Hulk
The deadline had passed eight hours ago.
When midnight came and went without a response, I convinced my ladies to come home and go to bed.
It had been a restless night, though, for all of us.
Even after making love to Celeste, she had a hard time sleeping.
Once she fell asleep, we both tossed and turned until Capri’s screams awakened us.
After we both got up to comfort and reassure her and settled her, we went back to bed.
Finally, we gave up trying to sleep half an hour ago.
Now, Celeste and I were in the kitchen making breakfast together.
Capri was still in bed. We were being as quiet as possible.
I was put in charge of cooking the bacon while she handled the rest. She teased that even I should be able to cook bacon without messing it up.
I had her giggling at my antics of fumbling around, clueless about what to do with it. She tried to educate me, but I went straight back to being clueless.
“God, I had no idea there was this side to you, Kai,” she admitted.
“Honestly, it seems to come out because of you and Capri. You make me feel lighthearted,” I confessed.
My words made her give me the most adoring look.
She pulled me to her and rose on her toes to kiss me.
I solved the height difference by lifting and setting her on the counter.
I had to bend a lot less. We were eagerly plundering each other’s mouths when a throat being cleared broke us apart.
Turning my head, I found Capri standing there in her pajamas.
She was watching us with a smirk on her face.
“Is this how you make breakfast? Wow, Aunt Celeste, you never told me about this method,” she teased.
I chuckled. Celeste smacked my stomach playfully. “Hush, you’re the bacon defiler, remember? Get back to work.”
“The only thing I defile is you,” I whispered.
I saw Celeste’s face and chest flush. Winking at her, I placed a final peck on her lips, then I lifted her down before going back to deal with the bacon. Celeste went to Capri and hugged her. She hugged her aunt back.
“How do you feel?” Celeste asked her.
“Tired, but I can’t lie in that bed a minute more. I’d rather be up moving. Let me help with breakfast.”
I heard the entreaty in her voice.
“Of course. You can help me keep an eye on him. He doesn’t know how to handle bacon. And I’m making pancakes and omelets.”
“Ooh, yummy. Let me take care of the pancakes, and you can concentrate on those omelets.”
My woman agreed, so we got to work. In very little time, we were all done, and the food was on the table.
Capri and Celeste teased me about not destroying the bacon.
I pretended to preen. With that said, we dug into the food.
I groaned after my first bite of the omelet.
It was filled with meat, cheese, and even a little bit of veggies.
“Jesus, this is the best omelet I’ve ever tasted. No joke. I’ve gone to places known for their breakfasts, and their omelets don’t come close.” I confessed.
“Thank you. And your bacon is at the perfect degree of crispness. You are now permitted to cook it unsupervised,” Celeste told me.
“They’re both wonderful. Celeste always makes the best omelets. They’ve been a favorite of mine since I was little,” Capri said.
I took a bite of her pancakes at the same time Celeste did—both of us moaned. “Your pancakes are always so much better than mine,” my old lady stated.
“Man, these are fantastic, too. How did I get so lucky to have you two be mine?” I asked.
The rest of breakfast passed mainly in eating, with some small talk.
The deadline wasn’t mentioned. However, I should’ve known it wouldn’t last. We’d barely finished eating and were preparing to clean up and then get dressed for the day.
We were all in our pajamas when there was a brisk knock at the main doors.
Due to the glass, it was easy to see who it was.
After I waved to come in, the door swung open.
In walked Agony, Dare, and Wire. Shit, the grave expressions on their faces told me something had happened.
I heard the gasp Capri muffled. Celeste was staring hard at them, not moving.
I walked forward to shake their hands. Instead, I got a manly handshake/hug combo that turned into a back-pounding, which I returned.
“Good Morning. I wasn’t expecting you. Have a seat. Can we get you anything? We have coffee, OJ, and although breakfast is over, there are freshly made just yesterday banana nut and blueberry muffins,” I offered.
“Morning. We hate to barge in like this. But we have news we thought you’d want to hear. And actually, if it’s not too much trouble, coffee and a muffin would be great. I haven’t eaten yet,” Agony said.
It didn’t take much to get them all to accept both.
That was because my old lady was entreating them to help eat what my ladies had made.
Instead of gathering in the living room, we sat down at the dining table.
The dishes had already been removed from our breakfast. I knew how my brothers took their coffee, so I prepared it while the ladies plated the muffins.
They were presented with one each along with their coffee.
They’d chatted about nothing vital while we worked.
But that was done, and we were all seated and at attention.
“These are wonderful, ladies. Don’t tell Eliana I had two of these,” Pres requested.
“Yeah, the same with Joli. She’s after me to watch my cholesterol,” Dare chimed in. Wire was nodding his head and giving a thumb-up because his mouth was full.
“Thank you so much. Now, I know you didn’t come here just for coffee and muffins. Please, tell us what happened before I explode,” Celeste pleaded.
“There’s been a response to Capri missing the deadline,” Agony stated.
“What did he do? I didn’t hear a disturbance. Did he leave another letter outside the gate?” Capri asked.
“No, honey, he didn’t come here. Wire reviewed the camera footage. That bastard didn’t come near the compound. Instead, to show his displeasure, he went to where there was no one. He was at your apartment,” Dare explained.
“What did he do to it? Please tell me, we know who he is,” I growled.
“We don’t know who he is—again, he disguised his face. As for what he did, he broke into your apartment and went to the bedrooms. He didn’t know which one was yours, so he marked up both. He left a message in each room, and a visual reminder, then left,” Dare informed us.
“How do you know what he did inside?” Celeste asked.
“After the letter on the brick, I knew that he’d likely return to your old place. I found enough cameras that the owner has on his apartments, plus there was one across the street that had more that would capture any activity outside your door,” Wire explained, paused, then kept going.
“When I saw early this morning, after I reviewed the footage that someone had been there, I got Leon, and we went to check it out, after I called Pres,” Wire told us.
“Why didn’t you call me?” I asked.
“Truthfully? I thought you had enough to handle at the moment. If it turned out to be nothing, then you would’ve wasted your time. It could’ve been some kid up to mischief because he saw us move her out,” Wire explained.
“What did he write, and what was the reminder?” Celeste asked.
All three exchanged glances, then looked at the women, then at me. “Brother, you might want us to tell you, and then you can decide if you want Capri and Celeste to know the details,” Wire said.
“Come on, Wire, you know that’s not how this will work. Our old ladies don’t want us to keep things from them, even when it would be to their benefit. Although Capri, my heart tells me to spare you the details,” Agony said.
“And I thank you for wanting to do that, but I’m stronger than you think. Not knowing would stress me more than knowing,” she told us.
“Okay, then here goes. He wrote on the walls, You’ve defied me for the last time. What comes next is your fault. You’ll be mine, no matter what I have to do or who I have to kill, my pet. Love Your Owner.” Wire read from his phone.
Capri grabbed the edge of the table, and her coloring leeched away.
Celeste’s face twisted into a snarl, and the hatred I saw there told me if she ever had the chance to get her hands on this fucker, she’d tear him to shreds.
However, she’d have to compete with me for that honor.
And based on the expression of my three brothers in the room, they would be in line to do it as well.
The silence stretched out for about ten seconds before Capri responded.
“Okay, that’s scary. What was the visual reminder?”
It was Dare who told her. “He killed a rabbit and left the body under the message. He used the poor thing’s blood to write the messages. I’m sorry.”
Capri gasped, then I saw tears make her eyes glassy. Celeste hugged her to comfort her. I was fighting to hold in my rage. My brothers waited. It was Capri again who spoke before Celeste or I could.
“He’s threatened all of you and even Celeste.
That’s what that message is. He’ll punish me by hurting or killing one of you.
I won’t have it. There will be no date tonight or any other night.
I’m not putting those guys in the crosshairs any more than they are.
Please don’t let anyone go out alone, especially the old ladies with the kids, or even Tana.
Oh God, you can’t protect everyone,” she wailed as the dam on her tears broke.
It was like her to be concerned about everyone else rather than herself.
“Honey, I want you to listen to me. We do not let motherfuckers like this sicko dictate our lives. Yes, we’ll take precautions.
The women and children, who include you two, won’t leave the compound unaccompanied.
As for us, when possible we’ll go in pairs, but it’s not always feasible.
However, we will be on high alert, and you know we’re always armed.
As for forgetting about the dates, I don’t think we should do that.
Wait, hear me out,” Agony told Capri when he saw her mouth opening. She shut it.
“We’ll let all the others know what happened and the risk posed to everyone.
The guys who volunteered to date you will be given the chance to change their minds if they believe it’s too risky.
However, I don’t anticipate any of them backing out, so I believe the dates will go ahead.
The one tonight is critical, Capri. He’s off-kilter because you didn’t obey.
He’s gone to this length to warn you, and to have you defy him again right away will only push him further to the edge and breaking point.
You’ve got to stay strong. We’re almost there.
I can feel it,” Agony said passionately.
Celeste was murmuring in her niece’s ear. I wasn’t able to hear what was said, but there was a lot of head nodding by Capri. It lasted a good five minutes before they stopped, and Capri replied.
“I want all of them asked, and it be made clear that no one will think less of them for backing out. I won’t. They didn’t sign on for this when they offered to do this for me. I agree, we need to push this person, so I’ll go out with whoever is still willing, if there’s anyone.”
She clearly had no idea what club protection looked like. I’d be shocked if any of them backed out. That wasn’t the type of men we were.
“We’ll tell them. In fact, if you want to be there, you can. Hmm, most of the guys have already left for work. I hate to wait until after they get home, especially for the ones we need to ask if they want to continue,” Agony muttered aloud.
“Pres, I can set up a secure video conference where we can all see and hear each other. They can do it from their desks at each business. At least we can update them and ask the question. If you want to meet again when they get home, we can always do that,” Wire suggested.
“You’re just using this as a way to get me to embrace more technology, aren’t you?” Agony grumbled.
Wire’s answer was to grin back at him and wink. Agony balled up his napkin and tossed it in Wire’s face as he muttered, “Bastard.”
But there was no heat behind his word. Pres knew that what Wire recommended made sense.
And it would be good going forward. If someone was out of town for whatever reason but needed to be in on church or something, this was the logical route.
Companies all over the world did it every day. Why not an MC?
“Then let’s get this set up and done. Ladies, we’ll see you for the first bit in the clubhouse. And thank you for the excellent coffee and muffins,” Agony told my girls.
There was a minute or more of thanks from Wire and Dare, followed by our responses and a promise to be there. After they left, we rushed to get dressed first, then, if we had time, to clean up the morning mess before heading over.