Micah waved her hand around, rolling her eyes at the suggestion. “It’s a business thing. There will be other people there. This is not a date.”
“I wonder if he knows that,” I murmured under my breath, deciding not to start an argument with my best friend on my birthday.
Even though I wish I would have.
Because as it turned out, he didn’t know that.
And he wasn’t the kind of man who took no for a damn answer.
Just like the man standing in front of me.
“You have no idea who you’re fucking with.” It was a thinly veiled threat, one I hoped he heard loud and clear. Because if I had to hand this baby to someone and kill this bastard with a gallon of milk or a box of cereal, trust me, I’d find a fucking way.
I finally reached the end of the aisle, my brain working overtime, mentally trying to come up with some kind of escape plan. I knew this building. I’d been here once a week for the past year.
“Avery, what did I tell you about leaving the stroller lying around.” The familiar voice was like a soft, warm blanket settling around my shoulders, easing the chill of fear that had begun to settle into my bones. “You can’t just keep taking him out for cuddles all the time.” Holly rushed up behind Mr. Suit, swerving and jerking the stroller around, looking like a blind person could have done a better job of moving it. But it made perfect sense a few seconds later when she rammed it straight into Mr. Suit’s ankles.
“Fuck!” he roared loudly, swinging his arm around behind him and flashing me the perfect look at the large gun tucked into the front of his fucking pants.
Holly weaved, avoiding the flailing limb by what looked like an inch or two before ditching the stroller and running straight at me. “Go!” she bellowed, grabbing hold of some innocent guy’s shopping cart as he tried to pass by and ramming that into Mr. Suit’s stomach while he was still nursing his first injury.
His rage-filled scream was like a shot of ice shooting through my veins, my heart stuttering, desperately fighting that instant fear. Though Gage wasn’t having it, his unhappy cry kickstarting my heart and shot that first push of adrenaline through my veins that I desperately needed.
Holly’s hand pressed against my back, and she danced on her tiptoes. “Today, Ave!”
My shoes skidded on the linoleum floors, finding it almost impossible to find balance and any kind of fucking traction while also cradling the small child against my chest. But when I finally found it, I fucking dared someone to stop me.
Our footsteps fell in perfect time as we sprinted toward the front doors, missing several old ladies and a young guy with two kids who thought we were in some kind of race and tried to leap out of their cart and join us before he grabbed them.
“Kid!” I screamed out across the parking lot, switching to his real name, when I didn’t get a response. “Ty!”
His head appeared above the SUV for a brief second as Holly and I raced out of the building and onto the asphalt. Gage was screaming, and all I could think of was putting him down and checking he was okay, that I hadn’t missed anything or squeezed him too tight.
“Don’t look back,” Holly ordered, and I kept my eyes focused on the car across the parking lot. While it wasn’t easy to see in past the dark tint on the car windows, I knew exactly what Kid was doing.
A car screeched to a stop, and Holly and I both stumbled.
“I’m trying to fucking run here!” Holly screamed at the driver, throwing her hands in the air dramatically, the driver throwing it into park and reaching for the door handle before Kid appeared beside us with a military-style weapon strapped across his chest. The driver quickly changed his mind, throwing it into reverse and switching his route.
Kid’s lip curled up in a sneer, and I could see the way his finger twitched, as though he was ready to put it straight on the trigger and fill the fucking building with bullets. “Get in the car. I sent an SOS. They’ll be roaring in here any fucking second.”
He’d barely taken a breath before I caught the distinct sound of motorcycles at high throttle. We were only a few blocks from the clubhouse which was not so fucking smart on the ex-husband’s part. But I guess maybe he hadn’t been anticipating Holly.
Neither had I.
SHOTGUN
I barely managed to kick my stand out before I was off my ride and reaching for the door handle of the SUV that held everything I fucking gave a damn about.
Kid was sitting on the hood, his eyes narrowed as a couple of cop cars pulled into the supermarket parking lot, eyeing him cautiously before their gaze was drawn to me and the other six men parked protectively around the vehicle.
We made the police nervous.
Neither of the two vehicle’s occupants opting to get out and rather just speaking into their little walkie-talkie machines.
Yanking the door open, Avery’s eyes instantly shot up, widening for a brief second before she realized it was me. Her body sagged, but she continued to jostle the small screaming child in her arms.
“He okay?”
I chose to ignore the fact that Holly was sitting in the front passenger’s seat.
Not exactly aware of what the hell she was doing here.
Avery nodded. “I think I gave him a fright, and he’s feeling the energy swirling around me.”
“And you?”
She pressed her lips into a fine line and smiled—a smile I could tell was forced.
“I’m oka—”
“You’re not okay, but I’ll take it for now. Only because there’s something I need to fucking do more than lecture you about lying to me.”
Every nerve in my body itched to wrap the two of them up and usher them the fuck out of there, back to somewhere I knew I could protect them. Here in the middle of a supermarket parking lot was not that fucking place.
And that was exactly what I was going to do.
When I was finished with Garrett Drake.
“Kid will take you back to the clubhouse.”
“Shotgun…” The worry was evident in her voice’s tone and the way her brow pinched so tight the skin was no longer a blush color but simply white.
I pulled back out, my hand on the car door. “I’ll be there soon.” Gage’s cries were seemingly weaker, he was becoming more tired. He’d give in soon and fall asleep. I could hear it. I knew it. And it shocked the fuck out of me just how well I did now know him.
With no response, I shut the door and turned to Kid, who was waiting with his shoulder leaned into the driver’s door.
“You better go in before these bastards head in there and buy your buddy Garrett’s king of the world act.” He scoffed loudly and shook his head, his gaze returning to the police, who still hadn’t moved. “Us… dirty bikers. Him… hoity-toity suit wearer.”
A couple of my men chuckled under their breath at Kid’s disdain.
Though, it wasn’t a lie.
If that murderous bastard and I stood up against a brick wall and they told the shooters killing one of us would make the world a better place—I’d be dead within a breath.
That was this life.
The one we chose at least.
“Get them home,” I ordered, and instantly he was back, his orders clear and in no way misunderstood. “Boys, try and give me ten minutes,” I announced to the rest of my club while my feet moved for the supermarket. At least two police officers watched me stomp to the front doors and slip inside before they attempted to get out of their cars and stop me.