Chapter 3
CHAPTER THREE
GOOSE
Cidney makes dinner for us after some arguing, mostly me trying to get takeout delivered, but she insists that it’s easier to make dinner here. When the food is ready, I sit down at the table and take in everything in front of me.
It’s nothing special, except it’s absolutely special. It’s pasta with a cream sauce, shrimp, and broccoli. I’ve only ever seen anything like this at a restaurant before, and certainly not a fucking restaurant here in Thunder Rock.
“I didn’t know you were a chef.” I dip my chin at the plate before I lift my gaze from the food to meet hers.
She snorts. “I’m not. I cook the same three meals because they’re the only ones I can make without fail, and this happens to be one of them.”
“That’s more than I can do. So, to me, you’re winning.”
Her lips twitch into a smirk. A sexy-as-fucking-sin smirk. I want to slip my cock past those lips and down her throat right here at the fucking dinner table. I don’t do that, as much as I want to. I decide to focus on the food and not her mouth.
Then I start a conversation to keep from shoving my dick down her throat after the first bite of heaven. Whatever she did to this pasta, the sauce, the shrimp, I don’t know, but fuck me, it’s the best thing I’ve ever tasted.
“I need to go to the grocery store if you’re going to stay here for any length of time. I’m running low on just about everything. I wasn’t anticipating this, and also, why is this even happening?”
There’s a lot she’s saying with those few questions, and she wants a lot of information at the same time. I start to respond to her, but take another bite and think about how to proceed.
“Your protection should have never been pulled,” I state. “Jeffrey Hagerty doesn’t fucking exist.”
She doesn’t say anything immediately, which I take as a sign to continue speaking. “We can’t find him, and we’re all worried that means you’re in danger.”
“What do you mean he doesn’t exist?” she asks in a whisper.
“He gave you a fake name, the place he was supposedly living in was an Airbnb, or he sublet it, not sure which. But whatever it is, he doesn’t exist. At least the name he gave you doesn’t. I’m going to need you to be completely and totally truthful with me about this guy.”
She doesn’t say anything immediately.
I watch as her fork moves her pasta around the plate. She’s still got some shrimp there, and some broccoli, but she’s not stabbing either and eating them. She’s literally just shifting her food around the plate.
Slowly, her gaze lifts to meet mine, her eyes searching my own, and then her gaze shifts to the side before it slowly returns.
“You’re going to need to tell me why the fuck he targeted you. I know it’s because you were part of the Reapers. I know it’s because he’s part of some group that wanted inside. And I know that he came after you because you knew too much, but, Cidney, you haven’t given us details.”
She pinches her eyes closed and shakes her head a couple of times, clearly not wanting to tell me the truth.
I know why she doesn’t. She probably feels stupid as fuck for falling for this guy.
A liar, someone she let in just to fuck her over.
I would feel embarrassed and like an idiot, but it’s time for the whole truth to come out.
“I was hoping that it was over, that he was found and that was that,” she whispers. “I don’t know why I thought that. Nobody said anything. It’s wishful thinking, I guess. I wanted it to just go away… far, far away.”
I do feel bad for her. I’ve been fucked over by women before.
I know how it can fuck you up on the inside.
And she’s feeling that right now, which is fine.
Maybe we all need to feel that, but more importantly, I need to know what the hell this guy is involved with, so I can know how to take care of her. How to protect her.
“Where do I start?” she asks.
Stabbing a little shrimp, I lift it to my lips and take a bite, chewing for a moment before my gaze meets hers. She watches me, her gaze searching, and then she tilts her head down slightly, her gaze on her plate, before she slowly lifts it to meet mine again.
I can see the pain behind her eyes. She’s trying to work through the betrayal of this motherfucker. But she doesn’t have to work through shit. Once I find him, he’s dead. Plain and simple. He came after family, and he shot one of our own. He could have killed either of them.
So he’s a dead man walking at this point.
And I’m going to be the one who kills him. I mean, sure, Lightning has dibs, but I don’t think I care. If I find him first, I’m taking the fucker out—whoever he is.
“Jeffery Hagerty, or whoever he is, told me he was part of the Front Mob family.”
My blood runs cold at her words. She must be fucking joking with me. I know that family. We steer clear of that family. That family is the reason we don’t do business in Raleigh.
We’ll do business around Raleigh, we’ll do business in Virginia and other states, but not within the city limits, and the agreement we have with the Front family is the reason why.
As much as I want to tell her that she’s completely fucking cooked, I don’t. Instead, I stab a piece of broccoli, a vegetable that is not one of my favorites, but tonight, I’m going to pretend like it is while I chew and think.
“Okay,” I murmur. “Okay.”
“Okay?” she asks.
“Now we’re getting somewhere.” I try to act like what she’s told me already is no big deal.
If I act surprised, she’s going to freak out and probably keep things from me. If I act cool and fucking collected, maybe she won’t.
“He said they were moving drugs, firearms, too, but mostly drugs.”
“Where?” I ask, though it comes out as a demand.
She looks down at her plate, moving the food around a little more before she lifts her gaze to meet mine. “He didn’t say where, but I got the impression they weren’t happy with the distribution and thought someone else could do a better job… they used the name Robin.”
“Robin?” I ask, playing dumb, even though I know we run protection for his trucks as they move from one place to another.
“That’s the name he used. I don’t know much more, but he was adamant that he thought they could do better, be better… take over the state.”
That means taking over us, and I fucking highly goddamn doubt it.
“You’re a good girl for remembering that, Cidney,” I say. “If you think of anything else, anything that could be useful, even if you don’t think it’s useful, just anything, let me know, yeah?”
I try to make it sound like no big deal, but inside, I’m screaming at her to give me more. She doesn’t. Instead, she shifts her attention back to her plate and thankfully starts to actually eat her food.
The rest of the meal is eaten in somewhat silence. I try not to push things even though I want to, especially push her shorts down her hips and fuck her. That is one thing I definitely want to do, but I don’t, at least not yet.
Honestly, though, I’m not sure how much longer I can hold on to my control. It’s slipping by the fucking second just being here in her place, around her. I want nothing more than to feel her naked body against mine. The memories of being inside her are almost too much for me to manage.
CIDNEY
After I clean up the dishes from dinner, I wipe down the counters, clean out the sink, then pour myself a glass of water before I force myself to turn around and look into the living room, where I know Goose is.
He’s sitting on the sofa, his back to me, his phone in his hand.
He’s scrolling, but I have no idea what he’s looking at.
“I’m going to put in a grocery order for delivery tomorrow morning. You got anything you want me to grab?”
I stare at him in silence for a moment, too long of one, because he turns his head to look over his shoulder, and his eyes find mine.
“Babe?”
Shaking my head once, I clear my throat. “My plan was to go to the store tomorrow,” I say, reminding him of what I mentioned a little while ago.
Goose snorts. Clearly, he’s made some sort of decision and decided not to inform me of it. But I wait for him to tell me what he’s thinking. Also, I’m not sure I want someone else fondling my produce for me. I’d like to fondle my own and choose the firmness of my own kiwis.
“You’re not going anywhere, Cidney. I have some shit being delivered here tomorrow so I can outfit your place with the proper surveillance equipment.
I also need to work on who this fucker Jeffery is, and that’s going to take research and phone calls.
I do not have the time to fuck around at the grocery store. ”
I blink. Then blink again as he stands up from the sofa before he turns to face me. I watch as he crosses his arms over his chest and dips his chin slightly. He’s attempting to look intimidating, or maybe he just is that.
It’s working.
I want to shrink back into myself, but I don’t allow myself to do that. Biting the inside of my cheek, I work the skin there for a beat before I speak.
“I can’t stay locked in my apartment forever. It’s been months, and nothing else has happened. I refuse to sit around scared to death that this asshole might come after me again.”
Goose shakes his head slowly. “It’s not if, Cidney. It’s when.”
Rolling my eyes to the ceiling, I let out a heavy exhale. “Same difference,” I snap, shifting my gaze to connect with his.
“You might not give a fuck about your life, but I sure as shit do. So no. You aren’t going anywhere, not yet anyway.”
I want to tell him to stop treating me like a child, because it’s clear to me that’s what he’s doing, but I don’t say that. Instead, I lift my chin and look down my nose at him. I’m pissed but mostly embarrassed.
“I’ll text you my list,” I snap.
“Good girl,” he murmurs. Which is still sexy as shit, but I’m too annoyed to allow the words to sink in.
Since my phone is in my hand, I send him a screenshot of the list I already began working on earlier.
And without a word, I walk away from him and to my bedroom.
Slipping into the bathroom, I lock the door behind me and start the shower.
I’m going to bed early, and I don’t care if I’m being a little childish. He pissed me off.