by K. J. Dahlen
Gambler frowned at her and gathered her in his arms then pulled her over to the bed.
She watched without saying a word as he undressed and crawled into bed with her.
As his arms surrounded her and held her close Paige finally felt safe. She knew Gambler would protect her, he wasn’t like Sinner. He could never do what Sinner had done to her.
Her mind refused to let the past go and Paige laid awake most of the night. She felt Gambler drift off to sleep but she refused to let him go. She needed contact with his physical form to get through the night.
Chapter Three
Paige got up early the next morning and made pancakes for breakfast. The fear from last night had festered in her soul and she needed to keep herself busy or she knew she would go crazy.
She wasn’t needed at Redemption House today so she began planning her day. She decided she would clean the house and do some baking. Her hands were a little shaky when she went to pour Gambler a cup of coffee.
Gambler sat at the table with Dusty but neither of them said a word. That in itself was unusual for Dusty. The kid loved to talk usually but yesterday and today, he’d been silent.
Gambler sat there and stared at his son. “Hey buddy,” he finally broke the silence that had been getting more and tenser the longer it went on. “Are you okay?”
Dusty nodded but wouldn’t look at his dad. “I’m ok.”
Gambler was about to say something more when someone pounded on his front door. He heard his brother Judge yell out his name and he got to his feet. He leaned over Dusty’s body to kiss the top of his head goodbye.
Gambler pulled Paige into his arms and kissed her long and sweet.
Paige clung to him for a moment then let him go as he turned to leave the house. She sank down to her chair and both she and Dusty sat in silence.
After a few minutes, Dusty got up and carried his plate over to the sink. Normally, his plate would be clean but not today. Today he had left more than half his pancake, even though he hadn’t eaten any supper last night he couldn’t eat this morning either.
Without looking at Paige, he turned and went back to his room quietly closing the door behind him.
Paige just sat there trying very hard not to remember the past but she was lost in her thoughts.
Dusty opened his bedroom window with one eye on the door. He didn’t want to make any noise and he knew from past experience his window squeaked about half way up. He also knew if he did it right, it would hardly make a sound. Today, he wanted to do it right.
As soon as the window was open enough for him to slide through, Dusty was outside. He didn’t stick around as he had places to go.
He was trying to remember the conversation he had with Cricket about her thinking place. That sounded like a place he could use right now. A thinking place of his own and last night as he tried to sleep, he could only think of one place inside the compound he could go to.
She had told him and Raine that day that her thinking place had been close by her house but it was a place no one but her knew about. Where she could get to easily but close enough to the house she could hear if someone called for her. A place only she knew about, to be alone and think.
Dusty knew of a place like that and that’s where he was headed this morning. When they had first moved here, Deke had said they could build their houses inside the compound. So that’s what his family had done. They had built their houses near each other. But the place Dusty had in mind for his thinking place was outside the boundaries of the compound.
There was a small break in the fence line that went around the compound and through that break, there was a wooded area that a small stream went through. It was ten minutes from his house and as far as Dusty knew it was close enough he could get back quick enough if he had to.
Minutes later, he slipped through the hole in the fence and a minute or so later he found the creek he was looking for. Looking around the area, he didn’t see anything dangerous so he took his time exploring the area for just the right place.
It was only when he found three trees close enough together to form and arch of a sort that he knew he’d found the right area. He knew it in his heart that this would be the perfect thinking place.
He sat down and felt the serenity surround him like a blanket. That was when he knew this was the place he needed. This was a good place. Looking up into the canopy above him, he could almost imagine a tree fort here.
It would be a perfect spot for one but if this was truly his thinking place, no one else could know about it and he wasn’t old enough to build a tree fort on his own. Dusty frowned. He might not be able to build his own tree fort but he could make this place his own.
He could bring blankets, flashlights and snacks. This could be his own man cave. He’d heard his dad and uncles’ talk about man caves. He wasn’t sure what all that meant but it was a place where no girls were allowed. He could deal with that. He wouldn’t be inviting any girls to come here anyway. Girls sucked.
Dusty frowned when he thought about some of the girls at his school. He wouldn’t be inviting any of them to come here with him. The only girl he would ever invite here would be his Cricket. He wouldn’t mind if she came here. She would even keep his secret about this place.
He looked around and nodded. He’d found his thinking place, so now all he had to do was get it the way he wanted. He had a feeling he would be spending a lot of time here.
Gambler and his brothers and dad were at the office going over the security camera feed. When they didn’t find anything, they grew impatient. Over the last week or ten days, someone unknown to them had been messing with their work and livelihood. Then as soon as they get cameras up and running, he didn’t come around? That just didn’t make sense to them.
Hound glanced up from his position at the camera controls and looked at his brothers. “You don’t suppose he saw us setting the cameras up do you?”
Gambler looked at his brothers and shrugged. Then he got up, walked over to the windows and searched the dooryard and surrounding area near the office. He didn’t see anything that should be there but he didn’t really know what to look for either. “Damn it.” He swore out loud. Running his fingers through his hair, he growled with frustration.
Raine stepped over to his brother and asked, “What’s going on here? Why are you so upset?”
Gambler snapped his head around and glared at Raine. “I wish to hell I knew.”
Raine frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean? Is everything ok with you?”
Gambler shrugged. “I’m not sure. Paige was freaking out over something last night but she wouldn’t talk to me about it... I don’t think she slept a wink all night. I tried to be there for her but all she could do was hold me, like I was her anchor or something. Then there’s Dusty. There’s something going on with him too and he won’t talk to me about it.” He motioned behind Raine, “Then to top things off, we have this little problem and its only getting worse. So far, this bastard has only been causing little mishaps. What if it reaches a point where we or our men aren’t safe? What if something happens and one of our men gets hurt?”
“Then we’ll deal with it.” Black Jack came over to them. “What’s going on with you boy?”
“Damned if I know Dad.”
His other two brothers joined them and they all listened as Gambler explained again what happened the night before. “When I got home last night Paige was acting off. Something has her spooked but she can’t or won’t talk about it. Then I find out from Mom that Dusty disappeared yesterday morning and was found later at Raine’s house. He was with Cricket and there was something going on with him too. I tried to talk to him but he wouldn’t talk back. Hell, if I know what’s going through his head. Gambler took a deep breath. “Then we have someone stalking us, our work sites and wrecking our office. Who is he and why is he after us? Nobody knows. He hasn’t done too much damage yet but who knows how far he’ll take it? I’d hate like hell to put our workers in
danger or have someone get hurt, maybe even killed if this guy whoever he is doesn’t back off.”
Black Jack didn’t say anything for a few minutes then he looked at his son. “Maybe you should go home and talk to your woman and son and find out what’s got them running scared. We can handle the work and the office today.”
“I can’t do that to you guys.” Gambler protested.
“The hell you can’t.” Judge scoffed. “We need you here yeah, but we need you here focused, not thinking about what’s going on at home or distracted. Whoever is doing this is trying like hell to distract us big time and we can’t allow that to happen. We can handle the work load today. You go home and get your family back on track.”
Raine reached out and laid his hand on Gambler’s shoulder. “If you need help with Dusty ask Cricket. She mentioned he seemed out of sorts yesterday. I know she would help if you need it. She’s worried about him too.”
Gambler nodded and went to the door. Looking back at his family he said, “I guess I’ll see you guys later. Hopefully, this is nothing but I have to make sure. Paige and Dusty mean the world to me and I can’t stand that they are scared of something and they won’t talk to me.”
“Good luck brother,” Hound called out softly.
Gambler turned and left the office. All the way home, he was distracted by what was going on at home. When he pulled into the compound, he saw Deke and Bones coming out of the clubhouse and they waved him over.
Gambler pulled up to them and shut down his bike.
Deke showed him the photo in his hand. It was a blowup of the button they found yesterday. “Zipper hasn’t been able to find out anything about the symbol on the button.”
Gambler shrugged. “There might not be anything to find. It could just be an old button.”
Sam, Bones shook his head. “Do you really think that? Cuz I don’t.”
“I don’t either,” Deke admitted as well. “I think that symbol means something to somebody. It looked like a logo of some kind.”
“You mean a biker’s logo?” Gambler squinted at the two men.
Deke shrugged. “I don’t know but I think we should find out don’t you? I mean if we got trouble coming our way I don’t think we should ignore it until it comes through the front door. Just how long has this been going on?”
Gambler shrugged, “Hell I don’t know, maybe a couple of weeks? It’s starting to really piss us off though. So far, it’s been footprints on the work site where there shouldn’t be, that could have been just kids messing around but when we went it today someone had trashed the office and wrecked some cabinets we were going to mount at the work site. That’s when we saw the button and the tracks from a cycle in the back.” Gambler sighed hard and ran his fingers through his hair again. “Jesus Christ, I don’t need this right now.”
Deke glanced over at Sam and both of them looked at Gambler. “What’s going on? Is it something the club needs to know about?”
“Damned if I know. I need to talk to Paige and Dusty. Dusty disappeared yesterday and he won’t talk to me about it. There’s something going on with him and he won’t say anything.”
Sam growled. “That doesn’t sound good.”
Gambler nodded. “I just hope whoever is causing problems isn’t setting us up for something bad. I just don’t want any one of the guys working for us getting hurt, that’s the last thing we want or need. Those guys are our brothers.”
“That sounds like we should be on alert, at least until we figure this out,” Deke stated. “Like I said, we can’t be caught with our pants down if there’s something out there that could come after us.” He glanced over at Bones and nodded. “We can get together for supper tonight and have church afterward.”
“You said something about Paige?” Sam reminded him. “What’s going on with her?”
Gambler shrugged. “I’m not sure but last night she was scared to death for some reason. She wouldn’t talk to me but there’s something on her mind.”
Sam looked over at Deke. “Maybe you should let Cassie know. If she won’t talk to Gambler maybe she’ll talk to her sister.” He shook his head. “Those two girls have become very close in the last little while.”
“Yeah that’s true, I think they’re trying to catch up on being separated most of their lives,” Deke agreed. “Cassie told me once she always felt she was missing a bit part of her life as she was growing up. When she found Paige’s birth certificate along with hers she finally knew what it was.”
Sam chuckled. “Separate, the girls are firecrackers, but when you get the two of them together, hell those two are more like a volcano erupting.”
Gambler grinned as he remembered the day he met Paige for the first time. They’d almost literally collided. Barely avoiding a bad accident, he got off his bike and she got out of her car. Then when they came together, they both exploded.
Neither one gave the other a chance to explain or apologize, instead they each laid the blame of the other one and stubbornly refused to see it any other way. Gambler was stunned when it was all over and he had to watch her walk away. He thought he’d never see her again and for once, his heart couldn’t take it.
He had searched her out and made her see him. Finally, she let him in and they had been a couple ever since. Gambler was setting up to propose a life together with her but this silence between them had to be dealt with before he could do that.
He chuckled. “Yeah, they do belong together don’t they? Those two seem to share the same soul. Both are little spitfires and they’re lives have never been easy has it? At least they finally found each other.”
Deke stared at Gambler. “You need to find out if everything is ok with her, cuz once Cassie finds out there might be something bothering Paige, she’s going to go nuts. You think she’s protective of Peaches? Well, get ready for hell on earth if there’s something wrong with Paige. She will destroy you if you’re what’s wrong with her twin sister.”
Gambler nodded. “I know. Paige is the same way. She may not look very fierce but she is. Even though she grew up with parents and a better life than Cassie had she’s still very much independent and I don’t see that changing anytime soon. She always knew there was someone out there was always meant to be with her.” He looked over at the house he and his brothers built for him as he got lost in contemplation. “Whatever this might be I won’t let it hurt her, but I do need to know what this is, whether she wants me to know about it or not. Like you said, we need to know if we got trouble coming.”
“Make sure you all come for supper tonight at the clubhouse. We need to discuss this with everyone else,” Deke reminded him.
Gambler nodded and turned his engine on for the last leg of his ride home. He parked outside and slowly lifted his leg over the bike and walked into his house. He could smell the mouthwatering scent of the baked goods before he took the first step into his home.
Following his nose, he found every space of his countertops was filled with baked goods. Apple cobbler, cherry pie, blueberry pie slices, cinnamon buns, chocolate chip cookies, peanut butter cookies and even oatmeal cookies.
Gambler was frowning when he saw everything. When Paige lifted out another pan of brownies from the oven, she jumped when she saw Gambler standing there. “What are you doing here?” she asked as she slammed the brownie pan down on the counter. She wasn’t mad as much as was startled to see him. She hadn’t heard the door open or close.
“I’m wondering what the hell is going on here.” Gambler looked around. He hadn’t been gone that long.
Paige closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she exhaled, she looked at him and said, “I just felt in the mood to bake today, ok? Is that a crime?”
Gambler frowned and searched her face for some kind of answer. “No sweetheart, that’s not a crime.” He moved closer to her and tried to pull her into an embrace but Paige pulled away at the last minute.
She turned her back, walked over to the sink and began washing dishes.
> Gambler just watched her for a moment then came up behind her. Wrapping his arms around her shoulders he whispered in her ear, “Sweetheart, please talk to me. Tell me what’s wrong so I can help you.”
Paige stilled and leaned back into his embrace. “There’s nothing wrong,” she whispered back. “I’m fine.”
“No sweetheart, you’re not fine,” he insisted. “If you were, you wouldn’t be running this scared. You think I don’t know you? You think I can’t see you’re going through something here?” He hugged her closer. “Please baby, tell me. What’s going on here? You aren’t alone anymore. I’ve got your back.”
Paige pressed his arms into her belly. She couldn’t share her secret with him no matter how much she wanted to. Only she and her parents knew what happened that day and she wasn’t sure if she could share that dark time with anyone else or not. “Yeah, I’m not in a good place right now but I need time to work through it. I love that you want to help but this is something I have to do myself. I just need time.”
Gambler tightened his arms around her. “Okay, I’ll leave it alone for now but I’m here if you need me. All you have to do is turn around, I’ll be the one right behind you.” He leaned closer and kissed her neck.
Finally, he released her and when she turned around he asked, “Where is Dusty?”
Paige frowned. “He’s been in his bedroom all morning. I checked on him shortly after breakfast but he never answered me.”
Gambler frowned. “That doesn’t sound like him.” Sighing deeply, he started down the hall.
Paige followed him.
Gambler knocked on his son’s door and when no one answered, he turned the knob. The door wouldn’t open. He growled and began pounding on the door. “Dusty, open up,” he called out. When there was no answer, he called out again. Again, there was no answer.
He looked over at Paige and she could see worry in his eyes.
Then he put his shoulder to the door and pushed it open. The door flung open and smashed against the wall behind it. When it was open, Gambler and Paige stood there looking into an empty room.
