Craving Molly (The Aces' Sons 2)

“Trix bought some Pull-Ups earlier,” Will said as he set us down on the bed. He stood there awkwardly as Rebel climbed off my lap and laid down against his pillow.

“He would’ve died either way,” I said croakily, raising my eyes to meet Will’s. Looking for absolution. “If I hadn’t been there, they still would’ve killed him.”

“Yes,” he replied firmly, crouching down in front of me. His hand lifted up and wrapped around the side of my neck. “They would’ve killed him whether you were there or not. The minute they had him, it was over.”

“But I shouldn’t have been there,” I said softly.

“I wish to God you hadn’t been,” he murmured tenderly. “I’d take it all away if I could, sugar. But you bein’ there didn’t make one damn bit of difference for your dad—except maybe gave him the chance to say goodbye.”

“He knew before we left. He knew. I could tell.”

Will nodded. “And he still got you outta there. Good man.”

“He let them beat me, Will,” I whispered, my gaze holding his. “Why would he do that?”

“Don’t know, baby. Could be, he thought that nothin’ he’d say would help, which is probably true. They weren’t lettin’ you out of there without scarin’ the fuck outta you first.”

I let that sink in. Maybe Will was right. Maybe my dad had known from the beginning that they were going to beat me, but he hadn’t realized how bad until they’d broken my arm. That’s when he’d agreed to talk. When it had gone beyond a punch, he’d used his trump card.

Would they have let me go if he’d started begging them to when I’d first shown up? No. I knew deep in my gut that if my dad hadn’t held out, Reb and I would be dead. I closed my eyes and let out a shaky breath. If he would’ve started begging when I’d walked through the door, they would have taken the list and never let me and Rebel go. He would have looked weak.

“Do you think he told them? Did they get what they wanted?” I asked, opening my eyes again.

“Not sure, Moll. We’ll know soon, though.”

“Okay,” I said, taking a deep breath. I looked over my shoulder at Reb to find her watching us intently, her hands pulled tight against her chest.

“She won’t sleep without her stuff,” I murmured, looking back at Will. “I’ve tried before and she was still wide-awake at four in the morning.”

Going home didn’t even cross my mind, not when those men were out there somewhere. Surrounded by people in the clubhouse, I felt safe, the exact opposite of what I’d thought I would feel back when Will used to invite me out there.

“Got her blankets,” Will said, his lips tipping up in a smile. “Give me a sec.”

He left the room and I let my mind wander. Had anyone gotten ahold of Mel? I was surprised that she wasn’t there. If she knew what had happened, there’s no way she would stay away. I shifted on the bed and hissed in discomfort. I was so sore. My head and torso throbbed, even with the painkillers the hospital had given me. I wondered how long until the swelling in my face went down. I couldn’t work looking like I did, but Reb and I needed the money. I barely made enough as it was, working when I could. Nurses made bank usually, but with my schedule and the number of times a week I had to get off work early to take Reb to her occupational and speech therapy appointments, we didn’t have a lot of extra left over. I couldn’t afford to take time off.

“Look what I have,” Will said softly as he came back in the room.

My eyes watered when I caught sight of the bag full of Rebel’s overnight stuff that I’d dropped at my dad’s.

“How did you get that?” I asked as Rebel scrambled to the edge of the bed for her things. My poor baby was exhausted and she wanted her blankie and animals.

“Couldn’t leave anything of yours there,” Will murmured in apology as he set the large bag on the bed and pulled my glasses out of his shirt pocket. “Cops can’t know you were there, baby.”

My eyes widened in horror. I knew they’d found my dad, but it hadn’t occurred to me that they’d just leave him there. He was their friend.

“They just left him?” I asked tearfully, lifting my glasses to my face before realizing that my face was too swollen for them to fit me. My hands began to shake as I started pulling soft items out of the bag. I froze as the tips of my fingers met the cold screen of Rebel’s Kindle. They really had grabbed everything. “He’s just lying there—”

“Had someone call it in,” Will said soothingly, taking his cut off. “Cops were there hours ago.”