STONE KINGS MOTORCYCLE CLUB: The Complete Collection

by Daphne Loveling

  “Oh, I like that, too!” enthused Monica. “That’s really pretty!”

  As the other women weighed in on baby girl names, I stood up and started taking orders for cake — which as the mom-to-be had requested, was just a simple sheet cake with butter cream frosting.

  Out in the kitchen, I was busying myself cutting up pieces and putting them on plates, when Seton’s voice startled me from behind.

  “Andi, are you okay?” she asked, her face concerned. “You seem kind of… I dunno. Preoccupied.”

  “Sure, I’m fine!” I said brightly. “Just focused on the shower, I guess.”

  “Yeah, but…” she bit her lip. “You’ve been seeming kind of preoccupied for a while now. Are you sure there’s nothing wrong?”

  “Why would anything be wrong?”

  “I don’t know. But that’s just the point. If anything was wrong, would you tell me?” Her eyes searched mine.

  “Of course,” I shrugged. I hoped my voice didn’t sound as fake as I though it did. “Everything’s fine, Seton. Don’t worry.”

  “Is this one of those ‘don’t worry the pregnant lady’ things?” she said crossly. “Man, I hate that. Grey’s been treating me like I’m made of glass lately.” She eyed me, cocking her head. “Is that what you’re doing? Because you better not be.”

  “No, no,” I protested. “It’s…” Damnit, Seton was too damn perceptive for her own good. She could tell something was up with me, and I wasn’t going to be able to keep it from her forever. But there was no way I could tell her about the strange and frightening things that had been happening to me lately, without at some point admitting that Cal knew about it, and that he’d been protecting me. Which would lead to the larger discussion of just how that had started, and I didn’t want to go down that road.

  I heaved a deep sigh and said the only thing I could think of that would put her off for a while. “Look, Seton. It really isn’t anything,” I said. I forced myself to make eye contact, figuring she’d be less likely to think I was lying. “It’s just… I don’t feel like getting into it now, especially during your shower. But I’ll tell you about it sometime.”

  She frowned, disapproval written clearly on her face. “You promise?” she retorted, crossing her arms.

  “I promise,” I nodded.

  Because what else could I say?

  After the shower was over, I enlisted Eva and Carly for clean-up duty and made Seton swear to just sit on the couch and take it easy. She grudgingly did as she was told, even though I expected her to get up any minute and start helping us. When we had gotten everything put away and back to normal, I made sure to leave with the two of them so that Seton wouldn’t have another chance to grill me about what was on my mind. We said our goodbyes and I got into my car, checking it surreptitiously for any signs of tampering as I did so.

  On the way home, I quickly checked my phone to see if I’d had any texts from Cal, but there was nothing, and I tried to push down my disappointment. I was becoming far too reliant on seeing him every day, I realized. The day would come when I would have to let him step back and stop being my own personal bodyguard and protector. And when that day came, I’d have to face up to the reality that as much as I found myself becoming addicted to Cal’s presence in my life, the plain fact of the matter was that the physical relationship was mostly just one of convenience.

  At least for him.

  Because as much as I hated to admit it, there was a tiny part of me that was starting to fall for Cal Greenlee.

  And one way or another, I knew I was setting myself up for a whole lot of hurt.

  The hours passed with no text from Cal. And even though I knew I could just as easily text him, something held me back. I didn’t want to acknowledge to myself how much I was missing him, didn’t want to break down and admit to myself that I didn’t want to spend the night without him. I ate a simple dinner around six, and spent some time on a new song I was working on. Just before eight, my phone buzzed, and I grabbed it, almost dizzy with relief.

  Hey babe, it read. Got some things to take care of but i can be over later. U good?

  Sure, I replied. Take your time.

  And I meant it. Now that I knew he was planning on coming over eventually, the tension I’d been holding in my muscles released. Breathing a small sigh of relief, I leaned back on the couch and grabbed a paperback I’d recently started, hoping it would keep my attention for a while.

  Unfortunately, my mind wasn’t really up to focusing on the plot of the book, which was about a woman with a drinking problem who had a habit of spying on people from the neighborhood where she used to live. Shaking my head, I set the book down and picked up my phone, figuring I could spend some time on social media.

  I opened up the Facebook app and went to look at my sister Alyssa’s page. A few weeks had passed since I’d last looked at it, and there were a dozen or so posts, mostly selfies and shares from other people’s pages. As I scrolled through, taking note of the faces of people I recognized as her friends, her most recent status post caught my eye.

  It was dated three days ago.

  “Scared, don’t know what to do. Have you ever felt like everything you thought you knew was a lie?”

  A number of her friends had replied to it: “You ok hun?” “Can I do anything?” “Txt me”

  But Alyssa hadn’t responded.

  Part of me tried to pass it off as just a teenager being dramatic. But I knew from watching her on social media that she wasn’t really prone to these kinds of posts.

  I argued with myself as I stared at the screen. Andi, you don’t even really know her anymore. You left when she was seven. You have no idea what she’s like now. Maybe she’s just having her first breakup with a boyfriend.

  But the nagging feeling that something was wrong just wouldn’t go away.

  What if Alyssa had finally started to put the pieces together about the kinds of things her father was involved in? After all, she was fourteen years old now. She wasn’t a little kid anymore. And she wasn’t stupid. Eventually, she might have put two and two together, just like I did.

  The more I thought about Alyssa, not knowing what was happening, the more worried I got and the more helpless I felt. I had no idea what to do, and no idea how to find anything out — especially if I was being watched by Anthony’s people. As I sat there, casting about for ideas, I realized this was something I couldn’t figure out alone. I needed another perspective on this. I needed to talk to someone I trusted.

  I needed to talk to Cal.

  17

  Cal

  CAL

  I hadn’t told Andi about the stalker guy who was at The Oasis that night, or that I was almost certain he was the same guy I’d seen at Hammie’s a few weeks before. I wasn’t sure it was the right decision, but I didn’t want to scare her. And since I’d managed to lose the motherfucker before I could confront him both times, I was more or less flying blind, unable to do anything about what I’d seen. The only thing that reassured me was the near-certainty that if Andi’s stepfather was behind this, he seemed to be more invested in knowing her whereabouts than he was in hurting her.

  At least, so far.

  I myself was keeping closer tabs on Andi than she knew, as well. I’d convinced her it was a good idea for us to download an app that let me see her phone’s location 24-7, so I could make sure I knew exactly where she was at any given moment. But I doubt she suspected how often I checked it throughout the day. For example, today I knew she’d been at Seton’s baby shower for most of the afternoon, and that she’d gone straight home afterwards. That evening as I went about my business, I periodically checked my phone to make sure that she was in for the night and hadn’t gone anywhere. I’d even sent her a text every couple of hours to make sure everything was okay, and didn’t note anything unusual in her responses.

  Which is why it was a little surprising to find her face so pinched and drawn when I showed up at her place that night.

  “Hey
, hey, what’s wrong?” I asked in a soothing voice as I led her to the couch. “Did something happen?”

  Given my past experiences trying to get her to tell me things she was worried about, I thought I would have to work to drag whatever it was out of her. If it was one thing I was learning about Andi, it was that she didn’t like to reveal her feelings much.

  Which is why I was so surprised when she sat down and immediately started talking.

  “Cal, I’m really worried about something,” she said. Her voice was high and thin. “I don’t know, it might be nothing, but… I need to talk to someone about it.”

  I nodded. “Okay. Tell me.” I took both of her hands in mine, stroking them with my thumbs.

  Her laptop was sitting in front of us on the coffee table, and she pulled it onto her lap and woke up the screen. She seemed to hesitate. “I know this might seem like it’s nothing,” she said softly. “But I have a bad feeling about it.”

  Andi angled the screen toward me and pointed. “That’s my sister’s most recent Facebook status,” she explained. I bent down to read it:

  “Scared, don’t know what to do. Have you ever felt like everything you thought you knew was a lie?”

  I sat back up and stared at her. “You think this has anything to do with your stepdad?”

  “I don’t know.” Her tone was preoccupied. “I mean, it may be nothing. I don’t think she’d be in any immediate danger. After all, she’s his daughter. But then again, what do I know?” She shook her head in frustration. “And if she’s figured out any of the things that Anthony is involved in, after all these years of not knowing — I mean, if she really had no idea until now — she might be really upset. Like, upset enough to do something drastic. And I know Anthony well enough that he’ll do whatever it takes to save his own skin. He’s more than capable of locking her up if he thinks she’s going to go to the police or something.”

  I looked at her. “Do you really think she’d do something like that?”

  “I have no idea!” She peered worriedly at the screen. “I haven’t seen Alyssa since she was seven. She’s fourteen now, old enough to notice things.” She looked at me. “If she’s finally put two and two together, she might have gone to our mom about it. And if I know my mom, she’ll tell her to drop it,” she said bitterly. “Aly might be feeling really alone. And confused.” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “I just which I knew what was going on. I wish I knew how to help her.”

  I lifted my hand to Andi’s cheek and raised her face to mine. “We’ll figure something out,” I told her gently. “It’s gonna be okay.”

  “But… what can we do?” she asked, her eyes pleading with me as she spoke.

  I thought for a moment. Then the seeds of an idea began to form in my head.

  “There’s an MC up in Denver,” I said. “It’s called The Throttle. One of Grey’s cousins, name of Ryker Stone, is the VP of the club. I wouldn’t be surprised if Grey’d be willing to ask them to do some recon for us. Do some surveillance on your sister and mom, keep an eye on their comings and goings for a few days. Maybe even get some idea of what kind of business your stepdad is up to. Might give us a better idea whether this is worth worrying about,” I said, waving my hand at the laptop screen.

  Andi sat for a moment, considering, then frowned. “But… won’t it look funny if you go to Grey and ask him for a favor for me? I mean… I’m not connected to the club, after all. There’s no reason for them to help me.”

  “The club’s a family,” I said firmly. “You’re connected to me. And to Seton.”

  I wasn’t being a hundred percent honest with her. It was true that Grey would be puzzled if I asked for this. He’d probably want to know why I wanted to get the club involved in Andi’s business. But I couldn’t think about that now. I’d worry about how to explain that when I talked to Grey. He was a good guy. I was pretty sure he’d come around.

  Andi was looking dubious. “But… if you asked Grey to do this, won’t Seton have to know?”

  “About what?” I asked. “That you’re worried about your sister?”

  “Well, no,” Andi said trailing off. “About… this. About you, staying here. And why.”

  I took a moment to consider what she was saying. “Not necessarily,” I said finally. “The MC generally tries to keep club business away from old ladies. And with Seton pregnant, Grey’s been pretty damn protective of her. That alone might be enough for him to keep her out of the loop.”

  We talked about it some more, with me trying my best to convince her it was the best path forward. Finally, she agreed.

  Andi sighed. “I wish we didn’t have to do this.”

  “I know,” I nodded. “But if you want answers about your sister, we may not have much choice. And it might end up giving you some idea what’s been going on with whoever’s been playing games with you.”

  It wasn’t easy having the conversation with Grey. Not that he even hesitated about enlisting his cousin’s club to help figure out whether Andi’s sister and mom were in some kind of danger. But he wasn’t going to do it without answers, and I was short on the ones I wanted to give him.

  “Andi’s pretty concerned that there’s something up with her sister in Denver,” I was explaining. “Her stepfather, Anthony Conley, is apparently involved in some shady shit up there, though Andi’s not sure what. Drug running, maybe, or weapons. Andi left home as soon as she could, so she never figured out exactly what his game was.”

  “And she figured this out how?” Grey asked skeptically. “Facebook?”

  “Yeah. I know it sounds strange,” I admitted. “She saw a status from her sister that made her start to worry.”

  “So, why doesn’t she just call her sister and ask what’s wrong?”

  I hesitated. “Uh, Andi’s not in contact with any of the family. For personal reasons involving the stepfather.” I frowned, then continued carefully. “And there’s more. Andi’s had some recent scares with a person or persons stalking her anonymously and leaving clear signs of their presence in places that she won’t fail to notice. Even going as far as breaking into her apartment. She thinks — and I believe her — that it might be her stepfather, having someone keep track of her comings and goings, and making sure she knows she’s being watched.”

  “What the fuck?” Grey exclaimed. “Andi? Why the hell would anyone be following her?”

  “Like I said,” I repeated. “Her stepfather is apparently involved in some shady shit. And…” I stopped. There was almost no way I could go further without revealing things about Andi’s past that I knew she wouldn’t want anyone else to know. “Look, let’s just say that he’s told her in the past that he was never going to let her disappear from his sight. Andi’s pretty convinced that these calling cards he’s been leaving her are messages, to remind her he can still see her.”

  “She have any idea why he might be doing this?” Grey asked, his voice tight.

  “She’s not sure. But whoever it is has been limiting himself to just scaring her, so far. If he’d been planning to try to nab her, he could have done that right away. Like I said, he’s been in her apartment.”

  “Jesus,” Grey swore. “And she’s been dealing with this all alone, without any goddamn protection?”

  “I’ve been protecting her,” I replied simply.

  He blinked once. “You’ve been protecting her,” he repeated. “Since when?”

  “A few weeks. I’ve been staying at her apartment nights. Keeping tabs on her during the day.”

  For a few moments, Grey said nothing. The muscles in his jaw worked as a range of emotions I couldn’t quite read passed across his face. Finally, he spoke:

  “Why did you keep this from the club?” His voice was low and cold.

  “I haven’t kept it from the club, Grey. I’m bringing it to you now.”

  “You don’t think spending your spare time playing bodyguard is something I should have known about before now?” His eyes challenged me.

  �
��There wasn’t any other choice, Grey.” I looked him in the eye. “Remember when she came over to your place to ask you for help changing out a lock? When Seton told me about it, I offered to help Andi check her doors and windows to make sure they were secure. She ended up confiding in me. There wasn’t one particular point where this seemed like something that should be club business. Until now. She needs help. She’s See’s friend, and my… and she’s my friend too. So I’m asking.”

  “Fuck,” he spat. “Of course the club will help. That was never the question. But brothers don’t keep business like this from each other, Cal. You get involved with something dangerous, you tell the MC. Simple as that.”

  I nodded. “I get you, Grey. But up until now, this was Andi’s secret to keep.” Straightening, I continued. “In the future, I’ll make sure to let you know about anything that might affect the club. But I won’t apologize for keeping what she tells me in confidence. And I won’t apologize for trying to keep her safe.”

  Grey’s expression changed then. He cocked his head, as though he’d just figured something out.

  “There something going on between the two of you?” he asked.

  “Maybe,” I replied. “Not that it makes any difference to the issue at hand.”

  “Does Seton know about any of this?”

  “No.” My jaw tensed. “And I don’t think she needs to. She’d flip her shit if she knew Andi was in any kind of danger.”

  I was counting on him wanting to protect his pregnant wife from unneeded stress, and I wasn’t disappointed.

  “Yeah,” he grunted. “True.”

  “I’ll give Ryker a call today, fill him in on what’s up,” Grey replied. “You get me the address of the house, and all the info you can on the stepdad, the mom, and the sister from Andi.”

  “Will do.” I agreed. “That it?”

  “Yeah, I think that’s it for now. I’m gonna call church for tomorrow to get the club informed. Let them know about this situation in case anything changes and we need to take action. Also get an update on the heroin problem.”