Gambler

by KJ Dahlen

  “At least now we know who we’re dealing with now, and why,” Black Jack announced to the group.

  They heard the door open and watched as Zipper joined the group. “I was checking the security tapes Hound sent over earlier but there was nothing on them that would help identify the man we’re after but I also looked on the city’s security’s cameras and they would not appreciate the much, but I found one frame I think will show us who we’re looking for. I think I found the bastard. The picture is dark and it’s blurry but I got him on film.” He tossed a surveillance picture down on the table.

  Paige and Cricket both gasped as they saw his face. He was a little older than the last time they’d seen him but it was the same man.

  Paige couldn’t look at him without feeling the overwhelming fear squeezing her soul so she buried her face in Gambler’s chest.

  Gambler tightened his arms around her and whispered in her ear, “I’ve got you sweetheart. He won’t get to you without going through me first.”

  Paige buried her face in his neck. “You can’t stop him. Nobody can stop him. He’ll go through you and everyone else standing in his way. I don’t want to die and I don’t want him to kill you either. I plan to spend my life with you and Dusty.”

  “I got plans of my own too in that regard. You are mine now and always. I’m not about to let that bastard take you away from me.”

  “First things first.” Deke reminded them all. “First thing we do, is find that kid of yours Gambler. Then we can find this bastard and take him out of the equation.”

  Chapter Five

  Even though they searched all afternoon, Dusty wasn’t found. It was getting dark by the time Cricket got home and walked out on her patio just off the bedroom she shared with Raine. She gasped and hurried over to one of the lounge chairs and sank to her knees beside it.

  There was Dusty curled up under a blanket fast asleep. She looked him over good and found a path of dried tears on his cheeks. She reached out and with a finger traced his features carefully. She didn’t want to wake him but she did want to know he was ok.

  “Oh Dusty, what have I done to you?” she whispered. Leaning toward him, she laid her head down beside his and took a moment to breath in his scent. She got up again, and brushed the hair out of his face. “I’m so sorry I ever gave you over to him. I thought he would protect you and hold you dear to his heart like I did.” She brushed his forehead again. “I’m so sorry baby. I never meant to hurt you.”

  Taking her phone out of her pocket, she called Raine. “Honey, I found him. He’s safe.”

  “Oh, thank god.” Raine exclaimed. “Where is he?”

  “At our house,” Cricket told him. “I found him asleep on the patio outside our bedroom.”

  “I’ll tell Gambler. He’ll probably be right over to take him home.”

  “Maybe Dusty should stay here tonight,” she suggested. “We need to find out what happened and where he’s been all day.”

  “Sweetheart...” Raine paused before he said something she didn’t want to hear.

  “I know he’s not my son,” she assured him. “But I loved him first and he’s as close to being my son as he is Gambler’s son. I know I don’t have any rights to him but it breaks my heart to see him in this sort of pain. Please Raine, I need to hold him tonight and assure him he’s very much loved. Please...”

  Raine sighed. “Ok baby. I’ll let Gambler know. But tomorrow he has to go back to his dad. Agreed?”

  “Agreed,” she whispered into the phone. She slipped the phone back into her pocket and lifted the boy to carry him inside. She took him to the guest room just down the hall from her bedroom and laid him on the bed.

  She went to check on her own babies and found them sleeping peacefully. Molly had taken care of them all day while the rest of the club had been searching for Dusty.

  Looking down at her babies sleeping faces, she remembered Dusty when he was this age. She might have been under Cordy’s control but not even Cordy could take away her dreams for a life with Dusty, free of her. She had had so many dreams of watching Dusty grow up to be a fine boy then watching him grow to manhood.

  She’d wanted so much for him and thought when she found Gambler, he would at least have a good life. She didn’t know what had happened but she would find out. If Gambler had hurt him in any way shape or form, she would take the boy back.

  It would cause problems between the brothers but on this, she would stand firm. She’d been alone before and to protect Dusty, she would do it again. She had protected him against his mother and if she had to, she would protect him against his dad too.

  She left her own babies to check on Dusty. She crawled in bed with him and held him close.

  Dusty snuggled into her arms and fell back asleep in her arms.

  Cricket ran her fingers through his hair for the longest time. She looked down into his face and found him looking back at her. Cricket smiled and hugged him close to her for a moment. Then she broke the hug and asked, “What’s going on buddy? Why did you disappear today? Everyone was worried sick about you.”

  “Really?” Dusty frowned. “Why were they worried? I was okay.”

  “But we didn’t know that did we?” She admonished him gently. “No one could find you and we didn’t know if you got hurt and couldn’t get back here or where you were in the first place. You’re only seven, that’s too young to be out on your own.”

  “Aww Cricket I was ok. I wanted to find my own thinking place.”

  “Thinking place?” She smiled at him.

  “Yeah, don’t you remember telling me and Raine about when you were a kid and you found a place where you could go when things got tough at home? You called it your thinking place.” Dusty wouldn’t look at her while he explained where he’d been. “Anyway, I found a great thinking place not too far from here. I’m close enough—”

  “Dusty,” Cricket interrupted his tale. “What you did today scared everyone who loves you. You can’t just disappear for the day. I was worried sick about you, and so was your dad, Paige and Raine and everyone else.”

  “I doubt my dad even knew I was gone,” Dusty muttered.

  Cricket lifted his chin by hooking her finger underneath it and raising his face to her own. “What’s going on little man?” she asked quietly. “What has you so upset with your dad?”

  Dusty fought a silent battle inside his head. On the one hand, if he told her she would be mad at his dad and cause a lot of trouble. On the other hand, maybe she would allow him to live with her and the babies if she knew how Gambler really felt about him.

  “Dusty,” she warned him.

  “My dad said he was sorry he ever had a child,” Dusty whispered his worse fear.

  “He what?” Cricket was stunned by his admission.

  “I overheard him say that to Paige yesterday morning before he left for work. Then I heard him tell her that he couldn’t wait to have a family with her.” Tears welled and spilled over in his eyes as he buried his face in her chest.

  Cricket held him close to her and rocked him slightly. “Oh baby,” she whispered in his hair. “I’m so sorry.”

  Dusty cried himself to sleep again and Cricket laid there for a long time.

  She heard Raine come in and she met his eyes when he found them but she shook her head when he wanted to come into the room.

  He stared at her for the longest time then turned and left the doorway.

  She laid there for a while longer then carefully got up without disturbing Dusty.

  A few minutes later, she found Raine sitting in the living room drinking a beer. She walked to the kitchen and got a beer for herself then joined her husband on the sofa. Neither of them said a word for a long moment. Then Raine asked, “What’s going on with Dusty? Why did he run away today?”

  Cricket sighed and ran her fingers along her brow before she answered his question, “Why would he think Gambler doesn’t love him anymore?”

  Raine was quiet for the longest time
before he exploded, “What the fucking hell does that mean?”

  Cricket turned to glare at her husband. “Dusty overheard Gambler say that he wished he’d never had a child. Then he heard him tell Paige he couldn’t wait to start a family with her.”

  Raine stared at her for a moment then shook his head. “I don’t for one moment believe that. I can’t, I know Gambler. He would never say something like that, not to anyone especially Dusty. You know he loves that boy.”

  “I thought he did. Now I’m not so sure.” Cricket huffed.

  Raine snarled at her. “Gambler may be a lot of things but he isn’t the type of man who would turn his back on his own son. Dusty must have misunderstood something he said.” Raine ran his fingers through his own hair. “I can’t believe he would say that, hell I can’t believe he would even think that let alone say it out loud. Dusty must be wrong in what he heard.”

  Cricket sneered. “I don’t know what he heard or didn’t hear but that boy is not going home with Gambler if he actually said those words out loud. Dusty has never had anyone but me to care for him or give a shit about him. I handed him over to your brother, to your whole family thinking that maybe he would have a chance at a normal life. I loved him enough for that. I also love him enough to take him back. That boy may not be my child but I’m the only one who loves him enough to fight for him and by god, I will fight for him.”

  ‘Honey, please think about this for a moment.” Raine tried to reason with her. “Let’s get Gambler’s side of the story and figure out what happened before you make up your mind about this.” He paused then added, “Gambler loves that boy too. We all do. You gave him over to us because it was the right thing to do.”

  “And I’ll take him back for the same reason.” Cricket glared at him.

  “No it wouldn’t be for the same reason sweetheart.” Raine shook his head. “It would be because Gambler screwed up. He may have said something Dusty took wrong or something Dusty misunderstood. I know for a fact my brother loves that kid to death and if you try to take him back, you’ll hurt the whole family. We all love him too much for that.”

  Cricket was silent for a long time before she asked him, “Do you know where he was today?”

  Raine shook his head.

  “Do you remember the day we went furniture shopping for the babies? We were in the truck, you, me and Dusty and he asked why he had the name Dusty? Do you remember?”

  Raine nodded. “You broke my heart that day when you told us about your thinking place.”

  Cricket nodded. “Yeah, well that’s where Dusty was today, looking for his own thinking place. A place he could go all his own, somehwere nobody else would know about. Where he could go to think about things when the world got to be too heavy for him to handle.”

  “How do you know this?” Raine frowned.

  “I asked him where he was. I told him everybody was looking for him and we were all panicked when we couldn’t find him. He seemed surprised to hear everyone was looking for him. He didn’t think he was that important that anyone would care if he was gone or not.”

  Raine frowned at her words. Had everyone given the boy the feeling he wasn’t wanted or needed? He hadn’t thought so but the last few weeks had been busy with getting the business set up and the babies schedule and everything else going on.

  He reached for his phone and called his brother. Gambler needed a wakeup call on his son.

  “Who are you calling now?” Cricket demanded.

  “My brother,” Raine told her harshly. “He’s half out of his mind with worry right now and he needs to know what’s going on with Dusty. I’m not going to keep this from him. He’s got enough on his mind with this Paige thing.”

  “This Paige thing?” Cricket stared at her husband in frustration. “You make Sinner sound like no more than a bug you would squash under your thumb.”

  Raine slid off the couch and came over to where she was sitting. Kneeling in front of her, he looked her in the eye. “Sinner will not come close to either you or Paige. That I promise you. You and Paige mean the world to me and Gambler. If he does come after you or her, he’ll find out what pain is really like. He’ll meet the Sin’s Bastards in force and he will not survive the meeting.”

  Cricket raised her hand and cupped his cheek. Tears rolled down her face when she whispered, “You don’t know what kind of man Sinner is. He’s more like Cordy and Bane than you imagine. He’s cold and cruel and he doesn’t care who he has to hurt to get his victim. I just found you. I sure as hell don’t want to lose you, not now, not ever.”

  Raine smiled slightly. “He’s never met anyone like us before either. We’re Moore’s and we’re stubborn men. Not only that but we have the Bastards behind us. They aren’t gonna let anyone come here and cause trouble. They will have our backs.” Raine leaned forward and brushed his lips against hers. Cricket leaned into the kiss and Raine groaned, “Don’t start something we can’t finish.” He growled. “We have several weeks to go before we can make love.”

  Cricket sighed. “I know but I can’t help it. I love you so much.”

  “As I love you and as soon as we get the go ahead, I’ll show you exactly how much I love you but that isn’t gonna be tonight.”

  “Damn.” Cricket pouted but before she could say anything more there was a loud knock on the door.

  Raine got up to answer the door.

  Then Gambler and Paige were in her living room and Gambler was glaring at her. “Where is my son?” He demanded harshly.

  Cricket gave him her glare. Then she held up her hand as she said, “Before we get into all of that I have one question I need to ask you.”

  “Cricket, you’re my sister in law and I don’t have a problem with that but if think for one moment you can keep my son from me you would be wrong. He’s my son not yours, now I will ask you again, where is Dusty?”

  Cricket rose to her feet and glared at him. “I don’t fucking care who you are! I’m going to have my say. Dusty was hurt by something he heard you say. I want to know if it’s true or not. Did you say you regretted having a child? Did you say that you couldn’t wait to start a family with Paige?”

  Paige gasped and raised her hand to cover her mouth. She looked at Cricket for a moment then she turned to Gambler.

  But it was too late, Cricket had seen the truth in her eyes.

  “I did say something to that effect but not exactly that.” Gambler ran his fingers through his hair. “I was standing at the door of his bedroom yesterday morning just watching him sleep. Paige came up behind me and I said I regretted ever having a child with Cordy. I told her that I thanked god that you were there to raise him because I wasn’t sure he would have survived with Cordy as a mother. She sure as hell wouldn’t have raised him to be the wonderful young boy he is today. If she had been left alone with him he never would have been born. I know that much anyway.” He paused then told them, “I told Paige I couldn’t wait to have more kids with her. I wanted Dusty to know what having brothers and sisters felt like. I couldn’t wait to show him what being part of a big family was really like.”

  Cricket shook her head. “That’s not what he heard. He came over here with a broken heart. He’s under the impression that now that you found Paige, you don’t want him anymore. He came over here to make sure I still loved him, that I still wanted him.”

  “And today? Where was he today?” Gambler asked.

  Cricket motioned for everyone to sit down. She had to share her past with them and that wasn’t something she wanted to do but if they were going to understand Dusty, she knew she had to share with them.

  Chapter Six

  Gambler and Paige sat together on the sofa while Cricket and Raine sat in one of the chairs.

  Raine entwined his fingers with hers and just held her hand knowing this was going to be hard for her to do. He wanted her to know she wasn’t alone anymore.

  Cricket clasped her hands together. “The day we went shopping for the babies, when we first fou
nd out I was having twins, Dusty was concerned about what we were going to name them. He thought his name was lame and didn’t understand why his mother would give him such a stupid name. I told him Cordy didn’t name him I did. I told him that when my mom died, I searched for and found a thinking place. In this place, I would talk to my mom and nobody could tell me I was crazy. One day when I went there early in the morning, I saw my thinking place covered in angel dust- it was only dew but the sight of it made me feel like my mom was really there. The day he was born, I gave him that name because I knew he would become special to me in a way that no one else would. The first time I saw him it was like he was dusted in angel dust.” She took a deep breath and finished her story, “Today he went looking for his own thinking place. He just didn’t think anyone would miss him. He said his thinking place was as special to him as mine had been to me.”

  “Where is he?” Gambler asked impatiently. “I really need to talk to him about what he heard. I need him to know that I do love him. That he is my whole world, him and Paige. They are my reason for getting up in the morning, the reason I breathe. I am whole because of those two people. The two people I love the most, my son and my woman.”

  Cricket studied him for a long moment before she nodded at the hallway. “He’s in the guest room. You have one chance to make this right Gambler, one chance. Do not blow this.”

  Gambler got to his feet and walked down the hall.

  Paige glanced at her and smiled slightly. “I thought my sister was tough but in a fight for family, I think you’d win hands down. I’m sorry Dusty overheard his dad yesterday but Gambler does love that boy, and so do I. He’s a wonderful kid and I can’t wait to see the man he will become one day. You gave him so much and that alone tells everyone what kind of woman you really are. I hope that one day I can give my own child that much.”