Chapter Six
Tiny
I leaned against the wall in Haven’s common room, watching the morning light spill through the windows.
Caleb had brought over his gaming system, and now he sat cross-legged on the floor with Zelda and Kira, all three hunched forward with controllers in hand, faces lit by the glow of the television.
The twins were different kids when they played.
Kira’s perpetual wariness softened, and Zelda’s defensive posture relaxed.
Actually, Kira could be vicious when she didn’t win which surprised me enough to laugh.
She glared at me and I had to cough to cover my humor.
Something in my chest tightened at the sight. This was how kids should look.
Penny stood in the kitchen doorway, cradling a mug of coffee between her hands.
Dark circles shadowed her eyes from another restless night, but she smiled as she watched her daughters.
That smile hit me like a physical blow. It transformed her face, made her look younger and less haunted.
I wanted to see her smile like that every day.
The security door separating the reception area and the common room opened. Knight strode in, his arms loaded with equipment cases, his face set in grim lines. He scanned the room, caught my eye, and jerked his chin in a silent summons.
“Everything OK?” I asked as he set down his burden on a nearby table.
“Need to talk,” he said, his voice low. “You and Penny. Now.”
I straightened, every protective instinct on high alert.
Knight wasn’t one for drama. If he was concerned, there was good reason.
I caught Penny’s eye across the room and motioned her over.
Her smile vanished instantly, replaced by the wary expression of someone who believed, because of life experience, unexpected news was rarely ever good.
Knight glanced at the kids, then positioned himself so he could keep them in his peripheral vision while we spoke. Smart. No need to alert them to trouble if we could avoid it.
“Found some shit while setting up the monitoring equipment,” Knight said, keeping his voice low. “Been digging into that ex of yours.” He directed this at Penny, who went rigid beside me. “He’s got gambling debts. Big ones. To people you don’t want to owe money to.”
Penny’s fingers curled into fists at her sides, her knuckles going white. “How bad?”
Knight pulled out his phone, tapped the screen a few times, then turned it so we could see. “Three hundred and fifty thousand, at least. Probably more. I just started looking, so I’m positive I’ve not found it all.”
I let out a low whistle. “Shit.”
“These aren’t casino debts,” Knight continued, tucking the phone away. “These are private games. Underground. The kind run by people who don’t exactly file paperwork when you don’t pay up.”
“That explains a lot,” Penny whispered. Her voice was steady, but I could feel the tremor running through her body as she stood beside me.
“He was desperate for money those last few months. Always on the phone, always locked in his office.” She closed her eyes and gave a little shake of her head. “More violent, too.”
Knight nodded, his eyes darting back to the kids for a moment.
Caleb had just scored some kind of victory, judging by the way he punched the air and Kira’s angry grunt followed closely by a giggle as if she couldn’t maintain her ire.
They remained absorbed in their game, oblivious to our conversation.
“Here’s the thing,” Knight said, turning back to us. “Guys like this don’t just write off debts. And they don’t care how the money gets paid, just that it does.”
I’d seen it before inside Terre Haute. Men who’d gotten in too deep with the wrong people, who’d offered up anything and everything to clear their debts, including their wives and daughters. The thought of Andy trying to trade Zelda to settle a gambling debt made bile rise in my throat.
“You said you heard him on the phone,” I said to Penny, keeping my voice carefully neutral. “About Zelda. About trading her to settle a debt.”
She nodded, her face so pale I worried she might pass out. “I thought he was just… selling her. To some pervert.” Her voice cracked. “I didn’t know it was to pay off gambling debts. Does that make a difference?”
“Maybe,” Knight said, already unpacking one of his equipment cases. “Means he’s under pressure from multiple angles. Desperate men make mistakes.”
“Or they get more dangerous,” I countered.
Knight gave a grim nod. “That’s why I’m upgrading everything today. Setting up facial recognition hardware on the cameras, tying it directly to alert systems. If he comes close enough for the camera to get a good view of him, it will send us an alert in real time.”
Penny’s breath hitched. “He’ll keep trying, won’t he? To get to us.”
“Yeah,” Knight said. “Not gonna try to sugarcoat it. But we’ll be ready.” He gripped Penny’s shoulder briefly. “No one’s gonna get to anyone in this place. But especially not you three.”
Penny nodded, but her eyes had that thousand-yard stare. Fear and anxiety shone through clearly.
“Hey,” I said softly, putting my arm around her shoulders and squeezing gently. “We’ve got this.”
Her gaze shifted to mine, and something in her expression shifted too. Not quite trust; she’d been burned too many times for that, but maybe something adjacent to it. Hope, maybe. Or at least a willingness to believe it was possible.
“The club’s sending extra security,” Knight said, not looking up from his work. “Round-the-clock patrols, two-man teams. No one gets in or out without ID and being cleared by the resident they’re here to see.”
“What about the girls?” Penny asked, glancing at her daughters. “They can’t stay inside forever.”
“Let us worry about that,” I said. “We’ll figure out safe ways for them to get fresh air.”
I wanted to insist they move to the compound, but I knew as much as I wanted her safe, I couldn’t risk terrorizing her by throwing her in an enclosed and locked compound with a bunch of big, rough-looking bikers. Who were also ex-cons.
Knight nodded. “I’m not just upgrading Haven’s systems. Installing panic buttons in everyone’s apartment, setting up secure communication channels, the whole fuckin’ works, thanks to Tonio Miles.
” He glanced up from his laptop, looking Penny directly in the eyes.
“This isn’t our first rodeo. Won’t be our last. The club protects its own.
This whole place is getting a serious upgrade, starting with your space. ”
I watched Penny absorb this, saw the slight trembling of her lower lip before she pressed them together firmly. “Thank you,” she whispered.
“Don’t thank us yet,” Knight said, turning back to his equipment. “Thank us when that bastard’s no longer a threat.”
I knew what Knight wasn’t saying. There were ways to handle threats that didn’t involve law enforcement.
Ways that ensured problems stayed solved permanently.
I’d been down that road once. The results had cost me fifteen years of my life, but I’d do it again in a heartbeat if it meant keeping Penny and her girls safe.
“I should check on the girls,” Penny said, her voice stronger now.
“Go ahead,” Knight said, nodding toward the children. “We’ll finish up here.”
As she walked away, Knight looked up at me, his gaze knowing. “You’re in deep, brother.”
I didn’t bother denying it. “Yeah.”
“Knuckles know?”
“Probably. Pretty sure the whole Goddamned club knows by now.”
“You know what this might lead to,” Knight said, his voice even lower.
“I do,” I answered, watching Penny settle on the couch behind her daughters, her hand absently stroking Kira’s hair. “And I’m OK with goin’ back to prison if it means that fucker goes to hell.” Whatever came next, I was all in. For her. For those girls. For all of them.
After Knight left to finish installing equipment in the security office, Penny and I drifted toward the far corner of the common room.
We settled into the worn armchairs angled to face each other, still within sight of the kids but far enough away that our conversation wouldn’t carry.
The morning sun cast long shadows across the floor between us.
I leaned forward, resting my elbows on my knees.
“You have questions,” I said, keeping my voice low. Not a question, but an observation. I’d seen the way she watched me since our kiss yesterday, a mixture of curiosity and uncertainty in her gaze.
She nodded, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “Knight mentioned Terre Haute. You were there?”
“Fifteen years,” I confirmed.
Her eyes widened slightly, but she didn’t recoil. “What… what were you in for?”
I took a deep breath, steadying myself. I’d told this story before, but it never got easier. “I crushed a man’s head with my bare hands.”
She sucked in a breath, her eyes going wide.
I might have gone for the shock factor to push her away.
I shouldn’t have kissed her, knowing there was every possibility I was going to kill her husband.
To my surprise, she didn’t look scared. Not in the way I thought she would be.
“There has to be more to it than just some random guy who farted in the wrong direction.” I recognized morbid humor for what it was and smiled.
Likely, she was holding herself together with the barest of threads.
“My sister Julie. She was sixteen.” I paused, gathering my thoughts.
Penny reached out and took one of my hands, lending support when she knew the tragic ending and probably suspected what happened in between.
“She was attacked and raped. I came home and found him still there. Still… hurting her.” Penny’s fingers tightened on my hand but she remained silent, letting me continue.
“I pulled him off her…” I looked down at my hands, these massive instruments that had once taken a life.
“Didn’t even think about it. Just… reacted. ”