Page 19 of Keegan's Promise

Landry is tense and silent in the seat beside me, clearly nervous. I probably should have given her a little more information on the MC, but I wasn’t entirely sure what the fuck to tell her. I doubt anything I would have said would have reassured her anyway. These are men she needs to meet for herself to realize they’re nothing like the pricks who kept her locked up.

Dillon notices my truck bouncing down the driveway first and pushes away from the railing. He says something to Tate and Cash, who stop mid-argument and turn in our direction, matching looks of grim worry on their faces.

They know exactly what it means when someone asks the sheriff to meet them out here. It’s never good news, that’s for damn sure. They’ve been down this road a few times now.

By the time I pull up beside Dillon’s unmarked, they’re waiting off to the side. I ignore them for a moment, turning to Landry. She’s pale, her eyes full of anxiety.

“Everything will be okay,” I murmur, reaching out to cup her cheek. “I swear to you, I wouldn’t have brought you here if I didn’t trust them, all right?”

She stares at me for a long moment before exhaling a slow breath. She nods once, putting her trust in my hands. And fuck, I want to pull her onto my lap and kiss the fear from her eyes. But I can’t do that. Not yet.

She’s been through hell. She needs me to focus on keeping her and Lily safe first. And then we can work out this shit between us. One way or another, though, we will be working it out. She disappeared from my life once. I won’t be letting that happen again.

I pop open my door and hop out, looking right at Tate. “Do you have medical shit here?’ I ask him.

He doesn’t even hesitate before nodding.

“Can you take a look at the baby? Make sure she’s healthy?”

“The baby?” His eyebrows climb, his dark green eyes flickering toward Landry. But he swallows back whatever questions he wants to ask. “Shit. Yeah, I’ll check her out. Come on.”

I circle around to help Landry. She trembles as I lift her out of the truck.

“Breathe, sweetness,” I murmur, pressing my lips against her ear. “Just breathe for me.”

She jerks her head in a nod and takes a deep breath. I watch her face for a moment, awed at how goddamn strong she is, before I turn to grab Lily and her diaper bag.

“Landry baby, this is Tate Grimes, Jason Montoya, who goes by Cash, and Sheriff Dillon Armstrong,” I say, pointing to each of the three men. Tate gives her a little smile, Cash jerks his chin in a nod, his expression soft, and Dillon tips his cowboy hat at her.

“Hi,” she whispers.

“Hey, sweetheart,” Dillon rumbles.

We all head toward the clubhouse in silence, Landry glued to my side like she’s terrified Tate and Cash may grab her at any moment. Or hell, maybe she’s terrified Dillon is going to slap cuffs on her and haul her away.

It fucking killed me to realize she and Lily had been living in that goddamn car for months on end. And hearing her admit that she stole it killed me all over again. I don’t blame her for any of it. Fuck no. How can I? If she hadn’t done what she did, our daughter would have been ripped from her arms months ago and handed over to some other prick. Some motherfucker in the Sons of Loki would have raised her…and I never would have known she existed.

Because of Landry, my daughter is safe. She’s right here with me. I don’t care what I have to do or who I have to pay off to make sure she doesn’t suffer for what she’s done; I’ll do it ten thousand times over if that’s what it takes.

As soon as we step over the threshold, Landry glances all around with wide eyes. I’m not sure what she was expecting, but I’m guessing it wasn’t a clubhouse like this. The Silver Spoon MC’s clubhouse is more like a goddamn family home than anything. Photos of the members and their families hang all over the walls, and baby toys are scattered around the massive living room.

“Is Samara here?” I ask Tate.

“Yeah. She was putting Scout down for a nap.”

“Why don’t you go with Tate, sweetness?” I murmur, handing Lily and her bag to Landry. “He’s a pediatric surgeon. He’s going to take a look at Lily while I talk to Cash and Dillon.”

Landry hesitates, eyeing him curiously. “You’re a surgeon?”

“I am.”

“And in an MC?”

His lips curve up at the corners. “Yeah, sweetheart. Not all of us are like you see on TV.”

“Or in reality,” she mutters under her breath.

Tate catches it and shoots me a questioning look. But it’s too goddamn much to explain. He seems to understand because he turns back to Landry.

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