21. Layla

Agreeing to give Kadence a month to bring Anton down was easier said than done. I wanted Anton's head on a fucking platter for what he did. Tyler was terrible at being on bed rest, so the first week I spent keeping him entertained so that he stayed in bed. Eventually, Cordy allowed him his laptop, which helped. Drew had been handling the aftermath of the bombing, but Tyler took over as soon as he was able. He was on Kadence's ass about when the police would release the crime scene back to us. Tyler wanted to clear the lot and rebuild the shelter as soon as possible. He said he refused to let Anton think for one second that he won.

It was now two weeks since the bombing, and now that Tyler was healed, my brain had shifted to Anton. "Has Bear heard anything about his whereabouts?" I asked Sean.

He shook his head as he bit into one of the muffins that Cordy had delivered to my office. I tapped my fingers on my desk while waiting for him to finish chewing and swallowing so he could answer me properly. "Nothing," he finally replied.

Anton had gone into hiding after the bombing. I had my men scouring the city for any sign of him, and we'd come up empty. I was hoping that Triple Skulls might have better luck. "Where the fuck is he?" I yelled, slamming my fist on the desk. "He didn't just disappear. He has to be somewhere."

"Maybe he went to visit his dad," Sean suggested. "Got out of the country for a while until things settle down."

I shook my head. "No. Not Anton. He'd want to stick around to watch the fallout."

"It ended up not being much of a fallout, though," Zach said. "Nobody really got hurt or died. All he did was blow up a building, and if that pissed off as many people as Kadence said, it would make sense for him to be laying low or even leave."

"No. Trust me. I can sense the little cockroach crawling around my city. He's still here, and I'm going to find him," I replied.

"What's your plan when you do?" Colton asked. "You promised Kadence a month."

"I promised I would wait a month to go after him. I didn't say I'd wait a month to plan my attack." But I couldn't plan a damn thing until I knew where he was, and it was beginning to piss me off.

"I said no, and you can't make me!"

I exchanged startled looks with the guys at the sound of Autumn yelling. It only took another two seconds for us all to spring for the door. Being on the opposite side of the office, I was the last one out of the room. Jennifer held a struggling Autumn by the arm as she tried to talk to her while the guys watched with uncertainty.

"Do we step in?" Drew asked.

"I sure as fuck am," I replied, pushing past them. "What's happening? Let her go," I ordered. As soon as she was free, Autumn ran to me and wrapped her arms around my waist, burying her face in my stomach.

"Tell her we don't have to leave. Don't let her take me away, Layla," Autumn sobbed.

My eyes lifted to Jennifer's, which were filled with tears as she watched her daughter cling to me. "Jenn, what's going on?"

"We were talking about the shelter and how, since everything happened, I'd have to wait a little longer to get back to work," she replied. "I thought it would be fun to talk about where we'd like to live and what things we wanted in our new house, and she freaked out. I tried telling her that we couldn't stay here forever, and well, that's when you guys came out of the office."

"Tell her, Layla. Tell her we can stay," Autumn pleaded. The kid was tearing my heart out, but the truth was, Jennifer could leave with Autumn today and I didn't have much say in it. We had already reestablished Jennifer's parental rights to Autumn with the courts.

"Ok, family meeting in the living room," I announced. I wrapped my arm around Autumn's shoulder and held my free hand out to Jennifer. She took my hand, and I squeezed it reassuringly as I guided them to the living room with the guys trailing behind us. Tyler sat and lifted Autumn into his lap. I sat beside them, and Jennifer sat across from us, with the others filling the empty spots around us.

"Autumn, sweetheart, listen to me," I said. "You and your mom are always welcome in my home. It's your home, too, and you can absolutely stay here as long as you want." I met Jennifer's eyes to make sure she understood that I meant what I said. I didn't care if they never moved out. "But if your mom thinks that getting your own place is best for you, then that's what you'll have to do. She's your mom, and she makes the rules. It won't be like it used to be. You'll move somewhere nice. And it will belong to just you and your mom. Honey, she's excited and proud that she'll be able to make a nice home for you one day."

Autumn shook her head. "I don't want to leave you," she replied. Her tears gave way to hiccups as she burrowed into Tyler's arms. "I feel safe here, with you guys. You saved me from that place, and then you saved me from my foster parents. Tyler saved me from a bomb. She left me. She can't keep me safe like you can."

"Don't be so hard on your mom, Squirt," Zach said. "She didn't leave you by choice. She was being held against her will and was scared that if she tried to get you, you would be hurt. She thought you were safe."

Tyler squeezed Autumn gently. "Your mom did the best she could, kid. And she's trying to make up for it now."

"You need your mom, Autumn. And she needs you even more," I said softly. "Do you think we'd let you leave if we weren't sure that she could take care of you?"

"Nothing is happening now," Colt added, "but when you guys are ready, you might discover that it will be nice to be in your own home."

"But what if she leaves again?" Autumn asked.

Tears were streaming down Jennifer's face as she slid from the couch and crawled to kneel before Autumn. "Baby, that will never happen again. I am never going to leave you. I couldn't. I didn't want to leave you then. How about I make a deal with you? We won't move into our own home until we're both ready. I want you to feel safe with me again, Autumn, and I realize that we still have a lot of things to work through before that happens. We can stay here as long as it takes for that to happen."

"Really?" Autumn asked, peeking at her mother.

"Really, really," Jennifer replied, smiling sadly. "I'm so sorry that I hurt you. I'm so sorry for everything you went through while I was gone, but I'm back now and love you so much. You're my entire world, Autumn. Everything I do is for you, so if you need more time until you feel comfortable with me again, I can wait. I thought you'd be excited to have our own home."

"I love you too," Autumn replied, "But I don't want to leave right now."

"Then you won't," Drew said. "There's no need to rush it."

"And we'll make sure that you and your mom can take care of each other when you do," Sean added. "Your skills are improving every day. And we can start training your mom, too."

"See," I said, smiling at her. "Do you really think these guys would let you leave this house without ensuring you were cared for?" I teased. I checked the time on my watch. "Your teacher will be here soon, kiddo. Why don't you go wash your face so you're ready."

Autumn nodded and climbed off Tyler's lap. She hesitated a moment before jumping into Jenn's arms. "I love you, Mom."

"I love you too, angel. We'll figure everything out, don't worry," Jennifer replied, returning her hug. "I'm so sorry to disrupt your day with that," Jennifer said quietly when Autumn had left.

I kneeled beside her and pulled her into a hug. "You don't have anything to apologize for. We love both of you, and we meant what we said. Your stay here doesn't have an expiration date. You're part of our family now."

"I didn't realize how much she still blames me for everything that happened," Jennifer admitted. "I was so relieved that we seemed to move past it all. I should have known. A good mother would have."

"Do I need to tell you not to be so hard on yourself, too?" Zach asked. "You've both been through some traumatic shit over the past years. It's going to take time for you to heal from it. But you'll heal together and be stronger for it in the end." Everyone in the room turned to look at Zach. "What?"

"We're just not used to you being quite so profound," Drew teased.

"Yeah, man," Sean said, "When did you get so deep?"

"That's rude," Zach replied indignantly. "I have more thoughts in my head than killing and fucking."

"At the same time?" Colton asked, making Jennifer giggle.

I grinned and rolled my eyes at my idiots. "Ok. Crisis averted for now. I think I will take the boys to the dog park to run around. I'll see if the girls want to meet me there. Jenn, would you like to come with me?"

"I'd love to," she replied. "It would be good to get some sunshine."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Drew asked.

"Why wouldn't it be?" I asked.

"They're wolves, Layla," Tyler reminded me. "Bloodthirsty wolves. They'll see a chihuahua and think it's a snack."

"They would never! They're good boys," I replied as I stood.

"They might," Zach laughed. "It's been a while since they've had fresh meat."

"It will be fine. Dash and Dire know what a wild animal smells like and won't bite anything they don't have permission to bite," I assured them.

"Just be careful," Colton said, looping an arm around me and pulling me against him. "Anton might be in hiding, but that doesn't mean he doesn't still have men out there willing to try and earn some points with him by killing or capturing you. You may have lifted the lockdown, but you still have to be careful."

"Relax. I'm sure you'll make sure I have a whole team of people with me to keep us safe," I replied, tilting my head to kiss him.

I whistled for Dash and Dire, and when Ryan and Keith pulled the car around, Jennifer and I got in with the wolves happily following us. I texted the Renegades chat to invite them for a relaxing afternoon at the dog park.

"They really are nice dogs," Jennifer said as we drove. "Of course, I might be biased since they took care of Billy."

"They are the best boys," I replied, scratching Dire behind the ears. When we got to the dog park, as expected, I had two SUVs full of men who spread out and secured the dog park before I was allowed to get out of the car. "Try not to threaten every poor animal lover who shows up today," I said to Keith as we got out.

"I can't make any promises, Boss," he replied.

I let Dash and Dire into the empty large dog pen, and as soon as I did, they took off at full speed for the far end of the enclosed area. It wasn't an open forest, but better than my backyard. I checked my phone to see that Brandi and Monika replied that they were on their way, but Kadence said she couldn't get away from work. Probably for the best, she knew the clock was ticking.

Monika roared into the parking lot on her motorcycle, Blue following her on his own. She grabbed the small cooler strapped to her bike and joined Jennifer and me at the picnic table. "I brought refreshments," Monika announced as she sat. She opened the cooler and passed out water bottles filled with a reddish-pink liquid to us.

"What is it?" Jennifer asked.

"Wine, of course," Monika replied.

"Ok, but we can't get drunk," I cautioned. "The guys would skin me alive if I got drunk in public without them around to watch over me."

"Who cares," Monika scoffed. "We're already more than protected. You come with an entire team of men. Blue is here, and when Brandi arrives, we'll have at least one of her men. The Queen of England isn't as protected as you are."

I wasn't sure that was true, and I knew it didn't matter how many people protected me. My guys didn't like me being vulnerable without them around. And day drinking at the dog park would fall into that category. I didn't argue with Monika but vowed to take the wine slowly.

My intentions were good, but then Brandi arrived with Nate in tow and pounded back half a bottle as soon as she sat down. "We had sex," she blurted.

"What?" we screeched.

"Tell us everything," Jennifer said excitedly.

"You and Nate?" I asked.

"Or you and all four of them?" Monika asked, wagging her eyebrows suggestively.

"Kai," Brandi said, sneaking a furtive glance over her shoulder at Nate. He had dark shades on, so I couldn't see his eyes, but I didn't doubt for one second that they were glued to Brandi. "And Nate caught us."

"Oops," Monika said. "I'm going to go out on a limb and say he didn't take it very well."

"He took it better than I expected, actually," Brandi replied. "Kai has a black eye, but he waited until they weren't around me to give it to him. Nate also hasn't left my side since."

"You don't mean—" I started to say.

"He's decided that for my safety, it's best if he shares my bed," Brandi growled.

I tried not to laugh. Sleeping with Kai first pushed Nate to the end of his rope. He would make sure that the next time Brandi felt frisky, he would be the one she turned to. There was only one thing I needed to know. "He hasn't forced himself on you, right?" I didn't care how he planned to seduce her out of her pants as long as it wasn't against her will.

"God, no," Brandi replied. "He's too good of a man for that. Instead, he's driving me fucking crazy." She lowered her voice so it was barely above a whisper, and we all had to lean in closer to hear her. "He... pleasured himself in bed last night. Knowing I was still awake. And moaned my name the entire time!"

Laughter burst from the three of us as Brandi polished off the rest of her bottle, and Monika handed her another. "I better not be the only one drinking," Brandi said. The rest of us lifted our bottles to our lips and took healthy swigs from them.

"So what did you do?" Jennifer asked.

"I hope you jumped his fucking bones," Monika said.

"It was so fucking hot," Brandi admitted. "But I didn't do anything. I just laid there, watching his shadowy movements in the dark, slowly melting into a pile of goo. I was so fucking turned on. When he finished and I thought he had fallen asleep, I tried to get myself off."

"Tried?" I asked, taking another sip of wine.

"The bastard stopped me and told me my next orgasm belonged to him, and I wasn't allowed to touch myself. I'd have to beg him for it!"

I laughed again and turned to salute Nate. He didn't acknowledge me, but he did have a smirk on his face. "That's hot as fuck," I commented as I turned back to Brandi.

"It was sooo fucking hot," she replied, banging her forehead lightly on the picnic table.

Barking took my attention from her as I turned to check on the boys. Someone had their poodle in the small dog section and said poodle was at the fence separating the two areas, barking at Dash and Dire. They sniffed at the dog through the fence, unconcerned about the racket it was making. I took another drink and almost choked on it as Dash raised his leg and peed on the white fluff ball.

"Fefe!" the owner shrieked. She ran to her dog but didn't know what to do when she got to her because Fefe was covered in piss. Finally, she dug a cute little leash from her purse and attached it to Fefe's collar. "Bad dog!" she yelled, wagging her finger at Dash. "Bad, bad, dog!" Dash turned around and kicked dirt at her through the fence as Dire growled and attacked the fence, causing the woman to fall backward with a glass-breaking scream. Naughty boys. I knew Dire wasn't going to attack her, but he did enjoy scaring her, and when I whistled for them, he pranced to my side with his head held high.

"Are you boys being naughty?" I crooned as I petted them.

"Your dogs peed on my precious Fefe!" The woman said, storming toward us on the other side of the fence.

"I saw," I replied. "She probably should have moved out of the way."

"And then they tried to kill us!"

"Lady, I promise you, if they wanted to kill you, you wouldn't be standing here yelling at me," I replied.

"I'm going to call animal control. Beasts like that shouldn't be allowed in public!"

I rolled my eyes at the annoying woman. I stood and approached the fence, Dash and Dire flanking me. "Lady, I suggest you and your little fur ball take a hike before Fefe becomes wolf chow. Threatening me or my wolves isn't a smart idea. You see all of these men standing around?"

She glanced around us and paled a degree more with each man she saw, who were all now fixated on us. I waited for her to nod before continuing. "They're all here to protect me. Calling animal control won't do shit, and they'll likely end up giving you a citation for causing a scene before they even attempt to address your issues with my boys. Leave before I change my mind." The woman hurried away so fast I was surprised there wasn't a dust cloud in her wake.

"Go play," I told Dash and Dire as I returned to the table.

"You almost made that woman piss herself," Monika laughed.

"Was that necessary?" Brandi asked. "You know she could sue you, right? And then I'd have to deal with it."

"Nobody fucks with my pack," I replied, sipping my wine. "Not even prissy women with sticks up their asses and froufrou dogs on their arms."

"Enough about that," Jennifer said, "back to Brandi. Are you going to beg for it?"

"Ugh. I don't know what the fuck I'm going to do. I want to, but something is still holding me back, and I don't know what it is," Brandi replied.

"Seriously?" I asked. "You're holding you back—your stubbornness and deep-rooted bratty nature. Get out of your way and let Nate handle the rest. At this point, it's for your own good."

"Just like that?" she asked, dramatically throwing her hands in the air.

"Just like that," I laughed.

"Just like that," she repeated quietly, more to herself than us. Brandi turned to look at Nate again and blushed as his head turned slightly toward her. His shades still covered his eyes, but that was all he needed to do to make it clear he was watching her right back. Brandi whipped back around in her seat, now beet red. "Maybe I will," she said.

"Fucking finally," Monika crowed, loud enough for everyone within a mile of us to hear.

"Shhhh," Brandi said, smacking her in the arm.

"Sorry," Monika snickered.

I shook my head as I heard the gate open. I turned, expecting to see Nate coming to drag Brandi away, but it was a group of twenty-something guys coming through with their dog. They eyed us curiously as they released their Pitbull and tossed a ball for her to chase before taking seats at the picnic table next to us. I turned back to my girls, ignoring them. Dash and Dire surrounded the new dog, wagging their tails excitedly as they sniffed her. She rolled over to show submission to them, and Dash bent into a playful crouch with his butt in the air and yipped at her before tearing away from her. Dire went with him, and the three dogs chased each other playfully.

"You have good-looking dogs there," one of the men said. "What are they?"

"Wolves," I replied. "Thanks."

"You know, I read somewhere that when dogs are compatible, their owners are too," he said, leaving his table and sliding onto the bench beside me. His friends snickered as he wrapped his arm around my shoulder.

This fucking idiot. I heard the gate open as Keith, Nate, Blue, and a couple of my other security detail rushed through it. I shook my head slightly, causing them to stop. I could handle this. "Sorry, but I'm taken," I replied, shrugging his arm off.

"Oh, come on, baby. Don't be like that," he prodded, sliding his hand up my back.

"Persistent, isn't he?" Monika commented dryly.

"Stupid is more like it," Jennifer snickered.

"What the fuck did you just say, bitch?" he growled.

"That's it," I said. I whistled for my boys, and they immediately stopped playing with the idiot's dog and sprinted toward me. Halfway to me, they started barking and growling at the stranger who was entirely too close to Mama. "I suggest you get the fuck off of me before they do it for you," I stated.

"I'm not afraid of a fucking dog," he replied, pulling a gun from his waistband and pointing it at them. I pulled my own and pressed the barrel to his temple.

"And I'm not afraid to add some ventilation to your thick skull," I replied.

Jennifer scurried to the other side of Monika as she stood on the picnic table bench across from me with her gun drawn and pointed at Mr. Grabby. It took his friends a few seconds to catch up on what was going on as they scrambled for their weapons.

"Before you do that, I suggest you take a look around and then decide if a dog park is where you want to die," I said. I knew by now the rest of my security team had moved in, and I didn't doubt that all of them, including Blue, Nate, and Keith, had guns pointed at the group. Dash and Dire had slowed and were now feet away, snarling with the idiot beside me in their sights. "I already told you that they aren't dogs; they're wolves," I whispered. "Highly trained wolves who enjoy feeding on human flesh. One word from me, and they'll be on you before you can squeeze that trigger. Collect your dog and your friends and leave."

"Leave your guns," Monika ordered.

"Like fuck I will," he sneered.

"You don't know what you walked into, do you?" Brandi laughed. Oh lord, this girl grows a serious pair when she's drunk. "The blue-haired spitfire pointing the gun in your face? That's the President of the Triple Skulls. And the hottie you felt you had the right to touch with the gun to your head? That's Layla Romano, Boss of the Romano Syndicate."

Grabby McGrabberson paled and immediately dropped his gun. His friends did the same and slowly backed toward the gate, leaving their friend behind. "I— I don't want any trouble," he stuttered. "I'll just take my dog and go. No harm, no foul."

"Go," I ordered, "and I suggest you move slowly. If you run, they will take you down."

He slowly stood and whistled for his dog, who was happily oblivious to the seriousness of the situation as she bounced over to us. Everyone always painted the breed as this vicious monster, but the truth was that viciousness was taught, not bred. And not even this idiot could train the sweetness out of this little lady. She paused on her way by, jumping up and say hi to me before dashing after her owner.

"It's never a dull moment with you guys," Jennifer laughed when they had left, and things could return to normal.

"In our defense, we were just sitting here minding our business," I replied.

"Well, hopefully, they learned their lesson," Brandi said. "Imagine if it had been someone else they approached—someone who didn't have a way to defend herself."

"Well, shit," Monika said, sitting on the tabletop. "Maybe we shouldn't have let him and his friends go."

I turned to see if they were still around, but didn't see them. "Well, it's too late now. I'll choose to believe they learned their lesson."

"Uh, guys," Jennifer said, "I think our time out has ended." She nodded behind us, and I turned to see that Keith, Blue, and Nate were still hovering nearby.

From how they shifted and looked around, I could tell they had reached the end of their ropes and weren't comfortable being here anymore. They probably worried that Mr. Grabby would return with his little street gang. I wasn't worried, but there was no sense in stressing everyone out over it.

"Looks like. Come on," I said, standing. Dash and Dire hadn't left my side after we ran the thugs off, so as soon as I started walking toward the gate, they fell in step with me. We hugged and parted ways. Dash and Dire wasted no time getting comfortable and falling asleep in the car. Aside from the idiots at the end, it was a good afternoon, and I was successful in getting my boys some much-needed exercise.