Chapter 8
Eight
Madison
I sit back in my chair and look around and smile at everyone.
This right here is family, not by blood but an unbreakable bond, and I’m so glad Bailey has this now.
I was a ball of nerves waiting for Joker and the guys to come back, wondering what they were doing and if they had Leo or not.
But as soon as they walked in the door, the tension in my shoulders dropped, knowing they were safe.
When they reached Bailey, and Joker handed her the bear, she burst into tears and hugged it tightly, saying it was a gift from her grandma before she died.
She was heartbroken because she didn’t think she would ever see it again, which just broke my heart.
Though now that I know Leo is in the basement, I have an itch to go down there myself and beat his ass.
I look down at the floor and smile, thinking about it.
“Thinking of beating his ass, aren’t you?” Joker whispers in my ear, scaring the crap out of me.
I turn my head, looking at him, giving him a sheepish smile. “That obvious?”
“Angel, you couldn’t be more obvious if you tried. You just growled, looking at the floor.” His shoulders shake with laughter as my face goes up in flames. I look around the table to see everyone smiling at me, knowing they had heard it as well.
“I mean, one hit won’t hurt, right?” I lower my voice so Bailey doesn’t hear me, but she’s engaged in a conversation with Scarlett about drawing.
Joker looks at Blade and nods his head yes, and it’s taking everything in me not to jump around my chair in excitement.
The guys get up from the table, and I follow.
Bailey looks my way. “I will be right back.
I'm just going to help Joker with something, then we can go home and get you settled, okay?”
She smiles at me, and she looks so carefree right now. “Okay.” She waves and goes back to her conversation with the girls, not knowing I’m about to beat someone's ass.
Joker takes my hand as he leads me down the stairs to the basement. Once we reach the bottom, he stops me before we go in and searches my eyes. “Are you sure you want to do this, angel?”
I pull my shoulders back and smile at him.
“I’m sure I just need to see the man who has tortured Bailey.
I need to tell him that his life as he knows it is over.
” Right now I’m not Madison, the sweet baker.
I'm pissed off, and rightly so. We walk into the room, and the guys stand around and nod their heads at me in silent support.
Weapons line the wall, and Leo, chained from the ceiling with his feet barely touching the ground, glares at me; however, I am not fazed.
I walk to the wall of toys and pick up a baseball bat and swing it in my hand, and stand back in front of Leo as Joker takes the gag off his mouth.
“What the fuck are you doing here, bitch? Did you come back to finish the job?” He snarls at me, and I know he recognizes my face from earlier. I can see his shoulder bleeding from my shot. Joker goes to step in front of me, but I hold my hand up, stopping him.
“You don’t get to ask questions because I’m in control right now, and you are going to listen to me.
I’m here to get my revenge for Bailey and all the horrors she faced because of you and that mother of hers.
You are going to suffer unimaginable pain, the likes of which you've never felt before. You won’t know when it will happen, but it will happen.
And when you're rotting in hell, where you belong, Bailey is going to thrive in life because you didn’t break her.
Joker, will put his gag back in for me?”
Joker looks at me, amused, and winks. “Sure thing, angel.”
I walk around Leo, tapping him in places with the bat to mess with him a little until I’m standing behind him.
“Did I mention I was an excellent ballplayer?” With that, I step back and let my bat fly, hitting him dead center in the middle of his back.
My chest heaves as I can hear his muffled screams of pain.
As I drop the bat on the ground, Joker's strong arms wrap around me. I’ve never in my life done anything like this before, but seeing those marks on Bailey, something inside of me snapped.
“Are you okay, angel?”
I pull back and look up at Joker. “Yeah, I’m okay. I got what I came here for. Let's go home and get Bailey settled.” I know I said home, and by the smile on his face, he likes what I said as well.
He places a kiss on my forehead and pulls back. “You got it, angel.” He takes my hand, and I can see the pride in the guys’ faces as we walk by.
“Damn, Mads, who knew you had it in you?” Hawk says while everyone laughs.
I shrug my shoulders as we walk back upstairs.
“Yeah, well, my grandpa is the one who taught me to stand up for myself and others when they can’t.
It’s why I donate to women’s charities that need a fresh start.
It was my grandparents' charity of choice. I’m a trust fund kid and try to use my money for good.
” The guys look at me in a new light. I don’t normally advertise that I have money, a ridiculous amount, mind you, but I try to keep my grandparents’ wishes going, hoping I'm doing them proud.
“Send me the charity name; I would like to donate as well.” Blade says as the other guys nod their heads as well, making my heart sore.
We walk up the stairs, and as soon as Bailey sees us, she runs over with a massive smile on her face.
She’s jumping around excitedly, making me smile. “I’m so excited! Scarlett said she’s going to teach me how to draw just like her. I can draw some, but not like her, isn't that great?”
I push her hair behind her ear, so happy that she’s comfortable around all of us. She’s finally starting to know what being a kid is like. “That’s amazing, Bailey. We will have to pick up art supplies then, won’t we?” I wink at her, and her eyes get so big like she’s in shock.
She surprises me by hugging me tightly. I wrap my arms around her and close my eyes. This little girl has stolen my heart, and she doesn’t even know it. She pulls back and has tears in her eyes, and I gently wipe them away. “Thank you, Madison.”
“You’re welcome, honey. Are you ready to head to Joker’s so we can get you settled in?” She nods her head and grabs my hand.
“I had the prospects move all the stuff over already along with the dogs, so they should have everything set up for you. We will head to the mall tomorrow and pick up whatever else you may need. How does that sound, Bailey Bee?” Joker says as he wraps his arms around me as we both watch Bailey jump around, making everyone laugh at her goofiness.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you.” She throws her arms around both of us before letting go and running back to everyone to say goodbye.
Joker and I stand back and watch her. “She’s gonna be okay, isn’t she?”
Joker kisses the side of my head, making me sigh and lean into him more. “Yeah, angel, she is.” Blade walks over, standing beside us.
“I will have the paperwork to you guys in the morning for you to sign to say Bailey is now yours. Let me know if you guys need anything; you have the entire club behind you. Joker, get your family home, and we will see you tomorrow night.” Blade walks away and heads right to Hailey as he pulls her into his arms, placing his hand on her stomach.
Bailey skips over with a smile on her face. She grabs my hand, and Joker grabs my other one as we walk out the door of the clubhouse. The sun is now starting to set.
“We can just walk over to the house since it’s just in the back.” Joker takes the lead with Bailey as she talks to him about her day.
The day is taking its toll on me, and I feel exhausted.
As I look at Bailey laughing with Joker, I’m just wondering if I’m doing the right thing here.
If we are doing the right thing here. But the moment I see her throw her head back and laugh at whatever crazy thing Joker said, I know we are.
I know from today on she will be a fun-loving kid, just like she’s always meant to be.
Each house in the back is absolutely beautiful; they have built a small slice of heaven.
We walk up to Joker’s house and I immediately fall in love with it.
It’s a two-story log cabin with a massive wrap-around porch, a fenced-in yard, and a backyard that is perfect for the dogs.
We walk up the stairs as Joker unlocks the door and lets us walk in.
“Welcome home.” He smiles at us, and I can feel my face blush.
The inside is just as beautiful with an open floor plan, floor to ceiling windows, and a baker's dream kitchen with an island big enough for me to bake on along with a brand-new mixer and supplies.
I turn to Joker and lift my eyebrow as he just smiles and shrugs his shoulders.
“I figured since you're going to be living here you would want to bake me some of those amazing brownies.”
Bailey looks between us. “Oh, those are my favorites as well. Can I help you make them?”
“See, they are Bailey Bee’s favorites; you just have to make them now.” They both smile at me, and all I can do is shake my head at the pair. I'm not sure whose sweet tooth is worse.
“Fine, we can make them later, but not tonight. Tonight, we are going to get settled in and relax. Maybe we can watch a movie once you’ve had a shower and changed into your pajamas, and if Joker has popcorn, we can make some. How does that sound?”
Bailey looks at Joker with a hopeful look. “I also have ice cream with every topping you can think of. We can make sundaes as well.”
I roll my eyes at him as Bailey jumps around. I think we are going to have to talk about him just feeding Bailey all this junk food later, but for now I will let it go. “Ice cream sundaes it is, then. Joker, why don’t we show Bailey her room?”
Bailey grabs Joker's hand as we head up the stairs. “Come on, Bailey Bee. Now, whatever you don’t like, we can change tomorrow. I can also have your room painted any color you'd like as well. Now, this is your room, so why don’t you open the door?”
Joker steps back, taking my hand as Bailey looks back at us, and I nod my head, smiling at her.
She opens the door, walks in, and lets out a gasp.
We walk in behind her; the bedroom is beautiful.
White walls with a fluffy black rug and a massive four-poster bed, a walk-in closet and a bathroom.
There is a desk with a laptop on it as well. I swear, Joker thought of everything.
“Joker, this is amazing.”
“Yeah, well, I might have given the prospects a list of things I want for her. I just want to make sure she’s comfortable living here with us and that Bailey has everything she needs.”
This man surprises me at every turn. There are so many levels to Joker, and I think I’m only at the surface.
“Is this really all for me?” Bailey says as she runs her hands along the bed.
“Of course it is, Bailey Bee. It's your room now. You can decorate it however you'd like tomorrow when we go to the mall.” Bailey runs over and slams into Joker, hugging him with all her might.
“Thank you, Joker,” Bailey whispers, overcome with emotion.
“Anytime, Bailey Bee, and I mean that. Come down when you're ready.” Joker stands up, and we head for the door. I look back one last time and watch her looking around, smiling, and I know right then and there she’s going to be just fine.