Stitch: Satan's Fury MC (10 page)

“If you want a brownie later, then you have to eat your dinner. Up to you, bud.” And with that, he took his fork and tried again… and again… and again.

We’d spent a few minutes in silence while everyone tried to eat their meal without making a huge mess, then Wyatt asked, “You know why you can’t trust atoms?”

“No. Why?” I asked.

“Cause they make up everything,” he answered, smiling proudly. Wren shook her head and laughed.

“We learned about atoms in science class today. Different atoms stick together to form molecules, like two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen molecule makes water,” Wyatt explained.

He spent the next ten minutes telling us everything he’d learned about atoms and molecules. Eventually, he looked down at his plate and seemed surprised to see that it was clean. “Hey, Mom, can I have my brownie now?”

“Sure. Why don’t you go get them and bring ’em over to the table?” As soon as he got up from the table, Wren leaned closer to me, placing her hand gently on my arm, and whispered, “This is the happiest he’s been in days. Thank you.”

“He’s a great kid.” I was completely captivated as I watched her hand drift down my arm, stopping briefly at my wrist while she gently squeezed. I found myself longing for her next casual touch, any small gesture that let me feel the warmth of her skin against mine.

“Want a brownie?” Wyatt asked, while he placed the entire plate in front of me.

“Thanks, but I’m gonna need to take a raincheck. I’ve got some things to take care of,” I explained.

“Okay,” he said, dropping his eyes to his little red tennis shoes.

I casually stood to leave and told Wren, “Thanks for dinner. You really do make a mean pot of spaghetti.”

A bright smile crossed her face when she answered, “I’m glad someone thinks so.”

They both followed me to the door and waved when I pulled out of the driveway. I still had a few hours before I needed to head to the warehouse, but I needed to get out of there. I was getting too close. Felt too good to be there with them. My first instinct had been to protect them. Up until now, it had never occurred to me that maybe I needed to protect myself.

Wren

‡

I
t had been
days since I’d seen Griffin It wasn’t that he wasn’t around. I heard the faint rumble of his motorcycle engine when he drove by our house, but he was making a point not to be seen. I didn’t understand it. I thought our dinner together was really nice. I’d even caught him smiling a couple of times when he was listening to Wyatt carrying on about what he’d learned in his science class. But, for whatever reason, Griffin was avoiding us, and I didn’t like it.

After our dinner together, Wyatt had actually started to improve. His routines were falling back into place, and he seemed more like himself. Just when things with Wyatt seemed to be getting better, it was time for him to go back to his dad’s. It was obvious by his mood that he was dreading it. On the way to school, he stared out the window, nervously fidgeting with the zipper of his backpack. After promising him several times that I would be there exactly at eight to pick him up, he got out of the car and slowly walked inside the school building.

A nearly overwhelming feeling of dread had been weighing on me all day, and I just knew it had something to do with Wyatt. I knew something wasn’t right, and it was killing me. Maybe it was mother’s intuition that was gnawing at me, but I’d spent the entire day looking at the clock, biding my time until he would be back at home with me. I was momentarily distracted from my fears when I heard my cell phone ringing. I figured it was Rachel calling to see why I hadn’t made it to our self-defense class but when I looked at the screen I didn’t recognize the number.

“Hello?” I answered.

“Send Mrs. Daniels a message. Tell her to get Wyatt and leave… now.” Stitch said urgently.

“What’s going on?” I asked with panic.

“I need you to listen to me, Wren. Everything is going to be fine. Just get the message to Mrs. Daniels.”

“Okay,” I answered.

“I’m here, watching him, stay calm and just trust me” That’s all I got and then, the phone went dead.

My fingers trembled as I typed the message to Mrs. Daniels.

Me:
Take Wyatt and leave!! Please!!

Mrs. Daniels:
I’m already out the door. On my way to your house.

Me:
Thank goodness. See you soon.

Completely overcome with panic, tears began to stream down my face as I thought about what could have happened. My imagination ran wild, thinking about all the different times that Michael had lost his temper with me and I was terrified that he might have finally done the same thing to his son. I don’t know what I would do if he hurt him. I was about to completely lose it, when a sudden realization stopped me. Griffin was there. Griffin was there with Wyatt. Just like he’d promised, he was there making sure that Wyatt was safe. An overwhelming sense of relief washed over me. All I’d ever wanted was to know that Wyatt was safe when he was with Michael, and even though I had no idea what had happened, I knew Griffin was there making sure that nothing happened to him. Finally accepting that he wouldn’t let anything happen to my son helped ease my worry.

After twenty brutally long minutes, Mrs. Daniel’s car finally pulled up in my driveway. I quickly opened the door and raced outside, meeting Wyatt just as he got out of her car.

“Are you okay?” I asked, trying to steady my voice as I reached out to him.

“I’m okay, Momma,” he responded, as he stepped into my arms. “Daddy was being really mean and yelling, so Mrs. Daniels told me I could come home.”

“I’m so sorry all that happened, but I’m really glad that she brought you home,” I told him, hugging him tightly. I held him in my arms for a moment longer before I asked, “You want to go watch TV for a few minutes while I talk to Mrs. Daniels?”

“Yeah, but I’ve gotta do my homework first,” he answered.

“You go get started and I’ll come help you in a few minutes,” I told him as he headed inside. The second Wyatt closed the door, I looked over to Mrs. Daniels and asked, “What the hell happened?”

“Michael was drinking, he was slurring his words and acting belligerent. When I confronted him about it, he got angry and started making threats.”

“What kind of threats?”

“He was just mad that I was leaving with Wyatt. The minute that I realized that he’d been drinking, I told Wyatt to go get his things. When Michael figured out what was going on, he said that he was going to request someone new for Wyatt’s supervised visitation. He started spouting off that we’ve become too close, and I’ve become biased where you and Wyatt are concerned.”

“That’s ridiculous!” I was so relieved that Mrs. Daniels had been there tonight. Hiring her had been the best decision I’d ever made, and I couldn’t imagine losing her. Wyatt needed her to be there, especially when Michael was in one of his moods.

“It is ridiculous and I don’t want you to worry about what he said.”

“How am I supposed to do that? Wyatt needs you! Surely they wouldn’t take you away from him… would they?” I asked with tears pooling in my eyes.

“Michael is good at twisting things around, but there is no way he can manipulate what happened tonight. He was drinking during his visitation. I’ll see the judge about it first thing in the morning,” she assured me. She paused briefly, then continued, “You know, I was surprised to get your text. How did you know that something was wrong?”

“Umm…” I wasn’t sure what she’d think about Griffin watching over Wyatt, so I lied. “A neighbor heard Michael yelling and called me.”

“Well, it’s good that they are keeping an eye on things too. I better get going, dear. I need to make sure Stan took his meds. I’ll let you know what happens tomorrow,” she told me as she headed back to her car. I watched her pull out of the driveway before I went back inside to check on Wyatt.

He’d already finished his homework and was watching TV when I walked in. After he finished his shower, I got Wyatt settled in bed. He laid his head on the pillow and stared up at the ceiling, quickly becoming lost in his thoughts.

“You want to talk about it?” I asked him, as I pulled his blanket over him.

“I don’t like Daddy very much,” he finally admitted.

“I can understand that. I don’t like him very much either,” I told him, giving his hand a light squeeze. “I’m sorry he was mean tonight.”

“He always acts mean.” I knew it was a slip of the tongue by the expression on his face, but I had to push for more.

“What do you mean?”

“He’s just always in a bad mood,” Wyatt explained as he turned to his side and pretended to close his eyes. With that, I knew the conversation was over. Knowing it wouldn’t do any good to push, I gave him a quick kiss goodnight and went to my room to get ready for bed. I was exhausted and didn’t even bother doing the dishes in the sink. After changing into my pajamas, I heard the faint sound of a motorcycle engine. My heart fluttered with hope when I thought it might be Griffin. I went over to my window and peeked outside, and sure enough, his bike was parked at the end of the driveway. A smile slowly crept over my face when I saw him walking towards the house. I slipped on my silk bathrobe and rushed out of the room.

When I opened the front door, I found him waiting for me on the front porch. Under his cut, he wore a long sleeve black t-shirt that hugged him tightly across his chest showing just a hint of the defined muscles of his abdomen and a pair of faded blue jeans that hung low on his hips. My breath caught when my eyes locked on his, making it difficult to speak. I knew so little about him. He was a mystery to me, existing in a world of danger I couldn’t begin to comprehend but it didn’t matter. I was trapped in a spell unable to control my body’s overwhelming reaction to him. I’d never known anyone like him. An intimidating strength radiated off of him making it almost impossible to imagine that there was a softer side to him, but it was there. I’d seen it, felt it, and I couldn’t stop myself from being drawn to it, drawn to him.

“How’s he doing?” he asked. The faint scent of his cologne drifted around me, luring me to step closer to him.

“I don’t know anymore,” I confessed.

“He’s a smart kid. He’ll be able to see through all the bullshit.”

“I think he already does… he just isn’t telling me about it. How did you know something was wrong?” I asked.

“Wyatt called me… told me his dad was drinking and yelling at Mrs. Daniels,” he explained.

“Michael was threatening her, saying he was going to get her fired… I don’t know what I’ll do if we lose Mrs. Daniels. She’s so good with Wyatt, and she’s the only thing that makes those visitations tolerable.”

“He won’t lose her,” he said with confidence.

“I’m not so sure. Michael keeps twisting everything around,” I explained.

“He
won’t
lose her. Trust me.”

I had no idea how he could make a promise like that, but I believed him. I felt certain that he would do whatever it took to make sure Wyatt wouldn’t lose her. The worry I’d been holding onto slowly began to diminish, and I whispered “Thank you.”

He stepped closer reaching for my waist as he pulled me towards him. He held me tightly against his chest the warmth of his body surrounded me and I found myself longing for more. I slowly lifted my head from his shoulder and looked up at him, searching his face for some sign that he felt the same way. His eyes filled with lust but he hesitated. There was an agonizing silence until he brought the palm of his hand to the side of my face, gently brushing his thumb across my cheek. He slowly lowered his head, pressing his lips against mine as he kissed me tenderly. At first, his touch was soft and gentle, but it quickly changed to something more. A deep growl vibrated through his chest while his fingers tangled tightly in the back of my hair, pulling me closer as he took complete control of the kiss. His tongue brushed against mine and the world around us melted away as we got lost in each other’s arms. There was no doubt that something was building between us, and my feelings for him triggered something inside of me that I didn’t expect… a consuming need for more. Without warning, he pulled back, looking at me with an expression I didn’t quite understand.

“Momma,” Wyatt called out, and we both froze. It was like a bucket of cold water had been tossed over us while we silently listened for him to call out again.

Griffin took a step back and said, “Go see about him.”

I quickly adjusted my nightgown and robe and rushed back inside the house. Wyatt was waiting for me in his bed when I walked in.

“Momma, my head hurts,” he whined.

I placed the palm of my hand on his forehead, checking to see if he had any fever. “You don’t feel warm. Hold on just a second and I’ll get you something for your headache.”

After I gave him a dose of pain reliever, I sat on the edge of his bed and waited for him to fall back to sleep. Once I was certain that he was sleeping soundly, I headed to the porch. I eased the door open and was pleased to see that Griffin was still there waiting for me. He stood there silently staring at me and I instantly felt awkward. I didn’t know what to say to him.