30. Reese
Reese
Pulling up to my parents’ place with Summer and Nate, I scanned the area as if it were a site I needed to secure.
Their property extended behind the house well into the woods, but there was no vehicle access from that direction.
Only one way in and out, unless you were on foot.
Even if Axel did somehow find it, he’d have a hard time getting close without us knowing.
It wasn’t impossible, but it wasn’t likely.
The problem was, we couldn’t hole up there forever.
I’d met Summer outside the sheriff’s office, and after ensuring we weren’t being followed, we’d picked up Nate. Outwardly, Summer was calm, but her narrowed eyes and tight jaw betrayed her anger.
Her son was in danger, and she was furious.
We got out, and I cast a glance over my shoulder before following them into the house.
Mom was in the living room wearing a pair of headphones with her knitting in her lap. She took off her headphones and set them on the armrest when she saw us.
Nate started talking before she could ask why we were there. “Mom saw Axel, so that means he found us, and we have to hide here.”
Her mouth opened and she looked from Nate to me and Summer, then back to Nate. “Are you okay?”
He plopped on the couch next to her, like nothing was wrong. “I’m fine.”
The back door opened, and Dad walked in. “Someone here?”
“Yes,” Mom said. “And I think we have a problem.”
“I just saw my ex, Axel.” Summer’s eyes flicked to Nate. “He was on the sidewalk a couple blocks away, watching me. Some people walked by and he disappeared. But I know it was him.”
“Have you called the police?” Mom asked.
“No, we just picked up Nate and came here,” Summer said.
“Call Garrett.” Dad turned to Nate. “Hey, pal. Why don’t we go out to the shop? I could use your help.”
Nate looked at me and Summer. I gave him a quick nod, and he got up to follow Dad out back.
As soon as he was through the door, Summer’s calm broke. She started pacing around the room. “That son of a bitch. I’m sorry, Marlene. How could he be here? How could he have found us? I’m calling my mother.”
“Hold on,” I said. “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”
“She needs to tell me what she knows.”
“Will she?”
“She will, unless Stryker told her not to.” Summer huffed out a frustrated breath. “Fucking Mayhem. Sorry, Marlene.”
“Honey, I raised six boys,” Mom said, getting up from the couch. “It takes a lot more to bother me than a little swearing. I’ll go see how Nate’s doing.”
Mom went out the back door while Summer pulled out her phone.
“Hang on,” I said. “You should stop using your phone in case that’s how he tracked you.”
“How could Axel track my phone?”
“I don’t know, but for now, stay off it. I have a burner in the glove box. I’ll go get it.”
Summer was still pacing when I returned with the burner phone. I handed it to her, and she angrily entered her mom’s number.
I typed a text to my brothers while I waited to see if Roxi would answer.
“Hi, Mom,” Summer said. “Could you call me back at this number? I just… I need to talk to you.”
“No answer?”
Jamming the phone into her back pocket, she shook her head. “I don’t know if she’s ignoring me because she didn’t recognize the number, or she doesn’t have her phone on her.”
“If she calls back, don’t tell her where you are. Just in case.”
“In case it wasn’t Axel? Reese, it was him. I’m positive.”
“I believe you. I’m sure it was him. But we don’t want to give Mayhem any information if we don’t have to.”
She put her hands on her hips. “Okay. But what do we do now?”
I hated the answer I was about to give. But I couldn’t lie to her. “I don’t know.”
Her eyes searched my face, and I didn’t flinch away from her scrutiny. I wanted to tell her I had it all figured out. That she didn’t need to worry because I knew exactly what to do.
But I didn’t. Not yet at least.
“Listen.” I stepped closer and tucked her hair behind her ear. “I promised I wouldn’t let Axel hurt you or your son. I’m going to keep that promise.”
She hesitated but didn’t break eye contact. “I don’t know what Mayhem will do.”
I nodded. I knew what she meant. And that was the problem. If I took out Axel, there could be retribution from his club.
“We’re going to face this one thing at a time,” I said. “You’re safe here. And for the moment, that’s what matters.”
She nodded.
Against my better judgment, I leaned down and pressed my lips to hers. I had no reason to kiss her. No one was watching. But as her body melted against mine, it was hard to remember why I needed to hold back.
And there was nothing fake about it.
My phone was blowing up with texts, so I reluctantly pulled away to answer my brothers’ questions.
A few minutes later, Garrett called. I explained what had happened, and Summer gave him an updated description of Axel, as well as Buzz, Hammer, and a few of the other club members she thought could have come with him.
Josiah and Zachary had already reached out to the SPS. They’d be on the lookout as well. I was torn between staying—I didn’t want to be more than a few feet from Summer and Nate—and heading into town to search for Axel.
Ultimately, I decided to stay for the night. Half the town was keeping an eye out for him and any other club members who might be lurking in Tilikum. Summer and Nate were safe. And I needed time to figure out how the hell I was going to get rid of the asshole.
The faint sound of a vehicle engine reached my ears, and I was instantly wide awake. Summer lay next to me, her breathing slow and even, and the rest of the house seemed quiet.
But someone was there.
I didn’t want to wake her, so I slipped out of bed and tugged on my T-shirt and pants. If it was just my dad, I didn’t want to jump out at him without any clothes on.
Except I had a feeling it wasn’t my dad.
Summer stirred, rolling over as I grabbed the handgun I’d stashed in a gun safe in the closet before we’d gone to bed. She exhaled. Still asleep.
I quietly left the room and did a sweep of the house, making sure the doors and windows were locked. Nate slept soundly in one of the bunk beds. Nothing seemed amiss.
At the front window, I peered out into the darkness. Was there another vehicle out there? It was hard to tell, but someone could have parked behind my SUV and remained hidden from where I was standing.
Would Axel drive right up to the house and try to take Nate in the middle of the night?
I couldn’t rule it out. But if he had figured out where we were, he wasn’t getting past me.
Adrenaline pumped through my veins as I stepped outside and closed the door behind me. The porch light was off, the house dark. There weren’t any other houses nearby, and the driveway and surrounding trees were shrouded in black.
A rustling sound came from my right. Could have been an animal. I hesitated, listening. Silence.
Then a crunch of gravel. I hurried to my SUV, using it for cover. Footsteps. Then a vehicle door opened and a moment later closed again.
Stepping softly, I made my way to the back end of my SUV and raised my weapon.
“Stop,” I said. “Don’t move.”
A figure froze in the darkness. He slowly raised his hands.
“Reese?” The voice was familiar. Too familiar.
Squinting to see in the dark, I stepped closer. “Zachary?”
“Dude, are you pointing a gun at me?”
I lowered my arm. “No.”
He put down his arms and moved closer. “You were pointing a gun at me. You asshole. Only Garrett’s allowed to do that.”
“I didn’t know it was you. What the fuck are you doing out here?”
“I was up with Emily. Got her back down, but I couldn’t sleep. Figured I’d come up here and make sure everything was okay.”
Double-checking that the safety was on, I tucked the gun in my pants. “Next time give me a heads-up.”
“Yeah, well if I knew you were walking around armed, I would have.”
He gestured toward the porch, so we walked over and sat down on the steps.
“I take it no one spotted him yet,” Zachary said.
“Not yet. I’m guessing he didn’t ride in on his bike, so we can’t count on that to find him.”
“What are you going to do when you find him?”
I rubbed a hand up and down my face. “That question has been eating at me since we decided to come here. I hoped he’d give up eventually. Decide it was too much trouble and he had better things to do. I knew I needed a plan in case he actually found them, but there’s a big-ass problem.”
“What’s that?”
“He’s not just some guy. A shitty ex who won’t leave her alone. He’s a club member. If I get rid of him, one of two things will happen. Either they won’t give a shit and it’s over. Or they’ll take it as an insult, and it won’t be.”
“That sounds bad.”
“It is bad. But honestly, they might not retaliate. Axel did time. The club wouldn’t have let someone high ranking go to prison, so the fact that he did tells me he’s expendable.”
“So you’re gonna…” He gestured to the gun. “Off him?”
I didn’t reply. Just stared into the darkness.
“You ever done that before?” he asked.
I still didn’t answer.
“Never mind. I don’t need to know.” He paused for a moment. “If he turns up dead, you know none of us will say a word. But if law enforcement can trace him to Summer, it won’t be hard to figure out it was you.”
“I know. That’s the other problem.”
I’d thought it through and already come to a decision. If I had to, I’d go to prison to keep them safe. But that would only work if I knew for sure Mayhem wouldn’t retaliate.
“I’ll still do it,” I said, my voice quiet. “If that’s what I have to do. But if I’m locked up because of it, and the club chooses vengeance, she’ll be worse off than before.”
“You’d go to prison for her?”
“Yeah.”
He laughed. Of all the things my little brother could have done in that moment, he had to laugh.
“What are you laughing at, you jerk?”
“You are so in love with her,” he said through his laughter.
I growled in frustration.
“You’d risk everything for her. Take a bullet. Murder her ex and go to prison. Whatever it takes.”
“Yeah.”
Whether or not I was in love with her, I was willing to do anything to keep them safe. I’d promised. And I was going to see it through, no matter the cost.
“That’s sacrifice.” He reached over and patted me on the shoulder. “That’s love. But whatever. What would I know about it? Oh wait, I know a lot, because I’m married to the love of my life and it’s the best thing ever.”
I shot him a glare, although the force of it was lost in the darkness.
“You’ll figure it out,” he said. “We all do eventually.”
“I’m a little busy trying to figure out how to keep Summer’s asshole ex from kidnapping her child.”
“I wish I knew what to tell you. If someone was threatening Marigold, I’d want him gone, so I get it. But the consequences are real.”
“Yeah. They’re real. But I might have to risk it. I can’t let the asshole get his hands on Nate. And I can’t hide them up here forever.”
“I almost feel sorry for him.”
“For Axel? Why?”
He patted my shoulder again and stood. “He picked the wrong guy. Or maybe it’s Summer who picked the right one. Either way, I don’t think this is going to end well for him.”
Zachary was right. It wasn’t going to end well for him. How it was going to end for me, though? That was another question.