“Uh, I haven’t been able to get a hold of Carbon since yesterday morning. I wanted to make sure he was okay, and I didn’t know who else to call.”
There was a long, uncomfortable moment of silence before Phoenix spoke again. “He’s not where he can get to a phone, but he’s fine.”
“What exactly does that mean?” I asked.
“Sorry, sweetheart, it’s club business.”
“Are you kidding me right now?” I snapped. “I’ve been worried sick for well over 24 hours and all you can say is ‘club business’?”
“Don’t forget who you’re talking to, Harper,” he scolded. “Now, if you were his Old Lady or a family member, I would gladly fill you in, but you’re not. On that note, why exactly are you calling about Carbon? I wasn’t aware that you two were close.”
The moment he raised his voice, I felt my hands dampen and my breathing pick up. Phoenix would never hurt me. Phoenix would never hurt me. I repeated that over and over in my head. I knew that, but it didn’t change the fact that I was already on edge and Phoenix just reprimanded me in a not so gentle way. Suddenly, I was in another place.
“Don’t you forget again!” he roared.
I screamed when I felt the streak of fire across my back. He was using his belt like a whip, striking my bare back with lash after lash.
“I’m sorry!” I wailed. “Please, stop. I promise I will do better.”
“That’s what you said last time. You need to learn your lesson, girl!”
He showed me no mercy. The lashes continued to come, covering nearly every inch of my back. I screamed, begged, cried, pleaded, promised, anything to get him to stop, but it all fell on deaf ears.
“Harper! Talk to me, sweetheart. Are you okay? Do you want me to get Duke?” Phoenix’s frantic voice broke into the nightmare of my past.
“No. Don’t do that. I’m fine,” I croaked.
“Bullshit. What happened just now?”
“Flashback. It’s over, I’m good.”
“Aw, shit, darlin’. Because I yelled at you,” he said, more to himself. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. I guess I forgot who I was talking to. You sure you’re okay?”
“Yes, sir. I’m fine now. Sorry about the way I spoke to you earlier.”
“No worries. Now, you want to tell me what’s going on with you and Carbon?” he asked.
“I don’t exactly want to, but I feel like maybe I should. I’m sure you’ve noticed how he’s been disappearing once a week or so for the last year…”
Phoenix laughed. “Sort of. I mean, he’s rarely ever here on Friday nights, but I assumed he was…well, I’m sure you know what I thought he was doing without me saying it.”
“Um, you weren’t entirely wrong.”
“Go on,” he encouraged.
“He’s been coming to see me. And before you ask, my brother doesn’t know. As far as I know, no one does. It started as just a casual thing, but somewhere along the way, things changed. I care about him, and I’m really worried, Phoenix. Will you please tell me what’s going on?” I pleaded, hoping my honesty would be met with the same from him.
“He’s in jail,” he blurted.
“What?” I shrieked. “Why?”
Phoenix sighed. “I’m guessing he was on his way back from your place yesterday morning when the cops pulled him over. He was about halfway between Sugar Falls and Croftridge. Anyway, there was a fight between two street gangs in Atlanta Tuesday night. Everyone scattered when the cops arrived. They found a gun registered to Carbon, with his prints on it, next to a dead body. When I talked to him, he told me it was his gun, but swears it was locked up in a closet at his condo. He said he hadn’t touched that particular gun in months, and that was just to clean it. We’ve got the club’s lawyer working on it, but due to the severity of the charges, we can’t just go and bail him out right away. He has to see a judge first and, depending on the judge, bail might not even be an option,” he explained.
“I can help!” I screeched excitedly. “He was with me the entire night before.”
“That’s good, but I think we are going to need a little more than just his secret girlfriend’s word, Harper.”
“Judge installed a security system in my house on Monday while I was at work. I set the alarm when Carbon and I got home Tuesday evening. Isn’t there some kind of log or something that would show if the system had been deactivated during the night?” I asked, crossing my fingers that I could help prove Chase’s innocence.
“Yeah, there is. If it’s one of Judge’s systems, you can sign in to your account and download or print the activity log. Email me that log, and I’ll forward it to our attorney as soon as I get it. Maybe that and your statement that he was with you will be enough of an alibi for him. Are you willing to go in and give an official statement?”
“I’ll do anything to help him. Oh, I have some pictures, too, on my phone. We took a couple of selfies that night, but you can definitely tell that we are in my house and they’re time-stamped,” I said, my excitement growing. I could prove it wasn’t Carbon and get my man out of the clink. My man? Nope, not going there.
“Send those to me with the alarm report. In the email, you need to add a statement along the lines of ‘Chase Walker was in my presence at my personal residence’ and include the dates and times. I’ll call the lawyer now and let her know what we’re sending. Hopefully, this will be enough to get the charges dropped.”
“If it is, when will he be released?”
“They have to release him immediately after the charges are dropped, and I’m going to do everything I can to make sure that happens first thing tomorrow morning.”
“Thank you, Phoenix. Please keep me posted. And if you talk to him, please tell him I was worried, but I’m okay.”
“Will do, sweetheart.”
“Oh, one more thing. Um, can we keep this conversation between the two of us for now? I’m not asking you to keep it from Duke so much as I’m asking you to give Carbon and I the chance to tell him and Reese ourselves,” I begged.
“You intend to tell him soon?”
“To be perfectly honest, we hadn’t planned on making our relationship public knowledge any time soon, but we will now.”
“As long as you two don’t draw it out, I’ll keep it to myself.”
“Thank you. We won’t draw it out,” I promised.
“All right, darlin’. You get that email to me as soon as you can, and you’ll hear from one of us tomorrow.”
I immediately got to work on my tasks. After sending the report, the pictures, and my statement to Phoenix’s email, I also sent the pictures to his phone via text. Then, I sent them to myself via email. To be absolutely certain I could access copies if needed, I backed up my phone to my computer and then backed up my computer to the external hard drive I kept locked in a fireproof safe.
After all was said and done, I felt much better about the entire situation. I didn’t like the fact that Chase was in jail, but I knew he could handle himself. He was so big and intimidating; I doubted anyone would have the balls to mess with him. It was at that moment I realized I had never been afraid of Chase. I had been uncomfortable or nervous around him, but never afraid.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Carbon
I rang the doorbell and waited. I heard paws clicking across the hardwood floors followed by the sound of human footsteps. Seconds later, the door flew open and Harper squealed my name before launching herself into my arms.
I held her there, breathing her in and absorbing as much of her as I could. She felt...right. She filled a hole in my heart that I wasn’t even aware was there. I was coming to realize that I needed her in my life more than I had ever anticipated.
“When did you get out?” she asked.
I walked into the house with her legs wrapped around my waist. “Around lunchtime. Got a hotel room so I could shower and clean up. I picked up some new clothes and shit and came straight here. I hope you’re hungry because I’m starving. J
ail food sucks.”
I heard a sniffle, followed by, “I missed you. I was so worried about you.”
I smoothed her hair with my hand and squeezed her a little tighter. “I know, baby. Phoenix told me you called him. I’m glad you did because you single-handedly saved my ass. You know that, right?”
She kept her face buried in my neck and mumbled, “I did what I could to help. I hope you’re not mad that I told Phoenix about us.”
She was worried about that? Hell no, I wasn’t mad that she told Phoenix, for two reasons. One, my ass would have been sent up the river for a long time if she hadn’t. Two, I was ready to move to the next step with her. I had a lot of time to think during my concrete vacation, and most of my thoughts were about her. I was ready to tell everyone that she was mine.
“No, baby, I’m not mad about that. Never was. Told you I was glad you called him.”
We’d been standing in her living room for several minutes, and she’d given me no indication that she wanted to get down. “Baby, as much as I love you being in my arms, I want to see your face.” She slowly dropped her legs to the ground and pulled back, staring up at me. I swear she got more beautiful each time I saw her.
I reached out and cupped her cheeks in my hands. “You’re mine, have been for a while now. I think it’s time we both acknowledge it and stop hiding it from our friends and family.”
“Okay,” she replied simply.
“That means you’re my girl. That means telling your brother and my sister,” I explained. I didn’t want to scare her off, but I needed to make sure she understood what I meant.
“Okay,” she said again.
“Okay? That’s all you have to say about it?”
She grinned and nodded, blinking up at me with her big blue eyes. I pulled her to me and kissed her, slow and sweet. My girl. I broke the kiss before things could get out of hand and smiled at her. “Let’s go get something to eat.”
Over dinner, we talked about how we were going to break the news to Duke. I wasn’t worried about Reese. She would be happy as long as I was happy. Duke, on the other hand, wouldn’t be happy about his sister and I being in a relationship. He would have to get over it though, just like I did when he knocked up my sister behind my back.
We decided it would be best to break the news to our friends and family members in person. We also thought it would be best to do that sooner rather than later, particularly since that’s what she’d more or less promised Phoenix. I needed to get back home anyway, so Harper packed a bag, put Titan in her car, and followed me back to Croftridge.
I wasn’t sure what to expect when we arrived. It was a Friday night, which usually meant a party at the clubhouse, but it was anyone’s guess whether or not Duke and Reese would be there. I called Phoenix before we arrived and let him know our plans. He said Duke and Reese had decided to stay home, so we bypassed the clubhouse and dropped our things off at my condo before heading over to their house to talk to them.
I climbed in the driver’s seat of Harper’s car and called my sister.
“Hey, big scary brother,” she answered.
“Hey, Reesie Piecie. Is it okay if I stop by?”
“Yeah. Is everything okay?” she asked nervously.
“Everything’s fine. I just didn’t want to drop in unannounced in case you and Duke were doing things I’d much rather not know about.”
Reese laughed. “What? Like making another niece or nephew for you?”
“Shut it, Reesie. See you soon,” I said and disconnected before she could say anything else.
As we got closer, I could tell Harper was letting her nerves get the best of her. I placed my hand on her thigh and gave it a light squeeze. “You worried, baby?”
“A little,” she confessed.
“Tell me what you’re worried about. What do you think is going to happen?” I asked.
“I don’t want this to ruin your friendship with my brother,” she quickly answered.
I believed there was truth to her answer, but I didn’t think that was the only thing she was worried about. “What else?”
She chewed on her bottom lip before finally answering me. “I know you two fought when you found out about Duke and Reese. I don’t want you guys to fight again. I don’t handle that kind of violence well. You know, maybe we should wait and do this at the clubhouse or call Phoenix and ask him to come over to Duke’s.”
“Baby, Duke and I didn’t get into a fight because of his relationship with my sister. I beat his ass because I found out he had a wife while he was fucking and impregnating my sister. I don’t have a wife I’ve kept hidden, and you’re not pregnant, so everything should be fine. You’re not pregnant, right?”
She laughed. “No, I’m not pregnant.” She was silent for a few beats before she said, “He’s still going to be upset. He’s very protective of me, and he’s not going to like this one bit.”
“What aren’t you telling me, Harper?”
“Too much to tell you right now,” she said with a sigh. She was right. I had just pulled into the driveway to see Duke and Reese waiting on the front porch.
I squeezed her thigh once more. “Let’s not keep them waiting.”
We exited the car and silently made our way to the porch with Titan glued to Harper’s side. Duke’s arms were crossed, and the scowl on his face was aimed directly at me. Reese, on the other hand, was grinning and glancing back and forth between the two of us and the dog.
“Hey, Harper! Is that your dog?” Reese asked.
Harper’s response sounded meek and timid, nothing I’d ever heard from her before. “Yes, this is Titan. He’s a service dog.”
“He’s beautiful. Can I pet him?”
I glanced at Titan. He focused on what he perceived as a threat, and that was Duke. “Uh, I don’t think that would be a good idea right now, Reesie Piecie,” I said, and darted my eyes to Duke.
Reese followed my gaze and formed her own scowl when her eyes landed on Duke. She glanced back at me, then to Harper, seeming to finally register this was not an average visit. “What’s going on, Carbon?” she hesitantly asked.
I took a few steps forward and suggested, “Maybe we should go inside and sit down.”
“No. Here’s fine. Start talking,” Duke ordered, anger radiating from him.
Duke’s animosity was met with a growl from Titan as he placed his body in front of Harper and kept his eyes on Duke.
The tension was mounting by the second. Focusing my attention on the dog and Duke, I didn’t see what was happening with Harper until it was almost too late.
Reese gasped. “Harper!”
I turned back to see her swaying on her feet, her eyes wide and unfocused. Duke lunged for her, leaving me only a split second to make a decision and I prayed it was the right one. Instead of trying to catch Harper, I went for Duke, taking us to the ground. A flurry of activity was happening around us. Reese was screaming. Titan was barking. Duke and I were rolling across the yard. When we came to a stop, I jumped to my feet and spun toward the girls. Reese was kneeling a few feet away from Harper who was on the ground on top of Titan. I breathed a sigh of relief and made a mental note to get that dog a steak for dinner. He’d used his body to keep Harper from hitting the ground when she fainted.
“What the fuck, man?” Duke snarled.
“He thought you were going to attack her, which means he was going to attack you. I knew if I went for you, he would take care of her,” I explained as I stalked back to Harper.
“Harper, baby, are you okay?” She was on the ground, sitting up with her arms wrapped around her knees and shaking like a leaf. She buried her face in her arms, but I knew she was crying because I could see the tears running down her bare legs. As I got closer to her, Titan’s warning bark turned into a deep growl. I stopped moving forward and put my arm out to stop Duke, who was two steps behind me.
“Harper, I need you to call off Titan. He won’t let anyone get near you, not even me.”
; Titan’s body instantly relaxed and the barking ceased when she murmured, “Calmati.”
I was at her side immediately, pulling her into my arms. I ran my hands over her hair and down the sides of her face. “Are you okay, baby?”
She nodded and sniffled. “Yeah, I think so. Is Titan okay?”
My sweet girl was worried about the dog. “He’s fine. He doesn’t know it, but he’s getting a big juicy steak for dinner tonight.”
She smiled, but it was weak. That coupled with her tears was it for me. I slowly rose to my full height and faced Duke. “We came here tonight to tell you that we are in a relationship. Out of respect for you, we wanted to do that in person and break the news gently. She was worried about how you would react. She said she didn’t want to mess up our friendship. We were hoping to sit down and talk about it like mature adults. After what just happened, fuck all that. She’s my Old Lady. Deal with it. We’re going home.”
I scooped Harper into my arms and placed her in the passenger seat. Titan pushed his way around me and climbed in the front floorboard to sit between Harper’s feet. I stalked around the car and glanced at my sister. “Love you, Reesie Piecie,” I said before slamming the door and peeling out of their driveway.
When we arrived at my condo, I carried her straight to my bedroom and placed her in the center of my bed. Cupping the sides of her face, I gently kissed her lips. “Do you want to talk about what happened back there?”
“No, but we probably should.”
“Does it have anything to do with your past?”
Her head shot up. “What do you know about that?”
I held my hands up in a placating manner. “I don’t know anything other than something happened to you when you were younger that somehow altered your responses to certain situations. At least that’s what I’m getting based on what I was told and what I’ve seen for myself.”
She slumped in defeat. “I should’ve told you before now, but I hate talking about it.”
Holding her hands in mine, I softly said, “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to. All that matters to me is that you’re okay.”
Carbon (Blackwings MC Book 4) Page 8