Page 58 of Claymore
“When I call, answer your fucking phone.”
He nodded with a long, hard gulp.
***
My body ached with exhaustion when I finally made it back to the clubhouse. Tank had split off from me, heading home early, probably planning on staying up the entire night to go over Don’s information. My mind wandered off to Fang and the woman she was searching for. She had to be special in some way, someone close to her, but I couldn’t figure out how. Tank was the one holding all the cards, and as much as I wanted to move in on some more of the Kings or Lions, I knew we had to be careful.
We already exposed ourselves much more than we should’ve. We didn’t exactly send those fuckers scrambling, but we chased them away, making it even harder to track them down. I thought about the day we rolled up to the warehouse, how swift Fang was, and how quickly she slipped away. It made my blood boil, knowing that the longer she was in the wind, the harder it would be to destroy her fucking plan.
I dreamed of the day I’d get my hands on them both, her and Ray. I needed them gone. I needed to know that their bodies were rotting in a shallow grave somewhere so Ella could finally be free.
I wandered up the stairs, hearing the bathroom tap running in the guest room. I knocked on the door to check on Ella, wondering how she was holding up after tearing into all of the Rebels. I was proud of her, for standing her ground, for sharing a part of her life that must’ve been difficult to even talk about.
She shut the bathroom door behind her, glancing over at me with a smile.
“You’re back.”
“I am. This lead Tank had, it may just pan out. For once, I can say it looks promising.”
“Really?”
“Yes, really,” I murmured, inching closer to her.
I caressed her cheeks, lifting her chin, kissing her softly. She smelled heavenly like vanilla and lavender. The way she tasted of fresh strawberries never failed to lull me. Her fingers intertwined with mine and she led me over to her bed.
“You look like you could use some real rest.”
“I could. That sounds like a dream right about now,” I teased.
“Well, there’s plenty of room,” she said, patting the other side of the bed.
I smiled, heading into the en suite to wash up, returning to bed where she was all tucked in comfortably. Slipping underneath the sheets felt incredible. They were fluffy, inviting, and certainly not how they felt a few days ago.
“What in the world did you do to these?” I asked, holding up the duvet and she chuckled.
“Gave them the wash they desperately needed. I don’t know how long I’ll be here, but the room definitely needed a little tender love and care.”
“I’ll say. Ella, here, my house, I want it all to feel like home to you. If you need anything, you let me know, okay?”
“Right now, all I need is you.”
I squeezed her tightly and she giggled, resting her head on my bare chest. Soon, she was fast asleep in my arms, and I was drifting off too.
When I’d finally woken up to see the sun spilling in through the bedroom window, a wave of confusion hit me. Usually by now, Tank or one of the other members would’ve been blowing up my phone. I slipped out of bed, trudging down the stairs to find Archer, Ripper, and Vegas in the kitchen.
“What time is it?”
“It’s eleven o’clock. Tank said to let you sleep in. We’re all heading out to check out a lead he got from that tracker of his. He said that you’re on babysitting duty today because he’s been working you like crazy, but I know you won’t be too mad about that,” Ripper teased.
“I don’t think Tank’s worried you’re gonna exhaust yourself. I think he’s just trying to make up for the fact he was so ducking wrong about Ella,” said Vegas.
“Yeah, we all really owe her a damn apology. Enjoy your day, lover boy. We’ll be back soon.”
“Thanks, Arch.”
They all funneled out of the kitchen, dropping their ceramic mugs in the sink, leaving some fresh coffee in the pot for me. The front door opened, their bike engines started up, and for once I wasn’t mad that I wasn’t out on the road with them. It’d been a while since I had the chance to relax, since I could really spend time with Ella without worrying we were inches away from trouble.Today trouble doesn’t matter. Nothing matters but us.
I filled two piping hot cups of coffee, carrying them back up to the guest room to find Ella just sitting up in bed.
