Petal spotted Ax standing in the doorway. “Alex! I saved you a seat!” she shouted. All eyes came to him. Of course, the seat had to be smack between Petal and Sage.
He approached the table and stroked his hand across Petal’s hair. “Thanks, Sweet Pea.”
Steele shot him a look. “I was just explaining to Sage how we thought it was best that she and Petal stay here for now.”
Ax responded with a grunt and took his seat.
Montana placed a platter filled with pancakes and bacon in the center of the table, and they all dug in.
“Does Lucy know you’re back?” Ink asked through a mouthful of food.
“Not yet. I-uh-haven’t had a chance to call her,” Sage told him. A moment passed before she added, “I-uh- don’t exactly have a phone.” The table stilled, all except for Petal, who was too busy eating to pay attention to the conversation.
“What do you mean you don’t have a phone?” he asked.
Sage’s eyes sliced to him before dropping to her plate. “Carlos took it,” she mumbled.
“Carlos got really mad when Mommy called Aunt Lucy,” Petal chimed in.
Ax caught Steele’s eye. Steele’s jaw tensed as he jerked his phone from his pocket and started dialing.
“You left that part out,” Ax murmured in Sage’s ear.
“How soon can you be at The Cave?” Steele asked. “Great, make sure you bring Lucy.” He disconnected the call, and announced, “Lucy’s on her way over. Now, what, besides a phone, do you need, Darlin’?”
Ax watched as Sage’s face turned three shades of red. “Everything,” she said in a whisper-quiet voice.
“What was that?” Steele asked.
Sage cleared her throat before repeating, “We need everything.”
“What about all your stuff?” Ink asked.
“We left it in Mexico,” Sage told him. Ax stared at his plate while trying not to choke on his rage. He’d already lost it once.
Steele nodded to the backpack hanging on the back of her chair. “Your purse in the bag?”
Sage looked like she wanted to crawl under the table. “No, Carlos took it when he took my phone.”
Ax’s jaw dropped. “Tell me you didn’t give that fucker access to your bank account.”
Sage’s flinch said it all. “I still have my driver’s license.”
“What were you thinking?!” Ax shouted, slamming his fists on the table.
Petal shot up from her chair and ran from the room.
“I’ll get her,” Steele offered.
Ax pushed back from the table. “No, let me.” Before Steele could stop him, he walked out of the room.
Chapter Seven
AX FOUND PETAL curled in one of the game room chairs staring out the window. The sad expression on her face made his chest hurt. How in the hell was he supposed to fix this?
Her head turned. The moment her pretty brown eyes landed on him, sadness switched to anger. “I hate Mexico, and I hate Carlos. I wish we would’ve never left because here is so much better.”
Ax was furious with Sage while at the same time sorry for her. She’d made a bad call and had paid dearly for it. She wasn’t the only one.
“Can I come in?”
Petal nodded, and he strolled across the room to where she was sitting, plucked her from the chair, and settled her back onto his lap. He’d missed this, missed everything about her, including the little girl tantrums. She may be Gibby’s kid but he was the one who’d helped raise her. He was the one who diapered, bathed, and rocked her to sleep night after night. He taught her how to ride a bike, shoot a B.B. gun, and spit spitballs through a straw—something Sage still hadn’t forgiven him for. Not being near her these past months had been hell, a hell he never wanted to experience again.
A weight settled on his chest as he dipped his head to catch her eyes. She’d been through so much. “I know you’re angry, Sweet Pea.” “Do you wanna hear a secret?” At her nod, he whispered, “I’m angry, too.”
Her little brow furrowed. “Why are you angry?”
“Well, because you left without saying goodbye but mostly because I missed your birthday.”
“Yeah,” she sighed, “I didn’t even get a cake.”
This surprised him. Sage loved birthdays. That she didn’t make Petal a cake was unlike her. He would bet his life dickhead Carlos had something to do with it.
“Want me to make you one?” He didn’t know shit about making cakes, but if Petal wanted one, he could sure as hell figure it out.
She made a funny face before declaring, “Boys can’t make cakes,” through a fit of girly giggles.
“You’re right about that,” he murmured, which only made her laugh harder. It was a sound that warmed his heart. He pulled her in and kissed the top of her head. “How ‘bout we get one from that bakery that does those horrible frosted sprinkle cookies you like?”
“They’re not horrible! she gasped. “You ate seven of them, and Momma was mad because she had to go buy more!”
He laughed. “Okay, so they were kinda good.” She settled against him with a sigh. Fuck, he’d missed this. “I need you to do something for me. I need you to take it easy on your mom right now. Do you think you can do that?”
Her head moved back and forth against his chest in a jerky nod.
“Where’s my girl?” a voice called from the doorway.
“Aunt Lucy!” Petal shouted. Pushing from Ax’s lap, she hurtled across the floor toward a smiling Lucy.
As Lucy wrapped her arms around Petal, her eyes connected with Ax. “We need to talk,” she mouthed over Petal’s head.
Yes, they fucking did. Lucy was just as mad at Sage for leaving as he was, yet, she didn’t tell him about the phone call. He wanted to know why.
“Did you bring baby Jade?” Petal asked.
Taz and Lucy had three kids—two boys and a girl—all under the age of five. Jade was just a few months old when Sage and Petal took off for Mexico.
“No, but I promise you’ll get to see her tomorrow at the bonfire. She’s grown so much. Wait until you see her little baby teeth.” They talked about Jade’s teeth for a few minutes before Lucy announced that she was going to grab some things for the two of them. “Is there anything special you’d like for me to pick up?”
“Candy,” Petal said with a grin.
“I’ll see what I can do. In the meantime, your mom is waiting for you in the kitchen.”
Petal’s face scrunched. “She wants me to take a nap. Naps are for babies.”
“Naps are for kids who want cake later on,” Ax interjected.
“Fine,” Petal sighed. They laughed as she raced from the room.
The moment she was gone, Lucy’s expression changed. “Did you see what that asshole did to her? I’m going after him. I’m going to wreck that fucker’s world.”
“Why didn’t you tell me Sage called you?” he quietly asked.
The question must have caught her off guard because she opened her mouth, then closed it, then opened it again. Finally, she said, “I don’t know. You were getting on with your life. I didn’t want to set you back.”