Page 96 of Lips On My Heart

“This is all my fault,” I blubber. “If I had ignored his text about taking me off the blacklist and never called him, he never would’ve come here. He never would’ve formed this unhealthy attachment to me if I hadn’t invited him. I fucked it up by contacting him back for this consulting job, which backfired. It’s my fault he did all this damage.”

“Absolutely fucking NOT,” Maceo says, vehemently. “Loafer-dick already had an unhealthy attachment to you prior to any of this. The fact you invited him has no bearing on the choices he made to break into your condo and fuck with my MC clubhouse.

“Jacob made the decision to break into two private properties. He made the decision to steal your items. He made the decision to vandalize my property. His decisions are his alone and haven’t one fucking thing to do with you inviting him here.”

“But I put the temptation back in his face,” I argue.

Maceo shakes his head and holds me tighter. “The temptation has been there for him since you left. You think I haven’t seen the fucking dick pics or the smut texts he sent you months after you left his sorry ass? He hasn’t stopped harassing you. This shit has been ongoing. Stop thinking this has anything to do with you calling him while I was overseas. He would have made his way here eventually with or without you reaching out to him. It was only a matter of time.”

He kisses me so hard and deep I can barely think. I know he’s doing this to distract me, but damn if it isn’t working. It makes me imagine us alone in a bedroom with a large bed, and him totally naked…

Maceo breaks the kiss and smiles naughtily down at me. The way he’s appraising me, I could swear his mind is in the exact same place mine is. “Soon,” he promises, kissing the crown of my head.

Damn, maybe he can read my thoughts as well as the emotions on my face.

He tugs us back over to the group and looks at Punk. “Have Chase look into loafer-dick. I want confirmation he was in the state. Check credit cards, cash withdrawals, cell towers—everything to nail the fucker. The police can’t use it, but we can,” he orders.

Punk nods and walks away to make the call as sirens scream in the distance.

* * *

The cops investigate nearly all day, causing a shit storm of traffic when my crew and delivery drivers arrive on-site. I have nearly all my workers inside the main house to avoid disturbing the police investigation. It’s a clusterfuck in there, but at least they’re all working and keeping busy.

Jared and I can’t shut down production today and expect our workers to return tomorrow, as if going a day without pay is something they can afford. If we stop work, we run the risk of crew members jumping ship for paying jobs.

Detective Quire questions me and Maceo again. Maceo fills him in on our suspicions that it’s in fact Jacob, but Luke agrees there’s not enough to bring him in with what little we’ve got and our suspicions alone.

My attention is being tugged in multiple directions with the build, my crew, Maceo, and the cops that I can feel my fragile sanity starting to rip.

Maceo is on the phone with Chase and growing angrier by the second, which isn’t good because he’s already in full alpha asshole mode. Tipping him over the edge may cause a nuclear explosion to go off around him. I feel bad for Chase having to deal with him right now.

Punk follows me around like a human shield, though we could probably stop having him do it. Jacob is the panty-snatching fence-jumping vandalizer. Yet, I know Punk would give me the ‘Maceo’s orders’ or ‘Esteban is still out there’ speech. Conceding, I let him guard me to keep the peace.

Jared and I crunch numbers and try to figure out a way to recoup ten grand. I call our insurance company, and Jared tries to hash out better deals with venders.

By the end of the day, I’m asking Jared if he’s reconsidering our partnership. I’ve brought such a fucking headache to this job, and I wouldn’t blame him for bailing. Jared does everything he can to reassure me that he’s with me all the way, but I can’t help but worry about it.

Maceo is busy investigating Jacob with Chase and Gauge, so Jared and I stay late after our crews leave for the day, and sort through the mess of papers in the trailer. I categorize stacks, while Ziggy and Jared tag-team putting things in chronological order. Butch helps by reprinting all my torn blueprints at a local print shop. Punk, Flay, and Eagle remove all the broken furnishings and file sorted paperwork.

Ziggy rush orders a new laptop for Jared. He sets it up on the make shift desk of two saw horses and an old door that Punk threw together—Ziggy is even kind enough to walk Jared through his new computer. By two in the morning, the file cabinet is back in order and the floor is clean. All that’s left is a stack of papers a foot high, but I call it a night.

Maceo takes me home and we fall into bed fully clothed. Hades crawls on top of Maceo and the three of us go to sleep.

In the morning, Maceo and I go for a run with Hades. Our asses are dragging but we need this. I drive to work with Hades since Maceo wants to lift weights. Opal accompanies me. She needs a place to study and prefers to do it away from Gauge—he’s too much of a distraction for her. Punk escorts us to the site, and I attack the last pile of paper, having it all sorted before the rest of my crew shows up.

My workers are happy to spread out again and get right to work. Jared comes with a can of paint to cover the spray-painted wall of the trailer—Ziggy even offers to help him paint, making Jared a happy camper. Cliff makes a new door for the trailer and installs it. By lunch time the trailer looks new.

Two of my crew members remove the built-in cabinets and garage door in the shop. The metal is scrapped to recoup some money. I rush order new ones and they will be in by next week. The hydraulic lift is a big budget hit, but Maceo says to go ahead and order the new one and he will foot the bill. Relieved, I cry in Maceo’s arms. As the day comes to a close, we are working as if nothing has happened and everything is on track.

By the end of the week, I’m ready for the weekend. Jared and I are determined to finish the build before three months are up, and we brainstorm nonstop to figure out how we can make it happen.

We buy pizza for all our employees to thank them for all their hard work. Sometimes all you need to do to let your workers know you appreciate them is surprise them with food. Lunch goes a little over, but spirits are high afterwards.

By four o’clock in the afternoon, the insurance company calls back to inform us our claim has been accepted. It’s enough to cover the rest of the expenses. I’m locking up shop and shooing the rest of my workers home, waiting for Maceo to arrive and drive me back. I double-check the new security system Chase installed and make sure all the cameras are functioning before walking over to my security detail.

Punk nods at me to get on his bike. I guess Maceo isn’t coming after all. I don the helmet Punk hands me and crawl up behind him, wrapping my arms around his mid section gingerly.

Punk laughs and yanks me flush to him. “I don’t bite, Jo.”

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