Chapter Thirteen
Landry
T he next two days are quiet. Blissful. I feel like I’m living a dream. But every dream ends eventually. Ours does on the second night after our wedding, when Dillon calls, informing us that the DEA and FBI are planning to raid the compound and the club the following night. They can’t risk waiting any longer.
I’m a nervous wreck as soon as I hear the news. I barely sleep all night. I don’t think Keegan sleeps any better than I do. When we get up the following morning, Keegan wants to stay home with me, but his schedule is packed with appointments that he’s already rescheduled once.
“You can’t reschedule them again, Keegan,” I murmur, cupping his cheek. “Lily and I will be perfectly fine here. Giant will be here in a few minutes to babysit us.”
With the security system, floodlights, extra locks, and cameras he and Finn installed all over the property, there’s really no need for him to sit out there all night when Keegan is here. He has a wife and kids waiting for him at home. He deserves time with them.
Keegan frowns down at me, clearly reluctant. “You’d be even safer with me and Giant here to babysit you.”
“Are you just trying to get out of work?” I tease.
“No. I’m trying to make sure my wife and baby girl are safe.”
I melt against him, leaning up to brush a kiss across his jaw. “We’re going to be safe. Giant will be here today, and you’ll be home before they raid.”
“Promise me that you’ll call if you need me.”
“You know I will.”
He grumbles reluctantly and then gives in with a heavy sigh. His lips come down on mine in a searing kiss, his hand tangled in my hair. “I can’t fucking wait until this is over and you never have to worry about these motherfuckers ever again.”
“Soon,” I whisper.
He kisses me again and then strides to the door, only to pause and glance back at me. “I love you, Landry baby.”
“I love you, too. Lock the door and arm the security system behind me. Giant should be here within the hour.”
He drags himself out, leaving me and Lily in the silence of his old farmhouse. I lock up and rearm the security system before I scoop Lily out of her bouncy seat.
“Hey, sweet angel,” I croon after I’ve changed her. “Are you hungry?”
She coos at me, her eyes wide and attentive as I settle into a rocking chair to feed her. I watch her eat for a long moment before my phone rings, making me jump.
I grab it off the coffee table, smiling when I see Samara’s name on the display.
“Hey,” I whisper. “What’s up?”
“I wanted to check on you,” she says, worry in her voice. “Tate told me what’s going on. Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” I say, surprised by how much I actually mean that. I’m anxious, but I feel like this is finally it. The end of my nightmare. By morning, Garrick and the MC will be in handcuffs. Lily and I will be free.
“Is Keegan there with you?”
“No. I sent him to work. Giant should be here soon.”
“Do you want some company?”
“I’d love that,” I admit. “Have you eaten breakfast yet?”
“Not unless coffee counts.”
“I’ll make us something. Let me know when you and the babies get here.”
“It’s just me and Scout today, and we’re on the way.”
I disconnect and set the phone down, glancing down at Lily. She’s already asleep, milk dribbling from her lips. I swear, she’s the best little baby. She sleeps so soundly. It makes my heart happy to know that, despite the uncertainty in her world, she doesn’t sense it. She feels safe, content, and cozy. She knows love and security.
I’m not sure I ever knew that before Keegan. Uncle Danny got custody of me when I was just little. I don’t remember my parents. He told me once that my dad was just like him…which doesn’t give me a lot of hope for the man. But he seemed to like my mom, said she was good for him. I don’t know if they wanted me or if they loved me. Those weren’t really questions I could ask Danny.
In his world, kindness is transactional, and love is for the weak. He was only nice to me when he wanted something from me—my paycheck when I worked at the diner, extra cash to cover rent because he blew his money on his drug habit, or someone to keep cleaning up his messes.
I hated living with him, but you take what you can get when you have nowhere else to go. I saved every penny I could to escape. I thought I was just planning to escape the same sad cycle. I never imagined I’d use that money to flee from something so much worse.
And never in a million years did I imagine I’d end up here, with a husband who loves me, friends like Samara, a perfect baby girl, and an actual future stretching before me.
I carry Lily to her crib and settle her in before grabbing the baby monitor. Then, I head to the kitchen to make breakfast.
Eggs are cracked in a bowl, bacon sizzles in a skillet, and I’m slicing strawberries when the doorbell rings. I drop a berry into a bowl and head for the door to let Samara and Scout in, smiling.
I have to stop to disarm the alarm system and then undo the four locks before yanking it open.
“You’re just in…” My voice trails off, fear slithering through my veins.
“Niece,” my uncle growls, staring at me with bloodshot green eyes. “We’ve been looking for you.”
No.
No, no, no.
“W-what are you doing here?” I whisper, my voice shaking. My hands shake too. So damn badly, I nearly drop the kitchen knife.
“You know why,” he says, smirking at me. “You going to invite me in?”
I shake my head in a sharp denial, trying to think through the panic beating in my chest. It threatens to choke me, but I can’t let it. Not right now. Not with Lily inside and this asshole standing on the porch like I’ve done something wrong.
The panic button!
I peek toward the credenza table and see the button Giant gave me weeks ago sitting on top. It’s been in the same spot since Keegan and I moved out of the clubhouse. Giant said it was just an extra safety precaution, something I probably wouldn’t ever need. Except…I need it now. Because he isn’t here yet, and I sent Keegan to work.
“Y-you aren’t coming in here,” I tell Uncle Danny. “You need to leave.”
“Can’t do that,” he says. “You really fucked this all up for us, Landry.”
“I didn’t mess up anything!” I cry. “You sold me to the Sons of Loki, Danny.”
“Yeah, well, it was either you or me, kid.” He doesn’t sound the least remorseful or sorry. Not that I thought he would. In his world, he’s the only one who matters. The only reason he ever kept me around was to clean his house, cook his meals, and help cover his bills. That’s what I’ve always been to him. Not family. Just someone to use to make his life easier.
“They’re trying to take my daughter,” I hiss, furious in a way I don’t think I’ve ever been before. I’ve been afraid. I’ve been in survival mode. But I’ve never been this angry. “Because of you, I’ve spent the last two years in hell.”
“This don’t look like hell to me,” he says, glancing around. “Looks like you did just fine for yourself.”
“No thanks to you!” I shout, inching toward the panic button. “You have no idea what I’ve been through because of you.”
“Garrick would have treated you all right if you’d have just cooperated, Landry. He always liked you.”
I gape at him, horrified. But not really surprised. I guess after you’ve sold someone like cattle, you can justify anything to yourself.
“Guess that don’t make a difference now. Where’s the baby? She’s got to come, too.”
Hell no. I lunge for the panic button, determined to get help here before he gets anywhere near Lily.
“Goddammit!” he roars when he sees what I’m doing. He grabs the back of my shirt, yanking me backward.
I swing the knife toward him, desperate to get free, intending only to scare him off. But he’s a lot closer than I realized. The knife sinks right into his stomach.
His eyes widen, his hands going slack. He stumbles back a step and glances down, shock written all over his face when he sees the blood rapidly spreading across his wrinkled and stained T-shirt. “You stabbed me.”
“I…I…” I slam my hand down on the panic button and then shove him as hard as I can with both hands against his shoulders. He falls backward, landing half inside the door, half outside it with a heavy thud.
I don’t stop to think. I don’t stop to look back. I race to Lily’s room, the bloody knife still in my hand, and scoop her from the crib. My breath rasps in my throat in choked sobs as I rush toward the kitchen door, desperate to get outside before he gets back to his feet and comes after us.
I can’t let him get his hands on Lily. I won’t.
“Come back here, you little bitch!” someone shouts behind me. It isn’t my uncle’s voice.
Garrick?
Oh god. Garrick is here, too.
How? Why?
He’s supposed to be in Dallas. They’re supposed to be raiding the compound tonight, picking his little world apart piece by piece.
“Get back here!”
I choke on another sob, racing toward the tree line as fast as I can, as I hear his footsteps running after me. Lily wails in my arms as I clutch her tightly, terrified of jostling her too much. Terrified to let her go.
They aren’t getting her. They aren’t.
I rush into the woods in my slippers, rushing for safety. Too damn afraid to look behind me. There’s a path ahead, little more than a footpath. I avoid it, dodging into the underbrush.
Garrick is still behind me, still shouting my name and cursing me.
I spot a massive rock between two trees and hurry that way, dropping down behind it. I bounce Lily, frantically trying to calm her down so she doesn’t give away our hiding spot. My uncle’s blood is drying on the hand still clutching the knife.
“Please,” I whisper, not sure if I’m talking to Lily, to the universe, or to someone else. “Please.”
Please don’t let him find us.
Please don’t let me die in these woods today.
Please don’t let him take my baby.
Just…please.