Vanessa
Chapter seventeen
It’s been an emotional-as-hell day between going to New York and being devastated that my mom and sister still aren’t home, then getting back to Shine and finding Russ’s little message. The man is completely unhinged at this point. But he knows less about the club than he thought he did.
Sure, he knows the direct brothers, but never once has he mentioned a man named Liam Ashcroft.
He thought he could take out the club from the inside by using me, but he has no idea the brother of one of the club members is some sort of superspy.
He runs a black-ops organization separate from any criminal entity Russ and Sokolov have dealt with.
Liam has spent years remaining invisible and cleans up any traces of his handiwork when he’s finished. At least according to Jude, who said his brother would be here in the morning to help us figure out a plan of action.
The man sounds like some sort of criminal mastermind in his own right.
I’ve certainly never heard of him, but Jude says that’s how it works.
He only takes jobs from people who are referred to him by other people who know him.
They never reach out to him directly. And when the job is finished, anyone whom he’s helped is under strict orders that if they even breathe his name, they’ll become his next target.
Sounds like the exact kind of person we need on our side.
All organizations seem to work in similar fashions, but Liam is apparently the one who slips through the cracks and uses the shadowy corners of the underworld to hide who he is and what he does.
I don’t even think Jude is completely aware of what all that entails, which is probably for the best.
“So Liam will be here in the morning?” I ask Braxton as I crawl into bed next to him.
“Yeah. Ozzy talked to him, and he has a few ideas on how to keep an eye on you without tipping off Russ or Sokolov.”
“And he has experience in things like this? In getting people out alive with all their limbs intact and all that?”
“Liam is a goddamned miracle worker, according to him. If he says he can help us figure this shit out and keep everyone safe, I mostly believe him.”
Braxton turns the bedside lamp off and rolls toward me. My head is on the pillow, and Braxton wraps his arm around me, pulling me closer to him.
“Mostly?” I whisper in the dark room.
“I don’t think his missions always go according to plan, but I’ve never heard of him failing. He has a good group of guys who work with him.”
“Not going according to plan, I can handle. Failure I can’t.”
Braxton kisses the top of my head. “You won’t have to, sweetheart. We’re all going to make sure of that.”
“I’m sorry you have to go on lockdown because of me,” I say, and Braxton immediately shakes his head.
“You have nothing to apologize for. This isn’t your fault. Your stepbrother put you in this situation, and this shit with the Russians was going to come to a head sooner or later. As soon as Russ contacts you, we’re one step closer to having this finished and starting a life together.”
“You mean us?”
“Obviously. You didn’t think I was going to let you get away from me now?”
“We’ve never talked about an after for us,” I say quietly.
“Well, when you were talking about the house and the life you wanted for your family here, I was imagining what our life was going to look like. We’ll get a house on the same street as your mom and sister, or at least close.
I’ll have to have a garage so I can work on bikes, maybe even take some projects home like Barrett does so he can be close to Camryn and Syd. ”
“What will I do?” I ask.
I’ve thought of what it would be like away from New York and away from Russ. I was planning on it, even. But those daydreams never included Braxton. I was too scared to even hope for that.
“You can do whatever you want, wherever you want,” he says with a shrug, as though it’s as simple as he’s making it sound. “If you want to go back to school, dance, bartend, fucking stay home and eat fucking cookies all day, I don’t give a shit. As long as I get to be next to you while you do it.”
“Wow, I never…I’ve never had a choice.”
“I’ll never tell you what to do, Vanessa.
Your life is yours, and you dictate your future.
I just hope I get to be the lucky son of a bitch you share it with.
” Braxton leans forward and gives me a sweet kiss on the mouth, then tucks my head under his chin.
“Let’s get some sleep, sweetheart. Tomorrow is going to be a lot with everyone here and Liam coming into town. ”
I fall asleep to the rhythm of Braxton’s heart and know there’s no future that I can imagine that wouldn’t include the man who’s broken through my walls and made me believe in that little bit of happily ever after.
It’s early, but Syd and Colby are already up and at ’em. Which means so are Camryn and Mazie. I say my good mornings, having met the kids the previous day, and walk behind the bar to the industrial coffee machine to pour myself a nice big cup.
“How did you sleep?” Camryn asks.
I tilt my head back and forth. “Not great. I haven’t had a good night’s sleep since”—I look at the kids—“everything happened,” I finish, not wanting to say too much.
I’m not sure what Syd knows about the situation we’re in since she’s a little older, but to Colby, getting to stay at the clubhouse is like a sleepaway camp where all his favorite people are.
Maizie gives me a sad but kind smile. “You’ll get a good night’s sleep in no time.”
I return the smile and take a sip of coffee. “Are we the only ones up?”
“No. Ozzy and Freya are in his office already working, and Wyatt and Barrett are in the kitchen cooking for everyone.”
Wyatt walks out with a tray of bacon in one hand and a platter of waffles in the other. “Soups on.”
“That’s not soup, Daddy,” Colby says.
“How about if I put it all in a blender with lots of syrup and give it to you in a bowl?”
“Eww,” Colby replies, scrunching his nose and letting out an adorable little giggle.
His cute face makes me think of Noel and the silly things I would tease her with when she was little, like Colby. I close my eyes and take a deep breath. I’m not going to cry; I’m not going to cry.
It takes about five minutes before the rest of the brothers and their old ladies emerge from their rooms. Braxton is the last to walk into the main room, and his eyes instantly zero in on me, still standing behind the bar, drinking my coffee and chatting with Maizie and Camryn.
He walks up to me and plants a kiss on my lips. “You should have woken me, sweetheart.”
“Just because I can’t sleep doesn’t mean you should suffer, too.”
He brushes his finger under my chin and tilts my face toward his. “Actually, that’s exactly what it means.”
I get another kiss before he pours himself some coffee and leans against the back bar next to me.
Suddenly, we hear what sounds like a helicopter hovering over the clubhouse.
Braxton slams his cup down and runs to the front window, opening the blinds to look outside.
In fact, everyone in the room looks ready to pull a weapon.
Wyatt picks up Colby, and Barrett has Syd out of her chair before Braxton turns around and looks at Jude, who is leaning back in his chair with a sour look on his face.
“My damn brother just has to make an entrance,” he says and sips his coffee.
Instantly, Wyatt starts tickling Colby as if that’s why he picked him up in the first place, and Barrett kisses his daughter on the top of her head.
“Fucking Liam,” Ozzy says, storming out of his office with Freya right behind him.
“Jesus, Jude, I’d like to see my man at the end of the aisle before I have to bury him because your brother gave him a fucking heart attack,” Freya says.
“I don’t take responsibility for him, Freya,” Jude replies, holding up both hands in surrender. “The twat has been a fucking show-off since we were kids.”
The front door of the clubhouse opens, and in walks a man in a suit who resembles Jude.
Four others follow behind him. One is carrying a computer case, so I assume this is the Sawyer that Fallon was complaining about.
The other three are tall as hell, and quite frankly, look like they would fit right in with the MC rather than working for some supersecret security agency, but what do I know?
Half the assholes in New York look like they belong in a pew on Sunday mornings with their wives but try to snort blow off a stripper’s ass on Saturday nights.
“Really, Liam? A fucking helicopter in the middle of my parking lot?” Ozzy gripes as Freya comes to stand next to him, and he slides an arm around her waist. “You’re lucky we didn’t shoot the fucking thing out of the sky.”
“Ah, Ozzy, wonderful to see you as always. And just so you know, I had that specially made. Bulletproof through and through. Thought it might come in handy after talking with my brother about the situation you have here. Including the other toys I brought.” Liam walks up to Freya and grabs her hand, kissing the top of it.
“All hail the queen. You look ravishing as always.”
Ozzy looks like he’s about to beat the shit out of the charismatic Englishman before Liam turns and sees his brother.
“Where’s your better half?” Liam asks.
“Right here,” Lucy says, coming out of the kitchen with a cinnamon roll in her hand, followed by her sister. “Nice entrance. Maybe after the baby’s born you can teach me how to fly that thing.”
“Anything for you, darling,” he says, walking up to her and kissing both her cheeks. He turns to Cece. “Little Bit.” He wraps Cece in a tight hug. “You look happier and happier every time I see you. Have you given any thought to coming to work for me?”
“She has, and she isn’t,” Cash says, walking up behind his woman.