Page 20 of Slash
She wasn’t sure how she’d face him after that.
But her thoughts derailed when she spotted Kayleigh at the breakfast table between Emilee and Makenzie, headphones on, watching cartoons on her tablet with a stack of pancakes in front of her.
Relief swept through Nicole. Her little girl looked safe. Happy.
She almost believed things could stay that way.
Until Savage walked in, phone pressed to his ear, his face carved into stone. Slash was two steps behind him, his own expression lethal.
Nicole’s stomach dropped.
“Savage,” she asked, voice trembling, “what is it?”
He didn’t answer right away. Instead, he handed the phone to Slash.
The scarred enforcer’s jaw clenched as he listened, his scar pulling tight with every second. His eyes found Nicole’s and the look in them told her everything.
Something was very, very wrong.
He ended the call with a hard snap of his thumb and turned toward her. “It was your ex.”
Her blood ran cold. “W-what?”
“He had his mother call Dax’s office.” Slash’s voice was gravel, low and dangerous. “Left a message that she knows where you are, that she wants her granddaughter. Said Kayleigh isn’t safe with a bunch of bikers.”
Nicole’s knees weakened. Her ex had always been manipulative, always cruel but this was different. This was a threat. He wanted to take Kayleigh from her, and he wanted her to know he knew exactly where they were.
Slash closed the distance between them in three strides, his big hand cupping the back of her neck. Not gentle. Not soft. Possessive. Anchoring.
“He won’t touch you. He won’t touch her. Do you hear me?”
Nicole’s breath came fast and shallow. “He’s… he’s unpredictable, Slash.” Her throat closed up, the memories choking her.
“Shh.” Slash pressed his forehead to hers, a growl rumbling low in his chest. “Don’t give him that power again. I don’t care what he did before. He doesn’t get near you now. Not while I’m breathing.”
Behind them, the room had gone tense. Lucky muttered a curse, Irish had left the table in a hurry, and Rampage was already pulling his cut on.
The Watchmen didn’t need more details. They’d heard enough.
Nicole clutched Slash’s shirt, her voice breaking. “What if he tries to take her?”
Slash’s eyes darkened, a storm of fury and promise. “Then he’ll learn what kind of monster I really am.”
The room went silent at the raw violence in his tone.
Nicole shivered. Part of her recoiled at the thought of more blood, more violence. But another part, the part that had lived too long in fear, felt a surge of safety so fierce it brought fresh tears to her eyes.
Because for the first time since her world had fallen apart, she knew one thing with bone-deep certainty:
Slash would kill for her.
And God help any man stupid enough to test that vow.
CHAPTER 7
SLASH
Slash had been in firefights that were less nerve-wracking than trying to figure out what Nicole needed right now. The last week had been exhausting. They’d spoken to a lawyer, fast tracked an emergency protection order. Neither Brock, nor his mother, were legally allowed near Kayleigh. In fact, they’d learned that Brock would have to petition the court and get a DNA order and then get a judgement before he could see her. Nicole, bless her heart, hadn’t put his name on the birth certificate. He had no legal standing, for now.
