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Would be even nicer if he could wake to her as well.
“I’m struggling,” Holly admitted. “Not so much with what Copper said. From his perspective, I get it. His family is being threatened and he needs the threat to go away. I’m sure if it wasn’t for me, he’d be taking a different approach, but I greatly appreciate how he’s trying to go a legal route instead of beating anyone bloody in the street.”
Most likely Higgins would end up that way, but for now, that info was need-to-know. And Holly did not need to know it. What Higgins had coming was independent of the shit with the club. It was fucking personal.
“But?” He played with her hair, something that nearly made her purr every time.
“No but, not really. I just wish there was a way to break through to my father and get him to see your club isn’t what he thinks. He’s blinded by his hatred and living in the past.” Holly sighed. “I worry he’s going to cross a line he can’t come back from.”
The sheriff had been dancing on that line for weeks. At this point, with the number of Handlers who’d been pulled over for bullshit, the quantity of ridiculous searches of the clubhouse and places of business, the club had a straight-up claim for harassment. Most likely that was the route Copper would play, but he’d try to pin most of it on Schwartz and Higgins to keep Holly’s father out of the fire. Best case scenario, the club’s attorney could scare the sheriff straight with a hard lesson in the detriment of police harassment by making an example of two of the deputies.
“I just keep wondering if he’s going to authorize one of his deputies to hurt one of you guys or something, and it’s making me sick.” Holly placed a hand over her stomach.
“Babe, you think there’s one of us who couldn’t take on any of those deputies?” Maybe a little levity would haul her out of the black hole she’d tumbled down.
“Imagine something like what happened to Thunder. Someone gets arrested on bullshit charges. What do they do? They make you lie face down and they cuff you.”
“Sugar…”
“Do you know how vulnerable you are then? What if one of the deputies gets frustrated because their tactics aren’t getting them anywhere?”
“Holly…”
“What if it’s Maverick, and he runs that smart mouth of his and makes a deputy so angry that they flip out. What if—”
“Holly!” LJ yelled as he grabbed her shoulders and gave a gentle shake.
“Oh, my God.” She covered her face with her hands. “I’m spiraling.”
“Yeah,” he said with a laugh. “You are.”
“I don’t want any of you guys to get h-hurt.” Her breath hitched as she choked on a sob. “I’m sorry. I’m a mess.”
Engulfing her in his arms, he held her tight to his chest. “Sugar, you’re the most perfect mess I’ve ever met.”
That finally got a small huff of laughter.
“None of us are going to get hurt. The men working for your father aren’t stupid enough to risk jail time or losing their badges. Harassment is a hard claim to prove. All this shit they’re pulling is child’s play, and we can handle it. I promise you we’ll all be okay.”
“He’s my dad,” she said in the most defeated voice he’d ever heard. “I’ve already lost a sister.” The words seemed like an apology for not cutting the man out of her life.
“I get it, babe. I really do. He’s your blood. No one’s gonna ask you to ax him from your life. I know it’s a fucking mess right now, but we’ll figure it out.”
“We?”
Shit. He sucked. Was he so bad at this relationship thing she didn’t even know he had her back? “Yeah, sugar, we.”
“I like that.”
So did he.
Too fucking much.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
“I’M DEAD SERIOUS, Holly. That motherfucker lays one hand on you, he so much as brushes a piece of lint off your shoulder, and I’ll feed him his nuts before he has a chance to say biker cock. Jesus, I can’t believe I’m allowing this.”
Holly chuckled and rolled her eyes as she took the exit from the highway directed by her GPS. “I’m sorry,” she said into the hands-free phone system as she coasted to a red stoplight. “Can’t believe you’re allowing this? And why the hell would Rick ever say biker cock?” The light turned green, and she hit the gas to drive the last few miles to Rick Schwartz’s house.
“You know what I mean, sugar.” LJ’s voice turned to a whispered growl. Poker night at the clubhouse didn’t allow for much privacy. “I don’t like this. I don’t trust him, and I don’t like this. I wish you’d let me put a prospect on you tonight.”
Holly had been floored when she won that argument. She’d thought for sure LJ would have had someone tailing her whether she wanted it or not, but he’d respected her wishes and skipped the chaperone if she promised to check in every half-hour. “I know you don’t. Believe me, you’ve made it clear. But my mom called in tears, LJ. She was devastated she had to back out on this concert. It’s all she’s talked about for the past month. She sprained her ankle, what was I supposed to do?”
