Chapter Eight
Melissa
Just hours with Dallas Gan wasn’t enough. I wished I could have stayed in bed with him, curled up with his warmth and attitude. He didn’t want me to go as much as I didn’t want to leave. But I had to, to keep him and his brothers out of the police’s notice.
Tate drove as I sat in the passenger seat gazing out the window. My heart hurt. I hadn’t known Dallas long, but he’d made an imprint on my life, one I liked. He was rough, mean and yet, since the first time I’d seen him, I couldn’t get him out of my mind.
Because he was mine.
Made for me.
He’d saved me, cared about me when others didn’t.
“Are you sure you want to be involved with the Hawks MC?” Tate asked.
My gaze swung to him. “I’m not being a bitch here to you, Tate. However, please don’t question my involvement with the Hawks since they were the ones who saved my arse.” His jaw clenched, his nostrils flaring. I laid a hand on his arm and added, “I know you would have tried, but you’re one man against many. I didn’t want to risk your life for mine and Della’s.”
“I should have done—”
“No. You did what you could. Thank you for having my back when I needed it the most.” I took my hand from his arm after a squeeze and placed it over the burner phone in my lap that Beast had given me as I was leaving. “Do you think you can help me get… things under control with the business?”
“Of course.”
“What about Jimmy’s other men?”
“There are a few I trust. The rest we’ll have to let go if they don’t follow the line.”
“If they don’t?” I asked.
“Then we get rid of them any way possible. However, the worst were in that room with Jimmy, so the others should be easier to control.”
“Do you…?” I bit my bottom lip and flicked my gaze to the windscreen, then back to Tate.
“What?” he asked.
“Do you want to stay? Jimmy’s no longer around. It means you don’t have to be either. Whatever he held over you is gone. I would never—”
“I know you wouldn’t. And what he had over me was a gambling debt, but that was paid off a while ago. I stayed to keep an eye on you.”
His admittance clenched my stomach.
“Don’t,” he ordered.
“Don’t what?” I whispered.
“At first I wanted you for myself. It’s changed now. I protect you as I would my own sister, if I had one. I know you and that Hawks guy have something going on. I won’t do shit to stuff things up for you. It’s time to be happy.”
I wasn’t sure if he was calling the sister card just to make me feel better. I honestly didn’t want him sticking around if he thought there could be something between the two of us. So I asked, “Can you be happy, Tate?”
He smiled. “I think I can, given time.”
“I hope so.”
We pulled into the hotel near the house. There was no way I would step foot in the house until it had been cleared out. It had been bad enough going back into it when I had to ring the police. I wished I had the ability to read minds when I’d been questioned. I was sure they suspected me, even when they said I wasn’t on the list. From the looks they gave each other, I reckoned they’d just said that to be nice, and I’d be the biggest suspect out of anyone.
At least I knew if they dug for dirt on myself or Jimmy, they wouldn’t find anything. Not since I was the one who designed the program on all his computers. I sent what dirt I had to Julian’s and made sure it showed in his junk file since I knew he never checked that folder. Then I cleaned all personal computers completely with the laptop I’d taken from the house in between visiting shops for my alibi.
When the detective had entered and asked me all the questions the cops had, I’d held back my groan and told him the same things. The bruises on my face were from the private ju-jitsu lessons Tate was giving me under Jimmy’s orders because he’d been acting paranoid that someone was following him for some time. But other than that, Jimmy and I had been so much in love that I worked in his offices as well. I mentioned how he’d saved my friend Della from becoming an addict and how freaked out I’d been about learning of her drug use. There were too many witnesses in the office who saw Della being carried out and how I reacted.
Della had already been sent to the hotel I was staying in. I’d made sure to get a double room. I think what we both needed was time with each other.
Tate walked me to my door. I gave him a quick hug and unlocked it using the key I had from checking in before I’d snuck out and went to Dallas.
I found Della sitting on the bed closest to the bathroom. She was in the new clothes I’d purchased while out shopping, a tee and some sleep shorts. Her hair was wet from a shower and when she looked over at me, her eyes filled with tears.
Nodding, I made my way to the bed, my own eyes misting. Sitting next to her, I pulled Della into my arms. “I’m so sorry.”
“Please, don’t,” she whispered into my hair. “I know you did what you could. I’m sorry for stuffing things up and… and nearly getting myself killed.”
Shifting back, I cupped her cheek and told her, “I would have done the same.” Shaking my head, I grabbed hold of her hands with mine and rested them on her leg. “No, that’s not true. I wouldn’t have been as strong as you. I would have done something a long time ago. What they did, what you put up with, I couldn’t have done it.”
“It’s over now.”
My lips turned up a little in a sad smile because I knew, deep down her nightmare wouldn’t be over in her mind. I said, “It is.”
She sucked in a deep breath through her nose and nodded. With her eyes to the bed, she said, “I think I need to see my parents.” As far as they knew, she’d taken off after her sister’s death because she couldn’t deal. They had no clue she’d been trying all along to bring her sister justice.
“It’s a good idea.”
She looked up at me. Fear pulled her brows down. “Will you come with me?”
I wrapped an arm around her shoulders and replied, “Of course I will.”
“You don’t go anywhere without me,” a new, deeper voice said.
I screamed, flailing my arms in the air as I jumped from the bed and stood in front of Della. “What in the fuck?” I yelled at the bearded guy in the corner of the room.
A knock came at the door. “Melissa, you okay in there?”
“Yeah,” I called and made my way over to the door. Opening it, the bearded guy stood as Tate entered.
“What’s going on?” Tate asked. He took in the man, me, and then Della still sitting on the bed.
Della threw a hand out towards the guy. “I should have warned Melissa I had a guard. He surprised her is all. I just forgot he was even in the room.” She glared over at him. “He’s easy to forget.”
“Um,” I started, but for the life of me I couldn’t remember his name. I think it had something to do with a bike though. Horn? Helmet?
“Name’s Handle.”
Right, Handle.
Tate shook Handle’s hand and stepped back. “I thought all you were leaving?” he asked.
“I was asked to stay on for Della’s protection.”
“And I kept saying I didn’t need protecting,” Della snapped from the bed, glaring at Handle.
He glared back. “Until we’re sure, then I follow orders.”
“Ah, I’m going to head back to my room.” Tate quickly gave me a smile and fled the room like it was on fire, leaving me in an awkward situation.
Della let out a frustrated breath. “There is no one who would come for me now. It’s pointless you being here. You’re wasting time where you could be home doing whatever you’re supposed to be doing.”
When Handle said nothing, just crossed his arms over his chest and sat back in the chair, Della threw her hands up in the air and growled under her breath. She looked to me. “Can you do anything?”
My head jerked back. “What do you want me to do?”
“You’re dating one of them. Tell whoever you need to and get him to back the hell off. I don’t need yet another male in my personal space again.”
Her eyes dropped to the bed, her chest rising and falling rapidly. Understanding dawned. She was over men telling her what to do. She wanted her life back, and after what she’d been through, it was highly likely she didn’t want anything, not one single thing, to do with the opposite sex.
Having Handle around wanting to protect her was no doubt confusing her since all she knew for some time was abuse by men.
Sitting back on the bed next to her, I suggested, “Why don’t we just give it a few days. I’m sure he won’t be too much of a bother.” Glancing to Handle, I asked, “You’re not sleeping in here, right?”
“No. Next room, but I wanted to be in here until you got here.”
“Okay.” I nodded. Picking up Della’s hand, I said, “From what I’ve gathered, and I’m sure you can see yourself, Hawks men are protective. They just got us out of one situation, and they don’t want to risk us for another—” I held up my hand when she went to talk. “—if one were to occur. We aren’t sure all of Jimmy’s men will be okay with the shift in business and owners. They know you mean something to me, people could use that to take the business from under me.” I shrugged. “Just for a little while, will you let Handle stick around?”
“Yes,” she whispered. Her watery eyes flicked from the bed, to me, and then to Handle. “But he doesn’t need to be in here while you’re with me.”
“No, he doesn’t.”
“I stayed to answer any questions.”
“I have a question,” I piped up. “Why were you picked to stay and not Dallas?”
His hard eyes softened, but only a little. Handle held a darkness inside of him. His unsmiling face and cold eyes told me that. “If Dallas had stayed, it would be too difficult to explain why he’s around you all the time and why you’d be sharing a bed if you’re being watched by the police. I can be explained. If anyone asks who I am, I’m an old boyfriend of Della’s. We’ve rekindled our relationship.”
That was true. If Dallas had stayed, I wouldn’t have been able to help myself and had him close to my side, which could have led me in more trouble with the police.
“Don’t worry. He was pissed he didn’t get picked to stay.”
I snorted. “That I believe.”
Handle stood and walked to the door. “Inform me if either of you are leaving the room. My mobile number is on the bedside table.”
“Thank you,” I managed to get out before he walked out with a grunt. Sighing, I said to Della, “They can be pretty full on.”
It was her turn to snort and then smile. “You think?” Her expression sobered. “At first, they freaked me out when I woke. They explained you meant something to them, especially Dallas. Then they made plans to get you out. Being with them, seeing what they could do…. Melissa, they killed his men without even making a sound.” She shook her head and then added quietly, “I think they scare me more than Jimmy and his men. Only that doesn’t make sense because I also know, just with how they were with me, they don’t condone treating women the way we’ve been treated.”
Smiling gently, I offered, “They’re confusing, hard, gruff, but they’ll do anything for people they know. My friend Julian, who is over-the-top gay, has been around them for years now and they accepted him because his sister-in-law is married to their president. They knew I was Julian’s friend and I was welcomed with open arms. Once you’ve been accepted by them, you enter their world and circle of trust, love, and protection. All I can say is that, in a way, even though they’re scary, they’re amazing men.” A pang of loss hit me square in the chest. Talking about them meant Dallas popped into my mind and the sudden emotion hit me, knowing he wasn’t close. I clenched my jaw. I didn’t want Della to see the raw emotion I felt. Instead, I hid it behind a fake smile.
Della nodded. “I can see that, but I can’t turn off being paranoid and wait for the other shoe to drop with them… well, Handle at least. Maybe in time, but I don’t know.”
“It’s okay. I understand. Besides, once he knows nothing is going to happen since Tate will be at my side helping me, he’ll back off and fly home. For now, let’s organise when you want to see your parents.”
Shaking her head, she said, “I’m not ready just yet, maybe next week. I just want time to myself for a while.”
“Okay. So for now, we’ll stay here until the house is clean then you can move in there with me, and if you want, if you get bored, you can help me work out what I’m going to do with Jimmy’s businesses.” I felt I had to be brave, act strong for Della, when on the inside, I wished my Viking man was there.
“I can do that.” She smiled, then leaned in and hugged me. “Thank you, for always being there and helping me.”
“Ditto.”