Chapter Eleven
Amy
I sighed as I swept up the hair into the dustpan, dumping it into the trash bin next to me.
It had been a week since my house had burned to the ground. I’d been, unable to save anything from the fire, and for the first few days I hadn’t left my childhood room, despite the coaxing from my family and my friends. Everything I had owned was gone, save the few things that were in my bag, and I had nearly lost my life in the process.
Eventually, though, Tessa and Hayley had dragged me out to the mall and bought a whole new wardrobe for me, spending some much-needed girl time to help me get out of this hole I had fallen into. Even my father was being nice to me, treading lightly with his words, and even showing me the new plans for the new clubhouse that he had already started on. It was like he had been shaken up from my near-death experience, and when I had shown him the pictures I had saved from the fire, I could have sworn his eyes had welled-up with tears before he blinked them away.
Maybe the rift that had grown between us was starting to mend itself.
Now, though, I was glad to be getting back to normal with my life. For the last few months, I had come to Roxanne’s hair salon, helping her out with appointments and tasks that did not include cutting hair. It was a time for us to have some girl time and for me to enjoy my life outside the club.
“So,” Rox said as her last customer left the building. “What’s up with you, Amy? You are so quiet now.”
I gave a little shrug as I placed the broom back in its place, shutting the closet door.
“I don’t know. It’s been a rough week I guess.”
“That’s not even what I would have said,” Rox said as she patted the chair. “Come on, let me trim your hair.”
I climbed into the chair, sighing as her hands ran over my aching head. Everything on me ached, from my head to my back, and I didn’t know how I was going to survive this pregnancy for a solid eight months at this rate.
“How’s living at home?”
“It’s okay,” I answered, thinking about the times I had shared with my family over the past week.
I had missed them, me so wrapped up with Eric and them with the feud that we hadn’t spent much time together with just us.
“It’s weird being at home, but it makes my dad happy that he can protect me.”
“Well, you can always come stay at our place,” Rox stated as she ran a brush through my hair. “We have an extra bedroom, you know.”
Oh yeah, just what I wanted to do, watch her and Neil all loved up on each other, while I was in the weirdest limbo of a relationship with Eric.
“Um thanks, but no thanks. I’d rather shave my head.”
Rox laughed as she picked up the scissors.
“Not something I would say given your seat right now. Come on, we aren’t that bad.”
“Okay,” I answered with a laugh, feeling some of the tension slide out of my shoulders. “You are so far up Neil’s ass that I’m surprised he can walk straight in the mornings.”
She leaned down beside my ear.
“Sometimes he can’t.”
“Oh my God,” I laughed, covering my mouth with my hand. “You are too much.”
Rox gave a little shrug as she picked up my hair, snipping at the ends.
“It’s the truth. I can’t get enough of him.”
I knew the feeling. I had craved Eric’s touch when we were having sex like every day, wondering if I would ever get used to the fact of him all over me. Now that I wasn’t having him every day, I did miss that crazy connection we had together, that deep connection that made me love him even more. After he had rescued me from the fire, I had known that he loved me and that it was not going to be the last time we were together. This baby was going to bring us together, and no matter what kind of barriers would be in our way, he and I would fight them together.
That is, if I could find him. For a week he had been silent, with no texts, no phone calls. I had waited patiently to hear from him, hoping that he was okay, but there wasn’t so much as a peep from him. I was starting to grow worried.
The door opened and we both turned to see Sydney come through the door, still dressed in her uniform.
“So, that’s why the biker is outside accosting the guests.”
“It’s the only way my father would let me out of the house,” I sighed, thinking about the escort I’d had this morning and all throughout the day.
I had begged and pleaded for him to leave, but my father must have put the fear of God in him, for he hadn’t moved from his perch the whole time I had been here.
“Good,” Sydney said as she plopped down in the chair next to me, giving it a little spin like a kid. “Because your house fire was arson.”
That didn’t surprise me, given the window I had heard crashing that night before the fire had taken over.
“Any leads?” Rox asked as she snipped some more dead ends off my hair.
Sydney shook her head.
“No, but I would bet money either the Brotherhood or that Grayson Barnes had something to do with it. The club and your house had similar patterns, is what the arson investigator told me. It’s probably good that you are at your father’s house. It’s like Fort Knox up there.”
I sighed, rubbing a hand over my face. Didn’t I know it! Day and night, he had guards patrolling the grounds, some with automatic guns and the right to shoot anything that showed up. The gates were closed, and Tessa had pitched a fit when my father would not let her even go grocery shopping, forcing her to give the list to someone else so that they could do it for her.
I knew he was trying to protect us, but it was starting to get out of hand.
“I can’t blame him,” Rox was saying as she worked on another section of my hair. “Neil said I would never leave the house if I was targeted again. He almost didn’t want me to open the shop this week, in fear that everyone might be a target.”
“Zach wanted me to take vacation time,” Sydney said softly, her eyes hard. “I told him to fuck off, which he didn’t appreciate very much.”
“I’m sorry,” I blurted out to my friends, hearing their plights. “I didn’t mean to freak everyone out.”
“It’s not your fault, honey,” Rox said, patting my shoulder. “We are all now family. Any of us could be a target, really. Remember the kidnapping? They weren’t just targeting me.”
Oh, how I remembered! That was the day I had seen Eric on the wrong side of the fence, and I still wasn’t so sure the story he told me about him being there was true or not.
“What about that guy, Amy?” Sydney suddenly asked, as if she were reading my mind. “Did you ever figure out what he was doing there?”
I gave a shrug. Wouldn’t they really like to know what was going on with me?
“Not really. I-I haven’t been in contact with him.”
“Too bad,” Rox said, grinning. “He was a hottie. Of course, not as hot as mine is, but still… y’all would look good together.”
I stared at the mirror in front of me, thinking the same thing. This kid we were going to have together… I hoped that it would have some of Eric’s features. He was a hottie, one that turned my heart over in my chest every time he threw that sexy grin my way. He had been the only man who had ever made my knees weak, and I doubted anyone else would ever have that same effect on me.
I didn’t want anyone else.
So why was he being so elusive lately? Was it because of the rampage my father was on, or was it something else, something I needed to be worried about?
“Well, the investigator said it shouldn’t be hard to capture whoever did those fires,” Sydney said, turning the conversation back around. “I just hope no one gets killed as a result.”
Rox finished with my hair and fluffed it out, putting her scissors down.
“Me neither. Amy came too darn close to being killed. I-I can’t lose any of you.”
I turned in the chair and stood, wrapping my arms around her.
“I’m fine. None of us are going to get hurt. We have some brave men protecting us.”
She returned my hug.
“I guess you are right. I just… this is getting too serious. Something bad is going to happen. I can feel it.”
I could too, and it scared me to death. I didn’t want to lose my friends or my family because of some senseless feud.
But if it didn’t stop soon, someone was going to die.
***
After leaving the shop, I allowed my escort to take me back to the house. I headed straight to my room instead of stopping to talk to Tessa or Hayley. My head was hurting, and now I had to figure out how to get to my doctor’s appointment the next day without anyone asking too many questions. It was to be my first ultrasound, and a piece of me wanted Eric there as well.
It was crazy to think that I was going to see this baby growing inside me, a product of love between Eric and I, and it would be wrong to do it alone. Eric deserved to have that moment as well, and I was going to have to find a way to make it happen.
Somehow.
Laying in my bed, I picked up the phone and found Eric’s number, my fingers hovering over the keyboard. It was the right thing to do, to have him there. So, without hesitation, I fired off a text to him, inviting him to meet me there and to wear a ball cap if possible. I couldn’t ditch the biker, but I could get him into the office without starting a war in the parking lot.
A few anxious minutes later, my phone dinged, and I couldn’t help but smile as I read his words.
I’ll be there.