Page 25 of Ox

Kayla shrugged and looked down at her feet. “I didn’t want to bother you at work. You’ve done so much for me already. I didn’t want to nag you about picking me up, so I called an Uber.”

“Babe, you texting or calling me isn’t nagging. It’s letting me know you need me and that you’re safe,” I patiently explained, hating that she’d felt that way, and nearly paid the ultimate price for it.

“I’m sorry,” she apologized, stepping into the safety of my arms and snuggling close once again.

Pressing her cheek against my chest, I ran my hand through the silky strands of her hair. Breathing her scent in deeply, I gave her a minute to collect herself before bombarding her with more questions.

After her shaking subsided, she said, “He was here, Ox. This time I know that for sure. He left something behind in my room so I’d know it was him.”

Pulling back, I looked her directly in the eye. “Show it to me.”

Taking her by the hand, I escorted her back to the bedroom. Her gaze immediately zeroed in on the end table by her bed and she shivered with disgust.

“When we first met, he was always drinking Pepsi. I don’t touch the stuff, but there was a can of it resting on my nightstand when I came home today. He left it there to taunt me, Ox.” Her shoulders slumped as she added, “And he, he did something disgusting in my bed as well.”

My blood boiled when I noticed the clump of used tissues and the wet stains on her comforter and pillow. “That son of a bitch! I’m going to kill him!”

“No!” Kayla shouted, throwing herself back into my arms. “Don’t go after him, Ox! He’s crazy. He’ll do something awful and hurt you, and I can’t stand the thought of that happening. I can’t!”

“Babe, you don’t have to worry about me. In case you haven’t noticed, I can take care of myself,” I teased, loving the way she melted so familiarly against me.

“But Ghost doesn’t play by the rules,” she objected, sniffling against my t-shirt. “He’ll use a knife, or a gun, or anything else to get the upper hand. He’s a monster, Ox. There’s nothing human about that man whatsoever.”

“Nobody’s going to get hurt, Babe,” I soothed, though I omitted the part where I was silently planning how I was going to rip Ghost limb from limb in my head as I’d said it. “You don’t have to worry about me, Kayla. I’m built tough. And so are my Brothers.”

She sniffled then and sucked in a ragged breath. “Don’t go after him. Please, I’m begging you.”

“Okay, Babe,” I agreed, needing her to calm down before we could broach the subject of what was going to happen next. Kissing the top of her head, I squeezed her in my arms, reveling in the feel and smell of her so close. “I’ll take care of it. I promise.”

The first thingI’d done after Kayla had calmed down enough to stop shaking was strip her sheets and bring them downstairs to the laundry room. Sitting beside me, she watchedwith a dazed expression as I added way more bleach than was necessary but knew she would ultimately appreciate. The pillow had been a lost cause and I’d tossed that, case and all, into the laundry room trash so she wouldn’t have to see it anymore.

There was a Walmart Supercenter not far from here, so I decided to take her after this to get some new stuff while the old sheets were being washed.

“Come on,” I told her, taking her tiny hand in mine. “We’re going shopping and getting you some new sheets and pillows.”

Snagging her keys off the counter, I led her to her car, opening the passenger side door for her. The door stuck and I had to put a little effort into it to get it to open. This car was a piece of shit. As soon as I had a chance to talk to my Brother Hammer, our Club mechanic, I’d ask about getting her a new one. This thing was a death trap and I refused to let her drive it back and forth from school any longer than was necessary.

We drove in silence over to the Walmart. After we’d done our shopping and I’d bought her new sheets, a comforter set, and a stack of fluffy, white pillows, I piled it all in our car and drove her back home.

“You didn’t have to do this,” she whispered, as we made the bed together later that night.

I shook my head. “I did. You deserve to feel safe and clean in your own home.”

Lowering her gaze, she hid the moisture that was pooling in her pretty brown eyes. “Thank you,” she whispered, sounding all choked up.

When I went to leave, she stopped me. “Will you sleep beside me tonight? I don’t want to be alone.”

I shouldn’t have accepted the offer, but I wasn’t that strong. “Sure, Babe. I’m going to jump into the shower first, but we can watch some TV when I get back.”

After showering, I got dressed in a soft pair of flannel sleep pants I’d picked up at Walmart. I normally went commando, but I knew that wouldn’t fly around Kayla.

As I was brushing my teeth, a text pinged through my phone. It was Creed, asking me if I wanted to come to a Club party the DiamondBacks were holding tomorrow night. Not sure, I held back in responding. I knew Reaper would want me to attend on behalf of the Devil’s Riders, but I didn’t know if Kayla would want to go after what Ghost had done and I wasn’t willing to leave her behind.

Making my way back to the bedroom where Kayla was already snuggled down in the covers watching some makeup tutorial on YouTube, I asked, “Mind if I join you?”

Kayla smiled, the first genuine one I’d seen since this morning, and scooted over. “Please do.”

As I climbed into the clean sheets that already smelled like her, I said, “You want to go to a Club party tomorrow?”

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