Chapter 14
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Delaney
As I set my bag on the side table, my phone rings. Reaching in, I find my phone and smile.
“Hey you, it’s been a minute.”
“Dude, we can’t go this long without talking ever again,” Erica says, making me laugh.
“It hasn’t been that long.” I laugh lightly.
“Yeah, but we usually talk multiple times a day.”
Guilt sinks in. “I’m sorry. I’ve been so busy with Tank that I have been a shit friend.”
“Delaney, stop it. You are far from a shit friend. Besides, it’s not all on you. Work’s been killing me, and I swear all I do at the end of the day is crash face first into my bed.”
“What are you doing right now?” I ask.
“I’m changing into comfy clothes and then ordering Chinese food.”
“Well, how about you come over here and eat Chinese with me?” I offer.
Erica hums, “You know what? Let’s do it. I’ll place an order before I leave here and pick it up on my way.”
“Sounds good. See you soon.”
I hang up and see a message flash across my screen.
Tank
I hope you had a good day at work, gorgeous.
Me
I did. I made it home, and now Erica is going to come over and we are going to catch up.
Tank
I’m glad to hear it. Enjoy the girl time. If you need anything, just let me know.
I can’t help but smile at how thoughtful he is.
Me
Will do. Have fun doing whatever it is you do when you aren’t with me.
Setting down my phone, I head upstairs and change. After putting on a pair of lounge shorts and a baggy sweatshirt, I head into the bathroom. Quickly, I run the brush through my hair and then put it up into a messy bun, getting it out of my face.
I head back downstairs and pull out a bottle of wine. With a steady hand, I pop out the cork to let it breathe while I wait for Erica to show. Thirty minutes later, there’s a knock on my door.
“Sorry, the restaurant was running a little behind,” she says as she steps inside.
I laugh and shut the door. “Girl, it didn’t even take you an hour to get here. No need to apologize.”
“True. Hey, by the way, those flowers on your porch are gorgeous.”
I frown. “Flowers?”
Erica nods as she sets the food down on my coffee table. “Yeah, I almost tripped over them.”
“There weren’t any flowers here when I got home.”
She raises a brow. “Well there are now. Look.”
I open my door, and sure enough, right in the middle of my porch is a bouquet of flowers. Stepping outside, I scan the street. Nothing suspicious stands out. Reaching down, I grab the flowers and head back inside, flipping the lock behind me.
I head into the kitchen and see Erica already pouring our wine.
“They are super pretty. Are they from your biker?” she asks.
I set them on the counter and pull out the card that sits in the middle.
I miss you, gorgeous. In case I didn’t tell you today, you look beautiful.
I can’t help but smile as I read the card again, running my finger over the words.
“What’s it say?” Erica asks.
I read it aloud.
She whistles. “Damn, that guy is smooth as shit. If you don’t want him, I’ll take him.”
“He’s mine,” I tell her, not bothering to hide the possessiveness from my voice.
Erica laughs. “Down girl. I’m not a threat, but if he has a brother, maybe send him my way.”
I grab my phone and text him again quickly.
Me
The flowers are so pretty. Thank you for sending them to me. You didn’t have to, but it was a nice surprise.
Darkening my screen, I set my phone on the counter and reach for my glass of wine.
“Let’s go catch up and eat,” I say.
Erica and I head into the living room and sit down, immediately breaking into the bag of food. She hands me a container of chicken lo mein and a pair of chopsticks. Once she’s got her orange chicken, she turns toward me.
“So fill me in. How are things going with your guy?” she asks as she takes a bite of food.
“It’s…probably the best relationship I’ve ever been in.”
Erica’s eyebrows wing up. “Explain.”
I take a bite of my noodles as I think about how to explain it.
“He’s ridiculously sweet. Like the flowers.
He’s always asking how I’m doing. His love language has to be touch because he touches me every chance he gets.
Which I never thought I would like, but with him I do.
When I talk, he actually listens. Gives me his full attention and gives me more than one-word answers. ”
“And the sex?” Erica smirks.
I feel my cheeks heat. “The sex is out of this world. Like I can’t explain it. Somehow he knew exactly what I needed in the bedroom before he ever really knew me.”
“So have you gotten over that little problem Blaine used to bitch about?”
I can’t help but laugh. “Yes. He knows how to make me come. Multiple times. Every time without fail.”
Erica groans. “Is it fucked up that I’m jealous that you are getting o’s on the regular? Seriously, does he have a brother? I need that kind of energy in my life.”
“I’ll ask him if any of his brothers are single and if they are into women a little on the crazy side.” I wink.
Erica sticks her tongue out at me. “I’m a fucking delight, and don’t you forget it.”
“Anyway, enough about me and my love life. What’s new with you?”
Erica launches into a story about work and how people suck, making me smile.
It’s nice. I didn’t realize how much I was missing my best friend or how much I needed the one-on-one time.
As much as I love spending time with Tank, sometimes a girl just needs to spend time with her bestie.
Tank
Right as I finish the pool game with Jagger, Fox, and Taz, I pull out my phone and check the time.
She should be home.
Quickly, I shoot her off a text as I sidle up next to the bar.
“What can I get you?” Prospect one asks.
“Can I get a Yuengling, please?”
His eyebrows rise at the word “please,” but he grabs me a bottle and slides it over.
I nod my head in thanks and shoot off a couple more texts to my girl. Even though I’m just texting her, I can’t help but smile.
“You look happy,” Kelly says.
“I am.”
“Hey, sorry I’m late. What did I miss?” Jane says as she walks over to us.
Kelly laughs lightly. “You didn’t miss anything.”
As they chat back and forth, I look back at my phone. I pause, beer halfway to my mouth.
What the fuck?
Confusion fills me as I read her last text.
“You okay?” Kelly asks.
“Yeah,” I mutter, not looking away from my phone.
Laney
The flowers are so pretty. Thank you for sending them to me. You didn’t have to, but it was a nice surprise.
Flowers? What fucking flowers?
My fingers move to text her back, but before I can, a whistle cuts through the air. All eyes move to a pissed-off Smoke and an even angrier-looking Crow.
“Church. Now,” Smoke demands.
Standing, I shove my phone into my pocket, and I move. I can text my girl back later.
When the last brother enters, the door is slammed shut behind us.
“What’s wrong?” Gunner asks, cutting to the chase.
He’s standing next to his seat, arms crossed, legs wide.
“Crow,” Smoke says, nodding toward the man.
“Today while on the jobsite, a building inspector and two cops showed up. They shut us down,” Crow growls.
“For what?” Mac asks.
“Apparently our permits were pulled, and we are being investigated for taking shortcuts when building,” Crow scoffs.
“That’s bullshit. Everyone knows you do everything by the book,” Bear says, shaking his head.
My heart sinks to my ass.
“It’s Blaine, isn’t it? My girl’s ex?” I ask.
All the brothers turn toward me, and I continue.
“It makes sense. He’s mad I got the girl, and he’s trying to sabotage it. He sent cops to the shop about stolen parts. They didn’t find anything, so he moved on to another club-related business.” I look over at Crow. “I’m sorry.”
“That makes sense. Hit us in as many ways as possible,” Gunner mumbles.
“Fox?” Smoke asks.
Fox nods and starts clicking away on his tablet. “On it.”
“What’s wrong?” Smoke asks, not looking away from him.
Fox’s jaw clenches. “I’m fucking pissed.
When I looked into this guy the first time, he seemed relatively harmless.
He should have backed the fuck off after Tank fucked him up over the gambling ring.
It doesn’t make sense why he keeps coming back or how a guy who’s barely out of law school already has these kinds of resources. ”
“Is he still harassing her?” Mac asks.
I shake my head. “What?”
“Has your girl mentioned him harassing her at all?” he asks again.
I run my hands through my hair. “No. I don’t know? We don’t talk about him. I know he was bothering her to start with, but we haven’t discussed it. Shit, I never even told her about our run-in with him or the other shit.”
“Maybe you should ask,” Taz says.
I shake my head. “I don’t want to bring this to her door. Things between us are good. Besides, she would have told me, right?”
“She has a report on file about his harassment. They couldn’t issue a restraining order or anything, but there is a report.
She’s even had some issues at work. A mark was recently added to her record because a child was pulled from her classroom.
The child’s father works at the same law firm,” Fox says, making my heart sink.
Son of a bitch. Evenings when she was down flash through my mind. She told me without giving me details. Did she do it on purpose? In fear of how I would react? Or does she just typically keep that kind of shit to herself?
“You didn’t know,” Smoke says, reading me like a book.
“Not to that extent, no.”
“We should talk to her. Get her take on him,” Gunner says.
I shake my head. “No. She doesn’t need to know. This is our problem.”
“Tank, it doesn’t work like that. You know that,” Smoke says.
“At least not right now, then. Please. I don’t want to bring this shit to her door. Not until she confesses what’s been going on,” I plead.
Smoke pinches the bridge of his nose. “Fine. We wait, but if this dickhead keeps causing problems, we will have no option but to talk to her. Whether you like it or not.”
“Thank you.”
“What about me? What the fuck am I supposed to do?” Crow growls.
“You play the fucking game. Give them everything they want. Show them around. Do whatever you can. I’ll reach out to the club lawyer to see if there is anything we can do to fix this mess,” Smoke says.
“Flowers,” I blurt out, making everyone turn toward me.
“Excuse me?” Smoke asks.
I shake my head. “She just thanked me for flowers right before we came in here. I never sent her any, and I thought it was odd. Before I could text her asking about them, we all came in here.”
The brothers curse under their breaths.
“On it,” Fox says, still typing away.
“Are we ever going to catch a fucking break? I swear, if it’s not one thing, it’s another,” Mac mutters.
“We could catch one easily,” Fox says, making us look his way.
“Are you going to tell us how?” Bear asks.
Fox shrugs. “Easy. No one else falls in love. Drama always comes when you guys settle down with a woman. Statistics say women are the problem.”
“Please, tell me again how my wife is the issue?” Gunner grumbles.
Fox raises his hands in surrender. “I like the ladies, don’t get me wrong. But every time a new one comes on the scene, something happens.”
As the conversation shifts, my mind races.
I’m going to have to have an uncomfortable conversation with Delaney, and it could go either way. It could bring us closer together or put a wedge between us. Only time will tell.
Fuck, I hope it doesn’t ruin what we’ve built. I don’t think I could let her walk away. Not now after I’ve fallen for her.