Chapter 15
AXEL
Wren and I have spent every night together since this fake dating started and I love it. Now, it’s the weekend and I can have her for an entire day to myself. Well, her and the case she and Lenny are working on.
This case has both of them worked up. They’re fighting for custody of their client’s kids. Her ex-husband is an abusive prick, so I hope they can keep their client and her kids away from him for good. This is the kind of shit that the club doesn’t stand for.
We’re in my suite and Wren has her work scattered across my island countertop. She’s made herself at home the last few days, unpacking her clothes and putting them in my closet, putting her toiletries away in the bathroom. I won’t tell her how much I love it.
“So, you guys haven’t been able to track this guy down?” I ask as she shuffles a few papers.
She sighs and puts down the papers in a new pile. “No, we haven’t. We do know that he hasn’t been around her though, so that’s all that really matters. We have a private security detail watching her house around the clock.”
“Damn, that was smart,” I murmur.
“We didn’t want to risk him getting anywhere near Alexis. She was granted an order of protection when everything happened, but they haven’t been able to serve him the updated one since the police haven’t even found him.”
“What is this guy, a ghost?” I mutter. “You know, if you guys give us his name, we can track him down. Noah is super impressive with that kind of shit.”
“Would you really help with that?” She asks, sounding surprised.
“Of course, as long as he’s caught up on club business, he’ll have no problem doing it,” I tell her. “You know the club hates anything bad happening to women and children.”
“That would be amazing!” She lights up. “His name is Zach Rycroft. He’s thirty-eight and his last known address was in Allenville.”
I relay that information to Noah and ask him to get back with me when he has time to search. “I sent it all over to Noah.”
Wren smiles widely and walks around the island to pull me into a hug. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, baby,” I murmur into her hair. “We’ve been at this for hours now, why don’t I go downstairs and get us something to eat?”
“That sounds really good,” she whispers as she looks up at me. “Thank you.”
“It’s not a problem,” I tell her honestly. “I’ll be back in like ten minutes.”
I leave her to her work and then head downstairs to grab some food. It’s not dinner time, so Chef might not have anything ready yet, but I can make something for us if I have to.
The clubhouse is buzzing with energy since it’s the weekend.
My brothers are spread out around the main room.
Atlas and Cane are at the bar talking. Nash and Cole have Ana and Lucy straddling them on the couch.
Luke and Rowan are hanging out by the kitchen entrance, and Ace and Theo are behind the bar.
I guess Noah and Levi are on guard duty at the gate.
The club still doesn’t feel like itself without Grayson around. I’m sure he’ll be back in the clubhouse by next week, not full-time, but enough. I know he’s not going to miss a second with his family if he doesn’t have to. He missed out on too much in Asher’s life to do that willingly.
I walk past everyone, nodding at Luke and Rowan as I enter the kitchen. Chef is hard at work making dinner for everyone.
“Ax!” He calls as he looks over his shoulder. “What can I get for you?”
“Hey, Chef,” I greet him with a smile. “Is there anything ready? Or do we still have any leftovers?”
“Food is still about a half hour out,” he tells me as he wipes his hands off. “There is a five layered taco dip in the fridge if you guys would like something to hold you over,” he offers.
“Sounds perfect,” I reply as I walk to the fridge.
I pull the dip out and grab a bag of tortilla chips and two sodas. I walk back into the main room and stop when Luke steps in front of me.
“Look who decided to finally show his face,” he teases as he slaps me on the shoulder.
“Oh, shut the hell up,” I chuckle with a shake of my head. “What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be at home with Everly and Hazel?” I ask Rowan.
He smiles at the mention of his family. “I’m heading there in a few. Everly made me promise to hang out at the club for a bit, so I’m here for thirty minutes and then I’m going home.”
We laugh at his response. “Pussy whipped,” Luke mutters, earning a slap on the back of the head from Rowan. “Both of you.”
“You just wait, fucker,” Rowan mutters. “A woman is going to come along and knock you on your ass someday. Then you’ll understand.”
“You, I understand,” Luke slurs, clearly already drunk. “It’s him that I don’t,” he continues as he points in my direction. “I mean, it’s Wren!” He laughs boisterously, making my teeth grind. “That girl doesn’t have a relationship bone in her body. Don’t you see that?”
“You’re fucking drunk, Luke,” I mutter, unimpressed.
“I am,” he admits. “But we all see it! That girl isn’t relationship material. So, it’s best that you fuck her out of your thoughts and get back to life as usual.”
“What the fuck?” Rowan growls. “No one actually thinks that.”
I reach over and put the food on the table before I grab Luke by the cut and slam him against the wall. “I’m going to let this slide this one time because you’re fucking drunk, but if you ever speak about Wren that way again,” I let my threat hang in the air.
Luke is one of my best friends, and before this, he’s been supportive of me pursuing something with Wren, so I have no idea where this is coming from.
“Chill, man,” Luke laughs off my threat. “Wren is a good girl; she’s just never had a steady relationship.”
“Neither have any of us,” I mutter and release his cut.
I grab the snacks and drinks from the table and walk out of the main room, ignoring the looks from my brothers as I pass. I know that they heard what Luke said, I just wonder if they actually feel the same.
It doesn’t matter if they do. I know Wren. I know what she’s capable of. I know what we could be. It doesn’t matter if my brothers see that or not.
I sigh as I walk up the stairs and down the hallway to my suite, punching in the code and walking inside.
“Sorry, the guys wanted to talk to me about something,” I murmur as I walk over to the kitchen and set everything down.
When I turn around, I find the room empty. Of Wren and her belongings. All the papers she was working on; gone. I walk into the bedroom and closet, her clothes; gone. I rush into the bathroom, her toiletries; gone.
What the fuck could have happened in the little amount of time that I was gone that would make her just leave like this? Then it hits me. Fuck. She heard what Luke said.