Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
RED
Red wasn’t sure how he felt about Ronan staging an intervention. He watched Kit go, eyes narrowed, but noting the bodyguard didn’t try to hold or touch Kit in any way.
“He knows better than to manhandle your boy unless it’s essential,” Mo said brusquely.
Red turned to face Mo and folded his arms. “He’s not my boy.”
Mo raised an eyebrow. “Oh? So that’s why you said not for long?”
“He understands that this is only temporary and he’ll likely be relocated to another part of the country.”
“You told him that? That you won’t go with him?”
“Yeah.” Red frowned, not understanding the edge to Mo’s voice. “This is a short-term detail, isn’t it? I live and work in Seattle.”
“They start out short-term,” Mo agreed, his smile wry. “But somehow they never end like it.”
“I’m not a Biker Daddy Bodyguard. You keep trying to make me something I’m not. I chose to step away from the Daddy community and I’m not about to step back into it.”
“You’re a born Biker Daddy Bodyguard even if you don’t think you are.”
“I’m not.”
Mo raised his hand. “One—” He counted the points on his fingers. “You took the job despite your reservations.”
“That doesn’t mean anything,” Red growled.
Mo ignored him. “Two, you went full Daddy on his ass at the club.”
“I protected my client.”
“And you took care of the twink.”
“He was scared and alone.”
“Three, you fed Kit, put him to bed, what else…oh yeah, searched—”
“I’m a bodyguard. That’s what I do,” he pointed out. “Losing your client isn’t good for your reputation.”
“You’re a Daddy.”
Red threw his hands up in exasperation. “So what if I did all these things. I’m here to protect Kit. He’s alone and in danger and he needs me. You employed me to do that. But I’m a bodyguard. You assign details to me, remember?”
“This team ain’t like the others,” Mo said. “That’s why Quinn and Craig are very cautious about who they approach.”
“It seems to be a fucking dating service for Daddies and boys,” Red grumbled.
“With added danger,” Mo agreed.
“Why don’t you just let me do my job of taking care of Kit and quit trying to play Cupid?”
“Because I need to know you understand what you’re doing.”
“I do. He’s safe with me.”
A broad smile spread over Mo’s face. Red squinted at him, wary now. He didn’t trust that smile. Then he realized Mo was looking over his shoulder. He turned to see Kit staring at him, a cautious but hopeful expression. Ronan was attempting to hide his smirk.
Red sighed inwardly. He was talking. No one was listening. He’d try again later. He held out his hand and Kit came to stand beside him. He tangled their fingers together, wanting to ground Kit, but to ground himself just as much.
A loud belly rumble broke the silence and Kit blushed. “Sorry.”
“I think that was me,” Red admitted. “We didn’t have breakfast. He turned to look at the food on the counter. “Do you guys want breakfast?”
Mo shook his head. “We’re going on patrol.”
Kit raised his eyebrows. “Are you Sergeant Patrol too?”
Ronan let out a belly laugh. “He’s the worst.”
“Come back for coffee?” Red suggested.
He wasn’t sure how he was going to entertain a hyperactive chaos demon all day. Talking to other people would help.
“Sure,” Mo agreed.
“Daddy Red.”
Red flinched at Ronan’s word. It had been a long time since someone had called him that. “Just Red.”
“Red, is it okay if Kit and I exercise later?”
Okay? Red could kiss the man. “Sure thing.”
“See you later. The good coffee is in that cabinet.” Mo pointed to the corner cabinet. “Remember the check-ins.”
Red grunted and watched them leave, then he turned to Kit. “Ready to eat now?”
Kit smiled. It looked a little strained, but it was a smile. “Can we cook together?”
“Yeah sure. I’d like that.”
It turned out Kit was a decent cook, especially eggs, and it seemed to relax him. Red parked that one for future reference.
It didn’t take long for them to have a pile of eggs and bacon and a stack of toast in front of them.
“We can do something more elaborate another day,” Red said.
“I can make waffles if we’ve got a waffle maker.”
If Red hadn’t had a mouthful of food, he would have drooled. He loved waffles and syrup. “I’ll check when we clear up. I love waffles.”
The breakfast didn’t take long to consume. They were both hungry. They ate every scrap of food and seriously debated making more.
“If you’re going to exercise with Ronan, maybe eat more later,” Red suggested.
Kit grumbled but he admitted it was a good idea.
Red was pleased that Kit helped clear away the dirty dishes without being asked. He liked his boys to be helpful and not expect their Daddy to do everything for them.
Kit finished loading the dishwasher and stood, rolling his shoulders. “I need to work out. I don’t feel right unless I exercise every day. But usually that’s clubbing.”
“We can make a plan of what to do,” Red suggested. “I need to exercise too.”
“Will we be able to go for a walk?” Kit sighed at Red’s dubious expression. “I’ve got to stay inside for the rest of my life?”
“No, but we have to be careful now.”
“Who can attack us here?” Kit scoffed.
“You’ve heard of snipers? We had that discussion already.” He saw Kit blanch. “Patience, yeah? We’re both in unfamiliar surroundings and not sure what is going on. But we’ll work it out, I promise.”
Kit looked so young and vulnerable at that moment, it made his heart ache. He couldn’t leave Kit to sink on his own. The boy needed someone to take control and that could be him. Yes, he could be hurt, but he’d take that chance. This wasn’t about him; it was about Kit.
Red brushed Kit’s mouth with his own. “Just let me take care of you. We’ll work it out.”
Kit regarded him, two lines between his brows. Red smoothed them out with his thumb.
“How long for?” Kit demanded.
“For as long as you need me.”
Kit visibly relaxed. “You’re in it for the long haul.”
Red opened his mouth to argue that wasn’t what he said, but he was distracted by a knock at the door.
“It’s Mo and Ronan again.”
Red checked his phone, then loped over to open the door. The men were covered by a fine layer of snow over their hat and coats, and when he looked over their shoulders, he could see snowflakes falling at a steady pace.
Mo followed his gaze. “Should deter anyone tonight. We have heavy snow forecast. The team have nothing to report.”
That was the kind of news Red was pleased to hear. He stepped back to let them in. They stripped off their coats and hung them on the hooks by the door.
Ronan grinned at Kit. “Ready to work out?”
“You’re going down,” Kit promised.
“I guess you’re not doing yoga,” Red said.
“Not yoga,” Ronan agreed, but he didn’t explain any further. Kit just grinned at him.
Should Red worry? He decided to let this play out and patch up the injuries later.
Red didn’t broach the subject that had been worrying him until they had coffee in front of them and had discussed the results of the patrol. To Red’s relief everything was fine, there were no signs of unknown tracks or footprints on Mo’s property.
He heard thumps and grunts from the bedroom but no one screamed, so he guessed they had to know what they were doing. Mo ignored the noises coming from the bedroom.
He took a long swallow of coffee and eyed Mo across the table.
Mo raised an eyebrow. “Spit it out, man. I ain’t got all day.”
Red didn’t bother to ask how he knew. Mo was that kind of guy. “Do you know a Daddy called Eric?”
Mo stiffened, his lips pressed together. “I do,” Mo said, and the tension rolled off him. “Or rather, did. Eric Strada.”
“I don’t know his last name.” Red didn’t know the name but from the way Mo reacted, the guy wasn’t popular.
“Why do you want to know about him?”
“Kit said the guy gave him bad vibes. I wondered if you knew him.”
“Was Kit involved with him?”
Red got the feeling the answer was important.
“Briefly,” Kit said behind them.
Red turned and Kit joined him. Red tugged him down to the seat next to him.
Kit’s face was flushed and sweaty. “I came out for water.”
Ronan stood in the doorway, but he didn’t try to join them.
“I tried a few sessions with him. It was my first time.” Kit looked embarrassed. “There was something off about him. He made me nervous. I’m sorry, I don’t mean to be rude.”
Mo shook his head. “Kit, your instincts were spot on. Did he hurt you?”
“Not much.”
Red turned to him. “He hurt you? You didn’t tell me that.”
Kit shrank back a little. “Nothing I couldn’t handle. Honest.”
This Daddy was dead meat. Red was going to have him for hurting his boy.
Mo gave him a shrewd look. “Red, get it under control. Strada was an abuser. He hurt boys here and in San Francisco. Look, I can’t tell you much, but Quinn’s boy was one of his victims.”
Kit’s eyes went wide. “He hurt Cade Connolly?”
“He did. Cade came to us for protection.”
Kit furrowed his brow. “I thought he had a psycho assistant.”
“Driver,” Mo said. “But we didn’t know about him at first. Strada was the issue.
That’s not common knowledge outside our community.
But at least two other boys in our group had dealings with him.
Fortunately they weren’t hurt. They weren’t really his type.
Kit on the other hand, was just his type.
” He glanced at Red. “I need to know more.”
Kit looked confused. “Why are you asking Red? It was me who met Erik.”
“He’s asking my permission to talk to you,” Red said, “and also telling me without saying it out loud that you might not want to talk about it in front of me.”
Kit waved his hand. “That’s just weird. But I’ve already spoken to Red about it and I don’t care if he knows. It wasn’t like much happened.”
“You said he hurt you,” Red growled.
Mo huffed as if he was exasperated already. “I shouldn’t be doing this. It’s Quinn’s and Craig’s job. Get it together, Baxter.”
“I want him punished.”
“That would be difficult,” Mo drawled. “He was exiled from the community.”
“Strada should face charges.”
“He was. But he’s dead. By his own hand,” Mo added.
“Suicide?” Red thought about that for a moment. “Good.”
Kit stared at him wide-eyed. “Wow, I didn’t expect you to be…so violent.”
“I’m not violent. I wouldn’t lay a hand on you or anyone who wasn’t trying to hurt you…my clients. But abusers are the worst kind of men. Anyone abusing our boys does not deserve to live.”
Red was not a violent man. He’d been praised for de-escalating volatile situations more than once. But there was something about the thought of Eric Strada laying a hand on Kit that made his blood boil.
“I’m with him.” Mo jabbed a finger at Red. “In case you wondered.”
Leaning back in his seat, Kit surveyed them with a sudden grin. “Okay then. I didn’t expect anyone to care. That’s why I never mentioned it to anyone. And I didn’t really know anyone from the community to tell.”
“Quinn is trying to change that,” Mo said. “Too many vulnerable boys didn’t know where to turn.”
Kit bit his bottom lip. “Is Cade all right? Not the details, but is he safe?”
Mo took his time to answer which told Red just how bad it had been. “Cade is recovering. It’ll take time. He acts out a lot, to check his Daddy still loves him and Quinn would tear down the world if anyone hurt his boy again.”
Red had gotten the impression Cade was an over-privileged brat like a lot of the rich and famous kids he’d met, but now it made more sense. Cade needed reassurance. He glanced at Kit and saw a quick nod. Mo was talking at Kit right there. He sighed inwardly. No, Mo was talking at him just as much.
It didn’t matter how much Red protested. He was a Biker Daddy Bodyguard.
Step up. Take care of your boy. He needs you.
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