Chapter 25

25

GENESIS

T he party's still going on downstairs, even though Havoc disappeared hours ago. We bailed too and have spent the last few hours in bed. Amity passed out on me thirty minutes ago, after riding my face.

I ease myself out of bed, careful not to wake her, and head to the bathroom to wash my face and brush my teeth, but I can still faintly taste her when I lick my lips. It's three a.m., and I'm wide awake. I have to be up in a couple hours to check how tight a client's security is before heading back to set later, so I figure there's no better time to get it done than now.

I pull on a pair of jeans and my boots, a long-sleeved Henley, and my cut before grabbing my cell phone and gun. I head to my office so I don't disturb Amity.

It seems like the party is finally dying down as I pass a few brothers heading to their rooms. I open the door to my office and settle down in front of my computer. I log in and start working when my cell phone dings. I frown as I check my phone and see a message from Monica. I open it and curse.

I'm scared. It feels like someone's watching me. Someone keeps knocking on my door, but when I look, there is nobody there.

I text the prospect who's on her tonight, but don't get an answer. I give it a few minutes and try again, but still no reply. I call him, but when it goes straight to voicemail, I have no choice but to ride out and check it out myself, especially if there's a chance the prospect is hurt.

I get up and head into the main area. I look around to see who's still here. I spot Hannibal first. He's in the corner watching Kiki dance.

I walk over to him. "You drink tonight?" He doesn't usually drink much, but with Havoc out and here, he might've made an exception.

"Had a beer earlier, switched to water hours ago. What do you need?"

"Got a text from Monica. She's spooked, and I can't get hold of Hoops. I'm gonna ride over there, but I don't know what I'm walking into."

"I'll ride out with you." He stands up, shooing Kiki away as he grabs his phone from the table and shoves it into his pocket.

I head out with him on my heels, glad I left my keys in my pocket earlier. We don't say anything as we get to our bikes and put on our helmets. What I like about Hannibal is that he doesn't feel the need to make small talk to fill the silence.

The roads are quiet, so it only takes us thirty minutes to get to the hotel. When I pull in, I see Hoops' bike but no Hoops. I signal for Hannibal to go around the building from the left while I take the right. He pulls out his gun and nods. I pull my own gun and head in the opposite direction.

I'm on the far side when I see someone moving behind the bushes. "Hands where I can see them, motherfucker, or I'll shoot your fucking dick off."

"G? That you?"

"What the fuck, Hoops? You don't answer your fucking phone anymore?" I snarl as I stomp over to him just as Hannibal rounds the corner.

"It died. I was on bar duty at the party and forgot to check it. I wasn't about to leave my post to find somewhere to charge it."

I sigh and put my gun away. We need a few more prospects, especially now that Hicks is gone. Hoops and Dice are pulling double shifts on everything. Even though prospecting's supposed to be hard, it shouldn't stretch them so thin that they make rookie mistakes like this.

"What are you doing over here anyway?"

"Heard banging. Came to check it out. Found the trash cans knocked over." He points to the two trash cans lying on the ground like someone knocked them over in a hurry to get away.

"You see anything or anyone?"

"No, nothing. Why?"

"Monica texted me. She's spooked."

"Shit, why didn't she signal me from the window?" he asks, irritated.

"Maybe she was worried someone else out here would see her," Hannibal suggests.

"Either way, I need to check on her. Go back to your post, Hoops."

I head up the stairs to the top floor and look for the right room. When I find it, I thump on the door, feeling Hannibal behind me. "Open up, Monica. It's me, G."

A few seconds later, the door swings open, and a barely dressed Monica throws herself into my arms. I keep my hands off her and glance over at Hannibal, who's smirking at me. Asshole.

"Let's go inside, okay?"

She pulls back but still grips my arm. Her eyes flick to Hannibal, and she visibly shies away from him. "Please, come in." She drags me inside, making Hannibal chuckle quietly as he closes the door behind us.

"Why don't you take a seat and tell us what happened?"

She walks over to the mini fridge and pulls out a dozen small bottles of alcohol. "You want one?"

"No, I don't drink and ride."

Hannibal shakes his head, but I don't miss the way he's checking her out. Not that I can blame him, not when she's wearing a tiny nightie. I might be taken, but I'm not blind.

She twists the cap off one of the bottles and downs it, tossing the empty bottle onto the bed before crossing her arms under her tits, pushing them up, drawing our attention to the fact that she's not wearing a bra.

"I'm sorry if Amity's mad that I dragged you out of bed."

She says the words, but I'm pretty sure she's not sorry at all. She might be terrified of her stalker, but I have no doubt she's using the situation to her advantage.

"What happened?" I ask, ignoring her apology.

"It's like I said in my text. I swear I feel like I'm being watched. I don't know if it's my imagination or if I'm just being paranoid. Then there was knocking on the door, but when I looked through the peephole, there was nobody there. It happened three times. I didn't know if it was a kid or if someone was trying to lure me outside. I didn't know what else to do or who to call."

"There's a prospect downstairs," I remind her gently.

She shakes her head. "I looked, but couldn't see him."

I groan. "Something knocked over the trash cans, and he went to investigate, but there was nobody there. Probably an animal or something."

"Yeah, probably," she whispers.

"Why don't you try and get some sleep?"

She shakes her head. "I won't be able to sleep now. Every time I close my eyes, I picture someone sneaking in here and choking me to death while I sleep."

I look at Hannibal, who shrugs.

"Hannibal can stay."

Hannibal glares at me, but I ignore him.

"No offense, Mr. Hannibal, but I don't know you. Can you stay, Genesis? You're the only one I really feel safe with."

I grit my teeth, wondering how the fuck I end up in these situations. If she thinks this is going to end with me in her bed, she's sadly mistaken. I wouldn't risk what I have with Amity for a quick fuck with her.

"We'll both stay. Go to sleep. Me and Hannibal will be here keeping an eye out."

She hesitates, like she wants to say more, but thankfully doesn't. She just nods and turns to pick up the alcohol bottles off the bed.

Looking around the room, the only other place to sit besides the bed is an ugly sofa that looks as comfortable as a pile of bricks. So, I settle on the floor at the foot of the bed, and Hannibal drops down beside me.

"You think the stalker guy was here?" he murmurs as Monica moves around the room.

"I don't know. It's possible. If I had my laptop, I'd see if I could hack into the camera feed, but it'll have to wait until I get home."

He looks at his watch, leans back, and closes his eyes as Monica climbs into bed.

"Genesis, can you turn the light off, please?"

With a sigh, I get up and walk over to the light switch. I turn to make sure she's ready and look away quickly when I see, by the way she's laying, that she's not wearing any underwear.

I flick off the light and head back over to my spot on the floor. I sink down next to Hannibal and close my eyes. I might as well catch a few hours of sleep now because something tells me it's going to be a long fucking day.

Hannibal has Monica on the back of his bike as we ride to the set when he signals that he needs to pull over.

We pull in at a small rest stop, and I watch as he gets off his bike and starts pacing, glancing at Monica as she struggles to keep the bike balanced. She's wearing a pair of short shorts and a white tank top with snaps between her boobs that are open enough to show a lot of cleavage. The outfit's not suitable for riding, but she threw a shit fit when we asked her to change.

We let it go. I don't argue with women I'm not friends with or fucking. I'm not her father or her keeper, so if she wants to take the risk, that's on her. Though if Hannibal goes down and she ends up with road rash all over her bare legs, she might understand why we told her to change.

"Fuck, are you sure?" Hannibal yells, catching my attention. "I'll be there as soon as I can."

He glances at Monica, then turns and walks over to me, his expression serious. "I've gotta go. It's an emergency. You know I wouldn't bail otherwise."

"You okay?"

"Yes. No. I don't fucking know. I can't talk about it now. I've gotta go. Monica, you need to get off my bike."

He walks over and steadies the bike as he helps her off. She hurries over to me with a smile on her face as she gets on behind me, her hands sliding around to my stomach. I grit my teeth so hard I hear them crack.

"I'll explain everything to Amity," Hannibal promises before getting on his bike and speeding off, leaving me to wonder what the fuck's going on. Nothing ever rattles Hannibal, but whatever that phone call was about did.

"What's Amity got to do with this?" Monica asks with a huff.

"She's my woman, which means she's the only one who rides behind me on my bike."

"It's just a ride. It doesn't mean anything. Besides, this isn't the first time."

I close my eyes briefly because she's wrong. No matter how I spin it, Amity's gonna be pissed. But I can't leave her on the side of the road, not with her stalker lurking around. I don't say anything else and head to the studio, knowing the sooner I get there, the sooner I can put some distance between us.

Thankfully, she doesn't try anything stupid, maybe sensing that she's pushed me to my limits. When I park and climb off, I take a deep breath like I'd been holding it the whole time she was behind me.

"Thanks, Genesis." She pulls off the helmet and hands it to me. I keep it for Amity, but knowing I just broke my promise, the thought of Monica wearing it turns my stomach.

"Keep it in your trailer in case you need it." The prospects usually bring one, but if she has one of her own, that's even better. I'll pick Amity up a new one on the way home.

"Monica. Good, you're here," Stefan calls, waving her over. She walks off, cradling the helmet.

I blow out a relieved breath and turn just as Amity's RV pulls in. I check my watch and frown, knowing she's not due on set for a while. I wait for her to park before walking over. As soon as my girl opens the door and jumps down, I'm right there, pulling her into my arms. I kiss her hard, pinning her against the side of the RV until we're both breathless.

"Wow, that's some greeting. It was almost enough to make me forgive you for disappearing on me this morning. I thought we were riding in together?"

"We were, but something came up. Why are you here so early?"

"Stefan called. He needs me to reshoot something. I texted you when I couldn't find you. I was worried."

I pull out my phone and see it's still on Do Not Disturb. "Shit, I'm sorry. If it makes you feel any better, all I wanted was to be with you."

"I mean, it helps," she teases as I grab her hand. "Where were you, anyway?"

"Club business," I answer automatically, just as Monica calls my name.

We both look at her, and Amity freezes, her eyes dropping to the helmet in her hand.

Ah, fuck.

"Just wanted to let you know that I'm heading to hair and makeup."

I nod and mutter an okay as she walks away.

Amity turns slowly to look at me, not bothering to hide the hurt on her face. "You promised."