by Mara McBain
“Now look what you did. You scared off the help.”
“Good. We didn’t need her anyway,” Kat answered leading Ginny toward the incense in the back corner.
“Are you looking for a new box?” Ginny asked as they started to browse.
“Nah, they put extra stitches in mine just like Crux requested.”
“Drag your mind from the gutter!”
“I saw yours down there. Did you want me to say hi?”
“Very funny,” Ginny said, her haughty sniff turning into a snort of amusement.
“Actually, my beloved husband bought new hinges for my incense box. It was so sweet. Silly or not, that box means the world to me.”
“It’s not silly at all and what a sweetheart. Don’t worry. I won’t blow the hard asses cover.”
Kat grinned. “He’ll appreciate that.”
“Where did Eva go?”
“I’m right here,” Eva laughed from behind them.
“Those candles that I bought you are over there on the East wall. This place also has the best incense ever. Karna hand dips her own stock and the smell is so amazing. A lot of places have old incense that has been sitting around losing its potency. “
“It’s like a hippy den in here,” Eva teased, pushing aside a curtain of beads.
“I think this family could use a little make peace, not war,” Ginny said dryly.
“Amen,” Kat seconded.
“I’m all about being nice until it’s time not to be nice,” Karna said with a saucy grin as she emerged from the back room. “Hey there, ladies! Have a basket.”
“You know us too well,” Ginny said, taking a couple of shopping baskets from her to pass to the others. She turned back and gave the shop owner a warm hug. “Karna, you know Reaper’s old lady, Lee. Meet my soon to be daughter-in-law, Mox’s fiancée, Eva.”
Karna leveled her intense gaze on Eva and cocked her head to the side, lips pursing in thought as they shook hands. “I’ve seen you somewhere.”
“Umm, I work at The Lantern,” Eva offered uncertainly.
Karna shook her head, tapping her lips in thought. The finger reversed and she pointed at Eva as the memory resurfaced. “You were at Curly’s when I was in there with Eddie. The guys shot a couple of games of pool.”
Eva’s face darkened in a deep blush but she nodded, eyes darting guiltily in Ginny’s direction. “We, umm, went out for wings.”
“You know you are allowed to eat places other than The Lantern, right?” Kat asked with an eye roll. “The queen isn’t that big of a tyrant.”
“Oh, no. That’s not it. I, uh,” Eva stammered and then dropped her face into her hands, shaking her head as she mumbled. “That was the night I got distracted and burned dinner beyond edible.”
The other women laughed and Ginny squeezed Eva’s shoulders in a hug.
“It happens to the best of us, baby. I hope he was worth it.”
Eva’s guilty giggle verified Gin’s naughty suspicion and drew howls and bawdy teasing from the others.
“At least Moxie couldn’t blame you for ruining dinner,” Kat said still grinning.
“I want to hear more about what Karna was doing with Crazy Eddie,” Ginny said making everyone turn to look expectantly at the busty blonde.
“I’d hate to make Eva blush again,” she said with an unrepentant grin and wrapped an arm around Kat, steering her and the conversation toward the stroller. “You had the baby. How did I miss that?”
“I’ll have to get on the Trinity Falls gossip mongers. They’re slipping!”
“He’s a doll!” Karna said, leaning over the stroller to push the blankets back from Cam’s face. “What’s the little man’s name?”
“Camden Alex Croston.”
“I love that!”
“This is his first shopping trip other than the boring old grocery store.”
“We’ll take good care of him. I just got some amazing dream catchers in that would be perfect for his nursery. They’re actually made by a local Shawnee woman. They’re gorgeous.”
“Oh, he needs one of those,” Kat agreed. “I love dream catchers.”
“Karna, do you have any of the dragon’s blood jar candles in the back?” Ginny asked, picking up a handful of votives.
“I poured some the other day,” the store owner said with a smile. “Let me show Kat these dream catchers and I’ll bring some out.”
“Dragon’s blood?” Eva asked with raised eyebrows.
“I see your skepticism, but smell this. They are divine and I just love the deep red color,” Ginny said, holding out a votive candle.
Eva sniffed the candle gingerly. Her eyes flared in surprise.
“Mmm, that does smell good. It’s earthy, but has a spicy smell too. I can’t really describe it, but I like it.”
“Karna’s candles are kick ass. I’ve burned the incense since I was a kid. My dad hated the stuff, but it masked whatever else I was burning,” Ginny said with a husky laugh.
“I’m not even going to ask.”
“Don’t ask, don’t tell,” Ginny sing-songed with a wink.
Kat hung two dream catchers from the stroller’s handlebar. She fingered the trailing feathers. It seemed sad somehow that she felt the need to protect one so young from evil. Infants were the true innocents. She looked down into Cam’s bright eyes and her chest ached like a fist closing around her heart. Most parents wanted a better life for their children. They were no different. More than anything in the world, she wanted to give this little one the childhood stolen from both her and Crux. She jumped as Ginny nudged her.
“You letting the kiddo watch horror movies before bed?” she asked, gesturing at the dream catchers with her chin.
“No. One of them is for our room. Maybe it will keep the bogeyman away and let me get some sleep.”
Gin frowned, hazel eyes narrowing as they searched her face. “Did Daddy Dearest’s reappearance dredge up the old nightmares?”
Kat nodded reluctantly, chewing on her bottom lip. She shook her head. “Don’t say anything in front of Crux. He takes my worry as a personal insult.”
“Like you don’t trust him to protect you,” Ginny said with a knowing nod. “Zeke’s the same way. As if we have control over our dreams.”
“If I could, I’d pick something a lot more pleasant to occupy my unconscious hours.” Kat tried to smother a yawn. “I’m afraid to go to sleep when Crux is there because I don’t want to wake him with a screaming nightmare, and I’m afraid to sleep when he’s not because the bogeyman is real.”
Ginny winced, understanding clear in her sympathetic gaze. Kat shrugged. Gin was the only one besides Crux she’d shared everything with. It was part of their bond. Her friend had emotional scars of her own. Kat closed her eyes to the prick of tears. Case in point, bad shit happened to good people every day. She felt Gin’s hand on her forearm but couldn’t force an acknowledgement past the lump in her throat. Stepping away, she scooped Cam out of his stroller and cradled him to her chest.
An unreasonable desperation clawed at her and she wanted nothing more than to take her son home and hide from the world. Her lips brushed the soft down of his dark hair and she breathed in his clean, warm scent. A soft squeak escaped the bundled new born. Hands shaking, Kat eased her hold. Swaying slightly she looked down into his round eyes. Innocence and trust shone back at her. A sense of peace and steely resolution crept through her. She nodded and dropped a kiss on his unlined forehead. Be it dream catchers or the small arsenal Crux hoarded at home, they would protect Cam from the bogeyman.
Ginny slowed the Durango as they rattled over the railroad tracks and Kat frowned. She stretched in the passenger seat and looked at the tree-lined side streets of Trinity. Where was she going? Glancing at Gin in question, she pushed herself the rest of the way up in the seat at the tension in her friends face.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, fighting the urge to look behind them as Ginny’s eyes rolled up to the rearview mirror.
&nb
sp; “Don’t look, and everyone stay calm, but we’re being followed. I’m fairly sure this is the same car that was behind us this morning and I know it’s been tailing us since we left Karna’s. I took the route around the reservoir coming back and he’s still there.”
“What kind of vehicle?” Kat asked, running her fingers through her hair and nonchalantly peeking in the side mirror.
“A black Crown Vic.”
“What do we do?” Eva asked, fussing with Cam’s seat that was secured between her and Lee in the backseat.
Ginny chewed on her thumbnail as she made another turn. Fumbling with her phone she dialed Bowie’s number and hit speakerphone.
“Hey, Gin. What’s up?” the Lord’s Vice President rumbled.
“Do you have an open bay at the moment?”
“Yeah. The first door’s clear. Why?”
“I’m going to be there in about three minutes. Can you open the door when I honk? We have a tail.”
“I’ll be ready. Where are you?”
“Walnut Street, just coming up to the grain elevator.”
“What’re we looking for?”
“A black Crown Vic.”
There was a shout and then a muffled conversation as Bowie covered the phone and issued orders. Kat licked her lips as Gin nervously flexed her fingers that had been white knuckled on the steering wheel. She held her breath as they turned onto Main Street, glad she wasn’t driving. She had no idea how Ginny was managing to follow the speed limit. Her heart was pounding and everything in her was screaming to RUN!
“Shit,” Gin hissed.
“You okay?” Bowie asked.
“Red light.”
“Stay cool. You’re almost here.”
The light glowed tauntingly at them. Seconds ticked by and Kat fought down the impulse to scream as Ginny tapped them out on the steering wheel. A second later she gave Gin all the credit in the world as she rolled smoothly off the line at the green light. When Handlebars & Hotrods came into sight, their queen flipped on the turn signal and steered the SUV into the parking lot and up to the bay door closest to the showroom. The door rolled up at her honk and Bowie waved the vehicle in.
Kat didn’t relax until the overhead door ground closed behind them. She jumped as her door rattled and spun to look into her husband’s worried face. Fumbling with the lock and the door handle, she tossed it open and all but fell out into his arms. Crux’s hug was crushing. She finally pulled back and reached for the back door and Cam. Eva handed him out and Kat turned back into her man’s arms with the baby sheltered between them.
“Jesus. I see how I rank. Everyone gets a hug but me,” Ginny muttered, digging for a cigarette now that they weren’t in the enclosed vehicle. Her hands were shaking.
Kat turned to look at Eva engulfed by Mox’s massive arms and even Reaper had emerged from the weld booth to tuck Lee beneath his chin and run fingers through her long blue-black hair.
“You did the right thing calling me,” Bowie said seriously and gave her a squeeze.
“Come here, Ma,” Rhys said, sliding past his boss to wrap Ginny in his arms.
Ginny laughed into her son’s chest but returned the hug. “Thank you, baby. I needed that.” She pulled back to look up at Bowie. “Are we doing anything to find out who that was?”
“Sambo’s on it,” the big man confirmed and then wiggled his phone at her as it rang. “Yeah? Where? Okay.”
Silence hung over the garage as they listened to the one-sided conversation. They all looked expectantly at the big guy when he disconnected the call. Bowie rolled his shoulders.
“Looks like your instincts were dead on. He parked down the block and is just sitting in his car waiting. Clean cut and a cheap suit. He’s not local, so a State boy, Fed or maybe a private investigator. Sambo got the plate number and is calling it into Zeke to see what we can find out.”
“Great. Robo Cop will have me on lockdown again,” Ginny muttered, lighting up her cigarette.
“At least you didn’t get out at the stoplight and walk back to ask the ass clown what he was doing this time,” Bowie said dryly.
“That was years ago!” Ginny protested, color still creeping over her cheeks. “I was young and dumb and I didn’t sit well for a week after that.”
Bowie chuckled.
“Do you think this is connected to me or does Gin have her own private dick?” Kat asked, catching her bottom lip in worry.
“Zeke’s all the dick I need.”
This time an eye roll accompanied Big Red’s deep rumble of amusement. “I’m sure he’ll be happy to hear that. You just best hope you didn’t do anything to warrant him setting a detail on you or you’ll be worrying about a whole different tail.”
“I’m an angel,” Ginny protested, drawing looks and exclamations of disbelief from all around. Rhys moved away from her.
“Aren’t you afraid of lightening, Ma?”
Ginny grimaced at her eldest and leaned into the Durango to grab her phone. Bowie’s big hand covered the screen before she could connect the call.
“What’re you doing?”
“I’m assuming you aren’t letting any of us go anywhere until you know what’s going on.” At his nod she continued. “So I’m calling The Lantern to let them know we aren’t going to be in right away and to ask them to bring four extra specials when they deliver lunch. They’re going to love that since I have half my staff with me.”
He moved his hand. “Why don’t you lovely ladies go make yourselves comfortable in the visitor’s lounge so these grease monkeys will go back to work? I’ll let you know when I hear something.”
Knowing that it wasn’t a suggestion, Kat leaned up and gave Crux a kiss. He brushed his lips over Cam’s head and gave her a squeeze of reassurance. Snagging her purse and the diaper bag from the SUV, she skirted around the towering VP and followed Gin. She could feel Bowie’s gaze boring into her back and hurried her step. Catching up, she bumped Gin with her hip.
“The shop doors were quick thinking.”
“My paranoia comes in handy at times,” Ginny said, waving cigarette smoke away from Cam before squatting to stub the butt out on the concrete floor. She pitched it before they pushed open the door to the waiting area.
Tension hung heavy over the dinner table. Crux hadn’t said more than two words since they’d been home. Kat picked at the soft taco, flaking the tortilla apart with her fingernail. Her stomach had been twisted in a knot of dread all day. This kind of shit didn’t happen to normal people. Giving up on eating, she spun the baby monitor sitting on the table beside her. She willed Cam to make a noise, anything to break the silence.
“You need to eat,” Crux said flatly.
“I’m not hungry.”
“You’re not eating, not sleeping, you’re nursing. You can’t keep this shit up.”
“I’m trying and sometimes I nap during the day.”
“Don’t try to bullshit me.”
“I don’t know what you want from me.”
“Eat the fucking taco!” he thundered, his open hand slamming down on the table.
Kat jumped. Shaking her head she made an effort to relax her muscles. Rather than argue, she picked up the taco, taking a tentative bite. Her stomach rolled. She blinked back tears, forcing herself to swallow. He picked his hand up off the table and she watched him drag it over his face out of the corner of her eye.
“At least we know how the fucker is keeping tabs on us,” he muttered.
“I said I was sorry.”
“I didn’t say it was your fault.”
“No, but you made sure to comment on the fact that Ginny noticed.”
“It was a fucking comment.”
“You don’t just make fucking comments. You think this ass clown has been following me and I didn’t notice.”
“I think it’s a possibility. Yeah. The fucker could’ve been following me too for all I know,” Crux snapped, tossing his arms wide in acknowledgement. “Maybe it’s because her old man is
a cop, or who the hell knows, it could be our queen’s natural paranoia. It doesn’t matter why or how. The point is that Ginny noticed the tail, we’ve identified the bastard as a P.I., and now forewarned is forearmed.”
“I’m not going to be locked up in my house like a prisoner.”
Her husband’s eyes narrowed.
“You’re going to do what you’re told or I will put a fucking boot in your ass!” he said. “That clear, no one said you had to.”
Kat stole a look him and her shoulders slumped. He looked more frustrated than angry. She couldn’t help reaching over and stroking his wild salt and pepper tufts. He ran his hand over the top of his head and gave her fingers a squeeze.
“You’ll have to wash your hands after touching this mess,” he muttered.
“I’ll be more careful,” she promised softly, not talking about his oily hair.
“I wasn’t blaming ya, baby.” He sighed and speared his hands through his hair again, locking his fingers at the back of his neck. “Just the thought of that monster knowing where you are, what you’re doing, and who you’re with makes me see fucking red. I want to gut the sick fuck. If he ever touches you or Cam—”
Kat stood up and settled awkwardly into his lap. He pushed his chair back, giving her more room. Leaning her forehead against his, she closed her eyes. “I know you aren’t going to allow that to happen.”
“Do you?” he asked.
Something in his voice made her open her eyes. His shamrock gaze blazed as he locked eyes with her.
“I will kill that abusive piece of shit before I allow him near my son.”
“I know that.”
“Don’t forget it. All past deals are off, baby.”
Kat swallowed hard but nodded. If she was truthful with herself she had known that someday it would come to this. A lusty wail shattered the tense silence. Grabbing up the baby monitor, she turned it down and looked back at her husband. He didn’t say anything, just looked at her. Licking her lips she nodded again and leaned forward for a quick kiss. “I better grab the little man.”
He nodded and boosted her easily to her feet. Stepping into the living room, she took a shaky breath. It felt good to put a wall between her and the intensity of her husband’s stare. Bowie’s probing look popped to mind and a chill wormed down her spine as she climbed the stairs. Her father was stirring a hornet’s nest. After everything the club had been through lately they weren’t likely to take a wait and see approach. That had burned them in the past.
