But to be able to spend an evening with Styxx, without worrying about anything but relaxing with him, would be nice. I could figure out everything else tomorrow.
Before he can step back, I lift on my toes and kiss him, wrapping my arms around him and holding on tight. It’s not a deep kiss. It’s not heated. What it is, though, is me sharing my emotions with him.
In the weeks we started dancing with each other, he helped me with my sister. Him entering my life in the way he has isbeautiful. My heart feels full because of him in a way it wasn’t before. I was living through the motions for my sister, taking care of her. I still am doing that, but I’m also doing more. He wants me to have what I want, and for that, I love him.
Honestly, I’d fallen for him the first time he carried my sister home, and every day since, I’ve fallen a little more.
The thought scares me, yet I wouldn’t change it for a minute because it would mean I don’t have Styxx in my life or his beautiful little girl, who has everyone wrapped around her little finger.
CHAPTER 16
STYXX
“Yeah,” I answer the phone without looking at the screen. I didn’t have to. There were only a few people who would call me this late at night.
“We got a problem,” Reaper’s voice fills the line.
“What kind of problem?” I’m already sitting up and doing my best not to wake a sleeping Hope. I’d worn her out after we’d gotten Eabha to bed. Promise had gone to the room at my house, where she was staying, to work on a project for school. The year was almost over for her, and she was finishing up what all she had to get done before then. Something else I learned about the girl, like her sister, she wasn’t one for failing at anything.
“Hope’s uncle showed up at Keeper’s Temptation tonight looking for her, and he wasn’t alone. Had some cop with him. They spoke to Harvester and told him that she’d best get in contact with him before she was reported for kidnapping.”
“That’s bullshit, and you know it. Hope has custody of her sister. How were they going to get her for something like that and make it stick?” I barely contain the rage building inside me. Ronald Hall was more than a pain in my ass, that’s for sure.
“I know that and so do you. Same as Harvester. But they don’t know we have all this information. Harvester thinks they were hoping to get her in trouble with the boss, maybe get her fired.”
“Seems logical,” I agree.
“Did Harvester get the cop’s name?”
“Claimed his name to be Officer Watkins of the Jacksonville PD. He called the captain over there, and he didn’t have an Officer Watkins on his roster.” It’s a good thing we’re friendly with the local PD in the area. Not all of them, there were a few that thought we were pieces of shit, but we’ve helped the captain over there a few times for him to know we were trusted. It also gets him to look the other way when we need him to.
“So, the guy wasn’t a cop,” I grunt, moving around the room, getting dressed as quietly as possible.
“Correct,” Reaper mutters. “I don’t like any of this. Also, don’t like you and the girls at the house. Think you need to bring them back to the clubhouse. Lock them down until we can get this asshole dealt with.”
I agree, but I’d hate to wake them up. “I’ll bring Hope and Eabha in the morning after dropping Promise off at school.”
“I’ll make sure the prospect is at the school when you drop her off.”
“Think we should put a brother on her instead. Someone with more experience.” I wouldn’t put it past Ron to try again at the school. Especially now that he’s gone to Hope’s place of work.
Reaper’s silence tells me he’s thinking it over before he speaks. “I’ll tell Azrael. He knows how to stick to the shadows and not be seen.”
Azrael was a good choice, and Promise knew him. She’d know if there was trouble, she could find him, and he’d get her out of there without question.
“Styxx,” Hope calls, her sleep-filled voice tugs at my chest in a way nothing could ever have before. Everything about the woman draws me to her.
“Go back to sleep,mo chathú.” I keep my voice low while speaking to her. “I’ve got to do something,” I tell her, and then speak to Reaper again. “I’ve got my laptop, I’m gonna do some digging and see what else I can pull up.”
“Sounds good. Report in the morning when you get in.”
“Right,” I retort and disconnect.
“Everything okay?” Hope asks, sitting up in the middle of my bed, her long, thick hair drapes her shoulders, and the sheet barely covers her breasts. She’s a vision, I never want to forget.
“It will be.” I nod, not wanting to upset her right now. I’ll tell her in the morning after we drop Promise off and on the way to the clubhouse.
Hope watches me closely with assessing eyes and nods. “Okay.”
