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

face.

“Don’t you look for your biker boyfriend. He can’t help you, anyway.”

How could he possibly know about Eugene? Unless… he’s been watching us?

“That white trash piece of shit has my kids, and you’re letting him keep them.”

Oh my God. Henry Tucker looks much different from the mugshots in the file Aaron gave me. He looks strung out, scrawny, and like he hasn’t showered in a very long time.

“Mr. Tucker, why don’t we move this discussion to my office.” Where there’s an audience. And security guards. “This is not the place to discuss custody issues.”

Breathe in, breathe out. Stay calm, Grace. Remember your training. Defuse the situation and hope he backs off.

“The fuck it isn’t. You bastards have my kids and you’re hiding them from me. I know it, and you know it.” He pushes up against me, and I feel a firm object being pressed into my side. “You’re going to take me to them.”

Holy shit. My body jolts with terror when I realize just what it is pressed against me. He has a gun. I’m helpless and at his mercy, and he knows it. There’s no way out of this unless Eugene takes notice from outside.

“Okay,” I whisper. Katie’s watching now. She raises her phone and mouths, “9-1-1.” I give her the faintest nod I can manage, praying Tucker doesn’t see it. “Whatever you say.”

“Walk toward the door,” he orders. Leaving my coffee and bag, I do as he commands. Digging the gun into my side, he uses it to force me toward a side door I’d never 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