“Just came to say hi, didn’t think I would be walking into a mansion. You did well Avery.” He whistles as he checks out Leo’s cavernous home.
The patio door clicks open and Beeker peeks his head in, ‘Avery,’ he starts then he sees Zach, ‘what the fuck are you doing here?”
“Is this how all biker guys greet people?” Zach tries to act offended.
Beeker steps all the way in, ‘no just how we greet people who walk into our homes uninvited,’ Beeker leans in, ‘what the fuck are you doing here?”
I swallow as Zach looks to me and I in turn look at Beeker, “do you know him?”
Realization hits Beeker’s eyes, he stumbles to find words, ‘uh no your Dad and Leo showed me a picture of him and told me to keep you away from him.” Beeker pins Zach with his eyes.
Zach’s eyes have glassed over and he hasn’t taken them off of me since he caught sight of my nervous twitch.
“Um Zach, I don’t think it is best you be here,’ I try to coax him into leaving, ‘Leo is due home anytime and he will flip if you are here.” I lie in hopes that he doesn’t see my tells, I suck at poker too.
“No he’s not, I just saw him down at the titty flop with a tight ass little blonde riding his lap like he was Secretariat.” My stomach clinches at the thought he might actually be doing that very thing right now.
Regaining my composure, ‘no, he is not Zach.”
“What, you think you can just lay that sweet ass you got on him and it will keep him from getting strange on the side?” He has taken another step in my direction. Beeker sees this and places himself between us.
“So Beek how about you go on back out to the little piece of ass you got out there and leave me to this one. Leo, I am sure, has been neglecting it.” His eyes are dark and heavy, his features have morphed into a snarl, ‘I have a message to deliver and I would like to do it alone with Avery.”
“Zach!” I scream in shocked disgust, I have only known him for a few months but he hasn’t ever acted like this.
“Yeah Beeker go on back outside and give the boys a call, I can handle it from here.” Leo’s dark timber rattles the boards I am standing on. He has once again appeared out of nowhere to save the day. He strides through the door wearing blue jeans, a tight whit tee and a badge hung on his belt, a badge? He has a hand gun drawn and is holding it pointing down with both hands, like you see on all those procedural cop shows.
Zach’s smug smile has faded as he turns to face Leo, ‘hey man, like your home. But it is the decorations I am most interested in, especially the bedroom decor.” I look at Zach for the last time, because Leo has murder in his eyes.
Leo has closed the distance from the front door to Zach and is standing toe to toe with him, ‘so why don’t you deliver the message now you little bitch.”
“Wasn’t the kind of message you tell, it was more along the lines you come home and find precious Avery here,’ he shrugs his head in my direction, ‘near death and extremely violated.” His eyebrows go up as he smiles in the face of death.
Leo’s shoulders are pinched as his breathing is fast and furious. He tucks his gun in the back waist band of his jeans. He raises his hand taking Zach by the throat slamming him into the door leading to the garage knocking all the wind out of his lungs and making me jump a foot off the floor.
Leo’s eyes are demon black and his lips are curled into a snarl, ‘you little fuck, I thought the last time we met you were told to stay the hell away from Avery?” Leo’s voice is dark.
I am standing stock still with my mouth hanging open trying to process all the information and commotion going on in front of me. The door busts open and Roman, Dalton and Cowboy come striding in. Dalton comes rushing over to help Leo with Zach, ‘you got this for a minute?” Leo asks Dalton who takes over holding Zach about six inches off the floor by his throat against the wall. Zach is struggling against the men with no progress of being let down.
“Hold still you little piece of rat shit.” Dalton snarls into Zach’s face.
Leo runs to the French doors leading to the patio flinging them open, ‘Beeker! Get the girls and get them out of here!” He shouts as he stalks back over to the group of large men surrounding Zach. Completely ignoring me, which is fine I am just surveying the commotion going on around me.
Eno and my father enter the house right after the other three, ‘is it under control Leo?” My father asks as he nods for Eno to step in. I look from one to the other. They are all sporting the same badge as Leo, also the same hand gun he had drawn when he entered the house
Leo turned to my father nodding his head, ‘yes sir we have swept the grounds he came alone.’
He strolls in with his hands clasped behind his back over to Zach. Dalton lowers him to the ground so my father can look him in the eye, ‘what did I tell you about coming around my daughter again?” His voice is controlled and his words are measured.
Zach tries to speak but Dalton back hands him across the face, ‘it was a rhetorical question you dumb ass.”
“Dalton there is no need for that with company.” My father flicks his eyes in my direction.
“Sorry sir.” Dalton rights Zach’s limp body as a whimper escapes his throat.
Leo redirects his attention to me, ‘Beeker what is taking you so long?”
“I can’t get Avery to move.” Beeker pleads with Leo to help him move me. I am trying to take in the flurry of activity, the men move with elegant speed as if they are tactical combatants and they have been doing this for years, as a team.
Leo comes over and takes my face in his hands, ‘baby it is time for you to go I will come for you when I have squared things away here.” He looks down at me, ‘do you understand?”
His voice is muffled because I am suffering from some sort of shock, my feet will not listen to my pleas to run from the house screaming in a panic. I survey the area around me and look at all the sets of eyes trained on me waiting on my response, when none is offered, I am hoisted up into Leo’s arms,’ Beeker get the SUV ready and move it to the front of the house I will have the girls meet you out there. Take them to the compound and wait for further contact.” Beeker nods and is out of the kitchen in a flash.
Leo looks over at Kayla, ‘help me with her.” Kayla kicks into gear and grabs some of my things and follows Leo out the front door as we are followed by Roman and my father.
I am placed in the back seat of Leo’s black SUV my father comes over, ‘Avery baby?”
Shaking my head, ‘what?!” the shock has wore off and the anger of my home being breached by that rancid man Maxwell Cain has settled in.
He turns to Leo, ‘she will be fine,’ turning back to Beeker, ‘get them out of here.”
Leo leans in, ‘I will see you in a little bit okay?” He places a fast kiss on my lips and we are whisked away down the driveway, I turn to watch as the men file back into the house and close the door behind them.
I swivel back around in the seat, ‘will someone please tell me what the fuck just happened?” I demand.
Kayla glances over at Beeker and they both train their eyes forward, ‘Leo will fill you in when he comes for you, it is not for us to say.” And with that Beeker turns up the music successfully tuning me out.
I let a screaming tirade of curse words fly into the noise filled air. The frustration of not knowing a fucking thing about the goings on around me is going to drive me insane. I feel like I am a leaf fluttering around on an autumn wind with no chance landing anytime soon. My life is as if a hurricane has crashed landed my shores with no eye of relief in sight.
****
Leo
I watch as Beeker and Kayla take Avery to safety, I turn with a renewed sense of murder. Slamming the door behind me I cross the distance to Zach. Taking the piece of shit up again around the throat he gasps for air and I think if I just jerk my hand slightly to the left I can divest the world of this parasite.
“Leo!” Kent yells to call me down.
“He came in
to my house where Avery was and threatened her,’ I train my eyes back on him, ‘my house. Did you not think you were being followed fucker?”
His eyes are starting to bulge out and his face is a pleasant shade of purple. I feel a hand grab my arm, ‘drop him, that is an order solider.” Relinquishing him to a heap on the floor I give him a swift kick for good measure before I make myself walk away.
“You good now?” Eno comes over to me.
“We need to take him in.” Thank you, captain fucking obvious Roman.
“Handcuff him and set him in a chair, I would like to have a few words with him before we turn him over.” Cowboy and Dalton haul the sniveling heap into one of my dining room chairs Eno has drug out into the middle of the floor.
Kent begins to pace back and forth in front of him, ‘so Zach where is he?”
Spitting blood on my hardwood floors he looks up and laughs at Kent’s question, ‘I don’t know.”
Kent backhands him, ‘that was for Avery, now tell me you little fuck where he is.”
Shaking the fog from his head, ‘I couldn’t if I wanted to. I have never really met the man, only phone calls to a burner phone.” He was too easy to break, the ease in which he gave up the information makes me nervous.
“This is going nowhere.” My patients are running thin.
“Your right,’ Kent turns to Roman, ‘tag him and bag him.” He turns to me, ‘you need to get to Avery and make sure she is still sane.” He squats in front of Zach bringing himself eye level, ‘we will let the boys at the office take care of him.”
Zach literally shakes with fear, as well he should, those boys are not so worried about messing up a pretty face like Zach’s.
I watch as Dalton and Roman heave him out of the chair, he turns his head to Cowboy, ‘how is my niece doing.” I barely get a hold of Cowboy’s arm before he lunges for Zach.
“Easy man.” I am the one talking someone down now, ‘he will get his, I have a buddy who owes me a favor.’ I say it loud enough so Zach can hear me, ‘have fun, shithead.”
“Calvin, go home and check on Caden. Leo you need to get your ass to the clubhouse and check on my daughter. There isn’t anything else we can do here,’ he turns to walk out of the door, ‘and Leo get the security system upgraded in this house.”
****
Avery
When we reach the clubhouse I am ushered to Leo’s room. I turn to Beeker, ‘let me guess you are going to fucking lock me in too?” I stand with my hands on my hips. Kayla has a remorseful expression on her face as she stands behind Beeker. He turns and takes my things from her and hands them to me silently, ‘damn it Beeker talk to me please?”
He sighs heavily, ‘Avery please don’t ask question I am not at liberty to answer. I told you Leo with tell you what he can when he gets here.” He turns closing the door and of course locks it behind him.
My temper flares out in epic proportions, I begin trashing the room. I sling my arms around like a mad woman, ripping things from the walls. Raking my hand across the dresser and night stands I throw everything to the floor. I take the lamp and rip the cords free from the wall and slam it over the newly cleared side table. I tear the sheets from the bed, turning over the mattresses and kicking the bed frame. Next I cross over to the closet and begin flinging his cloths out into the floor, wishing I had a lighter so I could burn the fucking place down. Instead I reach for the knife I had knocked into the floor and went for the pillows slicing them open making stuffing fly through the air.
Jerking the drawers from the dresser, I dump the contents out and then I head for the chest and did the same. I kick the piles of discarded clothing, scattering them all over the room. I bend and take up one of Leo’s tee shirts ripping it from the neck to the bottom hem, feeling better I do this to all the others I can find.
I stand in the middle of my carnage when there is nothing left to destroy. My chest is heaving as mad tears stream down my cheeks. I slump down into the floor holding my head in my hands when there is a knock at the door.
“What?!” I scream at it. When
“Avery?” It is Piper, ‘you okay in there?” When did Piper get here? Kayla must have called her or she was here from the get go.
“What the fuck do you think Piper?” It was a little harsher than I had expected.
“If I unlock the door and come in are you going to beat the shit out of me?” For once she sounds sheepish.
“Are you going to tell me what the fuck is going on.” My breathing is still not under control.
She is silent for a minute, ‘no.”
“Then I suggest you just walk away and leave me alone for awhile.” I turn and face the now shattered window, but that offers no help either because of the bars on the outside.
“Avery,’ she pauses.
“Just go Piper!”
The hall outside the door falls silent, I don’t care I have just hurt the feelings of my best friend. She was only coming to me to help and I had sent her away with my pissy attitude.
****
I had flipped the mattress back over onto the frame and covered with the ripped sheet. I had fallen asleep around one and didn’t stir until I heard Leo cussing, as he tried to navigate the minefield I had turned our room into. Reaching I flipped on the broken lamp laying beside the bed.
“Shit Avery, what the fuck?” He was standing, with his hands on his hips, surveying the damage I had caused.
I sit on the bed rubbing the sleep from my eyes, ‘oh it was worse until I straightened up a little.” I smirk.
“Really?” He is still eyeballing the carnage which had once been his room.
“Yeah, I flipped the mattress back over so I could sleep.” I fling myself back onto the shredded pillow and cover my eyes with my forearm.
“Avery!” he shouts.
“What!” I retort sitting back up in the bed.
“I asked what the fuck happened to our room?” He is standing in the middle of every item in his dressers I had dumped into the floor. He turns in a full circle looking down all around him.
“I happened, lock me in here again asshole.” I lay back again covering my eyes but this time I am hauled out of the bed and placed on my feet. I put my hands on my hips and stare into two seething onyx pools.
His teeth are clenched, ‘Avery, I am trying to understand your side of this matter, but this,’ he makes a sweeping motion with his arms, ‘is uncalled for.”
“I don’t think so, I felt rather sated when I was finished, ya know calm and collected. There is something to be said about the calming affect the sound of something shattering has on a person.” My flippant reply is not well received.
He runs his fist through the drywall at the left of my head, I duck, ‘fuck Leo what the hell are you doing?”
I can see his chest rising and falling under his tee shirt as he retracts his arm, ‘trying to feel sated and calm, but seeing how there is nothing left to shatter. I thought maybe a few holes in the walls would accent your redecoration efforts.” He grits out through his clenched teeth. He is rabid with anger as I had been earlier.
“Are you pissed?’ I am goading him on.
He forcefully closes his eyes, ‘beyond belief.”
I poke him in the chest, ‘good, now you know how I feel on a daily basis being around you.”
He takes my pointer finger and gently removes it from his peck muscle I had been digging it into, ‘Avery have you ever heard the saying don’t prod the bull?”
I have but I am not finished, ‘oh look the door is still hanging from its hinges.” I point to the pristine door looking out of place in the complete mess of the room.
Leo turns as a growl escapes his throat, then he promptly removes the door from its frame. I stand and watch in utter amazement at his strength. His muscles contort and roll as he rips the door down garnering the attention of Beeker and Kayla. They step warily through the opening. Surveying the room and its mess, ‘what the fuck happened?” Beeker asks in shock in time with
Kayla’s gasps.
Leo doesn’t turn in my direction, ‘Avery.” He throws his thumb over his shoulder at me.
I point an accusatory finger in his direction, ‘Leo.”
“Okay.” Beeker hustles Kayla back out of the door and down the hall to the bar ,as if the destruction of a room is an everyday occurrence. Leo turns to me and puts his hands on his hips.
Lowering and shaking his head, ‘are you done?”
“Are you?” I haven’t moved since his last outburst.
“Yes.” He takes my hand and pulls me down the hall behind him.
“Beeker you and Kayla go on, Avery and I are going home to get some shut eye. We will meet here in the morning and discuss today.” He orders as he drags me through the clubhouse. I tug on my hand to free it, ‘what now?” He stops and sighs.
“I am just getting tired of feeling like I am being lead around on a leash.” My stubbornness is out in full force tonight.
“Fine.” He caveman’s me over his shoulder and carries me the rest of the way to the front door.
“Because this is so much better.” I snap as he crosses the threshold out into the yard.
A swift swat to my ass has me smiling and feeling better about the situation, ‘shut it Avery.” I can hear a slight smile in his words as he walks towards his SUV.
“Leo, my man.” The rough gravelly voice is tweaked with a slight accent brings Leo up short. He stands stock still as I twist on his shoulder to see who it is. I watch as men surround us, they bleed out of the darkened shadows engulfing the shop.
Leo slowly lowers me to my feet taking his hand, he ushers me around to his back by my hip. I bunch my hands in his tee shirt at his waist and look around at the paramilitary type men. They all have guns and their faces covered except for the one doing the talking.
“It is time and you know it.” He spits again with his disgusting voice at Leo. I hear the faint sound of a growl leave Leo’s throat.
“Let Avery go, she has doesn’t have anything to do with this.” Leo is somber and his body is rigid.
“Oh no, now we can't do that, now can we?” I peer around Leo’s arm to see a man that is dressed in tattered fatigues, a semi automatic gun slung around his shoulder. He has a beret sitting on his head slightly hanging to the side, and a black scarf tied around his neck.
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