“You made sure for a week that I was the only one coming. This morning was all about you.” I smile kissing him softly.
“Amazing.” He kisses me deeply, rolling us over so he’s lying on top of me.
“Yes, you are.” I smile at him.
“Will you be okay this weekend?” He looks at me intently.
“Of course I will. What’s the worst that could happen with a five year old?”
“You never know.” He chuckles. “I’m serious though, will you be okay?”
“Yes, Baby, we’ll both be okay. Don’t worry.” I stroke his cheek softly and bring his lips to me.
“I wish I didn’t have to go”
“I wish you didn’t have to either. Just come back to us in one piece and we’ll all be okay.”
“I’ll do my best.”
“Now, now, that’s not fair!” I pout making him chuckle.
“I promise, I’ll come back to you in one piece…and alive.” He cuts me off, the fucker knew what I was going to say!
“You suck!”
“Uh no, Love, you’re the one doing the sucking.” He smirks.
“Dickhead!”
“You love my dick!”
I groan. “You’re infuriating!”
“But you love me.”
“Apparently so.” I smile at him and kiss him deeply. We both groan when his phone rings.
“I have to get that.”
“Okay, I’ll go make coffee.” I kiss his cheek and get up when he rolls off of me. I put on my robe, smiling as I wrap the tie around my waist and grin at Aleck. He winks at me and picks up his phone.
He joins me in the kitchen a few minutes later, fully dressed.
“You have to go now?”
“Yes, they are waiting for me. Rose is going to come over and drop Ally off.”
“Alright. I love you.”
“I love you too.” He leans down and kisses me hard and deeply, but too soon he breaks the kiss. “I’ll keep you updated whenever I can. Call me if you have any problems okay?”
“Okay, don’t worry, we’ll be okay.” I smile at him and see him to the door. He stops to kiss me again before getting on his bike. He waves at me as he drives out of the driveway. I wave back and smile to myself. I’m so lucky to finally have him in my life, the way it was always supposed to be.
******
Rose dropped off Ally mid-morning and we’ve been alternating between watching cartoons, eating and painting. She’s adorable and so chatty once she’s used to you, she’s amazing. I’m having such a good day, but I can’t stop that nagging feeling that something bad is going to happen to Aleck. It’s the first time since we’ve been together that he openly told me that he had to go on a run for the club, and that it might get messy. I hope they will all be okay.
We finished dinner not long ago and we settle down to watch another cartoon with popcorn and hot cocoa. Ally is cuddling into my side and has her tiny arm draped over my tummy. She’s the most precious thing ever. I smile looking at her, enjoying this moment. Even if Aleck isn’t here with us right now, I have a tiny piece of him cuddling up to me. I really could get used to this. Never in a million years did I imagine I’d be with someone who already has a kid. I always thought it would be weird to be in a relationship like this, but it isn’t at all. Sure, sometimes we can’t do what we want to do as there is a small human running around, but it never stops us from having fun, it’s just a different kind of fun. I don’t feel like I’m taking care of someone else’s kid and it’s slightly scary to me, we get on so well. It’s so different being a teacher to a parent type figure, but I wouldn’t change any of it. She’s a total sweetheart.
Everything is going smoothly, we’re having fun and enjoying the movie, until we hear a noise from outside before the power goes out. The uneasy feeling I had earlier is coming back much stronger. Light is coming from Ayden’s house so it can’t be a power outage.
“Liney, what’s going on?” Ally asks me, scared.
“I don’t know, Princess. I’m sure it’s okay, the power just took a nap.” I pick her up and walk to the front door checking the alarm. I sigh in relief when I see it’s still on. I’m not sure if someone is outside, but it’s better to be safe than sorry. I make sure the front door is locked and check on the backdoor. I sigh in relief when I see they’re locked.
“I’m scared, Liney,” she says clinging onto me.
“It’s okay, Sweetheart. I’m sure the power will come back very soon.” I try to reassure her, but I’m not sure it’ll be okay. I have no idea what’s going on. I make sure the basement door is locked, you can’t be too careful, and grab us a couple of flashlights and set her on the couch with one while I light some candles.
“I want Daddy.” She sniffs.
“I know, Princess. Shall I give him a call?” She nods. I grab my cellphone and dial his number, but it’s busy. I sigh and swear under my breath.
I wait a couple of minutes and try again. This time it rings and he picks up immediately. “Lock everything and make sure the alarm is on. I’ll be there as soon as possible.”
“How do you know?” I ask him confused.
“I just got a phone call. I don’t have time to explain. I’m on my way to your place. I’ll be there as soon as possible, but I’m too fucking far away. Please, keep Ally and yourself safe!”
“I will…” I barely get the words out before he hangs up. Shit, something must be really wrong if he’s already on his way. I sit next to Ally and hold her. “Daddy is on his way, he’ll be here as soon as he can okay, Princess?” I kiss her head and hold her tight as she wraps her arms tighter around me.
“O…okay.” She sniffs. It’s breaking my heart to see her so distraught. This is all because of me. I never should have offered to watch her this weekend. She would have been safer at Josie’s. She slowly starts to relax in my arms and falls sleep, the stress overwhelming her. I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding. I’m glad she’s finally able to relax.
CHAPTER 28
Aleck
That sick motherfucker!
I don’t know who the fuck called me, but it turned my blood to ice.
I ride as fast as I can to make it to Charline’s as soon as possible.
I keep replaying the conversation in my mind over and over again as the miles fly past me.
My phone rings right in the middle of the meeting with the Bastards from Hell. I stand up and walk out of their chapel to pick up. I’m not risking anyone knowing that Charline and Ally are on their own. Gabe is keeping an eye on them from his truck down the street, but he’s still recovering so I’m not sure how much help he could be, it depends on how many fuckers might try to mess with the women of my life.
“Hello?”
“Your life is going to change tonight…for the worse.”
“Who the fuck is this?” I below.
“A friend who just wanted to warn you.” Whoever is on the line chuckles darkly.
“What do you want you sick fuck?”
“Your sweet little girlfriend.”
“Don’t you dare touch as much as one hair on her head or I swear to you I’ll kill you with my bare hands.”
“Oh, but you see, I know you’re too far to be here within the next few minutes. Such a shame…”
“I’m going to fucking kill you, you sick motherfucker!” I yell.
Everybody comes out of the chapel staring at me.
“See, by the time you get to her house, it’ll be too late. If I were you, I would give her a heads up of what’s about to happen to her. Just so she can prepare herself to meet her fate.”
“You touch either of them and I swear I will rip you apart very slowly and I’ll enjoy every single second of it.”
“No, no, no, Aleck. Don’t you get it? That’s exactly what’s going to happen to your woman and there’s nothing you can do about it. Give my best to Ray, will you?” He chuckles and hangs up.
“What’s going on?” Ant asks
me.
“Someone is going to fucking attack Charline and Ally. I have to go.” I run to my bike and don’t give them any other details. I need to get to them now.
I was about to call Charline when she called me. I had to warn her, but apparently whoever is behind this has already started their attack. I can’t imagine how scared they must be, even though Charline tried to hide it on the phone, I could hear the tremble in her voice. She’s trying to be strong for me and Ally, knowing her, I know she would feel responsible for all of this and about putting Ally through it all. It’s not her fault that she witnessed something so terrible and it keeps coming back to haunt her. I wish I was there to protect them. This is fucking killing me!
How in the hell did they know where we were? Is this another betrayal from another unhappy club member hell bent on taking fucking power? I’ll have to talk about it with Ant once all of this is over.
I’m still an hour outside of New Orleans and I can’t get there fast enough. For once, I wish that the cops would see me go over the speed limit and follow me, but I’m not so lucky.
I don’t even want to imagine what’s going to happen to them. Why would someone want to hurt a kid? I know Charline saw something she shouldn’t have, but she never told anyone until recently. Why would they want her fucking dead after all this time?
I just hope they’ll be okay and I get there in time…
CHAPTER 29
Charline
Nothing has happened for the past hour. The power is still out, but things have been very quiet. I was tempted to call the cops, but I know Gabe is somewhere outside keeping an eye on us. What I don’t understand is why he didn’t come in or why he isn’t picking up his fucking phone? He must have noticed the power going out. I grab my phone and try to call him for the tenth time, but it goes straight to voicemail, just like the past nine times.
I’m not going to lie, I’m scared shitless. Not for myself, but for Ally. She doesn’t deserve to be in this situation. I look at my contacts in my phone and find Detective Sanders’ phone number. I never put it in there, must have been Aleck. I give him a call. I probably should call 911, but I know they are going to tell me to go downstairs and put the power back on. A) no way in hell am I leaving Ally on her own and b) I’m not going to risk going down there and come face to face with whoever is responsible for this.
“Detective Sanders,” he answers on the third ring.
“Hi, this is Charline Dane. I’m a friend of Aleck Sanford.”
“Hi, Charline, I remember you. Is everything okay?” he asks concerned.
“I’m not sure.” I sigh. “The power has been out for an hour at my house and we’ve heard some noises outside. Gabe is supposed to keep an eye on us, but I haven’t seen or heard from him. I’ve tried to call him, but he’s not answering. Aleck is on his way, but he could still be a while.”
“You should have called me sooner Charline. Are you still hearing noises or seeing anything suspicious?”
“I didn’t know I had your phone number. No, it’s eerily quiet right now. I know I should have been more careful with the notes and all, but I didn’t think they would actually try to attack me. I’ve been getting them for so long.”
“How long?” he asks clearly annoyed.
“Couple of years.”
“What the fuck, Charline?”
“I know, I should have said something about it. I didn’t think it would be that bad, or that they could even find me, I just thought that whoever was doing it was only doing it to scare me. I never thought a psycho would come for me after all these years! Had I known I wouldn’t have offered Aleck to watch over Ally.” I try not to wake her up.
“Shit. I’m on my way to your place now. I should be there in twenty minutes. Whatever happens, do not open the door.”
“I know, everything is locked downstairs.” I say softly.
“But not upstairs.” I still when I hear a voice say that behind me.
“Who’s there with you? Charline?!” I turn around and come face to face with Brian.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” I yell at him, waking Ally up. She immediately realizes something is wrong and starts to cry.
“Well, well, well, who do we have here?”
“Don’t you even dare touch one of her hairs or I swear I’ll kill you myself.” I spit at him.
“Now, is that a way to greet your boyfriend?” He chuckles darkly.
“You’re not my boyfriend, Brian. You haven’t been for a while. What do you want?”
“Oh, I’m sure you know what I want. See, a few years ago, I was having some business with someone going to UNO and it turned bad. We had to teach him a lesson and a little blonde showed up out of nowhere and saw what we did to him.” He smirks. Oh fuck me sideways. “See what I’m trying to say now?”
“I never talked to anyone about it! Why do you want your revenge so many years after and why in the hell did you date me?” I try to manoeuver me and Ally nearer the hallway.
“Let’s see. The dating part was just for fun. You’ve got a banging body and I wanted a piece of it. After watching you for years, it was hilarious knowing you were dating the same guy that was sending you threats when you had absolutely no fucking clue about it. The revenge part, see I’m not about to let a little bitch like you cause me trouble which you already have by the way. Why in the hell did you decide to date an outlaw when you had the perfect life? Anyway, your dream guy isn’t as dreamy as you think. See, just a couple of days ago, he killed a couple of my men in cold blood. No reason for them to come after us, yet they did.”
“What do you mean after your men?” I look at him confused and back Ally in the hallway so she can go hide upstairs. I’m just hoping no one else is in the house.
“Come back here you little…”
I punch him. “She’s a five year old kid, what the fuck do you think she’s going to do?”
“Wrong. Fucking. Move.” He slaps me hard across the cheek, making me lose balance. “Maybe he mentioned a club he’s been after or not, doesn’t really matter, I’m part of a MC too darling. We’ve been at war with the Last Hangman for years now and getting to them through you was the perfect revenge. We just had to wait for the perfect moment. We have a man inside your boyfriend’s club that’s been keeping us up to date with all their business. It was easy to make some deals fall through and crush them. Aleck won’t recover from what’s about to happen to you and his daughter.”
“Don’t you dare fucking touch her!” I spit in his face and kick him in the balls, making him groan in pain. I try to get up and run upstairs to my gun, but he catches my ankle before I get halfway up the stairs. “Whatever you hear, don’t come out, Ally,” I yell and I hear her run away to hide somewhere upstairs.
“Oh I’ll find her, don’t worry about it, Line.” He drags me down the stairs and back into the hallway. “Wanna know a fun story?” he asks straddling my chest, keeping my hands out of reach. “Emma was my fucking girlfriend before she met Aleck. We were happy and one day, she decided I was too much to handle so she dumped me and then met Aleck. When she found out she was pregnant, she came running straight back to me. I don’t know what went on in her head, but she kept changing her mind about us being together.
“At first, I thought the kid was mine, I was happy, I thought it would bring us back together, but the fucking bitch told me it wasn’t mine, that it wasn’t possible and she fucking left me again. She left me after I took care of her for seven fucking months! I had to find her, it took me a little over a month to do so and when I did, I was both disgusted and happy to see her. I didn’t care about the fact that I wasn’t the father and I wanted her dead for doing this to me. We got into a fight because she didn’t want Aleck to find out she had been with an enemy of the club. I got pissed and I might have punched her repeatedly in her tummy.” He chuckles darkly. “I didn’t feel bad. The bitch collapsed and I wanted her to fucking lose the baby and be with me, but no, of course it didn’t happ
en that way. She fucking died and it’s all because of Aleck!” he yells.
“You are the one who fucking punched her! How can it be Aleck’s fault?”
“Because he fucking stole my woman, but I’m going to one up him. I’m going to kill his woman and his daughter. We’ll see how he is able to deal with all of it.”
“The cops are on their way and so is Aleck.”
“Aww, the more the merrier!” He chuckles and wraps his hands around my neck, squeezing tight. “See, you have roughly ten minutes left to live if I’m being nice on you. Which I’m not, so the chances of either the cops or Aleck arriving in time are slim to none.” He smirks and applies more pressure, literally squeezing the life out of me.
I’m gasping for air, my vision starts to blur. I try to reach for his face, to scratch him or anything I can do to cause him pain. To my despair, he’s too strong for me and I can’t move. I feel myself slowly slipping away.
I feel the darkness swallow me whole, when I hear a faint crashing noise. I’m too far gone to realize what’s happening, but the pressure quickly disappears. Soon enough, I’m coughing and gasping for air. I look around, not sure what’s going on, confused and disoriented. All I see is Brian on the floor, and someone pounding the shit out of him.
CHAPTER 30
Aleck
I finally make it to Charline’s place. I broke every fucking speed limit that was on my way, but I don’t care. The house is still dark and nothing seems out of place. I see something from the corner of my eye move in the first level window. I look up and see Ally. She is in tears and looks fucking terrified. I don’t think twice. I kick the front door open and the scene in front of my causes me to feel a rage I have never felt before.
Brian, out of all the fucking people, is strangling Charline. I charge at him and tackle him to the ground.
“You sick bastard.” I start pounding the shit out of his face. I’m past the point where I can be stopped. He needs to die for what he was about to do to my woman and my daughter. Each blow hits harder and stronger than the one before, I want, no, need to make him pay for all those years he was threatening Charline, for scaring my daughter, for trying to kill Charline.
Teaching Aleck Page 20