Hadley (The Club Girl Diaries Book 3) (21 page)

“Hadley, eat something,” I growled, watching her stare at the plate of food in front of her.

“I’m not hungry,” she muttered.

“Bullshit.”

Her eyes flicked to me, surprised by the tone in my voice. She was shutting down and scared, I could tell. Things had suddenly got very real for her.

Hadley was tough, she could handle her own. The attack back in Athens had been a shock, but the reality was, we weren’t sure who it was meant for.

This, it was personal. They’d known her name, they’d talked about Judge. They’d filled a hotel room with bullets hoping to kill her. She knew now, for sure, that Simon was out for blood, her blood.

It was 3:00 a.m. I’d driven for as long as possible before the adrenaline in my system had given out, and my eyes began to feel heavy. We’d found an all-hours diner in some small town outside of Charleston, South Carolina. It was at this point I was satisfied that no one had followed us, and the likelihood of being found or recognized by police was slim to none.

Just as I was about to tell Hadley again to put something in her mouth, my phone began to ring. I whipped it out and pressed it to my ear. “Hello.”

“Leo, it’s Judge.”

“Hey, you find anything helpful?” I asked, leaning back in the small booth.

Hadley looked up at me, and I nodded to her plate, mouthing the word ‘eat.’ She frowned in reply, not moving at all.

“Yeah. Had my boys inside get on it.” He sighed. “Simon must be getting desperate. He risked some serious shit with this one.”

My ears perked, and I sat up a little straighter.

“He got someone inside to use the camera identification software to find her. They caught you at a gas station in Jacksonville, and he had men there within a couple hours,” Judge explained.

I clenched my jaw. “Are you serious? He can do that kinda shit?”

“We didn’t think so, but it looks like he got someone to,” Judge stated angrily. “This is a good thing, though. Now we just need to find out who he conned into doing it and get them to talk. If our superiors find out he’s using the system for personal gain, we can bring him down.”

I scrubbed my beard. “And how long will that take?”

He sighed. “Can’t tell you, but I’ve got everyone possible working on it.”

“We at risk with the cameras now?” I asked, looking around the diner, wondering if their cameras were hooked up to the system.

“I would be careful, just in case. But we think we’ve managed to pull it down.”

“Fucking awesome.”

He snorted. “How’s Hadley holding up?”

My eyes looked up, watching as she finally placed a French fry in her mouth and chewed. “She shot someone,” I told him simply.

Hadley looked up from her food, her face visibly twisting into disgust.

“One thing Simon got right, teaching that girl how to shoot.” Judge chuckled.

I’d seen the evidence of that first hand when she beat Rifle at the range in Athens. She had a steady hand, and perfect aim and she could shoot under pressure.

“Let me know if you find something. We need to find a motel and get some sleep,” I told Judge.

“Will do. I’d help you out with a safe house, but unfortunately, the second I did, Simon would be able to find you,” Judge said, disappointed and angry.

“No problem. Catch you soon.”

The line went dead, and I tucked my phone back into my pocket. We sat in silence for the next thirty minutes, only talking to the waitress when she came to ask if we needed more coffee.

I did, a lot more.

Hadley managed to finish her food, but she was still strangely quiet.

“You wanna talk about it?” I asked finally.

“He’s going to find us,” she admitted her fears without reservation.

I shook my head. “We’re going to be smart about this. And if he does, we
will
fight. I won’t let him hurt you.”

“No,” she snapped, straightening her back. “I won’t let him hurt you! I’ve dragged you into this, and now because of me, you’re risking your life to try and keep me alive. A fight that’s possibly completely pointless because it seems like no matter what we do, he will be there.”

I could hear the emotion in her voice. She was upset, angry. I didn’t blame her.

“Didn’t you hear me all those times that I told you that you’re mine?”

She scoffed. “Hard to miss.”

“Good. So you know that I’ll do whatever it damn well takes to protect you. Because that’s what we fucking do,” I said, lowering my voice as the waitress walked past.

“And who is going to protect you?” she shot back. I was surprised by the sharpness in her tone. “What about Macy? What happens to her if you die trying to protect me.”

I frowned. “We really gonna go through this shit again?” She rolled her eyes, but I reached across and grabbed her chin between my fingers. “When you gonna figure out what’s going on here? You’re part of my life now too. My Old Lady. That means something to me, and to the club. I’m not gonna back out just because it’s risky. I won’t sit around and see you, the woman I might possibly spend the rest of my life with, hurt.”

She pursed her lips, glaring at me across the table with tears gathering in her eyes.

“I love that you want to protect Macy and me, but if we want to possibly keep you in our lives, then I need to fight to keep you safe. Because at this point, I don’t want to let you go. I want to fucking have you… and keep you. And I know that we said there would be time later to figure this shit out, but I couldn’t care less, I know right now what I want, and I know you feel the same.”

She stared at me, keeping her lips tightly pressed together.

“Tell me what
you
want,” I growled, needing to hear the words come from her mouth.

“I want you,” she whispered. No question about her answer.

I nodded. “Then we go through this shit together. And you stop fighting me on this.”

She nodded, her face still clasped in my fingers.

“I ain’t going nowhere, and neither are you.”

I needed this from her. I knew how she operated. She’d risk everything to protect the ones she cared about, but if she ran, tried to sacrifice herself for me, she wouldn’t survive.

And I wasn’t sure I’d be able to go on if I lost her too. The darkness would consume me again. I could feel it at just the thought of being without her. It would pull me under.

I swallowed back the dark thoughts and pulled her by the chin across the table. She leaned forward, and I met her in the middle, pressing my lips to hers, hoping it would reassure her somewhat.

“I’m really tired,” she whispered when she sat back.

I nodded, whistling to the waitress to bring the check and paying with cash before leading Hadley out to the truck. As we stepped outside, I almost pushed Hadley back through the door when I saw three shadowy figures standing next to the vehicle. I braced myself, ready to fight my way out if necessary.

Hadley gasped, clutching my hand in hers. It wasn’t until they stepped out of the shadows that my body slumped in relief.

“Got a call to say you needed somewhere to stay, and we just happened to be in the area.” The thick Italian accent greeted us as Angelo stepped up to the curb.

“Didn’t know you were doing favors for the Brothers nowadays,” I replied, pulling Hadley into my side and squeezing her shoulders, trying to reassure her that everything was all right.

Angelo chuckled, the sound dark and menacing. But I knew he meant no harm. The guy was just naturally scary.

“I’m not. But when Rose calls in the middle of the night, asking for me to help her friend…” his eyes moved to Hadley, “…I answer.”

I was actually relieved. There wasn’t much my brothers could do being so far away and traveling together in a group brought more attention than we wanted.

Angelo on the other hand, he was smooth. He moved like a shadow in the darkness, and the added bonus was, people didn’t fuck with him. He worked for Anthony DePalma, Rose’s uncle. We’d come to heads with them a while back, but when push came to shove, the DePalma family held the same values as we did—family first.

With Rose now Blizzard’s Old Lady, it connected us.

“You think you can drive another hour?” he asked.

I felt fatigued, but if going with them meant that Hadley would be safe, I’d fucking stay awake. “Yeah.”

He nodded, waving to his men to get into the vehicle parked just out of sight across the street. “Follow us. I have a house you can spend the night at. Tomorrow, we discuss what’s going on.”

I nodded. I knew that if Angelo was here, Blizzard and Optimus knew. Rose would never do this without her man’s permission so I would trust them.

We followed their car into the night. Hadley asked me question after question about who they were and their relationship with Rose. We talked about the rest of the club, what had happened earlier, and how Rose’s father had manipulated and tortured her.

I think her plan was to keep me talking so I’d stay awake, rather than just wanting to know the story.

I was relieved when we finally pulled up to a large home, with gates surrounding the perimeter. Angelo led us inside, leaving his men outside the front door. A woman in a robe greeted us at the door, and he laid a soft kiss on her cheek, thanking her. She seemed nervous, but I could tell she trusted him.

“Go back to bed,” he told her quietly, brushing his hand across her cheek. “I’ll come up after the guests are settled.”

She nodded, turning and walking up the staircase.

Angelo directed us down the hall, pushing open a doorway into what I assumed was a guest bedroom. I guided Hadley inside with my hand on the small of her back. She moved over to sit on the bed. I stood in the doorway, turning to Angelo. “Girlfriend?” I asked with a smirk.

“Friend,” he replied, giving nothing away. “We will talk in the morning.”

He turned and walked back down the hall before I had a chance to reply.

I rubbed my hand over my short hair. It was now 5.00 a.m. We’d been up almost twenty-four hours, and after the rush of everything that had happened that night, I was ready to shut my eyes and prepare myself for tomorrow.

I needed to be on my game. Therefore, I needed to rest while I could.

Hadley was already stripping and climbing into the bed. “This is good, right?” she asked.

I walked over, pulling my cut off and lying it on the end of the bed. I wasn’t sure what would happen tomorrow, and how willing Angelo would be to help when he found out we were mixed up in a mess with the FBI. But we would deal with it then. “Yeah. This is good.”

I hope.

Angelo shook his head, a quiet smile on his lips. “How’d you manage to get yourself in this predicament?” he asked, sipping at his coffee.

“I can’t say,” I told him. All I’d done was explain that Hadley’s husband was in the FBI, and he wanted her gone.

“But I’m assuming you have your own people on the inside.”

I nodded. “We do, but it seems their superiors think he’s doing a stand-up job and won’t intervene.”

Angelo hummed, his eyes seemingly far away as he took in the small amount of information Op had granted me to share.

Hadley was still asleep. I’d managed to get five hours before my brain was awake and running over everything that had happened. It wasn’t ideal, but it was enough to keep me awake and alert.

“You know I can’t step in here,” Angelo said finally. “Anthony would not allow it because it does not directly impact on Rose.”

“Yeah, I figured as much.”

I wasn’t expecting Angelo to gear up and stand beside us in a war. What he had done by finding us a place to stay was enough for now.

“She worth it?” I looked up to find him facing me with his head tilted to the side curiously.

“More than worth it,” I answered without hesitation.

“Then you’ll figure it out.”

We sat in silence for a few minutes before I heard a throat clear. Hadley stood in the entrance to the kitchen.

“Hey, baby.”

“Morning,” she said softly, walking over and stepping into my open arms.

Angelo stood from his seat at the table, holding his hand out to her. “We weren’t introduced last night. My name is Angelo.”

She took his hand. “Hadley. It’s nice to meet you. Thank you for helping us out.”

He nodded. “Rose was insistent that since you’d been there for her before, that I help you now.”

Hadley turned in my arms. “What do we do now?”

I pressed on her shoulders, pushing her down onto the stool at the breakfast counter. “Right now, you eat. Then we make a plan.”

Angelo stepped around to the other side, pushing a plate of food across to her. “Emerson said to help yourself to food or coffee. She also laid out some clothes in the bathroom next to your room just in case. Take what you need.”

“That’s very kind. Thank you,” Hadley said as she began picking at the food.

I smirked at Angelo. “And who is this Emerson?”

Angelo’s expression stayed the same, not giving away any kind of emotion. “A woman close to my heart.”

“Like Rose?” I enquired.

“No,” he answered simply before heading for the door. “I’ll be back down soon, and we can discuss your next move.”

With that he was gone. This Emerson was obviously someone he held close. I sensed a story, but I knew it was one I most likely wouldn’t hear. It’s not like Angelo and I were best buds. We were lucky he was helping us out at all.

“What is our next move?” Hadley asked quietly.

“We keep running,” I answered.

Her shoulders slumped. “For how long?”

“Until you’re safe,” I said it with confidence, but inside I was burning up. I knew he was close. He had the kind of resources that I struggled to comprehend. Yeah, he was getting desperate and risking his place at the FBI, but if he got to Hadley and had her killed, it wouldn’t matter.

He would take his place as the leader of the Shadow Syndicate, and would no longer need the FBI. He would essentially be one of the most powerful men in the country, and that’s exactly what he wanted. It was also something that the FBI couldn’t offer him.

It was all starting to make sense.

He didn’t want a future with the Bureau. His aim was power and money and greed. The FBI had helped him get to the point where this was possible, and now Hadley was the last piece of the puzzle he needed to make his dreams a reality.

My eyes brightened as something struck me.

We were going about this the wrong way.

We were attempting to work our way through Judge and the FBI and have him cut off and withdrawn from his position. But in reality, that was what would happen eventually anyway. His end game wasn’t the Bureau, it was the Syndicate.

“I’ll be right back,” I told Hadley, kissing her softly on the cheek and rushing out of the room. I took the stairs two at a time. When I reached the top, I spotted Angelo standing outside one of the doors, the woman from last night, Emerson, in his arms.

He was speaking to her softly, one hand coming up to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear.

I cleared my throat.

They both looked to me. Emerson blushed and stepped away. Angelo frowned, whispering to her quietly and using his hand to guide her back inside the bedroom before closing the door behind her.

He walked toward me. “Hope this is good.”

We walked side by side back down the staircase. “There might be something you can do to help.”

“Enlighten me.”

“Where are we going?” I asked Leo as we said goodbye to Angelo and climbed into the truck. There were two cars with us as we pulled away from the house, one in front, the other behind, both carrying Angelo’s men.

“To the airport,” he said simply. His brow was furrowed as though he was calculating things in his mind.

“Are we flying somewhere?” I asked, admiring the landscape around us as we drove.

“Back to Athens.”

I switched my gaze to him. “Am I missing something here?”

He shook his head. “Let’s just get back to the club. The boys are expecting us, and I need to make a plan with Optimus.”

I frowned. “Leo, just tell me what’s going on.”

“Just trust me, please,” he said, his eyes flicking to mine briefly. “I need to talk this out with the boys before anything is solid.”

I was frustrated but in a weird way, happy to finally be going back to the clubhouse. With Leo and I on our own, I knew he would protect me, but if Simon came and brought men, we could be severely outnumbered. Back at the clubhouse, Leo had his brothers to back him up. They would put their lives on the line to protect him and keep him safe. I allowed my body to slump into the seat, feeling a little more relaxed.

His hand reached over, resting on my thigh. I placed my own hand over it and linked my fingers through his. It gave me comfort.

Pulling up outside the airport, I suddenly turned to Leo. “What are we going to do about Blizzard’s truck?”

He grabbed his bag out of the backseat. “We’re going to leave it here.” He opened the door and climbed out, I followed suit, making my way around to his side as he stopped and talked to one of Angelo’s men, shaking his hand and saying thanks. He came to my side, grabbing my hand and leading me toward the door that said departures.

“Isn’t Blizzard going to be mad that you just ditched his truck in an airport, states away from home?”

The airport was small but busy. I held tightly to Leo’s hand as he pulled me toward the ticketing desk.

“Tickets to Huntsville, Alabama,” he said. The lady smiled and began tapping away on her computer.

“Do you have baggage to check?” she asked.

“No, we both have carry-ons.”

She nodded. “There’s a flight leaving in thirty minutes.”

“Get us on it,” he ordered.

The lady seemed unflustered by his firm attitude, smiling happily as she printed our tickets and handed them to us. “Have a nice flight.”

Leo grabbed them, pulling me away.

“Thank you!” I called back to her with a small wave, making her giggle.

We made our way through security fast and soon were waiting outside the gate to board our flight. I realized after our bags were scanned that Leo must have left his guns with Angelo.

“I can’t wait to get back,” I told him as we waited for them to call us up. The clubhouse had begun to feel like home and after being away for a week, it‘d be good to get back and be around the members again. I cleared my throat. “When we get back—”

“You’ll be moving into my room until we can find a house,” he finished, his eyes continuing to stare straight ahead.

“A house?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

He nodded. “I want to get Macy out of the clubhouse, have her own bedroom where she can play, and a place I can come home to you both at night.”

My heart warmed, and I smiled.

When I didn’t say anything, he turned to me. “You good with that?”

“Yeah.”

He dipped his head, pressing his lips to mine. I didn’t care that there were people all around us. I wanted to climb over his lap and show him how excited I was, but I held back opting to enjoy the passionate kiss we were sharing. He pulled back. His lips brushed mine one last time before he sat back in his chair.

I was falling for this man.

Every time Leo kissed me, I was blown away. Swept up in the feelings and emotions that ran between us. It was like nothing I’d ever felt before and it had hit me full force.

“Like an avalanche,” I whispered.

“What?” he asked.

“Nothing.”