I put my hand on his arm and shook my head.
This is Slider’s house, I wrote and shoved it in Creed’s face.
I knew that was going to shut up Creed. It was a big thing to all of Leo’s men to respect where they were. Talking to Slider the way Creed was would not go over well with Leo.
Creed put up his hands. “My bad.” He tossed the ice pack into the sink and grabbed his keys off of the counter. “I’m gonna grab my bag that I dropped in the bushes.” Creed headed out the front door, and Slider turned to look at me.
“You dated that douchewad?”
I glanced to the right and nodded. It wasn’t really my brightest moment. I had been trying to piss off Leo, and dating one of his men was an easy way to do it.
“He’s not Marco’s dad, is he?”
My jaw dropped, and I shook my head.
“I knew you had said that his dad had died, but I didn’t know if you just didn’t want to tell him that douche was his dad.” Slider shrugged and leaned against the counter.
“Ass.”
“I fucking love when you call me that.” Slider grabbed me around the waist and pulled me into his arms. “Say it again before douchelord comes back,” he growled against my lips.
“Ass,” I whispered.
He slammed his lips down mine and gave me a quick, but thorough, kiss. “Don’t forget what I said before. I’m not done with you.”
Slider pulled out of my arms and grabbed his boots from near the back door. “I need to call King and let him know what happened. I’m going to be a bit.”
I looked at the clock and saw it was already after nine. I think I’m going to go to bed. I held up the paper to Slider, and he nodded.
“Sounds good, Firecracker.” Slider slipped out the back door, and I collapsed against the counter.
What a night. I was ready to go to bed and pass out.
Slider kissed me. Someone broke into the house. Slider kissed me again. Creed was here. Slider kissed me again.
I think I needed another drink after the day I just had.
Hopefully, tomorrow was going to be a better day, although I totally wouldn’t mind if Slider kissed me again.
********
Chapter 23
Slider
“I was wondering if you were going to tear yourself away from Fayth.”
I shoved my phone in my pocket and turned around to look at Creed who walked across the backyard. “You gonna talk shit the whole time you’re here?”
Creed shrugged and crossed his arms over his chest. “I really don’t think you know what the hell you’re doing with her.”
“I think you’re fucking wrong, but I know that your damn opinion doesn’t mean shit to Fayth and me.”
“You may be right about that, but I can guarantee Leo’s opinion matters to Fayth.”
He was right, but I really didn’t think Leo had a problem with me. Leo was the one who had called me and had told me to take Fayth back to Rockton. “I guess I’ll have to have a chat with Leo. Make sure we’re on the same page.”
Creed looked at the house. “You call King? Let him know what the hell happened.”
I nodded. “He’s aware.”
“You wanna tell me how the hell you didn’t know someone was breaking into your house?”
“I fucked up.”
“That seems to be a pattern with you, Slider. Your fuck up three months ago landed Fayth in the hospital.”
I growled and flexed my hands at my sides. I didn’t need my fuck-ups listed off to me. “You ever make a mistake in your life before, Creed?”
“Yeah, but not that anyone knows.”
“Well, I made a mistake with Fayth before, and I’ve vowed to never let it happen again.”
“You were damn close to it happening tonight.”
I shook my head. “I’ll die before anything happens to Fayth again. We don’t even know what the guy was doing here. He could have just been trying to get my TV.”
Creed shrugged. “That may be true, but you should have been there before he even had a chance to get in the house.”
I ran my fingers through my hair. I was beating myself up enough over the fact I wasn’t paying attention, I didn’t need Creed to beat a dead horse. “I got it, Creed. There isn’t anything else I can say.”
“You’re right. Now fucking do what you keep saying. You die before anything happens to Fayth. I’ll make sure of it.” Creed stalked to the front of the house and I looked up at the dark sky.
“Fuck,” I mumbled.
I needed to prove I was going to keep Fayth safe.
It was time to stop fucking around and to keep my word.
No more distractions until everything was fucking tied up in a neat little bow.
Then, Fayth would be mine.
********
Chapter 24
Fayth
It was Friday afternoon, and I had never been more confused in my life.
I could count on one hand the amount of times Slider said more than one word to me. Something had changed the night of the break-in after I had went to bed, and I had no idea what it was.
“Remy’s here, Mom,” Marco called.
I peeked out of the bathroom and motioned for him to come to me.
“What?”
I grabbed my small pad of paper from my back pocket. Be safe. Listen to whoever is at the clubhouse watching you guys.
“I know, you’ve told me five times. You should have saved the paper the first time you wrote it.” Marco shoved his hands in his pocket and leaned against the wall. “Can I come with you to get a tattoo? I’m sure they would let me if you were there with me.”
I shook my head no. Not happening, Marco. You can get a tattoo when you’re thirty.
“Thirty?” Marco scoffed. “I swear each time I asked you, you add two years.”
Ask me again.
Marco rolled his eyes and gave me a quick hug. “I’ll text you when we get back to clubhouse. Don’t get the Mike Tyson special.”
I heard Creed bust out laughing in the kitchen, and I sighed. Be good, and call me if you need me.
Marco nodded and headed to the front door.
“You about ready, woman?” Creed called.
I rolled my eyes and slammed the bathroom door. “Ass,” I muttered as I looked in the mirror. Creed knew I only said a few words, but he didn’t care.
Creed pounded on the door. “I’m gonna be in the car. Hurry your ass up.”
I flipped off the bathroom door, wishing Creed could see it. The man had been driving me insane the past week. He was my shadow who wasn’t very good at blending in.
Slider had suddenly become too busy and had decided that since Creed was in town, he could be my personal bodyguard. The only reason I had been okay with having someone with me at all times before was because it had been Slider. Now, all I wanted to do was knee Creed in the nuts and grab a bottle of wine.
I examined myself in the mirror and sighed. I looked good, but I sure didn’t feel good. I missed Slider, and I had no idea how to tell him without sounding like some needy bitch. He was always on his phone, either texting or quietly talking, and I didn’t want to bother him. Things were tense all over, and I knew what he was doing was important, but it still sucked he wasn’t home much anymore.
I had thought he would have come to the tattoo parlor tonight, but he left over two hours ago, with just the explanation that he had other plans.
I fluffed up my hair, hoping to add more volume and grabbed my lip gloss. I tossed it into my small handbag and gave myself one last look. I had opted for tight dark blue jeans with the Harley Davidson shirt Slider had bought back in Chicago. Meg had sent over a pair of motorcycle boots that were on my feet, and I had a light jean jacket to throw on. In the mirror, I looked like someone I had never seen before, but I had never felt more comfortable.
I flipped off the bathroom lights and was surprised to see Slider walking in the front door as I pulled my jean jacket on. “S
lider?”
Slider stopped in his tracks when he saw me, and his jaw dropped. “Fay?” His eyes traveled over my body, and I wished it was his hands instead. “Uh…”
A smile spread across my lips, and I grabbed my clutch off of the table. “Yes?”
“Is that what you are wearing tonight?” he asked and stepped closer.
I looked down, and nodded. “Yes.”
“That’s this shirt I bought, isn’t it?”
I nodded. It sure as hell was, and I knew exactly what he was going to say next.
“You planning on keeping that coat on all night?”
I smirked and shrugged. I had planned on it, unless I got a tattoo, but he didn’t need to know that.
“Keep your coat on,” he said low.
I tossed my hair over my shoulder and just looked at him. If he wanted me to wear my coat all night, he needed to come along and keep an eye on me himself.
“Fayth,” he growled.
“Slider,” I whispered. I missed this damn man, and he was getting pissed at me over a damn shirt.
“That fucking shirt barely has a back.”
I rolled my eyes. It had a back, it was just cut into strips. A lot of them.
“Turn around,” he ordered.
I shook my head. He couldn’t not talk to me all week and then just walk in here and expect me to do whatever he says. The man was insane.
I moved to step around him, but he grabbed my arm and spun me around. He pressed his front to my back, and he buried his nose in my hair. “I’ve missed you,” he whispered.
My eyes closed, and I sighed.
“I’m sorry, Firecracker. Things are so fucked up right now, I can’t see clear.” He grabbed the front of my coat and pulled the sleeves off. “I’ve wondered what this shirt would look like on you. You look like a biker’s dream when I walked through the door.”
The coat fell to my feet, and his hands traveled over my back. I sighed again and forgave him for the past days he had ignored me. This man had quickly become my weakness, and I didn’t even care. I needed him more than my next breath.
“I can’t even remember what I walked in here for. You distract me just by being you.”
I laughed and looked over my shoulder. “Slider,” I whispered.
His eyes locked with mine, and I could feel the air charge with the attraction between us. “Fuck it,” he growled. He delved his hands into my hair, and I spun around. My arms instinctively wrapped around his shoulders, and I held on as his lips assaulted my mouth. I gave him everything I had.
“I’ll never get enough of you,” he moaned against my lips.
I held him close, wishing I never had to let him go.
A horn blared from outside, and we jumped apart, both of us looking at each other like we had just gotten caught with our hand in the cookie jar.
“I need to go,” he muttered as he wiped his hands on his jeans. “I just needed to grab something.” I smirked and shook my head. “Well, grab something besides you,” he laughed.
I nodded. He had important things to do, and I was in the way. I ducked my head and stepped around him towards the door.
He grabbed my arm again and turned me to face him. “I’m almost done, Fay. Just wait for me.”
I leaned up on my tiptoes and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “Okay,” I whispered.
Slider sputtered, amazed at the new word I could say. If he were around more, I would have shared with him a couple of other words that had decided to start falling out of my mouth.
“Fayth,” he called as I sauntered over to the door.
I looked over my shoulder. “Yes?”
“You won’t have to wait long.”
I hoped not, because I couldn’t be held responsible for what I would do if he did make me wait. I was not above crawling onto the couch where he slept and having my way with him.
I smiled and walked out the door.
Slider was going to have one hell of a surprise when he decided to spend more than five minutes with me.
God, please don’t make that man wait much longer. My patience was gone, and I was ready for Slider to make me his.
********
Chapter 25
Slider
I watched Fayth climb into the car with Creed and waited ‘til the taillights disappeared before I moved away from the window. My phone buzzed, and I pulled it out to see a text message from Troy.
I’m here. Where the fuck are you?
I should have been there too, but I realized I hadn’t grabbed my gun and ran back to the house to grab it. Be there in ten.
I shoved my phone back in my pocket, stalked to the bedroom, and tossed open the closet door. After pushing the clothes to one side, I turned the combination on the wall safe. The lock clicked into place, and I swung the door open. I grabbed my .45 and an extra clip and slammed the safe shut.
The clothes swayed as I moved them back in front of the safe, and I slid the door back. The bed was a mess, and I knew if I got closer to it, I would be able to smell Fayth’s sweet scent all over it. The past week had been torture not going to her room every night, but I knew I needed to stay focused, or one of us was going to end up hurt, or even worse, dead.
Hammer and Turtle had good luck when they had gone to the bar outside of town. They found out Big A was in contact with at three of his old minions. Two of whom had been at the bar that night.
All they could tell Hammer and Turtle was Big A had asked them to keep an eye on the Knights and let him know if anyone started sniffing around. Of course, they didn’t dispense this information until Hammer showed them the reason he had that nickname. The guy had a right hook that felt like you were being smashed in the face with a sledge hammer.
Apparently, the guy who had broken into my house was someone Big A had hired to toss it to scare Fayth back to Chicago. We weren’t sure why he wanted her out of Rockton, yet.
They had also given us the name “Kramer,” but we didn’t know who that name belonged to, or how he came into play.
Tonight, Demon, Troy, and I were meeting at the clubhouse, and then were going to head over to the strip club. The fucking thing was finally about to open and word was Cherry was planning on applying for a job. We hoped we were going to find out more about what was going on with Big A, since she was related to him. We knew this might be a dead end, but we needed to check out every lead we had just to make sure we weren’t missing anything.
I knew Fayth had been disappointed when she found out I wouldn’t be going to the tattoo parlor with her, but King wouldn’t let me get out of going to the strip club. He said he would help keep an eye on the girls, but I was still worried about Fayth.
This past week, I hadn’t been with her as much as I should have been, and I felt guilty as hell. Creed had agreed to keep an eye on her for me since whenever I was around her, I was distracted as fuck.
My phone buzzed again, and I pulled it out to see Fayth had texted me.
I miss you, too.
Well, shit. I squeezed my phone in my hand and wished like hell I could be with her right now.
Soon enough, all of this shit would be over, and I would have Fayth in my arms.
Fucking soon.
********
Fayth
“You actually into that guy?”
I looked over at Creed and rolled my eyes.
We were on our way to the tattoo parlor where we were going to meet all of the girls. I grabbed my pen and wondered what I ever saw in Creed. Not any of your business.
“Come on, Fayth. You can tell me.” He glanced over at me with a huge grin on his face.
I like him. That’s all you get.
“I like ice cream, doesn’t mean I’m going to have sex with it.”
I rolled my eyes again. Your weird sexual preferences don’t matter to me.
“At one point in time, they did, but I’m pretty sure they did only because you wanted to piss your brother off.”
I shrugged and tossed the
notepad on the dash. Using Creed the way I did wasn’t really something I wanted to talk about.
“I get it, Fayth. I know I’m not the kind of man you want, but I find it hard to believe that Slider is going to be the guy who can handle you either.”
I didn’t want to be handled. I just wanted to be with someone who liked me for who I was, and not for who I was related to. Slider never cared that Leo was my brother and didn’t give a shit about the things Leo could offer.
“Just make sure he treats you good. You know if he doesn’t, Leo will make sure he does.”
I rested my head against the window and sighed.
I knew what I wanted, and I knew Slider was the man who was going to give it to me.
I just wanted to be loved for me, and nothing else.
********
Chapter 26
Slider
“Are you fucking sure she’s here?”
“Yeah, her name is at the bottom of the list.”
Demon leaned back in his chair and stretched his arms over his head. “You think Hammer would have been smarter and put her name at the top of the fucking list.”
“You do know you just said you assumed Hammer was smart, right?” I laughed and grabbed my beer. “It’s a miracle he was able to read the sheet at all.”
“I could be at home with Marley right now, but instead, I’m sitting here with you assholes watching some chicks shake their asses.” Troy tossed his phone on the table and crossed his arms over his chest.
“Well, it’s fucking official. We are all pussy-whipped if we’d rather be with our woman than at a strip club.” Demon laughed and pointed to the door. “Looks like our girl just walked in.”
A dark-haired chick walked through the door, with tight black shorts barely covered her ass and a white t-shirt her tits were trying to bust out of. “Typical club girl,” I mumbled as we watched her stroll over to the bar.
“That typical club girl is your type, brother,” Demon replied.
I shook my head. “Used to be.”
Unraveling Fayth (Devil's Knights Book 8) Page 13