“It’s perfect,” I said as my fingers touched it. Relief lit his eyes. “But how did you have time to get it made?”
His head ducked, then his eyes rose to mine. “The day after we had dinner, I took it in.”
My heart skipped a beat at his secret sensitive heart. It also made me feel like shit, because right before he’d brought it to me, I’d tried to ghost him. Granted, I thought it was for his own good, but I’d essentially dumped him.
And still, he brought it by for me.
Standing up on my knees, I leaned close to him and pressed a soft kiss to his lips. The stray hairs of his beard tickled my lips, causing me to smile. “Now open yours,” I whispered against his mouth.
He wasn’t careful like I was. He was like a small child tearing into his gift, bows and paper flying until he lifted the box into his lap with glee.
Through my laughter, I told him, “It has nothing on your gift, and I’m sorry for that.”
“You got it, so it will be amazing.” He grinned before opening the plain white box I’d placed it in. Nervousness settled in as I realized maybe it was a dumb gift. Maybe it was something he’d have wanted to pick out for himself.
It was too late for regrets; he was opening the lid. When he uncovered the contents, he stopped and stared at it. “I knew I should’ve let you pick it out,” I started to apologize.
“No.” He brought his brilliant blue eyes up to gaze into mine. “This….” He swallowed. “Wow. How did you know I’d been looking at these?”
Shrugging self-consciously, I bit my lip before continuing. “I saw it on your phone. Umm, before my parents came.” In other words, before I dumped him.
Reverently, he opened the box and gently lifted the sleek black stethoscope from the case.
“You got him a stethoscope?” my sister said in disbelief. “He gets you an expensive as hell necklace, and you bought him a stethoscope? Wow. That’s romantic.” My sister smirked as she raised her brow at me.
Her response had me feeling really dumb. Until he cut in.
“Not any stethoscope. This is a Littmann Cardiology IV. This is one badass stethoscope.” He stuck it in his ears, then pressed it over my heart.
I tried not to giggle, because I knew it would be loud.
“Just as I suspected.” He nodded sagely.
“What’s that?”
“You have an amazing heart.”
At his cheesy pronouncement, I laughed. “That was the corniest line I’ve ever heard.”
Unapologetic, he chuckled and kissed my cheek.
“Best gift ever.”
“Face To The Floor”—Chevelle
We’d taken Gwen’s family to the airport together.
While the women all chattered before the security checkpoint, her dad and I talked.
As her father told me goodbye, he held my hand a little longer than necessary. “Son, I tried to keep my mouth shut because it was Christmas, but I need to know you’re going to look after my baby girl. I’m really worried about her. She seems to be minimizing the seriousness of this situation.”
“Neil, I promised you I’d do my very best to keep her safe, and I mean that.” I cleared my throat. “I know it seems like it’s early in our relationship, but I’m going to try to convince her to move in with me. My place is safer. I have security, a garage for her to park in, and I’ll be with her at night.”
His other hand came up and clamped onto my shoulder. “Maddox, my daughter is no idiot. If she trusts you and has feelings for you, then she’s probably on the right track. She’s made some bad relationship choices in the past, but she was smart enough to get herself out of the situation.” He paused. “Has she talked to you about Billy?”
“Who’s Billy?” Dread pooled in my stomach at the way he’d asked the question.
Closing his eyes, he sighed. “That’s a story she needs to tell you. I’ll see if I can put a bug in her ear. Just know that she’s punished herself for too long. Especially for something that wasn’t her fault.”
Fuck.
Now there was another piece of the puzzle. Could this Billy be responsible for the notes and vandalism? Goddammit.
“Okay,” I said, though I was anything but with all the secrets. First she neglected to say her fucking ex worked in my backyard and he tried to get her back. Then some shit about some Billy guy.
“Thank you, son.” He turned to gather his wife and oldest daughter but then looked back at me. “For what it’s worth, I like you.”
“Thank you, sir, uh, Neil.” He grinned at my slip, then nodded.
“All right, girls! We need to get moving!” The women all turned to him, with Gwen stepping forward to hug her dad one last time.
“Love you, Dad.”
“Love you too, pumpkin. You have a good one here.” He nodded in my direction. “I actually like this one.”
With a grin, he herded the other two toward the security gate as the women waved.
I slipped my arm around Gwen’s waist, and she leaned into me. Without thinking, I kissed her on the head. Belatedly, I looked around to see if I recognized anyone in the crowded airport. Then I figured fuck it. If there was someone out there, they’d already seen us together.
Once her family was through the checkpoint and out of sight, I gave her a squeeze. “Come on, babe, let’s go.”
She sniffled, and I tipped my head down to look in her eyes as I tipped her chin up. “Hey, you okay?”
She nodded as she sniffed again. “I’m going to miss my dad, but is it mean for me to say I’m glad they’re leaving?” She looked up at me with a wrinkled brow.
A bark of laughter escaped me. “No, babe. It’s perfectly fine. Your sister is a piece of work.”
“Don’t I know it.” She blew out a rough exhale.
As we walked out of the airport to my truck, I found myself looking around. Every face was a possibility, and I fucking hated it.
First, I helped Gwen in and closed the door. Then I checked around my truck and under it. One last passing glance around us, and I got in.
We enjoyed a comfortable silence for a bit before I broke it. “I have a proposition for you.”
A salacious tip of her lips preceded her turning sideways in the seat to look at me. Batting her eyelashes, she said, “Oh, do tell.”
“I guess you could look at it that way too. The benefits would be there.”
“Go on,” she encouraged.
“I want you to move in with me.” When she made to protest, I continued, “Even if it’s only temporary until we figure out who it is pulling this shit with you. It would ease my mind.”
A frustrated breath left her pink lips. “Styx, I love being with you, but I’m afraid it’s too soon and it will ruin things. It will be like rushing what we have. It may also be enough to drive whoever it is over the edge. We’ve pushed it over the holidays.”
Her argument didn’t hold water with me. Besides, a small part of me wanted her under my roof for the long haul. But I wasn’t ready to acknowledge that yet.
“It really wasn’t a request.”
“So you’re telling me what to do?” If she were an animal, I’d have seen her hackles raise.
“If it means you’re safe, then yeah.”
“And if I say no?” A brow lifted.
Fighting for control over my tongue, I opted to insert humor into the conversation. “Then I’ll have to tie you up and keep you hostage in my bed.”
From the corner of my eye I watched her fight a smile before she turned her face toward the window. The movement of her cheek told me she’d lost the battle.
“You’d tie me up?” The shaking of her shoulders told me she was likely laughing.
“Only if it turned you on.” I grinned as I turned the corner, concentrating on the road.
She was quiet the rest of the way.
We’d nearly made it home when I saw flashing lights behind me. “You’ve got to be shitting me. This is getting ridiculous. If this is your ex,
I’m going to jail, because I’m going to blacken his fucking eye.”
“Styx.” Her voice was full of warning.
“Mr. Wright,” the dickhead said as he approached my window. He had the gall to act surprised to see Gwen. “Ms. Kelly? Is that you? I’m a little shocked at the company you’re keeping.”
The condescending tone he used pissed me off. I’d never been arrested in my fucking life. I’d honorably served my time in the army. I’d gotten my degree and worked in a respectable position. “Is there a problem, Officer?”
“Well, you failed to signal before you made that turn back there.” Smugness seeped from his pores. “That constitutes an unsafe lane change.”
“Are you fucking serious?” My tolerance for this prick was limited. After finding out he was Gwen’s ex, that level hit about zero.
“Is that disorderly conduct I’m seeing?” By then I wanted to punch the shit-eating grin off his face.
“No, Officer.” I sneered the “officer” part.
“Mitch, what are you doing?” Gwen huffed, and it rankled that she was stepping in.
“Just doing my job, hon.” He had the motherfucking nerve to wink at her on top of the endearment he used. My nostrils flared as I fought for control of my mouth and fists.
“License and registration, sir.” He returned my snideness.
The dickmunch took my shit to his vehicle.
“I’m sorry. I feel like this is my fault,” Gwen murmured apologetically.
“It’s not your fault that you dated a fucking douche.” Grinning to assure her I didn’t blame her, I reached over and grasped her hand in mine.
“You’re lucky I’m in a good mood. I’m giving you a warning this time. Sign here” came from the window. I turned in his direction in time to see him glaring at our clasped hands. Because I’m a bit of a dick too, I intentionally kissed her hand before releasing it to sign his stupid warning.
“Isn’t there a thing called police harassment?” Innocently, I asked as I handed him his crap.
“Good luck proving that, Mr. Wright. Y’all have a nice night. Gwen, I’ll be seeing you around.” He handed me my written warning. Whistling, he walked back to his vehicle.
“Like hell,” I growled as I flipped my turn signal on and got back on the road.
“What?” she asked.
“Nothing. So what do you say? Will you move in?” I left the decision to her. At least on the surface.
It took her a few minutes to answer as she chewed on her lip and twirled a strand of her strawberry-blonde hair. “Okay. But I’m not giving up my apartment.”
“Deal.” My heart was lighter at her agreement. Before she could change her mind, I headed toward her place to get her shit.
“I’m going to need to look for a new car.” She worried the string of her hoodie. “Would you mind taking me to look at some tomorrow? Or your next day off. I guess I didn’t think to ask about your schedule.”
“I’m off today and tomorrow, so yeah, I’ll take you. But you can drive my truck until we find something.” As soon as the words left my mouth, I found myself shocked. I’d never let Grace drive my truck. In fact, I wasn’t sure any of my brothers had even driven it.
“Umm, I don’t know. It’s awfully big. And besides, what would you drive?”
“My bike?” I said. It wasn’t rocket science.
“But it’s cold!” The shock in her response had me laughing.
“This isn’t the frozen tundra, you know. It’s nothing that some insulated chaps and winter riding gear can’t fix. Now if we get freezing rain, we’ll have to figure something out.”
She still looked unsure.
Before I knew it, we were pulling into her parking lot. We got out of the truck and walked hand-in-hand across the lot. Two of the lights were burned out in the parking lot, so I was glad she wasn’t staying there. It wasn’t safe.
When we got to her hall and saw more lights burned out, I was pissed. The apartment maintenance team was slacking. As soon as her door was in sight, I threw out an arm to stop her.
Her gasp told me she’d seen it too. My phone was out before she could say a word.
“Smoke. I need you to ask Radar to swing by Gwen’s apartment. We have need of his skill set.”
“We should call the police,” she whispered.
“Fuck the police. That haven’t done shit about any of this. I’ll handle it my way,” I said to her, then returned to Smoke. After I explained what happened, he agreed to send Radar by, and I ended the call.
“Should we read it?” she asked.
“Not yet. Wait for Radar to get here.”
“I’m starting to get scared. Who could be doing this?”
It wasn’t long before Radar was walking toward us. He had a small kit with him, and he nodded at me when he set it down and got to work.
First he took pictures of the knife stabbed into the door. There was a note pinned under it. With gloved hands, he removed it and opened it. We all leaned in to read it.
You stupid fucking cunt. I’m tired of playing with you. I’m coming for you and you’re finally going to pay.
A gasp escaped Gwen as she slapped her hands over her mouth.
“Fuck,” I breathed. Radar slipped it into a plastic bag and finished doing his secret squirrel shit. After he was done, he and I entered the apartment, clearing it like we were still in the military.
When there was nothing out of place and no unexpected guests, he gathered up all his equipment.
“You need me to stick around?” he asked.
“We’re good.”
“Roger that. I’ll go process this and see what comes up.” He and I locked eyes. “I’ll see you in church.”
I nodded, and he smiled at Gwen. “See you later, doll. Keep this big guy in line, okay?”
Arms wrapped around her middle, she returned his smile with one that didn’t meet her eyes. Radar left, closing the door softly.
“Let’s get your stuff, babe.” She gave a small start at my voice. It instantly had me pissed at whoever the crazy-ass fucker was that was pulling this shit.
Nodding, she shuffled into her closet, pulled down a small suitcase, and began to stuff it with clothes. She grabbed another one and filled it with shoes. A small overnight bag held her toiletries.
“You need help with anything?”
Still she was quiet and only shook her head. Hating seeing her like that, I grasped her arms and pulled her into mine. “It’s going to be okay. We’re gonna figure this out. Until then, you’ll be at my place. Okay?”
She nodded into my chest.
“Anything else you need?” I asked as I picked up the two suitcases.
A quick glance around with a furrowed brow and she was shaking her head.
“Okay then, we’re out.” I hustled her in front of me to my truck, darting my eyes around as I scanned the area several times. Not seeing anything, I tossed the bags in the back after she was securely ensconced in her seat.
That night, I simply held her.
The next night, we had church, and we were going to get to the bottom of this mess. One way or another.
“Trouble On The Rise”—Black Top Mojo
“This is going to be a brief gathering, boys,” Smoke announced as we all pulled up our chairs. “I’m sorry it’s short notice, but we just got word from Sparky that if we want a sit down, it has to be tonight. Styx, Lock, I’m going to need you two there. This is why I messaged you all to be on two wheels tonight.”
Sparky was the Vagabonds’ P.
“Fucking A, are they for real?” Check complained. “There is no way I can get surveillance set up for that. Where are y’all meeting, and I’ll see if I can tap into whatever feed they have?”
“I agreed to meet them at that little Italian place on the east edge of town.” Smoke leaned back in his chair as he eyed us all.
“Isn’t that the place that retired mobster guy owns?” Lock asked. His jaw clenched.
Slice
snorted. “Do they really ever retire?”
“My thoughts exactly,” piped in Truth.
“Well, for all intents and purposes, he’s retired,” Smoke admitted. “And we have a good rapport with him. Matter of fact, he agreed to let Check sit in the office with their security system and to let Truth and Slice wait in the kitchen. When I call you, Slice, I want you to come out. Understand?”
“Roger that, Prez,” Slice confirmed. Poor guy still looked a little like a shit sandwich from his accident. His bike was totaled, but we had him set up with a loaner for the time being.
“Gwen is in the extra room because I didn’t want to leave her home alone. She okay to stay here until we get back?” I questioned. The last thing I wanted to do was go to meet with the Vagabonds that night. I wanted to spend the night with Gwen, because I had to work in the morning.
“I’m okay with that. Anyone have any objections?” Smoke looked around the table. Everyone shook their heads. Thank fuck.
“Styx? You had something to bring to the table,” Smoke offered up.
“Yeah.” I proceeded to tell them about what had been going on with Gwen.
“So you don’t have any idea who it is?” Lock asked.
“Not really,” I said. “I have plenty of suspicions, but little evidence to back any of them up.”
“So what do you need from us?” Truth asked without hesitation.
“I’d like to use club resources and contacts to look into any area surveillance, and I’d like to look into the ex-boyfriend. He’s a cop. We’ll feel out the Vagabonds tonight, but my guts tell me this isn’t something they’d do. It’s more toward her, not me. Except for the first note anyway. Also, I’d like to find out about someone in her life named Billy.” Using both hands, I roughed up my beard, then smoothed it again.
“Why don’t you ask her about this Billy guy?” Lock asked.
“Her dad indicated it might be a touchy subject. I didn’t want to upset her unnecessarily. She’s got enough stress on her plate. Hell, maybe it’s none of my business, or maybe it’s connected to this. Who knows?” Shrugging, I rested back in my chair. “I’m grasping here.”
“The name Billy isn’t much to go on, but I think between Check and I, we can dig up something. It may just take a while. You game, bro?” Radar asked Check.
Styx and Stones: A Demented Sons MC Texas Novel Page 18
