by K. J. Dahlen
“That’s a plan I can live with,” Sam reluctantly agreed. “How do we protect the girls?”
“As much as I hate to admit this, we park them in the clubhouse for now. Nobody will dare look for them there.” Chance laid out his plan.
“I can keep Wyatt watching the Pearlman house,” Wes added.
Chance nodded at him and then turned to Sam. “Okay, let get Amos and his boys to watch over Lester and Rossi. No one ever pays attention to them and they can move freely anywhere in the city they want.”
“Why can’t we watch them?” Sam demanded.
Chance barked out a laugh. “Because Bones, we’d stick out like sore fucking thumbs. Everybody knows us and we’d tip our hand if we went anywhere near them. Amos and his crew, not so much.”
Sam closed his eyes at the logic in his statement. The Sin’s Bastards were well known in town. They would be noticed. Rossi or Pearlman wouldn’t make their move if they knew they were being watched by the MC. He pointed his finger at Chance. “You’d better not fuck this up. If anything happens to my daughter or that little girl. You know what I’ve promised already.”
Chance sighed as he nodded. The man couldn’t get enough of threatening him. If it weren’t for Quinn, he would just shut him the fuck up. But he knew it was the man’s way of fathering. He watched as Sam and the rest of the MC hauled their tails out of the shop. Chance turned to his brothers and Wes. “We need to keep our eyes on Lester and Mona.”
“But you just told Sam they’d make us and go under cover.” Bowie looked confused.
“Maybe us, after all we do stick out around this town,” Chance agreed. Then he turned his gaze to Wes. “But you and your friends fit right in, don’t ya? Your friends are Lester’s neighbors. He would expect to see them around wouldn’t he?”
Wes began to smile. “Why, yes sir, I think he would. Even though he ain’t very neighborly he’s used to Wyatt and his friends being there.”
Chance knew he would do it. “Ok, here’s what I want you to do. Byron and I will move the girls over to the clubhouse while you and your friend keep an eye on Lester and Mona. If something comes up, give me a call.”
“What’s Cassie supposed to do if Mona comes back looking for Destiny?” Dante asked. “Don’t we need to get some kind of story in place?”
“Her mother all but abandoned her, even if she does come back today, Mona will have some explaining to do,” Chance assured them. “Maybe Cassie can tell her she turned her over to DSS last night. If Mona goes to DSS to get her back, she’ll have some questions to answer before they tell her Destiny isn’t there. If they don’t ask the questions, then they aren’t doing their job are they?” Chance shrugged. “Either way, we’ll have gained some time.”
“Don’t you think you better tell Deke what we’re doing?” Dante asked. “And Cassie? She might need to know her role in this little drama.”
Chance reached out and slapped his brother Byron on the back. “Damn kid, you are smart.” He chuckled.
“Kid? Who the fuck you talking to?”
All the brothers laughed.
Chance grinned at him. “Come on, we’ll tell her when we get there. We’ve got to move before Mona gets back to the House and gets her hands on Destiny.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
A little while later, Chance and Byron entered the House. Amos was standing guard in the main hall and they stopped for a moment to chat.
“Was there any trouble after I left?” Chance asked.
“No problems here. Didn’t hear a peep out of the girls and no one came looking for them.”
“Good.” Chance nodded.
“I did get a call from Sam a few minutes ago.” Amos frowned. “What the fuck does Jonah Rossi have to do with any of this? I thought we were protecting the girl from her parents, not a creep like Rossi.”
Chance sighed then explained, “We didn’t know about Rossi until this morning. Lester Pearlman owes Rossi a lot of coin and we don’t want him to use his daughter as collateral. We’re taking Quinn and Destiny back to the clubhouse as a preventive measure. At least there, they won’t be taken. You know Quinn, she’d step up to protect that little girl from anything.”
Amos nodded. “That she would but she’s Deke’s sister and Sam’s daughter, what else would you expect? Stubbornness tends to run in that family.”
Chance agreed with this, but said nothing.
“Did Sam ask you for help with surveillance on Lester and Rossi?” Byron asked.
“He did,” Amos replied. “I sent Frankie and Joel out to keep an eye on them. He said you had the house under your eye as well?”
“Yeah, my mechanic has a friend that lives next door. He’s gonna watch the house. Wes claims Mona doesn’t leave the house much which surprises me. What the hell did she go back for if she was out of there yesterday? She came here for help then went back.”
Amos shrugged. “Lester’s got her under his thumb and I don’t think she’s going anywhere anytime soon. I think she wants to run but can’t. He’s got her so afraid, the poor thing has no choice, or at least that’s what she thinks.”
“I don’t think she’s as innocent as you make her out to be.” Byron snorted. “No matter what she’s always had a choice of leaving the bastard or staying and she chose to stay.”
Amos shook his head. “You don’t get it do you?”
“Then explain it to me old man.” Byron growled.
“Some women want to be loved by someone so bad that they bend and break before they give up what they have. Some men like this Lester use and abuse their women to the point they have become nothing more than slaves to their men. These guys do it by conditioning them, either with words or by beating them or maybe even by withholding their affection, Guys like Lester are more common than you realize. We wouldn’t treat a woman like that but bastards like Lester would. They don’t want their women to have any thoughts that don’t revolve around pleasing them. He’d had years to condition Mona to serve his every need. Destiny might have been an accident or just another way to control her. Either way, I don’t think he loves either one of them, Mona or Destiny.”
“Do you really think he’d turn his four year old daughter over to man like Rossi?” Chance had to ask.
Amos rolled his eyes. “To save his own ass? You bet he would and I don’t think it would bother him one iota.”
“Then why is he drinking so much?” Byron asked.
“It isn’t because he has any kind of conscience, believe me. Maybe it’s to deal with the fact he’s a loser or he can’t believe his luck but men like Lester don’t care about anything or anybody other than themselves. Who really knows for sure?” Amos looked angry. “I’ve known too many just like him.”
Chance looked around. “Well, at any rate we’re going to take Quinn and Destiny to the clubhouse. I don’t want to bring any trouble to Cassie’s House.”
Just then the door behind him opened as Cassie and Deke came in. Deke was carrying their daughter Piper while Cassie was holding hands with Jemmia and Sam.
They were all laughing until Deke saw Chance and Byron standing there. He stared at them for a moment then passed Piper to Amos. He nodded toward the nursery. When his wife and kids were gone, Deke turned to Chance. “What are you two doing here? Shouldn’t you be at work in your shop?”
“Yeah, we should,” Chance agreed with him. “But we got a problem that we need to get a hold of before it blows up in our faces.”
“And does this problem have a name?” Deke asked with a raised brow.
“Quinn,” Byron told him.
Deke let out a breath and ran his hands down his face. “Now what has she gotten herself into?”
Chance chuckled. “Well, it’s really not her fault this time.”
“It never was before either but tell me what’s going on.” Deke shook his head.
Amos was the one to answer this, “Yesterday, a woman came in with a little girl. Her name is Mona Pearlman and her daughter’s name
is Destiny. Cassie talked to the woman for hours while her daughter was sitting out here all alone until Quinn came in. She took the girl to the classroom with her so someone could watch her but the mother just walked out, leaving her behind.”
Chance then took over, “Well you know your sister, she wouldn’t leave the girl alone all night, so she stayed here with her.”
“And?” Deke growled.
“We found out some disturbing news this morning,” Byron took up the explanation.
“Do I really want to know?” Deke asked.
“No but you need to know what might be coming,” Chance advised.
Deke having been through many challenges and fights, looked resolute for another. “Ok, lay it out for me.”
Chance explained it, “Destiny is only four years old. She was covered in grime and bruises. She was afraid to even eat without permission. Her mom walked away from her yesterday and didn’t come back for her. Instead, she went back to her husband, Lester Pearlman. Then we found out that Lester owes some serious coin to Jonah Rossi.”
Deke growled when he heard the name Rossi. He knew as did everyone else in town what kind of man Rossi was. “So what are you gonna do about this?”
“We want to take Quinn and Destiny to the clubhouse for protection,” Chance explained his plan. “We have eyes on Lester, Rossi and Mona.”
“What do you need from Cassie?” Deke asked.
“We need her to delay Mona from getting Destiny back,” Byron suggested. “If Mona shows up, we need Cassie to tell Mona she turned Destiny over to DSS because Mona just left her here.”
“That will delay Mona enough for us to see what she does,” Chance picked up where his brother left off. “We want to know what she does about it. If she goes to DSS, she’ll have some questions to answer, if she goes to Lester and tells him what happened, we can watch and see what he does about it. I know Rossi isn’t going to be happy involving the DSS in this.”
Deke nodded. “You’re right about that. That’s the reason he’s gotten away with his thing for so long, because no one opens their mouth about what goes on behind closed doors.” He thought about it for a moment then nodded. “I’ll let Cassie know what’s going on. You guys get the girls back to the clubhouse.” He paused then added, “Does Sam know what’s going on?”
Chance sighed. “Yeah, he knows and while he wants to be the one to watch Lester or Rossi, he agrees with us that Amos and his men should do it. Rossi won’t know them but Sam and the Bastards stick out like a sore thumb.”
Deke barked out a laugh. “What was his reaction when you pointed that out?”
Chance just smiled. “Let’s just say I’m glad I’m still breathing?”
His brothers all laughed.
“I think your nine lives are just about up according to Sam’s thinking. It’s bad enough you’re dating his daughter, now you’re telling him to keep away from someone possibly threatening her? Yeah, I’d say you’re lucky to be breathing.” Deke chuckled. “Ok, get the girls to the protection of the club and I’ll hang around here. I’m not leaving Cassie and my kids if there’s trouble brewing. I won’t be leaving them alone. If anyone comes out there for Destiny, give me a call and I’ll do the same if anyone comes here looking for them.”
“All right, I’ll go get the girls.” Chance nodded and took off down the hall.
CHAPTER EIGHT
When Destiny saw the men standing in the hall, she tried to hide behind Quinn. Big men scared her even if she couldn’t tell anyone they did.
Quinn bent over and Destiny flinched as if she expected a slap.
Quinn whispered, “Oh honey, no one here is going to hurt you, especially me. I hope you can believe that.”
Destiny raised her head and stared at Quinn for a moment then reached around to hug her. She held her briefly but released her just as fast and stepped back.
Quinn got to her feet and reached down her hand waiting for Destiny to take it. After a moment, she reached out for Quinn’s hand then she crowd closer to her as they moved forward.
When Quinn reached where her brother was standing, she noted Cassie was staring at Destiny. When Cassie looked up at her, she saw the question in her eyes.
Quinn shook her head and Cassie’s lips tightened but she didn’t say anything in front of the girl.
Quinn tightened her grip on Destiny’s hand. She didn’t know what was going on but Chance did tell her that they were going back to the clubhouse. She hoped he would be able to tell her more once they got there. She glanced down at Destiny and knew this little girl was in bad trouble. Quinn had made up her mind last night she would be there to protect her from any more harm.
They walked as a group out to the truck. When they got in and drove away Quinn held Destiny on her lap. She knew she should be in her own seatbelt but Destiny wouldn’t let her go. Quinn allowed her to sit on her lap and she belted them both in the seat.
The truck itself was an older vehicle, so there was only one bench seat as the girls were sitting in the middle. Byron was driving and Chance sat shotgun. No one said a word as they drove out to the clubhouse.
Once they got there, everyone got out of the truck and walked inside.
Sam stood there as though he’d been waiting for them to arrive. He looked over his daughter for a moment to make sure she was ok then his eyes went to the small child holding her hand. She looked so damn small and scared he didn’t know what to make of her.
The little girl had longish dark brown hair and eyes so solemn they almost scared Sam. There were hardly any signs of life in them and for someone so young this was shocking to see. Then he noticed the bruises on her face and arms. Sam snapped his eyes to Quinn and realized that she was well aware of what he saw.
Sam’s lips tightened and he had to look away for a moment. When he got his emotions under control, he looked back at his daughter. He walked closer then had to stop when Destiny took a step behind Quinn and hid her face.
Quinn turned to lift the girl into her arms.
Destiny buried her face in Quinn’s neck and held her body so stiffly she almost fell out of Quinn’s arms.
“Oh, baby girl,” Quinn whispered in Destiny’s ear. “No one here is going to hurt you. You don’t have to be afraid. I got you sweetheart.”
Destiny relaxed a little but was still stiff in her arms. She buried her face even further into Quinn’s neck and held her arms around her tightly.
Reva came over to them and asked, “Are you guys hungry? Can I fix you some breakfast or something?”
Quinn nodded. “Thank you Reva. That would be great.” She peeked at Destiny and asked, “Are you hungry sweetheart?”
Destiny nodded but didn’t say anything.
Reva smiled and gently rubbed Destiny’s back. “Okay sweetheart, would you like some pancakes and bacon?”
Destiny looked confused for a moment then looked at Quinn.
Quinn smiled and answered for her, “That sounds wonderful Reva. Thank you.”
Reva nodded. “Ok you guys find a table and I’ll get you something to eat.”
“Come on sweetheart, let’s find a seat.” Quinn went over to a table and sat down.
Destiny turned and her gaze searched the room.
A few minutes later, Reva returned with two plates of food. Quinn shifted Destiny to her own chair but brought the chair close to her own. She then reached for the fork and the knife Reva set down beside her and began cutting Destiny’s pancake into bite size pieces for her. Adding syrup, she pushed the plate a little closer to where Destiny was sitting and gave the little girl a fork. “Here you go sweetheart. You eat that now okay?”
Reva came back with a cup of coffee for Quinn and a small glass of milk for Destiny.
Destiny looked over at Quinn.
“Yes that’s for you, honey. You can drink that along with your breakfast.”
Destiny nodded and took a bite of her pancake. Her eyes opened wide and she took another bite. She couldn’t help herself. Sh
e ate until there was nothing more on her plate. Her little belly was full.
Quinn just stared at her then lifted her head and found Reva’s eyes. Quinn’s throat tightened as she ate her own breakfast. She could hardly swallow as she thought about how much this little girl had suffered in her short lifetime.
Then Jackie came over to the table and stared at Destiny. “Hi.”
Quinn smiled. “She might not be able to speak but she hears just fine.”
“Can she come over to my table and color with me?” Jackie asked.
“You can ask her.” Quinn nodded.
Jackie turned to Destiny and smiled. “You want to come over and color with me? My mom bought me some new coloring books and some brand new colors.”
Destiny looked quickly over at Quinn.
“You can go if you want to. Jackie isn’t going to hurt you and I’ll be right here if you get scared.”
Destiny turned back to stare at Jackie for a moment then got down off her chair. She walked over to the table Jackie sat down at but when she got there, she looked back at Quinn first before she sat down.
Jackie shoved a coloring book and some crayons at her then opened another coloring book and began coloring.
Destiny sat there for a moment then picked up a color. She watched Jackie for a moment then laid the color on the paper. D she looked frustrated but kept trying.
Jackie watched her for a moment then told her, “You have to try to stay in the lines. It looks a lot better that way.” His voice wasn’t loud or rude. Just stating a fact.
Destiny looked up at him and nodded.
“Has that child never colored before?” Reva asked.
“I doubt it,” Quinn acknowledged. “I don’t think anyone has cared about what she could be doing by this time. No one paid attention to her before.”
Sam came over to her table and sat down. “Well, baby girl what kind of shit storm have you gotten yourself into this time?”
Quinn turned to her father and tears rolled down her cheeks. “Oh Sam, I couldn’t just leave her all alone. I just couldn’t do it.”