Shelter (Red Rebels MC Book 5)

by C. D. Breadner

  “That’s better.”

  “So, I got some bad news, honey.”

  Both girls looked to her, but she was looking at Grace. Her oldest swallowed, then sat up. “What is it?”

  “Brian Crawford was found dead this morning.”

  The room was silent, then Grace exhaled. “What…what did they do to him?”

  “It wasn’t Knuckles’ friends,” she assured her.

  “What friends?” Annie asked, curious.

  “Just a minute, honey. Grace, Brian, and his uncle were both attacked while they slept last night. I was at the house this morning.”

  Grace’s mouth opened, but nothing came out. Instead, her skin paled under her freckles.

  “I’m sorry, Grace.” It took everything she had to sound like she was giving condolences. She hated the thought of that kid anywhere near her daughter, but going into all the ways the world was now better off wasn’t what Grace needed. “Are you okay?”

  “Do you need a hug?” Annie’s tone was completely serious.

  Grace nodded, and Annie got up to climb onto her sister’s lap and wrap her arms around Grace’s shoulders. “I’m sorry, Grace.”

  “What can we do for you?” Danielle asked. “What do you need?”

  Grace closed her eyes, and Annie wedged herself into the armchair next to her.

  “Honey?”

  Grace opened her eyes and inhaled sharply, eyes filling. Danielle got to her feet and headed for the chair, perching on the arm, and leaning along the back, arm around Grace’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, honey.”

  “No Mom, it’s not so much him. I think I always knew he wasn’t much of a friend but…oh shit. I fucked up.”

  Danielle’s stomach dropped slightly. “Fucked up how?”

  “Oh Mom…”

  “What is it? You can tell me anything, Grace.”

  “I’m so sorry, Mom. I’m…fuck. I’m pregnant.”

  -oOo-

  In a daze, Danielle walked through the automatic doors of the supermarket, Annie running ahead for the produce section to pick out potatoes for supper. Danielle veered towards the pharmacy area.

  Shock didn’t really encompass what she was feeling. She’d wandered into some surreal plain where her sixteen-year-old daughter was having sex with a twenty-three-year-old asshole, getting herself knocked up in the process.

  The worst part had come after that. Grace also added the wonderful tidbit that Brian had apparently taken photos of the encounter, and he was threatening to show them around if Grace opened her mouth about his big plans for drug dealing in Markham.

  Danielle had immediately upped her level of satisfaction that the prick had taken so long to fucking die.

  Grace wasn’t completely sure about the pregnancy yet. She’d missed her last two periods, and she’d been too scared to pick up a home pregnancy test. Danielle had already called in an appointment with a doctor for the next day for a medical opinion, but she wasn’t waiting for the first opinion. Danielle had to know.

  She picked up a couple of different tests, then met up with Annie in the produce section. As they made their way through the check-out, Danielle decided instead to focus on how proud she was of Grace. All because of what her daughter had said before she and Annie left for the store.

  “I’m going to have the baby, Mom. I’ve been looking online, and there are a lot of support groups for people who want to adopt. This baby could make someone a family.”

  Jesus, she had no idea how her girl could be so smart and yet still get herself into such fucked up situations.

  Back at home she set up Annie at the table peeling potatoes for supper, and Grace retired to the bathroom with the pregnancy tests. Danielle set about shaking the chicken in its coating and got the oven heating up. Before long Grace joined them, hoping on her one leg, and she got to putting together the salad for supper.

  No one was talking about the serious issue at hand. Instead, they let Annie prattle on about the new kid at school, the grade she got on her photosynthesis essay, anything to keep the house from lapsing into tense silence.

  As she slid the chicken into the oven and the potatoes were hot-tubbing it on the stovetop, there was a cheerful knock on the back door, then it swung open. “Hello! Honey, I’m home!”

  She froze at the fridge. Shit, she hadn’t anticipating Knuckles coming over that evening. Although, maybe she should have. He’d basically confirmed that they were building something…substantial together.

  “Knuckles!” Annie squealed, running at him full force. It was like a comedy of errors; Knuckles entering the kitchen from the back as Grace came bounding down the hall, tears streaking her face, holding the two pregnancy tests in hand.

  “Mom, I’m pregnant!”

  The entire tableau froze, Annie up in Knuckles’ arms with her hands around his neck, mouth hanging open. Danielle stayed at the fridge, bottle of salad dressing in hand. Grace stopped at the hallway entry, tears forgotten, staring at Knuckles in surprise.

  “Shit,” she breathed.

  “Pregnant?” he echoed, eyes going to Danielle. “Really?”

  Danielle nodded, setting down the dressing. “Yeah. Brian’s baby.”

  Annie slid out of his hold, then stayed next to his hip. “Brian Crawford? You fucking kidding me?”

  “No,” Danielle answered calmly.

  “That little fucking prick.”

  “Easy,” she hissed, worried eyes going to Grace. “We have a more immediate issue here.”

  He was pissed, she could tell from the glare in his eyes, but he got it locked down before turning his attention to Grace. “Are…you okay?”

  Grace was staring at the pregnancy tests, but she shook it off and nodded, looking up again. “Yeah, I think I’m okay. Scared.”

  “Keeping it?”

  “Knuckles!” she snapped, but Grace was answering anyway.

  “No. I’m going to put him or her up for adoption.”

  Knuckles looked impressed, then he met Danielle’s eye. “What? It’s a legitimate question.”

  “I’m going to go lie down for a bit,” Grace said, pushing her hair was and turning for the hallway, hopping on her good leg.

  “What the fuck happened to your leg?”

  “Jesus Christ!” Danielle rubbed her forehead.

  “It’s a legitimate question,” he repeated, hands out. “I had no idea!”

  The three of them were frozen looking at each other, but it was Grace who barked out a laugh first, covering her mouth. Danielle felt her own chuckle bubble up, then Grace was outright laughing, eyes closed, head back, dropping into a kitchen chair to double over.

  Knuckles wasn’t laughing, but he was smiling, watching Grace bust a gut. It made her wonder if he’d done all that on purpose.

  “Okay, I’m going to lie down until the chicken’s ready,” Grace sputtered, pushing herself upright.

  When they were alone Knuckles rubbed a hand over his hair, sighing. “Shit, sorry Momma. I didn’t know she was an amputee.”

  “Well, I didn’t tell you she was.” Danielle shook her head. “Shit, I’m sorry. The drama in this house is ridiculous.”

  With that belly-tickling smirk, he slung an arm around her waist to reel her into his hold. “I don’t do well with boredom. So, that’s lucky for both of us.”

  “She lost it in a traffic accident,” Danielle said softly. “She was young, with her dad. He was driving drunk.”

  “Jesus.” His entire demeanor changed. “Can’t say I like that ex-husband at all.”

  “You and me both.”

  He nipped at her neck. “Any other bombs you want to drop?”

  “Maybe one.”

  “Damn. I was kidding.”

  “Brian told Grace he’d taken photos of them alone. She’s never seen them, they might not even exist. But he was going to release them if she didn’t sell Sunshine at school.”

  His hands clamped on her hips. “Holy shit.”

  “Like I said, he might hav
e been lying but she’s terrified now that anyone might see them.”

  “You want me to take care of it?”

  She shook her head. “At the scene, he only had one cell phone. There’s a charger for another phone, but they didn’t find it. Tomorrow I’m going to quietly mention it to Deputy Troy.”

  The air ran cold at the mention of the Deputy, and his eyes shifted to ice-gray again.

  “Hey,” she said softly. “They’re going to be checking the phone over anyway. If he did leak the photos around, the cops can get people on child pornography charges. She’s only sixteen. Is it okay if I let them handle this? Please?”

  Asking permission chafed her, but she didn’t want him pissed about this. Really, if the law could handle this photo thing she, and Grace, would be much more comfortable.

  “This is what you want?”

  She nodded. “Yeah. I mean, they have the phone. They’ll find anything else in that trailer he might own; a laptop or whatever. I didn’t know about this until Grace told me she thought she might be pregnant.”

  His jaw was working as he watched her face, and while she could tell he was pissed off about this she wasn’t scared of him.

  “Please, Knuckles,” she whispered. “This is for Grace. And the pictures might not even exist, but if they do…”

  He nodded sharply. “Okay. Take it to Troy.”

  Relief made her exhale and then throw her arms around his neck in a hug. An overly dramatic reaction, but she did it before she could stop herself.

  He chuckled, patting her back. “It’s okay, Momma. And thanks for telling me.”

  They stayed that way for a while, Knuckles rubbing her back gently, and as her body warmed from his she felt the mood switch over from comforting to something a bit more inappropriate for the kitchen. When she raised her head, he kept her close, tightening his arms around her back.

  “How much longer for the chicken?” he murmured, eyes dropping down her neck to the neckline of her shirt.

  She smiled, her face warming. “Knuckles—”

  “Been thinking about you all day, Momma.”

  “I’ve been thinking about you, too.”

  His eyes came up again. “Yeah?” The smirk returned, and the chicken was forgotten.

  “Other than when I was standing over a homicide scene, of course,” she amended as he backed her up until her butt hit the counter.

  “Of course,” he agreed, dropping his head to nip at her neck.

  Her eyes slid closed, the brush of his beard on her skin even more intense than it had been before she knew what he could actually do to her. Her hands ran up the back of his neck, skimming over the shaved part of his scalp. He gave an appreciative grumble, teeth digging into a tender part of her shoulder and neck.

  “That hickey got me some funny looks today at work,” she said, gasping as he gave it a harder bite.

  “Is that right?”

  “Mm hmm. I’d say Deputy Troy got the message loud and clear.”

  The full-force Knuckles smile met her as he brought his head up again, nose nearly tip to tip with hers. “Kinda part of the idea, Momma.”

  “That’s what I thought.”

  He laughed.

  “You’re an adolescent.”

  “That’s just my drive, not my staying power.”

  She shook her head as he chuckled again, then brushed his lips across hers. “Can I stay for supper?”

  “Yes.”

  “Can I stay the night?”

  “Yes.”

  “That’s the right answer, Momma.” Then he kissed her until the buzzer went for the chicken.

  -oOo-

  The night passed without more drama, but still a few tears. After supper, Knuckles and Annie retired to the garage to work on the bike again. Annie still had a bit of reluctance as to Knuckles’ intentions, or so Danielle suspected, but she knew her daughter would only hold out so long with the bike dangling out there as an incentive.

  Grace helped her clean up the dishes, then they sat down for a long talk. It broke her heart how quickly Grace had gotten into this whole mess, and how far over her head she was in it. It was all there; parties at Brian’s friend’s apartment in downtown Markham. Drinking, pot— “But only pot Mom, I promise,”—and then Brian seducing her on a night where they’d both been more than a little high.

  Danielle was willing to bet Brian hadn’t been quite as high as Grace, but she kept it to herself. Then she calmed her daughter down over the bender she’d gone on that previous weekend. Grace was terrified she’d wrecked the baby, but Danielle convinced her that if she stayed healthy and took her vitamins the baby would be just fine.

  On the sofa, she then held her daughter while she wept, and then she made them both a pot of herbal tea and put some ridiculous romantic comedy on the TV. They watched until Annie came in to get ready for bed, and Grace followed along. As the girls were in the washroom brushing their teeth Knuckles let himself in the back door.

  “Hey,” he said with all the ease in the world, grinning and plopping himself down next to her. “How’s Grace?”

  “I think she’ll be okay. But this is going to be so hard on her.”

  His hand found her shoulder, giving it a squeeze. “You’re taking this very well.”

  She shrugged. “What should I do? Scream? Yell? Make her feel bad? What does that do?”

  He tugged her closer, wrapping as arm around her shoulders. They sat quietly for a few moments, then she broke it.

  “Everything okay with Annie?”

  “Annie? Absolutely. She’s my best bud again. She’s trying to talk me into painting my bike robin’s egg blue.”

  “Oh. I’m sorry.”

  He laughed quietly, but she felt it in his chest. “I said I was thinking black and she informed me that was boring and unimaginative.”

  “Well, she’s right. Think of the statement a bright blue bike would make.”

  “Not a club color, though. Best I could do would be a shot of red here and there. She didn’t really get it. Made fun of my ‘no girls allowed’ club.”

  Now she chuckled too, reflecting that this was nice. Really nice, just talking about the day before bed, nice and quiet.

  “Goodnight Mom,” Annie said, approaching them with arms outstretched.

  Danielle sat up and hugged her daughter, swaying her back and forth. “Goodnight Annie,” she returned, then sat back as Annie climbed up on the other side of Knuckles.

  “Goodnight Knuckles,” she said, wrapping her arms around his neck.

  He froze for a second, eyes shooting to her almost in panic. Then he grinned and gave her daughter a tight squeeze back. “‘Night Curly,” he grumbled.

  Annie climbed off the couch and bounded down the hall past Grace, who did a finger wave. “‘Night kids,” she said, sing-song with a knowing grin.

  “‘Night,” they said in unison, making her laugh as she made for her bedroom.

  “How long before they’re asleep?” he asked, pulling her back to his side again, hand sliding down to rub her hip.

  “Mm, about an hour. Hour and a half.”

  The TV played on, but she honestly didn’t remember what the show even was. Knuckles’ fingers slipped under her T-shirt, and the roughened pads smoothed over her hip, over to her lower back, and then around to the skin right under her bellybutton again. A couple of trips and her mouth fell open, breath hitching. “What are you doing?”

  “Nothing, Momma.”

  “Doesn’t feel like nothing.”

  “Not my fault you’re such a live wire.”

  She grinned, then her eyes closed as he played that finger around her bellybutton. “Yes, it is,” she informed him.

  He chuckled again, and that didn’t help anything.

  She had to put her hand over his, stopping his hand. “Really,” she said, twisting her head up to look at him. “That’s killing me.”

  Jesus, his grin was beautiful. Such a strange word to use on this guy, but it was the truth.


  “Then take me to your bedroom, Momma.”

  “But the kids—”

  “You’ll have to keep it down,” he chided, standing, and pulling her up to her feet. “Or, we’ll actually take it slow tonight.”

  “Slow?”

  “Yeah.” After flicking off the TV and the floor lamp in the far corner, he locked the front door and took her hand again. “There’s some freckles I want to really want to acquaint myself with.”

  “Which ones?”

  “The ones I can’t see when you’re fully dressed.”

  She had to giggle, then put a hand to her chest. “Is this inappropriate? With Grace and everything else?”

  He gave her hand another tug, making for the hallway. “If you’re trying to make her think this is something that you all can handle, then life should carry on as usual.”

  She laughed quietly, following. “This isn’t life as usual for me.”

  “It will be, I promise.”

  In the bedroom, they locked the door, and she turned on the bedside lamp. He raised an eyebrow and she shrugged. “How else are you going to see the freckles?”

  He smirked again, wrapping a hand around the back of her neck. His mouth came to hers hot, insistent, and she let her body melt into his. His other arm came around her back, holding her in place in that way she liked. The kiss was so soft it was tortuous, but it wasn’t in her to push for more. It was decadent, slow, deep, and it damn near felt important. When he released her neck, and brought his hand down, it stopped on her breast and she moaned, rolling her shoulder back to give him room. But he just cupped it, tongue still working against hers like he could only concentrate on one thing at a time.

  When he moved them he just walked her back a couple of steps to the bed, then he tumbled down onto the covers with her, catching his own weight just barely. He didn’t stop kissing her, just freed up both his hands to pull up on her T-shirt. She helped him pull it off, then he was kissing her and she let that all wash through her again.

  God, she loved kissing him.

  The ache between her legs had a maximum capacity for patience, though. When his leg fell between her thighs, she actually ground against it, whimpering.