Chapter Sixteen
Krampus
It’s been two whole weeks since Mindy and I last saw each other. I still feel her kisses like they’re permanently stuck to my lips.
She doesn’t know it, but every day I’ve sat at her shop just watching over it, making sure that Moseley and his goons don’t make a move. Drac and Voorhees both think I’m crazy, but I don’t care. Fighting or not, I’m going to do whatever I can to make sure she stays safe.
“Thought I’d find you out here,” Voorhees says, sitting down on the bench beside me. “How long are you gonna watch her place?”
“As long as I have to.”
“Have you even gone home to shower?” His nose crinkles in disgust. “Are you sleeping at all?”
Shrugging, I lay my head back on the picnic table, resting my eyes. “In spurts. I go home while she’s working, get a little sleep in, then come right back here to watch over the building at night.”
He shakes his head. “Drac is starting to question your sanity. Me too, if I’m going to be honest.”
“Let me ask you this, Voor. If it were Poppy—”
“Don’t,” he warns.
But his warning falls on deaf ears. “If it were Poppy in trouble, would you just let it go?”
“Poppy is in trouble, Brother. But nobody knows where to find her. Word on the street is the Misfits have relocated to Fallon for the time being.”
“Fallon? Really?”
“Yup, and if I had to guess, Poppy is there with them.”
My hand moves absentmindedly through my hair. “That sucks, Voor.”
His vacant stare speaks volumes. It’s haunted him how Poppy’s turned out. The girl, once a star academic scholar in our school and on the fast track to Harvard, was now nothing more than a drug addict bound to a rival club.
“Do you think she’s even still alive?”
His head snaps my way with a glare so murderous I feel myself shrinking. “Don’t you dare say that! She’s alive. I can feel it right here.” He pounds on his chest, his eyes only softening for a second.
“Anyway, Drac wants you back at the clubhouse for a meeting.”
He follows my gaze, knowing they’ll have to pretty much pry my ass off this bench to get me to leave.
“It’s not a request, man. After the meeting, you can come back.”
None of them know. I haven’t told them about Moseley’s threat to Mindy, and I’m not sure why. Maybe because they’ll think I’m crazy for protecting a girl, I barely know and putting my life on the line.
“I can’t leave.”
“This little obsession you have with her isn’t healthy, Krampus.”
“It’s not an obsession. I have to stay.”
“Why?” he pokes, trying to get information out of me.
He ignores my glare and folds his arms across his chest. “Give me one good reason why you have to keep stalking this chick like this, and I’ll leave you alone.”
“Because she’s in danger, Voor!” my shout echoes across the street. “More danger than we thought.”
“In danger how?”
The puff of breath I exhale blows up my bangs, revealing just a portion of my scars. “She has a contract with Moseley she can’t get out of, not without my help.”
“What kind of contract?” he asks, his head slightly tilting.
“There was some kind of clause in her lease agreement with him that stated by signing the contract, she was handing her life over to him, making her his. He called it a marriage clause.”
“What the fuck?”
“That’s what I said.”
“You gotta tell Drac.” When I don’t immediately agree, he shakes me. “Snap out of it! You can’t protect her alone, Brother. If you’re going to keep her safe, you’re going to need the help of the entire club.”
“She doesn’t want my help, Voor. I offered it, and she turned it down.”
He notices my uncomfortable shift, and frowns. “Shit, you kissed her, didn’t you?”
I suck in another frustrated breath.
“Did she reject you?”
“Not exactly. Fuck, Voor, she’s the first woman that’s come into my life and actually admired my scars. Do you know what that does to a man?”
He leans back against the table, his elbows propping him up. “Fuck, so not only does she bake some killer sweets, but she’s also sweet on the inside too.”
“Not to mention the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. That red hair… God, it does shit to my loins that would make even your whorish ass blush.”
Voorhees chuckles. “Sounds like you may have met the one, man.”
“And that’s what fucking scares me, Voor. I’m already so attached to her, and she’s pushing me away. She doesn’t want to leave her bakery; she says it’s her dream. Now she won’t even talk to me because I tried to pull her away from that. She’s marked to be trafficked, and she doesn’t even care.”
“So, everything we heard that night was true? Moseley’s got plans to sell her?”
“Yup,” I grit out, popping the ‘p’ in frustration. “And there ain’t shit I can do about it. Not with her pushing me away.”
“It’s hard to pull someone away from their dreams, Brother. Take our fearless leader, for example. His dream was always to marry Amber, and even after five years of separation, you couldn’t change his mind about that.”
“He’s an exception.”
“True. But you can’t blame the girl for wanting to stick to something she’s put blood, sweat, and tears into. It’s not like she’s alone. Amber’s been there with her every day to help her run her business.”
“Which is another reason I’m here. Drac would kill me if something happened to his wife.”
“Tell you what. Come back with me to the club. Get yourself cleaned up, sit down for Church, then you can come back here and continue your stalking.”
“I don’t know, Voor. I’m afraid to leave her.”
He lays a friendly hand on my shoulder. “She’ll be fine. I promise. But it’s important for Drac to know what’s going on. The last thing we need is for him to get upset because you’re keeping shit from him.”
“I guess you’re right.”
“I’m always right, fucker.” His laugh is loud and carries. A few of Moseley’s men look our way, but they don’t advance. “It’s still daytime, brother. She’ll be fine for a couple of hours.”
Reluctantly, I tear my eyes away from her building and sigh. “Okay, but only because I’m in desperate need of a shower right now.”
He pounds on my back a few times, still laughing. “That’s the Christmas spirit, Krampy.”
“If there’s one thing I don’t have, it’s fucking Christmas spirit.”
“Well, Thanksgiving is next week. So maybe that will put you in the holiday mood. Word is, they want to do another Secret Santa this year.”
“Fuck, not again.”
“Yup, and this time, all bets are off.”
“Fuck my life. Last year someone gave me a pair of socks and a fruitcake.”
“Yeah, but that fruitcake was damn fucking good. And those socks were fuzzy. Everybody loves a good fuzzy sock.”
“They were pink and glittery.”
He winks at me. “Even better.”
“Can I just refuse to be a part of it?”
He shakes his head. “Hell no. You’re part of the club, aren’t you?”
“Yeah, of course.”
“Then you celebrate shit with the club. Leave that Grinchy, Scrooge shit at home.”
“Fuck. If I haven’t told you before, I’m going to say it again. I really fucking hate the holidays.”
Voorhees slaps on that famous charismatic smile, the same smile that can charm any lady to his bed.
“That’s why you have a best buddy that’s all about the holidays.
I’ll be your personal little Christmas elf sent down from the North Pole to bring you some much needed Christmas cheer. ” His grin widens.
“Well, there goes the holidays.”
He laughs. “Alright, enough stalking and sulking. Let’s get back to the club and see what the fuck Drac wants this time.”
But before we leave, I steal one last glance at Mindy’s shop, wishing I had enough courage to meander inside, grab her by the waist, and apologize to her in front of all her patrons until the woman gives in and forgives me.