Skirt (Ruthless Kings MC #5) - K.L. Savage Page 0,84

head to toe.

I hope I never see him again after this.

“I’m going to miss you. I know you find it hard to believe, but I hate breaking new bitches. You can’t be trusted anymore. So this is the consequence. At least Mercy was kind enough to reunite you with your son. Honestly, I wouldn’t have cared so much.”

I cradle Aidan’s limp body to my chest and kiss his forehead. He’s burning up, and I can’t tell if he has a fever or if it’s this Louisiana weather. I’m so glad to have him in my arms again. “What will you do now?” I ask.

“Well, we have to stay around here for a few days, wait for the rest of the club to come down. I think the Hellhounds might make New Orleans their new home. Lots of business here. The Mississippi is a great way to transport the goods we need.”

Goods.

That’s what he’s calling human beings, these poor children. The families that will never see them again... It’s devastating to even fathom. “I hope you burn in hell,” I say to him, hoping that hell does exist because men like him don’t deserve to live.

Cohen’s acerbic grin has my skin pebbling in the broiling heat of New Orleans. “Bitch, I was born and raised in hell. Who the fuck do you think is in charge? It sure as shit ain’t Satan. And you better hope I don’t buy you two from under that old man’s feet. Can you imagine?” He stands from his hunched over position and chortles malevolently as he strides down the aisle.

Cold fright numbs my core. Dread is now a forcefield surrounding my soul that guards any positive emotion out of my psyche, trapping the bad ones in.

“Aidan, baby? Aidan,” I whisper, grab his face, and shake him. “Hey, angel. Come on, wake up. It’s me; Mommy is here. Come on, baby, open your beautiful blues. Let me see them. Come on, wake up, Aidan!” I beg with tears in my eyes, but his beautiful face is still as he sleeps. “Okay, baby. Okay, you rest.” I rub my hand through his hair and hold him tighter. “I missed you so much. I love you. I love you so much. I won’t let anything happen to you again. I swear.” I rock us back and forth hope by some miracle Skirt finds us.

The little girl next to us grabs on to the metal, her small chubby fingers curl, and she stares at me with large brown eyes and thick lashes. She’s beautiful. “Are you a mommy?” The little girl looks around, making sure she’s speaking low enough that no one can hear.

I give her a watery smile and nod. “I sure am. I’m his mommy. This is Aidan. I’m Dawn, sweetheart. What’s your name?” I ask her.

She turns around and grabs her blankets, then pushes them over to the side of the cage closest to me, and she sits down. “I’m Maizey.” Her chocolate-colored hair almost matches the tone of her skin. She’s older than Aidan by a few years, maybe six or seven since she’s missing a front tooth.

“Maizey? Wow, that’s such a pretty name. I like that.” Talking to her helps me keep calm, and Maizey seems to want to talk to an adult who doesn’t scare her. The bang of a cage opening and closing has Maizey turning around, but I reach out and hold her hand, stopping her from looking at the child being carried out and will probably never be seen again. “Hey, sweetie. Tell me your favorite story. Who is your favorite princess?”

“I love Princess Elsa. I want to be just like her when I’m all growed up.” She pops the P at the end, then laces our fingers together. “Can you be my mommy too? I don’t have one anymore.” The statement comes out of nowhere and breaks another chunk of emotional control off me.

“Of course, I will be. Do you want a bedtime story? How about you rest, along with Aidan. I’ll wake you up if anything changes.” I lift my eyes above her shoulder to see the child going out the back door, hand in hand with the old greasy man I met previously. The best thing for these kids to do is sleep.

“Okay! I haven’t had a bedtime story in so long. Can it be a happily ever after?”

I squeeze her hand and stare into her doe-like eyes and grin. “Of course. What other kind of ending