Chapter 11
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Gemini
I don’t know what it is she’s asking of me here because my natural instinct is to eliminate the threat, but she’s holding me off from doing that.
She has some great key points on why I shouldn’t, and seeing as we’re already on the town’s radar, since Rocco fucked up any respect or loyalty the Kings had from them, her reasoning is understandable.
We’d be the first ones to be questioned if something were to happen to someone in town.
They don’t look at us with any sort of regard, instead, they snub us, turn around and rush in the other direction whenever we’re spotted walking down the sidewalks on Main Street—which is the business district.
It pisses me off and lets me know we have our work cut out for us to earn their respect and trust.
Fuck knows we’re going to need them on our side when push comes to shove. My cousins and I don’t have any enemies personally, but Rocco left plenty behind for us to deal with and things may get worse before they get better.
“I need you to break down exactly what it is you’re asking me to do here, Sutton.
From where I’m standing, there’s not much I can do since we aren’t owed any markers here nor do we have any formed relationships with any of the townsfolk.
They won’t even look us in the eye here, the residents are skittish when it comes to the Kings,” I admit.
“I guess I’m trying to get some input from you.
I don’t know what to do to make him lose interest in me,” she says, sighing.
“I finally felt free from having to watch my back after graduating high school and leaving my tormentors behind. I’m a grown ass woman and this asshole has brought all of those past fears back to the front of my mind. ”
“Don’t let him do that to you, Sutton. You’re stronger than that. You’re the most capable woman I’ve ever met. I’ve seen you come out on top after the uphill battles you’ve faced. You are not a victim, Sutton. You’re a survivor,” I emphatically say.
“I am,” she agrees, nodding her head. “But, Gemini, he scares me.” I can tell it takes a lot for her to admit that by the way her jaw tightens and her teeth grind.
“Let me see what I can find out. I have two people here that’ll be a good source of information.
I’ll ask them about this guy and see if they know anything that’ll help us out with this.
I need you to write down everything you know from his full name, to his office hours, to his street address if you have it.
While you’re jotting that down, I’m gonna step outside and make a phone call. ”
“Who are you calling?” she asks as she gets up and walks over to the desk that’s sitting in the corner of her living room that holds her desktop computer, and various other office supplies.
“Mercury,” I answer as I walk past her and pat her on the rump. She jumps, spins around with her eyes as wide as saucers, rubbing the spot I tapped. “Looking good there, Sutton,” I tease, winking at her.
“Gemini,” she says my name with a squeak slipping from her luscious lips, and I can’t decide if it’s with horror or excitement. Either will do, it was the shock factor I was going for since she was getting lost in her head. I refuse to let her past haunts resurface.
“What?” I innocently ask, shrugging my shoulders. “I’m tired of fighting this attraction between us, aren’t you?” I don’t give her a chance to respond, I refuse to let her put walls up between us.
She’s good at that but what she’s failed to recognize is that I’m not that teenage boy she remembers.
No longer am I responsible for helping take care of a sick mother nor am I worried about the ramifications to me or my family for getting involved in her tryst and having things blow up at our doorstep.
I do not answer to anyone but myself and the Kings.
My cousins will have my back like they always do, plus, they care about Sutton in their own warped way.
The four of us are natural born protectors.
Once I have my emotions under control, I pluck my phone from the pocket of my cut and dial Mercury’s number. “Yo, Gem, what’s up? You took off out of here like your ass was on fire.”
“Got a situation, Merc, one I’m gonna need your expertise on,” I tell him.
He loses his playful banter and turns serious when he asks, “What do you need me to do?” Mercury may be my VP, but he’s also the best tracker known to man.
Whether it’s man or beast, he’ll follow them like the predator he is.
He blends into the shadows as if he’s an extension of them.
If anyone can scope out this guy and figure out what the asshole is up to, it’s my cousin.
“Some fucknut is stalking Sutton,” I inform him. “He’s got her scared enough that she came to me for advice on how to handle him.”
He whistles before murmuring, “It’s bad if she’s asking for help. Even back in school she never sought any of us out.”
“That was my thought too,” I convey. “I always had to seek her out or walk behind her to make sure she wasn’t stopped and harassed. Here’s my problem, Merc. This guy, he’s not trying to bully her, from what she’s told me, he’s obsessed.”
“That’s not good,” he states, his tone dropping an octave or two. “We’ve got to stop him before it gets dangerous, Gem.”
“We can’t touch him, Merc.”
“Why the fuck not?” he angrily asks.
“This guy is too high profile, according to Sutton’s friend, Skippy.
His father is the CEO which means he’s connected.
We can’t afford that type of attention, at least, not yet.
We need to dig up dirt on this motherfucker and gather enough evidence to ruin his family’s reputation before we can make a move. ”
“What move are we going to make? Gem, this piece of shit won’t easily learn any lessons and if his dad’s as connected as you say he is, he’ll empty his wallet and buy his kid’s way out of trouble. Gem, we have to make a stand here. We can’t pussyfoot around this or nobody will ever respect us.”
“They already don’t, Merc,” I remark.
“Then we need to make them,” he vehemently declares.
“And we will, Merc, but we’ll do it the right way,” I argue, my tone just as fierce as his.
“We need to show them we’re not a group of vigilantes here to take over and ruin what they’ve built.
We want to blend in and become part of their community while working alongside them if we’re ever going to be successful or accepted, and you know it. ”
“I’m not going to tiptoe around anyone, Gem. That’s not who we are.”
“And I don’t expect us to change who we are, Merc,” I cite. “All I’m asking is that we’re a little cautious and have some finesse while showing the residents who we are and what we’re about.”
“All I can do is promise to try, but I can’t change the way I do things or we’ll never get a leg up in this town. We were raised by bikers, the lifestyle is in our blood. We don’t bend a knee to anyone, so you’re asking a lot of us to hide our personalities,” he berates.
“It’s only going to last until we get a feel for the way things work around here,” I promise him. “We have to make this transition as smooth as we can.”
“Just don’t put a leash around our necks and we should be good,” he mumbles.
“Merc, if I was going to do that I would’ve done it a long time ago,” I state.
“I never want to tie y’all up, I just want you to control your temper until we get a lay of the land.
We won’t survive if we don’t figure out a way to undo all of the damage Rocco caused.
In order to gain the town’s respect, we’re going to have to smooth waters instead of ruffling feathers. ”
“We’ll try things your way… for now, Gem. But if those waters get any rockier, I’m buying a speedboat and I’m gonna rip my way through the tides.”
“I hear what you’re saying, cousin. If we’re done using analogies to get our points across, I need you at the helm and ready to sail that ship once I have all of the information Sutton has on this jackass.
” I smirk, getting one last pun in before ending the conversation by hanging up.
I refuse to let Mercury get the last word in.
He’s the kinda person that if you give them an inch, they’ll take a mile.
I brush the soles of my feet off on the welcome mat as I go back indoors. Sutton is still sitting at her desk with her head hung. When she blinks and notices me, she tells me, “I shouldn’t have asked you to get involved.”
“Why’s that?” I ask, squatting down beside her and brushing a strand of her hair behind her ear so I can see her eyes without any obstructions.
“Because I won’t be able to live with myself if you get in trouble for me, Gemini,” she acknowledges, her eyes downcast.
“Look at me, Sutton,” I command, using what my cousins refer to as my presidential voice.
Her head snaps up and she gazes into my eyes, showing me her fear without any restraint.
“We won’t take any unnecessary risks. We know what we’re doing, baby girl.
Nobody will have a clue we’re looking into him until we have enough evidence to bury him.
I won’t let it be tied to us, I’ll submit it anonymously to not only the authorities, but every news station within a fifty mile radius. ”
“Why news stations, Gemini? I don’t want my business flashed across every screen in our vicinity,” she laments. “I don’t want to be in the spotlight.”
“Sutton,” I sigh, gathering my thoughts before posing a few questions and scenarios that I know will have her gathering her bravado and taking a stand.
“What if he does grow bored of you and moves on to another woman? What if she’s not as lucky as you are because she doesn’t have anyone to help her get out from under his thumb?
What if he gets bolder and does more than stalk her, what if he rapes or murders her and you could’ve prevented it?
I know you can’t live with that on your shoulders because fuck knows I can’t. ”
“Do you think he could escalate like that? So far, he hasn’t raised a hand to the women he’s stalked, Gemini.”
“You know that for a fact, Sutton?”
“No,” she whispers.
“Just because something hasn’t been reported doesn’t mean it hasn’t happened,” I point out. “If his family is as connected as Skippy claims they are, they could’ve had it swept under the rug and run the victim out of town.”
“Skippy did say one disappeared,” she confirms.
“With you, Sutton, we aren’t going to take any chances. Okay?”
“Okay,” she whispers, nodding her head. “What am I supposed to do until you gather this evidence?”
“You live, Sutton. But you do it with caution while being aware of your surroundings. And anytime he’s near you, I want you recording your conversation.
I know you have a nanny cam in your office that’ll record those interactions, but I want you to walk around the hospital with your phone ready and easily accessible so you can have proof of his threats if things go too far. ”
“I can do that,” she surmises.
“I know you can,” I validate. “I’m also going to send you an app I want you to install on your phone.”