10. Mason
10
MASON
W e passed through the warehouse to an area in the back, and I saw them right away. Maddy was standing with a group of guys. Two of them were holding her back—smooth little fucks. I didn’t like them—each with a hand on her arm as she lunged toward another group of guys. Those two reeked of elitist pricks while the other group of guys were rougher. If I had to guess, the rough group was Roussou, and the elitist assholes were from Fallen Crest Academy.
Then the Roussou guys shuffled to the side, and behind them were two guys fighting.
I recognized Max and cursed under my breath, picking up my pace. That’s why Maddy was trying to get loose.
Channing roared next to me. He’d seen his son as well. We tore over to them, but Max was not the one getting his ass handed to him. He was the one delivering the beatdown, raining hit after hit on the guy. The other kid was trying to dodge and block, but it didn’t matter. Max herded him into a corner with the guy’s back against a shed. He reached over, took hold of the guy’s arm, and held it aside as he delivered a barrage of clean hits straight to his head.
I winced at one particular punch, almost hearing the guy’s nose break.
“Okay.” Channing waded in, grabbing his son and yanking him backward. He swung him clear. Max didn’t register it, still trying to kick at the guy. He landed one last blow before Channing had totally removed him. The guy folded, collapsing to the ground.
“Let me go—” Max screamed.
I winced. Whatever had happened, Max was in a feral place. He wasn’t thinking clearly. He was somewhere else, in fight-or-flight mode. There was a haze over his eyes, his pupils dilated but fierce.
I stepped between the two groups, a hand stretched toward Maddy. She’d stopped fighting as soon as she saw us.
Her eyes were wild. There was fear in there too.
What the fuck happened?
“Max! Stop.” Channing growled.
I turned back.
Max had gotten free. He was scrambling back to the guy, who was barely conscious. His friends knelt beside him to check on him, and one fell on his ass, trying to get away from Max. I began to head for him, but a hand caught my arm.
Matteo jerked his chin in Maddy’s direction and I got his meaning. I needed to focus on my daughter. I dipped my head in a quick response.
He moved in and reached for one of Max’s arms. Channing wrapped an entire arm around his son’s middle and stood, lifting him. He began to carry him clear all over again.
“Boss.” Moose’s deep baritone cut through the fray. “Let us.”
He and Congo were there.
Matteo shifted out of the way so both Moose and Congo took hold of Max, who was still scrambling to get free.
“ Max !” Channing got in his face. He blocked his view. Once Max couldn’t see the guy anymore, he blinked rapidly, seeming to come back to himself.
“Dad?” he choked out.
I inwardly flinched. That was the voice of a little boy.
Where had Max gone to just now?
“Dad,” Maddy whimpered, pulling my attention back to her. She was reaching for me, and I caught her hand. Yanking her into my arms, I held her tight to my chest. She was fine. She was whole. I had her. No one was going to get to her.
Logan stalked forward. “What the fuck just happened?”
Boots moved over the pavement. The sound of rocks sliding over the cement came from behind us. A few of the bikers had trailed us. One cursed under his breath before slipping away. I had a feeling he was going to get Stripes.
We needed to know what happened before he showed up.
“Start talking. Now.” I seared the two elitists with a glare before turning to my daughter. She was trembling and blinking rapidly like Max had before.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
Both seemed still slightly in shock.
She looked almost identical to Sam at her age, but while she had Sam’s kindness, everything else inside of my daughter was me. She was a female version of myself, so I knew what was coming next.
Whatever had happened, it had happened fast, and it was all coming to her now. She was processing. As the shock began to seep away, indignant rage swiftly replaced it.
“Mase.” Logan was seeing the same thing.
“I got her.” I made sure my hold was firm because she was about to blow.
And she did. A guttural and animalistic growl rumbled from her and she began twisting, trying to rip from me. “I’m going to rip that fucker apart .”
“Maddy. Stop.” Logan stepped in, blocking her view.
I grunted, holding onto her, but not trying to bruise her. Christ. Her body was all muscle. She seemed slender. She didn’t look ripped, but there was no mistaking it. This girl was unnaturally strong. She almost got out of my arms, so I had to readjust, doing what Channing had for Max. I wrapped my arms around Maddy and picked her up. Her feet flailed in the air. That same animal sound roared from her, “I’m going to tear his insides out and wrap his intestines around his throat to strangle him. You piece of—”
“Maddy!” Logan dodged her feet, shoving them down when they would’ve gotten him. He got in her face. “Chill out.”
Some of the fight started to leave her.
I moved back, carrying her farther away from the group.
Nate and Matteo continued their glares with both groups. They weren’t letting anyone leave.
Channing, Congo, and Moose took Max away too, needing space. The two big guys were standing behind him now, and he wasn’t trying to get away anymore. His head hung down, resting on his dad’s shoulder as Channing had a hand on his shoulder. His head was folded down as he was speaking fiercely to his son. As that was happening, Max’s gaze was pinned on Maddy, regret and anguish all over his face.
Logan dropped his voice, moving closer to Maddy. “I need you to tell me right now what happened. Are you hurt? Did someone say something to you? Threaten you?”
Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. There was no reaction from her.
He asked, “Touch you?”
We both heard the slight inhale of air from her.
Horror slammed through me, and I shared a matching look with my brother. That horror quickly morphed into the need to murder someone.
Logan swallowed and cleared his expression as we looked at Max. Seemed like he’d done our job for us.
Maddy stepped away from me a little, enough to place her hand to my chest. I looked down to see her biting her lip. “It’s okay, Dad.”
Fuck no, it wasn’t. “Where?” I seethed. Fuck. Shit. I gentled my tone. “Where did he touch you, Maddy?”
Fear leaped to her eyes. She swallowed nervously. “Dad…” Her hand began shaking against my chest.
I reached up, covering it with mine. She drew in a breath, her shoulders lifting and rolling back. Her mother used to do that as well. When she was drawing in strength, she readied herself like that. Her chin tipped up, and then she’d open her eyes and face whatever was coming at her.
A wave of tender love swept through me, for both Samantha and my daughter. Before she could say anything, I cupped the back of her head and pulled her to my chest once again. “We can talk about it later.”
I heard shuffling behind us, and moved to the side, still holding my daughter. Stripes walked through the small crowd that had formed. Apparently this fight had been more entertaining than the one still happening in the ring. Boise joined Stripes as well, but he kept quiet.
“What the ever-loving fuck is happening out here?” Stripes was pissed. His chilly gaze swept over everyone. “You want to fucking fight? You do it in the ring. That’s it. There’s no violence outside of the ring. You got it?” He frowned as his gaze swept over Maddy before ending on Max.
He took in the guy still on the ground, blood pouring from him. A wheezing sounded from him. He was having a hard time breathing. Stripes cursed under his breath, motioning to one of the bikers. “Call Prez. See if he could bring Kalista with him.”
The biker nodded, moving away, already on his phone.
One of the Roussou guys said, “He needs an ambulance.”
Stripes turned to him, and he went eerily still before he clipped out, “No ambulances. No cops.”
“But…” The guy flung an arm out, pointing at his friend. “He can’t breathe.”
“Which is why we got a nurse coming here,” Stripes barked back. “Stand the fuck down unless you’re going to give me a nicely detailed description of what exactly happened here.” He waited, his head cocked to the side.
I was struggling. The offended person was my daughter, but this was an illegal fighting ring, and it was run by a one-percenter motorcycle club. We didn’t start shit, but we finished it. That old dynamic was strong inside of me, yearning to come out.
Closing my eyes, I reached inside for some iron discipline, the same will that had helped me remain competitive as a professional athlete over the last few decades. There it was. It had slipped low, but I began pulling it up. Enough of it so it coated my insides. Once it was locked in place, nice and suppressed, I cleared my throat.
Stripes turned my way.
I was about to speak when one of the elitist dicks burst out, “That fucking dick touched her.” He nodded to the guy on the ground and then indicated Maddy. “He cupped her pussy—”
He stopped abruptly, and everyone’s eyes came to me and Logan.
It took a second to realize what was happening. We sounded like animals, my rage transformed into sound. The old discipline slipped back down. I was going to murder the kid.
“Who the fuck is that kid?” I began stalking him.
Then Maddy was in front of me, stopping me.
I blinked, coming back to myself. She wasn’t the only one who had moved between us. Stripes was blocking me. Nate and Matteo had moved closer.
“Okay. Here’s what we’re going to do,” Stripes clipped out, his jaw clenched. “I don’t give a shit what happened, not really. The girl looks like she’ll survive. But the girl’s big, bad father and uncle are here, and it looks like her honor has been defended so it’s a fucking moot point now. If any more justice is to be handed out, do it away from here. We got a family nurse coming in, along with our charter president, so if you all don’t want to deal with him, a bigger and badder asshole than me, I’d suggest you get the fuck out of here.” No one moved. He barked, “ Now !”
Two of the bikers snapped their fingers to the Roussou guys, who went to pick up their friend. They carried him out, following the bikers to another building off to the side.
The two punks took off. One gave Maddy a look as he went, but I didn’t let myself decipher it. If I had, I couldn’t promise I wouldn’t go after him, rules and bikers be damned. They’d brought her here. They’d exposed her to this world.
Fuck .
“What do you want?” Logan’s voice was icy and lethal. His question wasn’t for me.
Stripes moved toward us. He ignored my brother, his eyes on Maddy. “Are you okay?”
She drew in a deep breath before she nodded. “I’m fine.” Her words were hoarse.
“You don’t sound it.”
She drew in another breath, stopping her body from shaking and stepped away from me. “I’m fine. Really.” Her eyes moved over his shoulder, trained on where Channing and Max were approaching.
Stripes and Channing shared a look before he moved his attention to Max.
“Stop fucking looking at my kid, Ryerson,” Channing snapped.
The hint of a grin showed on Stripes’s face before he coughed, clearing it away. He lifted his chin toward Max. “With the beatdown I heard you delivered to that kid, I’d say you could pick up a match any day in my ring—”
“Like fuck.” Channing stepped forward.
Stripes flicked a cool look at Channing as he said, ignoring him and speaking to Max, “But I know your aunt. I’ve got a hunch I’d wake up one morning with a knife in my gut. Tell Miss Bren that her nephew and all his friends are banned from this establishment. And she’s welcome. No need to call.”
Max looked deflated.
“What?” Maddy whispered.
Stripes wasn’t done. “But if you find yourself back here and somehow slip through security, let us know if you need anything. You got me?” His head lowered, waiting for his response.
Max gulped before bobbing his head up and down. He didn’t look torn up about being banned. He seemed relieved. He looked over at Maddy and pushed away from his dad, clearing his throat. “Can we go?”
“Max—” Maddy started to go to him.
“Now.” Max turned his back on her.
He’d been speaking to his dad.
Maddy gasped, rocked by his rejection.
I reached back for her, not understanding the details, only knowing she was hurt by that action. But this was Max. It was Max and Maddy. The dynamic between them was solid. Max was the good kid. Maddy led him into trouble, and Max usually had to clean it up. I wondered again what else had happened to precipitate all of this.
Logan met my gaze and shook his head.
Channing glanced over.
I dipped my head, indicating we should all go.
He nodded back. “Yeah. Okay.”
“I want to go home,” Max added. “Not to…” He flinched when he saw me.
Not to my house, where my daughter would be. Shit. What had happened ?
“Max,” Maddy whispered again.
Channing coughed. “Yeah, we’ll head home.”
“We’ll give Heather a ride home,” I told him as he passed.
He nodded. “Appreciate it.” He gave Stripes one last glare before he and Max disappeared into the crowd. Moose and Congo trailed behind.
Maddy whirled to me. “Dad—”
I shook my head, stopping her. “We’re going to wait a little bit. Let them get clear before we follow.”
Her shoulders fell. She looked utterly dejected. Her head hung down and she mumbled, “He didn’t want to come. He told me he knew he’d end up fighting, and he didn’t want to go where he knew that would happen. I… He asked me to leave, and I wouldn’t go. He’s not mad at me about what that guy did, which I hate. I was just standing here and he walked up and put his hand there. He didn’t fully cup—you know, make contact. He was close enough, and Max lost it on him. This is all my fault.”
“Hey.” Logan’s voice was sharp. “It’s not your fucking fault some guy invaded your boundary. It’s called personal space. That’s never your fault. I don’t care what you’re told. We don’t blame girls and women for fucking just standing there. You could be naked, and no one’s got a right to touch you unless you ask for it—” He grimaced, hearing his words. “You know what I mean. I have a wallet, and if someone sees my wallet, my cash, they don’t have any right to take it. Same fucking premise.”
She drew in some oxygen, her eyes watering. Seeing her bottom lip trembling, Logan held his arm out. She stepped in, and he folded her against him, holding her. His gaze met mine over her head, heated.
We were both angry at a lot of things.
Stripes returned, almost cordial. “They’re clear. You can go now.”
We nodded, turning to leave.
“Kade,” he called.
Matteo and Nate paused with me.
He lifted his chin toward Maddy, who was walking ahead with Logan. “I’m not going to lie. The fighting ring is popular, especially with the high school and college crowd on the weekends. I’m sure they’ll show up again. I’ll put them on the banned list, but I’ll just be honest. Sometimes it hurts them more not to be able to get into a place their friends are going, and if that’s the case, they’ll probably be allowed in. You’ll get a notice from us when and if they show up.”
Fuck’s sakes. I didn’t know how to take this guy. I just gave him a grunt. “Thanks.”
People were looking as we went back through the warehouse. Logan moved in front. I kept Maddy tucked next to me, using one of my hands to shield her face. I knew they had a policy of no phones, but I’d learned people figured ways around rules. Matteo walked on Maddy’s other side, and Nate blanketed us from behind.
It wasn’t long until we were to the lot and heading for my vehicle.
Once we got inside, Maddy started, “Dad—”
“Don’t.” I gave her a look in the rearview mirror.
She clammed up, shrinking down in her seat.
I tried to gentle my tone because dammit, there were multiple layers here. I didn’t know which one to handle first. I needed to talk to Sam. Get a game plan together. Sam tended to know the best ways of dealing with things. “We’ll talk it all out with your mom.”
Sam rarely yelled. She rarely lost her head when it came to the children, but she listened to everything. When it was all said and done, she would deliver a clear and precise assessment of everything Maddy had done to put herself in this position. Then she’d deliver an articulate list of all Maddy had learned for the future, which usually seemed to deliver the hardest blow, because that let Maddy know how she’d let her mom down. That’s what she really hated hearing. At the end of the night, Sam would open her arms and hug her kid, and she’d cater to however her daughter had been hurt. Sam never missed a beat. Maddy would leave that discussion feeling like she’d been put through a tornado of emotions.
Maddy closed her eyes, falling back in her seat. “ Fuck .”
I held back a laugh because she was right. She was fucked.