by Simone Elise
What was even worse was they made me question my sanity! They didn’t speak up and confirm it when I said I saw the man.
The door burst open, and I jumped. It looked like avoiding Maiden wasn’t an option now. I normally wasn’t a confrontational person and cowered away from a fight, but that wasn’t the case right now. When it came to the subject of Maiden and Dad keeping this secret from me, I was breathing fire. Hell, even Critter knew!
I crossed my arms, ready for him to fire his anger at me.
As he slammed the door behind him, I stopped myself from jumping.
“Start explaining yourself, Emmie. You fucking disappeared for no goddamn good reason!” He then looked at me for longer than a glance and inhaled sharply when he realized I was dressed head to toe in lingerie.
He could be turned on as much as he wanted to be, but I didn’t care. Hell, I wasn’t even sure why I was done up like this. It wasn’t like I wanted Maiden to look at me with sexual desire anymore. After all, he was forced to put up with me.
“You lied to me!” My temper got the best of me, and I shouted, knowing Libby and Lynx could hear.
“About your dad going to prison? That wasn’t my place! For fuck’s sake, Emmie, how could you take off because of that? We were fucking stressed thinking you were taken!” His eyes ran down me and then lingered on my breasts as he kept getting distracted.
I arched my eyebrows. “You mean by the man watching me? The stalker I repeatedly told Dad about, which he dismissed? You let me walk around thinking I was losing my sanity!” Tears began to form in my eyes. “How could you do that to me?” Desperation and pain were so clear in my voice. I was fragile, and I would admit that. I felt like I was made of glass on the best of days, but with me questioning my sanity, the glass was cracking. My heart was beating at an unbearable rate, causing me to take sharp breaths in.
Maiden’s angry expression dropped as he realized I overheard their conversation.
“How much did you hear?” Maidens words were sharp, and his expression told me there was more said than just what I had heard, but what I had heard was enough.
I placed a hand on my hip. “Let’s just say I know the real reason you’ve been putting up with me.”
“Emmie, I had no idea—”
“Don’t give me that bullshit. You do as my father says. He told you to do it, so you did. You babysat me. Oh, wait, what were the words you used? Forced yourself to be with me?”
He frowned as if I were completely missing something, but what that was I didn’t know.
“I lied, all right,” Maiden snapped at me. “I lied to your dad.”
I scoffed, shaking my head. “So who are you really lying to? My dad or me now?” I wanted to make this crystal clear to him. “I have enough shit in my life to not want more shit. If you don’t want me, fine, I accept that.” I inhaled sharply. “I’ll get over it, but don’t stand here and lie to me about loving me and wanting to be with me.”
“Enough.” He let out a string of curse words.
I raised a hand. “Just drop it, Maiden, I don’t want to hear another excuse for why you guys did what you did.” I sat down on the edge of the bed, feeling deflated. “Honestly, I’ve had enough.”
“Emmie,” he growled my name, and my head snapped up.
“No, I didn’t mean it like that,” I interjected. “I mean I don’t think I want the MC in my life anymore.”
Those words sent complete and utter horror across his face.
“As in you’re done with me?” His words were tight as he held a lid on his boiling, blistering rage. “You’re just gonna walk from my life?” His fists clenched at his side, and he stood to his full height. “Like fuck, you are walking from the MC life, Emmie. You are, and always will be, an associate to us.”
“An associate?” I scoffed at his chosen word to describe my role in the club. I shook my head and fiddled with my fingers. I didn’t want to be the club’s associate. I didn’t want to be anything to them anymore. I loved my father, but I had to wonder was it really in my best interest? Was this really what would benefit my health in the long run? I wiped the tears off my cheeks and looked at my hands.
Dad was going to prison. A madman was stalking me. And then his eyes flashed in my mind, and I finally put the piece of the confusing puzzle together.
“Kurt,” I muttered
“Excuse me?” Maiden picked up on my words, and I looked directly at him.
“The man stalking me. His name is Kurt. He was a club hang around, and he asked me out a few times. His beard is long, and that’s why I didn’t pick him.” I clicked the missing pieces together. Kurt was my stalker. If I had put that together earlier, I would have been able to give myself the answer a real person was watching me.
The wind whistled against the window loudly, and it caused me to shudder. The storm was picking up. A thought kept running through my mind, he is going to break your heart.
“Emmie, what did I tell you the night we were together?”
I shook my head. “Something about claiming me.”
“Exactly. I claimed you. I want you.” He took a step into the room, and shadows danced across his skin. I now took in the fact he was still wearing the clothes I had last seen him in. He looked like he hadn’t slept. Hell, he looked like he hadn’t rested since I’d disappeared if that was possible.
“I remember the first day I saw you.” His gazed locked with mine. “You climbed off the back of Hammer’s bike, your violet hair out and beautiful. I remembered thinking, fuck, I hated the prez before I saw you climb off his bike, but I hated him a bit more knowing he’d scored you.”
I frowned.
“You never have looked your age, Emmie, you always looked older than you are. I mistook you for eighteen back then. But now it’s like you haven’t aged a day. Then I found out who you really were, and you know what I thought?”
I slowly moved my head from side to side, not knowing what he had thought.
“I thought the day I call her mine is going to come closer than anyone expects.”
My hard expression softened.
He linked his fingers with mine. “You rode from me back then, and I never want that again.” With his free hand, he pulled out his phone. I thought it was a mighty weird time to be making a phone call when he was meant to be proving his love for me.
“Prez, I found her.” He was speaking to Dad. “Yeah, she was at the estate.” He looked at me. “And I need to tell you something.” I quickly started shaking my head. “I’m fucking your daughter.” And with those words said, he hung up.
I gasped loudly and roared, “What the hell were you thinking? Call Dad back and say you were joking!” When he didn’t do as I said, I knew I was going to lose it. “You’re mad telling Dad in that way! You’ve completely lost it! He will hunt you down and kill you!”
He smirked a little, and his gaze went back to running over me. “I expect Lynx up here in a minute to tell me to stay the fuck away from you.”
“I heard his bike take off,” I muttered, pointlessly sharing a fact. “I think you’re in the clear until Dad gets his hands around your neck.”
He shrugged. “So be it. If it means you won’t doubt me anymore, I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
“You’re mad.” I blew out a breath, and my hand went to his cheek. “Nearly as mad as me.” My lips twitched up, and he was quick to plant a kiss on them.
“Want to tell me what the outfit is about?”
“It is my cousin playing matchmaker. I think she likes the idea of me with you.”
“Libby tends to get pissed at me easily.” Maiden moved forward, backing me back toward the bed. “Perhaps it is a Paxton trait.” He nipped at my bottom lip. “You know our first time?”
“Hmm,” I said, tracing his jawline like I had so many times before.
“I wanted it to be special, and it wasn’t.”
I was taken aback by that, and my gaze snapped to his.
“No, I didn
’t mean it like that. I mean, I didn’t make it special for you. In a garage wasn’t ideal for us.”
“Well, like you said, it was our first time.” I moved my lips to his. “Not our last so why don’t we make the most of now.”
“Yeah,” he said, his hands running down my sides. “Fuck, you’re beautiful, sweetheart.”
“It’s the makeup.”
“It’s you,” he corrected me. “But speaking of which,”—he grabbed a face washer from the dresser where I still had them and the towels in a pile after getting them from the linen cupboard—“take it off.”
“My makeup?” I couldn’t believe he was suggesting such a thing.
“All of it,” he added.
“Why? Aren’t you scared of what is underneath?”
“Last time, we fucked. This time, we are making love, and I want you to know I’m making love with you for you, not because of the front you put up to the world.”
It was most likely the most romantic thing anyone had said to me.
I pushed away from him slightly, my hands linked behind his head. “What else did you and Dad talk about?” I was really interested in the direction the conversation had taken and the terror that passed across Maiden’s face when he thought I had heard it.
“Just shit to do with Lynx.”
I arched an eyebrow. “Like what?”
“He’s leaving the club.”
Before I could react, the power blacked out. I screamed and latched on to Maiden.
It wasn’t the dark that scared me, it was the fact that in the window behind Maiden, I swear I saw Kurt with a gun pointed at us and one finger over his lips, telling me to keep quiet.
Chapter 14
Libby
“Oh, God, Libby, you’ve got it bad—so, so bad. What are you going to do? You can’t go harass Emmie right now. If all went according to plan, she’s getting laid.”
I cursed just as a loud knock at the door had my spinning on my heels. “You startled me, Critter. Don’t do that,” I scolded.
He chuckled. “You’ll live. I have strict orders to keep you company until Lynx gets back, so what do you wanna do?” Critter asked as he kicked off his shoes and lay on the bed, grinning at me.
“I don’t know, Critter. I’m not really in the mood to do much. I’m kinda bummed out, to be honest,” I confessed as I lay next to Critter on the bed.
“Aww, Libs, cheer up. He’ll be back, so don’t worry. How ’bout I grab a tub of your favorite ice cream and we watch your favorite movie. I swear I’ll watch the whole thing just for you,” he joked. He sat up and looked at me, waiting for my response.
“Aww, really? You would sit through the Beauty and the Beast with me again for the millionth time? This is why I love you, and you’re my best friend.” I giggled.
Critter grinned and walked out of the bedroom to get the ice cream. While he was gone, I set up the TV and pushed play as he came back with rocky road ice cream and two spoons in hand.
Halfway through the movie, we could hear the wind really picking up and thunder booming loudly.
“Fuck, I knew we were going to get a storm. Critter, this doesn’t look good,” I said, getting up and looking out the window. My body tensed as the rain started coming down hard, then jumped as a hand came down on my shoulder. Critter stood next to me, looking at his phone.
“Shit, it says we are under a severe thunderstorm warning. I’ve got to go close up the garage and make a call. Stay here, and I’ll be right back,” he said, kissing my forehead. He left the room just as a loud bang shook the windows.
I jumped, and my body trembled. As I paced back and forth, biting my nails anxiously, I stared out the window and watched the rain come down hard. Everything was almost pitch black outside, and the lights flickered on and off, which made me scream and stop in my tracks.
“Fuck, Libby, calm down. Everything will be fine. Critter’s coming right back, and Emmie and Maiden are just down the hall. Everything’s going to be fine,” I said over and over again. I sat on the bed and pulled the blanket around me as I tried to focus on the movie. Lightning flashed across the sky, and I jumped again as the lights went out. I instantly got up and on my feet, hand on my chest, and breathing hard, I opened my bedroom door and raced down the hall toward Emmie’s room, only to bump into a hard body. I screamed.
“Sh, sh, hey, it’s just me, Libby.” Maiden held onto me, preventing me from falling. “I’m gonna check the backup generator in the basement. It’s getting pretty bad out there. Go wait in Emmie’s room with her.” He made sure I was all right before heading off.
Bursting through the door, I found Emmie sitting on her bed with the flashlight on her phone lit. She screamed as the bedroom door banged against her wall.
“Shit, sorry, Em, it’s just me. I can’t stand to be alone during storms. They scare the crap out of me. Critter went outside to make a phone call and to close to up the garage,” I ranted as I paced back and forth, shaking my hands while trying to slow my breathing but failing miserably. “I literally ran into Maiden on the way here. Do you mind if I join you? I swear if I have to stay alone, I’m going to pass out. I really can’t handle this. I think I’m going to be sick. I have a terrible feeling.”
“Whoa, calm down. Just breathe. Everything will be okay. I’m here,” Emmie said coming over to me and wrapping her arms around me in a hug, forcing me to stop pacing. “I’m here, and the guys are here. It’s just a storm. Everything will be okay.”
“But how do you know? How do you know it won’t flood, or there won’t be a tornado,” I blurted out my fears, terror capturing my face. “Or that lightning won’t strike the place, or a tree won’t fall on top of us!” I rambled on while resting my head on her shoulder. “Oh, shit, Libby, you have to go to the basement or get your phone so you can call Dad. He’ll know what to do. He always knows what to do.”
“Hey, Libby, did you just talk to yourself?” Emmie asked, chuckling as she patted my back.
“Pshaw, laugh all you want. At least I’m not the one who hears voices,” I teased, stepping away from her. I jumped as lightning flashed across the sky, illuminating the room.
Emmie froze, and her eyes widened as she stared at something behind me.
“Em, what is it.?” I asked and turned around. I gasped and took several steps back until I hit the bed. “Fuck, Em, that’s the man who tried to grab me,” I stammered, staring at the man, who had a gun pointed at us.
“It’s you. I’ve seen your face staring back at me and thought I was going crazy. Wh-what do you want,” Emmie stuttered, grabbing onto my arm as the man took a step toward us.
“Well, well, well, if this isn’t such a lovely surprise. Two for the price of one. I’ve had such a hard-on for you, Emmeline, but you’ve never paid any attention to me, then, much to my surprise, your lovely sis—cousin just so happened to be at the fight. I almost had her too.” He turned to me, and said, “You’re going to pay for that stunt you pulled, you bitch.” The man growled and rushing forward, he grabbed my arm hard while keeping the gun pointed at Emmie.
“Fuck, ouch, just stop. Let her go, and I’ll do whatever you want, just don’t hurt her,” I cried. I tried to yank my arm out of his grasp but failed.
“Not a fucking chance. Once I’ve finished with you, I’m going to take my sweet time with her,” the man spat. He pushed me against the wall and pointed the gun at my head. I froze, terror seizing my body as adrenaline shot through my veins. The man forced his mouth on mine, and as his tongue made its way into my mouth, the taste of weed and cigarettes made me gag. I bit down on his lip hard, and he jumped back, cursing.
Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Emmie with a lamp in her hands, and just as the man straightened, she hit him, shattering it, and he dropped the gun, screaming.
“Libby, run,” Emmie shouted. She kicked the gun under the bed before following me out into the living area.
We’d nearly made it to the front door when the man caught up and grabbed m
y arm. I stumbled when he yanked, then he grabbed hold of my neck and slammed me hard into the wall, knocking the air from my lungs, and I cried out in pain.
“Kurt, stop, it’s me you want, not her. Take me instead,” Emmie cried as she stepped closer to Kurt. “Please, I’ll do anything you want. Just let her go.”
“It’s too late for negotiations, Emmeline, I was gonna make this quick, but now I’m gonna to take my sweet time. Now get moving back in the bedroom before I break her neck.” Kurt growled, dragging me back toward the bedroom, and as Emmie followed, his gaze didn’t leave hers.
I could see the terror in her eyes as we entered the bedroom, and he shut the door. I looked around for anything I could use to get away, but there was nothing, just her bed, end tables, and dresser.
“Get on the bed. You’re going to watch as I fuck her, then when I’m done with her, I’m coming for you,” Kurt said with a sick grin on his face as I shook with terror.
Glancing down, I noticed the broken glass from the lamp and yanking my body as far forward as I could, I pretended to fall. I damn near hit the floor, but I grabbed a shard of glass, hissing as it cut into my hand.
A sickening pop filled the room when Kurt cursed and yanked my arm back. Thunder shook the windows as my back slammed into his chest.
Swinging my arm as hard as I could, I jammed the shard of glass into his upper thigh. When he screamed and let me go, I dove across the room to the sliding glass door and yanked it open. “Emmie, get out,” I screamed. The cold wind nearly knocked me over as rain hit me in the face, making me shiver.
Emmie quickly jumped off the bed and flew out of the door.
“The garage, Emmie! Critter’s still in the garage,” I screamed over the wind.
We were both drenched as we made our way toward the garage, trying to avoid the overturned furniture that was scattered all over the patio.
A shot rang out through the air. I froze, and my hand flew to my side as I gasped. Emmie’s eyes went wide as she spun around, then froze on the spot.
