Chapter 18
Hellfire
Istared down at the squirming bundle in my arms in awe.
The hospital had kept Seek overnight and for most of the next day, but they were home now and it was my turn to hold the baby who was being passed around.
Looking up, I met Kit's sparkling eyes. She had this soft smile on her face as she watched me with the newborn. "I changed my mind."
"About what?" she asked with a laugh.
"I do want ten of these."
The group crowding around laughed at that, except Smoke who scowled at me.
He could shove it up his ass. I knew what game he was playing.
He was thrilled I was dating his sister, mostly.
Maybe not when he was reminded that us dating meant I fucked her as often as I got the chance.
That was probably the reason for his shitty attitude at the moment.
But for the most part, he was glad we were together and that his sister was happy.
Carefully cradling the baby, I raised my right hand and flipped him off. His laughter floated around the room as he shook his head. "Do you have a name yet?" I asked, looking over at Seek.
She was seated on one of the couches in the main living area of the club. She looked tired, but happy, and she'd refused to head upstairs every time her husband suggested it, which was often. She wanted everyone to get the chance to meet her son. "Sawyer Davis Jenkins."
"That's so cute!” Sloane gasped.
"Sawyer was my grandfather's name," Hush told us.
"And Davis after his daddy," Seek said with a smile. She reached out her arms as the baby began to fuss and I handed him back to her.
"Okay, that's all I can take," Hush announced. "You can finish meetin’ him later, but I need my wife to rest now." There was worry etched into his face.
Seek laughed, but stood up with his help. "Okay, okay. We're going."
"It's so sweet seeing him be so protective," Kit said, wrapping an arm around my waist as she leaned against my side.
"That's his family," I replied with a shrug. "I get it."
She looked up at me and I dipped my head to kiss her.
It was a quick peck since we were in the middle of the common area.
I wasn't about to get too hot and heavy with everyone here.
That would be disrespectful to my woman.
But I couldn't resist kissing her when she was smiling at me like that.
Plus, I didn't want to listen to Smoke whine again.
"You look good together," Jordan told us, her eyes sparkling with humor.
"Thank you," Kit said with a laugh. "I'm-"
Before she could finish whatever she'd been about to say, the door to the clubhouse burst open and Butcher and Toxic rushed in. "There's trouble..." Butcher paused as he looked around at all the shocked faces of the women. "Uh..."
"The Children's Lifeline building is burning," Toxic said, taking over.
"Shit," I muttered. Looking down at Kit, I cupped her face in my hands. "Stay here. Stay alert."
"Kit," Lock said as everyone began running out the door toward their bikes. "Let Hush know, but tell him not to follow us. He can watch over the clubhouse with Dash, Mel, Bear, and Breaker."
I pressed a kiss to her lips and was following my president out the door before she had the chance to respond. "How the fuck did Amato figure out we gave them the money?" I asked as we ran.
"Fuck if I know," he snarled. "I thought the fucker would come for us, not after a bunch of fucking kids. Goddamned coward."
We were all on our bikes within minutes and racing down the highway.
The Italians were sloppy. Dangerous. And they weren't above going after innocents in order to get their way.
It made me hate them even more. This was a clear message that they weren't going to let up until we dealt with Amato directly.
They'd already hit us once when they'd taken Dani, but this was more than just a warning.
It didn't take long to reach the Children's Lifeline building. It was burning fast. The firefighters were there, but it looked like it was too late to save it. The CL housed kids who didn't have families as well as helped low income families all over Tucson. This was a huge blow for the city.
Walking over, we stopped near the woman who we'd met the other night. "What happened?" Lockout asked in a low voice.
She jumped at his voice, looking over her shoulder at him. There was a group of kids, ranging from ages five to fifteen clustered around her. "Teddy," she told one of the older boys, "take the children and wait over there. Stay out of the way of the firemen."
We watched in silence as the gangly teenager walked the rest of the kids a short distance away. Gritting my teeth, I tried to ignore the tears tracking down the younger kids' faces as they watched their home burn.
"I don't know," Amy told us. Rip had done some research to figure out who she was. She seemed like a genuinely good person. "I didn't tell anyone."
Frowning, I rubbed my hand over the back of my neck as I looked around. Everything in me froze when I saw a group of men approaching. "Lock."
My tone had my president and the rest of my brothers on high alert.
The man leading the group had to be Amato.
He was dressed in an expensive suit and had that authoritative look on his face.
The one that said the world would bend to his will, or he’d burn it down.
Men like this expected people to do what he said because he’d been born into a position of power.
He never worked to earn the trust of his men.
He never had to go through shit to earn the expensive things he owned.
He just had to be born. His dark brown hair was styled perfectly and intelligent brown eyes met mine.
Something dangerous was hidden in their depths.
He was dangerous for the same reason the cult leader had been dangerous.
He had power and he wasn’t above killing to maintain it.
He didn’t care who he stepped on as long as he remained on top.
We squared off with Amato and seven of his made men, putting ourselves between them and Amy and her children.
"Where's my money," Amato snarled as they stopped in front of us.
We were facing off in two lines, staring each other down as chaos continued around us.
"Somewhere you'll never find it," Lock replied. He was calm in the face of Amato's anger. It was clear to see the mafia don was a hot head. Every move he'd made so far just backed that theory up. Sending his men after Dani. Burning down this building.
"Why'd you do this?" I asked, motioning to the blaze. "Why go after children?"
"They mean something to you," Amato announced. That made me frown. We'd only met Amy the one time before. Why did he assume they meant anything to us? "You take care of them. Give them a home. Build them a school."
Toxic's curse was too low for any of the men across from us to hear.
Amato had gotten his wires crossed. Whoever was feeding him his information, probably Fremont, had told him about the women and children we'd saved from the cult.
But somehow he thought they were the kids here at The Children's Lifeline. He didn’t know that we brought them the money.
If we had never come here he still would have burned it. Fucking psycho.
"I want my money. Maybe if you return it, I won't take the pound of flesh owed to me for the loss of my men."
My fingers itched to grab the gun, hidden at my back, when one of Amato's men rested his hand on the butt of his own weapon hidden under his suit coat.
I didn't grab for it, no matter how badly I wanted to.
We couldn't afford a shootout in the middle of the city with children standing directly behind us.
I glared at the man, refusing to back down when he squeezed his hand over the butt of his gun.
He didn't scare me. He was just a pansy ass in a suit.
The nerves were getting to him, which meant he was nothing but a coward.
The fear was clear on his face and in the nervous flick of his eyes as he took our measure.
These men were used to dealing with average everyday citizens.
Now that they'd come across a group like ours, they weren't as confident anymore.
And they shouldn't be. Each of us had made war our career for far longer than these men had been working for Amato.
"Your men came after our women first," Lock replied. "Tried to kidnap one of them."
"She stole from me." Amato gave Lock a vicious grin. "She deserves to be flayed alive."
Reaching out, I grabbed a hold of Smoke by the cut as he lunged forward.
"Easy," I muttered. "This isn't the time or place.
" He knew that as well as I did, but hearing that shit stain speak about his old lady had him lashing out.
Amato wanted us to start the fight here.
Probably so they could pin any casualties on us and give Fremont the opening he was looking for.
It wasn't going to happen. We'd come prepared for this confrontation, but we weren't going to give them an excuse to start a war in the middle of Tucson.
"You want your fucking money?" Lock asked, his voice low and deadly. "Then meet us out in the desert and come take it back."
Amato scoffed. "You don't have the numbers to stand up to my men."
"Then it shouldn't be too hard for you to take us up on the offer," I told him. There was a flash of doubt in his eyes. We scared him. That meant he wasn’t completely stupid. He should be afraid of us.
His head turned and he studied me for a moment, regaining his composure. "No. Instead, I'm going to hunt anyone who means anything to your club. I will set my men on them. They will rape, kill, and burn any who stand in our way. Unless you give me my money."