Chapter 22
The past few months have been amazing. Our family is finally all on the same page. All of us being with Meadow has been wonderful, making her laugh and show her how much I love her every day has been a dream come true. The only pressing issue we have is the guy stalking Meadow. A protective detail goes everywhere with her now, even if she’s with one of us, but we can’t seem to catch the slippery fucker. When we were at the mall having the time of our lives, Aidan noticed someone watching her, and ever since, wherever she goes, we see glimpses of the same guy in the shadows.
Having some random person watching her every move doesn’t sit well with me. This is our woman they are watching. I don’t know who they think they are, but this stalker is fucking with the wrong woman. Meadow has three men who are willing to go to war for her, who are willing to lay their lives on the line for her.
Thinking about the stalker makes my blood boil as I sit behind my desk at work. I can’t concentrate on the screen in front of me. With a heavy sigh, I rub my hand over my face and decide to head to Meadow’s station. I just need to look at her and make sure she is here, then maybe I can get back to work.
I find Meadow sitting at her desk, her hair curly and cascading in waves down her shoulders. Her dress makes me weak in the knees, tight in all the right places but still very professional. Honestly, thinking about it now, no matter what she wears, Meadow can make my knees weak. She hasn’t noticed me staring at her yet and is unaware of her surroundings as she types away on her computer. Hiring her was the best decision Knox made. I love that she is here with us every day. Having her in the office has drastically changed the atmosphere. Before, it felt like a stuffy office, but with Meadow’s touch, I actually enjoy coming to work. She placed potted plants throughout the office, and bright pictures line the walls. She even painted the walls a different shade; I think she called it eucalyptus green, whatever that means, but hey, if she is happy with it then so am I.
Walking over to Meadow, I kiss her on her head. She looks up at me and smiles. “I had to see you, sorry for interrupting. I just wanted to say I love you, that’s all,” I tell her. She rolls her chair backward, so she can stand up. Wrapping her arms around my neck, she sighs. I love how well she fits in my arms. She leans up and kisses me, a quick peck but enough to satisfy the demon lurking inside me. I hold her for a little bit longer, needing to feel that physical connection with Meadow. I huff and release her, knowing we need to go back to work. I can’t hold her all day, even though I do wish that was my full-time job.
Each day passes at a quick pace, one blending into another. We deal with shipments of weapons and drugs as we continue to expand our territory. We need more product than ever before, and with our new allegiance with the Irish, our gun trade has been off the charts. The Russians still provide us with coke and their new drug. Grisha is wary of our deal with the Irish, which has caused some tension. Knox has been planning the wedding, even though he isn’t going to go through with marrying that evil woman, and we are still working on how to remove Michael from the picture.
“We need someone outside the four of us to actually kill him, Knox” I argue. Sitting around the table is our little crew, including Jace, Hunter, and Declan. Discussing how to murder someone is harder than I thought. I have always just killed them. I’ve never had to organize it. Michael has become more of a headache than we thought. He always has a bodyguard by his side, and the man is so paranoid that he doesn’t have a set routine. He never takes the same route twice. Our only advantage right now is that Michael is a cocky piece of shit who thinks no one can touch him. Little does he know that his demise will come from those he trusts the most.
“I want to be the one to kill him. He has put us all through so much; I want to feel his blood on my hands. I need this,” Knox says.
“I understand that, but logically speaking, if we have someone else kill him then there will be less heat on us. I know he has some loyal members, most of them follow you now, but those who still worship at his feet may cause a problem,” I reply.
He nods his head in acknowledgment, but when Knox sets his mind on something, he is known to go through with it. There is nothing that could change his mind. Stubborn bastard. I completely understand his reason for wanting to be the one to spill his father’s blood. Michael has abused him for so long. Still does unfortunately, but I think we need to play it smart. Aidan hasn’t said much, just assesses everything and thinks it over before responding, like he always does. Jace takes Knox’s side on wanting to spill blood, but that scary fucker loves bloodshed, so no surprises there. I don’t even want to think about what he does when he isn’t doing Wolverine business. Hunter is on my side, thinking about the aftermath, and Declan has stayed pretty quiet. Meadow, ever the peacekeeper, doesn’t say anything. She is okay with whatever we decide.
We go back and forth for an hour, trying to figure out what is best. Knox agrees with allowing one of our allies to kidnap Michael, then Knox can be the one to take his life. I think this is a rational decision. Once that is decided, we move to discuss Meadow’s stalker. The asshole has increased his efforts, and every time we get close to catching him, he disappears. We can never get a camera on him. Every time we do catch a glimpse it is from an angle, and we can’t ever get a photo of his face. The guy is seriously pissing me off. He just watches her from a distance, at least, he used to, until last night. There was a note taped to our front door this morning.
I have never felt more rage in my life than when I saw that note. I immediately yelled for Knox and Aidan, both of whom came rushing down the stairs in their underwear. I hand them the note with shaky hands. I can feel the adrenaline rushing through me, my heart beating fast, ready to tear this person limb to limb. They threatened our fucking woman. Knox and Aidan both look ready to tear the world upside down to find this piece of shit and murder him. I texted Jace and Declan to come over, and that there was an emergency, and they rushed over as fast as they could. I remember waking Meadow up, needing to discuss this morning’s events. Now we are sitting at a table, trying to come up with a way to lure the stalker out of the shadows, so we can catch him and torture him for thinking that Meadow is his.
“I want to know what they mean by ‘her days are numbered’, like her life or just life with us?” Aidan says.
“Does it really matter? The fact is, they came to our house, they threatened Meadow,” I spit out. I don’t mean to come across as an asshole, but they fucking threatened my whole world. I would be nothing without her. I know the guys don’t think I pay attention and that I just goof off, but I know more than they think. I am strong, and I will do whatever it takes to make sure Meadow is safe. Jace makes a comment about using her as bait to catch the guy, and all three of us immediately object, but Meadow agrees with him. I can feel my face becoming red from anger. I shout, “Are you fucking kidding me? You will not be bait for this slimy fucker! We can find another way. You are not putting your life on the line for this.”
“Oh, so you’re the only one who can put himself in danger, is that it? You don’t think I can handle myself? Do tell me, Phoenix.” Meadow crosses her arms and glares at me.
She can be fucking pissed at me all she wants, but I am not having it. She is not going to willingly put her life in danger. I fucking refuse to allow it. I may not be dominant like Knox, but I will use Aidan’s ropes and chains and tie her to my fucking bed if I have to. “You are more than capable, but I don’t give a fuck. You will not be doing it. I will tie your ass to my bed. Fucking try me.” The little glare she gives me is cute, but too bad. Knox agrees with me that we should not allow her to do this. Jace is trying to act as the voice of reason, but we keep shutting him down.
“Find another plan, our girl isn’t a piece of meat for this guy. We aren’t dangling her like a fucking treat for him to take,” I growl out. I stand up, pacing the floor, trying to calm down. Meadow must see how much this situation is bothering me because she comes over and wraps me in a tight hug. I tightly hold her back, almost painfully so, but I can’t help it. I need her to feel how much she means to me. How much it is killing me that her life is threatened. She kisses my chest. Sighing, I head to the chair and take a seat, dragging her onto my lap. I nuzzle my nose in her hair and smell the fruity shampoo she is trying out. This woman always smells amazing; sometimes she has a floral scent, but I like when she smells fruity. Taking one more sniff, I think the scent is mango, but it’s hard to tell. Groaning, I wrap my hands around her thighs. How can this woman turn me on even with everything else happening right now? My anger slowly subsides to lust as I continue inhaling her scent. I know she can feel my cock right now because she shifts in my lap, adjusting to make it clear she is getting turned on too.
Knox sees where my hands are, and his nostrils flare. Trying to keep us on track, he goes on about ways to take care of our stalker problem, but we are just going in circles at this point. Meadow huffs in frustration, and I’m not sure if it’s sexual or actual, but I laugh anyways, earning an elbow to my stomach that makes me hiss out in pain. Her fucking elbows are bony as shit. Lord this woman is feisty.
“Just use me as bait. I trust you guys to be there for me. I know you won’t let him or her actually touch me,” Meadow says in anger.
I know we won’t let him touch her, but she shouldn’t be in danger in the first place. Knox’s phone rings while we’re discussing all of this, and his face sours when he looks at the name. Answering on speaker phone, he holds his hands up to silence us.
“Knox here.”
“That is not the way you answer your phone, son. I fucking raised you better than that,” Michael spits out.
“I don’t give a fuck how you raised me. I am done listening to your bullshit. I told you I was seeing someone, yet you still insist I marry that bitch. So tell me, Michael, what the fuck are you calling for? I have things to do today that don’t include you,” Knox replies.
“Watch yourself, Knox. I am calling because the date of the wedding got moved up to this weekend. I called to tell you that you will be at the altar in less than a week, so get your priorities straight. I will see you then.” Michael hangs up before Knox can reply. What. The. Fuck? Michael is such a fucking dick. And with that call, everything we had been planning just went out the fucking window. On top of Meadow’s stalker, we now have to worry about this shit. Fuck my life.
Life just got way more complicated. We get back into the discussion of Meadow’s stalker. We can worry about Michael later. We’ll just have to move up the timeline on that. The Ravens are going to help us out; they are loyal to Knox and are willing to kidnap Michael when the timing is right. Meadow eventually convinces us to use her as bait to catch the guy, and we reluctantly agree because none of us can come up with anything better. I hate the idea of putting her in danger, and my skin prickles at the thought, but there isn’t anything I can do about it.
During the week, we plan the wedding and talk to the leader of the Ravens to confirm the details of Michael’s untimely kidnapping. Jace and Declan have been stuck on Meadow duty until the stalker is caught. He hasn’t been seen since he left the note, though, making me suspicious of everything. I also don’t like the coincidence that Michael called, the same day that the note was left on the door. I hate feeling like he may be part of our stalker problem since it started only after he found out Meadow and Knox were together.
Thursday night, Meadow tells us she is going to hang out with Skylar. She said she is going to have the boys with her, so we allow her to go but ask her to wear her tracking bracelet just to keep our peace of mind. Meadow agrees and makes sure to wear it. She texts Jace about the plans in our group chat, so we can know everything. That way no one is kept in the dark, including Meadow.
Meadow
Hey Jace, hanging with Sky tonight. Can you come pick me up?
Jace
Yes, be there soon.
Jace
Where are we headed, so I know whether or not to getmore people?
Meadow
Just the movies and dinner.Promise it’s an action one, so you won’t be bored.
Jace
Thank fuck. The food better be good.
Shaking my head as I read my messages, I feel a little better, knowing Jace is taking his job seriously. Meadow is the most important person to me, and when we take over, she is going to be his queen and will rule them. He better protect her with his life.
Meadow left for movies and dinner an hour ago, while Knox, Aidan, and I went over the kidnapping one more time. Knox is supposed to be meeting Michael for his tux fitting tomorrow, and that’s when everything is supposed to take place. They are going to take Michael after the fitting is over, right off the street. He shouldn’t have that much security, so it should be an easy grab and go. I keep checking Meadow’s tracker just to keep myself calm. Our plan is to leave her by herself for a few days where we can then catch the stalker, but I have an uneasy feeling about tonight.
Me
Hey, checking in.
Meadow
All good here, having dinner.
Meadow’s short message bothers me. She was too formal, not herself. I call Meadow, but the call rings and rings until it goes to her voicemail. I don’t leave one and hang up. “Guys, Meadow isn’t answering her phone,” I say to them, explaining the situation. Both their faces become pale, and they each try her number with no luck. I then call Jace, he answers, but all I can hear are bullets flying and someone screaming in the background. Turning it on speaker, so the guys can listen too, we hear Jace say something, but it’s too muffled to make out with all the noise on his end. Finally, we can hear him breathing, and one thing that makes my heart drop. “They’ve taken her, killed our men. I’m shot, send help.”