“You have a bedroom here,” Shiloh said, flipping on the light.
It would fit a queen-sized bed perfectly, and even though there was only one bathroom, you could access it from both the hallway and the bedroom, which made the flow much better.
“Oh, wow, two sinks,” I said, running my hand over the granite.
Shiloh chuckled. “It was a job and a half, but Doom figured out how to do it.”
“It’s beautiful.”
We walked out to the kitchenette and the great room was small, but it was bright and perfect for one person. The walls were gray with the occasional dark blue accent in different parts of the space.
“I love it,” I breathed out.
“It’s yours,” she said, and slid a rental agreement toward me. “I have everything outlined here, so have a look and as soon as you sign, you can move in. Did I mention you have full access to the pool?”
I chuckled. “You had me at the checkered floor.”
“I knew I was going to love you,” she said.
I bit back tears as I read the agreement. “This rent is really low.”
“Nah, it’s just right.”
I shook my head, trying to bite back tears.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
That one question opened a floodgate of emotion I was not prepared for and I burst into tears.
“Oh, honey, are you okay?” Shiloh cooed, pulling me in for a sisterly hug.
“It’s just been a really shitty couple of days and y’all are just so, so nice, and I needed a win, and this is a total win, and I just don’t feel like I deserve it—”
“Take a breath, babe,” Shiloh said, hugging me tighter.
I chuckled and took a deep breath, pulling away from her. “Sorry.”
“It’s fine, Posey. You’re fine. Just let us help. It’s what we love to do most.”
I wiped my tears and nodded. “Honestly, I don’t have much choice right now, so I guess I need to put my stubborn pride away and let you.”
She chuckled. “There’s the spirit.”
“The place is lovely, Shiloh, thank you. I’ll definitely take it.” I signed the rental agreement and grabbed my checkbook.
She laid her hand on my arm. “Deposit and first month have already been paid.”
“What?”
“Shadow already paid it, honey.”
“Why the hell would he do that?”
“You’ll have to ask him,” Shiloh said, handing me a set of keys. “Here’s the key to the front door. It also locks and unlocks your slider.” She walked to the front door. “Let me show you where you can park.”
For the next twenty minutes, Shiloh gave me the low-down on where to pull in, where to park, and where Shadow could park his bike. I didn’t poo-poo the fact she just assumed he’d be parking his bike there, because, let’s be honest, I wanted it more than anything.
“That’s it,” Shiloh said once we were back inside. “I think Shadow’s already assembling the troops, but if you need anything, please don’t hesitate to ask.”
“Thanks for everything, Shiloh. You have no idea how much this means to me.”
“It’s going to be fun.”
I nodded and she walked me back through her home to the door and I took off for my soon to be ex-apartment.
And arrived to a group of bikers hanging outside my door just as my phone buzzed.
Shadow: Brothers are coming to start the moving process.
I sighed and pulled my keys out. “Hi, everyone.”
“Hey, sweetheart. I’m Shutter and this here’s Bozo, Windows, and Stump.”
Oh, I remembered Stump. I smiled. “Hi, everyone.”
“You got shit you need boxed up and moved over to Otter’s place?” Shutter asked.
“Apparently I do. Yes.”
“You just direct us and we’ll take care of the rest of it.”
“Are you planning on doing all of this today?”
Shutter smiled. “Yes. Unless you don’t want us to.”
“I think it’ll take a little longer than today,” I mused as I opened my door and led the group inside.
“We got more guys comin’,” Stump said.
“You do?”
“Badger and Dash are pickin’ up a U-Haul,” Shutter said.
“Oh, wow. Well, maybe it can happen, then.”
“I imagine it’ll take us two hours. You’ll be at Otter’s place before dinner.”
“Except, I eat like a geriatric.”
Shutter burst out laughing. “Jesus, you’re funny. Shadow didn’t say you were funny.”
“We’ll get you over to Otter’s before you know it,” Stump promised.
“I’ve packed up the really personal things,” I said. “So, you’re all free to move about the cabin.”
As the men moved through my space, I headed into the kitchen to start pulling things out of cabinets, but a very young biker who barely looked legal, stopped me. “We’re gonna take care of that.”
“I can’t stand here and do nothing.”
“Open a bottle of wine and relax,” he suggested with a cocky grin.
I narrowed my eyes. “What was your name again?”
“Dylan.”
“That’s your club name?”
He shook his head. “I’m still a recruit. I don’t have a club name yet.”
“It’s nice to meet you, but I need to do something, or I’ll feel bad.”
“If you drink a bottle of wine, you’ll forget you feel bad.”
“Jesus,” I hissed out quietly. “Just let me handle the kitchen.”
Before he could respond, my phone buzzed and I saw it was Shadow calling, so I answered. “Hi.”
“Hey, baby. How’s it going? Guys doin’ their thing?”
“Yes. A young upstart by the name of Dylan seems to think I need to drink a bottle of wine instead of packing up my kitchen.”
Dylan laughed at my passive-aggressive admonishment, then walked away.
“I think he’s given you good advice,” Shadow said.
“I can’t be sipping wine when people are working around me, Nolan,” I complained even as I sat at my dinette table.
“You can and you will, Posey.”
Before I could retort back, a bottle of red was put in front of me, along with a glass. I looked up to see Dylan smirking at me.
“Need me to open it?” he asked, holding up my opener.
I rolled my eyes and held my hand out. “I’ll do it.”
He grinned, setting it in my palm, then walking away again.
“You people are relentless,” I whispered.
Shadow chuckled. “Yeah, we are. I’ll be there after shift.”
I sighed. “Okay.”
“Hey. You okay?”
“I’m overwhelmed, but I’ll get over it.”
“I’ll help you with that tonight.”
“Okay.”
“Text me if you need me,” he said.
“I will.”
We hung up and I sat at my table and watched a bevy of bikers pack up my apartment in less than three hours.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Posey
I HAD JUST grabbed my purse and keys off the kitchen counter when my doorbell rang. Glancing at my watch, I noticed it was too early for Shadow, so I peeked out the peephole and couldn’t stop a gasp.
Shit.
“Posey?” Carl called through the door.
Shit, shit, shit.
With the move happening faster than expected, Shadow and I had decided to meet over at my new place which meant he wasn’t on his way to this place, but the other. Once everything was out of the apartment, I insisted I clean while the men drove all my stuff to the new place.
Which meant I was now stuck without backup.
“Posey! I know you’re in there.”
I dropped my head to the door.
“Who the fuck are you?” a deep, gruff voice demanded.
“I’m her boyfriend.”
I peeked through the peephole and saw Shutter herding Carl away from my door.
“Who are you?” Carl demanded, still backing away.
I bit my lip and watched as the bigger man moved Carl further and further down the hall.
“I’m the bodyguard,” he retorted, and I let out a quiet snort.
Shutter was built like a freaking bodyguard. Taller even than Shadow and muscles upon muscles, he was built like a brick house.
“Where’s Posey?” Carl asked.
“She’s busy.”
“Are you… are you sleeping with her?”
Carl didn’t get a chance to ask anything else because Shutter clocked him square in the jaw, and Carl went down with a bang.
I yanked open the door and squeaked, “What did you do?”
“I pulled the fuckin’ punch, Posey. Now, get the fuck outta here and go meet Shadow. I’ll take care of this asshole.”
“Did you… did you kill him?”
“Jesus, woman. No, I didn’t kill him.”
As if to confirm that statement, Carl started to moan.
“Get the fuck out of here, Posey,” Shutter demanded, and I grabbed my purse and took off.
Just like that.
Ran away like a pussy.
With a gigantic smile of relief on my face.
I sped to my new home, my heart racing like crazy, where I parked in my new spot and rushed inside, slamming into Shadow as my feet crossed the threshold.
“Hey, baby, excited to be home?”
I wrapped my arms around him and burst into tears.
“Jesus, what the fuck?”
Through hiccupping sobs, I gave him a blow-by-blow of everything that had happened in the last twenty minutes, the adrenaline wearing off and fear setting in with each word.
“And I think Shutter killed him.”
“I thought you said he was groaning,” Shadow pointed out.
“They were probably death groans.”
He chuckled, holding me tighter. “Shutter said he pulled his punch, right?”
I nodded into Shadow’s chest.
“Then he definitely didn’t kill him.”
I sniffed. “Can you find out?”
“Shutter’ll call me when he’s dealt with it.”
I heard male voices yelling and pulled away to meet his eyes. “Is everyone here?”
“Out back,” Shadow said. “Yeah.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” I demanded, wiping my tears in an attempt to put myself back together. “Oh my god, I’m a mess.”
“Baby, you’re good.”
“I have to unpack.”
“Everything’s done.”
“What?” I squeaked. “What do you mean? We have to put the bed together, unpack the kitchen stuff.”
“Done. Well, except for the kitchen stuff. It’s all currently on the counters so that you can decide where you want shit to go. But the bed’s together and Shiloh made it for you. The women took care of the bathroom and closet. Your suitcases with your personal stuff haven’t been touched, but anything that wasn’t in those bags was unpacked and put wherever it was at your old place.”
“Nuh-uh.”
“Yeah,” he countered.
“Are you serious?” I whispered.
“Are you mad or happy?”
“Oh my god, I’m so happy,” I breathed out. “I’m so, so tired. I couldn’t imagine having to do all of that before getting up at seven tomorrow to teach a class.”
“You’re off on Thursday, though, right?”
“Yes.”
“Come and see what’s been done and then you can tell me if you want anything moved.” He stroked my cheek. “If you do, I’ll take care of that tomorrow.”
“Let me clean up a bit.”
“Okay, honey, I’ll meet you in the kitchen.”
I nodded and made my way into the bathroom from the hallway, then moved into the bedroom. It was perfect.
Okay, I’d have to move some of the throw pillows around, but it was as close to perfect as anyone could get and I almost burst into tears again.
I took a deep breath and stepped back into the bathroom, finding most of my things where I’d had them in my old bathroom, so I cleaned up a little, brushed my teeth, then walked out to the kitchen. Shadow wasn’t there, but I saw him out the back slider, laughing at something Doom was saying as they stood by the grill filled with all sorts of different meat choices.
With him distracted, I took a minute to check out the carnage in my kitchen and had set some plates in the cupboard above the microwave when I heard the slider open.
“Posey?” a feminine voice called.
“Kitchen,” I called.
I turned and came face-to-face with Quin… and Jasmine, Willow, Shiloh, and Lyric.
“Oh, hi,” I said. “Shadow said y’all helped put everything away.”
“Hopefully we didn’t fuck it up,” Jasmine said.
“Oh my god, are you kidding me? It’s amazing. Thank you.”
“Parker and Kennedy are on kid watching duty, otherwise they’d be here as well.”
“They watched all your kids so you could do this for me?”
“Yeah,” Willow said.
I waved my hands in front of my face to keep the tears at bay. “Oh my word, I don’t know what to say.”
“I have wine,” a voice called out and I heard the slider again.
“About time,” Jasmine retorted. “Did you bring more than one bottle?”
“Am I a monster?” Olivia responded, holding up two.
“I have glasses,” I said. “I think.” I turned once, then twice, finding them sitting in the corner of the counter. “Aha!”
Jasmine grabbed the bottle opener from its current place on the counter, handing it to Olivia who promptly opened the wine while I handed everyone a glass.
“You’ve started celebrating without me?” Shadow growled, pushing his way through the ladies to get to me, and wrapping his arms around me, kissing me gently as I held my wine up in an effort not to spill.
I grinned up at him once he’d removed his mouth from mine. “The ladies brought my favorite wine.”
“Did they?” he asked, mocking innocence.
“Did you have something to do with that?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Hm-mm, sure.”
He grinned, kissing me again before addressing the women. “If you’re done with my woman, can we eat?”
A shiver rushed through my body when he said, ‘my woman,’ and I couldn’t stop a stupid grin.
“Willow made her potato salad,” Jasmine said. “Hell, yeah, we can eat.”
“We’ll meet you out there,” Shadow said.
Olivia grabbed the full wine bottle and the rest of the ladies followed her out.
“You okay?” Shadow asked.
“I’m amazing, honey. Thank you for everything.”
“You’re welcome.”
“I’m going to need you to tell me what you paid Shiloh,” I said.
“What I paid Shiloh?”
“First and last, etcetera?”
“Oh, that.”
“Yes, that,” I said. “I’m going to pay you back.”
“No, you’re really not.”
“Shadow—”
He shut me up by kissing me again and I sighed against his lips. “You can’t keep—”
Another kiss and I let out a frustrated groan.
“If you’re done with your nonsense,” he said. “Come party for a little while.”
I glared up at him, as he grinned down at me. I figured out pretty quickly I wasn’t going to win this one, so I sighed.
“I have an early morning,” I reminded him.
“I know, baby, you’ll be in bed before midnight. Promise.”
“With you?” I asked.
“Do you want me to be?”
I smiled and nodded my head.
&nbs
p; He chuckled. “Then, yes, with me.”
“Okay, let’s party.”
He took my hand and led me outside. Shutter arrived an hour later, pulling Shadow aside. It wasn’t lost on me that Quin guided me over to a table laden with food when I moved to follow Shadow.
“He’s going to fill me in later, you know,” I said.
She grinned. “But for now, he’s gonna want you to hang here so he can filter later.”
“I don’t want him to filter.”
“Believe me, babe, you do.” She handed me a plate. “Try the potato salad.”
I craned my head to look at Shadow and Shutter, but I felt my plate dip and was forced to focus back on whatever Quin was dumping onto it. “That’s too much.”
“I’ll let you do it, then,” she said with a cheeky grin.
I narrowed my eyes at her. “You’re a little bit evil, aren’t you?”
“Pleading the fifth.”
I shook my head and grabbed a little more food before turning to find my man. He found me.
“Hey,” he said, leaning down to kiss me quickly.
“What did Shutter say?”
“Carl’s been dealt with.”
I frowned. “Like, how? Dumpster dealt with…?”
“No, baby. What kinda man do you think Shutter is?”
“Nolan,” I whispered. “He hit Carl once and Carl was out. Out, out. Shutter knew exactly where to hit him to do damage.”
“You’re absolutely right. He does know where to hit to do the most damage,” he whispered back. “He pulled his punch so he wouldn’t.”
“Where’s Carl now?”
“He’s home.”
“You know this for fact?”
“Yes. Shutter followed him home.”
I sighed. “Okay.”
“Did you give him your address?”
“No,” I admitted.
“Would anyone you know give it to him?” Shadow asked.
“No way in hell.”
“Then, how the hell did he know where you live?”
I bit my lip. “Oh my god, I have no idea. I didn’t even think about it.”
“I don’t like it.”
“Well, now I don’t either.”
“Shutter’s got a couple of recruits watching him,” Shadow informed me. “He won’t get near you.”
“It’s not like he’ll do anything to me, Nolan.”
“You willing to bet your life on that?” he challenged.
“Honestly? No. Desperate people do desperate things.”
Fanning the Biker's Flame (Dogs of Fire: Savannah Chapter Book 8) Page 9
