Dark Guardian (Black Hoods MC #3) - Avelyn Paige Page 0,27
the only one who accompanies me. The fact the warrant fell into his lap when it came across from the judge means he’s meddling more in my cases than he’s letting on. Every ounce of guilt that I felt for leaving him at that restaurant evaporates. He’s letting his attraction for me dip into his professional career. And mine.
“To that little girl, it matters.” A tear slips down my cheek, and Aaron zeroes in on it. He’s never experienced trauma like this, but I have. His childhood was sunshine and rainbows compared to hers. To mine. If he had seen the terror on her face like I had, he might be more compassionate. Natalie will never forget this, and neither will I. “I try to make removals as painless as I can, and you turned it into a bull in a china shop. Or, in this case, a biker’s clubhouse.”
The smirk on his lips as we watch the squad car drive off together irks me. He’s proud of himself for sending Mr. Grant off to jail. He’s practically beaming. I turn to head toward the crowd when his hand reaches out, grasping my elbow.
“She’ll be fine. The sooner she and her brother are away from these people, the better off she’ll be. The boy too.”
“If that helps you sleep at night, sure, but we both know the escalation of violence is on your head, not mine.”
“Grace, that’s not what I did.”
Turning back, I get in his face. “That’s exactly what you did. Instead of letting me do my fucking job, you took over. You did this,” I hiss. He recoils at my rage, something he’s never seen before. If dinner the other night didn’t put a knife in our friendship, this did. If he wants to interfere with my job, puppet mastering his way into my cases, it’s over. Done.
“Why are you still here? You did what you came to do.”
“To protect you,” he argues, his frustration getting the better of him. “His people are still here.”
“And yet not one of them has incited violence against me, have they? Your job is done. Let me do mine without any more of your special kind of help.”
Storming off, I head toward the officer posted at the door of the building, peering over my shoulder once to see Aaron sliding into his car.
“My team swept the place. The kids aren’t inside,” the officer advises me when I approach. “One of the ladies ushered them inside while the fight broke out.”
“What do you mean, they aren’t inside?” A weight settles in my chest.
“I swept the house myself, went room to room. There’s no one in there.”
“Where’s the woman you saw take them inside? Find her, now!”
He does as he’s told. Every second that he’s gone, my panic spreads. A short while later, a woman with a mop of brightly colored hair appears with him.
“Where are they? Where are the kids?”
She arches her brow at the question, but I don’t miss the flash of panic in her own eyes that mirrors my own as she glances behind me.
“I’m not going to ask you again. Where are the kids?”
“They’re in my uncle’s room down the hall,” she sneers, pointing to a hallway near the bar. She starts for the direction she’s indicated, and I’m hot on her heels. She disappears inside before I can catch up, and I hear her yelling for both of them by name, switching between the two conjoined rooms.
“Natalie! Kevin! You need to come out now!”
No one answers back. Once I’m inside, she’s on her hands and knees, peering under the large king-size bed that takes up most of the room. Pushing up off the floor, her body goes stiff when we both notice the open window.
“The window,” she cries, rushing toward it. Leaning out of the opening, she jerks back inside a few seconds later.
“This is all your fault!” she screams at me. “They were happy until you came here, and now they’re gone. You did this. You did this!”
“Issue an APB for them. They couldn’t have gotten far,” I order the officer before rushing out of the room.
My stomach drops to the floor. I’ve lost them. I let my argument with Aaron get in the way of my job and I lost them. She’s right. This is all my fault.
Judge
“Fucking dick,” I snarl as Grace’s little cop lover slams the bars closed between us.
“Cool it, Grant, or the charges will just keep piling up.”
“Fuck you.”
He smirks and walks away,