Chapter 22
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Sutton
Monday comes quicker than I’d like it to have, and even though I’d love nothing more than to call in and let my boss know I’m working remotely from home, I can’t.
It’s a team building day and also the day we go over troublesome cases.
Usually, I’m gungho about going, I enjoy the more puzzling cases we get.
As I get ready, my nerves get the better of me and something as simple and ritualistic as applying my makeup has me shaking.
“No eyeliner today,” I tell the image reflected back at me as I stare into the mirror.
The woman with bags underneath her eyes and droopy lids staring back at me isn’t shocking nor surprising.
I tossed and turned all last night in bed, I didn’t catch a wink of sleep since all I could think about was sitting across the conference table from Allen Jeffries.
“No, Sutton. You can’t let him take everything away from you.
You enjoy your job. It’s challenging and you make a difference.
He already stole your home, you can’t let him take this from you as well. ”
I wish that little pep talk gave me inspiration to carry on with things as if they were normal.
Only it doesn’t, if anything, it causes me to hunch in on myself.
Who am I kidding? I don’t have the defenses to go up against something or somebody as evil as this.
I’m not a depraved mastermind who faces bad people on a daily basis.
Focusing once again on my image in the mirror, I use every trick and technique I’ve learned to ensure my sleepless night doesn’t show on my face, finally saying, “That’s as good as it’s gonna get today, girlie.”
Blowing out a heated breath, I grab my laptop bag and purse then walk out of my room and down the stairs.
Each step I take is filled with hesitancy, my feet are dragging but I know that as an adult, I have responsibilities that can’t be pushed off.
I’m not the first person in history who has to deal with a coworker who is less than savory.
Walking into the kitchen, I’m unsurprised to see Gemini sitting at the table, a cup of coffee in front of him. “What’s going on?” I ask as I search for a travel mug so I can make myself a drink to take to work.
“Pisces is going to follow you to work, then keep an eye on things until you leave to come home,” he replies, reminding me of who my escort of the day will be.
I know I agreed to it, in the beginning, but he can’t follow me inside, so what’s the point?
“Do you really think that’s necessary?” I question, now buttering a piece of toast to eat.
I’m not a big breakfast eater per se, but I’m hoping it’ll ease my queasy stomach brought on by my nerves where Jeffries is concerned and my lack of sleep.
“Sutton, that man has you in his sights for some possessed reason, so I’m not willing to take any chances with your safety when you’re not here,” he retorts.
“In case you forgot, he’s been watching you and we’ve got the fucking pictures to prove it!
Not to mention, a newly built deer blind that’s on your property.
You might be a Texas girl, but to my knowledge you’re not a hunter, unless something’s changed? ”
His voice is harsh now and I shiver just thinking at what was found at my home just two days ago.
It’s not as though I’ve forgotten—the collage of pictures, the calendar with a specific date encircled in red, the smiley faces on certain windows—it just never occurred to me that anything could happen to me while I was at work.
“No, nothing’s changed. I am a card-carrying gun owner, however, so I can take care of myself, Gemini,” I reply.
As a single woman, I listened to those in authority when I got to college and took self-defense classes, then went a step beyond that and learned how to use a gun and got a conceal carry license.
I know the men who are now staring at me in disbelief would probably give me shit for what I finally ended up purchasing, but the blinged out Taurus I finally chose works for me.
It’s lightweight, easy to use, and fits inside the special holster that’s in my purse.
I haven’t gone to the gun range since relocating, but with the threat of Jeffries hanging over me, I decide to make that a priority.
In fact, since I now have a best friend, I think Skippy and I need to make it a girl’s day.
I wouldn’t put it past him to use her to get to me, he seems like the kind of slimeball who would do that very thing.
“You know how to use it?” Mercury asks, having come into the kitchen while Gemini was talking.
“I do,” I retort, setting everything down and quickly accessing it before showing the men in the room.
“Is it… is it purple?” Pisces asks, his eyes wide.
I snicker but nod. “It works the same way as the black model,” I tease. “Apparently, the manufacturer wanted to appeal to women, so they have several ‘more feminine’ colors. It was a tough choice too because I was considering the pink one, but it was… a bit blah.”
“‘A bit blah’? What does that even mean?” Orion questions, walking closer. He looks at me, then nods to the gun. “May I?”
I hand it to him then watch in amusement as he examines it closely, even going so far as to eject the magazine, where he whistles when he sees the ammunition I use.
“I’m not stupid, Orion,” I chide. “I know my self-defense skills will only go so far, but if I ever need it, my gun will give me a fighting chance to save myself.”
He replaces the magazine and hands it back to me and I slide it back into my purse, ready to move on so I can use the drive into town to put my game face on so I can deal with Jeffries.
Because while my gut is screaming that he’s the one who did those things to my home, at the end of the day, I don’t have any actual proof.
“Good girl,” Gemini praises, coming to stand in front of me. “We’ll set up something out here for you to practice to keep your skills sharp.”
I raise my eyes to him, surprised. I expected him to protest that he could protect me or something equally as ridiculous, since he can’t be with me every single second of the day. “Really?”
He smirks while nodding. “Yeah, really. Trust me when I say, it’s hot as hell knowing that you have the means to take care of business if you need to do so.
I’m man enough to admit that I can’t always be ‘right there’ to protect you, and I won’t blow smoke up your ass or beat my chest and convince you otherwise. ”
An image of him yelling, “Me Tarzan, you Jane” makes me giggle, which goes into full-blown laughter at his look.
Maybe it’s because I’m imagining him dressed like the character that Brendan Frasier played in George of the Jungle, which is absurd because George and Tarzan are not the same, but soon, I’ve got tears streaming down my face as I try to rein my hilarity in while the men stare at me in confusion.
Thank goodness for waterproof makeup, otherwise, I’d be heading upstairs to redo my face.
“Sorry, sorry, I just had something come to mind that tickled my funny bone,” I finally gasp out. Seeing the clock on the wall, I realize I need to go if I’m not going to be late and quickly gather the rest of my things in preparation to leave.
“I kind of wanna know what she was laughing about,” Orion whispers to Pisces, who merely shrugs. “Women who have a sense of humor are hot.”
“As far as you’re concerned, women who have a pulse are hot,” Pisces retorts, snickering.
Heading toward the front door, I hear Gemini’s footsteps right behind me. “I’ll walk you out,” his gruff voice says.
“Okay.” I’m not gonna complain about him being at my side. I kind of wish whatever is going on in Jeffries’ head would fully reveal itself, so I can move on to explore this thing between me and Gemini.
* * *
“I’m proud of myself,” I muse as I get into my car to leave for the day.
Despite being creeped out by Jeffries’ attention today, I managed to stay focused on my tasks, and I even got permission from my boss to work remotely when I spoke with her during lunch.
In all honesty, I could work from home all the time, but it’s important to me to build relationships with my other coworkers, since I’m new in town.
I was forced to speak to Jeffries several times during the day and managed to keep my revulsion from showing. I guess I can thank my high school bullies for being able to pull that one off since I learned at an early age to hide what I was feeling.
I hear Pisces start his bike up as I leave the hospital’s employee parking lot and head toward the clubhouse.
Hopefully, he’ll let me use one of the spare rooms at the house to set up my office, but I know it’ll ease something inside of him knowing I’m where he and the other men can protect me better.
I may be a strong independent woman, at least in my own mind, but I know I’m out of my element when it comes to whatever machinations Jeffries has in mind.
As I near the dirt road that leads to my house, a lightbulb switches on in my head when I remember I had some files I needed to grab and I make an immediate left turn and follow the forked path.
Thankfully, I see Pisces following closely, keeping up with me.
As I glance in the rearview mirror, I notice a car coming up behind him at a high rate of speed and he swerves to try and avoid being hit.
I scream out loud when I notice the car still ends up hitting his rear tire, sending him spiraling out of control toward the ditch.
“What the hell?” I murmur as the car doesn’t even stop but instead, speeds up so it’s directly behind me.
I’ve never been in a car chase before and I’m not sure what to do.
My instinct is to stop, turn around, and check on Pisces, but if I do, it could put me at risk.
When I make out Jeffries’ face, I realize I’m in far more danger than any of us anticipated. “Dammit, I need Gemini.”
I hit the handsfree control on my steering wheel and tell my smart car who I want to speak with. “Calling Gemini,” the robotic voice states and soon, ringing is coming through the speakers in my car. When he answers, all of my pent up emotions flow out as I yell, “He hit Pisces and is on my ass!”
“Where are you?” Gemini asks, not asking who because there’s only one person who’s hell bent on making my life hell. I can hear the sound of boots running through the receiver and know he’s heading toward town. Well, I hope he is.
“On the road near my house,” I reply, then yelp when I feel my SUV jolt forward. “He just hit me.”
“Do. Not. Stop,” Gemini instructs. I can hear several bikes cranking up and pray for several things at once—that Pisces is okay, that I can get out of this without being hurt, that Gemini and his friends find me.
“I won’t,” I promise, fear gripping me as hard as I’m holding onto my steering wheel as if my life depends on me holding onto it for dear life, and in a way, it does.
“I’m taking this road,” I mutter, making a quick right turn.
Do I know where I’m at? Absolutely not, but I’m hoping I can figure it out sooner rather than later.
I haven’t gone out and explored my area, thinking I’d have time to do that later once the weather shifts gears and there’s no more snow for me to navigate through.
I breathe a slight sigh of relief when I see that Jeffries missed the initial turn since I didn’t signal, but I’m not stupid and I know he’ll back up, track me down, and soon be on my tail again.
“Why didn’t I take the time to check the area out better so I’d know where I was?” I lament out loud, forgetting that Gemini is on the other end of the call. My only focus right now is getting to safety.
“We’ll figure that out later, Sutton. Right now, you just keep driving and turning right. Eventually, you’ll see something familiar. Either you’ll be headed back into town and you can go to the police department, or you’ll be close to the clubhouse. We’re on our way,” he replies.
When he keeps talking about everything they’ve managed to accomplish today, I realize he’s trying to distract me and keep me calm as I continue making right-hand turns until finally, finally I realize I’m on the road that’ll lead me to the clubhouse.
Hearing the sounds of several motorcycles behind me, I let out the breath I was holding.
“Did you find Pisces?” I ask as six bikes surround me.
“Mercury did and he’s on the way to the hospital. I’ll be home as soon as I can, I need to check on him,” he replies. “The others will continue to guide you to the clubhouse and keep you safe until I make sure Pisces is okay.”
I nod my head even though he can’t see me and tell him, “Go and do that, I know the others won’t let anything or anyone hurt me.”
The chuckle I hear within the confines of my car has me shuddering. “Definitely not. See you soon, Sutton, okay?”
“Okay, Gemini,” I whisper to dead air. Seeing the driveway that leads to the clubhouse, then the house the guys are currently staying at, I’m not surprised that many of the men I met this weekend are basically patrolling the area, guns out and evident.
Instead of scaring me further, a sense of peace rolls through me as I finally park my car.
It’s then that I fall apart, not only for what I went through, but worrying about Pisces and whether he will be okay.
The adrenaline dump has been depleted and I am a shaking, blubbering mess when Orion opens the door and helps me out of the car.
I don't remember getting to my room, but he must have helped me make it into bed because I wake up a couple of hours later.
My hair looks like a rat's nest and my eyes are puffy and swollen from crying.
I check my phone and see several missed calls from Skippy along with some texts.
After freshening up, I make my way downstairs and head toward the kitchen where the aroma of dinner calls to me.
It smells like garlic bread and hopefully spaghetti.
Those are my go-to comfort foods when I am stressed out, and today definitely fits the bill.
Conversation stops and six heads turn in my direction as I make my way into the kitchen.
“There’s our girl,” Orion says cheerfully as he guides me to the table and sets a large plate of spaghetti with meatballs and fresh garlic bread in front of me.
“Pisces is fine. They’re keeping him overnight. Gemini will be home in a bit,” he says in a rush, seeming to anticipate the things I have to know before I can relax and eat.
With that information in hand, I tuck in and start eating some of the best pasta that has ever passed my lips. “This is delicious!” I exclaim around a mouthful.
“You can thank Emeril over there,” Hercules offers and points towards Orion. I giggle and the tension I felt in my shoulders deflates as we sit down and eat as a family.