“I don’t know who’s after you, Charline, but it looks like they are dead set on scaring you away, but it’s not working. I’m not sure if it’s a good or a bad thing. You can’t live in fear of what might happen to you, but you also have to be careful. I’m sure Anthony will have one of his men keeping an eye on you and make sure you are safe. If you ever have a shortage in men, tell me and I’ll have one of my officers to keep her safe. I don’t want anything to happen to them.”
“Thanks detective. Who’s ‘them’ though?”
He sighs and rubs his face. “My wife has been getting threatening notes as well. I’m guessing it’s because I’ve been helping with Cabe’s file. I’m not 100% sure, but it’s the only thing I can think of that could be the reason why my wife is being threatened.”
“That’s fucked up!”
“It is, but we’ll all make sure you are okay. I would advise you to spend the night somewhere else.”
“She’s spending the night at ours. Don’t worry, we’ve got it covered. Two of my men will come in and fix her window in the morning.”
“That’s good. I’ll collect evidence from the scene and be on my way. I’m sure you’d like to relax.”
“Yes, that’d be good. I’ve had enough excitement to last me at least a year now.”
“You’ll be fine, Princess.” Ant kisses my forehead.
“Thanks, Ant.” I smile and squeeze his waist.
“No worries.”
Detective Sanders collects evidence and leaves after telling us he will keep in touch if he finds anything. Hopefully, they will find out who it is behind it all.
Once Bennett and Ryan are done putting wood planks over the hole in my window, we head to Ant’s house to find Ayd waiting for us behind the door impatiently. After telling her what happened over a cup of hot cocoa, we went straight to bed. I spent the night with Ayd in the guest room. Ant needed to make a couple of calls and wanted to make sure we’d both be safe. He really goes above and beyond to protect Ayden. It warms my heart to know my best friend is in very good hands.
Tomorrow with Aleck should be interesting. I hope Ant told him, otherwise he’s going to be pissed if he’s the last to know…
CHAPTER 20
Aleck
I didn’t sleep at all last night.
It drove me nuts to know that someone was trying to hurt or at least scare Charline, even going as far as smashing her door. I couldn’t do shit. I wanted to go to her so badly, but I couldn’t leave Ally alone or ask Rose to come and watch her again. I’ve been gone too many nights this week, it wouldn’t have been fair to her.
Ant called me when they were back at his place. Thank fuck they live next door to each other, it’s comforting to know he’s always there to keep her safe when I can’t.
I’m amazed at how well Charline seems to be coping with it all. She’s not worrying or constantly calling for the most random little noise or suspicious thing. When Ant told me what she said to Sanders, I was shocked. She’s been keeping things from us and I’m going to have to set her straight on that front. I want her, no, need her to tell us when she sees something that isn’t right. So many things could have been avoided, but there’s no point in getting myself worked up.
Ally is going over to a friend’s house for a birthday party today, it’s her first party. I’m still surprised they invited her over knowing who I am, but hey, I can’t complain, at least she’s making friends, I’m so proud of her.
At first, she didn’t want me to leave when we got to the party, but once her little friend showed up I was soon forgotten. I’m grateful her friend’s parents are accepting me. I wouldn’t say they would invite me over for dinner anytime soon, but at least they aren’t put off by the idea of me being in their house. It’s a nice change for once.
It’s still surreal to me that I can act like a normal parent around them. I never expected this. I always thought she would be left alone because of me, but I’m glad some parents aren’t total dickheads.
I drive over to Charline’s place, but not without stopping by Josie’s bakery. If I know anything about Charline, it’s that she absolutely loves Josie’s red velvet donuts.
I park in her driveway and wave at Ayden who’s watching me from the window. Sneaky little one. I walk to the door and ring the doorbell.
“Finally someone who knows what a fucking doorbell is!” she exclaims opening the door making me laugh.
“Good morning to you too, Gorgeous.” I chuckle and walk in.
“Morning, Aleck.” She gives me her beautiful smile. “Oh my God, you brought donuts.” She claps and takes the box from me.
“Not sure if I should be offended or not that you’re more excited to see the box of donuts than me.”
“Oh, come on, you knew what you were getting yourself into by bringing a box of heaven,” she says taking a bite out of one.
“I know, just messing with you.” I smile and go over to her kitchen, checking Bennett and Ryan’s handy work. “Looks like they did a good job.”
“Yes, I came back over this morning and it was already fixed.”
“I’m sorry I couldn’t come over last night. I would have if I didn’t have Ally with me.”
“Don’t worry about it, I know.” She winks at me.
“Thanks for understanding.” I stroke her cheek with the back of my knuckles and she leans into my touch.
“It’s normal.” She smiles softly closing her eyes.
“You’re killing me, Gorgeous,” I say, my voice strained.
“Why?” She opens her eyes and looks at me confused.
“You’re just too understanding without even knowing half of what’s been going on in my life, and you’re just too beautiful for my own sanity. I still don’t get how a woman like you can like a guy like me.” I sigh.
“I’m not ‘too understanding’ as you put it. I’m just not going to bitch about you having a daughter. Obviously I don’t know the details, but I’m going to wait for you to open up about it. Was I surprised and shocked when you walked in with a kid in your arms? Definitely, but it didn’t make me think less of you. We all have a past, some people’s past is tougher than others, but that’s how life goes. As for loving a guy like you, if you’d have clued in a lot earlier I’ve loved you for years. I know you’re far from being a saint, but that doesn’t mean you’re not a good man. There’s the Aleck I know and the Aleck member of the Last Hangman MC. Those are two different Alecks, you can deny it all you want, I know it’s the truth,” she finishes crossing her arms over her chest.
“You do know how to shut me up, don’t you?” I can’t help but chuckle. “I don’t know if you’re going to think less of me after I tell you everything about my past, but I’m willing to risk it because I’ve been trying to bury the feelings I have for you for far too long, I can’t do it anymore.”
She bites her bottom lip between her teeth and all I want to do is bite it myself. “About time.” She blushes.
“Hey, be nice.” I try to glare at her, but can’t help grinning.
“I’m all ears when you’re ready.”
“Not beating around the bush, are we?” I smile softly as she prepares two cups of coffee.
“Never, bring the donuts will you,” she says walking out onto the patio and settles down in one of the comfy chairs. I sit across from her and rest my elbows on my knees, cracking my knuckles.
“Six years ago, I met Emma at a party. She was really sweet and we hit it off instantly. We started to date, were pretty steady and things were going well. I wasn’t sure, and to this day I’m still unsure, if I ever was in love with her. I did love her but in love? I don’t think I was. She wasn’t the most accepting about the club life but I wasn’t about to leave the club for a woman. Eventually, she accepted it, well, I thought she had.
“The first chance she got, she left me without an explanation. She came over to my place one day and told me she couldn’t be with me anymore. That the club life wasn’t for her and
that she was sorry. It crushed me. You know what happened with my parents, it left me scarred and with huge trust issues. I was mad at her for leaving me without even giving me a chance to compromise. I really just wanted to be happy and have someone love me and care for me and who I’d care for too. She broke the trust I had in her and she shattered my heart. Even if I wasn’t really in love with her, it felt nice to have someone who cared about me and wanted to be with me. With that, she took everything away from me.
“About seven months later, she came back. I was shocked. Not because she was back, but because of the reason she was back. She was pregnant. Apparently, I had gotten her pregnant pretty quickly as we were together only over a month when it happened. I took her back, but kept her at arm’s length, I couldn’t trust her. The thing is, as hurt and heartbroken as I was, I wasn’t about to let the mother of my future child do it on her own. She moved in with me. She wanted to be together again, but I just couldn’t. She told me she left me when she found out she was pregnant. She said she freaked out, didn’t want to raise a kid in a MC and didn’t want me to be upset or ask her to get an abortion because she thought I didn’t want a family. She only came back because she couldn’t afford things on her own anymore. I thought she came back because she loved me, but no, it was only because she needed money.
“Things were okay for a while; we were on talking terms, but not really at the point where I wanted to be with her again in a sexual way, and no, don’t look at me like that, it wasn’t because she was heavily pregnant. Two weeks later, I came back from a long run with the club and she was on the ground, unconscious and bleeding heavily. I immediately expected the worse, that she intentionally tried to hurt herself or the baby to get back at me for not wanting her the way she said she wanted me. Turns out, she had pregnancy diabetes and couldn’t afford her meds so she passed out and when she fell, she had a placental abruption. Luckily, Ally didn’t suffer from it, other than the fact that she was born two months early.
“I rushed her to the hospital and they took her in, but left me by myself for hours. When they finally came to get me, they told me Emma didn’t make it. I wasn’t sure how to react, to be honest. Sure, I was sad, I never wanted her to die, but I wasn’t heartbroken and, as bad as it sounds, I still wasn’t sure about my kid’s fate at that point.
“They took me to see her, she was tiny and hooked to a couple of tubes. I spent most of my time in the hospital with her. I had to wait a couple of weeks before I could properly hold her, but when I could; I finally felt like a father and I never wanted to give her to anyone. She was mine and I’d protect her forever, I’d happily give my life for her. She is my little bundle of joy. Besides being born early, she was pretty healthy, they did keep her in hospital for a couple of weeks just to be sure she would develop properly.
“When she was released, I didn’t have the first clue of what to do. I was on my own, having to take care of a kid and I had absolutely no idea what to do. I’m so grateful when Ant found out and talked to Cabe. He helped me out so much, from showing me how to properly take care of her, to how I should change her diaper and lay her down, feed her and everything in between. He gave me Ayden’s baby stuff, her crib and clothes; I was so thankful for the help, both for the material things and more importantly how to best take care of her.
“I called Rose, my old nanny and asked her if she would still be up to take care of a kid and she agreed instantly. I’ll forever be grateful to her. She raised me and now she’s helping me raise Ally. I named her after my sister’s middle name and her second name is her mother’s name.” I sigh rubbing my face and wait for Line to say something, but she stays quiet. I look up and I see that she has tears streaming down her face. “I didn’t want to make you cry, Gorgeous,” I say softly as I get up and wrap my arms around her.
“I’m a softie inside.” She giggles softly and squeezes me tightly. “I’m sorry you had to go through so much heartache. I wish I could have been there for you,” she says softly.
“I don’t deserve you,” I whisper against her forehead.
“Cut the bullshit, Sanford. The fact that you have an adorable daughter or that your past isn’t picture perfect aren’t going to make me run away. You’re a DILF.” I look at her confused and she bursts out laughing.
“What the fuck is a DILF?”
“Dad I’d like to fuck?” She grins innocently.
“Fuck. Me,” I groan. “You do know how to bring a man to his knees, don’t you.”
“Only you.” She kisses my head and goes to the kitchen to refill her coffee and she brings me a beer. She knows me too well.
“Thanks, Love.”
“You’re welcome.” She grins at me and takes a long sip of coffee. “Did you really think I wouldn’t want you anymore knowing Ally’s story?”
“Yes and no. I mean it’s not like I was the most loving boyfriend when I was with Emma.”
“She seemed troubled too. I obviously wasn’t there when it happened and didn’t see how you and Emma were together, but a relationship goes both ways, not all the blame can be put on you.” She shrugs.
“You might be right.”
“I know I am.” She smirks and takes a bite of another donut. “Anyway, you said yes and no, what’s the no part?”
I sigh and rub my face before taking a long pull from my beer. “It’s not all. I’ve done some really bad stuff for the club and outside of the club too.”
“I know you’re not a saint, Aleck. I don’t know exactly what you did, but I have a pretty good idea.”
“What do you think I did?” I’d rather hear it from her than have to tell her everything.
“You most likely used women for sex, have done drugs, killed someone, I’m not sure really, but those are the three that pop into my mind.”
“You say it like it’s no big deal.”
“I can’t control or change your past and what you did. For the women, well I hope you were using protection, for the drugs that you are clean now. As for the killing part, there’s nothing I can do about it. In a way, I wish I could erase everything, but then you wouldn’t be the way you are today. Sure, you can be a bit of an asshole, not gonna lie, but as I said, club Aleck and normal life Aleck are two different people.”
“You amaze me a bit more every day.”
“Why? Because I’m not kicking you out because you did some stupid shit and probably are still doing some of them. Sure, it can be surprising, but I love you the way you are, you keep saying how I need a prim and proper guy, but that’s not what I want. I. Want. You.”
“Why? Why after all those years do you still want me?”
“Because my heart is stubborn.” She gets up, I can see she’s getting frustrated. “It fell in love with you years ago and never stopped, even when you were being a douchebag and rejecting me. I don’t have much experience, I’ve only had two boyfriends, but my heart knows what it wants. I’m stubborn and have a much stronger character and temper then you give me credit for. I need a guy like you who can handle a bit of a temper, not someone who won’t say shit when I’m being a bitch. I don’t need someone to baby me. I just want someone to love and care for me the way I love and care for them. I want a partner in crime, a lover, a fighter, a great man who knows what they want in life and, to me, that’s you,” she finishes and is nearly breathless. I don’t think twice. I stand up, take the two steps to her and capture her mouth in a passionate kiss.
I deepen the kiss when she moans, giving my tongue access to her mouth. My dick stands straight to attention as I caress her tongue with mine, gently sucking on her bottom lip. She wraps herself around me. I get lost in the kiss and back her up against the patio door. I caress down her sides, resting my hands on her hips, squeezing them a bit too roughly. Her pained moan brings me back to reality. “I’m sorry, Gorgeous, I got carried away.”
“I never said I minded,” she says out of breath. “I enjoyed it.” She smirks at me and nips my bottom lip.
“Well, som
eone turns out not only to be very understanding and simply amazing, but also a little bit kinky, I like that…a lot.” I smile and kiss her again, more gently this time.
“What can I say? You bring the best out of me.”
“I see that.” I sigh happily resting my forehead on hers.
“Not to put a downer on this moment that I totally loved, but will you ever tell me the rest of your story, what you were trying to get me to say so you didn’t have to say it yourself?”
“Here I thought I would get out of telling you about it today.”
“Might as well get everything out of the way today.” She kisses my chin as she’s still wrapped around me and can’t reach my face.
“Alright, if that’s what you want.”
“Yes, but only if you want to share your past with me.”
“I don’t want to taint your mind with my fuckedupness, but you need to know this before we go any further. I think at this point, we both have the power to hurt each other pretty badly. I’d rather have you know everything up front, than have you find out some things in the future and end things with me.”
“Seriously? By now you still think you’ll be able to get rid of me? You’re stuck with me forever, Sanford.” She grins innocently and brushes her lips over mine.
“I never want to get rid of you. You’re mine forever.” I hug her tightly and burry my face in the crook of her neck. “You smell good.”
“Alright, you creep.” She chuckles and slaps the back of my head playfully.
“Not even sorry.” I kiss her neck and sit down in the outdoor couch pulling her onto my lap before spilling my guts out…
CHAPTER 21
Charline
To say Aleck had a rough time when he was younger is putting it mildly. Despite everything, he turned out to be a good man, even while being in a MC. The illegal shit he partakes in never scared me. I know he’d do anything for Ally, and for me.
Teaching Aleck Page 15