Dark Guardian (Black Hoods MC #3) - Avelyn Paige Page 0,31
in my throat. His closeness sets me on edge. His compliments even more so. In a good way, I think. Too good.
“I do.”
I try to deflect. “Why don’t we sit down, then?” Sliding out from between the door and his body, I walk over to the couch. Eugene follows me closely, and when he sits down, the springs creak under his frame. He shifts a few times before finally settling.
“Sorry. My furniture isn’t really built for a big guy like you.”
He laughs. “Most aren’t.”
I reach for a notebook on the coffee table, but his large hand reaches out to stop me, the roughness of his skin caressing mine.
“This has to be off the record.”
“Okay,” I respond, pulling away from his touch.
He takes a deep breath. “My club saved Kevin and Natalie from a sex trafficking ring a few months ago.”
The world around me stills as his words sink in.
“One of my guys found out a local trafficking ring had taken his daughter, and we traced her kidnapping back to Kevin.”
“Kevin… he did that?” How could a boy his age be involved in such a thing? He’s barely a teenager. It can’t be true.
“He didn’t have a choice. It was the uncle, the one reported missing. The one your little cop friend grilled me about yesterday? He took in the kids when their mom died. Turns out, he was a sex trafficker, and saw a prime new candidate in Natalie. Randall made Kevin a deal, that if he brought him new girls, he wouldn’t sell her.”
My hand flies to my mouth. “Oh my God!”
“He did it, and his last target was the daughter of one of my men. We tracked them down and rescued her and the kids.”
“What about their uncle, Randall? You told the police you didn’t know anything about him.”
“He won’t be bothering the kids anymore.”
“You mean, you…”
“He’s not a threat.”
He killed him. There’s not a doubt in my mind. The Black Hoods rescued the kids and took him out like yesterday’s trash on dumpster day. Justifiable as it was, it’s still murder. There’s a murderer on my couch. A flipping killer. Aaron was right.
“That’s why they’re with you.”
“Yes. They needed a safe place to recover, and I had an empty house with no one in it.”
“I don’t understand. Why would you want to take on two kids in, well, your line of work, I guess you could call it?”
“I was a dad for just a short while before I lost my son. I’ve been alone for a long time, and Kevin and Natalie need someone who will protect them. I want to give them a good life, a happy life. One where they don’t have to worry that someone is going to rip them away again.” His honesty shines through his dark eyes, like he’s giving me a piece of his soul.
Why is he telling me this now? Why tell me about his club’s dealings with the trafficking ring? I’m an outsider to their world. An outsider who has the authority to take those kids away from him.
“Why didn’t you call the police?”
His eyes narrow. “I think you know why. All I care about is that they’re safe, and they were until DFPS got involved.”
“You mean, me.”
“Yes. I know you’re just doing your job, but these kids are fine with me. They’re happy. I can give them the life they deserve with a big family that loves them.”
“By family, you mean your club. A group of violent vigilantes.”
His body stiffens before I get the last word out.
“If that’s what you want to call my club, sure. But we do what the police won’t. We protect our own, and those who can’t protect themselves. So, if you want to label us vigilantes, have at it. It doesn’t change a fucking thing.” His voice is almost a growl.
“It’s illegal.”
“There’s a lot of illegal things that happen every single day, but you don’t see those people trying to clean up the streets or save three innocent kids from a life of abuse, do you? Surely you can understand that.”
“I do, and I don’t. I’m bound by the law to protect children. You’re lawless. You do as you please without consequences.”
“There are plenty of consequences, Grace. It’s just not us who has to pay the ferryman.”
“So what happens to Kevin and Natalie when your club gets mixed up in something, putting them in the crosshairs?”
His face changes. “It’ll never happen,” he states matter-of-factly. “Those kids will never be in harm’s way.”
“You can’t