Chapter 5
Big
I’ve been dealt some shitty hands in the past, but this had to be one of the worst. She was lying there, looking so beautiful, so fucking tempting, and I couldn’t do a damn thing about it. There was a time when things could’ve been different. I could’ve followed a different path, one more like hers – reputable and upstanding – but that wasn’t the life I’d chosen. I liked things the way they were, but it didn’t stop me from imagining what it would be like to have her wrapped in my arms. I knew I had a job to do, but every time I tried to focus on the computer screen, I found myself looking over at her. I couldn’t help myself. I’d never known anyone like her. Sure, she was beautiful, but she was so much more than that. She was smart. She knew things and could do things that would make most people shake in their fucking boots. Her drive was a force to be reckoned with. Failure wasn’t an option; either she would find a way or make one. I could see it in her eyes. There was a fire inside of her, not the kind that simmered deep inside, but the kind that flared and crackled for everyone to see, and I was drawn to it like a moth to a flame. I had to keep my distance or I was bound to get burned.
I had no idea what time it was until Cass knocked on my door. “Breakfast is almost ready.”
“Be there in a minute.”
I got up and walked over to Josie. She looked so peaceful curled up in my recliner, and I hated to wake her. Reluctantly, I gave her a light nudge on the shoulder. “Josie?”
Her eyes fluttered open. “I must’ve dozed off.” She stretched her arms above her head as she yawned. “I guess those pills were stronger than I thought.”
“How ya feeling?”
“I’m okay.” She stretched again, but this time her face twisted in pain.
“Doesn’t look that way.”
She winced once more as she tried to sit up in the chair. “I’m good. Just need a minute to get the kinks out.”
She was trying to play it off, but I wasn’t buying it. I knew she’d been through hell last night, and it was going to take her some time to get over it. “I’ll get Doc to come check you out again.”
“No need for that. I’m fine. Really.” She feigned a smile as she brushed her hair out of her face. “Did you find out anything about Tristen?”
“Not yet.”
“Any idea how long it will take to hear back from your guy?”
“Shouldn’t be much longer. Thought we’d grab some breakfast while we wait. You hungry?”
After tossing the blanket to the side, she stood up and replied, “Yeah, I could go for something to eat.”
“Then, we’ll head down to the kitchen.”
She looked down at her clothes and asked, “Wait… Shouldn’t I change?”
“Up to you.”
“You going to wait for me?”
“I can.”
“Okay. Give me five minutes.”
“Take your meds while you’re down there.”
She nodded, then rushed out the door. I’d barely had time to put on a t-shirt and jeans when she returned fully dressed and her hair pulled up in a messy bun. Simple, yet absolutely stunning. Damn. She was killing me.
“You ready?” she asked as she watched me put on my boots.
“I am now.”
With her following close behind, I headed straight for the kitchen. When the loud rumble of laughter and talking came pouring out into the hall, Josie looked over at me with apprehension. “Sounds like a full house.”
“Maybe, but it’s nothing for you to worry about.”
“That’s easy for you to say. You do remember what happened last night. You know I haven’t exactly had the warmest of welcomes so far.”
I stopped and turned to face her. “We’re all family here, Josie. We look out for each other. People say you can’t choose your family, but they’re wrong. We’re brothers by choice. We’ve sworn a bond of brotherhood to each other, a bond stronger than blood, and there’s nothing we won’t do to keep our family safe. You came to us as a threat and never told us otherwise. We had to eliminate any chance of danger. You left us with no alternative.”
“There’s always another path.”
“We will do whatever it takes to ensure the safety of our family, yesterday, tomorrow, and forever. Remember that. That should mean something to you when you think about your sister.”
“That doesn’t exactly make you any less scary,” she mocked. “You’re pretty intimidating with your tattoos, leather, and motorcycles. You’re either right out of a horror flick or some girl’s wet dream.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “Wet dream, huh?”
She rolled her eyes. “I didn’t say it was my wet dream.”
“Mmm-hmm.” I turned and started walking towards the kitchen. “They’re good guys. You’ll see.”
When we walked in, everyone was already sitting down eating and talking. Josie was a bundle of nerves as she followed me over to the empty chairs and sat down. I’d tried to ease her worry, but it was obvious from the grim look on her face that my words hadn’t made much of an impression. Her eyes skirted around the room as she checked out my brothers. Her eyes stopped on Cass. As always, she was buzzing around, making sure that everyone had what they needed. Her smile was contagious as she walked over to us.
“Help yourself, Hun.” Cass smiled as she offered Josie a plate. “Sorry, but the eggs are a little overdone.”
I grabbed a plate and starting piling on the eggs, bacon, hash browns, and hot biscuits. “They’ll be great. They always are.”
Josie watched with curiosity as Cass poured me a fresh cup of coffee and placed it in front of me. “Have you been up all night?”
“No rest for the wicked.”
“Any luck finding Tristen?”
“Not yet, but we’re working on it.” I loaded my fork with eggs and bacon before shoveling it into my mouth. I glanced over at Josie and was pleased to see she was doing the same.
Two Bit nudged me with his elbow as he motioned his head towards Josie. “That’s Tristen’s sister?”
“Yeah, that’d be her.”
He leaned towards me, almost frothing at the mouth as he mumbled, “Damn. Good genes in that family. She’s even hotter than Tristen.”
An unexpected jolt of jealousy shot through me when I saw the way he was gawking at her. I didn’t like the feeling—not one fucking bit. She was everything I’d ever wanted and knew I could never have. It was the story of my life, one that I’d grown accustomed to and wasn’t about to start changing now – not even if it meant losing my one chance at something good. Choosing to ignore my spark of possessiveness, I looked over at Josie and said, “This big lug is Two Bit. Next to him is Q’. They’re two of our newest members. Cass runs the bar and makes one hell of a breakfast. She’s also Cotton’s ol’ lady.” Josie’s eyebrows furrowed with surprise. I can’t say I blame her. Cass was much younger than Cotton and her bubbly personality was the polar opposite of Cotton’s, but they worked. There was a real love between them, and together they kept us all on track. I motioned my head towards the end of the table. “And I’m sure you remember Maverick from last night, and that’s Clutch beside him.”
She lifted her hand to her head and gave them a quick salute. “Nice to meet you all.”
They ignored the hint of sarcasm in her voice, and each took their turn greeting her. Once they’d all settled back down and started eating again, Clutch looked over to Josie with a smirk on his face. “So, the word is… you did a real number on Big yesterday. Pretty sure it’s the first time anyone’s ever gotten the upper hand on him.”
She looked at me with a raised eyebrow. “I wouldn’t say that. I am sitting here instead of being back at my apartment.”
“Yeah, but you got a good jab in before he caught you. I mean, damn. No one does that shit to Big, and then you cut the power on top of that. I gotta say, I’m impressed.”
“Umm… thank you?”
Before I could change the subject, Maverick asked, “How’d you do it?”
Her voice was low and flat, reminding me of Charlie Brown’s teacher as she replied, “I embedded a virus in one of Tristen’s emails. Once he opened it, the security settings on his computer were lowered, and then the virus spread itself through your hard drive and server. From there, all your computers were sent a buffer filled with …”
“Damn.” Maverick raised his hand, waving her off. “Forget I asked.”
Clutch chuckled. “You didn’t understand a damn thing she just said, did you?”
“Nope. Not a damn word, but I’m sure Big did. Bet that shit won’t happen again.”
“I used the fact that he was distracted against him. He was focused on trying to find out who I was, otherwise none of it would’ve worked.”
I shook my head. “Maybe so, but you got me.”
“But…”
I gave her a warning look, letting her know to drop it. The last thing I needed was her making fucking excuses for me. She’d gotten the better of me, and even though it irritated the hell out of me, I had to respect the fact that she was smart enough to pull that shit off. Thankfully, she picked up on the cue and let it go. She turned her attention back to her breakfast along with the rest of the guys. Just as we were finishing up, Wren walked into the kitchen. She tossed her purse on the counter with a loud, frustrated huff, then cursed under her breath as she stormed over to the sink to fill herself a glass of water. She didn’t look like her typical self. Instead of the calm, laidback Wren we’d all grown accustomed to, we were faced with an irritated Wren who looked like she’d had one hell of a morning. Her eyes were red and teary, her cheeks were puffy, and her hair was a bit disheveled. I couldn’t remember a time when I’d seen her so flustered. “You okay, Wren?”
She twirled around to face me with her eyebrow arched high. “No, I’m not. I’m pretty terrible in fact.”
Cass got up out of her seat and rushed over to Wren. “What’s going on? Is the baby okay?”
“She’s fine. Still trying to get her to sleep through the night, but we’re getting there. It’s everything else that’s driving me nuts…” Her voice trailed off.
“Like?” Cass pushed.
“Stitch, for one thing. His bad mood from last night spilled over into his morning, and his silence is about to drive me up the wall. I have no idea what went on here last night and I wouldn’t dare ask, but let me tell you, my husband was not a happy camper when he got home.” Wren leaned to the side and eyeballed me. “A little heads-up would’ve been nice.”
“Got it. Heads-up next time.”
“On top of that, there’s this mess with Wyatt’s teacher… I just don’t know what else to do with her.” Her voice quivered with worry as she leaned her back against the counter. “I know Wyatt is different, and I know that he’s going to have his good days and his bad days, but this lady is making him absolutely miserable. He doesn’t even want to go to school. It’s like she’s on him all the time. He is making wonderful grades, completes all his assignments, but she fusses at him for not paying attention. It’s stuff like that all the time. It’s wearing me out.”
“Have you tried talking to her? Maybe if you explained…” Cass started.
“I have explained over and over again. I even explained it to the principal. I’ve never had issues like this. I hate the idea of moving him to another school, but I may not have any choice.”
“Seems like she needs a little taste of her own medicine,” Maverick growled. “Big, why don’t you revoke her license?”
“Or foreclose on her house?” Two Bit suggested.
“Big, you should put her on a couple of those home delivery programs for some crazy shit like adult diapers and baby formula,” Q’ chuckled.
Maverick leaned back in his chair as he crossed his arms. “I was thinking he should donate her life’s savings to one of the charities for Autism.”
“No!” Wren scolded. “Big, leave her be. She’s a new teacher and still has a lot to learn. One way or another, I’ll figure it out.”
“You sure?”
“Absolutely positive.” She walked over to the table and took a seat next to Q’. “It’s just hard when both of my guys are in a funk.”
“Maybe it will be better today,” Josie told her, sounding hopeful.
Wren looked over at Josie with an apologetic look on her face. “I am so sorry. I didn’t mean to carry on like that. Usually, I can keep it together a little better. I blame it on the lack of sleep.” She extended her hand as she said, “You must be Josie.”
“I am. It’s nice to meet you, Wren.”
“We’re all worried about Tristen, but Big will find her. He’s the best.”
“Thanks, Wren. Hopefully, we’ll get some news soon …” Josie started, but stopped when she heard my phone ring with a text message.
I looked down at the screen and saw that Lenny, my contact, had finally gotten the video surveillance we were looking for. I looked over at Josie as I stood up. “He’s got it.”
“Has he sent it to you?”
“He is now.”
She got up and started following me towards the door. Before we walked out, Maverick called, “Let us know what you find out.”
Once we were in the hall, Josie asked, “Did he find anything?”
I could hear the desperation in her voice, and I wanted to give her good news. Unfortunately, I didn’t have any to give. “He thinks he found her.”
She followed me into my room and over to my computer. “Thank goodness.”
I turned to face her, and seeing that hopeful look in her eye was like a punch to the gut. Lenny had already said it didn’t look good, but he didn’t give me any details. I had no idea what we were about to find on that video, and I needed her to be prepared for the worst. “Josie…”
“I know. You don’t have to tell me.”
“I just don’t want you to get your hopes up. I have no idea what’s on this file, but whatever it is, we’ll get through it.”
She looked up at me with determination in her eyes. “I’m going to hold you to that.”