“I’m sorry he died.”
“Me too.” I tilt my head a bit and shake it. “But I ain’t sorry that it was him over you.”
She nods again, no smile. It’s a hard thing to be happy about, but it’s the truth.
I wrap my other arm around her and pull her back to me. There will be plenty of time for us to talk about the hard stuff. This isn’t over. We’re in the middle of it. Things can go up or down from here, and it’ll most likely come with tough conversations. But for now, I can just sink into the feeling of having Viv in my arms and tacos on the way.
I’ve learned a lot in my life as a Hound. One lesson I got from the brothers who’ve found themselves something special is to enjoy every fucking moment of it. You neverknow when it’ll go south and they’ll die, or wise up and leave our asses for something better.
Being with a Hound ain’t easy. We don’t talk about everything with our girls. We keep them in the dark unless we have to pull them in. And usually, we tell them too late. It sucks, but that’s the track record lately. I want to break the mold, but I don’t know if I can. Telling Viv things seems like a win-lose situation no matter what I say.
I can keep her looped in on her own issues, but what if that makes her want to just get involved more? To put herself in a position to “help,” and it just gets her killed or taken? And what if I tell her about the real reason I’m here? What will she say when she realizes the club she’s been living beside for months was involved with sex trafficking? Would she look at us differently? At me? Even if I’m here to investigate, my club was involved. She could think I was, too, or still am.
And what happens when she learns that I don’t plan on staying? Would she end this before we go any further? Before any feelings get involved?
Too late.
Banging on the door has Viv jumping out of bed, grabbing a shirt out of my drawer, and putting it on. “Coming,” she yells, but it’s muffled as she pulls the shirt over her head. She looks at me with a megawatt smile, and I feel my heart twist a bit more.
“Tacos are here,” she says as she bounces away to the door. I don’t worry that she isn’t safe. We’re in my place, and no one is going to hurt her while I’m close.
I’m falling for this girl, and she doesn’t even know it. When I leave, I’ve got a feeling a part of me will stay. A strong part. And I don’t think I’ll ever be able to get thatpart back. ’Cause the way things are looking, Viv has my whole damn heart locked in a box and has already thrown away the key.
Chapter 24—Viv
“Wow, you’ve done so much in the last two weeks,” Summer says as she looks around, and I nod in agreement.
I wasn’t kidding about needing to redo my home before I came into it. The day after the event—how I will always refer to a random guy jizzing on my stuff, because saying it out loud is just as creepy as thinking he did it—I started renovations. I grabbed all the important stuff and dumped the rest.
Domino had more than enough willing hands lying around to help. And they all volunteered. Not a single one was forced. I think they found it fun too. I mean, how often do you get to throw everything out into a dumpster and not give a shit if it breaks? I’m sure some would see it as work, but for them, I think it was the release they needed.
The unknown stalker is just that, unknown. There’s no one to hunt. Not till we find a clue that gets us something. So, I had the guys destroy my house and knock out a few walls. Hell, a few of them even have construction backgrounds and gave me pointers on what to do next. Somehow, after one day, I ended up with a construction crew that was willing to work for half the going rate as long as I provided food. Oh, and a few sculptures at a discount.
I wasn’t planning on doing any work till the upstairs was done. Mostly to focus on the remodel, and I needed a break. Honestly wasn’t sure if I would break more than I built. But I still had to go down there to ship things out that hadalready been sold, and a few of the guys came in when I had the bay doors open. They’ve seen my stuff from afar, but none of them had really looked till then. I’m happy to sell my work at a lower rate for this group. Hell, I should give it away with the ideas they gave me for when I do start working again.
“You did a full-on redo, and somehow it looks bigger. How is that possible?” Summer said in awe.
I shake my head in wonderment too. “No clue, but I like it.”
There are no walls up, but the outline is. The kitchen used to be on the left and the living area on the right. The bathroom and master were also on the left, and the guest room and extra storage at the end of the hall were on the right. Now I have the door open into an entryway—yeah, I got one of those—and you can see all the way to the back with a giant living room on the left. The guest room is now directly on the right when you walk in, and the master is at the back on the same right wall. In between the two is the kitchen that’s no longer L-shaped with just one wall of cabinets. The built-in island is next to the fridge that’s also built into its own cubby, and it has double the counter space than before somehow. And where is the bathroom, you ask? Behind the kitchen. Right? Crazy. It’s one of those Jack and Jill types, but I prefer that over walking across the hall after a shower.
“The plumbing is the real bitch, and it’s what’s taking the longest since I have to move it from one side to the other. I was okay with swapping the floor plan, but Domino insisted that I should do a full makeover, and I can’t really disagree. It might be the same place, but knowing I’m not sleeping on the same side of the house makes it feel like a new one.”
“Oh, hell yeah, it’s new. It’s like one of those freaking reno-house reveals. Once they put everything in, this place is going to look legit. I might never leave.”
I snort. “Like you do now.”
“Fact,” she says with a nod.
Even though she and I haven’t spent time here over the last few weeks, we’ve still seen each other daily to train. I’ve got a fight tonight if Domino will let me go.
Well, I’m going with or without him. The big issue is whether he’ll start a fight about it. He knows it’s happening, but we just haven’t had the conversation about what happened last time. He’s still trying to track the guy down, and every other day, he says he’s found something, but nothing concrete. I want to know when we get solid details so I can be on the lookout, but if it’s just hunches, I’m not sure what that does for me.
We know the stalker is male because, well, the incident. We also know he’s over six feet because of some shadow angel on the car footage they had or something. Average build, but not a thing other than that.
I mean, I’m looking. Each time I go outside the club, I’m searching for anything out of the ordinary, someone who might be looking at me too closely or have a camera in hand. Really, what does a stalker look like? Wearing a hoodie and keeping his face down seems like the obvious choice. But hello! It’s still winter here. Everyone has a hoodie on and their face down to hide from the wind.
That doesn’t keep Domino from either being the one to escort me to the gym or sending a team of his brothers with me when he can’t.
