Dark Guardian (Black Hoods MC #3) - Avelyn Paige Page 0,26

and friends of friends of the club, and all of them are here to celebrate this gorgeous kid’s birthday. I can tell by the look on her face that she’s never had this kind of a fuss made over her in her life.

“Present time!” Lindsey squeals, pushing her way to the table with a stack of brightly wrapped boxes in her arms. She moves to set them on the table, and that’s when all hell breaks loose.

Sirens wail from behind us, and I turn to see a SWAT van, followed by five police cruisers, and a car I recognize as Grace Halfpenny’s, roar into the parking lot, their lights flashing.

Men and women in full-on SWAT gear pile out of the vehicles as if they’re heading into battle, guns drawn and at the ready.

“Get on the ground!” they shout, their words echoing off the surrounding buildings.

It’s utter chaos. Women scream. Natalie’s eyes lock with mine. There’s so much fear in them, it kills any chance I might have had in keeping my cool in this situation.

“What’s going on here?” I bellow as two armed men approach me with their guns pointed at my head.

“Get on the ground,” the closest man orders, getting nearer by the second.

I glance back at Natalie, Kevin, and Lindsey, who stand with their backs pressed against the picnic table, the younger two clutched in Lindsey’s arms.

Fuck.

Slowly, I drop to my knees next to Karma. The others are on the ground all around me, having dropped where they stood.

“Ain’t a party till the cops show up,” Karma says, likely trying to lighten the mood. But considering this was a party for a thirteen-year-old girl, the joke falls flat.

When I glance behind me, I see Lindsey on the ground, but the kids are nowhere to be found. My niece, God bless her, meets my eyes and nods with reassurance. She sent the kids to slip away, unseen.

One man wanders from one side of the crowd to the other, his pistol in hand. Besides his Kevlar vest, he’s dressed in jeans, a dress shirt, and cowboy boots. “What the fuck is this all about?” I growl when he gets closer.

“There’s the man of the hour,” he says, squatting low so he can get a better look at me. “Bet you’re wishing you’d given those kids over to DFPS now, aren’t you?”

I narrow my eyes, but before I have time to say a word in response, Grace Halfpenny’s plain black, high-heeled shoes appear in front of me.

“That’s enough, Aaron,” she snaps. “This is way more than I asked for. Why do you have them on the ground? We’re here to get a couple of kids, not bust a bunch of bikers for drugs.”

The cop, whose name appears to be Aaron, sighs. “Grace, I’ve told you already. These men are dangerous.”

He’s about to find out just how fucking dangerous I am.

“Enough!” she snaps again, this time dismissing him completely. “Mr. Grant, I’m here to relocate the children to a foster home in town until we can complete a formal inquisition into the best place for them. I never intended for it to be quite this big of a deal, and for that, I apologize.”

“You’re not taking those kids anywhere,” I say, slowly getting to my feet. One officer moves to stop me, but Grace lifts a hand, indicating for him to leave me alone.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Grant, but I have a warrant. Those children are coming with me.”

Every spark of attraction I’ve ever felt for this woman disappears in an instant. Everything disappears. “You fucking bitch. You miserable fucking bitch.”

For a split second, she looks as if I’ve slapped her directly across the face, but she recovers quickly and turns to walk away, heading for the door of the clubhouse, and straight for my kids.

“No!” I explode.

Everything becomes a blur. A blur of anger, of rage. A blur of fists and blood, and the sound of flesh pounding flesh. Twice I have to redirect one of my own, as Ms. Halfpenny nearly gets caught in the crossfire.

Did she cause this fight? Yes. Am I going to let anyone hurt her? Not a fucking chance.

Stone Face and Twat Knot are guarding the door, more than happy to get their blows in while they do it, but when an officer pushes Karma, he slams against Grace, and I catch her just before she hits the wall.

“Are you okay?” I ask, turning her to face me. And then I feel the cold steel pressed against