Chapter Twenty-Eight
I fucking love my life.
My day started with the men I love, getting to watch a giraffe be born, and now this. Somehow, without me even asking, these three men are single-handedly making every fantasy and wish I’ve ever had come true.
How am I this lucky?
With a smile on my face, I fan myself. The night air is hot tonight with how many people are surrounding us. That’s not the only reason I’m hot, though.
Hudson.
My heart races as I watch Hudson walk away.
That was…amazing.
He knows exactly what buttons to push to set me off time after time. It’s honestly hard to believe that he had never had sex before me with how good he is, but I know he would never lie. Not about something like that.
He looks over his shoulder and winks at me, making me laugh. I don’t know how he could walk so easily without taking the situation further.
Because he knows we will have fun again later.
Turning, I find Levi’s mask in the crowd. Anticipation about what might happen next rolls through me. My excitement soon turns to unease.
Something about him doesn’t seem right, but I can’t pinpoint exactly what. He is wearing his jeans, the black T-shirt, and his cut, but something is off.
“Hey,” I say when he’s close.
As soon as his hand wraps around mine, I know something is wrong. Then the cologne hits me.
Troy.
I try to pull my hand from his, but he doesn’t let go. This entire Halloween horror fest was a great idea until I realized that I have no idea where my men are or who anyone around me is. I can’t even flag down a brother to help me because they are all in costume.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
“Let me go!” I demand, trying to pull my hand away.
He keeps pulling me until we are at the clubhouse. The inside is no better than the outside. There are people everywhere.
Troy opens the closest door and shoves me inside. I move to the other side of the room, putting as much distance between us as possible. I scan the room, looking for a possible weapon.
There.
The lamp on the nightstand isn’t very big and frankly looks like it’s made out of plastic, but if I hit him with it, it should at least buy me a few seconds to escape.
I just have to hurry when I get the chance.
“What are you doing here?” I ask as I inch toward the nightstand where a lamp is plugged in.
He rips off his mask and glares. “Why the hell do you think I’m here?
For you, obviously. You’re never alone anymore, so you forced my hand and made me come to you.
I tried to get you last night. First at the Halloween thing at the zoo, then at your place, but they were with you the entire fucking time.
Thank God that idiot Streets convinced Stride to let me in or who knows how long I would have been waiting. ”
He was there?
Fear slithers through my veins.
How long has he been watching me? Following me?
Here I thought he was just angry I broke up with him, but clearly it’s so much more than that.
How did I miss this?
“We broke up, Troy. I’ve moved on, and you should too.” My voice shakes, but my words are firm.
He scoffs. “No one breaks up with me. Now this is what’s going to happen. We are going to head out that window, go back to your place, load up some of your shit, and leave town. We’re going to start over fresh somewhere.”
Absolutely not.
Bile rises in my throat, but I shove it down. As scared as I am, I can’t afford to panic now.
No, I just need to keep him talking until one of the guys notices we are missing and comes looking for us.
“I’m not going anywhere with you, Troy.”
“Yes, you are,” he grits out. “You will leave that stupid job at the zoo, become my wife, and become a stay-at-home mother to our children. You will give me an heir, Esme, or so help me God.”
At the word children, I can’t help but flinch. Not because the idea of kids is off-putting, but because I would never have them willingly with him.
Rape. He’s talking about rape.
“That’s never going to happen. You need to leave. We’ve told you more than once. I’m with them.”
Before I can move, he’s across the room and on me, his hands wrapping around my throat.
“You think you can leave me for some biker trash? I saw what you let that imbecile do to you on the dance floor. You let him rub against you in a room full of people like a whore. Is that what you like now?”
One of his hands leaves my throat and trails down my body roughly.
Oh god. Oh god.
I buck under his hold but can’t break away from him.
“Don’t touch me,” I hiss.
Tears build in my eyes as I reach for the lamp but come up short. Goddammit. I didn’t get close enough.
Hopelessness fills me.
God, why me? Why is this happening to me? What did I ever do to deserve a psycho ex?
I thought life was great now. The universe has never let me be happy for long, though.
He leans in close, pressing his body against mine. “You used to like it when I touched you, Esme, and you’ll learn to like it again. Otherwise there will be consequences.”
“Never. Get off of me!” I yell as loudly as I can.
Troy chuckles darkly. “You really think someone’s going to save you? News flash, bitch, there’s a party going on out there, and they can’t hear you. No one’s going to save you.”
A shadow looms behind Troy for a split second before Troy is forcefully removed from me. My legs give out as I fall to the floor, breathing hard. Leaning against the wall, I watch as Walker slams Troy into the floor, the floor shaking beneath us.
“You’re wrong, motherfucker. I will always save her,” Walker hisses.
For a moment, relief fills me.
I’m safe. He came. Walker knew something was wrong and came looking for me.
I see the look in his face. He is going to kill Troy. I can’t let him do that. I don’t want to lose him.
Ever since I met him, he’s been my savior. My protector, forever and always.
Now it’s my turn to save him.
When I saw the flash of her white hair going down the dark hall, unease rolled through me.
Somehow, I instinctively knew something was wrong. I tried to fight it, giving her time with one of my brothers, but my gut told me she was in trouble.
After a few minutes, I couldn’t take it anymore and went to search for her. The need to lay my eyes on her became too strong.
And I’m glad I did.
When I heard her yell out, I knew I was right. I knew she was in trouble. Then it was confirmed when I ripped this motherfucker off of her.
Straddling Troy, I begin to punch him in the face and head. Over and over and over again.
I only stop when a soft hand grabs onto my arm. Looking over, I watch as tears track down Esme’s cheeks.
“Stop, Walker, please.”
“But…”
“You can’t kill him.”
I shake my head.
Can’t kill him? The motherfucker had her pinned against the wall against her will. Of course I can fucking kill him.
“Please, if you kill him, you will go to jail. Don’t do that to me.”
“Pixie, men like him don’t stop unless you make them. Besides, you’ll have Levi and Hudson if I end up in prison. You can come visit and shit. You’ll be okay, just let me do this for you.”
Before I’m even finished speaking, she’s shaking her head. “No. I’m begging you not to. Please, Walker. Don’t make me live without you.”
My heart clenches at her words. I don’t want to live without her either.
I need help, though, convincing her this is the right call.
“Grab my phone out of my pocket and tell the guys to come here.”
Leaning forward, she grabs my phone from my back pocket. As she calls one of them, I look down at the passed-out man beneath me. All it would take is a couple more well-placed hits, and he would be gone. A ghost of her past who could never touch her again.
Before I can give in to temptation, my brothers come bursting into the room.
“What happened?” Levi demands.
“Are you okay?” Hudson asks at the same time, looking at Esme.
“I’m fine,” she lies.
“You’re not fine.” I look over at the guys. “I found this dickhead pinning her to the wall, ignoring her pleas to let her go.”
Anger crosses both of their faces. Then Hudson looks guilty.
“Levi, didn’t you come get her from me off the dance floor?”
He shakes his head. “I’ve been over at the dunk tank watching Ghost get dunked. Why did you think I came and got her?”
“He had on your mask.” Hudson looks down at the man.
I look down at him too. I growl when I see the cut on him. It’s not one of ours, but it looks damn close. I could see how someone could mistake it.
“I lost my mask, or so I thought. I bet this fucker stole it.” He growls down at the passed-out man.
He’s angry. Good.
Welcome to the fucking club. Glad I’m not the only one.
Levi looks over at Esme. “Did he touch you?”
She shakes her head. “Not like that.”
“It’s time to take out the trash,” Hudson says as he pops his knuckles.
“No, you guys can’t kill him!” Esme yells.
Levi walks over to her and kneels beside her. He places one hand on her face.
“Then what would you like us to do?” he asks softly.
I scoff. “You can’t be serious. You know what needs to happen, and I’m willing to pay the price.”
“I’m not,” she says hotly before looking back at Levi. “Let me call Troy’s dad.”
“Darlin’, you really think telling Daddy is going to solve anything?” Hudson asks, shaking his head.
“Yes, I know it will. I just need you guys to trust me. If you knew the kind of relationship they have, you would agree,” she says adamantly.
“Then call him,” Levi tells her, not looking away from her.
I look over at Hudson, and we both shake our heads.
Unbelievable.
“I just need his phone,” she says softly.
“Move, Walker,” Levi orders me.
“But…”
“He’s out cold. He isn’t going anywhere. It’s fine,” Levi tells me.
Huffing, I reluctantly get off the piece of shit.
Levi reaches into the front pocket of his jeans and pulls out a phone.
“If he won’t do anything, we will,” Levi tells her as he hands it over.
“This will work. Trust me,” she begs us.
I walk over to Levi as Esme talks on the phone quietly. Hudson joins us.
“This is bullshit,” I mutter.
“It is,” Levi admits.
I look over at him and see that he’s not saying everything he wants. “Spit it out.”
He runs his hand over his face, trying to cover his smile. “She doesn’t want any of us to go to jail.”
“So?”
He looks at me like I’m an idiot. “So that means she loves us. Right?”
I know she loves me. At least, she told me as much.
She knows I would willingly kill for her.
She’s still so certain I will end up in prison.
I think we could hide a body. Zade might not have had many good qualities, but he showed us how to hide my foster father’s body. Troy could disappear without a trace.
“She told me she loves me,” Hudson admits.
I go to admit that she said the same to me, but she walks over to us then.
“What did he say?” Hudson asks her when she hangs up.
“He will be here in twenty minutes. He asked us to wait before we do anything else.”
Troy groans on the floor.
“We’ll wait, but we’re going to tie him up,” Levi tells her.
The three of us work on tying him up while Esme makes herself comfortable, sitting on the edge of the bed. Twenty minutes later, a man in uniform comes into the room, Kit escorting him. The resemblance to his son is uncanny.
“Esme, what happened?” he asks gently.
Without hesitation, she tells him everything.
How he cheated on her and took their breakup hard.
How he showed up to her job and didn’t want to take no for an answer.
She even tells him things my brothers and I didn’t know.
Like the fact he was watching us pass out candy at the trunk or treat and how Streets convinced Stride to let him in. A problem we will have to solve.
By the time she’s done laying it all out, her tears have dried on her cheeks.
Troy’s father shakes his head as he looks at his son in disappointment.
“I’m sorry,” he says to her.
“It’s not your fault,” she tells him.
He shakes his head and looks at her again. “No, it is. Maybe if I had been a more present father, if I didn’t put as much pressure on him as I have, maybe things would have been different.”
“You aren’t responsible for his choices,” she tells him.
“He’s my son. When you’re a parent someday, God willing, you’ll understand,” he tells her.
Levi crosses his arms. “So what are you going to do about this? Because if he comes near my girl again…”
The threat hangs out there in the wind, and much to Troy’s father’s credit, he doesn’t balk.
“You already have me on your payroll, Levi. I know the score. I can assure you, Troy will never cause Esme trouble ever again. She will be well compensated for the inconvenience as well as a show of good faith.”
“I don’t need or want your money,” she tells him.
He shakes his head with a small smile. “You’ll take it. What you do with it is up to you.” He looks back at Levi. “If it’s all right with you, I’m going to take my son and leave now.”
“No. That’s not all this is,” I growl. “I want to know how you plan to ensure he won’t hurt her again, otherwise neither of you are walking out of this room.”
Levi shoots me a look that says “chill,” but I don’t. I won’t when it comes to her safety.
“There’s a place in Montana for troubled people. He will be under constant watch. I promise you that I will never let him escape from there. He has shown that he cannot be trusted. If he even tries, I’ll put him down myself.”
“Is that satisfactory?” Levi asks.
“I want cameras on him so I can watch him at any time.”
“Done,” the man agrees easily.
“Good. Get him out of my sight then,” I grumble.
“Let me help you,” Hudson says, stepping forward.
They quickly untie Troy and take him out. Esme gets off the bed and walks over to me, wrapping her arms around my waist.
“Thank you,” she says as she kisses my chest, right over my heart.
“For what?”
“For saving me.”
“Always, Pixie. Always.”
And I mean it. If that motherfucker ever shows his face again…