While it would be a partnership, he warned her that he would have the ultimate say.
Some women didn’t like that—he couldn’t imagine a woman like Reese or even Stella agreeing to those terms—and he expected some pushback from Syn.
He promised never to hurt her and always take care of her needs first. He also promised to listen and if she had concerns, she was encouraged to voice them. Respect was a two-way street.
Their relationship would be a give and take. An ebb and flow.
If she gave herself completely to him, he would give her everything in return. Anything she wanted, he would do his best to fulfill those wants and needs.
One of those needs was getting Maya back. On the trip from the farm to Pete’s he gave her the lowdown on the plan he, Sig and Trip came up with.
Trip had called Shade while they stood there in the kitchen of the farmhouse discussing options, thinking he was the best man to help in this situation. Once the low-key Fury member heard the necessary details, he agreed to accompany Dodge and Sig on this very important mission.
The man knew how to move quietly and efficiently use a knife to kill, unlike Sig who’d simply hack off a man’s dick and leave a huge mess behind for someone else to clean up.
Somehow Shade also knew how to break into a house and disable its alarm system without alerting the residents. Skills that might be needed in this case.
Of course, Sig’s plan wasn’t to quietly take out the man named Sam Danzig. Danzig might also not be the only one hauled in the back of the van across the border to Pennsylvania and the cremation furnaces at Tioga Pet Services. Then a few hours later, after being placed in the Easy Bake oven, placed into a bucket or box until the snow in the fields was gone. One of the far fields being their final resting place.
Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, you wanna fuck with children, teach you a lesson we must.
Another option would make their disappearance look like an accident. But that would take more planning and precision than just going in and getting the job done.
Dodge liked the shock and awe version better. Get in, get out. No fucking around.
He assured Syn as soon as the snow storm blew through and the roads were passable, they’d head south to West Virginia and collect her daughter.
Not unexpectedly, she insisted on going along. Dodge didn’t like it. Knew Sig and Shade would hate it, but she made a compelling case.
Maya was nine. Her life as she knew it was about to be turned upside down. She would need a familiar face when men she didn’t know busted in, retrieved her and took her away from the only family she knew.
It was going to be confusing and scary. With Syn there, Dodge hoped that would be minimized.
“She gonna remember you?” Dodge had asked her, keeping his eyes on the road as he carefully maneuvered through the snow drifting across their path.
“She should. It’s been a few years since I was allowed to see her but I raised her until I left at seventeen. I only left to establish a household so I could get her out of that house and away from Sam, just in case he tried the same thing with her. That was my greatest fear even though he knew Maya was his biological child. I was worried that wouldn’t make a difference.”
She had buried her face in her hands for a few seconds and it was obvious that she was beating herself up for that decision. She shouldn’t. She had only been seventeen and a child herself. She thought she was doing what was best for her child. It turned out to be a mistake.
Dodge didn’t push her to continue. He waited until she was ready to do so on her own. He wanted to reach out and touch her, to comfort her, but, with as bad as the roads were, he had to maintain two hands on the wheel except for when he had to shift. Even then, his truck had gotten a little squirrelly.
“After that, they only allowed me supervised visits until I turned eighteen. They said those were the terms of the guardianship. I’m sure that was a lie and now I’m thinking a court-appointed guardianship never existed. Why would they lie to me like that?”
The pain and sadness in her voice made him want to punch his fucking windshield. He and Sig would most likely fight over who got to take out Sam Danzig and maybe even her adoptive parents, he now knew were named Cara and Lyle.
“‘Cause those fuckers had their own agenda, Syn. People are goddamn fucked in the head. They go outta their way to hurt others without good cause and they don’t give a fuckin’ shit. They’re selfish and goddamn cruel. They’ll step on others to get the shit they want for themselves. Do a single bid in prison and you’ll see shit that’ll color your world a whole lot differently.”