Chapter Five

Soul

GETTING HOME LAST night, Wheels and Brooklyn were waiting for me. They're usually sleeping by the time I get home from the club and I stay up for about an hour before heading to bed myself. As soon as I saw them, I knew something had changed between the two of them. Brooklyn was in Wheels' arms and he was holding her close as if she'll vanish from our sight in the second it takes him to blink his eyes. It took me no longer than a second to realize they'd had sex and taken their relationship to the next level. We've been waiting for her to let us know when she was ready, taking lots of cold showers and jacking off while we froze, so I'm glad to see she has taken that step. Instead of feeling jealousy toward my best friend for taking that step with Brooklyn, I was happy as fuck for the two of them. I'll get my chance to be with Brooklyn and because of the wait it will be that much sweeter. The anticipation might kill me, but she's worth waiting for and I'll wait the rest of my life if that's what it takes for her to be comfortable taking that step with me.

"We need to talk about somethin'," Wheels says as I slip my cut off and lay it over the back of the couch.

"What's goin' on?" I ask him, watching as he moves Brooklyn to the couch where she sits and holds out her hand for me to join her.

Wheels doesn't sit down as he starts pacing the living room of the cabin. Right now, Wheels looks like shit as I take in his appearance. He's wearing a pair of black sweatpants and no shirt, his short hair looks as if Brooklyn's been running her fingers through the strands, and the nervous energy rolling off of him is filling the room in waves.

"So, um, Brooklyn and I had sex tonight. It wasn't planned and she led everythin'. Nothin' happened that she wasn't okay with," Wheels rushes to say, assuring me that he didn't do anything our girl didn't want him to do. "When we got done havin' sex, I realized I wasn't thinkin' clearly and didn't use a condom with her."

Brooklyn gasps next to me as she looks up at Wheels. Fear fills her eyes and I'm not sure why she's afraid of the situation.

"What's goin' through your pretty head, Love?" I ask her as Wheels moves closer to us and crouches down in front of her, resting his hands on her legs.

"I'm not on birth control. What if that asshole gave me something? I know he'd been cheating on me for months. I don't want anything to happen to you and I need to get checked out to make sure I didn't just give you anything," she rushes out, her face paling as she looks between the two of us. I watch as tears well up in her eyes and start flowing down her cheeks, my heart breaking for her and the terror that is now wafting from her body.

"Little Warrior, I don't know why Doc hasn't told you this, but he tested you for all the sexually transmitted diseases when we first brought you here. You're good. Bennett didn't give you anythin' by cheatin' on you. You're not gonna give either one of us anythin' either. And I really don't give a fuck if you're on birth control or not, Brooklyn. If you get pregnant, I won't be mad about it. I want it all with you. We want it all with you. Kids, marriage, you bein' our ol' lady, everythin' you're willin' to give us," Wheels states, his voice full of determination and honesty as Brooklyn looks between the two of us.

"I-I-I don't know if I'm ready for kids. That jerk always told me he'd leave me if I got pregnant. Even if we were married, he'd leave me. I don't want to lose either one of you because I'm pregnant," Brooklyn says, her voice a whisper and her eyes averted to the floor between Wheels and herself.

"Love, I don't know what the hell is wrong with that douche canoe. If you get pregnant, you can guarantee that Wheels and I aren't goin' anywhere. You won't ever get rid of us. We'll be all over you and will follow you anywhere you choose to go in this world. Wheels and I love kids and want as many with you as you'll give us," I tell her as I place my hand on her thigh, above where Wheels has his hand resting.

"You won't leave me if I get pregnant?" she questions us, looking between the two of us with confusion in her eyes.

"No, Love. We will be there every step of the process and go to every doctor's appointment with you. We'll be in the delivery room with you tellin' you how strong and amazin' you are. I don't care if you give us a little girl who looks exactly like you and can overcome every challenge thrown in front of her or a little boy who will cause so much chaos in the world you'll never want to have another child with us," I promise Brooklyn, leaning in and stopping with my lips mere millimeters from hers.

I will not kiss Brooklyn without her permission. Even though she's taken that step with Wheels, it doesn't mean she's ready to take it with me and I will not force her into anything she doesn't want to do. Yes, we keep saying that because it's the truth. Every single day we will show her that we're not Bennett and that it truly is up to her what happens to her and what she does.

Brooklyn doesn't make me wait. She eliminates the space between our lips and kisses me. Expecting the hesitation and lack of self-confidence I'm used to seeing from our girl, Brooklyn surprises me by deepening the kiss in seconds as she rests one of her hands on my chest and I place one of my hands on the side of her neck. I can feel her pulse beating out of control as I tilt my head the slightest bit, making it easier for her to kiss me the way she wants. Brooklyn explores my mouth and takes her time as I remain an active participant but let her lead us.

"Fuck," Wheels says under his breath when we finally break apart. "That was hot as hell. Our girl is a great kisser."

"Yeah, she is," I return as Brooklyn blushes and dips her head in embarrassment. "Now, why don't you two get to bed. It's late. I'll be headin' there myself in a few minutes."

"Would you two sleep with me tonight?" Brooklyn shyly asks us, twisting her hands in her lap.

"Of course, Little Warrior," Wheels says, standing from the crouch he was in and holding out his hand for her to take.

"I'll join you in a little bit. I just need to unwind after bein' at work the last several hours. I can't wait until you return, Love," I assure Brooklyn when she looks down at me with questions in her eyes.

"It won't be long, Soul. I see Doc again tomorrow and I'm hopin' he'll clear me to return to work," Brooklyn reminds me as I stand from the couch and lean in to press a chaste kiss against her lips.

I watch as my best friend and our girl leave the living room to head toward the bedrooms of the cabin. When they're out of sight, I head to the kitchen to grab something to eat, get a drink, and sit on the couch without the TV on. Eating the reheated burgers, fries, and asparagus they had for dinner, I enjoy my beer before walking through to make sure the cabin is locked up tight and the alarm is on. With nothing more to do, I head for the bedroom and strip down to my boxers before sliding into bed with Brooklyn and Wheels.

Brooklyn seems to be wide awake when I crawl into bed with them. Wheels is on his side, his arm draped loosely over her stomach as she turns to face me. Without a word, she slides her hand down my chest until she gets to the top of my boxers. Here she hesitates so I lower my hands and slide my boxers down my legs until I can kick them off all the way. Brooklyn takes it for the sign it is and wraps her small hand around my length. I gasp and let her stroke my cock until I can't stand it any longer. When I push her hand away, Brooklyn pushes me on my back and climbs on top of me, letting me see that she's not wearing anything under Wheels' shirt. I let her have control as she lines up my cock and slides her hot, wet pussy down my length. Wheels doesn't move as Brooklyn and I have our time together. All fucking night long Wheels and I worship Brooklyn and show her how men treat their woman.

Two nights ago was fucking amazing. Brooklyn took a major step in her journey of recovery and I feel closer to her than I thought possible. Wheels and I can't keep our hands off of her now that she's let us in as we seem to always be touching her in one way or another. At night when we go to bed or when we first wake up, one of us is always buried deep in our girl. Eventually we'll get her worked up to the point where she'll take both of us at one time. That's something to look forward to and not something we're going to rush just because it's what we're used to. When our girl is ready, she'll let us know since she's finding her voice and learning that it's okay to voice her opinion and tell us what she wants or needs.

Tonight, we're back at work. I drove the SUV in even though I had to get there early and my girl came with me. She wants to use the time to restock the bar, clean the tables, and make sure everything is ready to go for the night. It's not her responsibility, but she feels horrible that she hasn't been allowed to work since the day she got that note left on the SUV. I'm not going to stop her from doing what she wants to do though. We're slowly finding Brooklyn has a temper and when she's pissed, no one's happy. Well, Nanny is because she loves seeing Wheels and I on Brooklyn's shit list. I happen to hate being on her bad side and go out of my way to avoid that shit. I think the reason Nanny's so happy about it is Brooklyn was so meek when she first arrived, because she'd been taught that she was less than, so she protected herself. Now that she's coming into her own, she's not afraid of speaking out, and I for one am ecstatic.

Once the doors of Soul Escape opened, there wasn't time to check in with Brooklyn to make sure she didn't have a headache or anything else going on as she moved around the room. Fetch worked behind the bar with me because Misty had to leave. Her morning sickness is out of control and her husband is very worried about her. I'm worried about her. Misty's a good person and she needs to get this under control so nothing happens to the baby or her. So, I sent her home and talked to her husband about taking her to the hospital to make sure everything is okay. He's in full agreement and promised he'd do whatever it takes to get her to the hospital. I hope it's nothing serious and they can give her medicine or something to help with the situation.

By the time we're ready to close for the night, exhaustion threatens to overwhelm me. I can't remember a time when I've been so tired in all my life. Even when we were overseas, up for hours at a time, I don't remember it being this bad. Right now I feel as if every inch of me is ready to shut down while needing to sleep for the next week. I hope I'm not getting sick and it's just the stress of what Brooklyn's been going through and nothing more than that.

"Soul, are you ready to head out?" Brooklyn asks me as I finish putting the deposit in the bag to take to my office with the drawer for tomorrow night.

"Yeah. I wanna run out and check the SUV before we leave here though. Somethin' in my gut is tellin' me we need to stay here until I can look at it. I don't know as much as Wheels when it comes to vehicles, but I know enough to ensure we're safe when we head to the compound," I inform her as Brooklyn nods in response.

She's quickly learned that when one of us have a gut feeling it's best to listen to it and not push it away as nothing more than being paranoid. We all learned that shit in the military and are still alive because we never ignore any kind of feeling we get for any reason. Country is still here and Theo is sitting at one of the tables Brooklyn already cleaned as I grab the money and drawer to head back to my office where the safe is located. After securing everything and making sure the safe is locked, Country follows me outside, leaving Theo and Simon inside the night club with my girl.

Getting down on my knees, I look under the SUV with Country on the opposite side of me.

"Fuck!" I growl out when I see a puddle under the vehicle. "You seein' this shit, Country?"

"I am. Someone cut her fuckin' brake lines. I'm not sure if you can see it from your side, but I can from mine. This isn't a line wearin' out or anythin' else. There's a clean slice in the line straight through. If you guys left in this, you'd have no brakes. I know you understand how to safely stop, but if Brooklyn was alone, she'd have no clue how to stop or slow down without gettin' in an accident. This was done on purpose, Soul," Country states as we both push off the ground and stand next to the SUV.

"This is fuckin' bullshit! When the fuck is he gonna get the hint that we're not gonna let him get away with hurtin' Brooklyn any longer? Doesn't he understand what a restrainin' order means?" I growl out, my voice hard and cold as Country places a hand on my shoulder to get me to calm down just a little bit.

"Let's see what the security footage shows. You watch the recordin' while I call Anguish and fill him in on what we've found. We're gonna need someone to come over and grab the two of you. I'll call Wheels to fill him in on the situation as well. He'll be here quicker than shit to check on both of you," Country states, taking the lead while I let the anger and rage consume me while we remain outside and away from Brooklyn.

I yell into the empty parking lot since I'm away from the compound and the sparring ring. Right now I could use a good fight with Hulk or Goliath with the way I'm feeling. They'll knock the anger right out of me after a good training session and won't allow me to sink in despair or let the fire burning me from the inside out rage out of control. I've never had to struggle with this feeling of rage like this before and I know it's because of Brooklyn. I don't give a fuck if it's too soon or not, I've fallen in love with this woman and will do whatever it takes to protect her for the rest of my life.

Country pulls me inside and we head for my office where the security system is set up. I press a few buttons until I'm where I pull into the back parking lot and help Brooklyn out as we head inside the club. I watch as everyone else pulls in and parks before making their way inside to get ready for work. Speeding up the video, I watch Misty leave and don't see anything else as I slowly fast forward through the video. Finally, I see a man dressed in black from head to toe walk out of the woods behind the parking lot. There's no way I can get a clear image of his face because he's got a hood pulled down low over his face. This is someone who knows what the fuck they're doing and I won't catch him because he's made some kind of mistake.

"I've got it," I tell Country as he joins me while talking to Wheels.

Together we watch as this fucker gets down on the ground and reaches under the SUV. He remains down there for a few minutes before getting back up, looking around the parking lot to make sure no one's seen him, and then disappears in the woods again as if he was never there. If I weren't so pissed, I'd honestly be impressed with the stealth he used to accomplish his goal of trying to hurt my woman.

We're all back at the compound. Fee, Cricket, and Nanny are sitting with Brooklyn in the common room. Fee came to pick us up while Scorch stayed home with the kids. I'm honestly surprised he let her go out on her own, but Fee is crazy when she gets an idea in her head and Scorch tries to prevent her from completing it. The rest of us are sitting in our meeting room to go over all this shit happening with our girl.

"Everyone calm the fuck down!" Anguish bursts out, his voice echoing off the walls in the room as we all stop our various conversations of outrage to look at our President. "This shit needs to be taken care of. Soul, what the fuck happened tonight?"

"We were gettin' ready to head out and I just had this overwhelmin' feelin' in my gut that I needed to check the SUV over. As Country and I walked out, the first thing I looked for was a note under the wiper like before. There wasn't anythin' there. Country and I took opposite sides of the SUV and got down to look under it. It was easy to see the puddle under her brake line. Country took me back to the office where he called you and Wheels while I watched the security footage. Nothin' happens for the longest time. Suddenly a man walked out of the woods behind the parkin' lot and went straight to the SUV. He was down on the ground for a few minutes before he got back up, looked around for a minute, and then disappeared into the woods once again. I'm thinkin' this asshole has some kind of military trainin'. He was too smooth to be some random guy hired to do a job. There was a level of stealth involved I've only ever seen from other men who've been in the service," I answer Anguish as Wheels tenses in his seat next to me.

"No clue who he was?" Scorch questions me as he stares from his seat at the table.

"None. He wore black clothin' and had a hood pulled down over his face so no one can make out any details of his face. Even with multiple angles, we're not gonna see an inch of his face he doesn't want exposed," I inform Scorch and everyone else around the table while keeping my eyes locked on Wheels at my side.

My best friend is going to explode and when he does, no one will be able to contain him. Wheels doesn't typically hold his anger in and that's all he's been doing lately, since that fucking note showed up. Even with his time in the ring, he's still brimming with rage. So, when he eventually explodes, the destruction is going to be catastrophic.

"Hulk, what the fuck have you been able to dig up on the family?" Anguish asks, his voice showing how exhausted he is since it's so late at night and he's been up all day long already.

"Bennett Conklin is the fucker after Brooklyn. He's an entitled prick who gets away with anythin' he does because Daddy's a politician and is constantly bailin' him out of every illegal thing he does. His dad is a piece of shit and most likely where Bennett learned all the shit he's been pullin' for years. The dad likes to misuse the funds that are supposedly for his election campaigns and other shit since he's been in office. He's also got a real problem when it comes to drugs and payin' for prostitutes. Every fuckin' day he's visitin' his dealer and pimp for the next hook-up and fix he's desperate for.

"The prostitutes don't like goin' to see him these days. Word has spread that he likes it really fuckin' rough. While havin' sex, he beats the fuck out of the girls and there isn't a single day where his wife isn't sportin' a new bruise somewhere on her body. He's also got a well-known judge in his pocket so anytime someone brings up charges against him, it never sees the light of day because the judge has cops on his payroll. There's an entire fuckin' group of fuckers who all help one another. Money is constantly changin' hands and other favors are granted on a daily basis. It's fuckin' sick.

"Bennett also has multiple restrainin' orders against him. Well, he did have multiple ones placed against him. Within days of the order bein' served, it's bein' rescinded by the victim. From what I can find, money is always deposited into the accounts of the women and then they disappear. No, they're not killed, but they leave town and are never heard from again. Brooklyn's the only one who isn't backin' down when it comes to the restrainin' order and I'm guessin' it's because Bennett hasn't been able to get to her yet. Her old bank account hasn't had any money deposited in it either. What I do know is that her parents are still in Odin's Gap and layin' low because they know their meal ticket is about to dry up with Bennett not comin' around. Bennett does little more than checkin' in to see if they've heard from their daughter before ignorin' them once again," Hulk informs us as he shuffles papers around in a folder resting on the table in front of him.

"Keep diggin'. I want Brooklyn watched like a fuckin' hawk from now on. We've already got Theo and Fetch on her. When she leaves this compound, I want more men on her. As many as we can get until this shit is dealt with. If she goes to work or the store somewhere, I want at least two guys outside with the SUV at all times. Anyone gets close, you fuckin' beat the hell out of them," Anguish orders us all as we listen to him. "Wheels, your job right now is to be there for Soul and Brooklyn. Don't come to the shop and go to the club with them each night she works. That's to be your only focus right now. The rest of you keep an eye open for this stupid fuck when you're ridin' around town. If anythin' else comes up, get with me immediately. For now, get the hell out of here and we'll see what's goin' on in a few days."

Anguish slams the gavel down on the table in front of him as we all stand and leave the room. Wheels is on a mission as he races from the room. I follow behind him, stopping long enough to grab our phones and weapons from Fetch. By the time I get to the common room, Wheels has Brooklyn in his arms and is holding her close while the ol' ladies and Nanny watch them with smiles on their faces. Getting up to them, Wheels sets Brooklyn back down on her feet and we leave the clubhouse to head to the cabin. Brooklyn is holding both of our hands and doesn't let us go as we remain silent. The rest of our night is spent in bed with Wheels and I just holding our girl between us.