Chapter 9
NINE
PUCK
Watching Brigid sleep against me spread a smile across my cheeks. For the first time in my entire life, it didn’t scare me to sleep over with a woman. It was the first time I’d ever wanted to stay after fucking a girl’s brains out, and I knew that meant we had something between us.
Something worth exploring.
I slipped away momentarily to clean myself up in the bathroom and take a piss.
But in the middle of me shaking it over the toilet, I heard a sound that put me on edge.
It sounded like a crash off in the distance and I held my breath.
I listened as something creaked outside, as if it were coming up the apartment complex steps.
And as the footsteps came closer to Brigid’s front door, they suddenly ceased.
Fuck, someone’s here.
I silenced my footsteps and quickly got back into my clothes.
I unholstered my gun and crept closer to the front door, watching as a shadow lingered outside.
Everything fell away and all that was left was me, the gun I gripped, and the shadowed figure that was perched outside of Brigid’s bedroom door.
And just as I inched my way up to the peephole to see who was standing there, the footsteps scurried off.
“Shit,” I hissed.
I had to get out of here. I had to get away from Brigid so she didn’t get into any sort of trouble. I mean, I had been vigilant, but possibly not vigilant enough.
Had someone followed me all the way back here from the bar?
I dug my cell phone out of my pocket and my eyes bulged. It was damn near one in the morning and even if I got to sleep beside her, I’d never wake up before the sun. This woman had drained my body of all it was worth, and while I longed to curl up with her, I knew it was safer if I simply left.
But I didn’t want to leave without a way to contact her again.
How the hell do I get her number now?
My eyes fell to her purse on the floor, and I crouched down.
I didn’t make it a habit of going through women’s purses, but this was sort of an emergency.
I unzipped the top compartment and peered inside, quickly finding a slip of paper and a pen.
So, I scribbled a quick note for her before shoving everything back into her purse.
And that was when her phone lit up.
Wait, is that her home screen?
What fucking luck. I practically ripped her phone out from the bottom of her purse and made my way into her contacts.
How the hell her phone had gotten unlocked while still in her purse, I’d never know.
But I scrolled to the top where her own contact information was stored and memorized her number.
I put it back where it belonged and pulled out my note, scribbling a little “P.S.” at the bottom.
Then, I put everything back in its original place before typing her number into my phone.
“And save,” I whispered.
Guilt ate me alive as I made my way back to the clubhouse. I knew she’d be pissed when she woke up and found that I wasn’t there, but I prayed with all of my might that she found my note.
Then, I prayed that she wouldn’t be pissed that I went through her purse.
I got off my bike about a mile out from the compound and cut the engine.
I walked my bike all the way up to the parking lot before I stowed it away in its camouflaged position.
Hope filled my veins as I gazed around. I didn’t see anyone on the roof or stationed outside.
There weren’t any lights on or any laughter or voices cutting through the metallic facade of the warehouse itself.
Did I actually get away with it?
Did I successfully sneak out of this damned place?
“What the absolute fuck are you doing?” West asked.
I groaned as I closed the front door behind me. “What the hell do you want?”
He furrowed his brow. “A fucking explanation as to why I was told to stay up and wait for your ass to come back.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Who the hell told you to do that?”
“I did,” Diego said.
He stepped out of the kitchen, and I wanted to jam my fist through his fucking face. After all I’d done for him, all of the times I had defended him, and all of the times I’d taken a step back just so he could get with my sister, this was how he repaid me?
“You better have a damn good reason for—”
Diego scoffed. “For what? Protecting Ruby by making sure you don’t lead anyone back to the one place keeping her safe?”
I charged him. “You don’t get to talk about the safety of my sister when you’re the fucking reason we’re all in this shit in the first place.”
“Hey! Hey!” West exclaimed. “Break it the fuck up!”
I shoved Diego back into the kitchen and stormed off to my room. I sure as hell didn’t need a lecture from the skinny little asshole banging my sister, nor did I need to be watched like some fucking toddler. I stormed into my room and slammed the door behind me, locking it for good measure.
Then I collapsed on my bed and fell right to sleep.
Bang! Bang! Bang! “Get the hell up, Puck!”
Stone’s frosty voice followed the sound of his fist banging against my bedroom door.
Bang! Bang! “Now! We’ve got church!”
I groaned as I rolled over. “Coming.”
Bang! “Ten minutes before I take the damn door off the fucking hinges.”
I gritted my teeth to keep from firing back at him. “Got it, boss.”
“You fucking better.”
I sighed as I stared up at the ceiling. My body was exhausted; weaker than it had in a very long time. I slowly sat up and cracked my neck, trying to work out the kinks that had settled into my muscles after being with the most perfect woman all night last night.
Well, mostly all night.
I knew better than to keep Stone waiting, so I shuffled out in the clothes I’d worn last night. I knew all of the guys were probably up to speed on what happened between me, Diego, and West if they hadn’t heard us yelling in the first place.
But I didn’t expect the glare from the peanut gallery as I rounded the corner into the living room.
“What?” I asked.
West glared at me, clenching his jaw and shaking his head. He was a good man for not ratting me out, but I had a feeling Stone already knew what was going on. I looked over at Diego and he stared me down, shaking his head curtly in return.
It didn’t matter if they kept their mouths shut, though.
Stone always had a way of figuring shit out.
“Do I have everyone’s attention?” he asked.
We all nodded as we gathered in a tight circle.
“Good,” Stone said, “because we’ve got some serious business to attend to today, so none of you better fuck it up.”
“What kind of business?” Diego asked.
Stone crossed his arms over his chest. “We have a new contact that we are meeting up with. They’re part of the Irish Independence Alliance, and he’s pretty high up in their organization, so we can’t risk the chance of fucking this up.”
Stone looked over at me with a hardened glare and I rolled my eyes.
“Thought we were supposed to be getting out of the gun business,” I murmured beneath my breath.
But I should have known Stone would hear me. “Why don’t you speak a little louder next time instead of being such a pussy about it?”
The guys fell silent as I straightened my back. “Fine. I can do that. Is it really smart with Hayley pregnant and all of these women and children running around to get back into the gun-running business when the whole point was to abandon it?”
Texas stood up, ready to charge me. But Stone placed his hand against the mountain man’s chest, stopping him in his tracks.
“Yes,” Stone said. “I made a promise to Hayley. But right now? With the cartel involved? We need all the friends we can get. And trust me, being friends with the I.I.A. is more important than not running guns, because we’re going to need friends like them on our side to help us fight this war.”
I clenched my jaw to keep from spitting words back at him. I didn’t have the energy to fight, nor did I want to. I mean, I hated to admit it, but Stone had a point. And even the rational part of my brain understood that.
“So, who’s the contact? Can you give us a name?” Diego asked.
Stone finally pulled his attention away from me. “His name’s Clancy Fitzpatrick, and he’s coming by later this evening with his sons to meet in person.”
Asher cleared his throat. “I’m the one that put you guys in contact, so don’t embarrass me.”
I nodded. “Does that mean you and your crew will be present for this meeting as well?”
Asher crossed his arms over his chest. “I figured showing a united front is better than showing a broken one.”
Stone shot me another look. “But with this will come not only more people, but harsher lockdowns. The Fitzpatricks aren’t people we want to fuck with, and they’ll only help us if they know we aren’t a threat to any of their operations.
So, put on your best, boys, because our future—and the lives of our families—depends on this going well. ”
And as Stone looked straight into my eyes, I wanted to puke.
Being cooped up with even more people felt like taking a step back rather than a step forward.