Chapter 11
Sloane
The sound of the door being opened wakes me and Vector peaks around the corner, checking on me before holding up a finger, and entering the bathroom. Considering he’s still dressed, I look around in confusion as I try to figure out what time it is.
When I finally locate my phone, I realize we came upstairs several hours ago, so he must have headed back down to meet up with the guys.
“Is everything alright?” I ask him when he comes to sit on the bed by my side, worried about everything that’s been happening around his MC lately.
“Yeah, I needed to talk to the Saints a bit. You were out the moment you put your head down, so I went down to meet them,” he says, but I can tell there’s something else bothering him. “Ford let me have a few minutes with Grace.”
In my haste to sit up, I nearly headbutt him.
“I think she’s been through the wringer, babe,” Vector tells me, his voice low and his eyes anchored on my lips as he gently rubs my arms. “I apologized for what I did to her, and she let me off easy.”
“Would you have been happier with a scene?”
“No, but at least I would have seen a spark of who she was then .” He heavily exhales before wrapping his arms around me. “I hurt her. I may not have been responsible for what happened between then and now, but I could have done—”
“Now you’ll have to live with her forgiveness,” I interrupt him, lightly shrugging the shoulder that his chin is resting on. “And be worthy of it.”
If his body were any more tense, I’d worry about his spine snapping in two.
“That was kind of brutal, Sloane,” he whispers after a moment.
“No matter how much I love you, when it’s just us, I’m not going to pull the punches,” I promise and threaten him at the same time.
“My little roughneck,” he grumbles, pulling back just enough to thoroughly kiss me. “I love you, too.”
*
A few hours later, I jolt awake once again and my brain immediately clicks into overdrive, thinking about my family and when it would be the best time to bring Andrew down to meet them.
Twenty minutes later, he’s still snoring away when I decide to head downstairs in search of coffee. It’s early enough that the only chance I have of running into any of the guys is if they’ve been out all night, which is entirely possible.
Scribbling out a quick note to let him know where I am, I leave the room as stealthily as possible. The elevator doors open and I am startled when I see Grace a few steps ahead of me.
“We have to stop meeting like this,” I tease her, and she turns with a look of panic on her face.
“Um … hi,” she murmurs, and my smile widens when I realize that we both instinctively reached up to feel how out of control our hair is.
“You must stir early, like I do.”
“I needed some coffee. Ford was still asleep,” she responds, and I nod in understanding.
“Yeah, Andrew doesn’t take many days to himself, so I figured I’d let him sleep,” I say, stopping myself when I realize that I’m nervously babbling.
We make small talk as we head to the coffee counter, and each get ourselves our caffeine of choice before she gives another one of her guarded looks and points to a small table in the corner. “I was just going to grab a seat.”
“I was going to go do some window shopping, seeing what stores there are without tormenting Andrew,” I counter, motioning in the direction of the walkway to the mall.
“I think shopping for anything nonmechanical is torturing a man. My hip is bothering me, though. So, I should probably sit. By all means, though, feel free to go window-shop. I’m just going to call and check on my son.”
“That’s right, Andrew told me you have a son,” I respond, wanting to acknowledge that he shared their conversation with me, but also so curious about this woman. “I’m sure he keeps you running.”
“He does, but Asher is my biggest blessing. I’m not sure where I’d be without him. He keeps me going on the darkest of days. He’s my whole world.” While the smile on her face isn’t meant for me, I realize it’s the first genuine one she’s worn in the times I’ve been around her. “Listen, Sloane, I mean, it doesn’t seem like you have any issues with me, but I just wanted to make sure you weren’t worried about Andrew and me. I know I looked like a deer caught in headlights last night in the elevator. I couldn’t help it. There were just so many times over the years that I wondered if I’d ever run into him again. Then, he was just there …”
“You both looked like you’d seen a ghost,” I finish for her and she nods. “I didn’t know your name or anything, really, just about your existence and what had happened back then.”
“It was, well, honestly, it was a period in my life that I’d rather forget.”
“Grace—”
“I want the best for Andrew. I always have. It seems that he has found happiness with you, and I'm glad. I want that for him and for you. I just wanted you to know that. I appreciate Andrew trying to give us both closure, but like I told him, it’s really not needed any longer.”
Reaching out my hand, I gently squeeze hers with less pressure than I’m feeling in my throat right now. While I consider leaving her be, I sit and chat with her until I feel my phone vibrate.
“Sounds like the guys are finally awake!” I chirp out, annoyed at how high pitched my voice sounds. I toss my empty coffee cup away in the trash and smile as I read Andrew’s message. “Andrew just ordered breakfast and he mentioned taking me out for a ride.”
“Have fun. I’m just going to call my son and hit the ladies’ room,” she responds.
“Oh, I can wait for you,” I offer, but she quickly shakes her head.
“No, don’t worry about me. I like the quiet and Asher isn’t used to me being gone. I may be on the phone for a bit. Maybe I’ll see you later.”
“If you’re sure.”
“Yep, definitely. Go enjoy your day.”
“You too, Grace. It was nice getting a chance to talk to you.”
“It was,” she replies, sounding sincere.
I’m practically walking on clouds as I head to meet Andrew, and Roman, as it turns out.
“What have you been up to?” Vector asks, after I lean down to kiss him in greeting.
“I ran into Grace when I was getting coffee earlier, and we’ve just been talking,” I answer, ignoring the look Roman gives Vector.
“All good?” he asks me once the waitress has set a cup of coffee in front of me and I order a simple breakfast.
“All good,” I respond, too shy to repeat our conversation in front of Roman. “What are y’all thinking of doing today?”
“The Saint’s reserved a cabana, so party by the pool later, but I thought you might want to get out and see the area?” Vector answers me, but Roman must feel left out because he answers before I can.
“Yes, dear, that sounds delightful!” he says, fluttering his eyes at his president.
I can’t help but laugh at the expression on their faces, at least until I see Ford striding toward us.
“Hey, have any of you seen Grace?” he asks us, and both of my companions turn to look at me.
“Yeah, she was going to the bathroom, calling her son, then heading back upstairs to meet you,” I immediately respond, standing up out of concern. “I’ll go check the bathroom.”
Vector pushes his chair back to rise, holding a hand up to stop Roman. “Settle the bill for us.”
I retrace my steps to where Grace and I parted, not more than twenty minutes ago, wondering what would hold her up. Turning down the service hall between the mall and the hotel lobby, I start to tell them I’ll go check the restroom, but from the looks on Vector and Ford’s faces, I know there’s no chance that they’ll wait outside.
“Go keep an eye out for Roman,” Vector says, and I nod, my lips drawn in a tight line with worry for the woman I just met.
Ford is first into the bathroom and even as I retrace my steps up the hallway, I can hear his voice change as he repeatedly says her name until he finally lets out an expletive.
“Roman!” I call out the moment I see him. “They’re in there, but there’s a door down at the end as well.”
Ford and Vector rejoin us, both looking noticeably more stressed out than they were mere seconds ago. Without a word from me, Ford heads down to the exit door I had noticed. It’s marked that an alarm will sound when opened, but it remains silent when he pushes it open.
Just as he turns to rejoin us, something catches his eye, and he waves us over.
“That’s hers,” he says, pointing to a heart shaped gold locket on the end of a broken chain that’s caught in a crack before the ramp. With my eyes, I follow the movement of his head and notice the security cameras mounted from various angles.
“There are two other cameras along this hallway,” Roman says, poking his neck back through the doorway.
“Should we call the …” I stop talking when I see the look in Ford’s eyes.
“Doesn’t King know the head of security here?” Vector asks. “Let’s track her on the feed.”
Ford starts moving, stopping abruptly to look between Vector and me, as his hand reaches in his pocket, retrieving a keycard. “Vec, can she sit in my room? In case Grace is just …”
“Yeah, man, of course. Roman, you stay with Sloane,” Vector immediately replies, looking between the three of us as he puts together a plan. “Like fucking glue, until we have this figured out. Babe, call me if you think of anything or if she shows up. I’ll be with Ford.”
I nod, then before he can turn to follow his friend, I throw my arms around his neck and briefly press my lips to his. “I love you.”
“Me too,” he whispers against my mouth. “Keep your eyes open.”
I feel like I’m in a daze as Ford and Vector get moving and I don’t even try to keep pace with them.
“You okay?” Roman asks from directly over my left shoulder.
“We were just right there,” I say, needlessly pointing to where we had parted. “I should have insisted on waiting for her.”
“We don’t know that anything’s wrong.”
There’s no sense in pointing out that the look on his face says differently.
Getting upstairs to their suite, I wander through both rooms more to burn off some of the adrenaline rushing through my veins than to be nosy, then I pull open the drawers, looking for any items they might have left behind.
“I don’t think they planned on staying last night,” Roman tells me, but then shakes his head and crosses to the closet and punches a code into the safe and opens that, pulling out the purse Grace had with her at the craps table.
“How the hell did you know their password?” I ask, completely dumbfounded by how quickly he guessed it. I spent a few minutes thinking up a personal code for the one in our room.
“Factory reset. Hotels rarely ever bother to change that, so it’s the same all over,” he tells me with a smirk, and I can feel my face fall.
“But … but …,” I sputter, trying to wrap my head around the fact that while a factory reset makes sense, it also destroys the confidence I’ve felt leaving my winnings in that little box.
“Guess what?” he continues, leaning forward like he’s about to disclose a huge revelation. “Santa Claus doesn’t exist.”
I almost jump out of my skin when I feel my phone vibrate.
“Hi,” I sound breathless as I hit the speaker button to pick up Vector’s call.
“Babe, I’m sorry, but we’re all going to head out. Can you start packing …”
“Grace’s purse is here,” I interrupt him, his tone telling me there’s no time to waste on niceties. “Roman and I will head downstairs and then I’ll get you and me packed up. What else do you need?”
“Perfect. I’ll meet you in our room.”
With that, he disconnects, and I look up to see Roman making another sweep of the room.
“This is my fault,” I whisper, more to myself than to Roman.
“Knock that shit off,” he growls, as I punch my floor number. “No one thinks that, and we don’t have time for anything except the facts.”
His words are a splash of reality over my pity party, and I take a deep breath to calm myself down. Which does absolutely nothing to help. I’m still terrified for the woman I was just getting to know.
Vector is opening the door to our room as we approach it and he reaches for the bags Roman is carrying, allowing his friend to go get his own things.
The moment the door to our room closes behind us, he pulls me into his arms, his lips eagerly seek mine. Under any other situation, with the adrenaline flowing through our bodies, we’d be a second or so away from him pounding his dick into me, but there’s no time to be wasted.
Pulling away from him, I look up at his stoney expression and just start sobbing.
“I shouldn’t have left her,” I gasp out the words that have been echoing through my mind. Swiping my hand across my face, I turn to the closet to grab my backpack. The sight of the stupid safe enrages me and I smack it.
“Hey, hey, hey,” Vector says, wrapping his arms around me to pull me against his chest. Lifting my, now, bright red palm up to his mouth for a kiss. “None of this is your fault. I’ll fill you in on everything once we get back, but we need to move now.”
I nod, trying to control my tears as he tries to soothe me.
“Now, are you going to tell me why you’re so mad at the safe?” he asks me, undoubtedly trying to lighten my mood.
“It’s a lie,” I snivel. “Roman showed me how to unlock it.”
“Yeah, about that,” he says, with a chuckle. “I hid your money in the bathroom so no one would nick it. You get packed, I’ll grab that.”
I’m glad my back is to him as my snort blows a snot bubble and I quickly cross to get some Kleenex, wiping my face before seeing to the task at hand. I look up at the knock on the door, to see Vector opening it for Roman.
“I’m ready, let me get one of your bags,” he says, and I see he just has one small bag with him just as his eyes take in the size of my backpack. “Actually, I can fit both on my bike.”
“Appreciate it,” Vector simply responds, and I’m pleased he doesn’t tease me about how much I packed. Now more than ever, I understand how important it is to pack lightly when we’re traveling by motorcycle.
“I’m ready,” I say, once I’ve double checked the room.
“Before we go, I need ask you to do something,” he starts slowly, holding his hands out in front of him. “I know we haven’t talked about living arrangements yet, but I want you to take some time off work and stay at the clubhouse with me.”
“How much time?” I ask, wondering how much damage I would do to my career if I wasn’t around to oversee the project I was tasked with.
“A week, maybe two,” he responds, and I immediately start shaking my head at him. “Babe, we have to get a handle on this. Whoever did this, they could have just as easily taken you today, and I need to know you’re safe.”
“I love you, but no. I cannot be a prisoner because something might happen,” I tell him, needing to put my foot down so this doesn’t determine the course of our relationship. “Besides work, I wouldn’t just leave Pops alone.”
“We can bring him to the compound. He can have the master bedroom in Bridget’s house for now,” he counters, but I cross my arms against my chest. “I need you to at least give me a couple of days, Sloane, please?”
I finally nod my head. Technically, I had already taken Monday off to help Pops with the errands and chores I’d typically be doing over the weekend. Now, it sounds like we’ll get him situated at the compound and I can work remotely the first two days of the week.
With my agreement, Vector reaches for my bag and we head downstairs to check out and leave. The beauty of the ride home is marred with worry for Grace and wondering what steps are in motion to find her.
We’re an hour into the trip when I suddenly remember she has a son and that’s when my tears start to flow. Poor Vector. His head jerks as he briefly looks over his shoulder, as if trying to figure out what is wrong with me. There’s a sign for an exit directly ahead of us and he points at it, letting me know we’re making a stop.