Page 25

T hings have changed so quickly that it feels like my head is spinning.

It’s been a week since the family picnic and subsequent party at the clubhouse. Things with the girls haven’t changed much. All week I’ve been taking them to school, then running over to Dynasty to work before picking them back up. Twice we ended up back at Dynasty so they could see Midnight a bit before going home. It’s been a nice routine. It helps that the girls love me as much as I love them.

Then there’s Midnight.

I never thought he would be one for PDA, but he can’t keep his hands off of me. Even the girls giggle and tell him he’s gross when he kisses me. Let me tell you, he is always kissing me.

In bed in the morning before he brings me to orgasm. In the kitchen before he leaves, telling us all goodbye. As soon as I step through the door at work. Inside his office as he makes up yet another excuse for me to have to see him in there. Then again in bed as we fall asleep together.

I don’t hate it, though. If anything, I am loving all the affection he bestows upon me. It’s like I suffered the first twenty years of my life, so now God has decided to reward me for my resilience by giving me a man like Midnight to love and care for me.

Love.

That’s a four-letter word I haven’t uttered quite yet, but I feel it. In my heart and soul.

I love Selena and Sienna with my whole heart. I would do anything for those girls.

I love Midnight more than I should.

I love this life I’m building with them all.

Yet I’m too afraid to voice any of that. I am happy for once in my life, and yet it scares me to death. I’m so used to bracing for the next bad thing that I have no idea how to handle when things are going good.

I feel like I’m still waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Will this feeling ever go away?

I hope it does. I want this life with Midnight and the girls. I want to be able to tell him that I’ve fallen in love with him.

Maybe one day I will.

“Can we go see Dad?” Sienna asks me from the back seat.

“Of course,” I tell her, glancing in the rearview mirror at her.

“We should bring him food,” she adds.

“That’s a great idea. What do you think we should bring him?”

Selena is the one who answers. “He loves the burgers at the diner. We could pick them up.”

“Has nothing to do with you wanting a milkshake, right?” I tease.

“I mean, if we are there, we could get a milkshake. That would be cool.”

I smile to myself. The girl is too smart for her own good.

“I’ll let it slide this time. Can you order it?” I ask her.

I’ve been doing this more with the girls. Sienna still doesn’t like to do it, but Selena has no problems calling people.

“Sure.”

I listen as she tells the person who answers that we want four cheeseburgers with fries. Then I smile to myself as she gets us each a milkshake.

Once she hangs up, I glance in the mirror, “Good job, honey.”

“Thank you.”

It’s one of the skills I wanted to instill in them. It’s important that they move past their anxiety and be able to make phone calls to people. I want them to have the independence I have. I was forced into mine by circumstance. I want them to learn the same lessons but in a more positive environment. They will always have the support they need, but I want them to feel like they can do things on their own too.

It’s a delicate balance. One I am still working on.

The ride to the diner doesn’t take long. We pick up the food, making the short drive down to Dynasty. I help them each out of the car, handing them their milkshakes while I grab the food along with the two remaining milkshakes.

“Can one of you lock the car, please?” I ask.

Sienna comes to my side, grabbing the keys to lock the car. Then she opens the door for me.

Walking inside, I set the food on the front desk.

“Can I go get Dad?” Selena asks.

“Let me see if he has an appointment.”

Coming around the desk, I look at the schedule. It looks like he is free. “You’re good, but be quiet. Don’t interrupt the others,” I warn them.

I smile as I hear them walk down the hall, and I know the moment they find him. I can hear their giggles mixed with his laughter.

It feels like home. They are my home.

The sound of a motorcycle revving has me looking out the front window. I expect to see one of the brothers, but I don’t recognize the man who stops on the bike in the middle of the parking lot. In fact, he looks uncomfortable on a bike as he picks up his phone to answer a call. I can’t help but get a bad feeling about him.

I continue to watch him for a moment, then I see him reach into his jacket. What he pulls out has me running toward the back.

“Get down! ” I scream, running for the office.

The first shot rings out as I’m halfway through the hallway. I can see Midnight in the office, pushing the girls to the floor behind his desk.

“Lainey!” I hear him roar.

I hit the ground and cover my head as the next several bullets ring out. Then I feel a body cover mine.

I squeeze my eyes closed, waiting as the bullets ricochet around us. Tears start to fall from my eyes as I think about the girls. They must be so scared. I know Midnight will protect them, but I hate not knowing what is going on. I want to be there with them.

Midnight.

I hope he isn’t hurt. I don’t know what I would do if he was.

“You okay?”

My hearing is cloudy, almost as if I have cotton balls in them.

The body above me moves, turning me over.

Jerico.

I nod to him. “I’m not hit.”

“Good. Let’s get you into the office in case anyone comes back.”

I let him help me up and into the office. Midnight pulls me into a rough hug as soon as he sees me, the relief evident on his face.

“On the floor, Flower. Protect our girls. I’ll be back.” He presses a quick kiss to my lips.

I kneel next to the girls, pulling them into my arms as he pulls out a gun. I notice Jerico has one too.

“Elle?” Midnight asks.

“Off today, thank God.”

“Good. Let’s go clear the place.” Midnight turns and looks at me. “No one through this door but me or Jerico.”

“What do I do if someone comes through?” I ask.

His eyes harden as he moves to his desk. He opens it, pulling out a gun. He checks that it’s loaded before he hands it to me.

“Safety is off. Point and shoot. If anyone but me or him comes through this door, you shoot first and ask questions later.”

“Got it.”

“I know you do, Flower. You’re the strongest woman I know. Be right back.”

Then he is gone.

The girls huddle behind me as we hide behind the desk.

“Are you girls okay?”

They both nod, but I can see the terror on their faces.

God, this isn’t good. I only hope we make it through this without too much trauma. Lord knows I have endured enough, but I don’t want that for the girls.

“Everything is clear. Whoever it was has left,” Jerico tells me.

I nod. “Thank you, man. You protected her when I couldn’t.”

My heart was in my throat the entire time I protected my girls. I needed to make a decision, and as much as it killed me, it needed to be my daughters. It didn’t mean that my heart wasn’t on the floor out in the open. I owe Jerico a blood debt for using his body to protect Lainey. I will never be able to repay him for that. Not that he would even let me try.

“Anytime. She’s family,” he tells me, patting my shoulder. “Get the girls to the clubhouse. I’ll handle this here.”

“What about your client?” I ask.

“Ask him for yourself.” He nods toward the office where a large man is standing in front of the door.

“Hades? No shit. What are you doing here?” I ask, going over to greet our nomad brother.

“Only riding through. Figured the family needed protection while you looked the place over.”

“Thanks, brother. Can you follow us back to the clubhouse? I need to get them somewhere safe. We don’t see anyone hanging around, but it could all be a setup.”

“Of course. I’ll hang around a bit too. Seems you guys need a little help.”

“Good looking out.”

Going to the door, I knock twice. “Don’t shoot.”

When I open the door, I find my daughters huddled up to Lainey as Lainey holds the gun I gave her, her limbs shaking.

Moving to her, I take the gun and put the safety on. Then I put it back in the drawer.

Pulling her up, I put her under my arm. Then I wave at the girls to come under the other. For a moment, we are in a group hug.

“We need to move. It isn’t safe here. Jerico, can you bring the car to the back?” I ask.

“You got it, boss man.”

He moves down the hallway, leaning down to grab the keys that must have fallen from Lainey’s hands.

“This is my brother, Hades.” I nod to the man in question. He looks a little scary, but the girls only nod.

“Uncle Hades?” Selena asks, tears on her face.

I look at the man. He isn’t in my chapter, so I don’t know if he’s cool with the name, but he kneels down to her level.

“Yep. We need to get you safely to the car. Do you think it would be okay if I picked you up?” he asks.

“You’ll protect me?” Selena asks.

“With my life,” Hades promises.

Selena moves to his arms, letting him pick her up. Even though Selena is a growing pre-teen, she still looks small in his arms. He tucks her head into his neck as he uses his arms to cover her as much as he can. I appreciate the gesture.

Turning to Sienna, I hold my arms open. I mirror his hold on Selena with Sienna.

“Lainey, stay close,” I demand.

She moves into my side, staying as close as she can as we head to the back door. Jerico takes over covering Lainey as he helps her into the driver’s seat while Hades and I get the girls in the back seat. I give Jerico a grateful nod when I see my bike right next to the car. He must have pushed it back here before he moved the car.

“Straight to the clubhouse,” I tell Lainey, leaning in her window. “Hades and I will be right behind you.”

“Okay,” she whispers.

Leaning down, I kiss her hard. “I will protect you. Trust me.”

“I do.”

That trust means the world to me. I hate that she had to experience this. Fuck, I hate that my girls were in the middle of it. If Miranda were around, she would use this to extort money from me and threaten to keep the girls from me.

Thank God she disappeared. For once, I’m grateful that she is off fucking around and not here to see what just happened.

The ride to the clubhouse is a tense one. Both Hades and I are on high alert, keeping an eye on every car around us. When we pull up to the gate, the prospect opens it for us without question. We each move to the car, Hades helping Selena out while I help Lainey and Sienna out.

“Into the clubhouse. Quickly,” I tell them.

I usher them inside, grateful the place seems to be empty for the time being. “We will be staying here for the night. There’s a kids’ room down the hall for when families need to stay here. Why don’t you go get the girls set up?” I tell Lainey.

“I can do that,” she tells me.

I pull her into me, kissing her hard. “I thought I was going to lose you.”

My whispered words in her ear are a confession I didn’t mean to make. It’s true, though. The idea that I almost lost her is starting to settle into my head. I would have lost it.

I love her. Plain and simple.

Now isn’t the time to tell her, though.

“You didn’t. I’m more resilient than that. Go handle what you need to. I’ve got our girls,” she whispers back, kissing me once more before taking them down the hall.

“You got a good one. She’s strong,” Hades tells me.

“I know. I have no clue how I managed that. Let’s go get Reaper.”

“No need. Jerico called. Let’s go into church,” Reaper calls from the hall as he heads our way, and we follow him into church. “What happened?” Reaper asks as soon as we sit down.

I don’t miss that he didn’t address Hades. Hades doesn’t seem to mind, though.

“We were at the shop when someone shot the place up. I was in the office, and Jerico was working on this guy, so we didn’t see him. The girls were there, Reap.” I wipe my hand down my face.

“When you said you were coming to town, you didn’t say you’d be bringing trouble,” Reaper tells Hades.

“Had nothing to do with me. No one even knows I’m here other than you. I was planning to keep it that way. I was going to get my tattoo, go to the races, then be on my way,” Hades informs him.

A quiet knock on the door has all our heads turning.

“Come in,” Reaper calls.

Lainey pokes her head in. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but I saw the shooter.”

Reaper waves her in. She comes over, taking the seat next to me, and my hand finds hers. She’s still shaking a little. It makes me want to soothe her.

“He was on a motorcycle. Looked like the one Hades was on.” She nods to the man. “Had a red stripe on it, though. He was wearing jeans and a leather jacket. No vest like you guys wear. He looked too clean-cut to be on a motorcycle. He also didn’t look like he rides often. I thought he was going to tip it when he stopped. I watched him answer his phone, and that’s when he pulled out the gun. I ran when I saw it.” Lainey looks down at our hands, squeezing mine tighter.

“You’re safe,” I tell her, leaning over to kiss her temple.

“That’s a lot of information. You’re very observant,” Reaper tells her.

“I grew up with a crack-addicted mother. I learned quickly to pay attention to who was around so I knew if any of her dealers were waiting to ambush her. I guess it stuck.” She shrugs like it’s no big deal.

It’s a fucking huge deal. I look at Reaper with murder in my eyes. His reflect the same back.

I hate that she had to go through this shit. That she is so traumatized that she feels the need to always be aware of her surroundings. I mean, I’m glad she knows to pay attention, but the reason why is heartbreaking.

“Thank you, Lainey. That’s helpful. Trigger is working on pulling the cameras too.”

“Okay. I’m going to go check on the girls.” She leans over, kissing me before leaving.

Reaper looks at me. “I was worried if she was too soft for this life, but she’s not.”

I shake my head. “She’s not soft at all. She’s perfect.”