Fallen Lords MC: Books 7-9 Page 10

  “You think it was someone local?” I asked. “I mean, where we had parked the bikes was the most common parking spot to get to the falls. Where Bobby had parked the van was an unknown parking place to someone who isn’t local.”

  Boink nodded. “That’s true. To get to that parking spot, you’d have to pull off the main road and follow back roads.”

  “How local are we talking?” Leo asked. “They would have to be from Weston?”

  I shook my head. “They could be from here to River Valley.”

  “So a two fucking hour radius.” Leo shook his head. “It’s a smaller area to search, but it’s still like looking for a needle in a haystack.”

  Clash sighed. “We, at least, know Bobby is in a black van and he’s got someone working with him.”

  “I’ll get my men canvassing the area around the falls. This might not seem like a big break, but it could be the small clue we need. Bobby isn’t an idiot, but I know the guy, and when he gets close to something, he doesn’t have the patience it takes to do something the right way.” Leo turned to his guy standing behind him. “Head out. Take Rocks and Johnson with you.” The guy nodded and stalked out of the room.

  “So you think he is going to strike again and soon?” I asked.

  Leo shrugged. “I can guarantee that Bobby is not going to be able to wait as long as he did before. He’s probably pissed off and jonesing to get another shot off at Carnie.”

  “Until we get this shit taken care of, no one leaves the clubhouse on their own. The girls always have two guys with them, which means you guys travel in pairs. Freak with Slayer. Boink with Clash. Nickel with Pipe. If I need to go anywhere, I'll have Maniac with me.”

  Leo nodded. “I have a few phone calls to make. Let me know if anything else happens, but I’m hoping we’ll catch Bobby before he has a chance to pull his next move.”

  He walked out of the club with his men trailing behind him.

  “We really thinking Bobby was able to find some idiot from around here to help him?” Pipe asked.

  Wrecker shrugged. “It makes sense. There’s no way someone from out of town would know to park where Bobby did.”

  “So, we let Leo try to find him, and we just hunker down here?” Clash asked.

  “For the time being. I know Leo thinks Bobby isn’t going to wait long to strike again, but I don’t think it’s going to be in the next couple of days.” Wrecker stood and looked around the table at all of us. “This asshole may have been aiming for Carnie, but he put us all in danger. The Banachis like to think they are handling this, but make no mistake, the Fallen Lords are not going to take this sitting down.”

  Wrecker stormed out of the room, and I didn’t hang around to shoot the shit with the rest of the guys.

  I knocked lightly on the door but didn’t wait for Wendy to open it.

  Carnie was still sleeping on the bed, and Wendy stood in front of the couch.

  “I figured your meeting would have been longer than that.”

  I shook my head. “We’ve got a plan in place. Now, we put it in motion.”

  My gaze fell on Carnie.

  Wendy shifted uncomfortably. “Uh, I can stay with her, if you want. I don’t want her to wake up alone.”

  Carnie wasn't going to wake up alone. I was going to make sure of that. “You can go. I’m sure you’re hungry.”

  “I could stand to eat.” Wendy moved to the door but turned around to look at me. “She may be young on paper, Freak, but she’s more mature than you know.”

  I nodded.

  Wendy snuck out of the room and pulled the door shut behind her. I turned off the light and moved to the side of the bed.

  I sat down next to Carnie and brushed her hair behind her ear. She sighed at my touch and rolled toward me.

  “Freak?” Her eyes fluttered open, and she stared up at me.

  “Shh, I just came to check on you, doll.”

  She leaned into my touch and sighed. “I’m sorry I freaked out.”

  I shook my head. “You don’t need to apologize, Carnie.”

  Her eyes fluttered shut, and she sighed. “I know you’re going to say no,” she whispered, “but will you lay with me. Just ‘til I fall back asleep again?”

  The last word wasn’t even out of her mouth before I was pulling back the blanket and sliding in next to her. She instantly draped her arm across my stomach and laid her head on my shoulder.

  “I’m sorry for everything,” she whispered.

  She didn’t need to be sorry. None of this was her fault. The only thing she had done was trust the wrong guy, and anyone who was human had made that mistake in their life before.

  “Sleep, Carnie, and don’t worry about anything. I’m here to keep you safe, and I promise nothing will happen to you.”

  “Freak,” she sighed. Her body relaxed into me, and she was fast asleep.

  I closed my eyes and tried to erase the mental picture I had of Carnie clinging to me and sobbing uncontrollably.

  Today had been too close of a call, and from here on out, I vowed to never let that asshole get that close to her again.

  Bobby was going to die before he ever laid eyes on Carnie again.

  *

  Chapter Fifteen

  Carnie

  “What do you want for breakfast?”

  Freak leaned against the kitchen counter with a mug of coffee in his hand. “I’m good with coffee and toast, doll.”

  I cracked open my can of Coke and sighed as the fizziness traveled down my throat. “I think I can make something better than that.”

  He shrugged. “I’m an easy guy. Just make whatever you feel like, and I can guarantee it will get eaten.”

  It had been almost two weeks since the shooting at the falls, and things were starting to feel like they had when Wendy and I had first gotten here. Though I was much more aware of the fact that there was a psycho out there who wanted me dead.

  There was also another thing that had changed.

  Freak didn’t sleep on the couch anymore. Every night, he was in bed with me from the time I closed my eyes to the time I opened them.

  I had apologized up and down to Wendy, Mayra, and Raven about the shooting, but they told me over and over that it wasn’t my fault. I stopped apologizing, but I still felt guilty I had put them in danger.

  One thing that hadn’t changed was that my mom, dad, and Elle were still staying at Nikki’s.

  “You could always wait until your mom gets here and let her cook,” Freak suggested.

  I shook my head and grabbed a dozen eggs. “I think Mom and Elle were up late last night watching Sons of Anarchy. When I woke up this morning, I had a text from Elle asking me if Jax was really a rat or not.”

  Freak shook his head. “I still can’t believe Alice got them hooked on that show.”

  “I think it’s actually a blessing that she did. If they didn’t have that show to watch, I think they would be staying at the clubhouse more than they already do.”

  “Your dad was the only one who came over yesterday,” Freak pointed out.

  I laughed and grabbed a large glass bowl. “That’s because he likes to work on the bikes.”

  “I noticed,” he laughed. “He changed the oil on my bike, and I didn’t even ask or want him to.”

  “He always changed my oil back home. I’m sure being here and not home, he’s going crazy not having anything to do.” I started cracking eggs into the bowl and throwing the shells into the garbage.

  Alice shuffled into the kitchen and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. “Thank God, you’re making breakfast. I woke up craving eggs and bacon. I was afraid I was going to have to make it myself.”

  Freak chuckled. “God forbid.”

  Alice glared at him. “You woke up feisty this morning.”

  “He’s only on his first cup of coffee,” I laughed.

  Alice turned her nose up at him. “I hate you for the fact you can drink coffee.”

  “You still drink coffee,
” Freak pointed out.

  “If you call bean water with no magical powers coffee, then yeah, sure, I still drink coffee.”

  Wrecker walked into the kitchen, right to the coffee pot. “She complaining about decaf again?”

  Alice folded her arms over her chest. “I’d like to see you doing something for years and years then give it up cold turkey.”

  “It’s only coffee, and you only have to give it up until the baby is born.” Wrecker grabbed an empty cup and filled it to the brim.

  “I’m giving up everything for this baby while you sit with a giant cup of coffee and complete control of your bladder.” Alice snatched his cup of coffee from him and poured it down the drain. “I’d sit on your bladder if I had any clue where it was.”

  Alice stormed out of the kitchen, and Wrecker stood there motionless.

  “Is that what pregnancy is like?” Freak asked.

  Wrecker shook his head and grabbed another cup. “Sure as shit is. Mood swings every seven minutes and crazy as hell cravings.”

  “But at the end of it, you get a pretty amazing gift.” Karmen walked into the kitchen with Cole on her hip. “If you’re extra lucky, you get one just like this guy.” Cole waved his hands and babbled excitedly.

  Wrecker filled his coffee cup and gave Cole a cheek squeeze on his way to find Alice.

  “How did he piss her off this time?” Karmen asked.

  I finished cracking eggs and grabbed the milk. “He poured a cup of coffee.”

  “What?” Karmen asked. “Who?”

  “Wrecker,” Freak laughed. “He poured a cup of coffee, and she complained that she can’t drink real coffee so she poured his down the drain and stormed back to their room.”

  “Alice is fully embracing those mood swings, isn’t she?” Karmen laughed.

  Cole reached for Freak, and Freak easily grabbed him from Karmen. “What’s new lil’ dude?”

  Cole grabbed Freak’s nose and peeled off into laughter when Freak gave a fake shout of pain. “Is that funny?” Freak laughed. “You’re beating me up, pal.”

  Karmen grabbed a cup of coffee and watched Freak and Cole play with each other.

  Once I had the eggs, bacon, and toast done, everyone was milling around the common room waiting for breakfast and coffee.

  Wrecker walked back into the kitchen with his head lowered and grabbed another cup of coffee.

  “You actually get to drink it this time, or did she pour that one down the drain too?” Karmen asked.

  Wrecker dropped the cup in the sink and shook his head. “No fucking comment. I don’t know what to do to make that woman happy when she’s on some weird fucking mood swing.” Wrecker grabbed a plate and filled it with eggs, bacon, and toast. “This might be a good place to start.”

  He wandered back down the hallway, and Freak had a huge grin on his face.

  “What’s so funny?” I asked.

  “Normally, Wrecker is the one with the mood swings and not easy to please. It’s nice to see the tables turned for a bit.” Freak handed Cole back to Karmen after she made them a plate and sipped his coffee while everyone filled their plates before he grabbed one.

  “I thought you just wanted toast?”

  His plate had a huge spoonful of eggs, four pieces of bacon, and two pieces of toast.

  He shrugged and grabbed one more piece of bacon. “You made it, so I can’t let it go to waste.”

  “Right,” I drawled.

  Wendy shuffled into the kitchen, and I was surprised to see her before noon. She had purple fuzzy slippers on her feet and a bright yellow robe wrapped around her, tied at the waist.

  “Whoa there, big bird.” Slayer stepped into the kitchen but stopped in his tracks when he saw Wendy standing there. “Is Oscar hiding in the garbage can, or was I roofied in my sleep?”

  Freak clapped him on the shoulder. “You might not want to say that again. I can see the vein in her neck pulsating.”

  Slayer squinted and stared at Wendy’s neck. “Holy shit. It really is pulsating.”

  Wendy lifted up a coffee cup and moved to throw it at him.

  “Whoa there, cowgirl.” I grabbed the cup out of her hand before she released it and set it next to the coffeemaker. “How about you grab a cup of coffee and try to relax?”

  “This is why I don’t wake up early.” Wendy grabbed a plate and piled it high while I filled a coffee cup three quarters of the way.

  “Uh, you forgot some of her coffee,” Slayer pointed out.

  I opened the fridge and grabbed the coffee creamer.

  “I like flavor in my bean water.” Wendy dumped a good inch of cream into her coffee. “Stop talking to me.” She grabbed her plate and cup and headed out to the tables.

  Slayer filled his own cup and followed behind her.

  “You know those two pretend to not know each other’s name?” I whispered to Freak.

  He nodded. “Though, I wonder if Slayer really does know her name because I have never heard him say it before.”

  “No way,” I gasped. I sipped my Coke and pursed my lips. “You know, come to think of it, I don’t think I have ever heard Wendy say his name either.”

  Freak shrugged. “Could be some weird game they like to play with each other.”

  I rolled my eyes. “If that’s true, they’re both weirdos.”

  “Can’t argue with that when it comes to Slayer.” Freak wandered out to the table that Slayer was sitting at.

  I grabbed my Coke and filled a plate. If anyone woke up, there was plenty of breakfast for them.

  “What’s on the agenda today?” Slayer asked after I sat down.

  Wendy was sitting three tables away and was huddled under her robe while she slowly ate her food. “Can we go to the library?” she asked.

  Slayer’s fork froze mid-air. “Library?’ he spat like it was a bad word.

  Freak had told me Wrecker had paired the guys up which meant Wendy and I were always doing things together.

  I took a sip of my Coke. “Only if we get to go to the store after.”

  “We do need to grocery shop. It’s been three weeks since the last time we went,” Freak pointed out.

  I nodded. “Yeah, I’m reaching the bottom of the freezer, and some of the things I’m finding are kind of scary.”

  “That settles it. We’re hitting up the library and then the grocery store today.” Freak shoveled a mound of egg into his mouth.

  “Wow, what an exciting day,” Slayer grumbled.

  “Not sure that the hell you want to be doing.”

  Slayer shrugged. “Walking out of the clubhouse and going somewhere by myself sounds kind of amazing right now.”

  I sighed but didn’t say anything. I was the reason why Slayer couldn’t do that. With Bobby disappearing again with absolutely no sign of where he went, everyone was on high alert.

  “You can wander a good ten feet in front of the cart if you want, Slayer. I won’t even make you hold my hand.” Freak chuckled.

  Slayer flipped him off. “Only if I get a lollipop, asshole.”

  “Do I even want to know what you two are talking about?” Pipe shuffled into the clubhouse with Nikki under his arm. She had been staying at the clubhouse ever since Bobby had tried to kill me. Pipe and the other guys were worried Bobby would lose his cool and start going after any of the girls.

  “Just living the biker life. Library and grocery store today,” Slayer chuckled. “I was trying to talk Freak into buying me a lollipop at the store.”

  “Only if you finish your breakfast,” Pipe mumbled.

  The guys were joking around, but underneath their words, I knew they were serious about only going out in pairs or more.

  After breakfast and doing the dishes, I slipped into the shower.

  “Carnie,” Freak called.

  I wiped the water from my face and peeked my head out. “Uh, yeah?”

  “You good with me coming in to shave while you shower?”

  This was new. Freak either got ready before
me or waited until I got out of the bathroom. I know I had said Freak was sleeping in bed with me and acting like himself again, but there wasn’t any kissing or touching other than snuggling while we slept.

  “Go for it.” I stepped back into the shower and realized, while there was a shower curtain, it was somewhat see-through.

  I could make out Freak walking into the bathroom and standing in front of the sink, which meant he could sort of see me.

  “Damn, doll, how hot of water do you use?” he chuckled.

  Steam bellowed around me, and I grabbed my washcloth. “Sorry. I’m kind of into scorching hot showers.” I dumped a dollop of body wash onto the cloth and started lathering up my body.

  “I’d say so.”

  I listened to Freak move around the bathroom, and my breath caught when, out of the corner of my eye, I saw him pull his shirt over his head.

  “Good thing I showered last night, otherwise I’d be making you scoot over so I got some hot water.”

  A vision of Freak pulling back the shower curtain took over my mind, and I audibly moaned.

  “You good?”

  I clapped my hand over my mouth and shut my eyes.

  “Carnie?” He turned around, facing the shower. “Whoa.” Freak realized that while he couldn't see me clearly, all he had to do was use his imagination to remove the blur from the shower curtain.

  “I wouldn’t kick you out of the shower,” I whispered.

  “Carnie.” His voice was a strangled moan.

  “Plenty of room in here.” I grabbed the curtain and peeked my head out. “And I still need to wash my back.”

  “We do this, and it’s going to complicate things even more.”

  “Or it might clear up a lot of things,” I suggested.

  Freak shook his head, and a pained smile crossed his lips. “Nothing has really changed from two weeks ago.”

  He turned on his heel and walked out the door.

  “Dammit.” I quickly rinsed off and grabbed my towel from the hook. “Freak,” I called. I stepped into the bedroom with a towel wrapped around me and my hair dripping wet.

  “Carnie,” he growled. “What the hell are you doing?” he demanded.