“Morgan is going to be your shadow. And don’t—” Shaw abruptly stops talking and rubs a hand over the back of his neck. “This might sound crazy, but can you do me one favor?”
I slide my foot into my heel and saunter toward him, making sure to sway my hips because I know how much he enjoys watching me. Sliding my arms around him I push myself against his body, feeling him inhale deep as he returns the hug.
I can’t help it; I love to hug this man and relish in the safety he envelopes me with.
“What’s the favor?” I question.
He places his finger underneath my chin and forces me to look in his eyes. “Promise me you won’t be alone with either Pierre, Donald, or the pair of them at the same time. Better yet, always keep people around you.”
Confusion hits me. “Why would Donald come to my office? He hasn’t in the past. And you know I have to face Pierre, right? He knows I’m coming in this morning, though I won’t be alone around him. Why the extra warning? Did you receive more information from Deeds? Any progression?”
“No, I’m meeting him later today. I just don’t want you alone with those fuckers. Keep Morgan with you at all times and don’t leave the office. Call if you’re done and I’ll come pick you up. Humor me, okay? I need to know there are eyes on you at all times until we can really close this shit and put it behind us.”
“Of course,” I instantly agree in understanding.
He leans in and gives me a toe-curling kiss. “Behave,” he murmurs against my mouth before we head for the SUV Morgan is driving to escort me to work.
Chapter Seven
Beecher
I’m still standing in the parking lot since Val just left with Morgan to head for work. On one hand, I’m glad she’s going back to work because she loves running her company. On the other hand, I hate letting her out of my sight knowing the shit in our past isn’t fully wrapped up. Even more when there might be a link with people in her direct surroundings.
It’s the reason I had a long talk with Morgan to make sure he won’t leave her side and will keep me updated every hour. This will also allow me to focus on a meeting I have later today with Deeds.
He called me yesterday about some concerns he had and wanted to talk things through. Deeds was waiting on some results along with some added information, that’s why I’m supposed to meet him later today.
But I guess things changed since I hear and see four bikes heading this way. When they park their bikes, I recognize Deeds, his son, Archer, Deeds’ brother, Broke, and Broke’s son, Wyatt. Jeez, talk about a family business these guys got going on. Even more when you think about the fact both the future president, the future VP, and the current president and VP of Broken Deeds MC are standing in front of me. Fuck. I guess shit just hit the fan big time.
The door of the clubhouse swings open behind me and Zerox, along with Corban and Barlow, stroll out.
“You’re early,” Zerox says as he holds out his hand for Deeds to shake.
There’s a routine of shaking hands before Deeds directs his attention to me. “This couldn’t wait. Wyatt found a loophole Donald created and were fairly sure he’s either tied to the people running the snuff film industry or he’s one of the main players. Hence the loophole comment because the fucker is good at erasing his actions.”
“What’s his part in all of it?” I ask through clenched teeth, itching to get my hands on this fucker and rip him apart.
“He was placed into the witness protection system when he turned on his brother,” Broke states.
“Yeah,” Deeds snarls. “But we now believe that fucker only took the opportunity to rat on his brother to clear a path for him to solely run his fucked-up underground business since you two handled the other brother, Logan, and his wife, Dana. The law took out the other brother, allowing Donald to become the main player.”
“So, you see,” Archer cuts in. “We believe Donald has a twisted hard on for your old lady. He has the one close who ended the brother he hated, and on some level controls her. You mentioned the whole thing with Pierre, right? This puts Donald in control, letting her do his bidding. Inflicting pain and shit at his command. This fucker is dangerous.”
“But we’re here because us poking around, no matter how careful we were, set off his alarms. We have reason to believe he’s setting things in motion to go underground, lay low, and reset his life to continue his shit somewhere else with a new identity. Like how these fuckers have been able to move around the country and keep this horrific shit going,” Wyatt finishes and my fucking ears are flapping while a ringing echoes in my head.
Are these fuckers for real? “You spooked them and now a valid threat puts my old lady at high fucking risk? You could have given us a little heads-up since it’s been over two weeks and my old lady had to swing by the office this morning. She left mere minutes ago with a prospect. I’m pretty damn sure Pierre would be there waiting for her at the office,” I snap and take my phone out of my pocket to call Val and ask for her to return to the clubhouse; she needs to hear this insanity.
My heartbeat spikes when she doesn’t pick up the damn phone. I know she keeps it in her purse and sometimes she turns off the volume when she’s typing out emails. Which most times leads to her forgetting to turn the sound back on. But come the fuck on. All of this puts me on edge and I need eyes on her right now.
“She’s not picking up,” I grumble underneath my breath.
Zerox takes out his phone. “I’ll try Morgan. Even if he’s driving, the call will go through.” His eyes connect with mine. “The SUV is filled with high-tech shit, even bulletproof windows, you know this. They just left about fifteen minutes or so, right? They’re still driving. Keep calm, brother.”
Keep calm, brother? Is he for real? “We were in my car just driving around when two vehicles caged us in and shot fucking darts at us, taking us out and next thing we know we wake up taped to chairs to endure days of torture. So, don’t fucking ‘they’re still driving and keep your calm’ bullshit me, brother.”
“The line is busy,” Zerox grunts, ignoring my outburst. “You did hear me say bulletproof windows, right? So, unless they open a window or a door, no way can they shoot darts at them.”
The door of the clubhouse swings open and Maci rushes toward us. “It’s Morgan! They are right behind him.”
She holds out her phone and Morgan’s voice flows through the air, except he isn’t talking to us, he’s giving Val instructions. “You don’t come out, you hear me? They think you jumped out when you threw the sleeping bag out of the door. Stay there, fuck!”
The sound of crunching metal disrupts the call but I’ve heard enough. I know exactly what route they took and I’m already rushing toward my bike. Barlow is right behind me when my tires eat the road as I head full speed in the direction my woman was headed.
Fuck. I’m not losing her again and the mere thought of those fuckers getting their hands on her...to have her go through it again, even for a mere fucking second? It will rip open all the painful memories from the past.
And if she would still be alive and survive yet again…she’ll be irreparably broken. She might be the strongest woman I know but everyone has their limit. She’s been through enough trauma to last a thousand lifetimes.