Page 34 of Tav

Pops drops his head, huffing out a large breath and I try hard not to snort as he looks just like Niko used to as a toddler when I told him no.

“Yes Pres,” He grumbles, then raises his head to look at me and give me a wink. I try to stifle my giggle while everyone talks amongst themselves, organizing who’s on what, who is reporting where, and so on.

Chewy is right in the middle with the MC brothers and I’m intrigued. I learned all I know about MC’s from Sons of Anarchy and a bunch of MC romance books and I always thought that Ol Lady’s had no say; it being a man’s world and all that. But these huge scary men are listening to what Chewy is saying, taking on board her ideas. Same with Remy and, in fact, all the women here.

“Not quite what you expected huh?” Nat says, snuggled into the side of a tall, dark-haired man that I’m guessing is her Ol Man Savage. Jeez Louise, these two make a stunning couple.

“Not at all. I knew enough about the MC to know that my kids would be safe here if I had to send them to Tav. I knew they were good men. But they were men, a group of them, and in my past a group of men, no matter how morally upstanding they are, can be chauvinistic as hell. Which is why I was pissed when I found out Tav claimed me. I’m my own woman. I don’t need anyone, especially not a man, to tell me what to do.” She smirks at me as if knowing full well what I’m going to say next. “But since I’ve been here, it’s been anything but that. I mean, look at how closely they’re listening to Chewy,” I gesture toward the group.

“Her brain connects the dots faster than anyone I’ve ever met. I mean, yeah, she’s a bit wacky, but she’s damn good at her job.”

“Security?” I ask.

A big grin stretches Nat’s face. “Nah, enforcing,”

Chapter 10

Tav

Once everyone agrees on the best course of action, which is pretty much Wire and his team doing a deep dive into all things Eden’s Keep while the rest of us keep an eye out for Officer Dickwad, I have enough time to drop a kiss to the top of Blanche’s head before she heads off with my sister to supply them with whatever information might help.

“Well, Tav, I can see why your girl was cagey all this time,” Gus says as he drops into a seat next to me at one of the long tables.

“Yup. I still can’t be too sure that she won’t take off on me after all this is done, but the plan is to get her to fall so madly in love with me that running away won’t even enter her mind.” I let him in on my cunning plan.

Ana flops down on Gus’s lap, his big hand coming up to rest on her belly, pressing against her shiny blouse. “Tav, trust me, as a reformed runner from relationships, that woman has strong feelings for you. It’s just that her fear and anger are stronger. I think once she’s dealt with that, she’ll be all yours.” She smiles at me before pressing a kiss to Gus’s stubbly cheek. I watch as my brother melts and send up a prayer for it to be my turn soon.

“Tav, do you know where Blanche is? The kids are getting sleepy and I think they want their mama,” Mama Debs calls from the hall entrance.

Pushing myself up from my seat, I head in her direction. “Pixie is busy helping the Computas at the moment. I’ll grab them and get them sorted. Thanks Mama,” I drop a kiss to the top of her curly gray head, patting her on the shoulder. “Go find that grumpy old man you like so much,” she snorts, her eyes twinkling before she cups my cheek, rubbing her thumb on my beard and smiling.

“Love you, Tav,”

Her words hit me straight in the gut and remind me that people don’t have to be related to you by blood for them to be your family. “Love you too, Mama,”

I blink a few times and then make my way down the long hall. Last time the kids stayed here we had the girls in one room, the boys in another. I notice that both Cove and Elio are in the same room this time, their toys already neatly stacked in the corner. Elio is sitting cross-legged at the foot of his bed, looking at a book. Cove is lying on her tummy on top of her bed coloring and Jovie is on the floor between the two of them, spouting out random dinosaur facts.

“OK kids, it’s time for bed.”

Jovie gets up immediately, going first to Elio. “Night, night Elio, I’ll see you in the morning,” she puckers up and drops a kiss to the top of his head. “Night, night Cove, you can sit next to me at breakfast tomorrow,” she wanders over to Cove, puckers up and drops a kiss on her head too. She is such a little sweetheart.

“Night Jovie! Thanks for playing with us. I’ll sit next to you and we can eat pancakes together!,” Cove says in her overly loud voice. I wonder if I should introduce her to Switch?

Jovie walks up to me, raising her arms, so I pick her up then pull her in for a hug, “Thank you for looking after my friends today, Jovie. Night, night, sweet girl.”

She pulls back and drops a kiss on my cheek, “Love you, Uncle Tav,”

I place her back on the ground and she skips off down the hall, with far too much energy for this time of the night.

“OK, Littles,” I say, using their mom’s nickname for them, “Let’s get cleaned up and into PJs. Your mom is a little busy at the moment.”

“She helping catch the bad men?” Cove asks excitedly.

“Yup. She sure is. So let’s surprise her by doing our nightly routine and getting ready for bed, huh?”

Both kids get up and talk at the same time, telling me what usually happens. This is where my well-laid plans all seem to fall apart. Cove only likes having baths, but the clubhouse doesn’t have a bathtub. Which I inform her and am then met with tears. And not quiet, resigned tears, but huge fat tears coupled with heaving breaths and an explanation I can barely understand. I look to Elio for help and he gifts me with wide eyes and a shrug. Looks like me and little dude are both at a loss.

My inability to control this situation gets worse when Rider stops by. “Whoa, what’s going on?”

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