Here I was, after a goddamn nap, rewashing them. “I, uh, spilled a drink.”
The joined laughter was so loud, the sliding glass doors shook.
Almost at the kitchen door that led to the garage, I mumbled, “Fuckers.”
In the woods, holding milkshakes, the four of us stared up at the Serenity Institute. There were only a couple of dim outside lights on, so crossing the grass undetected would be easy enough. There weren’t any lights on in the patients’ bedrooms, including Lacey’s.
“Do you think she’s awake?”
“She will be after you wake her,” replied Vice.
“We didn’t come out here for nothin’, kid,” added Dagger.
Vice clamped his paw on my shoulder and shook it. “Good thing you got the preshow out of the way.”
I shrugged him off. “I said I spilled something.”
Sucking chocolate shake through a straw, Dagger chuckled. “Ya sure did. Out of your cock.”
I grumbled, “Assholes,” as I made sure Lacey’s vanilla shake and two straws were wrapped tight in a plastic bag.
Celebrating me cussing, “Give it here, my man,” said Vice, as he held up a palm for me to smack.
Wincing, Dagger leaned back. “You sure you want to touch that hand that’s been so busy?”
Trying so hard to muffle laughter, and not spill his strawberry shake because Elle ‘tastes’ like that fruit, Lynx fell to the side, right into Vice, who was now retracting his hand and saying, “Uh, ya got a point, VP.”
I angrily whispered, “I spilled a drink!”
Lynx now had himself braced against a tree, holding his stomach and gasping for air. “And we thought we only had to worry about how much he eats!”
Headed for his straw again, Dagger griped, “Not an abundance of laundry soap for all his ‘sheet’ washin’.”
Trying, again, not to fall over, Lynx’s body rolled around to the other side of the tree trunk. His laughter was not successfully muffled.
Staring at my goal, I sneered, “If I get arrested, you guys are going to feel sorry for—”
“The prison’s laundryman?”
“Ass. Holes.” I marched forward toward Serenity, too embarrassed and pissed to be nervous. Wait a minute.
Suddenly realizing what those incredible men had been up to, I stopped and turned around…
Three men stood there, watching me, all beaming with pride.
I had been so anxious when we were going over the many scenarios—all the things that could go wrong. I had never broken laws before. Not that visiting the love of your life was against the law, but trespassing was. When I mentioned I had already trespassed, the first time I saw Lace, Vice shrugged. “Meh, technically, there’re no signs declaring Private Property.”
They explained how I wouldn’t be attempting to dislodge the bars tonight because we were going to take this slow. See how Lacey handled my visit. For all we knew, she could have already forgotten the conversation I had with her the day prior.
If I were to get caught, Dagger had told me the best thing to do would be to start drooling like you got no sense. “Kid, they will think you belong there. Maybe even invite you to stay.” When Lynx and Vice stared at him in dismay, he had shrugged. “What? Him being on the inside will surely help his nightly visits, no?”
Rolling his eyes, Lynx had put a burner cell in my front pocket. “If it vibrates, get to the ground and run your ass off. Capeesh?”
Even after all my nervousness of this night, I was still here, doing it.
As I turned back around to go and see Lacey, I realized how many kids may not know how lucky they are to have support. It sure makes all life’s challenges a little easier to bear.
Then I took off running… to the left of the electric fence, where her window was. Fortunately, only the courtyard was protected. Testing the lattice with one hand, I put the handle of the plastic bag in my mouth. Once my other hand was free, I grabbed onto the downspout. Here goes, Tate! As I started climbing, I felt some tender pulls under my skin, but all-in-all, I managed better than expected after all the injuries my body had experienced.
By the time I was on the second floor, I was winded and suddenly doubting myself. What if she had truly forgotten I was going to visit her and screamed? How would I ever convince her to talk to me? Or fall in love with me?
Every breath I exhaled, as I climbed higher, became more labored. The mere thought of her never allowing me to hold her again had me almost gasping in anguish—
A hand touched my face.
Scared I was imagining the touch, I slowly peered up.
Lacey, gripping a bar with one hand, was nervously reaching out—stretching her arm as far as she could—through the slits in the metal. She whispered, “You’re real.” Her expression of stress mixed with elation had me suddenly realizing how lonely she had been. Lacey may not have remembered me, but her heart did. And mine bled for her.
Balancing with one foot on the lattice and the other on a cornice of the ornate castle, my left hand gripped tight while my other took the bag from my mouth so my face could nuzzle in her hand. “I am. I’m real.”
Tears burst from her as her fingers fought to grip under my chin and lift. “I was so scared I imagined you and I was truly alone.”
Gutted. Her pain gutted me.
With much haste, I stuck the handle of the bag back in my mouth and raced up to her. She didn’t stop touching me. Her eyes stayed locked on me.
Once next to her window, I hung there from the side of the wall, leaning toward her, grabbing onto a bar.
Even with tears clinging to her precious face, she was stunning. A boy’s true dream come true. So, I smiled. I guess, since I had a bag hanging from my mouth, I looked ridiculous doing so.
She finally giggled, still touching my face. “Has anyone ever told you you’re adorable?”
You have. I nodded, the bagged milkshake now swaying into my neck.
Her thumb gently touched one of my dimples. “These are so cute I could kiss them.”
I’m so okay with that. My smile grew.
She stared at me adoringly. “Have you ever met someone… and could swear you already know them?”
The day I found you across a courtyard at school, my little Lucey.
Her hands finally released my face, taking the bag from my mouth. “By the way I’m talking, you must think that I belong here.” She kept the bag on the outside of the bars, resting it on the concrete sill.
“Not one bit. If you’re what some consider crazy, I want to be crazy, too.”
Shoulders softened with relief. “Thank you. That means more than you may know. I, uh, don’t remember who I am.”
“Damn. That sounds tough.”
Her finger tightened on the bag as she quietly admitted, “It is. I don’t even know my name.”
It’s Lacey.
“Doctor Landon gave me the name Vera… until I remember.”
“Vera, eh? Hmmm.”
“What? Not a good name?”
I smirked. “Doesn’t fit you.”
“Oh yeah?” she challenged, “What would you call me then?”
The love of my life. “Pretty Girl.”
She gasped, then her eyes drifted as if slipping into deep thought.
Remember me, baby.
After a moment of silence, she tapped the bag. “Is this for me?”
I teased, “Nope. That vanilla shake is for me.”
She grinned. “Will you at least share?” I went to open my mouth to tell her no, but she read my mind and teased, “I’ll call security.”
“I think I could share.”
She giggled, quickly catching herself as if laughing was a bad thing.
“Did you just laugh? I see the sugar is working before you’ve even had a sip.”
Incredible hazel eyes met mine… “Tate, thank you for coming.”
Anytime. Anywhere. Forever. “No problem. In fact, I’m hoping you like the shake so much, you’ll invite
me back tomorrow.”
As if an angel behind bars, she softly and slowly nodded. “Please come back.”
I tried to tease her some more. “What if the shake sucks?” But it wasn’t easy. Lacey and I were feeling the connection that not even amnesia had severed.
With determination, she told me, “Then don’t bring another one.”
I swallowed, no longer able to be playful either. “I will be here.”
She inhaled… then exhaled… “Then let’s test out this shake.” Opening the bag, she suddenly froze. With a growing smile, she gazed at me. “You brought two straws.”
“Busted!” I whispered loudly.
Giddily, she rushed to open the straws and insert them. Since my hands were busy holding me to the wall, she offered me a sip.
I shook my head. “No way. You first.”
Studying me, she pulled a straw between the bars and leaned forward. Sweet little lips pursed… I watched the white ice-cream rise in the straw to find the mouth I was dying to taste again. As soon as it hit her tongue, her body relaxed forward against the cold iron between us. “Oh, Tate.” She took another sip. “This is divine.”
No. That would be you.
Offering me the other straw, Lace stared at my mouth as I took a sip. I was barely able to swallow as I watched her free hand rise, placing fingertips to her lips.
Yes. Sugar kisses, Pretty Girl.
It took strength to stay perched on the side of the wall, but it took even more not to lean forward and silently beg for a kiss.
Still lost in thought, her head tilted. “Tate, do you believe… if something could be so sweet,” her finger tapped the white Styrofoam cup, “then… something could be equally as bad?”
My chest rose… then fell. “Yes.” I swallowed. “But, sometimes, that bad you are speaking of can be kept away.” I found us a new home.
Her distant stare changed when she noticed me again. “Are you okay? You’re starting to sweat.”
I was. My whole body was trembling. It took much exertion to be perched there. And now that I was thinking of the brothers… my body was announcing it had reached its limit.
With regret I hoped she could hear, I admitted, “My legs are getting tired.”
“Then-Then come in.” She suddenly pulled on the bars as if finally realizing they were a hindrance for us.
“If it is okay with you, I will remove them tomorrow.”
Alarm grazed her eyes. “Do it now. D-Don’t go.”
Witnessing her panic and knowing there wasn’t a damn thing I could do to stop it, my throat tightened. “I’m so sorry.”
I looked behind me to see my friends, see if they could help me remove the bars tonight, even though I knew they wouldn’t. Right before the visit, Vice had told me to stick to the plan.
Of course, that prompted Dagger to say, “Unless the ‘plan’ goes to shit.”
This night hadn’t gone to shit. It had gone far better than I’d hoped. So, I looked deep into those hazel eyes. “Pretty Girl—”
She nodded as if my next words were all she had and was praying they would be what she wanted to hear.
I blew out air because I didn’t want to push her too much—tell her more than she possibly could handle, but I needed her to believe me, to believe that I would be back. “I was once told, by a very special person, that I make the best promises.”
“Really?” she was scared and breathless, yet enchanting, all at the same time. “Why?”
“Because I keep them.” I waited, quietly, hoping she heard my sincerity.
Her sweet little fingers feverishly gripped the bars separating two yearning hearts. “Then… promise me. Promise you will come back.”
I leaned forward, resting my forehead against her soft fingers. “I, Tate,” will love you, evermore, “promise to come back, tomorrow night, and every night after,” until eternity ends.
Her fingers lifted from the bars, and she caressed my face with the back of her hand. “I wish I knew you before all this.”
You did, baby.
“I wish I could have known you in a way a girl knows a boy.
I fought to not tell her the truth. “Me too.”
Her mouth parted. “Do you think, if I ever get out of here… we could be… friends?”
I wanted to rip the bars from the wall and hold my broken-hearted girl. Instead, I whispered, “It would be an honor to be your… friend.”
Nervously sucking on her bottom lip, she finally nodded. “Tomorrow then.”
“Tomorrow.”
Never had anything been so sad for me as having to climb down, leaving my girl behind.
She reached for me… until I was too far away.
Lacey, the beautiful soul who owned my world, stayed at that window and watched me run across the lawn.
At the edge of the trees, I waved.
She waved, then rested her fingertips to her lips.
Yes, sugar kisses.
Fighting tears and a crying heart, I begged, “Pease don’t make me leave her here.”
His deep voice was so sturdy, I think it was the only thing keeping me on my wobbly feet. “Like how your dad’s blood is in your veins, that girl is your heart. She is with you, son.”
Staring at Lace, her staring at me, I took a step back and disappeared into the shadows.
As Vice drove us home in the beat-up rental car, the streetlamps glowed against my face, faded away, then lit up my paling skin, over and over. My head leaned against the back passenger window. I felt drained. Seeing her had me over the moon, but leaving her behind had zapped me of all energy. “Lynx?”
Sitting in the back with me, he answered, “Yeah, kid?”
“If you are so certain she’s safe, why are there two bikers watching her from the woods?”
He exhaled… “Gut is telling me it’s needed.”
I exhaled, too. “Because of my brothers?”
I could almost hear his jaw lock. “Those bastards aren’t your brothers.”
His anger no longer shocked or stumped me. Lynx, through actions and words, made it clear I was very important to him. Not that I understood why, but I was grateful.
“Lynx?”
“Yeah, kid?”
“I’m ready to hear what I didn’t want to hear.”
He stared out his passenger window. “I need to know every bit of identifying information you know about them, because… so far, they don’t exist.”
My head lifted to look at him. “What? What about school records—”
He shook his head. “No records of a Crow or Damien. Plus, your records state you ain’t got any siblings. Did you ever go to school with them?”
Blinking in shock, I thought back. “Well… no. Our age differences kept us in different schools.”
The hands in Lynx’s lap fisted. “What college are they at?”
My mouth fell open. “Uh… I have no idea.”
His nostrils flared as he kept staring out the window. “Don’t that seem a little odd, Pup?”
I rubbed my forehead that was starting to ache. “I’m sorry I’m so dumb—”
Grey eyes snapped to me. “If I ever hear you say that shit again, I’m beating your ass.”
Not doubting him for a second, I nodded. “Okay.”
He glared at me. “You are one of the smartest kids I’ve ever known. Hear me? You don’t know much because those assholes didn’t want you to. Now we need to know why.”
“Why?”
“Yeah. Why the fuck didn’t they just put you to ground? Am I supposed to believe they kept you around just to use you as their pin cushion?” He snarled as he looked back out his window. “Nah. Ain’t going for it. Their actions toward you showed hatred.” He made fists again in his lap. “And I’m gonna find out why.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Helping Hearts
“You did it!” Lacey whispered loudly while practically hanging out the window with a time-stopping smile that had me almost losing my footing.
Climbing up the lattice, plastic bag hanging from my mouth, I smiled at her, even though I hadn’t been the one to remove the bars. Lynx had it done while she slept last night. I think he worried that separating metal from concrete would be too much for my still-healing body. Fortunately, he wouldn’t admit to it, saving my ego a kick to the balls. He told me it was a ‘surprise’ and to stop being a pain in his dick.
To be honest, I was in no shape to pry the bars free. I would’ve done it to get to my girl, but most likely would’ve been in need of Doc afterward. Reclimbing the lattice was already having my body asking, “Really? Another wall-crawl? Have you forgotten you were stabbed, oh, I don’t know—almost three weeks ago?”
That is why, when Lacey reached down and over to offer a hand, I accepted. I gave her the bag, then proceeded to enter her room on my own.
Now hanging half in and half out of the window, my feet kicking and unable to gain traction on the wall, I heard a set of heavy boots pounding the ground behind me. They stopped when Lacey grabbed the back of my jeans and tugged. She giggled, yanking and pulling, trying to drag me inside.
With my ass shamefully in the air, I told her, “I’m here to rescue you.”
She laughed, still trying to get me inside, while whispering, “You’re so heavy!”
“I have friends feeding me enough food for a village—”
I finally slipped into Lacey’s room, landing right on top of her.
Stomach to stomach, chest to chest, we laid there, panting from the struggle, staring at each other. It felt like so many moments passed by….
Staring at my mouth, she whispered, “I wrote about you today.”
“Really?” I blinked out of our trance and finally rolled off of her.
Getting to our feet, she tried to fix her hair. “Yeah, Doctor Landon said I should write in a journal to help me with my memory.”
I tried to rearrange my now disheveled shirt. “Wow… Is it helping?”
“I don’t think so.” Shyly, she tucked hair behind her ears. “Do you want to read it?”
My eyes went wide. “Me?” She nodded. I was honored. “Hell yeah.”
Hostile Saint (Steel Stallions MC Book 1) Page 14