by Erin Osborne
“Okay. Are you sure my house will be okay though? I don’t want anything else to happen while I’m not here.”
“I’ll make sure there’s a prospect and full patch on your house at all times. I’m sendin’ someone to the salon too. Tech is going to come in and install a security system including cameras. For now, you’ve got two shadows on you at all times. I know Crash and Trojan are goin’ to be with you as much as they can. When they can’t be, I’ll make sure two other full patch members are with you. Is that understood?” Gage asks her.
“Yes,” she says, not putting up the slightest fight about what’s going on right now. This is not our Darcy.
“Get some things packed up and we’ll head out,” I tell her, looking around to see if there’s anything she can salvage.
“I don’t think I have anything left,” she whispers, the first tear slipping from her eye.
Nothing is going to stop me from going to her now. She needs comfort and to know that we’re going to protect her. Crash and I surround Darcy and wrap our arms around her. Darcy actually lets us hold her together for the first time. Having her between us is so much better than I ever dreamed it would be. Granted, I hate the reason that she’s letting us hold and support her. But, I’ll make sure she knows we’re here for her more than just when she needs comfort and a feeling of security and safety.
“We’ll stop at a store on the way to the house,” I tell her. “Please don’t cry. We’ll get who did this. Tomorrow, you’re goin’ to have to tell us everythin’ though.”
“I know. I didn’t want it to get to this point, I thought I could handle it on my own. This is the last straw though.”
Darcy lets us lead her to her car in the garage. Since Gage, Crash, and myself were the only ones here, someone managed to get in and flatten all four tires on her car. I’m thinking this is the last straw for firecracker. She lets her ass hit the garage floor and puts her head in her hands. I can see her body shaking as she silently cries. Crash goes to her this time and lifts her up. There isn’t even enough fight left in her to resist being in Crash’s arms right now.
“How the fuck did someone get in here with us here?” Gage bellows.
“I don’t know. It must have been when Crash was vacuuming, and we were tryin’ to start cleanin’ the place up. Probably when we were all headed back towards the bedroom,” I tell him, wanting to know who would be stupid enough to get past us and pull this shit.
This person must have a death wish if they would come back while the three of us were inside. Especially not knowing if more men were going to be coming as back-up. Or, maybe they don’t know who the fuck they’re messing with. I’m not sure what this person’s damage is, all I know is that they are a crazy motherfucker. Now, we’ll have to have Tech come in and make sure nothing is on the bikes to try to track Darcy to our house or wherever else we take her.
I follow him out to the bikes and watch as he puts her on the back of his. While I’d love to be the one she’s riding behind, I know there will be time for that later. When she can actually enjoy the ride. Watching, I see my brother put a helmet on her head and make sure it’s secure before climbing on in front of her. He’s talking in hushed tones to her and I’m sure he’s telling her what she needs to do when riding. As far as I know, she’s never been on the back of anyone’s bike. We wouldn’t know anyway, given the state of almost shock that she’s in right now.
Crash
Pulling away from Darcy’s house, I have so many thoughts going through my head. The first one is that I don’t ever want to see the fear and utter desolation on her beautiful face again. Second, I want to maim and torture the fuckwad that put that look on her face to begin with. Darcy is an amazing woman and doesn’t need to feel the way she’s feeling right now.
Knowing Trojan the way I do, I know that the same thoughts have to be going through his head. We’re closer than most brothers and can read one another better than most. I’m not sure why we have the bond we do, all I know is I wouldn’t change it for anything in the world. Having Trojan at my back brings me back to the better memories of serving in the military. I know without a doubt that there will always be someone at my six. And I’ll always be at his.
We pull off to take our girl to a store so that she can get some clothes. I’m sure it’s going to be a fight when she goes to cash out and realizes that one of us will be paying for her things. She’s ours to love, protect, and make sure she has everything she needs. I’m hoping that she just goes with the flow though and lets us take care of her.
Trojan pulls out his phone as soon as we get off our bikes. I’m sure he’s having a prospect meet us here to take whatever purchases she needs back to the house. Plus, he’s going to have to stop at the store for us. Hopefully it’s Shadow. I know that he’s close to patching in and we like him being around. He does what we ask without whining, talking shit, or putting up a fight. Shadow has done some pretty shitty jobs and has done it without a word.
“Got Shadow comin’,” Trojan lets us know. “He’ll be here in twenty.”
“Sounds good. Let’s get goin’ firecracker. You get whatever you need and take all the time you want.”
Darcy nods her head and moves as if on autopilot. This is definitely not our girl. I can’t stand to see her like this. We need to figure out a way to snap her out of this, so we can have our firecracker back. The girl that has no problem putting us in our place, the one that does what she wants when she wants, and the girl that fights us at every turn.
Trojan looks at me and I see the same thoughts swirling through his mind. We keep Darcy between us as we continually scan the parking lot looking for anything suspicious or out of place. It’s a public parking lot and there’s a thousand different places for someone to hide and watch us. I’m not getting the feeling that we’re being watched, but that doesn’t necessarily mean anything. It could just mean too much of my focus is on Darcy.
Walking in the store, Darcy comes to a stop and looks around. It’s like she’s a lost little girl and doesn’t know which way to turn first. So, I take charge and grab a cart before heading over to the clothing section. We stand there and let her wander through the racks to pick out some clothes first. Then, we’ll worry about the other necessities she’ll need.
We watch as Darcy looks at all the clothes on the racks before her. She picks barely anything up and I know that she’s thinking of the money in her account and not that we’re going to be paying for this trip. Trojan discreetly looks at her sizes and goes to pick more of the things that she’s already put in the cart in different colors. Along with a few items that are a size or two smaller than what she’s chosen. He also adds some things that I know we’ll like on her and not necessarily what we’ve ever seen her in before. This includes a few dresses, jeans, tank tops, and dress clothes so we can go out.
Darcy wanders over to the health and beauty section of the store in a daze. She grabs a few things and I ask her if she’s got everything she needs. Nodding her head, we make our way to the front of the store. I’m hoping when she notices our extra purchases that some of the fight will begin to come back to her. Looks like I’m right.
“What the hell is all of this?” she asks, throwing her hands on her hips and glaring at the two of us.
“What do you mean?” I ask, making sure to look as innocent as I possibly can.
“There’s a ton of extra clothes in here that I don’t remember putting in the cart,” she says, pulling a handful of hangers out of the cart and holding them for closer inspection.
“You were obviously pickin’ things that you need and not enough to last you a full week at our house. So, I added a few things to make sure that you have everythin’ that you need,” Trojan tells her, like it’s an everyday normal conversation between the three of us.
“Whatever! If you want to waste your money on things I’ll never wear, that’s on you,” she tells us, picking up the original items she put in the cart and separating them out.
> “We’re payin’ for it all,” I let her know, taking the items from her hands and placing them on the conveyor belt.
Darcy gives us a final glare and storms to look at the shelves in front of the checkout we’re standing at. I’m glad she’s not walking away from us and storming away when there’s still a threat out there. We’ll give her the space she needs right now until we get home. Then, she can’t run very far. And we sure as hell aren’t going to let her hide in her room every single day.
We’re finally pulling up to the house and I can feel Darcy tense up behind me. It’s finally dawning on her that she’s really going to the house Trojan and I share. She’s going to be staying with us without a car and she’s actually going to have to depend on us. I don’t want her to hate being here, so we’ve got to figure out some way to make sure that she’s as comfortable as she can possibly be. We want our house to become her new sanctuary. It doesn’t matter if she wants to change everything about the house, decorate it to look like a chick house, or anything else her heart desires. As long as she’s comfortable and with us, we’re not going to give a shit what she does to it.
A few years ago, we found a house in the country. We’ve got more than a few acres surrounding the house so that no one can move in too close to us. We like our privacy and wanted somewhere to come that’s away from everyone else. The only ones that know about our home are the members of the club, and a few guys from the Clifton Falls chapter, and the Phantom Bastards. They’re lucky they know where we live since we didn’t even want them to know. However, prospects helped us get our shit in here and we figured Gage needed to know in case something happened. The rest kind of figured out by accident.
We like it that way. No one can bother us when we’re not at the clubhouse. Plus, no one is going to know where Darcy is. That reminds me that we need to let her know that she can’t tell anyone where we are. Gage already took her cell phone and reminded her that someone can use it to track her. She gave it up real quick after being reminded of that fact. I trust the girls from Clifton Falls, but it’s not them I’m worried about. This unknown person knows her schedule enough to get in her house and do all that damage while she was still at the salon. The less people that know her whereabouts the better.
“Firecracker, the prospect will be here soon with your new stuff and some food. Why don’t you relax, and we’ll get you when dinner’s ready?” I ask her.
Without a word, she follows Trojan to the room she’ll be staying in. It’s right between ours so we can both hear her. I know that we’ll both be up listening for her throughout the night. I’m not going to complain about it though. I want her to know that she can trust us and that she can count on us when she needs someone to have her back. I’ve had to stay up for days when I was in the military, this will be heaven to watch over someone that I’m learning to love.
There has only been one other time that I’ve given my heart over to someone. We were high school sweethearts and I thought that we would spend the rest of our lives together. Candace stayed by my side through boot camp and when I got stationed a few states away. The plan was for her to finish school and then move down with me. As often as I could, I made the drive back to see her. She made the trip a few times. After a few months of making the trips, I proposed, and she said yes. Just before we were set to get married, I got deployed.
While I was deployed, we wrote letters, emailed, and I called her as often as I could. Apparently, it wasn’t enough for Candace. She sent me a Dear John letter just before I was due to be shipped back home. Not only did she break my heart, she took all my money, and got married to someone that was supposed to be one of my good friends. I vowed never to let a woman get to me again. Darcy is different though. She would never pull the shit that Candace did. Instead, she goes out of her way to avoid a relationship with anyone. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her go out on a date in the time that we’ve known her.
I walk in the kitchen and pull out a beer. If there’s one thing we always have in the house, it’s that. I’m sure that will change with our girl being in the house, but for so long it’s been just Trojan and I. Now, we need to have things in here for her. And, we’ll have to start cooking again. Honestly, I love cooking. I used to do it all the time. Now, we mainly get our meals at the clubhouse or we get takeout. Those days are over though. There will still be times we go out to eat, but we need to start eating at the house and make use of the amazing kitchen we had built when we started renovations.
Trojan meets me in the kitchen and I can tell this is taking its toll on him. He wants to fix everything for her and he can’t right now. I hand him a beer and watch him down it in one gulp. Yeah, he’s taking this hard. I wait until he grabs another one and sits at the island before I start talking.
“We need to make sure she knows not to tell anyone where we’re keepin’ her. It’s for her safety,” I tell him.
“I know. She’s not goin’ to like it, but she’ll understand it. We should let her talk to the girls from Clifton Falls though. They’ll want to know what’s goin’ on and that she’s okay.”
“I was thinkin’ the same thing. Should we bring her out here to do that before Shadow gets here? Or should we let her relax for a little bit?” I ask Trojan, debating internally as to what the best decision in this situation is.
“Let’s let her relax and adjust to bein’ here. I’m glad that we got her here finally, but I wish it were under better circumstances.”
“I know. We’ll just take it a day at a time and let her lead us in this. I know we’re not waitin’ much longer though.”
“Nope. Not now.”
Trojan and I sit there and wait for Shadow to show up. It’s not long before the security system alerts us to someone coming up the driveway. Taking a look, I see the car Shadow was driving. We make our way to the door and open it, so we can help him carry everything in. I don’t want more people here right now to overwhelm her more than what she already is. Darcy doesn’t need to be around more than us until she calms down. She knows Shadow, but she really hasn’t interacted with him.
It doesn’t take us to long to unload everything. I take the bags into Darcy. She’s laying on the bed, curled up in a fetal position, rocking back and forth. Getting closer to her, I see the silent tears falling from her closed eyes. Seeing her like this is breaking my heart, so I climb in bed behind her and wrap my arms around her. I tell her that dinner will be ready soon and she nods, relaxing into my embrace.
Chapter Two
Darcy
I’VE BEEN AT CRASH AND TROJAN’S HOUSE for a few days. Other than going to the salon, followed by them of course, I haven’t left the house. The only other thing that I’ve done is make a phone call to the girls from the other club. There were tears, fear for my safety, and the promise to get together soon. Crash and Trojan are on board with taking me to Clifton Falls because it means getting out of town for a while. Hell, despite their hatred of Wood, I’m sure they’d take me to Benton Falls too. There just really aren’t any females I talk to there. Slim is about the only one that’s close to taking an old lady.
“You know that you’re not a prisoner here, right?” Crash asks me.
“I know that. I just have nowhere I want to be right now. We don’t know where this asshole is,” I tell him, looking up from my e-reader. Keira may have sent me a copy of her new book and I’m loving the hell out of it.
Crash and Trojan look at me and a strange look covers their face. I’m not sure what it means, and I don’t know that I want to. They exchange a look between them and sit on either side of me. Apparently, we’re not done talking and they have a few things that they need to say to me. So, I put my tablet down and settle in for their talk.
“We know that somethin’ is holdin’ you back from bein’ with us. We’re done waitin’ for you to get over it firecracker,” Crash tells me, while Trojan is nodding his head.
“I can’t do it,” I tell them, putting my head in my hands and looking at our fe
et.
“You can. We’re not goin’ to hurt you,” Trojan says, pulling my head up to look at the sincerity in his eyes. “Darcy, you may not know it, but every emotion you feel, every thought you think is written all over your face.”
“What he’s sayin’ is that we know you want us. So, what’s holdin’ you back?” Crash asks, turning my face towards him.
“Every time I open up and give some guy a chance, they fuck me over. I’m too fat, I’m too greedy, I don’t give them enough, I don’t let them do what they want to me.” I answer, not wanting to go down the road that we’re about to go down right now.
“What do you mean that you don’t let them do what they want to you?” Trojan asks me, the rage clearly written on his face for all to see. I’m sure he’s thinking the worst right now.
“I don’t want to go down that road right now,” I tell them. I want to keep the fact that I’m a virgin to myself as long as possible.
“You sayin’ what I think you’re sayin’?” Crash asks me.
“I don’t know what you’re thinking so I can’t answer that.”
“You’re a virgin, aren’t you, firecracker?” Trojan asks, getting on board with what Crash is thinking.
There’s no need to answer when my face heats up. I can feel the blush covering my upper chest, my face, and my neck. Both men look at me, and I swear that their eyes are about to pop out of their head. It’s almost like I’m watching some cartoon movie where the characters have outrageous animations for their emotions. If this wasn’t such a serious topic, I would probably be laughing my ass off right now. Unfortunately, they don’t understand where I’m coming from and I’m embarrassed by the fact that I’m in my mid-twenties and I still haven’t had sex with anyone.
“It’s not a big deal guys. It just hasn’t happened for me yet,” I tell them, trying to get off the couch so I can put some space between us.
