Chapter Eleven
Dillon
“Hey Maddy,” I smile as I walk back into the Burton estate. “You ready to go out and eat?”
“You know it,” she smiles back at me. “I just need to grab my purse.”
I watch as the person pretending to be my friend rushes from the room. I don’t move even though her purse is right there. She’s most likely watching and testing me. I’m not going to give a damn thing away.
“Maddy girl,” I yell, pretending to check my watch. “If we don’t go now we’re not going to have enough time to eat anything.”
“Sorry,” she laughs before grabbing her purse. “It was right here the whole time.”
She pulls her phone from her purse and laughs.
“Always so forgetful,” I laugh, placing my hand on her back.
“I’m so glad you’re back home,” I tell her as we pull my borrowed car from the driveway. This is actually King’s car. “I came out here when I heard you were missing. I was worried sick.”
“I’m sorry,” she says, pretending to feel bad. “I just needed some time to myself to process everything. King and his friends were so angry with me and I didn’t like how that made me feel. I really did pay that man back. Wesley, I think is his name. I’ll never do something like that again, Blackhawk.”
“That’s another thing,” I say. “Why do you keep calling me that? Are you angry with me? You hate that people call me Blackhawk. What happened to Dillon?”
I look over and give her sad puppy dog eyes before laughing. I don’t want her to suspect anything but I also want fucking answers.
Well, one answer. Where is my best friend?
“Is that so,” I hear her mumble. If I wasn’t so in tune with the woman for fear of missing something, I wouldn’t have caught it. “I was just trying it on,” she tells me. “I might keep trying it for the rest of the day to see if I like it. But, like before, I think I hate it.”
I join in her laughter.
Your move, Obsidians.
***King***
Five hours earlier
“What have you got, Knox?” I ask as patiently as possible.
“I’m currently in the same records as last time,” he says from his desk. Instead of using his laptop he came into his office and got to work using every piece of equipment he owns. One screen is running facial recognition on Madeline’s face to see if anything concerning pops up. Another screen is flicking through traffic cameras. Apparently, if it sees her face it will stop and alert Knox. One screen is filing through thousands of police reports and Knox is on the biggest screen looking at hospital records.
“It was a closed adoption,” he tells us. “I did talk to Maddy’s parents about it right before you all walked back in. They said it was quick and unexpected. The mother had died during childbirth and the baby didn’t have any other family. If she wasn’t adopted then she would have been sent straight into foster care and it would have taken them much longer to gain custody. So, they signed the papers. All completely legal.”
“Why did they choose the Burtons?” I ask. “According to this, Madeline was born in Kentucky. If they were in such a hurry to have the baby adopted out before social services stepped in, why not simply go to the nearest candidates?”
“Let’s not forget the twin,” Blaze says. “There were two babies. Why were they separated?”
“We need to find out her name,” Blackhawk says. “I want to know where she’s been all this time. “
“Whoever she is, we know she’s up to no good,” Ghost adds.
“Miles thinks it has to do with money,” Venom says.
“GUYS,” Knox yells. “I’m sorry for yelling, but could you all please go away? I need to focus. As soon as I get behind the firewall of closed adoptions I’ll let you know.”
“Sorry, Little one,” Blaze says. “We’ll leave you to it.”
“I want you to drink all of this water, boy,” Steel says, placing a bottle of water on his desk. “I mean it, Knox. I want the whole bottle done.”
“Yes, Sir,” Knox mumbles.
I chuckle knowing full well that the bottle will remain untouched.
“He’s going to get in trouble,” Jax laughs.
“Without a single doubt,” Colt agrees. “That boy needs a keeper.”
“What he needs is a Daddy Dom,” Blaze says. “But Steel and I haven’t agreed with any he’s shown interest in.”
“He needs a Daddy Dom who will make him take time for his Little side,” Steel says. “We’re either going to have to take him to the playroom at Oasis or he’s going to need to come home with us for a Little day.”
“Wait, are you two Daddies?” Colt asks. He’s been with us for two years now but I understand his questions. Steel and Blaze don’t shout their interests to the world. They’re not embarrassed by any means. Hell, they own a BDSM club. They just prefer to keep their shit private.
“Only if that’s what our Sub needs,” Blaze explains.
“It’s not something we need, though,” Steel continues. “We adjust our needs to the ones of the Sub between us.”
“We’re versatile Dom’s,” Blaze smirks. “We don’t crave a specific type of play. Just a Submissive who is willing to give us everything so we can make sure they have everything they need in return.”
“Wait, between the two of you?” Colt asks, eyes wide.
Jax tosses me a beer and laughs.
“Was it this funny when I first found out?” Jax asks me.
I nod and take a swig of my beer.
“We share one Sub,” Steel says, smirking. “Why the sudden curiosity, boy? Interested?”
“Fuck no,” Colt laughs. “I’m not submitting to either of you fuckers. But you’re actual brothers. Isn’t that weird?”
“Why would it be weird?” Blaze asks. “I’m not fucking my brother and his dick comes nowhere near my ass. The closest our dicks get is when we’re both fucking a woman at the same time.”
“Wait, don’t they rub together between the barriers?”
“Jealous, brother?” Steel laughs. “There’s nothing more perfect than sharing a sub with my twin. Male or female. Is there, Blaze.”
“Woah,” Knox says, coming to a halt. “Am I interrupting? Why am I turned on? What did I come in here for again?”
“I can only think of one thing that could top that feeling, Steel,” Blaze says to his brother. “The moment we find our one true Sub. Whenever that person is tucked safely between us, that will be the most perfect moment.”
“I think I might be gay,” Jax says, causing us all to laugh. That fucker has a different woman in his bed every night.
“Me, too, brother,” Knox sighs, shaking his head. “Me, too.”
“Come on over, Little one, and tell us what you’ve found,” Steel chuckles.
All joking is pushed aside as Knox sits at the table and looks up.
“I got through the firewall,” he starts. “Madeline was born one minute and fifty-eight seconds before her twin sister, Madison. Their parents’ names are Alex and Olivia Ross. Alex Ross died of alcohol poisoning five years ago, but here’s the kicker. Olivia Ross is very much alive. I’ve found records of where she, her husband, and their daughter, Madison, have lived. Guys, Maddy was only one county away from the family that gave her up.”
“What does it say on the adoption papers?” Blackhawk asks.
“It says the mother willingly signed all her rights away and would signed a closed adoption form if they could be the ones to choose the family the child went to,” he says, reading from his screen. “It looks like they had three families picked out. Two who wouldn’t have been able to make it in time and the Burtons.”
“Is that legal?” I ask. “Can someone choose the family their child goes to?”
“Yes,” Knox answers. “But it’s called an open adoption. However, the file says that if she got to choose the family she wanted it to be a closed adoption. This means that the new parents would be able to know anything about the child’s family. They labeled the mother as deceased but didn’t state her name.”
“That’s fucked up,” Blackhawk says and I couldn’t agree more. “I have to go and take this bitch out to eat. We need a plan.”
“You need to say something to her that’s going to piss her off enough to make a trip back to Maddy after you leave,” Ghost says. “King, did you say her parents made it to the safehouse?”
“They did,” I answer. “Ma and Pops are up there with them.”
“Good. While Blackhawk is out with this woman, what was her name again, Knox?”
“Madison.”
“While Blackhawk is out with Madison,” Ghost continues. “We need to head to the house and place tracking devices inside every single car we find. She’s bound to use one of them. Then we simply follow from a distance. We’re going to get Maddy back, King.”
I don’t say anything. I don’t think I could if I wanted. My emotions are all over the place and my heart is fucking pissed at my brain. Even if I am able to rescue my beautiful woman, there’s a high chance that she won’t ever forgive me for how I acted.
Knox looks at me but I see no sympathy in his eyes.
Fuck.
“Let’s go,” Blackhawk says. “I know just what to say to make her angry. She’s probably using Maddy to gather information. I bet using Blackhawk was Maddy’s way to tell me that something isn’t right.”
“It wouldn’t have mattered,” I say. “The second we looked into her eyes we knew that woman wasn’t Madeline.”
“Let’s go get her back, brother,” Blackhawk says. “It looks like you have a shit ton of groveling to do.”
“He isn’t the only one,” Knox says, glaring at the rest of the team.
“We know,” Ghost says, regret alive on his face. “No bikes, one car.”
“Fuck,” Steel complains. “I hate the damn van.”
“It fits eight people,” Ghost says. “We’re taking it. Colt and Jax, you’re staying behind. Keep our little family safe.”
“It fits eight normal-sized people,” Viper says. “Do any of us look normal-sized to you?”
“I’m driving,” Ghost says. “Quit bitching and get in the van.”
“I’ll head on up to the house and pick her up,” Blackhawk says. “Park at the gas station so you can see when we pass. I’ll keep her out for about two hours.”
I climb in the van and smash my body against the widow of the front row. While we make our way to the gas station, I make plans.
Madeline will be mine, heart, body, and soul. I just need to make her understand how much she means to me even after the cruel lies I told.
I told her she was desperate, fat, and unworthy. I told her that I should have shot her. I said such cruel things in the heat of my anger. Things I didn’t actually believe but knew would hit her hard.
I’ll regret it for the rest of my life.
She’s fucking beautiful. I’m the one not worthy. But I sure as fuck am desperate. When I saw how she was with those children, I was flooded with so many different and conflicting emotions. I didn’t date clients. And this woman was way too pure for someone with so much blood on their hands.
Before that damn video surfaced, I had every intention of calling Ben and rejecting the job. I wanted to protect Madeline because she was mine to protect. I didn’t want his money. I wanted his daughter.
The look in her eyes, when I kissed her forehead before leaving her classroom, makes my heart ache. Will I ever get that look of longing, of hope, to shine back on that beautiful face?
I angle myself, retrieve my phone from my pocket, and hit two before connecting the call, making sure to connect to the van's Bluetooth. I toss my phone on my lap and just hang my head.
“Hello, my beautiful boy,” my mother’s voice rings through the van’s speakers. “Are you coming down Friday?”
“Mama, I messed up,” I say, not caring a single bit about the emotional break in my voice. The men in the van remain quiet but I wouldn’t mind if they didn’t. These men are my family and they mean the world to me. I’m not afraid to show them who I am. It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve cried in front of them and it won’t be the last. They’ve been my rock for years.
“What happened, Kingston?” she asks.
Not giving a single fuck, I let my tears fall as I tell my mom everything. Viper is beside me with his hand on my knee while Blaze and Steel are behind me, one with a hand on my shoulder and one caressing the back of my neck. Venom is turned sideways in the front seat watching with so much love in his eyes while Ghost looks back at me from time to time from behind the wheel.
Every single man in this vehicle grew up in one family, apart from me. I joined them much later in life. While they’re all actual brothers, even with Venom’s adoption, they’ve never treated me as if I weren’t a member of their family, as well.
“Oh, son,” mom sniffs. “That really was a stupid thing to do. What happened to you listening to your heart, honey? If your heart was telling you one thing then why on earth would you believe something else regardless of the proof it might show? Honey, I understand you wanting to be cautious, but sometimes the heart knows best. Don't let doubt cloud your instincts. Life is about taking risks, and I just want you to be true to yourself. Listen to your heart, and everything else will fall into place.”
“None of us believed her after the video,” Ghost admits to my mom. “Well, Knox, Bitsy, and Sophie did. The rest of us are just as guilty as King.”
“She’s never going to feel welcomed in our family, mama,” I admit my fear. “Knowing what she went through, how is she ever going to be able to feel as beautiful as she is with the memories of what I did?”
“I know each and every one of you boys have a heart of gold,” mama says. “Mistakes were made. Feelings were hurt. Trust was broken. There’s only one thing to do, isn’t there?”
“What’s that, Ma?” Blaze asks.
“Fix it,” she says. “It’s not going to be easy. You don’t deserve easy. Find her, bring her home, and then fix it. And Kingston?”
“Yeah, mama?”
“She’s a teacher for special needs?” she asks, her voice rough with each word.
“Yeah mama,” I smile. “When I saw her in the middle of that class with those children, everything clicked into place. I’ve never felt like something fit with me more than in the moment. I broke it, mama, but I’ll fix it.”
“We all will,” Steel says.
“We gotta go, mama,” I say. “Love you.”
“I love you, too, son. I love all of you boys.”
The men shout back their love before I disconnect the call.
Ghost pulls into the parking lot of the gas station and we wait.
“We got time, brothers,” Ghost says. “Let’s figure out how we’re going to get King’s woman to trust us again.”
“Slim Jims are a good start,” Blaze says confidently. “When she was with us, she made me go to the store and get her a giant box. And she wouldn’t share.”
“Slim Jims it is,” Viper smiles.
And here we sit for the next few hours talking about how to make my woman, my very heart, feel like she’s part of the family that tore her heart into pieces.