Chapter 29
MAX
I knew she was awake. I could tell by her breath as she lay with her back to me, that damn pig nestled in her arms. The dogs had been curious last night when we’d come home, maybe even a bit jealous since Wren was clearly consumed with the little runt, but they’d quickly settled in and were now fast asleep on the floor. It was barely dawn, and I knew Wren had gotten about as much sleep as I had, which meant barely any at all.
I’d laid awake, consumed with the fact that the woman who was my whole fucking world doubted what she meant to me. I’d be damned if I didn’t fix that, starting now.
“Come on, baby, want to take you some place,” I coaxed quietly.
She looked at me warily over her shoulder. “Where?”
I shot her a warm smile. “Just get dressed. I’ll go make us some coffee.”
She grumbled a bit but rose to do as I asked as I made my way out to the kitchen.
When she emerged looking adorably sleepy, I handed her a traveler cup of coffee. “Ready?”
She nodded. “I crated Rosie. Hopefully she’ll be okay. Will we be gone long?”
I shook my head, guiding her out to my truck.
Despite the lingering tension, we drove in comfortable silence. It was one of the countless things I loved about Wren. As a guy who didn’t talk much, I’d always craved silence and solitude in my life. What I hadn’t realized was that I just needed to find the right person to share it with.
When we pulled into the motel parking lot just off the freeway, she eyed me in obvious confusion.
I cleared my throat, wondering if this was all a bad idea. “You doubted you have all of me,” I began by way of explanation. “I laid awake last night thinking of about a million different ways to prove to you that’s bullshit. Short of taking you to New Mexico where I was born, this was the best I could come up with.”
My eyes shifted toward the dilapidated building somehow still standing and in business after all these years. “This is where Janelle left Em and me those first few days in Hawthorne. I think she meant to take us to Jill but got strung out and forgot what she had planned.” I stated this as fact, without emotion. “I haven’t been here since,” I admitted as her blue eyes lit with understanding. “It’s not because I couldn’t face it. I just didn’t think I needed to,” I explained quietly.
“I wanted to bring you here to make sure you know that there’s nothing I’m keeping from you, no part of my mind that hasn’t been touched by you, no part of my heart that isn’t owned by you. That’s not something I’ve ever experienced or will ever experience with anyone but you, so it’s really fucking important that you get me.”
Her eyes shone with tears as she nodded. “I get you, honey.”
“For a long time, I honestly thought that part of my life was over and done with. I didn’t spend any energy thinking about it. But falling in love with you has made me realize that maybe I should. Maybe there are parts of my childhood I haven’t quite worked through. It’s not that I’m holding anything back from you, more like I didn’t know it was there in the first place. Does that make sense?”
Again, she nodded, the emotion clear on her face. She got me. Thank Christ.
“I’m hopin’ you’ll help me with that,” I said, my voice low.
“I will,” she murmured hoarsely.
“Now, yesterday, with the anger, I will check that,” I swore, holding her eyes. “But honestly, that comes from a place of wanting to shield you. It’s what I do—it’s who I am. Obviously, I just don’t always do it well. But you gotta know, that fury, it comes from a place that loves you so much I’d kill any motherfucker whoever did you wrong. I hated having her close to you. I don’t want her to taint you. And God help her if she ever tried to get near our kids.”
“You know you’re not tainted, right?” she asked gently. “You know that no matter the decisions she made, they’re no reflection on you or Emmie. That’s her cross to bear. The fact she lost the opportunity to raise two amazing kids, it will haunt her, of that I have no doubt. But I don’t want it to haunt you.”
I reached my hand across the space between us, sweeping my thumb over that full bottom lip of hers I loved so much. “I know. It won’t.”
“You’re damn right,” she replied passionately. “I won’t let it.”
Something warm settled in my gut, both pride for my fierce-as-hell woman but also comfort at knowing she’d always have my back. She’d fight for me just as I’d always fight for her.
“I know that, baby,” I assured her. “Now let’s get the fuck out of here,” I grumbled, reversing the truck out of the lot and hoping that was the last time that shithole was ever in my line of sight. “Are we good?” I asked with a raised brow. I needed the words.
“Yeah.” Her soft smile had me breathing a sigh of relief. “I hope Rosie’s doing okay,” she added, shifting topics.
“I’m sure she’s fine. She is pretty cute.”
“I already can’t imagine giving her back.” She sighed.
I had to smile at the fact that the woman I’d brought home not so long ago, who was unsure about my dogs and cat, now wanted to start her own farm. “I can talk to Gun about it if you want to keep her.”
Her eyes popped wide in adorable wonder. “Really?”
I shrugged. “What the hell do we have all this land for if not to fill it? As long as you don’t expect me to share a bed with a pig every night,” I added. “Cute or not, the ham can sleep in her own bed. Starting tonight.”
She rolled her eyes. “Fine.”
Got the address
The text from Xander came through just as I was pulling up to the house, thinking of all the ways we could use said bed once we got inside. I inwardly groaned. This was the tip we’d been waiting on, and despite wanting nothing more than to keep Wren close to me, this wasn’t something I could let another man handle. No, that asshole was all mine.
“Gotta make a quick call, baby,” I told her reluctantly as I stayed seated in the truck.
She nodded, opening the door and hopping out. “See you inside.”
I watched her head inside the house as I put the phone to my ear.
“Yo.” I said by way of greeting when he picked up. “Johnny get it for you?”
“Yep. This checks out, I just might let the little fucker live. We doin’ this today?”
I gritted my teeth at the idea of leaving Wren. Every instinct protested it, but I ignored the urge, focusing instead on getting this over and done with. “Yeah. Get Mad and Cash. We’ll ride out as soon as I get Wren secured.”
“Got it. We’ll wait for your word.”
When I walked into the kitchen, Wren was cleaning up the dishes and chattering to the animals.
“Baby, gotta drop you at the club for a few hours.”
She turned to me, her gorgeous blue eyes flashing with disappointment.
I sidled up to her, gently taking the plate from her and placing it in the sink so I could pull her close. “I hate fuckin’ leaving you.” I pressed my lips to her forehead. “But we might have a lead on where your stalker’s living, and I have to check it out. I’ll be back as soon as I can. In the meantime, I need to know you’re safe.”
She looked up at me and nodded in understanding. “But can I go to Liv’s instead? I’m tired and just want to veg out. Plus, I want to take Rosie. She’ll think she’s so cute.” She smiled excitedly.
The thought of Axel having a piglet running around his house was fucking hilarious.
“All right, babe.” I’d be more comfortable with her at the club, but I’d have given her just about anything she asked for just then.
Thirty minutes later, we were pulling up to Axel’s. He would be at the bar for another hour, but Caleb, Maddox’s younger brother, would keep an eye on the girls until he could get there. With the house having top-notch security, I felt about as good as I could about leaving her there.
“You okay, babe?” I asked her as we pulled up in front of the house. She’d been quiet on the way over, pensive.
She nodded, gazing out the window, appearing lost in thought.
I touched her cheek. “What is it?”
“I don’t know what I’d do if anything ever happened to you.” Her eyes were full of worry as she turned to look at me.
I cupped her delicate neck with my hand, offering a gentle squeeze. “Nothing will happen to me,” I assured her. “I’m gonna put that asshole down, and we’re gonna get on with our lives—together. Come here.” I pulled her into my lap, threading my fingers in her hair to pull her mouth to mine. I didn’t kiss her as long or hard as I dared, knowing I needed to let her go. “You want lasagna tonight?” I asked. It was her favorite.
She nodded readily.
I smiled at her enthusiasm. “Sounds like a plan. Be smart, all right?” I asked, trying not to show how much I dreaded leaving her. “Stay here until I come pick you up.”
“I will.”
“And if that pig shits in Axel’s office, wouldn’t be the worst thing,” I added with a grin.
“Yeah right,” she scoffed. “Like I’d let him make bacon out of Rosie.”
I chuckled. He would too. “Love you, baby,” I murmured, sweeping one last kiss over her lips.
“Love you too.” She moved off my lap but paused before she slid out of the cab. “With fried pickles?” she asked with a lifted brow, referring to my lasagna.
I’d easily embraced the strange combinations of foods she liked. “Of course,” I confirmed, as though affronted she’d even asked. I couldn’t imagine what kind of weird shit I was going to have to come up with when I knocked her up. I looked forward to the challenge.
She smiled, sliding out of the cab and offering a sweet little wave. Damn but my girl got to me like nothing else.
I watched her go, hating how wrong it felt to let her walk away from me. It wasn’t until she was safely inside the house, shutting the door with a quick wave, that I pulled down the drive, my gut clenching all the more with every mile I put between us.
****
“Fuck.”
Beyond that, I was at a loss for words as I stood staring in fury at the walls of the unoccupied house we’d broken into. Wall after wall was covered in photos of Wren.
My Wren.
“Looks like he’s been watching her for a long fucking time,” Maddox grunted as he stepped closer to examine some of the photos. “Since high school at least.” He looked at me, his expression calm—somebody fucking had to be. “You talked to her about past boyfriends and all that shit?”
“Yeah. She didn’t really have any. That’s what’s made this so hard,” I explained, trying like hell to rein myself in. The house was listed under a bogus corporation, a dead end. If I was going to be of any help at all, I had to calm down and try to think logically. “I’ll call her, run through it with her again.” Hopefully it would help, but honestly, I just needed to hear her voice after seeing this shit.
“You okay?” Her voice was full of worry when she answered on the first ring.
“Yeah, baby,” I assured her, knowing I sounded tense as hell.
“It’s bad?”
I couldn’t lie to her. “It’s not good. Pictures of you all over the place,” I admitted as I heard the doorbell ring at Ax’s. “This could be someone you know, baby. Can you try to think again of anyone who might have shown too much interest in you? Even something small might help.”
“Jared Waters.” Her tone was terrifyingly dull when she answered as though the life had been sucked right out of her. “He’s here.”