Chapter Twenty-Eight
Calli
“What are you doing?”
I glare at Caleb. My phone is smashed on the floor. He is standing by the door. God knows what Garrett is thinking. I swipe it up off the ground and tap the screen, but nothing happens. He’s lucky it was only the phone that fell. He almost knocked me over when I opened the door and he barreled into me.
“Get out of my apartment,” I tell him. I am too angry to be scared.
Until he turns around. My mouth falls open. There is blood running down his chin and neck from a cut lip.
“Oh my God, what happened?”
“Lock the fucking door,” he yells, pushing me toward it.
I knock against the wall. One of my pictures falls and glass shatters. There is yelling from outside.
“Who is that, who is out there?” I panic. What the hell is going on?
Caleb grabs my arm and pulls me away from the door, half dragging me into the apartment. I fight him off, slapping at him.
“Let me go.”
He has a tight grip on the sleeve of my shirt and my push sends him sprawling. We stumble, but I right myself as he crashes onto the couch. My heart pounds as I step away from him. Someone has hit him, a few times if the way his mouth is swelling is anything to go by.
Garrett’s warning fills my head. He told me not to open the door. How did he know? There is more yelling from the hallway. My head is only turned for a few seconds, but it’s enough for Caleb to get his wits about him and jump up.
He grabs my arm and I scream, terror and adrenaline fill my body. My flight or fight reaction kicks in and I flail my arms as he tries to get hold of me again. The sound of the door slamming open and hitting the wall makes us both stop and turn.
A man I’ve never seen before barrels into the room. Wait, I have seen him before. It’s the man outside the apartment who Sin almost crashed into. Caleb lets out a shriek and grabs onto me from behind. He holds me in front of him, like some kind of human shield.
Absolute asshole. No matter how hard I struggle, his grip only tightens. When I look over at the other man, my body locks up. He has a knife.
“You can’t fucking run from me Dexter,” the man snarls. “If I have to go through her to get to you, do you think I won’t?”
“It wasn’t my fault!” Caleb yells. “I didn’t know they were following me when we met, I swear. I didn’t lead them to you.”
“The only way they could have found me was through you. You never should have fucking called me,” he yells. “You knew what you were supposed to do, and you couldn’t even get that right, you fucking prick.”
I stand between them not knowing which way to move. The man with the knife is blocking the exit, and the wall behind Caleb backs onto next doors apartment. The hall to the bedrooms and bathroom is behind the stranger.
I’m too scared to speak. The man with the knife is snarling, sweat pouring down his face. It looks like he is high on something.
Garrett didn’t trust Caleb. He told me to stay away from him. The way he glared at him every time he saw him. I thought it was some weird jealousy thing. Nothing they’re saying makes any sense, but it’s bad.
“I never spoke to anyone!” Caleb yells from behind me. “Oh God,” he starts rambling and begging behind me. Saying he never should have got involved, that it wasn’t worth the money.
“I have the whole MC up my ass, you little shit,” the other man snarls, spit flying from his mouth. “If I go down, you’re going down with me.”
“Please don’t. Take her, she’s with-”
“I’m gonna fucking kill you.” The man lunges before Caleb can say anything else about me.
Caleb shoves me toward him. I raise my arms to protect myself, ready to fight this fucker if I have to.
It’s like he doesn’t see me, he shoves me out of the way to get to Caleb. I spin around, my arms flying out to try to stop the fall. My back hits the wall, my head follows with a hard crack and I cry out in pain.
The two men collide, falling into my coffee table. It breaks beneath their combined weight. They’re both yelling as they struggle to get the upper hand.
I’m not getting in the middle of this. I turn to run. I need to get to a neighbor to call the police, if they haven’t already heard all the screaming and yelling.
My escape is thwarted when I run straight into a man’s chest. He smells like leather and pine. I open my mouth to scream until I look up and meet his gaze. My lips close as I recognize this man too. My eyes flick to the patch on his leather vest. President.
It’s the man from Blackhawk Ink. Phoenix’s brother.
He moves me behind him without a word and another two men come into my apartment. What the fuck is happening? A sharp pain shoots through my head and my knees start to buckle.
“This is Ghost’s woman,” the President says, holding me up. “Get her out of here.” Then he wades into the fray of the two men fighting on the broken pieces of my coffee table.
Ghost’s woman. What?
Someone grabs my arm and pulls me back. It’s another man in leather. There are now four men I don’t know in my home. These bikers should be the ones scaring me. But they aren’t. They’re here to help.
“Come on,” the man holding me says. When I struggle against him, the world spins a little. The pain in my head is almost blinding. “Fuck, it’s okay, yeah. We met, remember? Kind of,” the man holding me says.
More cursing and thumping comes from behind me. The two men are pulled away from each other. One of the bikers’ punches Caleb in the face. He drops like a sack of shit, out cold. Phoenix’s brother has the other man against the wall, the knife he was waving around is now in the biker’s hand and he presses it against his throat.
I let out another scream. The man beside me covers my mouth with his hand and tries to drag me away. I don’t care who any of these people are, I have got to get away from them.
Before I can struggle any further, the man is ripped away from me. I stumble and almost fall. Then more hands are grabbing at me. I bat out my arms to defend myself.
“Calli!”
My head snaps up. Garrett pulls me against him. I fall into his chest, and he wraps his arms around me. The familiar scent of him settles me in a way I never knew something so simple could.
Phoenix enters the room and looks around. “Holy shit,” he mutters.
I’m still confused about what is happening. The back of my head hurts, I raise my hand to touch it and wince, feeling wetness.
I’m only vaguely aware of Phoenix taking hold of me as Garrett moves into the room, roaring his anger. He shoves at the President, and the knife clatters because he isn’t expecting it. Then he takes his place and grabs the guy, punching him in the gut over and over.
I turn away, not wanting to watch.
Phoenix’s concerned face leans in close. He notices the blood on my hand. “Shit. Garrett,” he yells and wraps his arm around my shoulder, leading me away toward the bedrooms.
Next thing I know I’m being passed over again, and Garrett is back. My body wants to fight against all of them. The pulse of my heart is loud and too fast.
“Calli? Fuck,” Garrett checks the back of my head. “I’m gonna kill him.”
“No,” the commanding voice comes from behind us. Garrett keeps me shielded against his chest. As mad and scared as I am about this whole thing, having him here, protecting me helps.
“Take care of your woman, Ghost. We’ll handle this.”
He’s torn, I can feel it in the tenseness of his body. He wants to go with them. My body deflates, I try to shove away but his attention comes back to me. I don’t know what else is said or what looks pass between the men but Garrett stays. The rest of them leave. All except Phoenix who is standing beside us, glaring after all the men.
Garrett’s hands cup my face on either side, ducking his head to look at me. He curses under his breath at whatever he sees.
“You’re okay, Calli. I promise. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
“He broke into my apartment,” I whisper.
“I know,” he hugs me to him again. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here.”
Enough of this. “What’s going on, Garrett?” I push back, my hands pressed to his chest. My lip quivers and my nose burns, but I refuse to cry.
He stares into my eyes, seeing the emotion. His thumbs caress my cheeks. Despite this gentleness, he’s a part of what is happening here. I don’t want to admit that I appreciate his touch, welcome the security of his arms.
“I’m here,” he breathes.
Then he leans in and kisses my forehead, holding his lips there for a moment, his arms tightening.
My eyes squeeze shut as I take it. All I’ve wanted for the last few weeks is some sign that Garrett cares the way I do. The tenderness in that kiss almost breaks me.
Phoenix is watching us, his eyes full of concern, but the anger is coursing through him too.
The last few times I’ve met him, I haven’t been sure what to make of Phoenix. He’s never been rude and if we’re in a group together he interacts. There is something different in his expression now. An understanding.
His eyes flick from Garrett to me. A silent conversation is happening between them. And it’s about me. I’m starting to feel woozy.
“She hit her head,” Phoenix says.
“What?” Garrett snaps, he leans back and takes my chin, turning my head. “Fuck. Phoenix,” he says without taking his eyes off me. “Make sure they’re out of here. Tell Nero not to do anything.”
“He’s not gonna listen,” Phoenix replies.
“Tell him he owes me.”
Phoenix shakes his head. He gives me a look, his eyes are soft this time, and he nods at me then leaves, closing the front door behind him. Garrett leads me to the dining table and sits me down, facing away from the mess of my living room.
While I cling to the table, he moves behind me and inspects the back of my head, cursing some more.
“I’m going to get you cleaned up. Are you dizzy?”
I nod but that sends a wave of nausea through me. Garrett steadies me again and once he’s assured I’m okay, he grabs what he needs and comes back to take care of the cut, telling me it’s not bad just bleeding a bit.
That makes me feel sick, but I swallow it down and sit still as he finishes up. My mind is spinning, both from the pain and from what’s happening. So many questions. The adrenaline is wearing off and my body is crashing.
Phoenix comes back inside. Out of the corner of my eye I watch as he bends over and picks something up. Garrett glances at the sheet of paper as Phoenix sets it down on the table. If Phoenix is aware of what it is, he doesn’t let on. He goes to the kitchen to get me some water.
“Fuck,” Garrett shakes his head. He is even angrier now.
“It’s only a drawing,” I mumble, knowing it’s anything but.
“No, it’s not,” he says. “They gone?” he asks.
“Two have stayed back to fix things out there,” Phoenix replies.
I ignore their conversation, staring at my building design. The paper is torn, the roof separated from the rest of the building. Not all the way, enough that it’s ruined. Phoenix sets a glass of water down and steps away again.
My gaze remains fixed on the drawing. I’ve been doing a lot of soul searching over the last few days about that picture. About going home to finish the work I started.
Home .
That is a foreign concept to me now. I’ve only been here a few months, but Baltimore feels more like home than San Antonio had for a long time. And part of the reason is the man standing beside me, glaring at the torn paper like it’s personal to him.
His head hangs a moment, gathering what he wants to say.
“I owe you an explanation.”
“Damn right you do,” I say with as much energy as I can muster. “You knew something was going on with Caleb, didn’t you?”
So help me, if he clams up now, I can’t be around him. I can’t handle someone else with secrets. Especially the kind that can hurt me. Anymore than this already has. The longer we stare, the more I understand. I don’t know this man. I’ve been falling for him against my better judgment.
Garrett stands in front of me, the look of worry only makes me angrier. There is nowhere for me to go, my chair backs against the wall. He caresses my cheek, tilting my head up to look at him.
“It’s a long story,” he starts.
I stand, using the table as support. He doesn’t back off and now our bodies are pressed together. My treacherous brain goes to all the other times we’ve stood like this. This is different.
“It’s about Gwen.”
That gets my attention.
“I found out recently,” he sucks in a breath, his eyes closing a moment. “The club did…” he shakes his head again.
“What?” I can’t help it, my hand comes up to touch his face.
There is no escaping the fact Garrett struggles with this. Not just his sister. This. What’s happening between us. I shouldn’t have to work for a man’s attention. But this man… Watching his face contort, seeing his pain on display, makes some of my anger dissipate.
“Who is he?”
“The man with the knife… He killed Gwen.”
Forgetting everything but the pain in his eyes, I wrap my arms around his waist. Garrett pulls me close. If I can offer anything right now, I’ll try. It doesn’t change he’s lied about Caleb, and whatever else is going on. I’ll worry about that after.
My gaze lands on the drawing. I can’t help thinking how all this started. With me looking at drawings of his sister. We stay still until my senses take over and I remember what just happened.
“Has someone called the police?” I ask.
“No one will have called them.”
“Oh, right, the scary bikers.”
Before he can respond the door opens, making me jump. The younger of the bikers walks in. Phoenix pushes away from the wall where he is leaning to intercept him. The man stops, but it’s Garrett he’s focused on.
“Nero said stay here.”
“I have a right to see this through.”
“Prez’s orders, Ghost. He’s already gone.”
Why do they keep calling him Ghost?
“We’ll handle it.”
Garrett steps away, still shielding me from the biker. His sudden movement leaves me cold and I press a hand down on the table.
“G,” Phoenix speaks up. “I get it. I feel the same. It’s club business. Nero won’t let us near it.”
“He swore…” Garrett stops himself. Rage is radiating off him.
Nashville waits a few moments then, satisfied, he turns to Phoenix. “You hit me again, Nero won’t get in the way of me hitting back.”
“Fuck you,” Phoenix snarls at him. “Tell Nero I meant it. Stay the fuck away from the shop.”
Nashville gives him a cocky look but says nothing. He walks away leaving the three of us alone.
“Shit, G,” Phoenix motions to me.
The floor tilts. My head is even more woozy and metallic spots blink around my vision. Garrett moves fast and catches me.
Reality sets in at what I’ve become a part of.
Of who Garrett really is. And everything goes black.