Protecting His Home

by Ember Davis

  Duncan squeezes my shoulder as I go to pass him, “I’m heading to the bathroom quickly if you’ve got your girl.”

  I give him a nod and take a step into the reception area. I’m about to tell Andrea my hours but my eyes find Amelia first, curled up on the couch and looking out the front window. I watch her eyes narrow and then see all the color drain from Amelia’s face right before she bolts off the couch. She heads right up to one of the big picture windows at the front of the shop.

  “Amelia!” It comes out sharper than I intended but running to a window is hardly ever the answer considering the terror on her face.

  Duncan must have turned around the second he heard my tone because he’s on my ass in a split second. I cross the room and pull Amelia away from the window and look to where she can’t seem to tear her eyes away from.

  She points, “I could have sworn I saw him, but then it was like he just disappeared.”

  My voice is a growl, “Baby, you can’t run toward danger.”

  She shakes her head and finally looks at me, regret filling her eyes. “I know, Beckett, I’m sorry. It’s just that I saw him and then I didn’t. I just couldn’t be sure.”

  I pull her against me as Duncan walks out of the shop to check it out. I hear Andrea pay out my client. I should have known she knows how many hours I worked on him; she’s an even better manager than the one we had before.

  Amelia is breathing heavy against my chest and she’s mumbling apologies, declarations that she’s sure it was him and deflections that maybe she’s just seeing things. The more she mumbles the more panicked she sounds and starts shaking. Before I can stop her, she pushes away from me, turns on her heel and walks into the back.

  My client gives me a concerned look and asks if everything’s okay. I give him a nod and say it will be. He’s a good guy, but Amelia doesn’t need her shit aired to every damn person. I give him a fist bump and head toward the back to find my girl.

  The look on Troy’s face as I walk past his station tells me everything. He’s worried. I hold up my hand and point to his client. Olivia is wringing her hands and I feel that reaction too. Zeke’s eyes are darting between Olivia and the doorway to the back room like he’s not sure what to do. When he sees me, his relief is palpable. Dex is coming out of the bathroom as I come to the doorway to the back room. I can see Amelia sitting on a chair, her head between her legs. Dex is about to open his mouth, but I cut him off with a sharp shake of my head.

  Fuck, this fishbowl can be a real bitch sometimes. I slip inside the back room and close the door behind me. I start toward my girl, who is clearly trying to get her shit under control. Before I can reach her, she looks up at me with determination in her eyes. I can’t help it, my cock thickens instantly; he knows where home is, not to mention that fiery Amelia is sexy as fuck.

  Amelia shakes her head, “Don’t even say it. I know exactly what you’re thinking, and I am going out tonight.” Her narrowed gaze sweeps up and down my body, “With or without you.”

  Well fuck. Why does that make my cock twitch?

  I hold my hands up like I’m approaching a wounded animal, “Baby, I didn’t say anything.”

  “I know what you were going to say, Beckett,” she snaps. “Tell me I’m wrong.” She points at me, “I’ll know if you’re lying.”

  I sigh, “You’re not wrong, Baby.” I run my hands through my hair and look at her, I hope she can see how concerned and scared this whole thing makes me. “I just want you to be safe.”

  Amelia stands up and starts pacing, “I know, really, I do. I just can’t keep doing this. I can’t keep asking you to change your life and hide out with me. I don’t want to keep hiding. I’m tired of waiting for the other shoe to drop.” She looks at me and her gaze is calculating. “I’m not stupid, Beckett, I know I’m putting myself at risk by going out. I’d rather dangle myself as bait than keep hiding and letting him terrorize me with the unknown. If I didn’t think that Blake and the guys could keep me safe, I wouldn’t do it.”

  I wrap my fingers around her wrist on her next pass and pull her to my chest, wrapping my arms around her. I kiss her shoulder right where that sunflower is under her jacket and she shivers.

  “I don’t want to put you in danger, Amelia,” my tone is pleading. I can’t lose this woman. It would kill me.

  She sighs, “I know, Love. I do, but we can’t keep living like this. He’s winning every day we live like this. I refuse to do it anymore.” She pulls back from me slightly and cups my jaw in her hands and looks deep in my eyes. “We cannot keep living like this.”

  I nod my head and let her pull me down to her and she kisses me with all the love I know she has inside for me. I take control of the kiss and show her all the love I have for her. I can’t shake the sense that it could be the last time I kiss her like that.

  CHAPTER 16

  AMELIA

  It was him. I know I said I wasn’t sure, but it was Caleb on that street. He was looking right at me even though I know with where the sun was that it’s almost impossible to see into the shop at that time of day. It did cross my mind that I made it up, that maybe looking at every shadow and waiting for him to pop up has made me see things that aren’t there.

  My gut says it was him. I didn’t listen to my gut when I first met him, but I’m listening to it now. My gut also says that the only way I can stop this is if I draw him out and the only way to do that is to get away from the house and work. Both are so insulated. Which is great, don’t get me wrong, because they’re safe.

  A month is too long to be waiting for Caleb to make some sort of move. I can’t do it anymore. How long does it continue? If this continues too long, we might let our guard down and then we may not be equipped to deal with the problem. Right now, with Higgins Security, we’re equipped to deal with the problem.

  I also am done with having limited privacy. I’d like to be able to go to the grocery store without a fucking escort that won’t let me roam the aisles the way I want to. I always find the best stuff when I get to wander. Ryker is the worst about hurrying me along. He’s a great guy and we spend time talking about books and music. I enjoy being around him, except when he’s constantly checking his watch and telling me the increased risk of being at the store for so long. I almost throat punched him when he was with me in the craft store; I will not be rushed in the yearn aisles! This week I insisted that Beckett go grocery shopping on his way home because I was done.

  Blake is the best at running errands with me so when he told me he was free today if there was anything I needed to do, I jumped at the chance. That also means that Blake is in possession of a secret that I wish he wasn’t. Well, maybe not a secret, but a suspicion, which is bad enough.

  Fine. It’s not hard to figure out. I bought a pregnancy test. I had to buy a pregnancy test in front of a man that isn’t the baby’s father and it just doesn’t sit right with me. All Blake knows is that I might think that maybe I’m pregnant. Yeah, I didn’t even believe my own vague babble when Blake wordlessly raised his eyebrow at me in the store.

  I steeled my spine and told Blake that no matter what, I was going out tonight and if that means Caleb comes out of the woodwork and makes a mistake then that’s what it means. The results of the test would not change anything other than give me more of a reason to not keep living in fear and wondering when shit is going to hit the fan.

  Blake is stubborn, almost as stubborn as Beckett, but he’s also smart. I could see his wheels turning. He tried to argue with me, but I asked him what the plan would be if I was, in fact, pregnant. We’d just wait until I was 9 months pregnant, basically helpless, and hope that Caleb doesn’t try something then? When I pointed out how helpless a baby would be, he blanched.

  When I got home, I took the test, seeing those two pink lines only hardened my resolve. This has got to end. I know I should be afraid and there is fear, but I’m just so fucking tired of doing this and living this half-life where I’m always considering that Caleb could be arou
nd the corner.

  I know if I tell Beckett about the pregnancy, especially after that little Caleb sighting, he won’t let me go out. I know it’s wrong to not tell him, but I need to do this. I need to put myself out in public and see if Caleb is going to take advantage. If he doesn’t then maybe I can relax, even just a little. I know that he’s sent me other messages, but no one has let me see them. I’m okay with that. Maybe he’s all talk; I just need to know.

  So much of the last month has been amazing. I wouldn’t trade a single moment I’ve spent with Beckett. I love that man with a fierceness. He’s the best couch snuggler and I love watching him paint in his studio. He gave me the most gorgeous pearl necklace that you couldn’t pay me to take off.

  Don’t even get me started on the orgasms. It really wasn’t hard to trade going out on Friday night for whatever kinky fun he had in mind the first few weeks. Then there’s the fact that I’ve never slept better than in his arms.

  He’s also two sessions in on my tattoo and I can’t wait to see it all done. I’ve never looked at the entire thing, but I catch glimpses sometimes in the mirror. I stood in front of the mirror today after I took the test and stared at that sunflower. I let it seep into my soul that Beckett’s art is more powerful than the fleeting bruise Caleb left in the same spot. Oh, shit, I wonder if being pregnant will put off finishing my tattoo. Damn it, that’s a bummer. We’ll have to do some research.

  I got dressed today for function: jeans, a Banks Ink. shirt and a grey leather jacket. I also put on my Dr. Martens just in case I need a steel toe for something. I don’t want to get wrapped up in a skirt or give Caleb access for any sick shit he’s thinking up. See, this is the shit I shouldn’t even have to consider, but here I am.

  I almost can’t believe I convinced Beckett to still go out after that Caleb sighting. I thought for sure he was going to fight me harder about the whole thing, but I also think he can see the logic of trying to draw out the psycho.

  We’re almost to the bar and Beckett has a death grip on my hand. Duncan is following us in his truck. I know Blake and Ryder are already inside because they texted us that they were in position before we even left Banks Ink.. Duncan is going to shadow us, well me, the entire night and Grayson’s going to be at the table with us.

  Duncan already briefed me about not looking for Blake and Ryder and to just know that they’re there. I have no idea how Blake, the mountain, can blend into a crowd, but I also know he knows what he’s doing.

  I know Beckett isn’t handling this situation very well and I need to get both of us in the mindset to treat this like any other Friday night. That’s what I need. What we need.

  I run my fingertips up and down his arm. He glances over at me. “Love, I know you don’t like this, but you have to calm down.”

  Beckett takes a deep breath, but it doesn’t do anything to lessen the waves of anxiety coming off him. He grunts, “I have a bad feeling about this Amelia.”

  I make my voice firm and even. “We have to do this. We need to take back control. I trust Blake and I trust his team.”

  He sighs, “I trust them too, Baby.”

  He pulls into the bar parking lot and finds a parking space before he turns and looks at me. I cup his cheek and he leans into it. “Then you have to treat this like a normal night. I don’t hope that I’m in any danger, but I also can’t keep waiting for him to do something if he’s not going to. This will test that.”

  Beckett leans over and takes my face in his hands and brings me to him, taking my lips in a kiss full of love and passion, but also worry and fear. He’s kissing me like it might be the last time he kisses me; I get that.

  Fuck, I hope nothing happens before I can tell him I’m pregnant with his child. He’ll be so excited. Well, I hope he will be since we decided to wait to stop my birth control until Caleb is dealt with. He’ll definitely be so cocky I don’t know if I’ll be able to stand him. I can already hear him telling the guys about his super sperm that not even my birth control could stop.

  I kiss him one more time chastely before winking at the man I love. “Come on, Love, let’s go and hang out with our friends. Then you can take me home and let me in on that special surprise.”

  He grumbles, “I don’t know if that offer is still on the table, Baby.”

  I glare at him and he chuckles. He kisses my nose before he opens the door and comes around to my side. I grab the phone Blake gave me out of my purse along with my ID. I like having a phone I know is secure, and as long as Caleb continues to send periodic messages to my business account Blake is keeping my phone.

  I slip both into my coat pocket before I slip my purse under the seat of Beckett’s car. No one ever lets me buy a round and I hate having too much stuff on me when I’m in a bar. Guys kind of have the right mindset with just carrying a wallet, keys and their phone. I do love a purse though and sometimes you do need more stuff; I just envy the simplicity of what guys have in their pockets.

  Beckett opens my door and I take his offered hand. He closes the door and locks his car as he tucks my hand into his arm and kisses my temple. He whispers against my hair, “Be careful, Baby. I love you so much.”

  I look up at him and smile, “I love you too, Beckett. More than I could ever tell you.”

  We make our way to the bar entrance and the moment I step in I can feel it. He’s here. I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I can feel his eyes on me. When Blake and his guys watch me, it doesn’t feel like this. This is a dangerous feeling and it makes my stomach turn in knots.

  Beckett wraps his arm around my waist and keeps me close as we head toward the table Grayson, Olivia and Zeke are already at. He gives my hip a little squeeze like he can feel it too. I see Ryder out of the corner of my eye at the bar, but I don’t look at him. I can feel Duncan not far away from me as we settle into the table. Troy and Dex should be heading over from the shop soon. I see Walsh at the bar. He nods at me and I give him a little wave back.

  Beckett deposits me next to Grayson and kisses my temple. He whispers, “Do you want a beer, Baby?”

  I shake my head, “No, just a coke would be great.” He narrows his eyes at me slightly, “I just want to be sober and enjoy being with my friends.” I roll my eyes, “It’s not about the beer, Love.”

  Beckett sighs before making eye contact with Grayson and kissing my temple again. Then he heads over to the bar to meet up with Walsh. I chit chat with Olivia and Zeke before the guys get back to the table. Beckett deposits my coke in front of me and entwines our fingers.

  Walsh muscles in next to Grayson, who just laughs good naturedly and makes room. Walsh wraps his arms around me and lifts me off the floor. He whispers, “Are you sure about this, Amelia?”

  I smirk up at him, “Do you have my back, Snookums?”

  He grins down at me and gives me a squeeze. “You know it, Sweetcheeks.”

  I nod and pitch my voice low, “Then I’m sure about this. I have to live my life, Walsh. No more hiding.”

  He releases me and leans against the tabletop, “You’re fucking amazing, Amelia. Have I told you that today?”

  I roll my eyes, “I think that’s how I woke up this morning, to your butt crack of dawn text affirmation.”

  Walsh throws his head back and laughs and Beckett squeezes my hand while chatting with Zeke. It might be funny if I was joking. Walsh texts me every morning before he goes out for his jog. He must have a wall calendar or an app or something because the affirmation changes daily. I sometimes give him shit about it and I know Troy does, but I really do love it. They’re sweet and they do give me a little pick me up, even though I hate to admit that I need one.

  Walsh nods his head toward the coke, “No beer tonight?”

  I shrug and don’t meet Walsh’s eyes because he might see the truth there if I do. I’m really a shit liar, especially with these guys. “Just wanted to be sober tonight. I came out for the company, not the beer.”

  I hazard a glance up at Walsh and the second I
do his eyes widen. Oh, fucking hell. I shake my head and give him a hard look. Walsh gives himself a shake like he’s trying to literally shake the conclusion he jumped to out of his head. He looks at Beckett, who thankfully is still deep in a conversation, and then back at me. I shake my head slowly and widen my eyes.

  Walsh scrubs a hand down his face and mutters, “Fuck, I might need something stronger than this.”

  I arch my eyebrow at him and purse my lips. Why is he being a big baby about this? Maybe it’s the added risk. But shouldn’t he want to stay sober in case his MMA skills are needed? Ugh, men can be so touchy sometimes. Big babies.

  I see Troy and Dex coming through the entrance and I smile and wave at them when I catch their eyes. Troy heads right for me and Dex peels off to grab some beers at the bar. When Troy reaches me, he wraps his arms around me and spins me, which rips my hand from Beckett’s. I barely catch the look of rage on Beckett’s face and the look of horror on Walsh’s face as Troy spins me three times.

  A wave of nausea sweeps over me, and I pat Troy’s back and hiss, “Put me down you Neanderthal.”

  He chuckles, but thankfully stops spinning me and puts me back on the ground. Beckett immediately pulls me tight against his side and gives Troy a look that really should be able to slice him into tiny pieces. Troy just throws his head back and laughs before patting Beckett on the back.

  I knew that out of everyone, Troy could treat this like a normal night. We’ve gotten really close because we did totally go and get a pedicure and gab. He told me about his life growing up around Denver, the divorce his parents went through and his 4 younger brothers and sisters. Troy and Walsh have known each other the longest in the group since they became friends in middle school; it shows. He’s a great guy with a heart of gold, he just also happens to have a wandering penis.