Page 5 of Addison

It's been a long time since I've had to move this fast. I used to be a beat cop, but now that I'm behind a desk, most of my police work happens behind a computer screen. Sweat pours down the side of my face, and my side has a stitch in it; I'm so out of breath. Thankfully, I make it to my bike before she gets down the hill. The bike rumbles to life, and I peel out of my hiding spot only to find another one further down the road where Addison might not notice me if I pull out behind her.

Every muscle in my body is coiled tight and ready as I wait for her to come. Doubts start to swirl in my mind, and a hint of shame as I realize I'm more or less stalking this woman. For all I know, she might not want anything to do with me. If she has my son, that's not something I'm comfortable giving her a choice about.

Finally, after what feels like forever, I see her car pull out of the only road that leads up to the clubhouse and onto the main street where I'm hiding out. The clubhouse is deep in the back country, so there's not a lot of traffic. I force myself to wait twenty seconds before I pull out and follow behind her. The drive is slow and leisurely. I don't have to wonder where she's off to for too long because she turns into a small strip mall and circles the parking lot to look for a spot.

I park my bike in the far corner where I can keep my eyes on her but not get too close. My eyes are glued to her as she finds a spot and gets out of her car to get the child and her belongings. I feel like I'm in a movie or something. She seems to be moving in slow motion, and the wind is tussling her dark hair perfectly. God, she's gorgeous.

A few people walk by in front of me, their attention locked on me, and I have to look away from Addison before they get the wrong idea. I'm not a predator, even though right now I've got quite a few predator qualities. Once again, forcing myself to stay back, I watch as she walks into a clothing store. When I know she's not expecting anyone behind her, I follow her inside.

We could've been in a lingerie store for all the attention I was paying at that moment. All of my focus is on her. She browses the clothes on the shelves without a care in the world. The boy is safe in the seat of the shopping carriage, and I forget myself for a moment. I want to get closer. Staying maybe ten feet away from her, I follow her from aisle to aisle, only falling out of my daydream when I watch her pick up baby shoes.

She must be here shopping for the little boy. Does he need things? I should be the one taking care of this. It's my job. Another wave of guilt washes over me, and I grunt softly, trying to force the emotion back down.

The sound must have traveled because Addison's head pops up, and just as she's about to turn and look right at me, I turn my back to her so she can't see my face. For all she knows, I'm shopping for my own little boy. I need to give it some space. If I don't, she's going to think I'm being a creep. I am.

When I turn back in her direction, I see nothing but the baby shoe display and some tussled clothing on the shelf. She's gone. "What the fuck," I grumble and look up and down the aisles, trying to find her. I don't. "No, no, no!" I whisper-shout and desperately start moving up and down the store looking for her.

At the last second, I watch her walking out of the store, pushing the shopping cart to the parking lot. I don't care who I have to push through right now; I need to get to her.

The automatic door moves too slow for me. I bang my shoulder against the glass as I rush outside.

Her car is still in the parking lot but I don't see her walking toward it.

"Where did she-"

Before I can get the rest of the thought out of my mouth, something small and hard hits my side, grabs my arm and before I know what's going on I'm flipping over someone and onto my back.

All my air explodes out of my lungs, and I'm stuck for a second looking up from the ground as the object of my obsession steps over me.

"You've got three seconds to tell me why you're following me."

Four

The blood is pumping so fast in my veins it sounds like a drum in my ears. I knew I shouldn't have gone to the store tonight, but I was so excited about Glenn learning how to walk that I just needed to get him some new shoes so he'd be more comfortable. It's my fault because I didn't wait for someone to come with me.

No, this isn't my fault. It's the creep who's following me's fault.

"Talk!" I yell down at the man who is still staring up at me in complete shock.

"I wasn't..." He starts, and I pick my booted foot up, ready to bring it down on his face. I watched him follow me through the store, and when he couldn't find me, I hid behind one of the displays and watched him panic. He's definitely following me.

I may not be part of the Eve's Fury MC officially yet, but I know about all the trouble they've been getting in recently, mostly because they're allied with the Wings of Diablo. There's a group called the Faceless that were trying to take them all out. Lucky for us, the good guys won. The Wings of Diablo, Purged, and the boys of Djinn clubs were able to bring down the Faceless, at least as many of them as they could. There are still quite a few out there roaming around. Maybe this asshole is one of them.

I dart my eyes to the side of the store where I pushed Glenn just in case things got dangerous. He's still sitting there, happily chewing on his fingers, unaware of what his mother has just done.

"Wait, wait! Okay, I was following you, but I wasn't going to do anything. I didn't mean to scare you." The man puts his hands up while he's still on the floor, and I back up from him. I'm not going to wait for him to reach for a weapon, but right now, it looks like I'm more of a threat than he is.

"Get the hell up and get away from me," I snap, backpedaling in the direction of Glenn. I want to get out of here as fast as possible.

"Wait, don't run off. I just want to talk to you."

The man gets up but doesn't make any quick movements in my direction. I appreciate that. He's a big man. Tall and built, but not so much I'd think he lives in the gym. Just enough so I know he does something physical for a living. My eyes scan his body from his feet up to his face before I look away.

"I don't have anything to say to you. You could've asked me to talk while we were in the store. Right now, all I want-" My thoughts come to a screeching halt as I look back at the man and take in the expression on his face. One I see nearly every day when Glenn doesn't get something he wants.

My feet move toward the man on their own. It feels like something is pulling me closer to the one threat in the area when all my instincts are screaming that I should run away. He focuses his gaze on mine, and I stare deep into his gray eyes.

Glenn's eyes.

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