35. Chapter 35
Knowing my Siren needs me and to not be able to help her right now is killing me as I retake my seat in Church. Thor bangs his hammer on the table and I reluctantly tear my thoughts away from her to focus on what else he has to say.
“Listen up. We don’t know when or where these fuckers will pop up. Smoke, work to get pictures for everyone Mary mentioned and pass them around so that we all know who to watch out for. Hopefully, we can get it arranged so the kids can do school virtually, otherwise that’s going to spread us a little thin. We’ll also meet again once you’ve gone through the information.”
“If they can’t do it virtually, maybe we can ask Reaper or some of the other clubs if they could spare a few guys?” Phoenix asks, and almost all of us nod in agreement.
It’s been a few years since we’ve had to request help from a club other than Reaper’s, but I’ll do whatever it takes to protect my kids. Even though they aren’t mine by blood, I already see Isaiah and Cassie as mine. Mine to love and protect.
Thor gives Phoenix a chin lift. “If we need to take that route, we will. In the meantime, no one goes out alone. We don’t want anyone trying to pull a fast one on us like Wolfe tried to do earlier today. The last thing we need is fake charges on top of this. Make sure your cameras are on whenever you’re riding.”
Smoke lifts his hand, and Thor gestures for him to talk. “I’ve been working on some more cameras that we can wear that’ll feed into a server. It’s a pin and I’ve got enough for everyone to have two since we’re going into the winter season—one for a coat and one for your clothes. I’ll get them passed out later tonight, but I would suggest always wearing them. That way, if something happens, we can grab the feed and either have it to figure out what happened or have it as evidence.”
“I agree. Wear them at all times and at night, have them right by your phone for those of us that don’t wear cuts,” Thor replies. “Right now, we can use all the help we can get and something tells me these fuckers are going to try to sneak up on us whenever they can.”
“What’s the camera’s battery life?” Bear asks him.
“About three days, however, you can recharge it and record at the same time. Think of those external battery packs you can hook up to your phones to charge them on long road trips and such. I’ve created a pack like that for each camera, but much smaller. You can either charge up the battery pack at night or while you’re working. I’ve also got it set up where you will get notifications to your phone for both the camera and the battery pack for charge levels, so you’ll get a message when the battery gets down to forty percent. The pack can fit in your pocket, which will be easier for those of us wearing cuts and you connect the cable around the back of the pin that’ll be hidden behind your clothes.”
The rest of the meeting we talk about Reaper’s club coming up this next weekend as well as the little surprise we have planned. For the most part, I tune them all out, and when Thor bangs his hammer to dismiss us, I make a beeline for the door, needing to put my eyes on my kids and Mary. The tension in my shoulders slightly relaxes when I see that the kids are still watching a movie and I can spot Mary through the pass-through.
Someone clasps me on my shoulder and when I turn, I’m not surprised to see it’s Timber.
“I’d like to say it gets easier, but during situations like this, it’ll keep being a constant need to put eyes on them. Only yours is probably worse since you have four people whereas I only had Sunshine.”
Exhaling heavily, I can only nod in agreement. That’s exactly how I feel. Turning toward him, I frown.
“Are we okay?”
He cocks his eyebrow at me and shakes his head as he grins. “Of course, man. You didn’t know anything about it. If you had, I know you would have told us. When Mary did find out about it, along with everything else, she literally risked her life over and over to get us and the cops this information. If anything, we owe her for what she’s found out. That said, I think these next few months are going to be pretty busy as we deal with all the angles and tie up loose ends.”
My frown deepens when I realize he’s most likely right. We got lucky that we were able to mostly tie things up fairly quickly with the men that were after Mae. It took about half the time wrap everything up than it did when Black Plague started going after Levi again earlier this year. With all the people involved in this, I want to hope we can tie everything up within a couple of months, but it’ll probably take longer.
Shaking my head, I follow Timber over to the bar, grab my phone from the basket and take the beer Colt hands me. I don’t miss the hopeful and cautious looks he’s trying to hide as he gets us all fresh drinks. Colt just finished his year of Prospecting today, so I know he’s going to be wondering if he made the cut and will earn his patches. Unfortunately, he’s going to have to wait a bit. We never make a decision the day of—we always make them wait a few days to sweat it out a bit.
With another glance over at the kids to make sure they’re still good, I head over to the sofas and sit down with Timber, Thor, Dragon, and Bear.
“How’s it feel to have her back?” Bear asks and my gaze automatically goes to Mary as I take a pull from my beer.
“Fucking fantastic, though I wish she wouldn’t have been hurt so badly.”
They all grin at me, having known how long I’ve been searching for her, and I can’t help but grin in return at the thought of her being at my side again.
I’ll never admit this to anyone, but with each passing year, more of my hope of finding my Siren faded. Especially the few months before I first saw Mary at the ER. Reports were high about a bunch of women going missing within four counties surrounding us, and I knew their abductions had to be connected to the trafficking ring and Oasis. I just didn’t have proof. Hopefully, there’s something in the information Mary gathered that will shine a light on their locations.
As the ladies finish up cooking, I can’t help but notice Bear casually sneaking glances toward the kitchen as we talk. I have to bite my cheek to keep from grinning when I realize he’s watching Elvira, Drae’s… mother-in-law, I guess, for lack of a better term. He and Jane weren’t married but they did have a daughter, Lindsey, together. I hate that we were too late to save Jane and Mae’s mother, Lillian, but at least we were able to save Lindsey when we rescued Mae.
I’m brought out of my thoughts by a tug on my pant leg, and I look down to see Cassie shyly looking up at me. Smiling down at her, I put my beer between my legs and hook my hands under her arms, lifting her up onto my lap. Wrapping my arm around her, she curls into my chest and I kiss the top of her head.
“What’s up, Angel?”
I barely hear her muffled ‘nothing’ as she partially buries her face in my chest and clings to my cut.
My throat tightens, and I exhale slowly to keep my body from tensing up. Once again, my hatred toward Stephan rises. I’m almost positive he’s never done anything like this with any of the kids. Any attention he gave them was most likely negative and probably hurtful. Aside from Mary’s attention, I’m betting these three kids are probably starved for positive interaction with men.
Leaning down, I whisper to her. “Whenever you need a hug or a snuggle, you’ll always get one from me.”
Cassie looks up at me, and my heart breaks at the tears in her eyes. “You mean it?”
“Yes, Angel, I mean it.”
She gets to her knees and I have to fight not to wince when she comes close to kneeing me. She wraps her little arms around my neck and I tighten my arms around her. Opening my eyes, I notice Isaiah and Ash standing nearby and I shift Cassie so that I’m only holding her with one arm. Gesturing to them, I can’t help but smile when they both rush into my arms, and I hug all three of them tight. Cassie giggles as she kisses my cheek and I look at her in question.
“You give the bestest hugs, Mr. Patch.”
I can’t help but chuckle at her, and I’m not surprised when I hear Bear scoff.
“I think you might be missing out, little Miss Cassie. When Levi was a little girl, she used to say I gave the best bear hugs ever,” Bear says as he winks at me, teasing me.
“Nope. I give the best hugs according to Sadie,” Gunner tells her.
“Hmm.” Thor hums as he crosses his arms and taps his chin. “I think you’re going to have to get hugs from everyone to see who gives the best ones. Especially Timber, Dragon, and me. We need to make sure our hugs are up to snuff for when our babies come.”
Cassie and Isaiah giggle as they practically launch out of my arms and into my brothers’ waiting arms. What comes next reminds me of how lucky I am to have found this club and my brothers and sisters. They all take turns hugging my kids and a few of them get creative and start tossing them in the air a little before catching them.
Feeling Ash shift in my arms, I look down at him. “You can join them if you want.”
He shakes his head and leans into me even more. “I’m good right here.”
I hug him tighter and every now and then, we both laugh at the antics my brothers are getting up to as they try and keep the smiles on Isaiah and Cassie’s little faces. Out of the corner of my eye, I notice Sasha, and when I turn toward her, she tips her head at me. I can’t help but smile when I notice she’s recording this. I’m going to have her send me that later.
“I wish you could be their dad, too. That we wouldn’t have to leave,” I hear Ash say quietly, so quietly I almost didn’t hear him.
“If I have my way, you won’t have to leave. I want to adopt them and treat them as my own as well.”
His little body jerks and I wonder if I said something wrong. When he looks up at me, I realize I didn’t when I see the hope in his eyes.
“Seriously?” he whispers, and I nod.
“Seriously, Asher,” purposefully using his full name so he knows I’m serious. “I love your mom. I love you. I love your siblings. When spring rolls around, I want to build us a house here where there will be plenty of room for all of you to play, both inside and outside. I want us to be a family once your mom is free from Stephan. Is that something you want?”
He launches forward, wrapping his arms tightly around my neck and when I feel his tears on my skin, I hug him tighter.
“More than anything,” he whispers in between his little sobs.
Right then, someone whistles loudly and shouts that dinner is ready. Ash pulls back and I help dry his tears. “Then that’s what we’ll do.”
He grins and hugs me once more before climbing off my lap. I walk with him up to the pass through and give a chin lift in thanks when Bear helps Cassie with her plate and Dragon helps Isaiah with his. Grabbing a plate, I help Asher with his, and then carry it over to a table. Setting the plate down, I turn toward the kids.
“I’m going to go help your mom and grab some drinks for you.”
They all nod, already diving into their food with enthusiasm. I grit my teeth at the familiar anger rising. Hopefully, with a few more weeks of eating as much as they’d like, their little frames will fill out more.
While we were in the hospital, Mary had told me that Stephan liked to torture the kids in ways that wouldn’t be very easily noticeable to an outsider since he knew he couldn’t hurt them physically as much as he did Mary. One of those ways was limiting their food intake. While they don’t look starved, they are noticeably skinnier than they should be for their ages. Previously, their hair was dull and lacked a healthy shine. They’d been with the club and getting good meals and nutrients for only three days, but already their hair is looking better than it was on Thanksgiving. Within the next few months, you probably wouldn’t be able to tell them apart from someone who’d always had access to a steady food supply.
Walking up to Siren, I grab a plate for her and one for me. As we move down the line, I make a note of the things she points out that she wants. Once we’re able to move into the condo, and yes I’ll be moving in with them too, I plan to make sure she has everything she wants to cook whatever she wants. I still remember how much she loved cooking with her dad, grandma, and aunts, and I plan to make sure the house we build has everything she needs to continue that tradition with the kids.
“What’s got you thinking so hard?” she asks as she nudges my leg.
Smiling, I lean down and kiss her. “Just remembering you cooking with your family. I think when we start planning a house, the kitchen needs to be a focal point.”
She stares at me in shock, her jaw dropped. I have to bite back a groan as memories of when she sucked me years ago flood back.
Probably knowing what’s running through her pretty little head, I once again mentally strangle Stephan at instilling these insecurities in my Siren. I’ll do whatever it takes to help her rebuild her trust and faith in me, as well as helping her regain her confidence.
Stepping closer to her, I pitch my voice low, since I bet she doesn’t want anyone to overhear how she’s struggling. “I’m serious, Siren, and I’ll tell you as many times as you need to hear it. I’m all in, Baby. If it’s still what you want, I’ll marry you as soon as the divorce is final, but I want to start planning our house here soon. It’ll take time to finalize the plans. I know Timber won’t be able to start on it until the spring, but I want him to have everything he needs so he can order materials to be here in time for when the weather changes and the ground thaws.”
Mary nods, though I can still tell she’s in shock. I guide her back to the table and when I set down our plates, I make my way back into the kitchen to get drinks for all of us. However, once in the kitchen, I’m surprised to see Levi finish putting three little glasses of milk on a tray along with Mary’s favorite flavored water, raspberry. I know she’s tried the others in the hospital thanks to Mae, but so far, raspberry is the clear winner in Mary’s eyes.
Levi smiles when she sees me. “Mae said that Cassie let it slip the other night that she really wanted milk with their Chinese, but that it wasn’t allowed. Of course, our sweet little Mae swore up a storm as she got all three of them glasses of milk and told them they could have milk whenever they wanted.”
I cock an eyebrow at her in surprise and question. “Mae swore? She actually swore? And in front of kids?”
Levi laughs and shakes her head. “She swore in her own usual way. I think Timber said she called Stephan a ‘duckin clusterfluff of a fudgernut knuckle sucker’.”
Laughter spills out of me and it only intensifies when Mae comes in and shrugs, apparently having heard Levi.
“Well, it’s all true. He’s a spineless lump of donkey doo doo that doesn’t know his head from a hole in the ground.”
Shaking my head as I continue to laugh, I grab a water bottle for myself out of the fridge. Putting it on the tray, I pick it up and head back to our table.
Mary freezes when I set the tray down on the table, a look of panic in her eyes before she quickly masks it and shakes her head slightly. When she sees how much the kids’ eyes light up as they grab their cups of milk, a pained look crosses her face and she ducks her head. Her shoulders shake slightly and I warp an arm around her shoulders.
“Hey, you okay?”
She shakes her head slightly and wipes her eyes. “Only Stephan was allowed to drink something other than water when we had meals. Well, except for cereal, but even then, they got minimal milk that was watered down to save money. If they asked for something different, he’d slap or spank them before sending them to their rooms without another bite. As for me, the only other thing I was allowed to drink besides water was whatever coffee he left in the pot, and if there wasn’t any, I wouldn’t be allowed to have any. Somehow, he knew when I brewed another pot because whenever he got home, I’d get a beating. He’d also limit what they could have for meals unless it was salad or in season veggies or fruit. He purposefully kept them below the normal weight ranges for their ages so they’d be weaker.”
Kissing her temple, I swallow down another bout of anger. I’m definitely going to have to hit the gym at some point. Reaching out, I tuck a lock of hair behind her ear that had fallen into her face. “Well, here, you’ll always have the basic necessities. You don’t have to ask to buy said basic necessities either. You want a cup of coffee? You can have a cup of coffee. They want milk? They can have milk. You want to make one of your Greek meals, which I always loved by the way, then make it. You aren’t under that f—I mean, that twatwaffle’s thumb anymore,” I say with a sheepish look toward the kids. I’m going to have work on curbing my swearing around them. Mary bites her lip as she tries to keep from laughing at my slip up.
“What I’m trying to say, Siren, is that you’re free to do what you want. Well, within reason, for your safety right now. All I ask is that you let me know when you’re going somewhere and if you or the kids need something, then we’ll get it. Okay?”
She melts against me and when she leans up to kiss my jaw, a shiver of need snakes down my spine, but I push it down. This isn’t the time or place.
Giving her a kiss, I settle back into my chair and dig in.