Chapter Nine
Sledge
I didn’t want to leave Zoya or Eliana after the break-in, but I needed to get to the clubhouse.
The urge to protect them both was strong, even Eliana, who made it clear that she didn’t need my protection.
I had no clue what the fuck was going on but with every little piece of info that came out, it was clear that something fucked up was going on, which meant the clubhouse was where I needed to be.
I’d texted Diesel earlier explaining the situation and he was sending out two prospects to keep an eye on my house.
It wasn’t ideal, but it was better than nothing.
I used the ride to calm my shit. I knew that being a controlling asshole wouldn’t work every time with Eliana but it had worked today, and for now, that was enough.
Or was it?
The feelings I had about my nanny were complicated as fuck.
She somehow connected with my kid more than anyone Zoya had met in the years since she came to live with me.
That meant something to me as a father. But as a man?
Shit, the fact that I was feeling anything was concerning enough.
And the bitch of it all? It wasn’t just lust, it wasn’t just the fact that every smartass comment, every raised brow and pinched smirk made me want to fuck her, to hear her scream my name.
It was something else… and I didn’t have the time or the energy to name it or deal with it.
***
Slate was already set up in the office when I walked in, laptop open like he was the coach and it was our playbook.
He didn’t look up when I stepped inside, hell, the only sign he knew I was there was the amused curve of his lips.
He had the attention span of a hawk and the patience of a saint, at least when it came to all the digital digging he did.
“You okay?” he asked.
I dropped down into one of the hard chairs scattered about the office and grunted. “I have no fuckin’ idea,” I admitted honestly.
He nodded as if he understood, and I knew he did. It wasn’t so long ago that some really bad fuckers had been after his woman, Emma. Except Eliana’s not my woman, I reminded myself. “I get it. The good news is that my woman is very forgiving of late nights,” he smirked.
“Good news,” I sighed, scrubbing one hand over my face. “What’s the bad news?”
“Not bad,” Slate assured me, nodding as Diesel, Rocky, and Maverick stepped in, each of them armed with a steaming cup of coffee.
“The cameras outside Eliana’s apartment and all the ones along the route to her place, from doorbell cameras, surveillance, and security cameras, all of them malfunctioned for exactly sixty-three minutes. ”
“Fuck,” I bit out, knowing that meant we didn’t have footage of this asshole.
“Not so fast. The fact that they all went dead at the same time helps,” he promised as his fingers flew over the keyboard. “I spent all night digging through every last one of ‘em.”
“You found something?” The hope in my voice pissed me off, but this shit was becoming a pain in my ass, more now that it involved my daughter.
“Almost. I got a strip of code used to disable the cameras and I’m running it to see if it’s familiar or if it’s been used anywhere. Ever.”
That didn’t fucking help much, but it was something. “This is personal. It isn’t just some assholes vandalizing the shop.” Hell, it would’ve been easier if that was the case, but this was another clue that held zero meaning until the rest of the picture revealed itself.
“Nope,” he said, still typing. “It means whoever hired the vandals, this Syko asshole, probably also hired whoever wrote this amateur code. I’ll have answers soon, I know it.”
“You think the attack on the shop is linked?” I asked. I’d assumed that shit was aimed at the club.
“Can’t exclude it,” Slate answered.
I just nodded, happily accepting the cup of coffee Hollywood handed me as he settled into the chair behind me. “Fuck, bro, we need more comfortable chairs in here. This shit is ridiculous.”
He wasn’t wrong but right now I had bigger problems. “All these pieces don’t mean shit yet, but I’m sure they’re related.” The fact that I still didn’t know was one problem, the photos of Zoya were another.
“I’ve been thinkin’ about this since Cross showed up last night,” Hollywood began, taking a slow sip of coffee.
“At first it was about the whole MC. The ODs at the club, the vandalism at Steel City Ink, that was to fuck with all of us. But this, destroying the nanny’s place and putting up photos of Zoya?
That’s all for you, brother. Personal as fuck. ”
I’d already spent the night tossing that idea around in my mind and coming up blank as to who would be targeting me and my daughter.
“Okay but if it was personal, what does it have to do with Zoya? Sheriff Cross said some of the photos were taken before she came to live with me. This is a long ass fucking game.”
“Some beefs are like that,” Rocky said, his words dropping like a fucking anvil on my chest.
Hollywood shrugged. “Maybe nothing. Possibly everything. Good money says they did it to get to you. The question is who have you pissed off lately?”
“Other than Trish? Nobody.” And she wasn’t even all that pissed off.
She seemed more than happy to relinquish her hold on Zoya.
“She willingly signed over her rights, but shit, I can’t think of anyone else.
” But if she was behind this, I wouldn’t hesitate to take that bitch out.
She’d sold me out once to save her ass, and then she fucked up my little girl. She was well overdue for some pain.
“Where’s the nanny staying?” Diesel’s deep voice cut across the speculation, low and serious.
“With me,” I admitted, holding my breath and waiting for my brothers to give me more shit. “Last night she stayed at a motel, but it makes more sense to stay with me so I can keep an eye on her and Zoya.” That’s what I was telling myself, anyway.
Silence fell across the room in a tense hush that didn’t last for long.
“That didn’t take long,” Rocky grinned, tossing a twenty-dollar bill on the table. “Gio called it.”
“Shut the fuck up,” I growled. “It had to be done,” I insisted.
“Whoever this asshole is, they knew about her which means she can’t stay with her family because it would put them in danger unnecessarily.
Because of me.” Shit. I should’ve said all that to Eliana earlier.
“Speaking of, I need someone to watch Zoya while I help get Eliana moved in tonight.”
“I’ll do it,” Rebel offered. “I’ll bring Olivia, give Zoya some proper kid time.”
I nodded. “Thanks, man. I appreciate it.” I didn’t want to leave her for even a few minutes, but I needed to help Eliana. She was in this position because of me, and I’d keep her safe until it was all over.
However long it took.
“Slate will keep digging,” Diesel ordered.
“Let me know as soon as you find anything else. Sledge, I want you to stay close to home for now while we figure this out. You’ll only come here with the girls or if absolutely necessary.
Everybody else, keep your ears to the ground and press your contacts for anything we can use to nail this fucker to the ground. ”
I wanted to argue with my Prez, to tell him that I needed to be a part of every detail, that I was needed here more than at home, but something stopped me. “Yeah, all right,” I grunted in reply.
I walked out of the office and left the clubhouse without feeling the sun as it beat down on me.
***
Once I arrived home, I sat on my bike inside the garage for longer than I should have, thinking about the two girls inside the house. They were vulnerable and in trouble because of me.
I’ll keep them safe.
I went inside, calling out for Eliana and Zoya.
When they didn’t answer immediately, I was tempted to freak out but I kept my shit together—the prospects had told me that no one had left the house all day, neither, had there been any visitors.
I eventually found them in the backyard, spread out on a polka dot blanket, each of them with sketchpads resting on their laps.
Zoya’s lopsided pigtails caught the light, the wisps at the bottom of the braids looked like golden threads.
Seeing them together shouldn’t have made me feel softer and warmer, like I had a right to that kind of future, but it did.
Zoya looked up first, smiling when she spotted me.
I could almost hear it, the girly shout of “Daddy” that I longed to hear, but the joy on her face was enough for now. “Hey baby girl. Did you have a good time with Eliana?”
She nodded, her bobbing head made her pigtails swing adorably. She looked back at Eliana who gave her an encouraging nod and a sweet smile. With that encouragement, she produced a sheet of paper with a wary smile.
“For you,” she whispered so softly I wasn’t even sure I heard it or imagined it.
My heart pounded hard against my chest at those two softly spoken words.
She was coming back to me.
I took the drawing, expecting it to be like so many of the others, well done in that childlike way with oversized eyes and lips, with limbs too small for the bodies. This was different, though.
It was me and Zoya, sitting at our kitchen table piled high with food.
She loved breakfast and the drawing showed pancakes, bacon, fruit, and a giant, cartoonish jar of jam.
We wore bigger smiles than I was sure either of us had ever worn.
My figure was massive next to hers. Even Hoppy had his own seat at the table.
But it wasn’t the details that stood out or even the smiles, it was how fucking good it was.
“Holy shit, Zoya, this is really good!” I couldn’t keep the pride out of my voice. I traced the outline of my jaw with a fingertip. I’d never been able to draw a straight line in my life, but she had incredible talent. “Wow, it’s… just wow.”
Zoya beamed with pride.
“Thank you for this, sweetheart.”
I vowed, then and there, that I would do better by my kid. I would do whatever it took to get her speaking again. She deserved a better life than she had, and if that meant getting to the bottom of my little girl’s silence, that’s what I had to do.
Eliana brushed past us, giving me a small smile and a nod as she went inside.
I dropped down to my knees so Zoya and I were eye to eye. “I know I told you she’d be staying tonight, but I hope it’s all right with you if Eliana stays with us for a few days while her apartment gets fixed. Is that okay, sweetheart?”
She nodded, a small smile curled her lips as if she was getting the one thing she wanted most.
“Good. I have some time, want to draw together?”
Surprise flashed in her eyes, but she nodded, taking my hand in hers as she guided me to the polka dot blanket now warmed by the sun.