“Do you want to feed her?” Lily asks. “Remember, we’re doing skin to skin.”
I grin because every time I feed Violet; Lily gets pissed off at whichever nurse is working. They’re downright shameless, flirting with me with her right there. The only one who doesn’t is the nurse neither of us care for which is strange to me. “You sure you can handle seeing all of this?” I ask, waving my hand down my chest.
She rolls her eyes and giggles. “I think I can deal,” she replies. I know she’s sad that she isn’t able to breastfeed, but this means I get to share in all the nitty-gritty shit when it comes to taking care of our daughter. I will never tire of watching her little face and I swear, she smiles every time she’s in my arms. Lily tells me it’s gas, but I don’t believe it. I think Violet recognizes my voice from all our tummy conversations.
Once I’ve settled into the rocker and start feeding my girl, I notice Lily snapping pictures. “We need to print some of these out,” she says. “Maybe Bandit can help us do a slideshow or something.”
“For what?”
“For when she gets married. You know, kind of like a memory book, only in video format,” she states.
“Don’t you think it’s a little too soon to be marrying off our daughter?” The thought of it makes me sick. I don’t want a grubby-handed chump touching my beautiful girl.
“Alright, Mr. Caveman. Just saying, our daughter will be allowed to date, make her own mistakes, and have a life.”
“Says who? I make enough to support all of us as long as she wants to live under my roof,” I reply, not taking my eyes off Violet.
“You going to offer the same to any sons we have?” she snarks. “Or just any daughters?”
I contemplate her question. I know we’ll raise Violet and any other kids we have to be independent, but women should be protected as far as I’m concerned. “Let me get back to you on that, okay?”
Lily
This man of mine is going to drive me crazy! As much as I love my daughter, and I’m positive I’ll love any other kids I have, I have no intention of living in a house full of women! Deciding to tease him a little, I say, “Guess you don’t want any more naked house days then, huh? I mean, if the house is going to be overrun with kids, we can’t exactly be prancing around nude.”
“That’s what grandparents are for, Lil. We send them all on a weekend getaway while we play,” he smiles. Oh boy, he’s got an answer for everything, and won’t my parents be happy to get many weekends with their grandkids as we prance around our home naked. That’ll go over great when I explain that one to them.
“Would love to see my dad’s face when you tell him the reason the kids are coming over is so you can frolic naked with his daughter.” The look of sheer horror that crosses his face has me laughing so hard that I feel tears slipping down my face.
“Why do we have to tell them the reason we want them to watch the kids?” he questions, clutching Violet a bit closer.
“You know how he is; do you really think he won’t ask?” I shoot back.
“Fuck. Okay, maybe we’ll hold off on a houseful for a little longer. We can still have naked house days then, right?” The hopeful expression he now has gets my motor running. This waiting thing is for the birds, but Rae told me it was important, so I’ll do it.
“Maybe, but that’s weeks away, handsome, so don’t get any ideas,” I warn.
I’m lying in bed with tears streaming down my face. Maxum is sound asleep next to me and I try not to wake him with my body’s wracking sobs. I feel like a failure leaving my baby behind for the nurses to care for. It should be me, dammit! I’m her mother, I should be up all hours of the night feeding her, rocking her, singing her lullabies and holding her hand as she recovers from the yellow-tinged skin.
“Lil? Baby, what’s wrong?” I hear him ask as his strong arms band around me, holding me tightly to his chest. I feel small butterfly kisses on my neck as he starts whispering words of love and encouragement in my ear.
“I miss my baby,” I sob out as I continue crying into my pillow. He rearranges me so we’re chest to chest and cradles my face in his hands, wiping away my tears.
“I do too, beautiful. We’ll be there as soon as those doors open and they allow us to visit with her. We’ll stay until they kick us out, Lil. I promise, she’ll be coming home with us soon.”
“I-I know, but I’m her momma, I need to be the one taking care of her.” I hiccup through my tears.
“And you will be. Once she’s all better, she’ll be nestled in your arms for the rest of her life,” he soothes.
I don’t know how many days I can do this — come home from the hospital without my bundle of joy in my arms. “Just hold me, Maxum, never let me go.”
“Never, Lil. I’ll never let you go.” He kisses my forehead and just holds me until I fall into an exhausted, emotionally drained sleep.
18
Lily
The next morning, I’m rudely woken up to a pounding on the front door. The only thing that has me moving is the frantic way the banging continues. “Somebody better be dead, or fixing to be dead, to be beating the door down that way,” Maxum huffs in irritation as he slips into a pair of his jeans as I throw a robe over my pajamas.
“Who do you think it is?” I ask him as I scurry behind him to the front door.
“No idea, not many people bang on the door that way unless it’s an emergency,” he replies as he disengages the locks and pulls the door open. Standing on our front porch is an officer in uniform partnered with a man in a suit. “May I help you?” Maxum asks them as he tightly grips the door in his hand.
“Maxum and Lily Bass?” the man in the suit asks.
“It’s Callahan, Lily Callahan,” I answer, sticking my head through the space between Maxum and the open door.
“Are you the parents of Violet Bass?” he asks. What the fuck is going on?
“Yes,” Maxum grits out.
“May we come in?” suit man asks. This is driving me crazy, why is he being so aloof? Can’t he just spit out what he’s wanting to know and tell me why my daughter’s name just left his mouth?
“Let the men in, Maxum,” I calmly say to my old man. He looks ready to wrap his hands around these men’s necks and that won’t get us the answers we need.
“Fine,” he says between his gritted teeth. As the men enter the room, my manners kick into high gear and I offer them a cup of coffee, or a bottle of water, which they both decline.
“Sir, ma’am, there was an incident at the hospital last night,” he starts and I gasp as images of my baby pop into my head.
“What kind of incident?” Maxum asks. I can see the same worry I’m feeling sketched on his face.
“During shift change last night, someone cut off Violet’s security bracelet and took her out of the hospital. We’ve been looking over the hospital’s security surveillance and we saw a nurse bundling Violet up and walking out with her.”
“Excuse me?” Maxum angrily shouts as he hastily stands up, clenching his fists.
“Do you know why a nurse would take your baby? Is there some sort of club rivalry going on?”
“This has nothing to do with my club!” Maxum yells, slamming his fist to his chest. “We are a group of law-abiding citizens; we don’t deal in illegal activities. We work hard, and your chief of police is an officer in the club! You need to look outside of the club and any vendettas you’ve made up in your pea-sized brain!” Oh shit, Maxum is pissed and I fear that he’ll end up doing something stupid and landing himself behind bars. I need to call my dad! Pronto.
“I-I’m gonna call my dad,” I inform Maxum. He nods his head, but his glare is still firmly placed on the two intruders in our home.
Braxton
I’m sitting in my office when the phone rings. It’s bright and early, and I’m surprised anyone is awake at this hour. I had a restless night and had a hard time staying asleep. Work usually helps me settle the restless beast, but something has been
bothering me all night; nothing seems to be calming me down. Seeing that it’s Lily, my smile grows wide. “Hey, sweetheart, how’s that sweet grandbaby of mine today? Your mom plans to go out shopping, so we’ll be up there a little after visiting hours begin.”
Silence.
It’s profound, setting my teeth on edge. I look at my phone to make sure the connection wasn’t dropped. “Lily?”
“D-daddy, she’s gone.” I hear gut-wrenching sobs across the line and can vaguely hear Maxum bellowing at someone. Fear unlike anything I’ve ever known grips me. Nothing I faced in the military, or anything I’ve dealt with since starting the Rebel Guardians compares to the terror her words have instilled.
“Who’s gone, Lily?” I question, already standing and going to my safe. I’m a licensed concealed carrier, but because we have so many kids in and out of the clubhouse, I typically lock it in the safe when I get here so there are no accidents.
“T-t-t-the baby,” she stammers out.
Ice flows through my veins as dread grips my heart. I cup the phone before yelling, “Hatch! Chief! Law!” I know they’ve come in since the cameras picked them up and I watched in real time on my computer as they walked through the front doors. They run into my office, along with Smokey and Bandit, who I didn’t see come in. I’m surprised and shocked to see several of the old ladies come running in behind them. No clue why they’d be here this early, but right now, that’s not my focus so I push it aside. I put the phone down, and hit the speaker button on my phone. “Lily Bug, you’re on speaker and we’re all here. What happened? Talk to me, sweetheart.”
I hear her gulping a few times and know she’s trying to calm herself down. “We were sleeping when there was a knock on the front door. We jumped up and ran to answer. There were two officers there. Daddy, they said a nurse took Violet and left the hospital. We have to find her! Maxum is fixing to kick these officers’ asses and I can’t deal with him going to jail. Please come help me, Daddy. I don’t know what to do!” she hysterically hollers out.
“We’re on our way, baby. Try to hold it together. We love you,” I tell her.
“O-o-okay, Daddy. Love you too.” I disconnect the call and start to issue orders when I see Cara standing there, white as a ghost.
“Braxton?” Her voice is high and reedy and she’s shaking. “What’s going on? Why was Lily crying? Is it the baby?”
I go to her and pull her into my arms before saying, “Someone took the baby from the hospital, Cara.”
Despite my arms being around her, she falls to her knees, screaming, “Find my grandbaby, Braxton! Find her! God, please, please, bring her back to us!”
“We got it, Axe,” Bandit says, already opening up his tablet. “You and Cara get to Lily and Maxum. When we know something, we’ll be there. This fucker won’t get away with this.”
“I’m calling Jonas,” Law states. “With the two of you doing your computer shit, we should have answers pretty fucking quick.”
“Calling the office to see what’s going on. I’m off today, but I’m going in so I can stay informed,” Chief says, walking out the door. He stops and lightly touches Cara’s shoulder. “We’ll get her back, Cara.”
“My God, why would anyone want to take an innocent baby? This doesn’t make any sense,” Cara sobs into my chest.
“I want Silas and Atticus on this! I want someone to pay for fucking with my family,” I inform the room at large. “No one fucks with mine and lives to see another day.” My anger is at a level I’ve never experienced before. I don’t know what to do with all this vengeance running through my body.
“We don’t work like that brother,” Law says, and I can see his flabbergasted look at my words.
“We do now,” I issue, ushering out my wife so we can go comfort our daughter.
“Do you want me to call Luca?” Smokey calls out as I begin to leave the room.
“No, I’ve got it,” I respond.
Luca
I’m sound asleep, Gypsy in my arms when the blaring ring of my phone wakes me. Answering the phone without looking at the caller ID I say, “Someone better be fucking dying.”
“Violet was kidnapped from the hospital,” Dad says. My body suddenly becomes alert and alive at his explosive words.
“What!” I scream, startling Gypsy who wakes up.
“What is it, Luca?” she asks me.
“Get up and get dressed, baby. Someone took Violet from the hospital,” I rush out as I begin dressing myself with one hand as the other clutches my phone. “Do we know anything?”
“A nurse took her, disabled her identity band, slipped out during shift change,” he tells me. “That’s all we know for now.”
“I’m on my way. Tell Lily I’ll be there as quickly as I can.” Hanging up the phone, I say a silent prayer for my niece’s safe return and that God is watching over her while in the clutches of this mad woman’s hands.
My anger takes hold, and I couldn’t care less that Tig has an adjoining room to mine as I grab the chair and throw it across the room, hitting the wall. We got hotel rooms while in town to be close to Lily while she was having the baby.
Tig
I hear a loud crash from Luca’s room which jars me from sleep. “What the fucking hell?” I ask, jumping out of bed and rushing to the door that separates my room from his. I begin aimlessly banging on it until the door flies open and Gypsy is standing there. She’s pale and my fear spikes.
“What’s wrong? Is Luca okay?” I rush out the questions.
“Luca’s fine. Someone kidnapped Violet from the hospital. We’re getting dressed to head over to Lily’s apartment now.”
“I’ll meet y’all out front in five.” I briskly turn around and begin rummaging through my travel bag for fresh clothes. Skipping a shower this morning, I run in the bathroom, take a piss and brush my teeth. When I make it out front, Luca and Gypsy are already sitting astride his motorcycle with the engine running. I swing my leg over mine and rev the engine when she kicks to life.
“We’ll get her back, brother.” I emphasize this statement by pounding my fist to my chest.
“Damn straight we will, and someone’s gonna pay!” he returns.
Fuck yeah, they will.
19
Maxum
The officers make themselves at home while Lily and I get dressed and start brewing a pot of coffee. I have to keep myself busy, otherwise I’ll be out on the road combing the city, knocking on every door in this town until I find Violet. The apartment door swings open and I see Braxton, Cara, Luca, Gypsy and Tig come strolling in. Anger and fear are laced on each one of their faces. For the first time since I woke this morning, I take a much-needed breath… one I hadn’t realized I’d been holding in until they walked through the door.
“Any word?” Axe turns his head toward the detectives as he asks this question.
“We’re still combing through the hospital’s footage. The only perpetrator we’ve seen is the nurse, one who used a fake name and records to get the job. They were professional documents and her references checked out. The administrators thought they were hiring an educated, professional nurse. Once we can ID her, we’ll be able to track her down.”
“Can we see the footage?” Tig asks.
“It’s an active case, we aren’t able to share that with you at this time,” detective shit for brains answers.
“Call Chief,” Axe orders Tig.
“On it,” Tig replies as he pulls out his cell phone and walks back outside.
“Sir, you can’t use your contacts. It’s illegal to involve you and your men in my investigation.”
“Watch me,” Axe replies, and I step behind him to show I’ve got his back. Luca follows my lead.
“What’s everyone sitting around for twiddling their thumbs?” Hatch enters the apartment and asks.
“Because dick for brains is stalling in his investigation. He doesn't want us involved,” Axe answers.
“Tough titty,” Hatch responds. “I
s there a reason you’re here? You’ve informed the family; your job is done. Hit the road.” He throws his thumb over his shoulder.
“We are in the middle of questioning the parents,” the brassy-balled fucker sneers.
Tig comes strutting through the door wearing a grin on his face. His phone is on speaker and I can hear Chief’s voice issuing orders from the other end of the line. “I’m in the apartment, Chief,” Tig informs him.
“Detective Shaw, why are you there harassing my family instead of out on the streets, locating this missing baby?” Chief sounds stressed, pissed and knowing his different tones of voices the way I do, I know this is one that implies this man needs to shake his ass and get moving.
“I’m questioning the parents, sir,” Detective Shaw grits out. It’s apparent he has no respect for Chief and doesn’t care for him too much. I can’t help but wonder if it’s because of his involvement with the MC.
“Are they suspects?” Chief asks him.
“Parents are always the first to be suspected. I have to rule them out.” This guy is cruising for a bruising and I hope I can give him his first. He deserves a black eye for his outward rudeness directed towards us.
“Is there a baby there?” Chief is on a roll with putting this man in his place and I’m loving it.
“No, sir.”
“Then get your ass away from them and go find my niece!” Chief bellows before disconnecting the line.
“I suggest,” Axe grounds out, “that you find out who this nurse is and bring home my granddaughter without a scratch on her little body, understand?”
“Are you threatening me?” Detective Shaw puts his hand on the holster of his gun.
Maxum & Lily: Rebel Guardians Next Generation Page 12