Chapter 21 #2
“Fuck you. That’s my sister,” he bites back. “You fucking stalked my sister.”
“It isn’t your business,” Harry snaps at him. “This isn’t about you. I am a grown-ass woman, and I don’t need you protecting me.”
“Clearly you fucking do if he had to stay back and keep you from killing someone,” Mint claps back and I know this is about to go to complete shit.
“Frederick,” Hanger thunders.
Mint swings around. “No. No. You don’t get to be okay with him chasing after her. He fucking stalks women. He is psychotically obsessive. As my brother he is fine, but not as my sister’s boyfriend.”
Wow. I really didn’t think his words would hurt me, but they do and me being me, I of course have to throw gasoline on the fire… “I’m not her boyfriend.”
He swings back around just as Mouse steps close to our side and Jolt jumps in, “Alright, alright. Clearly?—”
“What the fuck do you mean? She turned you down?” His head shift so Harry. “He been harassing you?”
“I’m her husband,” my voice low, heavy.
I hear Jolt sigh.
Pushing Harry to the side, I catch Mint’s fist to my jaw. Shouts, cries, and arms start flying. Mint keeps swinging, but I start blocking them and shove him back.
“My fucking sister,” he roars as he lobs more fists at me. Pummeling at my arms as I keep blocking.
Mouse’s arms go around him in a bear hug, flattening his arms against his body. Jolt shouts, “Enough!”
I step back, pulling Harry back behind me, her face slack with shock.
Mint blusters with rage, screaming at Mouse to let him go.
Jolt steps directly in front of him and his words drop off.
Jolt looks around the room, getting me to do the same.
All I see is shock. We all knew he would be mad, but this…
this seems different. My eyes flick back over to Mint, his focus on Jolt.
“Brother, I don’t know what is happening here. This isn’t you. I get how you might be mad, but this is beyond reason. There is no fucking way you think those things about Carbon. Your brother. He walked hell with you.” Jolt rubs his hand up through his hair.
Meadow moves in next to Jolt, Wally at her back. Her soft quiet words hit my ears, and it all makes sense, “Carbon is not Asher.”
Mint’s body sags. Mouse relaxes his hold. “Baby?—”
“I need you to think this through. They are telling you they are married. If you don’t calm down, you will lose them. I don’t want to lose them. Please.” Her hand comes up, pressing to his chest. “He would never hurt Harry.”
“They don’t even like each other,” he protests.
“Or maybe they do.” Meadow’s hand slides up cupping at his neck. “Maybe they always have.”
His eyes flick up to mine. I nod. “I had feelings for her. I kept it to myself, pushed her away. I thought it would pass, but it only got stronger. I knew you wouldn’t be okay with it.
You put a moratorium on anyone from the club dating her.
I knew you were worried she would leave if someone hurt her.
I’m in love with Harry. She is everything to me. ”
Harry’s hand slips into mine. “The feeling is mutual. Always has been.”
Mint’s eyes flick to her. “He?—”
“I don’t care. I don’t care if he stalked someone before.
I don’t care about any of it. I care about how he makes me feel.
I care about the life he and I are building.
The ups, the downs—those are between me and Frankie.
But I would really like my brother to support us.
” Her hand squeezes on mine and mine squeezes back.
“You got married.”
“We did,” I confirm.
“I’ve been gone just over a week. How the fuck?—”
“Maybe it seems like it happened fast, but truthfully… Frankie and I have been doing this dance for two years. The only things that I have ever felt this sure about before were meeting Roxy and coming here to find Dad… and you. The two best decisions in my whole life felt exactly how it feels to choose Frankie.” Looking down at this woman, my wife, I know she is careening toward fully trusting all of this and fuck does that offer me relief.
I want that for her so bad. I want her to feel secure. Nothing would make me happier.
He swings toward Hanger. “You are okay with this?”
Hanger rubs his jaw staring at me. I think this is the first time he is really taking into account the full scale of my stalking.
I know he knew about the Brie thing—a thing that never amounted to anything and was never more than pining and knowing where she was…
a fair amount of the time. Harry is different.
Wrong? Eh, she doesn’t seem to think so.
I am going to go with it’s all good. It is working out for me and Harry.
Hanger’s eyes shift to Harry. “He stalk you?”
Harry shrugs.
“Baby girl, I am going to need some fucking words here,” Hanger grouches.
“A little,” her body steps closer to mine as she continues, “but he stopped and I made him start again because… well I like… I like our dynamic. What Frankie does works for me. I don’t think of it as stalking. It just… it works.”
Hanger nods slowly, eyes moving back up to me, he rolls his neck before turning back to Mint. “Yeah, I am good with this.”
Mint lets out a sharp unamused laugh, shakes his head, then stomps out of the family room.
Wally sighs heavily dragging my eyes to him as he shifts to look at me.
“I knew shit was coming with you two, but wow… you just… both damn feet. A little warning would have been nice, but just… just give him a moment.”
Meadow moves toward Harry, hugging her tight. “Don’t hate him. He just… he isn’t the best with things being outside his control.”
Harry eyes her as they step back. Meads smiles. “I am happy about this. He will get there.”
Wally ushers Meadow out and everyone stands there, taking a moment to pull their thoughts. Paige moves over, giving Harry a big hug. “Love you.”
“Love you too,” Harry tells her.
Hemmy dips his chin to me and leads Paige out. Slowly everyone filters out and it is just me standing with Harry. Her body twists to me, our eyes meet and she is chewing at her lip. “Sexy girl, talk to me.”
Her head shakes as her shoulders shrug. The combo telling me she is trying to talk herself out of digging into something. She gives herself a little eye roll and pops her lip from her teeth. “What made you move on from the last person you stalked?”
Not what I was expecting but totally figured we would get there at some point. “There was only ever one person that I was a bit stalkerish with. It was never like us.” I motion between us.
She nods. “Okay, I still need more.”
I nod. “It really just fizzled on its own—after my brothers intervened. They told me to knock it off and their being eyes on me had it shifting my behavior. As soon as I stopped checking her regularly, I realized I didn’t really care. It passed quickly.”
“And now?” she prods.
“Two years and people knowing, trying to stop… nothing has dampening this. I also know the difference between interest and love. There is a reason the last person still doesn’t know who I am. I never felt the need to get closer.” I shrug.
“Who is Asher?” she questions.
My brows flick up then settle back down as I realize no one has ever explained it to her. “How much do you know about what happened to Meadow?”
Her eyes widen. “Clearly not a lot.”
I nod slowly. “Asher dated her friend Jess. When Asher found out she was an escort on the side, he tried to get her to stop. She dumped him. He turned into a stalker, and the last night he showed up and beat Meadow, tied her up, and made her watch for hours as he raped, tortured, mutilated, and murdered her best friend.”
Her lips pop apart. “I didn’t realize…”
I brush my fingers along her jaw. “I would never?—”
“No doubt in my mind. You would never hurt me. Never. I know that. I promise. Ricky knows it too. He will come around.” Her eyes move over my jaw. “We should get you some ice.”
I shrug. “I’m good.”
“Take me home,” she whispers.