Every Little Piece of Him Page 14

  His phone vibrated. "It's Mac," he mumbled more to himself than the others.

  He couldn't draw attention to the dogs. People would be trying to save them or call the police trying to get them picked up before they got hit by a car. All he wanted was for the dogs to go away.

  Ignoring the call, he looked at the others. "Any suggestions?"

  "Wait them out. That's what we plan to do. I'm not going back until they're gone." Mark walked away from the window. "We came here, hoping they hadn't dropped the dogs off yet. We figured once we warned you of what could happen, we'd hang around downstairs until it was safe to go back to our homes."

  "You know how ridiculous this sounds?" Will groaned and latched his hands behind his head, pacing in front of the door. "We have no problems going after men but can't face the dogs."

  "There are ten of them," said Two-crow as if that made perfect sense and something they heard confessed every day.

  His phone vibrated again. He ignored the call. There were more important things going on upstairs than anything that could be happening downstairs.

  "We can't shoot the dogs with people around." Quint squatted and pressed his back against the wall.

  Anders leaned back in the chair and ran his hands over his overheated face. He would face ten men before he got close enough for ten dogs to take him out. Once he'd left Mexico, he swore never to have anything to do with dogs.

  Lights from his past flashed in his vision. He closed his eyes and squeezed the bridge of his nose. Joney's mangled and bloody face as clear today as it was when he was seventeen years old.

  The tension in the room grew. A knock came at the door.

  Anders jolted and opened his eyes. It took him a few seconds to realize he was upstairs at the Lair and not locked inside a cement room waiting for his turn to rile the dogs.

  He stood, motioning with his hand for everyone not to say a word, and opened the door.

  Iliana, fully dressed in jeans and a sweatshirt, took in everyone standing behind him before meeting Anders' eyes. "Mac's here. He couldn't get you on the phone and wants to talk to you."

  He hooked her neck, stepping out into the hallway, and closing his office. "I'll talk with him."

  She stopped him from walking away. "Is everything okay? You're flushed."

  "Yeah." He lowered his hand and patted her ass. "Why don't you order some food to have brought up. We're going to have guests tonight."

  Her brows shot up, and she dropped her hand from his arm. "I'll make the call."

  "Have a bottle of whiskey brought up, too." He stepped backward.

  When she'd left the hallway, he opened door finding Mac standing on the landing.

  "Sorry for bothering you. You weren't answering the phone," said Mac, wringing his hands.

  "What's the problem?" he asked.

  "I have a woman downstairs who claims a dog attacked her when she was going to her car. Her husband swears there were multiple dogs. I've put them both in the break room to keep the news from floating around Stone Lair to the customers. Should I call emergency services and have them come and treat her or—"

  "How bad was she hurt?"

  Mac lifted his arm and pointed to his wrist. "She got bit here and on her leg."

  He inhaled deeply. There would be no way he could keep the incident away from the police. To protect Stone Lair from a lawsuit, he'd need to bend over backward.

  "Call an ambulance." His head pounded, knowing the pain the woman was going through. "Send security out to the parking lot. Make sure they walk every person to their vehicle. Let them know that if needed, they can use their weapon. I'll be down in a few minutes."

  He walked back inside and shut the door, holding onto the wall while attempting to stop his legs from shaking.

  Tonight, his world was spiraling out of his control.

  Chapter 27

  Anders' friends made Iliana nervous. She stood over by the window, looking out at mountainside. It was hard to be a hostess when the men were content to sit or stand quietly, not joining in any conversations beyond replying yes or no to her questions.

  They were even quieter than Anders. No wonder he was friends with them.

  It'd been a long night. Anders had come into the bedroom in the early hours, showered, kissed her, and told her to go back to sleep, and then left the room again. When she'd finally woken and walked into the living room, she found the men who'd introduced themselves as Quint, Mark, Will, and Two-crow.

  None of them indulged her question about where she could find Anders. It took reminding herself that he would probably want her to make sure his guests were comfortable for her to play hostess.

  A lot of her nervousness had to do with the way they looked. These were big men filling the room. She swallowed and tried to keep from going too close to them.

  Quint smelled of campfire smoke and had a long beard. Two-crow was a Native American and wore his dark hair long with a leather necklace around his neck holding what she suspected was some kind of rock. Mark seemed older than the others because his hair was all gray, which he kept down to his shoulders but with his goatee, he looked like a sexy Grizzly Adams type. He wore a jean jacket that was ripped at both elbows. Will, the biggest out of the group, kept walking to the window to look out and she swore he made the wooden floor under his feet bow with each step.

  "Have you had breakfast?" asked Iliana.

  "We're fine." Quint continued to sit on the arm of the couch.

  Her stomach rumbled. "Can I get anyone a coffee?"

  Four 'yes, please' answers flew at her. She relaxed, finally finding something that she could do to escape the room.

  In the kitchen, she made a pot and stood by the counter watching it drip slowly in the coffee maker. She wanted to see Anders.

  After living with him and being used to having the upstairs to themselves, the arrival of his friends made her feel pushed to the outside and reminded her there was still more to Anders than she knew.

  She hated feeling as if there was more work to be done in their relationship. Of course, she expected him to have friends and time away from her, that wasn't the problem. Habits were hard to break, and she'd gotten used to it being only the two of them.

  Her phone beeped. She smiled seeing her sister calling and answered.

  "Tom got the loan from the bank," said Sofia excitedly.

  Relief came over her. "That's great. When do you want to come and get the motorhome?"

  "We're thinking the weekend after next because your area is supposed to get more snow."

  Hiding her disappointment, she said, "Any chance you can spend the weekend here when you do come?"

  "Um..."

  She pulled five mugs down from the cupboard. "Okay, what are you not telling me?"

  "Nothing."

  "Right." She poured coffee. "Be that way. You and Tom just shut yourself off from the world and pretend you don’t have a sister."

  Sofia laughed. Nothing ever got her sister down, and she loved flaunting her and Tom's love to everyone in their lives.

  "We'll mail you the check beforehand," said Sofia.

  "I'm not worried about it." She stared down at the coffee, not knowing what the guys would like added or if they drank it black.

  "What are you doing? You sound preoccupied?"

  "Delivering coffee. Anders has some friends staying at the Lair." She headed out of the kitchen. "I'll let you go and talk to you later."

  "Okay. Love you."

  "Love you, too." She disconnected the phone and stepped into the living room. "Do you want sugar or milk? Anders also has some coffee flavorings in the fridge."

  All four men headed toward her. She stepped out of their way, taking their mumbled thanks as they went into the kitchen and fixed their coffee the way they wanted.

  Anders came through the door and found her pressed up against the wall and cocked his head. "Everything okay?"

  She slid her phone into her pocket. "I just made your friends some coffee. Th
ere's some left if you'd like a cup."

  "I'm good."

  Studying him, she took in the dark circles under his eyes as he kissed her. "Did you get any sleep?"

  "No." He looked into the kitchen and lifted his chin. "Can you give me a few minutes and then I'll be done with business for a few hours?"

  "I'll go in the bed—"

  "No need." He kissed her swiftly. "I'll take them to the office. Make sure you eat something."

  Once the kitchen was vacant, she fixed a piece of toast and poured a glass of orange juice. The quietness only made her more aware there were five men in the office talking about things she wasn't privy to, and she wanted to know what was going on.

  Chapter 28

  Inside the office, Anders got straight to business. "The dogs are gone. After Mr. Clemmons pointed out the dog that attacked his wife, the state police ended up killing the animal when he tried to attack the officer. Luckily, the other dogs scattered at the sound of the gunshot. I'm keeping two of my security team outside to make sure they don't come back."

  Quint shook his head. "How's the woman?"

  "She's being treated at the hospital. The dog is being tested for rabies." He gritted his teeth and exhaled through his nose. "Since she was attacked on my property, my insurance will cover her expenses."

  "What are the police saying?" asked Two-crow.

  "They believe it was a wild dog pack. A bunch of strays that banded together. Apparently, it's not unheard of in this area for folks to dump dogs. Those that survive find each other and run wild. Some even join wolf packs." He looked at Mark. "Have you found out if the dogs are gone at your place?"

  "They're gone." Mark pointed in front of him. "Everyone's checked in with their employees and got the all-clear. We were waiting to make sure everything here was okay."

  His chest tightened, grateful for the understanding connection he shared with the others. With them here, he knew if it'd come down to needing to get rid of the dogs himself, that each one of them would've stood beside him if it came down to it.

  "You guys might as well go home, get some sleep. Who the fuck knows when the next threat will come." He rubbed his hand over his whiskered jaw.

  "We'll meet up in the morning and continue. One of these days, they'll finally take the bait." Two-crow grabbed his coat off the couch where he'd left it last night.

  "It's time to take the son of a bitches out." Anders rotated his stiff shoulders. "I don't care if we have to chase them to Mexico. I want this over with."

  "We need to see them first to follow them." Will grunted. "We shouldn't have waited this long."

  Anders followed them out of the office and watched them leave, making sure no dogs would work their way back and find them.

  Will was right.

  If they would've known their troubles would follow them from Mexico, they could've put their past behind them before now. Over the years, things had escalated.

  They'd come together out of desperation.

  They'd ran to hide.

  They'd killed to survive.

  The last two men responsible for stealing six boys and forcing them through hell had a reason to make sure the information never got out.

  Only someone who had something worth losing would spend a lifetime to find them, and kill them.

  Chapter 29

  Iliana strummed on the guitar backstage. Anders walked into the room, leaned down, and whispered, "Come with me."

  She turned to him. "I have to sing in fifteen minutes."

  "Don't worry about it." He held out his hand. "Come with me."

  She shook her head in amusement and grabbed his hand with both of hers, holding him tightly. "Okay, since you're the boss."

  He led her through the crowd to the entryway between bar and casino and nodded at Steve, one of the men on his security team, as he opened the front door. Taking off his coat, he placed it over Iliana's shoulders knowing she liked to stay warm before she was due to sing.

  "You're going to freeze." She pulled the edges of his jacket tighter around her, lifting her shoulders, protecting her neck.

  "I'll survive for a few minutes." He wrapped his arm around her and walked her to the end of the two-hundred-foot-long porch running along the front of the first story of the building. "You need to see this."

  "What is it?" She stopped at the corner.

  "Look around the corner into the back-parking lot by your motorhome." He stood behind her and wrapped his arms around her, snuggling close to keep her warm.

  "Oh, God. Don't tell me something bad has happened to the new one. My sister is going to be here next weekend to pick it up." She inhaled deeply.

  "There's nothing wrong," he whispered. "Just keep looking."

  "I don't know what I'm looking for." She pressed back against him.

  "Has anyone told you that you're impatient?"

  "No. Never."

  He chuckled. "Consider me the first."

  In bed, she went hard once her arousal took hold. With her music, she practiced until exhaustion. There were times, she'd walk downstairs and find him working and slip her hand into his or cuddle up against his side. It never mattered what he was doing or who he was talking with, she wanted him, and nothing got in her way.

  If that wasn't impatience, then she was the most determined person he'd ever met.

  A shadow appeared at the back corner of the motorhome. He squeezed Iliana. "Get ready," he whispered.

  Four legs appeared at the side of the RV. Then, four more. And, four more.

  Iliana gasped. He kissed the side of her head.

  Security had let him know that a momma moose had started hanging out behind Stone Lair that afternoon. He'd come out and spotted the twins with the moose earlier. Unlike dogs, he could appreciate the wildlife in the area, which was also admired by the customers as a little slice of Montana.

  His security team often watched a moose or bear until they moseyed on to a safer area. For him, knowing the moose could hang around meant the dogs that scattered last night were long gone.

  "They're so cute and awkward. Look at their knobby knees." She laughed softly. "They must be first-year babies."

  "They'll have a hard winter ahead of them." He rubbed her covered arms.

  He'd been nineteen years old when he'd arrived in the Bitterroot Mountains, looking for the others. Winter came a month later, and he'd found himself homeless, without a job, and lost to the world. He'd survived hiding out in an abandoned house until the next summer when he'd hooked up with a construction company who paid him on a day-to-day basis.

  "I wish I had my phone with me to take a picture," she said.

  He reached behind him and pulled out his cell. "Here."

  "Thanks." She wiggled her hands out of the coat and took a photo. "Can you text that to me. I want to send it to Sofia."

  "Sure." He stayed with her until she jumped, turning in his arms. "I'm late. I need to go sing."

  He'd distracted her, and wished they could stand out here longer, forgetting about their obligations, and enjoy each other.

  Walking her back inside, he left her backstage. "Take fifteen minutes and warm up first. There's no hurry."

  She inhaled deeply and smiled. "I'm warm blooded. I'll be ready in five."

  Iliana shook her hands in front of her, whether from nerves or for warmth. He kissed her and left the room, leaving her to prep for the hour and a half she'd entertain his customers at Stone Lair.

  Using the time to connect with the others, he sent off texts, affirming he'd meet at Two-crow's building early in the morning and checking to see if anyone had seen anything from their enemies.

  The replies came minutes later. There were no signs of being followed, people hanging around, dogs, or dead bodies showing up.

  Putting his phone away, he wanted to relax and enjoy the rest of the night. But, he couldn't.

  He'd dodged Iliana's questions about the others sudden appearance and them staying upstairs. He'd dodged his absences as he w
ent out, hoping to draw his enemies toward him. He'd dodged any talk of the future besides keeping Iliana forever because he wasn't ready to tell her of his past.

  He wasn't sure he'd ever be ready or if it was necessary. Why cloud her opinion of him by the pain he'd lived through?

  It no longer mattered if she grew scared of him over the information and went to the police to tell them he'd killed before. Because if he lost her, he'd lose his fucking mind. Prison would be the only safe place to keep him.

  The crowd quieted. Iliana stepped out on stage, setting her guitar down, and approached the microphone. She smiled at her audience, her gaze heating as her eyes landed on Anders.

  "How are you all doing tonight?" she said, practically purring into the mic.

  Cheers and clapping deafened the start of the music from the soundtrack. Iliana began singing and like every night she sang, the crowd went deathly quiet.

  He settled against the wall and listened to her sing. She'd changed up the songs she performed again. There were times, he could swear she sang for him.

  He felt the words vibrating in his chest, the emotions piercing his heart, and her eyes on him begging for love.

  He loved her.

  Having never experienced love from another or gave love, he wasn't sure the desperation he lived with daily with Iliana was the typical love.

  He felt it harder, deeper, and more pleasurable than he suspected love was supposed to be. There were times he hurt for loving her and whether that was a part of the whole emotion, he couldn't stop.

  Chapter 30

  Anders tickled her sides, pushing the sides of the T-shirt she'd borrowed from him up her body. Iliana laughed loudly, wrapping her arms around his neck and lifted her legs off the ground, trying to unbalance him.

  She couldn't budge him.

  He was a monster. A wall. A mountain.

  "Oh, my God. It's true." She gasped through her laughter, trying to look at his face. "You strain your orange juice. You've been doing it for months."

  Almost every morning, she poured him juice and coffee to enjoy while she got dressed and put her makeup on. He always drank both.