Chapter 12
CHAPTER
TWELVE
“ Y ou got it. No problem. We’ll comb the entire place.”
Lyla stepped into the kitchen from the basement to find Rock and three other members of the Guardians seemingly in a meeting. She only caught those last three sentences. “What’s going on?” She looked around at each of them, noting the furrowed brows and serious expressions.
Dipping into her brain, she tried to remember who each of them were. She’d met so many people this morning that it was hard to keep track. It seemed like half the MC had come by or was working on her house.
Lyla was pretty sure the men in the huddle were Steele, the club president; Kade, the enforcer; and Atlas, the treasurer and Rock’s son. She knew him for certain. It was still eerie looking at him. He was like a young Rock.
Rock reached out a hand toward her. “Come, Little one.”
She went to him, feeling out of sorts. It was one thing for him to Daddy her in private, but it felt strange in front of all these men, including his son. Even though she knew all of them were Daddies and had wives and girlfriends of their own, it wasn’t a lifestyle she was accustomed to.
Rock pulled her in front of him and wrapped his arms around her from behind, claiming her hard. “Do you mind if the club knows how we know each other?”
She shook her head. It would probably be easier if they knew the truth than assuming she was some hussy he’d met last night.
He faced Steel and Kade. “My senior year of high school, I became good friends with a guy named Jackson. The first time I went to his house, I met this amazing girl who took my breath away.”
Lyla giggled when Rock bent his head to kiss her neck. It was like he was telling them some sort of tragic love story. He kind of was. She looked at the men and rolled her eyes, hoping he didn’t notice. Or maybe she didn’t care if he noticed. She was kind of looking forward to the promised spanking. “He exaggerates. I have no idea what he saw in me. I was gangly with glasses and braces. My hair was stringy. My body was…immature.”
The men chuckled.
“I’m sure Rock’s version is different,” Steele said.
Rock cleared his throat. “Don’t think I didn’t notice the eye roll, Little girl,” he said sternly.
Lyla shivered in his arms. She wasn’t used to PDA. He was wrapped around her in front of the most important people in his life. And she kind of liked it. Her husband had rarely touched her in front of other people. She hadn’t even realized it kind of hurt her feelings until this moment.
It felt nice to be claimed.
Rock continued, “Anyway, Lyla was only sixteen at the time, so I kept my hands and thoughts to myself for two years. It wasn’t until after she turned eighteen, right before her graduation, that we, uh…” He waved a hand through the air as he skipped the details.
She was glad. Her face was hot, and she was slightly worried about how his son was taking this information.
Atlas didn’t look upset. He was smiling.
“Life was complicated, though. I had a summer internship in another town, and Lyla went away to college. We lost touch.”
“Wait…” Atlas said, “You mean you never saw each other again?”
Lyla swallowed, tears welling up in her eyes. It sounded so tragic. Maybe it was.
Rock kissed her neck again. “Not until last night.”
“Holy fuck, Dad.” Atlas glanced back and forth between them. “You two look like you haven’t even missed a beat.”
“I feel kind of sad,” Kade muttered.
Lyla took a deep breath and wiped her eyes, sucking back the tears. “I’m here now.”
“Are you staying?” Steele asked.
Rock answered, “It hasn’t even been a day. We have a lot of catching up to do.”
Lyla was grateful for his response. The deflection. After a long silence, she repeated her initial question, “What were you all saying about combing the place?”
Rock turned her so she was against his side and looked down at her. “This house. We bumped heads about your attacker. He said, ‘where is it?’ That makes us think he hid something here in the house. Apparently, when he came back for it, it was gone, and he thinks you found it.”
Steele nodded. “We’ve spoken to Ink and Breaker. They haven’t seen anything out of the ordinary, and they haven’t taken anything from the property.”
She glanced at Rock. How could they be sure?
He must have read her expression. “They’ve been prospects with the Shadowridge Guardians for a while, Little one. They’re good guys. We’ve never had a single issue with them. There’s no way they would ruin their chances with the MC by stealing something from my woman’s house and lying about it.”
She nodded.
“Besides,” Kade added, “if they had found something, and it was valuable, they would have left town, not shown up again today to keep working.”
Kade had a point. “Right. Okay. So why bother combing the place? We already know it’s not here, whatever it is.”
Steele rubbed his beard. “We’re looking for a hiding place, maybe a false wall behind a cabinet or space under a floorboard, something that could have been a hiding place. It isn’t likely to be in plain sight.”
Rock nodded. “Gabriel and Talon are talking to the neighbors to see if anyone has seen any suspicious activity since the last renters moved out. Maybe someone saw your attacker coming and going. If he’s only been here in the middle of the night, though, it’s likely no one would have seen him.”
That was a good idea. Honestly, Lyla had been so consumed with Rock’s appearance and her deep feelings for him that she hadn’t stopped to consider the possibilities regarding her attacker. It was easier to put it out of her mind.
Kade shoved away from the counter he’d been leaning against. “Trust me. If there’s anything remotely suspicious on this property, one of us will find it.”
Rock tipped her chin back. “Do you remember any secret hidey-holes from your childhood?”
“No. I suppose we could ask Jackson, but he never told me about any secret compartments.”
Rock held her gaze. “I think we should call Jackson anyway.”
“Call Jackson about what? What’s going on here?”
At the sound of her brother’s voice, Lyla spun around so fast she nearly fell on her ass.
Jackson was entering the kitchen, flanked by two of the Guardians.
“Sorry, Pres,” the one who’d introduced himself as Bear said, looking at Steele. “Didn’t mean to interrupt. This guy says he’s Lyla’s brother.”
When she locked eyes with her brother, Lyla ran across the room and threw her arms around Jackson. She hadn’t seen him in almost a year. They didn’t get together these days as often as they used to. “What are you doing here?” she asked as she leaned back, still holding his arms.
He smirked. “Mom and Dad guilted me into coming. They said it wasn’t fair for me to leave you to take care of the house alone. I took a few days off work. I can’t stay long, but I’m here.” He looked around. “Why exactly is the entire Shadowridge Guardians MC here?”
Lyla stepped to the side. She was about to make some introductions when Jackson suddenly gasped.
“Rock? Holy shit. It’s you.” Jackson stepped toward his old friend and gave him a solid man hug.
“In the flesh,” Rock stated as they parted. He took over the introductions, pointing around the room. “This is Steele, the club president. Kade, the enforcer. Atlas, the treasurer. He’s also my son.”
Jackson chuckled. “Shit, yes. I see the resemblance.”
Rock turned toward the two guys who’d walked in with Jackson. “Bear, the club secretary. Storm, the VP.”
Jackson shook everyone’s hand. “And you’re all here because…?”
Lyla explained, “The realtor recommended two guys, who happen to be prospects with the MC, to do some of the renovations around the house. I hired them. They spent yesterday tackling the blue carpet you put on the wall downstairs.” She lifted her brows. “Did you seriously need to both staple and glue it? They had to remove the drywall to get it off.”
Jackson cringed. “You removed my blue carpet?” he teased. “That was so innovative. I was so proud of myself for coming up with that. Early eighties acoustic magic. I can’t believe it was still there.”
Rock chuckled. “It was an eyesore in the eighties, and it still was yesterday. I didn’t have the heart to tell you back then.”
Jackson set a hand over his heart as though he were offended. He turned back to Lyla. “And now the entire MC is here?”
“Not quite all of us,” Rock continued. “Some shit went down.”
Lyla was grateful he was taking over.
“What kind of shit?” Jackson glanced around.
Lyla touched his arm.
Rock cleared his throat. “A guy came in last night after Ink and Breaker left and attacked Lyla.”
Jackson gasped and jerked his attention toward his sister. “What the fuck?”
Rock nodded. “Yeah, that’s basically how we’re all feeling. I’d found out Lyla was here, and it was a blessed coincidence that I stopped by within a minute of the attacker. I scared him off, but then I attended to Lyla instead of chasing him. He’s still on the run.”
“Did you call the police?” Jackson asked, his narrowed gaze on Lyla. “Are you okay?”
“I’m okay,” she assured him. “Bumps and bruises. I’ll be fine. Yes, we called the police.”
Steele growled. “But our MC isn’t too keen on waiting for the bureaucracy of the police department. Don’t get me wrong, we have a symbiotic relationship. We help each other out from time to time, but the Guardians are usually faster to solve a crime. We don’t…fill out paperwork, so to speak.”
Lyla drew in a deep breath. She wasn’t even going to ask what he meant by that. It was pretty evident. In fact, she took a step back and simply listened while Steele brought Jackson up to speed.
Jackson listened closely with a furrowed brow. “So, we’re looking for a secret hiding place?”
“Yes,” Kade confirmed. “Not sure it will be helpful since whatever this guy might have stashed here obviously isn’t there anymore, but perhaps we’ll find a clue.”
Jackson ran a hand through his hair and turned around in a slow circle before returning to face everyone. “I know where it is.”
Lyla gasped. She hadn’t expected that answer.
“You had a secret hiding place in your house?” Rock asked.
Jackson winced. “Yeah.”
“How the hell did I not know about it?” Rock’s voice wasn’t angry. It was curious.
Jackson chuckled. “Oh, the irony.”
Lyla looked back and forth between them. “Someone want to fill me in?”
Jackson started laughing. Within seconds, he bent at the waist and set his palms on his knees while he laughed even harder.
Lyla stared at both of them with raised brows. The rest of the guys simply waited with equally curious expressions.
Jackson smirked as he turned his attention back to Lyla. “Mom and Dad thought Rock was a bad influence on me.”
“Yeah, so?” She’d known that. Her parents had tolerated Rock. They weren’t mean people, but they struggled to look past the tattoos and the motorcycle and the leather. They never said a word, but they often pursed their lips. It was obvious they were leery.
Jackson shrugged. “So, I had weed. I smoked pot from time to time. I hid it from Mom and Dad.” He nodded toward Rock. “This dude was too straight-laced for weed. He didn’t approve, so I didn’t mix my smoking habit with Rock.”
Rock shook his head slowly.
Lyla started giggling. “That’s hilarious.”
“Did you ever finally smoke a doobie, man?” Jackson asked.
Rock rolled his eyes. “Yes. How about we get back to the subject at hand? Where’s the hiding place?”
“And who else knew about it?” Steele asked.
Jackson froze, his face sobering. Finally, he slapped his forehead. “I know who attacked you.”
Lyla’s mouth dropped open. How the hell was that possible?
“Carl Houseman.”
Lyla frowned. She recognized the name, but it took her a few seconds to remember who it was. “Carl? That sleazy guy with the stringy blond hair who sometimes came over?” She stopped talking abruptly when she suddenly put several pieces of the puzzle together. “His parents were the last people renting this house.”
Jackson nodded. “Yep. They were good people. They didn’t have a great relationship with Carl. I bet he was using the house to stash his shit, and then they inconveniently ended their lease and moved out.”
“I vaguely remember Carl,” Rock said. “I’ll call the police and let them know our suspicions.”
“So…” Kade added, “If he was keeping something in this house, where is it now?”
They all looked at each other. That was the million-dollar question.
One thing was for sure: Lyla was not going to hide her relationship with Rock from her brother. She’d been standing apart from Rock for several minutes now, and she didn’t like it.
She moved into Rock’s side, wrapped her arms around his middle, and kissed him on the lips before turning to face Jackson. “There’s one more thing you need to know.”