~ Ryder ~
Ryder took Tiffany down to the kitchen, and they came to a sliding halt just inside the doorway. The prospects were busy cooking, and the sight at the table about floored him. Darkness was sat staring at Abigail Fucking Andrews, who was apparently all thumbs when it came to taking care of her own child. Her movements were awkward, forced, and she seemed unsure of how to handle the little one. The baby was screaming her little head off, and Abby kept trying to put a bottle in her mouth, but the kid wasn’t having it. And there Abby was, unlike any mother he’d ever seen, getting frustrated and embarrassed.
Like a typical nurse, Tiffany walked over and began looking the child over. She gently squeezed her stomach, and a little burp gurgled up. Grabbing the bottle, she shot Abby a strange look and popped it into the microwave for a few seconds. Taking it out, she shook it and squirted a bit onto the inside of her wrist. This time, when Abby tried to feed her, the little one settled down and nursed greedily.
Darkness motioned for Ryder to sit beside him. “Report?”
“Well, sir, based on what I just saw and the information provided by the caregivers, I believe the child has mostly been left at a boarding school.”
“Boarding schools are for school-aged kids, not little babies,” his president pointed out.
“This one was different,” Ryder informed him. “It was a private affair and clearly said Mockingbird Lane Early Education and Boarding on the front door.”
Glancing at one of the men standing nearby, Darkness sighed. “Ace, can you please…”
“I’m all over it, boss. Be right back.”
Darkness turned back to him. “Any idea who she was calling last night when she thought I was asleep?”
Abby’s head snapped up, wearing the same look of shock Ryder felt, and she opened her mouth, probably intending to tell a bunch of lies, but she caught the look on their faces and buttoned it up.
Openly glaring at the woman in question, Ryder told him, “She texted with Devil, and they tried to hack our wireless network. She calls him her Honey Bear.”
Staring at his little daughter, Darkness muttered, “Well, this is turning out to be a total shitstorm. What are your recommendations?”
Waiting for the prospects to finish putting their food down, Ryder sighed. “First of all, I think you need someone with actual experience taking care of babies. This trying to feed your little one cold milk is all kinds of crazy. I can call my little sister. She’s good with kids and babysits for actual babies, as well as older kids. She’s going to know more than most of us.”
Shoveling a bite of eggs into his mouth, Darkness nodded. “Do it.”
Pulling out his cell phone, Ryder made quick work of texting his father asking if it was okay for Rose to take care of the baby and if he’d talk to her about it. “Done.”
Barking a gruff command to Abby, Darkness continued to devour his food like a starving man. “Let Tiffany hold the baby while you eat.”
Without thought or question, Abby handed over her little one and dug into her food. Tiffany’s eyes lifted to Ryder’s, and he jerked his chin. No one really knew what to make of the situation.
Darkness leaned forward to speak directly to Abby. “I’m going to give you one chance to tell me what the hell Devil wants from me. I’ll have the boys take you out back if you lie to me.”
At the blatant threat, she stopped eating mid-bite and stared at him. “You ain’t my ex on paper. You know that, right?”
“You want a divorce. Hell’s bells, girl, you could have mailed me that shit.”
“Devil wants cold, hard cash. We took out an insurance policy on you for a quarter of a million. He wants you dead, or you can just pay him the same amount in cash.”
“Why in the fuck would I do something like that, when I could just kill you and be done with it?” Darkness said with a hell of a lot calmer than Ryder was feeling, but he knew well the kind of storm that was likely brewing beneath the surface of his president’s carefully collected demeanor.
“Devil is the secondary beneficiary,” Abby said with a self-assured air that Ryder would love to knock right out of her. “If anything happens to me, he’ll still get the payout if anything happens to you. He says you’d always be looking over your shoulder, and he can get to you when you least expect it. Maybe when you’re riding down the highway, when you’re shopping, or just walking down the street. For that kind of money, one of his brothers would kill you, claim it was self-defense, and risk doing a little time.”
“Why didn’t he just take out a policy on you?”
“We aren’t related, and I’m married to you. Insurance companies aren’t stupid.”
And this kind of thing was exactly the reason men like Ryder and his brothers hesitated when it came to that little piece of legal paperwork. It was easy to get into and hard as hell to get out of.
“This whole scheme is a little complex for the likes of you and Devil to concoct,” Darkness observed.
“His old man got out of prison and took the gavel back. Ratchet has been looking to make some quick cash.”
“Well, darlin’,” Darkness drawled, “I’m still not understanding what in God’s name makes the man think I’ll just give you a quarter of a million dollars for no good reason.”
“You will if you want me to sign over sole custody of your daughter.”
“I can just wait for the paternity test and file for custody.”
“Yeah, but I could tie things up in court for a long time. Also, she’s mine in the meanwhile, and if I go back empty-handed… Well, let’s just say Devil and his dad can get real spiteful.”
A muscle under Darkness’ left eye twitched. “Did you have sex with me just to make a baby?”
Putting down her fork, Abby looked right at him. “Don’t ask questions you don’t want to hear the answers to, babe.”
“You ever call me babe again,” Darkness gritted out, “and I’ll personally break your fucking jaw.”
Jerking back slightly, Abby closed her eyes. “I never wanted any of this.”
“Don’t pretend to be the victim now. You had a choice, and you made it.” Turning to Hickory, Darkness jerked his chin. “Call in our attorney. I want him to begin drafting divorce and custody papers immediately.”
Hickory nodded. “You got it.”
Ace walked back in, edging his way past Hickory in the doorway. “Sorry, boss, but the owner of that boarding school said your little one got dropped off there when she was a month old, and Abby’s made two short visits in the last three months.”
Shooting Abby a curious look, he asked, “Who took care of her for the first month?”
Without batting an eye, she replied, “The girls at Devil’s clubhouse passed her around. He got tired of hearing her crying all the time.”
What kind of mother… Ryder grit his teeth to stop from saying something he shouldn’t…yet.
Darkness was seething. When he spoke, the words were laced with loathing. “Why in the fuck was my child crying all the time?”
“How the hell am I supposed to know? Babies cry. It’s just what they do,” Abby said with a callous shrug of her knobby shoulders.
Shooting a glance at the baby being quietly burped on Tiffany’s shoulder, Darkness spoke woodenly. “You never muled drugs or anything like that, did you?”
“Let’s just say Devil’s a little too possessive to put me in harm’s way. He went along with my baby idea. Said I was finally using my brain and earning my keep. Ratchet came up with the insurance idea and figured out how to monetize the little one,” she said with a smirk. “It’s a shame, too, ‘cause I was just starting to get attached to her.”
Jerking his chin to Ryder, Darkness gestured toward the door. “Get her downstairs. Double lock the damn door and put a guard inside and outside of it.”
“You can’t do that to me,” Abby protested.
Tilting his head slightly, Darkness stared at the crazy woman. If looks could kill, she’d be very dead. “I’m going to think over Ratchet’s very generous offer,” he spoke low and slow. “If I take him up on it, it’ll be in a public place, and you’ll not only be signing over custody rights, but you’ll be signing divorce papers as well.”
Rather than being angry, Abby seemed thrilled. “You’ll take good care of our girl, right, Darkness?”
“Like you give a flying fuck.” Shooting Ryder an exasperated look, Darkness reached for his daughter. “Get her out of here, before I lose the last of my patience.”
Ryder was up and out of his chair in an instant, and he snatched Abby out of hers with the same care to her well-being she’d shown her kid—none. As he was leading Abby down the stairs, Ryder could hear Tiffany asking, “Why in God’s name didn’t you divorce that crazy woman already?”
Darkness chuckled. “Honestly, I forgot we were married. It was one of those drunk in Vegas things…”
Abby stumbled, but Ryder jerked her back into line. “Don’t try anything stupid. You are getting a much better deal with my boss than you’d be getting with me.”
“I hope he gets this sorted soon,” she said as if he hadn’t just threatened her. “I don’t want to be stuck in a cell for days.”
“I imagine he’ll be pretty eager to get rid of a nasty piece of work like you,” Ryder snarled, wishing he could knock that smug look off her face.
Snorting a laugh, she retorted, “That’s assuming he can afford to divorce me.”
Shoving her into the cell and slamming the door shut, Ryder locked it and grabbed a thick chain off a nearby wall and double locked the door. “Unlike the Seven Devils, the Blind Jacks are flush with cash. You definitely chose the wrong man. Guess wallowing in squalor while those little punks chase nickel and dime jobs must be your thing.”
Ace’s voice came from the doorway. “Want me to take first watch?”
“Thanks, brother,” Ryder said, sparing a look over his shoulder. “I appreciate it.”
Limping over, Ace pulled out his gun and laid it on the floor in front of the only chair. “Ain’t much I can do besides babysit, with this lame leg.”
Ryder clapped him on the shoulder. “Wear that injury proudly. You know what it earned you.”
Jerking his chin toward the door, Ace grinned. “Be sure to thank your old lady for me. If she hadn’t come to the rescue, I might not have made it to a doctor at all, much less had a run-in with the pretty one.”
Grinning at his friend, Ryder’s eyes sparkled with mischief. “Will do, brother.” Turning serious, he jerked his chin toward Abby. “Don’t trust this one for a damned second.”
“If the bitch so much as opens her mouth, she’s getting the hose.”
Slapping his friend on the shoulder, Ryder laughed, knowing Ace would never do anything like that to a wounded woman. “We have some new and interesting nozzles. If it comes down to it, you should try one of them. I hear it makes the water stream strong enough to blow a person down.”
Knowing that their little white lie would cut down on the tons of the crap the woman was interested in throwing at them, Ace winked at him. “I cannot wait.”