“Here. Sit down. Take a load off,” he said.
“I’m so worried, Saint. Mason’s… he’s…”
“Our son will be all right. I promise you, if there’s anyone on this planet capable of finding him and retrieving him, it’s us.”
“How are you not scared?”
“What makes you think I’m not scared?”
“You… you stand so strong. So sure of yourself. You don’t cry. You don’t break down. You’re not weak like me.”
He cupped my cheeks with his hands and drew my eyes to his. Staring me down as he turned his whole body toward me.
“You’re not weak, Amberly. You’ve survived. And survivors aren’t weak. You’re going against everything you’ve known for the past seven years because of the safety of our child. That isn’t weakness. That’s the strength of a mother. The strength of a bull going after its children. You fought for your life, and now you’re fighting for his. And that makes you stronger than any of us in this fucking clubhouse.”
I whimpered before I thrust myself forward, capturing his lips with mine. His hand gravitated to the back of my head, holding me there as our tongues explored one another’s mouths. He scooted his rocking chair closer to mine. I still ended up in his lap, though. He leaned back, rocking us gently as his arm wrapped around behind me. With my arms sliding around his neck.
Then, we sat there in silence. Until…
“Will you tell me about him?” Saint asked.
I paused. “About Mason?”
“What’s he like? What does he like to do? Does he have any food allergies? Does he enjoy sports?”
I smiled softly. “He um… no. No food or medicinal allergies. Though, he doesn’t like peaches.”
“Don’t blame him. The texture’s weird.”
I giggled. “He’s got an equal mixture of our eyes, too. They never fully changed over after he turned five. He was born with your icy blue eyes. But some flakes of brown crept in after he turned five. They haven’t ever fully changed over, so he’s got blue and brown eyes.”
“I bet they’re beautiful, Amberly.”
I swallowed hard. “They’re perfection.”
“Tell me more. Anything. Everything. What does he smell like?”
I giggled. “Like sweaty baby boy and talcum powder. And he’s got my freckles across his nose. They wrinkle up when he laughs. Oh! And he’s a silent laugher. When he really gets going? All sound mutes itself.”
“I’d say I can’t wait to hear it someday, but…”
I laughed as I swatted at him, watching as his eyes found mine. Such desperation. Such anticipation to meet his own son. It made me sick with guilt that I’d hid this from him. That I never went back. That I never told him.
“We can’t change the past, but we’re here now. That’s all that matters,” Saint said.
“How can you be so kind to me right now?” I asked softly.
He shrugged. “Because I love you. And I’ve got many nights going forward to punish you in all the best ways.”
I blushed. “Well, I guess this is where I say I’m looking forward to it.”
“Are you, though?”
I paused before nodding. “Actually, I am.”
We kept up our conversation about Mason, and I focused on the little things. How he liked playing tag, but not soccer. How he used to love being rocked to sleep. How I hoped he still enjoyed those things so I could experience them with him again. I told Saint how much our son reminded me of him. How I saw Saint every time I looked down at our baby boy. I kept going on and on, reliving memories from when he was first born and telling Saint all about my labor and delivery.
Until Rock popped his head out.
“Hate to break up the pow-wow, but I’ve got something.”
“Wait, already?” I asked.
Saint stood up with me in his arms. “What is it?”
“It was easy to track down his car with the description your girl gave. Got a shot of his full license plate since he got clocked blazing through a red light about ten miles from here.”
“What does that mean?” I asked.
Saint chuckled. “It means he knows where that bastard’s car is parked.”
He carried me quickly inside and settled me at the kitchen table. Sutton dropped a plate of food and a glass of juice in front of me, then silently chastised me to eat. But I kept one ear trained on Saint and Rock as they talked in the living room. I watched as a few of the guys gathered around them, all talking amongst themselves. And as I ate lunch with Sutton mindlessly, I tried to eavesdrop enough to figure out the next part of their plan.
Not so I could report it. But so I could support them. If at all possible.
“Brewer, I need you contacting your friends at the precinct. Tell them a boy’s life is at stake here and I’m sure they’ll be willing to help,” Rock said.
“Of course. You got it. I’ll make the call now.”
“Saint, once we hear back from the police, we’re heading out to this place. We need to go with backup. We can’t raid that place by ourselves and not expect them to—”
Rock peeked over at me and cut off his sentence.
“It’s okay. Just say it,” Saint said.
Rock sighed. “We can’t go in there guns blazing by ourselves and not expect to be carrying your son’s body out. If we get the police involved with all this, we stand a chance against Lars and against getting your son back alive.”
“Then, do it,” I said with my mouth full.
I stared at all the guys as I took a sip of my juice.
“Do whatever it takes to get my son back breathing,” I said.
“And that task just got a hell of a lot easier,” Brewer said.
He came back into the fold as my eyes darted over to him.
“What’s the word?” Rock asked.
“Turns out, the license plate we had is an SUV they’ve been chasing down for weeks. It’s been spotted at crime scenes around the city, so they’re willing to work with us under the usual agreements,” Brewer said.
“Which are… what?” Sutton asked.
“No unnecessary killing. No superseding the law to get shit done. And in response, if we follow those rules, any assault and killing on our part will be fervently excused,” Brewer said.
I saw Saint’s worried eyes on me. I knew what he was thinking. He was worrying himself over what I thought. Over my opinion of this lifestyle. But it didn’t shock me as much as I thought it would. It didn’t take me aback as much as I figured it out. I nodded my head before taking another bite of my sandwich, feeling Sutton smile at me.
“Well, what are you guys waiting for? It’s time to go get our son,” I said.
25
Saint
“All right, Amberly. You stay here and—”
“Wait, you think I’m staying here?” she asked.
I paused. “Yes. That’s what you’re doing.”
“No. Not when my son is involved.”
“Amberly, Vlad is going to be there. The whole of the mafia. If this goes badly—”
“You said it yourself, the police are going to be there, right? Well, they’re going to need my testimony for their records. And Mason is going to want to see his mother. As much as it sucks, he doesn’t know how you are. He’s going to be scared. He’s going to be frightened. And there’s a small chance he won’t want to come back with you if I’m not there.”
I winced. Her words hurt, but they weren’t wrong. However, the idea of her coming with us pissed me off. I didn’t want her in harm’s way any longer. She’d endured enough.
“Saint,” Diesel said.
“Oh, no. I know that tone of voice,” I said.
“She’s got a point,” Bear said.
“She’s already been through enough! Why can’t she stay here with Sutton and the rest of the girls?” I asked.
“Yeah, no. I’m going,” Sutton said, snickering.
“Thank you,” Amberly said.
&nbs
p; “Fucking he—seriously? Really? This is how this is going down?” I asked.
“We don’t have much of a choice. The police are already on the move. If we want to even meet them at the scene, we have to go. Now,” Brewer said.
“Fucking hell,” I murmured.
I watched Sutton and Amberly shove the rest of their sandwiches into their face. And after chasing it down with their juice, they followed us out the door. Neither of them looked ready to go into any sort of a firefight. Amberly’s hair was still mussed from our encounter. I wasn’t even sure she had a damn bra on. Sutton wore booty shorts and one of Cage’s sweatshirts along with knee-high boots, of all things.
But that didn’t stop Amberly from having good points.
“All right. Fall into formation, guys. Rock and Brewer are leading the way, and I’m bringing up the rear,” Diesel said.
“What’s formation?” Amberly asked.
“Don’t hate me for this, but the less questions you ask, the easier this is going to go,” I said.
I handed her a helmet and she leveled me with her stare. I sighed before I leaned over, kissing her against her forehead. She was strong-willed, I’d give her that. It wasn’t a strength I was used to, either. A couple days ago, she was meek. And mild. Shaking with fear and nerves. But I guess that was the mother in her. The protective mother that would do anything to make sure her child is safe and sound.
“Better get used to it. Because it won’t change,” Knox said, chuckling.
He slapped me on the back, then we all jogged out to our bikes. We struck up our engines and fell into formation, roaring down the road. Brewer navigated the way, with Rock keeping an eye out for anyone that might ambush us. But the second we heard sirens and saw police cruisers screaming around us, we knew we’d be fine.
And that we were headed in the right direction.
Amberly clung to me so tight I felt her racing heartbeat against the middle of my back. She rested her head between my shoulders, her hands gripping my leather jacket. I knew she was nervous. I was nervous, too. I had no idea how any of this would go down. Or even if Mason was still alive for us to even rescue.
But I had to keep hope. I had to stay strong, because Amberly only had the energy to stay strong for our son.
Which meant I had to stay strong for the both of us.
We rumbled down the road with police cruisers and ambulances flying by us. But once we saw the black SWAT vehicle, I saw Brewer look back at us. He cut a tight left, careening off the main road with all of us following behind. And after a small trek through Redding’s patchy woods, we came out on the other end.
Behind the motel currently being raided.
“Down on your knees! Hands behind your head!”
“Gun! Gun! Gun!”
“Put the weapon down now!”
“Runner! We got a runner!”
A man in a suit charged us. Running for dear life with a woman tossed over his back. And before anyone could blink, Rock slid off his bike. He pulled his weapon, aimed his gun, and shot the man directly in the chest.
We all watched as he fell to his knees, and Amberly quickly took off from my bike.
“Leslie!” she exclaimed.
“Amberly! No!” I yelled.
She rushed over to the girl on the ground, not giving a care in the world as to the dying man beside her. SWAT came over to us and redirected our efforts, quickly pulling us into the action. I peered over my shoulder at Amberly. I watched her help the girl up from the ground. The two of them hugged tightly before Sutton rushed over to them, trying to get them toward the side of the building.
“Keep your head in the game. We’re almost there,” Ryker said.
I focused my efforts on the direction of the police force. I’d never worked with them before. But apparently they weren’t strangers to us. Some of us fell behind the SWAT team. Others stuck with individuals police officers. A few men were gunned down who attempted to run, but most of the men were arrested. SWAT officers kicked down doors, freeing starved and battered women from their hell holes. They cried and clung to the men in uniform as suit after suit stumbled out of that place in handcuffs. I wanted to put a bullet between each one of their fucking eyes. I wanted to watch them beg for their lives before I put an end to them.
And when my eyes locked with Vlad, he stiffened.
“Get in the damn car,” the police officer groaned.
I grinned at him, watching him get hauled away in handcuffs. I holstered my weapon as SWAT started clearing the rest of the motel of the women that needed more than simple medical attention. Ambulances came and went, rushing them to hospitals with psychiatric staff on duty. But my focus was on Vlad.
And how he’d never see the light of day again from his cramped little prison cell.
“Mason!”
“Mommy!”
“Oh, my gosh. Mason.”
I whipped around at the sound of their voices. I rushed away from the police car carrying Vlad off, his presence no longer important. I weaved through the officers. I pushed through SWAT. I clamored through the crew in order to get to the front door, where I heard their cries of rejoicing.
“Oh, my sweet boy. I’m here. I’m here, and I’m never going away. Okay? I promise you that. Always,” Amberly said.
“Mommy, I missed you so much,” Mason said through his cries.
His mass of dirty blonde hair covered Amberly’s face. He clung to her. Tightly. Never wanting to let go. I walked over and dipped down, reaching out to see if he’d let me touch him. But when he spotted me, he jumped back.
“Mommy, who’s that?” Mason asked.
“You know how these police officers saved you?” Amberly asked.
Mason nodded but refused to take his eyes off me. And she’d been right. His icy blue eyes were peppered with specks of brown. With a dark smattering of freckles over his nose and his cheeks. He was beautiful. Absolute perfection. And in that moment, I made a promise to myself.
No matter what, my son, we’ll be the family you deserve.
“Yeah,” Mason said softly.
“Well, this man saved me. Like they saved you. He’s good. He’s a good person. I promise,” she said.
“Hi. I’m Saint,” I said, holding out my hand.
Mason looked down at it warily before looking over at his mother. I waited patiently, hoping I’d get to feel my son’s skin for the first time.
“Go on. It’s okay. I’m right here. No one’s ever taking that away,” Amberly said.
And that gave him the courage to shake my hand.
I held back tears as his hand slipped into mine. So small. So soft. So warm. I shook his hand until he dropped it, trying my best not to break down in front of the two of them. But even as he hugged his mother, he couldn't stop watching me.
“You can ask me anything,” I said.
Mason wrinkled his nose. “Everyone says I don’t look like my mommy.”
“Well, that’s not true. I think you look a lot like your mommy,” I said.
“But…”
I paused. “But what?”
“Why don’t I look like my mommy, but I look like you?” he asked.
I looked over at Amberly, waiting for her to take the reins on this question. She picked up him into her arms and I stood with them. Casing around us, just in case there were any other threats to be had. My hand fell against her back as she cradled our son, and I took a chance in that moment.
I placed my hand against Mason’s back.
And I didn’t feel him flinch away from me.
“I’ll explain that later, okay, sweetie? Maybe over ice cream?” Amberly asked.
“Can it be sherbet?” Mason asked.
“Mmm, sherbet. My favorite,” I said.
Amberly rolled her eyes. “Of course, it is.”
“Can I ask another question?” Mason said.
“Sure, sweet boy. Anything,” she said.
“Is Saint my daddy?”
He peeked out at me
from beyond his mother’s neck and she sighed.
“Yes, sweetheart. Saint is your father. The one I used to tell stories to you about,” Amberly said.
“You used to tell stories about me?” I asked.
Mason nodded. “Mhm. One time, she told me you passed her a note in school telling her how pretty she was. And that it made her smile a lot.”
I snickered. “I remember that, yes.”
“And she told me another story about how whenever you’d try to talk with her, it made her feel all fluttery inside.”
“All right. That’s enough,” Amberly said.
“Uh huh. What else did she tell you about me?” I asked coyly.
“We can discuss it over ice cream,” she said.
“You mean sherbet,” Mason and I said in unison.
Then, I looked into my son’s eyes and watched him smile at me.
The three of us laughed as police and SWAT officers walked around us. I leaned forward, pressing a soft kiss to Amberly’s temple. I ruffled my son’s hair, not wanting to push any affectionate boundaries too soon.
But my hope for the future was that I’d be able to pick him up and kiss him all over. Making up for all the time I’d missed giving him the love he deserved.
The love I already felt for him.
The police officers wanted Amberly to give a statement about her time with the mafia, so it was up to me to entertain Mason. Which wasn’t as hard as I thought it would have been. He was a typical boy who enjoyed dirt, rocks, bugs, and bikes. So, when I showed him which bike was mine, he immediately wanted to get on it.
“Cool,” he said, smiling.
And his smile warmed my heart.
I knew the guys were staring. But I didn't pay them any mind. As far as I was concerned, our threat with the mafia and all this Lars nonsense was coming to a close. The police were officially involved now. And after a raid that locked up nine different men and freed over twenty women sold into sexual slavery? It wouldn't be too long before the feds were breathing down Norden’s neck.
Which was enough cause for a celebration on our end.
After a bit of shuffling around, Amberly and Sutton—along with Mason—were in a cab heading back to the clubhouse. Cage and I followed the cab with our bikes, keeping a lookout instead of getting comfortable. Like the other guys were. The two of us knew all too well how easy it was for the mafia to grow two more heads when one was sliced off. And the last thing I needed was anything to befall my newly-reunited family.
Dead Souls MC: Prospects Series Books 1-5 Page 45