Center of Gravity (Marauders Book 3)

by Lina Andersson

  As he lay there, stroking the side of Sprout, he realized that in a way he was less worried because he knew Anna would stay close. But in another way he was even more worried because he had even more to lose now. He had everything to lose, and it was obvious that Hump was bat shit fucking crazy and didn’t care about who he killed anymore. He was so deranged he was prepared to do anything to get back at Mitch. If this thing he was doing now was meant to mess with Mitch’s head, he was succeeding, simply because Mitch was a lucky guy and had a lot of people around him that he cared about.

  A lot of women.

  He pulled Anna closer, and she sighed in her sleep and rubbed her nose on his chest. He was trying to decide what to tell her and what she needed to know. She needed to know more about the club, and most of all he had to somehow convince her that she needed to trust him so he’d be able to keep her and Sprout safe.

  He also had to convince her that he could go to Amsterdam and not bang hookers. He had a feeling that could be the really tricky part.

  Just before he drifted off to sleep, he made a mental note to thank Mac. He’d been right, saying ‘I love you’ had shut her up and given him the chance to say what he wanted to say, and she’d listened.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  No More Teasing

  -o0o-

  When I woke up, it took me a few moments to remember where I was, and then I smiled. But when I turned around, I realized I was alone in bed. That hadn’t been the plan. I wanted my massage and morning sex. With a sigh, I started the stretching and massaging and noticed the smell of bacon—and the low music. To my astonishment, it was Bob Dylan. I’d had no idea that Mitch liked him, and I probably never would’ve guessed that he did, either. He didn’t strike me as a guy who liked folk music in any shape or form.

  “Mornin’, sleepyhead,” he smiled when he came up the stairs and noticed I was awake. He lay down next to me and started kneading the back of my thigh. “Breakfast is done in about twenty minutes. You done with your stuff by then?”

  “Yeah.” I smiled when ‘Girl from the North Country,’ started. “I like this song. A lot of songs on this album are pretty crap, but the last song is my favorite Bob Dylan song.”

  “The last?” he asked, and I could see him thinking while he continued rolling my muscles between his hands. “So ‘Tonight I’ll Be Staying Here with You’ is your favorite Bob Dylan song?”

  “Yes.”

  “You think it’s better than ‘I Want You’?”

  “Are you really asking me, or are you giving me subtle messages with the help of song titles?”

  “Both,” he answered and gave me a kiss. “You okay enough to continue downstairs?”

  “Yes.” I took another kiss. “Thank you.”

  “Kinda missed this,” he said as he pulled me out of the bed. “Both the massaging and having you on my back. And naked in my bed, and on my cock, and—”

  “I get it,” I laughed. “You’ve missed me.” I got up on his back, and as he carried me downstairs I kissed his cheek. “I’ve missed it, too, and I’m sorry I was a coward.”

  “S’okay, I was kinda petrified, too.” His eyes got wide. “Shit! Don’t move!”

  “What?”

  “I think… I think I felt her.”

  “Against your back?”

  “Yeah,” he laughed. “Wonder how many guys can say that the first time they felt their baby it was against their back?”

  I pressed my belly more firmly against him, and we stood completely still in the middle of the kitchen. I felt Sprout kick as if she was protesting against the pressure, and Mitch laughed again. He moved me around to his front and put me down on the counter. His hands immediately went to hold my belly.

  “Are you big for being in week twenty?” he asked.

  “No. Think I’m actually kind of small, but it’s grown quite a lot the last few weeks, and Sprout’s the right size.”

  “I don’t remember what Mel looked like, and Vi’s so small everything looks big on her.”

  I laughed. “She looked big.” I put my hands over his and pressed them against me more firmly. “Maybe we should have that talk now?”

  “Yeah.” But it didn’t look like he wanted to talk about it at all. Then he started anyway, but kept his gaze firmly on Sprout. “A few years back, I caught a guy in the club skimming money from us. He left the club in bad standing, and…” he took a deep breath, as if he was about to jump of a cliff. “He’s back. We think—we’re pretty sure actually—that he’s the one who killed the woman working for us, and yesterday he killed a woman called Patricia. We found his hacker, a guy who’s been helping him, and I think Patricia was retaliation.”

  I stared at him, not sure how to ask him about the hacker they’d found, and how killing a woman had been retaliation… He looked at me, probably waiting. Or that was what I thought until he shook his head.

  “No, we didn’t kill that guy. He’s still very much alive. Fuck! I didn’t think about what that sounded like.”

  “But you could’ve killed him?”

  “We would have, if he’d actually been a problem or if…”

  “I understand.”

  I actually didn’t understand, but I was going to leave it for now. I wasn’t sure I could deal with it yet, and instead thought about what he’d said about the guy—Hump.

  I knew the internet wasn’t the best source of information, but I had still done some searches on biker clubs, so I had an idea of what ‘bad standing’ meant, but I asked him anyway.

  “Bad standing means he’s thrown out of the club, he doesn’t have any contact with any of you again?”

  “Yeah. He’s dead to us.”

  “But that girl, Laura, that was months ago. What has he… I mean, where is he?”

  “We don’t know. I can’t find him.”

  It sounded as if the fact that he couldn’t find him was a big thing, and that it meant something. That wasn’t what I thought was the important part at that moment, but I was going to get back to it. It was probably firmly linked to what his part in the club was. At the moment I wanted to keep the conversation on Hump, though, since that seemed to be a lot more important to me personally.

  “What is he waiting for?”

  “I honestly don’t know, Anna, but I’m worried.” He looked up from Sprout and met my eyes. “I’m leaving next week, I’ve told you that, and I don’t want you to be alone. Can you please go and stay with Mel? If you stay there, both Bucket and Wrench will be at the same place to protect all of you.”

  “The same place?”

  “If you’re not there, I’d ask Dad to split them up, so Wrench came and stayed with you.”

  “You’d have me stay with Wrench if I don’t go to Mel’s?”

  “Yes. I’m not gonna leave you unguarded. That’s just not going to happen. I’d prefer to not go at all, but I have to.” He leaned his forehead to mine. “I just scared you again, didn’t I?”

  “Yes,” I admitted. “You did.”

  “It’s probably gonna happen again.”

  “I know,” I mumbled. “Maybe I should ask Irina to stay with Steve? I’m just not sure how to tell her. Or what to tell her.”

  “Baby, I’ve been trying to figure out how we’re going to make this work, about me and the club, and what I do in the club. Some of the guys tell their old ladies everything, others nothing.” He sighed. “I guess I’m trying to decide what I should do.”

  “I’m your old lady?” I laughed.

  “No,” he smiled. “Not yet, but we should probably still decide how to do this. If this had been a normal relationship it wouldn’t matter yet. We’d take it slow and I’d know how to deal with it, but with Hump around and Sprout in the mix…”

  “… We need to speed things up,” I continued. “How about you tell me what I need to know, or whatever you feel comfortable to talk about? I’m scared, I really am, and I know I’m going to have a problem with some of this, but I’m also not stupid. I know you�
�re not just guys who like bikes. I grew up in this town, you know.”

  “Okay.” He gave me a kiss. “Just don’t get pissed when I come home in a shitty mood and don’t tell you why.”

  I nodded. “Maybe not scare me more today?”

  “Promise.”

  “What’s going on with the breakfast?” I asked, because it felt like I needed to sort things out in my own head for a while. I needed to digest this, and then I’d get back to it.

  “It’s almost done. Just some eggs missing.” He left me on the counter, and I continued with my exercises.

  “What do you do in the club? Can you tell me that?”

  “I’m sort of intel and finance. Or, I help the two guys in charge of that. I’m good with numbers.”

  “How good?”

  “Really good,” he laughed. “I don’t forget numbers and I understand them.”

  “I’m gonna test that, you know.”

  “Feel free,” he smiled and cracked an egg into the frying pan. “My turn to ask, because I can’t let it go. Are you seriously going to argue that ‘Tonight I’ll Be Staying Here with You’ is the best Bob Dylan song?”

  “Absolutely.”

  “Sorry, Gimp, that might be your opinion, but it’s not the right one.”

  But he picked up the remote control and pressed it, and as soon it started I closed my eyes. I really did love that song. I felt his hands on my thighs and when I looked at him, he was smiling.

  “It’s a good song, just not his best.” He leaned forward and gave me a kiss. “Ready for breakfast?”

  “Yes. I’m a bit disappointed, though.”

  “Yeah? Why?”

  “I was looking forward to waking up with you and getting some morning sex.”

  “Don’t move. I’ll put on my favorite Bob Dylan song, and then I’ll fuck you here on the countertop. How does that sound?”

  “What about breakfast?”

  He pulled the pan off the stove.

  “I’ll make it a quickie, and then we’ll eat before we continue up to the bedroom.”

  “That sounds perfect.”

  He disappeared and then I heard the first notes of ‘All Along the Watchtower.’ Mitch didn’t say anything when he came back. He simply ran his hands along my thighs while he kissed me.

  It was a good song.

  -o0o-

  In some ways, being in a relationship with Mitch wasn’t that much different to the time before we started having sex again; he was pretty much the same guy as he’d always been. We talked the way we had before, and he was still fun to be around, despite obviously being really worried about that guy—Hump.

  In other ways, it was unlike anything we’d ever been before. He talked about the club a lot more. I understood that there were things he wasn’t telling me, but he seemed relieved that he could talk to me. It was a nice feeling to be there for him as much as he’d been there for me in the past.

  He did tell me more about Hump, too, and what had been going on. I didn’t understand much of the hacking stuff, but he said it was just another way to mess with his head and keep him on edge.

  What I did understand was that it was a very real risk for me, and how much of a risk had been made clear when the second woman had been murdered. They were keeping tabs on all the women at all times, and from what I understood, most of the women would be staying with Mel while the guys were away, and they’d asked for help from the Nomads, too. Which led me to asking what the Nomads were. I was getting a crash course in biker life, and while it scared me, it also to some degree made me calmer. I wouldn’t be left alone.

  Two days after we’d gotten back together, he asked me if I wanted to tag along to his dad’s for dinner. I’d thought it would be just his family and us two, but there were a lot of people there from the club and also two of Eliza’s friends. It was a total of sixteen people, but Mel didn’t seem to care at all. Brick obviously loved it, and he seemed genuinely glad to see me there with them. I once again stuck to Violet—she really had the technique down of getting away down.

  “I hope it’s okay that I’m following you to the quiet corners,” I said.

  “Sure,” she smiled. “Just thought I’d get Joshua away from the noise while I feed him.”

  “Is it always like this?” I asked and gestured in the general direction of the kitchen.

  “Not always, but pretty often. Edie can’t really cook, so they often bring their kids here to eat. Mace and Sisco are single and want a home-cooked meal now and then. Mac and Mitch grew up with this, so they like it.” She shrugged. “So they all tend to show up here a few times a week to eat. Also, if they don’t show in a week, Brick gets pissed. He likes to have them around. He bought that massive dinner table for a reason.”

  “It is massive.”

  “Think about it this way, it’s easier when there’s a lot of people than if it’s just five or six. That’s when they’re really trying to force you into conversations.”

  I nodded. It was easy to just sit quietly and listen to the others talking, and it was also quite fun. “I hadn’t thought about it that way, but you’re right.”

  Violet looked at my cane, and when she noticed me noticing, she blushed.

  “I just…” she started.

  “It’s okay,” I shrugged.

  “No, I like the flowers on it, and sometimes when I see things, I start drawing in my head,” she explained. “It’s really beautiful.”

  I looked at the flowers, and then at her. “Like a tattoo?”

  “Anything could be a tattoo. You want more?”

  “Maybe. I’m quite fond of these flowers.”

  She gave me a big, honest smile. “Let me know if you do.”

  “I thought you weren’t working. That you’re at home with your little man,” I said and pointed at Joshua.

  “Yeah, but I like doing one now and then. I’m trying to get one of the guys to agree to some ink when they get back from Amsterdam. Mac is trying to save some space for later ideas.”

  “He’s getting pretty covered.”

  “I’ll draw up a few suggestions for you, and then you can let me know what you think.”

  We stayed there for a while, and I wasn’t sure how it happened, but I somehow ended up with Joshua in my lap, and I felt really pleased when I managed to get him to fall asleep.

  “Look at you,” Mitch said with a smile when he found us.

  “He fell asleep. Not sure I need you. This seems pretty easy.”

  “I’m gonna remind you about that comment, Gimp,” he chuckled and leaned down to give me a kiss. “Ready to head home?”

  “Yes.” I gave Joshua a little kiss and handed him back to Violet. “My place or your place?”

  It was meant as a joke, but he took me to my place. While we were in the car, I massaged my leg a little. It had gotten pretty stiff while I was sitting with Joshua in my lap. Probably because I had been terrified I would drop him the entire time.

  “Is it getting worse?” Mitch asked when he noticed what I was doing.

  “A little. It’s not too bad, though.”

  “What did they say about that?”

  “It might get really bad.” I took his hand. “You might have to carry me around all the time.”

  “Not that I’d mind, but is that true?”

  It was worse than it had been, but it was easier to handle the extra pain, since they’d said it was unlikely that it would be permanent. Part of the problem was of course also that I weighed more now than I used to, but hopefully I’d be able to lose most of the extra weight quickly once Sprout was born. At the same time, the pain had a purpose again, so I wasn’t as bothered by it.

  “Not the carrying around, but it might get pretty bad. I’ll be fine, though.”

  “Sure you will, Gimp, and I’ll carry you around if that’s what it takes.”

  -o0o-

  I woke up the next morning when Mitch started massaging my leg. I tried to pull him in for a kiss, but he wouldn’
t let me.

  “Nah, nah, Gimp. I’m gonna make damn sure you do this every morning and night from now on, just to make sure.”

  “So no more sex?”

  “Sure, I’ll fuck you silly, too, but not until after we’ve done this.”

  One thing I had noticed was that since that first night back together, neither of us had uttered those three little words again. I had a feeling that the reason he hadn’t said them again was the same reason I hadn’t—it seemed too soon. It wasn’t that I didn’t love him, but everything was so damn rushed as it was, and I wanted to keep something I could save for a while.

  “I’m working late today, think you can pick me up?” I asked.

  He’d said he didn’t want me to go by bus or just generally wander around alone.

  “Yup, give me a call.” He was still kneading my leg, and leaned over to kiss my belly. “And I’m taking your toy box with me today.”

  “What if I don’t tell you where it is?”

  “I’m a pretty sharp guy, Gimp. I think I’ll be able to find it.”

  He was. That was another thing I’d realized when we started to truly talk about things—he was wicked smart. Not that I’d ever thought he was stupid, but when he went on about computer stuff, numbers, finances, and such, I realized that he was really damn sharp, and that when his dad called him ‘genius’ it wasn’t just a thing he said. I’d asked Mitch about it, but he just shrugged, and when I asked him if he’d ever done an IQ test, he gave me a long speech about why those were so fucking ridiculous and didn’t say anything about a person. It made me wonder if he’d had one and had been disappointed, or if it really was what he thought. I was leaning towards the latter.

  So finding my toy box wouldn’t be that hard for him.

  I finished and went into the shower. When I got back out to the kitchen for breakfast, I was surprised to find Irina there. She hadn’t been home when we’d arrived the night before. At least I hoped she hadn’t. What really shocked me was the discussion the two of them were having.

  “You can come by and have a look. There’s no hurry.” Mitch smiled when he saw me. “At least I don’t think there is—we’re not gonna move in together yet, are we?”