Dark Guardian (Black Hoods MC #3) - Avelyn Paige Page 0,41

seen before, away from the front door where Eugene sits on his bike. Away from my only chance of escape.

“Keep moving.”

He reaches past me for the handle, but it swings wide, and three police officers stand on the other side of it. My eyes meet his, seeing his panic. The object falls away from my side, and I take my chance. I shove myself forward, between the officers and away from Henry. Running at top speed down the short alley, I spill out onto the sidewalk, but I don’t slow down. My breathing is ragged as I run toward Eugene, who’s off his bike in one quick move when he sees me. Slamming into him, I start to cry.

“Grace? What’s wrong?”

“Henry Tucker,” I gasp. “He was in there. He knows about you and the kids. He wanted me to take him to them. He had a gun, Eugene.”

His body goes still.

“Where is he?”

“He was taking me out the side entrance, but there were some cops standing out there talking. I took my chance and ran. I don’t know where he went.”

He hugs me, and I feel him reach into his pocket and pull out his phone. Pressing it to his ear, he holds me tighter, not letting me go.

A male voice picks up on the other end of the line, and I barely recognize Eugene’s voice when he growls, “Call everyone in now. We have a situation.”

Judge

I lead Grace into the clubhouse, my blood still boiling. That son of a bitch is off his fucking rocker, trying to abduct Grace with me just outside the door. It tells me he has no boundaries, that he’s more dangerous than we thought. And that he’s been watching us.

“You can hang out here,” I tell her, pointing to the common area of the clubhouse.

It’s not much, really. Just a gigantic room with a bar, a cool as hell jukebox Lindsey had found at an auction, and a pool table. Black leather couches are set up in a couple of spots for folks to relax, and there are a couple of tall pub tables with stools.

And at the moment, it's filled with bikers and women, and a couple of kids, including my own. “This is my family,” I tell her. “You’re safe here.”

She looks around nervously, biting at her lip. “Are you sure? The last time I saw these folks, I kind of unintentionally brought along a SWAT team.”

Her worries are definitely warranted. The people in this clubhouse won’t trust her easily. They never trust an outsider to begin with, not until they’ve proven themselves. But after being a part of the authorities dropping in on us unexpectedly... well, let’s just say, she’s gonna have her work cut out for her to do that.

“You’re here with me,” I tell her. “They may not like you much yet, but they will be respectful.”

Her gray eyes look uncertain, but she doesn’t argue.

I lead her to one of the sectionals where Lindsey sits with the kids. “Take care of her, would ya?”

Lindsey looks Grace up and down, then nods. She doesn’t smile or say hello.

I plant a kiss on Grace’s forehead, and I feel everyone’s eyes on us, but not one of them has the balls to question me, which is exactly the way I like it.

“Be back shortly.”

Nodding, she takes a seat on the couch, and Natalie’s quick to sit right beside her. Thank God for her.

“Let’s go, boys,” I call out, rounding up the troops so we can get this ball rolling.

Chairs scrape across the floor, and the sounds of several pairs of heavy boots follow me into our meeting room. Taking my seat at the head of the table, I watch as the others pour into the room and settle into their spots.

For the first time in a long time, everyone is here. Mom sits to the left of me, then GP and Stone Face. Karma sits to my right, and then Hashtag and Twat Knot fill out the rest of the table.

My crew back together again.

“So,” Twat Knot says with a grin, “what’s the stripper doin’ here?” Karma moves to swat him, but Hashtag is closer and beats him to it. Twat Knot throws his hands up. “Watch the hair, asshole.”

Twat Knot comes by his name honestly. That goddamn man-bun he wears every day really does make him look like a fucking twat. And he’s obsessed with his fucking hair.

Hashtag rolls his eyes and lifts his middle finger in response.

“If you don’t mind,”