Fuck me. I was going to rip this motherfucker apart with my bare hands.
“It’s okay, buddy. I’m not going to let him hurt your mum again, okay?”
I helped Van out of the bed, bending down to grab his car from earlier and helping him up into my arms. He tucked his head into my neck, and hugged me tight. The fact that he was trusting me like this was mind-blowing. Chaos saw that I had the kid and he followed behind. So far I couldn’t see anyone stopping us.
What the actual fuck was going on?
Just then, I heard Animal grunt before an unfamiliar face moved into the foyer, stopping me.
“Shackled Sons…kidnapping my son?”
Beast came up behind him, pressing a gun barrel into his temple. Hardy looked surprised, but didn’t make a play to get away.
“Keep your head tucked away, Van, okay?”
He nodded against my neck, and I shielded him the best I could as Chaos stepped in front of me.
“No men on guard tonight, Bainbridge?” Chaos asked. “Standard practice for beating women?”
“She’s my wife, I can do as I please with her.”
Smug, arrogant bastard. I was going to enjoy watching him bleed out.
“Not even close, mate,” Beast sneered.
“He’s my son.”
“For now,” I shot back. “What do you think they’ll do when they see Tavi? Do you think they’ll give the abuser custody?”
“She’ll never turn on me. She’s got nowhere to go.”
“Yeah, she does,” I shot back so quickly I didn’t know what I was saying. “You’re going to let us walk out of here, and you’re going to let her go, or you’ll have an entire clubhouse on your ass, digging into your businesses, leaving breadcrumbs to your underworld dealings in plain sight for the police to find.”
Hardy worked for the Ironborne. They weren’t clean. We could easily find something and pin it on him. Then he could spend the rest of his life in prison, hearing about his son and his wife living happily without him.
It was almost enough not to put a bullet between his eyes, but I didn’t want to scar the kid.
Chaos ushered us out the door, and before I could think twice about it, I had Van bundled up in my jacket.
“Van, I’m going to need you to hold onto me tight, you understand?”
He nodded, handing me his toy car. I put it in my saddle bag and wrapped his arms around me as tight as I could.
“No letting go, Van, promise me.”
“I promise,” he said, softly. His little fingers dug into my back. I started up my bike, leaving the boys to take care of the fuckwit. No killing had been the order, unless he presented a problem. Secretly, I hoped he didn’t.
I wanted to be the one to cause him as much pain as possible. Right now, I needed to get Van to safety, and I needed to talk to Tavi. Then…then, I would take care of business.
Riding slowly, I made my way back to the clubhouse with the precious cargo on board. The clubhouse was the only safe place for him right now. Somehow I knew Tavi wouldn’t want him to see how hurt she was.
And if she did, I’d come back and grab him for her.
Riding into the clubhouse gates, I noticed most of the clubhouse was quiet. It wasn’t a party night, and it was late. I grabbed onto Van and carried him inside. He was sleeping in my arms before I even got to a spare room. I’d answer their questions later, but for now, I needed someone to watch over him.
I put him down in the bed, and pulled the blanket up to tuck him in. He held onto the jacket I’d wrapped around him, like it was a comfort to him. Something about that made my chest ache. He’d trusted me enough to fall asleep in my arms, even with everything he’d heard and seen. There was something so wildly heartbreaking at this boy having a life like that.
I wanted to protect him.
