Chapter 20
Nitro
Iwatch as Fox loses his shit slowly. It doesn’t happen often, I’ve only seen it happen once when we were deployed and he came across a house that had been attacked in the middle of nowhere.
The occupants, a woman and her elderly mother, had been brutally raped and tortured before being shot.
That night was the first time I held Hayden in my arms while he slept fitfully.
I’m prepared to do that again tonight, but this time I will have Jazz at my side to help soothe him.
My gaze follows as he stalks from one end of the house to the other, only stopping when he takes in the master bedroom before turning and moving again.
A rustle sounds out every time he sets foot into the master room I’m standing in and I wonder if the house has rodents.
It’s on a large plot of land so field mice and shit are common.
He steps back into the room and this time the rustling is accompanied by a small squeak. Holding my hand up I halt Fox’s movements and the thudding of his boots through the house.
“There,” I whisper to myself when I hear it.
I point to the closet and slowly, on silent feet move toward the door. I lean closer and hear quiet panting before a soft wet dripping sound. Looking down at the floor a puddle starts to form at my boots and my gut drops. Making eye contact with Fox I know what he sees on my face breaks his heart.
Softening my voice, I talk to the door, “It’s OK, we’re here to help.”
Gripping the handle of the closet I gently pull it open to reveal two little auburn haired girls huddled together, tear streaked faces, arms wrapped tightly around each other.
Their eyes widen when they see my uniform and one of them hides her face as the other one stares me down with such venom that it shocks me.
“Leave us alone! We won’t tell anyone what happened! Tell him that we won’t talk!”
“Who doesn’t want you to talk, sweetie? Maybe you could tell me and I can help you. I’m from the police department, see?” I hold out my badge to show her and she studies it intently.
“No,” her sister whispers at her, turning her face. They’re identical from what I can tell, and look a fuckload like Kit, Hitchens other daughter. That fucker was not only hiding a wife, but more kids. “We can’t tell him, he might be friends with him.”
“Friends with who?”
“Our dad,” she whispers, her eyes drifting to the bed before filling with tears.
“Do you need me to call him? Your dad?” Fox asks, stepping closer.
The spitfire one screams out “no” while the other shakes and sobs in her sister’s arms.
I share a look with Fox before taking a knee on the ground, not even caring if I get piss on me.
“Girls, my partner Fox and I, we are not friends with your dad. He is not a nice man, and we want to make sure he goes away for a long time and doesn’t hurt anyone else.”
The timid twin peeks at me, then her eyes move to Fox, who is kneeling beside me in the doorway of the closet.
“Did you see the person who hurt your mommy?” Fox asks gently, softening his face.
The twins both nod before sharing a look.
The timid one cuddles her sister tightly while the other looks at me with eyes too mature for a kid.
“It was our dad. We watched him hurt her. He said if we said anything he’d come back and he’d do the same to us.
” Her bottom lip trembles for a moment before she pulls a little pocket knife out from behind her.
“But I would have protected us, I have this.”
“You’re such a brave girl, honey.” I say, voice breaking a little that someone so young had resigned herself to the fact that she would have to hurt a man to protect herself and her sister. “Can you tell us your dad’s name?”
“Travis Hitchens. He told us not to tell anyone what happened. He said he had some bad people he’d give us to if we didn’t shut up and behave.”
“Ah fuck,” Fox curses gently behind me, his footsteps leading him out of the room and I can hear him with Moss on the phone rather than the dispatch phone.
I’m trying so hard to tamp down the urge to punch a hole in the fucking wall that I’m shaking with the effort. My heart is fucking beating in my ears and I know that if I don’t calm down then I’ll scare two little girls who have seen enough.
“Moss is on his way, we’re gonna take the girls to the clubhouse. Get Switch to check them over,” Fox murmurs before brightening a little. “OK girls, we’re gonna get you out of here and take you somewhere safe.”
They shake their heads, “No, we can’t go to the police, he’ll know we talked!” The brave sister starts to lose it now and all my instincts are telling me to grab her, hold her tight and help her calm down but I know my uniform is probably triggering her.
“No, no, we’re from the Devil’s Rose MC. Have you seen us around? We ride motorcycles,” Fox says, a tight smile on his face.
“You give toys to kids sometimes,” the quieter twin says.
“Yes! That’s us, every year we collect toys to give to children if Santa can’t make it to their house.” They nod. Calming down a little. “We’re going to take you to our clubhouse, the MC clubhouse. We can hide you there and your dad and his friends won’t know where to find you. Does that sound OK?”
They share a look before turning and nodding.
“OK, let’s get you out of there,” I lean forward to take the quieter one, wrapping her in my arms. She squirms a little and I pull back to look down at her little face.
“I wet myself. I’m sorry,” her lips trembles and my heart breaks for her.
“Shhh, it’s OK. Sometimes it happens. One time Fox peed on me.”
“I was scared you big shit!” Fox says, playing it up. The sound of identical giggles has the band around my heart loosening a little.
“Moss is waiting around the back. Get them out there and we’ll leave out the front. No one will know they were ever here,” Fox murmurs to me.
I lead the way out the back of the house where Moss’s SUV sits in the middle of the back yard. He steps out of the car with a face like fucking thunder.
“When you said out back, I didn’t think you meant through the fucking field into the backyard,” Fox jokes. Moss doesn’t even crack a smile, and Fox’s drops from his face. “What’s wrong?”
“That fu -” Moss’s eyes dart to the kids. “He turned up at the school. Turns out Jazz met Joy at the medical center. Offered to help her, and gave Joy her number. He tracked Jazz down, pissed that his other wife was missing and slapped Jazz around some.”
The growl that rips out of me is animalistic, so much so that the little girl in my arms flinches. “Shit, sorry honey,” I try to soothe, but it’s Fox’s hand on my shoulder that has my blood pressure lowering.
“Zane, I’m fine, stop scaring the children,” Jazz’s voice is sweet music to my ears.
Even with a bruised and swollen cheek she has a soft smile painted on her face as she gives the kids in our arms a soft look.
“Hey there, I’m Jasmine, let’s get you two somewhere safe.
” She smiles, opens her arms and the little one in mine launches herself at Jazz, letting Jazz buckle her into the backseat before her sister does the same.
“Get them out of here, we’ll meet you at the clubhouse.”
Jasmine
I’ve heard about Church, but never in a million years did I ever think I’d find myself sitting here alongside the rest of the MC.
Mama Debs and Sage have all the kids, including the two little dolls Fox and Zane pulled out of that fucking house.
They told me some of what happened, wanting a kind ear to unburden to and for someone, anyone to tell them that what happened wasn’t their fault.
It was the fault of the sadistic bastard that laid his hands on their mother.
When he came to the school looking for his wife, my first thought went to the woman I met at the medical center.
I was so relieved when he said she was gone.
I hoped that she managed to get her and her little girl to safety.
Imagine my surprise when I came face to face with them here at the clubhouse.
Darting my eyes across the table, my eyes land on Joy, sitting stiffly next to Switch.
Her little girl is with Mama Debs, too. It didn’t go unnoticed how alike the kids look, with the three little girls all commenting on how they all have the same dark auburn curls.
I jump when Marx bangs his fist against the wall, only to have two large hands land on my thighs.
One on each side. I lay my hands over theirs and then give them a little squeeze.
I need to comfort them as much as they want to comfort me.
The look on both of their faces when they walked out of that house almost brought me to my knees.
Fox and Nitro are good men, and they’re mine. To have, to comfort, to love.
“Anyone know where this Hitchens fucker is?” Marx growls, and I fight the urge to shrink back.
The large men around the table all have murderous looks on their faces, and if I didn’t know them I’d be shitting myself.
But I do know them and their women, and it’s their women who are keeping them calm.
Lovely has her hand resting on Marx’s forearm, Wire has Remy in his lap, nose in her neck.
Vi is standing behind Jules, arms wrapped around his shoulders as his hand rests on her clasped ones.
Mira is on Tank’s lap, Chewy on Rhodie’s and Nat on Savage’s.
Gus is standing with Ana in his arms, Judge has his arm slung over Kaia and Blanche has Tav’s hand on her arm, as if to keep her from jumping up and kicking asses.
“He’s gone to ground,” Nitro says, running a hand down his face.
“He clearly knows he’s fucked up.” Fox adds.