A shudder went through Breezy’s body and he turned her into his chest, so she could bury her face there. Hide. She didn’t even care that the others saw. She did care that Zoe was witnessing the breakdown though. She recognized, from the way the others were acting and from what Steele had briefly told her, that Zoe still struggled, and she needed to keep her faith in the club. She needed to know she was safe.
Steele’s arms enclosed Breezy, as he moved closer to Zoe. “You’re good to babysit, Zoe?”
She nodded and reached up to take a bit of bacon that was near the end of the aisle in front of Blythe. No one stopped her. No one smacked her hand. Through her blurred vision, with her ear over Steele’s heart, Breezy could see the child lick her fingers. She didn’t get into trouble for that either, although Blythe handed her a napkin and another full piece of bacon.
“I am, Uncle Steele,” she said. Then she looked up at her sister. “Almost. I have to do the CPR class. We all do, right, Darby?”
“That’s right, Zoe,” Darby said.
“You gotta pay for that class?” Maestro asked.
Breezy had forgotten he was there and she turned in Steele’s arms to look at him. He was looking down at the little girl with open affection on his face.
“Of course we have to pay, Uncle Maestro,” Zoe said.
He heaved an exaggerated sigh. “Fine.” He fished out two dollar bills. “I said ass and fuckin’ just now. Here’s the money.”
Zoe giggled as she took the money. “You just said the bad words again.”
He scowled at her and looked as menacing as possible while pulling two more dollar bills out of his wallet. “This is highway robbery, Zoe.”
>Breezy knew immediately he’d said the offending words on purpose in order to give the child more money for her bank. Not a single club member of the Swords would have given a child money, especially for swearing. She probably would have been slapped for getting the bacon before the men.
Zoe’s giggle turned to full-blown laughter. Maestro swept her up and whirled her around. When he set her down, his hand enveloped the child’s as they danced around the kitchen and through the door. It was so different from anything she’d ever seen in the Swords club that she was almost jealous of Zoe’s relationship with the members. She’d grown up around the Swords and not a single one had ever treated her with compassion, let alone affection.
“That’s beautiful,” she whispered and looked up at Steele.
His eyes met hers and her stomach did a slow somersault. His smile was brief, but genuine. “You good now, sweetheart? Even Zoe knows we’re going to get our boy back.” He lifted one hand and wiped gently at the trail of tears down her face. “As soon as we all finish eating and the kids go off to school, we’ll come up with a plan. They’re homeschooled. They go just down the road to one of their aunts’ homes.”
She swallowed down every fear and forced herself to nod. She had faith in Steele. She did, otherwise she never would have informed him they had a son. She had to keep believing. It didn’t matter that she wasn’t his old lady anymore. Or that he preferred to have several women, not one. She wasn’t buying into him needing saving. He looked … invincible. She doubted anyone could take him down. She just had to believe he would go get Zane and get him to safety.
The pad of his finger stroked her chin. “Bridges has no imagination, Breezy, you know that. He’s not going to have some intricate scheme we can’t unravel. It will be something convenient for him. He won’t think it’s convenient, but he’s all about his own comfort.”
It was a good observation. Her father was all about his own comfort. Everything had to be done his way because he refused to be inconvenienced. She took a breath and nodded again, trying not to lean into him. Steele was just so solid. A wall of pure strength. Her legs felt rubbery and she couldn’t stop shaking as if she was very cold. Her teeth wanted to chatter.
“I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I held it together until I got here.” She needed him to understand she was capable of being strong. She had been strong the entire time she was alone.
Steele lifted his gaze across the aisle to Blythe,