Page 25 of Kade

“I got her.” I made sure my hold was firm because she was about to blow.

And she did. A guttural and animalistic growl rumbled from her and she began twisting, trying to rip from me. “I’m going to ripthat fucker apart.”

“Maddy. Stop.” Logan stepped in, blocking her view.

I grunted, holding onto her, but not trying to bruise her. Christ. Her body was all muscle. She seemed slender. She didn’t look ripped, but there was no mistaking it. This girl was unnaturally strong. She almost got out of my arms, so I had to readjust, doing what Channing had for Max. I wrapped my arms around Maddy and picked her up. Her feet flailed in the air. That same animal sound roared from her, “I’m going to tear his insides out and wrap his intestines around his throat to strangle him. You piece of—”

“Maddy!” Logan dodged her feet, shoving them down when they would’ve gotten him. He got in her face. “Chill out.”

Some of the fight started to leave her.

I moved back, carrying her farther away from the group.

Nate and Matteo continued their glares with both groups. They weren’t letting anyone leave.

Channing, Congo, and Moose took Max away too, needing space. The two big guys were standing behind him now, and he wasn’t trying to get away anymore. His head hung down, resting on his dad’s shoulder as Channing had a hand on his shoulder. His head was folded down as he was speaking fiercely to his son. As that was happening, Max’s gaze was pinned on Maddy, regret and anguish all over his face.

Logan dropped his voice, moving closer to Maddy. “I need you to tell me right now what happened. Are you hurt? Did someone say something to you? Threaten you?”

Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. There was no reaction from her.

He asked, “Touch you?”

We both heard the slight inhale of air from her.

Horror slammed through me, and I shared a matching look with my brother. That horror quickly morphed into the need to murder someone.

Logan swallowed and cleared his expression as we looked at Max. Seemed like he’d done our job for us.

Maddy stepped away from me a little, enough to place her hand to my chest. I looked down to see her biting her lip. “It’s okay, Dad.”

Fuck no, it wasn’t. “Where?” I seethed. Fuck. Shit. I gentled my tone. “Where did he touch you, Maddy?”

Fear leaped to her eyes. She swallowed nervously. “Dad…” Her hand began shaking against my chest.

I reached up, covering it with mine. She drew in a breath, her shoulders lifting and rolling back. Her mother used to do that as well. When she was drawing in strength, she readied herself like that. Her chin tipped up, and then she’d open her eyes and face whatever was coming at her.

A wave of tender love swept through me, for both Samantha and my daughter. Before she could say anything, I cupped the back of her head and pulled her to my chest once again. “We can talk about it later.”

I heard shuffling behind us, and moved to the side, still holding my daughter. Stripes walked through the small crowd that had formed. Apparently this fight had been more entertaining than the one still happening in the ring. Boise joined Stripes as well, but he kept quiet.

“What the ever-loving fuck is happening out here?” Stripes was pissed. His chilly gaze swept over everyone. “You want to fucking fight? You do it in the ring. That’s it. There’s no violence outside of the ring. You got it?” He frowned as his gaze swept over Maddy before ending on Max.

He took in the guy still on the ground, blood pouring from him. A wheezing sounded from him. He was having a hard timebreathing. Stripes cursed under his breath, motioning to one of the bikers. “Call Prez. See if he could bring Kalista with him.”

The biker nodded, moving away, already on his phone.

One of the Roussou guys said, “He needs an ambulance.”

Stripes turned to him, and he went eerily still before he clipped out, “No ambulances. No cops.”

“But…” The guy flung an arm out, pointing at his friend. “He can’t breathe.”

“Which is why we got a nurse coming here,” Stripes barked back. “Stand the fuck down unless you’re going to give me a nicely detailed description of what exactly happened here.” He waited, his head cocked to the side.

I was struggling. The offended person was my daughter, but this was an illegal fighting ring, and it was run by a one-percenter motorcycle club. We didn’t start shit, but we finished it. That old dynamic was strong inside of me,yearningto come out.

Closing my eyes, I reached inside for some iron discipline, the same will that had helped me remain competitive as a professional athlete over the last few decades. There it was. It had slipped low, but I began pulling it up. Enough of it so it coated my insides. Once it was locked in place, nice and suppressed, I cleared my throat.

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