“Good luck, dude,” Mack muttered as he and Cole exited the room with alarming speed.
“Why do you need luck?” I asked with a narrowed gaze.
“Come here, babe,” he beckoned, gesturing to the couch as he moved to sit down.
I huffed, my lack of sleep and caffeine jitters getting the best of me.
“What is it?” he pressed.
I threw up my hands. “I’m tired and overwhelmed. I’m just trying to hang the hell on,” I tried to explain.
He surprised me then by grabbing my hand and pressing it to his firm chest. “Then hang on to me,” he commanded.
I looked down at where his hand covered mine against his firm chest. Then I looked into his grey eyes so steady and sincere. “Okay,” I rasped.
He blew out a breath. “Your father has goons all over this fuckin’ town, honey,” he shared.
I felt my eyes widen. “What? Why?” I demanded.
He shook his head. “The man isn’t right in the head, babe. Who knows what he’s thinking. He might want proof you’re married. He might be making a grab for you. Or it could just be an intimidation tactic.” He snorted at the last part. “Whatever the reason, we need to take care of this shit. That includes getting rid of the men he’s sent and dealing with your father.
“I don’t imagine you want me to put him in the ground,” he paused, waiting as I promptly shook my head. “Right. Well, then my next best option is to put him in jail.”
“How are you going to do that?” I asked, feeling numbness seep through my veins. Despite everything that happened, moments like this still took on a surreal quality that I had trouble grasping.
“Leverage,” he shrugged. “Listen,” he grasped my upper arms gently for emphasis as his gaze held mine. “Me and the club well, we’ve done a lot of work to prepare for this eventuality. But at the end of the day, shit like this – it has a way of goin’ a couple of different directions. I don’t want to tell you the plan and have you panic when it doesn’t play out the way I expected. You okay with trusting me on this one?”
I loved that he knew me well enough and respected the fact that I wanted to know what was happening. I also knew he was right.
“Yeah, babe,” I leaned toward his body, pressing my forehead to his. “I trust you.”
“I know he’s your father,” his deep voice continued, “but darlin’, if he does anything to threaten you or Maddox I can’t promise—”
“I understand,” I cut him off. “He’s my father but you and Maddox are my family,” I added, stroking my fingers through his unruly hair.
“There’s a whole room of people out there who are your family, too,” he told me.
Tears pricked the back of my eyes as I nodded, biting my lip against the emotion burning through me.
“I would take you away from this shit but this is the safest place for you and Maddox. So you’ll stay here until this is over.”
“How long will that be?”
His answer was simple, his tone biting. “Soon.”
******
“I’m kinda bored,” Jill stage whispered.
“I’m suuuuper bored,” Connie groaned.
“You guys are so dramatic.” Scarlet rolled her eyes. “It’s been like three hours. We hang out here longer than that all the time.”
All the girls had been brought in, Jill included, for protection.
“At least we can normally go outside,” Ettie put in, flipping through one of the magazines Scarlet had brought.
“Sorry,” I mumbled, feeling responsible for their predicament.
