Pepper
I look up at the door when it opens. The sight of him stuns me as it does every time. Even more so after our last encounter. When Wolf is near, the erotic author side of me possess my sensible half. No one has ever brought that side to the surface. I'm nervous. He's different from any man I've ever met. "Hi."
There are two other people walking in with Wolf. By the looks of the man, I assume they're his and Bull's parents’. All the men share the same eye color and are around the same height and size, and Wolf and Bull’s hair and skin tone are similar to the woman’s.
"Hey," Wolf replies, his tone a little more clipped than before. "This is my dad, Carl, and my mom, Jules."
I stand to greet them. "It's very nice to meet you. I'm Pepper."
The staring has me feeling uncomfortable, as if I'm some foreign object or have spoken another language to them just now.
Finally, Carl speaks. "Nice to meet you too, honey."
Jules follows suit. "Hey, sugar. Isn't she the sweetest little thing you've ever seen?"
"Yes, she is,” Carl confirms, a glint of shock present in his glare. “I'm sorry, we’re just taken aback. We heard that you took down Moose, and you aren't at all what I was expecting." Carl smiles and nods to his wife. "You were picturing someone different too, weren't you?"
"I was."
I giggle. "Thanks … I think? It’s best for a single female traveling alone to carry a weapon—in this case a police grade taser."
"Is your family in law enforcement?" Jules asks.
"Oh no! I've been dealing with a stalker. A friend's dad, who is a police officer, got one for me. The stalker hasn't exactly tried to attack me, but now I'm prepared." I turn to Wolf and notice a stiffness in his stance as his gaze narrows on me.
"Well, we are certainly glad you had it and weren't afraid to use it. As far as we're concerned, we owe you," Carl reassures me by putting an arm around my shoulders and squeezing.
When he releases me, Jules is there to take his place and pulls me into a big hug. "Thank you, from the bottom of my heart. Tanya has been a blessing we didn't know we'd ever have."
She turns around and goes for Tanya. "Come see Grandma."
Tanya climbs off the couch and runs to her grandma. Carl kisses her little head and then moves over to his sons who are staring hard at each other.
I pull my attention away from Tanya telling her grandma about what happened and try to focus on the men to hear what they were saying.
There’s a grim look on Wolf’s face as he relays, "I'll fill you in on everything we know later. Right now, I need to decide if we need to go on lock down. I'm leaning more that way with every detail I learn. I don't want the Dwellers to get a hold of Pepper or any of our women and children. I have a bad feeling that Moose isn't even the problem. Since finding out about the widow of an ex-Dweller being there, I have to think there's something bigger being planned. Moose might have decided to take advantage of the situation and probably screwed someone's plans up. If I'm right, then we have the whole club to worry about."
He scrubs his hand down his face, then crosses his arms. I fight the urge to go over to him and hug him. The man is a stranger, but I still can't stand seeing him worry.
They speak a few minutes longer, and I let them talk without my listening in on them. Carl walks back to us. For a man who has to be in his fifties, he looks as good as his sons. He is still in good shape and obviously works out.
I'm curious what his nickname could be. "Do you have a road name, too?"
One brow lifts and then he smiles. "Yes, it's Train."
I can't help it. I look over at Wolf with my brows scrunched together, then I turn back to Train. "Is that because you can whistle loud?"
Wolf and Bull laughs and Carl—or Train—tries to hide his amusement before bursting into his booming laugh. Tanya and Jules giggle, too.
"We should get going, baby," Train suggests to Jules with a wink, and her face lights up like it’s the fourth of July.
I write romances and read them all the time, but seeing these two is a kick in the gut. I want their love.
"Okay." Jules stands after giving Tanya another hug. "You be safe, princess."
I hug them both. "It was really nice meeting you both."
"You, too. You'll need to come to our Sunday dinner." It really wasn't a question.
"I would enjoy that for sure. It seems that I'll be here." I look over at Wolf with a frown, wondering how long I'll have to stay and why I'm not more upset by it all.
My phone rings and pulls me from my thoughts. I pull it from my pocket to see the caller name displayed across the screen. "Excuse me, it's my mom. I forgot to call her back and don't need her to be worrying."
I realize suddenly that she’s calling me from the landline, which we never use. "Mom? Why are you not using your cell?"
"First, I'm okay."
My heart stops then shocks into action, pounding hard in my chest. "What happened?"
"Calm down. Eric broke into the house."
"Oh God! What did he do?" Rampant thoughts race through my mind. This man is a lunatic!
"I'm trying to tell you if you'll stop interrupting me," she shouts, aggravation in her tone. "I was home. Don’t say anything. He demanded to know where you were since you've been gone. I told him you were traveling, but I didn't know where you were now. Which is true, but he didn't like that. He had a knife and wouldn't leave until I gave him my cell."
"Tell me the police are going to do something."
"I called them and the cell phone company as I waited. I reported the phone stolen, and it's been suspended for the moment. The police took my report and have issued a warrant for his arrest. They will be watching the house in case he decides to come back, but the officer said he doubted that would be a possibility." She sounds exhausted.
"I'm coming home as soon as I can get a flight. Are you hurt? Oh my God, he could've really hurt you!" I close my eyes thinking over every scenario that could've happened, then I jump at the feel of a rough, calloused hand grasping my shoulder. I open my eyes, but I can’t see through the blur of my tears. I swipe them to see Wolf cautiously watching me. He holds his hand out for the phone.
I'm too upset to fight him on it.
"Ms. Green, this is Talen Johnson. Pepper is staying here with us. Some things have happened, and she really needs to stick around here for a few days." He pauses, my mom probably drilling him with questions now. "No, ma’am, it wasn't that big of a deal. She just needs to hang out until we know it's all clear. I promise she'll be well taken care for. Please tell me what happened there?"
There is no way I'm staying now. I have to get home to my mom and kill that stupid creeper. The change in Wolf's eyes while he listens to my mom retell of the break-in is unmistakable. Without a doubt, I know if Eric were around, Wolf would kill him.
"Yes, I think you’re right. She will be safer here than going back home. That man will be back if he knows she's there, and he sounds unstable." He nods, even though she can't see him.
I ball my hands into fists at my sides and harshly cut my eyes at him, knowing the angry glint in my deadpan stare says it all. Like hell…
"I agree, I'll talk to her. She'll call you back in just a little while. I'll have some boys from a close charter to come and check on you, so don't get alarmed. They'll be on motorcycles and will stick around a few days to watch out for him, too,” he says through a pointed look at me. He winks and smirks, no doubt hoping he’s just covered himself.
And he has. It’s sweet that he’s willing to send people to my house—in South Carolina—to care for my mom. Even though I really want to go home, I know I’m safer here—with Wolf.
He ends the call, then extends his arms toward me, the lone gesture prompting me to go to him. I curl my arms around his waist, and he closes me in against his chest, pressing a soft kiss to the top of my head as if we've done this a million times.
I notice everyone has left the room, and I'm grateful for the privacy while I cry. The what-ifs race through my head. "I have to go home. He attacked my mom!"
"I know, but let's think this through,” Wolf says calmly.
I try to steady the sobs bubbling from my chest, even though I want to yell and cry—anything to make it all go away. "Fine. What do you suggest? The police can only do so much with him. Though this time he did break into our home and held a—"
He squeezes me tighter, abruptly cutting my words off. He knows the story. "I know you want to go home. That fucking scumbag won't go back to your mom's house for several reasons. One—he got what he wanted from her. Two—the police are driving by for the next few days. And now, I'll have some men from an allied MC there until we find him. Believe me, we'll find him. Tell me about this guy."
“After I wrote my third romance novel, I started getting weird emails from a guy named Eric Stanley. He started out being friendly with just a touch of disturbing phrases. I answered the first ones, but when he started saying things like he wanted to meet me in person, I freaked out. I blocked him on my email, but he started sending messages on my author web page. Somehow, he was smart enough to find out my real name, my parents’ name, and my brother’s name. He then started showing up at places I would be at. At first, I didn't pay much attention, just thinking he seemed familiar, then he kept staring and finally, I asked if I knew him. As soon as he said his name, I freaked out. It got so bad that I had to get a restraining order against him."
"Sweetheart, I know you’re scared, but me and my boys will handle this situation ourselves,” he assures me, wiping the tears from my cheek with the pad of his thumb. “I need the logins to both your email and author web page so I can have Shadow look into it." He pulls me back and kisses the top of my head again.
I nod as I'm lost in his eyes. "Thank you. Not that I want anything for saving Tanya, but now we'll be even either way."
He smiles. "Yeah, I guess so, though I really planned on paying you back in another way.”