Chapter 29

Gwen

”Static and I are dating.”

The happy squeals and shouts made me smile as everyone tried to hug me all at once. We were sitting in the common area of the clubhouse the next morning, just us girls.

”I knew it!” Jordan said, her eyes sparkling. She elbowed Daisha. ”I”m getting good at guessing when this happens. Didn”t I call it three days ago?”

”I”m surprised it took you that long to suspect,” I told her with a laugh.

”Well, I had my suspicions earlier,” she admitted, giving me a sly smile, ”but three days ago was when I was positive about it.”

”Congratulations, Sweetie,” Sloane said as she embraced me.

I closed my eyes and basked in the hug. These women were my family. They had been since Ricochet had moved in a year ago. Despite everything Trent had put me through, I was grateful for the people in my life. The women. The men. The kids. All of them. I wasn”t sure what I”d do without them.

Once the hugs were passed around like candy, we settled in.

”Tell us everything,” Dani demanded, arching her back with a groan. She was smiling despite her discomfort.

”What name did he give you?” Eva asked.

”Sugar,” I replied with a laugh.

She sighed. ”See? That”s adorable. I got Duchess.” Her lips turned downward into a playful pout. ”Can we petition to get them changed?”

”Our names?” Seek asked.

Eva nodded.

”No,” Kit and Susie replied together with laughter. ”They choose them. But as you can see we girls rarely use them for each other.”

”The guys are fifty-fifty on what name they”ll use for you,” Dani added.

”Duchess is cute,” Sloane offered.

”It”s prissy.”

”Ummm...Sweetheart,” Seek told her. ”You”re a little prissy.”

She snorted with laughter. ”I”m working on that.”

”Something tells me you”re never going to fully change,” Tori replied.

”And we don”t want you to,” Kit added. ”We love you the way you are.”

”Thanks,” Eva said, cheeks pinkening.

”Okay.” Jordan turned to give me an intense look. ”Out with it.”

”With what?” I asked, feigning innocence.

”How did he ask you?” Seek prompted.

”I sort of demanded it,” I admitted. Breaking down, I told them the whole story. They were quiet and hanging on every word, so when my phone let out a shrill ring, we all jumped. I slapped a hand to my chest and laughed along with the rest of them. ”Sorry.” I frowned down at my phone. ”Just a sec, I need to take this. Hello?” I asked as I answered the phone.

”Is this Gwen Barrett?” a man asked in a no nonsense tone.

”Yes, this is she.”

”Do you own the house at-”

My heart began to pound in my chest as he rattled off my address. ”Yes, that”s my home. What”s this about?”

”I”m with the Pima Sheriff”s Department and I need to let you know that there”s been a break in at your home.”

”Oh-” My jaw worked a few times even though no words came out. They caught up a few seconds later. ”My God,” I whispered. ”Is there anything missing?”

”That”s what we need you to tell us, Ms. Barrett,” he continued. ”Can you come out here and take a look? A few officers are there now.”

”Um, yeah,” I told him. ”But it”s going to take me a bit to drive out there.”

”That”s fine. We”ll wait.”

”Okay. Then I”ll see you soon.” As soon as I hung up, the girls launched into their questions. I explained what the cop had told me.

”Oh man,” Jordan said. ”Do you think Fremont had something to do with it?”

”Why would he?” I asked. Then my eyes widened. ”I told that officer I would go out to my house.” I smacked my palm on my forehead. ”The guys aren”t going to let me go.”

”They will if a few of them go with you,” Seek said.

”Yeah,” Kit agreed. ”They”re all here and can”t move on Fremont again until they get the Saint”s Outlaws set up at the apartments.”

”I bet you”ll have a bunch of them jumping to volunteer,” Dani added, rubbing her belly. ”Between my pregnancy and the situation with Fremont, Smoke”s going out of his mind waiting around.”

”It”s only been a few days,” Sloane said with a soft laugh.

”You know how they are,” Susie replied, rolling her eyes.

”Jordan-”

”No need to ask,” she said, holding up her hands. ”I”ve got them. Well, Syl does for now.”

Sylvia had taken the kids outside to play. I would have liked to have had her here for the talk, but she had asked to take the kids. I wasn”t sure if I should insist she stay because I didn”t want to rub it in that I was on the path to becoming an old lady. She wouldn”t hold that against any of us. And she knew we all loved her. I wished some older gorgeous man would show up and sweep our friend off her feet. One day it would be her time. I just knew it.

”Thanks,” I told them all and hurried upstairs to grab my purse. When I stepped outside, I hesitated, because there were even more bikers here now than there were before.

”I swear, they”re multiplying,” I whispered to myself. Not that I would complain. The guys were here to help our men. And to protect us. I”d be forever grateful for that. I just wished they weren”t all staring at me as I walked up. Keep moving. Keep moving. It was a chant in my head as I approached. I gave Static a wide eyed look, indicating I needed to speak with him.

”Everyone, this is my girl, Sugar,” he told the guys. ”This is Kilo, Ruck, and Overdrive,” he told me.

I gave them a small smile and a wave.

”What”s up?” Lock asked, looking right at me.

I swear the man had a sixth sense for trouble. I”d heard the guys talk about it before. I wasn”t sure if I was projecting my stress and worry to everyone, or if he was just picking up on it. ”I just got a call from the Pima Sheriff”s Department.”

They all tensed up. It was something to see. Muscles bunched and flashed as far as the eye could see. If I wasn”t head over heels for my own biker, it might have been enough to send a girl into a coma.

”What”d they want?” Static demanded. His voice was low and edgy.

The girls were right. All of the men were all keyed up. They didn”t like waiting around for the other shoe to drop. They”d made their move and I knew it was killing them, having to wait to move on their advantage. I hated to put any more stress on them. I explained what the officer told me.

Lock”s jaw tightened, but he softened his look when he glanced over at me. ”No problem. Static, Idaho, Ricochet, and Hush. Go with her. Get her place sorted out and then get back home.”

”Should we send more men?” Rip questioned.

”No. If this has nothing to do with Fremont, the cops there are going to get jumpy if too many of us show up. I trust you all to take care of her and each other.”

”Thanks, Lock,” I told him with a smile.

”Take the cage ride,” Priest offered, tossing us a set of keys. ”It”ll hold all of you better than her car will.”

It didn”t take long for us to pile in the truck, with Hush driving, and head out toward my house.

I was sitting in the back between Static and my brother.

Ricochet glanced over at me. ”You alright?”

”Yeah,” I replied with a firm nod. Twisting my fingers together in my lap, I tried to hide the fact that my hands were shaking. This was going to be the first time I”d been back to my home since that night. Others had grabbed my and my kids” things from there for me.

Static took one of my hands and held it for the rest of the drive.

”Anything seem out of place, Ma”am?”

I looked over at the officer in disbelief. ”You mean other than the fact that everything is strewn everywhere?”

He shrugged his shoulders. ”Yeah, other than that,” he admitted with a sheepish grin.

I shook my head and couldn”t help but laugh. ”Not as far as I can tell.” My stomach was roiling and my chest was tight. Just being in here was difficult and I hadn”t even stepped foot in the kitchen. I asked Ricochet to take that room. He lived here with me long enough to know what should be in there. Though why criminals would break into my house to steal my flatware, I”d never know.

”Nothing seems to be missing,” Ricochet said as he came out of the kitchen, echoing my words.

”Probably just kids,” the cop offered.

I looked around at the mess. Every item I owned was littering the floor. The kitchen table was flipped over. Chairs were lying on their sides. My couch cushions were slashed. ”Kids?”

The cop shrugged again. ”Best guess unless you know someone who would want to break into your home.”

”Yeah, definitely kids.” Ricochet said it with an emphasis that I knew all too well. He didn”t think it was kids, but the cops didn”t need to know that. It was his cue to drop it.

I met the guys” eyes, but kept my mouth closed about Fremont. ”No, Officer. I don”t know of anyone.”

”We”ll run a few squads by for the next couple of days,” he told me. ”Make sure no one is messing around. Maybe you could ask the neighbor that noticed your open door to keep an eye out, too. At least until you”re back in the home.”

”I”ll do that,” I assured him. Walking him to the door, I thanked him again, then closed it behind him. I sighed and turned to face the others.

”Is nothin” really missin”?” Hush asked.

”Not that I can tell,” I told him. ”If something was taken I can”t think of what.”

”Me either,” Ricochet said. ”Other than the place being trashed, I can”t see that anything important was stolen.”

”Why break in?” Static asked, shrewd eyes scanning the room.

”I don”t know,” I whispered. ”D-do you mind if we get out of here?” Every eye shot to me and I had to fight the urge to sink in upon myself. I just wanted to get out of this house.

”Of course, Gwenny,” Ricochet told me.

”You don”t want help cleaning up?” Idaho asked. ”Wouldn”t take us very lo-”

He broke off when Hush shook his head. ”We”ll come back and do it later. Gwen doesn”t need to be here for it. Let”s get you home,” he said, wrapping an arm around my shoulders and escorting me out of the house.

Static had my keys and I watched from the backseat of the truck as the other men swept the house one last time and locked up.

”You okay, Darlin”?”

I smiled at Hush from where he was watching me in the rearview. ”I will be. I promise.”

”That”s what I like to hear.” He shot me a grin.

The others piled into the truck and I rested my head on Static”s shoulder. I knew the little trip back home was going to haunt me later, probably in the midnight hour, but I wasn”t going to worry about it now. We were driving away, and I was safe, accompanied by a man who loved me. By multiple men who cared for me.