by Simone Elise
Chapter 8
Libby
“Um, how much of that did you hear?” I winced as I pushed past him. I slipped on my shoes, jacket, and grabbed my backpack, then turned to look at him, but he was gone, the hotel room door wide open.
Instantly, my heart dropped, knowing he had indeed heard everything. Panic set in as I stuck my head out of the door and looked down the corridor, but there was no sign of him. Unsure about what to do, I begin to slowly make my way down to the lobby. Once I was done checking out of the hotel, I stepped outside where the cool night breeze hit my face, and I closed my eyes as a single tear slowly slid down my cheek. Taking a deep breath, I opened my eyes and planned on heading back to the gas station to stock up on some food when a hand grabbed onto my shoulder. I screamed, dropping my backpack as I spun around, tripping on my own two feet. I fell flat on my ass, then I placed my head in my hands and just sobbed as all of the pent-up emotions from everything that had happened in the last few hours overwhelmed me. I didn’t even bother to see who grabbed me, not understanding why this always happened and hating the fact that I couldn’t control my body’s reaction to things even though I knew, mentally, I was okay. Hyperventilating, I tried to control my breathing, but nothing helped, and I started to feel light-headed.
I hardly registered the two large arms wrapping around my body. He pulled me to my feet, then grabbed my waist and lifted me up. I wrapped my arms and legs around him, then buried my face in his neck, inhaling sharply through my nose. His scent comforted me slightly as I held onto him like my life depended on it, and to some extent, I started to believe it did. I knew it seemed crazy, we’d just met, had sex, and now I was falling apart. I wanted to be his and him to be mine, I just didn’t know how to say it without sounding like a lovesick puppy and scaring him away. I fell fast and hard, and I always had. I always knew just by being near someone if we would get along or not, and I knew it was crazy, I was crazy, but this was me.
“Hush,” Lynx whispered as he walked us over to the curb. Sitting down next to his bike, he rubbed my back soothingly.
As I sucked in deep breaths, trying to calm down, I couldn’t believe Lynx was being so tolerant with me. It was like he knew exactly what to do when even I didn’t know what to do.
“I’m sorry I’m so crazy. I just can’t help it. I’ve been like this for a long time, and I try to not let it get the best of me, but sometimes it happens,” I explained. “It’s been an intense night, both bad and what we did was incredible, and I haven’t slept in nearly twenty-four hours. I’m still shaken up from the fights, and then… then… then…” I stuttered nervously into his neck. My face burned bright red, and my heart nearly beat out of my chest as my fingers nervously tapped on his back, refusing to move from our position.
“Don’t think about it, babe, just trust me,” he said firmly, his fingers inching their way under my T-shirt, his thumbs tracing patterns on my skin. “Look at me.”
Hesitantly, I slowly leaned back and looked him directly in the eye, blushing slightly, not that he could tell since my face was already red from crying.
“Trust me,” he repeated. His eyes didn’t waver from mine, a look of determination, honesty, and something else I still couldn’t quite pinpoint flashing across his face.
Trust did not come easily to me, but for some strange reason, I felt like I could trust him, and that terrified me.
“Okay,” I whispered. I leaned my forehead against his and ran my fingers through his hair, enjoying the contrast of the roughness of the freshly shaved back and sides versus the long silky strands on the top. My whole body went limp in his arms, and my breathing evened out as he leaned forward and planted several sweet, soft kisses on my lips, causing my head to spin. As I squirmed in his lap and tried to push myself even closer to him, he chuckled, then pulled back and gave me a quick peck on the nose before slowly standing up, still holding me in his arms.
“We really have to go. You good?” he asked, placing me on my feet.
I quickly wrapped my arms around his waist and rested my head on his chest as I groaned in annoyance, not wanting to leave.
“I’m okay now. Do we really have to go? I would much rather climb back into bed and ravish you right now.” Smirking, I quirked an eyebrow as I glanced up at him.
Growling, he swatted my ass before shaking his head and prying my arms from around his waist. He got on his bike, then turned it on before looking at me expectantly.
“You’re no fun.” I pouted and retrieved my backpack. An idea came to mind and biting my lip, I rocked back and forth on my feet, abandoning what I was looking for. “Hey, Lynx, I have one request before we take off. Since it’s only a few hours from here and not that much out of the way, can we stop and see Uncle Hammie? We can crash at the clubhouse for a couple hours too before taking off again. It will be safe, and this way, we won’t have to stop at another hotel on the way. Please?” I pouted. I gave him the cheesiest smile I could muster and tried to look all cute and innocent but failed miserably.
A laugh escaped his lips as he just shook his head at me. When he nodded, I squealed and climbed onto the back of his bike, and then we took off into the night.
It was almost four a.m. by the time we pulled up to a massive barbed wired fence, one you would have thought belonged around a prison. Uncle Hammer spared no expense when it came to security, which was wrapped around the entire property. An old, abandoned brick warehouse that Uncle Hammer and a bunch of the men converted into the mother chapter clubhouse could be seen in the distance, a few lights on signaling some of the men were up and about.
We pulled up to the security booth that sat just outside the gate, and a prospect slid open the bulletproof window.
“State your name, rank, and reason for being here,” the man shouted
Lynx tensed and stated his name but left out his rank. He shot a hard glare at the man before glancing back at me and winking, causing me to blush bright red.
As the man typed Lynx’s name, a frown appeared across the man’s features, and he glanced back at Lynx nervously. “You’re not showing up in our system. You need to leave,” the man said quickly.
“Are you kidding me? He’s wearing his cut. There has to be some sort of mistake with the system,” I stated angrily at the man. “Try Libby Paxton. Hammer’s my uncle.”
“Hammer doesn’t have a niece. Now, you need to leave,” he snapped while reaching under the counter and grabbing a pistol, which he placed on the counter next to the computer.
“What the fuck?” I screeched, latching onto Lynx’s arm as his whole body tensed.
A deadly look crossed over his features as he calmly put down his kickstand, climbed off the bike, and stalked toward the security booth’s door, He punched in a code and opened the door. Before the prospect could even aim the pistol, Lynx had grabbed him by the neck and pinned him up against glass window. With his other hand, he typed something into the computer that I couldn’t see and shoved the prospect’s face right into the screen. I didn’t know what he saw, but he went deathly pale and began apologizing profusely before pressing the code that opened the gate.
“What the hell was that?” I yelled, slightly shaken by what just happened.
Lynx got back on the bike and drove into the compound.
“Nothing,” he replied, parking his bike right out front. He got off and gave me a hand, taking my backpack from me as we walked up the steps leading to the front door.
“Well, fine then,” I grumbled, scrunching up my nose in annoyance.
When the front door of the clubhouse was opened, there were three levels. The main level had the living area, kitchen, game room, and bar. On the right side was a large wooden door that led to the room the members held all their meetings—or as they liked to call it, church—in as well as Uncle Hammer’s office. The second floor consisted of bedrooms for visiting guests, and the third floor, which was completely off limits to everyone, contained Uncle Hammer and Emmie’s bedroom. Dad and I didn
’t come to the mother chapter very often, and over the past few years, Uncle Hammer had come to us.
Looking around, I noticed Uncle Hammer’s office light was on, and grinning like a fool, I took off toward his office, barging in with no regards to the fact that I was supposed to knock first.
“Uncle Hammie, your favorite niece has arrived to brighten up your day!” I shouted obnoxiously. I laughed as he jumped out of his seat and spilled the glass of bourbon in his hand.
He looked up at me and scowled.
“Argh, dammit, girl, didn’t your father teach you any respect? You don’t just come barging into a man’s office. I could have shot you.” He growled as I skipped over to him and wrapped my arms around him tightly, standing up on my tiptoes to plant a sloppy kiss on his cheek.
“Aw, you wouldn’t shoot me. You love me too much! Plus, who else barges into your office at this time of day as loudly as I do!” I said with a giggle. I took a step back to get a good look at him. “Geeze, Uncle Hammie, you’ve gotten even grayer since I saw you last!”
He sat back down, and I planted myself on his lap. His short, peppered hair, which was pushed back from constantly running his hands through it out of frustration because Uncle Hammer was known to have a temper on him, had gotten even whiter on the sides since I saw him last, even his stubble was lighter.
“I blame you girls for that. The two of you combined will be the death of me one day,” he grumbled. “Now what are you doing here, Libby? No one told me you were coming. Who brought you? You’re meant to be heading to the estate, not that I’m complaining,” he added quickly as I pouted and smacked his shoulder.
“Ouch, you wound me, old man, and here I thought you would be excited to see me. I’m going to my room to cry a little,” I said, getting up off his lap and dramatically placing a hand over my heart. I headed for the door, then stopped and grinned at Lynx, who was propped against the doorframe.
Lynx rolled his eyes at me.
“Hey, not nice. No eye rolling at me!” I pouted and slapped his chest playfully, and in return, he smacked my ass, causing me to squeal.
The sound of glass breaking made me jump. Hiding behind Lynx, my eyes wide, I looked back at Uncle Hammer, who was going visibly red and cursing as he shook off his wet and bleeding hand, the glass of bourbon now laying shattered on his desk.
“Libby, out,” Uncle Hammer growled, “and shut the damn door.”
Glancing up at Lynx, he didn’t even look at me as he nodded his head, causing me to relax slightly. I rushed out of the room, closing the door behind me.
Worried, I pressed my ear against the door, straining to hear what exactly they were saying or, should I say, what Uncle Hammer was shouting, which was getting louder and louder by the second.
“That’s my goddamned niece out there. What do you think you’re doing with her? You were told to escort her to the estate, and it sure as hell looked like you were doing a whole lot more than that. Don’t think I didn’t catch the way you looked at her. She’s a good girl, and she doesn’t need to be exposed to your lifestyle. Does she know who the hell you are? What you do for the club? The kind of danger you’ll put her in? I won’t stand for it. You stay the hell away from her, you hear me?” Uncle Hammer shouted. A loud bang, presumably Uncle Hammer’s fists hitting the desk, caused me to jump a little. “I won’t tolerate any of this. You’re a hell of a man, Ghost, and I respect you a lot, but you do shit most men couldn’t stomach, and Libby can’t handle that kind of life.”
“You know it’s not good to eavesdrop, Libby. You might hear things you’re not ready to hear,” a voice said calmly from behind me.
When I yelped a little too loudly, all the yelling coming from Uncle Hammer’s office ceased immediately.
I felt the color drain from my face as I spun around slowly, eyes going wide as I came face-to-face with Grit. My body went entirely numb, and my mind went blank as I barely registered the office door swinging open with such force it cracked the door.
Chapter 9
Emmie
The family estate was one of the houses that were basically just a rental property that Dad laundered money through, and I personally didn’t like it here. In fact, I always made it clear to Dad that this place scared the shit out of me, which was why I picked to come here. I was so thankful I convinced Critter to come with me now because I couldn’t face being here by myself.
When we arrived, I gave the building a once-over, and it was still as creepy as I remembered it to be.
“Wanna tell me what we are doing here?” Critter asked, getting out of the car.
Because it would be the last place they would look for me. How could Maiden flat-out lie to me like that? How could he keep something so huge from me?
They wanted me to think I was losing my mind. All this time, they didn’t believe me, made me think it was all in my head, but it wasn’t… That thought caused tears of fear to spring to my eyes. I quickly glanced around my surroundings. The one thing about my stalker was he always showed his face. He never hid from me.
When my gaze didn’t find him, I knew he wasn’t around. He hadn’t followed us—that I knew of.
While walking up the stairs of the porch, I wondered briefly what was going to happen when Dad realized I had taken off. I glanced at Critter. He wouldn’t have said anything to Dad, would he? I wasn’t sure. I knew he was trustworthy, but when it came to the MC, the boys’ loyalty was to the club. It always came before their loyalty to anyone else. That was why I had been going to get Critter to drop off me in town, but then thinking of being in this house alone creeped me the fuck out, so I didn’t go through with the plan.
I was unlocking the door when his hands gripped my hips.
I knew immediately I was about to regret was going to happen. Still, I didn’t have it in me to push him away.
It wasn’t like I had feelings for Critter, but his hands on my hips sparked an emotion within me, one that resulted in me turning around and putting my hands to his face.
I went up on my tiptoes and put my lips near his, but it was the confident smirk on his face that brought me crashing to earth.
“Don’t think for a second I’m letting you in my bed,” I whispered against his lips. While smirk spread across my lips, his disappeared from his face.
I’d walked into the bedroom from the bathroom and was getting dressed when I saw a flash of light, like the light from a torch, across the window. What if it was the stalker? Immediately, a cold sweat spread through my body, and I screamed for Critter.
No one should be here. No one knew of this place.
I was cursing and pacing when Critter walked in and froze on the spot, his eyes moving over me.
“You okay, Emmie?” he asked.
I shook my head as tears began running down my cheeks and muttered, “He’s here. He has followed me.”
“Who is here?”
“The stalker.”
“Emmie, calm down. No one is here.”
I was immediately taken aback because Critter hadn’t told me I was crazy for saying there was a stalker or for even suggesting that I had one. Then it dawned on me that he knew.
“So Dad told everyone but me,” I scoffed. How was it fair that even Critter knew there was a stalker, and I didn’t? Didn’t Dad realized this type of shit just made my paranoia worse! How could I ever trust him again? How could I believe one word that came out of his mouth!
“Emmie, calm down,” Critter repeated as he put his hands on my shoulders. “Come on. Breathe.”
My gaze sharpened on him. “What is with people telling me to breathe? I know how to breathe!” I snapped at him.
“You’re working yourself up.”
“Well, isn’t that how someone normally acts when they find out there is a stalker following them around?”
“As if we are gonna let him get close to you, Emmie. The MC is handling it.”
“Don’t you understand this affects me? It doesn’t affect you guys! I’m the one
with a creepy guy always standing outside my window. I’m the one being followed!”
“Sweetheart, nothing is going to happen to you,” he said calmly.
The word sweetheart immediately brought more tears to my eyes as I thought about Maiden.
Then in one fluent movement, Critter playfully picked me up and dropped me on the bed, remarking with a smirk on his face that he got me in bed after all.
Chapter 10
Libby
“Libby,” Lynx growled. Placing a hand on my shoulder, he slowly spun me around to face him.
I couldn’t speak. A million thoughts bombarded my mind as the conversation replayed over and over in my head. My breathing picked up. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t look up at him—I couldn’t do anything but replay the name Ghost over and over again in my head.
The Ghost, as members called him, was said to be one of the most lethal members of the whole chapter. He only answered to Uncle Hammer, or so I’d heard. I heard my father mention him once, and he said Ghost got off on torturing prisoners and was a beast no one could control, that he lived for the violence, the adrenaline rush of a good fight, that he was the guy who was called in when things got bad. When prisoners wouldn’t talk, Ghost always got them to talk.
Chills ran up and down my spine, and my body’s fight or flight response went into overdrive. I begin to slowly back up, bumping into Grit, who placed both hands on my shoulders, holding me in place.
Panic shot through me as Uncle Hammer cursed under his breath and reached out to me, but Lynx stepped in his way, blocking his path.
“Libby, breathe,” Lynx said calmly. Reaching out, he ran his fingers over my lips, then gripped onto my jaw lightly.
I breathed in deeply, not realizing I had stopped in the first place. I got light-headed and nearly stumbled, but Lynx caught me and scooping me up in his arms, he headed for the stairs.