62. Chapter 62
The guys are tense as fuck as they come out of Church, and I instantly know that I’m not learning anything else from Patch when I see his face. I turn toward Mae and Levi, and we all share a grim look.
Something is coming.
And it’s coming for me.
Levi gets up and heads straight to Smoke. They talk quietly for a few moments before they both head to Thor’s office. My guess is to let her watch the footage Thor told Smoke to record for her from their meeting.
Taking a deep breath, I try to steady my racing heart. Looking around the room, I feel both relieved and scared to shit when those that I make eye contact with all give me a subtle nod or chin lift. Fuck, I don’t want any of them getting hurt protecting me and my kids, but if I leave, I’ll be right back in Stephan and Diego’s clutches and my fate will be even worse than it was before. Same for my children.
Patch and Tío (Uncle) Mateo walk toward me, and I force a smile on my face. “Are you hungry at all, Tío (Uncle) Mateo? I know it’s late, but I can warm you up some leftover stew we made earlier. We also have biscuits, cornbread, and potatoes.”
He gives me a tight but grateful smile. “ Gracias (Thank you). Food definitely sounds good, Mary. Lead the way.”
Backing away from the table, I lead them into the kitchen and when I get to the fridge, I carefully stand and open it, passing the dishes to Patch to put on the island. Tío (Uncle) Mateo dishes out what he wants, and while it’s warming up, I put the rest of the food away.
We’re silent as he eats, practically inhaling his food, and I wonder how long Diego had him? When he’s done, I lead them to the playroom. Opening the door, I smile when I see the boys and Lindsey playing with the bricks, building a giant castle.
“Did Cassie pass out?” I ask Elvira, who nods and points to the blanket fort the kids made in a corner.
“About an hour ago. Since you said you guys were staying here tonight, I figured I’d keep the kids in here and use the hide-a-bed. Levi said one of the Prospects would guard the door, but we’ll also secure it when we go to sleep.”
I nod. Besides the panic room, this is the best place for the kids to stay while they are at the clubhouse. The windows are bulletproof, the door is made out of reinforced steel, and of course, the room is connected to the panic room down below.
Turning, I point behind me. “Elvira, this is my uncle Mateo.”
Mateo steps forward and they both shake hands. “Nice to meet you, Miss Elvira.”
She waves him off. “It’s either just Elvira, Granny Elvira, or Granny. None of this ‘miss’ stuff,” she says with a smile as she beams down at the kids.
My heart still hurts for her. Losing not only her husband, but also her daughter a few months ago. She only has Lindsey and Drae left now, but I’ve seen her opening up the more she’s around my kids. And they all absolutely love her as well.
“Ash, Isaiah, come here, please.”
They both look up and when they see Tío (Uncle) Mateo behind me, both of their jaws drop in surprise.
“ Tío Mateo,” they both cry out as they storm him, but at the last moment, Patch scoops them up in his arms.
I release a small breath, happy that they recognized him correctly. We’ve had a lot of video conference calls with my family, but after that first one were the kids accidentally confused Tío Mateo with Diego, I told them how to tell both of them apart. It also doesn’t hurt that Tío Mateo is smiling and you can see that he’s excited to see them, whereas Diego always told them to scram before he beat them for not moving fast enough. Thankfully, he never beat them, but the threat was enough to get the kids moving quickly to their rooms.
“Hold up there, kiddos. You need to hug Tío Mateo gently because he’s hurt, okay?”
“Okay, Dad,” they both reply in unison before squirming to be let down.
Patch lets them down and they both go over to Tío Mateo, hugging his legs. After a moment, Tío Mateo walks over to the couch, sits down and holds his arms out. Both boys carefully climb up next to him, one on either side, and cuddle into him as they start talking to him.
Patch tilts his head and I follow him into a corner on the opposite side of the room.
“We’re on lockdown, Siren. We need to stay here. No going out unless it’s an emergency.”
Even though I knew it, hearing it is another thing. “They’re coming, aren’t they?”
His only answer is his jaw tightening.
“Be cautious, be careful, and even if you’re just going to the bathroom, don’t go alone. Do you remember where all the triggers are and the entrances?”
Blinking rapidly, I nod. On Monday, Levi and Smoke had taken me around the clubhouse, showing me the entrances to the panic room as well as the concealed buttons around the clubhouse that I could push, almost like a panic button, and the guys would come running.
This is the first time I’ve been in real lockdown, and I hope that we’ll be able to keep the kids entertained enough.
Shit.
“Patch, we don’t have much stuff here for the kids. Or us.”
“I’ll head over to the condo and get anything we need tomorrow, as well as their schoolwork just in case. Make a list, and I’ll get it. I just don’t want you or the kids going out until we get the all clear.”
“Okay.”
“Have you given any thought to Smoke’s idea of inserting a tracker under your skin?”
My breath catches in my throat as the reality crashes down on me even harder at that thought.
That I, or my kids, could be taken and stripped of the other trackers in my phone, our bracelets, and their shoes that would let the club know where we are.
Eyes stinging with tears, which I refuse to let fall, I steel my spine. Determined to do whatever I need to do to protect us. Even though I still have my doubts about the technology. But then again, I trust Smoke. He wouldn’t let us get them if he didn’t think they’d work.
“We’ll get the trackers. All of us.”
Patch exhales heavily and I wonder if he thought I’d continue to object. He pulls out his phone, most likely to text Smoke. After a few moments, his phone chimes and he nods.
“He’ll be down here in a few minutes. He and I would much rather we do it now, since we don’t know when they’ll strike. Especially after what Mateo just told us.”
I blanch at that. I was right. Something’s going to happen and soon. “You’ll need to get Cassie out of the fort, then.”
He grins. “I’ll never pass up a chance to hold my little girl.”
His words have a two-fold effect on me, partially lifting the dark cloud hanging over my head while at the same time, my heart feels like it could burst at his words. He crosses the room, crawling into the fort, almost bringing it down on top of him since he’s so much larger than the kids.
A few moments later, he emerges with Cassie in his arms, and when he stands, he runs a hand through his hair before smoothing her hair down as well. She sleepily rubs her eyes as she snuggles into Patch’s chest, and I swear my ovaries go into overdrive at the sight.
“Angel, do you want to meet your Tío Mateo?” he asks her and her head pops up immediately, sleep apparently forgotten.
“ Tío Mateo’s here? But I thought we weren’t going to meet him until after he was gone.”
None of the kids call Stephan ‘dad’ anymore, nor do they mention his name unless they have to. They just say ‘he’. Not that I blame them in the least. I just think this is how they’re dealing with getting past their trauma.
“Well, that was the plan, but then Tío Mateo got hurt and came here. Would you like to give him a hug? I bet that would help him feel better.”
Cassie eagerly nods her head and holds out her hands toward Tío Mateo. Patch lowers her onto his lap and she carefully wraps her little arms around him.
They continue talking quietly and I can’t help but smile as I see the kids excitedly telling Tío Mateo about their day and their rooms at the condo.
He looks up and smiles widely at me over the kids’ heads. The smile takes me back to when I was a kid, and despite Carmen and Eileen’s best efforts, he always made time for me when he saw me.
“I know I said this on our calls, but Mary, your ni?os (kids) are the most adorable and best behaved ni?os (kids) I have seen in a long time,” he tells me after the kids clamor down off his lap and go back to building their brick castle.
“ Gracias (Thank you),” I whisper in return, once again getting choked up with emotions. I tried damn hard to instill good manners in them despite what Stephan would order them to do or not do.
He leans against me, wrapping his arm over my shoulder, and I rest my head on his side as we watch the kids play.
A few minutes later, the door opens and Smoke comes in with Mae and Timber behind him. “I know this was a big decision, Mary, but I think it’s the right way to go. Actually, with everything going on, and you deciding to do it, Mae has decided to do it as well.”
She comes over to me and gives me a hug.
“Mae, this is my Tío Mateo. Tío Mateo, this is Mae, she’s Timber’s Old Lady. I know you guys were just in Church, but if you weren’t introduced, this is Timber and Smoke, Mae’s dad.”
Tío Mateo gives her a small smile as the guys shake hands. “Very nice to meet you, though I wish it was under different circumstances. I’ve heard a lot about you and your husband from the children.”
Turning to Smoke, I rub my sweaty hands on my leggings. “So, how do we do this?”
He cocks his eyebrow at me and tilts his head toward the kids in question.
I shake my head. “I wasn’t sure how to broach the subject with them. Or how to explain the technology properly,” I whisper and he nods in understanding.
“Kids, can you come over here for a moment?” he asks and they drop their toys before coming over. He gestures to the couch and they sit down, but he keeps Lindsey near him.
“Kids, your mom has decided something that will help keep her and all of you safe. Do you know what a tracking device is?”
Ash nods, but Isaiah and Cassie look confused, so Smoke explains.
“It’s a device that will let us know where you are if someone takes you. That way, we can come find and rescue you quicker.”
“Is it something you wear?” Isaiah asks and Smoke waffles his hand a little is a so-so gesture.
“Sort of. It’s a device that looks like this,” he says as he holds up a chip that’s still in its packaging, “and it goes under your skin.”
All three sets of eyes widen with worry.
“It’s okay guys. Uncle Smoke gave me one after they rescued me. There was a pinch and then it was all done. And I got a cool band aid after that,” Lindsey says as she points to a spot on her hip.
“Is the hip the only location it can go?” I ask and Smoke shakes his head.
“No, it can also go in your arm, but it’s better in your hip. At least with this particular chip. It’s my friend’s design and isn’t even released into the civilian world yet, but in exchange for doing his company some favors, I can get as many of these babies as I want or need. What’s special about these is that to help with the battery life, they only start tracking you once they are triggered. They can be triggered two ways—you press it three times in a row or I activate them on my system. It needs to go below the waistband of your jeans and away from where the seam in the side of your jeans will be so that it doesn’t accidentally trigger it.”
“How long is the battery life?”
“Ten years depending on use. However, if something does happen and it dies before then, I will get a warning on my computer. I’ll also be doing random checks to verify they are still working, but then immediately shutting them off again. When a battery does die, it’s just a small incision to remove and then I’d replace it with a new one.”
“But why do we need them?” Cassie asks, and I’m about to explain when Lindsey speaks up.
“Do you remember me telling you I was kidnapped before?”
All three of them nod.
“I was missing for almost two months. Some bad men who wanted my mom kidnapped us. If I had Uncle Smoke’s tracker back then, they would have been able to find us much faster. But since I didn’t, it took them a while to find clues as to where we were hidden.” She pauses as she fingers her bracelet, which mirrors mine that Levi gave me. However, hers and my kids’ bracelets don’t have the hidden blades in them. “These bracelets were what helped them find us because Auntie MaeMae was also kidnapped and brought to the same place I was. If someone takes these bracelets off us, they’d have no way to track us except for the last location of the bracelet.”
Smoke gives her a little side hug. “That’s right, sweetie. These are a backup to your bracelets and your shoes. The bracelets and your shoes could be taken and tossed.”
“But he had a tracker on Mom. I know because I heard him talking about it when she went to a store he said she wasn’t allowed to go into, even though it was just to get us shoes,” Ash says.
Patch crouches down by the couch next to them. “This is different. He was using it as a way to control your mom. That’s not what we’re using it for. We’re not trying to scare you or constantly monitor where you go, we’re just trying to keep you safe.” He pauses and looks over to me, holding out a hand, which I take and squeeze. “You four are my heart. It would kill me if something happened to any one of you. That’s why I’d like you all to get the tracker. I’m going to get one, too. So are Mae and Timber.”
Ash looks up at me and I give him an encouraging nod. “I’m getting it, too. It’s an extra precaution. Worst case, us or Smoke never has to activate the trackers. But if something does happen, I’d rather have the tracker than not.”
His little head bobs as he thinks before finally nodding. “Okay, I’ll get it too. But how do we get it?”
Damn, I’m so proud of my little boy.