Total Knock Out / Book Two

Chater Twenty Three: Game Plan

Stanford closed the basement door and followed his friends down the stairs, mind racing with thoughts of the unknown. He hadn't lied to Logan and the rest of the women when he said they were going to come up with a game plan, but it wasn't the only thing he wanted to talk about.

"You've looked like you're about to snap in half since Rori told everyone you slept with Logan. What's up?" Damion asked, settling down on the weight bench Stanford had pushed against the wall. Elijah slid gracelessly down onto the floor while Maddox leaned against the wall. Landon and Jaxon piled into the oversized recliner he kept down there for the days he didn't have the energy to go back upstairs, all of them looking at him expectantly.

He scrubbed his hands over his face before crossing his arms over his chest, not even sure where to begin. Just because they knew about his past now didn't make it any easier to be vulnerable when all he had even been used to was keeping his problems to himself.

"What if she does get pregnant? We all learned from Maddox that it only takes one time to get someone knocked up," Stanford groaned, sliding down the wall to sit on the floor. "I don't know how to be a dad."

Maddox came to sit next, bumping his shoulder with his own. Stanford smiled weakly at his friend before leaning his head against the wall and closing his eyes.

"What if I end up like my parents? Hurting my own children because I don't love them? Logan's already had one monster father her child, she doesn't need another."

His eyes flew open when he felt Maddox slap his shoulder, shook his head when his friend just glared at him. He knew what he was saying was true, that there was a good possibility that he would only look at his children with disgust and resentment instead of love and affection. Most of the time the apple didn't fall too far from the tree and he wasn't sure he was ready to see if he catapulted or just dropped straight down.

"You're great with kids," Landon pointed out, everyone else in the room nodding their heads in agreement. "Rori wouldn't be calling you Daddy unless you were a good man, I spent enough time with her before they came to stay with you to know that. And I know for a fact that Logan wouldn't have slept with you if she thought for a second that you would hurt them."

They all got quiet when they heard laughter coming from above them, the joyful noise helping to ease the tension out of Stanford's shoulders. He could pick Logan's out of the mix so easily, the little snorts she let out giving her away. That helped calm him even more and he knew that it sounded ridiculous, but knowing that she felt safe enough to let her guard down and enjoy her time with his friends meant more to him than she would ever know.

"Take it from someone who's been there, you need to tell her what's going on in that head of yours sooner rather than later," Maddox muttered, rolling his eyes when Stanford shook his head at him.

He knew exactly what Maddox was talking about, thought about how his own friend almost didn't get his happy ending because he didn't know how to say what was on his mind. Darcy had almost walked out of his life before Maddox had found the words to say to make her stay.

"What if she doesn't want to stay?" Stanford asked, fingers curling into fists and heart racing inside of his chest. Logan and Rori were his family now, he didn't want them to go as soon as it was safe to. He didn't think he would be able to survive it.

"Then you let her go. But with the way that she looks at you, she won't leave. She's just as invested as you are," Elijah promised, crossing one ankle over the other and shooting Stanford a grin.

Stanford took a deep breath and nodded his head, accepting that he would have to talk to Logan like an adult and not just hope that she would make the first move. But that could wait until later tonight, when they were alone and wrapped around each other. Right now, he had a game plan to come up with.

"When we finally get Kyle, he's mine. You can do whatever you want to anyone else, but that son-of-a-bitch has things to answer for and I can't just hand him over to Landon and Jaxon and walk away," Stanford said seriously, rage a burning fire in his eyes.

He knew Landon and Jaxon would keep him from killing that worthless excuse of a man, but he deserved to be punished for what he did to Logan. For what he wanted to do to Rori.

"I know that we can't keep the four of you away from this fight, but you can't be avenging angels. I don't want to have to haul you in with them but I will if you cross that line," Landon warned, earning a nod from the other men in the room.

Stanford knew from personal experience that Landon could look away from a lot, would write up a report and slip it silently in a folder he kept in his desk as a reminder that not everyone who hurt someone did it just because they wanted to. It was a part of what made Landon a great cop, he knew that not every crime required a punishment and he would do whatever he could to make sure you didn't go down for protecting the innocent. But he wouldn't look away from them killing someone, even if they did deserve it.

"And for the love of God, not a single person talks about this to any of the women. We all know what happened when Ruby and Darcy tried to save Lylah by themselves. We don't need them to take matters into their own hands and decide to get rid of Kyle and his asshat friends, we'd never find the bodies and Lylah would manage to somehow blame it on me when they all ended up in jail," Jaxon muttered, scrubbing his hand over his face before shaking his head.

Stanford shared a grin with Maddox, knowing that Jaxon was right. The women in their lives could be terrifying when it came to protecting the people they loved.

"Mom said she would keep them all occupied at her house, and Elijah said that Phoenix offered up the clubhouse for the night if we felt better about having them all there. Fully patched members at every turn, and they promised to be on their best behavior with Rori, Zoey, and Parker," Landon offered, letting the information sink in.

Stanford had to admit he would feel better about having Logan and Rori being watched after by people who wouldn't hesitate to kill if someone came after them. There was no guarantee that they would get everyone working with Kyle in three days time.

"But can we trust them? No offense Elijah, I know you get along with members of Demon Ink, but this is my child we're talking about here. I know Darcy would put them in their place in a heartbeat if it came down to it, but so don't want her to have to," Maddox explained, looking at Elijah expectantly.

"We can," Elijah assured them, nodding his head. "My brother might have fucked up by not letting us know Razor was working with Kyle, but he knows that I would kill him if anything happened to one of our girls while they were in his care."

Stanford shared a look with the rest of the men in the room and Landon held his hand up to keep Elijah from continuing.

"I'm sorry, did you say your brother? As in, shared the same parents? Tried to shove your head in a toilet as a child? That kind of brother?" Landon asked incredulously, shock on his face. Stanford was sure that his own face looked about the same.

"Half brother. Same father. It's a long story that we don't need to get into right now. Just know that we can trust them," Elijah sighed, closing his own eyes and putting his head against the wall like Stanford had done.

Stanford accepted it as it was, that Elijah didn't want to get into that part of his past at the moment. They all had their secrets they never wanted to talk about and he couldn't blame the other man for wanting to keep his close to his chest.

"That's all that matters to me, then. Now, let's talk about how we're doing this," Maddox said quietly, nodding his head towards Landon and Jaxon.

Stanford crossed his legs in front of him and pushed the thoughts of Logan loving him or leaving him out of his mind, focusing on the fight ahead of him. He might not be able to get his life together when it came to his girls, but he could protect them with every breath in his body.