Page 52 of Turbo

“I’ll protect her with my life. The entire club is here to protect that little girl. With your help today we’ve improved the security nobody will get onto the ranch or in town without us knowing it,” Red proclaimed. “Extra patrols are on duty until we get all the equipment hooked up.”

“Thank you.” Mike’s knee was bouncing, he knew he needed a break because he was close to freaking out.

The door opened, setting off his nerves as he leapt up from the chair ready to defend. When a flash of yellow from Porsche’s blonde hair helped settle his thundering heart.

“Hey Porsche,” Red said, unphased by the door swinging wide open. “What are you doing here?”

“I just came to see if you all needed my help. Heard my best girl Sydney was here.” Porsche beamed and turned toward the kitchen where Sydney and Maggie had the mixer going on high. “I see Maggie’s working her magic as normal.”

“Maggie is good with her,” Mike said seeing an outlet for his anxiety beyond a breath of fresh air. “Porsche, can I have a moment please?”

She glanced around the room as if Red had to give his approval for her to leave before Mike was able to lead her outside onto the porch. The sound of power drills being used to tighten lug nuts and the like whirred through the air each time he tried to find words to say they were drowned out by the men getting the electrical, water and gas hook ups for the trailer.

“Any chance you’re up for a walk?” Porsche asked between the mechanical noises. “Sydney had a smile on her face in there. I promise we won’t go far and knowing Maggie your daughter won’t even notice you’re gone.”

“I do need a break from all these people. It’s a little overwhelming.” Glancing back to the house he could make out giggles between his daughter and the older woman as another made her way into the kitchen to inspect her work.

“That’s Camille, she’s Cream’s mother doing rehab at Maggie’s,” she said. “Syd is going to be grandma’d out by the time we get back.”

“She needs that,” he admitted. “With my mom she wouldn’t even engage when she usually spends half her time with me making cookies and brownies and the like with her.”

“Then give her this memory, this moment of peace,” she said as he stepped off the porch offering his hand to Porsche for the few steps she’d need to take. “Something tells me you’ve seen most of the ranch via closed circuit video, how about a little hands on feel of the land time.”

* * *

Porsche was surprised Mike agreed to go for a walk, leaving behind Sydney and the people who were trying to help him. Then again, the man was on a trip wire when it came to movement, motion and noise. This wasn’t the SEAL training, this was being on the edge, a massive lack of sleep and she feared the man was slipping into a bit of delusion. Had Mountain been calling Mike Bugs because he was acting crazy? Maybe because of the surveillance.

“So, Bugs, you said you’d explain that to me later, it’s later,” she said, lacing her fingers together behind her back as they made their way along the older ranch style fence posts built with slats of wood. Three strips going parallel between the posts. “Were you who Mountain was calling, Bugs?”

“Oh, right,” he said sucking in a deep breath and tapping out a code she felt with his fist as they walked along the fence. “Guess we have a minute or two.”

Mike began to relax in a way as he talked about a mission a few years ago. Porsche was completely drawn into the battle, her mind visualizing as he waved his hand to show the expanse he was entrusted with watching. Her heart racing a bit as he told of running down the man he’d killed. Even her legs ached a bit when he talked about the snowpack having just come out of winter it didn’t surprise her that the memory was so fresh. And when he dropped the punch line of it all she stopped, hands wide as if bracing for a fall before turning to him.

“A bunny? A sweet little innocent bunny.”

“It wasn’t a baby,” he reasoned. “Taste good with the little season packets McArthur packed in, especially since it wasn’t full of buckshot.”

“Please say it wasn’t a fifty caliber that took that poor rabbit’s head off?”

“Um, no that would have taken the whole rabbit,” he laughed, the ease loosening his shoulders a bit as he pushed the sleeves of the tight Henley he wore to his elbows. “Sniper rifle, big enough. A bit gamy, but you might like it.”

“Well, if you want to make me dinner, I’ll give it a whirl,” she said tucking a lock of hair behind her ear.

“You see I brought a budding chef with me,” he said, his face became solemn as he angled to turn back toward the ranch house.

Porsche reached over to catch his hand, hoping he would keep following her. “You really love that little girl so much.”

Mike shifted his focus to their hands and wrapped his hand tightly around hers. “Yeah, she stole my heart the moment I saw the little baby swaddled in Sassy’s arms. That’s when I added a layer, that pink blanket. It was bright pink back then.”

“Not faded and matted?” Porsche teased as the man’s eyes lit up a bit.

“Softer than the down on a duckling,” he said, his eyes getting lost in the memory. “That was the first place she had tummy time, pushed up to crawl, even stood for a moment before falling back on her butt.”

Porsche’s whole body warmed as he got lost in the moment. She’d seen this before, the pure love of a man for his child. The men, Cass, Red, Bounty, Freaky and Hack the moment their babies were passed to them their life shifted. And now, the Baldy and Mountain, men made fathers never skipping a beat with the idea of insta-love and more when it came to the kids they now call their own. Mike or Bugs, as the men have already claimed and named him, was a Steel. There was a type of man that qualified for this club. Entry to even the prospect rank wasn’t granted without those in the club feeling a certain way about a man. How he carried himself beyond the big dick swinging military might.

While no man would claim to read auras and even at times make fun of Dreamer and Doc for their nature loving free spirits, they had a sixth sense. A learned response, trust was given, but rarely broken because the choice of man was easy for those in leadership. Was it from their years on the battlefield or something else? It had to be because Bounty and Baldy had never served.

“Sassy was wild when I met her, dancing on tables and sleeping with half the fleet if she were honest. For me, I don’t see how anyone, let alone her mother could look at Syd and think it was okay to hurt her,” he said, pulling her from her thoughts. “She was bright and full of energy and curious about everything. Taking her to the zoo had to be a multiday trip because we couldn’t get through more than a handful of areas with her thousand questions.”

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