Page 36 of Raptor

"She told me about that night," I say evenly. She even told me she was scared in case they found her. "Stephen killed the guy, right?"

Maverick's brows practically hit his hairline. "She told you what happened?"

"Of course she did. What has happened since?"

"Fuck," Freddie growls. "What she didn't tell you, man, was that she was pregnant. She was around six months along that night. She gave birth three months ago. Congrats, man, you're a dad. You have a son."

The silence is deafening. "I'm sorry, what?" I say through clenched teeth.

"Not getting into the hows or whys about why she never told you. All I know is that she gave birth to your son, and it was when she was released from the hospital that she went into hiding. Didn't find out until last night what actually went down."

"Tell me," I snarl, beyond pissed right now.

"Mallory came home with Shay. That night, Micah O'Leary broke into her house. He stood over her bed and threatened her at knife point. He blames her for the death of his brother. He stabbed her and sliced her open. I've only seen a little of the scar, but from what I've gathered it's a fucking lot worse than she's led me to believe. She's been scared, terrified, that he'll come for her." Freddie glances at her unconscious body on the table. "I guess that fear was right. We shouldn't have fucking let her go home alone."

Maverick nods. "Shit, man, she dropped both Freddie and I home. We thought she was safe. Had we any idea what would happen, we'd never have left her."

"Where's my son?" I ask, still fucking unable to wrap my head around that shit. Right now, I just need the doctor to come and sort Mallory out and to locate our son.

"We don't know," Maverick replies. "She hasn't given anyone the address. But he's with Mallory's mam, Jayne."

"Smart," Pyro says. "Fuck, where's her cell? Surely she'll have her mom's number saved?"

"Prez," Bozo calls out. "Gráinne's here."

A petite woman walks in, her blonde hair tied up into a messy bun at the top of her head. "What happened?" she asks, her voice filled with horror. "God, what happened to this woman?"

"Gra, we don't know. She's just shown up like this. We need you to help her. Can you do that?" Bozo says, his voice soft but firm.

"Of course, but Christ, Connor, this woman has been through hell." She doesn't hesitate to get to work, slicing through Mallory's dress. I bite back a curse as acid swirls through my stomach. From the base of her neck down to her breast and across to her arm has a jagged scar. It's pink and puffy, which means it wasn't done by a professional. Who the fuck patched her up?

"Shit, she's been stabbed. She's bleeding profusely. Christ," Gráinne cries. "I'm going to need a hand. This is going to hurt her. I don't have the painkillers to stop her from hurting."

"I've got you, doc," Maverick says as he steps forward. "What do you need?"

"I need you to keep her still. I need to clean the wound and then I'm going to have to stitch her up." Her gaze assesses Mallory's beaten body. "Someone has been working her over for a while now. She's got old bruises that are fading. Anyone know the last time she was beaten?"

I glance between Maverick and Freddie. Both of them are shaking their heads in the negative. When my gaze catchesDenis', I see the anger and rage swirling in his eyes. Mallory is Chloe's friend. She's been a part of their lives for a while now. It's got to hurt seeing someone you care about like this.

Fuck, it does hurt, but she's kept so fucking much from me. She's kept my son from me. Why the fuck would she do that? I don't understand what possessed her to do that. It makes no fucking sense. We've got a lot to discuss when she's awake and up to it, but right now, the doc needs to focus on her. "Anyone have Jayne's number?"

"I have a cell phone here, in her pocket, if that's of any use?" the doc says as she pulls on gloves.

Maverick reaches into the pocket and hands it to Denis. "You'll be the best one to talk to Jayne."

Denis nods and walks out of the clubhouse.

"Brother," Py says low. "I get that you're angry and you have every right to be, but right now, she needs you to have a clear head."

I inhale through my nostrils, taking in deep breaths as I try to quell the rage that's swarming inside of me. "Why didn't she tell anyone?"

"Chloe and Jess have had enough violence in their lives. There's something you have to realize about Mallory. She protects those she cares about," Maverick begins. "When Chloe was being bullied in school, it was Mallory who beat the shit out of the girl who did it. She'll do whatever the hell it takes to ensure those she loves aren't hurt, and for Mallory, adding more violence to her girls was never going to happen, so she kept it to herself until she couldn't anymore."

Anguish fills Pyro's face, and I get it. His woman has had violence touch her, and he's grateful Mallory didn't bring hers to his door and trigger Chloe, but fuck, that's my woman and she's been through this shit alone. Christ.

"Jayne's on her way," Denis says as he re-enters the room. "She's been worried sick. She said Mallory never got home last night and she called her over a dozen times this morning when she woke and saw that she wasn't home. She finally got a hold of her and she said it was bad. She's been going out of her mind."

"She didn't look for her though, did she?" Preacher snaps.

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