Chapter 11 #2
“You…what?” she asks, gaping at me. Her feet move her back slightly so that she’s not craning her head back to look at me. She’s so tiny and cute.
No, I will never say that because I value my balls, thank you.
“The dark headed one. I’m pretty sure he had it coming,” I say. “I ran into them as I was parking to drop off your keys. Care to tell me why you’re so spooked?”
“No one spooks me,” Silva denies, crossing her arms over her chest.
“So how come you’re so out of it tending bar?” I ask stubbornly. “Also, Harlan has to have done something huge to make you zap him like a bug.”
“Ugh!” Silva screams, stomping her feet.
“Please, continue,” I say, turning my palm up and gliding it through the air. At her frown, I shake my head. “I mean it. There’s no one here to judge you. It’s just you and me, Spitfire.”
“You see too much,” she complains, beginning to pace.
“I see you,” I reframe instead. “I care about you. I need to know what has you so spooked. You’re not sleeping, you’re wearing war paint more regularly to hide it, and it’s done very well… But I still see it. So, what’s the deal? Are they blackmailing you? Do we need to hide some bodies, baby?”
Her watery laugh makes my chest tighten, and I’m very serious about committing all kinds of atrocities in her name as tears begin to streak her face.
“I don’t know yet,” Silva sniffles. “Harlan came up to get a drink and then asked me if I was born on January nineteenth. Who just randomly asks that? I don’t know him. He shouldn’t know anything about me.”
“Isidro told me that he was working on a cold case that involves sex trafficking,” I offer. “I didn’t tell you earlier. I’m sorry for that.”
“Why would you tell me?” she asks, waving away my words as she paces. “I shouldn’t have anything to do with sex traffickers.”
The way she phrases that makes my heart begin to pound. I desperately want to touch her, hold her, anything to change how upset she is. Since I can’t do that, I shove my hands deep inside my pockets instead.
“No, but are you?” I ask slowly.
Silva is several paces away from me when she whirls around to face me. It’s freezing out, but she doesn’t seem to notice. She’s breathing too hard, and her green eyes are fierce. She reminds me of a wild animal, where any sudden movements will cause her to run.
“When Lexi and I were eighteen, we ran away from our foster home,” Silva says. “The cliff notes version is that the people who found us were much worse, and trained us to be every alpha’s perfect omega. They were still sex traffickers with pretty wrapping.”
“How did you get out?” I ask.
As she said, a sex trafficker doesn’t change its morals, despite how well treated its captives.
“We waited until the perfect time and then made a run for it,” she shrugs.
I stare at her for a long moment, pulling my hands out of my pockets to cross my arms over my chest.
“Okay, so it’s a little more involved than that. The point is that no one else should know about this. We promised!” she adds shrilly.
“Who did you promise?” I ask, reaching out as she begins to pace again to catch her against my body.
Silva squirms, and for a moment I worry that she’s going to hit me.
“We promised him,” she hisses. “It’s not easy to disappear from these people. He lost a lot of money when we left. There were buyers waiting for us to be delivered, and he was pissed that we didn’t want to be the perfectly coiffed dolls.”
I want to ask desperately who “he” is, but I won’t. The finer details don’t matter right now to me. I’m more worried about her, which may be a conflict of interest with the badge I wear.
I don’t fucking care though.
“So Isidro and his team shouldn’t have any idea that you and your sister exist,” I reiterate. “They said they’re seeing you tomorrow. Are you planning to meet them alone?”
There’s not a chance in hell I’ll allow that to happen. I just need her to decide to allow me to back her up. Silva’s fingers dig into my biceps before she releases me to wrap her arms around my waist.
“I just wanted them out of my club,” she admits. “I didn’t think that far ahead.”
Rubbing her back, I nod before pushing her chin up to look at me.
“Can I sit in?” I ask. “A part of me isn’t happy you’ll be alone with them. I didn’t originally think Isidro was dangerous, but I’ve since changed my mind.”
“I’d feel better if you were there. What made you decide differently?” she asks.
“He can change his personality in an instant, as can the guys with him. I’m fairly certain there are more people with Isidro as well.
I just haven’t seen them yet,” I grumble.
“Anyone that can make you freak out so hard you attack them, isn’t someone I can trust. Your instincts are always on point, Spitfire. Trust them.”
“What if I fuck up?” she asks, vulnerability in her gaze.
“Then we’ll fix it, baby. You don’t have to be perfect all of the time, and you certainly shouldn’t have to carry the burden of this alone,” I reply. “Are you going to tell Lexi?”
“Not until after I meet with them,” she decides, her shoulders straightening.
“Okay,” I say easily. “Have I mentioned how much I love you today?”
Silva’s eyes widen, and it reminds me that I’ve never fucking said that to her. It’s been spiraling in my head for the last day or so, and this is how it decides to come out.
“I may have fucked up my delivery—”
“You love me?” she squeaks out.
“Pretty much head over heels,” I shrug. “I know it’s fast. I’ve slowly been falling in love with you for years. It’s just all clicking into place now that we’re stepping out of the friend zone. You don’t have to say it back, just know that I fucking adore you.”
Bending down, I press my lips to hers, loving the way that she melts against me. It’s hard not to lose myself in her. We just don’t have the time for it. She still has a bar to run, and I need to drive Shep back to the garage.
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” I tell her, brushing away the tears that are drying on her skin. “Maybe you can kick people out early tonight.”
“I doubt it,” she smirks. “Thanks for punching someone in my honor. Did you hurt your hand?”
“Not at all,” I promise.
Even though Harlan’s jaw is made of steel, I barely noticed the impact due to the adrenaline rush. My hand throbs a little, but I’ll live.
Silva lets us back into the building, and she detours into the bathroom to make certain she looks put back together.
“I’m loving this mesh top,” I mention as we walk back together. “I really want to strip off the corset and suck on your tits, baby.”
Silva perfumes as she shivers, making me grin.
“Ugh, you don’t play fair,” she groans.
“Never,” I agree, making sure she has her keys before sending her back behind the bar.
“Thank you for changing out my tires,” Silva calls out to Shep as she stands in front of him.
He’s finishing his beer and shrugs with a grin.
“I’m happier knowing you’ll be safe when we start to get snow,” Shep says, standing. “Are those guys going to be an issue?”
“Possibly,” she sighs. “I don’t know yet.”
Shep nods curtly, his dark brows drawing together. He’s a big guy, and his dark jeans and flannel shirt are not out of place because everyone knows that you can come as you are at Club 21. They don’t stand on ceremony here.
“I dislike that,” he grunts finally. “No one is allowed to come here and fuck up what we have.”
“Let me handle it,” Silva says. “I’ll know more soon.”
“Let’s go Shep,” I say behind him. He’s getting pissed off, and that’s not going to help anyone.
His blonde head of hair nods, and he turns to follow me out as he raises his hand in farewell to Silva. I’ll check in on her later. I’ll be back at closing as usual to follow her home. It’s been my ritual for a long time, and I don’t plan to give it up now.
“Syrus,” Shep begins once I’m driving out of the lot.
“Mmhm?” I ask, my eyes on the road.
“Don’t let her do anything stupid,” he says. “It can be easier to decide to run than stand your ground. She’s a fixture here. No one should be running her out of town.”
I hadn’t even thought of that and I nod curtly.
Silva belongs in Widows Peak. It’s her home, and no one will be driving her away as long as I have anything to say about it.