But, when I peered through the small peep hole, I didn’t see anyone. I turned to look both up and down the hall as much as I could, then I stood as tall as possible to glance down.
But the hall was empty.
For a few moments, I stood debating by the door. There wasn’t any noise coming from outside. So, at last, I decided it was safe to just open it a little. My heart pounded in my throat as I slowly slid the lock out of place, then I unlocked the doorknob.
A thousand different scenarios flooded through my brain. I thought of a man grabbing me as I peeked out into the hall. I thought about someone barging into the room with guns or knives. I thought about someone kidnapping me and leaving a note for Trip.
There were so many things that could go wrong, but there was that small voice inside me that told me to check. So slowly, cautiously, I did.
I pulled open the door slightly and waited.
Nothing happened.
I pulled it open a little further, still being careful. I was ready to slam it closed in a heartbeat, but still, nothing happened. Finally, I worked up the courage to poke my head into the hall. On the count of three, I just did it.
And there was no one there.
Confused, I was about to close the door when I looked down. There, on the floor, was a white envelope. There wasn’t an address on it, and there were no stamps. All that was on it was a name scrawled in handwriting I didn’t recognize and clearly hurried.
My name.
My heart raced as I quickly picked it up and pulled myself back inside, closing the door and locking it behind me. I hurried to the kitchen and pulled out a knife, sliding it through the envelope and opening it as quickly as I could. I wasn’t sure what I was going to find, but I already instinctively knew it wasn’t anything good.
Did something happen to my brother? Did something happen to one of my students? Was this a threat from someone who was in connection to Trip? Was I putting Trip in danger by being here?
With all the thoughts and fears running through my brain, I skimmed the contents of the letter.
Miss Ward –
I hope you’re enjoying your little vacation up in Ridgecrest. It must be so nice up there away from the fighting and the fear that’s here. But we all must do what is best for ourselves, so we understand your reasons for leaving.
However, since you have given so much of your time to the students at Barstow High, we only felt it would be a courtesy to let you know of our plans for it. You see, school will be in session on Monday, but none of the students will alive by the end of the day.
Rest easy in knowing that you couldn’t have done anything to prevent this. We hope you don’t lose too much sleep over it.
Your brother should have stayed far away. Think of him when you see smoke in high in the sky.
Immediately I felt sick to my stomach. I knew the cartel had done some terrible things in the past, and to think of them burning down the school – especially with the students trapped inside – was enough to make me go berserk. I had to find a way to save them.
Goddamn you Cutter. Goddamn you. This is all your fault.
There had to be something I could do. I had to call Trip and let him know about the letter. He would know what to do. He would come back to Barstow with me and we would deal with the cartel together.
I wasn’t afraid of them when I had Trip around, I was only afraid of what they might do to my kids. But, with Trip there, I had faith that we could save the school and everyone in it.
Suddenly, it didn’t matter that he had been so distant anymore. I knew that he wouldn’t just let the cartel hurt innocent people, especially kids. I was so furious with my brother for getting involved with the shit he was into and bringing it all to my doorstep. Blood or not, I didn’t know if I could ever forgive him for the betrayal.
I picked up my phone and called Trip. He sent me to voicemail almost immediately and I yelled in frustration. I continued to hit ‘redial’ until he finally picked up, sounding exasperated.
“What Megan, I’m busy here.”
“I don’t care, you need to come home. NOW!”
21
Trip
“What do you make of that?” Megan asked as she pointed to the paper she’d handed me. She had practically pounced on me from the moment I walked through the door, shoving the piece of paper in my hand and telling me that someone had knocked, leaving it on the floor.
At first, I had been upset with her for opening the door when I made it clear to her that I didn’t want that thing unlocked unless she was with someone. On the days when I hadn’t been able to give her a ride and Amanda picked her up, I’d given her a building key so Amanda could walk into the complex and right up to the door to get her before they left.
Never did I want Meg to be alone unless she was in the safety of an approved building. But then, I could also see her curiosity. Not to mention, she never did strike me as the kind of girl who would listen to what I had to say to her anyway. She would take most of my advice, but at the end of the day, she was going to bend it to do what she thought was best, too.
I had to admit that on one hand, I loved that fierce defiance she had. On the other hand, it made me sick to think that they clearly knew where she was. This was clearly something that was written by the cartel, and it had been delivered right to my door with her name on it. How in the ever-loving fuck had they gotten into the building? I shivered at the knowledge that there had only been a piece of cheap wood and a few locks between them and her.
Why they hadn’t simply busted the door down and grabbed her, I had no idea, but that didn’t change the facts. Megan hadn’t seemed to realize how close she’d come to real danger, so I didn’t see the need to tell her. But it made me sick to my stomach to think that she’d been in that kind of danger even in my space.
“Really,” she said, bringing my attention back to the moment. “What do you think?”
“I think that it’s a pile of shit,” I said as I crumbled the paper and threw it in the garbage.
“What are you talking about? You know the kinds of people we’re dealing with, and they’re threatening to hurt kids!” I snapped. “My kids!”
“Do you really think they are going to burn down a high school? There is no reason for them to do that other than to get you out of hiding. They’re baiting you,” I said.
“If they know I’m here, then how am I in hiding?” she spat.
I didn’t have an answer, but there was something not right about it. Our points were both valid. The note was definitely intended to bait her, but she was correct in her assumptions as well. If they knew where she was, why not just come in and get her? I had a feeling there was something else going on. Something I was missing.
“I don’t know, but I know this is a pile of shit,” I pointed to the garbage.
“We have to do something,” she replied. “We have to go!”
“You aren’t going anywhere!” I snapped.
“Come with me! We can work together, and we can get rid of them once and for all, then we can”- she started, but I interrupted her. I couldn’t keep hearing her say ‘we’ all the time. It was all I wanted in life, and I knew it was never going to happen. Hearing her say the word over and over was driving me insane.
Not to mention the fact that I really didn’t want her to go anywhere near Barstow. There was clearly something in the works, and whatever it was, they wanted her down there for when it happened. Perhaps it had something to do with Cutter, I didn’t know, but I hadn’t been able to get a hold of him for a while, either.
No matter what the reason, I knew that the only way to really keep her safe now was to make sure she stayed in the apartment as much as possible. And, with a guard. Starting the next day, I was going to start posting one of me men with her when I was at the shop.
That was the only way I’d be able to get any work done. Otherwise, I’d have to be there with her myself all the time, just making sure no one came through the doors and
took her, or worse, when I was at work.
“Stop it!” I snapped. “There is no we!”
She looked at me as though I’d just driven a dagger through her heart, but now that it was out in the open, I couldn’t stop myself.
“You are here because I’m trying to keep you safe. I made a deal with your brother, okay? Your safety for no guns or drugs in my town. There is no we in any of this. It’s me and it’s you, and when this is over, you are going to go home, and I’m going to go back to my life here,” I said.
My own heart was breaking with each word that came out of my mouth, and by the look on her face, I could tell that I had crushed her as well. I felt like the biggest asshole on the planet, and I knew I had handled it in the worst way possible.
But there was no turning back now, and I had to stand by what I said. It was how things had to be, and there was no changing that.
I wanted to disappear into the ground with the look Meg was giving me, but I couldn’t. I hesitated a moment, then I sighed. “You are going to stay in this apartment at all times unless there is someone with you. I’m going to arrange for you to have someone here tomorrow, and we’ll go from there.”
She didn’t say anything, and I couldn’t bear to stand there a minute longer. I hated myself for what I’d done, and I turned and walked back to my room, closing the door behind me. I wasn’t hungry, and I couldn’t stand to be around her anymore. If I did, I’d take her in my arms, profess my love, and never let her go.
I’d just broken the heart of the woman I loved most in this world, and I knew there was no turning back. I had to keep her safe, then this would all be over, and she could go home. She’d forget about me and move on, but I knew I’d never forget about her.
I pulled the whiskey I kept in my nightstand out and drained half the bottle that was left. I just wanted to ease the suffocating ache in my chest, if only for a little bit.
“Just get the fucking oil done and get it out of here! I’m sick of staring at it!” I snapped.
Odie looked at me like I’d gone crazy, but he said nothing as he went to change the oil. It really wasn’t that big of a deal. I knew he was busy, and we could get it done and out of there in under half an hour. But I was frustrated.
I hated myself for what had happened the night before, and I still hadn’t even remotely gotten through it. I wasn’t hungover, remarkably, from the whiskey that I’d drank, but I still wasn’t feeling myself.
That morning, I’d slipped out of the bedroom as silently as possible. I’d texted Amanda the day before and told her I didn’t want Megan coming in there because of the fact the cartel was closing in, and she was understanding. I had also posted two men with her to make sure nothing blew back on the shelter if anyone came looking for Megan there. If they knew she was at my apartment, they surely knew she’d been working at the shelter.
When I’d come out of my room, Megan was covered entirely in the blanket, having it pulled up and over her head. I felt bad, and part of me wanted to make sure she was doing alright before I left, but with the mostly empty bottle of wine by the couch and the tv still turned onto low, I had a feeling I was the last person she wanted to see.
So, I grabbed the bare minimum I needed out of the apartment and slipped out into the hall, locking both the knob and the deadbolt behind me.
I’d also texted Gunner the night before, asking him to come by and hang out with Megan for the day. She knew him well enough from the shop, I knew she wasn’t going to mind hanging out with him while I was at work.
Hell, after what I’d done to her, she probably would prefer to spend the day with just about anyone other than me. I felt like such a dick, and I wanted to just disappear. But I reminded myself once again as I got on the back of my bike that this was for the best.
She was Cutter’s sister, technically associated with the Satan’s Souls MC. There was no way it would work between us. Not to mention, I’d been going through all this to make sure my town was safe from Cutter’s shit. This was the only way that would happen.
If I were to get with his sister, there was little doubt in my mind our contract would go right out the window. He would think I’d soften my ideals because he was her brother and I had no intention of putting Megan in the middle of a shitstorm between her brother and me.
Brutus and Axle kept their heads down. Neither of them wanted to get in my way, either. They didn’t know what was going on, but then, they didn’t have to. I was in a bad mood, I didn’t want to talk to anyone, and that was the end of that.
I wasn’t going to discuss my feelings with any of them, and I wasn’t going to sit down and tell them what had gone on. It was none of their business. I was the President of the club, and I took care of my own shit.
My thoughts were yanked back to the present when the sound of a Harley engine filled the air. It was coming in fast, and I had a feeling it was Javi with some sort of bad news about what the cartel was doing. He didn’t have to tell me they were in Ridgecrest. I knew that already.
I braced myself for the worst as the bike came into view, but my stomach dropped, and I shot to my feet when I saw it was Gunner.
He came to a screeching halt in the parking lot in front of the shop, and I was out the door before he was able to get off his bike.
“What the fuck? You’re supposed to be with Megan!” I hollered.
“I got to your place and she’s gone,” he said.
“She was there twenty minutes ago, asleep on the couch!” I spat.
“That wasn’t her,” he said. “She piled up pillows and shit and covered it with the blanket, then left the tv on. She’s gone.”
“Fuck!” I bellowed. I headed back inside the shop. It wasn’t hard to guess what had happened. She had clearly left the tv on the night before to mask the sound of her own leaving, assuming that I’d do the same in the morning.
Damn, she knew what she was doing, and I couldn’t believe that I’d fallen for it.
She didn’t have much money of her own, having not been working or getting paid to be down at the shelter, which meant she was either hitchhiking, or she’d found another ride back to Barstow. I didn’t know which it was, but I knew I had to get down there as soon as possible.
Her life may well depend on it.
22
Megan
“Will that be all for you, miss?” the man behind the counter asked.
I nodded. “Yeah, that’s it, thanks.”
I grabbed the coffee and the breakfast sandwich before heading to a table near the back of the small shop. There were a few other people milling about, some with coffee in their hands, others with sandwiches, parfaits, and newspapers.
No one was paying any attention to me, and that was fine. I didn’t want to draw attention, and I knew where I was going.
I was pissed off and hurt. I couldn’t believe what Trip had said to me the night before. And he’d said it right to my face as though I didn’t mean a thing in the world to him. It wasn’t like him, not like him at all. But there was no arguing the facts, and he made it clear how he felt.
There was no we. There was him, and there was me. The more the words echoed in the back of my mind, the angrier I became. I couldn’t say that I felt like he used me. I didn’t. I had enjoyed every second of the sex we’d had, and I loved the time that I got to spend with him, but he’d let me pretend that it was more than what it was.
I was grateful for him for saving me that night, and I understood why he had made the agreement with my brother. Hell, I could even say that he had changed my mind about MCs as a whole.
But I was still hurt. And I wasn’t going to let him sit up there in Ridgecrest when I knew my students were in danger here in Barstow. So, I’d done the only thing that I could do in such a situation. I grabbed only the things I knew I’d need, and I’d gotten a bus ride home.
It was risky, and I had to leave at midnight to get to the bus station in time. But I had managed, and here I was, sitting in a coffee shop in Ba
rstow, eating a quick breakfast before I headed over to the high school.
I wasn’t sure what I was going to say. I knew that I was going to have to make some sort of scene if I was going to get my point across, but I still didn’t know what that would be. Shit, I would run screaming like a lunatic through the hallways if I had to.
No one was going to get in that high school, not with the threat that I’d received.
I wanted to call Cutter and let him know what was going on, but I knew he’d be far too intent on getting me out of there. He wouldn’t be paying attention to the kids, and that’s what I needed from him.
No, if I was going to do it, I had to do it myself. And I would. I didn’t care if I was putting my own life on the line. I didn’t even think that I truly was. I didn’t have anything to do with Cutter’s business with the cartel.
I thought about what Trip had said. That it was just a ploy to get me out into the open. Maybe he was right, but I couldn’t take that chance. Not with so many innocent young lives at stake. I watched the clock. I would get to the school about the same time the first buses arrived. Then I’d tell them to get back on. I knew the kids would be happy to skip the day, and it wouldn’t be hard to get them to listen to me. It was a matter of getting the teachers and administrators to listen. They’d surely think I’d flipped my shit. But as long as I made a big enough scene that no one got into the school, it would all be worth it. They could have me committed for all I cared as long as all the kids were safe.
When it was finally time to go, I grabbed my purse and slipped the strap over my head, wearing it across my body as I headed to the school. Barstow was small enough, I knew I could walk and make it on time.
I’m coming. I’m not going to let them hurt any of you, so help me God! I’m going to do what I have to make sure you are all safe!
Protecting Her: An Enemies to Lovers Romance Page 12