Chapter 26 ~ #4
“It’ll work out, gorgeous,” Luc kisses the inside of my neck.
I lean my head back against his strong chest.
“I just wish the hits would stop coming,” I say sadly.
“Everything worthwhile is fucking hard,” Luc tells me, philosophically.
I smile. “I don’t think that’s the saying.”
I feel Luc shrug. “The meaning is the same.”
We’re silent for a while, just staring out the window. I rub my thumb over the charms on my necklace, focusing on the six stones.
My phone rings which is when I remember I even have it. I’m still not used to having a phone or even using it.
I slide it out of my back pocket and smile at the incoming video call.
“Hey, Ro!” Jace’s gorgeous grin makes me go on pause for a moment and he smirks.
“Hey, Rory!” The twins yell out in the background and Jace turns the camera so we can see them wrestling on the ground.
“What are you two doing?” I laugh.
“He took my favourite shirt!” They say in unison. Maverick gets Mase in a headlock and rubs his fist into his brother's head.
“Okay, okay! Come over here so I can see you properly,” I call out.
The second Mav releases him, Mase bounds over.
“Hey, Angel.” Mase pants heavily.
“Hiya, handsome,” I say, wishing I could comb my fingers through those wild strands sticking up everywhere.
Maverick grins. “Miss you, baby.”
God, my heart hurts. “Miss you too, Mav,” I tell him, softly.
Jace turns the camera back to him. “How’s everything there?”
“Good.” I pause a second too long.
Jace frowns, narrowing his eyes on me. “Ro.”
“Dom’s parents are here,” Luc says for me. That seems to tell Jace everything.
“Shit.” Jace sighs. “Is it bad?”
“Alice thinks I forced Dom into our relationship.” My bottom lip wobbles saying it out loud.
“Fuck,” I hear Mav whisper in the background.
Jace’s face turns downright murderous and it makes me sorry for Alice and John. Sort of.
“What. Happened.” Jace forces out, calmly.
“Dom was supposed to explain everything to them before they saw our relationship but they were at the house when we got there,” Luc explains, his arms tightening around my waist. “Let’s just say they were less than pleased with Dom’s, well, all of our relationship choices.”
“Ro, do you want us to come back tonight?” Jace asks concerned.
I quickly shake my head, wiping away my tears. “No, don’t drive in the dark. It’s okay, I’ll see you guys tomorrow.” I plaster a wobbly smile onto my face.
They don’t have time to pack then drive two hours here. They have to get their stuff and ours.
“You sure, Angel?” Mase squishes his head in beside Jace’s.
“Yeah, guys. I’ve got Luc, Alec and Dom and if they fail, I’ve got Abraxas,” I say, lightly. It sort of works.
We talk about the house for a bit. Luc tells them that all our bedrooms are done, it’s just the spare ones.
“Alec did background checks on all the workers entering the property?” Maverick checks.
“Yep,” Luc nods, “they all checked out.”
The phone starts making a weird beeping noise.
“We’ll talk later guys—someone else is ringing,” Luc tells them.
Ohhh, that’s what that means. Huh, ok.
I wave goodbye and Mase blows me kisses.
It’s hard to press that end call button. I wish they were here now so I could curl up in their arms on my new bed.
When I hang up, the phone rings and I quickly answer, seeing the name.
“Hey, Rylan.” I put the phone on speaker so Luc can talk to him too.
“Hey, pretty girl. My bro there?” Rylan asks.
“Yeah, I’m here,” Luc jumps in.
“Oh, hey, dude. I tried ringing you but you didn’t answer,” Rylan tells him, sounding distracted.
“I left my phone in the car. We’re at the house.” Luc feels around for his phone.
“Hannah’s house?” Rylan asks, alarmed.
“No, the new block.” Luc frowns at me. “But Jace, Mason and Maverick are at Nanna’s. What’s going on?”
“Shit!” Rylan swears. “You need to call them now and tell them to get the fuck out of town.”
“What? Why?” Luc stands up, taking the phone with him. I slowly get to my feet.
“I got a hit back on that car that was following you,” Rylan tells us.
That was weeks ago.
“I couldn’t get access unless I was in the building and I only just got back from my suspension,” Rylan rambles.
“You said you were on holiday,” Luc says, looking at me confused.
“Tomato, tomato. Just listen. It was a fake licence but we managed to get a face ID at a servo and it came back as Dennis Blanco.”
“Fuck!” Luc groans, rubbing a hand over his face.
“Who’s Dennis Blanco?” I scrunch up my noise at his stupid name.
“A lower level MC member. A Death Reaper.” Rylan fills in the gaps.
“If they’re sending that fucker on surveillance, then whoever’s been put in charge of the mob isn’t fucking serious about finding me,” Luc tells Rylan.
“But that means if they knew you were in town…” I trail off. Something hits me. “We were in my car. How the fuck did they even know we were together? You weren’t even in the car when he was following us.”
“Surveillance on the house?” Luc shrugs, pacing up and down the loft. “Nanna’s a biological relative—one of the only ones listed. That shit isn’t hard to find.”
I frown and shake my head.
Rylan says what I’m thinking, “Surely it can’t just be that. There’s something bigger at play here. If they knew you were there, why haven’t they come for you yet? You’ve been there for weeks.”
“I don’t know.” Luc growls, stalking the loft floor.
I intercept him, my hands curling into fists around his shirt.
Frustration and anger storms in Luc’s eyes.
“Rylan, if that’s all, we’ll call you back later,” I tell him calmly, my eyes not straying from Luc’s.
I quickly say goodbye and ring Jace, keeping one hand on Luc’s chest.
“Jace,” I cut off his greeting, “you need to get the essentials and get out of town. Don’t stay there tonight. Go to your parents house. Make sure no one follows you.”
“What’s going on?” Jace says, no nonsense in his tone.
“That car that was following us a few weeks ago, he was a Death Reaper,” I tell him, quickly. “Call me when you leave and when you get to Helen and Devon’s, okay? Be careful and make sure you aren’t followed.”
“Okay, Rory. Love you crazy.” I hear Jace yell something to the twins before he hangs up.
I focus back on Luc, tension swarming his body as he clenches and unclenches his fists.
I slide my phone into my pocket, keeping one hand on his chest while the other moves to cup the side of his face.
“Luci,” I say, softly. “We’re going to be okay.”
Luc shakes his head sharply. Fear surges through me but I push it down.
“No one knows we’re here, Luci. They can’t find us–everything is untraceable,” I remind him. “I swear to you, we will be okay.”
“You can’t promise that,” Luc tells me softly, his frustration dissipating.
“No,” I sigh, “but we can try like hell to make it true. Can’t we?”
Luc doesn’t say anything. His eyes flick all over my face, like he’s trying to memorise me.
“I can’t lose you,” Luc whispers. “I can’t lose the guys.”
I wrap my arms around his waist. Luc’s head drops as his arms encircle me. He holds me tightly and I grip the back of his shirt.
Everything’s going to be okay. I’m going to make sure of it.
Because they’re all I have.