Gray felt the pressure in his chest lift but kept his voice even. “Guess we’ll find out.”
Ben hung up the phone. Gray tried not to laugh. Things were finally falling into place.
Chapter Fourteen
“Lionel was okay with watching Rick?” Gray asked Kristie again for the millionth time.
“I told you already. He was okay with watching him. He knows it is Megan’s birthday but no way can I bring Rick to the park. He’s only been home a week, and I don’t want him getting sick.”
“I doubt that,” Gray replied. “He’s practically a bubble boy.”
Kristie rolled her eyes at Gray’s playful teasing. It was Megan’s first birthday and they had opted to take her out to the park for some fun. Pamela was trying to coax her down the slide. Megan, who was usually fearless, seemed daunted by the baby slide and had been sitting up at the top, wide-eyed, for an extremely long time.
“Just doesn’t seem like my uncle to watch the baby.”
Gray said it casually but Kristie knew what he meant. Lionel had been distant ever since their marriage. Her mom also let it slip that Lionel wasn’t thrilled with the fact Gray had apparently never answered him about taking on more hours. She understood where Lionel was coming from. It looked as if Gray was working the same amount of hours as they scraped by and got help from their parents. Once Gray has everything figured out, things will fall into place.
By the picnic table, Kass’s parents were setting up. They were thrilled that they had been invited to celebrate Megan’s birthday. Kristie couldn’t have imagined not inviting them.
The last week felt like a blur. Taking care of Rick and Megan had taken up almost all of Kristie’s time. Gray came by whenever he wasn’t working. Armand was in police custody for her shooting and the break in. Kristie was sleeping better, knowing that Armand was behind bars. She couldn’t see him paying the high bail and being able to walk around free until his trial.
She started to believe that Gray’s plan had worked. The fact that Ben had stopped hiding Armand and the cops were finally able to take him in for questioning and then arrest him a couple days later was the best news she had received in ages. She was hoping that he would be put behind bars for good.
“Hey, Earth to Kristie,” Gray said, snapping her out of her thoughts. “Where did you go just now?”
“Sorry. I was thinking about Armand,” she replied honestly.
Gray frowned. “Don’t think about that asshole on Megan’s birthday. He’s locked up and unable to afford bail. Maybe he’ll make a new friend with Grant.”
Kristie forced a smile and watched as Megan finally slid down the slide. She cheered for her daughter and went up toward her, scooping her up and covering her in kisses. No point in worrying about what will happen right now.
***
“It’s all anyone can talk about!”
“Including you, apparently,” Gray quipped.
Dern brushed it off. “Everyone figured you’d lose.”
It was Monday afternoon, and Gray was eating lunch in the break room with Dern. Dern had refused to shut up about Gray’s win over Grant since it had happened over a week and a half ago. He made it sound as if they had gotten off each other’s bikes and beat the shit out of each other in some epic battle. The truth was if Grant hadn’t been stupid enough to be pulled over and then attack the cops, Gray would have lost.
Better to let Dern be excited though. Gray felt as if everything was finally coming together. Why ruin the kid’s excitement?
“So, what are you going to do next, boss? The gang is totally behind you now. Well, I always was. Remember that!”
“I remember.”
Gray’s uncle came into the break room at that point. Seeing Dern was nothing new and he gave him a small wave. Dern rushed over and Gray sighed.
“Hey, boss man, you know, your nephew was saying how great it is it work here.”
“Did he?” his uncle replied in a dry tone that said doubt it.
“Yeah! Heard you had a guy quit on you the other day! Man, can’t rely on anyone these days. You know, I know a thing or two about cars.” Dern leaned against the wall, looking confidently at his uncle.
“Fill out an application like everyone else, Dern,” his uncle said, grabbing a soda out of the fridge and heading out of the break room.
Dern looked back at Gray. “I nailed it.”
“Sure,” Gray replied, shaking his head. “Totally nailed it. Listen, sit down, you ass, we have stuff to go over.”
Dern plopped back in his seat across from Gray and took a bite of his sandwich. “So, what’s next? Armand is sitting in jail. You run the gang again. You still going to do the treaty?”
“Armand being in jail is because of the treaty,” Gray reminded him. “I can’t break that now. Once Armand goes to jail and he’s out of my hair, we’re all moving. It’s just a waiting game now. Kristie wants to move back in since he’s in jail.”
“Man, you can’t move. We need you here! You’re the boss!”
“You’ll be fine. But we have one more loose end we need to tie up.”
Dern nodded and the two of them knew exactly what it was… Jonathan.
***
Kristie looked around the apartment, trying to decide if Rick should have a room to himself at the moment. With Armand behind bars, it seemed silly to stay at her mother’s any moment longer. She was anxious to feel like a real family. Her mom was watching both Megan and Rick as she went over to the apartment to decide how she wanted things set up.
“How long are you going to stare at that room?”
Kristie turned back to see Gray, still dirty from his mechanic job. He had arrived home five minutes ago, and she stood in the same spot the entire time.
“Sorry. I was just trying to picture it.”
“Come in the shower with me,” he said. “I need to clean off.”
Kristie blushed and looked away. “No thanks, Gray.”
She still felt too shy to be around Gray naked. Gray sensed this and came over to her, wrapping his arms gently around her waist. The skin around her C-section scar was still tender but she was able to move around more. Kristie shook her head, mostly to herself.
“I don’t know,” she mumbled.
“When was the last time we got to take a shower together?” he whispered in her ear.
A thrill shot through her. She was taken back to the first time she saw Gray, naked and coming out of her shower at her mother’s. Kristie nodded in agreement and the two of them took off together toward the shower.
Once in the bathroom, Kristie’s face flushed when she stepped inside the shower. The water was hot and rolled down her skin. Gray looked her over and in his eyes she saw only that he truly considered her the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Kristie leaned over and kissed him. The kiss still sent electric shocks down her entire body. She could feel goose bumps on her skin even though the water was so hot.
They took turns soaping each other up and gently washing each other. Gray was always dirty after working at the garage all day. Kristie ran her fingers along his back as she washed him, looking over his tattoos. They were all menacing, from a past life, when Gray was rash and didn’t let anyone in.
When Gray took his turn washing her, he was gentle and kept telling her how beautiful she looked.
They both got out of the shower and fell into bed together. Gray kissed along her body, covering her in gentle kisses. Kristie closed her eyes as he slid in between her thighs. He moved his tongue around her wetness, flicking his tongue up and down and around her clit. Kristie shuddered and let out a gasp, arching her hips ever so slightly. Gray’s fingers dug into her thighs as he worked on her.
Right as she was about to climax, Gray moved away. He moved Kristie over until she was propped up on all fours. It had been so long since they had fucked like this. Kristie’s heart beat faster as he entered her. She moaned, throwing her hair back as Gray gripped her hips.
He fucked h
er hard, gripping her hips tightly. Kristie took each thrust with a moan. His fingers tangled in her hair, and he gave a small pull. She shuddered, moving her hips to meet his thrusts. Gray moaned her name as he picked up speed.
Kristie was already close to climaxing. When Gray thrust hard, she felt herself fall over the edge. Her orgasm shook her, and she gripped the pillow in front of her, letting out a loud moan. Gray clung to her and gave another hard thrust before climaxing as well, grunting.
Her orgasm was intense. Kristie couldn’t stop shaking as it rolled through her. Her legs went weak and she gave out, lying down on the bed as Gray lay next to her. His chest was heaving up and down as he came down from his orgasm.
Kristie held his hand tightly and felt sleep tugging at her. She allowed herself to be pulled off toward a nap, feeling Gray’s warm skin underneath her fingertips.
Chapter Fifteen
Gray’s phone went off suddenly, snapping him out of the TV show he was watching. Kristie had gone home for the night to watch the kids, agreeing that she would move back into the apartment tomorrow. He found himself excited to have everyone back in one home. They would truly feel like a family now.
The fact that Dern was calling him was concerning. He never called him. He picked up the phone.
“Are you busy? Are you awake?”
“Whoa, man, calm down. What’s wrong with you?”
Dern tried to take a deep breath but blurted out instead, “I messed up!”
“What? What did you mess up?”
“We discussed what to do with Jonathan, right? I went to talk to him, to tell him that you wanted to see him. But he didn’t believe me. He thought I was acting strangely. I tried to stay ahead of him but he kept asking me why you wanted to see him personally.”
Gray clutched his phone. “And? Dern, what did you say?”
“I fucked up! I mentioned Armand! He bolted. I don’t know where he’s going now!”
“Fuck, Dern! He’s probably going right to Armand. We had a plan to get as much info as we could out of him.”
“I know! I’m sorry, boss! I really messed up.”
“I’ll call you later.”
Gray hung up the phone, already thinking ahead for his next plan of action. He didn’t have long to think, however, because his phone went off again with a call from Kristie.
***
Gray, please pick up, Kristie thought as she held the phone tightly. She was in her bathroom, trying not to wake up Rick. Her body was in a cold sweat and for a second she worried that she was going to throw up.
John had called her a few minutes ago. She had debated ignoring it but decided she was in just the right mood to hear an apology from him. But he wasn’t calling about that – he had been calling as a police officer doing her a favor.
“Armand just made bail,” he told her.
Kristie felt as if the ground had broken beneath her feet. “How could that be? The bail was so expensive. I don’t…”
“A friend of his paid it for him. Listen, normally, I wouldn’t do this but with everything going on…I can come by if you want. Keep watch.”
The thought of her mother finding out that Armand was on the loose and probably pissed off filled her with dread.
“No. No, thank you. I’ll be fine. I’m calling Gray right now.”
Blind panic fueled every movement she made. All she could think about was how Armand was going to come after Gray or even herself as soon as he could. Who paid his bail? Where did he get the money?
Gray picked up. “What’s wrong?”
Quickly, she told him what John had told her. He was silent for a long time before replying.
“Dern fucked up when he went to speak to Jonathan. He was supposed to make him nervous and have him meet up with me. Instead he slipped up. Told him we knew he was a spy for Armand. He must have told Armand and paid his bail.”
“Gray.” Her panic was inching into her voice now. “We’re in danger. He cannot be free. I thought he’d be locked up till the trial and go to jail. Now he’s out! He’s going to want to do something terrible.”
“I’ll handle it. Kristie, you have to stay in the house, do you understand? You can’t leave. You have to stay there and keep safe until I say so.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I’m going to end this. I love you.”
The line went dead. Kristie could only look at her phone in fear of what was going to happen next.
***
Gray looked out at the fisherman’s wharf. Strange how he hadn’t been here in so long and had now gone here twice in less than a month. When he turned thirteen, he used to come here and hide out. The wharf had been closed down for years now but at that time it was busy.
Now Gray was waiting for Armand to show up. It hadn’t taken long for Jonathan to text him just two words: the wharf. Armand made bail and was going to kill Gray tonight. He could feel it in his bones. Not going to happen, he told himself as he waited.
Gray couldn’t stay upset at Dern. He knew that he had meant well and hadn’t wanted to mess everything up. Jonathan, who had always been the silent one in the group, had scared it out of him. Gray couldn’t take that out on Dern.
Every nerve in Gray’s body thrummed. He hadn’t heard from Ben. He wasn’t even sure if Ben knew what was going on.
Gray heard footsteps. He made sure to keep his back against the side of the warehouse, in case Armand tried to sneak up on him. Armand walked towards him, his face shrouded in darkness. He stopped a little bit away from him.
“You made it.”
Gray didn’t respond.
“You’re probably wondering…why don’t I just skip town? I’m on bail. You and I both know I’m going to jail, especially once Kristie goes up on the stand. Why am I hanging around?”
“The thought crossed my mind.”
“I have unfinished business.”
“Right. Guess that means me?”
Armand took a step forward, and a flickering light nearby illuminated his face. He looked tired and worn down.
“You never deserved the club, Gray. You never knew how to run it. You never gave me a fair shot. You stole Kristie from me. You made me shoot her, you know that. She wouldn’t have been in the way if you hadn’t stolen her from me. I have to kill you. Then I can control both clubs. I’ll hide as long as I need to. Run the gangs undercover. I’m going to kill you and then I am going to kill Ben.”
“You’re deluded. You need mental help, Armand, you realize that, don’t you? You need some serious mental help.”
This pissed Armand off. His fingers clenched into fists. “You’re not leaving this wharf alive.”
Armand struck fast. Before Gray could react, he felt a punch directly to his gut. He let out a gasp of surprise but managed to stop Armand’s other fist from connecting. He twisted his arm and landed a punch of his own. Armand moved a few steps back and the two men paced each other, staring each other down.
“I’m not going to jail,” Armand spat. “Not for you.”
“You think you’re going back into hiding?”
Armand swung, moving lightning fast again. Gray narrowly missed his punch and swung hard. His own fist connected to the side of Armand’s head and he stepped back dizzily. Gray needed to find a way to end this. Armand will never leave him alone or let him be free. He would always come after him and Kristie. Maybe even their children.
His plan of killing Armand and leaving his body to sink to the bottom of the wharf seemed silly now as he faced Armand down. How long would it take to find the body? Not long, once the cops realized he hadn’t skipped town.
But Gray would do whatever it took to save his family.
Armand, crazed with anger, let out a scream and lunged toward Gray. Gray readied to defend himself. Something glinted in the moonlight and, with a jolt, he realized that Armand had a knife. He barreled down toward Gray, ready to stab him with it.
Then there was a soft noise – like someone hitting a m
elon with a soft hammer. Suddenly a hole appeared in the middle of Armand’s forehead. His mouth opened and closed in surprise before lurching forward and hitting the ground.
Gray could only stare at Armand. He had gone completely still. In the back of his mind, he knew that he should run. Somehow, someone had just shot Armand in the head. He looked up in shock and saw a figure heading toward him. He couldn’t bring himself to run. He had to stare whoever it was down.
Ben lowered the gun and jerked his chin toward Armand’s corpse.
Devil's Advocate: A BBW MC New Adult Romance Series - Book 4 (Devil's Advocate BBW MC New Adult Romance Series) Page 9
