22. Gabriel #3
We all climb into Emma’s seven-seater SUV and buckle up. Ford and Burkley up front, Noah and I in the middle row, and Hayes behind us in the last seat. We’re pretty big guys, so even in a five-seater car, we don’t fit very well.
The minute the car pulls out of the driveway, Noah wastes no time to broach the subject we desperately need to acknowledge.
“Guys, we have a situation we need to discuss. Gabe and I already took the next step, but we think it’s best if the women aren’t aware of what’s going on.
Of course, Veronica and Aubrey are in the know, since they were there when the problem showed up.
But they won’t say a word to the others. ”
“Is this why we were all forced out of the house when only two of us could have gone to get the food and drinks?” Clay smirks smugly. Ever the Mr. Know-it-all.
“Yes, it is. It’s a delicate subject, and the girls might get freaked out if they know about it,” I tell him.
“Okay… so what’s going on?” Greyson looks up in the rearview mirror quickly with a worried expression, then focuses back on the road.
Noah and I glance at each other, not really sure how to say it without freaking them out either.
Finally, he sighs and speaks. “Veronica has a really bad ex who won’t leave her alone.
And when I say bad, I don’t mean an asshole who doesn’t understand they’re over, like Emma’s. I mean a dangerous criminal.”
“He’s been threatening her, and now he’s taking pictures of the girls,” I finish for him.
“WHAT?!” Silas shouts in my ear with rage.
Greyson quickly pulls the car over to the curb, shutting off the engine, and turns in his seat to face us at the same time as Clay. “Explain. Because I’m seconds away from losing my shit,” he says sternly.
“Look, I won’t go into details about Veronica’s story because that’s her business.
But the guy was abusive, and when she found out he was involved in criminal things, she helped the cops take him down.
Things went south, and he didn’t get caught, and Veronica has been hiding out since,” Noah begins to tell them.
“But now he’s back and has been stalking her. He’s clearly not happy about what went down and wants her to pay. Today she received a box with photos of all the girls that were clearly taken within the last week. Some of them coming out of our homes.”
“I don’t fucking like this one bit,” Clay mutters.
“You’re telling me someone’s stalking our girls, and we just left them at the house, ALONE?!” Greyson barks.
“Are you two fucking kidding me? Ford, get us back to the house now,” Silas instructs him.
“No, wait! It’s fine.” I place my hand on Greyson’s shoulder, stopping him from starting the car. “The girls already have security watching them.”
“What do you mean, they already have security watching them?” Clay frowns.
“I got in touch with Julian Storm. He has someone watching them right now from the outside, and he and his brothers will be over later to discuss everything. Veronica and Aubrey already know to keep the girls distracted while we talk,” Noah says.
“It’s why we’re having a big ‘celebration’—to make it look more believable that we’d invite them over. Coach will also be with them,” I add in.
They all mull over what we’ve just said for a moment until finally Grey nods, then Clay. I turn to look at Silas, expecting him to be on board as well, but he still doesn’t seem convinced.
“Are we sure they’ll keep them safe?” He looks us all over. “If something happens to Minnie or my son… you guys know I can’t go through that again…” He swallows as emotions flash in his eyes.
“Hayes, normally, I wouldn’t trust anyone to keep my wife safe but myself and you guys.
But Julian really is the best of the best. If he says he’ll keep them safe, he will.
Let’s hear him out, see what he has to say and thinks we should do, then we’ll make a decision and go from there,” Clay tells him calmly.
Silas passes his fingers through his hair. Finally, he nods in agreement and blows out a breath. “Okay, yeah. If you trust him, then I do too.”
“Okay, good. Now that everyone is informed and on board, let’s go get everything the girls are expecting us to come back with, then get some clarity to this shit show,” I declare as Grey starts up the car and pulls away from the curb.
“Do we even know what this guy looks like?” Ford asks as we make our way to the pizzeria.
“Veronica gave me his name, and I searched him up. Apparently, he’s still wanted by the feds.
She also gave me the detective’s number that she was in touch with back then.
I don’t know if he’s still on the case, but we’ll probably have to inform them of what’s going on.
” Noah takes his phone out and swipes through it until he lands on a picture of the massive biker.
He turns it around, showing it to everyone. One after the other, their faces drain of color. We might be big and tough, but that guy is on a whole other level. I’m not afraid to admit that Victor could crush us all in an instant.
What the hell was Ronnie doing with a guy like that?