Page 19 of Deviant Bastards

I move towards the top of the bed and pull her out of Gryffin’s hold and into my arms. “You and I may not have always gotten along or seen eye to eye, but I wouldn’t wish that on anyone. Right here, right now, I want you to know that you can count on us. We got your back. We got you, Brat, don’t worry. We won’t let anything happen to you again.”

“There’s more,” she says as she looks up at me. “A few weeks after the assault, I started becoming violently sick. So, my dad had the doc come out and check me over. That’s when we discovered that I was pregnant. Not only did you kidnap me and take me away from my dad, but you also took me from my fucking daughter!” she yells, wiping her face as she studies each of us, waiting to see what our reactions will be. Barker’s hands ball into fists by his side, Gadge has tears in his eyes, and me? Well, I’m murderous. If that fucker wasn’t already dead, I’d do it my-fucking-self.

Gryffin gets up and smashes his fist into the wall, making Harley jump as blood runs down the wall. I scowl at him, murmuring,‘idiot’.

“Little Brawler, where was your security?” Barker asks, shaking me from my murderous thoughts. “Deacon was inside. He didn’t know that I’d snuck out, but he was the one who found me. He said that one of the bouncers had seen me go outside and assumed that there were more bodyguards waiting for me.”

“So, you’re saying that we removed a loving parent from their young child? Why didn’t you say anything?” Gryffin interrupts as if he can’t wrap his mind around the concept.

“Well, I would have thought that the bastards that kidnapped me would have done their research on the intended target like they were supposed to. Plus, it’s not like it would have made a difference, would it?” She snarks, sounding a bit more like herself.

“Yes!” we all practically shout in unison.

She simply nods her head before snapping it in my direction. “So, you’re saying what? That I’m free to go?” she asks, her voice hopeful.

“If that’s what you choose to do, then yes,” I say as Gadge and Gryffin both begin to protest.

“What the fuck, Ric?! A heads up would have been nice,” Gadge all but screams as he jumps out of his seat and starts pacing the room. The moment she announced that the little girl that we thought nothing of was actually a part of her, I knew what needed to be done, no matter how much I didn’t want to do it. I’ll let her go, but only once we know for sure that the danger has passed. Not only for her sake but for her little girl’s, every kid needs their mum.

“Everyone, shut up!” I roar, looking at Harley. “Yes, if that’s what you really want, then we will escort you home, safe and sound. But I don’t think you’re gonna wanna do that bec-”

“Why the fuck wouldn’t I want to go home to my baby girl, right this second?” she cuts me off, sass coating every word, causing me to grind my teeth together.

“If you would stop being a brat forjustone second and listen, you would have realised that I was about to explain why,” I grit out between my teeth. She glares at me while staying silent, waiting for me to continue. I take a deep breath, looking at each of the guys before looking back at Harley. “Think about it, Brat... Right now, everyone’s attention is on you, you have guys breaking down our doors to get to you. If you go home right now, back to that little girl, then you will be putting her in the center of all that danger. What happens if they go after her to get to you? Do you really trust your father to protect you?” I pause, letting what I just said sink into her mind.

“My suggestion is that you stay with us, where we can protect you and eliminate the threat, then after that, you can go back to your father’s house,” I say, not liking the idea of her leaving, but knowing that she’s going to stay with us, at least a little bit longer, makes it tomorrow’s problem. That will give us time to find a way to make her want to stay with us.But now we also have to think about a kid.

“Fine, but only because I’d rather have danger coming at me instead of her,” she reluctantly agrees, and I nod my head. “Good, with that established, let’s move to other pressing issues. I think it’s clear that we have a traitor in our midst, and I want that person found,” I hiss at the guys as I place Harley down beside me. “We also need to move from here. Gadge, I need you to ensure that the house is secure.” He nods at me, understanding that I mean that we will be moving to my father’s house because Gadge and Gryffin updated the security system, and there’s a tunnel under the basement for an escape if we need it.

“Harley, baby, I need you to pack a bag, okay?” I say to her as she sits beside me, staring into space. Barker moves from the bed, saying, “I’ll get Little Brawler’s shit ready.” As he leaves the room, I tell him that we leave in thirty minutes. Once everyone is ready, I pick Harley up and carry her back down the stairs. She snaps at me, saying, “I can fucking walk. Now, put me down, you bastard.” I chuckle at her but gently place her down on her feet like I’m told. I’m just glad that she has returned to her normal, sassy self.

“Ugh, Boss,” one of the few remaining grunts draws my attention as we hit the last step. “We found one alive.” We all spring into motion, with Harley following the grunt as the guys and myself follow behind her. He leads us back through the chaos and destruction of the safe house before coming to a halt outside the kitchen. We look down and spot a trail of blood.

I’m assuming that whoever they found is just beyond the trail. Harley goes to enter first, but Barker places a hand on her shoulder, halting her steps. “I’ll go first, Little Brawler.” She looks at him and rolls her eyes as she takes a step backwards anyway. As we step into the room, the sound of groaning reaches our ears.

There, on the ground, curled up in a ball with his hands holding the front of his stomach, is a guy with blonde hair. “This fucker was trying to crawl out the damn door,” Dexter mutters as he kicks the fucker in the back. Dexter grabs hold of the guy, heaving him to his feet. There’s a deep gash in the guy’s belly, and his insides are practically spilling out.

ChapterFourteen

HARLEY

Ilook at each of the guys as they take in the sight before us. The guy can barely fucking stand. I’m sure that if it weren’t for the grunt in front of us holding him up, then he’d be flat on his arse right now. “How the fuck is he not dead?” I ask no one in particular. The fucker glares at me, but in his state, he’s about as intimidating as a chihuahua.

“Take him to the fucking basement,” Kendric utters the words in a dark voice that sends a shudder of excitement down my spine.Damn, I like the bossy side of him.Two of his guys grab the dude and drag his almost limp body from the kitchen.

“You want to stay here?” Kendric questions. It’s cute that he asks, but hell no. I’m not staying up here. I want to know who sent these fuckers as much as the guys do.

Shaking my head at him, I start following the grunts. A hand lands on my shoulder, halting my feet. “Little Brawler, this isn’t going to be pretty,” Barker says as he spins me to face him. “He has information that we need.” He says, hinting at something he thinks I don’t understand.

“I know,” I turn away from him and resume following the grunts. Dayton and Gryffin chuckle, and I can hear a faint‘she’s ours now’.I’m not sure which one of them says it, but they’re right. Each of them owns a piece of me that’s making it harder to just walk away from them. Once I reach the basement stairs, I pause, questioning if I can truly watch this.

“No one would blame you if you changed your mind, Pixie,” Gryffin says as his hands circle my waist, pulling me into his chest. “Nope, I can do this,” I say with more confidence than I feel. The fact that there was no judgment in his tone if I decided that I didn’t want to do this was the factor that cemented my resolve. I descend the steps to the basement, and I’m met with the sight of the guy from upstairs hanging from a hook on the far side of the room.Huh, I didn’t notice that before.

“Leave, get everything ready for our move!” Ric barks at the grunts, who of course, scramble do to as they’re told. Dayton pulls a chair from the other side of the room and gestures for me to take a seat. “You’re going to see a different side of us now, Spitfire. One we really hope you don’t hold against us,” he whispers, placing a kiss on my forehead before moving across the room to stand next to the guys.

Barker heads to a small cupboard in the corner of the room and withdraws a small, wrapped bundle that he places on the table next to him. He unrolls it and unsheathes a pair of pliers. “Let’s get started, shall we?” he says as he approaches the guy, who barely responds to him. “Who sent you to kill us?” he asks.

“Fuck you,” the guy spits, although there is no heat behind it.

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