17. Mimic
Seventeen
Mimic
“ W hy are we even sitting around here? We need to be out there, tracking down that van!” I state as I try not to raise my voice.
I’m pissed because while we’ve been discussing what we’re going to do, Rox decided that listening to us wasn’t needed. We didn’t come up with much in the middle of the night, except for Rox needing someone with her. Someone’s trying to murder her, and we’re all in agreement that that isn’t going to happen—everyone except Rox.
Rox came to the club to bring Meg home and take a shower. She then went into one of our spare rooms to sleep in. We all concluded we needed sleep to formulate what was happening and how to fix it.
I’d left Rox sleeping in bed, or so I thought.
She snuck out the moment we all went into church. We found out she had left when we received a notification from the front gate.
It took everything I had to not scream at her when I called her.
“What in the fuck are you thinking?”
“That I need to work.”
I take a deep breath, trying to calm myself. “Rox, someone attempted to kill you last night. I’m pretty sure that awards you a day off. The last fucking thing you need is to be alone where they can try again.”
“I’m fine, Max. There are cameras at the shop.”
“And what the fuck are cameras going to do if they walk in and shoot you?” I seethe.
She’s silent for a moment, and if I weren’t so afraid for her life, I’d feel bad about what I said.
“I can take care of myself, Max.”
She’d hung up after that. I then understood why Prez and Angel do things behind her back. She isn’t listening to reason. I can’t sit back and allow someone to take her from me, which is why I’m pushing my chair back so I can get to her. The exact thing I should have done when I knew she was gone. If anything has happened between them and now, it’s entirely my fault.
“Sit down, Mimic. Kraken, head over to Stanford’s shop and keep an eye on things.”
“Prez,” I plead..he holds up his hand, stopping me.
“I understand what you’re going through, Mimic. That’s my baby this fucker tried to kill. But you need to be here, coming up with the plan to bring this asshole down. Kraken, go.” Prez says.
I look over to Kraken, hoping my eyes make it clear to keep my woman safe. He nods and is out the door.
“Okay, we’re covered until we devise a real plan of finding out who did this. It wasn’t a one-off attack. I’ve reached out to Knuckles out in Wyman, but there isn’t a lot he can go off of.” Prez says, his gaze cuts to me. “He’s gonna see if anyone around Rox’s house has door cameras. He’s great at hacking those, but if they don’t, we’ve got jackshit.”
“Rox has been followed a couple of times after leaving work. Then there’s the night you went to her place. That was the first night.”
The revelation has Prez clenching his jaw. I can hear his teeth grind and see his eyes shift. It’s been discussed he doesn’t hide who he is, but witnessing his “demon,” as he calls it, come forward is terrifying.
I am so fucked.
“It’s why she came to the ranch that night, but she turned around and came to my house. She’d called me when she realized she was being followed. I told her to get to the clubland. My theory was if this person were local, they wouldn’t be stupid enough to follow her there.
“I don’t know what made her decide to come to me, but it wasn’t long after Angel stalked her to my house.” I grimace as I remember the fight and the pain on my brother’s face.
“And you’re just telling us about this now? Why didn’t she tell me when I showed up at your place?” Angel shoots up from his chair, launching it backward into the wall.
“You weren’t in the condition to hear anything of that nature that night, brother. You were already trying to control certain aspects of her life. She could control this, and I was there to handle it.” I snap back. Prez sits back in his chair and steeples his fingers. I’m not sure if he’s going to hit me again or see reason.
“My first reaction is to take you out at the knees for not telling me there was a danger to my child. I still just might. But I’m seeing that Angel and myself were not in a great head space then to deal with this.” While I’m shocked over his admission, I won’t let my guard down and think he won’t still retaliate. “Do you have any reason to believe this guy was going to pull anything? Or were you under the impression they only planned on following her?” Prez asks.
“From what she has told me, they’ve followed her. Never tailgates or speeds up to catch her. I haven’t seen it with my own eyes, but the way she talks about it is strange. Tonight was the only time I had seen the van. Whoever is doing this went from zero to sixty overnight.” I try to explain.
“You don’t know that for sure, though. They could’ve followed you both in other cars when they knew they couldn’t snatch her up. Doing their own form of recon.” Angel points out, venom still in his voice.
“True, but why would they go from stalking her to attempting to kill her so instantly? They nailed the windows shut from the outside! They wanted her dead!” I feel even more guilty about the windows because how could I not have heard them? You were so lost in her screams that nothing could have stolen your attention. I toss my hands in the air. “I can be a bit distracted around Rox, but I’m not stupid enough to miss when the same people are always around. I even show up over an hour before she’s off work most days to take note of who’s around. We’ve spent more nights at her house than mine, and that window was always open. It wasn’t nailed shut until tonight.” I try to defend myself while also getting the point across.
What was this asshole’s catalyst?
“Have you been flaunting your relationship around town?” Mammoth asks.
“No. Honestly, if we had, I think Prez would have known we were together long before a few days ago. We’re pretty low-key as a couple.” I shrug, leaning back in my chair and running my hands over my face. “Angel has been around her at work more than I have.” I point out.
“What does that mean? I’m at fault?” Angel snaps at me, pushing himself up.
“Sit your ass down and listen. The only one to blame right now is the bastard who torched my little girl’s home. If this person has eyes on Roxanne, they’ve seen you coming and going. If they’ve seen Mimic, they can take both of you as a threat. This person knows Roxanne’s schedule. It seems they know yours and Mimics, too.” Prez pointing a new truth gives me a light bulb moment.
“We need to set a trap.”
* * *
Hours later, I almost felt as if nothing had been accomplished. It’s not because of the plan. It’s because I wasn’t able to figure out who attempted to kill Rox. This devil of a human decided that someone as beautiful as Rox deserved to have darkness thrust at her again. She hasn’t gone into detail about what happened, and neither has anyone here who knows the story, but I know she didn’t deserve what happened then, either.
“You need to tell her what the plan is,” Burrito says to me.
“I’m fully fuckin’ aware of what I need to do, man.” I snap. “She’s mine. Her safety is what matters most to me.”
Burrito raises his hands. “I’m not saying it isn’t. It is. But we can’t delay.”
“You’re only pushing because you have the first shift at her shop.” He looks back and forth, and I know I’ve busted him. “Right?”
“Dude…she’s terrifying.”
I laugh out loud at his reasoning. “She’s feisty as hell, but there’s nothing terrifying about her.”
“You only say that because you’re sleeping with her.”
The shrill of chair legs scraping against the floor is the only warning he got. While I would have loved to have retaliated, Dizz did it for me. Burrito’s ass hit the ground after Dizz’s fist connected with his face.
“Regardless if that’s true, do not talk about my daughter that way.”
“Sorry, Prez. It won’t happen again.”
“See that it fuckin’ doesn’t.” He turns to face me, “I text her to have her come in here. Prepare for battle.”
I wish he wasn’t serious, but we all know this isn’t going to go over well. Rox is strong. She’s built differently than most. She doesn’t take shit from anyone, including her family and members of this club. We’ve only just begun what this is between us, and I know it’s going to cause a strain on who we are as a couple. But I can’t sit back and let her be in harm’s way.
The creaking of the door hinges tells us all she’s here. I stand up and face her. She walks right up to me and, without thinking, kisses my lips. For the briefest of moments, I’m terrified of what Dizz is going to do, but as quick as it came, it left. When she pulls away from me, her smile is radiant. She’s beautiful and happy, and I’m about to ruin it.
“Hey…. Mimic,” she winks at me before she looks past me at her dad. “What’s goin’ on?”
“Roxanne, I need you to sit down.”
She lets out a huff, and I hear her under her breath, “Here we fucking go.”
“Roxanne, I know this is a lot to take in. Your house burning down was this person sending a clear message. They want you dead.”
“Yeah, uh-huh. Got it.”
“Now is not the time to be a smart ass, Roxanne. This person tried to fucking kill you . How the hell can you sit there and act like it isn’t a big deal?” I don’t blame him for snapping at her. She’s been treating this as if it isn’t something to worry about. Like her life isn’t in danger at all.
“I can take care of myself, that’s why. I don’t even need to you to tell me why I’m here. The way you brought up my house told me everything I needed to know. You came up with some asinine plan for my protection.” She uses air quotes as she finishes her thought. “And while I get it, Dad, I do, I don’t need it. I don’t need you to fight my battles for me.”
“I’m your dad. It’s my job to protect you.”
“When I was a child, sure.”
“It doesn’t go away just because you became an adult, Roxanne. It will be my job until the day I die. You and your siblings are everything to me, and I will not let anyone threaten you. Yes, you’re grown, and you can take care of yourself—”
“—Yes, I can. Thank you. Are we done?”
“But this,” he hits the table with his pointer finger, “isn’t something you can fight on your own. Someone went to your house and did everything they could to try and kill you. Even the best of us can’t fight off that kind of evil. You need help with this, and you have a whole room here of people who are willing to give you that help. Why are you fighting me on this?”
“Because I don’t need another person coming into my life, attempting to control it! I’m more than capable of fighting for myself. I deserve to fight for myself. If I need help, I’d ask for it, but I don’t think I’m at that point yet. I’m stronger than any of you seem to think I am.”
She looks at me, and I see the hurt in her eyes. If only she knew and understood that I think she’s the strongest woman I’ve ever met. She’s a warrior who doesn’t allow anyone to stop her or stand in her way. The proof is currently in the room.
“No one thinks you can’t handle yourself, Roxanne. We all just want to make sure that whoever attempted to kill you can’t do it again.”
“And your response is to what? Have someone on my ass at all times?” When no one answers, she starts laughing. “I knew it. Kraken coming to the shop earlier was the start of it, wasn’t it? I told you I’m safe there. There are cameras, and I’m never alone. Stanford and Duncan are always there. Sure, Duncan may be an ass half the time, but I don’t think he’d let someone come in and hurt me.”
“You also can’t guarantee that, either, Rox. No one outside of this room has loyalty to you. Your dad wants you safe. I need you safe. I need you. I can’t be with you all of the time, but these guys are here and willing to help make sure you come home every night. Why are you treating this like it’s a bad thing?” I grab her hands, attempting to plead with her with my eyes. “You’re my everything. Putting yourself at risk,” I shake my head, “I just can’t. I’m sorry. I can’t.”
“It’s not up to you. It’s not up to any of you. It started with you trying to tell me how to live my life. Then, someone comes in and tries to take my life from me. Now, I’m forced to either live here at the club, with my parents, or with Mimic. Everything that was mine is gone. And you want to tell me what I’m going to do next?”
“No, I’m telling you what we’re going to do . We are going to protect you.” Dizz tells her. They go back and forth about the difference, or lack thereof, according to her, while I’m stuck on her being pissed because she may have to stay with me. It hurts so much more than it should. We’ve only just started. We’re still brand new. She shouldn’t be living with me. And she wouldn’t be if her house were still standing. This is forcing her hand.
I hate that I understand her so much more now. I get it. She wants this to be her choice. So much being taken from her in such a short period of time is weighing on her. However, I’m still on her dad’s side. I’ll take her anger if it means she lives.
“Roxanne?” Dizz asks softly, “Can you come here, please?”
She gets up from the chair beside me and walks over to her dad. He stands and pulls her into his embrace. I can’t hear what he says to her, but I watch as her body melts into his. I looked around at the men who all agreed keeping her safe was priority one. None of them were against it. All of them want to find the person responsible for what’s been done to her. And every single one has the same expression— what is happening?
When they pull apart, Rox quickly wipes her eyes before she smiles at him. “I know this is a lot, okay? Let’s put a pin in it for now. I want to do something.”
“What’s that, Dad?”
He doesn’t answer. He grabs his phone out of his cut and after a moment, music comes blaring out of the little speaker. It takes a moment, but I recognize the music for “ What’s Your Country Song ” by Thomas Rhett. The guys, except for Angel, all look as confused as me, but Rox looks like a whole new person. She and Dizz start singing and dancing, and for a moment, I see a woman without a single care in the world. Every worry she’s ever had is no longer on her shoulders.
She looks incredible.
There’s an air around her. It looks like freedom. For three minutes, I see who she truly is without any inhibitions. Zero dangers are lingering in the dark. It’s her and her dad. He’s no longer the President of an MC. He’s the man who raised her and knows her best.
When the song ends, they both breathe hard before they turn to us. Her cheeks turn a slight shade of pink while Dizz locks down.
“Prez, I love you, man, but I hope you never had the dream of being a singer,” Duck tells him. Laughter fills the room as Rox makes her way over to me. She quickly kisses me, tells me she’ll see me at my house, and leaves. The door closes, and I turn back to Dizz.
“What’s the plan, Prez?”
He looks around at all of us, “Exactly what we said it is. Her life means more than her being mad at me or any of us. But Mimic, can you handle it?”
“Without a doubt.”