Chapter 11
CHAPTER ELEVEN
MILLIE
He’s here. I don’t know how I know, but I know. And he’s coming after me, but not yet. He’s going to watch me first. Make me look over my shoulder in fear and with anticipation of not only what is going to happen, but when.
Because it will happen. I know it will. I should have just stayed in Vegas, never put anyone else in danger. I should have let him do with me what he wanted, which I’m certain is kill me and leave me in the Nevada desert somewhere, allowing it to consume my body.
And it would have consumed me, too. It would have been as if I’d never existed. Vanished into thin air. Pressing my lips together, I shake my head and hitch my duffel bag over my shoulder before I head home.
When I step out into the main room, I wince at the harsh light. I hate it when the lights are turned all the way up. It takes away the allure and sexuality of the club. Making my way toward the front door, I stop when I see someone I recognize.
I mean, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen him, but he looks even better than he did all those years ago. It’s Ivy. He’s standing to the left of the doorway with Mr. Bennet. They’re deep in conversation, but I can’t stop looking at him.
As if he senses my presence, or maybe my staring, he turns his head, and his eyes find mine. He blinks once, then twice, before his lips curve up into a smile. He hands Bennet the paper in his hand, then closes the distance between us.
“Is that really you, Millie?” he calls out as he approaches.
“It’s really me,” I say before his arms wrap around me in a big hug.
It feels like I’m being hugged by my big brother. He was one of them, too. All those years ago, Ivy was a man whom I considered my friend, a man I could count on. He was one of the good ones.
Ivy takes a step backward, his fingers curling around my biceps, his arms straight, his gaze on mine. There is a moment of silence before he speaks. When he does, his voice is so low that I’m the only one who can hear him.
“You look good, really good. Does this mean you’re back?” he asks.
I can tell he’s got about a million questions swirling around inside his head. I wish I could answer them for him, but I’m not even sure I have all the answers. At this point, I don’t know why I’m really here. I’m not sure if I want anyone else to know. And I’m not sure how long I’m going to stay.
“I don’t know,” I confess instead of saying all those other things.
Ivy doesn’t care about that. He wants the bullet points. And I don’t blame him, because that’s what I would want, too.
The bullet points.
“I hope it does, Millie. We’ve all missed you.”
I almost, almost laugh at his words. I’m not even sure how to respond to that, because I highly doubt any of them have even thought about me once in the past decade. Women are interchangeable at the clubhouse with those men. I was just someone who once hung around, and then I was gone.
“Thanks,” I whisper instead of giving him a speech about how I know they haven’t thought about me.
“I’d love for you to meet my old lady, and Bullet’s, Lightning’s, Mavrick’s, and Goose’s.”
“You guys have old ladies?” I remember Maverick and Goose. They were newly-patched members back then, around my age.
“We’re all having kids, too,” he says with a chuckle. “We’re real grown-up adults and shit now.”
It’s surprising to say the least, shocking to say the most. The thought of Bullet and all these other men settling down with women and having children causes something inside me to shift. I wanted that. I wanted it so badly that I could taste it.
I wanted Axton to want that with me. I didn’t need to be married immediately or even have a baby right away. I was only eighteen. But I wanted the hope and the promise of someday. Axton couldn’t, or wouldn’t, give that to me.
“I’m so happy for you all,” I lie.
I’m jealous as hell, that’s what I am, but there’s no sense in telling him that, because it would do zero good. It would make him give me some pitying look, and I refuse to have that happen.
Ivy smirks. “Seriously, we’d love to have you come for a visit. We’ll have a whole family party and everything. I know everyone would love to see you again.”
I’m not sure how to respond to that, so I don’t, and thankfully, I don’t have to because his arms drop from my shoulders, and he takes a step backward. “I have to finish this meeting, but promise me you’ll think about it?”
Flashing him an easy smile, I dip my chin in a single nod. “I promise.”
And I’m thinking it’s a no.
Hitching my strap a little higher, I head out of the club and make my way toward my car. It’s the second-to-last car in the parking lot. The other is Bennet’s. And then there’s Ivy’s bike.
There aren’t any unknown or unrecognizable vehicles around, so I let out a sigh of relief as I start my car’s engine and shift it into Drive. I don’t drive around in oblivion, though. I continue to flick my eyes up to my rearview mirror to ensure no one is following me.
I know he’s here somewhere. I just don’t know if he’s found me yet, but I can feel his presence.
He’s close. Maybe Heidi broke and told him.
I wouldn’t hold it against her if she did.
It wouldn’t bother me at all. I should have dealt with this months ago.
I knew it was going to catch up to me, but I’d hoped I could have had a bit more time.
PIGGY
The knock on my patrol car window causes me to practically jump out of my skin.
I turn my head, and my brows snap together at the sight of Shocker standing in front of me.
I touch the car window button, and it rolls down, and before I can ask him what the fuck is going on, he thrusts a paper in front of me.
“I knew I recalled the name Barone,” he announces, “but I didn’t remember Dante. It’s because I knew his father, Adrian.”
“What do you know?” I demand without even looking down at the paper.
I don’t want to waste time reading the damn thing. I want him to tell me. I know it will be faster if he just spits it out. Pressing my lips together, I frown as I wait for him to tell me whatever the fuck it is he knows.
“We knew him because he was someone we dealt with in Vegas. He was the head of a mob there. A boss.”
“Which means his kid is probably in charge now,” I murmur.
“He won’t have a rap sheet,” Shocker continues. “They’re in with the cops there, of course. You think this is why Millie is back in town?”
I bite my bottom lip for a moment before I release it. “The license plates don’t lie. And why the fuck would someone like that be in Thunder Rock? But if he’s looking for Millie, this would be the first stop.”
“They’re dangerous, Piggy.”
“As dangerous as us?” I ask.
He snorts. “Different. I wouldn’t say they’re more dangerous than we are, but what they are is crueler.”
My stomach twists at the word. Crueler. Visions of Millie being hurt fill my mind. I won’t let that happen. Absolutely fucking not.
“I don’t like the sound of that,” I murmur.
“Read over that. It’s what I could dig up on the dad. He’s living in Florida now. Not sure how much help it would be, but at least you’ll have whatever information you need, plus whatever you got from his car.”
“Yeah,” I grunt. Sliding my gaze from the paperwork, I look up at Shocker. “Thanks for this. I appreciate it.”
I shift in my seat. I wish I weren’t at work right now. Taking my cell phone off my passenger seat, I begin to search. There isn’t much to be found, just phone numbers and addresses, which I suspected, but I had to try.
These Barones don’t even own property. Every address they’ve lived at is not owner-occupied. I scrub my palm down my face and clear my throat. They don’t own a single thing that I can find.
A business likely owns their homes, but which one?
I’m sure it’s a tax thing, but as I search, I can’t find any businesses with their names attached.
It’s suspicious. But there’s nothing to be found, not without digging a bit farther into their shit, something I’m pretty sure they would have flagged and know exactly who and why I’m looking.
I finish my shift even if my head is not in the game at all. Thankfully, it’s a slow night, so I don’t have to worry too much. Driving home, I strip out of uniform and take a shower, but I know by the end of my shower, I won’t be able to sleep.
I’m amped.
Dressing in jeans, boots, a T-shirt, and my cut, I head out the door and climb on the back of my bike. I have no business riding where I’m riding, but I’m still going. I make great fucking time, and when I pull up to her building, I find a visitor spot and park my bike.
I make my way toward the lobby of her building. I glance around but don’t see anyone at the front desk, which is fucking terrible security. The lobby door should have been locked, too.
I’m not sure what the fuck is going on, but what I do know is she pays a fucking boatload in rent for this place, and it’s not secure in the goddamn slightest. Walking over to the elevator bank, I touch the button and wait for the doors to open.
Once the bell rings and the doors open, I step inside and press the button for her floor. A few moments later, the doors open and I find myself standing directly in front of her apartment. Another security issue.
I rap my knuckles against the door. I know she hasn’t been home long. The club only closed a few hours ago. I knock again before I hear her shuffling on the other side of the door, then I hear her gasp.
My lips curve up into a grin. “I heard you, Mill,” I call out.
The door slowly opens, and there, standing in front of me, is the goddamn object of my obsession.
I told myself that this was going to be a visit to talk to her about Barone.
But now, seeing her freshly showered, wearing nothing but a pair of sleep shorts and a tank top with no bra, I decide we can discuss Barone later.
Much later.