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“What the fuck?” Teller shouts. “Who was that?”
He jumps down and stares at the hilly road where the car disappeared. The dust has more or less settled. Now, there’s nothing but inky darkness beyond our headlights.
“Don’t know,” I answer, walking over to meet him. “Thanks for coming down so quickly.”
“You all right?”
“I’m fine. Just didn’t know why the fuck they were following me.”
He stares down the road again. “Could it be one of the bunnies from the gym?”
I actually stop and think about it. Over the years, girls associated with the club have done weirder shit than try and follow me home to get my attention.
“Kinda girly looking car.” My way of agreeing it’s a possibility. I wait for his promise to kill me if I cheat on his sister, but the threat never comes.
“You better be more careful. Why you riding home so late by yourself? Where’s Wrath?”
“I’m not his fucking babysitter. He went to visit Trinity at her studio when we closed. What was I supposed to do, tag along?”
He glares at me.
Shame—an emotion I don’t get in touch with often—skids down my spine. I shouldn’t have snapped at Teller. Yeah, I’m on edge but it’s no excuse. Ever since the accident that almost crippled him, he’s been edgy about any of us riding alone. “Thank you for answering your phone so late.”
“Not a problem.” He yawns and I get a look at his hastily thrown on sweats and T.
“Did I interrupt?”
He inclines his head toward his house. “Hear that?”
“What?”
“Charlotte cursing you out.”
I tip my head the same way. “Nah, brother. Sounds like the rumble of a purple pleasure stick to me.”
He laughs and shoves me. “Fucker.”
The smile slides off my face. “Seriously, thanks. I wasn’t sure what was going on—”
“I’ve always got your back. Glad you called me. He didn’t take off until I showed up.”
“Don’t mention this to Heidi, all right? She already worries enough about me riding home late at night.”
“She kinda has a point.”
I cock my head.
“Yeah, yeah.” He slaps my arm again. “Go on. Get home.”
I turn, then pause. “Don’t mention it to Rock, either.”
He stares at me for a second before agreeing.
Rock’s waiting in the living room when I walk in the front door.
There’s no point in telling him what happened. The further I get from the incident, the more it seems like a whole lot of nothing. I doubt it has anything to do with the club. I trust Teller won’t say anything unless I give him the okay.
“What’s up?” I ask quietly. The rest of the house is silent.
He points upstairs. “Grace. Then, I figured I’d wait for you.”
“Thanks, Dad.”
He huffs out a quiet laugh and nods to the chair next to him.
My brain shifts from the weird ride home to the current state of the club.
“You know I’m going to say yes.” Might as well get that out of the way. I sure as fuck don’t want to be responsible for giving Rock insomnia.
He raises an eyebrow.
“Let me handle this meeting with Whisper first. Make sure I don’t fuck it up. Then we can make it official.”
“You’re not going to fuck it up.”
“You still want me to set up this support club?”
“You’re the best person for the job. I want you to lay the groundwork, but the burden of the whole club won’t land on your shoulders.”
That’s not as reassuring as I think Rock intended it to be.
“Z didn’t nominate you because there aren’t any better options.” Rock drills me with an intense stare I can’t look away from. “He did it because you are the absolute best person for the job.”
Thank you doesn’t seem right, and I can’t stand the tension. My gaze doesn’t stray far before Rock taps the table to get my attention. “No one loves this brotherhood or is more loyal to the club than you.”
“Only family I’ve got.” I swallow hard. “Club’s always been there for me. Especially when my blood family wasn’t.”
“Same as all of us. And you’ll provide the same for any future members.”
“I’m not you, or Wrath, or Z—”
“No, you’re better. You’ve grasped the things that matter a lot earlier than any of us did.”
“I learned it by watching you.”
Rock chuckles at the old corny anti-drug PSA line.
I glance down the hall. “Heidi asleep?”
He shrugs. “Haven’t heard anything. When are you picking up her car?”
“Tomorrow. I know your guy isn’t ready for it yet, but the deal is only good for another couple days.”
“You can store it at Bricks’ garage if you want.”
“Thanks, I might do that. Are we adding some garages to the new clubhouse?”
“We should. Figured let’s finish the main building and then worry about any extras.”
“It’ll be nice to have somewhere in the heart of Empire to work again.”
“You still planning to take her out to Eraser’s track?”
“Yeah.”
He pierces me with the same stare that made me think he was a human lie detector when I was ten-years old. “You’re sure he’s someone you want to recruit for the support club?”
“Well, I plan to vet him while I’m there.”
He nods. “That’s good. See what else you can find out. Family. Business. Enemies. Whatever you can.”
“I’ll do my best.”
We say goodnight, and I pad down the hallway to our room. It’s dark, but there’s enough light to make out Heidi curled on her side.
Clutching her cell phone.
Damn.
I pry it out of her hands and set it on the nightstand before stripping down and climbing in behind her.
“Why didn’t you call?” she mumbles.
“Finished closing later than I expected,” I whisper, pulling her closer. “Go back to sleep.”
She mutters something I can’t make out. I kiss her cheek before settling down for the night.
As soon as my head hits the pillow, my eyes pop open, and I stare at the ceiling.
I can’t stop replaying the ride home, trying to uncover any detail I might have missed. Did the car follow me from Furious? I’m pretty sure it was the same one that pulled out behind me after I left.
Or did I pick them up somewhere else? Were they following me specifically or out to fuck with whoever they ran into first?
What if I hadn’t noticed and led whoever it was to the clubhouse?
Now I’m questioning the whole entire episode.
All the bad ways it could’ve gone down continue to haunt me long after I close my eyes.
Twelve
Heidi
Weak tendrils of sunlight are barely poking through the shades when my body registers Blake curled around me. His heavy arm rests across my waist. I flick my gaze to the nightstand.
My phone. His phone. My eyes search the floor. His clothes.
He never called me last night. I fell asleep waiting for him.
Slowly, so I don’t disturb him, I turn and stare at his face. When did he come in? Why didn’t he call? I’d been looking forward to our midnight meet-up in the garage.
I glance at the clock. Not much time to uncover this mystery before Alexa will be up, demanding our attention. Until I have to leave for a long day at the urgent care office where I’ll be shadowing a tech all day.
He shifts and mumbles in his sleep when I sit up. The tented blanket over his groin provides me with inspiration.
“You owe me an orgasm,” I announce loud enough to penetrate his sleep but hopefully not leave our room.
Blake blinks his eyes open and stares up at me for a few seconds. A slow smile spreads
across his face. “Anytime, beautiful. Climb on up and take what’s yours,” he rasps.
I sneak a hand under his boxers and grasp his cock. “So hard first thing in the morning.”
He seems fully awake as he tucks his arms behind his head and smirks at me. “All for you.”
After working off his shorts, I straddle his legs and lean over, swiping my tongue over the head of his cock. He hisses and squeezes his eyes shut. “Fuck.”
