“How am I supposed to complete this list without interacting with men? And what the hell is ‘The Dash’?” Ember shrieked.
“Relax. Women can eat the candy from the necklace. I mean, I don’t think men would do that anyway. As for the condoms, just ask a woman or have one ask a man for you,” Reese explained.
“And ‘The Dash’?”
Reese laughed. “Oh, that’s a shot I found online. It’s made from two liquors I’ve never heard of. Supposedly, it tastes like strawberry cream. Anyway, you’ll have to do it at the first bar because Duke knows one of the bartenders there and he agreed to make the shot if we supplied the ingredients.”
Ember grinned mischievously. “One day, Reese Walker, you will be getting married and I will get you back for this.”
By the time we arrived at the first stop, almost everyone in our group had downed at least two drinks. I was trying to go easy on the alcohol so at least one person in our group had a clear head. Being the bride’s mother, as well as the oldest in attendance, I silently volunteered myself for the position.
At the first club, we danced for a while and the girls had a few more drinks. Ember completed a few tasks on her list. The funniest one thus far was watching her try to take a shot that was piled high with whipped cream with no hands. It took her several tries, but she finally managed to get it all down without making too much of a mess. After an hour or so, we left and headed to our second destination.
It was at the second stop that I noticed him. A man I had seen at the first club was now at the second club. I tried not to make too much of it as it was likely just a coincidence, but something about it just didn’t sit right with me. I decided I would keep it to myself for the time being and keep an eye on him. I made sure to remind the girls not to leave their drinks unattended and to not accept any drinks from strangers.
We stayed at the second club a little longer than we did the first. The man was looming in the background the entire time. When we left to go to our third stop, I suggested we take the limo. The girls thought this was a great idea because their feet were getting sore from dancing in their high heels. I didn’t make the suggestion to provide mercy for their abused toes. I wanted to have our ride nearby in case we needed to leave quickly and I thought driving would make it harder for anyone to follow us. I felt like I was being paranoid for no reason, but I just couldn’t let it go.
We had a table reserved for us at the third club. As soon as I sat down, I immediately scanned the area. When I didn’t see the man from the previous clubs anywhere, I breathed a sigh of relief. The alcohol was catching up to a few of the girls, so I was very glad we reserved a table. I danced with Ember and Reese in between checking on the ones at the table.
I had just turned around to head back to the dance floor when I saw him. The same man and he was staring right at me. My chest tightened with fear and I froze for a brief second before I reacted. I needed to get the girls out of there, but I didn’t know how to do it without causing alarm. Doing my best to remain calm and not draw unnecessary attention, I walked to the bathroom. Of course, there was a freaking line. Here’s the thing about drunk women, they talk a lot and they pee slow.
After several minutes of standing in almost the same exact spot, I pulled my phone out and sent a text to Phoenix.
Annabelle: I think we’re being followed. What should I do?
Phoenix: You are being followed.
Annabelle: What??
Phoenix: Shaker and Carbon have been tailing you all night.
Annabelle: I’m not talking about them!!!
Phoenix: WTF doll face?
Annabelle: Idk. Get them in here please.
Phoenix: Ok. Hang on babe.
Phoenix: They’re not answering. I’m heading out. You stay put and keep the girls together.
Annabelle: I don’t want to scare them.
Phoenix: You think a man is following you. My boys are on duty and not answering their president. You get the girls and stay put. I’m on my way.
Shit. I hoped I was overreacting. I would much rather be embarrassed about being paranoid than be right about one of us being in danger. Finding out that Shaker and Carbon weren’t answering their phones didn’t ease my worry at all.
Since I was only in line so I could call Phoenix without anyone knowing, I turned around to go gather up the girls and stopped dead in my tracks. My eyes had to be deceiving me. I couldn’t really be seeing the unknown stalker man talking to Crystal.
Not wasting any time and not giving a shit about drawing attention, I walked as fast as I could to the dance floor. I grabbed Ember’s arm and tugged, “I need you to come to the table with me. All of you. Now!”
“Mom, what’s wrong?” Ember asked, eyes wide.
“I’ll explain in a minute. Help me get everyone rounded up and back to the table. Stay in groups of three or more,” I said, grabbing Sarah, Ember’s employee, by the arm and dragging her with me.
With everyone back at our table, I dropped into a chair and explained, “I noticed a guy following us. He’s been everywhere we’ve been tonight and he’s been staring. So, I sent a text to Phoenix about it. Come to find out, Shaker and Carbon have been shadowing us all night, or were supposed to be, but Phoenix can’t get a hold of them. He told me to gather up everyone and stay put. He’s on his way now.”
I faced Ember. “I’m sorry, baby. I thought I was just being paranoid. I called your dad so he could talk me down without upsetting you all. I didn’t want to ruin your party.”
“You didn’t ruin anything, Mom. You did the right thing,” Ember replied.
Reese was sitting quietly, staring off into space, her face uncharacteristically blank. “Reese, honey, are you okay?” I asked.
Ember whispered, “You realize Carbon’s her brother, right?”
“Oh, I’m not sure I knew that,” I said. “Hey, did you see Crystal earlier?”
“No. You saw her?” Ember asked.
“I thought I did, but it might not have been her,” I lied. I knew it was her. I would have written that off as a true coincidence if I hadn’t seen her talking to stalker man.
Hands slid over my shoulders from behind, causing me to scream and jump out of my chair. “It’s me, baby! I’m sorry, didn’t mean to scare you.”
Phoenix. He would make everything better. He would take care of everything and get us home safely. “I’m so glad you’re here. Did you find Shaker and Carbon?”
He shook his head. “Not yet. Dash and Duke are looking for them. Where’s this fucker that’s been following you?”
When I looked up, he wasn’t standing in the spot he had been in all night. My eyes wildly darted around the club trying to spot him. My finger shot out. “That’s him. The man walking toward the back door!”
“Stay here!” Phoenix ordered and took off after him. The man pushed open the back door and stepped through it. Phoenix was hot on his tail and probably would have caught him if Crystal hadn’t stepped out of the bathroom and directly into Phoenix’s path. Phoenix tried to push her out of the way, but she grabbed onto his arm, which resulted in him sort of dragging her with him. He finally managed to shake her off and pushed through the back door. When he came back in moments later, I knew he had lost him.
He stomped past Crystal, completely ignoring her, and returned to where we were seated. “I saw what happened,” I told him, before he even said anything. “I also saw her talking to that man earlier, right after I sent that text to you.”
Without a single word, Phoenix turned around and stalked toward Crystal.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
Phoenix
“What the fuck are you doing here?” I asked Crystal.
She blinked her overly made up eyes at me, “I work here.”
“You work here? Since when?”
She huffed. “Since I got into it with your Old Lady. I figured all it would take was one word from her and I would be out on my ass. I started looking for a part-time job the next day.
“Who was the man you were talking to?”
“Could you be a little more specific? I’m a waitress in a bar. I talk to a lot of men,” she sassed.
“Cut the shit. The man I was chasing out the back door. The man you intentionally stopped me from chasing. Gray shirt, blue jeans, about 5’10, 180lbs. That guy,” I barked. I didn’t have time for her bullshit.
“I swear, Phoenix, I was just coming out of the bathroom. I didn’t know you were chasing anybody. Wait, is everything okay? Why were you chasing him?” she asked.
“Club business,” I barked. “What was the man’s name?”
“I have no idea,” she shrugged. “The man you described paid with cash all night.”
Of course he fucking did. “If I see him again, do you want me to get his name?” she offered.
“Sure. Whatever. Listen, I’ve got to get back,” I said and stepped around her. I wasn’t sure if she was lying to me or not, but either way, I doubted she would bring me a name.
I returned to the table to find Dash, Duke, Shaker, and Carbon with the girls. “Where the fuck have you two been?” I growled.
“Being hassled by bouncers and then the cops,” Carbon spat.
“Somebody told the bouncer at the first club that they saw us put something in a girl’s drink. The bouncer called the police and was able to stall us long enough for them to arrive.” Shaker shrugged. “Sorry, Prez, we couldn’t answer our phones with cuffs on.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose. I could feel a headache coming on. “Let’s get the fuck out of here. We can discuss everything else back at the clubhouse.”
***
After giving it some thought over the next few days, I couldn’t convince myself one way or the other about the man at the club. It could have been a coincidence or it could have been someone legitimately following them. And if he was following them, which one was he following and why? With little to go on, there wasn’t much I could do other than tell the girls to be vigilant and travel in pairs.
I was also frustrated with the situation regarding Annabelle’s parents. How could two fuck ups like them just disappear without a trace? It took skill to not be found. There was no way those two were capable of anything like that.
Finally, Luke called with the results from Annabelle’s DNA sample. “Hey, Phoenix. Sorry, it took a little longer than I thought, but we got a match. The body belonged to Lisbeth Maynard Burnett.”
“Yeah, I kinda had a feeling it did. Thanks for going to so much trouble for Annabelle. I know it will ease her mind to know what became of at least one of them. You find anything on her father, yet?”
“No, but I’ll keep looking. About her mother…something’s not sitting right with me. From what you told me, Octavius tried to use Annabelle’s parents as a bargaining chip in order to get her to comply with his wishes, correct?”
“Yes, that’s what he said and she later confirmed it. What’s that have to do with anything?”
“Well, an exact time of death couldn’t be determined, but it was estimated to be three months prior to the body’s discovery, meaning she died in August, the same month Annabelle and her family were taken to the farm. Octavius had to know she wasn’t working on the farm. So, how did he plan to use her as a bargaining chip if she wasn’t there?”
“Fuck me. You think Octavius killed her?”
“I honestly don’t know, Phoenix. We never found any records of either of them working for him and you said yourself he kept meticulous records. I try not to make guesses, but something about this feels off.”
“Yeah, I agree with you on that. Fuck, I can’t tell her this now. Our daughter is getting married tomorrow. Hell, we were supposed to leave for the rehearsal dinner 15 minutes ago.”
“Go enjoy your weekend with your family. I’ll keep the results to myself and you can tell her whenever you think is best.”
“Thanks, Luke. Appreciate it.”
I disconnected the call and wondered what in the hell we were about to uncover. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the time to dwell on it. I had a weekend full of wedding festivities, starting with the rehearsal dinner. “Annabelle! Let’s go! We’re going to be late!”
“Almost ready,” she called back. Yeah, that was the fourth or fifth time she’d said that. If she wasn’t walking out the door in five minutes, I was going to leave her ass at home. I hated being late.
When I heard her heels clicking down the stairs, I looked up and lost the ability to breathe. She had on a strapless, red dress that hugged her curves and stopped just an inch or two above her knees. Her legs were bare, but she had on the sexiest pair of strappy high heel shoes. Oh yes, I would be balls deep in her later when she was wearing nothing but those shoes.
“Phoenix, aren’t you going to say anything?” she asked, clearly annoyed.
“Sorry, doll face. I needed a minute. You took my breath away when you came down the stairs. Damn you look good in that,” I said, taking quick strides to her. I put my hands on her hips and pulled her to me. “I will be fucking you in those shoes later.” She moaned and pressed her hips against mine. “If you don’t stop that, I’ll be fucking you before we go, too.”
She gasped. “No, Phoenix. You’ll mess up my hair.”
That was her only protest? I growled, “I won’t touch your fucking hair. Turn around and put your hands on the stairs.”
“Phoenix, we don’t have time for this,” she protested, weakly.
I spun her around and pressed on her back, forcing her to bend forward and place her hands on the stairs. Pushing the hem of her dress up over her hips, I grabbed the minuscule piece of fabric she was trying to pass off as underwear and, with a quick tug, I tore her panties from her body, baring her wet pussy to my hungry eyes.
“Spread ‘em wider for me, baby,” I said as I freed my cock from my pants. She widened her stance and I stepped forward, rubbing the head of my cock through her slippery slit.
“You’re soaked, baby. Were you wanting me to fuck you?”
“I always want you to fuck me,” she moaned, trying to push herself back onto my cock.
I slapped her ass. “Bad girl. You get my cock when I give it to you.”
“Please give it to me.”
I grabbed her hips and shoved into her, setting a hard and fast pace. Reaching around with one hand, I rubbed her clit to help push her over the edge. Half a dozen more thrusts and I felt the walls of her pussy rippling around my dick while she clawed at the stairs and screamed my name. Seconds later I was shooting my own release into her.
As a result of our ministrations, we were a few minutes late to the rehearsal, which everyone pointed out because I am never late. Annabelle turned the color of her dress from head to toe, clearly giving away the reason for our tardiness. Once everyone had gotten their jabs in, we got down to business and knocked the rehearsal out in less than an hour.
The dinner was at a nice Italian restaurant in town. The only downside was Gram and Pop weren’t there. Gram called a few hours before the dinner in a tizzy because their flight had been delayed. According to Gram, the small airport basically shut down because the President just had to visit his coastal home on the same weekend of her granddaughter’s wedding. Gram continued to rant until Pop took the phone from her and explained they would be on their way as soon as the airspace restrictions were lifted. At least they weren’t going to miss the wedding.
Surprisingly, we managed to have a nice, drama-free dinner. Afterward, Annabelle left with Ember and the girls, shadowed by Coal, Edge, and our newest prospect, Kellan, while the rest of the boys and I went back to the clubhouse.
It was a Friday night, so the brothers not in the wedding already had the party going at the clubhouse. I wasn’t planning on staying long. Annabelle was dropping the girls off and then going to the airport to pick up Nathan. I wanted to go with her, but she didn’t want to overwhelm him right away. I didn’t quite get that. He knew about me and his siblings, but she was his mother and knew what was best.
I leaned back against the bar and brought my beer to my lips. I noticed Crystal eyeing me, as she wriggled in the lap of another brother. I didn’t acknowledge her, just turned my head and continued my conversation with Badger. When I looked back several minutes later, she had her eyes on me again.
“She causing problems again?” Badger asked, nodding his head slightly in Crystal’s direction.
“Nah, but I don’t know why in the fuck she keeps looking at me.”
“She wants you. She’s letting you know,” he said, like I was an idiot.
“I know that, fucknut. I’ve already made it clear to her that I’m not interested. She needs to let it go or I’m going to have no choice but to kick her ass out.”
“Might not be a bad thing. She’s always been mouthy and she ain’t that great in bed.”
“I’ll have to take your word on that, brother,” I laughed.
“You ain’t fucked her?” he asked.
I shook my head. “Nope. Let her suck me off once when she first started coming around, but that’s it. She begged me to fuck her, but it wasn’t happening.”
Badger let out a loud belly laugh. “Well, that explains a lot. No wonder she’s staring you down. She wants a ride on the Phoenix.”
I shoved him and laughed. “Shut the fuck up, you idiot.”
For a brief second, I considered telling him about Macy being back in town, but things were going smoothly for once and I didn’t want to ruin it. Bringing up Macy would do nothing but ruin his good mood. It would be better to tell him after the wedding.
I finally got fed up with Crystal’s staring and went to my office. I was waiting for Annabelle to call me and let me know she had Nathan settled. She thought it would be best for him to stay at my house instead of the farm, but she didn’t want me there when he arrived. She was being really weird about the whole thing with Nathan. I knew they had a fucked up history with this town, so I was trying not to press her about the way she was acting.
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