14. Whitney
WHITNEY
Iwake to the unfamiliar sound of a dog snoring.
For several seconds, I simply lie here and stare at the ceiling. It’s been a few days since we arrived at the clubhouse, a few nights of sleeping in Quake’s bed, and I’m becoming entirely too used to it.
Turning my head, I find Melissa and Stella curled together beneath the blankets. The little girl has one arm wrapped around the dog's neck while Stella sleeps on her back with all four paws pointed toward the ceiling.
It's ridiculous and adorable.
A smile tugs at my mouth before I can stop it, and it fades just as quickly.
Melissa might be sleeping more peacefully, but she’s still scared.
Ever since her meeting with Carrie, she’s grown quiet, quieter than normal, and spends most of her time with Stella in the suite where her interactions with anyone other than Quake or me are limited.
Careful not to wake either of them, I slide from the bed and quietly cross the suite.
The smell of coffee perks me up a little, and I spot Quake at the table with a mug in one hand and a laptop open in front of him.
He doesn’t notice me right away, so I take a moment to simply stand there and watch him.
His brow is furrowed, and his jaw is tense. Whatever has his attention isn’t pleasant. As though sensing me, he glances up, and his expression softens. The transformation is so immediate that it nearly takes my breath away.
"Morning,” he says.
"Good morning."
"They still asleep?" I nod, and a smile tugs at his lips. "Good."
I force myself to look away before I get lost staring at him again. That particular habit is becoming a problem, a giant biker-sized problem that started in my dreams and now invades my prayers and every waking moment.
“Is there any coffee left?” I ask after taking a deep breath.
“Yep. Want me to get it for you?”
I shake my head. “I’ll get it.”
Going to the cabinet, I grab a mug and pour myself some. The action feels routine, normal, and the warmth that settles in my bones at the domesticity of it all catches me off guard.
I’m comfortable here. Things are easy, too easy. I’ve known this man for such a short time, yet everything I do with him, around him, feels natural, like it’s simply… right.
I don’t understand the feeling, and part of me isn’t sure that I want to. The rest of me, though, never wants the feeling to go away.
The thought has my heart racing, blood rushing in my ears. Quake stares at me as if trying to decipher what I’m thinking, and just as he opens his mouth to speak, his cell pings. He lifts it and groans.
“Everything okay?” I ask.
“I don’t know. Carrie’s here.”
“Oh,” I say. “Well, she did say she’d be back in a few days.”
“Yeah, but I figured she’d call first.”
“That’s not how it works, Quake. Child Protective Services conduct unannounced visits all the time.”
He grunts and goes to the door when there’s a knock. After opening it, he steps aside so Carrie can enter.
“Good morning,” she greets, a little too cheerfully.
Immediately, my senses tingle. I like Carrie, respect her even, but looking at her now, hearing the higher pitch of her voice, I’m… on alert.
"I came to check on Melissa."
"She's still asleep,” Quake says, his tone flat. “If you’d given us a heads up, we could’ve made sure she was awake.”
“Quake,” I admonish before focusing on Carrie. “Give me a few minutes to get her up, and you can talk to her.”
“This is the most sleep she’s likely had since her parents died,” Quake snaps.
“He’s right,” Carrie says, surprising me. “Don’t worry about waking her up.” She glances toward the sleeping area. “I, uh… I’ll call next time.”
“Are you sure?” I ask.
“Yes, Sister Emiliani.” The caseworker adjusts her purse on her shoulder. “Have there been any changes?”
"No,” Quake and I reply.
Disappointment flashes across her features. "You’ll call me if there are?"
"Of course,” I assure her.
She nods. “Melissa’s a good kid.”
The way she says it makes it sound oddly personal, but before I can think much of it, Carrie excuses herself and leaves.
Once the door closes behind her, silence settles over the room. I look at Quake, and he's staring at the door with an unreadable expression.
“What is it?” I ask.
He blinks several times before facing me. “What is what?”
“Something’s bothering you.”
His jaw tenses. “This whole situation bothers me. A kid getting hurt fucking bothers me.”
The answer is honest, but it’s not the full truth. I don’t get a chance to push for more because Melissa appears with Stella beside her. The little girl’s eyes immediately search for me and then Quake. Only once she spots us both does the tension leave her body.
This is something else that’s become a part of our morning routine, and it breaks my heart. Children shouldn't need to assess whether they're safe the moment they wake up.
"Morning," Quake says gently.
A sleepy smile appears on her face. "Morning."
“Wanna head out to the common room for breakfast?” he asks her.
She absently reaches for Stella to pet her and nods. “Yeah.”
We join some of Quake’s brothers, and I’m happy to note that they no longer feel the need to serve a huge spread just to make sure there’s something Melissa and I like to eat.
The rest of the day passes much like they all do since we arrived at the clubhouse. Melissa and I spend time outside, playing with Stella so she gets her exercise, and then we move back to Quake’s suite while he works on ‘club business’.
The first time he told me he had to do that, I asked questions and got no answers. I was hurt but quickly realized it wasn’t because he didn’t want to share with me, he simply couldn’t.
I don’t like secrets, but I dislike lies even more so I count myself lucky that he’s not making stuff up just to placate me.
The afternoon passes while I help Melissa work on some of her school work. When it became apparent that we were going to be here for longer than anticipated, Quake had one of the prospects go to Sacred Haven and gather all of her school supplies so I could continue her home-school curriculum.
We finish her math lesson, and then I let her watch some TV. She’s on her second episode of some cartoon, her eyelids drooping, when Quake strides through the door.
He’s moving quickly, purposefully, and his hard expression puts me on full alert. I cross the room to him, somehow sensing that whatever is going on, Melissa doesn’t need to hear it.
“What happened?” I ask.
He looks over my shoulder as if making sure the little girl is occupied. Seemingly satisfied, he settles his eyes on mine.
“We need to talk.”
“Okay.”
“Not here,” he says before going to Melissa. “Hey, sweetheart, how are ya doing?”
She shrugs. “I’m okay.”
“That’s good. Um, Whitney and I need to talk for a minute. Will you be okay here with Stella if we leave you alone for a few minutes?”
“You won’t go far?” she counters.
“We’ll just be in the hall, I promise.”
We. Not me, not Quake, but… we.
Somewhere along the way, we became one, at least as far as Melissa is concerned.
Quake grabs my hand and tugs me into the hallway, making sure the door is shut before exhaling heavily.
“What is going on?” I demand. “You’re scaring me.”
“We found something.”
My ears perk up. “About what happened to Melissa?”
He shakes his head, killing my hope. “No. But…” Quake runs a hand through his hair. “Okay, so, normally, I wouldn’t be able to tell you all of this, but Lyric gave me the green light.”
“Why?”
He hesitates. “Because you’re a nun?” he teases, but the joke falls flat.
“Gee, thanks. Now tell me the truth.”
“Fine. There might be a connection to Sacred Haven.”
“What?” I shake my head. “Just spell it all out for me because you’re not making any sense.”
“Right. A little over a week ago, one of our prospects, Keith, had a girl here for a party. She looked really fucking young, and that didn’t sit right with any of us. I was tasked with trying to figure out who she is, her age, and anything else about Keith that I could.”
“And?”
“I hadn’t been able to find shit. I followed him every day for a week and nothing. Never saw the girl again, either. He did take her to a sorority house, which points to her being older, but I haven’t been able to confirm that.”
“Okay, but what does this have to do with Sacred Haven?”
“The night everything happened with Melissa stalled my investigation.” I open my mouth to apologize, feeling guilty about taking him away from his duties, but he continues before I can get a word out. “I was still working on it, but had some of the brothers help. And Romeo found something today.”
“What?”
Quake scowls, his excitement over the discovery bleeding into anger. “She’s underage, sixteen. Turns out, she’s super smart, graduated high school at fifteen, and is a freshman at the college. That’s why he took her to the sorority house.”
“That’s awful.”
“There’s more,” he says, and my eyes widen. “Romeo called the sorority and talked to a few of her classmates. Apparently, and these are his words, not mine… he’s got ‘swagger’ and ‘charmed them to give up info’.”
I roll my eyes. “Do all bikers have a ridiculous amount of confidence?”
“Yes. It’s a thing.” He smirks. “Anyway, the girls he talked to said that Jackie, that’s the girl, has a new boyfriend. They said he’s controlling, and they’ve reported some concerns to the appropriate people on campus, but nothing has ever come from it.”
“Quake, this is all very interesting and horrible, but what does this have to do with Sacred Haven?”
“We think Keith is trafficking Jackie, and he has a connection to the home.”
His words hit me like a physical blow. “Oh my God.” Without thinking, I grab his hand. “What? What is his connection?”
“He went to high school with one of the volunteers.”
“No.”
I fall back against the wall, my knees threatening to buckle. Quake is there, arms on my waist to keep me from collapsing.
“Yes.”
“There has to be some mistake.”
“Maybe, but I don’t think so.” He rests his chin atop my head. “The guy’s name is Tom. I’ve seen him there numerous times. I think he does most of the yardwork.”