Page 11 of Scorpion
“You got it,” I reply, already on my way out the front of the garage. I don’t bother telling anyone where I’m going. Theplace hasn’t picked up any since I got Lilah’s messages, and this is MC business after all. “If you guys find him, let me know. I’d like to have a word or two with him.”
“I’ll keep you in the loop, brother,” he says. “Now get off of my fucking phone and make sure my sister’s safe.”
He doesn’t give me a chance to respond, but I don’t need one. I know what’s expected of me, and even if this is MC business, it’s personal now. Lilah is my girl, and I promised her that I’d keep her safe.
True to my word, I ignore traffic laws to get to the insurance agency as quickly as possible. When I get there, I don’t see anything out of the ordinary, but I don’t put it past Dan to be positioned somewhere that he can see my girl. So, parking my bike a ways away, I do a check of the perimeter and all of the surrounding buildings.
My search comes up empty, which is both a relief and a disappointment. I was hoping to find him and take care of him here and now. Nothing would bring me more joy than to be able to greet Lilah at the end of the day with the news that she doesn’t have to worry about him anymore.
Since that’s not going to happen, I grab myself a coffee from the shop across the street, keeping my eyes on the building the entire time. Then, when I have my drink, I head back and make myself comfortable on the bench near the door. My eyes flit around the parking lot, then up to the security camera over the door. I doubt it would be too difficult to get our hands on the security footage, even though I’m unsure of what we’d be looking for.
So, I shoot a quick text to our president, asking if he’ll put in a request. Once that’s gone through and I get his affirmative response, I settle back against the bench and sip at my blackcoffee. I’ve always hated sitting around, so today’s going to be a long one. I’ll do anything if it means keeping Lilah safe, though.
Chapter 8
Lilah
The phone rings, making me jump and then freeze. It’s another unknown number, just like a majority of the calls I’ve gotten today.
I should just let it ring, let it go straight to voicemail. If it’s the same weird caller I’ve been getting all day, it’s not like it’ll matter. They can be creepy and breathe into my voicemail instead of into my ear.
But, if they’re not, I could get in trouble for sending a potential client straight to voicemail in the middle of the work day. It’s not unheard of for new customers to call with their number blocked. The agents do follow-ups based on phone records, so calling with their phone number hidden is a great way to combat that.
Ultimately, my desire to keep my job wins out, and I pick up the phone.
“Thank you for calling Safe Rio Lunas, this is Lilah. How may I help you today?” I say, my voice chipper despite the dread pooling in my stomach.
Instead of a verbal reply, the person on the other end breathes heavily. It’s just as unsettling this time around as it was the first, despite the fact that I’ve already lost track of how many times this has happened today. My stomach twists, and just as I’m about to slam the receiver down, the person on the other end hangs up first.
With shaky hands, I set the phone down in the cradle again and glance at the clock on my computer. It’s nearly five, so with any luck, that’ll be the last weird phone call I have today. Plus, most of the office is starting to pack up to head home. If the phone rings again, I’ll just ignore it and make up some excuse about helping out in the office.
It’s hard to tell who was calling, especially because I only have their breathing to go off of, but I just know that it was Dan. Before today, I’ve never gotten calls like that. Sure, every once in a while a teenager will call and act like an idiot on my line as some sort of prank call, but no one has ever called just to breathe at me.
I spend the last half hour of my shift staring at the clock and jumping anytime a phone rings in the office. It’s torture, but I manage to get through it. Finally, I’m able to start packing up for the day, and as I’m doing so, Scorpion walks through the doors.
The feeling of relief that floods through my body should be criminal. Or bottled up and sold on the street. I’ve never experienced anything like it.
Without even thinking about it, I’m throwing myself into his arms. He catches me, cradling my head in the palm of his hand while he rubs soothing circles into the small of my back. I missed him desperately, and I didn’t realize that just his presence would be enough for me to trust that everything’s going to be okay.
“Long day, I take it?” he asks, pressing a kiss to the side of my head before pulling back slightly to let his eyes roam my face.
“The longest,” I admit, reluctantly peeling myself away from him so I can get the rest of my things. “I’m so glad to get out of here.”
“Good,” Scorpion murmurs. As I’m shoving the last of my things into my backpack, he says, “I promised I’d keep you safe, so you’re going to be staying with me while we figure all of this out. That creep knows where you live, and I don’t feel comfortable letting you stay there.”
“Thank you! I was considering staying in a hotel, but I’d obviously rather stay with you,” I admit, slipping into my backpack and grabbing my helmet.
“I’m glad. I just want to keep you safe,” he assures me, resting his arm protectively around my shoulders as he leads me out of the building. “I’ll take you to your place and come inside with you so we can make sure you’re safe. We’ll only stay long enough to pack what you need and put that box on the porch, then we’ll head back to my place.”
“Okay,” I say, unable to put into words how much I appreciate the plan being laid out for me. I love that I don’t have to think, that he’s just ushering me around and doing all of the heavy lifting.
I’m falling for him. Hard.
As I shove my helmet on my head and get on his back behind him, I let myself completely melt into his body. I don’t know how I got lucky enough to meet Scorpion. When we came up with that stupid fake dating plan, Throttle could have asked anyone to play the part. I mean, it’s not like they had to be my dream guy. But, somehow, that’s exactly who he picked.
I wonder if he knew, if he hand-picked Scorpion for a reason.
As Scorpion takes the familiar streets back to my place, I wonder when I should break the news to my brother that this fake relationship is very likely a real one, that I want to keep Scorpion around long-term. I know how much he cares aboutand respects Scorpion, I know he’ll be thrilled. But Throttle is protective as hell, so I know that if we broke up, it would create a rift in the MC.
