Page 36 of Tanner (Dirty Misfits MC 5)
And as our lips parted, my forehead touched down against hers. “I love you so much.”
She sighed. “I love you, too. So, go talk to the guys. Santa Barbara is a four-hour drive. That means eight hours and then some of being vulnerable.”
I nodded softly. “All right, I’m leaving now. You just finished getting ready and gathering Cheyenne’s things.”
After forcing myself to pull away from the most perfect woman in my life, I went in search of Brooks. He needed to know the plan and I needed to ask him if there was any way the guys could help us out.
Mostly, if a couple of the guys could tail us there and back in case we hit any issues.
“Hey, Brooks!” I called out.
He looked up from his mug of coffee. “Yep?”
I walked over and stood in front of him as he sat in a recliner in the living room. “Summer and I are about to head to pick up Cheyenne. We’re taking our daughter to Summer’s sister’s place in Santa Barbara. We both feel she’ll be safer there, and we won’t have a kid running underneath our feet while we’re here.”
He looked up at me. “You’ll need a distraction. Something to take the Black Flags’ attention off you guys.”
I nodded. “And an escort, just in case we hit hairy waters while driving.”
He drew in a deep breath. “Santa Barbara is about a four-hour drive from here.”
“Yep.”
He set his mug down and stood to his feet. “You leave the distraction to me. Go talk to whoever you want to use as an escort.”
“I figured Porter and Cole could ride in a car behind us, just in case.”
He cleared his throat. “Great. Then, me and the rest of the guys will come up with your distraction. You don’t worry about that.”
I placed my hand on his shoulder. “I really appreciate that.”
“Just promise me one thing, Tan.”
“Shoot.”
He placed his hand on my shoulder in solidarity. “Don’t do anything stupid.”
I barked with laughter. “You have my word.”
He pointed at my face. “I mean it.”
I nodded. “So do I.”
“Good.”
I’d never seen the look in Brooks’ eyes that he currently had trained on me. So, I had a hard time identifying it. He didn’t look upset, but he did look worried. Not the kind of worry that made him want to stop me, though. Possibly hesitant?
No, Brooks was never hesitant.
Eggshells. He’s walking on eggshells.
“Hey, Tanner?” Summer asked.
I peered over my shoulder. “Yeah? You ready?”
She rolled Cheyenne’s suitcase behind her. “Ready.”
Brooks brushed past me. “I’ll go round up the guys. Hey, Porter! Cole! Get your asses out here!”
Brooks left the room as Summer walked over to me and I took her into my arms. Her cheek fell against my chest as her ear rested against my beating heart. I knew some big moments were about to happen. I knew a lot of things were about to crash down at once. And as Summer trembled against me, I peppered kisses along the top of her head.
“It’s okay. It’s gonna be all right,” I said softly.
Then, Porter and Cole came out to be with us. “We’re ready when you are.”
Cole pointed toward the front of the warehouse. “Got two cars: one’s got a nice engine to it. A bit of pick-up. So, Porter and I will take that one.”
Porter nodded. “The other one is a regular sort of vehicle. Got a bit of space, isn’t completely up to date. It’s unassuming, and we hope that’s going to play in our favor.”
“Tanner,” Summer whimpered.
I kissed her forehead. “That sounds perfect. You guys ready to head out?”
Porter nodded toward Summer. “She okay?”
I went to answer, but Summer turned and answered for herself. “I’m nervous. This is my daughter—”
She caught herself and corrected, which set my heart aflame for her.
“This is our daughter, I mean, and she’s precious. She’s smart, kind, beautiful, giving. She’s the kind of person you want running around in this world, got it?”
Cole nodded. “Loud and clear. I got a little one on the way, and I know that’s not quite the same, but I get it.”
Summer sighed. “Thank you. I appreciate that.”
Porter started me down. “Ready to go pick up your daughter?”
And as my heart stilled in my chest, I drew in a deep breath. “Let’s go get her.”
After Brooks gave us the okay to leave, we all headed out. Summer and I were in some sort of SUV hybrid that was about six years old while Porter and Cole were behind us in what looked like a broken-down race car. I wasn’t sure about their pick on vehicles, but I also trusted them.
So, we all loaded up and headed out.
I wasn’t sure what kind of distraction Brooks had planned, but I couldn’t focus on that anyway. I was about to meet my daughter, and she’d have no idea who I was. I knew it wouldn’t be pertinent to meet like this. To tell her I was her father before dropping her off four hours away and not seeing her until things were safe. That screamed “shitty father” to me.
