Shield My Heart (Heaven Hill Book 9) (27 page)

It felt like they’d been in this warehouse for a month, but Mandy knew it’d only been a few hours. Tatum had moved over to sit next to her, laying her head on her shoulder. Doing her best to calm her sister, she leaned against her mom.

“You doing okay?” Denise quietly asked. “You’re not having any contractions or anything are you?”

That had been her worst fear, that the shock of this would send her into labor, but so far, so good. She was trying to stay calm, knowing Dalton wouldn’t allow anything to happen to her. Their relationship had evolved so much in the past few months. She loved him more now than she ever had. He’d stepped up in big ways she’d never expected him to. Thinking of their times together, she knew the love was deeper, more mature than it’d ever been. She knew without a doubt he’d be here to save her. He wouldn’t let anything happen to her.

Her head snapped up as she heard a loud knock at the door of the warehouse. She didn’t know who it was, but it gave her hope they would be getting out of here today. In the worst of ironies for a pregnant woman, she had to pee in the worst way.

“I’m good Mom; just have to use the bathroom. I hope this is Dalton or Dad; otherwise, they’re gonna have a problem on their hands.”

Tatum broke the tension by snorting laughter. It wasn’t the appropriate time, but all of them had needed the break. And each one of them waited, holding their breath as Calvert walked to the door. When he opened it, they breathed a sigh of relief.

*

“Liam Walker.” Calvert opened the door wider. “What a surprise. To what do I owe this honor? Please, do come in.”

Liam came in, standing tall and unyielding—the same way Mandy could remember him being since he’d come into their lives. She noticed the look on his face. He wasn’t here to make friends, he wasn’t here to play nice, and she hoped like hell nobody would be losing their lives here.

“I came to get my family back.” His tone was straightforward, no fucking around.

Calvert laughed, leaning against the wall, crossing his arms and his legs in front of him. “Funny, huh?”

Mandy had come to the conclusion this fuck was either crazy or just stupid. Most of the things he said made no sense, and this all seemed to be some sort of game to him. It was a game she would not have played with someone like her dad, ever.

“Funny?” Liam leaned back against the opposite wall, copying Calvert’s pose. “What’s funny about it?”

Calvert pushed off the wall, approaching cautiously. “You said I couldn’t get to your family. Guess what? I did.” He pointed to where the women all sat. “Notice they aren’t tied up. I didn’t want to hurt them, William.” He used Liam’s given name. “I wanted you to take me seriously. I want you to realize you aren’t above being targeted.”

“Targeted? Is that why you tried to steal everybody’s records from Doc Jones? Why you beat up an older woman?”

He shrugged. “No, I wanted to see what everybody’s damage is. I mean, we all have it, and she put up more of a fight than I thought she would.”

Liam was beginning to lose his patience. “You’re talking in circles, and I have no idea really what the fuck you want, but I can tell you what the fuck I want. I want the women back, and you to leave us alone. In turn, we’ll leave you alone, and everybody goes home happy.”

“Not sure I’m completely agreeable to that.”

Tyler came barreling through the door then, all savage and scary. His eyes flashed, and he held a Glock in his hand. Walking right up to Calvert, he put his hand around the other man’s neck and pushed him back against the wall he’d come from. Cocking the hammer, he put the handgun to Calvert’s head. “You’re gonna be fucking agreeable to it.”

Denise grabbed Tatum into her shoulder, burying the younger girl’s head so that she didn’t have to witness any of this. No matter how strong her daughter thought she was, she didn’t need to see this.

“Tyler, I have no beef with you.”

“I got beef with you, motherfucker, and I’m not nearly as calm as my pres over there. So here’s what I want. I want the women, and I want you to stay the fuck away from the club until you get too big for this city. If you don’t, I’ll take care of you myself. Out of anyone in the club, I’m probably the one you don’t want to mess with the most.”

Calvert held his hands up. “There was no harm intended, man.”

“Tell that to whoever raided Doc Jones’ house. She’s got stitches in her head and possibly a concussion. Not to mention one of the women over there is fucking pregnant. If you did this to prove you could, which is what I think you did, just remember, we’re not going to be so nice next time.”

Liam motioned through the door for the rest of his guys.

And just like that, it was over.

‡
Chapter Thirty-Six

“T
hat was the weirdest situation I’ve ever been in, in my life,” Mandy admitted as she lay in bed later on that night with Dalton. “He never actually threatened us, wasn’t particularly mean or rude, but he went to all that trouble.”

Dalton tightened his arms around her. “That situation was exactly why I pulled away from you all those months ago. Why I worried myself sick, but I should have known you were stronger than that. I think Tyler was right. What he wanted to do was prove he could. Maybe he has other plans up his sleeve, maybe he’s planning on hitting a bigger club in another city. Either way, they let us leave, they didn’t hurt y’all, and tonight everybody’s safe. That’s all I can ask for. Calvert’s a wild card. Sometimes things set him off; sometimes he’s in it for the shock value. I kind of think he did this so he could say he was in charge. Ya know, he took you all, and then it was up to him to let you go. He chose to do it, which gives him power over Liam. Not directly, but in the eyes of others. This was all about him gaining respect in the crowd he runs with. I’m almost positive of that.”

She snuggled deeper into his arms. “I think you’re right, because I never really felt threatened after they got me in the van.”

“Speaking of,” Dalton ran his hands down her back and then around to her stomach, “I wish you would have let me take you to the hospital.”

“Ashley was here, and she checked me out. She said I’m fine, I feel fine. We’re fine.” She leaned in, giving him a lingering kiss.

He pulled away, lying flat on his back, tucking her in close to him. “So Remy and Tatum, huh?”

She laughed. “I think so, and I gotta say I’m praying for the guy. He has no idea what he’s up against with her.”

“I had no idea what I was up against with you,” Dalton admitted.

She sighed, thinking back to their days in high school and how she’d always had a crush on him, and how she’d always wondered what he’d thought of her but wouldn’t ask. Vividly she remembered them going to his trailer that night and her giving herself over to him. In all honesty, she hadn’t realized what she was up against with him either. In a perfect world, they would have been married by now, expecting a child with a ring on her finger, but life wasn’t clean-cut. It wasn’t always how they expected it to be, and if anything had been driven home in the past few months, it was to expect the unexpected and to be grateful for what they had.

Mandy knew she was beyond grateful the two of them had found their way back to each other. Knowing how much Dalton helped her, how much he took the stress off her; she couldn’t imagine doing this herself.

“You almost got away,” she teased.

His face lost all playfulness and went a hundred percent serious. “I was a dumbass. No other way to put it. I’ll never question us again; I’ll never make a decision for us without asking you first again. I’m pissed at myself over how much time we lost.”

Grasping their fingers together, she brought his hand up to her lips, kissing it softly. “Then promise we’ll spend the rest of our lives making up for the time we lost. Don’t do that to me again.”

“You have no fear of that. I’ll spend what’s left of my time here proving to you how much I love you.”

Sounded fucking amazing to her.

*

Tyler knocked softly on one of their normally empty dorm rooms, waiting for the voice of the person on the other side to invite him in. When they did and he walked in, letting the door close behind him, he did his best to control his emotions.

“I wanted to make sure you’re okay.”

Doc Jones had helped most of them in one way or another, but she’d been extremely beneficial in Tyler and Meredith’s relationship, culminating in their marriage. She’d always had time for both of them and had always given sound and fair advice. It was one of the reasons they’d always suggested her to other people in the club. It was why they still made trips to her even now, years into their marriage.

She sat in one of the chairs they had in the room, staring at the TV. He could tell she didn’t actually see it.

“I’m okay,” she told him, her voice still masked in that tone he associated with shock. “I just can’t believe they came to
my
house. That place has been my home for years, and I’ve never been scared there. I’ve lived out there by myself for most of my life, and I’ve never once felt threatened.” She shook her head, disbelief apparent.

“I feel like we brought this to you,” Tyler admitted, having a seat on the bed, facing her. “That
I
brought this to you, because I’m the one who started taking Meredith to you in the first place.”

She took a deep breath and turned so that she faced him as well. “The whole time I’ve been helping the club, I’ve known what that meant. I knew one day that could mean I would be a target, but you all
need
help. You’re such amazing people, and with a little push in the right direction, you’re extraordinary. I don’t regret helping you, I never will.” She sighed. “I just need some time to feel safe again, some time to deal with what happened.”

“Then we’ll give you that, and I personally will make sure you’re safe,” he vowed, reaching over to grab her hand.

She smiled at him, her face showing the wrinkles that had deepened over the years. “The moment I met you, Tyler Blackfoot, I knew you were a rare human being and an amazing man.” She reached forward, cupping his cheek. “You’ve never disappointed me.”

He grinned, letting his white teeth show. “You’ve never disappointed me either, Doc Jones. And that’s why you’ll always have my protection.”