Free Seeing Love: Saints Protection & Investigations by Maryann Jordan

wide, “it’s no secret I made deals with those bigger. Now I’m still king, but my empire’s growing. So yeah, any news about the competition is something I’m gonna keep track of.”
    There was a momentary silence as the two men sat, holding each other’s gazes, until a soft voice broke through the testosterone tension.
    “What did you feel when you heard that a child had been taken from his home?”

Chapter 7
    T he room became silent as five pairs of eyes landed on Faith. The air in the room changed drastically. Bart’s hand on her knee flexed, squeezing automatically. She heard the sudden intake of air from the man sitting across from her. Keeping her eyes on his face, she willed him to speak. Come on, Miguel. Talk to me.
    Miguel dropped his eyes to his hands still resting on the table. A shadow passed across his expression and he exhaled slowly. “I was surprised.”
    “But how did you feel?” she prodded carefully. Emotions hung heavy in the room. The muscles in the back of her neck began to twinge as a bead of sweat trailed a path down her back. Little particles of light hovered at the edges of her vision as she struggled to make sense of what she was experiencing.
    “Not right, taking a kid,” Miguel finally answered, his expression hard.
    Bart wanted to look at Faith but did not want to break the spell that her soft, melodic voice spun.
    “Do you have children?” she asked, seeing an image of two small children playing on the street.
    Miguel’s voice softened, instinctively matching hers. “Yeah.” He added, “Got a couple…you know how it is.”
    She did not understand what he meant, but Bart knew he was referring to several illegitimate children.
    “I got a couple with my main woman, but I treat ’em all the same.”
    “It’s hard to image what type of man would take a child,” she said.
    Miguel’s expression hardened once more as he growled, “Fuckin’ coward.”
    Faith wanted to close her eyes to allow her mind to process the emotions, but she was afraid. These are not men you turn your back on…or close your eyes in front of. Instead, she studied him, seeing him as a child. Alone. Scared.
    Standing suddenly, he said, “Meeting’s over. I talked. You can tell the Feds I didn’t do shit to Krustas.” With that, he turned and walked toward the back of the bar and disappeared through a door. One of the men went with him while the other two looked at Bart and Faith.
    Bart, glad the meeting was over, stood and offered his hand to Faith, wanting to get her out of the viper’s den. She placed her hand in his and allowed him to escort her out the front door. The bright light was blinding as they stepped outside.
    Her natural reaction was to slow down so she could focus, but Bart’s hand on her back propelled her toward his truck. Opening the door, he boosted her in before jogging around to pull himself up. She started to question him but found his gaze was darting around, on guard for trouble. Slumping down in the comfortable seat, she willed the truck to start and let out a long breath when the engine rumbled to life.
    Neither spoke for several minutes as Bart expertly maneuvered them down several streets and back to where civilization was stirring. Bart pulled out his phone and called Jack. “We’re out. Yeah. Yeah. Nothing to report right now. Tonight.” With that, he disconnected and continued to drive.
    Faith wanted to hear what the next step should be, but decided to keep her silence and let Bart take the lead. Glancing to the side, he seemed to be deep in thought, so she settled back as the truck merged onto the main highway heading to the Hampton Roads area.
    Thoughts of what they experienced floated through her mind…the bar, the fear, the men. She could feel the violence in the room emanating from the men across the table. Fights. Rape. Torture. Death. Shivering, she wrapped her arms around her middle, tightly pulling in.
    Without saying a word, Bart reached over and