15. Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Fifteen
The shop was on the clubhouse compound, so Torrent had told her they’d walk.
Chey had offered to stay with Calliope in their room; she didn’t have anything to do at the mortuary and had planned on hanging around the clubhouse anyway.
She’d been so sweet with Calliope at their reception that Cecilia had no qualms about leaving them together.
Harley had come by and said he’d keep watch.
For some reason, he seemed to be taking a protective stance with her, and Cecilia wasn’t opposed to it at all.
Last night, she’d awoken to a wet dog tongue licking her face and Torrent’s voice saying she was safe. Instead of waking up screaming, she’d giggled at how close Monster’s face was to hers.
This morning, she felt refreshed and ready to check out the shop. She’d dressed in jeans, tennis shoes, and a short-sleeve top. Torrent had said that unless she wanted to cover the bruises, she didn’t need to because club members were the only ones allowed in the shop.
She wasn’t sure what she’d expected but the building in front of her wasn’t it.
It was a large Morton building in a dark gray.
If she didn’t know it was a shop, she’d assume it was someone’s home because it looked like those barndominiums she’d seen on design shows.
The front had large sliding doors that were currently open.
A large, covered area was to the left of the sliding doors with a table, chairs, and a grill.
Monster kept step right beside her. She hadn’t even needed to tell him they were leaving; he’d simply followed her wherever she went.
He gave her a sense of safety in addition to Torrent.
Torrent led her into the main entrance, and she paused.
The floors were sealed concrete. She’d wondered what the shop would smell like.
The overwhelming smell was of fresh-cut wood.
She’d wondered if the strong smells of stain or varnish would be overwhelming in the area, but she was pleasantly surprised.
Torrent led her through the building, pointing out the restrooms, a small kitchen with drinks, and his office.
He paused when they were at the back corner of the shop.
Workbenches lined the walls except for a door that he opened and led her through.
A ten-by-twenty cement patio was decorated with so many wood birdhouses and mini picnic tables that she didn’t even bother counting.
He seemed to be waiting for a response.
“These are gorgeous. Did you make all these?” she marveled, her eyes wide with wonder.
He nodded, pointing at the items. “For the birds. For squirrels.”
She picked up one of the mini picnic tables, noticing it had a place for the food and a wire with a hook to suspend it from a tree. She picked up one of the birdhouses, but it didn’t have a place for the bird to go inside. The opening was a painted circle.
“What about this one?” she admired, tracing the painted details.
“Sally wanted decorative,” he said.
She laid the green one down she’d had and walked over to a beautiful yellow one with a dark roof. There were butterflies and ladybugs painted on the side.
“Do you do all the painting?” she asked.
“Cauldron, Mav, Me,” he replied.
“Could I have this one for our suite? It would look very pretty on the side table by the couch,” she ventured quietly.
He nodded, motioning to the patio. “As many as you want,” he offered.
She smiled. She loved the rooms in their suite, but there wasn’t much on the walls or decorations in the room. She wanted it to feel a little homier.
She picked the yellow birdhouse and then a smaller pink one for Calliope’s room.
Once she had them, Torrent showed her his work area.
There were large machines where the tops of the caskets were glued together.
He walked her around, showing her the area where the caskets were painted or stained.
It was an enclosed area with its own ventilation system, which was why she hadn’t been knocked over by the overwhelming smell when she came in.
Cauldron was working in an area by himself. She waved, but Torrent didn’t take her over that way.
Monster had stayed beside her, his face touching her right thigh most of the time.
“Need to cut some slats. Take you back or…” he trailed off, leaving it open for her to decide.
She tried not to smile at how, with so few words, he could still get his point across.
“Can I stay and watch?” she asked with a hopeful smile, genuinely intrigued.
His mouth quirked up on the side as he nodded. Maybe someday she’d get him to smile, but for now, as long as her grumpy guy kept her safe, she was good.
Torrent found her a chair to sit in as she watched. He had her put on protective glasses. She watched as he moved wood over to his area, measured, and began cutting. Watching him was almost hypnotic and allowed her mind to wander.
Today, as she sat and stared, she ran through the things that had happened.
Now that she knew about Horse’s Ass talking with Calliope, she had to wonder if her dad had said something to Useless, as Torrent had called him.
She grinned. Her dad had mentioned the Chief’s name was Eustace but that he wasn’t any help.
Calling him Useless had made her smile, but now she wondered if her parents were silenced because they suspected something with Calliope.
Had her dad confronted Horse’s Ass or Useless?
Something was bothering her about Horse’s Ass approaching Calliope.
Twice was when Calliope was with Linny and Judith called Linny away from her.
And then there was that weird visit from Judith.
How did she know to come to the clubhouse?
Cecilia didn’t believe that Calliope told Linny, because Calliope was just happy to be safe behind the walls of the compound. She wouldn’t jeopardize that.
Which brought up the question—how did Judith know to find them at the clubhouse? Had Gunner gone over Calliope’s phone yet?
Cecilia was knowledgeable enough with the computers she used in the hospital ER, but she didn’t have the first clue what was available on the market for tracking people.
It couldn’t have been in the clothes they had on because those had been disposed of.
Gunner would let them know if there was anything on Calliope’s phone.
She couldn’t shake the feeling that Horse’s Ass had shown up exactly when Calliope was available in certain places. Judith was there twice, but she hadn’t been there when Calliope mentioned the store.
“Deep thoughts?” Torrent interjected quietly, handing her a cold Dr. Pepper Zero and sitting down with a cold water.
She stared at him. She’d been with him days, and he already knew her favorite drink. Her last boyfriend hadn’t even bothered to know the shows she liked to watch on TV.
“I keep coming back to it—how did Horse’s Ass know where to find Calliope, and how did Judith find us?
” Cecilia mused, taking a sip as Torrent considered her question.
She grinned a little when he rubbed his chin with his thumb and forefinger, just like she’d seen Dragon do.
Torrent might not be his biological son, but Dragon had been the father Torrent needed.
“Strange,” Torrent commented.
“I agree. Judith was there twice but not all three times Calliope told us about. We’re missing something,” Cecilia muttered.
“Missing what?” Cauldron inquired, grabbing a bottle of water from the refrigerator and sitting down in one of the chairs.
“How Horse’s Ass found Calliope each time,” Torrent replied.
“Huh. How did Judith find you?” Cauldron countered.
“Exactly,” Torrent said.
Cauldron pulled out his phone, putting it on speaker.
“Yeah,” Gunner answered.
“You find any tracking app on Calliope’s phone?” Cauldron pressed.
“No, which is frustrating. I figured that was how Judith found them,” Gunner admitted.
“You run the RF wand over the backpack?” Cauldron asked.
“Fuck! No, give me a second,” Gunner exclaimed.
Cecilia listened to the rustling through the phone. She hadn’t considered there might be something with Calliope’s backpack. A beeping sound came through the phone.
“Something is in the lining. Let me cut the seam so we can sew this back,” Gunner muttered.
Cecilia’s stomach turned as she waited for Gunner to find whatever it was.
“Okay, looks like there are two trackers. One was sewn into the bottom between the outside layer and the plastic lining. The second had been sewn into the strap toward the bottom. The odds of Calliope ever feeling something different would be slim. Someone knew what they were doing. I’ll notify Dragon and Mav,”Gunner reported, hanging up.
Cecilia stared at the guys, wondering if it would be inappropriate to ask to destroy something. Horse’s Ass’s plans hadn’t been spur of the moment; he’d been planning something for a while.
Torrent and Cauldron’s phones beeped. Torrent glanced down at his.
“Dragon’s called Church. Let’s head back,” Torrent said, holding his hand out to help her up. Her thoughts were swirling. What were they going to do? Who all was involved in this and how would they keep Calliope safe?
As they walked across the field, Torrent holding her hand, Cecilia forced herself to put one foot in front of the other. She wasn’t sure how much more she could handle. Just when she was ready to take a breath, something else hit them.
Before Torrent opened the door to the clubhouse, he paused, turning to her. He slid his finger under her chin, raising her head until she was staring into his eyes.
“One step at a time—together,” he promised.
She nodded because she didn’t have to do this alone.
He opened the door, leading her in. Sally and Calliope were chatting at one of the tables with Chey.
Calliope smiled and waved. Cecilia put a smile on her face and started to walk toward them.
Torrent didn’t let go of her hand. She stopped and turned back to him.
He leaned close, brushing a kiss across her forehead.
“We’ve got this,” he reassured her, not turning to leave until she nodded. She hoped the MC had a plan, because right now, she wanted to go run upstairs and crawl under the covers. She was tired of being strong.
“Cecilia, come sit with us. Chey’s telling a story about her first time putting makeup on by herself,” Calliope called.
Calliope needed normal. Cecilia pressed down the worry, put a smile on her face, and joined the ladies to hear the story with Monster at her side. Later, in the bathroom, she’d cry and have her pity party that she so desperately needed.