6

Dolly

I wasn’t sure how long I had been alone in the library after Micah slammed out of there, angry. One minute, I had been ready to bolt, and the next, he had stormed from the room, as if he couldn’t get away from me fast enough.

Why was he angry? I was the one being held against my will. I was the one who needed to get back home. He…he was just not getting his way. That was all.

Maybe Canyon was a bad guy, and just maybe, Micah was right, but I knew—I just knew—Canyon wouldn’t hurt me. Even if he had been in prison and done the things that Micah seemed to think he had, I wasn’t in danger from him. Getting Micah to listen to me was another thing. Especially since I was now sitting in this library, alone.

I let my eyes wander over to the bookshelves. They were full of books, and that impressed me. The men here didn’t appear to be readers, yet here, they had a library that I was jealous of. I started toward one of the shelves to see what books they had when the door swung back open. I expected to see Micah, but instead, it was Tex.

He held up my purse. “Got something for you,” he replied.

Relieved at the sight of it, I hurried toward him to take it in case he changed his mind. “Thank you,” I replied out of habit. Not that I had a reason to thank him. He was a part of all this.

“Don’t thank me yet,” he replied. “I’m also supposed to show you to your room.”

I was in the process of pulling my phone from my purse but paused and looked up at him. “Room?” I asked, not liking the sound of that one bit.

“There was an issue at Toxic Throttle, one of our clubs. Micah had to go handle things. He said to give you your shit and take you to your room.”

“He’s just gonna keep me here? How long will he be gone?” I asked, feeling the panic rise in my chest.

“Not sure, darling. But you’re safe here. No one is gonna hurt you.”

I knew arguing was pointless. I had my phone now. I would call Pepper. She’d help me. I nodded and followed him out of the library and down the long hallway, passing the stairs and finally stopping at the second door on the right.

Tex opened the door and stepped back. “Go take a bubble bath or some shit women do. Nina will bring you some food soon.”

Pepper would hopefully be here sooner. I nodded and thanked him, then closed the door and locked it. I realized they probably had a key to it, but it made me feel marginally better. Taking my phone, I dropped my purse on the bed and went through my missed calls and texts. Momma had called twice, then left a text about me helping at the potluck dinner at church tomorrow night. She wanted me to make a Crock-Pot of chicken and dumplings. Zander, one of my coworkers at the campus library, had texted, asking if I could take his shift tomorrow morning. That wasn’t looking promising at the moment. Then, there was a missed call from Canyon. He’d left a voice message. I stared at the message for a moment before pressing play and listening to it.

“Babe, I’m sorry. I handled today wrong. The shit with The Judgment and Micah Abe is old, and I had hoped they’d let it go. I should have protected you. I should have never let them take you. I’m so fucking sorry. Know that I wouldn’t have allowed it if I’d thought you were in trouble. I knew Abe wouldn’t hurt you if you were important to his sister. Just…” He paused, and I blinked back the tears burning my eyes. He was admitting it. He knew about my connection to Pepper. He had known who I was to her. “Don’t shut me out. Let me explain. I need to explain, baby. Please. Call me.”

I sank down on the bed and stared down at the phone. Canyon’s name with a heart emoji beside it. What was I supposed to believe? I needed to talk to Pepper. She would help me sort this all out. Make sense of it all. I typed in her name, then pressed Call on my cell.

Three rings, then voice mail. Ending the call, I decided to text her instead.

I need you. It’s a 911 kinda thing. I am currently being held at your brother’s club or whatever this place is. He thinks I’m unsafe at home. Call me.

After pressing Send, I waited for the phone to ring or even to see that she had read my text. Neither happened. I tried calling again. Three rings, then voice mail. She would call me as soon as she saw this. I placed the phone on the bedside table and lay back on the bed to stare at the ceiling. Maybe Pepper would read it and come straight here. Not even call. She’d be so mad at Micah that she would burst in here and take me home.

The knock on my door had me scrambling off the bed and hurrying to the door. Perhaps that was Micah and I was getting to leave. I unlocked it and swung it open to find Nina standing there with a tray of food, just like Tex had promised. Disappointed, I forced a smile.

“Thank you, Nina,” I told her, although I wasn’t in the least bit hungry. I reached out to take the tray.

“I know you’re ready to go, and that food won’t make that any better, but I did add a large slice of my coconut cake. It can give you a brief moment of joy maybe.” The pity on her face didn’t reassure me that I would be sleeping in my bed tonight.

“I’m sure it’s delicious,” I replied.

It wasn’t Nina’s fault I was stuck here. She had been nothing but kind to me. I’d manage to eat some of it just not to hurt her feelings or seem ungrateful.

“Try and get some rest. All will look better in the morning.”

I started to tell her Pepper would be here to get me before morning but thought better of it. I didn’t know how the roles or chain of command worked around here, and if Nina answered to Micah, then as nice as she was, I couldn’t trust her.

“I will,” I assured her, although it was a complete lie. I wasn’t getting any sleep in this room.

“All right then, I’m heading home for the day. My ol’ man is working at Throttle tonight. I’ll be here in the morning, bright and early. Come on down to the kitchen when you get up.”

She didn’t live here? Who did all these rooms belong to? No. It didn’t matter. I was leaving soon. No need to worry about it.

I nodded. “I will.” Another lie. “Good night then.”

Once the door was closed and locked, I walked over and set the tray on the dresser. My mouth was dry, so I took the water, but I didn’t want anything else. Not even the coconut cake. I checked my phone again, and nothing from Pepper.

Frustrated, I used the bathroom, then lay back on the bed after taking a few long drinks of water. It surprised me when my eyes grew heavy. I hadn’t expected that, but then it had been a long day, and maybe resting my eyes for a bit wouldn’t be such a bad idea.

Loud knocking on the door caused my eyes to snap open, and I blinked, confused. Then, reality set in, and I remembered exactly where I was and why. Hurrying to get up, I rushed to the door, almost tripping over my heels I had taken off before lying down. I caught myself before I face-planted and then made it to the door just as another knock rattled it.

Quickly unlocking it, I swung it open to see Tex standing there.

A small smile tugged on his lips. “Getting a nap, darling?” he asked, amused.

I nodded.

“Get your shoes on and grab your things,” he said, then stepped back and waved his hand for me to come out of the room.

“Where are we going?” I asked as I went to slip on my heels.

“Your apartment,” he told me with a slight curl to his lips. “Seems you’ve been granted your request.”

Relief washed over me, and I let out an excited squeal as I grabbed my phone and purse. Pausing at the door, I stopped to throw my arms around his neck and hug him. It was a reflex sort of thing. I was happy. He tensed at first, and then a low chuckle escaped him, and he returned my hug.

“What the fuck?”

Micah’s voice startled me, and I dropped my arms from around Tex and spun around to look at him. He was stalking down the hallway toward us. I took a step back, not sure if I should run now or start screaming. Had Tex been wrong and I wasn’t supposed to leave? My stomach sank, and I felt tears start to burn my eyes again.

“She hugged me,” Tex said from behind me.

The angry scowl on Micah’s face didn’t ease my concerns.

“And you were fucking quick to wrap your arms around her,” he snarled.

“Heavens to Betsy! It was a hug. And don’t you tell me I can’t leave here, Micah Abe. I have my phone! I called Pepper!” I warned him.

His eyes swung to me and instantly softened but only slightly. “We need to go.”

“We?” Tex asked.

Micah shifted his gaze back to Tex. “Yeah. I’ll be taking her after all. Seems you might not be able to handle it the way we discussed.”

Tex shrugged. “It was a fucking hug.”

Micah ignored him and looked back to me. “Let’s go, Tink.”

I opened my mouth to tell him to stop calling me Tink but decided against it. He could call me whatever he wanted if he just got me out of this place.

“All right then,” I replied with a nod.

It looked as if he was going to smile, but he didn’t. Instead, he turned and headed for the stairs. I had to almost run to keep up with him and his long legs, but I didn’t mind. The quicker we got out of here, the better. I wasn’t going to complain again. I was going home.

When we reached the bottom step, I paused and looked back at the red door. I hadn’t eaten one bite of the food Nina had left for me. I should have at least taken the cake with me. Micah wasn’t stopping as he headed to the door. I’d have to send her an apology for not having eaten any of it. Not wanting to chance him changing his mind, I sighed and hurried after him.

It was dark when we stepped outside, and the evening air was its usual warm, balmy temp. Micah led me past the bikes to a large, shiny black truck with four doors. He stopped and jerked open the passenger door, then held out his hand to me. As much as I didn’t want to take it, I knew I was going to need help getting up in this thing. It was too far off the ground for me. I slid my hand in his, and when he wrapped his larger hand around mine, I tried not to feel anything, but the tingling sensation came anyway. Perhaps some things never changed. I managed to quickly get inside so I could let go of him as fast as I could. There was no good to come of me tingling anywhere because of Micah Abe.

“Nice ass, Tink,” he replied before closing the door and walking around the front of the truck to the driver’s side.

My face was instantly warm, and I would be lying if I said the fact that Micah had just complimented my butt didn’t make me feel slightly giddy. The little girl with a crush was inside, doing a happy dance right now, completely oblivious to the grown-up Dolly, who knew she needed to stop it. Besides, hadn’t I been sure just hours ago that I was in love with Canyon? What kind of person was I turning out to be?

Micah climbed into the truck, and I reached for the seat belt to buckle up, trying not to think about how nice he smelled. Perhaps I just needed a man candle. I clearly had a thing for their scent. Rolling my eyes at my thoughts, I turned my head to stare out the window. Looking at Micah Abe was a massive mistake I would not make.

Once we were pulling out of the gated compound, or whatever he called it, I relaxed slightly. I would be home soon. In my own little space. With my things. I could take a bubble bath and wash this day away with a glass of my favorite prosecco.

“Pep is meeting us at your apartment,” Micah said, breaking into my thoughts.

I turned my head to look at him now. “Why?” I asked, still confused about why she hadn’t responded to my text or calls.

“Because I stopped by the bar and told her I had you, why I had you, and that I was going to send protection home with you. She isn’t expecting me to be that protection because that wasn’t the plan when I spoke with her.”

I frowned at the idea of needing anyone there to keep me safe from Canyon. “You can’t mean you’re actually staying with me?”

He glanced at me with a look that said he clearly didn’t like the idea of it either. “Not much choice.”

“Canyon wouldn’t hurt me.”

The one hand Micah had on the steering wheel tightened, and his jaw clenched. “Yeah, Tink, he would. If you had just stayed at the club, then this would all be a nonissue.”

“For crying out loud,” I argued. “He has been alone with me many times. If he were going to hurt me, he would have by now.”

Micah sighed heavily. “Just talk to Pepper. I’m tired of this same argument.”

His annoyance with me only ignited my temper. How dare he get annoyed with me! I was the one who had the right to be annoyed. Me! Not him!

“As much as I love Pepper, she can’t tell me something about someone she don’t know. I never introduced her to Canyon. I told you, she didn’t know I was dating him. You’re making this into something it ain’t.”

Micah’s jaw was working, and I noticed the veins in his neck. He was angry.

Fine. Be angry. Join the club.

I was furious and tired of being treated like a child. My momma already did that enough. I didn’t need him adding to it.

“Pepper ever tell you how she lost her virginity?” he asked, his voice tight as he spoke through clenched teeth.

“Yes,” I replied, not sure how this had anything to do with me and Canyon.

She’d lost her virginity at sixteen to a man who was too old for her and had used her. She had thought he loved her. I remembered her crying as she had told me about it years ago.

I was a grown woman. I knew better. It wasn’t the same.

“The guy who did it was Canyon Acree.”

Micah’s hard response settled on me as I sat there, staring at him. Waiting for him to say joking or just kidding. But he said nothing. His body remained rigid. His hand gripped the steering wheel so tightly that his knuckles were white. He was serious.

Oh my God. No. This wasn’t right. He was confused. Canyon wouldn’t do that.

I replayed that day and all she had said. The weeks that followed and how she was withdrawn, even from me. How I had sat with her in silence and held her hand for hours in my room. Neither of us saying anything. Just sitting there.

“A friend of her mom put him in jail,” I said aloud as I remembered her telling me about it.

“Liam Walsh. The man who raised me after my dad died. He’s the president of The Judgment. He wanted to be sure I got to see my sister after Dad passed. He and Pep’s mom kept in contact for our sake. When it happened, Liam made sure Canyon paid for it and used his resources to put him behind bars for five years.”

Micah and Pepper had different mothers. She had said his mom died when he was a baby. His dad had made sure they grew up close even though they didn’t live together. Micah would come stay at Pepper’s for a week at a time throughout the year and then for a month in the summers. After he turned sixteen, his visits became few and far between. The last time being when we were fifteen and he picked Pepper up from school. He’d taken me, too, and we’d stopped at Sonic to get milkshakes and tater tots.

I wrapped my arms around my stomach as a sick knot formed. How had this happened? The same man had met both of us without the other ever knowing. He’d hurt my best friend, and I’d let him touch me. Kiss me. I felt ill, thinking about it.

Was this a coincidence? Was that even logical? Or had he…

Oh God. He had set me up. He’d followed me. Put himself in my path. But why? To get back at Pepper? Why would he do that? Regardless of the whys, I had thought I was in love with the man who had hurt my best friend and taken something precious from her that she could never get back.

I dropped my head down into my hands and covered my face. I was so stupid. Maybe I deserved to grow old with a bunch of cats. I ought to just go adopt my first one this week.