Ryder’s voice floated on the air behind them. “Don’t be long, babe. I’m itching to get started on this one.”
Throwing her hand up over her shoulder, Tiffany gave him a little wave. “Come on, before he changes his mind.” Climbing the steps and leading the way to the private rooms upstairs, she opened the door to a private bath. “You can clean up here. I’ll get you something to wear.”
“Thanks.”
“What’s your name?” Tiffany asked.
“Abigail Fucking Andrews, according to my Darkness,” the woman replied smartly.
Tossing her a little smirk, Tiffany gave the woman a gentle shove into the room. “That sounds like our illustrious leader. Nice to meet you, Abigail Fucking Andrews. I’m Tiffany Stone.”
“You can call me Abby. Just don’t ask me for advice, ‘cause I tend to go a bit mental.” She made a little hand motion beside her head, rolling her eyes and twisting her features in demonstration.
Trying not to laugh, Tiffany responded playfully, “Then you’re perfect for Darkness. He’s a bit mental most of the time.”
Sobering, Abby said, “Girl, you’ve got no idea.”
Hearing Ryder’s impatient voice rushing them from below, Tiffany whispered, “Get clean quick. I’ll be right back.” Running down the hall to Ryder’s room, she pulled out some clothing she left for emergencies and raced back down to the bathroom.
Along the way, it occurred to Tiffany that she hadn’t had time to fully process the evening’s events. Maybe sometime in the near future, she’d take time for the nervous breakdown she so richly deserved.
~ Ryder ~
Sliding his cell phone back into his pocket, Ryder murmured, “Turn right at the next intersection.”
“Yes, sir.” Tiffany’s voice held an equal balance of sternness and levity.
“Don’t be a smartass,” he scolded lightly. She was clearly pretending to be a prospect, and it was annoying the crap out of him.
“I’d have to have an ass to be a smartass, sir.”
“Stop calling me that.” Ryder was starting to get genuinely irritated with his lovely new bride-to-be being playful in front of the enemy. Cutting his gaze sideways to Abigail Fucking Andrews, he glared at her before responding to the love of his life. “Besides, you’ve got a stunning ass.”
Tiffany lifted her chin. “Thank you, sir.” The primness in her voice was counterbalanced by the smirk she made in the rearview mirror.
Abby laughed. “You two are adorable.”
His lip curling, Ryder grunted, “No more being cute in front of the hostage, doll. I mean it.”
“Whatever you say, handsome.” Risking a small glance over her shoulder, Tiffany quipped, “That would have been the perfect time to say, ‘Yes, sir,’ right?”
Ryder shoved his fingers through his hair, ignoring her impertinent question. “We continue down this road for about three and a half miles. Then we take a left down a one-lane dirt road.”
Within moments, they were pulling into a small parking area in front of a prim little brick schoolhouse attached to an older brick colonial. Clearly, it was a home business of some sort. Ryder did a double take between the building and the dirt road to be sure they weren’t followed.
They climbed out and headed through a door marked Mockingbird Lane Early Education and Boarding. Inside, they were greeted by a rather surprised man and woman.
“What are you doing here, Ms. Andrews?”
“Sorry for not calling to say I would be late,” she said calmly and confidently.
“What do you mean late?”
Giving them a strange look, she replied curtly, “I’m paying premium prices for the occasional overnight option.”
Shoving his glasses back with two fingers, the older gentleman retorted, “Whatever you say, Ms. Andrews. Advance notice of schedule changes was part of the initial agreement. We have the children’s schedules planned out a month in advance. When you show up unexpectedly—”
“Where’s my daughter?” Abby asked coldly.
“She’s still in nursery number three. You know that’s her favorite room.”
Ryder followed his hostage down the hall, intent on getting his eyes on the child she claimed belonged to his friend. He knew that a person couldn’t always tell by looking, but Darkness had a very distinctive look about him. If the child appeared to have Native American heritage, that would be a strong indicator.
Approaching a small bed, Abby stooped down and picked up the sleepy baby lying in it and gently woke her up. The minute Ryder saw her eyes, his chest seized. They were dark, like her father’s. She was Darkness made over in baby form. It was so shocking that he couldn’t help but stare as Abby awkwardly shoved the little one into some kind of furry zip-up contraption that seemed half coat and half pillowcase.
Closing his gaping gob, Ryder got to work gathering up things, not knowing or caring whether they belonged to the school or to the family. They needed to get out of there, stat.
Shoving everything into a large bag, he glanced at the doorway to find Tiffany standing there. Giving her a slight nod, she accepted the invitation and came in to help. Tossing several hundred-dollar bills on the table as they left, Ryder let the staff know the baby would be on vacation for a few weeks.
The problem presented itself when they got outside. Reaching the car, Ryder realized they didn’t have a child safety seat. “Shit, we’ve gotta stop at the very first place that’s open and get a car seat,” he said as they piled in and hit the road back toward the clubhouse.
“Mine is in my car back at Devil’s place,” Abby announced.
Disregarding how little help that information was, Ryder asked the more pertinent question at hand. “How did you keep him from knowing about the kid, again?”
Frowning, Abby pulled the drowsy child closer. Ryder was certain she hadn’t meant to admit to having the child’s safety seat around Devil and his MC brothers.
Her voice was shaky when she mumbled, “I had my mother until a few weeks ago. She passed away, and I was relying on paid caregivers. If I’d had access to my phone, I might have been able to arrange something. Then again, maybe not. I’ve been struggling.” Looking out the window, her gaze swept the darkened streets. “Where are you taking us?”
“Where in the hell do you think?” Ryder barked.
Tucking her child close, she whispered, “Back to my cell.”
“Hell the fuck no, my friend’s kid is not going to a place like that,” Ryder nearly shouted, startling her, but he didn’t give a goddamn. “Darkness wants to see his child.”
Tiffany stated quietly, “It’s not visiting hours.”
Funny. She said that as if she thought he actually cared. “Fuck visiting hours. If my brother wants to see his baby, he gets to see his baby. The hospital can just deal with it.”
“He’s in a private room now. I’ll talk to them,” Tiffany offered.
Ryder glanced her way, his tone softening. “Do what you can, babe. If my brothers have to talk to them, it ain’t gonna be pretty.”
Reaching over, she threaded her fingers with his. “I’m sure that I can work something out.”
It didn’t take long to reach the hospital, and as soon as the elevator doors opened, Tiffany made her way to the nursing station.
Ryder texted Darkness that they were coming, and he was sitting up on the side of the bed, fully dressed when they arrived. Ven and Hickory were waiting inside the room, and there were two prospects milling about just outside his door. Wrapping one arm around Abby and her kid, Ryder eased them into the room.
With laser focus, his prez’s hardened gaze landed on the two at his side. “You got what’s mine?”
Suddenly timid and off-balance, the woman nodded. “She’s yours, I promise, babe.”
“Bring her to me, now,” Darkness commanded.
Shuffling across the room, Abby bent over so he could see the sleeping child. Darkness sent a questioning glance over the woman’s shoulder at Ryder
.
Feeling put on the spot, he nodded. “When you see the eyes, you’ll know.”
He looked a touch suspicious, but hell, who wouldn’t be, given the situation. “Give her to me.”
“You can’t hold her, babe. Not with your injury still healing,” Abby tried to say, but Darkness wasn’t the type of man to be coddled.
“I can.”
Holding out the arm on his good side, he met her eyes with a hardened stare that brooked no argument. Ryder and the other brothers in the room watched as Darkness allowed his ex to tuck the child into the crook of his arm. Moving it slightly, he tested the weight of her.
“She’s tiny for a four-month-old.”
Abby’s head snapped up to look him in the face.
Darkness stared into her eyes. “That’s how long it’s been, thirteen months since we were together last in Shreveport. Thirteen minus nine is four. Tell me I’m wrong.”
Shaking her head, she whispered, “You’re not wrong.”
“You kept my child from me.” Rather than accusing, his tone was flat and disbelieving.
She croaked out a quiet, “Yes.”
Staring down in the weird-ass way that only Darkness could, he allowed the silence to stretch out until he finally said, “That ain’t gonna be some shit I just overlook.”
Glancing around nervously, Abby wrung her hands in her lap. “I know; I can make it up to you, babe. Just give me a chance.”
Suddenly, a physician walked into the room along with the senior Dr. Reynolds and a nurse. The physician Ryder didn’t know, stated casually, “Dr. Reynolds has ordered a paternity test. I’m told it was at your request?”
Darkness stared up at the white-haired man wearing thick glasses. “Did you come in here to tell me a bunch of shit I already know?”
Ryder frowned at his irritated friend. Darkness was in a truly shitty mood most of the time, but being injured had really killed off any pleasantness he once had. Ryder didn’t blame his friend for his darker than normal mood, though. He blamed the woman sitting at his side, smiling at him and pretending to care about his well-being.
Glancing at the older physician, Ryder watched him squirm. Dr. Nathan Thomas wasn’t used to dealing with men like Darkness. The only reason Ryder knew the doctor’s name was because it was embroidered on his fancy lab coat. The pompous man deflated rather quickly under his club president’s withering stare.
Clearing his throat, old Doc Reynolds motioned the nurse forward. “This is Kaylee. She’s going to draw blood samples from the three of you and—”
“You ain’t waking up my daughter to poke a needle in her skin,” Darkness growled.
Dr. Reynolds ran his fingers down the front of his suit. It was an odd gesture, and Ryder didn’t know quite what to make of it. “Blood tests have a higher degree of reliability, and they are faster—”
“Don’t give a fuck,” his prez cut him off. “Take a hair sample or a mouth swab. I ain’t in any hurry, and you are not going to make my little one cry tonight.”
The nurse hurried away and returned quickly with what looked like giant Q-tips. She swabbed the two adults first, then Abby squeezed open the little one’s mouth, and the nurse quickly dipped the swab in. All in all, it appeared to be a pretty painless procedure.
When it was all said and done, and the nurse excused herself from the room, Darkness brought the sleeping child up to his face and kissed her on the forehead. “Now, about me getting out of here.”
Dr. Thomas spoke as he flipped through Darkness’ chart. “Dr. Reynolds has agreed to provide close monitoring, and against my better judgment, I’ve written a discharge order. As we discussed, you had to have one lung repaired, and you sustained a bit of internal damage. Though it’s been repaired, you must stay off your feet and refrain from heavy lifting in order to heal properly.”
Looking down at the child sleeping in his arms, Darkness reluctantly allowed Abby to take her again. Tiffany came in with another nurse and a wheelchair then, and after some kerfuffling about, Ryder found himself in the bizarre situation of helping Darkness into the back of an SUV. Abby climbed in beside him with their little one, Tiffany got into the passenger side, and Ryder elected to drive, knowing his brothers would be close behind.
He headed straight for the clubhouse since they were on lock-down until the situation with the Seven Devils could be unraveled. Dr. Reynolds followed with Ven and Hickory, though he didn’t seem a bit happy about babysitting the world’s scariest biker.
Since Darkness was in no condition to be climbing stairs, Hickory stepped up and had made arrangements for their president’s office to be traded out for his king-size bed and dresser. There was a tiny bathroom with a stand-up shower, making it the perfect set up until he made a full recovery. As icing on the cake, the brothers had made a run to some all-night department store and bought baby stuff, so everything was taken care of on all fronts.
Spinning around some strange kind of toy hanging off the side of the crib, Ryder tried to imagine Darkness toting around a tiny daughter with pretty dark hair and eyes. The whole situation was brazenly bizarre, as far as he was concerned.
Pulling off his clothing, Tiffany and Ven got Darkness into bed. Motioning to the crib, he wheezed while holding his chest. “Bring the crib over here. I want to see her while she sleeps.”
Oh yeah, Darkness was getting all kinds of attached to his little one. But who could blame the man? The kid was sweet, and more importantly his own flesh and blood.
Ven and Hickory pulled the crib over right beside his side of the bed, and Abby laid her down on the soft sheets.
In typical Darkness fashion, he rasped, “Go, I’m tired.”
Dr. Reynolds nodded. “I have to check on you every hour, so don’t get pissy.”
Quick as lightning, Darkness retorted, “I was born pissy, asshole.”
The older man frowned. “I’m going to mark that down to the pain.”
Ven slapped the older man good-naturedly on the back. “Go get yourself a drink and a whore, doc. You’re single, so you might as well enjoy your time here.”
For a second, Ryder thought the uptight physician would protest, but he surprised him. “Thank you. It’s been a long night.”
Hickory murmured, “We’ve set you up a nice room near the bar.” Turning to Darkness, he asked, “What about Abigail? Shall I make her up a room or are you sharing your bed?”
Getting comfortable on his pillow, Darkness replied coldly, “Bitch can sleep on the fucking floor for all I care.”
Sighing, Hickory caught Abby’s eye and pointed to a small recliner with a stack of clean bed clothes. “Let us know if you need anything.”
“I’m sure I’ll be just fine,” she assured him quietly.
“Get the fuck out.” Darkness kept his voice low, but his tone was deadly.
Ryder immediately grabbed his woman’s hand and headed for their private room upstairs. Stopping briefly in front of Abby, he looked her in the eyes. “Everything I said before still applies. This room is wired for security, and the cameras are being monitored. If you come anywhere near our president, we’ll shoot first and ask questions later.”
Grinning, the woman asked teasingly, “Are you afraid that I’m gonna sweet talk my way right back into his life?”
Taking a step closer, Ryder tilted his head sideways. “I’m afraid you’re just about crazy enough to think you can finish the job the Seven Devils sent you to do, and you think throwing my friend’s baby into the mix is gonna help you when things go bad.”
The smile slid from her face and was immediately replaced by a dirty look that was fit to kill.
“I see we understand each other,” Ryder stated flatly.
Pulling Tiffany out of the room behind him, Ryder walked straight to the spacious utility closet the brothers had turned into a security room. There, sitting at a long desk, were two brothers. One was Peb, the only brother who could possibly be described as a techno geek. He spent most of his waking hours
in the security station, and it showed. His pale skin was slowly taking on a translucent quality, or maybe it just looked that way in contrast to his jet-black hair and ice-blue eyes. The other brother was his actual brother, Cork.
The more normal of the two jerked his chin at Ryder. “You don’t have to say a word. We’re not taking our eyes off the monitors tonight. I don’t trust that bitch any farther than I can throw her,” Cork said.
Peb spoke from the far side of the desk where he was sitting with his feet resting on the edge, so he could balance his tablet on his lap. “Why is he letting her stay up here? She’s a stone-cold killer at the worst and a security threat to every one of us at the very least.”
Shoving his fingers roughly through his hair, Ryder looked from one brother to the other. “Hell, I don’t know. He’s probably afraid his little one will wake up, and he won’t be able to calm her. Darkness does not trust that bitch. I can tell you that much, with a hundred percent certainty.”
Tiffany squeezed his hand, giving him a gentle reminder that they were on their way to bed. “Lock down the security system,” he instructed. “Monitor his phone, and if she tries to make a call, let her. I want to know who she called and have a recording of what they’re talking about in real time. Call me, and then push it to my tablet. If she’s stupid enough to try to get a call out, do not allow them to compromise our system.”
Peb shoved a handful of long hair out of his face and peered up at his Sargent at Arms. “I am not going to let the club down. You can sleep well knowing me and Cork are standing watch.”
Nodding, Ryder almost felt embarrassed for worrying. “Don’t forget the outside monitors. Make sure the prospects are walking the perimeter.”
Cork jerked his chin again. We’re on lock-down, brother. The prospects know their jobs. I’ll check behind them every step of the way.”
“Sorry, guys. This whole situation has me jumpy as hell.”
“You ain’t the only one, brother. Don’t worry, we got this.”