Chapter 37
R ock scowled at the person who bumped into him.
The smaller guy took one look at him, grew pale, and ran off.
Rock grunted in satisfaction.
Indie elbowed him in his side and he glanced down at her, raising an eyebrow.
Damn, she looked adorable. She wore a pale pink pompom hat.
It was one that Slade had given her years ago.
She also had on the scarf from Quaid and white gloves with pompoms hanging off them.
Her blonde hair slid out the bottom of the hat and her cheeks were red with happiness.
Yep. Adorable.
“That wasn’t very nice.”
He shrugged. He didn’t care about being nice. He had precious cargo to protect. And all of these assholes could just keep away from her.
“I thought it was well done,” Slade said from where he walked behind Indie. Spencer was on her other side, frowning as someone weaved toward them, clearly drunk.
Indie sighed. “I can see this wasn’t a good idea. We should go home. ”
The disappointment in her voice didn’t sit well in his guts. He hated denying her anything, which could become a problem down the track.
But, for now, he didn’t see it as one.
Maybe he should have stopped her coming here, though, because he couldn’t stand the idea of anyone getting near her.
Only now she sounded so upset and he hated that she couldn’t do what she wanted, what brought her joy, because of that bastard, Billy.
“We’ll stay a while longer,” Slade told her.
Rock glanced up at him, his face was tense, and he saw Slade had been just as affected by the sadness in her tone.
Christ.
Didn’t she know they would give her the world if they could?
“You have to have your hot chocolate,” Spencer said cheerfully, grabbing hold of her hand and swinging it back and forth. “Come on, I see a market stall selling them with lots of whipped cream. Why don’t you guys find a seat where you can look at all the pretty lights and I’ll grab them.”
Rock nodded at him and Slade stood on her other side. Together, they headed to a quieter area.
A strange feeling ran up his spine as they moved and he gazed around, trying to see if there was a threat.
But nothing jumped out at him.
“Everything okay?” Slade asked him.
Rock grunted in reply and Slade looked around tensely.
“What’s going on? Did someone see Billy?” Indie asked fearfully.
He wished he had seen that motherfucker. There was nothing he wanted to do more than fuck that bastard up.
However, he hadn’t spotted him.
“No,” he told her as they found seats.
Indie sat with a quiet sigh and he saw her grimace. He glanced to Slade, who nodded.
“Are you sore, Boo?” he asked, leaning into her .
“Just a bit. I’ll be fine, though.” She attempted to sit up straighter.
Rock growled. He didn’t like her lying to them. Especially not over something like this.
If she was in pain, then she needed to tell them so they could do what was necessary to help her.
“You just lied to us, Little one,” Slade growled.
Wonder filled her face as he called her Little one. And she swallowed heavily.
Rock didn’t have a cute nickname for her like Boo or Princess. Or any nickname. He barely spoke so it was difficult to use a nickname.
But he hoped she didn’t think that he wanted her any less than the other two.
“I think I’ll actually feel better if I sit here.” She got up and, to his surprise, sat right on his lap.
He sat there, frozen for a moment until she let out a little giggle.
Brat.
But he approved. He wrapped his large hands around her hips and held her secure in his arms.
Where she belonged.
Indie sat in Rock’s lap with his arms around her and let out a quiet sigh.
This felt so good.
Exactly where she belonged.
Then she smiled as she spotted Spencer balancing four mugs of hot chocolate as he made his way toward them. Somehow, she couldn’t see Rock and Slade drinking hot chocolate.
But as he headed their way, a woman appeared out of nowhere, rushing toward them with a scowl on her face.
Indie stiffened as Rock stood and gently placed her on her feet before stepping in front of her.
“Indie! Slade! Fancy seeing you here. ”
Right. Did she really expect them to believe that it was a coincidence that she was here?
But why was she here?
“Sylvia,” Slade said cautiously, moving next to Rock. So there were two lines of defense between her and her mother.
Not that it was really necessary.
Her mum wouldn’t hurt her. She peered around Rock’s body to study Sylvia. She looked like she’d aged considerably since she’d last seen her. Then again, that was probably a year ago.
Her clothes were expensive, but it was obvious she had missed a few of her weekly trips to the hairdresser.
Spencer set the hot chocolates down and approached to stand close to her.
“Why so formal?” Sylvia cried. “Call me mum.”
“Hard pass,” Slade said.
Sylvia looked angry for a moment, but then she rallied, smiling again. “I understand. You were already all grown when I came along, weren’t you?” She sent Slade a coy look which made Indie’s stomach roll.
Maybe her mum wasn’t as put-together as usual, but she was still gorgeous.
Slade isn’t interested in your mum.
He knows what she’s like. And she’s way too old for him.
Her mum moved closer to Slade, reaching out to touch him. But Slade pushed her hand away.
Her mum let out an outraged gasp. But really what did she expect?
God, she made Indie feel ill.
Why couldn’t she have been a normal mum?
Why couldn’t she have cared about Indie even just a bit?
Indie pushed those thoughts aside.
“Why did you do that?” her mum asked.
“Because I don’t want you touching me, Sylvia,” Slade said.
“Obviously,” Spencer added in a cheerful voice. “Why would he want you to touch him? ”
Her mum looked at Spencer with confusion, obviously trying to figure out if he was insulting her or not.
Spencer waggled his fingers at her. “Great to see you, Sylvia. How’s the search for a sugar daddy going? Do they still call it that at your age?”
“Spencer,” she said with a groan as her mother’s face grew red.
“How dare you!” her mum yelled.
“It was a genuine question,” Spencer said.
“What are you doing here, Sylvia?” Slade asked.
“I came to talk to my daughter, of course. Come here, darling. I’ve missed you so much.”
Yeah. Indie wasn’t buying that.
“Why didn’t you call?” Indie asked. “How did you find us here?”
“Well, I wanted to call but I lost my phone.”
Uh-huh.
Did she really lose her phone or was there something else going on here?
“And when I tried to see Edward, he wouldn’t talk to me.” Her mum scowled. “Bastard. Do you know he’s trying to leave me with nothing?”
“You have a pre-nup and you cheated on him,” Slade said dryly. “What were you expecting? For him to give you half of everything?”
“Well, I deserve more than I’m getting,” her mother huffed. “And it isn’t as though he hasn’t cheated on me.”
“Yeah, but you don’t have proof of that, do you, Sylvia,” Spencer pointed out. He was very still and watchful. Odd for Spencer.
Her mother glared at them all. “I wish to speak to my daughter. Come, Indie.”
Rock tensed in front of her and she moved around to stand next to him. He reached out and took hold of her hand. Probably because he didn’t want her going any closer to her mother.
Indie got it. She didn’t want to go near her mum either.
“I don’t have anything to talk to you about, Mum,” Indie told her. “I’m sorry that the divorce isn’t going your way. But don’t you have a new man, now? ”
“What are you implying, Indie?” her mother asked. “That I need a man to support me?”
“I don’t think I was implying it,” Indie said. “I was out and out saying it. You’ve always relied on someone else to support you, Mum. I figured you left Edward because you had this new guy.”
“Well, he wasn’t who I thought he was.” Her mum sniffed. “And now Edward is being cruel. All I have left is you.” Her mother’s gaze moved over all of the guys. “Still all hanging out, huh? Aren’t you a bit old for that?”
“I don’t have any money, Mum,” Indie said cutting to the chase. Because she knew that was why her mum had really sought her out. “And what I do have I need for the baby.”
“Baby?” Her mum gave her a shocked look, running her gaze over her. Indie knew that her coat hid her small belly. “You’re pregnant? To who?”
“I messaged you and told you all of this,” Indie said. “It’s Billy’s baby.”
“Billy? Where is he? Why isn’t he with you?”
“He beat me up,” Indie said bluntly. “I left him.”
“He did what? He always seemed so nice. So now you’re living with Slade?” her mum asked.
It was phrased as a question but Indie got the feeling she already knew that she was living with Slade and the guys.
“She is,” Slade said. “She’s under our protection. Now, our hot chocolate is getting cold. You need to leave, Sylvia.”
“You can’t talk to me like that!” Sylvia said. “I came to speak to my daughter.”
“I don’t think we have anything to talk about,” Indie said tiredly. “I want to go home now.”
“I need money!” Sylvia said. “I’m broke. Edward won’t give me any more money and my other options have dried up.”
“I told you I don’t have any, Mum.” Indie did feel a bit bad for her. Did she have nothing?
“Father said he was giving you an allowance until things were settled,” Slade said .
“It’s not enough!” her mum cried.
“Wait, so you do have money? It’s just not enough?
” Indie stepped forward, ignoring the way Rock moved with her.
“I have nothing, Mum, and I’ve got a baby on the way.
I had to leave Billy because he was abusive, then he found me and beat me up and I ended up in hospital.
And where were you? You didn’t once answer my messages. And now you want money from me? No.”
“You have to help me!” her mum cried, lunging forward suddenly and grabbing hold of Indie’s arm. She managed to get her fingernails under the arm of her coat and dig them into her skin.
Terror held her frozen as pain engulfed her arm.
He was back.
He was going to hurt her.
And there was nothing she could do about it.