“Okay, well could you get Dani to keep her there?” I don’t want her at home, even if Louie stays there with her. At least at Dani and Blaze’s house, I know Louie and Blaze can protect them both better.
“Well, I could ask her, but you know Dani. She’s gonna ask more questions than your girl would.” Ugh, why does this have to be so fucking difficult?
“All right, just make sure Louie stays sharp. Everyone else is busy doing shit so it’s just gonna be him.” I know if it comes down to it, Louie will protect Sara with his life. I just hope it doesn’t come down to that.
“She’ll be fine. Just do what you gotta do and get back to her. I’ll let you know when they leave and Louie will keep you updated on his end. Be safe,” He says before he hangs up.
Making my way back towards Mack, I relay my conversation with Blaze. “The girls are safe, so let’s get to work on our end,” he says, then I follow him into the club to help question people.
Two and a half hours later, we have no information. No one even noticed Rick coming inside here, and none of the cameras were live so we can’t even look to see what he was doing here. Shit, maybe it wasn’t even him in the first place, or it could have been a ploy to get us away from Sara. If that’s the case, I know she’s safe with Blaze and Louie.
Lyle checked in about an hour ago, telling us that the club is clear and he’ll stand guard at the door for the rest of the night. He has the prospect sweeping the inside to make sure nothing is missed. If that fucker tries to enter our club, we’ll have him.
Tom Tom hasn’t been able to reach his guy that was supposed to be here, so we’ve decided to put word out that we’re looking for him too. As soon as we find him, we’ll question his loyalty and know why the fuck he wasn’t where he said he was. It’s because of him that we may have lost our opportunity to grab Rick, if he was here.
With nothing else to do here, we decide to head back home.
Blaze messaged me about a half hour ago, saying that Sara was still at his house, which surprised me, but makes me feel a lot better. Sitting on my bike, I pull out my phone to send a group message to Blaze and Louie before we hit the road.
Me: On my way. Should be there in 30.
Once on the road, I take the time to think about what I should say to Sara if she asks if we have anything on her ex yet. I want to keep her informed as much as I can so she knows the danger is real and to watch her back, even though we have someone with her at all times. I don’t want to give her too much to frighten her, but I can’t not tell her anything because I promised her if we had anything, I’d tell her. Then I think, technically, we don’t have anything, so maybe it would be all right to not say anything?
I also think about what I should do to get her to forgive me for how I acted. I knew it wasn’t going to be as simple as just telling her I was sorry, but I didn’t think she’d still be this distant, or say that she needs more time to think about everything. I just don’t get it. She knows I love her and that I was just worried that something had happened to her. Why is she still mad at me?
When I’m about five minutes from town, it finally dawns on me. Everything that she lived through with her ex has shaped her into the woman I love today, but it has also shown her what she doesn’t want in her life.
I came across as angry, and even though she knows I would never hurt her, I’ve made her doubt me. How could I be so fucking stupid and blind? I was so quick with my anger, and though I wasn’t meaning to direct it at her, but at what she did, that’s not how she saw it.
If that is what’s going on in her head, I have a lot to make up for. I don’t care if it takes me years to prove that I’m the right man for her, I’ll do whatever I need to do to make her see that I would never hurt her.
Pulling up outside of Blaze and Dani’s house, I cut the engine on my bike and hurry up the walk. I need Sara in my arms, if only to reassure myself that she’s here and that she’s all right.
As soon as I get up the stairs, Blaze and Louie are already there with the door open, waiting for me. “So?” Louie asks.
“Nothing new. Mack is calling in some favors, asking people to keep an eye out for him. I don’t particularly like it, but we need more ears to the ground and people watching out for him. He’s also going to tell some of our sister chapters about what’s going on, see if any of them can spare some men to come help us out. Hopefully with the extra eyes and man power we can find him again so we can grab him,” I say the last part through gritted teeth. I just want the fucker found and taken care of so Sara doesn’t have to worry about him anymore.
“We also have eyes out for the guy Tom Tom called in. Since he wasn’t there and obviously didn’t hold Rick for us, we want to know what the fuck happened. Not sure if he was compromised, or if he was taken out, but we want to bring him in to figure it out. If he’s a problem, we’ll have to deal with him too. Tom Tom isn’t too happy right now.” That’s actually an understatement, but they know him as well as I do. You don’t bail when someone cashes in a favor.
They both nod their heads, understanding what I’m talking about. “So what’s the plan? What do you need from us?” This comes from Louie.
“Well, I’m not sure if you’re scheduled every day, but I need you to be there, regardless if you’re working or not. I want you in the shop and close to Sara at all times. If Dani is there, you’ll stick close to both of them. I don’t see Rick targeting Dani alone, so until we decide differently, your main goal is Sara. I also want you close after hours if that’s at all possible. I’ll be staying inside the apartment with her, but may not be a bad idea for you to be inside as well, or at least in the shop or outside. We’ll rotate people to help you, but I want you close to her at all times until we finish this.” He nods is approval, so I move to look at Blaze.
“Like I said, I don’t think Dani is a target, but I want to be safe, so keep her close and make sure she’s carrying. When she’s with Sara, I want at least four men on them at all times. When they’re not together, Blaze, I think just you being with Dani is enough for now. Our main concern is Sara. We need to make sure she’s covered.” Blaze doesn’t look too happy, but he agrees.
“I also want to get Sara trained on using a gun. Maybe we can bring it up around Dani and they can go together. Dani can give her a run down. Other than that, let’s just keep our eyes open and be ready. If you see the fucker around but he’s not making a move, let’s get a tail on him until we come up with the best plan of action to remove the threat. But if he makes a move, do whatever it takes to take him out before he gets close to either of the girls. You got me?” I look them both in the eye and see a mutual understanding. I know they won’t let me down.
With all of that out of the way, I ask, “What are the girls doing now?” This questions has Blaze smirking and Louie fidgeting.
Blaze is the one who answers. “They’re still upstairs looking at all the baby shit Dani made me buy and talking about planning a baby shower, or some shit. I don’t fucking get it, man. She’s barely a few months along and we don’t even know if it’s a boy or girl, yet she has me buying everything under the fucking sun for the kid. If she keeps this up, I’m gonna have to take up another job to pay for all this shit.” He’s still smiling, so I know he’s not really pissed off, just a bit irritated.
I laugh with him and smack him on the back as we head inside. “When’s the big day to find out what you’re having?” I ask, knowing he’s excited to prove us all wrong that it’s a boy. We all think it’s a girl, mainly because we think it would be funny as shit to see him carrying around pink shit. I can’t even imagine how protective he’ll be if it’s a girl. Heaven help her, that’s all I can say. One overprotective caveman for a father and big, scary bikers for uncles.
“We can find out in about a month, I think. Dani’s been playing with me, saying she doesn’t want to find out the sex until she delivers, but fuck that shit. I need time to prepare.” Walking into the house, I can hear the girls laughing up
stairs and it’s music to my ears.
My girl. She deserves the sun and moon on a fucking platter. I would do anything, buy her anything her heart desired, if it meant she’d be happy and I could hear her laugh like this all the fucking time.
We walk quietly up the stairs, hoping to catch the girls in a rare moment we hardly get to see, when they’re carefree and not worried about anything.
At the top of the stairs, I hear Dani say to Sara, “Do you want kids?” I’m shocked by the question, but I find myself eagerly awaiting her answer. I’ve never really thought about having kids, but with Sara, I would have a hundred if that’s what she wanted. I don’t know if I’ll be a good father, but for her and our babies, I’d die trying.
“Oh God, I have no idea. I used to think so, but now I’m not really sure.”
“Well, I think you would make a great mother, and Toby would be an amazing father,” Dani says quietly, but with certainty.
Sara laughs. “And who says if I have children that it would be with Toby?” My whole body goes stiff and I can feel my temper flare with her words. I’m not angry at her, I’m angry at the idea of her being with anyone besides me and that she doubts me so much that she would even consider that we won’t be together to have kids when the time comes. Never fucking happening.
I take a step to interrupt them, but Dani speaks again before I make it to the door. “Oh, come on. I’ve seen you two together. You may be fighting or whatever now, but you and Toby… you two look to me like that forever kind of love.” As much as I want to hear how Sara will reply, I’m also scared to know, so I knock on the door to make my presence known.
“Hey, Doll. You ready to head home?” Sara looks up at me and blushes, but I’m not sure if it’s from embarrassment or lust.
They’re both sitting on the floor in front of a bare crib. Sara stands, then helps Dani up after her. “Yeah, I didn’t realize it was so late,” she says as she looks at her watch.
When she walks by me to head out the door, I grab hold of her hand and lace my fingers with hers before leaning down and kissing her head. “I missed you today,” I whisper so only she can hear me. She doesn’t say anything, but I could hear the quick intake of breath when she heard my words. I hope it’s because she likes to hear that I miss her when I’m not around her, and because she missed me too.
At the bottom of the stairs, we say our goodbyes to Dani and Blaze, then head over to my bike. Louie is right behind us, but goes directly over to my truck that he drove over earlier. I’m happy to know that he didn’t put my girl on the back of his bike.
Once Sara is behind me, I squeeze her leg before starting my bike. Revving the engine, I look behind me and smirk. “Hang on, Doll,” then I peel out onto the road and head towards the highway. Once there, I really open her up. Sara once told me that she loves the feel of being on the back of my bike and going fast. It scares her, but it also makes her feel free, and I’ll always give my girl what she wants.
Five days later and we still haven’t gotten shit on Rick. After that one lead, he’s gone dark again. On top of that, Sara is still acting funny around me and the guys. Dani’s even noticed a change in the way she acts around her.
I’m grasping at straws here, but last night, a conversation I had with her at the beginning of our relationship came to mind. We were talking about our childhoods, well, she was, and she mentioned a dog she had growing up. She said that when she got older, she wanted to get a dog, but she just never got the chance to do it.
I talked with Dani this morning and she’s fine with Sara having a dog in the apartment, even said she could bring the thing to work with her if she wanted.
After calling around to shelters and pet stores all morning, I finally found a dog that I think will be perfect for her. He’s a Chihuahua mixed with some Dachshund. He was rescued from an abusive owner a couple months ago; severely malnourished and afraid of his own shadow, but after being nursed back to health and cared for by a foster family, he’s finally ready to be adopted.
I’m heading to the shelter today to pick him up, but first, I need to stop and pick up supplies we’ll need for him at the apartment.
When I arrive at the shelter, I notice that they have him out and ready to go.
I approach him slowly, holding my hand out so he can smell me. I’ve done some quick research and know that when dealing with a dog that was abused, you need to take things slow, get them to trust you. Sometimes it can take months, years even, but sometimes they can sense a good soul. I think that’s what happened today. He was hesitant for only a couple of minutes, then wouldn’t leave me alone.
I sign all the paperwork and load him up in my truck. Before heading back home, I look at him sitting in the passenger seat. “What are we gonna name ya, buddy?” The people at the shelter and the foster family he was staying with was calling him Rex, but he’s not attached to it they said, so we could change it if we wanted to. I was going to let Sara name him, but I think it will be better if he already has a name when I give him to her.
“What about Butch?” He just stares at me. “Okay, not that one. Hmmm…Spike?” He yawns, so I take that as a no. “How about Oliver? I used to have a friend named Oliver when I was growing up. We called him Ollie, but he moved away and I heard years later he was killed overseas.” I don’t know why I’m explaining this to a dog, but I am.
He must like the name because he starts barking like crazy and I laugh. “Okay, okay, settle down. Oliver it is.” He actually looks smug.
When I pull up outside of Sara’s apartment, I grab Ollie and head into the shop. She should still be working and Dani’s here today, and I know she was excited to meet the dog when I told her about it. I think she just wants to see the reaction Sara gives when she sees me with a dog.
Since I came in the back, I have a clear view of the front room where Sara is before she even realizes I’m there. Dani saw me walk through, so she drops what she’s doing to come out front.
Before I have a chance to say anything or grab Sara’s attention, Ollie decides to start barking, which makes Sara jump about ten feet before turning around to see where the noise is coming from. When she sees me, I think she’s stunned at first. I let Ollie down on the floor and he takes off, heading directly to where Sara is sitting at her desk.
The dog wags his tail the whole way, so hard he almost tips himself over. It makes me laugh, which has Sara lifting her confused eyes from the dog to me. “W-who’s dog is this?” she asks in a quiet voice.
Walking up to her, I pick Ollie up and rub his ears. “This little guy is Oliver, Ollie for short. I adopted him today from a local shelter. He was rescued a couple months ago from an abusive owner. I know you said that you wanted a dog, so I got Ollie for you.” She has tears in her eyes, but still doesn’t say anything, so I continue, “I wanted to give you something that you didn’t have, but wanted. I wanted it to be something that would give you roots here, something that would make you happy and to show you how much I love you. I’m sorry for making you doubt me.”
Now her tears are falling in full force, so I pull her into my arms. “Shh, don’t cry, Doll.” This only makes her cry harder, but then Ollie starts licking her face, which has her tears turning into laughs. I knew getting him would be a good thing.
She takes the dog from my arms and sits back down with him. “Hello, Ollie. I’m Sara. You and I, we got a lot in common, you know. We both came from a shitty place, but we were both rescued by Toby over there.” She looks over at me at that last part and smiles. “He’s an amazing guy, isn’t he?” Ollie barks in answer, which has Sara looking back at him. “You and me, we’re gonna be all right. We’re both finally where we belong.”
CHAPTER 16
Sara
It’s been almost a month since Toby brought Ollie home, and even though I fell in love with him instantly, I love him more each day. He’s like my baby and best friend mixed into one. I take him everywhere with me. Thankfully, Dani’s okay with me bringing him to wo
rk because I just can’t find it in my heart to leave him alone.
I actually can’t believe how amazing Ollie is. Toby told me about how he was rescued from an abusive owner, but looking at him now, you would never know. I’d like to think that if someone didn’t know the hell I went through, that they would think the same thing about me.
Having Ollie makes me think that things will finally be better for me; that we’ll be able to fix the problem with Rick and not have to worry about him anymore, and that things with Toby will get back to the way they were before things took a shit. I also hope that I’ll become more at home within the club. I want to feel like I belong here, and I think I’m finally starting to.
Things with Toby have been getting better since then as well. After we went home that night, we sat down and had a long talk. I told him that I understood that he was worried and angry that I left, but the way he acted reminded me of the way things were with Rick. He wasn’t happy about me comparing him to my ex, but I think he understood on some level too, and maybe even agreed with me.
He promised that no matter how worried or upset he was about something, whether it had to do with me or not, he would do better to not take it out on me or be so quick to anger. I, in turn, promised that I wouldn’t take off again on my own, and if I felt the need to have some alone time, I would at least take a guard to have someone somewhere near me. He wasn’t happy with that at first, telling me that I shouldn’t be alone for any reason, but I was firm that sometimes it’s necessary. He finally caved.
As far as I know, we haven’t gotten any word on Rick’s whereabouts, but it’s not for lack of trying. Toby told me that they have recruited some outside help to keep eyes out for him. I can tell that he isn’t happy about that, but if it means keeping me safe and finding him faster, then he would get over it.
Fighting Destiny (Forsaken Sinners MC; Book 2) (Forsaken Sinners MC Series) Page 17
