I grabbed her arm and tugged her around to face me again. “It’s not nothing, babe. Tell me what’s wrong.”
“I just…” She sighed and shook her head. “I kind of like the house a few blocks over. But it’s been on the market forever. I heard it needs so much done to it that it is basically a money pit, but… Ugh, I don’t know. I really do like it. And I thought with a little time and TLC, we could make it our own.”
“Okay.”
Her brows pinched together. “Okay, what?”
Leaning over the console that separated us, I cupped her face in both of my hands. “Okay, we’ll buy it. We’ll put in the TLC it needs. We will do whatever makes you happy.”
Her chin wobbled. “But it’s so much work. I know you’re busy. A house that doesn’t need work will be easier.”
“Easier doesn’t mean better,” I said as I brushed her lips with my own. “Call the real estate agent later, and set up a time for us to view the house. Then we can make an offer.”
Her teeth sank into her bottom lip for a moment. “Really?”
“Yeah, really. Whatever we can’t do ourselves, Reid can take care of for us.” I kissed her again before finally pulling back. “It might take us a while to get everything the way we want them, but it will be worth it if you’re happy.”
Eighteen
River
“I think we should put the baby items over there,” Mila suggested as we stood in the middle of our store. Elias stood between us, making notes because we wanted a few changes made, but before we could implement them, we needed to decide how to section off everything. “But we want to catch the eye of the college girls on their way to class, so I think all the designer items should be right in front of the window over here.”
I nodded my agreement. “And then back here—” I motioned to the back section of the store “—we need a half wall so that the more intimate items can be viewed with discretion.”
“Definitely!”
Elias made a few more notes on his iPad. “Reid can draw you up some possible layout ideas, and we can get together one day this week to discuss them. Mom will have the prices listed for each one, so you won’t have any hidden surprises.”
“Great,” Mila said with a beaming smile for him.
I walked over to the huge front window. “Do you think we should have a sign above the building, or have it painted across this glass?” I frowned, trying to picture a few different designs that might work.
“We can build you a sign, no problem. But if you want the glass painted, I suggest getting an artist,” Elias said as he took a few measurements with an app on his phone before plugging them into his notes on the iPad. “We have a few we use for other commercial clients. I’ll get you their information, and you can compare prices.”
“Perfect,” Mila said as she linked her arm through mine. “You’re the best, Elias.”
He gave her a wink. “Don’t worry. I won’t tell your man you said that.”
“Tell him what?” Lyric growled as he opened the front door.
I snickered and moved across the room to grab my friend’s arm, guiding him toward the back storage room. “Let’s talk about shelf space for our extra supplies. Also, could we turn a small corner of the front into a private nursing area? Just big enough to fit a few comfortable chairs, with room to move around as well.”
“Well, we could add another half wall, or you could just get creative with inventory and seclude a corner off in the baby section,” he suggested as we stepped into the storage room.
“Good idea,” I muttered, shutting the door. As soon as it was closed, I pulled him over to the back exit. “Remember that IOU that we discussed you giving me for my birthday?”
His brows lifted. “You have a dead body you need me to get rid of?”
“No, dummy,” I said with a roll of my eyes. “This doesn’t involve a corpse.”
He crossed his arms over his chest, lifting his dark brows. “I’m listening.”
“I want you to keep an eye on my dad.”
“Okay, before I say yes or no to this, I’m going to need more details here, River.” I could see the reluctance on his face already. I was asking him to spy on one of his fellow MC brothers. It went against everything he’d been taught about the brotherhood of being a part of the MC.
Which was why I knew I would have to cash in my IOU he’d promised me.
“You know that saying ‘No news is good news’?” He nodded, and I let out a small huff. “Well, that doesn’t apply to this situation. My dad has been too quiet over the past few days. Colt Hannigan and quiet are a scary combination. There has been no snarling or growling or threatening. He’s waiting until my guard is down. Or worse, when Maverick’s guard is down.”
Elias gave me a hard look. “Or he’s just accepting that you and Mav are together.”
“Yeah, it could totally be that.” I snorted, rolling my eyes again. “Get real. He’s plotting something, Elias. And I need to be prepared for whatever he’s going to throw our way.” Still, he just stood there, looking reluctant. “El, please. I know this is asking a lot, but he could be planning to hurt Maverick.”
“River, if you needed me to bury a body—or fuck, kill someone and then bury the body—I’d be saying yes in a heartbeat. No questions asked. But Colt is my brother.”
“So is Maverick!” I cried, my frustration making my voice rise and tears sting my eyes. “I’m not asking you to kill my dad, damn it. Or even hurt him in any way. I’m simply asking you to keep tabs on him and let me know if he does something that could potentially hurt the man I love.”
He muttered a curse, then groaned, long and loud. “Fine,” he finally gave in. “But that’s it. And only for a little while.”
Relief made me breathless for a moment, and I nodded emphatically. “Yes, of course. I won’t ask anything else of you. Thank you, Elias.”
“Don’t thank me,” he grumbled unhappily as he opened the back door and stepped outside. “I feel like a fucking traitor for even agreeing to this shit.”
“But you’re not,” I called after him. “You’re being a hero.”
“You are a pain the ass, River!” he yelled as he put his iPad into the saddlebag on the side of his motorcycle, then climbed on.
“True. But you love me anyway.”
His eyes narrowed on me. “That’s debatable right now.”
“Ah, don’t be like that.” I leaned back against the side of the store. “Keep me posted.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” he muttered, starting his bike.
I watched him ride away, knowing his grumpiness wouldn’t last long. He just needed to pout and grumble about it for a few days, but he wouldn’t let me down. Shaking my head, I walked back into the front of the store.
“Um, hello!” I squeaked when I found Lyric pressing Mila up against the wall, causing my best friend to giggle. “Could you two not work on more babies in the middle of our store, please? I know we are going to be selling all kinds of stuff just for mommies, but homemade porn isn’t on the inventory list. Even if Lyric is lickable, I didn’t take you for one to share the view, Mil.”
“I know my man only gets hard for me, so I don’t care who sees us,” she said as she unwrapped her legs from around Lyric’s waist. “And we’re not working on more babies. Unless he wants to be the one waddling around for nine months. Then I’d be okay with that.” Her face contorted with pain. “I hurt just remembering how badly I tore pushing out Isaac and Ian. That episiotomy scar goes all the way to my asshole.”
“But you were a warrior, baby,” Lyric soothed. “Not a single drop of drugs the entire time. You were a champ. And if we have a daughter, I doubt she would be nearly as large as our beasts.”
“You’ve wanted a girl so flipping bad ever since you saw Gian with Gianna and Lillianna. And now Luca has little bitty Remi.” She met my gaze and grinned. “Someone wants a little princess of his own to spoil.”
He gave a shrug. “Yeah, I’m not
going to deny it. I want a little girl who looks like her momma, just like my brother.”
“But you have two sons who look just like you,” she reminded him, exasperated. “I think that’s enough for a few years, babe.”
“Fine. We can wait for a few years. I guess. But if Luca and Vi have another girl before then, we’re going to be doing some serious baby-making of our own, woman.”
“Deal,” she contended. “Now, quit your pouting and go to work.”
I found myself snickering at the two of them as I grabbed my purse. “I need to head to work myself. Uncle Spider and Mav both have back-to-back appointments all evening, and I have a lot of inventory that needs to be put away today.”
“Speaking of inventory,” Mila said as she followed me out the door toward my car. Dad had finally dropped it off to me a few days before, but he hadn’t stuck around once he’d handed over the keys. “Lyric knows a designer who wants to sell her clothes in our shop. I met her at the Armstrongs’ Christmas Eve party back in December, and she emailed me last night after Layla mentioned our store to her. Riley sent me a crap-ton of pictures of her latest designs, and I freaking love them all. I’m going to forward them to you in hopes of narrowing down the items. We don’t have enough room for all of her things if we’re doing baby stuff too, but several of her items could even go in our intimates section.”
“Yeah, sure. I’ll look at them tonight before I go to bed,” I promised her as I opened the driver’s door. Before I climbed in, though, I paused and then threw my arms around her neck. “Love you, Mila.”
Her arms went around me, holding me tight for a moment. “Are you okay?” she whispered.
I pulled back with a tiny smile. “It gets a little better every day. I’m still sad, but my heart doesn’t feel as heavy.” My smile disappeared. “Is that a bad thing? Shouldn’t I still feel lost?”
“No, girl. It’s not a bad thing. It just means my brother has been doing his job taking care of you.” She gave me another tight hug before stepping back. “I’ll forward you the email from Riley.”
There were already two other vehicles in the Ink Shoppe’s parking lot when I got to work. Uncle Spider and Maverick had both been coming in early to take care of all the clients they’d had to reschedule recently. As I parked, my gaze went to the woods in the distance, and I wondered how my homeless person was doing.
I’d taken a few more bottles of water and some snacks to the same spot I’d left the blanket the past couple of nights. After the first night, the things I’d left had disappeared, but the past two nights, they were still there when I went to take more. I didn’t know if the homeless person had moved on, or if maybe something had happened to them.
Trying to feel optimistic and hoping that my person had moved on, maybe to better and brighter things, I walked into the shop and got to work.
I could hear voices from both Uncle Spider’s and Maverick’s rooms. The sound of their tattoo guns was a steady beat in the background over the music as I counted the inventory in the stock room.
“Hey, babe,” Maverick called, then appeared in the doorway. I glanced up from where I was bent over to find his eyes zeroed in on my ass. He licked his lips hungrily before rubbing his giant hands over his face. There was no hiding the thickness in his jeans, and the sight of how much I affected him melted me.
He’d been so patient with me, never once complaining that we couldn’t have sex. Hell, it hadn’t even been mentioned. But every morning, I woke up to his cock pulsing against me. His need for me was in every skim of his fingertips, every caress of his eyes.
We still had a little while longer to go before it was safe to have sex again, but I was counting the days until we could, just as much as he probably was.
He dropped his hands, and he adjusted himself before clearing his throat. “I can’t even remember why I came in here,” he grumbled to himself.
I laughed, a full-on belly laugh, for the first time since the miscarriage.
“Fuck, that’s a pretty sound,” he said, his eyes brightening as he watched me. “I’ve missed it.”
Straightening, I crossed to him and hugged his waist. One of his hands cupped the back of my head, cradling me against his massive chest. “Are you hungry? I was going to go pick up some dinner.”
“Yes, I’m hungry. But I don’t want you to leave.” He kissed the top of my head then stepped back. “That’s what I came to tell you. There have apparently been some unusual break-ins lately. Nothing has been stolen or anything, but Ben has been getting some strange calls.”
“Break-ins?” Instantly, my mind went to my homeless person.
“Yeah. Really weird shit. People saying they thought someone had been in their place. Random things misplaced, but nothing seems to be missing. Ben said one guy thought it was a ghost.” He laughed, shaking his head. “It’s probably just a few kids playing around. But I’d rather be safe than sorry. I don’t want you here alone until it gets figured out.”
I bit my lip, knowing he was about to blow up, but if other people were experiencing the same thing, I needed to speak up. “Mav…”
“What?” he asked, his gray eyes narrowing on me.
“There were a few times when things were supposedly misplaced in here over the last few weeks. Then one day, I came in and found our blanket on the floor.” I pointed to where I’d found it. “Nothing ever went missing, but it just felt like something was off. When I found the blanket like that, I knew someone had been sneaking in and sleeping here.”
“Fuck, baby. You should have told me,” he growled, his eyes looking wild all of a sudden. “Someone was here, and they could have hurt you.”
“I don’t think she would have,” I rushed to assure him. “I think she was just cold at night. Plus, there are coyotes out in those woods.”
“She?”
I shrugged. “I think it’s a girl. Maybe a woman. I’m not sure. But the finger and shoe prints I saw make me think it is.”
“Fuck,” he muttered. “How the hell did she even get in here?”
“You left your window unlocked.”
“What?” he yelled, stabbing his fingers through his hair. “I left it unlocked… Motherfuck, I put you in danger.”
“Stop, please. You didn’t put me in any danger. It was just a homeless girl looking for a place to sleep safely.” My heart hurt just thinking about her. Then I remembered my cousin Delaney, out there somewhere, and tears stung my eyes. “I locked the window and took the blanket out to the woods so she would at least have something to keep her warm. Sh-she must have been trying to find somewhere else to take shelter at night.”
Maverick’s arms wrapped around me, and I pressed my face into his chest as a sob snuck up on me. “Baby, don’t cry,” he pleaded. “I didn’t mean to yell. I’m sorry.”
“I just…I feel so bad…for her. I know I couldn’t let her sleep here anymore, but I wish I could have done more.” My tears soaked into his T-shirt. “She’s probably all alone and scared. She might not have anyone who even cares about her. But I care. I don’t want h-her to get into trouble.”
He cupped the sides of my face and bent his knees until we were eye level. “I’ll fix this,” he vowed. “We’ll find this girl and make sure she’s okay. Maybe Jack’s mom can let her stay at the women’s shelter.”
My heart lifted. “Really?”
He wiped away my tears with his thumbs, his eyes tormented. “Yeah. Just let me make a few calls. We’ll get this taken care of. I promise.”
I was so relieved, but my tears only fell faster. “Y-you’re the best,” I sobbed. “I-I don’t deserve you.”
“Ah, fuck, River,” he groaned, tucking me against him again. “Don’t say shit like that, baby. I’m the one who doesn’t deserve you.”
Nineteen
Maverick
How hard could it be to find one homeless girl in Creswell Springs? Especially when the residents were already spooked at the thought that someone was breaking in to random busi
nesses.
A fucking lot harder than anyone would think.
This girl really was like a ghost. In a town as small as ours, a new face would stick out big-time. Yet no one had seen her. Ben put the word out that he was looking for the girl, but since no one knew what she looked like, everyone was just looking for anyone they didn’t recognize. After I told Dad about what River said, he’d called Uncle Bash and had all the brothers keep their eyes open for a sign of anyone new as well.
Hell, we weren’t even sure if this was a girl or not. It could have been a little boy if we were going off the fingerprints and shoe size from the picture River had taken of the footprints outside of the shop. But I trusted my girl’s instincts, so if she thought this was a girl or a woman, I would assume it as well.
It was driving me crazy that we hadn’t found her yet, because it was worrying River. And I hated when she was upset. She’d just started to get better after the miscarriage, and now she was all lost again over some girl she had never even set eyes on before.
“You okay over there, brother?” Kingston asked as we sat outside the high school entrance a few minutes before the last bell was supposed to ring. “You’re looking a little murderous.”
I blinked at my friend and MC brother, shaking away the thoughts of how down River had been that morning. “Yeah, man. Just worried about River.”
He grimaced but nodded. “Yeah, I noticed she hasn’t been herself lately. What with her graduating this weekend and her and Mila getting the store ready for the grand opening next month, I thought that she would be bouncing around with excitement. But when I took her lunch yesterday and ate with her in the cafeteria, she was all kinds of spacey and moody. Fuck, man, I thought for a minute she was going to cry, and I didn’t know what to do.”
Kingston had a helpless look on his face as he remembered, and I knew exactly how he felt. I experienced that emotion at least once a day when it came to my girl. Not being able to fix something for her—especially when I’d promised I would—was driving me insane. I was failing her.
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