CHAPTER 12
FRENZY
When my phone chimes, I silence it quickly. I have the late shift tonight for watching over the bakery. Even though Hammer got the bakery up and running in three days, which was just enough time for Hacker to be able to work his security magic, we still have someone watching over Crescent Sugar all night.
It’s never easy to leave my woman in bed, but I know I’m doing it for her. She knows too. It’ll be a matter of hours before she’s up and meeting me there. Then I’ll watch her work her magic in the kitchen. I’ll never miss an opportunity to watch her work.
She’s so focused when she’s in the kitchen and the pleasure she gets from baking radiates from her. I’m almost jealous of her love for baking, but I push that aside because I know she loves me too. Just like I love her.
Even though it’s been three weeks since we first met, we haven’t said the words. Sometimes the way I feel about her wants to burst out of me. It’s almost impossible to contain myself. I want to shout for the world to hear how much I love my woman.
But I’m not going to rush her. I want to make sure that she’s ready to hear just how much I love her. It’ll happen soon anyway because her property cut has come in.
I’m planning on slipping it on her on Valentine’s Day which is only in a matter of days. She’s been working so hard; she deserves a little pampering and that’s exactly what I have planned for her. I know how cheesy it is, but I figure I might as well take advantage of a holiday centered around love and romance.
Cupid got me good this year and I’m fucking ecstatic about it.
Before I slip out of my room in the clubhouse, I kiss my woman’s forehead, and she lets out the most adorable little sigh of happiness. This woman. My heart swells with love for her.
She’s everything I’ve ever wanted and so much more. The way she cares about my brothers and is always baking things for everyone to enjoy has made her a favorite within the clubhouse. The only person who hasn’t warmed up is Kiki, but she’s kept her distance.
What I’ve enjoyed the most has been seeing the way my woman’s confidence has blossomed. She’s all fire and sass now, even with the biggest of my brothers. She’s not intimidated by them and if anyone tries to steal treats before they’re done, she’s right there to tell them off. Seeing a brother walk away from her with his tail tucked between his legs, thoroughly chastised, is hilarious.
Everything is quiet when I get to the bakery. I walk around the building, making sure no one is hiding in the shadows, and then take up a strategic spot a few shops down. This way I can see both the entrance to the alleyway behind the building and most of the sidewalk in front of it. I’m not too far if something happens and am mostly shrouded in darkness.
The hours pass slowly, but I spend my time watching over my woman’s dream and that gives me a sense of accomplishment that I’ve never felt before. Sure, I hate not being snuggled up to Scarlett’s curves, but this matters.
I refuse to allow the look of devastation I saw on Scarlett’s face when we arrived at Crescent Sugar that morning again. Not on my fucking watch.
Glancing at my watch, I’m glad I only have another hour or so before my woman shows up. I can’t wait to see her. Maybe she’ll test out a new recipe today and I’ll be able to be her guinea pig. That’s always a good time.
Today she’s starting to train a new employee, one she hired specifically to help her with the baking. I’m so damn proud of my woman. She wants to have more flexibility with her schedule and having someone she can share the morning duties with is going to give her that.
She hasn’t said she’s doing it to be able to spend more time with me, but that doesn’t mean I won’t take the credit. I’m fucking thrilled.
When I hear a car approaching, I turn toward it and my anger spikes. Why the fuck is Scarlett here so early? I hop off my bike and stride toward the bakery, slipping through the front door right after her. The bakery is dark and she’s clearly not paying attention. It only pisses me off more as I lock the door behind me.
When we walk into the kitchen, she reaches for the light switch as I bark out, “What the fuck are you doing, Scarlett?”
She lets out a shriek and spins around to face me with wide, wild eyes. Her voice is shrill, “What the fuck, Dean? You scared the shit out of me.”
My jaw clenches and I seethe, “You didn’t even notice me walk into the bakery right behind you. You didn’t even lock the door.”
She huffs out an annoyed breath and I’m about a second away from bending her over and spanking her delicious ass. I wouldn’t be surprised if my thoughts are broadcasted all over my face because she softens and takes a small step closer to me, her hands reaching up and soothing across my shoulders.
“I knew you were the one watching the bakery. I left the door unlocked because I knew you’d be walking in soon because you’d have seen me drive up.” Her luscious lips curl up into a coy, teasing smile. “I did park in the front like you’ve asked me to,” she reminds me like that should earn her points or something.
“Fuck,” I mutter, “it’s impossible to stay pissed at you, Sugar.”
I wrap an arm around her waist and pull her closer to me until her tits pillow against my chest and her curves mold to my body. Even though her eyes are tired, they still sparkle as she looks up at me.
“Why aren’t you in bed?”
“I couldn’t sleep anymore,” she admits as she looks up at me with so much love. “You weren’t there,” she pouts.
When I slam my mouth down on hers, she melts into me and moans softly. My cock goes rock fucking hard. I want to bury myself inside of her desperately but now is not the time. I also won’t be giving my brothers a show. No fucking way.
They already love my woman too much. There’s no way I’ll share the vision of her delectable body falling apart for me.
I pull back from her and press my forehead against hers, our panting breaths mixing and our eyes locked. She’s so damn beautiful.
Before I can say anything, an alert sounds on my phone. I pull it out and see that the cameras at the back have picked up movement.
My voice is hard as I try to hold back the panic trying to well up inside of me. “Go to your office, lock the door, and don’t come out until I come and get you.”
Her brown eyes are wide and filled with fear, but she doesn’t question me and only nods once. I watch her for a second as she heads toward her office and then take a deep breath.
As I move toward the front door, I shoot off a text to Lucifer and Hacker. They’ll get here along with anyone else they want to pull in. When I slip outside, I move silently and stay in the shadows as much as possible while moving around the building and into the alleyway.
There are two small figures, talking in hushed tones at the back door of the bakery. They look like they’re arguing over something while not even paying attention to what is going on around them.
I’m able to get practically right up on them and catch the end of their whispers. The slightly taller figure hisses, “We won’t go in this time. Just get out the paint.”
When I jump on them, tackling them to the ground since they’re standing so close together, I’m able to press a knee to the middle of both their backs. The screams that come out of them are filled with fear and aren’t the sounds I would expect from a man.
It makes me pause, but I know I won’t be able to turn them over until my brothers get here. “Stop struggling,” I growl, and they both freeze which only makes my gut twist.
As the seconds tick by, it becomes clearer that these are only kids. Kids have been terrorizing my woman? It makes no fucking sense. Sure, kids can get into trouble for a lot of reasons, but why go after a bakery?
The sound of heavy boots coming up the alley behind me is a relief. As Lucifer and Hacker reach for the two people I’ve subdued, I stand up.
“They’re just kids,” I mutter.
My brothers spin the kids around and hand settles on my shoulder which has me turning to see Scythe and Apostle flanking me. One of the kids looks to be about 15 and the other can’t be more than 11. I don’t even know what to feel.
They look at us with fear in their eyes, even though the older kid tries to look hard and unaffected. As I study them, it’s clear that they’re brothers. The longer I look, the more familiar they become, but I can’t quite place it.
“You’re the little shits that have been fucking with my woman?” I growl the question, almost unable to believe it.
“Yeah,” the older one sneers, “that bitch deserves it.”
I rear back, disbelief flowing through me. This makes no fucking sense.
The back door of the bakery swings open and Scarlett steps out, her eyes darting around and landing on me and relaxing. Seeing her pisses me off and has me seeing red. I stomp over to her and tangle my fingers in her hair.
My voice is low and filled with warning, “I told you to stay in your office until I came to get you.”
“I checked the camera,” she murmurs, “and saw you have everything under control.”
“I’ll be spanking your ass later for this,” I warn her, and she bites her lip as if she’s trying to hide a smile.
She looks around me and sees the two kids still being contained by Lucifer and Hacker. Her mouth falls open and then she opens the back door to the bakery.
As she motions inside, her voice holds no room for argument, “Bring them inside right now.”
The guys maneuver them inside and then toward the front of the bakery which now has all the lights on. I follow right behind them and watch as they’re shoved, gently considering how I’ve seen men treated by my brothers before, into seats.
Scarlett hustles into the dining area with a plastic container and places it on the table between the boys. She looks at them and then points at the container. “Have a snack,” she insists and my mouth drops fucking open.
The older boy sneers at my woman, his voice dripping with disdain, “I’m not eating anything you’ve made bitch.”
My hand flexes at my side wanting to react to the kid, but I know I can’t. He might be an asshole who is disrespecting my woman, but he’s still a kid. The younger of the two looks at the container with a longing in his eyes.
Scarlett lets out a frustrated huff and opens the container which is filled with cookies. She arches an eyebrow and shrugs, “Help yourself or don’t.”
She pulls a chair closer, but I stop her from pulling it too close. Even though she shoots me a look, she doesn’t fight me. Which is a fucking good thing, I’m already on edge enough.
I cross my arms across my chest along with the rest of my brothers as we surround the three sitting figures. The longer the silence stretches between us, the more the boys start to fidget.
“Why have you been messing with my bakery?” There’s an honest curiosity and an undercurrent of anger in Scarlett’s question and pride swells inside of me.
Okay, and my cock perks up and takes notice, but now is not the time for that.
The younger boy dives for a cookie and shoves it into his mouth as his brother shouts, “Ezekiel, no!”
Ezekiel isn’t phased, and just shrugs. He looks around him and then at Scarlett. “You ruined our lives and don’t deserve to have this nice bakery,” he informs my woman with a straight face.
Scarlett’s mouth opens and closes. Her eyes are wide and it’s clear she wasn’t expecting that answer.
I step forward and rest my hand on my woman’s shoulder, giving it a squeeze of support. She looks up at me with so many questions in her eyes.
Lucifer’s voice is filled with authority as he barks, “Explain.”
“Our father,” Ezekiel says as if that’s explanation enough even though it’s not. “He told us how Scarlett is the only good thing he’s ever done. He told us how he’s so proud of her and what she’s built.” He looks at his older brother and demands, “Tell them, Malcolm.”
My woman’s eyebrows pull together, her voice hesitant, “Your father?”
Malcolm raises his head, his eyes hard and filled with malice, “Your father, too.”
Scarlett sucks in a breath and tears start to stream down her face. She shakes her head a few times. “I’ve never met my father,” she informs the boys, and their faces fill with confusion. “He left my mom before I was ever born. I don’t even know who he is because his name isn’t on my birth certificate and my mom always told me it was better that way. She didn’t tell me before she died.”
“That can’t be right,” Malcolm insists. “Every time he takes his belt to us, he yells about how he went and visited you and how much better you are than us.”
Scarlett sobs and I can’t take it anymore. I lift her from her chair and sit in it as I settle her on my lap. I watch as Lucifer crouches down in front of the boys and talk in hushed tones. I know he’ll get more information out of them, but right now my woman is my concern.
I run a hand up and down her back as she whispers, “My father? I have brothers? They’re my brothers? He beat them?”
“It’s okay, Sugar,” I soothe her, “we’ll get to the bottom of this and make it right.”
My woman goes from slumped against my chest to sitting straight up, fire in her eyes, her voice loud and full of thunder, “You better fucking believe that we’re going to make it right. My brothers are coming home with me. I’m going to take care of them from now on. No more belts, no more abuse. I’ll never let that fucker touch them again.”
I can’t help it; I melt at the heart my woman has.
Ezekiel’s voice is small, “What? You want us? Dad said you never even wanted to meet us. He said it over and over as he burned me with his cigarette.”
That does it. Scarlett is flying off my lap and Lucifer barely gets out of the way fast enough as my woman falls to her knees in front of the boys.
“You listen to me,” her voice is firm, “I never knew you existed. I’m so sorry that he used my name and my existence to hurt you. I’ve never met the man, never,” she insists. “You’re my brothers. Even if all his words are just lies and we have no blood ties, you’re mine now. I won’t let him hurt you again. I’m so sorry he hurt you at all.”
Well. Fuck.
My brothers look down at my woman, admiration shining in her eyes.
“But,” Malcolm’s voice is small and at complete odds with how he was trying to posture before, “we fucked with your bakery.”
“Language,” Scarlett chastises and the kid blushes. Her face softens and she shakes her head. “Stuff can be replaced and fixed. I’ll never hold it against you. You were angry and you lashed out. If you promise to never do it again, then I can forgive you.” He looks shocked and she grins. “You’ll also be working here to pay for the damages.”
I watch Malcolm transform right in front of my eyes. He sits up straighter, her eyes going from wounded to determined. “I can do that.”
“I know you can,” she whispers and then holds her arms open.
The boys dive into her embrace and I can’t help but look on in awe.
Lucifer steps up next to me, his voice low. “I’ve called a friend on the force and someone I know at DCFS. They’re on their way. We’ll get everything sorted and DNA tests done. Then we’ll make sure our girl gets custody.”
I look at my Prez and arch an eyebrow, “Our girl?”
He smirks at me and nods toward where Scarlett is hugging the boys as silent tears track down all of their faces. The relief is practically flowing from all three of them.
“They’re family now.” Lucifer slaps me on the back and teases me, “Hope you’re ready to help raise two boys who will need a lot of help.”
I stand taller because there’s no way I’ll allow my woman to face this alone. I nod once and then walk closer to the three of them, crouching down and placing a comforting hand on my woman’s back. She looks over at me with worry, but the look on her face is quickly replaced with adoration as she studies me.
She knows I’ll have her back. No matter what.