Chapter 16
Cade
I made my way downstairs with a smile plastered on my face. My cock was satiated, the smell of Harper’s pussy permeated my leather coat, and my heart was thundering with happiness. I couldn’t wait to be with Harper. Out of all the women I’d fucked in my life without any care or abandon in this world, it had to be her I got pregnant. The one who captured my mind stole my memories and made my dreams her own. The woman I hadn’t been able to forget about for months was carrying my child, and she had just agreed to let me protect her and that child.
Her and our child.
The idea filled my chest with pride. Harper’s beautiful body would grow with curves I could enjoy every night for the rest of my fucking life. Her pussy would drip for me as her stomach grew and I would be able to drink her like a fine wine every morning. I was about to start a family with the most beautiful woman I had ever set eyes on, and I knew I would do everything in my power to make her happy and keep her safe. It would be hard. Especially with the dick I was sure her father was. I saw the real her that weekend. The wild side that craved the open road and the wind whipping through her hair. Her father stifled that in her. That much was apparent on that stage a couple of days ago.
I wasn’t going to let him do that to her anymore.
I walked over to the fridge to get me a drink when a loud crash caught my attention. I heard Harper shriek as the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. I pulled my gun from my back as I cocked it, then dashed for the stairs. Taking them three at a time, I turned and barreled down the hallway as every single terrible thought came to mind. Was it them? Were they here? Did they have Harper? Were they trying to take her? I’d kill whoever it was I found. I would blow away anyone who stood between the woman that was carrying my child and me.
No one scared her and fucking got away with it.
I threw open her door just as her parents stumbled out of their rooms and I saw Harper shaking on the bed. I panned my gun around my room, training my eyes on the busted window. I walked over the glass, crunching it into the carpet as I stepped over the brick. I surveyed the scene, sticking my head out the window to see if I could see anyone dashing off or standing there to look at their handiwork.
But there was no one. Nothing except a fucking brick on the damn floor.
Glass was everywhere. Shards of it had rained down upon the bed as Harper stayed in her spot. I dashed over to her and slowly peeled the covers back, wrapping up the glass shards as her parents stood there in horror. Her mother was crying, and Ryan Thomas had his gaze held on the brick. Neither of them was making any efforts to come and make sure their daughter was all right.
And that fact made my blood boil.
If it were my child, I’d walk through fire to get to them. If it were my daughter screaming and crying on a bed, I’d walk over rusted nails tainted with tetanus just to get to her. But there they stood, like trembling cowards in the presence of something that threatened their perfect existence. Their daughter who was pregnant with their grandchild was sobbing on her bed, and they made no move towards her.
I needed to get her away from them.
They were fucking toxic.
I wrapped up Harper’s comforter and tied off the glass. I tossed it to the side before I made my way to the brick as she curled her legs up to her chest. I saw a note attached to the brick, fluttering in the cold breeze that was pouring from her window. I could hear Harper shivering, her teeth clattering together as I turned my head back towards her.
“Harper. Are you hurt?” I asked.
As if my voice ripped him from a trance, Ryan started leaping over the shards of glass. He jumped onto his daughter’s bed and cradled her, but I watched as she tried to pull away. She was a crying, pregnant daughter whose window had just been busted by a brick… but she didn’t want her father.
Whatever they were doing to her, it was obvious she wasn’t comfortable here.
Her mother continued to sob at the door as I untied the note. I tossed the brick into an empty chair as I unfolded it, my eyes scanning the words on the page. I sighed with relief when I saw there were no pictures, especially given what Harper and I had just done in her backyard.
But the note still delivered a looming threat that set my alerts on ‘high.’
“What does it say?” Ryan asked.
Harper’s eyes watched me carefully as she tried to lean away from her father again.
“It says, ‘we told your father he should stop running. He didn’t listen… so we are coming for you.’ And I can only assume they mean your daughter, Mr. Thomas since it was thrown through her window,” I said.
“Oh, my gosh,” her mother said with a whimper.
“It’s going to be all right, girls. I promise. This is why I hired The Black Angels. They’re better equipped to deal with this type of thing. Right?”
Ryan’s eyes whipped up towards mine, and I nodded with a tight-lipped smile. The last thing I wanted to do was piss this man off, but everything inside of me wanted to rip him away from Harper. She was uncomfortable, and her eyes were wide with fear. I wanted to wrap my arms around her and kiss the top of her head. I wanted to hold her until she stopped trembling. I wanted to run my hands over her body and check to make sure she wasn’t bleeding.
But I had to tread a fine line so Ryan wouldn’t rip me away from the house. From the only lifeline, I had to Harper and my unborn child.
“Cade.”
Ryan’s voice pulled me from my thoughts as our eyes connected again.
“You do whatever the hell you have to in order to protect my daughter. If that means following her wherever she goes, then so be it.”
My eyes flicked over to Harper, who seemed to visibly relax. Her father placed a chaste kiss on her forehead before letting her go, and I watched her sigh with relief. There it was. The one thing I was after. Around the clock detail for just Harper. A shadow of a grin twitched my cheek as Ryan slid from her bed, his bedroom slippers crunching over the thick shards of glass still shining on the floor.
“I’ll get the vacuum,” the mother said.
“I’ll take her comforter downstairs and toss it. We’ve got more blankets in the closet. Harper, we can get you another one tomorrow,” Ryan said.
“Okay,” Harper said breathlessly.
“Mr. Thomas?” I asked.
“Yes?”
“We’ll need to discuss different terms if I’m going to be with Harper around the clock. That’s what it’ll take to catch someone like this, and I want to make sure I don’t breach any personal boundaries,” I said.
“Personal boundaries?” he asked.
“Yes, sir.”
“You gonna follow her into the bathroom?”
“No, sir,” I said as I shook my head.
“You gonna watch her sleep?”
“No, sir.”
“You gonna follow her into a changing room or something?” he asked.
“Not in the slightest, sir,” I said.
“Then you’re hired. Harper, sweetie? I’ll be back with more blankets.”
I tossed a grin over to Harper as her beautiful aquamarine eyes found mine. I could tell she was still fearful of sleeping in her own room, especially with the window just being broken. She sighed and went to slip from her bed, but I dashed to her side before I scooped her up into my arms.
“Don’t worry. They’re both downstairs,” I said.
I carried her into the spare bedroom of their home and laid her down. She wasn’t fucking sleeping in a room with a busted window. Her parents must be insane. It was like they didn’t give a shit at all what happened to her, as long as it didn’t affect them in any way. I set Harper on the edge of the bed before I peeled back the covers, helping her climb underneath them. I scanned what parts of her body I could to make sure she wasn’t hurt, then I bent down to kiss her forehead. She smiled up at me with her sweet little smiles, and I watched as the freckles that dusted her nose crinkled with delight.
Then, I turned off the light and shut the door behind me.
“What’s going on?” Ryan asked.
I looked up at him with hard eyes as he held blankets in his hands.
“Your daughter’s window is busted. Her floor is covered in glass. She’s not sleeping in there. It’s not safe.”
Then I stood with my back to her door as I clasped my hands in front of me. I hung my gun between my legs, readying it in case another threat came our way. Ryan’s eyes were casing me, studying my body and the way I held myself. I watched as Harper’s mother made her way to the room so she could begin vacuuming up the glass.
There was something unnerving about the way Harper’s father was staring at me. And it only solidified what I knew I had to do.
I had to find out who was threatening Harper, then I had to get her the fuck out of this house.