Fox by Harley Wylde
Chapter Twelve
Fox
I’d thought women loved jewelry, the flashier the better. Except Raven. Not my sweet, beautiful, broken little Raven. She’d looked at the cheapest plain bands she could find. It had taken quite a bit of arguing to get her to accept a white gold band with four diamonds embedded in a scattered pattern across the top. Even then, she’d balked at the cost.
I’d opted for the plain matching white gold band. After I’d paid, we’d worn them out of the shop. Since I knew Spider, Rocket, and Slider had all frequented the shop before to buy their women special trinkets, I’d known the proprietor wouldn’t have a fit over a biker walking through his door. The man knew we could afford whatever we selected, and we wouldn’t try to rob him.
Raven kept running her thumb over her band as she stared off into space. She hadn’t said much in the truck on the way to the restaurant, and I’d been parked, waiting for her to acknowledge we weren’t moving, for at least fifteen minutes.
“Honey, you okay?” I asked.
She looked at me, her face paler than usual. “It was too much money.”
I unfastened her seat belt and lifted her into my lap, wrapping an arm around her waist to hold her in place. “Raven, you’re mine. My old lady. My wife. The ring on your finger didn’t cost as much as you think.”
Her brows rose. “It was over one thousand dollars!”
“Yeah, but those are quality diamonds in the band. Do you think you aren’t worth the cost? Because let me tell you something… I could have bought out the entire fucking store, and it still wouldn’t have equaled your value. Hear me? There’s nothing more precious to me than you, Raven.”
She snuggled against me, and I hoped I’d gotten through to her. Truth be told, I hadn’t spent my money on much of anything over the years. A bike, some guns, but no super big purchases. My needs had been simple, and I hadn’t seen a reason to blow money on stupid shit. Which meant I had more in the bank than she realized. Not millions or anything, but enough we’d be comfortable all our lives and could pass some down to our kids. I’d even let Knox talk me into investing about ten years ago. In another decade, those shares would pay out dividends of a few hundred grand a year.
“You ready to have our first date?” I asked.
“Yes and no,” she mumbled against my shirt.
“What’s the no part?”
“I don’t like being in places where I feel like people are staring at me.”
I could understand how she felt. I scanned the area and didn’t see any reason we couldn’t eat on the patio. I only saw one other couple out there. “So we’ll eat outside. Or will that make you feel the same way?”
She lifted her head. “Really? We can eat outside?”
I nodded. “I’m sure they won’t have a problem with it.”
“That would be much better. Even though there are shoppers passing by, it wouldn’t be the same as being confined inside.”
Raven put her arms around my neck and pressed her lips to mine. It warmed me from the inside out, knowing she felt comfortable enough to instigate a kiss. My sweet girl had already started to heal, even if she didn’t realize it yet.
I opened the truck door and slipped out from under her, then helped her out of the vehicle. I held her hand as we walked into the restaurant and waited for the hostess to acknowledge us. She looked up from her podium with a warm smile.
“Welcome to Santiago’s! Table for two?” she asked.
“Yes, but my wife would like to be seated on the patio if possible,” I said.
“Of course! Just follow me.” She grabbed two menus and two sets of silverware before hustling through the main part of the restaurant and out a side door. She led us around the corner and seated us at a table in front of the restaurant. “How’s this?”
“Perfect,” I said, giving Raven’s hand a squeeze.
I pulled out Raven’s chair before claiming my own seat. The hostess set our menus and silverware down before clasping her hands in front of her.
“Marney will be your server, but in the meantime, what can I get you to drink?” she asked.
“Water’s fine for me,” I said.
“Same,” Raven murmured.
“All right. I’ll put in your drink order.” The woman rushed off and I nudged Raven’s menu, encouraging her to open it up and figure out what she’d like to eat.
“Everything I’ve eaten here is amazing, but I’m partial to their tacos. Order whatever you want. If you can’t eat it all, we can take any leftovers home with us and snack on them later.”
She nodded and perused the menu. I opened mine, even though I already knew what I wanted. I noticed the tension in Raven’s body and had hoped to put her at ease. One day, going out wouldn’t be so difficult for her. Until then, we’d keep trying. And if this was too much for her, then I could always take her to Spider’s while the Prospects packed up our house. She seemed to have enjoyed being with Luciana and Violeta today.
She scanned the area, and I noticed the exact moment the blood drained from her face. I looked around, trying to figure out what had scared her so badly. A man stood on the sidewalk across from the restaurant, smoking a cigarette. The way he watched Raven had me clenching my fists.
“Raven, who is he?” I asked.
She jerked her gaze back to me and I saw the fear in her eyes. “Guard Simmons. I thought… I thought I saw him at the store yesterday, but when I looked again he wasn’t there. I’d convinced myself he hadn’t really been there.”
“You should have told me.”
“I’d planned to, but then we got home and…”
“And I’d asked you to be mine.” I took a deep breath to calm myself and looked across the street again. The man had left. It seemed they knew where to find Raven, which meant she wasn’t safe.
I took out my phone and sent a text to everyone in the club. They needed to know to be on alert. Well, more than they were supposed to be already. Now that I knew for certain at least one of the guards was here, I had a feeling the others would be closing in soon too. They had to be pissed they’d been fired. Even though it was no one’s fault but their own, they’d blame Raven. Men like that always did. They never took responsibility for their own actions.
One of the guards from Balmoral found us. He’s gone now, but I want at least three brothers here now.I included our location and hit SEND.
Marauder was the first to respond. I’m down the street. Be there in a second.
Iron and Shooter confirmed they were on their way as well. I’d have them fan out and keep an eye on all sides. I didn’t want that fucker sneaking up on us, assuming it was just the one in the area. Which meant we needed faces and names.
I pulled up the last message I’d sent to Surge. Send out faces and names of the three fired guards to the entire club. We need to know who we’re watching for.
I got a thumbs-up emoji that had me shaking my head. Surge sometimes reminded me of a kid. I had to remind myself he wasn’t even thirty yet. At least he realized this took precedence over whomever was in his bed right now. He didn’t realize the club knew he tended to prefer men, even though we’d seen him with the club whores. He and Slider had something going on for a while, before Slider claimed Vasha. They’d both kept quiet about their relationship, and I didn’t know if they’d worried we’d give them shit about it. None of us cared. There were too many other things to worry about than who Surge wanted to sleep with.
“A few of my brothers are on their way here,” I told her. “They’ll make sure Simmons and the other two don’t get anywhere near you, all right?”
I reached over and placed my hand on top of hers, giving her fingers a slight squeeze. Her eyes were glassy with unshed tears, and I hated that fucker had ruined what had been a good day. She should be happy right now. We were moving into a new house, she’d been accepted as mine by the club, and I’d even put a ring on her finger. Instead, the monsters who’d hurt her were now foremost in her mind. I wanted to gut the bastards.
“Sorry,” she said, trying to pull herself together. I saw the struggle as she gave her a head a little shake and looked down at the menu again. “I won’t let them win.”
I smiled. “There’s my girl.”
“Where are we going after this?” she asked.
“Wherever you want. If you feel safer at the compound, we’ll go there. Or if you want to run some errands, see a movie, whatever… I’ll have Marauder, Shooter, and Iron stick with us. They’ve accepted you into the family, Raven. They want to keep you safe as much as I do.” I thought about it a moment. “All right, maybe not quite as much as I do. You’re mine, after all. But they would give up their lives to keep you safe.”
She nodded. “Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.”
No shit. If those punk ass guards took any of us down, we had it coming. Quite a few of us had served our country. I’d given four years of my life to the US Army. Yankee, Dread, and Shooter had also been in the Army. I knew a few of my brothers had been in the Navy or Marines. If the asshole guards had military backgrounds, Surge would have said something by now. Which meant they were bullies who needed to be taken down and didn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell of taking us.
Our server came out with our waters and to take our orders. By the time she’d rushed off and returned with chips and salsa, Raven seemed to have calmed a bit. I even noticed a hint of determination in her eyes. Looked like she was ready to fight back.
“I want new furniture,” she said. “If that’s okay.”
I smiled and leaned over the table to kiss her softly. “More than.”
While we ate our food, I kept an eye on our surroundings. I could see my brothers and knew they wouldn’t let Simmons near us. But if all three guards showed up, there was a slim chance one of them could slip through.
By the time we’d finished and I’d paid the check, I wanted to get Raven out of there. Going furniture shopping wasn’t the best idea at a time like this, but I couldn’t deny her. As I helped her into the truck, Marauder, Shooter, and Iron all pulled up on their bikes, waiting for me to lead the way. The roar of a Harley coming from the opposite direction caught my attention and a man who appeared close to my age came to a stop. I didn’t recognize him, but as I scanned his cut, I saw the stitching. It seemed my sweet Raven’s daddy had arrived.
Hatchet swung his leg over the bike, leaving it running. He pulled off his helmet and approached. I couldn’t see his eyes behind the dark lenses of his sunglasses, but I had no doubt he was taking my measure.
“Hatchet,” I said, holding out my hand.
It took him a moment. I started to think he’d refuse to shake when he gripped my hand. Hard. I didn’t flinch, wince, or give any indication he’d caused me any pain, even if the fucker did have the hold of a damn gorilla on steroids.
He flashed me a smile. “Good to meet you, Fox. Prospect at your gate said I’d find you here.”
I nodded to the truck. “About to take your daughter shopping. She wants new furniture.”
“What’s wrong with the shit you have now? She doesn’t want something another bitch has used?”
I straightened to my full height, which was still an inch shorter than Hatchet. “I’ve never had a woman in my house before. So knock that shit off. We decided to upgrade to a bigger house. With the baby on the way, and we may want others, we decided we needed more room. And I told her she can replace anything I have that she doesn’t like.”
Hatchet smirked. “I’m fucking with you. Now… where’s my daughter?”
“In the truck. You sure you want to meet her the first time in a parking area?” I asked.
“Motherfucker,” he muttered. “No. I probably shouldn’t.”
I heard the truck door open and shut. I felt Raven come up behind me and reached back for her. She pressed her body against mine.
“Looks like she took the decision out of our hands,” I said. “Raven, sweetheart, you ready to meet your dad?”
She tensed, but I felt her nod between my shoulder blades. I tugged her around me and placed my hand on her hip, holding her against my side. She stared at Hatchet and fuck me if the big man didn’t seem to tear up a bit as he saw his daughter for the first time.
“So beautiful,” he mumbled. “I wish I’d known about you sooner, Raven. I’d have gone to hell and back to make sure I was part of your life.”
“Mom never mentioned you,” she said. “I got the feeling she didn’t like you.”
He snorted. “Understatement. I knocked your mom up in high school. She’d been slumming it with me, I guess. If I’d known she had you, I’d have stuck around. She told me she’d aborted you. I left town and never looked back.”
Looking between the two, I could see the resemblance, although Raven definitely had more of her mom in her. The woman sounded like bitch, so Raven had to have inherited her demeanor from Hatchet. The overall shape of her face wasn’t his, nor her coloring, but her eyes? Those were all Hatchet. She had his strength too, whether she realized it or not.
“Raven, would you mind if your dad came with us while we shop for furniture? If you’d prefer to spend more time with him at home, he can hang out at the clubhouse until we’re done.” I noticed the slight tightening around Hatchet’s eyes, but he didn’t say anything. He knew giving Raven the option was the best thing to do.
“I’d love to spend time with you, but it can be on your terms,” Hatchet told his daughter. “I know I’m a stranger and need to earn your trust.”
Raven pulled away and took a hesitant step toward her dad. Then another. Before I realized what she planned, she’d thrown herself at her dad. Hatchet wrapped his arms around her, his eyes closing, a mixture of pain and pleasure crossing his features as he hugged her for the first time. I hoped like hell he got the chance to do something about Raven’s mom. The bitch needed to pay. If not for her, Raven would have never ended up at Balmoral. Hell, if Hatchet had known about her, there was a chance none of this would have happened to her.
Then again, I probably wouldn’t have met her either. As much as I didn’t want to think of my life without her in it, if it meant she’d have never been raped and beaten, then I’d prefer to have never met her. Anything to save her from the pain she’d endured.
“Guess that means you’re going with us,” I said.
Hatchet kissed the top of Raven’s head before releasing her. She came back to me, leaning against my side. I gave him directions to the furniture store in case we got separated and helped Raven back into the truck. When we pulled up to the store, the four motorcycles keeping pace with us drew more than few eyes our way.
Shooter and Marauder stayed outside, making sure we weren’t blindsided by the Balmoral guards. I still needed to give Hatchet the latest update, but it would have to wait for now. We let Raven roam the store, keeping her not only within sight, but within arm’s reach as well. I noticed her checking out the living room sets and gave her the freedom to buy all new pieces for the house. Whatever she didn’t want of mine, I’d leave behind for whichever brother moved into the place next.
Other than answering questions she had about what I liked or didn’t like, I hung back a bit to give her some time with Hatchet. I could tell he loved it when she asked what he thought about a couch or the kitchen set. The two were bonding, and it warmed my heart to watch them. Would I have a day like this with my own daughter sometime in the future? Assuming we had a daughter.
My phone buzzed and I answered, seeing Spider’s name on the screen.
“Hey, Pres. Everything all right?”
“Not hardly. You need to bring Raven back here. Now.”
“What’s going on?” I asked, quickly making my way over to Hatchet and Raven, who’d stopped to haggle the price of the bedroom set.
“Someone sent smoke bombs over the fence in three spots. I’m thinking it was the guards. They know Raven is here at the compound, or think she is. I’d rather have her in one spot, behind a locked door, with the perimeter watched at all times. I know we don’t have the manpower to keep eyes on every inch of the fence line, but I think she’s still safer here than outside the compound.”
“On it,” I said. I hung up and took Raven by the arm. “Honey, we need to go.”
“But the furniture…”
I looked at the store clerk and tossed out a number a few grand under the total for everything she’d said she liked. He must have seen something in my face because the little shit didn’t even try to argue, and he didn’t make me add delivery. He handed me the paperwork, I signed, and got Raven the hell out of there. I explained everything to Hatchet and the others as I buckled Raven in. Her scared gaze met mine, and I stopped long enough to give her a kiss, hoping it would reassure her.
I sped through town and toward the compound like hellhounds were on my tail. Didn’t even slow when I approached the gate. The Prospect threw it open as I barreled through.
The phone rang again, and I had Raven answer and put it on speaker.
“Take her to the new house,” Spider said. “I had Archer pick up surveillance cameras while you were gone, and we have most of them installed. Just a few more and it will be finished. Already made sure the Wi-Fi worked.”
“When the fuck did the house get Wi-Fi?”
Spider chuckled. “While you were gone.”
Raven hung up and I drove straight to the new house, pulling into the driveway and shutting off the truck. I noticed my bike parked in the open garage and wondered who had brought it over, and when.
“Come on, sweetheart. Let’s see what everyone’s been up to. It seems we weren’t the only ones who were busy today.”
She took my hand, and we went into our new home.