Chapter 3

Static

Iwatched Gwen walk away, wanting to chase after her, but Butcher and Toxic were still standing there. Staring. Sighing, I turned my head and faced them. I wasn”t sure how long ago they”d gotten back from dumping that body. ”Need something?”

”Just watching,” Toxic replied with a grin.

”Watching what?” My ribs were throbbing like a bitch and I really wasn”t in the mood for their games today.

”A slow descent.”

Before I had a chance to ask him what the fuck he was talking about they walked off. It was like they practiced that shit because it was always in unison. I was pretty sure Lock had done humanity a disservice by bringing those two together again. They”d worked together on Butcher”s team, but once it was disbanded had gone their own ways. Until Lock had brought Butcher into the club. It was bad enough to have one terrorizing the world, but both of them?

Shaking my head, I shut the door. I didn”t have time to figure out their cryptic nonsense. I needed to find the movies and clean up the apartment a little. I wasn”t in my room much, thanks to club duties and my job, but it was messy enough that I was sure Gwen would be horrified when she dropped the kids off.

My mind kept flashing back to the look on her face when she first caught sight of me. She was terrified. Of me. I”d never seen such a look on her face before. It had cut through the adrenaline rush of the fight and made everything in my head freeze. She”d been through so much lately, so it was understandable, but fuck was it hard to see her hurting. I wanted to pull her in close and ease away all the pain.

Shaking my head, I picked up a towel and t-shirt that were thrown over the back of the little couch I had. This room was just slightly bigger than the usual dorm style rooms, so there was a spot to hang my flatscreen on the wall and shove a couch in the corner. I was grateful for it since recently Sean and I were watching all my favorite old shows and movies. It gave us space and quiet. Though more than once, Ricochet, Smoke, and Hell had joined us. My place wasn”t really big enough for that many people, but Sean damn near glowed when his uncle and his friends hung out, so I just dealt with it.

And now Grace.

My heart swelled as I thought about the little girl. At five years old she was smart, sweet, and precocious. Every day she was saying something that had the men and women around the club laughing. She was coming out of her shell more and more. Seeing her play with Priest”s girls made pride swell up inside me. I didn”t know why. Gwen wasn”t mine. Neither were Sean and Grace, but fuck if I could stop the emotions from flowing every damn time I saw them.

Grabbing my phone, I texted Lock, asking him if he wanted me at church tonight. I was a prospect, and usually didn”t go unless they needed something from me.

Lock: No. Take the night off. We”ll discuss the plan a different day.

They”d come up with a way to handle Fremont. I had no doubt about it. Though at some point they”d probably bring me in since we had to tread carefully. Fremont being the DA made this tricky. Somehow we had to get him off our ass, without any of us ending up in prison.

I spent the next hour cleaning my place—I fucking missed my housekeeper, Mrs. Trelato—and smiled when there was a knock on the door. I tossed the cleaning bucket inside the small closet and opened the door. Gwen”s smile was like a punch to the gut.

She was standing there, holding a glass dish, her kids on either side of her. Her jeans hugged her in all the right places and the hoodie she had on stopped just above the waistband of her jeans, letting a little strip of skin peek out when she moved.

”Is that lasagna?” I asked, cutting through the awkward silence.

”Yes,” she laughed. She brushed past as I stepped to the side and motioned for her to come in.

”Hi, Static,” Grace squeaked, waving at me with a shy smile.

Ignoring the gorgeous woman who was setting a lasagna down on the coffee table in my makeshift living room, I squatted down and grinned at Grace. ”Hey there, Sweetheart. How was your day?”

She giggled and looked away. The shy act lasted for all of five seconds before she launched into a detailed report of everything that had happened to her today. ”And I got to hold Mittens,” she added a few minutes later. ”He”s-”

”No one cares about the cat,” Sean said with an eye roll. His tone held the exasperation that only a brother could have for his sibling.

Grace glared at him. ”Static wants to know.” Her eyes slid to me. ”Right?”

”Right,” I replied, biting back a grin.

”Enough you two,” Gwen said, cutting off Sean”s retort, which would have surely caused a fight. ”Come get your dinner.”

”I have plates,” I told Gwen as I went over to the couch with the kids. I didn”t even realize when she came in that there”d been a plastic bag hanging off her arm. It had plates, cups, and silverware. My plates were paper, but they would work. Mostly. I didn”t like the idea of her having to take these home and wash them. But the only sink I had in my room was in the bathroom.

”That”s okay,” Gwen said, handing me a plate with a large slice of lasagna and a salad on it. ”This will be easier to eat off.”

”Despite what you”ve been told, I am house broken.”

She gave me a sly smile that said she doubted it.

”Ugh, salad?” Sean scoffed.

I agreed with him, though silently. Eating lasagna was one of those times you shouldn”t have to eat vegetables. But since it wasn”t my dinner, I kept my mouth shut.

”It”s good for you,” Gwen said, ruffling his hair.

He made a face and shoved her hand away. But he took the plate and settled down at the end of the couch, leaving enough room for the rest of us.

I leaned in and gave him a conspiratorial smile and whispered ”Always eat the green stuff, it”ll make you fart.” He smiled at that and took a big mouthful of the salad.

Gwen started gathering up a few things. ”Okay, well, I”ll get out of your hair-”

”Why don”t you stay?”

Deep blue eyes blinked up at me in surprise. ”Oh.”

”Unless you”d rather have the night off and spend it alone,” I added. Moving a few inches closer, I invaded her space. I mostly just wanted to watch her get nervous. She licked her lips, forcing me to bite back a groan of appreciation. I don”t think either of us could deny the attraction we had for one another. It was there. I just couldn”t act on it. There was too much at stake if things didn”t work out.

”Stay, Mom,” Sean said from his spot on the couch. It was a bit muffled because he was shoveling food in his mouth at an impressive rate.

”Yeah,” I added, tone low. Her eyes latched onto mine. ”Stay.” Her breathing changed and as I watched her pupils dilate. Fuck what I wouldn”t give for five minutes alone with her. I wanted to kiss her until she forgot her own damn name.

The sound of shattering porcelain broke the spell, making her jump. She lifted her hand to her chest and gasped in shock. Turning my head, I saw that Grace had dropped her plate off the coffee table.

”I”m sorry,” the little girl whispered, tears forming in her eyes.

I walked over and once again squatted down, gathering up shards of the broken plate. ”Hey, hey, it”s fine. No harm done.” I didn”t like the worry I saw on her face. It was understandable, knowing what her worthless father had been like, but I didn”t want her to be upset. ”I”ll get this,” I told Gwen when she went to try to help clean up.

”It”s okay, Baby,” Gwen added, going over and gathering Grace into her arms. They rocked together while I cleaned up the shards. Pulling the garbage can over, I scooped up lasagna with my bare hands and looked up when Grace giggled. She was only five years old and there were times I saw far too much awareness on such a young face. I often caught the same look on Caitlyn”s face. Both Grace and Priest”s adoptive daughter had been in situations that other kids never even dreamed about.

After washing my hands, I came back out and saw that Grace and Gwen were sharing off a plate. I sat down next to them, and asked, ”Ready for the movie?”

”Yeah!” Sean crowed, eyes zeroing in on the TV.

Smiling, I turned on the streaming service and hit play. I”d seen Rocky countless times, but this time I couldn”t focus. Not with Gwen sitting next to me. Every move, every laugh, every breath had me focusing on her. I wanted to pull her onto my lap and enjoy the movie with her where she belonged. But what I wanted didn”t matter. Even if this fight with Fremont wasn”t looming, I needed to give her space. And sitting here, torturing myself by inviting her to stay and watch movies with us wasn”t helping. I forced myself to watch the movie and nothing else. It wasn”t until halfway through the second movie that I noticed she and Grace were sleeping.

”Sean,” I whispered, not wanting to disturb her. He turned and looked, his face going soft when he saw his mother. He nodded and gathered up the dirty plates and silverware, putting them inside the bag Gwen brought over. He slipped out the door and headed back to his apartment.

Carefully, so as not to wake Gwen, I picked Grace up and carried her back to their apartment. She weighed next to nothing in my arms and when she sighed softly in her sleep my heart lurched in my chest. These kids were amazing. They were kind, sweet, and hilarious most of the time. The fact that Trent gave this up the first time around was enough to tell me he was a fucking idiot. What he did after that only proved that he deserved the dirt nap he got.

”We”ll finish the next movie soon,” I told Sean when I poked my head into his room to check on him.

He walked over and bumped his knuckles against mine. ”Okay! I like Rocky. He”s a badass.”

Chuckling, I asked, ”More of a badass than Chuck Norris?”

Horror flooded his face as he thought about that. It cleared as he made his decision. ”Naw. No one beats Chuck Norris.”

I laughed and tousled his hair. ”Goodnight, Sean.”

”Night, Static.”

Heading back to my room, I grinned and shook my head. There was a time where the thought of watching old action movies with a nine-year-old would have seemed boring. Now I craved it. Lena never wanted kids. But somewhere deep down I always suspected she”d change her mind. I wouldn”t have forced the issue. I married her because I loved her, or so I thought. I would have been content spending the rest of my days with her. Too bad she hadn”t felt the same way. Shaking off the old memories, I stared down at Gwen.

Her dark blonde lashes laid against her cheeks and her lips were parted as she slept. This was the kind of woman you grew old with. She”d give you kids and be there every step of the way to raise them with you. You”d get to see her go through all the stages of life and your love would grow along the way.

Sighing, I leaned down and scooped her up into my arms. Her head fell against my shoulder, her body pliant and soft. She was the type of woman you didn”t want to let go of.

She was also the type of woman who would take your entire soul with her if she left. Something I wasn”t willing to risk.

Gently, I laid her on her bed, covering her with a light blanket. She mumbled something, her brow wrinkling as she shifted under the covers. When she quieted, I pulled the blanket up higher. I brushed a lock of hair from her face. ”Sweet dreams.”

As I left the room, I couldn”t help but wish I was laying there next to her, keeping the nightmares away.