by Sarah Peis
The bruises on his face had faded, but he’d be sporting another shiner soon.
Another officer joined us, and they led him away to ask him some questions.
Blade walked up to us, his face thunderous. “He the one?”
“Sure seems that way,” Sebastian said, glaring at Bullet.
“Grim, get all his stuff out of his room. Don’t care what you do with it as long as it’s gone. Make sure everyone knows he’s not allowed back here and he’s lost his patch.”
Grim gave me a half-smile, then saluted Blade and walked off in the direction of the stairs.
Sebastian and Blade were talking in hushed voices, and I decided to leave them to it and find Malena. She was sitting on a barstool, Talon keeping her company.
“Let’s go home,” I said and took her hand. “We can snuggle with our babies and forget how crazy our lives are just for a few hours.”
The guys all hugged me when I walked past, making my heart burst with joy at the obvious affection they felt for me.
“I’m glad you’re okay,” Grim said when it was his turn to hug me.
“Not as much as I am,” I replied and kissed his cheek before untangling myself.
Sebastian joined as we reached the exit. “Let’s get out of here,” he said, slinging his arm around my shoulders.
He drove us back in his truck that was parked at the compound, and since he refused to leave me, he crashed on the couch at Malena’s parents’ place.
Good thing they were the most easygoing parents I knew and would be fine with him staying there. Especially once we told them what had happened. That would be an interesting conversation. But for now, I snuggled up with my kids, who were sleeping on a mattress on the floor in Felix’s room. Malena crashed in her son’s bed, and we fell asleep amid the snoring and sleep-talking.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
“Don’t ever let me see you do that again,” I ground out, kneeling in front of Luca, who was holding the bucket he’d just used to dump water all over his sister.
“Okay, then close your eyes,” Luca responded with a shrug. “I told her not to take my shovel again.”
Lena was wailing next to us, her face taking on a deep shade of red. Not satisfied with my attempt to get justice on her behalf, she walked up to Luca and pushed him, causing him to start crying as well.
“What’s going on?” Sebastian asked, joining us in the backyard.
“Just a little disagreement,” I said, holding Luca on one side, Lena on the other.
Sebastian held out his arms for Lena, and she abandoned me for her favorite person.
“Watch out, she’s wet,” I called out when she threw her little body at him.
He caught her, holding her close. “A little water never hurt anyone.”
It was almost a week after the psycho stalker incident, and it seemed Sebastian had moved in with us. He slept in my bed, his clothes were in my closet, and his dirty socks were getting comfortable on my bedroom floor.
“You got time to head to the compound before your shift tonight?” he asked, holding a now quiet Lena.
Luca had stopped wailing as soon as he saw Sebastian, not wanting to cry in front of his hero.
“I’ll ask Stella if she can come over earlier,” I said, hoping he’d take his shirt off now that it was wet.
“Great, it shouldn’t take long,” he said, carrying Lena inside.
“That wasn’t cryptic at all,” I muttered to myself and followed him, holding Luca’s hand.
After taking my daughter off Sebastian, I changed her into clean clothes and then called Stella.
“Hey, Stella, any chance you can get here an hour earlier tonight?” I asked when the phone connected.
“I can probably do that.”
“You’re the best. See you soon.”
“See you soon.”
We hung up and Sebastian came back, kissing me lightly on the lips. He was now wearing a different shirt, and I regretted missing the show.
“All good?” he asked, hugging me close.
I wound my arms around him and rested my cheek on his chest. “She’s coming earlier. Now, are you going to tell me what we’re doing?”
“It’s a surprise,” he said, making me curious.
“Will you be wearing clothes for this surprise?” I asked, looking up at him.
He chuckled, and his eyes lit up in amusement. “I will. But if you ask nicely, I’ll see what I can do tonight.”
I pursed my lips, pretending to contemplate his offer. He leaned down, whispering kisses along my jawline and then lips.
“I think that’s an acceptable offer,” I said right before his lips fused themselves to mine. The kids were just in the next room, and I didn’t want to chance them walking in on me humping Sebastian’s leg, something I was close to doing, so I pulled back sooner than I wanted to.
“I’m glad,” he said, his eyes crinkled at the corner. “Now why don’t you go relax while the kids are playing by themselves and I’ll start dinner?”
“Your foreplay game is strong,” I said, swooning at the thought of not having to cook. It was one of my favorite things to do, but when you were always short on time and money, it wasn’t as much fun anymore.
“I’m not even close to running out of moves yet,” he said, then winked at me before I left the kitchen.
I checked on the kids, who were still playing in Luca’s room, taking the bedding off and building a fort.
I left them to it and caught up on emails in the living room. The house was small enough that I could hear them from anywhere.
We had dinner together, and the kids even tried a bite of the steak Sebastian cooked. There was also pasta and Bolognese sauce on the table since he already knew my kids’ eating habits well.
Stella came over just as I was getting the little hellions out of the bathtub. Sebastian was cleaning the kitchen, and I wasn’t swooning anymore, I was close to throwing myself at him. Guess he was making good on his promise to do the dishes.
“You look happy,” Stella said, helping out as soon as she walked through the door by wrapping a towel around Lena.
I handed Luca his towel, and we walked the kids to their bedroom.
“That’s because I am,” I said, pulling Lena’s pajamas out of her closet.
“No, wear flowers,” she cried when she saw the purple unicorn pajamas I’d chosen.
“Sötnos, the flower pajamas are dirty,” I said, cursing myself for not doing a load of washing earlier today.
“I wish I had pretty unicorn pajamas like you,” Stella said, taking the pants and putting her arm through one leg. “They even fit me, don’t you think? Can I borrow them tonight?”
Lena giggled and pulled the pants off her arm. “They’re mines.”
“Of course they are. Want to show me how you put them on? I think I did it wrong.”
Lena nodded, looking serious. She pulled her pants up, putting both legs in one hole. Stella tickled her and fixed her legs when she was distracted. It didn’t take us long after that to get both kids dressed and sitting on the couch, ready for their stories.
I couldn’t read to them tonight because of our detour, but I knew they were in good hands with Stella, even if she was a pushover and would read about twenty books before she made them go to bed.
“Love you guys,” I said, kissing both kids and then Stella on their cheeks.
Sebastian took my hand and waved at them. “See you guys later.”
The clubhouse was busy with a long row of bikes parked in front of the building, music and voices drifting outside.
Sebastian helped me off the bike, then took my hand to walk inside. The guys greeted us with hugs for me and back slaps for him.
But Sebastian had a destination in mind and kept walking. He led us to the office, the door already open. Blade was sitting behind his huge wooden desk that dominated the room. Grim and a guy I didn’t know by name but had seen around were standing in front of it.
They
all looked at us when we entered, and Sebastian closed the door behind him, shutting out the noise.
Now this wasn’t what I expected. But judging by the relaxed vibe in the room—except for Blade, who was forever frowning—it wasn’t anything serious.
Sebastian nodded to the guys, and I smiled and waved at them.
“Sweetheart, good to see you,” Grim said.
“You too,” I responded and stood next to Sebastian, facing Blade. “So what’s this about?”
“We have a proposal for you,” Blade began, and I put my hand up, stopping him from saying anything else.
“Before you continue, let’s make sure this is nothing illegal or involves orgies. Both are hard passes for me.”
Blade’s mouth twitched, and my focus narrowed on his lips.
Is it just a tic or did he almost smile?
“You’re safe. It’s neither of those. It’s a job,” Blade said, having regained his emotionless expression.
“A job? What kind of job? I should mention at this stage that organ donation is also out of the question.”
Sebastian chuckled next to me and squeezed my hand. “Don’t worry, I wouldn’t let anyone get near you.”
“We want you to be our office manager. We have a few businesses, and the paperwork is getting out of hand. I used to do it all myself, but since the strip club took off, I’m always behind,” Blade said, watching me take in his words.
“But I already have a job. Two, to be exact. And one of those is at one of your businesses,” I said, looking at Sebastian.
“We’d pay you enough that you can ditch your other two jobs. And you’ll be added to our health care plan after four weeks of probation,” Blade explained.
The mention of health care nearly made me want to hug him. But I wanted to make sure they were doing this for the right reason and wouldn’t regret their decision. “Why me? I have no experience as an office manager.”
Blade waved me off. “You have experience as a personal assistant and are incredibly well organized. We know everyone at Pepper’s loves you, and you always show up for your shift, even if you’re occasionally late.”
That was a nice way of putting that I wasn’t on time very often. “Is this because I’m going out with Sebastian?” I asked, questioning their motives. The job sounded like a dream come true. Regular hours. Health insurance.
Be still, my beating heart. We don’t have the job quite yet.
Sebastian tugged on my hand, and I turned to him.
“I understand if you don’t want to take the job because it’s not the work you want to do. But don’t refuse it because you think it’s a pity offer. Blade doesn’t employ people out of the goodness of his heart,” he said. “And if you want to study while working, you can.”
Well, he was right about Blade not giving handouts. It was the only reason why I didn’t flat-out refuse to take the job. But I also didn’t want to take advantage of my relationship with Sebastian. I never wanted him to think I was using him.
I turned my attention back to Blade. “So you’re definitely not offering me the job because of Sebastian?”
“You’re a smart girl. You already know the answer to that question. Ace heard I was looking for someone to help out and suggested you. Now stop letting your misguided pride lead you down the wrong path. I know you can do the job, and you know you can do the job. And you can take the kids to the office. Nobody will mind having them there,” he said.
I knew he had a point, but I had to make sure this wouldn’t change my relationship with Sebastian. Working for the club meant I would be around a lot.
I turned to him and asked, “Do you want me to take the job?”
“Whenever we stand outside Pepper’s, the look on your face breaks my heart,” he said, looking pained just thinking about it. “If I can stop you from doing something that sends you close to a nervous breakdown every time you have to do it, I will. So yes, I want you to take the job.”
I bit my lip, thinking this was a fantastic offer. And this man just kept getting better and better.
“Okay, I’ll take it,” I said. The offer was good. Better than good, it was great and would mean my life changing for the better.
“Great. You start in two weeks,” Blade said, handing me a stack of papers. “That’s the contract. Read it, then sign it and get it back to me. We can negotiate the salary.”
Wow, guess I’m really doing this.
“Okay, thanks, Blade,” I said, clutching the papers against my chest.
“Now get out. I have work to do. If you have any questions, ask Sebastian.”
We all filed out, and Grim patted my back. “Good to have you on board. You’ll love it here. Blade’s a great boss.”
I found that hard to believe but didn’t say anything. They all seemed to think highly of him and maybe with time I would come to like him too. Maybe.
We didn’t stay; instead, Sebastian got us back on the road and pulled up in front of Pepper’s a few minutes later.
I froze in front of the door. Despite feeling more settled than I had in a year, I still had to go inside, and I still had to do my job. That hadn’t changed. I had two more weeks left before I could get out of there for good.
Sebastian stepped in front of me and cupped my cheek, tilting my chin up. “Hey, I’m here with you. I’ll be on the main floor the whole night. You’re safe. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
I nodded and dropped my forehead onto his chest, breathing him in. “I know. I’m sorry for still freaking out. I’ve survived this long. Two more weeks shouldn’t matter.”
He kissed my hair and held me tight. “Don’t ever apologize for the way you feel.”
After I counted to a hundred and ten, I was ready to go inside. Sebastian took my hand again, something that had become a beautiful habit I loved.
He walked me straight to Smitty’s office and knocked on the closed door, not waiting for an answer. Smitty’s head shot up and his eyes went wide when he saw us standing in the door.
“Ace, what are you doing here?” Smitty asked, his voice high. And by the looks of the white powder on his desk, that wasn’t the only thing that was high.
“Get out. You’re fired,” Sebastian said, his hands balled into fists.
“It’s… it’s not what it looks like,” Smitty stuttered, wiping the powder off his desk.
Sebastian stepped closer. “You know the rules. We don’t do warnings. Either you listen or you’re out. And you’re a stupid fuck who didn’t listen. Now you’re out.”
Smitty jumped up, his chair rolling backward. “That’s fucking bullshit. This place is nothing without me.”
“This place will be just fine without you. Now get your shit and go.”
Smitty opened his mouth to say something else, but Sebastian cut him off. “You don’t want to know what happens if you don’t get your ass out of here in the next five minutes.”
I stood by, watching the scene with wide eyes. I knew Sebastian could be scary, but I’d never seen him in action. And this was something else. His eyes were dark, his posture rigid, and his tone emotionless.
Smitty finally grew a brain and emptied his drawers. He stalked past us, sputtering curses, his face a red mask of fury. I really, really wanted to give him the finger on his way by.
Sebastian and I followed him out to the main floor and watched the girls stop what they were doing, staring at an enraged Smitty stomping past them.
“What are you looking at?” he yelled, spittle flying from his mouth.
When everyone realized what was happening, they started clapping, a few giving him the finger, others hollering. Guess he hadn’t made many friends during his time at the club.
Sebastian watched him shove through the door, then waved Kai over. “Make sure he leaves.”
Kai nodded and followed Smitty outside.
“Well, you don’t have to hand in your resignation anymore,” Sebastian said, pulling me into his side. “I’ll let the guys kn
ow.”
“You’re better off without him anyway,” I said, my hands around Sebastian’s waist. I couldn’t seem to stop touching him. A very annoying little tic I’d developed.
“I’m starting to think that too. Pity we didn’t notice sooner.”
I shrugged. “I guess you don’t talk to the girls much.”
Sebastian looked down at me, raising a brow. “Not really. The only one in here I’ve ever talked to about anything besides work is you.”
Now what did he go and do that for? We had five minutes before my shift started and his words only made me think of one thing I wanted to do right now. And it didn’t include waiting tables.
“I’ll walk you to the dressing room. Then I’ll have to make a few calls to clean up this mess.”
We stopped in front of the door and he kissed me, his lips lingering on mine in a gentle caress. “Find me if you need anything.”
I walked through the door in a daze, almost forgetting where I was. Until an avalanche of half-dressed bodies hit me.
“Are you okay?”
“Why are you back already?”
“Did they kill him?”
“Here, sit down.”
Elle untangled me from everyone else and pushed me down on a chair. “Give her some room, girls.”
Tia pushed her way through. “Fucking Clive. He was always a creep. You okay, honey?”
I nodded, smiling a wobbly smile at everyone. “I’m fine, just glad it’s finally over. Clive was denied bail, so he won’t be able to come after me again.”
“I hope he rots in hell,” Star said, her hands braced on her hips, a scowl on her face.
Tia leaned down and hugged me, pressing my face into her teased-out hair that was doused in hairspray. I coughed as soon as my nose made contact. “At least now you’re safe, honey.”
I pulled back and looked at the girls, deciding this was the best time to tell them about changing jobs. “I need to tell you something.”
“Oh. My. God. You’re pregnant,” Elle screeched, eyeing my belly.
“Are you getting married?” Tia asked at the same time, releasing me and jumping up and down, clapping her hands.
“Did you finally decide to change your conditioner?” Star asked, blinking at me.
