by Alison Mello
“Ryker looks forward to it too. I can’t wait for him to start school in the fall. It will really be the best thing for him.” As Sky and I are sitting around talking, the guys do as usual and move to the other side of the room to talk about work or whatever else they typically talk about. Before long, Miranda, Stone, Slade, and Kara are all standing around the kitchen as well. Sadie called to say that they weren’t going to make it because Laney was still not feeling better. The girls are all discussing baby talk when I decide to check on Ryker, but on my way to the playroom, I realize that Mikey and Logan are missing. It’s only Slade and Stone left in the kitchen and they’re discussing the club and security stuff.
Once I see the two boys are playing nicely, I decide to make a trip to the bathroom before they call us to sit down for dinner, but as I’m stepping inside, I hear whispering coming from around the corner and I realize it’s Logan and Mikey.
“Did you tell her?” Logan asks him.
“No, I asked her to move in with me and told her it was because I didn’t like the neighborhood she was living in,” Mikey whispers back to him.
“Damn it, Mikey. She has a right to know.”
“I know she does, but she’s just gotten comfortable, I don’t want to scare her.”
“Are you out of your mind? If she finds out that Eli is out of jail and stalking her from someone else, you’re going to lose her.”
My eyes go wide with fear. Did I just hear him right? Eli is out of jail? I slowly step around the corner, my body is trembling, and at this point I’m not even sure I realize what I’m doing. “Tell me it isn’t so.” My eyes are blurred with tears and my voice is barely a whisper.
Mikey’s eyes go wide with panic when he realizes that I’ve heard their conversation. “Come here, baby. Let me explain.”
I shake my head. “Your time to explain was yesterday. You had the chance. We sat down and I explained my concerns and why I was nervous about moving in with you. All you had to do was tell me the truth, and yet you lied and withheld information.” I shake my head. “How can I trust you?”
“Please, baby. Let’s talk about this.”
“Take me home.” Mikey looks down in defeat. His devastation is blatant, but I don’t care. I just want to go. I want to curl up on my bed and cry.
Logan walks over. “I’m sorry. This isn’t how you were supposed to find out. Please stay safe and let me know how I can help.” I nod my head, but say nothing as I walk out of the room to get my child.
“Ryker, we need to go. There’s been a change of plans.” I take him by the hand and lead him out the door to Mikey’s SUV. It takes him a second, but he’s right behind me unlocking the vehicle to let us in. The entire car ride home is a quiet one. I knew in my gut he was keeping something from me and now I know I was right. I’m angry but scared at the same time, and I don’t know what to do. I want to run, but I’m tired of running. I need to get home and talk to Brea.
When we pull back up to the house, Mikey climbs out of the car. “Let me walk you up.”
“No.” I try to stop him, but he’s not hearing it.
“Shelly, this is no joke. He’s out, and we have no idea what his intentions are. He has people watching you—that’s all I have so far. There’s no way in hell I’m letting you go up by yourself.”
“Fine, but once you see we’re inside safely, you leave,” I demand. He’s not only hurt me but he’s pissed me off. I can’t believe he thought it was okay to keep something like this from me.
He looks disappointed, but doesn’t argue further. He walks us up to my apartment, and when we discover it’s empty, he demands that he checks it out before he goes. Once he’s deemed it safe, he turns to me and says, “When can we talk about this?”
“Ryker, go to your room.” I don’t need my son hearing this conversation.
“But Mommy, I’m hungry.”
“I’ll make you something in a minute, now go.” Ryker storms off, unhappy that he hasn’t been fed, and I can’t say I blame him, but first I need to finish my conversation with Mikey. “I don’t know. I have to think. I’m not just mad, I’m hurt. This is a serious matter and you kept it from me.”
“I didn’t want to scare you. I needed to confirm that it was him before I said anything.” He looks so upset but I can’t cave on this. It’s not okay for him to keep things from me. “I get it, I screwed up. You need to understand, all I wanted was to keep you and Ryker safe. I wanted you to have the happy, safe life you deserve,” he pleads.
“Do I deserve to be lied to or to have information kept from me? Because I’m pretty sure I don’t. I’m a grown woman who has busted my ass to get to where I am, and I’m damn proud. Don’t come up in here acting like I’m some damsel in distress.” I cross my arms over my chest and turn my back to him. “Just go, Mikey.” Tears are streaming down my face, but I won’t let him see it. He says nothing more, I wasn’t even sure he was gone until I heard the door shut behind me. I instantly ran over and locked every lock and then sent a text to my sister.
Shelly: He’s out! Be careful.
Brea: Holy shit! How do you know that?
Shelly: I’ll explain when you get home.
Brea: We’re on our way.
While I wait for Brea and Eric to get here I quickly whip up something for us to have for dinner. My poor kid needs to eat and get off to bed. While he’s eating, I get busy grabbing my clothes for tomorrow so I’ll be ready for another day in the office learning all I can. I’m too close to graduating to let him get in the way.
Brea comes running through the door as I’m shutting the door to Ryker’s room. He’s settled with a movie for the night and I’m glad because I really need to talk with my sister and Eric. I don’t know what to do. “What happened? And where is Mikey?”
I instantly break down into tears. “I overheard Logan and Mikey talking. He’s known Eli was out and kept it from me. I demanded that he bring me home and then I sent him away.” I wipe away my tears. “How could he keep this from me and what do we do?”
“Is he sure it’s Eli?” Eric asks.
“He said he hadn’t told me right away because he wanted to confirm it before he got me all worried. I don’t know how long he’s known, but I heard Logan ask him specifically if he had told me that Eli was out. That means he had his confirmation.” I shake my head. “I think what upsets me the most is we spoke yesterday about the whole moving in thing and he just kept saying he didn’t like our neighborhood. That would have been the perfect opportunity for him to tell me and he chose not to.”
“Okay, well, we have to figure out what we want to do,” Brea says, panicking.
“I agree. If he knows you two are here, then this place is not safe.” Eric takes a seat on the couch next to Brea. “Maybe I should call Mikey and find out what he knows.”
I shake my head. “I think we all just need to watch our backs and make sure when we’re here all the locks are locked. I put extra locks on this door for a reason.” I suddenly feel extremely tired from taking this all in. I want nothing more than to lay down on my bed and think about what to do next. “I’m going to bed. Hopefully I can process all of this and make a clearer decision in the morning. Good night.”
“That’s it?” Brea asks with concern.
“For now.” I walk out of the living room, tired and scared. I hear Eric tell Brea that he’s spending the night and he’ll be here for us.
Chapter 11
Mikey
I didn’t sleep a wink last night. I was too busy worrying about Shelly and Ryker, and how I was going to fix things with her, but also how to keep them safe. The first call I made as soon as I got home was to Slade. He’s now watching over her place and will be following her from a distance. I had Cooper send him Eli’s mugshot so he would know what to watch for. As far as Shelly goes, I sent her a text last night telling her to please call me when she got home this evening so I would know she was safe, but she never responded. Lord only knows if she’ll reach out to
me. At least I know that Slade and his team will keep her safe. He has been taking care of this family for a long time now, and we trust our family with no other security firm.
Leaning back in the desk chair of my home office, I continue to think. I need to find a way to apologize and show her that I had the best of intentions, but I’m struggling to come up with something. My cell phone rings and I can see from the screen it’s Logan. I hit the speaker button and answer, “What’s up, man?”
“Dude, you sound like shit.” Logan actually sounds concerned. Logan and I go way back. We’ve been boys for a long time, and when he fucked things up with Sky, I was there for him. Now he’s calling to return the favor.
“Fuck you, guy. You sounded just as shitty when the roles were reversed.”
“Yeah, well, now we have to figure out how you’re going to get your woman back.”
“And keep her safe.”
“I thought I told you to call Slade,” he says, sounding frustrated.
“I did, but I need her to call me, because if she finds out that Slade is following her and I haven’t told her, she’s going to freak out even more.” I rub my hands over my face. “I know she’s afraid of this dude, but she’s so damn stubborn.”
“What’s your plan?” Logan asks.
I sigh. “For starters…I’m sending her a text right now letting her know that Slade has her back and that I need her to call me. I’ll do whatever I have to do to keep her safe, but I have to fix our relationship too.”
“Sounds like you could use some womanly advice. Sky has offered to help if you need it.”
“Thanks, tell her I’ll let her know.” Suddenly Cooper’s name flashes across the screen. “Dude, Cooper’s calling. I’ll get back to you.”
“Later, man.”
I hit the call button to switch over. “Hey, Cooper.”
“Listen, I did some digging on this guy and his situation. I can’t arrest him for going next to Ryker or Shelly. His charges have nothing to do with them, so there’s no restraining order and there won’t be unless she files harassment charges, and she can’t do that until he harasses her.”
“Fuck!” I shout, frustrated. “Isn’t stalking her outside her apartment harassing her?”
“Only if she catches him doing it and asks him to leave. He can say he’s there for any number of reason. There are tons of people living on that street, not to mention the convenience store at the corner.” He pauses. “I’m sorry, Mikey, but there’s nothing I can do. Make sure you keep your eye on her. The second he does something we can nail him on, call me.”
“Will do. Slade is watching her back, but I have to give her a heads up before she gets even more pissed at me.”
“Good luck with that.” Cooper cuts the call, leaving me even more frustrated than before.
I decide to call Shelly to see if she answers, but she doesn’t. She should be leaving any minute for school and I want her to know before she walks out the door.
Mikey: Just want you to know that Slade is following you at a distance. I know you’re mad at me, but I will do whatever it takes to keep you and Ryker safe. I love you. Please call me.
I sit and patiently wait to see if she will text me back, but she doesn’t. I have no choice but to make myself busy with work or I will go insane. Club Temptation has been kicking some serious ass, but I had an employee issue I had to resolve, and now I’m short one bartender and one cocktail waitress. I thought about asking Shelly if she wanted to switch clubs so I could keep a better eye on her, but in all honesty I think she’s safer at Oasis. At least there the clientele is all women, so the chances of him sneaking into the club are slim to none, and Logan is going to give all the bouncers a heads up and our staff isn’t allowed to walk out alone, so she should be safe.
No sooner am I done placing the ad does my cell phone chirp. I jump to check it, praying that it’s Shelly but it’s not. It’s Slade.
Slade: Shelly’s at the doctor's office today. I’m outside waiting for her and Cole is at their house keeping an eye on Brea and Ryker.
Mikey: Thanks, man.
Slade: Does she know I’m following her?
Mikey: I tried to call her but she didn’t answer, so I sent her a text, but got no response. Please be sure she knows when she gets out.
Slade: I’ll be waiting by her car.
Mikey: Thanks!
***
Shelley
It was a rough day today in my clinical with the good Dr. Berman. I couldn’t focus and I’m exhausted from lack of sleep, but I made it through and now it’s time to head home. The good doctor was so sweet to me. He could tell this morning that something was up, so he pulled me aside and we talked it out. He told me not to stress over it and that he would go easy on me this week. I walk out the door and straight to the back of the parking lot where I’m required to park. I’m looking all around, trying to be aware of my surroundings, and that’s when I notice someone is leaning on my car. I instantly start to panic but then realize it’s Slade.
“What are you doing here?”
“Watching over you.”
I shake my head. “Well, you can tell Mikey hiring security isn’t going to fix his mistake.”
I start to pull the car door open, but Slade stops me. “That’s not what this is about. You need to let me watch over you and protect you. Mikey tried to call you to give you a heads up, but you wouldn’t answer his call. Now, I’m going to follow you home. Cole has been outside your apartment all day watching over Brea and Ryker.”
I shake my head. “That wasn’t necessary. Eric worked from home today. He’s been there with them.” I know I’m being a bit bitchy, but this is what I was afraid of. Another man trying to take over my life. I had very little control over anything when I was with Eli, and now Mikey is doing the same thing. Instead of talking to me and explaining to me what was going on so we could figure it out together, he took control.
“Yeah, does Eric carry?”
I look at him confused. “Like a gun? Of course not.”
“Yeah, well, Cole is.” He looks me dead in the eye. “I’m alive because of you and now you’re a part of the family, we watch out for ours. I’m sorry, Shelly, you’re stuck with me.”
“I left the family yesterday when I ran out from dinner.” I cross my arms.
“Listen, I don’t know your full history, and it’s clear that the decision Mikey made has really upset you, but you need to see he loves you and he did it because he wanted to protect you, not hurt you.” My eyes start to well again, and the last thing I want is to cry in front of Slade. I think he senses it because he opens my door and ushers me into my car. “I’ll be right behind you the entire ride home, and then I’ll walk you up to your apartment.”
I nod. “Thanks, Slade.” He shuts my door and jumps into his SUV that’s parked right beside me.
As promised, he follows me all the way back to my place. I find a spot to park, but there’s nowhere for Slade to park next to me, but of course Cole is all over it. I’m sitting waiting for Slade, when I see Cole jump from his car and run over to mine. He stands outside my car and waits with me. When Slade arrives, Cole opens my door for me. Slade, as promised, walks me up and Cole goes back to his car.
When we get upstairs, Ryker is sitting at the kitchen table playing on Brea’s phone. He jumps up, excited to see me. “Mommy!” He runs at me and I scoop him up, excited to see him too. This little boy is my everything and the main reason I’m not fighting Slade on the security. I need to protect him.
“Hey, buddy. Do you remember Slade?”
He nods his head and sticks out his fist. Mikey has him fist bumping all the guys. “Hi, Slade.”
“Hey, little man.” He bumps his fist.
“Ryker, give Mommy a minute, okay?” He nods and runs off to go back to whatever game he was playing.
Brea is standing there waiting for introductions, and I need to fill her in on the situation. “Brea, this is Slade. He’s apparently going to
be watching over us.”
“Is this the guy you helped?” she asks, knowing I ran from Higgins to save him.
I nod. “The very same.”
“It’s nice to meet you. I’m glad you’re okay.” My sister shakes his hand and then calls for Eric. “Eric, can you come here, please?”
He comes strolling into the room. “What’s up, baby?”
“This is Slade, the guy Shelly helped out late last year. He’s a security guard, so he’s going to watch over us.”
The guys shake hands. “My partner, Cole, has been downstairs all day keeping an eye out. Now I want you guys to be aware. I’ve been in touch with Detective Cooper, and he has informed me that because none of the charges against Eli are from you, we can’t stop him from coming here and asking to speak with you or your son. You can ask him to leave, and if he doesn’t, then he’s trespassing. A minor offense, but it puts us one step closer to getting the order we need, and maybe even putting him back in jail.”
I shake my head. “This is all my fault. I should have fought harder to prove that Eli was the one who had beaten Ryker and hit me.” I begin pacing the dining room. “Instead I ran.”
“You can’t blame yourself, Shelly. You did what you thought was best.” Slade tries to calm me down.
“I was scared,” I whisper. “I was scared he would come back before we could run. Scared that if I fought it, he would say it was me and I would get into trouble and possibly lose my little boy. I didn’t know what to do.”
“Hey, we did what we thought was best at the time. We both agreed no regrets, we aren’t going back on that now. We can get through this just like we did three years ago when we ran.” Brea rubs my arm.
“You have a lot more support now, Shelly, but you need to lean on us. All of us.” I know when Eric stresses ‘all of us,’ he’s referring to Mikey, but I’m not ready yet.
