CHAPTER SIX
An hour later, Amos walked around the Redemption House building, making his afternoon rounds when he noticed footprints where there shouldn’t have been any. He followed them around to the side of the building and found an open window.
Peeking inside the window, all seemed quiet, maybe a bit too quiet. As he stared into the room, the hairs on the back of his neck began to tingle. Amos reached for his phone.
Moments later, six bikes roared into the parking lot. Amos met them out in the front of the building.
Deke sat on his bike and stared at the old man. “What the hell is going on here Amos?”
Amos looked at him then over to the others, Gator, Deacon, Sam, Mountain, and Iceman. Swinging his eyes back to Deke, he knew this was not a group of men he would want to piss off. “I don’t know yet. I was making my rounds and found footprints then an open window. I called you because the window was the nursery window and it shouldn’t have been open in the first place.”
“Have you checked the nursery?”
“No and Frankie is standing guard inside the building. There are no sounds coming from the room either.”
Deke felt a moment of dread. His kids were in that nursery. Swinging his leg over the bike, he and the others dismounted and strode to the front door. Walking down the hall, he noticed several men walked with them, each of them falling into line behind him.
When they reached the door to the nursery, Frankie met them. Deke stared at the other man and watched as he stepped to the side. Deke took a huge breath and opened the door.
The room was darkened and quiet. Too quiet. Slowly, Deke made his way around the perimeter of the room. He went one way and the other guys spread out in the other direction. Nothing seemed to be disturbed but nothing seemed to be right either. When he came to where his kids should be sleeping, he glanced down at the cribs.
They were empty.
Fear gripped his chest and held tight. He felt as if he couldn’t breathe.
Deke’s eyes narrowed as he glanced around the rest of the room. Then he spotted a pair of legs, half hidden by the changing table. Rushing over to the spot, he pushed the table out of the way.
It was a young girl laying on the floor, Kayla. There was a wound on the side of her head. Blood and shattered glass pooled around her head.
“Fuck,” Deke swore. “Get some lights on and get the nurse!” He carefully brushed the hair away from her face. Blood soaked the girl’s hair and her eyes were closed.
“What’s going on here man?” Gator knelt beside him.
Deke glanced at his friend. “I don’t know but my kids are missing.”
Gator got to his feet and spun on his heels. “Fuck!” He growled. Making his way over to the cribs, he gazed down at the empty space. Then he knelt beside the cribs and picked up something on the floor slightly under one of the cribs. It was an empty bottle of kids’ cough syrup.
Gator got to his feet and frowned as he stared at the bedding. That’s when he saw the red liquid staining the sheets. He turned and saw Sam staring at him.
Maggie rushed into the room and over to where Deke squatted. She checked out the girl’s injuries. By then, the girl was groaning and trying to get up but Maggie held her down. “Stay still sweetheart. I need to know how bad you’re hurt.”
Kayla glanced up with tears in her eyes. “Are the babies ok?” she whispered.
Maggie smiled slightly. “I don’t know yet honey, at the moment you are my concern.”
She nodded then groaned, as the movement seemed to make her head hurt.
“Easy Kayla,” Deke murmured. “Try not to move yet.”
Kayla turned her head and grimaced. “What happened?”
“We were hoping you could tell us,” Deke replied. “The kids aren’t here.”
“Oh, my god…” Kayla wailed as she closed her eyes, then she opened them again and tried to push herself up. “Sammy, Jemmia…” she called out.
“Easy girl.” Deke assisted her to a sitting position.
Kayla glanced around the room but couldn’t find what she sought. “God Deke, where are they? Where are the babies?”
Then the doors were thrown open and a man and a woman rushed inside. It was Kayla’s parents, Jumper and Donna. “Kayla,” Jumper shouted.
Deke got to his feet and motioned them over. “Over here.”
Jumper and Donna came over.
Jumper knelt and stared at his daughter. He saw the blood staining her hair and the floor. “Are you okay baby?” he whispered.
“Oh, Daddy,” she sobbed. “The babies are gone.”
Jumper frowned and glanced around. Looking up at Deke, he could see signs of strain on the other man’s face. Getting to his feet, Jumper moved to a protective mode. Stepping between Deke and his daughter he didn’t say anything, just clenched his fists. “She didn’t hurt your kids man,” he whispered. “She wouldn’t do something like that.”
Deke snapped his head around and stared at Jumper. “What the fuck are you saying man?” A growl rippled in his words. “I know she wouldn’t hurt them. I’m not blaming her for this. She was hurt herself.”
Donna got to her feet and laid a hand on Jumper’s arm. Looking from him to Deke she said, “He didn’t mean anything by that, Deke. He’s just concerned.”
Deke swung his eyes over to Donna and nodded. “I know, but I would never blame her for this. Hell, I was hoping she could tell us what happened.” He ran his fingers through his hair. He looked down at the girl and saw tears running down her cheeks. “Are you okay honey?”
Kayla glanced up and shook her head. Holding up her hand her dad grabbed it and helped her to her feet.
Brushing her hair away from her face, Jumper warned, “Be careful baby.” He helped her sit down in a rocking chair.
Deke squatted down to her level and asked, “What happened here?”
Kayla wiped the tears on her cheeks away and looked at him. “I’m not sure. I was checking on the kids when I heard footsteps behind me. I thought it was Beth coming back to keep me company then I felt something hit my head and I went down. I never saw who it was.”
Deke patted her knee. “Did you hear anything except the footsteps? Any sound that didn’t belong?”
Kayla frowned then shook her head. “I don’t think so. It happened so fast. The kids didn’t even wake up.”
Deke smiled slightly and nodded. “Okay. You let Maggie check you out.” He patted her leg again and stood. Glancing around, he saw the stunned look on his men’s faces. He knew how they felt. This was his worst nightmare. He glanced over at Sam and Gator. Making his way to where they stood, he took a deep breath then exhaled.
“Did she remember anything?’ Gator asked motioning toward Kayla.
“No. She thought she heard footsteps then lights out.”
“Where is your wife?” Sam asked worriedly. “She’s gonna freak out when she hears about this.”
Deke closed his eyes and nodded. “I know.” He glanced over at Gator. “Get me the security tapes, maybe they will show what happened. I need some answers before Cassie gets back.”
Maggie came over and removed her latex gloves. She stared at Deke. “She’s got a knot on her head but I think she’s gonna be okay. Someone slammed a lamp onto her head.”
Deke nodded and glanced over at the girl and her parents. “Where would Jumper get the idea I would blame her for this?”
“They’ve only been here for five years,” Sam explained to his son. “From talks I’ve had with him, their other MC was really screwed up. If anything went wrong, the President blamed everyone but the one responsible, because it was usually himself that fucked up. Before they left, Jumper got blamed when the President’s kid fucked up. He told me they almost beat him to death for something that wasn’t his fault. Donna barely got him and Kayla out of there before they killed him.”
“That is so fucked up.” Deke shook his head.
Sam shrugged. “Some clubs are like that. It’s hard to trust others when you’ve been betrayed like that.”
“But she’s just a kid,” Deke protested. “I would never hurt a kid.”
The doors were flung open again, and Cassie walked in. Her eyes were frightened while her face looked pale. She stared at Deke as she made her way over to him. “Deke, what’s going on? No one would talk to me but everyone looks scared to death. Why is everyone in the nursery? Has something happened to my babies?” she whispered.
Deke’s hands framed her face and gazed into her eyes. “Baby, I need you to stay with me now. You have to stay here. Promise me you will. Promise me.”
“Okay, I promise. Now tell me, what’s going on?” she whispered.
“Someone knocked Kayla out and the babies are missing. That’s all we know at the moment but we will find them. I promise you, we’ll find them.”