Chapter 13

CHAPTER

THIRTEEN

NATASHA

I'd had fun at the Road, watching Pike's friends giving him shit. I mostly enjoyed watching this new dynamic we'd had while out in public. I wanted to ask Pike what it meant, this possessiveness that he was exhibiting, but I felt like it was too new. It seemed silly to call him a boyfriend. Were we going steady? I giggled to myself as I stepped into the kitchen.

The lights were off, and the appliances were giving off that otherworldly glow of blue/green that hung over the glass and the tile. It was that time of night when I wasn't sure I was hungry, but I wasn't sure I could sleep without eating a small piece of cheese or having a few crackers. I'd been reading for the last half-hour and finally was sleepy enough to drift off. Pike dropped me off about an hour ago but had to take care of things at the Pit.

I was pondering Pike when I saw something shift out in the dark. My heart leaped in my chest, fear making my muscles tighten. The lights flickered outside, casting the desert with a yellow glow. Cactus and agave plants dotted the landscape on this side of the house. Belatedly, I wondered if I should alert the guards, call out to Enzo or Luca, or even wake Ronnie. That was silly, though—right? There was probably nothing: a coyote or something.

I pressed my hand to the glass, my handprint sweaty and damp, and my breath came in my pants as I tried to calm myself. I watched the lights flickering on and off. My other hand gripped my phone tightly, and I thought again about calling for help. I reasoned there wasn't any reason to bother them if I imagined things.

Bam! Something hit the window so hard it rattled. I shrieked.

Startling, I pulled back. The area where my palm print used to be was now splattered with red, blood dripping down as a small carcass slid along the glass.

"What the hell?" This was like some goddamn horror movie. The next thing would be some asshole in a Jason mask popping up.

Panicking, I dialed Enzo frantically. "Come on, come on."

"Nat?" His voice came online with a snap. I never called him. Ever.

"I'm in the kitchen. I need you here at the slider. Now." I clicked off, unable to take my eyes off the smear even though I'd backed myself against the counter as my hand searched for a knife, a weapon of some kind. I could hear Enzo thundering forward, his footsteps nearly sliding against the wood as he ran.

"Nat!" he shouted. "Nat!"

"I'm here," I called out, pointing stupidly to the slider glass. He couldn't miss the mess, so I wasn't even sure why I was bothering to point. I let my hand fall to my side.

"What the fuck?" Enzo came to a stop beside me, his gun out as he stared dumbfounded. "Are you hurt?"

"No. I'm ok." I wanted to turn from the glass and look for a knife or something to hold onto, just in case, but instead, I edged closer to Enzo, who was solid and real, without taking my eyes off the glass or the yard. I didn't want to be caught unaware. "I thought I saw someone outside, and when I got close, the lights flickered. I should have called right away instead of just standing there." I hesitated, not wanting to overdramatize the situation. "I didn't actually see anyone." Suddenly, I felt stupid and had to remind myself that someone was there. Someone had to have thrown that shit at the window.

"Obviously, you weren't wrong. Someone was out there." That made me feel better that he didn't scold me for not phoning immediately. "Can you call Luca? I don't want to leave you guys in the house alone." He frowned at the glass and then at his phone. "The perimeter alarms don't show a breach. That's weird. They should have lit up if anyone stepped foot within a mile of here. Fuck."

I reluctantly took my eyes off the glass, pushed through a text, and then waited for an answer. I looked up from my phone to Enzo, who waited, his body lines hard and angry. "Luca is downstairs with Ronnie. He'll be here in a minute."

"Oh, good." Engo looked relieved. "I was going to have him go and get her so you'd be together before one of us goes outside."

Ronnie appeared at the top of the stairs, looking disgruntled, still looking like a mole person. I hadn't talked to her since earlier, and the thought suddenly occurred to me that this might all be connected to our conversation. Right? Luca was hot on her heels.

"This one," Luca jabbed a finger at her, annoyed. "Has something to share."

"I told you about people near the house. That should be enough. There was no way they were getting inside," Ronnie retorted with an unrepentant smirk. "Stop being a bully."

"Ronnie, this isn't the time," I bit out, unable to stop myself even as I knew it wouldn't help the situation. "Did you see who it was?" I sighed. Ronnie was difficult sometimes, and when you forced her to do something, she was an actual brat. It came from getting her way all the time when she was sick. She got catered to a lot.

"No." She closed her lips and crossed her arms, a clear sign that she wouldn't be saying more.

"What's this? Someone threw a dead animal at the window?" Luca wrinkled his nose as he walked forward and examined the remains against the foot of the glass outside. "Huh. Not sure what the purpose of that is."

"To harass someone, I guess. Scare them?" Ronnie suggested with a shrug.

"You know. If you have information …"

"I don't," Ronnie said mulishly.

"Can we deal with that shit later? Luca, stay here. I'm going to go see if I can find anything," Enzo grumbled, seemingly done with whatever was happening with Ronnie.

"Sure, but she's going to need to come clean," Luca said again, scowling.

"Yeah, yeah, mudak . Later. Fucking can it. Just pay attention."

Ronnie sighed and went to the fridge, pulling out the milk and chocolate syrup. Working in concert, I pulled out the ice cream and the blender—late nights called for milkshakes or cocktails. I preferred a cocktail, but I could be flexible. I had been jonesing for a snack earlier, so this would have to do.

"You spotted something on the cameras?" I asked, trying to keep my voice even.

"Barely," she answered, the roar of the blender drowning her out. "Just two shadows, and then the lights flickered." Her eyes darted to me. "I knew you were in the kitchen," she hesitated. "There have been some security breaks the last few days. Things left down on the patio." The confession was under her breath, but Luca's eyes were hawk-like on her, narrowed and intense. What the hell? Things left on the patio? She hadn't said anything to us about things being left on the patio.

"What kind of things?"

"Things that shouldn't be there. That weren't there before." That was no help to me and gave no information—typically cryptic of her. I sighed and tried to hide my frustration. Her mischievous smile indicated she knew I was irritated and didn't care.

"But was it the same gap in security as this? Were these people working together?" I tried not to allow anger to tinge my voice and didn't think I succeeded.

"No, definitely not working together. When Pike talked about Eli and Victor tonight, it made complete sense to me. It explained something that has been showing up in the video…" Her eyes darted to me as she hesitated momentarily and slopped out her milkshake. I could hear Luca scoffing in the background, but I focused on my sister. Something was up. Ronnie had never been a good liar, even as a little girl. It hadn't mattered if it was something big or small.

"The things left for me weren't malicious like this." The clarification hung there. If I were being honest, this seemed like a step beyond — towards evil. I wanted to press her for an answer about all the things that she was leaving unsaid and what the actual fuck she was not talking about, but I didn't. It was making me exhausted.

"I didn't have time to go over the system to find a weak point, but the lights were affected this time," she continued as if I was over here fighting not to shake her. She was acting like there wasn't some psycho outside. Oh, wait, two psychos outside throwing dead animals at our windows and leaving her some creepy presents?

"I've notified Dimitri," Luca said abruptly, shoving his phone in his pocket and glaring at Ronnie. Whatever went on, he was not happy at all with her.

I groaned. That wasn't good at all. Even Ronnie's mood finally shifted at that news. Typing furiously, I tapped a message for Pike.

Me: someone threw something @ window. im fine

Pike: u alright

Me: ??

Pike: omw

Fuck. Well, that wasn't necessary, but there wasn't any point in telling him not to come. He wouldn't appreciate it, first of all, and there was no way he wouldn't want to see this shit show himself.

Pretty soon, we'd end up with both MCs here, and Max would be flying his ass back. There would be two MCs and a Bratva alpha-hole—a whole circus. Pouring myself a tall frosty glass of milkshake, I turned away from the slider, ignoring the situation, and trusted that it'd be fine.

"You didn't have to be such a tattle-tale Luca," Ronnie said with a pout, slumping into one of the low benches at the dining table and pulling her legs up under her, making herself look even smaller in the oversized t-shirt she was wearing.

"Whatever," Luca retorted as if he couldn't care less that Ronnie was pissed off at him, even though we all knew that Luca had a real weakness for my sister. He'd been assigned to be her guard years ago when she was sick, and he'd seen her through many phases of life. No way would he let her get hurt by some sicko.

A few minutes later, Enzo trekked back into the kitchen and mumbled to Luca in Russian, cutting his eyes back and forth to the outside and then back to us. He'd shed his suit jacket and rolled up his sleeves. Sweat gleamed on his skin, either from the heat or because he'd taken an actual run around the property.

"Well?" I finally snapped, impatient, after Enzo drank a glass of water. "What did you see? Obviously, you didn't catch anyone."

" Nyet , no. We weren't that lucky. I just did a fast lap, but Dimitri will bring men to rerun the perimeter." He breathed deeply, sighing as he looked outside thoughtfully. Enzo was competent at his job and quick to think of solutions. I'd never been in danger before, but I had always known Enzo was there to protect me. "Some areas of the grounds were disturbed, but I couldn't find anyone on the immediate grounds. It could be a trap to lure me away and leave the house with only Luca to guard it." Enzo ran over his thoughts aloud, and I appreciated it because it let me understand the reasoning. Luca repeated something to him in Russian, and there was the ‘nyet' again.

"I need my computer." Ronnie got up from the bench, stretching as if bored beyond her imagination. She'd polished off the milkshake and pulled herself to her full height of just over five feet nothing. Luca held up a hand, a muscle in his jaw ticking.

"I'll get it for you. Or I'll escort you down to pick it up. Until we reestablish security, you will not be going anywhere alone."

"Sure, big guy. You can go get it for me." Ronnie arranged herself back on the bench while waiting until Luca returned with her laptop, which he handed over to her with another frown.

I was going to address the elephant in the room when the roar and thunder of motorcycles outside announced the obvious and had Luca and Enzo going to the door. The driveway was teeming with motorcycles, Iron Brotherhood, and Cobra cuts, but my eyes were on Pike.

Pike moved through the door with purpose, his eyes locking on mine when he stepped inside. The tension in the room shifted, coiling tighter as he assessed the situation. He didn't ask questions, and he didn't need to. He took one look at me, then at the bloody mess on the glass, and I could see the anger simmering beneath the surface.

Without breaking stride, he crossed the room and embraced me firmly, his hand cradling the back of my head. "You okay?" His voice was a low rumble, barely restrained.

I nodded against his chest, taking in the scent of leather and his familiar, grounding presence. "I'm fine, just freaked out."

"Damn right you are," he muttered, pulling back to search my face. His thumb brushed my cheek, and I saw the hard edge of his concern softening slightly. "We'll figure this out."

Behind him, the room filled with boots and hushed conversations as more bikers filed in, each radiating the same intensity as Pike. Dimitri, looking every bit the dangerous Bratva leader he was, followed behind, his gaze flicking between us before settling on Enzo.

"This just happened?" Dimitri asked, his voice cold and controlled.

Enzo nodded, stepping forward. "Yeah, just a few minutes ago. I did a sweep, but nothing. Someone was out there, though. No doubt about that."

Pike's jaw clenched as he turned to the window, his hand resting protectively on my back. "They're playing games."

Dimitri's expression darkened as he exchanged a glance with Enzo. "We'll tighten security and have the guys run another sweep to see if they can find anything. Whoever's doing this will regret it."I could see Maddox speaking to the Brotherhood and Cross in hushed voices, coordinating as they sent foot soldiers into the darkness.

Sitting quietly at the table, Ronnie finally spoke up, her voice almost nonchalant. "There's been a pattern. Two people are coming near the house. I've been tracking them. One has been leaving things on the patio for days. Then, this person has been skirting our system for days, checking the grounds and the perimeter. He's been careful not to be seen. Both have just been shadows, though. I've not been able to get any clear images of either of them."

All eyes turned to her, and I saw the brief flash of guilt in her eyes before she masked it. Pike's gaze narrowed, and he stepped toward her, his protective instinct on high alert. "Why the hell didn't you say anything sooner?"

Ronnie shrugged, trying to appear indifferent, but I could tell she was rattled. "The stuff at my door didn't seem like a big deal. Just weird things... until tonight. "Then, when Pike talked about his brother and this Victor guy. It was all coming together. I was just trying to figure some things out. Look for some clearer evidence before I came to you guys," she said sheepishly.

"Ronnie," Dimitri's voice was a low warning, and she flinched slightly. "For fuck sake. You should have reported this immediately. We're not playing around here."

"That's enough." I stepped forward towards Ronnie, who had shrunk under his scolding.

"I know, I know," she muttered, looking away.

Pike ran a hand through his hair, exhaling sharply. "We can't afford to underestimate this. Whoever this is was trying to send a message."

Dimitri nodded in agreement, his expression hardening. "We need to find out who's behind this and why. Pike, we'll all work together on this. No one slips through the cracks."

"Agreed." Pike's voice was steely, and I could see the determination in his eyes. He wasn't going to let this go unanswered.

As plans were discussed and orders were given, I felt the weight of the situation settling in. This wasn't just a random act of vandalism; it was something more sinister, something targeted.

Pike turned back to me, his expression softening once more. "You're not staying alone here tonight." I opened my mouth to protest, but he shook his head. "No arguments, Nat. You can either come with me, or I'll stay here."

I sighed, knowing he was right. The sense of safety I once felt in this house was gone, replaced by an uneasy tension that I couldn't ignore. "Okay."

Pike nodded, satisfied with my answer. "Good."

As we headed toward the stairs, I glanced back at Ronnie, who was now engrossed in her laptop. Luca was standing close by, his protective gaze never leaving her. Dimitri hovered over his computer, probably attempting to secure the network. If the security system hadn't triggered a warning that there was an intruder, then that was bad, right? There was more to this story, more Ronnie wasn't telling us, but that would have to wait.

For now, I would enjoy the fact that Pike was here in my house. I wanted someone to hold me and tell me it'd be alright. Ideally, I'd have him take me away from here, but I couldn't just leave my sister to deal with this shit.