Sarge Read online

  As I got out, I saw him kiss the boy on the cheek, then set him down. My stomach churned as I opened the back door and woke Theo from his nap. He blinked at me sleepily, then unfastened his safety belt. I helped him from the booster seat and held onto his hand as he climbed out of the car. Sarge stared at him, but Theo didn’t seem to notice. He was too busy eyeing the little boy, who looked a bit like him.

  “Why don’t you let him stay out here with Reed?” Sarge asked. “He’ll be safe and he’d probably rather play than listen to us talk.”

  Theo blinked at me. I asked him in Russian, knowing it would set him at ease, and he gave me a quick nod, then released my hand and wandered over to Reed. They seemed to be close in age. Theo knelt on the grass next to Reed and they started playing with the trucks scattered around. I followed Sarge into the house, and he led me straight to the kitchen, where he pulled a cold beer from the fridge.

  “Want anything?” he asked.

  “I’m fine.”

  “That’s twice you’ve said that. I don’t believe it any more now than I did then.”

  “Is that your son?” I asked.

  “Reed?” He snorted. “He’s my grandson.”

  Grandson? There was no freakin’ way this guy was old enough to have a grandson. Sure, it was obvious he was older than me, but a grandfather? He had to be joking.

  “Your son’s name is Theo. He’s five and should be in school already.”

  “Should?” Sarge asked.

  It seemed we were just jumping right in. There was so much to tell him, and so little time. I couldn’t stay for long, not if I wanted to keep Theo’s whereabouts a secret. The last thing I wanted was my father getting his hands on my nephew.

  “Theo doesn’t technically exist. My father made sure of that. He was born at home to a midwife who was more interested in money than doing anything the legal way. There’s no birth certificate, no social security card. Even his medical care to this point has been handled under the table, so he doesn’t have a shot record either.”

  Sarge whistled. “So what exactly was Lily hiding from?”

  That was a rather complicated question. Or maybe not so much complicated as just… I didn’t know where to start. It was clear he’d not known who my sister really was, or where she’d come from. I didn’t know how much he knew of the Bratva, or what our lives were like.

  “Liliya was groomed all her life to be a trophy, a bargaining chip. An advantageous marriage would mean more power for my father. When she learned who he planned to marry her to, she ran. She was safe while she was here and living under another identity.”

  He ran a hand through his hair. “It was me, wasn’t it? She found out she was pregnant and I was so damn insistent I didn’t want a family that she took off.”

  I nodded. I knew it wasn’t what he wanted to hear, but I wouldn’t lie. Because of his unwillingness to even consider having a kid, my sister had thought it was better to leave. I thought she’d made a huge mistake. Even before meeting Sarge I’d felt that way. Seeing him with his grandson, I had no doubt that he’d do just fine with Theo. Maybe he wouldn’t have married Liliya, but she could have stayed here and let Sarge be a part of Theo’s life.

  “When she left here, it wasn’t but a few months before our father’s men found her. They hauled her back home, but she was already showing. It was clear she was pregnant and my father was furious. He’d promised her intended that she was a virgin.”

  Sarge coughed. “Uh, just to clear the air a bit, I didn’t take her virginity. So she’d had some fun somewhere else before coming to me.”

  That sounded like Liliya. She’d probably rid herself of her innocence the first chance she had, hoping it would change things if she was caught. It had changed everything, all right, but not the way she’d wanted. After Theo was born, our father had shoved her into one of the brothels. She’d taken it as long as she could, but eventually her mind had broken. The Bratva wasn’t kind to women. We were possessions and nothing more.

  “I need you to take Theo,” I said. “He’s not safe there anymore, not with Liliya gone. No one cares about Theo, except for whatever use he might be to them.” Like using him to make me toe the line.

  “Look, I get it. Your sister said he was mine, and I have to admit he resembles me a bit, but I’m going to need more proof than that. You need to stay at least long enough for me to have a DNA test done.” Sarge rubbed the back of his neck. “I’ll figure out sleeping arrangements for the two of you.”

  “You don’t understand. The longer I’m here, the more danger your club and your son are in. I need to leave, as soon as possible.”

  Well, that got his attention. That laser-focused gaze landed on me again, pinning me in place. Maybe I should have worded it a little different. To be honest, the way my sister had talked about this guy, I hadn’t expected him to be the type to give a shit if I was in trouble or not. She’d made him sound like a first-class asshole, and despite her harsh words I’d brought Theo here anyway, thinking it would still be safer. But I wasn’t getting an asshole vibe and more of an overprotective one. Granted, he was guarding himself and his club, but that look… The tone he’d used when I said trouble was on my heels made me wonder if he would be as protective over anyone in trouble.

  “Start talking, and start with your name.”

  I chewed on my lip and wondered if I should tell him anything. The less he knew about me the better. For him and for Theo. My family wouldn’t care if my nephew vanished, but I knew they were already searching for me.

  Sarge must have sensed my hesitation because he came closer, dropping down into a crouch in front of me. He reached for my hands, which I hadn’t even realized I was twisting in my lap. His touch was firm but gentle, if that was even possible. The look in his eyes made my heart hurt. No one had ever looked at me like that.

  “Are they going to make you marry someone who will hurt you?” he asked. “Are you in trouble?”

  “It’s what’s expected of me. Since Liliya couldn’t fulfill my father’s promise, it’s left to me.”

  He reached up and ran his fingers down my cheek. “Such a pretty girl, and too damn young. You even old enough to get married?”

  I fought back a smile. I’d heard it often enough, that I didn’t look my age. The only reason I’d held off on the marriage for this long was because of my studies. My intended wanted a woman who could impress his colleagues and competitors. My degree would be finished in one more semester, or that had been the plan. Something had changed, though. Maybe it was my sister’s death, or perhaps something else was going on. Whatever the case, I was expected to be at a dress fitting in three days.

  “I’m twenty-two,” I said. “But thank you for calling me pretty. And my name is Katya.”

  He snorted. “Twenty-two, huh? Still just a baby. My daughter is older than you. Hell, I probably have clothes older than you.”

  Point made. No matter how attractive I found him, assuming I could get past the whole my-sister-had-him-first thing, he wouldn’t be making any advances toward me. I was a kid to him, and maybe that was for the best.

  “They’ll come for me, if they can find me. I had to stop along the way and ask how to find you.”

  “And who the hell told you that?” he asked.

  “Some bikers. I didn’t stop for introductions, but they knew where I could find the Dixie Reapers. If my father sends men for me, and I’m sure he will, and they were to ask around those men could tell them where I was heading. It would lead them straight here. I need to return as soon as possible.”

  He stood, putting his belt at eye level with me. Or rather, the bulge beneath the belt. Oh, my. I could see why Liliya had wanted to keep him. Was he even hard or was he just that impressive while flaccid? He backed up and I jerked my gaze to his face, only to find him smirking at me.

  “You going to be trouble like your sister?” he asked.

  “No. I’ve never been with a man before. I hardly think you want to be the f
irst.”

  I felt my eyes widen as the bulge in his pants seemed to get bigger. Holy shit!

  “First off, never tell a man you’d let him be the first in your bed. It gives him ideas. Second…” He sighed. “I need to think about this and figure the best way to handle the situation. I do know one thing. You’re not leaving.”

  Not leaving? What the hell? “You can’t keep me here if I don’t want to stay.”

  He arched an eyebrow and straightened to his full height. I had to admit, it was a bit imposing to see him like that. I shrank back in my chair. Standing up to the guy at the gate was one thing, but Sarge was another matter. He was definitely the type who expected to be obeyed or there would be consequences.

  Sarge stalked toward me, then caged me between his arms. “Let me tell you something right now, little girl. You will stay here, and if you refuse, then I’ll spank your ass and tie you to the bed.”

  My breath caught and my panties got even wetter than before. “Promise?”

  I slapped a hand over my mouth. I hadn’t meant to say that. The word had just slipped out, but he chuckled, the sound all dark and smoky.

  “Oh, yeah, sugar. I sure the fuck promise.” He leaned in closer. “And you may very well be naked, but I’m thinking you’ll be okay with that.”

  Oh. My. God. No wonder my sister ended up pregnant. I was about two seconds from combusting and all he’d done was talk to me. I was in so much trouble.

  Chapter Two

  Sarge

  What the fuck are you thinking? She’s twenty-two, and Lily’s sister. Shit. I had a son I’d never known about. That needed to be first and foremost in my mind right now, not the fact she smelled like goddamn sunshine, or felt like silk. I definitely didn’t need to be thinking about how tight her virgin pussy would be, or the fact she seemed just as drawn to me as I was to her.

  When I’d seen that little shit at the gate try to hit her, I’d about lost it. He was lucky I hadn’t stomped his ass, but Katya had taken care of herself. If it hadn’t been for that, we’d have been down a man and Torch would have been pissed. Well, not after I explained why we needed a new Prospect. I had no doubt he’d stand by me on that score. No one hurt a woman around here, not without paying the price.

  Her little show of defiance, then the way she’d defended herself, had gotten me hard as fuck, even before I’d gotten an up close look at her. After she’d said she was Lily’s sister, I could see the resemblance. A little. Maybe. Other than them both being blonde and having blue eyes; that’s about where the similarities stopped. This spitfire had something Lily never had. She was a fighter and full of sass. Lily had been quiet and sweet. I’d been intrigued by her, but not in the I want to keep her kind of way, not after I discovered she was very timid and meek. We’d had fun, but that was all it had been.

  But Katya? Hell. If she were about two decades older, or even just one decade older, then she’d have been exactly the type of woman I wanted and had never found. The age thing was going to cause me problems around here. Not because no one else claimed younger women, but because she was younger than Pepper. My daughter was never going to let me hear the end of this.

  I’d put some space between us before I’d done something stupid, like strip her naked and make her come. It was a struggle to maintain control, especially after that softly spoken “Promise” had slipped past her lips.

  The front door opened and slammed shut, then booted steps headed our way. Flicker had a scowl on his face when he came into the room. “Do you know there’s a kid outside playing with my son? Who the fuck is he and where did he come from?”

  “Theo is his son,” Katya said. “And since you have a kid I’m sure I don’t need to tell you where babies come from.”

  And that was when I knew for damn sure I’d never let her go. Flicker’s jaw dropped, then snapped shut as he studied Katya. Then his gaze swung my way, but he still seemed at a loss for words.

  “Katya is Lily’s sister. It seems when she ran, she took part of me with her.”

  “So why didn’t Lily bring him to you? And why wait all this time?” Flicker asked.

  “Because she’s dead,” Katya said. “I didn’t think Theo was safe anymore.”

  Flicker pulled out a chair and sat, then looked at me expectantly. As an officer of the club, I knew he wanted answers. Even worse, he was my son-in-law, which was all kinds of fucked up with him being older than me. But as long as Pepper was happy, that was all that mattered. I sure the fuck hoped she felt that way about my relationship when I claimed Katya.

  “Start talking,” Flicker said, his gaze moving to Katya. “How much trouble are you in and who’s coming for you?”

  Katya sighed. “No one will come here to find me because I’m not staying. I’ve already accepted my fate, but I needed to make sure Theo was with his father.”

  Flicker looked my way and mouthed her fate? I was done arguing with her. She wasn’t going back to the Bratva, and that was final. I needed to officially meet my son, get to know him, figure out what he needed and all that shit. But I also needed to handle Katya, and I had a feeling I was on borrowed time if I didn’t tackle that first.

  “Watch her,” I told Flicker before leaving the room. I heard his muttered asshole, and I knew he’d yell at me later for giving him an order. Too fucking bad.

  I stepped outside and saw Pepper kneeling with the kids. She stared at me as I walked closer, then looked at Theo, then me. She did that about a dozen times.

  “Something I need to know?” she asked.

  “Meet your brother, Theo.” The kid stopped what he was doing to look at me. “Hey, kid. It seems I’m your dad.”

  He didn’t say anything. I hadn’t even considered whether or not he spoke English. I’d heard Katya speak to him in Russian, but she hadn’t used English when talking to him, at least not when I was around. Unfortunately, I didn’t know any.

  “Do you speak English?” I asked him.

  He still didn’t say anything. Or blink. What the fuck?

  “Maybe we need Grimm?” Pepper suggested.

  He was the only brother I knew who could speak Russian. I’d ask Katya, but if I brought her out here, I didn’t trust her not to try and run. Then again, if she did, I’d have yet another reason to paddle her ass.

  “I’ll be back,” I said, then went to get Katya. She was having a staring contest with Flicker, and it looked like she very well might win. “I need to know if Theo understands or speaks English. He’s not responding to me or my daughter.”

  She snorted, but didn’t break Flicker’s gaze. “He knows English. Tell him doveryat’. It means trust. It’s sort of our secret code. If someone tells him that word, he knows it’s okay to speak to them.”

  Smart. I went back to Theo and Pepper, said the magic word, and the little boy relaxed. He gave me a hesitant smile. “You’re my dad?”

  I nodded. “Yep, it seems that way.” He looked at Pepper, his nose scrunched as if he couldn’t figure out who she was or why she was there. He had to have heard me tell Pepper that they were brother and sister. Or was he confused because she was an adult? “I had Pepper when I was a lot younger. She’s my daughter, which makes the two of you siblings. You’ve been playing with her son, Reed. My grandson.”

  “Aunt Kat said that I had to stay here with you now,” Theo said.

  I was surprised at how clearly he spoke, and how grown-up he sounded. There were times I still had trouble understanding Reed, mostly because he talked so fast it all ran together, but Theo seemed older than his years.

  “Yeah, you’re going to live here with me,” I said. “We’ll get everything squared away so you can go to school. Maybe you and Reed will have the same class.”

  “Aunt Kat taught me when she was around, and other times she made sure I had tutors.” He pushed a truck across the grass. “She’s always taken care of me. I don’t even remember my mom.”

  Katya had said that Lily was forced into a brothel after Theo was born. It
hadn’t occurred to me that she’d have hardly ever seen him. Made sense now that I thought about it. It wasn’t like she could keep him there with her. But still, Katya was so young. She had to have been in high school when Theo was born. That was a lot of responsibility for a kid to handle.

  “Theo, I want to get a chance to learn more about you, and for you to get to know me better too, but first I need to take care of a few things. Like making sure your Aunt Kat is safe. We both want that, right?” I asked.

  “If she leaves here, I’ll never see her again,” he said. “She told me she has to get married and the man isn’t nice. I know my grandfather hates me. I ruined his plans for my mom.”

  The kid knew too much, but I could understand why Katya would explain things to him. The more he knew, the safer he would be. Any other kid wouldn’t have these sorts of worries. I didn’t think Reed worried about much except whether or not Pepper would force him to eat carrots.

  “In order to make sure your Aunt Kat stays here, I need you to go with Pepper for a little while. I’ll work on getting a room set up for you, but until then, she’ll see that you have anything you need.” I glanced at Pepper and she gave me a nod.

  “Okay,” he said. He hesitated and watched me a moment, and I could see the wheels turning in his head. “If you married Aunt Kat, then she could stay, and she’d be my mom. She acts like a mom already.”

  I couldn’t help but laugh, mostly because that fell perfectly in line with what I wanted. Katya wasn’t leaving. If I needed to put a ring on her finger to keep the Bratva away, so be it. Not that I thought for a moment they would care if she was married or not. Whether I married her or just claimed her, she wouldn’t be a virgin for much longer, and that’s all that seemed to matter to her father. I knew he wouldn’t back down easily, but if I made Katya mine, the club would have no choice but to fight for her. With her being my son’s aunt, I knew they’d go to bat for her anyway, but I’d never let her know that. I’d take whatever leverage I could get. With me being so much older than she was, I wasn’t sure if her attraction was more of the one-night variety or the forever type.