by Jayne Blue
She could kiss whoever she wanted. I would have wanted to murder that Hawk for looking at her, much less kissing her.
I had no right to any of these feelings, but there they were.
I shouldn’t have tried to kiss her, but she let me. Dammit she let me. And I was still on fire from it.
Then her son walked in. Her son? He called her mommy, but she said it was her brother. I did the math and wondered.
I couldn’t get the boy out of my head.
Or Lyric. It was a recipe for insanity.
I was getting there, one ingredient at a time.
I wanted to be brought back, I wanted to back in the fold in my club. I hadn’t bargained for the Lyric’s strong pull on me. Maybe this was a terrible idea, returning to Port Az.
Maddox hadn’t told me about Hugo. That was his name, Hugo. The little boy was beautiful, just like Lyric.
Then she threw me out and I knew I wouldn’t be back.
Her life was her own. She had a responsibility with brother that I wasn’t a part of. At all.
My heart ached to be there for her. I even wished it was her son, because then maybe, maybe he was my son too.
Could she have been pregnant when I left?
The idea that I might have left her with a baby, alone. It ate away at my guts. I squeezed my eyes shut trying to block out what she might have gone through, alone.
It was crazy, desperate, and futile. I was torturing myself. I was punishing myself by trying to be something she didn’t need or want. If she said it was her brother, I had no right to question it.
Even so, I still believed she needed protecting.
A Hawk was circling around her and she was oblivious to the danger.
I was going to protect her. I owed her something, even if she didn’t want it. I could do it in secret. She’d never see me in her store again.
Fuck. I’d left so much when I’d left Port Az.
I spent the next day asking questions about the Hawks.
My brothers had some answers for me. The Hawks hadn’t changed much when it came to Port Az. They wanted in. They wanted a piece of our town. They’d gotten worse.
I knew Maddox had been in a bloody, very personal fight with them. I knew Kade had too.
The Hawks were circling all of us. And I wasn’t up to speed on exactly what we were doing to stop them.
I wasn’t in charge of the club. I wasn’t even aware of all the water that had gone under the bridge since I’d left.
I decided I had to focus on what I could do.
How I could help.
Not on the millions of moments I’d missed.
I spent another sleepless night at Maddox’s and made a decision.
If I was going to stay in Port Az and be in the club, I was going to have to keep Lyric safe without her knowing.
She was my drug, my oxygen. I realized that now.
I wouldn’t let that Hawk fuck with her. I’d stop it. And she’d never know.
I also made another decision.
I had a hefty amount of cash that had built up. Some of it was from the success of the club that Bear had, no question, engineered. And some of it was from being paid muscle. That didn’t come cheap.
I had lived frugally. I’d only spent my money on my bike and food. It had piled up.
A lot had piled up.
It was time I made an investment in a future that didn’t have me lurking around at night. Or hiding in a corner waiting to cause pain. I needed to build something with my own hands. Something that would last long after I’d gone on my last ride for the Saints.
Maddox had hooked me up with a phone number.
Callie Thorn was her name. She was a real estate agent. She met me at The Castle and we were off.
“This suit isn’t exactly hog riding material.”
She was wearing a pink skirt suit and she was right. It wouldn’t work on my Harley.
“You look like Real Estate Agent Barbie.”
“Thanks! That’s what I was going for.” She laughed. Well, at least she had a sense of humor. That was something.
“I’ve got three properties that I think fit the bill.”
“Acreage, some trees, a water source would be nice.”
“I hear you want to build on it.”
“Yep.”
“Okay, all the places I’m going to show you are in the Port Az School District. The schools are excellent so that’s a plus.”
“Not really my issue.”
“Well, for resale then.”
We drove to the first two locations and they didn’t do much for me. Not that they were bad, just not what I wanted.
“Okay, the third one has a cabin on it. You could either tear it down and build right there or keep it and put your place anywhere on the twenty-acres.”
“Twenty? That’s twice the size of the rest of the other properties you showed me.”
“When you see this, you’ll see why it is also twice the price.”
We drove a little farther out this time. About ten miles from downtown Port Az. And we were in another world.
I didn’t need to ask. This was the place.
The property was narrow at the front, with a dirt driveway that wound through a small wooded area that opened up to a meadow. Several acres had been cleared and then the woods began again. The cabin was in the middle of the clearing. It looked more like a shack than a cabin. That detail didn’t matter to me. I was willing to live in a tent; I had been, some nights over the last five years.
We got out and walked into the cabin. It had a kitchen, a bedroom, I supposed a bathroom, and a little sitting area.
“A rich guy used this place as his hunting lodge kind of thing. But that was years ago. There’s a small river in the back too that runs all the way to the bay. It’s tributary to the Nueces. Kind of gorgeous actually. Freshwater fishing’s pretty good too I hear.”
“I’ll take it.”
“Don’t you want to know what they’re asking?”
“Sure, what are they asking?”
“They’re asking $400,000. Though I can probably get them down to the mid-three-hundreds.”
“I’ll take it. Bargain how you like. But I’ll take it.”
“You’re already pre-approved?”
“To pay in full in cash? Yeah.”
Callie stood there shaking her head.
“I’ll never get used to you bikers.”
We drove back to her office in Port Az. I didn’t want to waste time. I needed to be busy. I needed to put my life into forward motion. The land was crucial to that.
I could build something here. I’d use my hands to pound nails, not people. I’d try to find something other than the past to hold on to.
We had finished our business when Maddox caught up with me in the parking lot of the agency. He looked about as distressed as I’d ever seen him.
“What’s up?”
“Lyric Wilde showed up at the MC. Benz’s girl Jen brought her there.”
“What the hell for? Is she okay?”
“She’s okay, she says she needs our help. She says she needs to talk to you.”
“Okay, let’s go.”
15
Lyric
* * *
I had put Bo Parker behind me once before and I’d put him behind me again. Granted, now that he was in town, it might be more of a challenge.
Except I’d essentially been looking at his face since the moment Hugo was born.
He’d accepted my story that Hugo was my brother. Or had he? Maybe he’d decided to pick at me over Hex, rather than question my story about Hugo.
I just wanted Bo to stay away. I was independent. I was tough. I didn’t need Bo Parker.
We went about our lives as usual for a few days after my encounter with Bo.
I buried myself in work, in details of the shop, and with Hugo’s Lego concerns. The kid was happy if he was building stuff. Someday he could build the houses and I could decorate them.
/> It was a pipe dream of course. Kids never did exactly what you wanted them to do. I knew that. Still, I loved to watch Hugo problem solve.
While Bo seemed to have gotten the message and stayed away like I’d ordered him to, Hex had not. He was showing up more and more at my shop. He was asking me if I wanted him to go get some coffee. Or a drink. He was making suggestive comments to me. It was downright uncomfortable.
And he was touching me. Nothing inappropriate, or too overtly wrong, but he’d come in and try to kiss me on the cheek. He’d squeeze my shoulder. He’d lean too close when I went to grab something he might want to buy. He was invading my space.
I had to do some problem solving of my own. I was going to lay it out for him in no uncertain terms.
“Hex, we need to talk.”
I didn’t want to cause scene. I just wanted to be completely clear.
“Sure.”
He walked toward me like I’d said I’d like to see him naked. Yeah, this was too much. I blamed myself, a split second of encouragement and this guy was convinced I wanted him. Men.
“Let’s go in the back.”
I didn’t want to embarrass him. Several customers were browsing the racks of Bohemian Wraps City. I was going to be blunt. It was the only way.
“Hex, while I appreciate you’ve been a really good customer, I want to be clear. I’m not interested in more than that.”
He did the opposite of what a normal human would do. He stepped closer to me and reached out to touch my cheek with his knuckle.
“Hey, I said no, okay? You get that.”
“I think you’re fooling yourself. I think you mean yes. I see the way you look at me. I know you let me look at those legs in your skirt when you climb the ladder on the back wall. Yeah, we’re going to happen.”
He grabbed me and pulled me close to him. I think he was going in for a kiss. Shit. So much for being civil.
I put both my hands up and pushed him back.
“Get out of my store. You’re not welcome here. I’m not interested in you in any way. I will call the police.”
Hex’s eyes trailed down to my body. It made me feel dirty, no question about it. Then he licked his lips.
“I’ll be seeing you around, Lyric.”
He turned and walked back into the main showroom floor. I took a second to get my shit together. It was okay. I had made myself clear. I was on one piece.
I was sure I’d handled it. Hex got the message.
I walked out to the floor. And what I saw scared the shit out of me.
Hex was on his knees talking to Hugo. Hugo was showing him some Lego creation he’d worked on.
Hex ruffled Hugo’s thick dark hair. Hugo smiled at him.
I had no doubt in that moment that Hex had Hugo’s trust. He wasn’t a stranger. He was a friend of mommy’s.
Hex looked back at me with a self-satisfied smile. I rushed forward and grabbed my son by the arm.
“Come on, go upstairs. We’ve got to get some lunch in you.”
“But Mommy, Hex says he was in the Texas Legoland and that ... ”
“I said head upstairs, honey. We’ll talk about later.”
“I promise you, pal, we’ll take a ride there.”
“YES!” Hugo pumped his fist and finally did as I asked. I watched as he went to the stairs that led to our place.
“Don’t talk to my son again.”
“My buddy? Of course I will. We’re planning a trip!”
Hex turned and slowly sauntered out of my place. Was he threatening me and my son?
I hoped that would be the last I’d see of him. Hex didn’t like to be rejected, so he’d put this little play on for my benefit. Just to show me up.
Even so, I wasn’t going to let Hugo out of my sight. Just in case. I also needed everyone else who helped me with Hugo to know Hex was not welcome.
Over the next several days Hex showed up every single day. Sometimes in the morning, sometimes at closing, other times when I was picking up Hugo from school. He’d be there hovering in the background. I had decided that I probably needed to get the police involved. This was stalking. At least I thought it was.
Finally, Hex went too far. Or maybe he wanted to make it really clear that he could do what he wanted. And that what he wanted was to hurt Hugo or me.
I was tucking in Hugo and I saw something that stopped me cold.
“Hugo, where did you get these?”
“Hex gave them to me.”
“When?”
“When he was in here yesterday.”
“In your room?”
“Yep.” Hugo snuggled down and closed his eyes. He wasn’t afraid of Hex. Not even a little bit. But I was.
There was no question anymore what I needed to do.
“Bri can you come in here.”
“Yep, what?”
“I need to go to the police station. Just sit in here until I get back, okay. Even if Hugo falls asleep.”
“Of course.”
“It’s Hex. He’s taunting us. It’s time for the police.”
“Okay, yes, of course. I’m here.”
I knew she’d do anything for Hugo.
It was eight o’clock at night. I didn’t know who would be there at the Port Az Police. I didn’t know if they had regular office hours or what.
I only knew this was too much. Hex was fucking with my son.
When I arrived, I found Officer Jenny Guffy on duty. She was a tall, pretty blonde. She looked like a California surfer but dressed like an FBI agent. I’d met her once before at Tracy and Maddox’s wedding. I remember thinking then that I’d like to dress her in some of my pieces from Bohemian Wraps City.
My focus today though, was getting her help. Getting the police to do something about Hex.
She sat me down and I told my story. She listened. She asked questions. She wrote down what I said.
“Has he done anything violent?” Her eyes were kind and filled with concern.
For the first time, I wished that he had hit me. Or pushed me. Or something. I realized that what I was describing to Jenny Guffy maybe wasn’t a crime.
“No, he hasn’t. And I uh … Well the first time he tried it, I did let him kiss me. I didn’t protest or slap him in the face. I encouraged him.”
I was beating myself up now. Something I did caused this. I brought this on myself.
“That is absolutely false. This guy is stalking you. You didn’t encourage that.”
“There’s one more thing.”
“Yes?”
“It’s what prompted me to come here, to take this to the next level. Just now, when I was tucking my son in, he had two tickets to Legoland in his hands. The one in Fort Worth.”
“And?”
“I didn’t buy them; my nanny didn’t buy them. Hugo told me Hex gave them to him. He said Hex came in his room and visited and gave him the tickets.”
I tried to keep it together. I tried not to cry in panic. I didn’t want Jenny Guffy to think I was hysterical. I wasn’t over-reacting. I now felt a vibe from Hex that I should have picked up from the beginning.
“Listen, here’s what is going to happen. There’s some bad news. He’s not committed any crimes against you that we can determine. Unless he broke in somehow. We’ll look at that. And we can file a PPO, a personal protection order, but a judge must sign off on that. That’s a day or two turnaround.”
“What am I supposed to do?”
Jenny Guffy put down her paper and pen. She stood up and came around her desk and leaned on it. I felt like she’d gone from talking to me as an official, to talking to me woman to woman.
“You need protection. Now. I totally believe that. And the police, well, we can’t justify it without a crime being committed.”
“So I have to wait until this guy hurts me or takes my son on a joyride on his bike?”
“No, you need The Saints.”
She was worried for me. She knew more about The Saints and The Hawks than I ever car
ed to. I had brushed that all aside when I moved on from Bo.
“They’d help me?”
“Yes. One in particular.” She left it there.
I ran the options through my mind. I could hold on to my pride and independence. I could let the protection order go through the courts.
I thought about Hugo’s little fingers clutching those tickets. I thought about how Hex flaunted how easy it would be to pick Hugo up and take him wherever.
My pride wasn’t worth the risk. Not by a mile.
“I need more than just The Saints. I need Bo Parker.”
“Yep. I’ll call Benz, he’ll get the boys together.”
“I don’t have Bo’s number.”
“You don’t have to handle this alone. I’m pretty sure there’s an army ready to protect you and your precious boy.”
16
Bo
* * *
We broke every traffic law in Port Az proper getting to the MC. I had no idea what would have prompted Lyric to go to the police, and then to The Dark Saints.
She had made it completely clear that I should stay away from her. She didn’t want or need me in her life. That only got me more worried.
In our brief time together, I had never brought her to the club. We were hardly together long enough for that level of introduction. I also thought we, as a group, would scare her away back then.
Maddox and I made our way into the club.
They’d put Lyric in the Church room. She was sitting at the table. Her eyes were wild. Her face was white. Benz and his Old Lady were there with her. Tracy was there too and she greeted Maddox with a hug.
“We need to leave these two alone for a minute,” Tracy said to Maddox.
“Yep,” Jenny agreed with Tracy’s suggestion. Benz, Maddox, and Tracy filed out. I sat down next to Lyric. I hardened my heart of whatever was coming next. I was used to bad news.
Though I had zero idea what that could be.
“Are you okay?” I looked her over. Nothing, other than the fact she looked sick, seemed to be wrong with her. No cuts, bruises, or broken bones. That put my heartbeat in the normal range at least.