I sucked in a deep breath. “I don’t know. I like LA and I want to be there, but I don’t know if it’s the right place to be.”
“Look, I have an apartment in San Francisco. You and Joey can move in with me. We’ll take some time and figure things out and maybe buy a house of our own somewhere we both decide is good for us.”
Tears sprung to my eyes. It was surreal to be having that conversation with him. I had hoped and dreamed about it for so long, and now there I was, actually talking about our future together.
“That sounds good. I wonder if Liam will let me pack up our stuff?” I mused aloud, still trying to comprehend the idea of completely starting over with nothing in a new city.
“I’m sure I could persuade him to let you,” Elijah said.
I smiled. “I’m sure you could.”
“If you want to live in LA, I’ll move back.”
“What about your fighting thing?” I asked.
He chuckled. “I was set to retire. I’ve got enough money saved up to be comfortable for a while. I was thinking about doing what Trevor does and working as a trainer.”
“I don’t know. I feel like it’s dangerous to make plans. I can feel Liam lurking in the background. I don’t think this is just over. This is a lull and he’s going to come back again.”
By the look in his eyes, I knew he felt the same way, which was why we were still at the cabin. It wasn’t over. My only real choice was to move north. Talking about going back was all a fantasy.
The waitress delivered our burgers and fries. We dug in, keeping the conversation on a lighter note. He told me about his life in San Francisco and how different it was than LA. I was actually excited to check it out for myself. Change could be good. Like every human, I was a little afraid of the unknown. With Elijah by my side, it would be okay. It would be a completely fresh start for us.
His phone vibrated on the table.
“It’s Trevor.”
There was an instant feeling of dread in my stomach.
“Yeah, what’s up?” Elijah said, answering the phone.
He dropped the fry he had in his hand, his expression turning to one of rage as he listened to Trevor on the other end of the phone. I was staring at him, gauging every line in his face, trying to hear what was said.
“What’s wrong?” I hissed.
“We’re on our way,” Elijah said before reaching for his wallet.
“What happened? Is Joey okay?” I asked, rising from the table.
“We have to go. Now!” He tossed a couple twenties on the table and grabbed my hand, leading me out the door to his bike.
“Elijah, you better tell me what’s going on!”
He handed me my helmet. “Nick and Liam are at the cabin.”
The blood drain from my face. I suddenly felt dizzy. “What?” I croaked. “How?”
“We need to go,” he said, his voice deadly calm.
I quieted the panic in my body and climbed on the back of the motorcycle. I held on to Elijah’s waist as he navigated through the small town before he hit the open road, the throttle wide open. In any other situation, I would have told him to slow down, butt that moment, I wanted him to go faster. I was so pissed at myself for leaving Joey alone. I should have been there. I should have been protecting him. Liam and Nick would intentionally hurt Joey to get to me, I had no doubt about that.
I felt my breath hitch as I imagined what was happening at the cabin. I couldn’t let myself think the worst. I silently willed Elijah to go faster. Feeling the strength in his body gave me some comfort. Joey was his son too and he would walk through hell for him. Of that I was sure.
36
Elijah
The bike bounced over the rocks and holes in the road. Michelle’s arms were wrapped around my waist as she fought to hold on. I knew she didn’t want me to slow down. We were both anxious to get back and see what the hell was happening. All I could think about was Liam or Nick hurting Joey to get back at me. I knew in my very soul that if they hurt him, I would kill them. I wouldn’t be able to stop myself.
Pulling up close to the house, I took note of the two bikes in front. Michelle was off the bike, her helmet bouncing off the ground as she raced inside. She moved with a speed I didn’t know was possible. I followed her in, ready to start kicking some ass.
I slammed into the back of Michelle, who had stopped just inside the doorway. My eyes immediately went to the barrel of the gun pointed at Michelle’s chest.
Pushing her to the side, I spoke. “You don’t want to do this, Liam,” I said, keeping my voice calm.
Nick was in the center of the living room, a gun trained on Rayne, Trevor, and Joey, who were all seated on the couch.
“Liam, don’t. This is stupid. That’s your nephew!” Michelle shouted.
Liam shook his head. “I told your boyfriend it wasn’t over. You don’t get to get up and run away. You’re my family, not his!”
Michelle moved away from me a couple inches, her hands in front of her. “Liam, we can talk about this. We can figure out a way for all of us to be happy again.”
“Shut up, you stupid bitch! Look at my face!” Nick shouted. “Look what he did to me!”
I glanced to my right, taking in the swollen eyes and the cast on Nick’s wrist. He was lucky that was all I’d done to him.
“Nick,” Michelle started, still trying to diffuse the situation, “you hit me. He was only defending me.”
“Bullshit! You know why you got hit,” he sneered. “You’re mine, and I won’t have my woman denying me what I want.”
I opened my mouth to say something, but Michelle whipped around, shaking her head. I was going to let her try her way for now. If the guns didn’t get put away quickly, it was going to go my way.
“You’re coming back with us,” Liam snarled.
“Joey stays here,” Michelle shot back. “You won’t touch him.”
Nick and Liam exchanged a look. Nick jerked his head forward once.
“Fine. We won’t touch Joey,” Liam agreed. “You go with us and no one tries to stop us.”
Michelle nodded her head. I looked toward the couch and saw Trevor’s hand on his knee. One finger moved, then another. I knew exactly what he was communicating.
“Michelle.” I called her name, drawing her attention to me.
“It’s okay. I’ll be okay,” she assured me.
My eyes drifted to Trevor’s leg again. I saw the remaining finger twitch and sprang into action. “Down!” I shouted at her at the same time I dove toward Liam, slapping the gun out of his hand as my leg came up, kicking him directly in the stomach.
I heard Nick shout and caught a glimpse of Trevor flying off the couch. A second later there was a crashing sound as the two men hit the floor. I focused on Liam, hitting him several times. The gun was too close. If he got it, I would not survive the point-blank shot.
Michelle screamed Joey’s name. I knew she would get him out of the house and away from the danger. Nick was screaming, so I knew Trevor had managed to get the upper hand. Liam was putting up a hell of a fight. I had been holding back, not wanting to cause him serious injury, but that ship had sailed. He would kill me and possibly Michelle and Joey if I didn’t subdue him by any means necessary.
Falling into fight mode, I systematically punched him until he stopped moving. I crawled off him, grabbed the gun, and moved to the door. Trevor had Nick’s gun and was holding it on the man weeping on the floor.
“Good?” I asked him.
Trevor nodded and wiped a spot of blood from the corner of his mouth. “Good.”
Michelle came into the cabin, her phone held to her ear. “Yes, sir. Please hurry,” she said and hung up.
“Police?” I asked her, still trying to catch my breath.
“Yes. Are you guys okay?” she asked.
“Yes. How’s Joey?”
She made a face. “He’s scared.”
I watched as she walked to Liam, who had finally found the strength to
sit up. She put her hands on her hips, staring down at him with pure disgust.
“Why would you do that, Liam? He’s your nephew!”
“You know why! You ran away!”
She shook her head. “You’re a sad, sad excuse for a human being. I can’t believe I’m related to you. The cops are on their way, Liam. You’re going to jail for a long time for this and everything else you’ve put me through.”
“No!” he shouted, his face twisting in horror. “I can’t go to prison!”
“You should have thought about that before you threatened my son! How dare you bring that piece of shit into my life? I will never forgive you for what you’ve done to me and Joey. You and Nick deserve each other!”
Trevor and I watched as she unleashed on her brother. This was her moment. She had suffered under his cruel hand for too long. I hoped the police took their time; she deserved a chance to tell him everything that was on her mind. She needed her closure.
I bit back a laugh when she kicked him in the leg. “You’re my big brother, Liam! You were supposed to protect me! He punched me in the face!” she screamed, pointing to the still-bawling Nick.
“He wasn’t supposed to do that,” Liam said.
Michelle stomped her foot. “Seriously, that’s how you excuse it? I don’t know what happened to you, Liam, but you’re a real asshole.”
Liam looked up at her, a slow smile spreading across his face. “That didn’t seem to bother you when you happily took my money and lived in my house without paying for a thing.”
“I hated that house. You know that. I’ve wanted to get away from you for so long, and now I am. Guess who owns that house, Liam? It isn’t you. Mom owns it. Now that you’re going away, Mom will be safe. She can come home if she wants to.”
“It’s my house!” he shouted.
Michelle smiled. “No, it isn’t. In fact, I’m going to have that house bulldozed to the ground.”
Liam looked horrified. “Where will I go?”
“Prison,” I chimed in, enjoying the look of hatred on his face when he saw me standing there looking smug as hell.
“You’re going to pay for this, Elijah. I’m not going to let you get away with this.”
I laughed. “I’m guessing I won’t have to worry about you or any retribution for at least ten years. Hell, I could probably make it twenty-five if I told the police about all your various jobs.”
“You wouldn’t dare,” he hissed.
“Fuck with me or your sister again and I will absolutely make sure you never see the outside of the prison walls again.”
Michelle looked at Liam one last time and walked away from him. She wrapped her arms around me, and I felt her trembling.
“It’s okay now. It’s over,” I whispered into her ear, stroking her hair as I held her.
“I need to check on Joey. If he moves, shoot him in the knee. I don’t want him dead. I want him to suffer. I want him to think about everything he has done to me and our son.”
I smiled. “Gladly.”
Michelle walked out the door. I looked at Liam. “Please, make a move. Threaten me. I would love to shoot you.”
Liam glared at me but never said a word.
“Maybe you should shoot this guy,” Trevor quipped. “His wailing is getting on my nerves.”
I chuckled, shaking my head as I watched Nick roll around on the floor, crying and throwing a tantrum. We stood guard over our prisoners for another fifteen minutes. I could hear sirens in the distance and knew the cops would be pulling up any minute.
“Do you think I could hit Nick one more time before they haul his ass out of here?” I asked Trevor.
Trevor smiled. “I won’t tell.”
I wouldn’t do it. I couldn’t claim self-defense and there was no way I was going to risk going to jail for beating the shit out of that loser. I took the gun from Trevor, unloaded both weapons, and put them on the small dining table. I didn’t want the cops getting confused and shooting us instead.
In a flurry of activity, state police and county sheriff deputies rushed into the cabin. Trevor and I were separated while they questioned us. I kept my eyes on Michelle, who had Joey pressed against her. She wouldn’t let anyone near him. That was my girl. She would protect our child no matter the cost. Once the police were satisfied with our statements, Nick and Liam were cuffed and walked out of the cabin.
Liam glared at Michelle as he walked by. I had my arm around her shoulders, holding her tightly against me with my other arm cradling Joey against my leg. I wasn’t taking any chances. If he somehow managed to break free of the cops, I was not going to let him get near my family.
“Like father like son, Liam. Say hi to Dad when you get to prison,” Michelle said in a low voice.
“This isn’t over, Chelle.”
She snorted. “It looks pretty over to me. Don’t worry, I won’t be visiting you in prison, and don’t ask me to put money on your books. Remember, I have nothing to give. You made damn sure of that.”
We watched as Nick and Liam were stuffed into the back of separate police cars. The ambulance that had been dispatched left first with the four police cars following behind. The five of us watched the procession until the last taillight faded from view.
“Well, that was exciting,” Trevor said, clapping his hands together.
“How was lunch?” Rayne asked as if nothing had happened.
Michelle burst into laughter. “It was great. Just perfect.”
We all walked into the cabin. There was some blood on the floor and the coffee table had been broken in the fight between Trevor and Nick.
“I’ll grab the mop,” Michelle mumbled. “Elijah, maybe you can take Joey upstairs.”
I nodded my head. She didn’t want him seeing the aftermath of what had happened. I was thrilled she trusted me to be alone with him.
“Let’s go, kid. You heard your mom.”
Joey had said very little. I knew he was in shock and likely traumatized from the incident. The police had given us the names of some agencies that helped families impacted by domestic violence. I would talk to Michelle, but I figured we should probably get Joey to talk to someone. I knew what kind of ripple effect those situations could have on kids. I didn’t want him growing up and thinking it was okay to beat on a woman and I would make damn sure it didn’t happen.
Michelle came upstairs about an hour later. “It’s all cleaned up. Do you want to go downstairs?” she asked Joey.
Joey smiled at her and shook his head. “I’m good. Me and my dad are playing cars.”
She looked at me, one eyebrow raised. “Well then, I will leave you to it.”
37
Michelle
It felt strange to be back in the house. We had come back early that morning so Joey could go to school. After a long talk with the principal, it was agreed Joey would be allowed to make up the work he had missed, and they would talk with the attendance committee and explain the situation.
“Hi,” I said, walking into the coffee shop where I was meeting Elijah.
“Hey. How’d it go?” he asked, leaning up to kiss me.
“Good. He’s not going to get held back. We’ll work with the teacher to make up the missed work and he’ll be good to go.”
Elijah nodded his head. “What about you?”
“What about me?” I asked.
“Are you okay? Have you thought anymore about what we talked about last night?”
I sighed and nodded. “Yes. I don’t want to live in that house. I can’t. I don’t want the reminders, and I don’t want to risk Liam’s buddies coming after me for some kind of revenge.”
He smiled. “I don’t think that’s going to be a problem. Liam didn’t really instill loyalty in his followers. They’ve already got a new man in charge. Liam is out.”
“Really? How do you know?” I asked.
He winked. “I have connections.”
“Well, good, but I still don’t want to be there. I need to talk to my mom a
nd see what she wants to do with the house. For now, I’m stuck, but I’m going to get a job and get out of there.”
Elijah grabbed my hand. “Quit talking like you’re doing this alone. You’re not alone. It’s me and you with our son. We can rent an apartment until we figure out what we want to do.”
“I can’t ask you to support me.”
“Yes, you can. Think of it as back child support,” he said with a smile.
“Thank you. It’s going to take me a long time to fully grasp everything that’s happened.”
He nodded. “I understand. Why don’t we grab a paper and look up some available rentals? I can’t say I’m fond of sleeping in that house either.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Sleeping in the house?”
“I’m certainly not going anywhere. I’m here to stay with you. Where you go, I go. I’ll give you your space and freedom, but I’m here, Michelle. You’re mine.”
His words triggered that pool of lava in my belly.
“Want to get out of here?” I asked on a whisper.
His blue eyes were dancing as he nodded his head. “Hotel.”
“Okay.”
He grabbed my hand, pulling me out of the chair, leaving our coffees on the table as we rushed out the door. I followed him in my car as he drove to a nearby hotel.
I stayed back while he rented a room. By the time we got in the elevator, my panties were damp with anticipation of what was to come. The doors closed, and he was on me, his large body pushing me against the back of the elevator as he ground his hips against mine, his mouth covering my own. I heard the ding and pushed him away, wanting to get into that room as fast as possible.
The second we got inside, our clothes flew off. My mouth was on his shoulders, kissing the tattoos across his chest. Then I dropped to my knees in front of him. I had promised to repay him with my mouth, and I was going to follow through. We were in a small alcove in the room. I pushed him against the wall, yanking his underwear down with one hand while my other hand encompassed his rigid cock.
I licked the tip. Hearing him growl in pleasure, I did it again before closing my mouth over the top. I sucked his tip, sliding my mouth down his length, loving the way he felt in my mouth. I moaned, the vibration sending his hands into my hair before he was yanking me up.
Men in Charge: A Contemporary Romance Box Set Page 43