by M J Marino
All of them seemed considerate, at least from what I could gather, and all of them wanted to know what they could do to help, but I was very leery of accepting help from any of them, aside from Jared. He didn’t fall into the suspect pool for me. He’s always been respectful and professional, never showing any interest in me other than being friends and business partners. He seemed more upset than the rest that this happened to me. His supportive hugs never felt weird, only brotherly.
Still I walk around the build site with Punk trailing me everywhere, and for once I’m grateful for the shadow. Punk takes protection detail very seriously. A couple times I had to tell him to ease up. He was starting to scare delivery drivers away. Something about a ripped six foot two walking tattoo ad scares the shit out of people, when he approaches them and questions their intentions.
Outside of work, I received a few anonymous phone calls. The kind where you answer and no one says anything on the other end, you know the creepy-as-fuck kind. Chase was all over them, but he said they were never on the phone long enough for him to trace. Scared the shit out of me to the point I started to screen all my calls again, including during business hours, which is a bitch when it turns out to be work related.
Lorenzo must have been talked to by the police, because the flower arrangements grew in size and frequency. His cards promised protection for the price of a date.
Maceo went through the roof when I showed him. I worried when he stormed out of the condo, but he came back later with a huge triumphant smile. Why he was smiling I’m not entirely sure, but if it had anything to do with Lorenzo’s busted nose, I have a good guess. Maceo may have hoped Lorenzo would stop pursuing me, but the flowers kept coming, only now without a note, almost as if to say he was still there—without being in my face about it.
Unfortunately, the cult priest reached out to me too, begging me to join, so the alien spirits could protect me from the dangers of my world—or some weird shit like that. He or one of the few members called me often enough, and I ended up having to block them.
The whole intruder issue was bringing out everyone’s crazy.
Maceo calmed down some after Chase found out Jacob returned to San Diego the Monday after our last confrontation. However, the serenity was short lived. Jacob was blocked on my phone, but he was blowing up all my social media saying the meanest shit you could imagine.
Are you too good to talk to me now, or is Atlas holding you back? You sunk to a whole new level dating the president of a biker gang, haven’t you? Bet he passed you around to his entire crew, you little whore. I’m sorry I tried to help you. I would have treated you like a fucking queen had you stayed with me. Why can’t you see you’re supposed to be with me?
The rage which built up inside of me from his words was near intolerable, but somehow, I did tolerate it.
Chase blocked him on all my social media accounts, but the damage was done, and it wasn’t long before other people were commenting as well. I begged Chase not to show Maceo because I knew his reaction would not be good. Chase understood, but he said he was ordered to give all information on Jacob to his president.
After Maceo found out about Jacob’s cyber bullying, Chase wished he had buried it. Maceo was fucking irate—like ‘Hulk smash’ irate. It took both Reaper and Brass—two of the club’s biggest guys —to hold him back from jumping on his bike and heading to San Diego to snap Jacob’s neck.
According to Gauge, Maceo’s the most level-headed person he knows. But when it comes to me, all his rationality flies out the damn window. But Maceo wasn’t the only one who wanted to vindicate me. Punk, Ziggy, and Eagle were ready to ride to California with Maceo to put Jacob in his place too.
Who would have thought a tough MC club would have these many softies willing to defend me?
I made Chase delete all my social media accounts. I didn’t want to, because it seemed like Jacob won, but it was necessary. Maceo assured me anyone who truly knew me would never doubt me for a second.
A nice distraction was sitting down with Lloyd and going over the plans for his new barbershop. He absolutely loved it and signed on the dotted line, exactly like Maceo. As soon as I’m done on the MC build, Lloyd’s new barbershop is the next project for me and my crew. Jared is super pumped. He was practically doing back flips. It isn’t too often that we have back to back jobs, especially as big as these.
On days when tension is high and my emotions are out of whack, I bring Hades with me everywhere. He’s like an oversized therapy pet for me. He behaves well at the project site, and eventually I trust him enough to take him off his muzzle and leash. He still won’t let any of the men come near me, but at least he isn’t trying to attack them. Punk is able to come up to him now and pet him on his big head. As much as it’s comforting for me to have my dog with me, Hades is getting as much out of it if not more.
Opal and I are growing closer. She’s sweet and beautiful, but Gauge is reluctant to claim her as his own for reasons unknown. She gives everything and gets nothing in return aside from sleeping in his bed. It breaks my heart. She deserves more, and I told her as much.
I must have planted a seed, because the next day she asked me to help her get her GED, and I run with it. I help her fill out the registration paperwork that allows her to start online courses. She was only one semester away from graduation when she ran away from home. So she’s able to obtain her degree in three months if she’s really motivated. I told her to come out to the build site to use my computer for her studies, which she does every other day.
Maceo is rarely far if I need him for anything. Other than boxing or lifting weights at the gym or doing recon jobs close to home, he’s with me most of the time. When he isn’t, I’m with Punk and, on occasion, Gauge.
At least the build is going well. Installation and siding are on all the buildings. Interior framing is done. Plumbing and electric are being installed throughout, and as soon as that’s done, drywall will be in the works. I’m pretty pleased as I make my rounds around the construction site each day. By the end of week four, the rock paver patio and walk ways are being laid out, as well as the outdoor pavilion and grill station.
Maceo loves coming to pick me up at the end of every day and seeing the progress. It also makes me feel safer when he’s with me. Jared keeps pestering him about going out for drinks with the crew. He knows I won’t go without Maceo, but Maceo is more interested in getting me home and underneath him than getting wasted. I’m not complaining.
It’s the start of week five of the build and I’m running around checking in with my crew when one of my men pops up behind me, making me jump.
“Sorry, boss, but there’s a car up the road, sitting at the entrance. Wasn’t sure if you were expecting any visitors,” Cliff says, pointing to the location.
I scratch my head, trying to figure out what kind of delivery guy would be driving a flashy black car. Is that a Lamborghini? Definitely not a delivery driver. Is it someone that Maceo knows?
“Do you know where Punk is?”
Cliff thumbs the mechanic shop. “Taylor was asking about some kind of preference on where to install the built-in tool cabinets. You want me to go fetch him for you?”
I nod. “Him or Eagle or Stage. I’m going to head up there and check it out.”
“Sure thing boss,” he says before heading off to the mechanic garage.
I hike my ass up the hill toward the car parked directly across the approach. It dawns on me as I get closer that I should have grabbed Jared or any of the other guys. I back-pedal at the last possible second before freezing in place, staring at the dark tinted windows.
“Jo!” Eagle hollers at me, but I don’t take my eyes off the car. Something is off, I can feel it. The window rolls down, but I can’t see the driver from this angle.
“Josefina.” A dark foreign voice beckons from inside the dark car. “Toda sola.”
“Jo!” Eagle calls louder this time. He must be running up to me.
“Ven aquí, q
uiero hablar contigo,” the faceless voice purrs.
“Who are you?” I ask with a tremble in my voice I desperately don’t want to show.
“JO! Get away from the car!” Eagle roars with panic.
The car revs to life, startling me. I back-pedal again, worry building in my gut. This is bad. I do an about-face and start running down the hill at full tilt with Eagle hauling his long lean frame toward me.
The car peels off when I reach Eagle, who traps me against his side. Punk and Stage hop on their bikes and speed off in pursuit. A tremble works its way up my body. Jared and my crew members all hustle over to check on me, fear etched into their faces.
Eagle yanks out his phone but refuses to let go of me. He hits a button and puts it to his ear. “Build site now! Tell Chase to check traffic cams in search of a black Centenario Lamborghini. Yes, I got her. Punk and Stage are in pursuit, but they won’t catch him.”
Ten minutes later Maceo comes barreling onto the property in a huge black SUV. He skids on the breaks before slamming it into park. He jumps out, wearing the black tactical attire he wears when on a job and runs over to where I sit on the steps of the trailer, huddled against Jared.
“What the hell is going on, Atlas?” Jared questions angrily, rubbing his hand up and down my arm to soothe me. It’s not helping. Only Maceo’s touch will do.
“I’m going to find out,” Maceo growls at him, hauling me into his arms and cradling me like a child. He brings me around the vehicle and buckles me into the passenger seat. He climbs in behind the wheel and speeds off with Eagle tailing us on his bike.
We don’t stop until we reach the MC rental. Maceo climbs out and comes to my side before yanking the door open and sweeping me back into his muscled arms. He marches us into the garage with Eagle trailing. Chase and Gauge are inside, deep in discussion, both in tactical clothing—they must have rushed over from their recon job.
Gauge’s eyes narrow when he sees us. “What do we know?”
“She’s going to tell us.” Maceo sets me on a stool next to Chase and brings another one around to sit in front of me. My attention is fully on him when he takes my hands in his.
“Pixie, what happened?” Maceo says in a rough voice, which contrasts the soft circles he draws on the back of my hands with his thumbs.
“Cliff came and asked if I was expecting a visitor because a car had been sitting at the entrance for a while. I knew it wasn’t a delivery driver, and I asked Cliff to go grab one of your crew. Not thinking, I started to make my way up the hill toward the car because I figured it had to be someone you knew. I stopped before reaching it because it felt…off. The windows were tinted, and I couldn’t see who it was. The window rolled down a little, but I still couldn’t see in. I heard a man’s voice. Foreign. He spoke Spanish.”
“What did he say?” Gauge presses.
I scrunch my face trying to recall. “‘Toda sola,’ I think.”
Maceo squeezes my hands tight. “Are you sure? Are you sure it wasn’t tutto solo? They are very close and mean the same thing, but the second is Italian.”
My face twists up in memory. “I’m not sure,” I admit.
“What’s it mean?” Eagle asks.
“‘All alone,’” Maceo translates.
“Did he say anything else?” Gauge asks.
I nod. “‘Ven aquí’, something, something, something.”
Maceo’s eyes narrow with fury. “Are you sure it wasn’t vieni qui. Again, it’s Italian and means the same thing, but you could have misheard and thought it was Spanish. It’s important to know which one because it would eliminate or point to a suspect.”
“Okay, again, what does it mean? Not everyone here speaks more than one language,” Eagle gripes.
“‘Come here,’” Gauge offers, looking as stressed as Maceo.
I shake my head and start to cry. “I—I don’t know,” I stutter on a sob.
Maceo grabs me from the stool and holds me to his chest, kissing the top of my head and shushing me softly. “It’s okay.”
“This doesn’t rule either of them out. We need more to go on,” Chase says to no one in particular before looking at me over his thick black framed glasses. “Did he say anything else? The smallest detail could help.”
Choking back my tears, I recall more. “He said my name, but it wasn’t right.”
“What do you mean?” Gauge questions with furrowed brows.
“He called me ‘Josefina.’”
Maceo stiffens around me, his arms constricting like a boa. He’s shaking, really shaking, and because I’m in his embrace, I’m vibrating right along with him. It takes me a moment for me to register he’s angry, no, he’s furious.
“I’M GOING TO KILL HIM!” he roars.
Chapter Twelve
Maceo
“Esteban is a dead man!” I holler at no one in particular and everyone at once.
Everything Josephine has said about the encounter could only point to Esteban. I wanted to believe it was Lorenzo. The fucker would be easy to take care of, a bullet to the head while he was sitting at home or in his restaurant, and bing, bang, boom, done.
But no. Lorenzo was squeaky clean aside from showering my woman with love notes and flowers. I thought after I cracked his nose open with my fist he’d stop, but he still sends her them. Gauge looked into him and there was nothing to connect him to the break-in or this recent encounter.
This was Esteban trying to strike fear in my pixie and in me.
Josephine whimpers in my arms and I hold her closer. No one touches my pixie. The very thought of Esteban within grabbing distance of her makes my blood boil. I will hunt him down and torture him slowly for attempting to be near my woman.
Gauge yanks Josephine out of my grip and pulls her behind him. My reaction is to snarl my possessiveness for her, lunging at him. I’ve got five inches on him, but the fucker is strong and gets a hold of me.
“Chill, Atlas! You’re scaring her,” Gauge yells, shaking me by the shoulders.
That snaps me back to my senses. I look at my pixie. She’s staring wide-eyed back at me with tears in her bright blue eyes. My heart crumbles.
You fucking idiot, Maceo!
“I’m sorry, baby. I didn’t mean to frighten you. The fact the bastard got so close to you, the person I treasure most, kills me. All I can think of is what his intentions might have been,” I apologize and pull her back in my arms, holding her tight.
She wraps her tiny arms around me and buries her tear-filled face into my chest, my apology accepted.
“Am I the only one who still thinks this is Lorenzo?” Eagle states. “The douche was driving a fucking Lamborghini. That has Lorenzo all over it.”
“Gauge has already ruled him out. This guy was speaking Spanish, not Italian. Plus, I have eyes on Lorenzo. He’s at the restaurant right now. There’s no way he could have made it from the construction site and back to his restaurant without me noticing. Yes, he has a Lamborghini registered, but it’s yellow. I’m agreeing with Gauge, and saying no, it’s not him,” Chase says robotically while working on his computer, video surveillance tapes taking up most of his screen.
“Have you tracked down Esteban?” Eagle asks.
Chase shakes his head. “I lost him once he got onto I-25 heading toward Denver. I’m hoping Punk and Stage have something to report.”
As if on cue, Punk and Stage roll up on their hogs. Punk is off and running inside the garage toward us. “Please say you were able to follow his ass through traffic cams,” Punk growls.
He curses up a storm when we all shake our heads and inform him it’s Esteban.
“We need to check all exits surveillance footage from here to Denver. I’d bet money he got off the highway before he left the city. He didn’t come here to poke the Ravens. He came to dance. He’s here in the city, I know it,” Punk says angrily, running a hand over his shaved head. He looks over at my woman, worry consuming his face. “Fuck, Jo, are you okay?”
Josephine’s
response is a whimper as she clings to me.
Punk nearly growls, reaching out to brush her hair away from her face, tenderly. I practically bare my teeth at him for touching my woman, but he ignores me, and deep down I know it’s innocent. He’s who I’ve assigned to her as a guard when I’m not available. Aside from myself, he’s the closest to her out of my men. His concern is genuine.
“We’ll catch him, Jo. Don’t worry. But no more going off on your own, you hear me? Goddamn, nearly gave me a heart attack.”
Josephine gives a curt nod, agreeing. I’m confident she has learned that lesson.
“Esteban broke into Jo’s condo?” Stage asks, scratching his thick beard, and bring us back to our dilemma. “It seems a bit below his station.”
“Maybe he assigned it to one of his men?” Gauge suggests.
“Or maybe it’s two different perps?” Chase says with a raised eyebrow. “I’m not ready to rule out Jo’s ex-asshole. He may not be here right now, but he’s constantly harassing her.”
All of us curse. That would be the worst possible scenario. We cannot afford to split our team on this.
Gauge looks directly at me. “We may need backup on this, Prez.”
I thin my eyes at him. I know where he’s going with this and I don’t like it. “We’re not taking Lorenzo’s offer. The fucker wants to get in my woman’s pants!”
“We use it to our advantage until the prick is caught. He has the men and the fire power. We cannot afford to go at this half-assed if it’s Esteban,” Gauge challenges.
“Maceo?” Josephine asks with a weary face. “Esteban is the guy who coordinated the kidnapping of the governor’s daughter, right?”
“Yes.” I know where her mind is going. I had hoped to put this conversation off until I was ready for it. Time’s up it seems.
She looks up at me. “Why is he coming after me, then?”
