Chapter 8 Phantom
PHANTOM
If I thought a family date would be easy, simple, I was dead wrong.
During the entire meal, I could hardly keep my hands to myself.
I wanted to touch every bit of Poppy’s exposed skin.
I’d developed an unhealthy obsession with her bare shoulder, and I’m cursing the fact that the dress she’s got on isn’t strapless.
Hell, what I wouldn’t give for a full view of this woman.
She’s gorgeous and fragile. She’s honest in a way that too many people aren’t. And I don’t mean women I’ve dated. They tend to be brutally honest about what they want: money, someone to fuck, and usually someone to take care of them.
Poppy is different. I feel like she wants me every bit as much as I want her. But she’s fighting it. Trapped in an old love story with a husband who’s a ghost.
The only question is how long it’s going to take for Poppy to be ready. Because when it happens, when I make her mine, there won’t be any room for ghosts between us.
Savage and Shadow show up right after I get the bill paid. I load Poppy and all the kids into my truck, and Shadow follows us in Poppy’s car, so she doesn’t have to worry about getting back to her place safely. After we figure out who’s driving where, we head out.
The drive to Poppy’s is rowdy. The three kids sit together in the back seat, cracking one another up and talking like they’ve known one another all their lives.
Jax is a whip-smart kid with a great sense of humor.
I can tell by the way Daisy talks to him that he’s probably not going to be a candidate for her future babysitting business.
They sound more like best friends. I’m just glad they’re paying attention to each other so I can enjoy the last few minutes of Poppy’s company.
“I meant what I said in the restaurant,” I say, flicking a look at her.
She’s staring straight ahead, but I can see the corner of her mouth turn into a smile.
“Me too,” she says quietly. “I’m right there,” Poppy says, pointing.
But as we pull into the driveway, she leans all the way forward in the seat.
“Something’s wrong,” she says, her voice low.
“Phantom, is the front door open? My front light is off. I never leave it off.”
I jump out of the truck and come around to the passenger side. I open the door and pop the glove box in front of Poppy’s lap. I meet her eyes and keep my voice calm as I grab my Glock. “Stay here and keep the kids quiet,” I tell her, resting a hand on her knee. “I’ll send Shadow to sit with you.”
Her eyes go huge when she sees my gun, but she nods and turns to the kids.
I close the passenger door, then jog down to the driveway and motion for Savage to get out.
I point to the front door. Shadow joins me, already pulling out his piece, but I motion with a finger toward my truck with the kids and Poppy.
Savage approaches the front door like a SEAL about to breach an enemy camp.
He nudges the door open quietly with his elbow, something he does so he doesn’t leave boot prints on the door.
Then he enters, his weapon drawn, without making a sound.
I follow, looking back to see Shadow behind the wheel of my truck, watching the whole thing go down.
My heart hammers in my throat, and my adrenaline kicks into high gear as we step through mountains of shit on the floor.
Papers are shredded and tossed everywhere.
The couch is turned over, the television is smashed.
Even if Poppy were a hoarder, there’s no way she lives with her place looking like this.
Something is very, very wrong here. Somebody trashed Poppy’s place.
Savage motions to me, and we go through the living room to a small, open kitchen.
The fridge is hanging wide open, and every condiment that was once inside has been shattered on the floor.
Glass and food coat the walls and the floor.
We don’t touch anything and back up, careful not to disturb anything.
We don’t turn on any lights and use only the flashlights on our phones to survey the damage.
I head down a hall and check out a small bathroom and what must be Poppy’s bedroom, and then, together, we go upstairs. The house feels still and silent, so I’m guessing whoever was here is long gone.
Nothing upstairs in Jax’s room looks disturbed, so we head back down to the living room and make a plan.
“Take all the kids, including Jax, back to my place. I’m going to stay here and wait with Poppy while she calls the cops. The kids don’t need to be here for that.”
Savage nods. “What the fuck is this?” he asks.
I shake my head. “Whoever did this is dead,” I tell him through gritted teeth. “Put the word out. If this is some random break-in, a junkie or a neighborhood thug, I want a name by morning.”
He nods. “I know what to do.”
We head outside and motion for Shadow to come out and talk to us. I send him back to the compound in Savage’s truck and have him leave Poppy’s for me to drive later. Then I go around to the passenger side.
Poppy reaches for my arm, her arms wide and her lips parted. “What happened?” she asks quietly. “Is everything okay?”
“It’s all clear in there, but you’re going to need a cleanup crew,” I say loudly for the kids’ benefit. “Kids, you want to have Jax and Poppy for a sleepover till we can get their place fixed up?”
Poppy looks furious, terrified, confused. Every emotion races across her face, but she doesn’t say anything. Just looks at me, her eyes filled with fear.
I take her hand. “Come on, let me show you what’s up, and we’ll make a few calls while Savage gets the kids settled.”
I take her hand and help her out of the truck, closing the door behind her so the kids can’t hear. “Poppy, someone ransacked the shit out of your house,” I say, holding both her hands in mine.
“What?” she looks toward the house, but I keep her in place.
“We need to call the cops. You’re not going to be able to stay here. I’m going to have Savage get the kids to my place, and you can all crash with me for the night.”
“Ransacked?” she echoes, sounding confused. “Like robbed? I don’t understand.”
“Let’s let the kids get out of here and call the police. When the cops are done, I’ll help you get what you need, and then we’ll get the hell out of here. You with me?”
She nods but doesn’t move.
“Poppy,” I say gently.
She looks up at me, a shimmer of tears wetting her lashes. “Who?” she asks. “Who did this…”
I shake my head and stifle the urge to pull her to my chest. Not in front of the kids. I’ll have time to take care of her once we get the kids to safety.
I take both of her hands in mine and lace our fingers together. “Hey,” I say, my voice low. I meet her eyes. “I’m here, and I’m not leaving you. I’m going to take care of this and make damn sure nothing like this ever happens again. You got that?”
She searches my face, and all traces of the happy, buzzed Poppy disappear. Her lips go thin as she presses them together, like she’s trying to hold back tears. “Okay,” she finally says. “But I don’t want to tell Jax anything until I see for myself.”
I nod and release her hands.
She turns and opens the door, putting on a bright smile for Jax.
“Honey, are you all right going home with Daisy and Holly? Do you want me to call Grandma or Auntie Clara? We have a little problem with the house, and I’m going to stay here and see how long it’s going to take before we can get it fixed. ”
Jax looks from his mom to me. “Mom, you’re coming, right? What happened to the house?”
“I want to go inside and see what’s going on. I’m not going to be able to get anyone out tonight to fix it, so we’ll stay someplace tonight together. But I can call Grandma if you’d rather go there.”
“Come home with us,” Daisy says. “My dad’s place is so cool.”
Jax brightens. “Can we stay up and watch movies until you get there?” he asks.
“We get to stay up until eleven on weekends,” Daisy adds helpfully. “And it’s only nine now, so we have plenty of time to watch at least one movie and maybe even two if we can stay up late. It is a special occasion.”
I roll my eyes. I’m going to have my hands full with this girl.
But Poppy nods, then as if she’s having second thoughts, she turns to me. “This is too much to ask of you. Why don’t I call my mother and…”
“If that’s what you want. But you might feel different when you see what’s going on in there.
” I put a hand on her shoulder and lean close to her ear.
“I get that we hardly know each other. I wouldn’t send my kid off with a stranger either.
Savage is ex-military. He’s my right hand.
I trust the guys with my daughters’ lives.
You can trust him. You can trust me. The call is yours.
You want to go inside and see first, then decide? ”
She only hesitates a second. “If the choice is you or my mom, I choose you.”
She turns back to the car to address the girls. “Text me as soon as you get there, okay? I’m going to send you my number now. You too.” She points at Savage, all traces of her relaxed buzz gone. “Send me the address of where you’re going, and let me know when the kids are inside safe.”
“Will do,” Savage says. “You need anything, you need me to come back here, you say the word. Otherwise, I won’t leave the kids until you’re there.”
We exchange a flurry of texts, and then finally, Savage takes off, leaving just Poppy and me. Then I take her hand. “Come on,” I say. “You’re going to need to see this.”
It takes just under two hours for the police to respond and to complete their preliminary walk-through of the scene.
They give her the usual bullshit. Since nothing obvious was stolen, it looks like someone was on the hunt for something.
Turns out, Poppy had nothing of value. Even her television was old, and the cops suspected that whoever broke in was pissed they didn’t find anything and trashed the place instead.
“Since they didn’t seem to go upstairs to your son’s room, they might have been interrupted, or they just gave up.” The police finish their paperwork, and Officer Callahan extends a hand to me.
“We rarely catch the guys responsible for stuff like this. And since nothing was stolen, they probably won’t leave a trail trying to move stolen goods. But we’ll let you know if any leads turn up.”
I shake the cop’s hand and pretend we don’t know each other.
Pretend that I haven’t passed money and other shit to him countless times over the years.
Pretend that there is such a thing as a good guy and a criminal—him being the first and me being the shithead.
I know how everything works in this town, and Callahan knows I’ll get this solved and sorted before he and the night crew pick up coffee and donuts on their next shift.
If I want justice, then I’m going to have to take it myself. He knows it, and I know it. Poppy, however, doesn’t understand any of this.
As the cops roll out, silent tears streak down Poppy’s face. Her shoulders are hunched, the bare one that peeks out from the cutout in her dress soft and hot under my touch.
“Hey.” I turn her to face me, and she looks into my face, her cheeks wet with tears.
“I’m such a fool,” she says, shaking her head. “All these years, I’ve lived alone with my son. I never go anywhere but work. Never do anything. The one night I go out, this happens. Someone was in my house. How can I ever feel safe here again? How can I keep my son safe if I’m terrified?”
I open my arms, and she doesn’t hesitate. She moves against my chest, and I hold her. I feel the wet tears stain my shirt, the anger inside me rising to a boil.
“Babe,” I say, not able to hold back the word. I think I’ve known from the moment I set eyes on Poppy that I wanted her. Wanted to make her mine. And whether it becomes more than this or not, she’s mine to protect right now.
I lean back and cup her face with my hands.
I wipe away her tears with my thumbs, and I lower my head to look deep into those devastated brown eyes.
“I’m going to find out who did this, and I’m going to make sure nothing like this ever happens again.
Do you understand me? I’m going to keep you and your boy safe. ”
She sniffles and stares into my eyes, her lips parting softly. “Why?” she whispers. “Why do you want to help us?”
I won’t answer that. Because what I want to say will scare this gorgeous woman away, and the only thing I want is to bring her close.
I say nothing as my thumb moves from her cheek to her lower lip. I stroke the bottom edge, and my cock twitches when she gasps and flutters her eyes closed in response.
“Poppy,” I breathe, my dick going hard and my pulse thundering in my throat. “You helped me. A fuckload more than I could repay with one dinner.”
She opens her eyes and licks her lower lip, almost catching my finger. Heat flashes in her eyes, and for a second, one excruciating second, I think she might kiss me. But as soon as I see it, it’s passed.
“I’ve never felt like this,” she says, stumbling away from me and wobbling on her heels.
I don’t know if it’s the drinks, the fear, or something else, but she goes pale suddenly.
“Phantom…” she says.
I see her knees buckle, and I catch her before she goes down. I scoop her up in my arms and hold her against my chest. “There’s nothing you need from inside?” I ask.
“It’s all ruined,” she says weakly. “There’s nothing left except Jax’s things.”
I say no more and balance her in my arms before setting her carefully back on the passenger seat of her car.
I whip out my phone and shoot off a series of texts.
Within an hour, this place will be crawling with my brothers.
They’ll clean the mess and pack up Jax’s room and bring everything to my place.
Until we catch whoever the fuck did this, I’m not letting Poppy or her son out of my sight. And when I catch them, the motherfucker who did this is going to pay.