Chapter 36: Wolf.e: Chapter 35

Layla holds her phone close as we walk. I glance down and take notice that it’s dialed a phone number and the call has been answered. She never pulls it up to her ear and it’s not on speaker.

“That’s Aiden Foxx, he’s the DOS vice president. His half brother runs their club. He’s really, really bad news. Don’t make eye contact, act like you don’t know anything about anything. We’ll be back to Crimson in a minute,” she says way louder than warranted then hangs up the phone as we close in on him. I realize she was letting Ax know what was going on without letting this man know she was on the phone.

Aiden doesn’t take his eyes off us the entire time we walk to the office building, closer to him. He appraises us with the same commanding glare I’d expect from Gabriel.

“A word, ladies?” he says in a deep timbre as we cross the final stretch of sidewalk to my office doors.

I look at the door, so close yet so far, then back at him. His green eyes pierce through me. Layla reaches in front of me, her arm stops me from moving any closer.

“You have something to say, you can say it from there. And this is my friend, she doesn’t need to be here, she just met me for lunch.”

Layla faces me. “See ya, thanks for the visit,” she says, clearly thinking he’s here for her. But what I see in his eyes when he smirks in my direction tells me everything I need to know.

He’s here for me.

The second his eyes flit from hers to mine, like she’s not interesting him in the slightest, I know I’m right.

“Nah, she knows why I’d wanna talk to her, don’t you, Brinley?”

Layla’s breath hitches and her arm drops from me.

“We’ve been watching the Hounds of Hell for years, same as they watch us.” He pulls a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket as he speaks and then tips his head down as he pulls one out with his teeth and lights it up, drawing the smoke in with a deep breath before he continues.

“Never seen your Pres with a woman. So, you see, Brinley, you’ve piqued our interest.”

“She was a one-night stand,” Layla says, and I wince.

I know she’s trying to help but it strikes something, nonetheless.

Aiden takes another drag and leans back on his bike, folding his arms over his chest.

“It’s true. Just one night,” I say, wondering if he can tell I’m shaking like a leaf.

“I don’t think so,” he says, turning his eyes to mine. “Didn’t your mama teach you before she died that men like us are bad news?”

My mouth falls open as I register what he knows about me. Personal things. Like how my mother is dead.

“There a problem out here?” Dell’s voice sounds from the door.

I turn to face him. Bless his heart he’s trying so hard not to look scared shitless of the torrid biker staring him down from the edge of the sidewalk.

Aiden grins and flicks his cigarette; it lands at Dell’s feet.

“Be seeing you, Brinley,” Aiden says as he swings his leg over the large bike and fires it up with a deep rumble.

Goosebumps break out over my flesh with his words as Layla and I make our way inside Crimson. By the time we get inside, I’m shaking.

“Are you okay? What did he want?” Dell asks. “This is the kind of shit you said your husband wouldn’t bring around you?” he says to Layla.

“He has nothing to do with HOH and thanks for coming out, but… give us a minute now.”

Dell looks at me and sets his jaw, understanding I’m somehow involved with Layla’s world for the first time. He says nothing as he shakes his head and turns to head back to his office.

“You okay?” Layla asks when he’s out of earshot, rubbing her hands up and down my arms. She pulls me in for a quick hug.

“Sean will be on his way here. My guess is Wolfe will be with him. They think DOS threw warning bricks through the clubhouse windows. It’s unheard of for a DOS member, let alone their VP, to be in downtown Harmony like that. Sean says we’ll be on lockdown until they can figure this out.”

I nod, still shaken.

My phone buzzes in my pocket.

As scared as I am, I’m instantly annoyed that he hasn’t contacted me at all and then, when he finally does, he thinks he’s just going to boss me around.

“I thought you said it was one night?” Layla asks, as if I must be hiding something. Thing is, I’m not.

“It was. I haven’t heard from Gabriel in a week.”

Her mouth falls open. “Gabriel?”

I look up at her. “What?” I ask, “it’s his name,”

“Nothing, just have never heard anyone refer to him by his first name. He really let you call him that?” she asks, her eyes scrutinizing.

I blink. “Yeah?”

“Hmm. From what Sean says, only his mother called him by his first name.”

Layla pulls her phone out and tries to dial a number while I turn away, unsure what to do with the idea that no one calls him by his first name but he let me, because it’s clear he’s done with me.

I take a deep breath, trying to calm myself but it doesn’t work. Does he know where I live? What could he want with me? I need to upgrade my security system.

The sound of Harleys coming in hot through the downtown core is impossible to miss. Before I knew Gabriel it would’ve made me uneasy. Now, it brings me a sort of comfort I can’t explain. They’re loud, even from inside the office building.

Layla and I both spin around to see them. Of course, her phone call brought Sean here and she’s right, Gabriel is in front of him. Days without seeing him has made him even more disturbingly beautiful and daunting. My breathing speeds up as he pulls up and takes his helmet off, just as Dell comes out of the back office to the sound of the bikes.

“What the hell is going on?” he asks as Gabriel and Ax make their way into the building.

Gabriel is to me in three seconds flat, scanning me for injuries or anything that would alert him that I’m not okay. He touches my face, my shoulders, to see if I’m marked, but I back away.

“We’re fine,” I say, averting my eyes.

He sets his jaw. “You’re done for the day. Let’s go.”

I turn my eyes back to his. “I’m here until three.”

“It’s your day off. And you’re done.”

The way he says it sinks into me and tells me not to argue, but I’m furious. I consider going with him just to give him a piece of my mind for not calling me all week.

“Got a prospect coming for your car. He’ll meet us at your place.” Gabriel doesn’t say another word, he simply nods toward the exit and turns to leave the building.

I watch as he takes a seat on his bike, no doubt in his mind that I’ll listen to him. I glance between him and Dell. The look of disappointment Dell wears is similar to the one I’d imagine my parents wearing in this scenario.

He lifts his hand in motion to the door. Silently telling me to go if I want.

Layla moves toward Dell and hugs him. “It’s nothing. We’re fine, this is a precaution. That other club is dangerous. Tell him,” she says to Ax, backhanding him in the cut.

“Of course,” Ax answers immediately. “Sorry, bro, guess we gotta do a better job of keeping that scum outta here.”

“Seems so,” Dell says, trying to sound authoritative but fails.

Layla makes her way over to me and looks out the window at Gabriel.

“I don’t know what this is with you two but you’re safe with him. Let him take you home,” she whispers as she hugs me.

She follows Ax out the door with a “text you in a bit” and I turn to face Dell one last time.

“You sure, Brinley?” he asks, and I don’t miss the double meaning of his question. Whether or not I’m okay and whether I feel safe to go with Gabriel.

I look between Dell, standing in front of me, and Gabriel through the window. One represents the life I had before—predictable, safe, boring. The other, although maddening, represents the unknown. Oddly enough, it isn’t even a choice. I grab my purse.

“See you Tuesday,” I say to Dell.

With one last glance to Layla and Ax standing by his bike I’m out the door, climbing onto the back of Gabriel’s. He hands me my helmet over his shoulder. I put it on and the anger I feel mixes with something else, something deeply satisfying as I wrap my arms around his waist and breathe him in for the first time in five days. He brings a hand down over mine and squeezes.

I’m still angry but the odd thing is I’ve never felt safer.