Free Bad Boy Daddy by Chance Carter Page B

never let her escape his clutches. I knew that with a certainty that burned in my soul. Men like Wolf Staten didn’t care how much suffering they caused. His honor wouldn’t allow her to escape. It would threaten his manhood and his position as the head of Los Lobos.
    I’m bad. I know that. I’m bad to the bone.
    But like I said before, I never meant any harm.
    I was doing the only thing I knew how to do. I was being the only man I knew how to be. I didn’t see that I had any other option. Faith called me a coward for leaving her, but could she have lived with a man who didn’t stand up for her like this? Could she raise the child of a man she didn’t respect?
    She deserved better than that.
    I crossed the state line into Nevada before stopping for gas. There was a payphone and I called the Brotherhood from it.
    “Jackson, where the hell have you been? You left without a word. We thought you were in trouble.”
    It was Grant Lucas, my friend, one of the brotherhood, a man I’d gladly give my life for. A man who’d step up to protect me no matter what.
    “I had to clear my head, Grant.”
    “Well, come home. It’s not safe out there.”
    “That’s what I’m calling about.”
    “What?”
    “Did you hear about the shooting at the motel near Salinas?”
    “Shit, that was you?”
    “It’s a long story, brother.”
    “Well, shit, Jackson. Where the hell are you?”
    “Listen,” I said. “I’m mixed up with something.”
    “And it involves Los Lobos?”
    “Yes it does.”
    “Come in and talk it out. The Brotherhood will sort it out.”
    “This is something I have to face alone.”
    “We’re brothers. All of us. You face nothing alone.”
    “This is about a woman.”
    “Shit,” Grant said. “Shit, shit, shit.”
    “I know.”
    “You’re a goddamn fool, Jackson.”
    “I know it.”
    “Well, I hope she’s worth it.”
    “She is.”
    “Right.”
    A woman was the one thing most likely to get a member of the Brotherhood killed. We all knew it. We were the most careful, levelheaded criminals you’ll ever come across. We did nothing without calculating the risks first. We had a code, and we never deviated from it. Except when it came to women. That’s when the rules went out the window. That’s when brothers got killed.
    “She’s different from the others, Grant.”
    “That’s what they all say.”
    “No, this time it’s really different.”
    “Fuck, Jackson. Don’t tell me you’re in trouble because of a woman and it’s different from the others.”
    “It is. She’s carrying my child.”
    There was a moment’s silence.
    “Fuck. I didn’t know. That is different.”
    “Yes it is. You’ve got to help me out.”
    “Of course. Anything, Jackson.”
    “She’s at the desert safe house.”
    “I’ll send someone out for her.”
    “No. You go. Please. I want it to be you.”
    “All right. I’ll go.”
    “And before you go, get rid of any chicks that are at home looking for me. I’m done with all of them.”
    “Fine, but where the hell are you?”
    “I’m taking care of her ex.”
    “How come I’ve got a bad feeling about this, Jackson?”
    “Because her ex is Wolf Staten.”
    I hung up before he could say anything else. I didn’t want him to argue with me. I didn’t want to rationalize what I was doing with him. I knew it wasn’t rational. It was crazy. But it was also the only thing that made sense.
    Plus, I’ve never been good at goodbyes.

Chapter 17
    Faith
    T HE KNOCK ON THE DOOR scared the shit out of me. I was lying in the bed, naked, without a clue what I was going to do. Jackson had abandoned me. I had no money, no vehicle.
    Evening was setting in, the villa was beginning to get a little spooky in the darkness, and then, bang, bang, bang on the door.
    I turned off the light in the bedroom.
    “Hey,” I heard. It was a man’s voice. It wasn’t Jackson, but I didn’t recognize it as any of Wolf’s men either.
    “Who is it?” I called, and as soon as I