Chapter Seven #2
Before I went to find my woman, I sent off a text to Shield.
Look into the auctions for the women and girls. Think it’s going down now.
It only took him a moment to respond. On it.
Since Torch would be visiting with his daughter, I didn’t want to bring up the issue of Tony. Not with him. Not right now. Instead, I pulled up Venom’s number in my phone and hit the call button before I changed my mind. He answered almost immediately.
“Who the fuck is this?” he asked.
“Don’t you check your caller ID, old man? It’s Beast.”
Venom snorted. “Torch didn’t kill you?”
“No. He tried, but Lyssa stepped in. Which is part of why I’m calling.
I don’t want to take away from the time they have until Torch returns home.
But Tony has been too fucking quiet after the scene he made when Lyssa showed up that first day.
Something’s wrong. There’s no fucking way he just forgot about her, so what’s he doing? Or worse, planning?” I asked.
“I’ve been wondering about that. Wire detected some movement on that auction site for the women and girls, but then everything went dark, like they’d taken it down.”
“Which means they probably know someone is on to them, even if they don’t know who,” I said.
“That’s what I’m thinking. We’ve got nothing to go on right now, but if Tony hasn’t made his presence known there he could be anywhere, or just lying in wait.
He may be lurking in the shadows hoping you drop your guard.
With Lyssa, it’s not just business but personal.
She turned him down, repeatedly, which dented his fragile ego. ”
“That’s because he’s a punk-ass little boy who doesn’t know the first thing about being a man.”
“So true, brother,” Venom said. “Look, with Lyssa being your old lady, far as I’m concerned that makes you and your club family.
Same for the Devil’s Fury since Demon decided to take on my daughter, poor bastard.
That girl is more than just a handful. Be thankful you got Torch’s daughter.
She’s at least somewhat reasonable. Takes after her Momma. ”
“I don’t know. She was bold as brass the day she came here. Walked right up to me and kissed the hell out of me.” I smiled. “But she had my attention before that.”
“Don’t mention that to Torch if you like keeping your teeth,” Venom said.
“Last thing I want is to build tension between us. It’s why we’re having him and Casper over for lunch.
I figure Lyssa needs some time with them, and maybe they just need a chance to see I’m not going to hurt her.
But I wanted to handle the Tony situation first, or at least make sure someone was working on it. I have Shield digging around a bit.”
“I’ll get Wire to call him. I know he’s been in touch with all the hackers he knows, both club affiliated and not.
It’s not just our two clubs working on this.
Devil’s Boneyard, Hades Abyss, Devil’s Fury, and even the Savage Raptors and Broken Bastards are doing what they can.
” Venom sighed. “I hate this shit. People never learn. The world just gets darker and uglier every fucking day.”
“That’s the damn truth. Let me know if you hear anything on Tony?”
“You got it and give Lyssa a hug from us. She’s missed around here.
It was different when she was at college because all the kids knew she’d be back.
Now everyone knows she’s staying with you, and I think her younger siblings aren’t taking it too well.
Heard Portia already called and asked when she could come visit. ”
“I’m working on getting some things situated at the house. In the next few months, I should have a small studio off the back patio for when the adults come to visit and a bedroom downstairs for when the kids come to stay for a bit. Lyssa really wants Portia to come stay with us.”
“Listen, you want to win over Torch, just show him how much his daughter means to you. All he wants is for her to be happy and safe. You prove you can do both those things, and you’ll have his blessing,” Venom said.
“Working on it. Thanks, Venom. Not just for help with Tony, but for the advice.”
Venom chuckled. “I have a feeling you’ll need all the help you can get.”
The call disconnected and I gave Kye a quick call, wanting to touch base to check on the food and make sure my new in-laws would be coming over.
Although, since I wasn’t married to Lyssa, they weren’t technically in-laws in the strictest sense.
Shit. Did she want to get married? Was that part of why Torch seemed so pissed?
I’d heard he’d married his old lady. Maybe he expected me to do the same.
I followed the sound of her cursing and smiled when I saw her pawing through the fridge. “Keep shaking that ass and I’ll cancel lunch with your family.”
She gasped and whirled to face me. “Don’t sneak up on me!”
“I don’t know. If I get to see a view like that, I may have to do it more often.
And convince you to run around the house naked.
” I waggled my eyebrows at her, making her crack a smile and eventually laugh.
Good. She seemed far too tense, and I knew I didn’t have time to give her an orgasm to loosen her up before her family got here.
Hell, as rough as I felt, I wasn’t sure I was even up to the task right now.
“Stop being bad and help me! I can’t fit the beer in the fridge, but there’s nothing I can take out that we don’t need.”
I shook my head before going to her. I shifted her out of the way and looked into the fridge.
Since she’d moved in, I’d gone from cold leftovers, beer, and occasionally sweet tea, to finding fruit, juice, milk, and a host of other healthy things in there.
I wasn’t sure if they were just her preference, or if she was trying to make me live longer.
Either way, it had reduced the space for beer by quite a bit.
“Looks like I need to buy another fridge just for alcohol,” I said.
“And put it where?”
“Well, with that pretty SUV you have, I’d imagine I’ll need a rather large garage now.
It would be nice to have one for the bike anyway.
Might need a second vehicle too, once we start having kids.
No reason I can’t go ahead and plan for enough room to add an extra fridge and maybe one of those big chest freezers out there. ”
She leaned against me, wrapping her arms around my waist. “Only been here a week and look at you… already getting domesticated.”
I swatted her ass. “Watch it or I’ll show you just how un domesticated I am.”
“Promises, promises.” She giggled and pulled away when the doorbell chimed.
“Looks like you’ll have to hold that thought for later.
Much later. Once my dad and grandfather step inside this house, they won’t leave until it’s time to go to bed.
And despite their age, neither one heads to bed at nine o’clock. ”
“And just how do you know how late your dad stays up? Watching and waiting for a chance to sneak out?” I asked.
Her cheeks turned bright red. “No. More like the entire house and neighbors can hear him and my mom going at it. Definitely no issues with their sex life, and they’re noisy as hell. All. Damn. Night.”
I couldn’t contain my laughter, and I still hadn’t gotten control of myself by the time she let her family into the house. I wiped the tears from my eyes and went to greet them. One look at my face and Casper seemed highly amused.
“And what has you laughing like a hyena?” he asked.
“Trust me. You don’t want to know.” I shook my head. “Seriously. Leave this one alone.”
“Now you have to tell us,” Torch said.
“All right.” I glanced at Tink, who was frantically motioning for me to shut up.
“Lyssa here was just telling me that she knows her dad stays up late because she, and apparently all the houses nearby, can hear him and her mom going at it all night long. It was the look on her face when she said it that made me laugh.”
Torch ran a hand down his face, but not before I saw the smirk. “Well, it’s not like she thinks the stork dropped her off.”
“You know, just because I’m old enough to know about sex and babies, it doesn’t mean I want to hear my parents down the hall every night,” Lyssa said. “It’s traumatizing.”
Torch winked at her. “Just remember that when you start having kids. Better only plan on having one and then abstaining the rest of your life. Can’t have you traumatizing my grandkids.”
I narrowed my eyes at him, knowing he’d mentioned one grandkid, then no sex ever again on purpose. If he thought I was keeping my hands off Lyssa, he was going to be sorely disappointed. “We already decided we’re filling the house with kids. I’ll hire a therapist for them.”
Lyssa groaned and buried her face in her hands. “Why did I think it was a good idea to have them over? Now the three of you are going to team up on me.”
Casper patted her shoulder. “Better have girls or you’ll always be outnumbered.”
I smiled, thinking of a girl who looked just like her mother.
Yeah, I definitely wanted that. Until it was time for her to date.
Then I’d make sure I was armed to the teeth and whatever punk took her out knew the consequences of hurting her.
I wasn’t about to let some unworthy motherfucker hurt my baby.
Shit.
I glanced at Torch, suddenly understanding how he felt.
Looked like I had a long road to travel, but one day, he’d realize his daughter meant the world to me and I’d do anything for her. Even die to protect her.