Chapter Six.
Falcon
I grabbed a club SUV to collect Star and the pups.
The male, Jaeger, had to stay a little longer.
The kids were in an uproar, all demanding puppies.
Their mothers were ready to kill me while their fathers simply looked amused.
In the end, all I’d done was agree that those with children could have first choice.
Calamity sulked, but he owned enough damn pets. Let someone else get a look in!
Harley cornered me for a pup for his two girls, Faye, three, and Georgia, one. I thought Oakley planned to kill me. She’d just learned she was pregnant again, and the last thing she wanted was a puppy.
Savage got one for his children, and again, I swear Grace was plotting a murder. The twins were already demanding; throw in a pup, and Grace would go insane. I felt for her; five kids and a pup were a handful. However, the other old ladies weren’t faring much better.
Klutz took another for their two children, while Silas was approaching three; baby Marina was only a couple of months old. Aurora-Victoria had informed Klutz that he was training it.
When told, Carmelle smiled sweetly at Ghost and stated he was also looking after the puppy.
While Shannon and Sadie were now ten and eight respectively, Kaitlyn was nearly three, Asher was one, and their fifth was due in February next year.
Yup, Ghost had fucked that one up. I grinned as I imagined the grovelling he’d done the previous night.
Ghost had compounded his error by telling their children. Huge mistake, as he found out.
Gauntlet had at least checked with Amberlea, and she’d been more excited than their kids.
Faelea had informed the younger ones that it was her puppy, and they were hands-off.
Trick, three, and Ramon, two, had taken grave offence, and a fight had broken out in the club.
Faelea, aware of her siblings’ penchant for violence, locked them in a closet. We’d found them an hour later.
Penny had been surprisingly calm when Texas announced he was having one. Penny had shrugged and told him she wouldn’t clean up after it. But with Nathan turning sixteen, Greg being fifteen now, Daisy thirteen and Lilah nine soon, Texas had backup. I smirked, the clever asshole he was.
Hunter and Mina had taken one despite having Demonicus and Zdrakias, her beautiful guard dogs.
They wanted another for the twins, Darcie and Gracie, two and a half, and Nathaniel, who was a month old.
Mina was quite content that Demonicus and Zdrakias would tear the throat out of an intruder, and now desired a pet for the girls.
Ice, like Harley, was on the road a lot, and he liked the idea of Demi having a guard dog around her and the babies. Cain was two, Cash six weeks, and Demi was rather insulted that Ice didn’t think her capable of protecting their family. He’d been another one grovelling like mad last night.
As I drove down the street, I caught a flash of movement near some dumpsters. I went to drive past but froze when I spotted a small figure trying to climb up on one.
Fuck. That was Jayes.
I pulled over and entered the alley, just in time to see Jayes pull something out of the dumpster and begin eating it.
“Jayes! What’s going on?” I demanded, removing the half-eaten sandwich from his hand.
“I’m hungry,” Jayes replied. Horrified, I gazed at him. It had been four days since I’d seen him, and Jayes was a mess.
“Where’re your parents? Never mind,” I said, hearing his stomach growl. “Come on, follow me. I’ll get you some food.”
Jayes followed obediently as I headed for a diner.
I opened the door, and he rushed in, sniffing.
It wasn’t busy, and I grabbed a booth, trying to figure out what the hell had happened.
Jayes was dirty, with mud and dirt on his body and clothing.
He had several cuts on his face and hands, and honestly, he smelled. Jayes looked like a street kid.
The waitress came over, shot me a look, and I ordered fries, two burgers, and two milkshakes.
Jayes’s eyes widened, but I led him to the bathroom to clean up.
I found a small tin of deodorant on the side and sprayed him thoroughly.
That would do for now. Returning to our table, I saw our food had arrived, and before I could question Jayes, the kid began devouring his meal.
The speed at which he devoured his burger left me no doubt he was hungry.
Once he finished his, he eyed mine, but I refused to overfeed him; that would lead to complications.
He sipped his milkshake the whole time I ate.
Finally, I couldn’t stand the guilt anymore and shoved my fries over to him, and Jayes polished them off.
“Where are your parents?” I asked him.
Jayes shrugged. “Daddy left with Uncle Rawson, Uncle Lawson and Jed.”
What the fuck? Lawson, Rawdon, and Dawson? That was some whacked-out shit.
“Where’s Mommy?”
“Mommie’s sleeping; she won’t wake up… Daddy…” Jayes broke off as the hairs on the back of my neck stood up.
“How long has she been asleep?” I asked quietly, as if I were making conversation. Inside, I was screaming. I knew something was seriously wrong.
“Since Mrs Hannigan left.”
“I don’t understand,” I replied.
Jayes glanced at me as if to ask if I was stupid.
“I stayed at Mrs Hannigan’s when you took me home.
Then she sent me back the next morning because she had to go somewhere.
All the doors were locked, but I climbed through a window.
Daddy wasn’t there; I’d seen him leave earlier.
I couldn’t find Mommy until I saw she was sleeping downstairs. ”
Fuck! Trying not to let my anger out, I wondered if Jayes had found Myka dead. Christ. What a shit storm. “Jayes, I’ll take you back and check on your mom.”
“Okay.” The kid didn’t argue, but once again, allowed me to lead him to the truck. I didn’t know what to say. Jayes appeared physically unarmed, but I’d noticed he was still limping badly. It took mere minutes to drive there, and a sense of foreboding came over me.
I checked all the doors before Jayes showed me the window he’d used. I opened it wider and climbed in. The house felt wrong—empty, and there was a terrible smell.
“Where’s your mom?” I asked.
Jayes pointed to a door that I guessed led to the basement.
“Okay, Jayes. Go to your room,” I ordered, and Jayes obeyed instantly.
Damn, this boy had no stranger danger whatsoever.
With my tee, I unlatched the handle and descended some steps.
I thought I’d prepared myself for what I was going to find, but I hadn’t.
Myka lay on the floor, as if she’d been thrown down like a rag doll.
She was naked and severely injured. I was yanking my phone out while I catalogued her wounds.
Hurrying down the remaining few stairs after spitting out the address, I said, “I need an ambulance and the cops; there’s a badly hurt woman. ”
Checking for a pulse, I was relieved to find a thready one. Quickly, I fed the information back as I glanced over Myka’s injuries. She’d been beaten severely. Her body was covered in bruises, welts, and cuts. I saw actual boot marks on her stomach, and tufts of hair were strewn about.
Someone had taken a lot of anger out on her.
I hurried upstairs to force the front door open and grab a blanket.
Under her was a large pool of blood. I couldn’t even tell where she was bleeding from, and I didn’t dare move her.
That might cause her more injuries. I heard sirens gradually getting closer, and Cates called out a few minutes later.
“Falcon.”
“Down here!”
Boots stamped above me, and Cates appeared. “Shit, what the fuck?” she gasped and flew down the stairs.
“I found her,” I explained, as Cates nodded.
“That’s Myka Beauregard. Christ, I knew this day would come,” she muttered.
“You know her?” I asked as Cates checked her pulse again.
“Yeah. She’s a nice woman. I’ve been trying to get her to press charges against Dawson, but she refused.”
“Can’t help them if they don’t help themselves,” I said harshly.
Cates shook her head. “It’s not like that.
She did make a statement once, and Dawson’s entire family backed him up and gave him an alibi.
The previous sheriff let him off. Myka wasn’t seen for three days until she was admitted to the hospital.
She declined to speak to the police after that. That’s how I got the job.
“The Book Club erupted in anger that Dawson had got off scot-free with his crime. That the former sheriff messed up Myka’s case so badly was a disgrace.
Evidence was contaminated, statements were lost, and then he refused to check the security footage of the place Dawson claimed to be at.
It was a total mess, and Ross finally had enough proof to sack him.
He’d been trying for three years, but the asshole kept slithering out of it. ”
“Damn,” I muttered.
“We were aware Beauregard was beating her, but Myka was too terrified after that to speak up. Such a shame,” Cates murmured. An ambulance shrieked in the distance, coming closer as Cates stood up. “What befell Myka was unfortunate. The town forgot about her. Where’s Jayes?”
“I found him eating from a dumpster and took him to eat. He’s upstairs in his room,” I replied.
“How is he?”
“His ankle is badly hurt and needs an X-ray,” I explained what I’d witnessed the other day, and Cates shook her head.
“I can’t say I’m surprised,” she murmured. Damn, that said little.
The paramedics stormed in, and I was shunted to one side.
Half an hour later I was following them to the hospital with Jayes sitting next to me. He’d shrunk away from Cates and had cried silently. It was eerie watching a kid sob without making a sound. In the end, I scooped him up, stopped all the arguing, and carried him in with me.