Chapter 22
Chapter Twenty-Two
TECH
Miracle’s soft whimpers woke me from my deep slumber. With my eyes still closed, I reached for the baby monitor on the nightstand. Once I had it, I turned down the volume to ensure Will didn’t wake up as well. After the night he had with me, I was sure he needed his sleep.
I chuckled as the memories of last night plagued my mind.
For some reason, I couldn’t get enough of him, no matter how many times I came.
Around four in the morning, I finally let him get some sleep after his fifth orgasm.
I’d always had a healthy sexual appetite for Will, but it seemed like ever since I claimed him, it had grown.
The only time he denied me was when he was working.
I tried several times to convince him to come home for a midday quickie while the babies napped, but he shut me down every time, so I stopped asking.
Carefully, I rolled out of bed. Will didn’t even flinch.
He rested on his stomach, sprawled across the bed.
Leaning over, I kissed his forehead before making my way to the bathroom.
I freshened up as quickly as I could. Miracle was up a little earlier than normal, but I was starting to learn that was one of the woes of parenthood.
By the time I made it to her nursery, her whimpers had turned into soft cries.
As soon as she saw me, she simmered down while staring at me with a pout.
Will said she only did this with me. While Miracle wasn’t much of a fussy baby, naturally, she was cranky when she was hungry or needed her diaper changed. With me, Miracle hardly ever fussed.
I scooped her out of her crib and nestled her in my arms. “Why are you up so early, little lady?”
Miracle let out a cute baby giggle before reaching up to play with my beard.
This was something she always did as well.
If I didn’t give her the attention she wanted, she would grab onto my beard and pull my head toward her.
I’d heard the brothers talk about loving their family life over the single life a thousand times.
Now that I knew what it felt like, I couldn’t agree more.
Although I was enjoying the feeling of my home life with Miracle and Will, I couldn’t fully settle into it. There was too much outside noise threatening to disturb our peace.
Day in and day out, the girls and I were relentlessly searching for Sire. I must say, he had me a little intrigued with how he’d been able to stay under the radar. Something had to be done, though. I wasn’t about to keep playing this cat-and-mouse game with him.
Viper had sent a text last night calling for church today. Hopefully, we could come up with something to end all this.
I snapped out of my thoughts when Miracle squirmed in my arms. Making my way over to the changing table, I changed her diaper before swapping out her onesie. Once she was good to go, I headed toward the kitchen. The smell of food made my stomach growl.
As I rounded the corner, I spotted that Violet, Nova, and Debbie were seated at the kitchen island, eating breakfast. “Good morning,” I spoke as I grabbed Miracle's formula. It was like the food had triggered her as she began to whine.
They all responded while I got Miracle's bottle together. By the time I took it from the bottle warmer, my stomach released a war cry. Debbie giggled and made her way over to me.
“Here, I’ll feed her so you can eat.” She held out her hands.
“You sure? I don’t mind feeding her. I’ll be okay.”
Debbie rolled her eyes. “It’s fine, Tech. Besides, you and Will’s home will be finished soon, and we won’t get to see this little beauty all the time.”
I snorted, shaking my head at her dramatics. “Debbie, you will literally see her every day because you’re her nanny. Plus, Will and I will be living on the compound.”
“You know what she means, Tech. We’ve all gotten used to her being here. It won’t be the same with you two having your own place. But regardless, we are all happy for you two.”
As I made my plate, I nodded in understanding. “I get it. Staying here, I got to see the bond you all have with each other. I’m just glad you all gave me a fair chance despite my shortcomings with Will.”
Violet shook her head and scoffed. “Tech, you know firsthand where Nova, Leah, and I came from. We’ve seen way worse from a man who wasn’t at all remorseful. Everybody makes mistakes, Tech.”
Violet was right. I did know where they came from.
The day we found them in bunker holes, chained to walls, I thought I had seen it all.
Leah was on the brink of death. The things Finley did to them were sick.
Somehow, they didn’t let what they went through define them.
There were times I looked at them and wished I had done the same.
It would have been way more beneficial for me.
“Thanks, Violet.”
A few hours after breakfast, I was seated on the island with my laptop. Miracle was next to me on the counter, strapped inside her bouncy chair. I heard movement behind me and turned around. Will stood in the doorway looking refreshed.
“Morning, Dimples.”
He made his way over to me and pecked my lips. “Morning. Why didn’t you wake me?”
“Because I know you needed the sleep.” I raised my brow and watched his cheeks turn red.
Will threw his arms around my neck, pressing his body against mine. “Well, you’re right about that. I can still feel you,” he purred against my lips.
I growled before snaking my arms around his hips. “Will, our daughter is two feet away. Do not tempt me to bend you over this counter.”
He snickered and pulled away from me. “Okay, I’ll behave. What are you working on?” he questioned as he opened the fridge and pulled out some lunch meat. He began making his way around the kitchen, pulling out all the ingredients for a sandwich.
“Same thing as always. You know I’m not stopping till I find him.”
Will begin assembling his sandwich while watching me. “I know. But, uh, there is something I’ve been meaning to tell you.”
My heart raced. “What is that?”
He sighed before putting his sandwich down.
“I made an appointment to get my hair cut with Oscar.” I was ready to deny him, but he cut me off.
“Before you start panicking, Cara, Sara, and Sof had already booked appointments, and I tagged along. I’ve been putting this off since my attack, but I can’t anymore.
You know better than anyone I keep this mane cut short,” he said, pointing to his hair.
I did know this, but it didn’t mean I wanted him exposed just to get it cut.
While normally Will’s hair was cut low, it had now grown in uneven lengths because he hadn’t been to Oscar.
He tried styling it the best he could, but I knew he was sick of it.
As much as I wanted to say no, I wasn’t about to keep him prisoner for something as small as a haircut.
“Okay, I’ll agree, but I have a condition.”
“Take a prospect?” he guessed. I nodded, and he smiled. “Well, to ease your mind, we’re taking three. Cara and Sara already knew you weren’t letting me leave without some protection.”
“But, Will, I don’t want you too relaxed. Just because the guys are there doesn’t mean you don’t need to pay attention to your surroundings. I can't have anything happening to you.”
“You got my word, baby. I’ll be safe.”
Viper banged his gavel down on the table, gaining everyone’s attention.
“Alright, fellas. As you all know, Sire is causing a lot of commotion around town. We need to figure out how to locate him before he brings a shitstorm to our doorstep. Tech, Cara, and Sara, please tell me one of you has something.”
The three of us looked at each other with disappointment and frustration. No one has ever gone this long without us finding them. Up until this point, I thought we were unstoppable.
Cara shook her head in defeat. “I’m sorry, but we have nothing.
Sire is smarter than I gave him credit for.
Whenever I’m going over footage around town, he makes sure to move in and out of cities with low surveillance.
He’s never come within a twenty-mile radius of the club.
I have those cameras on lock, and I would know the second he came near us. But, I do have a plan.”
I sat up in my seat, giving her my full attention. If Cara came up with a plan, it was sure to work. In all the years she’d been here, she had never failed us. “What is it?”
“Okay, so hear me out,” she started, and already I knew I wasn’t going to like this plan. “There’s a new gay club opening up downtown in a week.”
“I know. Oscar was telling Will about it the other night,” I said.
“Seriously? They’re going to open a gay club with all the shit Sire has been doing?” Blade asked in shock.
I couldn’t say I blamed him. While Sire was inconsistent with the locations of his kills, one thing remained the same.
He was killing any gay man he came across.
Not saying anyone should shy away from who they are, but having a grand opening could make a lot of men targets. Especially if Sire was watching.
That was it!
Once everything clicked, I turned to Cara, and she was smiling from ear to ear when she realized I had caught on without her having to say a word. “Cara, I could kiss you!” I professed.
Viper’s head jerked in my direction as he glared at me. “Do it and die.”
The brothers fell out laughing, including me. It was a figure of speech, but leave it to Viper to take it personally. After all the noise simmered down, Viper spoke up.
“Can you and Cara tell the rest of us the plan? Laughing and carrying on, I don’t see shit funny,” he grumbled with a frown.
Cara reached over and patted his hand. “He just got a little excited, baby. Calm down,” she said in a soothing voice.
Viper visibly relaxed, making some of us shake our heads at his possessiveness.
Cara then turned to the group. “I figured we could stake out the club from a distance and see if he shows up.”