Chapter Seven
Kevlar
I got Lacey safely back to the clubhouse. She’s with the other ol’ ladies and members while I’m in an emergency session of church. Prez grips the back of his chair before taking his seat. The leather is worn and cracked from years of use by his father, War. God rest his soul, him and Eightball.
“What do we know?”
“Whole lot of nothing,” I tell him. “Lacey said she felt like someone was watching us, and then a shot whipped past her head.”
“Did you see what they looked like?”
“Not a clue. Shooter was parked down the marina row, maybe a hundred feet off. Blacked-out sedan. No plates. At least nothing I could see. Window down just enough for the barrel. No colors. No patches. They sped off before I could go after them.”
Blood, as always, doesn’t show a single twitch of surprise. He just nods and asks, “Did Lacey see anything you missed?”
“It all happened too damn fast. She was rattled. Hell, I was too. But that kind of aim, that was no warning. Guy wanted a body, not to send a message.”
Combat drums his fingers on the table. “Might not have anything to do with the club.”
Poor Boy speaks up, “Could be they were after her.”
“We need to figure out who Lacey is and fast,” Gotti says.
“Buford called a bit ago. Nothing yet on his end. No reports of a missing woman meeting her description. No inquires. He’s checking surveillance from the resorts near where she was found.
I could have him check for video from the marina if there is any.
Until we know who she is and who is after her, she’s gotta be on lockdown. ”
“Understood.”
“Everyone keep your eyes peeled and ears open. We don’t know what we’re dealing with.” Prez bangs his gavel.
We’re no closer to answers.
I’m frustrated. Pissed off that I didn’t do more to protect her.
As the meeting dissolves and the rest of the club brothers file out of the room, Prez keeps me back, his enormous arms folded across his chest.
“You’re not off duty until I say so,” he warns, gaze flicking toward the door. “She doesn’t leave unless I give the word.”
“That’s not a problem,” I say, and mean it. Her safety matters to me.
He leans in, voice dropping. “I don’t like having unknowns under my roof. You’re responsible for her. Any more fuckups and I’ll send her out of town, your protests be damned.”
I nod. He claps me on the shoulder, hard enough to rattle my spine. “Good. Because if this blows up in our faces and she’s playing damsel, it will be your ass on the line.” He storms off, cell already to his ear, calling Buford, no doubt.
“Can I have a word?” Graves asks when I leave the room.
“Now really isn’t the time.”
“I’m sorry about earlier with Candy.”
“Stay away from my sister.”
“We weren’t together. She ended it with me. So yeah. I fucked someone. You can’t tell me you wouldn’t do the same.”
“Don’t drag me into this. I’ve told you before. This is your final warning. You hurt her again and no one will find your body. Get me?”
“Yeah, man.”
“Keep an eye on her. Better than you did the last time.”
He doesn’t say anything, he knows there’s nothing more he can do to defend himself. He fucked up. He does it again and I’ll make shark food out of him.
He takes off.
All the windows in the clubhouse have been covered, and Guts stands guard at the front with Tequila. Another prospect. No one comes in or out unless they have our patch on their back. Not until we have more to go on.
After Shelby’s betrayal and Momma Tee doing the fucked-up shit she did, Prez is stricter when it comes to the safety of the people he cares about. He knows what it’s like to lose them.
Lacey is nowhere in sight.
I find her in the media room with Ashley and two other women I recognize as regulars.
They’re huddled up watching a reality show, popcorn in their laps, but my girl is tuned out.
She’s got one knee pulled to her chest, one hand wrapped awkward around a mug of tea.
When she looks up at me, her eyes are so wide and blue I almost forget how to speak.
She’s beautiful.
“There you are.”
“Everything okay?”
“Let’s go talk in my room.”
Ashley gives her arm a squeeze as she gets up. “You need anything, I’ll be around.”
“Thank you.” I wait by the door while she dumps her tea out in the small kitchen area that’s for convenience. This room used to be an employee break room back when it was a motel.
I lead her up the backstairs avoiding the main floor. I don’t want her to see the windows blacked out and freaking out any more than she probably already is.
Nothing like getting shot at to put a person on edge.
I lead her to the third floor. My room sits somewhere in the middle and has a balcony that faces the beach.
If someone tries to attack from this side, they’d have a hard time surprising us.
We’ve got men on every floor as well as video surveillance.
If someone comes at us, we’ll see them coming.
I unlock my door with my passcode and flip on the light. The good thing about the clubhouse being in a former motel is we all have our own bathrooms. Keeping it all up is costly, but anyone with a room here pays a due.
I kick off my boots and hang my cut in the closet. Lacey sits on the edge of the bed and rubs her arms as though she’s cold.
“I’m sorry I brought trouble to your door. You’ve all been so kind to me. I understand if Blood wants me gone.”
“Quite the opposite. He wants you under lock and key. Here where you’ll be protected. I shouldn’t have taken you out in public like that. At least not so soon.”
“So, you think they were after me?”
“Can’t say for certain.” I drop down on the bed next to her, sitting shoulder to shoulder. Her baby blues meet my gaze, and I want nothing more than to take away that sadness that’s radiating there.
I stare at the floor, searching for anything to say that would ease her mind, but my words are like gravel in my throat. “We’re not sure about anything right now,” I continue, gently. “But until we are, you’re safest here. That’s all that matters.”
She shakes her head, dark wavy hair falling like a curtain across her face. “Why? I might be bringing whoever this is after me straight to your door. What if I get you or your friends killed? I couldn’t live with myself if—”
I cut her off by taking her hand in mine. “Don’t. Stop it. That’s not how this works. You didn’t choose this.” I squeeze her knuckles, firm but not enough to hurt. “I did. I choose you. I made the call to get involved. No matter what it means. Whatever you’re up against, I’ve got your back.”
Her face scrunches up, lips trembling before she manages to blink away the tears. “You don’t even know me. Hell, I don’t even know me.”
“I’m trying to get to know you. And you don’t have to know your name to know who you are in here.” I press our joined hands to her chest, over her heart.
Those tears manage to break free, rolling down her face.
I draw her to my side, and she tucks her body against mine.
At first there’s this stiffness, this tension in her frame, but as I run my palm in slow, even circles over her back, she unwinds.
It’s a subtle thing. She melts just a fraction, but I feel her trust settling into my bones like an anchor. It’s wild how good it feels.
How damn good she feels next to me.
I move back an inch or two. Enough to massage her shoulders to ease the rest of the tension out of her.
We sit in silence for a while. The questions I want to ask are stacking up and burning to be spoken on the tip of my tongue, but I bite them down. I have to let her come to me. Anything less and I’m just another asshole demanding shit from her she can’t give.
From the looks of things, she’s had enough bad.
And I want to be the man that gives her something good.