Dark Guardian (Black Hoods MC #3) - Avelyn Paige Page 0,34

out. “He kidnapped little girls and kept them in his basement. Gross smelling older men came over every night and gave him money to be alone with those girls. And then someone would come and get them to take them somewhere else, and he would kidnap a couple more.”

Grace swallows. “Did he…” She clears her throat. “Did he make you guys go into that basement?”

“He took Natalie down there every night, but he never sold her. We had a deal. I would bring him new girls whenever he needed them, and he wouldn’t let any of those men do anything but look at my sister.”

A tear slides down Grace’s cheek, but she doesn’t give any other indication of her own heartbreak. “That must have been incredibly scary.”

Natalie wraps her arms around herself as she trembles. In that moment, I wish I could bring Randall back from the dead so I could wring his fucking neck and kill him all over again, just for making my girl feel this way.

“That’s how we got to be with Gene,” Kevin continues. “He saved us and took us in. He bought us new clothes and gave us the nicest home we’ve ever had. Everything with him is amazing.” He eyeballs Grace. “Until you came along.”

A heart-wrenching sob rips through Natalie's throat. “Please, don’t take us away. I want to stay with Mr. Judge. He keeps us safe. We need him, and he needs us.”

Grace’s tear-stained face turns to me and our eyes meet. For the first time since she stormed into that bar with a giant stick up her ass, I feel relief. She gets it. She finally gets it.

Grace

Dinner. Why did I agree to dinner at his place? I rub my hand over my face in frustration. I shouldn’t be doing this, seeing him again. Seeing the kids who are still classified as runaways. Yet here I am, on my way to his house to see what life is like under his roof. What is it about this man that seems to draw me into his life when it only complicates mine? He makes me question everything. My sanity. My job. My morality. Nothing is safe when it comes to Eugene Grant.

A horn blasts from behind me. Shit. How long has the light been green? With a polite wave to the person behind me, I press my foot on the gas pedal and drive until his house comes into view. It’s a small home nestled up on a small street with a few older homes on either side. His Harley is parked in the driveway near a large pickup truck. The white siding stands out against the more historic homes surrounding it.

An older man stares at me as I pull into the drive and exit my car.

“Evening,” I greet him with a wave, and he waves back politely.

I knock on the door a few times, but no one responds. Odd. I try the doorbell, and that’s when I hear running footsteps barreling toward the door. When the door opens, I find Natalie’s face beaming up at me.

“Miss Grace. You’re here!” she chirps excitedly.

“Hi, Natalie.”

“Come on in. Dinner’s almost ready.”

Stepping through the door, my eyes grow wide. His home is neat, with little decoration outside of the essentials. A large, black leather couch takes up most of the front room, facing a flat screen television on the opposite wall. A few books lie stacked on the end table next to it. Kevin sits on the couch with a game controller in his hand.

“Kevin, looks who’s here.”

“I know who she is, Natalie,” he retorts, his attention on the game.

Grabbing my hand, she leads me through the room and into a mid-size kitchen. Eugene’s back is to me as he stirs something on the stove.

“She’s here, Mr. Judge,” Natalie announces once more. He turns, and my mouth falls open. Around his waist is a bright pink apron with cats all over it. A slow smile spreads across my lips as I look him up and down.

“Nice apron,” I giggle, making him laugh.

“It came with the house,” he jokes. “Hope you’re not hungry.”

“I’m starving.”

“I apologize in advance, then. I’m not the best cook.”

Smiling, I offer, “I’m sure it will be fine.”

Natalie tugs at my hand and pulls me to a table near the back of the kitchen. After I take a seat, she settles into the one next to me. Eugene, clutching a pan of food with matching bright pink pot holders, sets it down in the