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“Don’t be a smartass,” he scolded lightly. She was clearly pretending to be a prospect, and it was annoying the crap out of him.
“I’d have to have an ass to be a smartass, sir.”
“Stop calling me that.” Ryder was starting to get genuinely irritated with his lovely new bride-to-be being playful in front of the enemy. Cutting his gaze sideways to Abigail Fucking Andrews, he glared at her before responding to the love of his life. “Besides, you’ve got a stunning ass.”
Tiffany lifted her chin. “Thank you, sir.” The primness in her voice was counterbalanced by the smirk she made in the rearview mirror.
Abby laughed. “You two are adorable.”
His lip curling, Ryder grunted, “No more being cute in front of the hostage, doll. I mean it.”
“Whatever you say, handsome.” Risking a small glance over her shoulder, Tiffany quipped, “That would have been the perfect time to say, ‘Yes, sir,’ right?”
Ryder shoved his fingers through his hair, ignoring her impertinent question. “We continue down this road for about three and a half miles. Then we take a left down a one-lane dirt road.”
Within moments, they were pulling into a small parking area in front of a prim little brick schoolhouse attached to an older brick colonial. Clearly, it was a home business of some sort. Ryder did a double take between the building and the dirt road to be sure they weren’t followed.
They climbed out and headed through a door marked Mockingbird Lane Early Education and Boarding. Inside, they were greeted by a rather surprised man and woman.
“What are you doing here, Ms. Andrews?”
“Sorry for not calling to say I would be late,” she said calmly and confidently.
“What do you mean late?”
Giving them a strange look, she replied curtly, “I’m paying premium prices for the occasional overnight option.”
Shoving his glasses back with two fingers, the older gentleman retorted, “Whatever you say, Ms. Andrews. Advance notice of schedule changes was part of the initial agreement. We have the children’s schedules planned out a month in advance. When you show up unexpectedly—”
“Where’s my daughter?” Abby asked coldly.
“She’s still in nursery number three. You know that’s her favorite room.”
Ryder followed his hostage down the hall, intent on getting his eyes on the child she claimed belonged to his friend. He knew that a person couldn’t always tell by looking, but Darkness had a very distinctive look about him. If the child appeared to have Native American heritage, that would be a strong indicator.
Approaching a small bed, Abby stooped down and picked up the sleepy baby lying in it and gently woke her up. The minute Ryder saw her eyes, his chest seized. They were dark, like her father’s. She was Darkness made over in baby form. It was so shocking that he couldn’t help but stare as Abby awkwardly shoved the little one into some kind of furry zip-up contraption that seemed half coat and half pillowcase.
Closing his gaping gob, Ryder got to work gathering up things, not knowing or caring whether they belonged to the school or to the family. They needed to get out of there, stat.
Shoving everything into a large bag, he glanced at the doorway to find Tiffany standing there. Giving her a slight nod, she accepted the invitation and came in to help. Tossing several hundred-dollar bills on the table as they left, Ryder let the staff know the baby would be on vacation for a few weeks.
The problem presented itself when they got outside. Reaching the car, Ryder realized they didn’t have a child safety seat. “Shit, we’ve gotta stop at the very first place that’s open and get a car seat,” he said as they piled in and hit the road back toward the clubhouse.
“Mine is in my car back at Devil’s place,” Abby announced.
Disregarding how little help that information was, Ryder asked the more pertinent question at hand. “How did you keep him from knowing about the kid, again?”
Frowning, Abby pulled the drowsy child closer. Ryder was certain she hadn’t meant to admit to having the child’s safety seat around Devil and his MC brothers.
Her voice was shaky when she mumbled, “I had my mother until a few weeks ago. She passed away, and I was relying on paid caregivers. If I’d had access to my phone, I might have been able to arrange something. Then again, maybe not. I’ve been struggling.” Looking out the window, her gaze swept the darkened streets. “Where are you taking us?”
“Where in the hell do you think?” Ryder barked.
Tucking her child close, she whispered, “Back to my cell.”
“Hell the fuck no, my friend’s kid is not going to a place like that,” Ryder nearly shouted, startling her, but he didn’t give a goddamn. “Darkness wants to see his child.”
Tiffany stated quietly, “It’s not visiting hours.”
