Chapter 31
Chapter Thirty-One
Hunter
Never meet your idol.
I keep a tight hold of Eleanor’s hand as we weave our way out of the bar and onto the street. The sun has set, releasing the moon to the sky, and with it, the thousands of stars I want to show Eleanor are within her reach. William throws open the door to his wife’s bakery, the smell of fresh bread still hanging in the air. It’s long past closing time, but I appreciate that we aren’t making the short journey to the compound which would likely freak Eleanor out.
Cheryl pokes her head out from the kitchen, no doubt doing some late evening prep for the morning. The day of a baker is long and hard, but she seems to love it. And Lord knows, she’s damn good at it. She smiles at me before glancing at the woman I’m dragging behind me. The door closes and Carlson appears next to Cheryl. There’s a little bit of chocolate on his chin, and some pastry flakes on his checked shirt he always keeps fully buttoned.
Carlson Evans is a child tech genius. He graduated high school a year early and was labeled a difficult kid because he could run rings around his teachers without even trying. His grandpa is a long-standing member of the MC and offered to take him from parents who were at a loss of how to help or manage their own kid. William didn’t question the move at all. One of his skills is finding out what makes someone tick and utilizing it for the good of the club, but also making sure the person gets as much as he gives. My bet is Carlson could give the legendary Ghost a run for her money. In fact, he probably already idolizes her. I glance at the genius in question, making sure she’s okay and keeping my face carefully neutral.
His gaze flicks to Eleanor, and his throat bobs. I was already aware he’d figured out Ghost was here; that was apparent the day we arrived when he alerted William to the hacker prodding at our defenses. A short conversation with the prez meant she was granted almost full access to our town so long as I took responsibility. Plus, it meant she owed him, and favors in the bank from someone like Ghost were too tempting to pass up. I’m aware Carlson has been taunting my little hacker, but she hasn’t mentioned anything. I figured it gave her something different to focus on besides the high-stakes crazy bullshit the rest of her life is bogged down with.
However, seeing the way Carlson stares at Eleanor, I realize it’s the first time they are officially meeting face to face. But he knew what she looked like. My eyes flick between the two of them, the carefully hidden confusion clear on Eleanor’s face. She’s not careless enough to leave any clues in the circles they run that she is even a woman, so when... oh. Well, fuck. The scent Charlie keeps picking up at the edge of the yard. My little hacker has a little stalker. Also figures why the cameras covering that part of the street keep losing periods of time. I dropped Carlson a message about it, three times, and he said he would look into it. What he failed to mention was he was the fucking cause as he tried to erase the evidence of his doe-eyed appreciation of a woman that is a legend in his world.
William sits at one of the tables and waves a hand in polite demand to join him. Cheryl smirks, then winks before disappearing inside the kitchen. What meddling game is she brewing up? I don’t imagine for one second we will get out of here without a little interrogation from the Reapers’ queen. She will bide her time until William is done conveying whatever is so urgent he’d seek me out on a Friday night and disrupt what was about to become a very hot moment with the woman I’m falling for.
I sit across from him at the four seater table, and Eleanor takes the chair between us. William sighs at Carlson who is still frozen in place by the kitchen.
“Carlson, sit down.” William kicks out the final empty seat to be sure he understands where he should sit. Eleanor’s penchant for literal and blunt speaking has nothing on Carlson’s; it’s a likely possibility Carlson would drop to his ass without any clarification on where exactly he should sit. He takes a hesitant step toward us. “With your laptop,” William adds.
Carlson nods and grabs the tech that’s never far from reach before dropping onto the chair. If looking everywhere but at Eleanor was an Olympic sport, Carlson would take gold. Meanwhile, she is staring at him like she is cataloging his every breath and putting together puzzle pieces that have been out of reach.
“Explain,” William barks, making Carlson jump so hard his glasses slide down his nose. I need to tighten those up for him again.
Carlson nods, then steals a quick glance at Eleanor before opening his mouth. Snapping it shut, he types on his laptop at a speed unfathomable to most. Eleanor watches him with interest, leaning forward in her seat to watch his keystrokes. He might know her identity, but she has one clear advantage over Carlson. He doesn’t push himself out of his comfort zone socially, preferring to stay in his bubble with his screens and code. Eleanor might hate it, but she has learned how to mimic the correct behavior in any given situation, so long as she’s had enough time to figure out which mask to wear. She might not understand why people behave in a certain way, but she can play along so well you’d never know. It is her least favorite thing on the planet, except for Jonathan, but she’s more immersed in the real world, at least in comparison to the genius on our payroll.
“At six twenty-six yesterday morning, an unknown entity attempted to hack into our network.” Carlson flicks his eyes at Eleanor, who hasn’t even blinked. He swallows and redirects his attention to the screen, sitting up straighter in his chair. “They were, um…” He tilts his head as he tries to come up with a word conveying what he means without being too technical. It’s something I’ve been working on him with. “Sloppy.”
Eleanor tilts her head, a silent cue for him to continue. “They know their way around a basic firewall, but what skill they have for breaking in, they have zero in leaving the room as they found it.”
“They left a trail?” I ask.
He nods enthusiastically. “They took a dump in our house and didn’t wipe or flush.”
William pinches the bridge of his nose with a muffled sigh. Eleanor snorts. I stifle a laugh, happy to see the kid relaxed and comfortable for once. “That’s a good try, C, but your execution on the analogy was a little off.”
Eleanor’s eyes widen, her spine stiffening as I confirm this is the elusive C who has been playing with her. Be gentle, trouble, he’s just a boy.
“We get the gist,” William says as he wrestles his tone and strives for patience. “But it’s not like we haven’t had attempts before; they are fairly regular.”
Carlson nods. “We have on average one point six attempts per week.”
No one is going to point out to him that you can’t realistically have a point six of an attempt because then we will get an undergrad level lecture on statistics. I smirk to myself. Been there, done that.
“What is so special about this one?” I ask, moving the conversation along so I can get back to the kiss I still need to steal from Eleanor.
“The attempts are usually from other MCs, some cartels, or law enforcement.” He snorts like he finds the thought of legal agencies adept enough to get into our network laughable. They would have been before Carlson. “This one, however, came from the fashion giant Burnside.”
Fuck. William catches my gaze before sliding his eyes to Eleanor. She hasn’t outwardly reacted, but she’s so still, it’s clear she’s holding back a tirade of curses that would make a sailor blush. Or maybe I am so in tune with her, I know what she’s thinking.
Carlson’s fingers fly over his keyboard once more as he shuffles nervously on the chair. He’s like this whenever he’s away from the compound, surrounded by enough screens and bandwidth to impress the woman beside me.
“Once is an anomaly,” Carlson says. True.
“But in this case, the anomaly is significant,” Eleanor says.
Carlson’s entire body freezes as he gets his first experience of hearing her husky voice. She’s not what he expected. I can sympathize.
“C,” I say, bringing him back to the moment.
He blinks and drops his gaze once more. Damn, this boy is going to combust if we don’t get him back to his comfort zone sooner rather than later.
“Right. Significant. Particularly when paired with another attempt tonight, this time traced back to the elite wellness group Freedom.”
Double fuck. Eleanor crosses her arms. “Were they successful?” she asks, the edge in her voice too strong to hide.
Carlson looks at William, who nods in permission. “Sort of. They got access to the outer level. Enough for them to think they’d been successful, but in reality, only gives them information available in the public domain if they looked hard enough.”
“Clever,” Eleanor says, impressed with what C has put in place.
Carlson blushes from his neck to the tips of his ears. Poor guy.
“But this time, they didn’t take a dump and leave.”
I squeeze my eyes closed, letting out a slow breath. Let it go, man. “What did they do?”
“They searched for a specific person—address, info, job, diary, vehicles.”
Eleanor’s? That makes no sense. “Yours,” she mutters, glancing at me and seeing the confusion in my eyes. “They are coming for me through you.”
I can see the wheels turning in her head as she tries to solidify an escape plan from the hundreds she’s got stored in that big brain of hers.
“What did they get?” We need to know so we can form a plan.
Carlson spins his laptop around, and we all stare at the multiple windows displaying a wealth of information on yours truly. Except it’s not. That’s not my address, and he has my diary indicating I’m in Canada of all places. As well as booked flights for myself, and one Eleanor Austin, dated four days ago.
William catches my eye. “You did this?” I breathe, surprised he’d go to bat for Eleanor too.
“I did as soon as you explained the danger. I will always make moves to protect you.” And by extension, Eleanor.
Eleanor drags her bottom lip between her teeth. “This won’t last forever.”
She isn’t questioning why William would know about her—maybe she deduced it already—but she’s going to remove my balls and hang them in her car like I told Mark.
William drums his fingers on the table as he looks between us both, nodding once his decision is made. “Eleanor, you are with the man I love like a son, meaning you are with family.” She narrows her gaze but doesn’t answer. He’s not fazed by her silence. “Which means you have the full protection of the Desert Reapers. We are a closed town for the most part. Nobody gets in or out without me saying so. If these men come searching here, they will be met with the full force of my club.”
“You are outnumbered and outmatched,” she answers. William might have been offended if she hadn’t said it in a tone that wasn’t accusatory, but factual. Eleanor knows our enemy better than we do, and William knows it.
“How?” Ah, Prez learned she deals in hard cold facts and numbers and is preparing to meet her on the battlefield.
She falls silent. It’s hard sharing when you’ve been fighting alone for so long.
William waits her out, a quiet reassurance of understanding that he isn’t dismissing or taking her concerns lightly.
Eleanor sucks in a long breath before letting it out. “Burnside is part of the biggest sex trafficking organization in the country. The Freedom group is a front for its leader. They have thousands of men enforcing their wishes on a daily basis. They move humans around the world like cattle and don’t blink at bloodshed or shy away from murder. They have billions, not millions, of dollars at their disposal, as well as politicians and law enforcement who have a vested interest in ensuring they are never exposed.”
“Sucky blue balls on a stick,” Carlson says.
Indeed. My face hardens, realizing the extent of what Eleanor has been facing alone for years.
“Do they have a passionate family who act out of loyalty and not fear? Fear is easy to dismantle; it’s flimsy, fickle, and weak. Loyalty cannot be broken; it has to be earned. Everyone in this town is loyal to me, and by extension, Hunter. You are his, therefore you have that same protection.”
She opens her mouth, but William holds up his hand, making her snap it closed, her eyes tightening. “It’s not just the Desert Reapers, Eleanor. It’s every interconnected MC in the country. We might feud between ourselves, but we close ranks to the outside world. You threaten one, you threaten us all. We are a global network with vast resources and skills, and we are capable of protecting you.”
Her hands tense as she battles with her emotions. In many ways, what William is saying is comforting, but in so many others, it is not. It’s too reminiscent of cult life without more context. She has to not run so I can prove to her that’s not what we are about.
“I have alerted the surrounding states to a possible threat on the horizon,” William adds. He has? He catches my eye, his face breaking out into a grin. “You were on leave; I was trying not to bother you.”
“Consider this my notice I’m back early.”
I turn to Eleanor and lean my elbows on my knees. “Give me a week. If I can’t convince you this is the best place, we will do what you want next. Just promise me you won’t react without thought.”
Carlson pauses in his incessant clicking on the keyboard, dropping the bakery into silence. Even Cheryl has been listening to every word, and now everyone waits with bated breath for Eleanor’s decision.
“Okay,” she breathes.
My shoulders sag and I sigh, the tightness is my chest relaxing a little.
She avoids eye contact with anyone as she battles with her demons in solitude. William gives her one last glance. “You’re coming to the camp out.”
He doesn’t phrase it like a question, because it isn’t. Eleanor nods like she has a clue what he’s saying. He smirks, then rises before dropping a kiss on his wife’s lips. “How long are you going to be?” he asks, brushing some flour from her forehead.
“Not long. I have a few things to do. I’ll see you at home.”
Oh boy. A “few things” are likely going to involve interrogating Eleanor. “Carlson, come on. Let’s get back,” William says as he opens the bakery door.
Carlson sweeps his laptop into his arms and gets up from his chair so fast it topples backwards. I catch it before it clatters to the floor, shaking my head at his panicked excitement.
“It was an honor to meet you, Ghost,” he mutters, then does some kind of half bow thing that makes the entire encounter weird.
Eleanor doesn’t seem surprised at all. “And you, C.”
He bites his lip and opens his mouth, but William cuts him off. “Tick tock, Carl. Otherwise, you can wait for Cheryl to finish.”
Carlson hurries out the door without a backwards glance. William shakes his head and follows him. The door closes, leaving the three of us in the silent bakery. Now the real test can begin.
Cheryl strolls over and slides a box in front of me, and I groan at the peach pie inside.
“So, you’re the woman who has stolen his heart?”
If we were alone, I think her response would include never wanting my heart in the first place, but that wouldn’t make Cheryl’s blunt observation any less true.
“He’s doing plenty of stealing himself,” Eleanor replies evenly. I can’t detect a lie. She’s probably thinking of the panty collection myself and Charlie have going.
“I see. Then you can spend a morning with me on Sunday while Hunter attends club business.”
Eleanor tries and fails to come up with an excuse for her demand quick enough. Sunday. Yes, I will need to disappear for a few hours, and given tonight’s revelations, I want to ensure Eleanor isn’t alone too long. I know she’ll convince herself staying for a week is a bad idea if she’s left alone that long.
“Excellent. Bright and early, please. Seven o’clock works. It will let us enjoy a slow morning first,” Cheryl says with a smirk as she heads out of the bakery.
“Doesn’t she need to lock up?” Eleanor asks as we follow onto the empty street.
I shake my head as I grasp her hand and start the journey back to my apartment. “You aren’t getting it—this town is safe. We leave our doors unlocked and don’t worry about our kids playing on the street.”
“You don’t leave your apartment unlocked,” she counters as we cross the road.
“No, but that’s my problem, not a reflection of the people I trust.”
She stares up at me like she’s trying to pick apart my brain and understand the meaning behind those words. Not yet, Eleanor; you aren’t the only one with demons. I kiss her knuckles, letting the warmth of her hand in mine fight the darkness trying to claw its way back in.