He gives a little shake with his head. “Girls get annoyed with me. I’m waiting for results of the DNA they found for another case I’m working on. They’re a little backed-up but they promised to give me priority and get me the results as soon as possible.”
“It’s nice to have contacts,” I murmur and a thought strikes me. “Are there multiple facilities they can send DNA to? Different districts usually send it all to one place, right?”
Austin nods with a mouthful of burger and I make a mental note to check something when I get home. I glance out of the window and notice Archer across the street, talking to a woman. Not just any woman; Zuri.
She reaches out to pat his chest. Archer shakes his head and takes a step back. Zuri turns on her heel and walks into a store. Archer keeps staring at the store while I hear Austin clear his throat.
“That woman wants more from your man. But the look on his face is one of frustration and annoyance,” he easily supplies.
“Tell me something I don’t know,” I grumble.
Archer crosses the street and heads for the diner.
“You told him we were here?” I question.
“I texted him when we left my office. He said he’d meet us here and bring you home.”
I grab my chocolate milkshake and point it at Austin. “Queenie is still at my parents’ house and I was hoping we’d go there first.”
“Sorry, chicken. Your parents let me know they will take Queenie for the night. And you never said a thing but my phone has been on overdrive with answering texts from different people concerning you. Needless to say, you’re more needed than you think. And the fact you forgot your phone when you made coffee priority.” He holds out his hand, palm up. “Coffee is priority, even more so on a shitty day. But like this fucker here.” He points at Archer who is standing next to me. “It’s all right to have a bad day, but remember to live and let live: you don’t need to take the world on with just your shoulders to support it while you have a bunch of people who wouldn’t think twice to come running. People are always there to lend a hand, folks. You have a mouth on you, use it.”
Austin stands and touches my nose with the tip of his finger, instantly annoying me because he used to do that when we were kids.
“Thanks for the help and the company today,” he says and directs his attention to Archer to add, “At least one biker acknowledges her worth when it comes to asking her for help on active cases, even if it’s not from the MC she’s a part of.”
Archer rumbles a low growl in his chest but Austin is already walking away, leaving me to mutter my goodbyes against his back. Archer sits down across from me and his eyes widen but before he can reach out, I wave his concerns away.
“I’m fine, let me eat so we can go home. I’m not like Austin who can inhale his food, did he even pay for it, or did he leave the bill for you to pay? It would be just the thing he’d do to annoy you some more.” I know I’m rambling to avoid discussion.
“I fell right back into handling everything myself,” Archer grumbles and rubs a hand over the back of his neck. “Even if I said I’d change and hand things over to others. Dammit.”
“And I fell right back into the same routine myself without doing things for me. I guess it’s a routine that’s hard to break while it’s breaking me up inside from time to time, making me feel sorry for myself while I have loads to be thankful for.”
Archer shakes his head. “No fucking way. It’s life kicking your legs out from under you and making you painfully aware of the fact you have to pace yourself before you completely absorb in everything else, forgetting what matters most.”
I point at my face. “I know about the painfully aware part.”
Archer grimaces. “Not funny, Bee. It hurts my fucking heart to see the pain on your face and knowing I had a part in screwing up.”
“You didn’t do this. Neither of us is to blame. It’s easy to fall back into a routine.” My shoulders sag. “You have–”
“Don’t start with reciting my responsibilities since you and Queenie come first, but my flaw will always be to handle everything myself. It’s just easier for me to know jobs are handled correctly while I should hand them off because my brothers can carry the load too. And I know it’s because I had to take the gavel at a point where Broken Deeds MC had to prove themselves again. Not to mention, Galen’s murder, and you and I…see? Now I’m reciting it. Fuck. Can we add more time in one day? I think that’s the solution.”
I can’t help but snort. “Right. Then I’ll take that time to clean and do some more laundry while you take more tasks or ink some more clients. The roads never end, Archer…I guess we can only pace ourselves every once in a while to stop racing.”
He reaches over the table and feathers his fingertips over my bruised face. “Or stop from colliding.”
“Yeah,” I croak. “That especially.”
We keep staring at each other when Archer suddenly says, “Baton was right. The mayor’s daughter has a stalker. We found out the apartment across the street from hers was rented to someone who doesn’t exist. The whole room was filled with pictures of her and a telescope was aimed right into her bedroom.”
“Yikes. Now what?”
“The mayor arranged for her to leave the country while we try to find out who her stalker is.”
My heart hurts for Baton. “How’s he doing?”
Archer winces. “He’s pissed since I ordered him to stay put instead of following her out of the country. I called in a favor and made sure only one person knew where she’s going, giving us the peace of mind to know she’s safe while we handle it quickly so she can return home.”
His hand covers mine. “At least we have each other. Everything around us might be wrecked and pulling at us, but our foundation is solid.”
I give him a little squeeze. “Absolutely. But Archer?”
“Yeah?”
“Next time…can you make sure we never run out of coffee?”
Archer throws his head back and laughs. Shaking his head he says, “Coffee is life, babe. Everything can hit you like a hurricane but my woman can handle anything as long as there’s coffee.”
“As long as there’s coffee,” I agree.
CHAPTER EIGHT
– ARCHER –
“Thanks, man,” I tell Vachs as I take the bag from his hands.
He grunts and stalks away, heading for the clubhouse while sipping his coffee. He’s an early riser and I know his first trip is always to the coffee house since the man has a sweet tooth and a craving for fancy coffee. It’s the reason I asked him to pick up a few things for my woman.
I would have gone out and gotten them myself, but he was going anyway and I didn’t want to leave her this morning without knowing she had coffee and not having to take care of it herself. Today is going to be busy enough as it is. We have another meeting planned and there are a few leads I have to check out myself but for now my ass is home.
She’s still sleeping when I stroll into the bedroom. Her hair is like a wild sea, spread all over the place and covering the side of her face that’s bruised. Life is fucked-up enough with the wild ride it takes us on and it’s again a hard realization I need to hit pause more.
She stirs and I swear it’s because she smells the coffee. Blinking a few times, she keeps staring right at me. I’m holding a cup for her to take and watch as a huge grin spreads her face. She dashes up and scoots against the headboard as she beckons me closer. I hand her the cup I pulled from the bag Vachs gave me and place a muffin on the bedside table.
Taking a few sips, she closes her eyes and sighs with contentment. “I could get used to this.”
“Can’t have perfection all day, every day, Bee.”
She raises her cup. “You can when you have one of these to start your day.”
“Glad to hear you’re off to a better start than yesterday.”
Bee cringes and gently touches the side of her face. Dammit. I shouldn’t have brought it up. I regret it even more when she
swings her legs off the mattress and grabs a change of clothes before she heads into the bathroom.
A few minutes later she strolls out, completely dressed, and takes both the coffee and the muffin along with her out of the room. I’m left to follow her downstairs where she places the items on the table in the living room and grabs her laptop before she sits down to fire it up.
“What does Zuri do for a living?”
The question she fires at me with a tiny snap in her voice catches me off guard. I raise my eyebrow and silently question where this is coming from.
She waves her hand. “I’m not jealous, I’m just curious.”
An involuntary snort leaves me when I think of her words and simultaneously remember running into Zuri right before I went into the diner. I don’t know if she saw the chance meeting and how it might have looked if she did. My hesitation due to thinking shit over makes Bee narrow her eyes.
I quickly start to answer her question. “Manager, she works–”
“You know what? Never mind. You think I’m jealous while I was just thinking why I know so little about her. I’ve gone through every case Galen was working on, including the few days of Galen himself up until the day he was murdered and yet I know nothing about her.” She slams her laptop shut and it feels as if she punched me in the gut instead.
Why the hell didn’t I ever so much as think twice about the possibility of her being jealous?
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to piss you off. I just thought you might have seen me right before I came into the diner yesterday. And with me telling you days ago how she came onto me…you asking about her just now…I’m sorry. You have no reason to be jealous and I understand you only asked because there’s nothing in those files about her. There is however a file on Zuri in the safe in my office. We always run a background check when someone of the MC gets involved with another person. You can access it with the information I gave you last week.”
“Thanks,” she mutters and takes her coffee with her when she stands.
“What are you doing?” I question, since she doesn’t have anything planned today and she suddenly acts like she’s leaving.
She shrugs. “I’m going to pick up Queenie.”
“There’s no need. My mother said she’d pick her up later today. She was going to visit her brother so she was in the area anyway.” I lean back in my chair to stare at her when I add, “I thought you could come with me to the shop.”
“Fine, and no, I won’t come with you to the damn shop. I’m going to steam clean the carpets,” she snaps.
“We’ll do it together when we get home later today so you can come with me.”
She slams her cup back on the table. “You’ll be too tired and I’d have to do it myself tomorrow and then I’ll have Queenie with me while I have my hands free now.” Bee closes her eyes for a breath or two and when her gaze lands on mine she simply says, “Go to work, Archer, you do your share, I’ll do mine.”
Fucking hell. I thought we were okay after we talked last night. My phone starts to ring and I want to throw it against the wall for interrupting our conversation, argument, what the fuck ever; it proves a point how nothing ever goes as planned.
Even more when Bee gives me a sad smile and says, “Tick-tock, work is on a timer, as is life.” She grabs the muffin and holds it up. “Thanks for the little morning love, made my day start out nicely.”
The defeat in her voice slices through me and watching her head for the kitchen is tearing me up. If she takes morning coffee and a muffin for a little love, I am failing big-fucking-time in making her feel appreciated. But I guess actions speak louder than words since I’m not around much with all the shit landing in my lap.
I grab my phone and jab the screen. Bringing it to my ear I snap, “What?”
“Christ, man, don’t bite my head off,” Wyatt chuckles. “I just wanted to ask what time you’ll be here. I know you’re going to the shop later today but you also called a meeting this morning and almost everyone is here.”
“Fuck,” I mutter.
“You forgot, didn’t you? I’ll handle it. We were supposed to go over the last developments in the Galen case and Vachs already talked to you, right? I’ll get an update on all the active cases and we will go over them later today. How does that sound?”
“Like you’re saving my ass. Thanks, VP. Talk later.”
“Later,” Wyatt grunts.
I make a call to Hadley to make sure the shop is covered for today and go in search of my wife. She’s in Queenie’s room with a bundle of laundry in her arms. Her gaze lands on mine and I take pleasure in watching the laundry fly through the air as it lands on the floor right in front of her feet.
“Shit. What are you still doing here?” She rips the earbuds from her ears and I now notice she has them plugged into her phone.
She must have been listening to music and not aware I was still in the house, let alone in the same room. I help her pick up the clothes and head for the laundry room. When I’ve told her I took the day off, we fall into a routine of dividing some chores and clean the house together. And it’s a load of work I underestimate.
I never think about all the chores around the house, and there’s a huge damn list. Before Bee and I got together I lived in a room at the club. Tiny as fuck and easy to clean. All the shit I did in the last few hours doesn’t even scratch the fucking surface and I seriously question how Bee manages it all while taking care of Queenie, doing all the shopping, making dinner, and some other stuff she handles along with it.
It’s late afternoon when we both plunk down on the couch with a cold drink. I place my feet on the table while Bee shoots me a glare.
“Keep the fire inside, Bee. I cleaned the damn table myself and I’m tired as fuck.”
She rolls her eyes and curls her legs underneath her ass as she snuggles close. “Thanks for the help.”
“It’s my home too, about time I put my lazy ass to work around here.”
She shrugs. “Everyone has their own workload.”
I move the arm I have draped over the couch and catch her around the shoulder to pull her close.
“I love you,” I murmur against her hair while I take a deep breath to fill my lungs with her sweet scent.
“Yeah, yeah, I won’t make you clean the house for at least another week,” she jokes.
Laughter slips over my lips and I can’t help but reply, “Thank fuck.” Making her laugh right along with me.
“What time was your mother swinging by with Queenie?” Bee asks at the same time the front door opens and my mother strolls right inside.
I don’t have to comment about using her key, knocking, or ringing the damn doorbell because my mother will always do what she wants, and think what’s best.
“There’s my little girl,” Bee gushes and takes our daughter from my mother’s hands.
Bee is so damn gorgeous. Dressed in leggings, a dirty shirt, and her hair tied in a messy bun while her face shows how tired she is but still she’s the most gorgeous woman in the damn world because she’s the centerpiece of my love.
And when you have a woman who loves you, who is still here when shit gets rocky, it makes me stand taller and fills me with pride. Pride because there’s no other person I could share my life with than this woman right here.
“That look you’re wearing makes me think I have another grandchild sooner rather than later,” my mother says with a huge smirk painting her face.
Bee’s eyes hit mine as they widen a fraction. I’ll never shy away from the truth and I’m not starting now.
“Sooner rather than later,” I fully agree with my mother and watch how Bee’s cheeks heat.
“Why don’t I take Queenie along with me and you two can start right now?” My mother holds out her arms but Bee spins and steps away.
“There’s time enough when she’s sleeping. Thanks for picking her up.”
“Always,” my mother says and blows a kiss toward Queenie before she leaves and closes
the door behind her.
“I have to check in with Wyatt at the clubhouse. Want to join me?”
She glances at the clock. “Sure.”
The corner of my mouth twitches. “I’ll text Wyatt to make sure all boobs are covered when we stroll inside.”
“Right. We don’t want to make Queenie think we run a milk factory,” she deadpans.
I hide my grin by shaking my head as I step closer and wrap the both of them in my arms. I place a kiss on Queenie’s cheek at the same time Bee’s lips brush the skin of my neck.
“Yeah, let’s go,” I croak and clear my throat, emotions hitting me from all sides.
Bee grabs Queenie’s diaper bag–although we have enough stuff at the clubhouse–swings it over her shoulder and keeps her phone in hand as we head out the door. It’s a quick stroll from our house to the clubhouse. And instead of going through the back we go around the front and right when we reach the corner of the building the sound of bullets cracks through the air.
Bee slams her back into the wall, quickly turning to cage Queenie in between the building and her body. I reach for my gun and point it in the direction where the rain of bullets is coming from while covering Bee’s body.
“It’s coming from the front, come on, do something. Now, dammit. We’re plastered against the side of the building,” Bee hisses into the phone.
My heart is slamming against my rib cage and the sounds of Queenie’s cries is ripping through my damn heart. The bullets stop as fast as it started and this gives me the indication it was a drive by. Wyatt, Vachs, Pax, Ganza, and Baton come rushing around the building.
“What the fuck is going on?” Wyatt whisper hisses.
“No damn clue.” I step away from Bee and Queenie to give them some breathing room. “Baton, get my old lady home and stay with her until I come back.”
I reach out to cup Bee’s face. “You okay?”
She nods and places a kiss on Queenie’s crying face. I do the same before the both of them are escorted back to our house.
“Ganza, Pax, go the other way around and double check everything. Vachs, Wyatt, follow me,” I grunt and stalk to the corner, risking a quick glance around to see if it’s all clear.
Broken Deeds MC: Second Generation #1 Page 8
