Leida did the cutest ‘sir, yes sir’ gesture with her hand and climbed through the door I was now holding open for her.
Once she was settled, I pushed the door closed and turned, only to come to an abrupt stop when I found Tobias there, just a few inches away from me.
“Jesus,” I slammed my hand over my chest, surprised at his sudden nearness.
He stared at me with an intense gaze that let me know that what he was about to say was big.
“I’d never let anyone hurt you,” he promised me. “You may not want to talk about it, but if you ever change your mind, I’m here. All those motherfuckers,” he shook his head. “They’re cops, and yes, they’re intimidating as fuck. That’s the whole point. They have to be authoritative and appear as if they won’t take any shit. Because if they don’t look like that, they’ll end up dealing with a whole lot more shit than they’re already dealing with.”
My lips twitched.
“Any motherfucker who even thinks about trying to hurt you will have to go through me. And if they get through me, then they’ll learn real quick that you have the entire club at your back. You shouldn’t worry. Not even a little bit, got it?”
My heart felt like it was two sizes too big for my chest.
“All right, Stone Cold,” I laughed as I said it. “Let’s go.”
His brows rose.
“Stone Cold?”
She shrugged. “You’re like a blend of Stone Cold Steve Austin and Dwayne Johnson, The Rock,” she said. “Like, I seriously think you could pass for their love child.”
His lips twitched.
“Get in the truck, girl.”
I got in the truck.
But I did it while also watching him do the same.
Something strange was happening in my chest. Though I wasn’t ready to admit it yet, I had a feeling it could evolve into something beautiful.
Chapter 4
When shit hits the fan, and you see me smiling, you should be scared.
-Note to self
Audrey
It was Valentine’s Day, and I had the house to myself.
What better way to spend it than looking for apartments?
At least, that was what I told myself.
After walking in on my brother and his wife practically doing it on the kitchen counter this morning, I realized two things.
One, I needed a place that didn’t have my brother in it. Although I loved the hell out of him, I was starting to feel like I was cramping his style.
Two, I needed to get a life.
Seeing my sister-in-law happy again, living her life, and spending it with the man that she and I had thought was dead for so long, was truly an eye-opener.
I only did things with my brother and Mina, and lately, Tobias.
Although, I hadn’t seen Tobias since I’d helped his niece sell her cookies.
It’d been four days, and I was getting anxious.
Where was he? What was he doing? Did he miss me like I missed him? Would he want to go apartment hunting with me?
As these thoughts occurred to me, I gathered up what was left of the trash and headed for the door.
Today was trash day, and I’d been tasked with putting it out for the trash collectors to pick up.
Apparently, Mina and I were terrible at emptying the trash and now Tunnel wanted me to get it to the curb on the correct day.
I couldn’t really disagree with him.
I could barely remember what day it was.
Since I hadn’t had a job in well over two months, I rarely ever kept track of the days of the week.
Though, I should.
Muttering under my breath, I headed for the front door, pushing it open only after I peeked through the blinds on either side of it.
Not seeing anything overtly suspicious, I hurried down the walk and headed straight for the trashcan that was already at the curb.
“Jesus, Tun,” I muttered. “You asked me to do it not even fifteen minutes ago. I was going to do it!”
As I muttered to myself, I was unaware that I had a stalker across the street watching every move I made.
So, there I was, heading toward the trashcan while running my hand through the rat’s nest that was my hair. I was wearing a faded t-shirt that was two sizes too big—one that I’d picked up at Goodwill over three years ago—with a pair of yoga pants that rolled over at the waist. Topping off this look, I was picking at a fucking wedgie as I made my way to the curb.
I was two feet from the trashcan when I finally looked up at the sound of laughing.
My body froze at the sound at first, not really registering that the sound was one of mirth. It wasn’t sinister in any way. Not like that laugh.
No, this laugh was full of humor, humor I saw written all over the man’s face.
“Did you find whatever you were searching for?” Tobias teased from his perch on the back of his tailgate, two houses down from mine.
I blinked.
“I’m unsure of what you speak of,” I lied.
His snort also held the same lie.
“Is that right?” he questioned.
I pursed my lips.
“What are you doing here?”
He pointed to some boxes. “My brother bought a bed for Leida and wanted me to pick it up from the store.”
“Oh,” I said. “That was nice of you. What kind of bed is it?”
He shrugged. “A fucking heavy one.”
A thought occurred to me, and instead of questioning it, beating it to death from all angles, I just went with it.
I rolled my eyes. “What are you doing after this?” I asked on a whim.
He looked at his watch.
“I have to be somewhere by four fifteen this afternoon, but nothing until then. Why?”
I pulled at the hem of my shirt.
“Do you want to go look at apartments with me?”
His answering shrug was nonchalant.
“I guess. Do you mind if we ride my bike?” he asked.
I bit my lip thoughtfully.
Did I mind?
The answer was kind of scary.
No. No, I didn’t mind.
I wanted to ride on his bike. I’d been wanting to ride on it again for a very long time now. Longer than I cared to admit.
“That’s fine,” I tried to sound nonchalant.
And by the look he gave me, I’d failed.
“Want to help me bring this into the house?” he asked, gesturing to the boxes.
I looked at them.
“Are they heavy?”
He shrugged. “Not too bad.”
Twenty minutes later, I was covered in a fine sheen of sweat, staring at the hole in my shirt.
“This was one of my favorite shirts!” I informed him. “Do you know how hard it is to find worn, soft shirts?” I asked. “Really, really hard!”
He looked at my shirt, then at me.
Then, without pause, he shrugged his shirt off and handed it to me.
“Same size, it looks like. And it’s soft.” He shook it when I didn’t take it.
My hand came up on autopilot and grasped the soft material.
“Thank you,” I said, pulling it to me. “But what are you going to wear now?”
He winked at me and walked back into the house, coming back out moments later with one of his brother’s t-shirts.
“He won’t even notice,” he explained. “Are you going to go change, or wear that?”
I looked down at the t-shirt that still had a large gaping hole in it. “I’m going to go change really quick.”
That, and I wasn’t wearing a bra. My hair needed brushing, and I didn’t normally wear the yoga pants out, no matter how much I wanted to.