Chapter 15

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The whistle blew. Glen clocked out of work and walked across the parking lot to his motorcycle. Wayne, Chuck, and Thad were already ready to ride. He stopped at his bike and put his vest on. Halfway through the day, he'd realized what he needed to do.

"Vavoom's?" asked Thad.

"Yeah. Clara and Gracie are waiting for me there to have dinner." Wayne slipped on his gloves. "Chuck? Glen? You coming?"

"Hell, yeah," said Chuck.

"Can't." Glen sat on his motorcycle and toed the kickstand up. "I've got something I need to do."

"Does it have to do with that woman still staying at your house?" Chuck frowned. "Whatever her name is or what she calls herself."

Glen whistled. "Her name's Heidi until she tells me otherwise."

"I'll look into past missing person alerts that have come in from the police department when I get home." Wayne lifted his chin. "Call if you need us."

"Yep." Glen started his bike, raised his hand at the others, and rode off.

The workday seemed longer than normal knowing Heidi was left on her own in his house. He'd purposely refrained from calling and checking on her. He couldn't go each day worried that she was going to run off on him. She needed to trust him that his offer to stay was real.

He felt good about last night after talking to her. She'd relaxed enough to stay in the same room with him. She'd eaten all the dinner he'd made, played with the cat out on the deck while he enjoyed a beer, and came in when the mosquitos started biting.

Heidi might not have said much, but her silence and listening told him he'd been right. He whistled into the wind, letting the stress leave him, and took the next block down to Lombard Street and turned into the Target store.

Parking near the striped lines in the lot, he found the entrance by way of giant red balls and entered the store. The sight and sounds almost had him leaving, but a woman came over and welcomed him to Target.

He stood looking around, not knowing what the fuck he was doing.

The woman smiled. "Can I help you?"

"I need a bunch of clothes for a woman," he said, scratching the back of his neck.

The woman with short, curly hair, wearing a nametag that said her name was Jan, grinned. "What size does she wear?"

"Hell, if I know," he muttered. "She's small."

"Hm..." Jan held her arms out. "Can you compare her to me?"

Son of a bitch, motherfucking, hell. He gave her a quick ogle, rubbing his hand across his jaw to hide the muscle bouncing in his lip. He shouldn't have come. It was a stupid idea.

"Uh, smaller than you. She's about this high." He pointed at his chest. "Small in the middle. Round at the top. You know what? Forget it. I've cha—"

"She'll wear a small, and we can find clothes that are forgiving if we're wrong." Jan stepped away. "Follow me."

"No," he said.

Jan turned around. "You don't want to shop?"

"I want you to get a few pants in black. A few jeans. Six tops. Also, some white shirts with buttons on the front that a woman could use for work." He watched another woman with two kids walk in the door. "Underwear, socks, bras."

"Is that it?" Jan laughed softly. "Some of that might not be possible. Unless you know the size of her bra, it's going to be hard to fit her."

"D." He exhaled on a whistle. "She's a D, but tiny hips and waist."

He'd been around enough women to know how big a woman's breasts were by looking at them.

"Are you sure you don't want to bring her with you, and she can try on the clothes?" Jan tilted her head. "We have gift cards. You could give her—"

"No, I need the clothes now." He looked around. "Like five minutes ago. Pick out what you'd wear in a small. Then tell me how much I owe you."

Jan nodded. "I'll be back in a few minutes."

"Wait." He stepped closer. "I've got to run down the street. I'll be back in a half hour."

"I'll have everything over at customer service when you return." Jan pointed to his left. "What name should I leave everything under?"

"Glen Steele," he said.

"Perfect." The woman walked away shaking her head in amusement. Glen cussed under his breath and turned around to get out of the store and found the doors unable to open. He pushed, finding himself locked in.

Out of his peripheral vision, he watched a crowd of people wheel carts out the doors at the other end of the building. He jumped the rail blocking him from getting out, and went down to the end doors. Once outside, he sucked in the wind. He had no time to regret his decision. He needed to get to Pauly's Peddlers before five o'clock when the shop closed.

It only took him two minutes to ride the few blocks, and he walked into the bike shop with ten minutes to spare.

"You're starting to become a regular, Mr. Glen Steele of Notus Motorcycle Club." Pauly hitched his hip onto the stool and swung his foot, showcased in one of those Jesus sandals from the sixties. "What can I do for you today."

He looked around and found the place empty. "I need to talk to you about Heidi Lundin."

Pauly frowned. "I'm sorry. She never contacted me or showed up."

"I know." He leaned against the counter and softened his voice. "I found her. She's staying at my house."

"What do you mean...found her?"

"She's homeless, Pauly." He rubbed his hand over the counter. "She was working here and trying to save her money to get into an apartment."

Pauly shook his head. "I've tried to help people in the shelter. It never ends well. I don't run a charity case here. Not with summer going into full swing."

"She wasn't at a shelter. Heidi was living on the street. She has one set of clothes she wore to work. That's it. She needs a break." He straightened. "I'm asking you to give her one more chance. She'll be here in the morning if you agree. I'll make sure of it."

"I can't—"

"She's been abused, Pauly." He inhaled deeply. "She was thriving here. Hell, she got me to buy a damn bike, and I don't even have a kid."

Pauly's gaze narrowed. "If I do this, it's on you. I want to know if she leaves again and won't be showing up at work. I can't have my shop suffer because of high-risk employees, no matter how bad I feel for their situation or how nice they seem. And, she's low entry. I'm not handing over the keys to her again."

"I know she'll appreciate it." He nodded. "Thank you."

He rapped his knuckles against the counter and turned to leave, and Pauly called his name. He turned around.

"Is she safe now?" Pauly's mouth softened. "No one is going to hurt her again?"

"At the moment. I'll protect her with my life." He shared an understanding look of concern with Pauly and walked out of the shop.

The other Notus Motorcycle Club members were still parked in front of Vavoom's across the street. Needing to go pick up Heidi's new clothes, he set off for the store without checking in with his MC brothers.

Fifteen minutes later, he walked out of Target with more fucking bags than his motorcycle could carry. Tying the Bungee cord through the handles, he secured the load down with a lot of squishing and stuffing and rode home. Both the errands he had to run were done. He'd set things in motion again for Heidi. It would be up to her whether she stepped forward.

In the driveway, he parked and undid the binding on the back of his seat. He carried the bags to the house, unlocked the front door, and stepped inside. For a split second, as he struggled with the handle and the packages, his chest tightened, second guessing his decision to help Heidi out.

Not because he questioned himself, but Heidi would view his involvement in her life as pushing her too fast.

He walked into the house determined to make her accept his help. She needed someone to lend her a hand, and he could. Even more than getting her some clothes and getting her old job back for her, he could keep her safe.

Heidi sat on the couch, looking beautiful. It wasn't the baggy clothes he'd seen on her yesterday and the day before or the way she curled her legs under her in the corner of the couch and appeared smaller than she was. What grabbed him by the balls and refused to let go were her eyes. With her hair shaved short, her eyes were the main focus, and he could see her delight in having him home.

A man could get used to having a woman look at him that way.

The spicy aroma of Mexican food filled his nostrils. He inhaled through his nose. She'd cooked.

"What's cooking?" he asked.

Her legs came out from under her, and she put her bare feet on the floor. "I found a frozen enchilada dish in the freezer. Mrs. Stouffers. I thought you might want to eat when you got home. It'll be done in about twenty minutes. I hope that's okay."

"More than okay." He sat beside her, dropped the bags at her feet, and then leaned over and kissed her lips before she could stop him. "This stuff is for you."

"What do you mean?" She licked her upper lip and pulled back from him.

"I got you some clothes. I guessed on your size. If they don't fit, don't worry about it. I can get you more, or maybe Clara and Gracie can take you shopping." He picked a bag off the floor and put it on her lap. "Somewhere in the bags, there should be something you can wear to work."

She pushed the bag off her lap and stood. "Excuse me."

Heidi hurried out of the room and ran up the stairs. He let her go and walked into the kitchen as the buzzer on the stove went off. Shutting off the timer, he opened the oven and using the kitchen towel, lifted the foil tray out and put it on the stove. He pushed the control to shut off the oven and removed the foil cover. The enchiladas bubbled in sauce on a layer of rice.

"Dinner's ready," he said, taking off his vest and slipping out of his holster. He put the pistol on top of the fridge before dishing up a heaping serving on each plate and added a fork.

When he set the plates on the table, Heidi still hadn't come down.

Not wanting the food to get cold, he walked to the bottom of the steps. "Heidi?"

No sound or reply came. He took the steps two at a time and approached the spare bedroom. The door was open.

He rapped his knuckles against the doorframe. "Hey, dinner's ready."

Peering inside, he found Heidi kneeling on the floor, zipping up her backpack. She stood and hefted the pack over her shoulder.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"I'm leaving." She walked toward him, and when he refused to step out of the doorway, she said. "Thanks for letting me stay, again."

"Wait a damn minute." He reached for her backpack, and she pulled her shoulder back out of his reach. "What happened now?"

"I know how it works." She lifted her chin. "I'm telling you no, and now I'll move on. I've been in this position before and have had better offers than yours, and I am not now, nor will I ever be, a girl you can sell."

"A girl I can sell?" Anger he wasn't even aware of having exploded in his head. "What the fuck are you talking about? I bought you clothes because you need them. I thought it'd be easier if you didn't have to do laundry every day when you went back to work for Pauly. Tell me how you took what I did and turned it around to selling you? Selling you for what?"

"I don't work for Pauly anymore, and you know that," she snapped.

"Wrong." He reached out again for her backpack, and she jumped out of his reach faster than he could take off her burden. "I talked to Pauly after work, and he'll hire you back on. You're supposed to be there at nine o'clock tomorrow morning. That's why I bought you the clothes."

"I'm..." Her mouth opened and closed. "You went to Pauly?"

"That's what I said."

"Glen, you can't do that." She dropped her backpack and sat on the edge of the bed, bending over until her head practically touched her knees. "This isn't what I want."

"You don't want the job?" He rubbed his upper lip.

"I want a job."

"What's wrong with the bike place?" He stepped into the room and sat on the bed with her. "You liked it before."

She sat up, though her shoulders remained rounded. "I left without any explanation."

"Pauly's giving you another shot."

She looked at him. "Because you asked him for a favor, and now I'll owe you. I don't owe people anymore, Glen. Thank you, but no."

"Haven't you ever had someone do something for you because they wanted to help out?" He picked up her hand and held it in both of his. "I don't want anything from you."

"You want to sleep with me," she whispered.

He chuckled softly. "I do, but only when you're ready and want to sleep with me."

"What if I never am ready?"

He brought her hand up and kissed her knuckles. "Then, nothing will happen. But, I don't believe you'll always be scared of me."

"What am I supposed to do?" she said, her voice wobbling.

"First, you go downstairs with me and eat." He pulled her to her feet. "Afterward, see if any of the clothes I bought you fit and pick out something you want to wear to work tomorrow, and we can throw the outfit in the washing machine."

"Is it that simple?" She walked down the stairs behind him, still holding on to his hand.

"Not always, but today it is." He set her down at the table and moved to the chair opposite of her.

The cat pounced on the sliding door. He glared at the nuisance. Soft laughter came from the other side of the table he hadn't heard before. The sound settled over him and made him ache. The prettiest eyes, full of amusement, shined at him.

"You've named the cat, haven't you?" he said.

She hid her smile, but her eyes couldn't lie. He set his fork down unable to look away from her. The peek behind her attitude fascinated him as if she performed a strip tease, begging him to know the woman behind the tassels and G-string.

His phone vibrated in his pocket. He cleared his throat and retrieved his cell. It was Wayne.

"Hey," he answered.

"Gomez called me. Sunny Villa Nursing Home has a male patient with Alzheimer missing." Voices came over the phone, interrupting Wayne. "I'm standing in the parking lot. The staff has the patient's family's permission to share the information with the community and has been informed about Notus. We've attained permission to help in the search. Thad and Chuck are on their way over. The man is a danger only to himself."

He scooted his chair away from the table. "Give me fifteen minutes. I'll be there."

"See you then."

He disconnected the call. "I need to leave."

"Someone's missing?" Heidi picked up the napkin by her plate and wiped her mouth. "Sorry, the voice came over loud on the phone. I heard a little."

"Yeah." He walked into the kitchen. "An Alzheimer patient wandered off from the nursing home. It happens more often than people think. The legal steps are often ignored for the safety of the individual. Everyone in the community is called to help. Hopefully, we'll find him, and then I'll be home shortly."

He reached up on top of the fridge and removed his holster. The biggest concern, like it was with all missing person cases, was time. He pulled the straps and patted the Velcro bindings.

"Use the phone I gave you if you need me." He walked back to the table, put on his vest, and stepped toward a startled Heidi. "What's wrong?"

She barely shook her head. He kissed her forehead and felt her pull back. Needing to leave, he couldn't take the time to find out what was going through her head. It seemed every time he turned around, she assumed the worst.

"Be here when I get back." He lifted her face. "You're safe."

She only looked at him, promising nothing. He kissed her lips. "Please."

Still, no acknowledgment from her. He stepped back. He couldn't live with the worry that she'd run every time he left her alone. She needed to realize on her own that he kept his word and would return. That she was safe. That he would take care of her. That he'd allow no one to take advantage of her.

He walked out of the house, locking the door behind him, and got on his bike. He only wished he had the security of knowing she'd be where he left her when he returned.