hand down her cheek, to pull her body close to mine and soothe her, calm her, and let her feel my strength and support, but there was no time then. Not with Ripped right fucking there. Motherfucker.
“Where’s Gracie?” I asked.
“She’s just gone to put some clothes on. Want me to take her?” she asked, nodding toward Bonny.
I handed the kid over as Ripped and my brothers pulled their bikes to a stop before shutting the engines off. He climbed off his bike and stomped up the stairs, his dark eyes washing over both of us.
“Well don’t you both make the pretty family picture?” he said, giving a dark laugh. “Wondered where you’d got to, Quinn. Then I get one of the club girls telling me Battle took off abruptly, saying something about a kid.”
I couldn’t get a feel on Ripped’s mood, and that pissed me off even more. If he suspected anything between us, he wasn’t letting on. But something about his mood was fucking sour, that was for damn certain.
“Gracie and Bonny needed me,” Quinn said automatically, and he gave a dry laugh. “What are you even doing here? I was going to head back to the club soon.” She sounded pissed, her words clipped as she snapped them out. “You know, I’m a grown woman, I can go see my friend without my boyfriend checking up on me!”
Ripped was glaring hard at her, and I was seconds away from ripping out his eyeballs and shoving them down his throat.
“There a problem, Ripped?” I asked with a heavy scowl.
Ripped’s gaze slid over to me. “You tell me,” he replied, his mouth a hard and impassive line. “Thought I told you to keep an eye on her, and now I find her running off around town without checking in with me first.”
I scowled at him. Men like us, we were possessive and dominating, I had no doubt about that. But it was more than that with Quinn. He had gone past being possessive and had dove headfirst into controlling. Or at least he was trying to be. I knew why, and I didn’t blame him. Didn’t mean I liked it or had to agree with it, though.
“Didn’t know a grown-ass woman had to check in with her old man before going to visit a friend, brother,” I replied. “You told me to watch her, so here I am.”
“You asked him to watch me?” Quinn yelled at Ripped, and he folded his arms across his chest and looked at her.
Good—she was pissed at him.
“And you agreed to it?” she snapped, turning to me.
Aaah, fuck, she was pissed at me too.
Her mouth pinched in and I wanted to reach down and kiss her pouty mouth until she stopped scowling at me, but I couldn’t and I felt myself getting angrier.
Gracie chose that moment to come out of the house, looking every bit the hundred-dollar hooker she must have been in her past life: tight skirt, low-cut top, and glossy red lips, all wrapped up with a pair of heels so high I was surprised she hadn’t already fallen and broken her neck in them. Woman looked nothing like she had earlier and I could see how she’d managed to hide her problems from Quinn for so long. Little bit of makeup and a fake-ass smile went a long way.
