Knock Down, Drag Out / Book One

Chapter Thirteen (and a half)

Landon stared at his brother, not really shocked that Maddox loved Darcy but shocked that he admitted it out loud. He had never been able to put his emotions into words and him telling Landon about it just proved how deep he was tangled up with Darcy.

"She was talking to her sister about taking a trip to Greece once Steven was caught, said she could get a flight booked as soon as next week, and I just wanted to yell at her to stay. To be with me. How do you tell someone who you've only known for a few weeks that you want to spend the rest of your life with them?" Maddox rambled, raking his hands through his hair in frustration and moving away from the window so he wouldn't keep watching Darcy.

Landon just shook his head, unsure of what to tell his brother. He had never fallen so hard so fast and he didn't have the advice Maddox was looking for.

They both looked towards the doorway when Elijah walked in, a grim look on his face. The love life conversation was quickly forgotten when he sat down at the table and looked out of the window to make sure the women were still outside.

"The two of you know that I have connections to Demon Ink. Phoenix just called with some information."

Landon made his way to the table and sat down with a soft groan, his ribs protesting the movement. Maddox sat down in the chair beside him and motioned for Elijah to continue.

"This peckerhead was asking around town about Darcy and Maddox. He caught wind of your engagement at your mum's diner from Sabrina. She bragged about the rec center and about how sweet Darcy was. He went to the grocery store by the rec center after that and asked about where you lived, said he was a new fighter and had a meeting with you but got lost.  Phoenix sent some of his men to your apartment to check it out and it was completely trashed. All of Darcy's underwear and her more feminine clothes are missing."

Maddox slammed his hand on top of the table and bit off a curse. He wanted to say that Phoenix got his information wrong, but people didn't lie to Demon Ink members. Their motorcycle club had a reputation of getting the truth out of someone at whatever cost necessary.

"Jaxon and the rest of the force are still looking for him," Landon reminded, hoping to dim some of the fury he could see in Maddox's eyes. His privacy had been violated on top of a growing threat to the woman he loved. He was a ticking time bomb waiting to blow up in all of their faces.

Stanford and Damion made their way into the kitchen too, both of them already informed of what Elijah knew. Five furious men taking up the kitchen was probably a bad idea but none of them particularly wanted to go outside and ruin the moment of happiness the women were having. There would be plenty of time to do that later tonight.

"We're sitting ducks," Stanford pointed out, making his own cup of coffee and taking a sip. They couldn't stay at the cabin but they didn't have anywhere else to go. It was a hell of a situation to be in.

"Yeah, we know. We're gonna have to go into town and get more groceries tomorrow or we'll starve, and then we're gonna have to put everyone on house arrest. No going outside and taking unnecessary risks," Landon muttered, tipping back his coffee cup and downing the rest of the liquid.

There was a lull in conversation as the women entered the kitchen through the backdoor, dripping water onto the floor and laughing at a joke they only knew. Maddox's heart clenched when Darcy blew him a kiss as she rushed through the room, heading upstairs so she could dry off and change her clothes.

Lylah followed after her sister and his mother stayed behind, only one small wet spot on her shirt that she didn't feel the need to change clothes for.

"Good lord, boys. Stop looking so torn up and tell me what's going on before your heads explode," Ruby demanded, placing her hands on her hips and glaring at her ragtag group of children. Only two of them belonged to her biologically, but she loved the other three like she had carried them herself and she wasn't scared to start slapping heads if they didn't start talking.

Maddox rubbed the back of his neck and let out a sigh before admitting the truth to his mother. "The police can't find Steven Lambert, and there's a good possibility he knows we're here."

Ruby nodded her head slowly, letting the information sink in. She was scared, some psychopath was after all of them and him knowing where they were was a terrifying thought, but she wouldn't panic. Panicking was how people made mistakes and got hurt.

"He'll show up here, then. And when he does you boys will take care of things. In the unlikely event he gets through all of you, well I did bring my handgun and I won't feel bad for shooting the bastard dead."

Maddox just stared at his mother and Landon choked on a laugh, trying his best not to smile. Their mom was a force to be reckoned with, a hurricane wrapped in the body of a 5'2 woman with mama bear tendencies.

"We have to tell Darcy and Lylah that we can't leave like we thought. I hate to break their hearts, but I'd much rather they know and take precautions than not and end up dead. I'll go hunt them down and tell them now," Ruby offered, heading for the stairs once Maddox nodded his head.

He was a coward and taking the easy way out, but that was something he'd think about later. Right now they had to come up with a game plan for when Steven Lambert came knocking, otherwise they all might end up going home in a body bag.