I hold out my hand to help him up. “Let’s get you cleaned up and drink some water because I think you’re gonna be feeling tonight all day tomorrow.” He has a big smile and starts stumbling toward my bathroom. “Only if you manage to recover and fuck me in the shower.” Only he would throw down a challenge like that and hobble to the bathroom with his jeans around his knees and his glorious ass sticking out. Well I can’t let him down now, can I? Time to take back control and remind him who he belongs to.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
I love how you think you have your private little vices. Like, I don’t know you watch everything Paul Hollywood is in as soon as it comes out or that you secretly read romance books. I know he’s on your list of five. Hell he might be the only one on it.
~Text from Grant to Erik
Erik
Yesterday morning was not fun. My head seemed to have a death metal concert going on that I had no control over. Luckily I was comforted by the fact that Asher and Ry looked worse than I did. Grant took care of me, making me coffee and demanding I drink a ton of water along with some aspirin. He must have sweet-talked Linnea and Anna because they both came over with a rib-sticking breakfast of biscuits and gravy, scrambled eggs, sausage, and home fries.
I think that might be the last time I tie one on like that. I think I’ll stick to beer with the occasional wine, maybe one drink ofwhiskey, but that’s it. It just takes way too long to recover now. I wasn’t fit to be out in the world till nearly dinner time.
Thankfully, today, I’m back to normal and going to indulge in catching up with my Paul Hollywood addiction before I head over to Romona’s for lunch and to go over things with her. Grant’s gone to work at the shop. He’s been working more while Mick was first helping Madison get home and recover, then spending some quality time as a family when Mikayla came home. He’s starting back full-time next week I think, but it’s been interesting with Grant being the one to work with Saxon during this part of his internship. Think father and son are a lot alike and neither see that at all.
Back to my baking show. Oh, hush, you know you watch for him as much as the baked deliciousness on the screen. I have to admit I like Pru more than Mary, and the newer hosts crack me up, especially that Alison chick. Yes, I fucking know that much about the show. If I start now, I should be able to get through this week’s whole episode before I need to leave.
***********
I was going to take the truck, but when I texted Romona, she let me know that what she was going to give me wasn’t that big since Mick and I already had his tools and such. It’s another beautiful,partly sunny day in the PNW and even though it’s slightly chilly, I’m gonna take my bike and take the long way to her place.
I’ve been riding for about twenty minutes, when I notice a vehicle behind me. It looks like one of those old-school vans, the ones people in my generation like to refer to as a shaggin’ wagon. It’s not super close, but I could swear it’s turned every time I have. About a mile further down the road, I turn onto Westside Highway, knowing that I can go faster around the curves if they are following me. They turn behind me and seem to speed up, almost riding my ass.What the fuck?I know the next few bends are coming up, and I should be able to lose them. I speed up, pushing my bike to a speed I normally would never do on this windy road.
I make it through the next couple of bends and look behind me, not seeing the van anymore, but fuck if I’m going to slow down now. I get maybe a mile down the road to one of the few straight parts of this road and gun the engine. I look in my rearview mirror, and the fucker is catching up behind me. How the fuck can a van that old go that fast? I look back and see they’re almost on my bumper. I know more curves are coming up, but I can’t take them at this speed, but if I slow down, they’re gonna run me off the road. Who in the fuck is in the van?
I slow down to take the first, and I barely keep the bike under control. My saving grace is I know the van would have had to slow down, though I can hear its tires screeching. I make itthrough the next couple of curves and I know there’s a turn I can make that I should get to before they get to the straight. I speed to it and take it faster than I should, but manage to stay upright. I think I might have lost them as I drive for another mile or so and don’t see any van behind me.
I hurry and speed the next couple of miles toward Romona’s place, keeping one eye on my rearview mirror. I’ve made a number of extra turns just in case and not seen one glimpse of the van. I pull up to the last light and stop since it’s red. I have less than a mile to make it to Romona’s. A small car pulls up behind me at the light, but it looks like a basic Toyota Camry. All of a sudden, I’m grabbed from behind. I fight against whoever the fuck has me, but whoever it is, is built like a brick wall. Someone grabs my feet, and I’m hauled back behind the sedan to a different van. I kick the guy holding onto my feet, and I knock him back, but before I can do anything else, a cloth is stuffed in my face, and everything goes black.
TAZ
I watch as Lennie hauls in the fucker who we’ve been trying to grab for a while into the van. Smitty covered his mouth with the cloth and knocked him out with a hit to the fucker’s head.Finally, it’s fucking time to get some answers and get what I want. Hell, with this new agreement that just transpired over the weekend, just taking care of this fucker will get us even more money. Time to get information and find out where the fuck that box is. I didn’t play nice with that crazy old fucker for nothing, and I want my fucking money.
Grant
I’m working on a sketch for a client that’s coming in tomorrow while Saxon is practicing next to me. We don’t have an appointment till later, and Monday walk-ins tend to be rare. I’m putting the finishing touches on the drawing when the door chimes alerting someone just came in. I look and see Mick standing there. “Hey, you. What are ya doing here? I thought you were taking a few more days off?”
He nods. “I was, but apparently, I’m underfoot. Madison told me to get out of the house for a couple of hours. I may or may not have accidentally woken Mikayla up by taking her picture while she was sleeping.”
I can’t help but shake my head. “Never wake a baby when they’ve just gone down. I think every dad has to learn that one the hard way once.” He starts to say something back when my phone rings, interrupting our conversation. I reach across the table tograb it, and I’m surprised to see who’s calling me. “Romona, to what do I owe the pleasure?”
The worry in her voice immediately puts me on edge. “Um, have you heard from Erik?”
I shake my head as I answer, even though she can’t see me. “No. He was at home when I left, but I thought he was going over to your place today?”
“Yeah, he was supposed to be here over an hour ago. He’s not answering his phone, either. I was hoping he’d gotten caught up in something with you. Honestly, I’ve got a bad feeling in my gut and it’s worrying me something fierce.”
Worry starts to fill my body. “No, I’ve been at the shop all morning. I’m gonna try and call him and run by the house to see if he’s there. I’ll call you back.” I hang up with her and look at Saxon and Mick who both obviously overheard my part of the conversation.
Saxon, standing up from the table, asks me, “What’s goin’ on, Dad?”
I start moving shit around looking for my keys. “Erik was supposed to be at Romona’s over an hour ago for lunch and he hasn’t shown up. She said his phone is going straight to voicemail.” As I continue trying to find where the hell I put my keys, Mick says, “Yeah, it’s just ringing. Let me try his work cell.” I see him messing with his phone. “Shit. That goes straight to voicemail.”
“I need to go check the house. Where the fuck are my keys?!” Saxon has his keys in his hand and tosses me mine. “I’ll drive. I got my truck. Let’s go.” Mick tells me he’ll close up and call Jeremiah and Leif to see if they’ve heard from him. I follow Saxon out to his truck and we both get in fast and he pulls out as soon as he starts it up. I send out a text to Jonah, Wyatt, Jackson, and Jon to see if any of them have heard from Erik.
Me: Anyone hear from Erik this morning? He was supposed to be at Romona’s over an hour ago and he hasn’t shown up and he’s not answering either of his cell phones.
I start getting answers almost immediately. Luckily, our house is only a five-minute drive from the shop.
