Chapter 19 Puck
NINETEEN
PUCK
I continued running my fingers through Brigid’s hair as I placed our delivery order for Chinese. And after I hung up my cell phone, I tossed it onto the bedside table that didn’t house all of her things.
“Come here,” I grunted.
She whimpered and giggled as I hooked my arms beneath hers, pulling her further up my body.
I settled her in between my legs, allowing her head to fall against my shoulder before I leaned against her headboard.
I cradled her like a child, kissing her forehead and doting on her as her shivering body curled up to me for warmth.
And after I wiggled the comforter out from beneath our sweat-covered bodies, I pulled it over us, relishing the way she sighed with relief.
“Guess that’s one way to end a fight,” she said softly.
I barked with laughter. “Yeah, I guess that’s one way to do it.”
She giggled so brightly and so wonderfully for me that it seized my heart in my chest. What the hell had this woman done to me?
Why couldn’t I just stay away from her? I closed my eyes and drank in the sound of her laughter.
I wrapped my arms around her as tightly as I could, committing to memory the way her softness felt against my muscles.
She was warm and inviting, and I couldn’t wait to share more of these moments with her while our families worked together to beat the unbeatable.
And through it all, she gave voice to the one question that rushed around in my mind.
“What the hell do we do now?” she whispered.
I clicked my tongue. “Honestly?”
She looked up at me with hopeful eyes. “Yeah?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know.”
Her face fell flat. “Wow. Okay.”
I sighed. “I’m just saying that my club and your father clearly can’t find out about us. Stone set a strict line with not getting involved with you.”
She grinned. “Even though that command was already too late?”
I playfully glared at her. “Down, girl.”
And when she gave me her best growl, I honestly thought I’d melt into a puddle of love onto the floor.
“You’re pretty tough, aren’t you?” I asked.
Brigid shrugged. “I’m just me. I don’t like people underestimating me just because I’m a woman.”
I nodded slowly. “Does your family do that a lot?”
She scoffed. “Does a duck with a boner drag weeds?”
I threw my head back with laughter. “I wouldn’t have taken you for a Letterkenny fan.”
She giggled along with me. “It’s a great show. I love how quickly they play off one another.”
She’s too perfect. “So, what do we do about whatever this is then? You know, since no one can find out.”
Her gaze met my stare. “I’m still not sure as to why they can’t find out. I mean, we’re grown adults.”
I tilted my head. “Well, your father asked for someone Stone trusted to watch over you. And I’m pretty sure your father didn’t mean in this way.”
She looked up at the ceiling. “Sounds like a personal problem of his then.”
I like her spunk. “So, since we’re getting along and everything…”
She rolled off my lap and sat up on her own. “Or because we’re in a sort of post-coital bliss?”
I winked. “That, too.”
She crossed her legs, and I couldn't help but take a long, silent pull of air laced with the smell of her womanhood. “Just spit the question out, Puck. It’s not a big deal at this point.”
I straightened my back. “All right, then. Do you want to talk about why you were so angry that I left last night?”
She blinked. “Do I really have to spell out for you why it’s bad to come back to a girl’s place, fuck her senseless, tell her that you’re staying over, and then leave?”
I rested my head against the headboard behind me. “Look, I really am sorry. But I’m shit with relationships. I mean, I can’t even hold a relationship with my own drugged-out mother, much less a woman I’m not related to.”
“Please tell me there’s a ‘but’ after your statement.”
I lifted my head and looked deeply into her eyes. “But this is the first time I’ve ever missed being around someone.”
She smiled softly. “Seriously?”
I nodded. “Yep.”
She relaxed a bit. “Well, I suppose you aren’t bad to look at.”
I chuckled. “At least I’ve got that going for me.”
She poised herself on her hands and knees. “So, I guess you sticking around for a while wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world.”
My cock stiffened again. “Is that so?”
She crawled toward me with a smirk on her face. “But I’m not good with serious stuff. My family business doesn’t really…allow for it.”
I leaned back, allowing her to crawl into my lap. “Don’t worry, I’m shit with serious, too.”
She laced her arms around my neck. “So, let’s just keep things casual between us. You know, not let anyone in on our little secret until we can figure it out for ourselves.”
I gripped her waist. “I love the sound of that.”
She pecked my lips softly. “Any other questions before we get back at it?”
I paused. “Actually, I do have one.”
She hovered her lips just beyond my own. “What’s on your mind, handsome?”
I captured her lips in a searing kiss before I asked. “How did things go with your patient this afternoon? We haven’t gotten a chance to talk about it.”
She groaned. “Really? We have to do this now?”
I picked her up off my lap and set her down at my side. “No time like the present.”
She sighed and closed her eyes. “Fine, fine. I guess we can save round two for dessert.”
I took her hand in mind. “Don’t worry, there’s already a round three planned in my head. You just let me take the lead on that.”
She looked up at me. “I’m shit with letting people lead.”
I smiled. “Tough tits.”
She giggled profusely before she leaned her head against my shoulder. “Some of the information she gave to me was incredibly useful. But when we got into the nitty gritty of things, she got spooked.”
“I don’t blame her. This cartel is ruthless.”
“And did you see those guys in black suits?”
I peeked down at her. “I thought I was the only person who saw them.”
She picked her head up. “Are you kidding?! They stuck out like a sore thumb. I couldn’t figure out what kind of vehicle they came in—”
“They came in a blacked-out, massive SUV.”
She turned to face me. “A blacked-out SUV? Like, a Lincoln SUV?”
I shrugged. “Could’ve been. It was pretty big. Like a small boat or something. Took up most of the parking space.”
She ran her hands through her hair. “Shit.”
“You think the cartel was there today?”
She covered her face with her hands. “That must’ve been why she got so spooked.”
I furrowed my brow. “You think she saw the men in black suits and clammed up on you.”
Her hands dropped into her lap. “It’s the only thing that makes sense.
We were on a roll talking, you know? We had taken a walk, sat underneath the shade of a tree.
Hell, we even went back to her private room that she’s earned through her therapy breakthroughs, and then she just shuts up.
Goes pale in the face and simply stops talking. ”
“Yeah. That was the cartel then.”
“Or she believes it was.”
I drew in a deep breath. “Well, there’s no way we could’ve done anything with just the two of us there.”
She shook her head. “No, no. I know. I just…”
“What are you thinking?”
Her eyes came alive. “Pathways has cameras everywhere. And I mean everywhere. It’s sort of standard in rehab facilities to make sure contraband isn’t being snuck in and used.”
“You think those guys were caught on camera.”
She scrambled out of bed. “I know they were.”
I slid out of bed. “What in the world are you doing?”
She dressed herself as quickly as possible. “I want to try and make it back to the facility. Visiting hours are over, but sometimes—”
I walked over and placed my hands on her shoulders. “Brigid. It’s almost eight o’clock. They aren’t going to let you in.”
She smacked my hands away. “They will for me. I’ve got wonderful connections in that place.”
“And if they were caught on camera, what then?”’
She whipped her eyes up to mine. “What?”
I held out my arms. “What then? If you go there and they do let you see the security feed and you do find those men on camera, what then? Those cameras won’t stop the cartel, and it’s not like we have the technology to run facial recognition.”
She groaned. “Fucking hell, you’re right.”
I snatched the sheet off her bed and wrapped it around my waist. “We definitely need to update everyone, though.”
She narrowed her eyes. “You call Stone, I’ll call Dad?”
I nodded. “Fair enough.”
The phone calls didn’t take very long, especially since Clancy and Stone were practically in the same room with one another when we called. I digested all of the information Brigid threw down, picking through it as best as I could.
Because I swear to hell, the woman sounded so damn familiar to me.
But after the call was done, Stone gave us explicit instructions to come back to the warehouse with Brigid in tow. So, we packed up a few outfits for her in case she needed to stay overnight and headed back on my bike.
Only for Stone to pull me into a dark, empty room when we arrived.
“What the hell?” I asked.
He slammed the door closed. “Why in the absolute fuck did it take you so goddamn long to come back with this information? Clancy was practically climbing the damn walls!”
I blinked. “Well, it’s not what you think, for starters.”
He charged me until my back fell against a wall. “So, you weren’t in some shady back alley somewhere fucking her brains out like I told you not to?”
Well, not in a back alley. “Not by a fucking longshot.”
“Then tell me: why the hell did it take so fucking long? You gotta give me something. Clancy’s already calling for me to pull your ass from protective detail.”
Come on, come on, you’ve got this. “Look, there are some personal issues in play for Brigid and I kept her on the straight and narrow as much as I could. But we believe we had a run-in with the cartel while at Pathways and she was a bit…”
Stone gripped my shirt. “I don’t give a shit if she broke down and cried. You stick to the plan or you’re off her detail. Got it?”
I slapped his hand away. “I got it until you touch me like that again, and then it’s on. I’m not your son, and I sure as hell am not your prospect. So, treat me with some fucking respect.”
He growled as he got in my face. “Then start acting like you deserve it.”
And of course, the second we stepped out of the closet he had pulled us into, I heard Clancy barking orders.
“Stone, you got two men you trust to go stake out Pathways?”
He didn’t skip a beat. “Frost. West. Head over to the rehab facility and camp for the night. Make sure nothing happens.”
“On it,” they said in unison.
Clancy turned to me. “Did you meet with this contact? Or did my daughter go in there on her own?”
I shook my head. “I kept eyes on the outer perimeter. It’s how I spotted the men in black as they walked inside.”
He nodded. “Good man. Okay. I want an assessment on our contact inside that facility. Frost, West, if she’s in danger? Get her out of there and bring her back here.”
“What?” Stone asked.
Clancy glared at him. “You want to lose our only way into the cartel that’s chasing your ass?”
Stone sighed. “Okay, yes. Brigid?”
I looked over at her as she cleared her throat. “She’s in room 2120 now. If something happens, you need room 2120.”
“2120, got it,” Frost said.
West grabbed some sodas from the fridge to help keep them awake, I guess. But my focus quickly returned to Brigid. She looked nervous as she wrung her hands in front of her body, and it wasn’t until her father wrapped his hands around hers.
“Always project strength,” he whispered.
I tried not to eavesdrop, but they were loud fucking whisperers.
“Daddy, what if something happens to her?” Brigid said softly.
Clancy shook his head. “That’s why we’re sending the guys. And if anything happens—”
She shook her head. “It’s not safe for her to be here. There are too many triggers in a place like this. Plus, she doesn’t do crowds well. She’s got—”
“Social anxiety?” I asked.
Brigid glared at me. “Yes.”
“What’s this woman’s–”
But Clancy cut me off. “If saving her from the cartel means bringing her here, then it’s worth it.”
His gaze returned to his daughter before he took her into his arms.
“A leanbh, I’m sure she means a lot to you, so you have my word that she’ll be safe. But we’re all out of options. We’re here to help our new business partners, which means you need to keep your head in the game.”
Stone jumped into the conversation. “She should stay here tonight with us as well, just to be safe.”
I nodded quickly. “We aren’t sure what those men in black saw, so it’s better to be safe than sorry.”
I could feel Stone burrowing a hole into the profile of my face as Clancy nodded his head. “They’re right, a leanbh. Stay here tonight, and then we’ll figure things out tomorrow. Yes?”
Brigid sighed heavily. “Okay, okay. I guess Puck was right to tell me to pack some of my things up.”
Clancy peeked over at me. “Thank you for watching her today.”
I tossed Stone a look before I nodded. “Of course, sir.”
And as Hayley waddled down the hallway to take Brigid by the hand, my eyes followed her all the way to the end of the corridor.
Before she took a right and disappeared out of sight.
So much for space.