Chapter 8 Margot
MARGOT
Bear drifted off quick. And hard. His snores filled the room and it sounded like the man was sawing logs right in my damn ear. I mean, the fucking man could have pulled the curtains up his nose from the other side of the damn house.
“Guess some things don’t change at all,” I murmured.
I heard people passing by the room. Sticking their heads in to witness the sleeping brute.
A leaner man with dark, shaggy hair came in and made a joke about his snoring.
Then, a beautiful, dark-skinned woman came by and shoved a box into his hands.
The man rolled his eyes, but followed the woman out.
And pretty soon, Piper came around the corner.
“Hey, we’re all heading out to help Cage and Sutton move into their new place,” she said.
I nodded. “I’ll be here.”
“If you want or need anything, kitchen’s stocked. You’ve got my cell if something happens to him. But once we get them settled into their place, I don’t think anyone’s coming back until the morning.”
“That’s fine. I’ll make sure doors and windows are locked.”
“I’ll give you a call once we’re done moving stuff, if you want me to,” she said.
I nodded. “I’ll be on the lookout.”
“Thank you so much for your help. Really.”
I waved my hand in the air. “Not a problem. Now, get out of here and help them get moved, or whatever it is that’s going on.”
“Oh, and don’t let this bother you or anything, but if you need it, there’s-a-gun-under-the-bed-bye!”
My jaw dropped open as she disappeared, and I got out of the chair.
I dropped to my hands and knees, peeking under the bed that creaked with Bear’s weight.
And sure enough, I saw a shotgun with a metal case underneath the bed.
I reached for the metal case and opened it up.
Dozens of shotgun shells glistened back at me.
I closed the case quickly and shoved it back under the bed, my eyes darting around the walls of the room.
“What the hell have I just agreed to?” I said breathlessly.
I scrambled off my floor and got back into the chair.
But I suddenly couldn't get comfortable. Between the memories that bombarded my mind and this sudden need for a gun, I felt more uncomfortable than I had my freshman year of college. I got up and paced the room. I took Bear’s vitals four times within the hour, just for something to do.
And every time I touched him, electricity shot up my arm.
“You can’t do this. Bad idea,” I murmured.
I needed to leave. I needed to call Piper back and tell her I couldn't do this. I needed to get the hell out of dodge before my old feelings came rushing back. Because that dam of emotion was slowly cracking open. The flood was waiting to swallow me whole. And I wasn’t ready for it.
Especially not with Bear.
But I wanted to be around him. I wanted to touch him. I wanted to look after him and gaze into his sleeping face. I knew if I had Piper take over, I’d lie in my bed all night wondering how Bear was. Wondering if he was okay. Bugging Piper with phone calls to get hourly updates on his condition.
I stood in the corner, chewing on the cap of a pen I found in my coat pocket as I sighed.
I wondered how the hell Bear got himself into this situation.
How a young, reckless high school boy ended up running with a crew like this.
Wielding guns for money and probably killing people in the process.
I wondered what it meant for us now that we both knew we lived in the same city.
Back where it all started, which I never thought would have happened.
It wasn’t as if I could just ignore that he was here now.
Just like I knew he wouldn't ignore the fact that I was here, too.
Bear’s snoring continued as I pushed myself off the wall.
I walked over to his side, taking his vitals one last time.
I picked up his wrist and shivered. I placed my fingertips along the side of his neck and sighed.
Even touching him felt different. Yet, somehow still the same.
Somehow still as magnetic as it had been when we were eighteen and stupid.
“Good. Good, strong pulse,” I whispered.
I placed his wrist down and yearned to feel his skin against my lips again.
As much as I tried to fight it, my mouth gravitated to his forehead.
I kissed him gently, moaning softly at his warmth.
At the strength underneath his brow as he continued to pull the heavens closer with his snoring.
I let the kiss linger. I drew in every ounce of his heat, committing it to memory.
I kissed his forehead before pressing my nose into his hair, drawing in his comforting scent.
That hadn’t changed, either. And it made me smile.
“Get some rest,” I whispered.
Then, I forced myself to walk out of the room.
I came around the corner and yelped when I saw two shadows standing in the kitchen. My mind raced before it landed on the fact that I needed to go get that damn shotgun. But just as I turned around to high-tail it back into the room, Piper snickered.
“Just us,” she said.
“And me,” a foreign voice said.
Piper turned on the stovetop light, and I saw her smoothing something around in a pot. I looked over toward the dark-skinned, dark-haired beauty. The one who had thrust the box into that lean man’s arms. I furrowed my brow as I stood there, my eyes darting back and forth between the two of them.
“Sorry. I’m being rude. Hi, I’m Sutton. You must be Margot, the one Bear’s been yelling about,” she said.
She stepped forward and held out her hand for me to shake.
“Nice to meet you,” I said.
I shook her hand softly before Piper picked up the pot and turned away from the stove.
“Fancy some old-fashioned hot chocolate?” she asked.
“I thought you guys were helping someone move into… somewhere?” I asked.
Sutton giggled. “Yep. Me and my boyfriend, Cage. We didn’t even have enough boxes of things to take over to the new apartment, though. So, Piper and I were instructed to come back here until Rock and my guy come to get us.”
“Uh huh,” I said.
“You haven't answered my question,” Piper said.
I cleared my throat. “Sure. Yeah. Hot chocolate sounds nice.”
“Especially with how Piper fixes it,” Sutton said, smiling.
I sat down at the kitchen table while Piper fixed us each a homemade hot chocolate.
Complete with marshmallows on top. At any other moment, I would’ve deemed it too hot to have a beverage like this.
But I was aware of Dr. Jackon’s infamous hot chocolates.
She made hers with a coffee and milk base.
Caffeinated chocolate, was what she called it.
I hadn’t had a chance to taste it yet, and my energy level was itching for a boost.
“Here you go,” Piper said.
“Oh, the colored marshmallows. They’re the best,” Sutton said.
All three of us took long pulls, grimacing at the heat before we set our mugs down.
“Oh, yeah. Best one I’ve made yet,” Piper said.
“So. Good,” Sutton said.
I took another sip instead of wasting my energy on words, and it was the only compliment Piper needed.
“Perfect,” she said, giggling.
“Okay, can I ask you guys something?” I asked.
“Sure. What's up?” Sutton asked.
I sighed. “How the hell did you come to stay with men that live lives… like this one?”
Sutton snickered. “I didn’t really have a choice.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
She shrugged. “I was attracted to Cage from the beginning. He was hot as hell and forbidden as fuck. I wanted a slice of him, and I was willing to do anything to get it. I chased him around and he chased me back. Until finally, the two of us found ourselves exchanging hearts. After that, I was toast. Didn’t matter what he’d do with his life. I knew I’d always love him.”
“He was forbidden?” I asked.
Piper and Sutton looked at one another before Piper shrugged.
“Your story,” she said.
“What is?” I asked.
Sutton sighed. “The short of it? I’m the reason the mafia came into the crew’s life in the first place. They’ve taken us in like family—”
“—mostly because they are family,” Piper butted in.
“Yes, well Cage is. Cage is Diesel’s half-brother,” Sutton said.
“Wow. That’s—”
“A shocker, yes,” Sutton said. “But this is our family now. Cage and I only have one another, and this crew. We’ve lost everyone else.”
“Supposedly, at least,” Piper murmured.
I shook off what that was supposed to mean for now and turned my attention to my attending doctor at work.
“What about you?” I asked.
She paused. “What about me?”
“How did you come to stay with a man who runs a life like this?” I asked.
“You mean, other than falling in love and getting pregnant?” she asked.
“I mean, yeah.”
Sutton giggled as a big, proud smile crossed Piper’s face.
“I trust Rock with my life. From the summer I met him and we were nothing but a fling, until the time we ran into one another by happenstance and he needed my help. He’s my family, through and through.
I mean, I already told you this. Kind of.
I met Rock when I lost my father. The only shred of family I had left.
And after I ran and did my whole doctor thing, I came back and there he was.
Still waiting. Still wanting. Just like I was, though I didn’t want to admit it,” she said.
“He waited for you?” she asked.
“Mmm, more like we never really got over one another.”
“And they really have cleaned up their act,” Sutton said.
“Yes. That, too,” Piper said.
“Though, I still feel really bad that the club has to deal with all of this,” Sutton murmured.
“Hey, what did I tell you about that nonsense?” Piper asked.
“Why do you feel you’re the reason the mafia is doing… all this?” I asked.
The room fell silent as Sutton gathered her thoughts.
“This all started when Lars Norden slaughtered Cage’s old crew. The Night Outlaws,” Sutton said.
“Holy shit,” I said breathlessly.
“His father was the president of that crew. The one who started it. They got into some illegal gambling rings and games Lars was throwing, and he didn’t like the way this crew won his money and not funnel it back into his own casinos.
So, one night, he eliminated them. Except for Cage, who held his father while he died. ”
“I’m… holy shit, I’m so fucking sorry,” I said.
“His father told him to come find Diesel. Here, in Redding. That they were brothers, and he’d need family. So, we came. We found the Dead Souls here, just like Patch—Cage’s father—said so. But Lars followed us here. And I knew he would have. I should’ve known better. Been smarter than that.”
“Why?” I asked.
Sutton sighed. “Because I’m Lars’ daughter.”
My jaw dropped open and the hot chocolate was forgotten about.
“Seriously?” I whispered.
She nodded. “Mhm. And even though we thought Cage killed my father after my father took me to kill—”
“Wait, wait, wait, wait. Your father took you to kill you. You. His own daughter.”
“My father isn’t a nice man. He’s not a kind or forgiving man. He’s accepting until you cross him. And when I made my choice to flee with Cage, I chose a side. The side he was trying to eliminate,” she said.
“That’s… beyond fucked up,” I said.
“This crew came after me. Cage came after me. All these men came after me to save me. And yes, they killed. Yes, blood was spilled. But they did it to save me. And I’ll always be grateful.”
“Saving one life doesn’t mean killing several,” I said.
“Spoken like a true doctor,” Piper said.
“At any rate, we thought Cage killed my father after all that. But, now we’ve got evidence that might have not happened. And that evidence is lying in that bedroom, drugged beyond all belief right now,” Sutton said.
“So, you’re telling me that the man who wanted to kill you, who’s your father, who killed your boyfriend’s crew you sided with, survived being shot and killed in some shootout to save your life,” I said.
Sutton nodded. “More or less.”
I took multiple pulls from my hot chocolate, ignoring the painful burn as it slid down my throat.
“They’re protecting me and Cage from this insanity, and they’re going after this mafia without batting an eye.
They knew they can’t go to the police because no one will believe us, given their history and prejudice, so we’re taking care of it on our own.
But that’s because they take care of their own anyway.
If you’re family, these men would do anything for you.
Including slaughtering dozens just to save you,” Sutton said.
And when she put it that way, it didn’t sound so bad after all.
If someone could stomach the numerous lives lost in the process.