Chapter 19
CHAPTER 19
O ne more fishing trotline to check before Deke could go back to the cabin and warm up in his Little girl's arms. He usually got an earlier start, but it had taken a while for all the girls to leave after the sleepover. They seemed to have a good time. He should have nixed the idea, but Suzi hadn’t seen her friends in a while, and he didn’t have the heart to tell her no.
He did threaten his brothers if they weren’t careful to make sure they weren’t followed. The last thing he needed was for the Warriors to find them. His cabin was tucked away and hard to reach, but it wasn’t invisible if someone laid a breadcrumb trail straight to his door. All the guys knew how to spot a tail, so he wasn’t all that worried.
He'd promised his babygirl a campfire lunch, complete with rainbow trout, but Suzi was right. these mountain rivers were fucking freezing. Even through his waders, he could feel it. What had he been thinking of letting her swim in it for the past few weeks?
He still remembered the second time they’d come to the river. She’d done so well the day before playing in the crystal clear water up to her waist. So, he hadn’t thought anything about tussling with her in the current. She’d playfully said something sassy and splashed water in his face, so he’d picked her up and tossed her into the deeper water. She’d damn near drowned before he could get to her.
He'd felt like shit, apologizing over and over for catching her off guard. And then she’d told him she couldn’t swim. He’d swatted her wet ass all the way to the shore. The next day, he took on the task of teaching her, and she’d turned into a regular mermaid.
Just as he reached the wet braided cord of the main line, the perimeter guard alarm around his property went off. The beeps were a deeper pitch and slow. That meant someone had penetrated the outer line of motion detectors.
Fishing line forgotten, Deke took off for the cabin at a dead run, punching Sawyer’s number as he raced up the back steps to the second level.
Sawyer answered immediately. “You have a breach. Shit. Warrior… looks like seven that I can see coming at you from the western side of your property.” Another alarm rang over the phone, and Sawyer yelled. “Fuck! Five more are coming in from the east. I’ve already sent out the SOS. Hold tight. Gage, Reid, Law, and Connor are on the way. ETA fifteen minutes.”
“I’m not taking any chances,” Deke snarled. “I’m arming up and taking Suzi to the caverns. We’ll come out when I get word from you it’s clear.”
He disconnected, skidding on a rug one of the girls must have moved the night before. Not slowing down, he took the stairs two at a time. Suzi was still cuddled with Kiki in his bed.
“Rosebud,” he said, trying to keep his voice calm. “I need you to get dressed as quickly as possible. Remember the outfit I put on the first shelf of your closet?”
Damn he hated the way all the color drained from her face. She knew what that meant. She knew what to do. Without a question, she ran to her room.
Deke took off for his closet. He grabbed the go bag he’d made up for them months ago, pissed he now had occasion to use it. He drew on his utility belt, then opened the gun safe in the back of his closet. Taking out two handguns, he holstered one and shoved the other in the waist of his cargo pants at the back. After that, he took out two large knives and a box of ammo. Tossing those in the go bag, he ran to Suzi’s room. She met him just inside her door, ready to go.
He took her hand and guided her down the stairs, and out the back again. They ran across the backyard and stopped behind the shed.
“Listen to me, babygirl. We are going to hide. There are men headed for the cabin, a lot of them, and we don’t need to be here when they show up. Sabre is on the way, but I am going to keep you safe. I will not let anything happen to you. I expect instant obedience right now. Get me?
Eyes wide, she nodded. With a hard kiss to the top of her head, he grabbed her hand, and they headed into the woods.
He thanked his lucky stars fall hadn’t hit early. The trees were still lush with leaves. The evergreens were full of cover. She had a hard time keeping up with him, but they had to be quick. He only slowed when he saw roots or other things that might trip her. Every few yards, he paused to listen.
There was no way, with the Warriors coming at them from both sides that they wouldn’t cross paths. Not and make it to the cavern he’d prepared in case something like this happened.
Sure enough, after they’d covered just over one klick, the sound of boots running toward them made him freeze.
He turned to Suzi. Her breaths were coming shallow and fast. Not good. The last thing they needed was for her to pass out.
Pressing his mouth close to her ear. “Be very still and very quiet,” he said just above a whisper. “I know this is scary, but we are going to be okay. Trust me?”
Without pause, she nodded, her face reflecting intense determination. God, her confidence buoyed his resolve.
She tucked in close to him, her back to his front. Then he pushed back into the branches of a large Eastern Red Cedar tree. He kept going until the truck scraped his back, and the long boughs camouflaged them.
And then he waited.
In minutes, the thud of boots on the forest floor echoed around them.
“How much farther?” someone growled.
“Fuck if I know. But when we get there, I say we take him out quick and then take our time with her. No reason we can have a reward for all our trouble.”
“Crash said no one is to touch the girl but him,” someone answered.
“What Crash don’t know won’t hurt him. You gonna tell him?”
“I won’t have to, you dipshit. He’ll see she’s marked. You don’t think you’ll get a piece of that without her putting up a fight, do you?”
The voices faded before Deke could make out what the other man said. The one whose days were numbered. Deke would make sure of it. No one threatened his Little girl like that and lived.
He’d counted five sets of footsteps, so Sawyer had that number right. The assholes were going to have a surprise when they got to the cabin. If Sabre wasn’t already there, they’d be there soon.
He gave it a few more minutes to be safe, then struggled free of the evergreen limbs and took Suzi’s hand. They went in the opposite direction from the way the Warriors headed.
In minutes, they came to the mountain ridge he’d been headed for. Unwilling to lose connection to her, Deke let go of Suzi’s hand and placed it on his back. She fisted his shirt and pressed in close.
Shortening his steps so she could keep up, he walked to the stone ridge and the hideout he’d made in a cave he’d found years ago. After clearing away the branches he’d leaned over the opening to the cave, he led her inside.
The grey rock walls chilled the air, and the light didn’t penetrate far past the opening of the cave. A large, flat rack sat far enough inside she would be safe while he made sure they wouldn’t be discovered.
He helped her sit down, then promised, “I’ll be right back.”
She’d been his brave Little girl during their trek through the woods, but panic filled her eyes with his words. He cupped the back of her neck, forcing her to look into his eyes. “I’m not leaving. I’m pulling the branches back over the entrance to our hiding place so if those men double back, they won’t be able to see us. Okay?”
She glanced at the doorway to the cave, then back at him. She gave him no words, but she nodded.
“Okay,” he repeated.
He made quick work of concealing the entrance and then moved to a chest filled with supplies he’d placed on the far wall. After pulling out a blanket, he sat down on the rock and lifted Suzi onto his lap.
“Now what?” she whispered.
“Now we wait, but not too long. Sabre was on their way before we left the cabin. They are probably already there, discussing things over with the Warriors.”
“What kind of things?”
Suzi asked the question, but her tone was almost vacant. He didn’t like it. She was probably dealing with shock and the fatigue of hiking almost two miles through the woods.
He kept his tone calm and light. “Oh, things like the merits of obeying no trespassing signs and avoiding entering buildings without the proper authority, you know, basic manners.”
Suzi smiled, “Everyone needs to have better manners.”
“I have someone who wants to see you. I’m pretty sure she needs a hug.” Digging into the go bag, he pulled out Kiki and held the stuffie out to his rosebud.
“Kiki!” she whispered and made grabby hands for her toy.
He tucked the bunny in her arms and wished again he could have known Suzi’s grandmother.
His phone rang, and Reid’s name flashed on the screen.
“You get them?” he asked without bothering with a greeting.
“No,” Reid answered. “By the time we got here, they were gone. The place is secure now, but you need to prepare Suzi. They trashed everything. It’s a mess.”
Fuck. They had to still be looking for the files. He was afraid he already knew, but he asked anyway. “Were they in my office?”
“Yeah. The furniture was thrown everywhere. The desk was tipped over.”
That’s what he’d been afraid of. “Did you see a laptop, a tablet, and a phone?”
“No. The drawers were all dumped out. If anything like that was in here, it’s gone now.”
“Fuck,” Deke boomed. “That was Suzi’s. That means they have the files.”
“I know. It sucks, but there’s nothing we can do about it. At least everything on her laptop is also stored on the Cloud. We’ll replace the computer for her.”
“I’ll take her into town tomorrow and get everything replaced. Can we get Sawyer on how they knew she was here?”
“He’s already working on it,” Reid said. “Do you need someone to come pick you up?”
“Yeah. My Little girl’s had a rough day. I think one hike through the woods is enough.”
“Copy that,” Reid said. “Someone will be there soon.”
He leaned back against the side of the cave and cradled Suzi to his chest. It took some time, but eventually, she relaxed in his arms.
He tried to stop his mind from wondering what was happening in his cabin. If he’d been there alone, he would have stayed and defended his land. But getting Suzi someplace safe was what mattered. Especially since it was his fault she’d been in danger.
He’d had time to think on the way to the cave. He should never have opened the house and allowed everyone to come up there. The Warriors had to have put two and two together somehow.
He knew his brothers hadn’t been followed. That meant the MC had found another way. Was there a leak somewhere?
He stiffened when he remembered Pyro. That wiry little punk had been hanging out at Sabre ever since the day he’d poisoned Suzi. Maybe he was a plant. Maybe that was the Warrior’s plan all along.
Law had taken a shine to the kid, but Deke wasn’t ready to get chummy with someone who could have killed his Little girl. Had Pyro known about the party?
Maybe they’d been bugged. When was the last time they’d done a thorough sweep for devices? They all needed to have their phones and vehicles checked. Maybe the Warrior had somehow planted a tracker.
Either way, Suzi had been safe with him at his cabin until he’d made the decision to allow the party. This was on him. Part of being her Daddy was keeping her safe, and he had failed.
“I’m sorry, Rosebud,” he said.
She blinked up at him. “Sorry for what?”
“Protecting you is my job and I dropped the ball. I don’t know how it happened yet, but I’ll find out. And when I do, I’ll fix it.”
“It could have been anything, Daddy,” she said. “Whatever it was, I’m sure it was an accident. Accidents happen all the time.”
“This kind of accident is different Little one. We have to figure out what happened so we can make sure it won’t happen again.”
“I guess you’re right,” she said
“It’s important that you feel safe with me, babygirl. I’d give my life to protect you.”
“I know that, Daddy. Let’s try to make it so that never has to happen though. Okay?”
“Plan on it. I will keep digging, however, until I know exactly how it happened. Now, can you forgive me for not taking proper care of you?”
“Daddy, there’s nothing to forgive. After all, you did protect me. I’m safe, here with you right now.” She reached up and kissed his cheek, “I love you.”
Damn. For her, it was just that simple. He wouldn’t be able to let it go that easily. He didn’t know what he had done to receive the gift of Suzi in his life. He sure as fuck didn’t deserve her.