Page 28 of Stay With Me
Our breathing evens out after several moments, the water behind us already running cool. “I think I’m ready for bed now,” I huff and his head falls down to my shoulder, his body shaking as he laughs.
“Damn, I love you,” he says.
twenty-one
The next morning,I wake up to an empty bed. I check the bathroom and find it empty, too. How Kelsea snuck out of my arms without waking me, I have no idea. Between the cocktail of pain meds and antibiotics, and the sheer exhaustion I felt after last night, I’m not surprised she was able to slip away.
I hear the muffled sound of voices from the other side of the door, so I pull on some sweats and make my way out into the living area.
“You’re just the queen of the world, aren’t you, sweet girl?” I hear Kelsea’s voice as she speaks softly to baby Scarlett in her arms. Scarlett smiles up at her as if she knows exactly what Kelsea is saying, and she agrees.
“Look, she’s already spoiled as hell, thanks to her dad. Don’t make it worse,” Ember says as she hefts herson up onto her hip and shuffles around the kitchen making coffee.
I stand back in the doorway, just watching the two women interact. These are the two most important women in my life. I may sound like a sap, but it really makes me beyond happy to know they love each other like sisters. When Ember and I left home after high school, splitting up after a lifetime together was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. Knowing that we both made our own families to fill in the gaps brings me a sense of peace I never had growing up. I have no doubt I could call any of my brothers from the corps and they would drop everything to help me. I know Ember and Kelsea have the same relationship. We don't need any other family besides the one we’ve created here.
“Stop creeping in the doorway, Everett Wayne,” my sister says and I scoff, pushing off the wall and walking into the kitchen.
“I’m not creeping, just wondering where my breakfast is,” I say, coming up behind Kelsea and placing my hands on her hips.
“Excuse you, your hands aren’t broken. You can at least make cereal,” Kelsea says with a smirk, knowing I don’t even attempt to cook.
“Oh no, I was talking about you, goddess,” I say, my lips grazing the shell of her ear and eliciting a shiver from her.
“Ew. My baby is right there, Everett. I know my bestie has dumps like a fucking truck, but I don’t need to hear about what you want to do with her.” Ember fakes a gag, and I throw her a wink.
“Give me Princess Scarlett. We all know she loves me most.” Kelsea hands me the squirming baby and Scarlett quickly snuggles into my chest, her tiny hand wrapping around my finger as she smiles at me.
“Damn, give me a second. Let me go get my phone so I can get a picture of this,” Kelsea says, practically licking her lips at the sight of me, shirtless in sweats, holding a baby.
“Getting a glimpse into your future, goddess?” I give her a sexy wink and I notice the light in her eyes dim slightly. I know she isn’t hopeful about her ability to have children, but I’m optimistic. And there’s always adoption. The very fact that I’m even thinking about starting a family with her shocks me. I never saw myself as a husband or father, but with Kelsea I want it all.
She gives me a tight smile, placing a quick kiss on my lips and turning to dig in the fridge to start breakfast. I look at Ember, who gives me a scornful look, and I roll my eyes.
“Anybody else up yet?” I ask, bouncing my niece softly in my arms.
“Yeah, the guys are in Breaker’s office downstairs and Rory is out on the back porch,” Ember replies. My eyes slide to the wall of windows where I see Rory sittingwith her legs draw up in a lounge chair, her hands wrapped around a coffee cup.
I strap Scarlett into her bouncer seat at the table and place a kiss on her tiny head. I walk across the kitchen, making a beeline for my woman. She’s cracking eggs into a bowl and scrambling them as Ember drops bread into the toaster. Silas babbles in his baby carrier against her chest. I wrap my arms around Kelsea's waist, dropping my lips to the slope of her neck and breathing her in. I feel her tense muscles relax under my touch.
“Hey, goddess,” I whisper where only she can hear. “I love you. You know that, right?” She nods, tilting her head to give me better access to her skin. “Good. Because I do. No matter how we get there, I’m gonna give you the life you dream of, Kelsea.” Her head falls back slightly, leaning onto my shoulder.
“You already do, Ev,” she says, turning her head to place a kiss on my cheek.
I reluctantly pull away from her and make my way down the stairs to Breaker’s basement. His setup is massive, the space open and vast with monitors lining one wall entirely. I can see each one scrolling through unintelligible internet chatter, my eyes already hurting just trying to make something out of the mass of ones and zeros. I make my way over to the desk where Eli and Breaker huddle around a smaller laptop screen. They both look up, nodding in my direction.
“Whatcha got for me, boys?” I ask, leaning against the desk.
“We think the contract got picked up by a shady looking MC out of Louisiana. From everything I’ve been able to find, they consider themselves a 1% club, living on the outside of the law. Usually, I don’t have a problem with that kind of shit, depending on what activities a club engages in. But this is what happens when you’re too fucking stupid to actually dig into the contracts you take.” Breaker says gruffly.
“If they’d taken even a minute to read the fucking news article or police reports about everything, they would have understood that bastard had it coming. Most MC’s I’ve met usually take the victim’s side in cases of domestic abuse. Apparently, this one only cared about the dollar signs.” Eli growls out through clenched teeth. I know digging up all this bullshit is bothering him more than he’s letting on.
“Seems most of their members have been in and out of jail for their own domestic problems, so I’m really not surprised.” I say, scanning the rap sheets over Breaker’s shoulder.
“Have you considered maybe sending a message to the congressman yourself? Letting him know you know he’s behind all this?” Eli leans back against the desk, his arms crossed tightly over his chest.
“Theres an idea,” Breaker says with a viscous gleam in his eyes. He’s a hunter, always has been.
“Think you can get me an address and a layout of his security, break?” I quirk an eyebrow and he gives me an annoyed look.
