“Franklin,” he says, his face serious and I smile. As soon as we found out we were having a little boy, Sawyer suggested we name him after my father and I fell in love with the man just a little bit more. He said he owed his whole life to my dad’s sacrifice so it only seemed right that his grandson carry on his name. “I know you haven’t seen your mother yet but just take it from me, son, she’s an angel which is why I can’t have you being so mean to her, you hear?”
I run my fingers through his hair and shake my head. “I love you.”
“I love you,” he answers, smiling up at me and I lean down as I cup his face in between my hands and press a couple of quick kisses to his lips. As he pulls away, his arms wrap around my waist and he pulls me to the edge of the couch. “I’ve got two more boxes out there and then what do you say we go grab some pizza?”
I moan and my eyes roll back as I nod. One of the things I’ve been craving the most during this pregnancy is this bacon cheeseburger pizza at this little place downtown - honestly I could eat it all day, every day. “Yes, yes, yes.”
“‘Kay. You rest until I get back,” he instructs and I nod, giving him a mock salute and he shakes his head as he stands up and walks back outside to get the last of our boxes. We really didn’t have much to move in since we moved into a furnished apartment while this one was being built but I did have fun dropping some cash on all new wardrobes for both of us and the baby. Plus, we got a lot of stuff at the wedding that needed to be packed and moved over here. Turning my head to the side, I smile at the photo from our wedding that Sawyer already set up on the end table. We got married in the little park where Sawyer first dropped down on one knee in front of me, the same park where we had our first date, three weeks after we proposed. Neither one of us wanted to wait and I didn’t want to have a big flashy event so it just made sense to choose the place that was so special to both of us.
Sighing, I lie back on the couch and rest my hand on the top of my belly as I gaze around the house, noticing all the little details that I painstakingly picked out to bring everything together. It’s everything I ever imagined my home being and I can’t wait to see kids playing and running through the hallway or my family gathered around the table for dinner. Franklin kicks me again and I rub my hand over the spot as I realize I haven’t seen his room yet and try to get up.
Sawyer walks back into the house with the last two boxes as I collapse back onto the couch with a huff and he narrows his eyes at me. “What were you doing?”
“I was going to look at Franklin’s room,” I say and he shakes his head as he sets the boxes down and comes over to me, holding out his hands.
“No, no, little lady. We’re going to get dinner.”
I take his hands and groan as he pulls me to my feet. “Well, I’ll just go look at it real quick.”
“No can do,” he shoots back, wrapping his arm around my shoulders and steering me toward the front door. I scowl.
“Why don’t you want me to see his room?”
He shakes his head. “No reason.”
“Liar.”
Stopping right in front of the door, he sighs. “It’s a surprise, okay?”
“I don’t like surprises,” I answer, remembering how stressed I was as I rode in the truck, blindfolded, on the night he proposed and he laughs.
“Yes, I know but I’ve got like a whole thing planned so maybe you could just go with me on this.”
I turn to look down the hallway before turning back to him with pursed lips. He studies me for a second before rolling his eyes.
“You’re not going to be able to go with it, huh?”
I shake my head. “Nope.”
“Okay… I’ll show you now but I get husband points for the romantic plan I had for later.”
“Deal,” I say with a nod. “You get all the husband points, now show me.”
Nodding, he leads me down the hallway to our son’s room and makes me face toward the slightly open door before covering my eyes. His breath brushes along my skin and I suck in a breath as my nipples pebble.
“You ready?”
I nod and I hear the door open. “Okay, open your eyes.”
My eyes blink open and I take it all in, the navy blue wall behind the white crib, the paintings of baby animals up on the wall, the plush rocking chair in the corner and Franklin’s name spelled out in gray letters, as I gasp.
“Sawyer,” I whisper, tears welling up in my eyes. It’s absolutely perfect and I can’t wait to bring our son home to this room. Turning to face my husband, I slip my arms over his shoulders and press a kiss to his lips. He hums as his arms wrap around my waist and he pulls me as close as he can with my belly in the way. Pulling back, I look up at him and smile.
“I’m the luckiest girl in the whole world and I love you.”
He smiles. “I love you more.”
I scrunch my nose up and tilt my head to the side in protest and he laughs but I have to admit to myself that he just might be right. My man is all heart and I wouldn’t have him any other way.
Every Little Thing
Bayou Devils MC
Book Seven
Chapter One
Wyatt
My eyes burn as I scan over the file in front of me again. It doesn’t matter that I have read this same information a hundred times in the past week, I still search for more. There has to be more, something I missed along the way that will finally make all of this make sense. Sighing, I run a calloused hand over my face and grab my beer off the table as I lean back in my seat and take a sip. It’s warm now but I don’t give a shit. To be honest, I can’t even taste it because I’m consumed with these cases. When I wake up in the morning, I look over the files. Before I go to bed at night, I look over the files and anytime I find a spare moment in my day, I look over these goddamn files. It’s become my obsession and I know there is something here. I just need to see it. The rest of the Bayou Devils MC might like to believe that this is all just bad luck but I refuse. Three girls are dead, girls that we helped, girls that we were responsible for and there is no way in hell their deaths are simply a coincidence. No matter what my brothers think.
Leaning forward, I slam the bottle of beer back onto the table with too much force before scooping up the top file and scanning it again. Girl number one was Dina. She came to us for help to escape her piece of shit husband who liked to talk with his fists instead of his words. When she ended up in the hospital with bruises all over her body, a nurse slipped her our card and she gave us a call. We couldn’t let her go back home to him so the nurse agreed to shelter her until we could get her to safety. Chance and Storm were on that run and shit went bad when her husband, Mitch, showed up at the nurse’s house and tried to take her back by force. In the end, it all worked out and we took her to a hotel to keep her safe but almost two weeks later, we got the news that she was dead. At the time, we all assumed it was her husband but now… I just don’t know.
Flipping the page, I read over the crime scene report Detective Rodriguez was able to give me and blow out a breath. A maid at the hotel where she was staying found her when she came to clean the room and called an ambulance. When paramedics arrived, she was barely breathing and they rushed her to the hospital. The doctors ran numerous tests before it was determined that there was no brain activity and her mother decided to turn off life support. She slipped away a few hours later. We were all hit hard by her death but we understood that it was a part of what we did, a sad reality of helping women and children in these volatile situations.