Page 34 of Papa's Beloved

I run full speed and punt the fucker in the ribs when I get there. With anoof, he lands on his side. I keep kicking. Gambit pulls Nay to her feet while I literally kick the shit out of this bastard. He makes it to his feet. When he faces me, I recognize him. It’s Jacob Goldman, the relative my brother called me about. I know I’ve seen him somewhere else, but I can’t place it.

Instead of coming at me, the fucker takes off. Oh, hell no. I run after him, tackling him to the ground. While I plan on doing more to him, not in public. I slam his head into the ground with enough force to knock him out, but not enough to kill him. Although I can’t swear he doesn’t have a concussion.

I feel a hand on my shoulder and look up to see Gambit.

“Doc’s with Nay and the old lady. I’ll get prospects here to pick up the trash.”

“We don’t have time. I have zip ties. We can throw him in Doc’s cage.”

I ran up to Nay and dropped a kiss on her lips. “I’ll be right back, Beloved.”

She nods.

“Need your keys, Doc.”

He gives me his keys. I sprint to my sled, grabbing zip ties from the bags, and then head to Doc’s Jeep. I drive it through thepark. The earth is dry and the grass is already dead. I shouldn’t leave much of a trail in the dead grass.

Gambit already has Jacob on his shoulder in a fireman’s carry. Doc is tending to the old lady. It’s killing me not to have Nay in my arms. She’s got a busted lip and a bloody nose. Swelling around her eyes. At least one is going to be black in the next few hours.

I zip tie his hands and feet. Gambit tosses him into the jeep. I close the door and hurry to Nay, taking her into my arms.

“Thank fuck you're okay, baby.”

“I had him until I tripped. He was going to hit Velma,” Nay says, tipping her head slightly toward the other woman.

I keep my arms protectively wrapped around my woman.

“Velma, are you okay? Can we give you a ride home?”

She shakes her head. “You’ve got your hands full. I can walk.”

Velma turns to Nay. “Thank you, young lady. He wanted to hurt me more than he wanted to Rob me.”

“I promise you. He’ll never hurt another woman again.”

“I hope you feed him to the gators,” Velma says with a smile and a wink.

“I’ll walk her home,” Gambit says. “Get your woman home.”

“Can you ride, Beloved?”

“I think so.”

“I’ll go slow.”

“Take me home.”

I pick her up and carry her bridal style back to my sled. I get on, then help her on before backing out of the spot and heading back to the compound. I go slower than the speed limit to lessen the jarring on Nay’s body.

Halfway home, Gambit catches up with us. We rode together to the compound. When I go to park, Gambit stops me.

“Pull up to the door. I’ll get your sled taken care of.”

I do as he suggests and drive us to the door. I help Nay off the bike before dismounting. I turn my sled off but leave the keys in the ignition. Once I have Beloved in my arms, I hurry into the building and through the lobby.

The wait for the elevator took forever. Blue’s inside when the doors open. His eyes widen and he puts his arm out to hold the door.

“I’ll help.”

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