6. Finn
Finn
The motel was the one closest to the club and the kind of place no one looked at twice. The other, nicer one, burned down months ago, when the Fangs tried to get at Lucy.
Reaper pulled in right behind me.
Lucy was already outside the room when we got out, arms folded tight across her chest, eyes flicking between us. “What happened?—”
“Get on,” Reaper cut her off.
Lucy blinked, taken aback. “Jay, I just?—”
“We talk at the clubhouse,” he said. “Not out here.”
His gaze swept the lot once. Always checking for hidden threats. Despite trying to go legit, we never knew who was watching us or what may come back from the past to bite us on the arse if we weren’t watching.
Lucy’s mouth pressed into a thin line, but she didn’t argue.
“See you tomorrow,” he said to me.
I nodded once and turned towards the room.
The door clicked open quietly. The first thing I noticed was the quiet, then the soft hum of the baby monitor.
Noah was asleep on the bed with multiple pillows and bed guards around him that hadn’t been there earlier.
Must have been Lucy.
The kid was out cold, chest rising and falling, one fist curled near his cheek.
The bathroom light was on, and I could hear water running.
I stepped farther inside the room, shutting the door behind me and locking it.
I heard Kate moving around and then a sharp yelp.
My body moved before my brain caught up.
I crossed the room in two strides and shoved the bathroom door open.
“Kate—” I stopped dead.
She stood by the sink, back half turned, shirt off, a thin bra barely covering her. One hand was braced on the counter while the other gripped a damp cloth. Bruises were layered across her ribs, deep purples and yellows, spreading over pale skin like something rotten.
I knew those marks and knew exactly what kind of man left them. I pushed down the lump in my throat and away the waves of toxic memories trying to consume me.
She spun at the sound, eyes wide, breath catching. One arm came up instinctively across her chest.
“I thought you were Lucy,” she said, her voice laced with pain.
My eyes roamed over her, catching her dark nipples through the thin fabric of her bra. Heat hit low and fast, pure instinct, but it died just as quick and was replaced by something darker.
I dragged my gaze up to her face. “You yelped.”
She glanced down at the cloth in her hand. “It’s nothing.”
It wasn’t nothing. I stepped closer before I could stop myself. “That doesn’t look like nothing.”
Her grip tightened on the edge of the sink. “I’m fine.”
My vision narrowed. “Your parents did that,” I said, it wasn’t a question. I already knew, I’d been there myself many years ago.
Her eyes flicked away. “Does it matter?”
It mattered, because whoever put their hands on her was still breathing. I dragged a hand down my face, forcing myself to take a step back before my temper snapped loose in the wrong direction.
“Club wants proof,” I said, voice rougher than I intended. “We’ll have to do a DNA test.”
Her shoulders stiffened. “So you don’t believe me?”
“Doesn’t matter what I believe. Belief doesn’t protect anyone. Paper and blood do.”
She swallowed and nodded but didn’t look convinced.
I jerked my chin towards the bath. “Sit down before you make it worse.”
I turned away, giving her space before I said something I couldn’t take back.
“I’ll be in the room,” I added. “Door stays unlocked. If you need anything, you call me.”
Her eyes lifted to mine. “Okay,” she whispered.
I stepped out and pulled the door shut behind me. A week I’d been stuck with the job, though it had given me a reason to put off the personal problem I was having.
Until Kate, I’d ignored the calls I’d had from someone in my past, buried my head in the sand and other parts of me in the club girls.
Noah made a soft whining sound from the cot. I ignored it, but the whining got louder.
“Yeah, yeah,” I muttered, pushing out of the chair.
The kid blinked up at me with Caleb’s damn eyes.
“That’s real manipulative for someone who can’t string a sentence together yet.”
Noah kicked once. I rubbed a hand over my jaw before leaning down awkwardly.
“You gotta let your mum shower, little man.”
The whining stopped. I froze, scared to move in case he started yelling again. Noah stared up at me seriously.
“That’s right,” I muttered. “You’re okay. Big scary biker’s got you.”
Tiny fingers wrapped around mine.
From the bathroom, the water shut off.
I stepped back from the cot so fast, you’d think I’d been caught committing a crime, then I settled back into the chair.