I was sitting upright, Bash’s arm around me, the heat from his body radiating all around me. I wanted to lean in, wrapping myself in his warmth. Instead, I curled my feet up under me and pulled a blanket around myself. While John McClane was crawling through an air vent, my eyes started fluttering shut.
My last memory of the night was the feeling of floating. I woke up for a moment and registered that I was in Bash’s arms before he gently deposited me on the bed. He settled the blanket over me, and as much as I tried to stay awake, blackness took over as soon as my head hit the pillow.
Bash
After Fiona’s attack, the whole club had spread out, trying to track down that scumbag. It was almost as if he had disappeared. It wasn’t so much that he was hiding out or avoiding us. While we had managed to uncover some additionaldetails about the guy, he legitimately had no friends or family to turn to.
Without his apartment and job, locating him was harder than expected. He dumped his car in a mall parking lot, out of gas and with a dead battery. We’d had eyes on it since we found it, but he hadn’t been back.
Bull and Scythe were leading the charge to find him since I had offered to cover the protection detail for the night. As much as I was itching to get on the streets and find that fucker, I was equally as desperate to spend time with Fiona, even if that meant my sister would be there.
I had popped by a few times since the attack, but she was either asleep or overwhelmed by another family member invading her space. I would have been lying if I didn’t admit that I offered to take guard duty that night with the hopes of getting some alone time with her.
The apartment smelled amazing when we walked in, and I was already salivating. When she mentioned giving food to Match, who was standing guard downstairs, I was shocked at the emotions that ran through me. First was jealousy; I didn’t want anyone else to enjoy something Fiona made. On the other hand, I was both proud and impressed by her. She really cared about the people around her, and I knew Match, and was going to lose his shit over the home-cooked meal. I cringed at the mental pros and cons list I was putting together regarding a girl who barely looked at me.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Charlie hissed at me while Fiona was in the kitchen pulling food out of the oven.
“What does it look like?” I raised my eyebrows at her, settling into the couch while trying to get a peek into the kitchen.
“It looks like you’re horning in on my time with Fiona. I’ve waited all week to get some alone time with her. She’s barelytalking about the attack. That can’t be healthy. And she’s not going to do that with your giant ass hovering about.”
“How do you know? I’m a good listener. I saw the attack. I spoke to her about it. It’s important to me that she knows we have her back, that she’s one of us. Would you prefer I ignore her?” I asked, seeing that I had stumped my sister.
“I don’t like this. I don’t know what you’re trying to pull, but if you do anything that upsets Fee or fucks with our friendship, then neither the club nor our family will stop me. I will castrate you myself.” I couldn’t help the large smile that crossed my face.
Since meeting Fiona, Charlie had become an almost entirely new person. She was confident and assured, far more outspoken about what she wanted. It was something I hadn’t realized was missing from our relationship until that moment.
I valued Charlie’s opinion. No one knew our world better than her. She gave it more freely and with more vehemence of late, and a lot of her suggestions were incredibly helpful. My sister was really growing into herself, and I knew it had to do with Fiona’s influence.
“Oo, kitty grew some claws,” I joked, dodging as she went to smack me. I stood up from the couch and stretched.
“C’mon. Let’s see if she needs any help.” Charlie’s growl followed close behind me as I headed for the kitchen.
On the stove were two large trays. One was filled with boiling hot lasagna, the melted cheese and sauce blending together in delicious-looking layers. The garlic bread looked out of this world too. It was a golden color, the outside crispy, but the tops were oily. I couldn’t wait to dig in.
As we ate together, I was overwhelmed at how good the food tasted. I swear, I almost inhaled the entire plate in one bite. Charlie wasn’t kidding when she said our mom couldn’t cook. She had definitely never made lasagna. I was even more upset at the idea of having to share it with the guys outside.
When Charlie asked about Fiona’s cooking skills, I wasn’t expecting her answer. I wanted to hit the ceiling after hearing about her living in her car and in a small apartment overrun with people. She wasn’t telling us about it to inspire guilt or to impress us. It was just a matter of fact.
The more I learned about Fiona, the more it became clear that she processed things in a transactional manner. She cooked and cleaned in exchange for rent. It suddenly made sense why she was so hesitant to accept help from any of us. I didn’t think she believed it when we said we were not expecting anything in return.
After dinner, I hung back and did the dishes, needing some time to calm the fury clawing at my body. I didn’t know where those feelings were coming from, but the only thing that soothed the beast inside was making sure Fiona didn’t want for anything. That, for once, someone had her back and took care of her.
There was a wariness about her that I’d seen before. It was the toll ultra vigilance took on a person. As I dried the dishes and stacked them in the rack, I couldn’t help but wonder what Fiona would look like once she let go of all the protections she had in place.What will it take for her to relax and let someone else do the worrying for her?I wasn’t sure of the answer to that, but I knew I wanted to be the one to find out.
With the dishes done, I made my way back to the living room, where the girls were already getting cozy on the couch. I eyed the movie on the screen and shot a look at Charlie, who merely raised an eyebrow—a blatant invitation for me to leave. Refusing, I sank down in the chair closest to Fiona.
Once the movie started, I was able to focus on her. She had never seen the movie before, and hearing her laughs, watching all the expressions crossing her face, was an entirely new experience for me. I didn’t think I watched a single full scene from the movie. I was too busy studying everything about Fee.
When the movie ended, and I saw Charlie asleep on the couch, panic ran through me. I didn’t want the night to end like that. I hadn’t gotten my fill of Fiona yet. I pulled out my phone to text Match, figuring I could get him to bring Charlie home and weasel my way into getting some alone time with Fee. Fiona stopped me, and for a moment, I was nervous that she was kicking me out.
When, instead, she invited Match up for food, I was alarmed at the wild pace my heart was ticking at. Not many people would have thought twice about a guy they had never met or seen standing outside. Most of the Brothers lived at the clubhouse, and home-cooked meals were not common. Every once in a while, we got together for a barbeque, but nothing like what Fiona had put together.
Begrudgingly, I texted Match, then headed out to the hall to greet him while Fiona went into the kitchen. He looked unsure of himself, and I knew the angry scowl I had on wasn’t helping the situation.
“You wanted to see me?” he asked nervously.
“Yeah. Charlie fell asleep. I’m going to need you to give her a ride to my place, but first, Fiona made you dinner,” I said, watching his eyes widen at that statement.
