Cadence Reflection (Wheels & Hogs Book 2) (20 page)

Wolf leans on the desk and looks over to my mom and asks, “How well do, or did you know, Duke?” 

“I guess as well as anyone knows the person they are with.  We were married, so I would say pretty well.” 

Wolf glares at her, “So did you know he was into human trafficking and slavery?” 

She exhales loudly and puts her hand to her chest, “Of course not, Wolf. What are you talking about?”

“I have a young girl at my ranch that was rescued from a horrific situation that both Duke and Roman placed her in, all for fucking money.”

Now this has everyone’s attention because Wolf is usually the quiet one and never swears in front of women.  He softly apologizes to the ladies and continues, “We have been led to believe that they are looking to kidnap Trinity and the baby to sell on their black market.  The baby is spoken for already; being sold for close to six figures while Trinity is their biggest demand. A young woman, blonde hair, blue eyes; she is worth a mint to them,” Wolf looks to Trinity, “Your father was priming you for this. That was his plan all along, but once we took you, it pissed him off because his payday was gone.” 

Trinity shakes in my arms, “How do you know all of this, and can we even believe it’s true?” 

Wolf looks at her sadly, “Besides Pru, at my ranch, identifying both men, we had an inside connection.” 

Now I’m pissed, “Who is this insider, and why am I just hearing about this now? What the fuck else have you and Des been hiding from me? I am not a fucking kid, but a grow ass man dammit,” I yell.

Wolf nods to Bear who opens the door and lets in Axe, Wolf’s brother. I immediately look to Des because he doesn’t like Axe, but to my surprise, Des walks up to Axe and gives him a fist bump, “This here is my brother, Axe.  He is part of the Native Warrior Riders. What no one knows is that as bad as these fuckers are,” he glares at his brother, “they are all Undercover Police Officers, FBI, and DEA. That is what the membership is made up of.”

Axe wastes no time, “Just to give everyone the basics, these guys are really bad, and their associates have no conscious. We pulled Pru and a couple of others from men who had bought them as sex slaves. I can’t begin to tell you what these women have been through, but I digress.  All we know is that for the last month, you two have been followed wherever you go. They are getting your routines down so they can grab Trinity when you least expect it. They have a house on the outskirts of the next town over so they wait until the baby is born so he, or she, can be sold and they can prepare and train Trinity before transporting her to her owner.”

At this point, I am livid, “What the fuck have you been doing if they have this already planned? Were you just waiting for them to grab her?” I can hear the terror of that scenario in my voice.

“Cadence, don’t take this the wrong way, but without us on this, she would have already been gone. We’ve been messing with their people, pulling them over for stupid shit, always stopping them in some way when they seem too close,” Turning to Trinity he asks her, “Remember when you were at Wolf’s last week and that van approached the house? Did you see it take off as soon as Wolf and Des showed on their bikes?  We called the boys to get there ASAP. We were there if it went wrong, but we are trying to keep our presence low key and not give away what we know... yet. So, now let’s discuss why we have pulled Cadence’s family in too. It was leaked that Duke had a connection in the service that was going to get his gang to bully Ryker, and when we say bully, we don’t just mean call him names and pick on him.  These are hard-core fuckers who take pleasure in other people’s pain.  We couldn’t let that happen so we pulled him in with your mom and younger brother and brought them to Wolf’s. They are staying in one of the cabins in the back Cadence, and they are safe. We have that whole area under surveillance, twenty-four seven.  Now with the Charity Ride this weekend, we believe that’s the time they are going to use to kidnap Trinity.  With everyone’s attention concentrated on the ride, they believe it will be an easy pick. Our job is to not only make sure the ride goes off without a hitch, but protect both of you, Cadence.”  Taken aback by Axe’s willingness to help us, I’m speechless. 

Des takes over, “The ride is still going on so I suggest that you all keep a mindful watch of the people around you and where you are at all times. Don’t do anything alone, do you understand? I’m also asking every one of you to spread the word about checking in with the Bone Marrow Foundation. I don’t care if you have to talk to every single person on this ride, you make sure everyone knows how easy it is and where they can be tested. We need as many people as possible to find this match for Fern, and for others.”

“I want to be tested to see if I can help Fern, Doc. How do I do that?” Griffin asks. Doc looks at Griffin and begins to tear up, but puts on a bright smile as he begins to explain to Griffin the procedure.

Axe steps up to us, “we have a plan and will fill everyone in. Please just go about your normal routines and don’t anyone try to be a hero.  Concentrate on the Charity Ride and we will cover the rest.  Cadence, Trinity, can I have a minute of your time?”

“O
kay, kids. It’s like this. Both Duke and Roman are in some deep shit and you two are their ticket out.”

I look confused and ask, “What do you mean, Axe.  How can we possibly help them out with whatever trouble they are in?  We don’t have money or expensive items so how can we get them out of a jam?”

“You have the most important item for them to sell. They have a buyer for your baby, and the money from that sale will take care of their debts with the human traffickers, or at least bring them current.” 

“Promise me that no matter what happens, you will not let them get my baby.  You can’t let Roman touch my baby, no matter what.  He has already fucked up my life and I refuse to give him the chance to do that to an innocent child. Please Axe, Cadence, promise me.  I don’t care about my life, just protect my baby.”  I start to lose my shit again, crying uncontrollably when Des bursts through the door, concern on his face. 

“Sweetie, you need to calm down. You know this isn’t good for the baby, so come on Trinity. Take a deep breathe,” My attention is so focused on Des that I don’t see Doc come around the back to give me a shot.  I’m shocked and scream at Doc, asking what he just did to me, but then I begin to go limp, so Cadence grabs me and lift me into his arms carrying me out of the room.  Axe just shakes his head as Doc and Des both demand to know what is going on.

––––––––

A
xe gives the abbreviated version to Doc and me, explaining the plan to protect both Trinity and the baby. Doc walks out of the room and I look point blank at Axe and say, “Do you believe the bullshit you just told us? Because personally, I think we are about to have a disaster on our hands, and right in the middle of the fucking Charity Ride that I have been involved with for the last nine months of my life, so tell me how you can guarantee her safety when you don’t even know why those two assholes are in trouble in the first place. And to top that off, you don’t know who put in a bid to buy an unborn baby.  Why should I have faith in you, Axe? To make myself very clear, I really can’t stand you and I certainly don’t trust you.”

“I know your feelings in regards to me, but this isn’t about us, it’s about an innocent woman and her child.  My promise to you is that I will risk my own life to protect Trinity.  Knowing the back-story of both those kids, it tears my heart out, so you can hate and despise me, but either work with me or stay the fuck out of my way. I don’t care which way you go, dude. My main objective is to protect the two kids in there and their baby.”  I take a minute to contemplate what he says, and then I nod in agreement.

I
put Trinity to bed in her room at Wolf’s.  She’s fighting sleep and losing the battle due to the shot that Doc gave her,  “Baby, close your eyes and try to sleep.  Nothing is going to happen, I swear that to you on my life.”

Her hold on me tightens for a moment, then I feel her body relax and she seems to let sleep take her as I hear her soft snore. I lay down next to her and let the entire situation hit me.  Once again, there are men trying to fuck with my life, but this time it includes the woman I love and my unborn child. Caressing her back and listening to her breathing softly in her drug induced sleep, I promise to whomever hears my solemn oath that I will die for the two most important people in my life, that also happen to be in my arms at this moment.

After what seems like forever, I feel my body relax and finally close my eyes, only to drift off to a restless sleep.

W
ith all the bullshit going on, I didn’t think I’d sleep, but indeed I did.  Slowly opening my eyes, I feel her next to me.  She is so close to my side that I can feel her exhaled snores on my skin. Not that I’m complaining because I’m not. This woman who has control of my heart has been able to do something no one else has ever been able to do – give me hope. 

Knowing the next couple of days are going to be full of stress, I tighten my arm around her, just taking in this moment.  I feel a push into my side and realize it’s the baby kicking.  He, or she, moves around a lot. I take a deep pull of air through my nostrils and let it out through my open mouth.  These breathing techniques have helped me through a lot of shit. Time and time again I do this, I feel the baby kicking my side, and then I feel the tears running down my face because I’m overwhelmed by how much love I have for these two.

I know she’s awake before she says a word.  Looking down at her as she raises her head and our eyes meet.  Leaning toward her, I rub my nose against hers then give her a soft kiss on her full lips, “Morning. How are you feeling?” 

Stretching her body, she mutters, “Okay, I guess. This kid is kicking the crap out of me for Pete’s sake.” 

I chuckle as I sit up, “Baby, our
little tiny peanut
was kicking my side while you slept.”

“What’s on the agenda for today?” she asks as she tries to rock out of bed with no success.  She’s gotten so big in the front that she can barely walk without tilting, “Come on, give me a hand out of this bed. Quit staring at me and help me,” she growls.

After we get out of bed and do our morning routines, we both head down to the kitchen, hand in hand.  As we approach the kitchen, we hear angry voices and muffled moans.

We run into the kitchen, not sure if Wolf or someone else is hurt, but what we find is Wolf zipping his jeans and buckling up his belt. Wolf turns around, shocked.  I look to the back door and see a figure with long, reddish brown hair walking quickly past the window with her head down, going toward the back forty where he has all the cabins for his sheltered folks. 

For a while the three of us just stare at each other, no one knowing what to say.  Finally, I look at Wolf, “Remember you have to bring Trinity to the garage after hours tonight. She’s spending the night with me, okay?”  Wolf shakes his head in agreement.  Wolf and I both know tonight is the surprise shower for Trinity.  Today is Wednesday, so we only have tomorrow and Friday before we start the weekend of events for the Charity Ride. 

“Do either of you want some coffee?” 

“Sure, baby. I’d love a cup of Joe.”  I know that now is not the time to question Wolf, but it was coming soon.

A
s Wolf and I head toward the garage, I attempt to make conversation.  Since this morning, things have been awkward, “Wolf, are you upset with me for something?” 

“Little one, I could never be mad at you.  There is so much going on that my mind is all over the place. Sorry to be such bad company,” After a pause, we continue to talk and joke all the way to the garage.

As we enter the parking lot, I notice how dark it is inside, “Wonder why there are no lights on. Guess everyone is gone for the day.”

“Hang on, Trinity. Just give me a minute. I’ve got to check my phone,” Wolf finishes his text, gets out of the truck and rounds the front to help me down. 

Grabbing the handle of the door, Wolf guides me in with his hand on my back through the dark entrance.  Suddenly the lights come on and a loud “Surprise” knocks me back into Wolf.  Watching everyone come to greet me, I finally get what’s going on. They are throwing me a baby shower. Cadence comes around and puts his arm around my waist, pulling me tight to his body.  The smile on his face brings such joy to my heart, and so does this new family of mine. 

Fern, assisted by Doc approaches Cadence and I with a huge smile on her face.  Gently cupping my face in her hands, she kisses my cheek, “Trinity, we wanted to make sure you had a proper baby shower for that little one so come in, greet your guests and let’s eat and have some baby fun.” 

“You all planned a baby shower for me? But you’ve already done so much for me. I have no words to express how I feel for all of you.” 

Dee Dee comes around, “Honey, you are the sweetest thing that has come into our family.  Now that Cadence and you are getting married and having a baby, we are now your family. You’re stuck with us, so let’s eat and open presents.”

Finally Cadence’s mom approaches me, hesitantly,  “I am so thrilled for both of you and happy that I am here to celebrate this happy occasion with you.” 

Looking up at her son with wet eyes, she tries to say something but Cadence puts his arms around her, pulling her close, “I know Mom. It’s okay, I know.” 

She puts her head on his chest, wrapping her arms around him, “I am so sorry Cadence for everything.” 

He nods and whispers in her ear “we will talk but not now. This is a happy time and both Trinity and I are glad that you are here to help celebrate your grandchild, okay?”   

Cadence and I sit in the middle of the room as Daisy, Archie and Willow bring gifts to for us to open.  From Daisy and Jagger we receive a basket full of baby necessities.  Willow and Archie give us a pack and go.  Surprising the both of us, the MC’s got together and purchased a stroller, car seat, diaper bag filled with all kinds of things, and a gift card to Baby’s r Us for a whopping five hundred dollars.  I’m beyond shocked.  Des and Dee purchased a rocking chair and ottoman for the baby’s room, along with a bassinet for our room to keep the baby in the first couple of weeks. Cadence’s mom’s gifts are a handmade knitted blanket, along with some cute outfits.  Besides that, as we open the box, I take in a deep breath as Cadence lifts a Christening gown out of the box.  Looking at his mom, she tells him softly, “Yes, that is the same gown your brothers and you were christened in.”