Every Breath You Take (Bayou Devils MC Book 3)

by A. M. Myers

  “Damn. I was really hoping this might be the year that a woman knocked you on your ass and made you realize what a fool you are.”

  I know she’s teasing but the moment the words left her mouth, I pictured Tate. “Don’t count on that, baby sister.”

  “Some day, Linc. Some day.”

  “Yeah, yeah. What’s up with you? Did you need something?” I ask, glancing to the side mirror as a car drives past the van.

  “Nope. Just wanted to talk to you. It’s been awhile.”

  I nod. “I’m sorry. I’ve just been busy. How are you? How’s Mom?”

  “We’re good, Linc. You should stop worrying so much.”

  Sighing, I rub my hand over my face. “Taking care of the two of you is my responsibility.”

  “No,” she snaps. “It’s not. You were a kid the same as Nora and me when Dad died. It’s not all on you and besides, I’m an adult now. I can take care of myself.”

  “I know you can but you have to know that I’m always here for you. All it takes is a text or phone call, Ro, and I’ll be on the next plane to Alaska. I would never forgive myself if something happened to you.”

  She sighs. “When are you going to stop blaming yourself, Lincoln? You couldn’t have known.”

  Tears sting my eyes and I shake my head as I ball up my fist. “Enough.”

  “You’re right. I didn’t call to fight with you. Come home soon, okay? We miss you.”

  “I will. I promise.”

  “Good. I’ll let you get back to whatever you were doing then. I love you.”

  “Love you, too, Ro. I’ll talk to you later.”

  Hanging up, I release a sigh and lean back in my seat as I try to stamp down all the memories that Rowan brought up before grabbing the tablet and turning the volume up.

  “Boys are stupid!” Lexi shouts, holding up another glass of wine and all the other girls follow suit. There’s one empty bottle laying on its side on the coffee table and the second is halfway gone already.

  “Aw, hell,” I mutter. Tate is going to have one hell of a hangover tomorrow. Though, the thought of nursing her back to health is appealing. With a smile teasing my lips, I scan the neighborhood again and jerk to a stop when I see a man sitting in his car behind me. From my vantage point, it seems like he’s watching Tate’s house as well but I can’t tell for sure. I reach for the door handle before thinking better of it and grabbing my phone to snap a picture of his license plate.

  Blaze still wants me watching her and truthfully, I’m not ready to give her up yet so I can’t confront him out here without a damn good explanation for why I’m also sitting outside her house. One thing is for sure, though, I’m not leaving until I know she’s safe.

  * * * *

  “Hey, guys. Thanks for coming,” Rodriguez says, holding his hand up in greeting as Storm and I walk into the small apartment. We’ve been working with Detective Rodriguez for a couple years now so when he called us for help with a case, we jumped into action. I do a quick scan of the apartment for Laney, the girl he called us here to watch over, but I don’t see here.

  “What’s going on, brother?” Storm asks, stopping in front of the dining room table where Rodriguez has various papers and photos laid out in front of him. They shake hands and Rodriguez sighs.

  “I wish I knew how to answer that question.”

  I point to the papers. “Lay it out for us, man.”

  “Two days ago, Laney came into the station and asked to speak to me. She wanted to know what could be done about the threatening phone calls she’d been getting and I started looking into it.”

  I nod. “And what did you find?”

  “Not a lot. But I’ve got this feeling in my gut that there is something going on here and I just need to find it.”

  “Okay,” I murmur, looking over his evidence. One photo grabs my attention and I pull it out, showing it to him. “What’s this?”

  “One of the phone calls came from a payphone a few blocks away and there are security cameras but either this guy knew about them or he just got really lucky.”

  I stare down at the dark grainy image of a man’s figure and scowl. It’s definitely weird.

  “What is he saying on the calls?”

  “In the beginning, nothing. He would just call her and breathe on the other end of the line, real creepy shit like that. Then, he started telling her how beautiful she was and how much he liked her outfit that day – stuff to let her know that he truly was watching her. Just before she came into the station, he called her beautiful again and said it would be a shame when he had to kill her.”

  “Jesus Christ,” Storm whispers, rubbing his hand across his jaw as I shake my head. That’s some sick shit.

  “Where is she?”

  “Sleeping right now but I’ll wake her up before I leave and introduce you guys.”

  I rifle through some more papers, my mind working over the facts he’s already given us. “Is there any indication that he’s shown up here at her apartment?”

  “Yeah,” Rodriguez answers, pulling out a photo of dead flowers. “He left these for her the day she first talked to me to show his anger that she went to the cops. That’s when I started staying with her. Captain doesn’t want to spare the men to sit a car in front of her place which is why I called y’all.”

  “And because you think if he sees you leave, he’ll think it’s safe to come around,” I point out and he nods.

  “That’s the idea anyway. I need proof that he’s been here and I need to know who he is.”

  I nod. “Okay. I think we can handle that.”

  “There are cameras all over this building so if he shows up, we should get him on camera. Your main focus is protecting her.”

  “Diego?” a soft voice asks from behind us and we all spin around. Laney’s eyes widen and fear flits across her face for a moment before she gets a handle on it.

  “Laney, these are the guys from the club that I told you about. This is Kodiak and Storm.”

  I step forward, holding my hand out. “Hey, it’s nice to meet you.”

  “You, too,” she replies, straightening her spine and shaking my hand. This poor girl is scared out of her goddamn mind but she’s trying so hard to be brave.

  “Someone from the club is going to be with you at all times from now on, okay?” Rodriguez asks and she nods.

  “I know I’m probably being a huge pain in the ass but it means so much to me that you’re taking this so seriously.”

  He gathers up his papers from the table and walks over to her, placing a hand on her shoulder. “Laney, he threatened your life. That is as serious as it gets.”

  She sucks in a breath and nods.

  “I’m going to dig into this case as much as I can and call me if you need anything, okay?”

  She nods again. He pulls away and heads toward the door before turning back to us. “Call me if you run into any problems.”

  “We’ll take good care of her,” Storm assures him and he nods again before leaving. He closes the door behind Rodriguez and locks it before glancing at me with a raised brow.

  “What the hell was that about?” I ask. Rodriguez seemed more involved than usual and I have to wonder if he’s got something going on with Laney. Storm shrugs.

  “If I had to guess, I’d say he’s sleeping with her.”

  I sigh and walk over to the chair in the corner before sinking into it. It isn’t ideal since Rodriguez will have a harder time being objective but I really don’t care if he is sleeping with her as long as he’s honest with us.

  “Can I ask you a question?” I say to Laney as she sits on the sofa. She nods.

  “You and Rodriguez… are you a thing?”

  She smiles. “Yes.”

  “All right, then,” Storm grumbles, sinking into the other side of the couch as Laney frowns.

  “Is that a problem?”

  I shake my head. “Nah, sweetheart. We were just curious. If we’re going to protect you, it helps to have all
the information, you know?”

  “Yeah, I understand,” she agrees before her teeth sink into her bottom lip. “Do y’all mind if I watch TV?”

  “It’s your house, Darlin’. Do whatever you like and we’ll be here to keep you safe.”

  She turns on the TV and I pull my phone out of my pocket, a photo of Tate greeting me as soon as I unlock my screen. Fighting back a smile, I pull up the feed from her house and search through the cameras before I find her lying in bed, reading. Fuck, that might be even sexier than the time I peeked in on her getting undressed. Yeah, it happened. Don’t fucking judge me, though. I’m only a man. I need to see her again.

  Closing out of the cameras, I pull up our texts and send one to her.

  Me:

  You free this weekend?

  I go back to the camera and watch her place her book on the bed as she grabs her phone. When she reads my message, she smiles and if I wasn’t sitting with Laney and Storm right now, I would jump up and do a fist pump. My phone vibrates in my hand and I click on her message.

  Tate:

  Why?

  Me:

  Do you always have to be difficult?

  I want to take you up to my cabin.

  “Dude,” Storm says and my head whips up, already listening for danger before I realize that he’s smiling.

  “What?”

  He starts laughing. “You’re so fucking screwed.”

  “What the fuck are you talking about?”

  Dropping his head back, he laughs harder before mimicking me on my phone with a wide goofy smile on his face. “I’m talking about you with your nose buried in that phone, texting a girl.”

  “You have no idea what I’m doing on my phone,” I scoff.

  “Sure, I don’t. I was only the exact same way a year ago when I met Ali and now look at me,” he says, holding up his left hand where his wedding ring sits.

  “What’s her name?” Laney asks and I scoff again.

  “There’s no girl.”

  Storm turns to Laney and points to my face. “You see that face right there, sweetheart?”

  She nods.

  “That face means there’s definitely a girl.”

  My phone vibrates again and I roll my eyes before glancing down at it.

  Tate:

  I don’t know about that.

  It sounds an awful lot like a romantic getaway.

  Me:

  Just as friends, scouts honor.

  It will help you get your mind off things.

  “Now, you see that grin on his face?” Storm asks and I glance up to see both of them studying me with smirks.

  “Yeah,” Laney answers him.

  “That grin means he’s head over fucking heels in love with her and the best part is he doesn’t even realize it yet.”

  “Shut the fuck up,” I snap, grabbing a throw pillow from behind my back and chucking it across the room. “You don’t get to weigh in on these things anymore.”

  “Why? ‘Cause I’m married to the most incredible woman you’ve ever met? I think that makes me a goddamn expert on that stupid ass look you’re sportin’.”

  My phone vibrates in my hand and I ignore him as I glance down.

  Tate:

  Okay, but just know that I’m bringing my

  Taser and knife so you better not try anything.

  Me:

  You won’t regret it, Darlin’.

  Chapter Nine

  Tatum

  I Don’t Dance by Lee Brice starts playing on the radio as I creep down what I assume is Lincoln’s driveway. Trees line either side of the road, so thick that I can only see about ten feet or so into the forest before everything becomes muddled. My heart skips a beat as I scan the gravel road in front of me, looking for an opening, and I slam on the brakes, gripping the steering wheel tight. I’m asking for trouble by agreeing to this but when he texted me yesterday to invite me, I couldn’t think of a good enough reason to say no. Now, as I inch closer to the address he gave me, every single reason why this is a terrible idea runs through my mind.

  I shouldn’t be here.

  My dream from this morning, one in which Lincoln pressed me up against the kitchen counter and knocked a plate to the floor as he kissed me like it was his saving grace, fills my mind and I shift in my seat – needing relief that I’m not going to get anytime soon. What the hell was I thinking? This whole thing would be a hell of a lot easier if I weren’t so damn attracted to him. But, of course, I am. A part of me thinks I only like him this much because I’ve forbidden myself from acting on it. Like, maybe if I hadn’t, I wouldn’t find him as appealing. Or maybe if Mom hadn’t just died, I wouldn’t be feeling so attached to a man I just met but I can’t help but think that he understands me in ways that I don’t even understand myself yet. My entire world has just shifted and he knows what that looks like from the other side while I’m still muddling through it.

  “It’s going to be okay,” I whisper to myself, the shakiness of my voice betraying me. I shake my head and suck in a breath. No, it has to be okay. I’ve laid out clear boundaries for our friendship and he agreed with me so what does it matter if we’ll be sharing a space for forty-eight hours? We can control ourselves and act like adults. Besides, Lincoln was right. I do need to get away from my life for a little while. Living in Mom’s house is stressful. I constantly feel like I’m going to open up a box or dig around in a closet and discover another secret that she kept hidden from Theo and me. And the more I learn about all the lies, all the secrets, the angrier I get.

  Nodding, I ease my foot off the brake as Losing Sleep by Chris Young starts playing on the radio. Ugh. What is with all these sappy songs today? Leaning forward, I switch the station and Lips on You by Maroon 5 fills the car as the trees open up, revealing a quaint little lake with a red A-frame house on the far side. I can just make out the outline of Lincoln standing in front of a grill and I lick my lips, unable to stop myself.

  Okay, so I’m not going to sleep with him but does that mean that I can’t appreciate how damn fine he looks in his black wife beater and jeans? Black and gray tattoos fill both his arms and I find myself wishing I were closer so I could study each one. He glances up at the sound of the car I borrowed from Mia rolling over the gravel road and he flashes me a smile as he waves. Butterflies take flight in my belly and I take a deep breath as I round the lake and park in front of his house.

  “Hey, you made it,” he calls, setting a pair of tongs down before sauntering over to me. I’m so fucking screwed.

  “Yeah. Nice place.” I nod to the house and he turns to it.

  “Thanks. It’s my little piece of paradise. You hungry?”

  My stomach growls and I nod. “Very.”

  “Well, come on. I’ve got steaks on the grill and they are just about done.”

  I grab my bag out of the back seat before following him over to the grill, where he also has a fire pit and a couple tables set up.

  “Seriously,” I say, sitting down and setting my bag on one of the tables. “This is really nice. It’s so peaceful out here.”

  “Told you this is just what you needed.”

  Smiling, I nod. “This might be the only time in the history of ever that you’re going to hear this from me but you were right.”

  “Shit…” he drawls, barely holding back a laugh. “I feel like we should watch the skies for swarms of locusts.”

  I bark out a laugh and grab a stick from the ground before chucking it at him. “I’m not that bad.”

  “Naw, you’re not bad at all.” His gaze heats before dropping to my lips and my belly clenches as my heartbeat pounds in my ears. Time seems to stretch between us and out here in the middle of nowhere, it’s so easy to forget everything that’s happened in the past few weeks and all my reasons for resisting him.

  The growling of my stomach breaks our trance and he turns toward the grill. “You want to eat inside or out?”

  “It’s so beautiful today so let’s eat outside.”
<
br />   He nods. “Sounds good. Hang tight and I’ll go grab our plates.”

  I stand up and glance toward the house. “Oh, I can help you.”

  “Nope,” he replies, his voice strained and I scowl. “You just stay here and I’ll be right back.”

  Turning, I watch him as he jogs up to the house and yanks open one of the sliding glass doors before disappearing inside and I plop back down in my seat, wondering what happened. My phone vibrates in my pocket and I grab it, smiling at Theo’s name on the screen.

  “Hey, what are you doing?” I answer, a feeling of contentment washing over me as I stare out at the water.

  “Just got off work. What about you?”

  I glance back at the house. “Hanging out with a friend.”

  “Mia?” he asks and I shake my head.

  “Nope.”

  “Willow?”

  I laugh. “You don’t know him.”

  “Him?” he asks, his voice instantly shifting to protective brother mode and I roll my eyes, lean back in my seat, and close my eyes.

  “Yes, Theo. Him.”

  “What’s his name? Where did you meet him? Give me his social security number.”

  “Oh, for fuck’s sake. You’re insane.”

  The little growl on the other end of the line makes me smile even as I roll my eyes again. “I’m serious, T. Who is this guy? You didn’t mention anyone to me when I was there and you’ve got money now. You need to be careful that he’s not using you.”

  “Theo!” I shout through my laughter. “I haven’t even spent any of that money so I don’t think men are suddenly looking at me like I’m their sugar mama.”

  “I’m worried about you,” he grumbles as the sound of the screen door opening behind me catches my attention. I glance over my shoulder and watch Lincoln as he walks down the steps with a pile of plates and silverware in his hands. “Hey, I gotta go. We’ll talk later, okay?”

  “Don’t think this is over, Tate!” he yells into the phone as I hang up, giggling at his reaction. Back in high school when I was getting into trouble, Theo was always stressing over where I was and who I was with but it’s not something he’s had to think about in a long time. Not that he has to now anyway. Lincoln and I are just friends.