Page 16 of Ember
“Well, she’d be right because we are talking about her,” Hurricane said.
“Yeah, but I don’t need Ember up my ass for thinking that I’m talking about her,” Jack said.
“She’s agreed to stay in town and be the Harlot’s Prez. You good with that?” Hurricane questioned.
“I gathered from our conversation back in your office,” Jack said. “Are you sure that she’s going to actually stick around?” he asked. That was something that might put a damper on her being the Harlot’s new Prez. They were a new group and needed strong leadership. Ember’s track record for sticking around wasn’t stellar. Sure, Ember was strong as hell, but would she be able to give the other women stability?
“I have no idea if she’ll stick around, but the other women have voted and she’s in as their new Prez. You know how it works. The Harlots and Bastards will pretty much follow the same bylaws. Although the Harlots will have their own code, we’ll support them in any way that we can.”
“Doesn’t mean that I have to support their Prez,” Jack grumbled. “Listen, I’ve got to run over to my place before church to grab her things. She’s going to pick them up here later. Can you make sure she gets them? I think I need to take a break around here for a bit until things calm down between the two of us,” Jack said.
“And how long will that take?” Hurricane asked.
Jack shrugged, “No clue, but I can’t keep having her look at me the way that she is. I need time to think, and I just can’t think around her.” He shot Ember one last look to find her still mean-mugging him and stood from the barstool. “I’ll be back later with her things.” He didn’t wait for Hurricane to agree to give Ember her belongings. Honestly, he really didn’t care who gave them to her. All Jack wanted was some downtime, and if that would involve him taking a little time away from the bar, then so be it.
Jack rolled into his driveway just after dark, and sadness filled him. No, it was more like dread. He hated coming home now. Ever since Ember took off on him and went back to Florida, he literally hated having to spend any time at his home. Now that she was back, he wondered if that might change for him, but judging by the knot in the pit of his tummy, it wasn’t going to.
He parked his bike and cut off the engine and just sat there. If he was smart, he’d not only pack Ember’s things, but his own, and head out of town for a bit. It had been a damn long time since he had taken a road trip, and maybe it was time. He’d head out now and be able to be back in town by the holidays. That worked for him, and hopefully, he’d be able to forget about the sexy she devil who plagued his every waking hour—but probably not.
He walked into the kitchen from the garage and nearly fell over the mess that was on the floor. “Shit,” he whispered to himself. He didn’t remember leaving anything on the floor when he left there earlier that morning. In fact, he had kept the place spotless over the past few weeks, as though hoping that Ember would just show up on his doorstep and ask to move back in with him. But that was wishful thinking, and now that he knew what her answer would be, he wasn’t sure why he had gone to so much trouble. Oh—because he had feelings for her. He needed to work those out because they were really getting on his last nerve.
He noticed a pile of clothing strewn across the kitchen floor and quickly grabbed his cell phone. He hadn’t left any of them there, and if he were a betting man, he’d put money on someone having broken into his house and made the mess while looking for something or someone.
“I have a problem, man,” he said after Hurricane picked up the call.
“Yeah, I know, and she’s still here. When will you be back because her craptastic attitude is now spilling all over my bar.” Jack couldn’t help his smile thinking about Ember giving Hurricane grief. She could give as good as she got, and that was one thing that he really admired about her. She said that he felt the need to save her, but the problem with her theory was that she didn’t need saving. Ember was as capable as they came—she just hadn’t realized it yet. He pulled his gun from the shoulder holster he wore and stepped further into his kitchen. He wanted to check things out before calling in the break-in. If it was something that he or the Bastards could handle, he would, but otherwise, he’d have to report it. And that meant that he’d never hear the end of it from the guys downtown or at the club.
“I think someone broke into my house,” Jack whispered into the phone.
“Someone broke into your house?” Hurricane shouted back at him. He held the phone away from his ear and winced. Jack didn’t know if the person who had thrown all Ember’s clothes around his kitchen was still there or not, but he wasn’t planning on taking any chances.
“Give me the phone,” he heard Ember shouting on the other end of the call. The very last thing that he needed was to deal with her attitude or have her ask him a million questions right now.
“Do not put her on the phone,” Jack spat back at him. “This is serious, and I don’t need her asking me questions. Someone broke into my damn house,” he whisper-yelled at Hurricane.
“Now, why do you think that I’ll ask you a bunch of questions, Jack?” Ember asked.
“Fuck,” Jack swore under his breath. Hurricane had apparently lost the battle with the little she devil, and she wason the other end of the call. “Put Hurricane back on the fucking phone, Ember,” he ordered.
“No, I want to know what’s going on. Did someone really break into your house?” she asked.
“I thought that you weren’t going to ask me a million questions,” he grumbled.
“Well, my stuff is there, and I have a right to know what’s going on,” she insisted again. He wanted to tell her that her stuff would soon be out of his place, and as for her right to know what was going on with him, well, she lost them when she walked out on him and went back down to Florida.
“Your stuff seems fine,” he lied. “It’s just all over my kitchen right now.” He noticed that nothing else was out of place. A few of his dishes were broken on the floor, but that was about it. Whoever had gotten into his place had only gone after Ember’s things.
Jack turned on the lights and noticed a picture of Ember on his wall with one of his butcher knives running through her forehead. “Who would do this to you, Ember?” he breathed.
“Do what?” she asked. “You know what—I’m coming over there now. I’ll get Hurricane to drive me. Stay put,” she ordered, ending the phone call. Jack looked at his fucking cell phone as though it had lost its damn mind, but he was pretty sure that it was the woman who was using the phone on the other end who had gone and done that.
He quickly called 911 and reported the break-in, knowing full well that they’d need the local cops’ help. Being in charge of his own case was frowned upon in the department, and this was something that had gone beyond the Royal Bastards now. It was going to take a fucking village to keep Ember safe—if that was even possible. If Marco were dead, and she suspected that Keith was the one behind the stalking’s all along, that meant that Keith was coming for her. They just had to be sure, because playingthe “Guess who’s stalking me?” game with Ember was starting to be dangerous. And judging from the photo of her with the knife through her head, whoever was coming for her was out for blood.
Ember
Ember bit at her thumbnail as she watched the streets go by through the passenger side window. “Can you cut it out?” Hurricane asked. “You’re making me nervous now.”
“I can’t help it,” she almost shouted. “What if whoever broke into Jack’s place is still there?” she asked.
