Looking around the empty room, I ascertained it was empty before explaining.
“When I was sixteen, I was pulled over by an unmarked police car. Or what I’d thought at the time was a police car. It had the lights, and even the siren. When I pulled over, he stepped up to my passenger side window and asked me to get out. What I didn’t learn until later was that he was impersonating a cop, and he’d already raped three other women in two other parishes. I was his fourth victim, or would’ve been if it weren’t for a few teenagers trying to boost a car a half a block down from us. His fifth victim was killed, and they caught him in Mississippi three days later trying to do the same thing again,” I said quietly.
Why I’d just told all of that to a virtual stranger, I didn’t know. But Baylee was easy to talk to. She just kept cooking her scrambled eggs, and didn’t judge me in the least.
It also didn’t hurt that I knew she cared for Loki, and only wanted the best for him.
I saw the affection in her eyes for him when she’d opened the door.
“Does Loki know what happened?” She asked quietly glancing at the doorway behind me and back to me quickly.
I let my eyes drift to the doorway to find Sebastian leaning against the door jam, his eyes on his feet, and his hands clenched into tight fists at his sides.
Glancing away from his overpowering figure quickly, I nodded in affirmation. “Yes, most of it. I haven’t gotten into the nitty gritty with him, but I have a feeling Cabe let him know everything he knew about it. Or at least I hope. It’s not really something I like to revisit all that much.”
The doorbell rang, and heavy footfalls went from the doorway to the kitchen, through the living room, and stopped at the front door to let someone in.
A cacophony of noises came from the living room, and I got up and edged closer to the door and watched the living room fill with people.
Some wore leather vests, while others wore regular t-shirts; even Trance was there.
But he was in his police uniform, and I immediately stiffened at the sight of him.
“Trance works as a K-9 officer,” Baylee said quietly from behind me. “He’s one of the sweetest men you’ll ever meet, and he loves his wife dearly. Just last week, I saw him pick out baby cowboy boots for his new nephew. Trance’s wife is a twin. I promise, he would not be in this house with my kids if he was a bad person.”
I relaxed minutely as she spoke, and finally relaxed enough to study Trance.
He had blonde curly hair, and his build was smaller than Loki’s was, but no less powerful.
He looked sharp in his navy blue police uniform, and the dog at his side was gorgeous.
“He’s got two different color eyes. He’s beautiful,” I said in surprise.
Baylee’s giggle burst free and she covered her mouth with her hand. “Whatever you do, don’t say that in front of him. He’s so sensitive about his looks.”
My eyes moved from Trance to the other men in the room.
The older one I remembered from when Loki had met them outside his house in only his towel.
The man was hard to forget with his salt and pepper hair, muscled build, leather biker vest, and his goatee that hung to mid chest.
The fact that it was braided didn’t help, either.
The man looked badass.
In fact, if I were to think of any man to portray what I imagined a biker would look like, that man would surely be it.
“Who’s the guy with the beard?” I whispered.
Baylee looked around the room with her lips pursed. “There are like, four men in the room with beards. Do you mean Silas, the one with the gray hair? That’s the one you’re looking at right now.”
I nodded. “Yeah, him.”
“That’s Sebastian’s dad, Silas. He’s the president of The Dixie Wardens. He’s also a jerk at first, so don’t hold it against him,” she informed me.
I looked at the man in awe. “What does he do? He’s in extremely good condition despite the fact that he’s pretty old.”
“I heard that, girly. I have ears like a hawk, FYI,” Silas called from across the room, making both Baylee and I jump.
I looked at him guiltily and waved partially before hurrying back into the kitchen, face aflame.
“Oops,” I muttered, taking a seat in the very corner of the room so I had the wall at my back and side. Plus it allowed me to see whoever came in the kitchen and they couldn't walk up behind me and scare me.
It wouldn’t do to embarrass myself in front of everybody.
“What’s going on? Is it someone’s birthday or something? Why are all these people here?” I asked.
“Loki and Sebastian called a meeting, apparently. Although I don’t really know much more than that. Sebastian came home telling me he saw you and Loki at the hospital last night, and that y’all were coming over for breakfast this morning to discuss some club business,” she said.
I pursed my lips. “So...what did I say at the hospital last night?”
***
“Are you sure about this? I’m not sure about this. This doesn’t look like it’s going to taste very good...or work,” I worried.
“It’ll work, I saw them on Facebook. Another friend of mine made these for her daughter’s kindergarten class, and they were a big hit,” Baylee said with enthusiasm.
I looked at the half banana I had on the stick, and the bowl of melted chocolate she wanted me to dip it in, and thought ‘fuck it.’
Reaching forward, I dipped the entire thing into the chocolate and pulled it back out again.
The chocolate coated the entire banana, and then leaked down partially on the stick.
I rolled the stick around between my fingers as I watched the final stray bits of chocolate drip off the concoction before I set it down on the wax paper beside the bowl.
Baylee was doing the same from her side as well, while we waited for whatever secret meeting the men were having to break up.
When I’d tried to go find Loki, I’d been met with a wall of men’s eyes, none of which had been Loki, and I’d retreated right back to the kitchen and Baylee.
“How many of these do you have to make?” I wondered.
She set the banana pop down that she was working on and reached for a new one as she replied. “He has twenty two in his class, a teacher, and a teacher’s aide. So I’ll make twenty four. Does that sound good?”
Sounded good to me. “Yep.”
We worked side by side for the next twenty minutes while we spoke about our jobs, as well as the fire and police departments that a few of the men in The Dixie Wardens worked at.
“Why don’t you work here?” I questioned curiously.
She’d just told me that she worked in Kilgore, Texas. Which was nearly an hour away from where we were at right now. Seemed to me if my husband worked at the local fire department, then I’d try to get on at the department in which he worked. Not to mention it was nearly an hour closer.
That was one hell of a drive to do every three days.
“Benton Fire Department is a really small department. They only recently started running three engines. Two at the North side of town, and one at the South side of town. They only have two ambulances, and they already have the positions filled for paramedics,” she explained. “Maybe one day I’ll look to get on at the department, but I like where I’m at. I also don’t think I could handle working with Sebastian. He’s too bossy, and I don’t think I would be able to stop myself from telling him to fuck off.”
I giggled. “That would be fun to see.”
I could only imagine Sebastian giving Baylee an order of some kind. Then she underminded him in front of the entire department by telling him to go ‘fuck himself.’
He’d never hear the end of it then.
“I guess I can see why you wouldn’t want to work with your husband. I could only imagine how freaked Loki would be if I worked with him. He’d wrap me in cotton, then pr
obably get shot in the process because he was too busy worrying about me rather than his own butt,” I agreed.
Baylee snorted. “That’s nothing but the truth. I’ve had my own form of protection from those guys myself. They don’t like it when their women are in danger. Trust me on that.”
“Bet your ass, sweet cheeks,” Sebastian’s deep baritone voice said from behind us.
Then the unmistakable sound of a hand meeting the meaty part of an ass rent the air, followed by Baylee’s shriek of outrage. “Sebastian, you big shit. You made me get chocolate on my fingers!”
I turned just in time to see Sebastian put Baylee’s fingers into his mouth and suck.
My eyes returned immediately to what I was doing while my cheeks flamed.
A warm hand sliding around from my hip to my stomach had me turning my head to the side and up to find Loki’s amused face.
His big body was shaking in silent laughter at the awkward position I was in, and the degree of redness still tinging my cheeks.
“What’re you making?” He asked curiously, as he watched me dip another banana on a stick into the not-so-melted-anymore chocolate.
“Chocolate covered bananas for Johnny’s kindergarten class party tomorrow,” I informed him.
His eyes moved from the banana in my hand to the finished ones cooling on the wax paper, and his eyebrows furrowed.
“Sebastian, did you see what they’re making your son for his Christmas party?” Loki asked.
My eyes went from Loki’s furrowed brow to Sebastian, and the expression on his face was comical.
“What the fuck are you making, Baylee?” He exclaimed.
“Chocolate covered...oh fuck!” Baylee yelled. “What the hell, the picture Winter showed me of hers didn’t look like that!”
Winter, she explained, was her partner at the Kilgore Fire Department. Winter had made these for a family barbeque, and they’d been a big hit with the kids.
“What’s wrong with them?” I asked in confusion.
I didn’t see anything wrong with them, I mean sure, they were a little messy looking.
The outsides had drips of chocolate that ran down the length of the banana in rivulets, giving off a vein effect. And the chocolate had clumped more about an inch down from the tip of the...holy shit!
“They look like chocolate covered dicks!” I shrieked.
“And there it is,” Loki chuckled as he pulled me in closer to his body.
“I can’t give these to a bunch of five year olds!” Baylee cried.
Sebastian picked one of the chocolate covered dicks...bananas, and held it up for inspection. Then he surprised the ever-loving shit out of me and took a bite of the concoction.
“It’s pretty good,” Sebastian offered. “You can’t take them to his school, but the guys will eat them. They won’t go to waste.”
Loki followed suit, grabbing up six separate dried chocolate covered dicks and walked into the living room.
We followed behind him, Baylee and I, side by side, as we watched him pass out the dicks to the men remaining in the living room.
There were only seven now, and every one of them took the creations with a wary eye, but nonetheless took a bite anyway.
“This is the best dick I’ve ever tasted,” the old man who looked like Santa exclaimed.
Baylee and I giggled as Trance turned to the old man. “Hopefully it’s the only dick you’ve ever tasted.”
Santa pursed his lips. “Wouldn’t you like to know?” He asked coyly.
“Who’s Santa?” I asked quietly.
Well, obviously, my quiet and the rest of the room’s quiet were not one and one, because as soon as I asked that, they all turned to me.
I froze when I was the focus of all those eyes; especially Trance.
Before, he’d looked pretty normal hanging out with his friends, despite his uniform. However, there was no hiding those eyes.
The eyes that told everyone just who he was, and what he was capable of. They may have been pretty, one blue and one green, but they were anything but welcoming.
His eyes were shrewd as he surveyed me. Just as they’d been the two other times I’d seen him before. They were also calculating, sizing me up, and taking inventory.
He took in my arms that were crossed tightly across my chest, my eyes that were trying to look at him, but not quite succeeding. My appearance. My everything.
I felt like my skin was crawling. Like things were underneath my skin, making it itch.
My eyes started to water, and my heart started to pound. I could feel the telltale symptoms that indicated an oncoming panic attack start to take over.
I could hear Baylee’s worried voice beside me, speaking desperately, but I couldn’t acknowledge her. I couldn’t look away from Trance’s hypnotizing eyes.
Then something wonderful happened.
Loki’s chest came into my line of sight.
The badge that was hanging around his neck came into view, followed by his hands as they came up to frame my face.
“You’re safe, sweetheart. I’m right here. Trance will never hurt you, I promise,” Loki whispered into my ear.
My eyes moved from the beaded chain holding his badge to his pale blue eyes, and I came back to myself.
“I’m okay,” I said roughly.
“I know,” he said back just as roughly.
He pulled me into his chest, and I buried my face into the crook of his neck, standing on tiptoes so I could wrap my arms around his shoulders.
As soon as his skin touched my own, I felt how cold and clammy I’d gotten. Shivering, I held on tighter as his arms wrapped around my back, pulling me in close.
His heart was thundering just like my own, and I realized that I’d scared him.
“I’m sorry,” I apologized.
“Not your fault, Channing. It was never your fault,” he excused.
I shivered slightly. “I know. Now, let’s go introduce me to your friends since I’m not going anywhere and they’re not going anywhere; I want to be able to breathe if you leave the room.”
His eyes got far away for a second, and then he smiled slowly. “Sure, let’s go.”
He held my hand tightly, my small one clasped in his big one, and we walked into the living room.
They’d all resumed their chocolate covered penis eating; some were finished and holding the empty sticks.
Santa was the first to acknowledge me. “Would you like to sit on my lap and tell me what you want for Christmas?”
His smile was infectious, and I found myself walking towards him.
I would’ve sat in his lap, too, if Loki hadn’t grabbed me around the waist and sat us both down in the closest recliner.
I landed on his lap hard, causing an, “oomph,” to escape his mouth.
My butt shifted, and my ass bone encountered the uneven blob of his key ring, causing me to shift most of my weight to the other leg.
Which also didn’t help, seeing as he had two bullet magazines in that one.
Therefore, I balanced my weight towards the middle, and leaned back into his chest, resting my head against his.
“You have too many things in your pockets,” I suggested.
He shrugged. “They’re necessary.”
I rolled my eyes towards the ceiling, catching Trance’s amused ones.
I smiled hesitantly at him, and he returned the smile.
His eyes warmed, and the cop mask slipped off his face as if it’d never been.
“Santa’s name is actually Dixie, although, after the last couple of years and all the women coming along, he will answer to Santa upon occasion. You’ve met Trance and Sebastian. On the far right in the corner is Tunnel Morrison, who’s a cop with the BPD.”
Tunnel was sitting on a padded barstool in the very corner of the room.
He was young like me, about twenty-five or so, with dirty blonde hair, and a killer smile.
He raised his hand to wave, but didn’t say anything as Loki continued. “The man in the corner is named Cleo. He’s another member of The Dixie Wardens, as well as a flight nurse/paramedic in Shreveport.”
Cleo was drop dead gorgeous. He had deeply tanned skin, gray eyes that were nearly black, black hair, long black eyelashes, and he wore black clothes.
He was one of the sexiest men I’d ever seen, and intimidating as hell.
“Hello,” he said deeply.
“Hi,” I replied back shyly.
“And finally we have Sterling, but we like to call him Kraken. He’s on leave from The Navy. He’s a SEAL. The Coast Guard’s wicked stepsister,” Loki jeered.
Sterling flipped him the bird without interrupting the drinking of his beer.
Sterling was most definitely the youngest of the group, but that didn’t detract from his appeal. He was covered, completely, on both arms with tattoos. And boy were those arms big. He could easily compete in the muscle mass department with Sebastian.
Loki was muscular and cut, and looked goddamned excellent, but he didn’t have the sheer mass that Sebastian and Sterling had, which I was grateful for. Otherwise, he’d look too much like the man that had attacked me, and then we really would’ve had a problem.
“What are you thinking about? You just tensed up,” he asked into my ear.
“Nothing. It was nothing,” I refused to talk about it.
“You about ready to go? I have to meet the chief at the station in about an hour,” he explained.
I would’ve answered, but the cell phone in my back pocket started to vibrate.
Leaning over so that Loki’s keys gouged into my ass fat, I retrieved the cell phone from my pocket and answered it. “Hello?”
“Hey, baby girl,” my father’s deep, smoky voice filled my ears.
I stood up with a wide smile on my face. “Daddy! What’s going on?”
I was excited to speak with him. He’d been delivering a load to Michigan when I’d spoken to him last, and it’d been nearly three weeks, which was a record for us.
“God, do I have a story for you. I could totally blow your mind with my last three weeks. I was going to stop by your place before I headed to the lake. However, you’re not here, so I just wanted to let you know where I’ll be,” he told me.
Keys To My Cuffs (The Heroes of The Dixie Wardens MC Book 4) Page 11