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We head upstairs, and when I open Ivy’s bedroom door, Becki smiles wide. “This is beautiful.”
“She’ll be in my room,” I tell her, opening the conjoining door to the room where Luna once slept and pointing to the Moses basket beside the bed. “Until she’s old enough to sleep in her own room.”
“Perfect,” says Becki, and she takes a deep breath. “Ivy can come and stay here. We can release her into your care,” she says, looking directly at me. “And although we’re more than happy that Luna will be a part of Ivy’s life, for now, that will have to remain under the guidance of yourself and social services.”
“What does that mean?” asks Luna.
Becki gives her another sympathetic smile. “You won’t be able to be alone with Ivy for long periods of time.”
Luna chokes on a sob and tears form in her eyes. “I’d never hurt her.”
“No one is saying that,” Becki rushes to reassure her, “but it’s clear that you weren’t coping on your own. It’s great to see you now have support, and eventually, I’m certain you’ll get back to where you were. So, the conditions of Ivy being able to come here is that Luna is not left alone with her for more than an hour at a time. There will be drop-ins from either myself or another social worker in the area. We’ll do regular checks to make sure you’re meeting Ivy’s needs.”
“How long will this last?” I ask.
“Until we’re happy things are on track.”
“When will she be home?” asks Luna.
“Tomorrow.”
Axel calls church, and once we’re all in, he explains to the guys the situation with Luna, also warning them to stay away from her. She’s vulnerable right now, according to him, but I don’t see it that way.
“And that brings me to her brother.”
I bristle at those words. “That fucker is gonna die. He’s the reason Ivy got taken into care. I think he thought having her out the way would make Luna more compliant as she’d have nothing else left. He’s had two run-ins with me now, once outside the clubhouse and the other in front of Luna. It meant I couldn’t end the fucker.”
“You know it don’t work like that, Grizz,” says Axel. “We gotta vote.”
“Is he a threat to the club?” asks Cash.
Axel shakes his head. “Not yet.”
“He pulled a knife on me,” I say. I’d kept it from Axel because I felt like a fucking pussy letting him walk away, but I couldn’t end him in front of Luna and give her something to hold over me. I explain just as much when he fixes me with a quizzical glare. “I don’t think he’ll be happy I’m holding his sister here either.”
“Why are we holding her here exactly?” asks Fletch.
“You don’t care about her safety, Fletch?” I ask, arching a brow. “You seemed so keen to get in her knickers.”
“Cos she’s a club whore, man.”
I growl, reaching for him, but Axel stops me, slamming me back into my chair. “We’re not turning on one another over a woman. Especially one no one has claimed.” He fixes me with a stare, and I back down. “I know you’re not gonna like what I have to say, brother, but taking out Nate isn’t on the list of priorities. We need you here, not back inside over some fucker just cos you don’t like him.”
“It’s more than that,” I snap, annoyed he’d think it’s over a simple grudge. “He’s pimping Luna out, and wasn’t this whole bullshit experiment so that we treat the women more like family?”
“VP, I was tryin’ to keep my woman happy. And maybe I hoped one of the women was the reason the coppers were still watching us, but nothing came to light, which means we go back to business as usual.”
I stand. “I’m sure Lexi will be thrilled.” I storm from the office, crashing right into Lexi. I steady her and mutter, “Sorry.”
She smiles. “Where’s the fire?”
“Did you know Pres is pulling the men off club girl watch? All that bullshit about treating them like family was crap to keep you happy.”
She narrows her eyes. “What?”
“I got fully invested in Luna, for what? For him to say we can’t actually protect her?”
The door to church swings open and Axel fills the doorway. “What the fuck are you bitching about, VP?” he barks.
