“Yeah,” I tell her quietly. “That part worries me as well. That asshole was too opportunistic.”
“He seemed to know exactly what he was doing. The way he knocked on my door, looking panicked and scared, and then shoved past me when I cracked the door was shocking.”
“I think they call that social engineering,” I tell her. “When people use your empathy and social conventions to get you to lower your guard so they can take advantage.”
Her eyes fly open. “That’s exactly what he did.” Pausing to take a drink of her coffee, she gazes at me for a brief moment,then she lowers her cup. “Do you want to know what keeps me up at night?”
I nod, barely able to breathe. She’s sharing something deep and personal with me right now. And that means she trusts me enough to let me get close to her.
“I think about how quickly he realized that Frisky was important to me and then used that against me. One thought keeps circling around in my head. What if he did that to a single mother, you know, broke into her house and held her baby hostage like he did with Frisky. He’d have total control over her. That scares the shit out of me.”
Reaching over, I take her hand in mine and give it a little squeeze. “We’re not gonna let that happen, sweetness. Trust me on that. We’re already eyes on with the bastard.”
She freezes and just stares at me for a long hard moment. “What are you saying? That you hacked into his home security feed?”
I lower my voice, “Striker hacked his security feeds, we put a drone in the sky over his house, and we have a couple of brothers scouting around the perimeter of his property makin’ sure he doesn’t breach his bail conditions.”
Her mouth falls open and her expression is stunned. I lift one hand to push her chin up, playfully closing her mouth. She immediately swats my hand away. “You sexy bastard, why didn’t you tell me you did that? It would have saved me a lot of worry.”
I’m tickled that she thinks I’m sexy. Of course, I know that I am, but it’s always nice to hear it from the woman I’ve been obsessed with for years. Plus, my sweet little Emily doesn’t usually talk like that. I get a twisted little thrill that she’schanging a little bit as she gets acclimated to my world. I’m dirtying her up just a tad, buffing off some of her innocence. I don’t know why that makes my dick twitch with interest. Maybe I’m a sick twisted fuck after all.
“By and large, we don’t talk to our old ladies about club business,” I explain. “I made an exception because you said it was keeping you up at night.”
“That’s really sweet,” she says, her expression softening.
I don’t do well with talking about emotions. So, I glance away, admitting, “I’m sorry, I should have told you. I don’t like knowing you’re scared or worried about that asshole. He’s nobody, just some one-off stranger who got to you when we weren’t expecting it. That won’t ever happen again. Trust me on that, Em.”
She nods, clearly emotional. “I do trust you, Onyx. I just don’t want you to get overconfident. Brennan has just the kind of devious criminal mind to bring a gun to a knife fight, if you know what I mean.”
I reach back, unsnap my cut and pull the right side back. Lifting my chin, I say, “I’m like a fuckin’ Boy Scout. I’m always ready for anything.”
Her eyes land on my gun and she just shakes her head. “How in the hell did you manage to get into the courthouse with a concealed weapon?”
“Cedar Falls is the very definition of a small town. They don’t have metal detectors or much in the way of security. No one has ever done anything out of pocket here, so they’re not about throwing money at problems they don’t even have.”
Her eyes flash up to mine. “Aren’t there rules against carrying concealed weapons in places like that?”
My old lady is the voice of reason. I can see that she needs a little more innocence buffed off, so I shrug. “I have a concealed carry permit and balls enough to carry where most people wouldn’t dare.”
“That’s not a very smart thing to do,” she shoots back. “Do you know what would happen if you got caught with that in the damn courthouse?”
“Yeah, I might have to rely upon the same judge Brennan is using to avoid consequences.”
“That’s not funny, Onyx.” Her disapproving look tells me she doesn’t appreciate my sense of humor. Before I can apologize, the server begins bringing out our food.
Chapter 12
Emily
Ilove spending time with Onyx. He’s so down-to-earth and somehow manages to make me feel better about the really shitty situation I’ve found myself in. I didn’t ask for any of this and Onyx for sure didn’t. He started out being just a neighbor who stepped up when I needed someone. Now, I feel like he’s much more. When we exit the diner after stuffing ourselves with breakfast, he keeps his arm protectively around my shoulders as we walk to his bike.
He doesn't start the engine right away when we settle into place on his bike. I put on my helmet, fully expecting him to say we're heading back to the clubhouse. He surprises me when he glances over his shoulder and tells me he has other plans.
“I'm not ready to head back just yet,” he says.
My hand freezes near my visor. “Where do you want to go instead?”
His expression lights up. “You’ll see when we get there. I promise you’ll fuckin’ love it.”
