Page 41 of Her Saviors

“Brooky, can I please go for a ride? Please, Brooky?” Kyler asks, his voice full of excitement as he rushes over to our side and looks up at Brooklyn with pleading eyes and a pouty lip.

“This is safe for him?” she asks me as Gavin walks up to us and takes Mia into his arms.

“It’s safe. It doesn’t go fast at all. I’ve watched a little boy ride the exact same model when I went to pick it up and his dad was able to keep up with him walkin’. Wheels and I can stay on either side of him as he learns to ride it,” Gavin says, happiness filling him as Mia grabs his necklace and pulls on the chain around his neck.

“I can’t believe you two did this without talking to me about it first. We’re supposed to talk about important decisions like this,” Brooklyn states as Kyler steps up closer to her and holds her leg.

“Please, Brooky. I’ll be okay,” he tries again as she looks down at him and I can see the second she relents and gives in to the little boy we’ve all fallen in love with.

“You can go for a ride, Kyler. Not a long one. When we say it’s time to come in, you have to put it up and there will be no arguments. Okay?” she asks him, trying to be hard when she can’t pull it off at all.

Gavin and I will have to play the bad cops when the kids get older. Brooklyn is too soft-hearted when it comes to the kids and I don’t see that ever changing. I don’t want it to change. They need that soft spot to land when they’re scared or upset about something. Gavin and I can’t always give them that, but I know our wife will always give them the soft when it’s needed.

“Okay, Brooky. I love you,” Kyler says, instantly bringing tears to all of our eyes because this is the first time he’s said this to any of us.

“I love you, too, Kyler. Go for your ride and I’ll watch from here with Mia. Listen to Gavin and Jayce. If they tell you to do something, make sure you do it. They’ve been riding for a long time and want to help you so you don’t get hurt,” she says, laughing as Kyler starts hopping around and I watch as Scorch and Goliath make their way over to us from their houses.

“You get a new bike, Little Man?” Goliath asks him, a smile on his face.

“Yeah. Brooky is letting me ride it now,” he answers, pride filling his voice as we all watch Gavin hand over Mia to Brooklyn so he can go help Kyler get in his riding gear.

We’re far enough away we can’t hear what the brothers are saying to one another, but I have a feeling Gavin is explaining each piece of clothing he’s putting on Kyler and why it’s important for him to wear it. By the time Kyler is dressed in his gear, he’s got a pair of special pants over his jeans, a coat that has a chest and back plate inside so if he falls the coat won’t rip apart there. There are small riding gloves on his hands as Gavin sits on the ground to pull off Kyler’s sneakers. He puts on the smallest pair of riding boots I’ve ever seen on his brother’s feet before standing up once again. The final piece of equipment Gavin grabs is Kyler’s helmet. It’s his size and will protect him whether he’s on his own bike or riding with one of us. Yes, Gavin got a harness we can use to take him on rides around town.

I walk up to them as Kyler sits on the bike, making sure to stay out of the way as Brooklyn and Goliath take pictures of Kyler. Gavin shows him how to start the bike and Kyler pays better attention than most adults I know. In seconds, Kyler has the bike started and we’re off. He has tremendous balance already and doesn’t wobble as I expected him to. Looking up, Brooklyn is filming a video of him riding around in front of the house as more people come out to see what’s going on. Nanny is with us as she cheers Kyler on, her voice heard over the engine of the bike.

For an hour, Kyler rides his bike around and almost everyone in the club is out here to watch him. When Brooklyn taps her arm as if she’s wearing a watch, we know our fun is up. Gavin motions to Kyler after getting in front of him and Kyler immediately turns toward the garage to put his bike up. We had to work on turns with him, but Kyler picked it up quicker than we thought he would. It’s easy to see the shock and astonishment on the guys’ faces as they watch him ride. He’ll be riding bigger bikes in no time if we allow it. I guess we’ll all have to suck up to Brooklyn because I see our boy wanting to race and dip his toes in that aspect of riding if we’re not careful. We’ve created a monster at the tender age of five!

Chapter Twenty-Six

Soul

AFTER TAKING A month off of work to get into a solid routine with the kids, tonight is my first night back at Soul Escape. Country stepped up and has been running things in my place and I don’t know how I’ll ever pay him back for this. Especially when he’s had to hire some new waitresses and has been working with Fetch behind the bar on a nightly basis. Country did get a temporary bartender in to work a few nights a week because Fetch can’t always be there when he has to do other jobs for the club. Things that he doesn’t need to keep doing but refuses to stop. At least I don’t have to leave the house before the kids have had dinner and gotten into bed. I still get to participate in their bedtime routine and can read Kyler a story when he wants me to instead of Jayce or Brooklyn.

“You leaving now, Gavin?” Brooklyn asks me in her sweet voice as she walks up and wraps her arms around me from behind.

“I am, Love. I don’t want to go back to work, but I have to go in. Jayce is here. If you need me, call and I’ll come home,” I promise her, turning in her arms so I can look down at her.

Leaning down, I kiss Brooklyn deep and filled with all the love I have for her. She’s truly stepped up and stepped into the role of Mia and Kyler’s mom without hesitation or me asking her for help. She’s doing it because that’s the kind of person she is and has loved the kids from the second we saw them in the social services building back home. Pressing one last kiss against her lips, I reluctantly let her go and head for the door so I can go to work. Jayce is up taking a shower since the kids are in bed and he wants to spend some time with Brooklyn before she goes to bed.

Getting in my truck, I start the engine and back out of our driveway and slowly make my way through the compound toward the front gate. Creed is on the gate and lets me through with a wave before closing the gate behind me. Driving down the road, I look out for deer that could be crossing the road leading up to the gate. It doesn’t happen very often, but every now and then we see one or two run across the road through the trees we took out when we built everything. The wood was used and nothing went to waste because we’re not those types of guys. Everything we have, we use until there’s nothing left. I’m pretty sure for most of us, this comes from our time in the military when we didn’t have a lot of resources for certain missions and when it came to food. If it weren’t for Cricket, Fee, and Nanny, I’m not sure what we would have done. They always made sure to take care of us as often as they could.

In a matter of minutes, I’m pulling up behind Soul Escape and I know deep in my gut this is going to take some getting used to. For a month I’ve been home and my sole focus has been on my family. Now, I have to switch that part of my mind off and focus on the night club and what’s going on here. It’s the last thing I want to do as I park my truck and shut the engine off before getting out and making sure the doors are locked and my alarm is armed. Country pulls up next to me and gets out of his truck, stepping up next to me.

“You good, Soul?” he asks me, his voice a little rough as I take a close look at him.

“Not really. What about you? Are you gettin’ sick, Country?” I ask him, seeing how pale he is under the lights in the parking lot as Blair and Fetch pull in behind us.

“I’ll be okay. Haven’t been sleepin’ all that good lately. And pickin’ up the hours for you here has left me feelin’ rundown I guess,” he answers me, yawning and covering his mouth with his hand.

“Go home, Country. We’ll be okay here at the club tonight. I appreciate everythin’ you’ve done for me so I could be with the kids and my wife. Take some time off and make sure you don’t get too sick. We’ve already all dealt with the flu and don’t need somethin’ else goin’ through the compound,” I tell him as Country already starts shaking his head in response.

“I’ll be okay, I’ll work in the office or somethin’,” he replies. “Gotta sort through some orders and update the spreadsheets so we can make sure we’ve got enough inventory.”

With a nod of my head, because I know how stubborn Country is, the two of us head toward the door with Fetch following us. He should be walking at our side as a fully patched member would. Still, even after all this time, Fetch acts as if he’s a Prospect and nothing we say changes how he acts or does things around the compound. It’s one of the reasons he still goes through each business to see who needs help and what he can do for all of us. Just like he cleans around the compound and does most of the jobs our Prospects are supposed to do. In his mind, it’s like Fetch will always see himself as the kid we found on the streets, scrounging for food. That’s not who he is. He’s a strong, loving, supportive, loyal guy who got put in a shitty situation and dealt with it the best he could.

Before I’m even through the door of the club, I’m ready to turn around and go home. Maybe Brooklyn can go back to work and I’ll be a stay-at-home dad. No, I wouldn’t really do that to my wife, but it’s nice to think about. We enter the club and Fetch turns on the lights as we go so we can see. I walk to the main floor and am appalled at what the fuck I’m seeing.

“What the hell happened here?” I ask, turning to face Country as he looks around the room with me.

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