Lips On My Heart

by M J Marino

  “Why can’t we go to the motel and ask for it? Maybe they would be willing to hand it over without a warrant,” I suggest.

  All the men shake their heads.

  “Not gonna happen. The motel is a corrupt hot spot and the owner is as crooked as they come. He’s been burned one too many times and won’t work with cops. Anyone who knows our club knows we work with local law enforcement. We already told police we thought we saw Jacob enter the motel, but without a warrant, the owner isn’t handing over anything. Police can’t get a warrant since there’s not enough evidence to merit one,” Gauge explains apologetically.

  “There’s no other surveillance video around town showing he was here? What about a gas station or a restaurant? He needs food and fuel,” I try again.

  Again they all shake their heads.

  “He never left the motel once he arrived. He visited your condo, our rental, and the build site before checking into the hotel. I couldn’t pick up his license plate in either video, but it’s his car, I’m certain. City surveillance cams show his car cruising around town, but he’s got fake plates. Says it’s from Nevada. No luck seeing inside the car since the windows are tinted. As far as food, he probably didn’t eat or brought it all with him in the car. Fuel can easily be transported as well in the trunk of a vehicle.” Chase says.

  I shake my head and fight the tears stinging the back of my eyes. “He planned this. This was thought out and calculated. On his credit charges, did it show him buying any of his supplies, like the surplus of gas, or the spray paint and baseball bat?”

  “Nothing comes up. Cash transactions at stores don’t have a name attached. You’re right, he did plan it all out,” Gauge says.

  “Like I said, he’s smart,” Chase murmurs, staring at his computer screens.

  “Yes, he is. He swiped all my work right out from under my nose without me knowing. And he’s a smooth talker. All of my family and old friends believe I’m the one who had the issues in the relationship because he was able to con all of them,” I admit with angry tears. I could kick myself for having dated a fucking manipulative genius.

  “Well, he may be smart, but we’re definitely smarter,” Chase says with a wicked gleam in his brown eyes. “You see, every time he’s acted out it’s because he’s provoked. He broke into your condo after you turned him away from the job. Atlas marked you as his in front of him. He could have been planning this second attack for a while like you say, but he sprung into action after I uploaded the picture of you two to our security company website. I posted the picture on Saturday around noon, giving him plenty of time to make the seventeen-hour commute by car with time to spare.”

  “What picture?” I ask.

  “Atlas took pictures on the two of you after he proposed. I cropped the picture of you two holding up your fists showing your rings, and posted it on our website saying ‘the prez is getting hitched,’” Chase explains. “I thought it would be a good marketing tool and help our image.”

  “Well, if he’s been stalking your company site the way he was stalking my social media, he would’ve definitely seen it and lost his shit,” I declare.

  “Exactly. Every time something big happens with you, he attacks. He started slowly with inappropriate texts and dick pics when you refused to have contact with him. He upgraded to busting into your condo after seeing you. He probably got angry because all his digital images of you in his cloud, phone, and both your guys’ social media accounts were deleted by moi,” Chase adds.

  My hand flies to my forehead and I jump off Maceo’s lap. “My photo box in the closet! He was trying to find pictures of me because he didn’t have them anymore.”

  “More than likely why he was trying to break into your computer as well,” Maceo grits through his teeth. “And he probably took your sexy panties because he didn’t want me to benefit from them.”

  Gauge busts a gut. “Is that why you got a Victoria’s Secret credit card? To buy Jo new underwear?”

  Maceo blushes hard, snapping at his best friend. “Dude! That was supposed to stay between the two of us!” Maceo’s numerous surprise lingerie gifts start to make sense to me now.

  Punk looks impressed. “That’s actually a brilliant idea. That way you get your woman to wear what you want.”

  Maceo rubs the back of his neck, self-conscious. “I thought so. They’ve got a great reward program.”

  Maceo’s brothers laugh at his expense.

  “Fuck all of you. Don’t come crawling to me to reap the benefits of my free shipping and monthly perks.” It’s pretty adorable seeing my fiancé embarrassed.

  “Oh, come on, Atlas! You promised I could use it to splurge on Opal,” Gauge protests. He slaps a hand over his mouth quickly, surprised.

  Say what? Did Gauge let something slip about him and Opal?

  Chase and Punk look just as shocked as me—not shocked that there’s something more serious between Gauge and Opal, but that he let his guard down around the rest of us. I can see that Gauge is more open about his relationship with the pretty girl when it’s just him and Maceo shooting the shit.

  Maceo gives him a look. “I’m starting to think Opal could do better.” We all laugh again.

  “Anyways,” Gauge says, returning the conversation back to me. “Jacob knew something was going on between you and Atlas, and it was his way of saying ‘fuck you.’ He was harassing you on social media since he was no longer in town after the confrontation you guys had with him at the café after the condo break in.”

  “We put his next action into play when you and I announced our engagement; then the build site was vandalized,” Maceo points out.

  “Getting back on point,” Chase speaks up. “This shit only happens when something big takes place with Jo which isn’t in loafer-dick’s favor.”

  Maceo gives Chase a stern look. “No.”

  “I’m telling you, Atlas, this will work,” Chase fires back.

  “And I’m telling you as club president, no! I will not be using my bride to bait the fucker.”

  Chase throws his hands up in frustration. “It’s not like she’ll be in any fucking danger. Your woman has more security than the British royal family. Let’s put out something to grab Jacob’s attention and be ready and waiting for him. If he sneaks onto our property again, we can get him for trespassing. If he damages any of our stuff, we can get him on vandalizing. If he gets into the building, we can get him on breaking and entering.”

  “And if he gets a hold of Jo then what? We get him on assault or rape or murder? The perp is escalating,” Gauge argues back, shaking his head in disgust.

  “It won’t get to that,” Chase defends.

  “Because we aren’t fucking doing it!” Maceo roars. “Gauge is right. The fucknob is not going to be satisfied breaking in or damaging property. He’s been there and done that. He’s only going to step up his game and go to the next level.”

  I’m listening to all of this in stunned silence. I’m scared, real scared.

  Gauge mentioning that Jacob’s behavior is escalating terrifies the shit out of me. Jacob wants me back and thus far, nothing he has done has worked. Now he has turned to scare tactics and threats, showing he’s extremely dangerous.

  But as scared as I am, a bigger part of me doesn’t want to be. A bigger part of me wants to fight back and hold Jacob accountable for his actions.

  Cops can’t do anything to help right now. I could get a restraining order, but a restraining order doesn’t do shit if the other party ignores it and takes what they want from you anyways. Too many women have fallen victim to a false sense of security when it comes to a restraining order.

  No, something needs to be done and it needs to be done now, while Jacob is emotionally overloaded and is most likely to fuck up and get caught.

  “Chase is right,” I blurt.

  Maceo and Gauge look at me like I’ve grown a third head. Punk scowls—putting me in danger goes against his bodyguard instincts.

  Chase slaps his han
ds down on the work bench. “Thank you, Jo!” He says with renewed energy. “See, she gets it.”

  Maceo’s massive form grows larger, hovering over me, shaking his head and pointing a thick finger at me. “This isn’t fucking happening. I’m not putting you in jeopardy.”

  “It’s not your call. It’s mine,” I snap back.

  “The hell it is! My club, my rules, and we’re not doing shit to provoke the fucker,” Maceo snarls. “I’ll fucking lock you up before I let the cocksucker try to pull anymore shit on you.”

  Defiant, I square my shoulders. “Go ahead and hide me away in a bunker but use me to pull the prick out first. I don’t have to be anywhere near the situation. Hell, none of you need to be near the situation. We can bring in local law enforcement to handle it.”

  “And what’s going to bring his sorry ass in? We had no clue when he was going to attack us before. What the hell is going to prompt his next attack?” Maceo barks at me in challenge.

  I smirk because it’s obvious. “A wedding, of course.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Maceo

  I swear to God, I’m going to spank her ass ‘till it’s beet red. Her fucking challenging me, ugh! Taking on Jacob by using herself as bait, and fucking schooling me in front of my brothers on how to reel the fucker in, has got me pissed off to the point I see red.

  I’m both livid and turned on. Angry she would want to use herself as a pawn in the take-down-Jacob scheme, and riled up with need over how fucking cunning she is.

  My pixie is like a fucking black widow and I love it—enticing her prey and then trapping them. She reminds me of Stage that way. He has the name for a reason. He can set a trap up to capture perps better than anyone on our crew.

  But I can’t let her know this. I can’t let her think I’m on board with this hare-brained idea of taking him down by throwing a mock wedding, because I sure as shit am not on board.

  “Are you fucking crazy?” I shout before thinking.

  Josephine’s nostrils flare. “I’m not crazy, you alpha asshole. This is a perfect ambush.”

  Feeling a migraine coming on, I pinch the bridge of my nose.

  “Think about it. We have Chase put on the Mercy Ravens Security website how the prez will be marrying on a planned date, at a planned location. If he’s cyber stalking us like we assume, our names will come up with all the details. Hell, we can say we’re getting married at the courthouse and have the whole police force there,” Josephine explains. Excitement gleams in her coastal eyes, the kind of excitement she reserves for the bedroom.

  Is she getting turned on by this? Fuck, I think she is. Seeing Josephine get aroused over taking down her ex is enticing as hell. I will my cock down to half-mast. Now is not the time to lead with my dick.

  “I don’t want to think about it,” I spit through my teeth. “Pixie, I’m not okay with pissing him off more and having him snap. You can plan everything, but it doesn’t mean shit will go down the way you want.”

  “I hate to admit it, but it’s not a bad idea,” Gauge says to me.

  Motherfucker! “Go suck a bag of dicks, Gauge! You telling me you’d be on board with this shit if it was Opal who was sticking her neck out?”

  Gauge’s green eyes go nearly black. He hates when I publicly point out that Opal and him are a thing. Well, tough shit! He needs to get over that hang-up and see how when you love someone you don’t gamble with their life. And it’s exactly why I’m not willing to mess with Josephine’s.

  Chase tries to justify Josephine’s reasoning. “Now wait a sec. Jo could be onto something here. The fucker will definitely want to stop your marriage. We’ll be there as security. You will be with Jo. The police will be right there to make an arrest. You know his desperate ass is going to come with a weapon. The fucker will get thrown away in jail for a long time if he walks into the courthouse with it. This might be the best way to get him put away.”

  “The best way to deal with him is putting a bullet in his head,” I snap.

  “Well, we can have that arranged if you want to get your hands dirty,” Gauge says in all seriousness. Gauge thinks like me on how to deal with problem people. I know he would be there with a shovel if I tried to take matters into my own hands.

  The idea of ending Jacob’s life and putting him in a hole to rot is very tempting, and growing more so the longer I think about it. I have a silent exchange with my closest brothers. All three of them nod in agreement.

  Punk gives a vile smile. “Fuck yeah! Let’s put this bastard down.”

  “Nobody is killing anybody,” Josephine protests with alarm.

  “Dammit Punk!” I bark. Chase and Gauge groan in agreement. The kid never knows when to keep shit on the down-low.

  Josephine gives me a pointed look. “You need to look at it from a third party point of view. You know if this involved anyone else, you’d be all over my idea.”

  “But it’s not anybody else. It’s you! I’m sorry if I fucking care too much to put you at risk, but it’s the way it is, so deal with it,” I fume.

  Why the hell is she pushing on this? I’m trying to keep her fucking safe and unharmed.

  “Remember what you told me after Esteban confronted me? You said it was time to stop doing defense and go on the offense, which is exactly what we need to do now. Your words, not mine. So either what you said is true or it isn’t. Which is it?” Josephine challenges.

  Fucking hell! Frustrated, I roar and flip one of the work benches. Hades cowers behind Chase, making me feel awful, but not bad enough to apologize to him right now with the state I’m in.

  How the hell am I being outnumbered right now? It’s a fucking mutiny! And Josephine throwing my own words in my face, pisses me off like nobody’s business.

  Josephine grabs me by the arm and yanks me from the garage. I go with her because I follow her everywhere like an eager puppy, because I do everything and anything for her, including when I’m fucking boiling over with rage.

  In the backyard, Josephine spins on me. “You need to calm down.”

  “I am fucking calm!” I snarl like the beast I am.

  “Your actions speak otherwise!” she shouts.

  Oh man, my woman is peeving me off to high hell. How the fuck can I argue my point to show her reason?

  I run my hands over my face. “Pixie, you freaked out on me when I told you I would put my life on the line for you. How the fuck should I feel knowing you want to do the same for me?”

  “You told me I needed to trust you and you promised me you wouldn’t die. I do trust you, Maceo. Now I’m asking the same from you. You need to trust me on this. I promise you nothing will happen to me,” she states firmly.

  I feel my resolve slipping and it freaks me the fuck out. Does she not understand what she’s asking of me? Does she not see how much this goes against what I feel is best?

  No, she doesn’t and I’m incapable of refusing her.

  “Baby, please don’t make me do this,” I beg. I don’t beg, ever. This woman has me wrapped around her finger. I’d fucking bend over backward like a contortionist for her.

  Josephine’s eyes go soft and she reaches up to cup my face. “It’s going to be okay, Maceo, I promise.”

  My eyes squeeze shut and I fall to my knees at her feet, wrapping my arms around her wispy frame. I hate myself for what I’m about to agree to, what I’m about to order.

  “Okay. I’ll trust you.”

  My happy-go-lucky demeanor has fucking evaporated since agreeing to entice Jacob into an attack. I’m in ‘full alpha asshole mode’ again, according to Josephine. I don’t give a shit if I am. Regardless if I’m on board with this operation, I’m not happy about it.

  After a week of strategic planning, we’ve finally agreed as a crew how to handle this monster. Chase posts a news update on our website informing readers the club president will be marrying Miss Josephine Holland in two weeks time in a civil union ceremony at the court-house here in Fort Collins.

  Punk notifi
es local law enforcement there may be an issue with Jacob Klein acting out during our wedding. Luke will be present along with several of his men. If Jacob tries to pull anything, they will be there ready to make the arrest.

  Chase was right about helping our image with uploading all the personal shit about me getting engaged. We’re getting more requests for jobs and having a hard time passing. Thankfully, most are local recon jobs or at least in the state, and only require three to four guys per job.

  Unfortunately, this means we’re asking Lorenzo’s men to play guard duty at the job site way more than I’m comfortable with. Granted, they’re more worried about Esteban moving in on their territory than the threat Jacob is imposing on Josephine, but Lorenzo is willing to offer more to assist anyway. I’m firm on keeping their involvement to a minimum. It’s bad enough seeing Lorenzo himself dropping by my property to check out my woman.

  Fucking hate that fucker in his fucking tailored suits. Ugh! I want to throat punch him every time he tries to talk to my pixie. I already broke the sleazeball’s nose for propositioning a date from her. Luke was able to talk Lorenzo out of pressing charges, stating I was protecting my woman from a potential stalker. Lorenzo didn’t want Josephine thinking he was a threat, so he backed off. But still he hangs around like a bad cold you can’t shake. Fortunately, Josephine is too busy to pay him any notice.

  Josephine is in micromanager form and is too preoccupied with completing the project, so I’ve recruited Opal to keep Josephine on track. Sham wedding or not, we still need to keep up appearances, meaning doing some actual wedding stuff, like finding a wedding dress and picking out flowers. Opal comes to the build site and drags my bride-to-be away, giving her construction crew a much-needed break from her nitpicking.

  There are definite moments where it feels like we’re truly planning our wedding. I catch myself getting excited watching Josephine flip through wedding catalogs or Pinterest, setting things aside I know she intends for the real big day. More than once, I hear her mumble to herself about how it isn’t fair to have to plan two weddings.