The Rockers' Babies (The Rocker... Series) (24 page)

His partner, a chubby jerk of a man with a seventies porn star mustache and an attitude watched Jesse, Nik, and me as we stood watching them. All they were doing was taking the report, nodding their heads every

now and then and irritating the fuck out of Em.

Mia wrapped her arms tighter around me, eyeing the skinny cop a little warily. I kissed her forehead,

bringing her attention back to me and giving her a reassuring smile. She snuggled closer. “Is Daddy okay

now?” she whispered.

I glanced over at Nik, who had a death grip on Emmie’s hand. He had stopped shaking for the most

part, but that wildness in his eyes hadn’t dimmed even a little. If I put myself in his shoes, and it was Lana lying in that bed, I was sure that I wouldn’t have been anywhere close to as calm as he was now. “Yeah,

Mia. Daddy is fine now. He was just worried about Momma.”

“Momma has a boo-boo. Daddy hasn’t kissed it yet.” She looked worriedly at her mother. “It’s

bleeding.”

When I glanced back at Emmie I saw that Mia was right and the wound on Em’s head was bleeding

again. I stepped forward. “Can we hurry this along? The doctor needs to get her stitched up.”

Chubby raised a brow at me. “I would think you would be more concerned with finding your niece, Mr.

Stevenson.”

“I would think you would be just as concerned, dipshit,” I growled at him, adjusting Mia in my arms so

I didn’t drop her. “Shouldn’t you be out there looking for her right now?”

“We have our finest officers looking for her right now, sir,” skinny twig assured me, obviously the

more diplomatic of the two. “An Amber Alert has been issued and we have road blocks up throughout the

city.”

“Perfect.” Emmie gave them a tight, fake smile. “Thanks for all your hard work. But I really do think

the doctor should come in now. I’m not feeling very well.”

Skinny closed his notebook. “Of course, ma’am. But we will have to come back in the morning for you

to sign the statement. And we will be in touch as soon as Miss Thornton is found.” The last was addressed

to Jesse who only gave him a brisk nod.

Both cops turned to leave and I waited until the door was closed behind them before stepping closer to

Em. “I want to go with Jesse and Nik to make the drop.”

Emmie shook her head. “You and Shane are needed here, Drake. I need you to keep Lana calm so she

can soothe Layla. I’m not able to be there to help them, so I am really counting on you.”

She was right, and I didn’t want to make this any harder on her. She wasn’t allowed out of bed for

twenty-four hours to make sure she wasn’t having a miscarriage. That didn’t stop the burning need in me to

go with my band brothers to get Lucy back. Or the intense desire to kick the guts out of Vince Grady.

“They won’t be going in unprotected,” Emmie assured me. “I’ve called Seller. He’s going to be in the

background when Jesse hands the money over. As soon as they have Lucy, he’s going to take the bastard

down.”

The door opened before I could ask another question and the doctor came in. “I really do need to get

you stitched up now, Mrs. Armstrong. Then we can get you into your room and the tech can do the

ultrasound.”

“One more minute!” she snapped at him.

“No,” he told her calmly and moved to the sink across the room to wash his hands. “Gentlemen, I’m

afraid I must insist that I tend to the lady. You need to step out, all of you.”

“Like fuck.” Nik didn’t budge, tightening his hold on Em’s hand. “I’m not going anywhere.”

“Mr. Armstrong…” the doctor began, but it was Emmie who got him to leave.

“It’s okay, baby.” She tugged him closer and he bent to kiss her lips. “Besides, you and Jesse need to get

moving. Right?”

He looked torn and then Jesse put his hand on Nik’s shoulder. “We have things that require our

attention, man.”

“Right.” Nik grimaced. “I love you.”

Emmie kissed him again, lingering this time. “I love you too. Be safe.”

He only nodded as he followed Jesse out of the room. I took Mia to her mother so that she could kiss

her. “Does your head hurt, Momma?”

“A little.” Emmie smacked a kiss on Mia’s cheek. “But I’ll be all better in the morning, flower fairy.

Now go with Uncle Drake. Help him take care of Aunt Lana and Layla for Momma, okay?”

“Okay, Momma. Daddy will kiss your boo-boo better later,” she promised.

“I know, baby. Be good.”

Mia wrapped her arms back around my neck, but I was reluctant to leave her alone. “Em…”

She caught my hand and gave it a squeeze. “Take care of them for me. They need you more than I do.”

“This fucking sucks.” I brushed a kiss over her cheek. “Here.” I handed her my cell phone. “Call Lana’s

cell if you need anything.”

When I got back to Layla’s room the twins were gone, having been taken back to the nursery for the

evening. Shane was sitting on the edge of the bed, holding Layla’s hand, while my angel stroked her hair.

Layla looked like she was in shock, her face pale, her eyes vacant. Her tears had dried, but their trails on her face still remained.

I placed Mia on her feet and crossed to hug Angel, who didn’t look much better than her sister. Her free

hand went around my waist and she placed her head on my chest. For the longest time no one spoke. Not

even Mia who climbed into a chair by the window and just sat watching all the adults around her.

It was Harper who finally broke the tense silence when her cell phone buzzed and she muttered a curse

when she saw the text she had received. “It’s Rex. He says that the tabloids have gotten wind of everything.

Some rookie cop blabbed his mouth, looking for some quick cash. They know the Amber Alert is for

Lucy.”

“Em already had Seller tighten security earlier today,” Shane said, his voice quiet as he continued to

hold Layla’s hand. “They won’t be able to get in here.”

I felt Angel tremble and urged her into the chair beside Mia. She looked wasted. Her face drawn and

pale. Her eyes bloodshot and puffy. “Get off your feet, Angel.”

“Layla needs me,” she protested.

I kissed her to quieten her. “I’ll take care of her.” Another quick kiss and I moved to sit on the edge of

the bed.

“She’s probably scared right now,” Layla whispered, a sob in her voice. “I want her here with me. I

want to hold her and tell her it’s going to be okay.”

“You’ll have her by the end of the night,” I promised her. “Lucy’s strong. Brave. Sassy just like you and

Angel. She’s going to be okay, sweetheart.”

“What if he hurts her?” She covered her face and her shoulders started to shake. “Oh gods, what if he

hurts her?”

“Then Jesse will grind him into dust,” Lana burst out. “He will kill the fucking bastard and burn the

body.” Beside her, Mia made a distressed tone, not used to her Aunt Lana like this. Angel sucked in a

calming breath and reached for the little girl. “Sorry, baby,” she whispered against Mia’s hair as she kissed the top of her head. “I’m sorry.”

“I don’t like this night,” Mia informed her aunt.

“That makes two of us, baby cakes,” Harper assured her. “This night royally sucks.”

I had to agree with them. It sucked balls. And all we could do was sit and wait.

Chapter 22

Lucy

So this was my real father? The man who had helped Lydia Daniels give me life.

He was kind of ugly-looking and I was suddenly very glad I looked more like the woman who had

brought me into the world than this disgusting man. I don’t call her my mom. I had never really called that woman Mom. From the time I could remember it had been Lana who had taken care of me until Lydia had

died and we had moved in with Layla. It was then that I really understood what a mom was like. Layla was

everything a kid could want in a mom. And this man? He was everything nightmares were made of. His

teeth were yellow, his eyes all glassy-looking. He was kind of skinny, boney really. Tattoos up his arms that didn’t make much sense to me. His hair was messy and smelled nasty, like he hadn’t had a shower in a

while.

Vince Grady was mean too. Real mean. He had hurt Emmie. Made her bleed and then just left her on the

side of the road. When I had run, making him chase me, he hadn’t liked that very much. As punishment he

had hit me five times in the face. Now my face felt swollen and hurt so bad I couldn’t help but cry. I had

the lingering taste of blood on my tongue where he had split my lip from his first slap.

Now he was pacing back and forth, kind of like Shane did sometimes when he was worried. Only

Vince was talking to himself, and scratching at his arms. I noticed he had a few sores on his arms and every now and then would scratch a scab off of one of them, causing blood to drip down his arm. Yuck.

There were noises coming from the room next door that were scaring me, and I kept hearing sirens in

the distance. This wasn’t a good part of town. He hadn’t bothered to cover my eyes as he drove me through

the city with my hands tied and my legs taped together so I couldn’t run away again. So I knew that this

part of the city was what some of the older kids in my school would call ghetto.

I wasn’t sure how long we had been in this smelly old motel room, but my legs had fallen asleep a

while ago and I had to use the bathroom really bad. I was scared to tell him that though. Scared he would

have to watch while I peed. I didn’t want him to see me like that.

From my back pocket my cellphone vibrated and not for the first time. Vince, seemingly lost in his own

world as he continued to pace and mutter and scratch his bleeding arms, didn’t notice the slight noise

though. I knew it had to be Harris and shut my eyes as I said a little prayer that I would get to see my best friend again. He was probably mad at me right now. I had promised to go trick-or-treating with him tonight

and he no doubt thought I had bailed on him. Part of me wished he were here with me now. He was braver

than I was, and he wouldn’t let this man do anything to hurt me. Another part, a bigger part, was glad he

was home with his dad. Safe from the monster I shared DNA with.

The vibrating stopped and I closed my eyes. I was tired and my face was hurting so bad. I wanted to go

home, wanted to see Layla and the twins… Wanted my dad to hold me and keep me safe.

Tears that had nothing to do with the pain I was in leaked from the corner of my eyes. Vince Grady

might be my real father, but Jesse Thorton was my dad. Completely. Totally. A million percent. He loved

me. Would never hurt me like this gross, evil man had hurt me. I prayed that I would get to see him again.

Get to hug him and tell him how much I loved him…

I must have dozed off because the next thing I knew Vince was shaking me. I opened my eyes or at

least tried to. My left eye was completely swollen shut now from where he had hit me earlier and my right

one felt heavy and achy. “Time to go.”

His breath so close to my face made me gag and I tried to turn my head to get away from the stench

before I vomited all over him. Eww. How could someone smell that bad? Like week-old trash that had been

sitting in the sun. It smelled sour and dirty and vile.

Vince lifted me and tossed me over his shoulder roughly, hurting my stomach with his boney shoulder.

I hoped he didn’t drop me, because he didn’t look strong like my dad or Drake, Shane, and Nik. I was sure

even Axton was stronger than this guy. He carried me like a sack of potatoes out of the room and I noticed

that it was dark outside. It had still been daylight when he had brought me here. I wondered what time it

was and where he was taking me.

I’d heard his part of the conversation when he had talked to Dad on the phone earlier. He was going to

exchange me for a lot of money tonight. Money that my dad would pay because he loved me. I just hoped

Dad didn’t get hurt.

When we got to the old beat up truck that Vince had used to hit Emmie’s SUV with, he tossed me in the

back instead of placing me in the front seat like he had before. My elbow hit something metal and I

whimpered in pain. He jumped in and started the truck. It backfired twice, making me jump and whimper

again, but then he was backing up and the wheels were squealing as he pulled into traffic.

He didn’t drive far before he stopped and just sat parked for a while. It was dark out here. No lights

from buildings. No stars or even a moon. It was so dark that at first I thought I was going blind or that my right eye had swollen shut too…

The sudden lights of an oncoming vehicle reassured me that I could still see out of my right eye. Vince

got out of his truck and must have left the door open because I didn’t hear it shut. After only a moment I

heard two doors open and my heart stopped.

Was it my dad here to get me? Or was it someone else?

When I heard a deep, angry voice I breathed a sigh of relief. “Daddy,” I whispered, then strained to hear

what he was saying.

“Where is she?” he demanded and it sounded like an animal growling.

“Back of the truck. You got my money?” Vince sounded anxious. I wondered if he had lost some of his

scariness in the face of the big beast that was my dad. Not many people, scary or not, could see my dad and not be intimidated.

“Right here, Grady. As soon as you give me my girl and sign these papers you can have the money,”

Dad told him, still sounding all growly.

“Papers? I don’t remember agreeing to sign no papers.”

“Right here… Sign them and take your money.” It was a different voice this time. Nik! I wanted to cry

out, ask him if Emmie was okay but I was too scared to speak. What if Vince heard me and changed his