He wasn’t sure if Slade’s acceptance of what happened would come easy. The man knew his father was a monster, his brother was one, too. But still...
Blood was blood, even if it was toxic.
Slade had questioned himself in the past, worrying if he would end up like his father, Buzz, having the man’s tainted blood running through his veins. He’d worried about it touching Diamond. He worried about it touching his son, Hudson, and any future sons. Hunter understood that worry too well.
But blood wasn’t always family. Family wasn’t always blood.
Slade’s true brothers wore leather cuts, rode hogs and had Dirty Angels MC colors inked into their skin.
Hunter’s true brothers wore dog tags, had each other’s six, and worked hard shoulder to shoulder.
Even so...
“Brother,” Hunter mumbled into the phone when Slade answered.
His “yeah” was quiet.
“It’s done.”
A long silence hung between them. Then the biker asked, “Kid okay?”
“Yeah.”
“Mother okay?”
“Yep.”
“That’s all that matters.” Slade’s answer was flat, emotionless. Final. “He go quietly?”
Hunter told the truth. “Didn’t know what hit him.”
“Shame.”
More silence.
Hunter broke it. “Sorry your family was full of fuck-ups.”
“Which family isn’t?”
Very true. But Slade’s leaned toward the extreme.
“I got lucky,” Slade said.
“Yeah.”
“Good woman. Healthy son. And family that might not be blood, but just as good, if not better.”
“Yeah, you’re lucky you have that.”
“Gonna be better when you bring my nephew home.”
Hunter’s head snapped up. “What?”
“Want him here. Needs to be raised right. Wanna see to it. Already talked to Diamond, she’s on board.”
This was news to Hunter. “He’s got a mother. Grandmother, too.”
“Two women. Needs a man in his life, preferably more than one. Don’t need them livin’ with us, just close. Manning Grove ain’t close enough.”
Hunter agreed with that last part.
“Bring ‘em home,” Slade said more firmly. “Heard she’s got financial issues. She won’t have that here. She needs a place, we’ll set her up in the compound. Want Hudson growin’ up with my nephew. She needs a job, we’ll get her one. Leo an’ Frankie will be taken care of.”
“Not sure she’ll want to be taken care of, Slade. You haven’t met her.”
“Not her choice.”
Oh fuck. “You know how stubborn your ol’ lady is? That’s about how stubborn Frankie is. You start barking orders, she’s gonna dig in her heels and balk.”
“Need Leo here. That means Frankie needs to be here, too. Do whatcha gotta do to convince her.”
He had already been planning that, but not for the reason Slade wanted. “I’ll do my best.”
“Know it. Appreciate it. If she won’t leave without the grandmother, then convince the grandmother, too.”
Hunter stared at his boots and pressed the heel of his hand to his forehead. He wasn’t sure he could convince Diane to move her daughter and grandson into a biker’s compound.
Especially after dealing with a biker like Taz.
People had strong opinions about bikers and they usually weren’t good ones if they didn’t know any personally.
“Jesus, you’re asking for miracles.”
“Christmas ain’t that far away.”
Before Hunter could answer, his cell phone went dark.
Hunter tapped it against his thigh for a moment with his eyes squeezed shut.
He agreed Frankie and Leo needed to come to Shadow Valley. He also agreed Leo needed a male figure in the boy’s life, and Slade would be a good one, biker or not.
But after tonight, after the possibility of losing them kicked him in the nuts, Hunter realized the male figure needed to be him.
Frankie loved him, so that was half the fight. The other was getting her to leave her hometown and give up everything she knew.
That one wouldn’t be so easy.
It might be easier if he admitted what he discovered tonight.
But Hunter wasn’t sure if he was ready to say those words out loud.
He felt it. He knew it. But admitting it and taking steps to do something about it was a whole other story.
Frankie swept the hair off Leo’s forehead, leaned over and pressed her lips to his temple.
He had finally calmed down enough to sleep. He would sleep deeply because he was exhausted.
Leo wasn’t the only one.
Steel and her mom had watched Leo while Frankie stood in the searing hot shower, watching the pink water circle down the drain.
She scrubbed herself raw to make sure every drop of Taz’s blood was off her skin. And once it was, she got out and ran a bath for Leo.
Children were amazingly resilient. But even so, what happened to Leo might stick with him forever.
She could only hope it would eventually fade away.
As she pushed to her feet and stepped back from his bed, a large hand landed on her shoulder.
“He okay?”
“I don’t know,” she answered truthfully.
“Gonna talk to Mercy’s woman. She’s a therapist. She may have suggestions.”
Frankie nodded. She couldn’t afford to pay for a therapist for her own fucking kid who just went through a shitload of trauma.
Her throat tightened and she blinked back the sting.
She was a failure of a mother. She needed to do better. So, she’d take any free advice she could get and swallow her pride for her son.
“I hope he never remembers who that man was. If I have to lie, I will. He’s young enough I hope he never remembers this.”
“No guarantee,” Hunter answered, his voice soft as he peered over Frankie’s shoulder at a sleeping Leo.
She knew Hunter couldn’t be in that room for any length of time, so she was surprised when he stepped around her to sit on the edge of Leo’s bed. His weight dipped the mattress, shifting Leo enough to wake him.
Leo’s sleepy brown eyes landed on Hunter. “Daddy?”
Was he asking about his father? Had Taz told Leo to call him Daddy? Or was he calling Hunter Daddy?
Frankie opened her mouth to correct him, but Hunter did it first. “Danny.”
Leo blinked sleepily. “Daddy.”
Hunter leaned over and scooped him up, pulling him into his lap. “No, little man, you know my name is Danny.”
“No!” Leo shouted, suddenly very awake, his face getting flushed. “It’s Daddy!”
Frankie closed her eyes, her heart cracking and breaking in two. She didn’t think she had any emotions left after tonight. She was as wrung out as a sponge.
She couldn’t tell her son Hunter was his father when he wasn’t. Nor that his father was the one who had kidnapped him. Leo wouldn’t understand it.
Hunter held Leo against his chest, rocking him back and forth. Leo had one hand curled tightly in Hunter’s beard, his other gripping the metal chain that hung around the man’s neck.
“Leo, you know my name is Danny. You’re just tired,” Hunter said, his face carefully blank.
“You’re my daddy,” Leo insisted.
Frankie pressed her fingertips to her mouth. Did Leo even realize what he was saying? He went through a major ordeal tonight, he could just be mixed up.
Hunter lifted his gaze to Frankie. While his face was unreadable, his eyes weren’t. Her heart squeezed at what she saw in them.
But she could be wrong.
So many things happened tonight, and she was just as exhausted as Leo.
She stepped closer to the bed, close enough that her leg brushed Hunter’s. Just that touch, that feeling of him being so solid, settled her nerves. “Baby, you n
eed some sleep.”
“Don’t want ‘im to go.”
“Not going anywhere, little man,” Hunter said, curling his fingers around the back of Frankie’s knee, keeping her close, connected. “Will be here when you wake up.”
“Promise?”
“Promise.”
“Want waffles.”
Hunter’s lips twitched. “We’ll make you a Belgian waffle with lots of syrup.”
Leo’s little brow furrowed. “Not Momma. You.”
Hunter settled him back under the covers and said, “Me. I’ll make us waffles. Promise. But morning won’t come unless you go back to sleep.”
Hunter pulled the covers up to Leo’s neck and brushed the back of his knuckle down his cheek.
“’Kay.”
Hunter hesitated one more minute, staring down at her son. Then he rose to his feet, snagged her hand and pulled her out of the tiny room and into the hallway.
He didn’t stop there. He kept going until they were in her bedroom and the door was latched behind them.
When he released her, his back hit the closed door and he slid down it until he landed hard on his ass, his knees bent, his hands covering his face, his head back against the door.
“Are you okay?” Was he having another panic attack?
What the hell was going on?
“Hunter!” She dropped to her knees between his feet and grabbed his wrists. “What’s wrong?”
He dropped his hands. “Grateful to that motherfucker.”
Frankie blinked. His words thick with emotion teared at her heart. But they made no sense.
“So fucking grateful. If I wasn’t looking for him, I never would’ve found you. If I wasn’t looking for him, I never would’ve found Leo. If I wasn’t looking for him, never would have found my roots, Frankie.”
What was he talking about, his roots? “In Manning Grove?”
He shook his head. “In you.”
She sat on her heels and before she could say anything, she was flat on her back on her bedroom floor. His weight pressed her into the carpet, his hands were planted on either side of her head and he stared into her eyes.
A lump rose in her throat. She could feel those raw emotions coming off him in waves, like she could reach out and touch them. And as those waves washed over her she absorbed them, felt them, too.
This wasn’t a panic attack by being in Leo’s room, by Leo calling him Daddy. He wasn’t feeling trapped.
This was something else.
Something deep, intense, unexpected.
“Never thought I’d want to be a father. Never thought I’d find a woman I’d want to build a family with. Or, hell, a woman I’d want to have stick. Still don’t know if I’m a good enough man to raise a son. I didn’t have a good father figure in my life, either.”
“Leo was just confused. He didn’t mean to call you Daddy.”
“Baby, I liked it. I liked hearing him call me that. Just as much as I liked hearing you tell me you love me. Hearing that from both of you, it broke those chains inside of me. There will never be a day where I don’t have panic attacks, where I forget being trapped and fear it might happen again. But having you and Leo in my life won’t be the cause of it.”
Her pulse began to pound in her temples. “What are you saying?”
“I want you and Leo in my life. I want you two to be a part of it. I could have lost both of you tonight and I won’t risk that again. I swear I won’t ever walk away again, Frankie. Work might take me away, but I’ll always come home. And when I do, I want you to be there waiting. I want to help raise Leo, be there when he needs me. Be the man he needs in his life. Be his father.”
“You hate this house.”
“Yeah. You’re with me. Gonna pack your shit up and you and Leo are coming back with me. Sell the house, quit your job. Your mom wants to be close, I’m okay with that, we can get that figured out. Slade wants his nephew nearby, wants Leo to grow up with his cousin. Family’s important, Frankie, you know that. Here you got your mom. With me, you got a whole fucking network of people for support and to help out when needed. Family. Maybe not all blood, but family just the same.”
“Are you asking me to move in with you? Because that doesn’t sound like it.”
“What’s it sound like?”
“Well, first of all, it sounds like you’re laying it all out and not leaving me a choice. Second of all, you mention home, but do you want to live together? I love you, Hunter, and it’s clear Leo is attached to you.”
“You were afraid of that.”
“I was. We both fell for you hard. But how do you feel,” she pressed her palm into his chest, “about us? You haven’t said. Again, you’re just making demands and expecting me to follow them like I’m that kind of woman.”
“Know you’re not, Frankie. I know what kind of woman you are. And I wouldn’t have you any other way. But decisions need to be made and I can’t wait around while you make them. So, I’m making them.”
‘Bout fuckin’ time you listened.
“Baby, how do you feel about me?”
“I love you, but right now you’re making me rethink that. And you made it clear many times that I should think before I act. However, you’re pressuring me to act before I get a chance to give your demands some serious thought.”
“You love me?”
“I just said I did.”
“How much do you love me?”
“Enough I can resist kicking you in the balls right now for being so damn bossy.”
His lips twitched and he dropped his forehead to hers.
“I’m so glad you think this is amusing. This whole night has been fucked up. I’m mentally and physically exhausted, Hunter. And now you’re hitting me with this. And this is on top of whatever we’re going to deal with tomorrow when it comes to Taz kidnapping Leo and those after effects.”
“That shit won’t stick to you. I’ll make sure of it.”
“By lying to the police and taking the blame.” She didn’t like any of the plan him and his crew had come up with. Lying to the police, pushing Taz’s death on Hunter instead of her. More sacrifices he was making for her and Leo.
“It’s self-defense, Frankie. He would’ve killed me and might have killed you and Leo. Cops will interview me tomorrow and pass that info on to the DA. If I gotta deal with it, I’ll deal with it. Kiki will represent me if needed.”
“Who’s Kiki?”
“Club attorney.”
“The MC has their own attorney?”
“Yeah. Like I said, it’s a network, baby. But it’s going to come to nothing in the end. They’re not gonna arrest me for taking out a felon who kidnapped, gagged and tied up his three-year-old son. We made sure any evidence left behind was clean of your fingerprints. A couple annoying hiccups that will pass.”
Hiccups.
Manipulating evidence and lying to law enforcement was more than a couple hiccups.
“You have to trust me, Frankie.”
Frankie released a breath. “I do.”
“Then we’re good. Got a few days of dealing with the cops ahead of us, while I’m doing that, you pack the shit you want to keep. The rest is getting thrown in a dumpster. Moving you and Leo into my condo until we find something better. Slade’s gonna want you and Leo living close in the compound. I won’t argue with that. It’s gated, secure and safe. Leo will be around a bunch of little kids because bikers like to fuck. Obviously, with fucking comes babies.”
Obviously.
“I never want you to worry again. Not how you’re gonna pay the utility bill, pay for Leo’s clothes, pay for daycare. You wanna work, you work. You don’t, I’m okay with that. You raise our boy, you grow a garden, you make me fat with your cooking. Whatever you want.”
Frankie rolled her lips inward. “I don’t want you fat.”
Hunter smiled. “Then I’ll bust my ass to make you happy.”
It hit her then he’d said, “You raise our boy.”
“Are
you sure about this? You said—”
“I know what I said. And it was true.”
“What changed?”
“Tonight, I realized something...”
She waited.
He tangled his fingers into her hair, pressed a kiss against her lips but didn’t take it deeper, instead he put his mouth to her ear and whispered, “I love you, too.”
Her heart squeezed and then exploded in her chest.
“I thought my head was fucked before. But if something would’ve happened to you tonight, I never would’ve recovered. Leo is your everything, Frankie. But you’re mine. You raised a boy I’d be proud to call my son. And you’re a woman who I’d be proud to call my wife.”
“Hunter, this is huge.”
“Yeah.”
“Not for me, but for you.”
“Yeah.”
“I’m going to ask again, are you sure about all this?”
“Never more sure of anything in my life.”
“I don’t know what to say...” she whispered.
“You can say yes, baby.”
“Yes, baby.”
Epilogue
If it wasn’t for Slade asking Diesel to find his brother, Hunter never would have met Frankie or Leo. He owed the man a beer. No, a case of beer. Hell, a whole fucking beer truck.
Hunter turned his head to watch Leo running around in circles being chased by a slower, stubby-legged Hudson in Slade and Diamond’s front yard. Leo tripped, face-planted into the grass and none of the adults even blinked. A second later, Hudson tackled him, and the two boys rolled around on the ground screaming, laughing and wrestling.
Leo was tough and showed no lasting effects from the day he was kidnapped. Though, they were aware that issues could pop up later. Naturally, they’d keep a close eye on him and get Rissa involved, if necessary.
Slade was in his driveway, one eye on the boys, one on what he was doing, which was waxing his Jag Jamison custom Harley. He lifted his chin to Hunter, who returned it.
Hearing “How long are we going to stand here?” made him tip that chin down to look at the woman whose shoulder he had his arm draped around.
“As long as it takes to imagine what it’s gonna look like when it’s done.”
Guts & Glory: Hunter (In the Shadows Security Book 3) Page 24