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“His father has come for him.” She speaks so quietly I barely hear her, and the way she swallows deeply and closes her eyes makes the compulsion to pull her into my arms unstoppable. I wrap her up and squeeze her tight, unable to resist smelling her hair the way I used to. It brings with it a sense of comfort, and guilt, all at the same time. This was Carly’s home and it ain't right for me to be appreciating another female in it.
“No one's gonna take him. You’re safe here,” I tell her again because she don't seem to be taking that part in.
“You don’t know his father.” She pulls back so she can look up at me again, and the vulnerability on her face makes me want to find whoever he is and make him bleed.
“Can we stay here?” She flicks her eyes between me and her son, and I can tell that she’s really going against all her pride in asking.
“‘Course you can stay here.” I manage a smile, despite my conscience telling me this is a bad idea. “I’ll make up the spare room.”
There are plenty of spare cabins I could put them in, but seeing her so scared has my impulse to keep them close overriding all logic. I drag myself away from her and head into the room that Carly always dreamed would become a nursery someday. There’s a double bed and some of Carly’s stuff that I’ve boxed up over the years but could never part with. I quickly shove the boxes into the wardrobe and pull out the spare comforter so I can spread it over the bed for them.
“You can put him down in here.” I stand at the door and watch, as Addison takes her little boy’s hand and leads him past me. “It’s basic but, like I said, I wasn't expectin’ company.”
“It’s perfect.” She smiles gratefully and I head to the kitchen, leaving her to make herself at home.
My own hands shake as I lift down the bottle of Jack from the cupboard and unscrew the lid. Then heading for the couch, I take a seat and stare blankly at the floor.
“What are you doin’, Skid?”the voice in my head asks.
Too much is going on in my brain for me to give it an answer. I haven’t even had time to worry about how my club brothers are gonna react to this. This is one hot mess, and Addison and her kid being here is all kindsa fuckin’ wrong. Yet, right now, knowing that they’re in danger… there's nowhere else I’d rather ‘em be.
* * *
“He’s finally asleep.” Addison’s voice startles me when she sneaks out of the bedroom and quietly closes the door, half an hour later.
“You want a drink?” I stand up, heading for the kitchen so I can grab her a glass, and when she takes it from my hand she watches as I pour her a good measure of Jack.
“I don’t usually drink.” She looks up at me and bites her lip.
“Well, tonight seems like the kinda night ya need to,” I tell her, placing the bottle down and sitting beside her.
“I’ll ‘cheers’ to that.” Addison raises her glass before taking a sip and pulling a real unimpressed face at what she gets.
“So, the kid’s dad, is he dangerous?” I get straight to what's important. For me to fix this, I need to know what I’m up against.
“Very.” She nods, curling her legs up beneath her and making herself comfortable. I like that she relaxes around me the way she used to.
“Did ya love him?” The words blurt outta my mouth before I can stop ‘em, and the way she stares back at me in confusion as she shakes her head makes me regret the question. “Did he…?” I don’t want to finish the sentence. I don’t even want to fuckin’thinkit.
“Not exactly.” She looks at the floor as she places her glass on the coffee table.
“It’s really complicated, and I wouldn’t expect you to understand.”
“I’ll never understand if ya don’t tell me,” I point out, getting frustrated that she’s still keeping whatever this is from me.
“Why did you leave us?” Those tears are back in her eyes when she diverts me from my question.
“Now, thatiscomplicated,” I tell her, gripping my glass so tight I fear it could shatter in my hand.
“You hurt me,” she confesses, her lips trembling as she reaches for her drink, this time taking a much larger swallow of it. Hearing what she just said causes something inside me to crumble.
“I know, and trust me when I tell ya, Addy, I regret that. It’s why I’m determined to do all I can to fix this for ya. All you gotta do is give me a name. I’ll make sure the man never troubles you again.”
“You think it’s that simple?” She shakes her head and laughs.
“In my world, darlin’, yeah. It’s that simple.”
“Would you ki—”
