by Erin Trejo
“Who is this?”
“Umm, is this Wolf?”
“Who the fuck is this?” Shaft narrows his eyes as he watches me.
“This is Ester, Krista’s friend.” What the hell? Is she okay?
“What happened?” The panic in my voice doesn’t go unnoticed by Shaft either. He’s on his feet, ready to move in seconds if I say the words.
“I don’t know. She won’t talk to me. She’s freaking out. She has guns,” she says in hurry. What the fuck?
“Guns?” I ask confused.
“Yes guns! As in more than one! I don’t think she knows how to use them! I don’t know what to do. What do I do?” Ester squeals into the line. She’s nervous, on edge and knowing that Krista is armed but doesn’t know how to use the guns adds to that. Hell, I’m a little nervous.
“Where is she now?”
“At the shooting range on McEver,” she says quickly. I reach up and run my hand through my hair wondering if I should even get involved in this. There’s a voice in the back of my mind telling me not to but there’s another one telling me not to leave this girl helpless either.
“I’m headin’ over there now.” Hanging the phone up, I toss Shaft the binoculars and head toward my bike as I stuff the phone into my pocket.
“Really? You’re just gonna toss this shit at me and walk off without a word?” he asks as he follows behind me.
“Got shit to handle,” I tell him casually as I grab my helmet.
“Fuck that shit, Wolf! What’s goin’ on!” He roars, pulling my attention back to him.
“That was Krista’s roommate. She bought guns, brother. Apparently, a lot of them,” I tell him blowing out a breath.
“What the fuck for?” I shrug.
“Not sure. That’s what I’m about to find out,” I tell him before pulling my helmet on and throwing my leg over my bike.
“You need me?” Shaking my head, I rev up my bike and toss him a wave before pulling out onto the street. This shit with the local police is wearing heavy on my mind but so is Krista. Many theories have run wild in my mind about what she’s hiding but I still don’t have a clue what it might be. Yeah, she was raped but what does that have to do with now? Is the asshole after her? Is that what she’s doing in Maryland? As I make my way to the gun range, too many thoughts occupy my mind. The range comes into view a few minutes later. No one bats an eye when I pull in and park, mainly because we are partial owners of this place.
I climb off my bike and leave my helmet, heading inside to see if she said anything to Wilson. Wilson is the other partial owner. He’s a good guy that helps us on the legit side of guns.
“Wolf. What the hell are you doing here?” He asks with a smile.
“Little girl came in here? About five six?” I’m about to say more when Wilson cuts me off.
“Hot little thing in baggy clothes. Yeah, she’s out back.” I nod my head and walk toward the back door when he stops me. “She in trouble?” Looking over my shoulder at the worry in his eyes, I shake my head.
“Not the kind you’re thinkin’,” I say with a wink. Wilson laughs as I walk into the back where the ranges are. I walk to the end and stop when I see her, gun raised, arms trembling. She pulls the trigger a few times before she screams. No one else is in here. Just me and her. I step up behind her when she raises the gun once more. Slipping my hands around her, I reach for the gun. She jolts slightly but eases into my touch. With one hand I remove the headphones from her ear and lean in closer.
“Hold steady. You can’t expect to hit it if you’re nervous. Keep your arms like this,” I tell her as I help adjust the hold she has. Krista doesn’t say a word but does what I tell her.
“Now look at your target. See where you want to hit it?” I ask her. She nods her head slowly, her breathing picking up with the closeness. “Hold steady, breathe in and pull the trigger.” She does as I tell her, my hands still resting over hers on the gun. She pulls the trigger and hits the target right in the chest. She doesn’t yell or become excited like most girls. I didn’t expect her to. She isn’t most girls.
“Do it again,” I tell her pulling my hands away and lifting the other gun she has set in front of her. She aims and just before she is about to fire, I drag the other gun down her stomach. Her breath catches in her throat. Her arms slowly begin to tremble. “Keep your eyes on the target. One move, one breath, that’s all it takes for them to fire first, darlin’.” She tries to steady her arms as I drag the handle of the gun between her slightly spread legs. Rubbing her pussy through her jeans, her arms tremble again. I smirk knowing the reaction I’m getting from her. I press the gun a little harder against her when she moans.
“You like that? Feelin’ that power between your thighs?” Harder and harder, I press into her and move it back and forth. Krista’s body begins to respond to the touch, moving with me. Her arms fall, she lays the gun on the counter in front of her. “Why are you here?” I ask her when I lean down and run my tongue up her neck. Her body shudders and I like where this is going.
“Learning to…to shoot,” she moans as I work her faster. Even through her baggy jeans, this has to feel good. Her breaths are becoming labored and my cock gets harder.
“Why? Why did you buy so many guns?” I ask her, sucking the flesh of her neck into my mouth.
“Wolf,” she sighs. She’s close. I can feel it, hear it in her voice. Each stroke between her legs causes her to pant. With one foot, I kick her legs apart a little more so that I have better access. I move the gun over her pussy as she pants.
“Tell me. Ester was worried about you.” I bite her earlobe and she comes for me. I never knew fucking a chick with a gun would get me this reaction. Clearly, I need to try it again sometime. Krista drops back against my chest and I move the gun, setting it on the counter before wrapping my arms around her.
“She shouldn’t have called you.”
“Why not? She was worried about you. What’ s goin’ on?”
“I can’t tell you.” She pushes off me and tries to walk away yet again. I’m sick of this shit.
“You know what? You walk away this time and that’s it, Krista. I don’t chase women! You wanna hide with your head in your ass, that’s fine but I’m not doin’ this.” She turns slowly to look up at me. Her eyes reflect the most pain I’ve ever seen in anyone.
“Will you go to the park with me?” She asks softly. Running my hand over my face, I don’t know what to say. Do I go? Do I walk away and never look back? What the hell am I doing here?
“Fine.” Reluctantly I agree and follow her out of the range. She walks through the front and doesn’t bother to look at Wilson as she goes.
“Clean that up?” I ask him, nodding toward the back. He flips me a two-finger wave as I trail behind Krista.
Fourteen
Krista
What am I doing? Why am I dragging him into this? I should tell him to leave. I should walk away but I can’t. I hate myself for feeling this weak. This isn’t me. I’ve always taken care of myself and now I feel like I’m losing that part of me with him here. We’ve sat here for hours neither of saying a word. It’s a comfortable silence but I can tell that Wolf is becoming unsettled.
“You gonna tell me what the fuck this is?” he asks flicking his cigarette to the ground and blowing the smoke through his nose. I don’t respond. Just watch. Wolf huffs out a breath and shoves off the picnic table but before he gets too far, I see her.
“That’s her,” I say softly. He stops and walks back to my side, following my gaze to my little Eva.
“The kid?” He asks looking back at me.
“Yeah. That’s Eva.” He doesn’t understand and even as tears slide down my cheeks as I watch her laugh and play in the backyard of her house, my heart aches.
“I don’t get it. That your sister or somethin’?” He asks moving to stand next to me. I take a deep breath and try to calm the raging nerves inside of me before I open my mouth to speak.
“She’s my�
��she was my daughter.” The words were spoken so softly that I don’t know if he heard me. Wolf turns and moves to stand in front of me.
“What?”
“She…I gave her up for adoption,” I tell him. His hands rest on his hips making him look even more beautiful than he already did. It’s hard to talk to him. It’s hard to tell him things because all I want to do is fall into the safety that I feel when I’m near him. I hate that too. I hate that I actually feel safe with someone because my whole adult life has been living in fear. Fear that he will find me. Fear that he would find her.
“Jesus Christ. Are you plannin’ on kidnappin’ her?” He asks, his face serious. So serious that I actually laugh.
“What? No.”
“Then what the hell is this? Why do you know where she lives?” He’s confused and I understand that.
“She’s Tom’s.”
“The rapist?” He snaps loudly. “You’re fuckin’ kiddin’ me?” Shaking my head, his arms fall to his sides, his body becoming tense. “She’s why you’re here.”
“Yes.”
“I don’t get it. You just stalk the family or what?”
“I’ve always taken care of myself, Wolf. It’s what I do. I never had anything else to care about and that was fine with me. Until her. Tom didn’t know about the pregnancy at first. Somehow, he found out years later. I hid, gave birth and then gave her away. I gave my baby away, Wolf,” I cry. He runs his hand over his face, clearly trying to piece it all together. It’s pretty simple but not for him. He doesn’t know me like that. When he begins to pace, I start to wonder what he’s thinking but my eyes are drawn back to the little girl playing with her ball. I climb off the picnic table and walk closer to watch her. I can hear her laughter echoing through the air. It rips my heart in two, but it also eases the ache.
“She has an amazing family. They are really good people.”
“Then why are you here?” I pull my gaze from her and look up at him. It’s almost like a brick to the face. It all hits him at once and I know now that he knows.
“That son of a bitch!” he roars tugging at his hair. “He threatened you, didn’t he?”
“Not me exactly. He somehow got my number. It isn’t a local number, I made sure of that. I didn’t want him to be able to track me anywhere near her. He called me and said he would find her. He needs her,” I tell him looking back to her. My heart swells with each little laugh that leaves her lips.
“Do her parents know?” I shake my head. “So, you’re just runnin’ around followin’ them and what? Gonna shoot his ass when he gets too close?” His tone is very irrational. I spin to face him, feeling defensive. He doesn’t understand the situation the way I do.
“I don’t expect you to understand, Wolf. It isn’t your problem. I will talk to Ester about calling you and it won’t happen again.” I start to walk past him when he grabs my arm, jerking me back.
“That’s it? It won’t happen again? What the fuck is goin’ on in that pretty head of yours, Krista? Huh?”
“What do you mean?”
“Is he after her? Tell me the truth and tell me now.”
“I already did.”
“No, I want to hear you say it. I want to hear you say that he is after that little girl and you are tryin’ to protect her,” he demands. Why? Why does he care? I huff out a breath and try to pull my arm free from his grasp but that doesn’t work in my favor. Not that I thought it would.
“Fine! He’s threatened to come after her! Are you happy? I will do whatever I have to do to make sure he doesn’t lay a hand on that little girl! Even if that means moving when they do.” Anger seeps through my body but I don’t know who it’s directed at. Right now, I’m taking it out on Wolf even though he doesn’t deserve it, yet I don’t know how to stop myself from doing it. He’s here and he’s pushing me beyond my breaking point.
“Movin’ when they do? How do you know all this?”
“I watch her,” I say softly.
“Every day?”
“Every single day. I watch when they leave school in case he tries to show up there. I watch her when she’s playing outside. I watch until they turn their alarm on and go to bed at night. They get up at six every morning. Her dad leaves at seven. Her mom takes her to school and drops her off at seven forty,” I sniff back the tears before I continue. “School gets out at three fifteen. Her mom picks her up and they go for ice cream before going home.”
“Jesus fuckin’ Christ, Krista,” he mutters under his breath. I know it sounds bad and it may be, but this is what I have to do.
“I won’t let him hurt them. They have taken good care of her. They love her!” I snap this time. Wolf licks his lips and moves closer, grabbing my face in his hands.
“You are not alone, Krista. Why didn’t you tell me this before? Why didn’t you ask for help?”
“Really? The man I’ve been fucking? Oh, excuse me my crazy rapist of an ex is hunting down our little girl. Could you help me?” I roll my eyes and Wolf huffs out a laugh.
“Well maybe not in those words but you could have asked for help,” he says once more.
“It isn’t your problem. It’s mine.”
“He’s dangerous,” he adds.
“I know that.”
“So why face him alone?”
“I’m all I have.” He leans in slowly and presses his lips to mine. I melt into the man. I hate it but I do. I let him kiss me. His tongue moving into my mouth, slowly stroking mine. His hand moves to the back of my neck, pulling me closer. When we’re both breathless, he pulls back and looks down at me.
“When do you sleep?”
“When I can.”
“Come on. Let’s go,” he says pulling away and grabbing my hand in his. I pull my hand away quickly and check the time.
“I can’t go yet,” I tell him. He looks at me confused for a second but then seems to get it.
“What time does her dad get home?” he asks looking toward my little girl.
“Twenty minutes.” He nods, grabs my hand and sits back at the picnic table, pulling me into his lap.
And that’s how we stay. In silence until her dad pulls into the driveway and she goes inside.
Fifteen
Wolf
“You wanna tell me why that’s our goddamn problem?” Sly asks looking at me across the table. I’m pissed off. Not sure who at exactly but I’m pissed all the same.
“It’s not,” I admit. I told them about Krista and her ex. I told them everything I know and asked to have a prospect put on the family and the little girl. Sly isn’t really seeing eye to eye with me on this, not that I blame him. This isn’t really a club issue but I plan on making it one.
“Then why the fuck would I agree to it?” He asks narrowing his eyes at me.
“You want Lauren to give up information. She isn’t a club problem either,” I remind him. His eyes flare. I know what I’m doing poking the beast. Sly chuckles before pulling his cigarette from his lips.
“Is that some kind of threat?” Leaning his elbows on the table, I stare him down. Gauge whistles and Shaft chuckles, the other guys going silent. They had to know this was coming.
“No threat. It’s either a prospect or I’m doin’ it myself.” It’s that simple. At least to me it is. She needs help and I plan on helping her.
“You have club shit to do!” Sly roars.
“I know that which is why I asked for a prospect,” I say as I lean back in the chair casually.
“Go get her,” Sly says to Shaft. His eyes move to mine quickly before he stands. I move to stand at the same time.
“What the fuck for?” I snap.
“Because I fuckin’ said so, that’s what the fuck for. Sit the fuck down, Wolf,” Sly snarls. I sigh and drop back into my chair as Shaft leaves the room. They knew I brought her here tonight. I didn’t know what else to do. I couldn’t leave her to deal with this shit on her own. The room stays silent until Shaft walks back in with Krista. The guys all eye her u
p and down as she does the same to them. Her defenses are high, and I understand why. She holds her head high as Shaft walks back to his seat and sits down. Sly looks up at her and she holds his stare.
“I have a problem with threats,” he says in a growling tone.
“She isn’t a threat.” My voice thunders through the room.
“You shut the fuck up,” Sly nods at me before looking back up at her. I’ve never seen Krista like this. The way she’s holding herself. Most people would be scared shitless facing down this table of men but not her. She’s stronger than I gave her credit for.
“I don’t know you. Yet my brother over there thinks you need some kind of extra special treatment.”
“I don’t need shit,” she snaps back at him. I smirk.
“Not what he’s sayin’. I get your situation and I suppose my question is, are you with him just for the help?” Her eyes flash to mine and I can see the anger in them. Everyone at the table can see it. They all chuckle from the glare I’m getting.
“Did you really fucking tell them I’m with you? I thought we had this discussion!” her anger and words are now directed at me and I fucking like it.
“We did and yeah, I did.”
“You have no fucking right to do that, Wolf! I didn’t tell you so you could fuck with my plans!”
“What are your plans?” Sly asks interrupting her spat. She narrows her eyes at me before looking back to him.
“I’m going to kill him,” she says it so simply that it shocks me a little. I know that she thinks she can handle this shit but not after what we’ve learned about him.
“It ain’t that easy sweetheart,” Sly informs her. She crosses her arms over her chest and glares daggers at him.