Chapter 9
Nine
HALLE
W e are flying down the road on the back of Kitty (cue eye roll) when my passenger backrest bends just enough to make me feel like I’m falling. I curse, wrapping myself tighter around Loki. If I go down, his ass is coming with me. I hold on for dear life until we finally pull up in front of my store. I hop off so damn quickly I almost fall flat on my face. I turn back to Kitty and glare. This fucking bitch is trying to kill me!
“Bitch,” I whisper as Loki dismounts.
“Huh?” he asks, turning to me, looking puzzled.
“Oh, nothing, love,” I say, turning and heading into the store.
“Halle, fuck. I’ve been worried about you. What the hell happened?” Mark, the manager of the store, says when I walk in.
“You remember that little stalker problem I’ve been having? Well, I took care of it,” I tell him, walking around the counter. Loki walks in behind me, leaning against the side of the door.
“How the hell did you take care of it?” Mark asks me, shocked.
“I glued his dick to a table when he broke into my house and tried to rape me,” I say, shrugging.
“What the hell, woman? You glued his dick to a table?” Mark asks, wincing and cupping his own pecker area.
“Sure did. Make sure you remember that,” I say, raising a brow at him. When I first started here, he had a little crush on me. When the feelings weren’t reciprocated, he quickly let it go, and we became somewhat good friends.
“Hey, no offense, but I wouldn’t go near your crazy ass with a ten-foot pole,” he tells me, raising his hands in surrender. I hear Loki chuckle from around the counter as he moves closer.
“Nobody better come anywhere near your ass. It’s all mine,” Loki says, looking at me with so much heat in his eyes a chill races up my spine that has nothing to do with being cold.
God, he’s so yummy and sexy. I want to drag him to the backroom and fuck him just for everyone to hear. I shake my head to clear those thoughts for the moment. I’ll get back to that fantasy later. I’m probably already on thin ice with this job, which reminds me, I still need to ask about that.
“Sorry about the other day. I know I left you high and dry, but it was all out of my control. I know you probably had to shuffle things around some, so I don’t expect the same workweek as before. Now that I’m here, what’s my next day on the schedule?” I ask, getting straight to the point and not giving him a choice to argue. Mark rubs the back of his neck and looks down at the floor before answering.
“Uh, about that…” he says nervously. I Look over the counter at Loki, who has a small blade out and is stabbing it down on the counter.
“I had to hire someone new to come in, but I can still keep you on part-time,” he rushes to tell me. I think about it for a minute and then perk up.
“That’s perfect. I still get to keep my job and spend more time with my man!” I smile back over at Loki. He smiles back, and I can tell he likes that idea just as much as I do. I hear Mark let out a sigh of relief.
“Alright then. Can you come in tomorrow, the ten to two shift?” he asks, and I nod, going back around the counter.
The truth is, I don’t really need this job, or any job for that matter. I hate working here full-time, so part-time hours are more appealing. Before I met Beau, and now more so with Loki, it was basically something to do just to pass the time. I like to keep busy, especially when Ash is always out of town on business.
Years ago, I received money from a rich grandma I never knew when I turned eighteen. My sister Ash got some, too, but I signed my share over to her control. She understands the stocks more than I do, so she invested it and has tripled the zeroes since starting the fund. I try not to use it. I don’t know; it just seems like dirty money to me. Taking that shit that I didn’t deserve from someone I never even met. What if the old bird would have hated my guts? It just feels wrong. In the end, I’ve never used it and only used the money I’ve earned from working. That’s the reason I live, or lived, I should say, in that shitty apartment.
“Since you have the day off, pet, what do you feel like doing?” Loki asks me, throwing his arm around my shoulder possessively and walking over to his bike.
“Can we just ride?” I ask sweetly, wanting to just get lost for a while. After everything the past few days, then reliving my childhood nightmare with Loki last night, I just need to let go. I want to feel the wind in my hair and the sun on my face, all while protectiveness, calm, and love surround me from my man. Yeah, I know, fucking sappy, but give a girl a break. Loki needs to either give me the wind therapy I need, a good hard fuck, or both. I’m not picky.
“Anytime, pet; Any fucking time,” he says, looking me straight in the eyes and reaching my soul. Loki then winks, bends down, and kisses me hard, as if reading my mind.
“Hey pet, I have the day off work. Want to finally have that first date?” Loki asks, coming around behind me and pulling me into his chest.
“Hell, yeah, baby. Where are we going?” I ask him. It’s only been two weeks since we met, but life has been perfect. Between work for both Loki and me, the only thing we’ve actually gotten to do together is fuck and sleep. We are way overdue for his ass to spoil me and show me off to the world. That way, all the bitches out there will know that he’s taken and to back the fuck off my man. All these biker alpha males I’ve been surrounded with lately look like a bunch of pansy-ass bitches compared to a territorial badass woman like me—just saying.
Piper and Izzy have been keeping me busy while Loki’s been working, and though sometimes they don’t know how to take me, we’ve become as close as sisters. I love both of their asses, and we’ve been planning a covert trip of our own to Devils Crossroads, the bar that the club just opened. If our men knew anything about said trip, they would tie our asses to the bed and never let us leave.
“What do you feel like doing?” he asks.
“Hmm… I don’t know. I don’t really get to get out much. Honestly, as long as I’m with you, we could do just about anything. What do you feel like doing?” I ask, turning to him. He looks at me, and I watch a devious smile overtake his face.
“Are you looking for something fun and tame or something completely crazy and dangerous?” he asks, and I can feel the matching devious smile spreading across my face.
“Completely crazy and dangerous. Always completely crazy and dangerous; you should know that by now, love,” I say, and we hop on his bike before he takes off.
I can’t stop smiling as my arms tighten around Loki’s waist. I have no idea where we are going until we pull into a familiar parking lot. One from my childhood. We climb off Kitty, and I turn, giving Loki a confused look.
“The skating rink? This is completely crazy and dangerous?” I ask, trying to mask my smile with a scowl.
“Well, yeah, I used to bring Milani skating all the time. Skating can be completely dangerous. One wrong move and you could break your leg, arm, or neck,” he explains, smirking. I can’t hide it anymore. I let my smile spread so wide I’m sure he can see my back molars.
“Well, what are you waiting for? Let’s go! It’s been years since I was at the rink,” I say, laughing and dragging him to the front door.
Best. First. Date. EVER!
He quickly pays for our entry and grabs our skates. I’m practically bouncing in my seat. I can’t contain myself. I get my skates on in record time, and when I look at Loki, I notice he is just now taking off his boot. I sigh and stand impatiently, bouncing on my roller skates a bit. Too much excitement, and I'll be on my ass before I make it to the rink.
“Impatient much, pet?” he asks me, chuckling.
“I’m just excited. Come on already!” I urge him, trying to get him to hurry. There are only two beautiful little kids on the rink right now, and I want to get out there. I wait a little longer and look back at Loki. He still has both shoes untied. Is he going slow on purpose?
“Do you need help tying your shoes?” I ask impatiently. I’m ready to mop the floor with him. He lifts a brow at me, and I huff, crossing my arms.
“Alright, pet, come on. Let’s get you out onto the rink before you have a conniption,” he says, skating to me and grabbing my hand.
“A conniption? What are you, an eighty-year-old woman?” I ask, laughing. He pulls me to him and gives me a hard kiss before quickly letting me go and hopping onto the rink. When I see him expertly turn and skate backward with ease, my eyes open in surprise. This man knows how to skate? And like a damn pro, no less. I’m too busy watching as he takes over the rink, turning forward, then moving his feet back and forth so fast he glides across the floor. I don’t realize he’s about to pass me until he looks up at me and gives me a devious smirk.
“Aren’t you coming?” he asks, quirking a finger at me. I smile and race after him. I loved rollerblading so much when I was younger that I still do it to this day as an exercise. I usually go to the dog park near my sister’s house and skate around their track. That way, I can pet the dogs and exercise at the same time. Win, win, in my book, that’s for sure.
I rush toward him, and he cocks his eyebrows at me.
“Looks like I’m not the only pro here,” he says, and I throw a cocky smile his way.
“Just try to keep up,” I say, starting a race between us. We keep a pretty good pace, but then one of my favorite songs comes on.
“I LOVE THIS SONG!!! Dance with me!” I demand, grabbing his hand and pulling him to me as they play All For You by Sister Hazel. He wraps me in his arms, and we dance together as the song plays, still skating around the rink. When the song ends, Loki dips me low and kisses me hard.
We are lost in our little world until the clapping starts. Loki picks me back up, and we look over at the soft clapping coming from the other side of the rink.
Two beautiful babies, who can’t be more than seven years old, are watching us in awe. I smile and wave to them. They are stunning and obviously siblings. They share so many similarities. The little girl waves back, but the boy looks away. I look at Loki and see him smiling their way, too. I pull him over to them. As we get closer, I see panic flash across the boy's face, but then it hardens, and he looks at us with a scowl before grabbing the girl by the arm and pulling her until she’s behind him. He stands as tall as he can, which isn’t much, trying to block her from our view. Immediately, I fall in love with this baby.
“We didn’t mean to bother you. Rae just loved watching you dance together,” the little boy says, still holding a protective stance over the girl.
He can only be four-foot-tall max, with dark black hair and beautiful dark brown skin matching his sister. Rae is about four inches shorter than her brother, with beautiful black braids that land on her shoulders. They both have light caramel-colored eyes that stare back at us with so much pain and distrust. What have these sweet little babies been through, and who the fuck do I have to chop up?
“We don’t want to hurt either of you. We just wanted to come to introduce ourselves,” I bend, telling him softly.
“Shit, that’s what they all say,” he tells us. And that has me holding in a curse.
“Watch your mouth, son. That’s my woman you’re talking to,” Loki scolds gently.
I smile up at him and then turn back to the kids. That’s when I see it. Across his beautiful dark cheek is an even darker bruise. I gasp and then look at the little girl. On her upper arm are perfectly outlined bruises. You can clearly make out each finger of a hand on her skin.
“Who did that to you?” I ask darkly.
“Why do you care?” the little boy asks defiantly, pushing the little girl further away from us.
“I promise we won’t hurt you, baby, but I want to know who put that mark on your beautiful skin so I can cut their fingers off one by one,” I tell him, looking him straight in the eyes. Those words might be too dark or harsh for any other kid, but I can tell these kids have lived through tougher times and deserve honesty.
“Rome, tell her. Maybe he will finally get what he deserves,” the little girl, Rae, says, tugging on her brother Rome’s sleeve and trying to get past him. Loki bends beside me, slowly so as not to frighten them and smiles at them both.
“And who deserves that, baby girl?” he asks her, and she smiles at him.
“Our foster dad, he hits us all the time. Last time, I kicked him in the balls, and Rome gave him a black eye when he bent forward. We ran away, but that was four days ago,” she says, frowning at the last word when her stomach growls.
“How did you two get in here?” I ask them.
Rae smiles at me again before answering. “We snuck in with a party and hid in the bathroom when they left. The guy behind the counter doesn’t come in here and check,” she explains, shrugging.
“You two are quite the little deviants, aren’t you?” I ask, smiling widely. I hate they are alone here, but I am proud of them for sticking together and getting somewhere safe.
I look around the skating rink one more time.
“Well, since you two ran away, where have you been sleeping, and what are you eating?” I ask softly again, fearing I already know the answer.
“Don’t tell them anything, Rae. They just want to tell the state and take us back. This time, they might split us up. They’ve been threatening it for a while,” Rome says, glaring at Loki. It will take a lot of time before he trusts us, and that’s okay. Trust is earned. They can’t give it away freely. We understand this kid a hell of a lot more than he thinks. Loki looks at him curiously for a minute before speaking up.
“You would do anything to protect your sister, huh?” he asks.
“Yes, I would kill to protect my twin,” Rome says without blinking, staring Loki down.
“Now, you know that the best place for her is with people who will do nothing but love, care, and protect her, right?” Loki asks again.
“Yes, sir. She has that with me,” Rome says, sticking out his chest.
“I understand that, son. I have a sister I protect too… But who’s taking care of you?” Loki asks softly. As soon as the words leave Loki’s mouth, Rome’s face crumples. The look in Rome’s eyes mirrors the one shining in Loki’s. If anyone can relate to what this little boy is feeling, it’s Loki.
I look at Loki, and I can see the same feelings on his face that I know are mirrored in mine. These kids won’t ever have to worry again if we have anything to say about it. I never knew it was possible for your heart to break but to be filled at the same time. All these emotions are floating between Loki, me, and these babies. I’m surprised everyone within a ten-block radius can’t feel it. The moment I laid eyes on these babies, I knew they would impact our lives, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. By the look on my man’s face, he’s right there with me.