Page 21 of Hurricane's House

“Of course I do, I just don’t want to call and wake up the baby,” Blade said.

“While that’s very sweet, it’s not why I’m calling,” Wren said. “I need a favor. Have you seen a teenage girl hanging around the club? She’s thirteen, has dark hair and brown eyes. Although she might have dyed her hair to throw us off her trail.”

“Why would she want to throw you off her trail? Who is this kid, anyway?” Blade asked.

“Do you remember I told you about Hurricane hooking up with some woman?” she asked.

“Hey,” Tina breathed.

“I do, and I take it that she’s there with you,” Blade said.

“She is. Tina, meet Blade,” Wren introduced them. “Now that the formalities are out of the way, the kid is Tina’s niece. She has custody of her since Chasity’s parents passed and she’s a runner.”

“What makes you think that she’ll show up here?” Blade asked.

“Because she was hanging out with us a while back and Yonkers and I were telling Hurricane about the clubhouse down there. Chasity asked me a lot of questions about Huntsville and my accent. She was intrigued about us living in the South and I didn’t make anything of it back then. But now, she’s been missing for a few weeks and the guys have been out searching up here for her, but have had no luck.”

“You think that she’d be hanging out down here and we wouldn’t notice?” he asked.

“She looks older than her age and I know that she can make herself look older with the right clothes and makeup,” Tina interrupted.

“Shit, if she’s sneaking in and acting older, we might be in some real trouble. You know Savage won’t let that kind of shit happen in his clubhouse. Send me a picture of the kid and I’ll show it to Savage and Bowie. Maybe we can get some guys out looking for her down here too,” Blade offered.

“Thank you,” Tina breathed. “I appreciate you being willing to help us find her. I just hope that she’s okay.” The thought of Chasity hanging around with older guys, pretending to be of age, scared the hell out of her. She already had to grow up faster than most kids her age, with the passing of both her parents, but this would take things to a new level.

“You’re a part of us now, Tina,” Blade said. “If you’re with Hurricane, then you’re a Royal Bastard.” It felt strange being a part of anything. For so long, it had just been her against the world. When Chasity joined her life, she felt less alone, but having the backing of the Royal Bastards behind her felt like she had a family again. Hurricane had given her that, and she was thankful for both him and his guys.

“Thank you, Blade,” Tina said. “You don’t know how much that means to me.”

“Not a problem,” Blade insisted. “I’ll be in touch tonight, sis,” he said.

“Okay, don’t forget that the baby goes down for the night at nine,” Wren reminded.

“I haven’t forgotten,” Blade grumbled. “Talk soon.” He ended the call, and Wren slipped her phone into her back pocket.

“You look worried,” Wren said, taking Tina’s hand into her own. “We’ve got you,” her friend promised. “If anyone can find Chasity, it’s the Royal Bastards. With them behind you, you’ll have her home in no time.” Tina just hoped like hell that Wrenwasn’t making her a promise that couldn’t be kept because she wanted her niece back more than anything.

Hurricane

Hurricane finished up his meeting with a few of the guys, giving updates, and figuring out their next move. Honestly, none of them knew what came next, but they couldn’t give up on Chasity.

He had taken a few minutes to talk to Reacher and Yonkers, and the three of them were about to head out when Tina and Wren came running into the bar. “Where’s our daughter?” Yonkers asked his wife.

“With your mother, and before you give me any grief, I’ve checked, and everything is fine. The baby is sleeping, and your mom is resting. Besides, this is important, and you guys need to listen to Tina and me.”

“Your wife sure is bossy,” Reacher teased. Wren shot him a look and Reacher just smiled and shrugged as though being mean mugged by a woman didn’t bother him any.

“I’d love to be able to tell you that you’re wrong, but you’re not man,” Yonkers grumbled.

Hurricane pulled Tina against his body, kissing the top of her head as she snuggled into his side. Being away from her for evena few hours had him missing her. “What’s the news?” Hurricane asked, keeping ahold of his woman.

“Wren called her brother, Blade, down in Huntsville. She thinks that Chasity might have run down there.”

“Chasity did seem to ask a lot of questions when she and Yonkers came over after you both moved in with me,” Hurricane said. That felt like it was a lifetime ago. He was so alone without Tina and Chasity, and now, they were going to be a family with a new addition. He wasn’t sure how he had gotten so lucky, but he wasn’t about to start questioning things now.

“Yep, that’s what we thought, so I called Blade and sent him a recent picture of Chasity,” Wren explained.

“That was good thinking,” Hurricane praised.

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