Wild Fire (Chaos #6.5)(48)

“I got there before he was down.”

It came out beyond his control.

Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit.

“Cut him free,” Georgie whispered urgently.

Carlyle’s eyes were locked to Dutch.

“I saw him take it in the neck.”

Roam was behind his back, working fast.

“Give it to me, man,” Dutch urged.

“I saw it. I saw him take it in the neck.”

Dutch shuffled closer, muttering, not to Carlyle, “Get her back.”

Georgie disappeared.

“He went down. He’s a big guy like me.”

“Give it to me.”

“Made a big noise when he hit. Bitch screamed. Loud. So loud. All of that. Seemed louder than the gunshot.”

“I can see that,” Dutch told him when he stopped talking.

“‘Not the kid,’ she said, then shoved the guy out the door,” Carlyle continued.

At least she did that.

“Dad was down, but his arms were moving, he was looking at me, motioning me to get out of there. I didn’t do what he told me to do. I went to him.”

After that, Carlyle jerked suddenly, slammed his large fists into the floor beside him, then curled instantly into a ball, his hands one over the other on the back of his head.

“He went down. Never got up. Never got up. Never gonna get up,” he said to his thighs.

“Do I need to call Jules?” Vance asked quietly.

“No,” Dutch answered.

He didn’t touch him. Dutch didn’t move.

Carlyle started rocking.

It didn’t last long.

Carlyle’s hands slid away. They fell to the floor like they weren’t flesh he could control, but useless appendages made of nothing.

He lifted his head and eyes filled with everything Dutch had felt all his life, all at once, caught on Dutch’s.

Dutch heard Jagger suck in breath and knew Jagger recognized it, just like Dutch.

“I gotta find him, for my dad.”

“We’ll find him for you, man,” Dutch promised.

“It’s gotta be me,” Carlyle said.

“You gotta stay safe, because there is one thing I know in this world above all other, your mom’s gonna need you. Do you understand me?”

Carlyle swallowed hard.

“Do you understand me, Carlyle?” Dutch pushed.

Carlyle just stared at him, gone. Gone to the pain. Gone to the memories.

Gone to the loss.

“Do you understand me?” Dutch demanded.

He sounded like a little kid when he answered, “Yeah.”

“Will you come with us?” Dutch asked.

Carlyle nodded.

Dutch didn’t waste a second.

He straightened from his crouch and held out his hand.

Carlyle studied it.

And then…

He took it.





Chapter Nine



Meanwhile



Meanwhile…

As Dutch was talking to Carlyle Stephens in Tack and Tyra’s living room with a bevy of Chaos brothers and Nightingale men around him …



Georgiana stood out in the chill air on the deck of Kane and Tyra Allen’s house.

She was not the least surprised when Keely Ironside joined her.

She didn’t look at Dutch’s mom when she asked, “He okay?”

“Kid’s been through the wringer but think he’s tough.”

She gave Keely her attention at that.

“I wasn’t talking about Carlyle.”

Keely’s eyes fell on her.

“Do you know what’s going on with my son?” she asked.

“Yes,” Georgiana answered.

“You’re not going to tell me, are you?” she asked.

“No,” Georgie answered.

“Can I trust you have him?” she asked.

“Absolutely,” Georgie answered.

Keely Black Ironside stared at Georgiana Suzanne Traylor.

Then she said, “He’s always been very serious.”

“Please don’t share with me things Dutch would want to tell me himself.”

“What I’m saying is, I wanted him to be free longer so maybe he’d have a little fun.”

Georgie cocked her head.

“What makes you think I’m not fun?”

Keely stared at her again.

“I’m loads of fun,” Georgie assured her.

“I hope so,” Keely whispered.

“Thank you for him,” Georgie said to her.

Keely’s head jerked.

“He’s pretty freaking amazing,” Georgiana told her something she knew.

The way Keely was looking at her now was entirely different.

“Yes, he is.”

“We should go inside. He’s got things on his mind and he doesn’t need to worry about his new babe talking to his beloved mother.”

“Right,” Keely murmured.

They turned as one, and neither of them missed that Dutch’s eyes were aimed through the window.

At Georgiana.

“I haven’t seen that look in twenty-three years,” Keely whispered.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Georgie asked.