I looked up at Slyce. Someone had sent her to find us? “Who sent you?” I asked her.
She gave me a sad smile. “I can’t tell you.”
Frankie sat up straight and faced me. “Is it Dad? Is he coming after us?”
“You’re safe here, Frankie. I promise,” Slyce offered. I pulled Frankie closer and glared at Slyce. She’d told me I could trust her. That she wanted to help us.
“Kat, I have a home you can stay in. It was my old lady’s house, and she’s staying here at the clubhouse now. I’ll send a couple of guys with you to help you get settled until we can figure out how best to help you going forward. The house will have no ties to you, so whoever is looking for you won’t find you here.” King scowled at Slyce. “Unless someone tells them.”
“They are in no danger from me,” she growled, but I didn’t believe her. Not until she told me who was looking for us.
“Jack, you and Blade show them the house. Take Indie with you so she can pack up Grace’s clothes.”
We followed the men back out to the SUV, and Frankie and I climbed in the back.
“Mom, what if he finds us?”
“Shhh, he won’t find us, baby. And if he does, he won’t hurt you again. I’ll make sure of it.” Never again would my daughter fear one of her parents.
The house King had for us was only a few miles away. It didn’t take long before we were pulling up out front. It was a cute home, well-maintained in a small neighborhood. There were flowerbeds out front and a porch swing.
Jack unlocked the door and held it open for us. The way he stared at Frankie made me uneasy. I knew what to look for, and so far, nothing he had done had been inappropriate.
“Frankie is a cool name,” Jack said.
“It’s short for Francesca,” my daughter responded with a slight smile.
“I have a daughter named Charlotte. She just turned five. We call her Charlie,” Jack shared.
“That’s cool.”
“I could bring her by if you’d like to meet her? She’s always wanting to make new friends.”
Frankie nodded with a smile that surprised me. My daughter was shy, but she took to Jack easily.
“My old lady will come to,” Jack directed to me. Her name is Samantha, or Sam.”
Not knowing how to say no, I nodded the way Frankie had. There was no interest in making friends here. I wouldn’t be staying. Not once I learned who was looking for us.
“I’ve got Grace packed up. There are a couple boxes. I grabbed all her clothes and toiletries etc. I’m sure she’ll want to come by and grab anything that is personal,” the girl whose name must have been Indie said to Jack.
“I sent another prospect out to the grocery store. What else do the two of you need?” Blade asked.
“They need clothes. I don’t want to leave them here alone. Not yet,” Slyce answered.
“If they make me a list, I can go. I’ll take Mimic with me,” she rushed out when Blade opened his mouth. He nodded at her.
I gave Indie a list of a few essentials we needed to get through the next few days. Jack ordered us some food to be delivered before he left, and Frankie and I fell asleep as the sun began to rise.
Chapter One
Derek
Six weeks after the attack on the clubhouse...
I sat on the front steps of my brother’s house, drinking a cup of coffee. Jack had opened his home to me ever since the Death Dogs had broken into Indie’s apartment and tried to kidnap her.
They were outside the apartment building I lived in, and I’d warned Mimic as I left, giving him the keys to my apartment. King believed they might come back, and as a favor to Jack, he’d let me stay on club property indefinitely.
