Page 6 of Bond

CHAPTER 3

BOND

I kept an eye out to see if we were being tailed, but it didn’t seem like it. I’d clocked one of the gang members as I’d left the yard; you couldn’t miss them with their denim jackets depicting a black snake that I assumed was the Black Mamba. He’d seemed more worried about chatting up the woman who was with him than being a lookout. Small blessing that he was more worried about getting his dick wet than doing his job.

It didn’t take long for Rochelle to join Daisy in sleep. My heart hurt for them. While I didn’t know what it was like to have a parent who gave a shit about you, I’d been in the company of some pretty phenomenal parents since I’d been with the Crows, and I knew how much it had to have hurt Rochelle to leave her dad behind, especially as he was obviously a good one.

It was closing in on eight in the evening when I pulled into the private drive at the back of the hotel. I’d worry about unloading tomorrow. Tonight, I wanted to get my girls into my room so that they could get comfortable.

Switching off the engine, I sat back in my seat with a relieved sigh, thankful that I was back on home ground where there was protection.

Getting out, I stretched my back out and swung my arms, trying to ease the tension that had crept up my neck and shoulders, knowing that if anything were to happen, I’d be hard-pressed toprotect Rochelle and Daisy by myself. With the type of threat against her, I needed to assess how much she knew about firearms. Although having grown up here, where most people carried a firearm, I’d be surprised if she didn’t know how to shoot.

Through my open door, I could see that Rochelle was still fast asleep and Daisy hadn’t made a peep the whole journey. I wasn’t sure if I should be worried about that or not because she seemed to be really quiet for a baby as young as her.

Walking around to the passenger side rear door, I slowly opened it. Just then, the back door to the private rooms of the hotel opened, and Skinny, Josie, Blaze, and Cairo walked out.

Not wanting to wake Rochelle and Daisy up, I nodded at my brothers as they walked up.

“Hey,” I quietly greet them.

“Bond, you doing okay?” Blaze asks just as quietly, coming up beside me to look into the back.

“I’m good, brother. Can one of you grab Daisy and the bags that Roch put on the floor? I’ll have to unpack the truck tomorrow; I don’t want to leave them alone tonight,” I tell them.

“Give me the keys,” Cairo says, holding out his hand. “Blaze and I’ll go and unload into the warehouse, and you can sort it tomorrow. Safer than leaving the parts out here, where they can be nicked."

“Thanks,” I reply, tossing him my keys before removing Rochelle’s seat belt. Skinny is on the other side of the car from me, and he’s unhooked the car seat from the base and handed it to Josie before grabbing their bags from the car. Once he has them all, I slip my hands under Rochelle and pick her up and out of the car. I’m shocked at how light she is. Surely, she should beheavier. I hope she’s been getting enough to eat, especially as she is nursing.

Rochelle wakes slightly when Cairo starts the truck and looks up at me, her green eyes hazy with sleep.

“Daisy,” she says, looking around.

“It’s okay, Skinny’s Old Lady has Daisy,” I tell her, nodding towards Josie, who is walking slightly ahead of us. “Skinny is behind us with your bags. We’re going to my room, and I’ll get you two settled and some food sent up.”

“Okay,” she says, snuggling her head back into my shoulder with a soft but heartfelt, “thank you.”

It made me wonder how long she’d been carrying the weight of the world by herself. She’d not have to do that anymore, not now that she was with us.

It wasn’t long and we were at my door. “Where are your keys?” Josie asks.

“Here,” I answer, shaking the keys on the finger of the hand that was cradling Rochelle’s legs.

“You can put me down,” Rochelle informs me.

“It’s okay, baby,” I tell her as Josie takes the keys from where I had them hanging off my finger and opens the door. After a year of not allowing myself to think about her and what could be, I liked having her close, and if that meant carrying her for a bit, well then, I was good with that.

Josie pushed open the door to my room and switched on the light that turned the bedside lamps on rather than the main light. Immediately, I saw that someone had taken the time to add a cot for Daisy, and I now had a microwave sitting on the dresser along with a case of bottled water. Stopping at the foot of the bed, I set Rochelle on the end.

Josie set Daisy’s car seat on the bed next to Rochelle with a smile, holding out her hand to introduce herself, “Hi, I’m Josie. It’s lovely to meet you.”

Rochelle shakes Josie’s hand with a smile, “Hi, Josie. Thank you for bringing Daisy in for me. I appreciate it.”

“Aw, that’s okay, she’s a real cutie and so tiny,” Josie says.

“She is,” Rochelle answers. “She’ll be waking up soon to eat. I’m surprised she hasn’t started crying yet.”

Josie shrugs her shoulders a little, pulling the light blanket down so she could look at Daisy’s face, “Probably the car ride. I know I’m asleep before we even get to the end of the road if I’m not driving.”

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