Chapter 11
Chapter Eleven
Syrus
I’ve had a busy day, but I’m happy I’ve been able to hang out with Silva so much today. I noticed the shadows under her eyes, and how shocked she was when I knocked on her bedroom door.
I haven’t given her back her house key, and she hasn’t asked for it. I refuse to abuse her trust, but knew the odds of her being up at six in the morning were slim. I wanted to surprise her, I just didn’t expect her to appear so small in her huge bed.
I often wonder if she’s sleeping well. Lexi’s words haunt me from time to time.
I can’t bring myself to ask Silva questions about her past. It feels like an invasion of privacy, and we haven’t been dating for very long.
I want that information to come from her because she trusts me, not from my pressuring her.
I’m not necessarily open with my past either. I have no business being pushy.
Shep is finally done with Silva’s truck. He’s following in my SUV while I drive her baby back to her. He said he wanted to drop by and apologize for the millionth time for the trouble, even though I explained that it wasn’t his fault.
I think he’s a little afraid of Silva. She’s not someone to fuss about delays, as she knows as a business owner that sometimes, shit out of one’s control happens.
As we pull into the parking lot, I see Isidro and two alphas walking out of the club as they argue with Emmett. It makes me wonder what kind of bullshit they decided to start, and I pull too sharply into a spot.
Hauling ass, I get out of the truck and slam the door, not bothering to lock up as I avoid Shep as he parks and jogs across the lot.
“What do we have here?” I ask, my voice booming.
I glare at Isidro’s sheepish expression, not impressed. I’d tell him that I thought he was going to ‘lie low’, but I don’t want to be linked to him in any way.
“We came on too strong,” he mumbles.
I almost stumble at that. Like a cartoon where you’re too slow to process things, I rock back on my heels.
“You’re here for her,” I mutter. “Are you fucking kidding me?”
“I’m confused now,” one of the alphas says. He has dark hair that’s pulled back, and is flexing his hand with a pained expression.
“Be confused outside,” Emmett grunts. “I’ll break your fingers if you come back in here without Silva’s express permission. Even then, I might worry if she gives it.”
He meets my gaze, and I sigh at the worry swimming within it. I’m missing very important information and I don’t fucking like it.
“I got it from here,” I promise. “Thanks for watching out for her.”
“Always will,” he grunts, going back inside.
“What…the…fuck?” I growl at the ragtag men in front of me.
“Silva is important to our case,” Isidro explains. “Her and her sister. We need—”
“You didn’t think to explain this to me before?” I ask.
“You made it very clear that Silva belongs to herself,” he shrugs, almost smugly as his lips twitch.
Fuck, I’ve never wanted to be an alpha before. A bond bite is like mounting a giant ‘fuck off’ over an omega’s head. The reality is, Silva probably wouldn’t have let me within an inch of her life if I was.
I need to get it together. I’m supposed to be the voice of fucking reason.
“I’m not going to punch you in the face,” I say, taking a deep breath. It’s almost a promise I’m making to myself, one I’m not sure I’ll be able to keep.
“Are you sure?” Isidro chuckles.
“Izzy, stop,” the red headed alpha next to him barks. “Stop baiting the law, please. If we end up in jail, we won’t be able to see Silva tomorrow.”
“Back up and explain. What’s wrong with him, and what’s happening tomorrow?” I ask, pointing to the dark haired alpha.
The three of them are gorgeous and look deadly as they glare at each other. I have no idea how they managed to not get more attention in town.
As one, they take a deep breath and turn to me. Masks of indifference and overall innocence slide over their features and my eyes widen. Damn. Well, that’s how they were able to slide into town without setting off too many warning bells in people’s minds. They’re all sociopaths.
The older men who play chess in the park had great things to say about the redhead. I know because they’re a pipeline for town gossip and I made sure to stop by to chat with them.
“That’s just creepy,” I sigh.
Isidro shrugs as if this is normal for them, and the dark haired alpha turns his head to show off the burn mark on his neck.
“Shouldn’t you be more concerned about how I was manhandled?” he asks.
“Ah, so you met Silva’s cattle prod. The club is her territory. She does just fine defending it too. If you fuck up in there, she’ll take care of it. However, that doesn’t mean that I don’t want to know why you pissed her off enough to get the business end of her stick,” I reply.
The redhead smothers a chuckle, shaking his head.
“Seriously? She has a name for her stick,” he says. At my raised brow, he begins to laugh harder. “Who names their weapon Charlie anyway?”
Ah, I’ll have to ask her about that later. My dick twitches at how fucking sexy my omega is before I focus back on the guys.
“Silva does,” I shrug. “She’s pretty level headed, so she would need a damn good reason to attack a patron in her club. What the fuck did you do?”
“I’ve been looking for Silva and her sister to speak to them about a case they’re involved in. My name is Harlan, and my unit and I are working on a cold case involving sex trafficking. I’m sure you don’t want to get in our way, right?” Harlan asks.
“Wrong,” I grunt. “Her participation in anything requires her consent. Judging from the burn mark on your neck, she refused to give it.”
“She kicked us out and said she’d speak to us tomorrow,” Isidro says. “To be fair, I didn’t realize Harlan was going to scare her.”
“Very few things scare Silva, which means you’re trouble,” I say, sucker punching Harlan in the face.
Yeah, I’m not proud of it, but I’m not going to stand by and watch this shit happen.
I follow that up with a kick in the stomach, happy to help him take a trip on his ass to the ground.
“Oh, are we beating the shit out of the newbies?” Shep asks, strolling over to join us. “Can I help?”
His words help to center me and I shake my head.
“You three better have the integrity to lay out why you’re looking for Silva and Lexi tomorrow. Otherwise I have no problem putting the three of you and whoever you came with in the goddamned ground,” I growl.
Shep doesn’t seem to care that I just threatened the people in front of me.
“The way I see it, it’s the least they’d deserve,” he agrees helpfully. “Are we going to go give Silva her keys now?”
“Yep,” I grunt, scowling as Harlan groans.
“Why is it always me,” he complains.
“You’re the prettiest one in the bunch,” I joke, pulling open the door.
Emmett’s head moves so fast on the other side of it, I’m surprised he doesn’t give himself whiplash.
“I believe it’s time for you three to get the fuck off this property,” I say over my shoulder. “Shep, want to come say hello to Silva?”
“Yes, please,” he says, his lips pursed in displeasure. “If you hurt her, this town will do a wonderful reenactment of running you out of town with pitchforks and torches.”
“How very medieval of you,” the redhead drawls. Fuck, I have no idea what his name is, and I don’t care enough to ask. He has a distinctive southern drawl, but I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s as fake as their masks.
“Get gone,” I mutter. “Emmett?”
“I’ll make sure they leave.”
Nodding, I make my way to the bar, where Silva is working. Everyone seems to be having a good time, but I notice immediately that she seems off. Her movements are a little jerky, and it looks like she’s having to concentrate too hard at something that’s second nature.
I don’t think most people would notice, but I practically have a PhD in Silva. I may not know her past, but everything else is engraved in my mind.
Leaning over the bar, I wait for her eyes to snap up to see me, and it takes a few seconds for her to recognize me. Fuck, that’s not good.
“Hey, Spitfire. I got your truck back. Can you take a break?”
“A break?” she asks, as if coming out of a daze.
Shep stares at her for a second before sitting down on a bar stool.
“Don’t take no for an answer,” he mutters. I almost can’t hear him, but I jerk my head in agreement.
Walking around the bar, I stop next to the bartender beside Silva and lean in to get her attention.
“Sheriff…you can’t be behind the bar,” she says with wide eyes.
“I know. I’m gonna steal your boss for a second. Think you can handle the bar?”
“Yeah,” she says with a nod. “Ah, she’s going to hate leaving.”
“I know, but she needs a second after using Charlie to put that alpha in his place. Don’t you think?” I ask.
She nods rapidly, and I finally find her name. Maura.
“Thanks, Maura,” I say, continuing on to put Silva over my shoulder. “Let’s go, baby. We need a time out.”
“Syrus,” Silva growls. “I’m working!”
“Maura’s got the bar,” I reply, turning to walk back out the way I came.
“Take a right down that hallway. There’s an exit there that’ll give you some privacy. Silva always keeps her keys on her,” Maura suggests.
“Traitor,” Silva complains.
I can hear the keys tinkling from a belt loop on her cargo pants, and all I can do is chuckle. Raising my hand to Shep, I find that several people raise their glasses to me in amusement. Fuck do I love living in Widows Peak.
“Yeah, yeah,” I say, walking down the hallway toward the exit. The sounds of the club get quieter the farther away I get from the main room, and Silva wiggles in annoyance.
“If I fart in your face, I won’t be sorry!” she yells.
I throw my head back and laugh, unable to handle how ridiculous she is.
“Come on, Silva. Are you really going to be so mean to me?” I croon, pushing open the back door. “You have keys for this?”
“Yes,” she pouts sullenly as I grin.
“Alright,” I say, exiting the building and setting her upright. “I punched an alpha on your behalf, so I suggest you tell me what happened.”