Chapter 7

 

The clubhouse is packed. Haylee’s running wild with all the other kids. She seems at ease here, but then again, she can’t be any older than seven. Watching the kids play and the guys as they talk, it makes me feel a sense of peace. It might not make me whole, but at least I feel.

“How’s the mom?” Aria asks as she drops next to me, passing me another plate of food.

“You tryin’ to make me fat?” Aria giggles before brushing a piece of hair out of her face.

“She’s ok. Sleepin’. Doc gave her pain meds. She’s young Aria. Younger than I thought she was.” My eyes stay trained on Haylee, wondering what the hell happened to those two.

“She isn’t saying much either. She was worried about her mom, though,” Aria says. Understandable.

“I’ll stay on the pull out in there tonight. If she wakes up someone will be there. I’m sure Haylee won’t want to sleep in another room.” Aria’s eyes light up which is nothing new.

“I have manners Aria,” I say. Laughing her ass off, she climbs off the couch and walks away.

I eat in silence as the guys sit around the bar laughing and having a good time.

This is what I wanted for them. I wanted them to unwind and just be free for the day.

“Happy Thanksgivin’, Dragon.” Ghost says as he passes me a shot before sitting next to me.

“Thanks, brother. You, too.” Tossing the shot back, I lay my head back on the couch.

I tilt my head to the side considering things before I say, “You think things happen for a reason, Ghost?”

“In our world? Hell yeah, I do.” He’s right. In our world things always happen for a reason.

Nodding, I look back over at Haylee playing. Is this God’s way of telling me to move on? 

***

I put Haylee to bed next to her mom last night. She was leery of me being in the room with them, but Aria reassured her that everything was fine. She even offered to stay, but I told her no.

The moans and groans from her mom didn’t seem to affect her sleep at all.

Me on the other hand, I jumped at every noise that I heard. Call it light sleeping, but I haven’t had a woman in my room in a long time. Tiny fingers tap on my shoulder before I open one eye.

“Mr. Dragon, I’m hungry.” Snapping the other eye open, Haylee stares at me.

“You’re hungry? I think we can fix that. Mom still sleepin’?”  I ask her quietly. She nods before taking a step away from me.

“I won’t hurt you. Let’s get you some breakfast, maybe make mom some also for when she wakes up.” Haylee nods as I climb off the couch, grabbing my shirt.

“Why do you have scales?” She asks. Her eyes widen as she looks at my tattoos.

“Cause I’m Dragon.” Winking at her, her mouth drops open.

“Can you breathe fire?” Her squeal is a little louder this time when I motion for her to be quiet. I lead Haylee out of the room as I tug my shirt over my head.

“No, I can’t breathe fire, not all the time anyway.” Haylee giggles as I hold my hand out to her.  She looks between my face and my hand before reaching over and latching onto it.

“How old are you Haylee?” We walk down the hallway asking each other questions.

“I’m six. Almost seven. How old are you?” I can’t stop the smile that creeps across my face.

“A hundred. I am a Dragon.” Winking at her again, she laughs the sweetest laugh I’ve heard in a long time. 

I lift Haylee and set her on the counter as the questions keep coming. She must be comfortable with me now.

“Do you have chocolate?” Looking over my shoulder at her I give her a confused look.

“For breakfast? I don’t think mom would like that.” Haylee laughs as I pull the eggs from the fridge.

“To put on the eggs, silly! Mom always puts a little bit on hers. It tastes yummy.” Setting the eggs on the counter, I dig through the cabinets until I find Nessa’s hidden stash of chocolate syrup. I hold it up, shaking it at Haylee before she smiles.

“What happened to your mom?” She clams up. I can visibly watch her shut down in front of my eyes.

“You know, it’s ok to tell me. I won’t tell anyone.” Haylee looks around before picking at her finger.

“My daddy hit her again. He hit me too, and mommy got mad. She said that it wouldn’t happen no more. She took me when daddy went to work, and we left. She couldn’t walk very good—so we stopped outside.” My heart breaks with every word that leaves her mouth.

The more I think about it; the more rage fills me.

I pride this club on not hurting women. We may be some ruthless bastards but to put our hands on a woman? Not happening, at least not unless it’s a last resort. Haylee doesn’t move or smile when I say, “Well, you don’t have to worry about that here. He won’t come here.” I crack the eggs into the pan when I hear screaming.

“Haylee!” Hearing that voice, I spin around to see the woman pulling Haylee off the cabinet and into her arms. She whispers to her, but I don’t hear what she says.  I continue with my cooking and try not to listen in on their conversation.

“I’m sorry she bothered you. If you could just tell me where to find my clothes, we’ll get out of here.” I don’t think that’ll be happening.

Turning around while the eggs cook, I cross my arms leaning my hip against the counter.

“Your clothes were shit. I threw them out. I’ll get you some clothes—but you’re not fuckin’ goin’ anywhere.”