"No, I wasn't, but I know you, Caden Jackson. For some reason, you seem to think that I can't take care of myself. So even though I can, I will indulge your insecurities and allow Honey to babysit me."
"Fuck, I'm gonna miss you, girl!" he says as he pulls her in for a kiss.
I go about making myself busy in the kitchen as they say their goodbyes. When he's ready to leave he comes over to me and gives me a slight hug and says, "Take care, girl—and remember your promise."
"You got it, boss. Be safe!" I reply as the fucking tears fight to break free. But I hold them in like I always do.
Emma immerses herself in her work and I clean. I don't think Ice had been gone fifteen minutes before we felt the loss. I'm sure we will be seeing other members of the club from time to time, but that doesn't make it easier. Emma is asleep on the couch, so I decide to clean the upstairs so I don't disturb her. She needs her sleep.
Just as I finish the upstairs, I faintly hear my name being called. I come downstairs and see Emma standing at the bottom of the steps. "What are you doing?" she asks.
"Cleaning,"
"Why?"
"Well, unlike you, I don't have work to dig into. So I do what I do best: cook and clean." I come all the way down the steps and walk over to the cupboard to put the duster away. I turn back toward Emma and say, "Now, what were you saying about running to the store?"
"Oh, yeah. I'm going stir-crazy waiting to hear if the boys landed; I need to get out of this house. Wanna come?"
"Sure, let me just run a brush through my hair and I'll meet you outside."
"Ok." Emma grabs her purse and heads for the door.
When I get outside, Emma is standing by her car with a note in her hand. She's trembling and I immediately know that something is wrong. But I don’t say anything and just proceed with caution, following her lead.
"Come on girl, shopping awaits. Get in the car," she says. I can tell that she is putting on an act. Are we being watched?
After closing the door, I ask, "What the fuck is going on, Emma? Your whole demeanor just changed. You're scaring me."
"Just act normal until we get away from the house. Then I will tell you everything."
After we get away from the driveway and out onto the main road, she hands me a note.
I know what you did.
I know what he did.
You will not get away with it.
And neither will he.
What in the hell is going on? Who could have sent this? "Holy fuck, Emma! Where did you get this?"
"It was on my windshield." She looks over at me and I can see that she is terrified. "Call Hawk. Please," she begs.
I immediately pull out my phone and begin dialing. When it starts to ring, I put it on speaker phone.
One, two three rings.Why isn't he answering?Four, five six rings … and it goes to his voicemail.Fuck!
"What do I do?" she asks me.
"Let's drive by Betty's and see if he's there. Maybe he's in a meeting or something and can't get to the phone."
"Ok," I reply. She changes direction and heads toward Waterford.
A few minutes later, my phone rings. I look down and say, "It's Hawk." I answer the phone and put him on speaker.
"What's up, babe? Sorry I missed your call. I was on the line with Ice. They just landed in Dublin," he says into the phone.
