Everyone finished the meal in relative silence.
“Would you girls mind cleaning up, since I cooked the food on the grill?” The grin her dad gave was teasing. Gwen and her sister laughed. He propped his legs up on the chair next to him and folded his hands over his waist.
“I don’t mind helping,” I interjected.
“We’ve got it. You menfolk sit out here and let your food settle.” Gwen kissed my cheek and giggled.
The women made a couple of trips in and out, then we could see them in the kitchen doing dishes.
Gwen’s father looked over his shoulder before scooting his chair further into the growing shadows. He pulled out an e-cig and took a deep inhale.
As he breathed out, he studied me. Not one to be a bitch, I held his gaze.
“Do you smoke?” he asked me.
“No, sir.”
“Neil. I’m retired, and I don’t need that sir crap anymore. And you’re a smart man. It’s a filthy habit I wish I’d never started.” He gave me a mild smile as he studied me. “So you were in the army?”
Not sure if Gwen told him or if he’d looked into me that quickly, I hesitated. Then again, I also saw no reason to lie. “Yes, si—Neil. I was a medic.”
“And now you’re a nurse?” He asked it as a question, but I got the feeling it wasn’t.
“Yes.”
“Noble profession,” he said as he nodded and took another hit of the device.
“Thank you.”
“You also belong to one of those motorcycle gangs.” He said it casually, but his head tipped back and his eyes narrowed as he studied me.
His words grated on me. I fucking hated when people assumed all clubs were like the cutthroat outlaws of old. Sure, some of them still dabbled in some dark shit, but most of what was done now was much more high tech than simply running drugs, guns, or women.
“It’s a club, not a gang, but yes, I am.”
“Hmm” was his noncommittal reply.
We sat in a moment’s silence before he leaned forward with his forearms on his knees. “Look, I’m going to cut to the chase. I want a promise that you aren’t going to be a danger to my daughter. After what was done to her car, I worry that it could be connected to the type of people you may or may not be bringing into her life. I’d also like to know what your intentions toward her are. She’s a good girl and smart as hell. I’d hate to see that change because of who she was with.”
Done being Mr. Nice Guy, I braced my hands on my knees. “Neil, I’m not sure what kind of shit you’ve been watching on TV, but I belong to a club that is comprised of some really stand-up guys. Most of them are prior military. Some have educations. I know it’s a shocker.” My sarcasm was amping up, and I was afraid I was going to regret what shot from my mouth.
He didn’t say anything in response, just raised his brows.
“Mr. Kelly. I can’t make promises that nothing will ever happen to Gwen. That’s not fair. But what I can promise you is that I care deeply for her and I will do everything in my power to keep her safe. With all due respect because you’re her father, I understand your concern for her. But on the flip side of that coin, she’s an adult and who she chooses to spend time with is her business. And mine.” Fingers digging into my legs, I fought not to lose my cool.
“I like a man with balls. Mitch never had them, and it showed me he wasn’t good enough for my daughter the first time I met him. But what I will tell you is I have connections that can make your life a living hell if you intentionally fuck over my daughter or put her in danger.” Though his tone was mild, his words and his eyes spoke volumes.
“Roger that.” My teeth ground together, but I appreciated his honesty.
Taking one last drag from his e-cig, he exhaled, then tucked it in his pocket. “I think I’ll go get another beer and see if the women need any help.” He stood. A hard hand clasped my shoulder as he passed me. “I like you, Maddox.” Then he actually grinned before going inside.
Not sure how to take all of that, I stared out into the night. Muted voices carried through the glass, but I couldn’t make out what they were saying.
The patio door opened, and I waited for Gwen to sit by me.
Except it wasn’t Gwen. It was fucking Darla.
“She’ll never hold your interest,” she said in a smug tone as she plopped her ass in the chair next to mine.
“And how the fuck would you know?” I was fed up with being nice to her catty sister.
Her touch caused me to flinch, and my hand shot out to grab hers where she trailed it up my thigh. Undeterred, she leaned into me.
“Because every one of her boyfriends eventually ended up in my bed.” Her red lips curled as her fingers curved around and dug into my thigh. Pissed, I tossed her hand away from me.
“That’s pretty fucked-up. She’s your sister,” I ground out.
Her sultry laughter rang out into the night. “She’s a prude, Maddox. If you haven’t already found that out, you will soon.”
“Gwen? A prude? You must have her mistaken for someone else.” For the first time, I saw her cocky expression falter, so I continued. “Matter of fact, the first night we met, we fucked on a beach. And it. Was. Amazing.”
I’d succeeded in shocking her, and I wanted to laugh at her incredulous expression.
The thought that Gwen’s own fucking sister had fucked all of her boyfriends, or at least claimed to, pissed me off. I was done being nice. Standing up, I looked down at her with disdain.
“Maybe it wasn’t that she was a prude, but that they didn’t know how to treat her pussy right. Fortunately, I don’t have that problem.” Reaching down, I grabbed my junk through my jeans. Without another word, I turned my back on her indignant gasp and went back inside.
“Maddox! We were talking about Christmas. Do you have plans?” Janie asked.
The last thing I wanted was to spend another minute around her backstabbing sister.
But the thought of spending Christmas with Gwen was so appealing, I found myself responding, “Not really, why do you ask?”
“We thought maybe you’d like to spend it with us,” Gwen shyly answered for her mom.
My gaze landed on the tiny woman who was knotting me up something fierce. It wasn’t within my power to tell her no. And that scared the living hell out of me at the same time it set my insides on fire.
“I think I’d really like that,” I said as my eyes remained locked with hers. An idea began to form in my head. The thing was, I needed to get going if I was going to accomplish what I had in mind.
“Gwen, it’s getting late.” She immediately looked crestfallen. “Would you walk me to my truck?”
“Sure,” she said quietly as she tried to smile.
“Thank you all for dinner. It was excellent. It was great spending time with you all.” Neil and I silently stared at each other for a moment before we both grinned.
“Good to meet you properly, Maddox,” he said.
“Thank you so much for coming,” Janie said.
Thankfully, Darla was still outside. Likely she was still pouting over the set-down I’d given her. She’d pissed me off, and I debated whether to tell Gwen or not.
“It was my pleasure. As far as plans, I have to work tomorrow, but I’m off for Christmas. I’ll iron out the details with Gwen.”
Stepping out of the apartment, Gwen and I headed out to my truck. Like a schoolboy, I’d grabbed her hand the second the door closed. My large hand enveloped hers and satisfied the caveman in me.
The second my truck was in sight, I hit the autostart. When I reached the door, I climbed in and pulled her up into my lap. She squealed in startled surprise.
“Jesus, Styx!” she panted out as she laughed. “Give a girl some warning.”
“Sorry, I wanted to sweep you off your feet.” I smirked, and she rolled her eyes but smiled.
“Look, I caught all the digs your mom made about your place, so I didn’t want to offer this in there. How about if we spen
d Christmas at my place? I’ve got a little more room, and then if it gets late, your family can stay the night. I have plenty of room.” My nose nuzzled her neck as I slipped my hands up the back of her hoodie.
“You need to stop. I can’t think straight when you’re doing stuff like that,” she murmured.
“Good, I want you complacent so you’ll agree.” I chuckled against her skin, and she gave me a playful slap on my shoulder.
“This is uncomfortable,” she said from her twisted position in my lap. Ever accommodating, I maneuvered her around so she straddled me.
“That better?” I grinned.
The little vixen ground her pussy over my hardening cock. Then she moaned into my mouth as she captured my lips, “Mmm, much better.”
Fucking hell, I was pretty sure I could feel her heat through every layer of clothes. When her small hand slid down between us to curl around my now rigid length, I groaned into the kiss.
I’m not ashamed to say we made out like two high school kids in the parking lot. My windows were completely steamed up by the time we separated with a breathless huff.
“I should probably get back inside,” she gasped.
“Yeah. And I need to take care of some stuff before I go to bed,” I breathed.
“Okay.”
“Okay.”
Neither of us made a move to get her out of the truck. Instead, I teased her exposed skin with my tongue, reluctant to let her go. “Do you think your parents would trip if y’all stayed the night and you slept in my room?”
An airy laugh burst from her. “I’m not sure we should push that.”
A wicked grin tipped my lips. “Okay, you can stay on the pull-out bed in the office next to my room.”
Once again she laughed. “Deal.”
One last kiss, and I opened the door. The unusually bitter December wind of central Texas invaded the cab. Usually it was a blessing living in Texas. Okay, the summers could be hot as fuck, but being able to ride year-round was a-fucking-mazing. This winter was pushing it.
“God, why is it so cold this year?” she whined as she cuddled closer to my body heat.
“Go on, I’ll watch you until you get in. I’ll keep you warm if y’all stay at my house.” A quick kiss to her cheek was all I dared. If I touched her lips again, we may’ve been doing more than heavy petting in my truck.
“See you soon, Styx.” Her smile lit up everything around us. And I forfeited a portion of my man card that night.
She was walking off when I yelled, “Why do you still call me Styx?” It kind of bothered me, because I wondered if maybe she didn’t want to be with the real me.
Walking backwards, her laughter carried on the wind. “Because that’s who stole my heart.”
I grinned like a fool.
“Guarded”—Disturbed
When I got back to my apartment, there was an envelope propped against my door.
The hairs stood up on the back of my neck when I crouched down to pick it up. Eyes darting around, I didn’t see anyone up or down the corridor.
It had my name written in block letters.
And it had been in front of my apartment door. Which meant whoever left it knew exactly where I lived.
I shivered.
Debating whether to open it there or to tell my family, I bit my lip. It could be a Christmas card from a neighbor.
The door opened, catching me off guard. “Gwen, what are you doing standing outside?” my dad asked.
With shaking hands, I held out the envelope.
“What is that?” He frowned.
“It was in front of my door when I got back. Maybe it’s a Christmas card?” I said hopefully. After all, it was thick.
“Do you have any gloves?” My dad asked as he carried it to the kitchen counter by two fingers.
My wide eyes rolled, and I propped my hands on my hips. “Oh for God’s sake, Dad. This isn’t CSI. Just open it.”
“What if there’s evidence that we mess up by touching it?” my sister piped in as she looked over my shoulder.
“Y’all really think the Leander police is that sophisticated of a department?” I gave them a droll look.
Dad still took out my yellow dishwashing gloves that I never used and put them on. If the situation wasn’t so nerve-wracking, I’d have laughed at how silly he looked.
He used his yellow-gloved fingers to open the envelope.
The moment he started to slide the contents out, I slammed my hand on the envelope. Evidence be damned.
“Gwendolyn!” my mother shouted in surprise.
All it took was for me to see the edge of what was in there to know I didn’t want my family to see it. There was no way it was going to the police either.
“You just put your fingers all over it!” My dad said with nearly comical disappointment.
“No!” I snatched the envelope and its sordid contents up. Sordid because someone had invaded my privacy in such a way that I wanted to vomit. “I’ll be right back.”
Not waiting for a response from anyone, I rushed to my bathroom and locked the door. Trying not to hyperventilate, I pulled the enclosed images out. Fanning them on the counter, one hand flew to my mouth.
Disbelief made it difficult to catch my breath. My heart was slamming in my chest as my stomach revolted.
“Oh my God,” I said as I stared at the various shots.
A knock sounded at the bathroom door.
“Gwen? Open up!” Except I didn’t, because I’d started looking at each picture individually.
Some were eerily clear, others grainy. Every single one was Styx and me having sex. Several of me against the wall and in my apartment after the first night we had dinner. One of us in his garage as the door was closing. There were even several of us in his house. Those were the grainier ones. The one of me lying on the table while he… oh God. The one of that first night that we’d had dinner looked like it was taken from outside on my freaking patio. There must’ve been at least twenty images. Then there was a typed note.
People like you don’t seem to know how to listen. It’s obvious you have no regard for the men in your life. This is the last time I’m going to warn you. Stay away from him, or you’ll see these on an I35 billboard. If you bring this to the police or show it to anyone, someone will have to console your family after your… ‘murder/suicide.’ I’m done fucking around with you, you stupid bitch.
By the time I read the note, my hands were shaking so bad, I couldn’t see the words anymore.
Murder/suicide?
They were going to kill Maddox, then me?
Hell, I’d tried to stay away from him. I hadn’t lasted long.
Part of me had decided that first note was bullshit. In fact, I’d chalked it up to his jealous ex-girlfriend. It made the most sense. I’d even wondered if it could’ve been one of his motorcycle brothers who wasn’t happy with him being with me. Both of those options seemed crazy.
Maybe if I’d only gotten a note, I would’ve still felt that way. But those pictures. Holy shit. Those were over the top insane.
My first instinct was to call Maddox. Except I knew he had to work in the morning, and I didn’t want to cause him to be unable to sleep. Besides, if I didn’t talk to him, whoever sent these would think I’d abided by what they said. If they were this wack that they were taking pictures of us like that, who’s to say they hadn’t found out a way to see if I contacted him?
No, I wouldn’t keep it from him. I’d done that before with the first note, and he hadn’t appreciated it very much. Since this involved him as well, I needed to tell him. I’d wait until we went over to his place tomorrow night or Christmas morning.
We’d work this out together.
Steeling my resolve, I made the decision not to allow myself to be a coward or a victim. Gathering up the images that were now burned into my brain, I shoved the envelope in my secondhand hobo tote. I’d bring them along when we went there for Christmas. The note I kept out.
“Dad!”
I opened the door and jumped because my whole family was standing outside the bathroom door waiting. They all looked worried as hell. Even my self-centered sister.
“What is going on, Gwen?” growled my dad as he stood with his arms belligerently crossed.
“I need to use your phone,” I demanded of my dad. “Please.”
He side-eyed me as he tipped his head. Finally, he withdrew it from his back pocket. When I reached for it, he jerked it back. “Not until you tell me what’s going on.”
Heat spread up my neck to my face, and I cursed my fair skin that I knew gave it away. “I’d rather not discuss the details of what was in there until I talk to Maddox.”
Narrowed eyes studied me, ripe with hesitation, but I held strong. In the past, I would’ve caved to that look immediately. He placed the phone in my hand with a decisive nod. “As soon as you’re done, you tell me what you can.”
“Fair enough.” I left my family in the hall again and shut the bathroom door.
Taking a deep breath because I was losing my nerve, I dialed his number. When it rang several times, I worried he wouldn’t answer because he didn’t recognize the number.
“Sheriff’s department, fraud division” was how he answered it. Despite the gravity of the situation, I gave a shaky laugh.
“Cute. It’s Gwen. I’m on my dad’s phone. I don’t have long, so please listen.”
“What the hell?” he started.
“Look, I got another note, but it had more to it. I need you to call me tomorrow from a phone that isn’t yours. I’ll go over it then. Everything’s fine. We’re all safe. I want this to look like a wrong number.”
“What? You’re not making sense.”
“Please trust me. Call me tomorrow.”
“Gwen—” I hung up.
Praying I was doing the right thing, I went back out and gave the phone back to my dad.
“Now do you want to tell me what’s going on?” That time, he was the only one waiting. My mom and sister were on the couch talking quietly. They both looked over their shoulders at me, but they didn’t say anything.
All I could think was how embarrassing this was. Clearing my throat, I stalled. My dad gave me a look that said he wasn’t going to be put off.
Styx and Stones: A Demented Sons MC Texas Novel Page 14
