by Erin Osborne
I’m not really sure what I’m getting myself into with this, but we’ll find out soon. Especially with the look on Rage’s face as he’s looking at the latest item I’ve added to the pile. He starts looking at the other ones like it and chooses one that has hearts on it too. Must be one for when I’m naughty and one when I’m good. Darcy glances over and sees the growing pile in his arms and I swear her face turns another whole level of red. Hey, I’m down to try anything once and this is a fun shopping trip for me. I’m learning all sorts of new things tonight.
“So, you think we need to get firecracker one or two of those?” Trojan asks Crash.
“Like hell you will!” she cries out, louder than intended I’m sure.
“Yeah, I think we need a few of them. That way we can have one handy most everywhere we are,” Crash states.
Darcy shuts her mouth at that and storms back over towards the racks of different colored vibrators. Just as she goes to round the corner, Wood comes from the opposite side and they run right into one another. Both go crashing to the floor and the display follows them down. I stand there in shock for a minute before and uncontrollable fit of laughter bursts from me. Even the menacing glances from Crash and Trojan don’t stop the laughter from flowing. Not from a single one of us.
“Are you serious?” Trojan yells out. “Every. Single. Time.”
Darcy is sputtering and trying to get up and away from Wood and the toys laying on the floor. I think it’s because one or two of the display models may have turned on and are vibrating their way across the floor. Wood is still laying on the floor looking up at the ceiling looking like he wishes it would open up and pull him away from yet another incident.
Crash and Trojan stalk their way over to the two and I can see that this isn’t going to end well. Wood is about to get his ass kicked and no one is doing anything to stop it. I look up at Rage and plead with him to step in. He just gives me a slight shake of his head to let me know he’s not getting involved in this mess. So, I make my way over to the foursome to see what kind of damage control I can do.
“Darcy, are you okay?” I ask, trying to snap her two Neanderthals out of their stupor.
“I think I am,” she says, looking at the mess all over the floor.
We both bend down and begin to pick the display up. The men see what we’re doing, and they put a stop to it. Instead, Crash, Trojan, and Wood all work together to pick the vibrating toys up and put them back on the rack. Once again, I can’t help giggling at the sight of these alpha males picking up a bunch of toys while the two of us look on in amusement. Before too long, Darcy is joining in on the laughter followed closely by the guys. In one quick decision, I managed to break the tension and stop Wood from having to drink out of a straw for the foreseeable future.
“Thank you, firefly,” Wood whispers to me as they put the last of the toys up.
Bailey walks over to us and lets us know that we need to get back to the clubhouse so we all make our way towards the register to cash out. Wood makes sure to stay far away from Darcy for the remainder of our time in the store. I really can’t blame him for that. Darcy is still sticking close to me and that’s fine. I don’t think she wants to see what the two men behind me are purchasing. Let’s just say that she’s going to have some eye-opening experiences when she finally gives in to the men.
As soon as we’re all checked out, I walk Darcy to her car. The men are following closely behind us. I hug her close to me and whisper that I’m always there for her. She tells me that one of these days we need to get together and go out. Even if it’s just the two of us. I know we haven’t known one another long, but she is quickly coming one of my good friends. Darcy is someone that pulls you in with how outrageous she is. Then you just have no choice but to fall in love with her. Probably what happened to the two men following her around like little lost puppy dogs.
Rage leads me back to the SUV and loads me in. Soon we’re on our way back to the clubhouse so we can get Kasey ready for bed and finish whatever is left. Eventually Rage will put everything under the tree in the house he got somehow. Tonight is the first night we’ll be in our new home. It’s not decorated yet. But, we have some furniture there and Kasey’s room is already completed. I can’t wait to get the inside done and have everything where it needs to go.
Rage
Climbing out of the warmth of our bed and being wrapped around Keegan, I make my way to where we stored the presents. It won’t be too long before Kasey is waking us up and I need to get everything under the tree. Keegan is still trying to figure out how I managed to get a tree, put it up, and get it decorated before she even stepped foot in the house. Having prospects around is a wonderful thing. I told them what I wanted, and they made sure to get it done.
Even though I told my girl I didn’t want, or need, anything for Christmas, she made sure to get me stuff. Honestly, I have everything I could possibly want between my daughter, the love of my life, and two new babies on the way. The only thing that can’t go under the tree is one of the gifts I got for Keegan. Without her knowledge, I finished the nursery and I’m going to show it to her as soon as all the gifts under the tree are opened.
I take a few bites of the cookies that Skylar made and drink some of the milk that Kasey wanted to leave out for Santa. She was adamant that we do this and I’m not going to break her heart by not doing it. I cherish the days that prove how innocent my baby girl truly is. This isn’t going to last much longer, but I’m going to take what I can get for as long as I can.
As soon as I’m done, I make my way back into Keegan. She’s still asleep and I watch her for a few minutes. My girl is so relaxed and peaceful right now. There’s no worry about what the two assholes looking for her are going to do or where they are. Right now, I would do anything to keep this look on her face as long as I can. Realistically, I know that’s not going to happen. One day soon these two men are going to make their move and I hope that she’s by my side when they do.
“Daddy! Keegan! Santa’s here! Santa’s here!” Kasey comes barreling in our room, jumping on my side of the bed in her excitement.
“He is?” Keegan asks, wiping the sleep from her eyes and yawning.
“Yes! Come sees!” she says, jumping off the bed and running for the door.
“We’ll be right there,” I tell her, pulling the covers back and reaching for my sweats.
I watch Keegan head for the bathroom and finish getting dressed while she’s doing her thing. Once she’s back in the room, she throws one of my tees on over her shorts and we head out to find Kasey sitting in front of the tree waiting for us. She’s not waiting patiently as she’s bouncing on her little legs, eyeing all the gifts under the tree. I know she’s trying to decide what to open first.
“Why don’t I hand out the presents and you sit by Keegan?” I ask her.
“Okay daddy,” she says, climbing on the couch next to firefly.
I pick out a gift for each of us and our day begins. It shouldn’t take us that long to open everything. Then, I can show them both the nursery. Kasey saw part of it one day and has been pissed at me ever since. I wouldn’t let her back in the door to spoil the surprise for Keegan. Today, she can finally stop being mad and fall in love with it.
“Okay ladies,” I begin once the last gift has been opened. “There’s one more gift. It’s too big to fit under the tree so you’ll have to follow me.”
“Where is it daddy?” Kasey asks, trying to figure out what I’m talking about.
“It’s in the house still. Let’s go.”
Leading them down the hallway, I stop in front of the door Keegan and I decided would be the best for a nursery. Opening it up, I let the two ladies in my life enter before I walk in behind them. Keegan gasps and I can see the tears as she turns to look at me. Kasey is wandering around, touching everything in sight.
The walls of the nursery are painted a soft yellow since we’ll have a boy and girl in here. On one wall, there is space left for the cribs to sit
one end to the other. One crib is going to be decorated in pinks and teddy bears with the ultrasound picture saying ‘I’m a Girl’ above it. The other crib will be decorated in blues and motorcycles with the picture saying ‘I’m a Boy’ hanging above it. There’s a changing table, a few diapers and outfit’s hanging in the closet already. Little things that I’ve picked up along the way. Sitting by the windows are two glider rockers. This way we can both sit in here and take care of our children together.
“This is amazing!” Keegan tells me, wrapping her arms around me and laying a kiss on me. “It’s even better than anything I could have picked out myself. Thank you so much!”
“You don’t have to thank me, firefly. This is for our children and I wanted it to be special. It’s the best that I could do, and I’m glad that you like it.”
“I don’t like it. I love it!” she tells me, finally walking around.
I stand back and watch her take in every detail. The love and astonishment shining from her eyes tells me that I’ve managed to make her day. This isn’t something that either one of my girls was expecting to see today and I’m glad that I could make this special for them. Especially Keegan. Without her saying a word, you can tell she’s someone that hasn’t had a whole lot of good in her life. I’m glad that she chose me to bring that good to her.
We’ve had our time as a family to celebrate the holidays. Now, it’s time to head over to the clubhouse and celebrate with the rest of our family. The kids will get to open more gifts and then we’ll have dinner. I’m sure at one point or another the party will turn wild. That’s when I’ll bring my girls back home and relax with them. We’ll probably end up crashing in the living room and watching movies with bellies full of everything that Skylar and the rest of the women have spent days cooking.
On our walk over, we meet up with Whitney and Irish. Our two families enter the clubhouse together and it’s already semi-controlled chaos. Kids are all over the place waiting for the last ones to get there so gifts can be opened. They’re talking about what Santa has brought them and what they want to do with the rest of their day. Jamison and Anthony are kind of sitting back watching everyone. The same thing they always do.
“Daddy, can I plays with Zoey?” Kasey asks as soon as we get in the common room.
“Yeah.”
She takes off running in the direction of Tank and Maddie’s little girl. Anthony’s eyes snap in the direction of my daughter and I’m wondering how much I’m going to have to pay attention to the two of them as they get older. Every one of us already know that Jamison and Zoey follow one another around. Wherever that little girl goes, he’s not far behind her. I can easily see Anthony doing the same thing with my daughter. Looking across the room, I see that Glock has also witnessed the interaction between the two of them. He gives me a slight nod of his head to let me know that we’ll all be watching them as they grow and start noticing the differences between the two of them.
“Keegan and Whitney, can you help us in the kitchen please?” Maddie calls out. She looks crazed and like something’s on fire.
“Be right there,” my girl responds.
Before Keegan leaves my side, she gives me a kiss that leaves me wanting more. There’s no time for that now, but if she wants to play that game, we can definitely play that game. By the time I’m done with her, she’ll be begging me to take her to our room here and have my way with her. And, I just so happen to have one of the paddles we bought last night here. Keegan really doesn’t know what’s she’s getting into today.
Today has been long and the kids are starting to show that they’re getting tired. I’ve been ready to leave for a while now, but Keegan has been having such a good time with her cousin and the rest of the old ladies that I couldn’t bring myself to tell her I wanted to go home. Now, it’s a different story. Kasey is more than ready to go home and it’s showing. She’s rubbing her eyes and not as active. I want to get her out of here before she starts to get grumpy. A grumpy Kasey is not a fun one. At all.
“You ready to go firefly?” I ask her, walking up behind the chair she’s sitting in.
“Yeah,” she responds, yawning and trying to hide it.
Irish, Whitney, and I laugh at her attempt. She didn’t hide it at all and now I know for sure it’s time to go. At this rate, she’ll be asleep before I get our daughter into bed. Keegan needs to rest though so I’m not going to complain.
“Rage!” Grim calls out. “Need a minute.”
Walking over to my president, I wonder what could possibly be going on now. I don’t have to wait long as he leads me into his office and firmly shuts the door behind us. Cage and Joker are already in here and I know what I’m about to hear isn’t going to be good.
“I want you, Keegan, and Kasey to stay here tonight. There’s been someone in town askin’ for Keegan. We can’t be sure who it is right now, but I think it would be better for you to stay in the clubhouse tonight. Or until we find more information out.” Grim tells me, and I understand where he’s coming from. “At this point, your house is behind the fence, but we can keep more eyes on your family in here.”
“I know. It’s goin’ to kill her since we’ve only stayed one night. But, I’m goin’ to have to tell her what’s goin’ on. That’s the only way I’m goin’ to be able to convince her to stay here. That okay?”
“Yeah. We just wanted to let you know alone so you could figure out what you wanted to do.” he responds.
“I’ll take them to our room now then. She needs to sleep.”
“Give you a half hour and then I want to call church.”
I nod my head and make my way back over to Keegan. She can already tell something is going on from the look on my face. So, she stands up and makes her way over to Kasey. I lead them both back to our rooms in the clubhouse and we put our little girl to bed. As soon as we’re in our room, I sit her down and tell her what Grim just let me know.
“So, they’re starting to make their move?” she asks.
“It would appear so.”
“What happens now?”
“I’m headin’ to church where we’ll discuss our next steps. I want you to get some sleep and I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
“Who’s going to be here with us?”
“There’s goin’ to be a prospect outside the door. No one other than me will get in this room. I want you to lock the door and don’t open it up for anyone.”
“Okay.”
Keegan lays down on the bed and I know before I get back, she’ll be in pajamas. She’s just going to take a few minutes to rest before taking a shower and getting ready for bed. Without her saying a word, I hand her one of my shirts, giver her a kiss, and make my way towards the door. Turning, I take one last look at her laying in our bed. Firefly turns her head towards me and gives me the smile she saves just for me. Before I decide to join her in bed, I open the door and leave the room. I lock it behind me and warn the prospect he’ll suffer at least bodily harm if anything happens to my girls.
Chapter Seven
Rage
IT’S BEEN A FEW MONTHS SINCE Christmas and we still haven’t heard a word from Keegan’s dad and Sam. She’s not allowed to go out alone and I’m spending most of my time with her. It’s not that I don’t trust my brothers to protect her and Kasey with their lives, it’s that I want to be the one to be there. However, the main place she goes is to the doctor and that’s it.
“Rage, I need to get out of this clubhouse today,” Keegan announces as she enters our room from the bathroom. “I can’t stand being cooped up anymore. Please, take me to get something to eat or something.”
“I don’t know firefly. I don’t think it’s a good idea.”
“Is there anything I can do? It’s starting to feel like the walls are closing in on me,” she tells me, sitting on the bed.
“Let me talk to Grim and we’ll see what he has to say. I’ll be right back.”
I find Grim in his office and I know that he’s in a good mood to
day. He’s got music blaring, his feet are kicked up, and he just looks relaxed. Quickly, I explain the situation to him and he thinks about it for a few minutes before answering me. I hate when he does this, but I know he’s thinking about every possible scenario in advance of making any kind of decision.
“I guess you can. But, you’re goin’ to take Wood, Boy Scout, Cage, and Joker with you. Two in front, two in back. That understood?”
“Yes. Thank you.”
Making my way back to our room, I quickly let the four men know that we’re going to be leaving. They get ready as I’m going to get Keegan. I know Kasey’s going to be mad that she can’t go, but there’s nothing I can do about that. Bailey and Skylar will keep her occupied for the short amount of time that we’re gone though.
“Let’s go firefly,” I say entering the room.
“We can leave?” she asks, excitedly.
“Yeah. We have to get takeout and take four men with us, but we can go out. There and back. No extra stops and no sitting down to eat.”
“I can handle that. Just need to get away for a few minutes.”
We’re all making our way out the door when a black van blows through the front gate and comes to a screeching halt in front of us. The sliding door on the side slams open and I know that these men are here for my girl. I push her back into Cage and Wood’s waiting arms while the men inside reach out for her. Instead, they grab me and pull me into the van. Boy Scout and Joker are trying to pull me back out, but they aren’t successful. The door slams shut as I’m thrown to my back. A black bag is thrown over my head and I can hear the anguished screams of Keegan as we speed away.
After my hands and feet are finally tied together, a hand snakes up under the bag and I can feel myself slipping away. The last thoughts I have are of my daughter and Keegan. Of the babies that I’m more than likely not going to ever see and have a hand in raising.