15. Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Fifteen
A dley had spent some time going over what Macy had found out about Gina, which wasn’t much.
After they’d talked, Adley had gone back in the room, added more butcher paper with the additional items of Gina picking Justice up at the bar and getting pregnant.
She’d also added the question of whether Justice was roofied.
She didn’t discuss this with Justice ahead of time because when he and the other guys saw the question, she wanted everyone’s first reaction.
She’d be surprised if some of the guys, especially those who worked as first responders, hadn’t already considered it.
They’d finished supper, and everyone who was allowed to be a part of the investigation would be coming in. Adley sat and stared at all the different parts but couldn’t see any way they all connected.
Macy came in and sat down beside her, followed by Justice, Tack, Pit, Ariel, and Judith, along with Ruthy and Charlie.
Justice walked over to the new additions Adley had made as Stinger, Tack, and the rest of the guys came in.
One of the guys she hadn’t met closed the door and then flicked on an electronic device.
Justice looked back at the paper, then walked toward Adley. “Do you really think I was roofied?”
“I can’t prove it because you didn’t go to the hospital and have blood taken, but everything in me says you shouldn’t have such large gaps in your memory of that night,” Adley said.
She hated seeing the look of disillusionment on Justice’s face.
If he was roofied, how he looked at everything changed.
“It makes sense. I always thought it was strange you couldn’t remember the night, but I chalked it up to overindulging in liquor. You never said that you only remembered drinking one beer until recently,” Stinger said.
“I added Gina to Macy’s research,” Adley said.
“I’ve contacted a friend who is better at, shall we say, the more intricate ways of finding out information.
When I tried to do a deep dive, I couldn’t find that Gina Brown existed.
Her social security number, which was on her lease, belongs to a child who died in the early seventies.
My person is supposed to get back to me sometime tomorrow,” Macy said.
“If you were roofied, which is seeming more and more plausible, then it concerns me why. I remember she was constantly bugging you to let her live on the compound. You offered for Ian to live with you, but you didn’t want her here, even though it would have made it easier.
I never asked you. What made you say no to her? ” Pit asked.
Justice stared at Pit while he was thinking. Adley reached out and placed her hand on his arm. Seeing Justice go through this was painful to her. Everything he thought about Ian’s mom was going up in smoke.
“I didn’t have any concrete reason other than when I imagined her here, I got a bad feeling. We all learned to listen to those instincts in the military. I couldn’t chance letting her live here and something happening to our families,” Justice said softly.
Pit nodded and glanced around the room. “I think we’re dealing with something or someone that has been targeting us.
I don’t have anything to prove it, but something feels off about all of this.
I think it would be a waste of time to discuss further tonight if Macy’s friend will be getting back to her tomorrow.
Spend some time relaxing tonight because who knows what tomorrow will bring. ”
Pit got up and led Ariel out of the room. Everyone left until it was only her and Justice.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you my thoughts ahead of time. I’m guessing you feel blindsided, but I don’t know everyone. I wanted to see everyone’s first reactions,” Adley said, holding Justice’s hand .
Justice nodded and stood up, leading Adley out of the room and locking it behind him.
“You have no reason to be sorry. You did what you thought was best, and it was the right thing to do. Anything you saw that concerned you?” Justice asked, leading her out into the front room.
“No, everyone seemed genuinely surprised.”
They walked over to where his mom was holding Ian.
“Hey, Ian is having a Mimi night, and I invited Charlie and Judith over to hang out at my house to spend the night. We’ve also told Pit and Ariel that if little Teddy won’t go to sleep after eating, they can drop him off too,” Ruthy said.
Adley wondered if they were trying to leave the house to her and Justice. If so, she’d offer to do whatever her mom needed for the next month if it meant she and Justice could be alone with a bed.
“Thanks, Mom,” Justice said, leaning over to kiss Ian on the forehead. “You be good for Mimi. Love you, buddy.”
Was there anything hotter than a big, strong man being soft and sweet with his child?
Adley worried she’d burst into flames if they stayed there and she had to watch the man she wanted with every fiber of her being cuddle his son.
Was she crazy to wonder if Ian could be her son too?
She was probably jumping ahead so many steps, but Ian was special to her too.
She wasn’t sure how, but he was. She leaned over and kissed his hand.
“Night, Ian,” she whispered.
Justice and she said their goodbyes and walked out the door.
Adley dearly hoped Macy and Tack weren’t planning on coming back to the house, but if they were, they might need earplugs.
Adley wasn’t going to be the woman who weighed every decision.
She didn’t believe her mom would have stayed today if she’d had any sense that the Saint’s Outlaws MC couldn’t be trusted.
A shiver traveled down Adley’s spine at the touch of Justice’s hand on her back as they walked up the stairs and into the house.
Justice closed the door and slid the lock home.
Adley stared into Justice’s eyes and hoped he was thinking the same thing she was because she wasn’t sure she was brave enough to ask him for what she wanted without an indication from him.
His hands cupped her face, and his face came close. “We can just spend time together, or you can say yes. ”
“Yes to what?”
“Yes to being with me. Yes to me worshipping every inch of your body and claiming you for my own. Yes to taking the first step to forever together.”
“Forever?” she asked softly.
Justice grinned at her, dropping a kiss on her nose.
“Adley, I’m in my fifties and past the point of just a random hookup. You’re the woman I want to spend time with. You’re the one I see as Ian’s mother down the road. If you don’t see a future with me, please tell me before I get any more invested than I am,” he pleaded with her.
“Justice, I see a future with you, but I worry you’ll think less of me when you know everything,” Adley said.
“Honey, there isn’t anything that you could say that would make me turn from you.
If you want to spill your secrets now, I’ll listen.
If you want to wait, then I’ll wait. You’re the woman for me.
I love your sass and fierce nature. You fight for what’s right with your clients, and I know that you’d fight the same for our family.
But it’s all up to you—if you’re not ready, we’ll watch a show or go back to the clubhouse and play some pool.
I’ll need to spend a little time in the bathroom taking care of an issue first, but I want whatever you want,” Justice said.
Adley leaned closer, brushing her mound against Justice’s hardness between them.
“If you really don’t care about knowing my secrets, then I say yes.
Yes to a future with you. Yes to wanting to be a family because I’ve watched you, too.
I tried to resist the hot biker with tattoos who fights as fiercely for his family and his clients, too.
I knew if we were ever in close quarters, I’d never be able to resist because I’ve been attracted to you from the first,” Adley said.
Justice smirked, then picked Adley up, tossing her over his shoulder and striding down the hall.
“Justice,” Adley squeaked.