Sentinel Page 8

  “Fuck,” He roared, pouring into me with a shout.

  I collapsed against him, my heart hammering in my ears as he rested his hand against the wall. His body trembled, but I didn’t want him to back out, not yet. That would mean this was all over with and I wouldn’t know what to do.

  “I’ll do it every night if I can come home to this,” he said, his breath warm on my shoulder.

  I laughed, unable to help myself as he slowly pulled away, easing me to the ground. The air slipped past my bare legs. My pants had fallen off and landed in a heap on the floor, joining the flip flops I had hastily thrown on when I’d torn out of the safehouse earlier.

  Gary’s jeans still puddled at his feet as he stood gazing at me. His familiar grin made my heart swell, and I reached up to kiss him full on the lips. I couldn’t help it. I was happy for the first time in a long time. This man, he had done something to me and I wanted to hold onto it for as long as I could.

  “What’s that for?” he whispered as I stepped back.

  “For everything,” I admitted, giving him a shy smile. “You could have locked me up in my bedroom and not let me come today.”

  He chuckled and brushed a strand of hair away from my face. “Don’t think I didn’t think about it.”

  “I would have,” I laughed. “I’m-”

  He held up his hand. “Please don’t say you’re sorry. Let’s just move on from here, alright? Let’s start over.”

  “Agreed,” I answered, holding out my hand.

  He took it and pulled me close, wrapping me in those strong arms of his. I sighed and allowed myself to melt against him. This was the beginning of something, something foreign.

  **

  “Where are we?”

  Gary stopped the truck and looked at me with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. “Don’t freak out.”

  I looked at the small farmhouse in front of us again, sweat moistening my hands at the thought that lit in my mind. No. He wouldn’t bring me here. “Gary.”

  “Listen,” he started, reaching over to take my hand. “My parents aren’t here. The safehouse was compromised. I’d already got my parents out of town by sending them on a trip for their anniversary. We’ll be here alone, and no one expects anyone to be here.”

  I let out the breath I’d been holding.

  Gary laughed at the expression on my face and gave my hand a squeeze. “Scared you for a minute, huh?”

  “Yeah,” I admitted.

  With that worry gone, I was free to let the rush of something new and exciting take me over again. Our romp in the office had transformed me. I’d even ignored Misty’s knowing grin while I gave her instructions for the rest of the night.

  “Come on,” he said, opening the truck door. “Let’s go inside.”

  I grabbed my bag, glad that I’d brought it with me, and followed him up the flower-lined path to the front door. Everything about this place screamed normal, reinforcing what I knew of Gary Holmes . If I had grown up somewhere like this, I’d have been quite different, too.

  Gary unlocked the door and popped it open, then stepped back, allowing me to enter. It smelled like cinnamon and apple pie, and when he switched on the light, I took in the place where he’d grown up.

  It was right out of a magazine, with comfortable furniture and colorful rugs strewn about the wooden floor. A fireplace dominated one wall, though the TV over the mantle took away from the country interior a bit. Pictures and knick-knacks made from a child’s hands, displayed with obvious pride, adorned the built-in shelves. That was something I wasn’t used to.

  Gary shut the door and locked it behind us. “I’m sure there’s a casserole or something in the freezer. You hungry?”

  “A little,” I said, walking over to the pictures before exploding into laughter. “Is that you?”

  He chuckled over my shoulder, his hand resting on my waist. “Yeah, that’s the nerd.”

  And he was such a nerd. Though his coke bottle glasses threw me off, it was the same Gary that stood over my shoulder.

  “Wow.”

  “I know,” he answered with a sigh. “I tried to get mom to burn all these, but she threatened to disown me if I mentioned it again.”

  I turned to face him, allowing him to take me into his arms. “She sounds like a great parent.”

  “She is,” he said simply. “And so is my dad. That’s why I had to get them away from here.”

  I could understand that. “Why don’t you show me your bedroom?” I traced the lines of his bare chest with a wandering finger.

  He chuckled again. “It’s never seen a woman in there before, ever.”

  I pressed my lips to his. “Let’s change that, shall we?”

  Chapter Eleven

  Gary

  I combed my fingers through Becky’s hair, staring up at the ceiling in the dark. She was sleeping next to me, curled up in my double bed like she trusted me with her life.

  And to me, that meant everything.

  Still, it was comical that she was here, in my childhood bedroom. How many times had I dreamt of a girl in this bed, some super model that would find nerds so hot she couldn’t keep her hands off me? Of course, it’d never happened. But I was sure having Becky next to me was so much more than if any one of my pubescent fantasies had come true.

  Remembering the look on her face when we pulled up to my house still made me want to laugh. It was like I was some crazed man wanting her to meet my parents as soon as we had vowed to make this work.

  But that wasn’t the case, of course. Fox had texted me after my strip show, frantic to get in touch with me. The cabin had been trashed, and he was so relieved to discover that Becky was okay, that it must not have occurred to him that we weren’t at the safehouse when shit had gone down. With more fires to put out, he’d left Becky’s protection up to me for the time being.

  I’d made a bunch of noise on social media, announcing I was sending my parents on a surprise trip for their anniversary. So for the moment, this was the safest place I could think of.

  And now that Becky was here, I wasn’t sure how I felt. Something had shifted inside her, something that had her wanting to be with me, but I was treading cautiously. Don’t get me wrong, I was happy she was finally giving in and trusting me. And I wanted to show her there was more to life than the Gallery; there was something that could make her just as happy, if not more so.

  I wanted to be that guy for her. I wanted to give her what I had in me, protect her from everything that scared her, and well, hell. I wanted to put a ring on her finger someday, give her some brats to run around our feet and make us pull our hair out.

  I’d dreamed of having all that one day, but never thought I’d find someone to share it with.

  But would Becky be up for it? I didn’t know. It was too soon to tell, but I wasn’t about to give up if she wasn’t ready just yet. I’d found my woman. My partner.

  I just had to make her see the same.

  She stirred against me and I held her close, thinking about how different we were. This could work between us. I wouldn’t ever make her give up the Gallery, and once I got my enforcer badge from the Legion, I could even help protect it. I might not have much experience, but I had the want, the drive to make this work.

  And by the way she looked at me, kissed me, I believed that Becky wanted the same thing.

  **

  Three days later, I moved the black queen to the edge of the board. “Check mate.”

  Becky eyed the board. “You’re joking right? How the hell did you do that?”

  I laced my fingers up behind my head as I leaned back in my chair. “I believe that’s game, set, and match. Someone is going around the pole tonight.” I pointed a finger pistol at her.

  She looked at me through narrowed eyes, her lips turned up at the corners. “I didn’t see that one coming.”

  I grinned, unable to help it. Between our workouts and romps in the bedroom, I had pulled out my family’s board games, teaching her to pla
y everything from chess to monopoly while we waited for word from Fox. She was a formidable partner, but I still bested her at every turn. After all, I had been playing them nearly all my life.

  It had been some of the best moments of my life, these past three days with her. I was happy, and it seemed like Becky was, too. Mornings were fun. Whoever woke up first got to wake the other, which led to our usual tousle between the sheets. That took some time. After refueling in the kitchen, we worked out together in my makeshift gym in the barn, sparring to exhaustion or until we collapsed in a fit of laughter. I showed her everything about my parent’s farm, from the animals to the small vineyard my mom had gotten my dad. Stories of my past filled my tours. One evening, I explained each and every painful picture on the shelf in the living room until I was rewarded with her giggling uncontrollably. We ended up on the floor there, too.

  If my mom knew what we were doing in her house, on her floor, she would’ve likely beaten me.

  Becky made me feel like I couldn’t get enough, and I never wanted to get enough. I wanted this in my life forever.

  Picking up an empty bottle of wine, I stood. “You want another glass?”

  She looked up, a grin on her face. “Your mom is going to be so pissed we’re drinking all her blackberry wine.”

  “It’ll be okay, I promise,” I said, setting the bottle in the sink to wash it out later. My mom had taken up making wine a few years ago, and there was more than enough to get us through an apocalypse if need be. Pulling another out of the fridge, I popped the cork, carrying it over to the dining room table and refilling her glass before mine. “She’s branching out to some apple shit next summer.”

  Becky picked up her glass, swirling the dark liquid around. “She sounds fabulous.”

  “She is,” I answered, settling back in my chair. “And she would like you.”

  Becky didn’t look up from her wine. “I didn’t know my mom. She dumped me as a baby with my dad, and took off to parts unknown. His stripper girlfriends told me everything I needed to know about life.”

  That had to be hard. “You turned out alright.”

  “I did, didn’t I?” She took a sip of wine. “You asked earlier what I would have done had I not been raised in the Gallery. I think I would’ve liked to do something to help others, like a nurse or something.”

  “You’d look hot in one of those uniforms,” I said, drawing out a blush across her gorgeous face.

  “Stop it,” she laughed, taking a sip of her wine. “I’m serious. Maybe even a doctor. Who knows?”

  I sobered. “You could still do it you know. Sell the Gallery, go out and find what makes you happy.” I had, and she was sitting right in front of me. I would follow her anywhere. Quit the Legion, forget that I had ever wanted to be an enforcer. If she told me to run away with her, I would in a heartbeat.

  Hell, I think I’m in love.

  She smirked, her long, red hair falling like a veil as she dipped her head. “And what would it prove? That I could do it?”

  I slipped out of my chair and kneeled before her, my hands on her bare legs. She was wearing these short shorts that were driving me wild, a shirt that kept slipping off her bare shoulder to let me know she wasn’t wearing a bra. I was going to ravish her tonight until she screamed my name.

  But first. “It’s not about that. I have no doubt you can do it.” I pressed my lips to her knee. “What do you want, Beck? What is it that you truly want out of life?” I whispered.

  Her lips parted, and realization dawned in my mind. She thought I was proposing.

  Her reaction started a chain reaction in me, old tension seeping into my muscles. Would it be such a bad thing to propose to her, to show her that I was fucking serious about everything that had grown between us? “Beck, I-”

  She pushed my hands away, laughing too quickly. “Come on, Gary. Why are we even talking like this? I’m a strip joint owner and you’re almost an enforcer. Our time together has been great, but soon we’ll go our separate ways.”

  My phone buzzed on the table, but I ignored it, sliding my hands up her thighs. “Why are pushing me away again?”

  She sighed. “Because, this isn’t real Gary. This isn’t how it’s supposed to work, and it won’t after its all said and done. You know just as well as I do that this is happening because we’re stuck here, spending too much time together.”

  I didn’t believe that and neither did she. I could see it in her eyes. I had learned a lot about this woman in the past few days. She was lying. She had to be.

  “So, if I walked away today, you wouldn’t give a shit. Is that what you’re saying?”

  “Gary,” she said in a little voice as my phone buzzed again. “You know that’s not true.”

  “It might as well be,” I growled, trying to keep my anger under control. “What are you scared of?”

  She closed her eyes. “I’m scared of being left alone, alright? God, I can’t believe I just told you that.” She sniffed and waved her hand at me as if she could wave away our words. “You might want to get your phone. It’s going off like crazy.”

  I pressed another kiss on her knee, feeling her tremble under my touch. “This conversation isn’t over. You understand?”

  She nodded, and I got up, snatching my up phone. There was no way I was going to let this go. I wasn’t going to lose her like this. Hitting the screen, Fox’s name appeared three times in a row. A shiver of fear snaked down my spine as I hit redial.

  Something was wrong.

  “Where the fuck have you been? I’ve been trying to reach you.”

  “I’m sorry,” I said, the anguish in his voice quickening my pulse. “What’s wrong?”

  “Shit man, it’s Jack,” he answered, his voice breaking. “He’s dead.”

  My world spun out from under me and I fell back against the chair.

  Becky’s eyes widened, and as if the exchange we’d just had never happened, she was at my side in an instant, her hand on my shoulder. “What?”

  Fox’s voice was in my ear. “There was a shootout, a set up by the Rebels. He’s, oh hell I can’t believe this is happening. It’s chaos, man. You need to come in.”

  “What-” I started, trying to find my voice. “Who are the Rebels?”

  Fox swore under his breath. “I forgot. You’ve been out.” There was a pause as if he was trying to gather his thoughts, condense a large amount of information. “Everything’s been a setup. This whole thing with the Cazadores. The Rebels did it.”

  “I don’t understand,” I said, trying to keep the anger out of my voice.

  “What is it?” Becky whispered.

  I ignored her as Fox continued.

  “It’s a new group that split off a club from a neighboring town. They want their own turf. They hatched a plan to pit us against the Cazadores, hoping we’d burn each other out. Up until now, we weren’t sure. But… they went after Jack, and now…” his voice trailed off.

  I clenched my jaw against the rush of emotion. He couldn’t be dead. He was invincible, a man who couldn’t be killed by a mere bullet.

  Jack was dead.

  “Say something, Gary,” Becky whispered more harshly this time.

  “What do I do with Becky?”

  Fox sighed. “Bring her in. We’ll take care of her. You’ve been assigned to track down the Rebels.”

  I straightened, the desire to complete my new job coursing through my body. “Give me ten.”

  “Be careful.”

  I hung up.

  “What’s wrong?” Becky asked in a tiny voice. “What is it?”

  I looked over at her, seeing the scared look in her eyes, and knew there was nothing I could say to make my words any easier. “Jack’s dead.”

  The color drained from her face. “No,” was all she could say.

  “Well he is,” I said, barely containing the rage that swept through me. I couldn’t think. I couldn’t even feel right now. I felt empty inside, like I’d lost an extension of myself and all I
wanted to do was get out of here, to leave. “Get your shit. We’re going.”

  Becky didn’t try to follow me outside. I walked straight to the barn. I needed to put my fist through something, but at least I had the self-control to seek out the punching bag.

  But when I got to the bag, I fell to my knees, tears crowding my vision. Jack was dead. Jack, the one who had given me this shot, taken me under his wing when no one else would, and given me a chance to change my fate.

  He was the reason I loved the woman in that house, the reason I had become someone.