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The doorbell rang for the third time that morning. Thad set the bottle of oil he'd brought in from the garage on the kitchen counter.
"Babe, don't get that," he shouted, grabbing a water bottle out of the fridge and walking to the living room.
Lena, hands latched behind her head, pulled herself into a sit-up. Her face red from the exertion. He tossed her the water. She'd been exercising for the last hour. First, some kind of jumping in place, except her hands remained on the floor and her ass in the air. Then, she ran up and down his stairs until he wondered if she'd wear a path in the carpet runner. Now, he'd caught her doing sit-ups.
"Thanks." She cracked the top of the bottle and drank deeply while sitting on the floor.
He stepped over to the entryway, looked out the peephole, and opened the door. "Hey."
Wayne, Chuck, and Glen strolled inside, taking off their jackets and dripping water on the floor. He looked outside. It was pouring rain.
"Bad timing?" Thad stepped into the living room, knowing they'd follow.
Lena walked over to him and rubbed his stomach. "I'm going to go upstairs."
"Stay," interrupted Wayne. "Gomez called me. He was on his way over to your co-worker's house, or her parents' house, I think he said. It looks like you guys weren't the only ones to have a drive-by."
Lena pressed her hand to her chest. "Which one? Yvonne? Is she okay?"
"I never got a name. I happened to be talking to Gomez about something else, and he'd received a call while on the phone with me. He told me enough to make sure we rode over here and stayed until we hear more." Wayne looked at Thad. "Clara, Gracie, and Ingrid are at Vavoom's. Pauly's keeping an eye on the building. He'll call if we're needed."
Pauly owned the bike rental place across the street from Vavoom's. Ingrid worked there four days a week, and her boss had proven himself a trusting man. Thad slipped his hand into Lena's and sat with her on the couch. The others took their own seat around the room.
"I need to call Yvonne," whispered Lena.
"Later. You don't want to distract the police or put Yvonne in danger from what needs to be done." Thad put his arm around her.
"This makes me mad." She pushed off the couch. "I'm going to go take a shower."
Thad let her go. Lena wasn't one who showed her emotions in front of others. Even with him, she kept her feelings wrapped tightly inside of her. At first, it was sexier than hell. Now it was worrisome.
"Is she going to be okay?" Glen flicked the toothpick he had between his teeth up and down with his tongue.
Thad rubbed his jaw and sighed. "Eventually. When this bullshit is over. I think I should make another meeting with Billy and force some answers out of Tigres. The hell with the cops not wanting us to get involved. We can put a little pressure on him and let him know I don't appreciate my house riddled with bullet holes."
"It's an active investigation." Chuck grimaced. "It'll be safer to go after them when the police aren't involved."
"It could be too late by then." Thad stood and paced, unable to sit still. "We didn't wait when Gracie was kidnapped by a serial killer and found out it was the man who'd killed my sister or when Ingrid's ex-boyfriend was hunting her down. Or, with the handful of men we've had to take out."
"What did you do?" asked Lena behind him.
He straightened, shocked at Lena's presence in the room. Looking at his MC brothers, validating their loyalty, he turned slowly to face Lena. She was supposed to be upstairs taking a shower.
"Thad?" Lena walked down the last half of the steps and approached him. "Did you kill those men you mentioned?"
"We're not talking about those men. We're talking about Tigres coming after you." His fingers curled into his palms, and he straightened them. "If you're asking if I'd kill anyone who wants to hurt you, then yes. I would."
She shook her head. "I heard you say you went after the men who hurt Gracie and Ingrid. Are the men still alive?"
He gritted his teeth and refused to answer her. Notus Motorcycle Club survived by keeping club business between the five members. It was only one of the reasons why they excluded every other biker who approached them wanting to wear a patch. Wayne, Chuck, Glen, Rich, and him had a past that had proven their loyalty. They trusted no one else when it came to Notus business.
"Oh, Thad," she whispered, her gaze softening as understanding dawned on her.
He refused to discuss his actions with her. Anything that happened within the club would never touch her.
"Babe, go take your shower," he said softly.
She lifted her chin. The cords in her neck convulsed as she swallowed. She'd been through a lifetime of hell and hidden her feelings. That's what she fell back on with him. She wouldn't let him see how even questioning him filled her with fear, but he knew. He could feel her trembling from three feet away.
Lena turned and walked up the stairs with precise steps, not running, not slowing. Straight forward, one step in front of the other as if she controlled the whole damn situation.
"Motherfucker," mumbled Wayne. "Is this going to be a problem?"
"With Lena?" Thad shook his head. "I'll take care of her."
"I'll trust that you do." Wayne dipped his chin.
From the beginning, Wayne had taken the leadership role. As a child, he'd introduced them all and declared them blood brothers at six years old. During Thalia's kidnapping, Wayne had kept them all from going out and killing everyone who tried to stop them from finding Thad's sister and kept them level headed while the police questioned them all. The public eye was always on them because they were bikers. They were guilty before they were innocent.
Stereotypes never went away, because there was always some truth to the rumors.
Because of overhearing a conversation meant only for Notus members, Lena would now have her own assumptions about him and would first see him as guilty. It was human instinct.
The doorbell rang. Thad exhaled and answered the door. Finley, from Port Loaders, stood under the eave out of the rain.
"What's up, Fin?" Thad moved back, letting him inside.
Finley nodded his chin at the others. "The wife bought a pool table for the garage. It's in the back of my truck in my driveway. Do you think you could come over and help me get it in out of the rain? I threw a tarp over it until I can drum up enough people to help."
No one knew what he was dealing with or that he couldn't leave because Lena needed him. "Damn, man, I can't. We're waiting for the lieutenant from St. John's P.D. to call us."
"Shit. A missing person?" Finley shoved his hands in the pockets of his jacket. "That's not good."
"We don't know yet. We're waiting to hear." Thad let him assume what was going on.
Finley nodded. "Yeah, okay. I'll go over and see if Carson can help."
"Sorry, man," said Thad.
"Not a problem." Finley stepped over to the door. "Hope everything works out. See you Monday at work."
Thad waited until they were alone again and walked back to the couch. Before he could sit, his phone vibrated. Expecting it to be Gomez, he answered and heard Maureen say hello.
"Hey, Maureen." Thad looked at Wayne, knowing he'd be interested in why the waitress at Vavoom's Bar would be calling. The Notus women were at the bar.
"Do you still have that snake for the toilet?" asked Maureen.
The pressure in his chest eased. "Yeah, it's in my garage."
"Thank, God." Maureen laughed. "Can Paxton come over and get it real fast on his break?"
Thad covered the phone and spoke with Wayne. "They need the plumbing snake at Vavoom's. Do you want Paxton to leave the girls or one of us to take it over there?"
"I'll take it. Glen and Chuck can wait here with you." Wayne stood and walked out of the room.
Thad relayed the message to Maureen and disconnected the call. Pulled in different directions, he needed to do something besides sit on his ass at home. The fucking world never stopped because he needed it to slow down. His friends needed him. Lena needed him. His club needed him. He couldn't let any of them down.
Glen rubbed his mouth. "Bro, sit down. I know it's hard, but Lena is the only one you need to take care of. Let the club help."
He understood what Glen was saying, but only one person could help him.
"Have a beer or change the oil on my bike, if you want. It's in the garage." Thad lifted his hand toward the stairs. "I'm going to deal with Lena."
He walked out of the room. At the top of the stairs, he stopped when Lena stepped out of the bathroom at the end of the hallway, wrapped in a towel. Her gaze flashed panic and then heated. He stalked to her, ripped the towel off her, picked her up, and carried her to the bedroom, kicking the door with his boot.
It took too long to talk and convince her he'd never hurt her. She hated hearing promises anyway and never quite believed him when he said he wasn't going anywhere.
But, she understood fucking. He'd prove to her that he could be trusted and that she should forget about what she'd heard.