I woke with her walls around me
Nothin' in her room but an empty crib
And I was burnin' up a fever
I didn't care much how long I lived
But I swear I thought I dreamed her
She never asked me once about the wrong I did”
I’d heard him sing before. He was always singing softly to me and Stella, which was part of the reason I’d chosen the song I had. But I’d never heard him sing like this. If I was honest, I didn’t know he had it in him. I found myself wondering if there was a single thing in the world that this man couldn’t do.
His eyes left mine only momentarily to close when he found himself particularly caught up in a verse, his head lifting slightly to the ceiling. The moment he opened them again, they were focused on me.
“My baby never fret none
About what my hands and my body done
If the Lord don't forgive me
I'd still have my baby and my babe would have me
When I was kissing on my baby
And she put her love down soft and sweet
In the low lamp light I was free
Heaven and hell were words to me
When, my, time comes around
Lay me gently in the cold dark earth
No grave can hold my body down
I'll crawl home to her”
I’d never experienced something so chilling, so intense, yet so romantic. The strums of his guitar and the claps behind me were all that filled the room until they slowed and stopped altogether.
The room remained silent for a fraction of a second and it was only then that I realized I was crying. Cheers erupted from every angle and I laughed, a snotty, mess of a laugh. It was all so surreal.
Lawson had barely looked away from me, and he didn’t now either, he slid his guitar to the side, crouched on the floor in front of me and took my hands in his.
“I love you Ellerslie.”
I could do nothing other than cry and laugh.
***
My feet ached from all of the dancing. I’d ditched my shoes two songs in, as had most of the girls. I’d danced with Lawson the entire time. I knew it was our wedding reception and we were supposed to be mingling with our guests, but I just didn’t give a shit. The feel of his hard strong body, moving in sync with mine had always been one of my favorite things and it was my wedding, so I was doing what I wanted.
Quinn had eventually come over and dragged me away to get a drink with her.
“Did you know he could do that?” She asked, her green eyes wide and excited.
I shook my head. I couldn’t hide the goofy grin on my face. “I’ve heard him sing before, not really sing like that, but enough to know he had an amazing voice. But the guitar was a complete shock. I really had no idea he played.”
Quinn smiled triumphantly. “I told him to keep it a secret, right back after you first met.”
I narrowed my eyes at her. “I don’t get it? Why hide it?”
“Because.” She said, inclining her head in the direction of the dance floor. “When I saw how he felt about you, I knew he’d need a trump card sooner or later. And when you sat there in that chair he finally got to throw down.”
“You had us married off before we’d even kissed.” I remembered fondly.
“Well I was right wasn’t I?” She teased.
“Yeah.” I nodded and squeezed her hand. “I’ve never been so happy to prove you right.”
17. Lawson
“Well shit Pierce, credit where credits due.” Josh pulled me in for a hug and a smack on the back. “I’ve never heard you sing like that.”
I shrugged. “It wasn’t a big deal.”
“Oh hey, don’t go getting all modest now.” Rome chuckled, his voice louder than usual.
I shook my head and laughed. “You’re a pain in my ass you know that?”
He gave me a shit eating grin and held his fist out to me. I bumped mine against his and waited for the questions that were sure to come.
“So where’d you learn to do that?”
I took a swig of my beer and smirked at him, not wanting to answer.
Rome raised an eyebrow at Logan in question. Logan was my oldest friend and probably the only person outside of my family to hear me sing, until today anyway. If anyone was going to have the answers it was Logan, and Rome knew it.
“He’s played and sang like that since he was sixteen years old.” Logan told him, sounding almost proud.
“So that’s how you always got the girls?” Rome taunted me.
Bastard can’t even give me a break at my own wedding.
I pushed up off my stool and looked around for El. I stopped and rested a hand on Rome’s shoulder. “I didn’t even need that man, my charms and rugged good looks were enough to seal the deal.”
I dodged the punch he threw at my shoulder and laughed loudly.
Now… where is my wife…
I found El at the bar and smiled to myself. I leaned in and asked Jackie, my bar manager to get me two tequila shots.
I prowled towards her. “Here you go pretty girl.”
“Urgh.” She groaned. “What is it with you and tequila shots?”
I chuckled and set it down on the bar in front of her, the lemon slices and salt next to them.
“I think you’ll find that you started this particular tradition.”
“I didn’t realize it was going to become a regular occurrence.” She protested.
I raised my eyebrows and waited.
She pouted.
“Marriage has made you tame. What was it you told him? ‘Live a little’, if I remember correctly?” Quinn teased before heading off back to the dance floor, leaving us alone in a room filled with people.
El frowned after her and picked up the shot glass, holding it up to me.
“To amazing memories.” I told her, repeating our toast from an earlier time.
She smiled in recognition and crinkled her nose. She clinked her glass against mine. “And to making more.” She replied.
***
The fact that it was New Years Eve wasn’t lost on our guests, and we counted down to the beginning of a new year in traditional fashion. I hadn’t been so eager to share a new year’s kiss since I was a hormone driven teenager.
I released Ells only to dance with my mom.
“You know how proud I am of you?” She said as we swayed slowly from side to side.
She had to strain her neck to look up at me; both Quinn and I had got our height from Michael, and I had to say I was grateful to the man for it, my mom was tiny.
“I know Mom.” I smirked.
She swatted at my shoulder. “No really, y’all are so beautiful together. That girl is probably the sweetest thing I’ve ever met.”
“She is.” I smiled as I glanced over to where Ellerslie was dancing with Kyle.
“She’s changed you, you know that?” She said quietly.
I looked back at my mom, her hazel eyes shining with unshed tears.
“She’s made me a better man.” I agreed.
“No.” She shook her head. “She’s made you whole again.” She patted my chest as the song slowed and stopped. She reached up to touch my cheek, like she did when I was a little boy. “You were always a good man.”
“Ever since we met I’ve known that we’re special. That the way we talk and laugh around each other is different than everybody else. That I will never meet anyone I can trust as much as I trust you. And I think most people search their whole lives to find what we’ve already found.”
- Author unknown
18. Ellerslie
My phone rang from where it sat on the seat of the limo next to me.
Lawson had surprised me with a night away from home tonight, it was sweet and thoughtful, and I should have known he would do something like this.
An even bigger surprise had come from Reeve. He, together with my parents had organized us a honeymoon. Quinn and Logan were in on it to
o, they’d offered to cover for us at work and my parents would stay at our house to care for Stella and the dogs.
The day after tomorrow, we were heading to Greece for seven days and I was excited beyond measure. Lawson was shocked; he never expected anything like this from them.
The only problem, in an otherwise flawless evening had come when Reeve had rushed over to us and explained in hushed tones that he, Lisa, Colt and probably Quinn would be leaving right away. There had been some type of accident and his business partner Harrison, Colt’s brother, was involved.
That was all I knew. They’d run out an hour or so before midnight and we hadn’t heard from them since.
I picked up the phone.
“Quinn.” The relief in my voice was obvious. “What’s happening? Is everything okay?”
Quinn must have been in a cab, I could hear the sounds of the vehicle in the background.
“He’s okay.” She replied quietly. “He’ll be okay, but he’s pretty hurt right now.”
I shot Lawson a glance; he was listening into the conversation. “What happened?”
“We don’t know yet.”
Quinn didn’t sound right, she was quiet. Quinn was never quiet.
“What’s wrong Q?”
“What was it like?” She asked me suddenly, slightly more volume in your voice. “When you first saw him?”
“Saw who?” I asked in confusion.
“Lawson.” She answered. “What was it like when you first saw him?”
I huffed out a laugh and squeezed Lawson’s leg. “I’m sure you remember. I was so angry, he drove me crazy.”
Lawson laughed in the seat next to me and intertwined his fingers with my free hand.
“Yeah but what was it really like? Did you just… know?”
I thought long and hard before answering her. I didn’t have a clue why she wanted to know – but I got the sense it was important.
“I’m not sure.” I admitted. “I think I knew that I’d never come across someone like him before, and I guess I had a feeling it was never going to end there. I knew there was more to come. He was the most magnetizing person I’d ever met.”
I could tell Quinn’s silence was a thoughtful one.
“Are you okay?” I asked when it finally got too much for me.
“I’m not sure.” She confessed. “Can I sleep on it tonight and talk to you about it tomorrow?”
“Of course.” I told her sincerely.
“I love you.”
“I love you too.” I replied before the line went dead.
“Well… that was… odd.” I placed my phone back on the seat and swung my legs to rest over Lawson’s. “Did you hear all of that?”
He frowned and ran his hand through his hair. “Yeah I heard it. No idea what to make of it.”
“Me either.” I agreed, biting down on my lip in thought.
We both sat in silence for a few moments, trying to decipher Quinn’s phone call. It was unlike her to be so vague, she was usually upfront to the point of being borderline rude.
“You know Reeve has been worried about Harrison for a while now.” Lawson’s hand ran gently up and down my arm as he spoke.
“What? Why?” This was news to me.
“Apparently he’s always hurt. Bruises, cuts, broken bones… trips to the hospital. It sounds like this time is the one worst yet, but still, there must be a link there.”
“Maybe he owes someone money?”
“Could be. But I doubt it. He and Reeve would be earning some pretty good money and I think he owns a nice place.”
“What are you thinking then?” I was beginning to realize that he had put some serious thought into this and that he had a theory on the whole thing.
“I thought maybe he’d been fighting. Underground stuff. I reached out to a few contacts a few weeks back, but no one could seem to place him, so that leaves me a bit stumped as to what he’s fighting for.”
He must have caught to confused look on my face.
“Reeve came to me back before Christmas; he asked me if I knew anyone that might be able to give us some information. He’s tried talking to Harrison himself, but he just shuts down and won’t talk about any of it.”
“Okay.” I nodded. “But the part I’m confused about is why he thought you’d be able to help.”
Lawson looked at me sheepishly. “Well shit. I thought the guitar was the only surprise I had left up my sleeve.” He chuckled nervously.
I raised one eyebrow and waited for him to continue.
“Okay, so remember I once told you I’d been a bit of a scrapper?”
I nodded in acknowledgement.
“Well when I first came to Boston, I fought a lot… mainly for money, in an underground fighting ring.” He grimaced, waiting for my reaction.
“Okay.” I replied, shocked.
“That’s where I met Rome. There were some dodgy dealings going on that I knew nothing about and if it wasn’t for him, I don’t think I would have made it out of there alive.”
“Okay.” I repeated.
“We got to know one another, and we kind of watched each other’s backs. It would have only been a matter of time before we had to come up against one another, but thankfully we got out before that happened. The main guys were eventually arrested and put away for a long time. The contacts I still have are pretty decent guys. That’s who I called.”
“Well…that is… that is quite a story.” Images of Lawson beaten and bloody flashed through my mind and I shuddered.
“It was a long time ago.”
I surprised myself with my next question. “Do you miss it?”
Lawson’s face showed that I’d surprised him too. “Do I miss it?” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m not sure. I miss the adrenaline rush, the thrill of a win, but I don’t miss the bruises, the pain, the look on the other guys face when he knew he was losing consciousness… no.” He shook his head. “I don’t miss it.”
Thank god for that.
“Were you good?” I knew the answer to the question before I even asked it.
He chuckled. “Well Rome will tell you otherwise, but yeah, I was good.”
I gave him a questioning look.
“Let’s just say, if it came to it, I’m more than capable of keeping you safe.” He finally said.
“You were the best weren’t you?” I asked, feeling strangely proud.
He didn’t confirm, nor deny, but the way he laughed and tucked me closer into him gave me all the answer I needed.
“Some people cross your path and change your whole direction.”
- Author unknown
19. Quinn
New Years Eve.
It had all happened so quickly, one minute I was thinking about how I was going to end things with Colt the following day, the next I was laughing and dancing with the girls and then… this.
I’d known something was seriously wrong the moment I’d seen Colt and Reeve’s faces. My mind raced, looking for an explanation, but I came up empty. My eyes had scanned the room frantically before finally landing on Ellerslie and Lawson, holding one another tightly, and relief had flooded through me.
“What?” I demanded. “What is it?”
“It’s… my brother.” Colt choked out.
Reeve grabbed me by the arm and led me swiftly off the dance floor, his other hand on Colt’s shoulder, steering him towards the door.
“His brother Harrison, my business partner, he’s been in some kind of accident. He’s been admitted into the ICU at Massachusetts General. We need to get over there right now.”
I knew I was being selfish, but I didn’t want to go. That was the role of a girlfriend, and I certainly wasn’t up for that job.
“I don’t think that really includes me Reeve.” I tried to pull my arm from his grip.
He lowered his voice and leaned in closer to me. “Look I know that you’re not going to be around for him forever, but please Q, he needs someone right now.”
&
nbsp; His eyes pleaded with me and I knew I was fighting a losing battle.
“Okay.” I whispered, letting myself be led once again.
I thought long and hard in the cab ride to the hospital, I was sandwiched between Lisa and Colt; Reeve was in the front, making small talk with the driver. I thought about how I’d watched El and Law have their first official dance, and I’d just known – known there was more out there for me, and that I was ready to start looking for it.
It was a niggling thought that had been in my mind ever since they’d brought Stella home and settled her into their lives. They had it all, the house, the dogs, and the baby. The revelation that I wanted that for myself too had come as a huge surprise.
“I called ahead, he’s on the fourth floor and the ICU is family only, so you’ll have to go in and see him Colt, and report back to us when you can. We’re allowed to sit outside the room in the waiting area.”
I looked at Colt out the corner of my eye. He was the palest I’d ever seen him and I couldn’t recall ever seeing his face without a grin plastered across it. It was unnerving to see him like this.
Turning to me, he reached for my hand and I let him take it. “Will you come in with me if they’ll let you?”
I froze for a fraction of a second before I realized that there was no way they would let non family members into that room.
“Sure.” I agreed. “Whatever I can do to help.”
***
It seemed like an eternity that we waited for Colt to come out of the small room. And when he did, he looked worse than when he went in.
Reeve jumped to his feet. “How is he?”
I could see Reeve was barely holding it together, Harrison was his best friend and his business partner, and it was obvious they were very close.
Colt shook his head slowly and sank down into the chair next to Reeve.
“He’s stable but he’s beat up pretty bad. Two broken arms, fractured ribs… cuts to his head and legs. He’s a mess… they were worried about internal bleeding, but he’s been given the all clear on that front.”
Pierced (Love like Yours Series Book 2) Page 9