Stripping Callum (Last Hangman MC Book 6)

by Muriel Garcia

  I take a deep breath and get out of the car. I lock it and make my way onto the property. It looks more like a big mansion than a compound like you see on TV. Or maybe it’s to make it seem normal so people won’t question it too much? Either way, it looks nice.

  To my right is a playground area where a couple of kids and a pregnant lady are. Across from me, there are over twenty bikes lined up and to my left, the house. The doors are open so I walk in. I doubt if I would have knocked that someone would have answered as they appear to be celebrating something. Music is blasting and some of them are playing pool and darts. A beautiful redhead walks over to me.

  “Can I help you?” she asks in a bubbly tone.

  “I’m looking for Callum.” I smile at her.

  “You must be Annabella.” She grins widely.

  “I am. How do you know that?” I ask, confused.

  “Gabe and I talked…” She grins innocently at me.

  “Gabe?”

  “One of the guys. Anyway, I know you and Callum have a thing.”

  “Had. It ended last week.”

  “Did he end it?”

  “No, I slapped him and left.” I blow out a breath.

  “You’ve got balls, I like that. He’s out the back by the sheds. Just around the bikes, and you’ll find him.”

  “Thank you.” I smile and turn to walk out, but she stops me.

  “I don’t know what happened between the two of you, but Callum is a lot more sensitive than he’s willing to admit. He’s been a mess these past couple of days, and now I can imagine why. You’ve had a serious impact on him. He deserves to be happy even if he doesn’t think so. Don’t hurt him any more than he is. If you’re just going to yell at him I’d suggest you leave.”

  “I agree with you, and I’m not planning to hurt him. I never meant to, but his words cut me deep. I couldn’t take his bullshit. It was a rough night, and our fight only made it worse. I’m not planning on yelling at him. I want to fix things between us. If there’s any fixing that can be done.” I sigh.

  “I’m sure if there’s someone that can bring him back it’s you.” She squeezes my hand and lets me go.

  Walking out of the house, I gather my thoughts about what I’m going to tell him. I’m still not sure about any of it, I’ll just wing it I guess. I just want to see him and hopefully make it better between us. It’s been awful not having him around for a week. Not only at the strip club but at home and in general. I miss his texts and random phone calls. I miss his kisses and his cuddling. I miss the sex. It was amazing and I lost it all. That night when I walked out on him, I left a piece of me behind and I need it back in my life. I need him back in my life.

  Rounding where the bikes are, I see a couple of sheds in the distance. I walk toward them and at first I can’t see anyone. I take a couple more steps, not wanting to snoop around, but something catches my attention. Not something I see, but something I hear. That sinking feeling that you get in the pit of your stomach as you know you shouldn’t look because you’ll see something that’ll fuck you up… That’s one of these moments.

  The closer I get to the noises, the clearer what is happening gets. I take two more steps, and I’m faced with Callum leaning against one of the sheds, jeans lowered, getting head by some blonde fucking bimbo. My blood turns to ice, and I feel numb.

  I know I should walk away, but I can’t. I’m hypnotized and disgusted by what I’m seeing. I wish I had never come. I wanted to make things better, and this has just made things worse. I know we’re not together anymore, but it still fucking hurts because fuck it, I love him. It took me losing him to realize how much I love him, and now it’s done for good. This was the final nail in the coffin.

  As I’m about to walk away, we make eye contact. I look at him disgusted by his actions. He looks shocked to see me there. Now, I’m not sure if it’s the blonde bitch who has a great mouth or if it’s seeing me and the surprise of it all, but he comes in her mouth, and I realize the kind of man he really is.

  Shaking my head at him, I turn around and run away from him. I don’t want anything to do with him, ever again. This will teach me to let myself develop feelings for someone. I knew I should have stayed away from him, but I had to go and get close to him. I feel so fucking stupid.

  Rounding the bikes, I almost walk into a pregnant woman.

  “Are you alright?” she asks me, holding my arm. It’s then that I realize the mess I’m in. I’m shaking like a leaf, and I’m crying. Tears fall freely down my cheeks.

  “No.” There’s no point in lying to her.

  “What happened?” she asks confused.

  “Callum…” I sigh.

  “What did he do?” she asks, getting annoyed, and I don’t know if it’s with me or with him.

  “He was getting head from a blonde bimbo,” I say, disgust lacing my voice.

  “The fucking bastard. You must be Annabella.”

  “I am.”

  “I’ll talk to him.”

  “No need. I don’t want anything to do with him.” I run back to my car.

  “Wait!” she yells after me, but I don’t turn around. I need to put as much distance as I can between Callum and me.

  I didn’t come here expecting some sort of miracle, but I assumed that if I showed up and apologized for the way I treated him last week when something clearly hurt him, that it could somewhat fix things, but it’s only made it worse.

  Callum

  Bella wasn’t supposed to be here.

  She wasn’t supposed to see me getting head.

  I feel fucking disgusted with myself for what I did. All I did this week was wallow in self-pity because I was too much of a coward to go and talk to her and apologize for being a dick. Bella is the only one I would apologize to, and I missed my chance and really fucked it up for the both of us. I don’t think there’s ever a way for me to get her back now. And it’s all my fault.

  She deserves better than what I could offer her, and I’m sure she hasn’t received any threats ever since.

  “So you have a heart after all,” Nancy says, sitting on the swing next to mine.

  “Never said I didn’t.”

  “Well, I thought you didn’t, especially after what you did to Annabella.”

  “You’ve heard.” I sigh.

  “Yeah, from her. I ran into her as she was running away from you, and she told me. That’s messed up, even for you,” she says as we watch the kids playing around.

  “I know. I haven’t been myself for a week.”

  “What happened? You’ve been avoiding me, and I want to know why. It’s about time you man up and grow a pair.”

  “Her place was trashed. I took a walk through and saw a kid’s room. I quickly figured out that it was her kid. She never told me about him, and that was the first thing that struck me. The second one was when she told me her kid was missing. I was expecting the worst, like what happened to Billy. Luckily, Gail, her roommate, took Elijah to her mom before they were harmed.”

  “I’m sorry it brought back such bad memories.” She rubs my arm.

  “I’ll live. It just messed with me and instead of doing the adult thing and talking to her, I shut her off and pushed her away, and then she had to see me today.”

  “Did you see her at all?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Did you stop it?”

  “No.”

  “What? Why not?”

  “Because I’m a fucking asshole. I came when we looked at each other.”

  “You’re fucking disgusting,” she whispers loudly.

  “I know. I don’t deserve her.”

  “No, she deserves a lot better than the Callum you’ve become. She fell in love with you for a reason. You need to talk to her and make it better,” Nancy scolds me.

  “How?”

  “Do you love her?” she asks me.

  “Yes, I do. Hell, I’m in love with her.” I blow out a breath.

  “Then why aren’t you telling her that? What
happened last week for you two to fight?”

  I proceed to tell her everything, including the stupid comment I made about her being a mom and a stripper.

  “You are fucking stupid!” she yells at me, and all the kid's snicker.

  “That I am.” I chuckle.

  “No, I mean it. You’re also a hypocrite. How dare you tell her that when you’re going to see her every night she works there. I’m sure half of the strippers are moms. You’re lucky you’re taller than me or I’d kick some sense into you!”

  “Is it because I’m taller or because you’re pregnant?”

  “Are you telling me I can’t hit you because I’m pregnant? Because you know I’ll prove you wrong!”

  “I know you’re more than capable of kicking my ass.”

  “Good. Now, what are you going to do?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Oh god,” she groans.

  “I might go see her tonight and hopefully get to talk to her.”

  “At the strip club?” she asks dumbfounded.

  “Yeah, I’ll wait for her to come out so we can talk.”

  “Why not go now?”

  “I just got my dick sucked, she saw it, and I came in that girl’s mouth as I was looking at her. I think that’s enough for one morning. I’ll give her a couple of hours, and then I’ll go see her. Hopefully, she’ll agree to talk to me.” I shrug.

  “I hope for you she will.” She pats my arm, and I nod.

  I spend the next half hour pushing Nancy on the swing and watching the kids. They are a daily reminder of what I’ll never have with Billy. I never grieved. I went into a dark place, but I never allowed myself to grieve the loss of my wife and kid. Maybe that’s the source of all my problems. I should have allowed myself some time to pay my respect for them and mourn their loss, but I was too self-absorbed to do that.

  My nerves are building up. I told Nancy that I’d wait for Bella after work, but I can’t stand the thought of her doing a lap dance for another guy. Even though what I did was horrible, I don’t want her to do it in spite of what I did and regret it later on. I can live with it. She’s too good for that.

  Taking my usual spot, I order a beer and wait for her to come on stage. I can’t see her react too well to my presence here, but I had to see her.

  Three girls come on stage and do their thing before she comes out for her turn, and she sees me straightaway. If looks could kill I’d be dead the second she spotted me. She starts dancing, and I’m mesmerized. She’s beautiful and gracious as ever.

  She only breaks eye contact with me when she’s on the pole, and it’s only for a few beats. That woman makes me feel things I never thought I could ever feel. I hate myself for putting the hate she has in her eyes. It’s totally justified. I never thought she’d come around and that I had lost her forever. She came to fix things, and I fucked it up even more, as always.

  When it’s not someone after the women in my life, it’s my own doing that fucks them up one way or another.

  Too soon, she’s done dancing. She gathers the tips she earned and moves to the backstage area. I know she is going to deny me a lap dance. I don’t blame her, but if she goes to the VIP area with another man, it’s going to kill me. Maybe not physically but emotionally it will.

  A few minutes later, she comes out wearing her street clothes. That can only mean that she’s not going to go through lap dances, and that reassures me, making me somewhat happy. At least I won’t have to feel her rejection and see her go to the back with another man.

  She glares a hole in my head as she walks past me and toward the entrance. I down the rest of my beer and follow her in silence. I want to talk to her desperately, but for once, I’m speechless. I don’t know where to start. I could say that I’m sorry for what I said or did today, but it goes deeper than that. I have some serious explaining to do as to why I tried to push her away. Why I’ve been so affected by what happened at her place.

  “Are you seriously going to follow me wherever I go like a lost puppy?” She spins around to face me. She’s annoyed with me, and I get why. I’m fucking mad at myself for the hell I’ve put her through.

  “I just want to make sure you’re alright.” I face her, holding her gaze.

  “I’m fine, Callum,” she enunciates.

  “I don’t think you are.”

  “Oh, really? And why is that?” She walks backward to her car, her eyes never leaving me. I’m not sure at this moment if she fears me and is scared of turning her back to me.

  “Some fucked up people are after me. They’ve been for years, and they are responsible for the death of my son and wife. They were killed, and I had to watch them burn alive. Everything that’s been happening—

  the notes, your place being trashed—it makes me think back to those days. I can’t nor want to imagine ever losing you and much less in such horrible conditions,” I spit my words at her, letting my anger out, but I’m not angry with her. I’m angry with myself.

  “What?” she asks, sounding dumbfounded.

  “My son and wife we—” An ear-shattering boom shakes the ground as shards of glass blast outward, and bright orange embers dance in the night sky. Acting on instinct, I bring Bella to the ground quickly, making sure I protect her without crushing her small body with mine. The blaze of flames is bright, and I tuck Bella’s face against my chest, obstructing her from the view of her car ablaze.

  Flashbacks of Alina and Billy’s accident come to mind, and I can’t help the blood-curdling scream that comes out of me. I’m back to that day, on my lawn when it all happened. When I didn’t have time to save either of them. When my life ended. I’m back to that time in life. I realize that losing Bella last week made me feel the same way as losing Alina and Billy. Sure, the circumstances are very much different but knowing that I pushed her to the point where she had to walk out on me because in that moment she hated me crushed the newfound happiness I was feeling.

  “Callum?” Bella’s soft voice brings me back to reality. I look at her, shocked beyond belief at what just happened. She strokes my cheek, looking at me. The hate that was in her eyes earlier is gone and is replaced with concern.

  “I’m okay,” I say softly, not believing my own words.

  “You don’t look it.”

  “I’ll be okay.” I hold her close to me, and she lets me.

  Sirens soon resonate through the night as we wait. I know it’s pointless for us to leave right now. It’ll just make it seem suspicious.

  Firefighters, paramedics, and cops swarm the place as we hold onto each other, still in shock.

  “Why doesn’t it surprise me that you’re involved in this?” Agent Tanner says. He and I have a long history of hate-hate relationship. He was in charge when Alina and Billy were killed, and he didn’t do anything. He’s been a nuisance in the club’s life ever since I joined them, and I can’t see him helping us with the matter at hand.

  “This isn’t about me. It’s about her.” I glare at him and help Bella up.

  “What happened?” he asks us.

  “We were coming out of the club and walking toward her car when it blew up,” I say.

  “It just blew up?” He looks between the two of us suspiciously.

  “Yes,” Bella says lacing her fingers with mine. “I had just gotten around to picking up the few things that could be saved from my place. Everything was in the car. I have nothing now,” she says, breaking down.

  “Shit. Wait, what happened to her place?” Tanner asks. I wrap my arms around her and hold her close to me.

  “Someone broke in last week and trashed the place. Her roommate didn’t want to involve the cops for some reason. Me and a few guys looked through the place and nothing of value was missing. The money they get from tips was still where it was. We figured it was linked to what happened fourteen years ago,” I say through gritted teeth and I can see the realization dawn on his face that it was indeed someone who was after me or Alina that killed them and not just some inex
plicable incident.

  “Do you have any idea of who it could be?”

  “That’s your job, no?” I scoff.

  “Callum…”

  “We thought for a moment that it could be the Satan’s Inferno, but they disappeared.” I shrug.

  “Disappeared, huh?” he asks.

  “Yes, disappeared.”

  “Alright, anything else happened since they mysteriously disappeared?”

  “Yes, her place got trashed. Other than that, I’m not sure.” I look at her and she shakes her head.

  “Alright. Do you have a beef with anyone?” he questions me, and I chuckle humourlessly.

  “You should know better than anyone else that I have a few people who want me dead.”

  “I know. Anyone in particular?”

  “No, not that I know of.” I sigh.

  “A patrol car will go to your place and do a sweep of the area. I fucked up fourteen years ago. I won’t this time.” He pats my shoulder and walks to the car as the firefighters put the fire out.

  “What happened fourteen years ago?” Bella asks me.

  “Not now, we should get out of here.” She sighs and nods. We walk to my bike, and she gets on it quietly. There are no words that need to be spoken right now. We’re both shaken by what just happened.

  This wasn’t an accident. Someone blew up her car on purpose because of me. I don’t know who and I don’t know why, but I intend to find out who wants to kill her and make them pay for all the hurt they’ve put her through.

  Annabella