Gidget mumbled as she came to, pain searing through her spine. The Skull carrying her lumbered like a giant, slow and clomping, each step sending a shock wave through her. She tensed, sending a knee into his chest. He swore and cracked his palm against her ass.
“No fighting back,” he warned.
“At least not until we want you to,” the other one cracked. The two of them cackled in laughter.
Gidget swallowed a tight knot of fear, watching as they lumbered away from the clubhouse. How could this be—kidnapped in front of her own home? Nobody to notice or even protest? Tears pricked at her eyes and she mumbled against the gag in her mouth, trying to get a scream past. It couldn’t end here. Not like this.
“I said no fighting back.” The Skull jostled her, ramming his shoulder into her gut. It knocked the wind out of her. Her lungs ached as she struggled to get a full breath past the gag.
“Settle down or I’ll make sure you don’t wake up until tomorrow,” the other one warned. “And then we can have all the fun with you that we want.” One of them squeezed her ass cheek. A tear rolled down her cheek, the swell of emotion clogging her throat. Fuck fuck fuck.
All she could think about was the baby, the tiny collection of cells swimming around her low belly, pressed up against this disgusting man’s shoulder. She kicked at him against and he swore.
A shot ricocheted through the night air and the man walking beside her grunted and then collapsed. A low wail began. “What the fuck? What the fuck?” He rolled around on the ground clutching at his hand. Blood spattered the white cement. His hand was shot.
“Jesus Christ, T. We gotta get outta here.” Her captor bent down, struggling to help his brother up but then suddenly Butch materialized from the shadows, eyes on fire, holding a gun to the side of the Skull’s head. The garish yellow of the street lights illuminated him unevenly, making shadows dance across one half of his face. The line of his jaw was set and solid. He’d never looked angrier…or more determined.
“You put her down and you’ll live,” Butch warned in a gravelly voice, one that sent chills down even her spine. Relief swelled and consumed her, prompting unbidden tears to stream down her face. Thank you Butch, thank you thank you thank you! “And you’ll get to keep your other hand,” he warned, pointing the gun at the man writhing on the ground.
“Don’t think about running, either.” Zebra appeared out of the shadows next, holding a knife to the injured Skull’s throat. “Don’t reach for your gun. Just stay where you are.”
Indecision shuddered through the Skull carrying her, could feel it radiating off of him. After a tense silence that seemed to stretch out for an hour, the Skull slowly began to lower Gidget to the ground. She didn’t breathe until her feet touched the cement. Butch slowly raised an arm, beckoning her closer, his dark gaze fastened to the Skull.
“Don’t fucking move,” he warned, the gun steady at the back of the Skull’s head.
Gidget wobbled forward into Butch’s arms, the scent and sturdiness of him flooding her with a relief so profound she thought she might crumble into pieces from the sheer intensity of it. She drew a shaky, raspy breath, and then dissolved into sobs at Butch’s chest.
He wrapped an arm around her, could feel the warmth of his mouth pressed against the top of her head. This is where you belong. Right here. She snaked her arms around his waist, crying silently into his shirt, the rest of the world around her disappearing in a dull rush in the background. The distant hum of the Skull crying out in pain on the ground. The stomping of feet, shouts that sounded like a mile away. And the only thing she could really feel or hear was Butch murmuring into her ear.
“My Gidget,” he said, knotting his fingers in the back of her hair. Both arms were around her now. She got the sense that others had arrived, but she couldn’t break away from this embrace to save the world. It felt too good…to right. In the arms of her love. Of her baby’s father.
“I love you, Butch.” Her voice came out so choked with tears she wondered if he’d even understood her. He held her for a long time, swaying gently back and forth, and then he whispered,
“I love you too.” His arms squeezed her, and then suddenly his arms dropped. Chilly air flooded the distance between them. Gidget snapped to attention, looking up just in time to see her father heading for her, his arms outstretched. Butch stepped aside, back into the shadows.
“Gidget. My baby.” Her dad wrapped her in a gruff hug, one that made her shoulders ache, and when he released her she noticed the scene around her. Club brothers dragging the two men off to the side, swears flying through the air. Zebra kicked at the one on the ground. Deke and Zane and a few others held the other Skull against the wall while they took turns punching him.
“Daddy, I’m so sorry if I scared you.” The tears were still flowing, she couldn’t get them to stop. “I made a bad decision in Shreveport. I stole Butch’s bike and started driving, but I had left my phone behind and--”
“It’s okay, baby. Just calm down.” Her dad squeezed her shoulders. “You’re talking a mile a minute.”
“I had just gotten back to the clubhouse when they snuck up on me,” she said, pointing to the Skulls. They looked like rag dolls, the play toys of the Carvers. And they deserved it, after chasing her down for so long. “He grabbed my boobs, they threatened me, knocked me out once.”
Geo stiffened, turning back to look at the Skulls. Deke looked over amid whoops and hollers with a goofy grin on his face. “What should we do with them now, boss? Call their mama Skulls?”
“Take them to the back.” Geo jerked his chin toward the shadowy recesses of the clubhouse. He turned to Gidget, his bushy brows forming a hard line. “Now tell me, Gidge. Whatever you can.”
The two began a slow walk back toward the clubhouse, falling behind the other brothers. Zebra and Butch kept the side of the lot, heading for the side path that led around to the back of the clubhouse.
“I want Butch.” She swallowed a knot of tears, unable to rip her gaze away from him.
“Baby girl—” Geo started.
“You sent him to look after me and he did.” She stopped walking, searing her father with a teary gaze. “And then I ran away from him.”
Geo’s weathered face shone with indecision. “Butch is on lockdown right now.”
“But he just saved me from being kidnapped.” She pointed behind her, where the entire thing had taken place, her mouth parting with disbelief. “How many times does he have to be a savior for you to trust him?”
“Gidget, someone ratted you out while you were away. Only Butch and I knew where you were, yet the Skulls still managed to track you down. He was the rat.”
“No, he wasn’t.” Her throat tightened, making her voice come out shrill. Her daddy was hard-headed often, and stubborn as all hell on a good day. But this was one thing he had dead wrong.
“How do you know?” Geo’s eyes danced with something that made her shrink, like she was a little girl again. “You trust him? Because when it’s your life at stake, I don’t fuck around. You’re my baby girl.”
“I know,” she insisted, “but it wasn’t him.” Her gaze wandered back to him as he and Zebra disappeared down the dimly lit side path. Butch was limping. Her heart twisted. “It was me.”
“Don’t play games with me, Gidge.”
She shook her head, dragging her gaze up to meet her father’s again. “I’m serious, daddy. It was my fault. They found out where I was because of my social media account.” She sniffed, smoothing back some of her hair. “It was me.”
Geo stared at her for a long time, barely blinking. When he finally spoke, his voice was low. “Are you sure about that?”
She nodded. “They told me. We could go back and look at my posts. I kept up my blogging and stuff while we were there, I didn’t want my followers to dwindle, I thought it would help me stay focused on my career. I thought I was careful but I must have forgotten to turn off the location and—”
Geo held up a hand. “Come on. Let’s go inside.” He slung his arms around her shoulders, keeping a tight grip on her as they walked into the clubhouse. She could tell he was stewing over the information, mulling it over before he made a decision.
“I want to see Butch.”
His jaw tightened. “You two get close while you were there?”
Tears pricked at her eyes. He didn’t even know how close. And maybe now wasn’t the time to spill it. Not when he was still steaming over Butch. “Well, we spent a month holed up. He’s basically my best friend now.”
Geo sent a stricken look down at her. “What are you trying to say, ‘best friend’?”
Tension ratcheted up in the air between them as he pushed into the clubhouse. The air was noisy with chatter, but most everyone was heading toward the back door. No doubt to go watch the circus show of the Skulls. She and Geo hurried after them, heading toward the back garage.
“You didn’t answer me.”
“I mean he’s—” she faltered, unsure how to play this. Shit, could he tell already? Maybe she’d been too blatant by asking for Butch. But he was all she craved. His touch. The smell of him. The reassurance and steadiness that seeped from him.
“Gidget, you need to tell me.” Geo slowed, squeezing her shoulder in his meaty paw. His daddy look came out, something she’d seen plenty frequently as a young girl. As always, it made her heart thump erratically as she considered her best response. “You know I have rules in this clubhouse.”
“Well we weren’t in the clubhouse, now, were we?” She couldn’t keep the words inside. Geo’s face darkened as they followed the stream of brothers out the back door. Night fell again, and his face was shrouded unevenly by the night air, making him look even angrier.
“You better not be saying what I think you’re saying.” His voice came out tight. “Butch knew the rules. You know the rules.”
“Daddy, I’m not sixteen anymore,” she said, her voice coming out pinched. “I’m a woman. I’m allowed to do what I want. Especially when you send me away from my home, and my job. I didn’t have any say in that, okay? It wasn’t fair.”
“We’re not talking about fair and unfair right now,” Geo said, slicing his hand through the air. His nostrils flared as he spoke. “We’re talking about following the goddamn rules. The rules that everyone has to follow in this house.”
“Fine. Then we followed them.” The words felt catty and simplistic, but she didn’t know how to handle the situation anymore. It had gotten away from her, an unwieldy beast that just wouldn’t cooperate.
Geo slowed, his gaze skating around the back patio. The voices of the other brothers were raucous as they gathered around the Skulls. Her dad grunted, then headed for Butch, who lingered near a storage closet entrance on the far side next to Zebra.
“Daddy,” she began, taking off after him. Anxiety knotted her stomach. Cackles and excited chatter rang through the air, distracting and overwhelming as she sought to guess what her dad’s plan might be. He crossed the cement patio in just a few long strides, and then grabbed Butch by the neckline of his black t-shirt. Butch grabbed at Geo’s hands, his dark eyes meeting her dad’s gaze, but didn’t fight back or even try to escape.
“Were you fucking around with my daughter in Shreveport?”
The question shot like a bullet through the air and most of the brothers quieted, as if sensing the gravitational shift of the evening. Eyes turned to assess the situation. Gidget tapped on her dad’s back.
“Daddy, put him down.”
“Let him answer my question.” Geo jostled Butch, who didn’t even flinch. “Did you fuck around with my daughter?”
Butch’s dark eyes darted her way before he answered in a steady voice, “I don’t fuck around.”
Gidget wasn’t sure if that was the best or worst answer he could have picked. Geo hauled back and punched Butch across the face, which prompted Gidget to scream.
“Daddy! Let him go!” She tried to insert herself between the two men but someone held her back, dragging her off to the side. It was Deke. No doubt trying to be of service to his club president.
“Butch knows there are rules around here,” Geo said, his voice wavering and low. “And there’s a special consequence for brothers who fuck around with my baby girl.”
Butch’s jaw tensed, his gaze flicking between Geo and Gidget. “I told you, Geo. I don’t fuck around.”
“I should toss you in with the Skulls,” Geo snarled.
“Daddy!” Gidget shrieked, struggling to free herself from Deke’s hold. “Just listen to me, would you?”
“There’s nothing I need to hear,” Geo said, never breaking his gaze with Butch. “I know enough.” He rammed his knee into Butch’s gut. A pained wheeze escaped Butch, a sound that cut to the core of Gidget’s heart. She screamed again, finally wrenching free from Deke’s grip.
“Stop it!” She ran over to them, attempting to shield Butch. “Daddy, let him go and stop this right now. He doesn’t deserve it.”
“This isn’t for you to decide,” her dad said, voice edged with tension. “These are club matters.”
“Gidget, don’t get in the middle of this,” Butch warned, emotion shining in his voice.
“Oh, so you’re gonna be a martyr now? You think you deserve this?” Gidget scoffed, pulling at her father’s arm. “Don’t hurt him!”
“Deke!” Geo barked. “Get her out of here.”
“No,” she shrieked. “This involves me. This is my life too.”
“Your life had very limited involvement with his,” her dad spat. “And it ends today.”
Desperation churned inside her, thick and pungent, clogging her nostrils. “It’s not going to end today. You don’t understand.” She kicked as Deke grabbed her by the waist. “I’m pregnant.”
As soon as the words fell from her lips the air grew cooler. The quiet conversations nearby that had sprang to life shriveled to nothingness. The only thing Gidget could hear was her own ragged breaths as her father turned to face her.
“What?” Just one word and it dropped through the air like a hammer.
“I’m pregnant,” she repeated, suddenly breathless. Butch’s eyes had widened, his gaze fastened to her.
“Is it his?” Her dad’s voice grew softer.
Gidget gulped, nodding.
Geo’s nostrils flared as he stared at her a moment longer, unknown emotions storming his face. Then he reached into the back of his pants and took out his Glock. He pressed it to Butch’s temple.
“Daddy, no!” Her shriek tore through the air and she grabbed at his arm, struggling to insert herself between the two of them. “You can’t do this! Go after the men who threatened me, who threatened your grandchild!”
Something must have clicked inside his adrenaline-addled brain, because Geo dropped Butch, who stumbled backward against the closet door. Geo swung around, eyes fiery, and then clomped over to the corner where the Skulls sat propped against the garage, legs splayed out in front of them. He stood in front of them—hands bound by rope, gags in their mouths, faces bleeding from the bevvy of punches they’d received since visiting the clubhouse—and then sent a bullet between both sets of eyes.
Gidget winced at each firing, heart pounding as she tried to take it all in. The Skulls slumped over, blood making thick trickles down the ridges of their noses, onto their cuts, eventually bleeding out onto the cement. Some of the club brothers nodded in approval. Geo stumbled, staring at his handiwork, and then stomped away from the garage, heading inside.