63. Losing My Mind
Losing My Mind
Fly
Letting go of Sheri last night was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. There’s no way she ran this morning with as much as she’s done in the last week.
This morning she’s got to be sleeping in. That doesn’t stop me from wanting to message her or call her. I need to be patient.
After today, things will hopefully start changing.
We’re going to have a talk about what our future looks like.
Which is going to mean I either buy a place in Beach Haven or she gets one here.
Or I convince her to move in with me, marry me, and spend eternity letting me get to know everything about her.
That last one is my choice, but there’s no way I’m pushing too hard too fast. She just keeps giving me squirrely vibes.
It’s supposed to be cold this afternoon, but I so want to get her on the back of my bike today.
First, I need a distraction until a reasonable time.
With everything that’s been going on, I haven’t had time to hunt down Bishop to ask if they found anything about what Deacon was talking about.
Knowing Sheri is safely ensconced in Vex’s house has taken the worry away. We’re going to need to find an excuse to keep her there or get this guy.
Or better yet, keep her at my place…
***
“Fly!” Integer runs up to me as I enter the clubhouse. “I’ve been trying to catch you all week.”
“Sorry, things have been crazy. What’s up?”
“It’s Sheridan.”
“What?”
“When I dropped her off at Vex’s house, we had a little conversation.”
That doesn’t sound good.
“There’s something up with her. I don’t know what, but I got really bad vibes. Like either someone is hurting her, or she’s scared of something.”
WHAT? Calm down. She gave you those vibes as well. You know something bad is happening with her family.
“But it was odd. She seemed resigned to the fact that life was just going to be that way. I don’t know what, but there’s something wrong in her life.”
“Thanks for telling me, and thanks for taking her home.”
“You owe me big for the ride. I’m pretty sure Vex thought about killing me that night.”
“Murder is his normal state.”
Integer nods.
“Just let me know what I can do.”
Integer nods. “Will do.”
Sheridan’s business just became even more of mine. Whatever her family is up to…they’re done now. They’re going to need to come through me to get to her. Or I could just keep her with me all of the time now.
Keep dreaming…of ways to make that happen.
Bishop is lingering at the bar in the main gathering room, which is odd. He stands up as soon as he sees me. “We need to talk.”
“Your son and my woman are friends.”
“You found out.”
“She told me.” In no uncertain terms that there was no reason to be jealous.
“Good. So you know he thinks she’s one of the ones being stalked.”
“Yeah. Were you able to find out anything? She’s with Vex now, but I don’t want to take any chances.”
“I haven’t gotten to reach out to the Whiz Kid. Heard you were mentoring a kid.”
“Don’t remind me. She seems like a good kid.
I need to find a decent chunk of time this week to start her training.
I might see if she can move closer so I can give her more time.
Her skills, even rough, are impressive. Do you think one of the old ladies might be interested in letting her stay with them? ”
Bishop shrugs. “You can ask. Berzerker has an empty room, but I don’t know if they’re ready for that so soon after losing their kid.”
Oh, that might be a good situation for them—or a bad…“Thanks, I’ll look into it.”
“If you need anything, brother…”
“Thanks.” Who knows what I’ll need, but the first thing is to call the Whiz Kid and hope for the best.
I move into the labyrinth and dial his number.
“What’s up? Did you get the info you needed?”
“Yup. I was calling about something else. I need you to hack into Sheridan Wholes’ phone.”
“Why? Are you seeing her?”
“She’s mine.”
“Does she know that?”
“Don’t irritate me, kid. She’s being stalked, so I need you to look into her messages and see if we can find the creep before he finds her.”
“Are you sure it’s her?”
“Not a hundred percent, but enough that I’m not risking my woman. Just go in and have a little look.”
“On it. It’ll take a few hours.”
Did I really expect instantaneous results? Kinda. “No problem.”
“Is it true you’re working with the new girl?”
Does everyone know? “Yes.”
“Can you find out if she likes me?”
What? “No.”
“But I’m helping you.”
“And I’m helping you. You told me you wanted to be like me.
Confident men don’t ask a friend to figure out if a girl likes them.
They don’t even ask the girl if she likes them.
You walk up, brave and bold, tell her you’re interested in her, and ask her out on a date…
or whatever a kid version of a date is. Do you go to the movies or something?
Anything else tells the girl you lack confidence in yourself. ”
“What if she says no?”
“Then she says no, and you move on. Because being a man means having the strength to accept rejection.” Only part of that is a lie.
There’s no way I’d accept a no from Sheri.
Especially not after the way she just let the stresses of the weekend go while in my arms last night. We were meant for each other.
“I don’t know…”
Bishop strides into the labyrinth. “Vex is here, and he’s looking for you. I can’t tell if he is going to kill you, but he definitely looks irritated. Whatever might happen, I’ve got your back.”
“Everett, figure it out. And call me back with the information I need.” I click off the phone. “Just how bad does it look?”
“Not good. He isn’t breathing fire, nor does he seem to be armed, but that doesn’t mean anything with a man like him.”
True. “I think we’re sort of friends.”
Bishop raises an eyebrow at me.
“He isn’t naming his firstborn after me, but I don’t think he wants to kill me either.”
“Whatever happens.”
And it seems Bishop is planning our funerals. At least we’ll go down together like brothers.
Vex’s brow wrinkles as I step into the room.
He’s definitely not happy.
“What’s wrong?” I stop two feet from him. That should give me time to duck.
My head snaps back as stars spin around my world.
Bishop grabs my arm and stops me from hitting the ground.
“My wife didn’t sleep last night because of you. Which means I didn’t sleep because of you. She spent the entire night crying with her friend.”
What? “Why? Is something wrong with Sheri? Did someone kidnap her on your watch?”
“No one kidnapped her. Your woman is safe and sound.”
What? “Why did you hit me? And why is my woman crying?”
“I told you I hit you because my woman didn’t get a minute of sleep last night because she was crying with your woman. Then we went with her to the airport and saw her off.”
What did he just say? “You saw her off? You let Sheridan leave when she was being stalked.”
“Well then, you better go get her back before someone finds her.” Vex turns around to walk away.
“What? Where did you send her? Did you just come here to punch me?”
Vex stops. “I came so you could go get your woman before she gets into trouble. And do you want to know why your woman was crying?”
“Yes.”
“Because she realized she loves you. Women are crazy. They make absolutely no sense. I need to go take a nap with my wife now. Or do you want to bother me some more?”
“Nope. I’m good. Thanks.”
Vex strides out of the clubhouse.
“Did Vex just come here to tell me my woman freaked out because she realized she loved me and ran?”
“Yup. And he wanted to punch you.” Bishop grins.
“Don’t remind me.” I rub my jaw. “That’s going to hurt for a while.”
“Where do you think she went?”
Sheri went home. I know it. “Someone wanna drive my bike down to Beach Haven? We’re going to need it for the ride home.”
“We’ll get a prospect to do it.”
Time to go convince my woman loving me isn’t something to be afraid of.
“Before you go? I have one question. Does this mean you’re going to name your firstborn after Vex?”
“Don’t make me punch you.” That just became a distinct possibility.