Chapter 32
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
I t was nearly three in the morning, and every part of Scarlet ached. She had been checked out by EMTs on Whidbey Island, and much to Matt’s frustration, she’d refused to be admitted into the hospital. She was a mess of bruises and had a slight concussion, but nothing had been broken. It was nothing time and rest wouldn’t heal.
She’d wanted to go home. To be alone with Matt and Daisy.
The hours after she’d been rescued were a complete blur in her mind. Highs and lows and everything in between. They had stayed on Whidbey for a while, talking with the local police before eventually taking the helicopter to Hudson. By the time they’d made it back, Daisy had been sound asleep.
Poppy and Cade had brought Daisy home from Hudson Security and waited up all night. Scarlet didn’t know what she’d have done without her friends. Not only had they spent the last countless hours with Daisy, but they’d reassured her and kept her calm, tucked her in and told her that Scarlet and Matt would be there when she woke in the morning.
Now Scarlet was showered and wearing a tank top and her baggiest joggers. The cut along her lip from Psycho’s fist had stung something fierce when she’d entered the shower, but decompressing under the hot water was exactly what she’d needed, had left her feeling a little less raw.
She let out a weary sigh and looked around the dining table. Matt sat beside her, Gavin and Bean across from her. One final debrief, and then she could go lie down.
“Obviously, the investigation is still ongoing,” Gavin said, rubbing a hand over his tired face, “but we do know that five individuals were arrested and—” He cut himself off, glancing down the hallway to where Daisy’s room was.
“You’re fine,” Scarlet said. “A bomb could go off in here and Daisy would still be asleep. She’s that heavy of a sleeper. But thank you.”
Gavin nodded. “Five arrested and one, as you know, deceased. His name was Randy Klien. It looks like he and Melissa Aber, the lone woman in the group, were on Hudson for about a week, scoping out the place. The leader of the group is Brady Wilson.”
“Everyone called him Psycho.” She shivered, and Matt took her hand in his.
“Fitting,” Bean said with a roll of her eyes.
“What we’ve gathered,” Gavin continued, “is Psycho led them to believe that you’d purposely hid Daisy from Steele. That you’d stolen her. He rallied them to come and take her back.”
Bean rested her elbows on the table and stifled a yawn. “Brady Wilson—Psycho, for clarity—was the half brother of both Steele and Michael Wilson, the guy who was stabbed. They shared the same mom, but they all had different fathers. It appears that Michael Wilson either knew the truth about Daisy or didn’t agree with Psycho’s plan or some combination of the two, and so he tried to warn you.”
Scarlet frowned. “How did they even find me?”
Bean sighed. “We don’t know yet. Quinn, in his official capacity as sheriff, made a pretty heated call to your former handler with the US Marshals. Hopefully, he’ll get some answers.”
Scarlet wasn’t sure she wanted to know, but she asked, “And what was Psycho’s plan?”
“He wanted to take over the Reaper’s,” Gavin said. “Almost all the original members are either dead or in prison. Psycho was a little fish for the most part, but he wanted to take control. Take over as president. However, it was never going to happen because there was no tie.”
“What do you mean?” Matt asked.
Gavin shrugged. “This is just my theory, but I think that Psycho being half brothers with Steele wasn’t good enough. They had different dads. Steele’s dad—Rory MacBride—is still alive, and even though the guy’s in prison, he’s still the president of the Reaper’s Assassins. MacBride doesn’t give a shit about the mom. He took his kid and cut all ties with the woman. If he doesn’t care about her, he especially doesn’t give a shit about any kids she had with a bunch of other guys. So there’s no way MacBride would okay Psycho taking over his MC.”
“But MacBride would care about his grandchild,” Matt said as he scratched the stubble on his jaw. “Biologically, Daisy is Steele’s.”
Gavin nodded. “Exactly. How Psycho was going to make that work for him, I’m still not sure.”
“He said something about him being Daisy’s next of kin.” A chill swept over her, and she rubbed her arms to fend it off. “He wanted me to give her to him. Can I assume he was planning on killing me after?”
“Motherfucker,” Matt growled.
“Agreed,” Gavin said. “On both counts. But it doesn’t matter anymore. The second he shot Klien, they all turned on him.”
Scarlet let out a breath. At least there was that. Her mind flashed to all those people who had just stood there and watched while she’d been tied to the chair. They’d done noth?—
She gasped. “What about Cutter? The guy who was still in the diner?”
“Tash got him,” Bean said. “Dumbass tried to take Martha, so Tash beat the shit out of him. He was arrested and transferred into federal custody late last night.”
“Good.” Exhausted, she leaned back in her seat. “And everyone on your team’s okay? Nobody was hurt?”
Gavin stared at her for a moment, then smiled. “We’re all good, honey. And just so you know, I’m sure it will get back to MacBride at some point that he has a granddaughter. I want you both”—he glanced between her and Matt—“to trust that we’ll monitor him. For as long as we need, for as long as it takes.”
Scarlet’s brow furrowed. “But how are you planning on doing?—”
“Magic, remember?” Bean winked. “We’ve got you.”
“We protect our own,” Gavin said before tapping the table. “On that note, Bean and I will get out of your hair. Get some rest. I’ll check back in with you guys tomorrow.” He grimaced as he glanced at his watch. “Make that later today.”
Scarlet and Matt walked them out, then made their way hand in hand to their room.
“Daisy should be up in a few hours,” she said. “If you catch her before I do, can you wake me?”
Matt pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead. “Let’s get you to bed, sweetheart. You must be wiped.”
Her limbs grew heavier with each step. “I am,” she mumbled, climbing into bed.
As Matt tucked the covers around her, she promised herself she’d only sleep for a few hours. She hadn’t seen Daisy—not awake, anyway—since yesterday, and she didn’t want to miss another minute with her daughter.
“Mama?”
Scarlet peeked her eyes open and came face-to-face with a pair of bright-blue eyes. Bright-blue eyes that shimmered with tears. She took in her daughter’s worried expression, her trembling lips, and forced her sore body to sit up. “Hi, baby.”
Calling on all her remaining strength, she pulled Daisy across her lap and hugged her tight. She knew she looked like absolute hell; the last thing she wanted was to scare her daughter.
“Careful, Otter Pop,” Matt said, coming into the room and joining them on the massive bed. He positioned himself behind Scarlet and wrapped his arms around both of them.
“Matty,” Daisy sniffed. “Mama has a big owie on her face.”
“I know, sweet girl. Your mom got hurt yesterday, but she was really brave.”
More like scared out of her mind. And so damn pissed. She wasn’t so sure on the brave part.
Her face throbbed where that asshole had punched her, and there was a giant goose egg on the back of her head from when she’d been knocked out in the minivan. She had cuts, scrapes, and bruises all over her from being tied to that stupid chair with her hands behind her back, unable to protect herself from... anything. But having her sweet girl in her arms and being held by the man she loved?
Her life was pretty damn perfect.
“Don’t be scared, baby girl,” she whispered, pressing a kiss to the top of Daisy’s head. “I’m going to be fine. I just got banged up a little.”
Daisy sat up, and Scarlet tried not to wince as her daughter’s sharp elbow dug into her side. “Did you falled down, Mama?”
She caressed Daisy’s cheek. “I did. It hurt a lot, but I didn’t break any bones, so that’s good. I just got a puffy face and a black eye instead.”
“You look like Poppy’s friends from TV. Remember the FUC show we watched with Matty and Four and Gavin and Xandy and we saw Poppy on TV?”
“I do remember, baby, and yeah, I’m sure I look just like they did after their UFC fights. All banged up.”
“Hey, sweet girl,” Matt said, voice rumbling through Scarlet’s chest. “Why don’t you go pick out a movie or a show to watch, okay? Your mom needs to sleep for a little bit longer so her bruises can heal. Maybe Kung Fu Panda ?”
Daisy shook her head but grinned. “I can’t watch Kung Fu Panda without you, Matty. It’s your favorite!”
“You’re right, Otter Pop. Why don’t you watch some Bluey, then?”
Daisy gasped, and her eyes went wide. “You don’t like Bluey ?”
Matt tensed behind her. She could practically feel his panic, and she had to bite back a chuckle.
“I’m sorry, sweet girl, but I don’t.” Daisy’s jaw dropped, and he rushed on, “But you know, we can’t like everything the same, right? I mean, I love baseball, but I’m sure you don’t like watching it.”
“I love baseball, Matty!”
Scarlet snorted, then flinched, both at the pain and the offended look on her daughter’s face. “You love baseball, miss? Really?”
“Yes,” Daisy huffed. Her little face scrunched.
Scarlet shook her head. “Daisy, baby, do you know what baseball is ?”
Daisy’s bottom lip popped out and began to wobble. “No. But Matty loves it, so I love it, too!”
Scarlet’s heart squeezed tight. Oh, her sweet child. She glanced back at Matt, and the emotion on his face was everything.
“Otter Pop, you don’t need to love baseball just because I love baseball. And I don’t need to love Bluey just because you love Bluey . I love you and your mom the best, and that’s what matters.” He kissed her daughter’s forehead, and Scarlet melted.
Daisy sighed like she had the weight of the world on her four-year-old shoulders. “I don’t know what baseball is, Matty.”
He chuckled. “I kinda figured that, sweet girl.”
Daisy looked at her. “I love you, Mama.” She puckered her lips, and Scarlet kissed her.
“I love you, too, baby.”
Daisy turned to Matt. “I love you, Matty.” She puckered her lips, and that look of awe flashed over his face again before he kissed her.
“I love you, Otter Pop.”
“Matty, can I have popcorn and M&M’s while I watch Bluey ?”
He grinned. “It’s nine in the morning. No.”
Daisy frowned for a moment, then perked up and gave him her best smile. “Strawberries? Cut up in little baby triangles?”
“I think I can work that out.” He bopped her on the nose. “Now go pick out your show while I tuck in your mom.”
Daisy scrambled off the bed and ran out of the room.
Scarlet snuggled deeper into Matt’s arms. “I love you, Matt,” she whispered. “Thank you for finding me.”
“I love you, Scar.” His lips pressed against her hair. “Thank you for loving me. And for sharing Daisy with me.”
She closed her eyes and soaked it all in. This man. Their daughter. Their future.
Her heart was so full.