“She can’t go home then.” Shayla sounds alarmed. “I agree with Lizard there’s too much risk.”
Beef wipes his hand over his head. “Esme has needs, and God help us, we’re trying to provide them, but she needs serious therapy. She won’t say a fuckin’ word. That’s not good for the kid.”
“She spoke yesterday,” Mace puts in. “Told me to pay up when I slipped up and swore, but she hasn’t said a word since.” He catches Shayla’s eyes.
She shakes her head and confirms it. “I tried, thinking that was a breakthrough, and I think it was. But she needs time and patience, and, as you say, professional help.”
“So how do we swing it?” Thunder’s face is taut.
Demon thinks for a moment. “Shayla did nothing wrong. All she did was free Esme and kept her safe for the last few months. Esme wasn’t talking, so how did we know where to return her?” Fuck me, he sounds like he’s talking about a stray dog. But relocating her might have been easier if she was. Some dogs are microchipped. As we learned to our cost, Max is. When Beef took Steph into hiding, Max’s chip led the bad guys directly to them. “We tell them the truth but ask them to keep us out of it.”
“I’ll have to move on,” Shayla tells us. “If her parents see me here and let slip where I am, Major will come to get me. I know he will.” Her voice has gone soft, scared, but also determined.
I see Mace tense. “You’re going nowhere, Shayla. We just need to make fuckin’ sure you’re left out of it. As far as they’ll know, you’ve already moved on and left Esme with us.”
“That would work,” Beef agrees. “We’ve got enough women around to make this a safe place for Esme to be left, her parents would buy that.”
“Settled.” Demon picks up the gavel and bangs it, the noise making Shayla jump. “I’ll ring her parents. If I’m right, they’ll be here first thing in the morning. We’ll check Esme’s reaction, and if she’s happy to go with them, the handover shouldn’t take long. We’ll say the woman who saved her has already left and we’ve no idea where she’s gone. We don’t even have to mention Shayla’s name.”
“Warn the parents to be on the lookout for Major.” Beef’s looking concerned. “They’ve got to understand the risk they’re taking. Soon as she reappears at her home, he’ll know where to find her.”
Fuck it. I hope we’re making the right decision and that sweet girl will soon be back where she belongs and out of the clutches of men like Major forever.
Chapter Seventeen
Lizard
I’m Lizard, otherwise known as Norton James. I ride with the Satan’s Devils MC and have done for the past ten years. I’m… thirty-eight years old, and my birthday is the tenth of January. I’m a tattoo artist and I run Devil’s Ink on behalf of my brothers. I’ve no ties, no family and that’s the way I intend to stay.
Before I open my eyes, I hear the tapping of rain against my window. Guess I’m not going to moan at having a busy day ahead in the tattoo parlour, whereas some Saturdays, I do end up envying my brothers with a day off instead. From the sound of it, today’s not going to be great for riding.
I sit up straight as I remember what else should be happening later. If Demon contacted Esme’s parents and they were as loving as we hoped, I doubt they’ll waste any time coming to collect her. I’m only assuming he made the call last night. When I’d left the meeting, Bella had been available, and I’d made good use of her for a couple of hours. Then one of my blinding headaches had come on suddenly, and I’d dismissed her, turned off the light and slid into bed.
Sleep gradually gave a release while the pain still assailed me. Luckily, this morning, it’s gone.
I throw off the covers, eager to discover whether Demon’s call was successfully made. I feel invested in the outcome, though God knows why. I haven’t had a lot to do with Esme since she came to the compound, apart from stuffing dollars in that overfilled jar. But I was the first to know of Shayla and the young girl’s problems and was happy my brothers stepped up and gave them refuge.
That I’d stayed clear since then hadn’t been surprising. I’ve never been interested in having kids of my own, did everything I could to prevent it. Always used my own condoms and not one a girl conveniently had in her purse. It’s rare I ever go with anyone other than the club girls who were all on some kind of contraceptive to ensure no slipups were ever made. A couple of times I’d been with hangarounds, but not often. Young dizzy girls are not my style.
I shower, dress, slide into my cut and attach my wallet to the chain on my belt, then descend the metal staircase. The first person I see is Mace. He’s pacing by the door. During the time I’ve walked from the top step to the last, he’s taken out his phone and checked it twice.
I cross the room to him. “The family coming?”
“Yeah, Vanna and Cas are on their way. I’m expecting them any moment now.”
I thought he’d been getting on well with Shayla this week. I hadn’t missed how patient he was being with her and far from his normal enforcer self. I’d actually thought he was getting close to her, and fuck knows, that girl needs someone on her side. Now I find he’s waiting on the other bitch and her son? What’s the fucking man want? Both women? He’s greedy as fuck. I roll my eyes. “I was actually asking about Esme.”
“What? Oh, yeah. Her parents are on their way now. Shayla’s already said her goodbyes to Esme, not that the kid understood. Now she’s gone with Pyro, who’s dropping her off at Mo’s, to keep out of the way until the kid’s gone, or, not as the case may be.” I nod, knowing there’s no way we’re going to let just anybody take her. “I’m waiting on Cas. Then I’ll be taking him to the auto-shop.”
“What about Vanna?”
“Oh, she’s arranged to do some baking with Mel. Seems they’re getting on like a house on fire.”
As if he’s summoned them by magic, the front door opens and the woman and her son come in, both of them already dripping after just the walk from the car to the clubhouse. The boy looks like a dog as he shakes the rain off him.
Vanna wipes her face with her hand and pushes back her damp hair. To give her credit, she looks amused rather than worried about the damage to her style. As her hand draws my attention to it, I notice her hair looks different. Just as long but seems to hang better. Fuck, if I was in the market for a civilian woman, I’d be happy to give her a try. She’s an attractive bitch for one in her thirties. No wonder Mace is sniffing around.
He shouldn’t be.
Shaking my head, wondering where the hell that thought came from, I start to turn around, my intention to get some breakfast before going to work.
“Cas, you okay to head straight out? Pyro needs me at the shop now.”
“Sure,” I hear the kid answer excitedly.
“Hey, Liz. You got something you’ve been keeping to yourself?” Judge calls out, then walks closer, looking between me and the boy standing next to Vanna. “You and the kid look like two peas in a pod. He’s got your nose.”