Page 36 of Kaya's King
Once he slams the gavel on the table, he spends a few seconds allowing his gaze to run over each one of us. Clearing his throat, he finally states, “Of all the rescues we were ever involved in when we were SEALs, yesterday’s rescue of Noah was hands down one of the best we’ve ever executed, brothers. Our boy is safe and sound, none of y’all ended up in jail, and except for Chelsea’s current medical situation, we’re all good.”
Nodding at Poseidon to let him know I want to speak, I wait for him to acknowledge me then say, “Brothers, I know it’s probably too soon for the vote, but even though he feels guilty as fuck that Noah was kidnapped and Chelsea got hurt, I feel as though Canyon deserves to be patched into the club. I had to pull up the fucking blueprints to evenseewhere the other door was in the restroom, so there’s no way he would’ve seen it and figured out they had it going through the supply closet.”
“You’re absolutely right,” Brooks replies. “Not only that, but thank fuck Reef and Dutch were in the area as well. Not sure how it might’ve panned out if Atlas and Trident were there on their own.”
Atlas snarls at Brooks then shrugs. “I might have opted to use excess force to get Specks’ boy back. Who here would have blamed me?”
I can hear most of the brothers agreeing because we might be legal in ourbusinessdealings, but if push comes to shove, we’re going to handle those who fuck with our family. No questions asked at all. “I know the detective will be coming out to get statements from those of y’all who were at the scene yesterdaywhen they arrested those fuckwads.” Looking at Poseidon, I query, “Anything wedon’twant them to know, Pres?”
“I think I’d avoid any mention of hacking into the CCTV system since they’re likely to frown on that,” he retorts, smirking at me. “But, letting them know you used the GPS locator on Noah’s tablet should be okay. It’s justifiable seeing as you’re his parent. Just remember, less is more because I don’t want any of y’all getting locked up for doing what y’all did to get to Noah and rescue him.”
“Got it, Pres,” sounds around the table in unison.
“As far as patching Canyon in, let’s put it to a vote.”
Each brother says ‘aye’ when it’s his turn and Poseidon slams the gavel down, stating, “Then let’s get our new brother his patches.”
“How’s Chelsea?” I ask.
Trident speaks up and replies, “One of my friends who works in ICU texted me a little while ago and told me they were taking her into surgery to try and stop the swelling.”
“Then let’s get up to the hospital to lend our brother our support,” Poseidon decrees. Hitting the gavel on the table one more time, he says, “Meeting adjourned.”
CHAPTER
SIXTEEN
Kaya
When the guyscame out from their meeting, we headed en masse to the hospital once Poseidon told us that Chelsea was currently in surgery. Well, Granny and Momma M stayed with the little ones, including Noah, because none of them really need to be sitting around for an unknown period of time. My fingers are currently securely laced in Specks’ as we make our way to the surgical waiting room, where I see Canyon sitting there looking forlorn and bereft.
Pulling away, I head toward him then sit down in the chair beside his. “Canyon, are you feeling okay?”
He barely glances at me, so I force the issue, moving my chair directly in his line of sight. “Fuck, Kaya, how can you even stand to talk to me? I fucked up yesterday.”
Instead of saying anything, I pull my phone out of my pocket, open up my camera roll then find the video I’m searching for before hitting play.
Noah’s sweet face appears, and he smiles before he begins talking.“Hi, Mr. Canyon. I wanted to tell you I’m sorry the mean man hit you. Mommy says you got hurt and so did Miss Chelsea. But what’s most important for you to know is I’m okay. Daddy says you feel bad, but you shouldn’t because the door they took me through went through what he said is a supply closet. I just know I saw a lot of toilet paper rolls. It was the mean peoples’ fault, Mr. Canyon. Not yours or Miss Chelsea’s, do you know what I mean? So don’t be mad at yourself anymore because I’m not mad at you. I’ll see you soon because I think there’s a sea serpent in the pool and I’m going to need you and Daddy to help me save all the people on the boat.”
I watch Canyon’s face break into a smile when he hears the issue Noah is having with the so-called sea serpent. Thankfully, my man heeded my words the night of the octopus attack and now, they have epic battles in the pool. At this point, I’m not sure who’s having the most fun, Noah or the men since each of them has gotten involved. “He’s really okay?” he manages to get out, his voice full of unshed emotion.
“His doctor says other than a little bit of bruising, which he gave him a shot to help with, he’s fine, Canyon,” I softly reply. “Specks showed me the blueprints of the bathroom. There’s noway you could’ve known there was another door that came into the bathrooms through the supply closet. Please don’t blame yourself for what happened.”
“Not going to be easy to forgive myself, especially since Chelsea’s now in surgery because I didn’t catch it.”
“Brother, put the blame where it rests, squarely on those motherfuckers’ shoulders,” Poseidon commands.
When Canyon’s eyes glance in Poseidon’s direction, I notice them widening so turn in order to see what’s caught his attention. The rest of the full-patch members are standing alongside Poseidon, all with their arms across their chests and no expression showing on any of their faces. “We need to talk to you, Canyon.”
I watch him take a deep breath then stand. While he may be terrified at what they’re going to say to him, he doesn’t outwardly show it, which I find impressive. I’d be peeing my pants if any of them gave me that noncommittal stare, and likely confess any and every wrong thing I’ve ever done. They move to a corner away from me and the rest of the old ladies, surrounding Canyon.
Several tense minutes pass while I try to discern from what I can’t hear at all is happening. Right now, I wish I could read lips. Suddenly, grins break out among the men and a lot of back slapping is going on as they push Canyon out so he’s facing us. “Ladies, our newest patched member of the Poseidon’s Warriors,” Poseidon announces as Canyon’s face reddens. Whether it’s in embarrassment or excitement, I’m not clear on, but he seems to be a lot more at ease than he was when we initially arrived.
“Oooo, someone needs to call Mary or Momma M and let them know we’re gonna need cake!” CeeCee exclaims, causing all of us to burst into laughter. “What? Y’all know I’m right. We’ve got more to celebrate, although y’all finding Noah and rescuing him was enough of a reason to begin with.”
I watch Loki shake his head while grinning, as he pulls his phone out and sends a text, presumably to Momma M. I giggle because I’ve had more cake since moving into the clubhouse than I think I’ve eaten my entire life at this point.
“Oh, shit!” Hayley exclaims. Glancing in her direction, I see a large puddle forming below her feet and realize her water has broken. Brooks breaks away from the guys and hurries to her side before scooping her up in his arms and rushing out the door, presumably to go to the labor and delivery building.