Keep Me (Shelter Me #3) (19 page)

“Sleepy head, wake up.”

I’m cocooned in the warmth of my man’s arms and I don’t want to wake up.

“I don’t want to,” I moan and snuggle in closer.

“If you don’t, I’ll pee on you.”

My eyes pop open.

“You’re gross.”

“Gross? That’s not what you said a few hours ago, Firecracker.”

I’m wide awake now and I definitely know that is not what I said. I can feel him everywhere from what we did this morning and early afternoon. I peel myself away from him, even though I really don’t want to. I could stay wrapped up in him for days. When I stand up. I wince from the pain at my core.

“You all right?” he asks as he stands up, his shirt rising as he stretches, showing off his abs.

The ‘Newly discovered slut’ side of me thinks, “Oh, how I would love to lick those,” but the ‘You just got de-flowered’ side of me screams, “Give me a damn break.”

“I’m fine. Just a little tender. I’m going to go turn my phone on and call Markus back. Knowing him, he’s left another twenty messages by now.”

I wave my hand as if it’s no big deal. I know how protective Markus is of me. He’s most likely freaking the hell out by now.

“Sounds like a plan.”

He heads into what I assume is the bathroom. I glance around, admiring this room I love one more time and descend the stairs to use the bathroom myself. After washing my hands and grabbing both of our phones, I walk into the hallway and jump when I hear someone pounding harder than normal on the front door. Antonio comes out of the kitchen with a concerned look.

“Who could that be?”

I shrug as he goes to answer.

“Natalie. Hey.”

I hear him say as he opens the door. Wanting to meet his friend, my feet shuffle swiftly through the house until I’m standing in front of a pretty and petite dark-haired woman.

“Come in, girl. Thank you for taking care of the place and-”

She cuts him off with a rapid wave.

“Antonio, listen.”

The tone and worry in her voice has both of our attention. My brows furrow. Antonio’s spine goes rigid.

“Natalie, what is it?”

An uneasy feeling passes through me as she looks my way. I cannot seen to read her expression. Fear shoots through my body and I begin to shake. Something’s wrong, terribly wrong. The first thing that comes to my mind is that something has happened to my sister or Sierra.

“What?” I whisper.

She takes a deep breath and as the words tumble out of her mouth, I collapse to the floor.

“Luke has been trying to get hold of you all morning long. When he couldn’t reach you, he finally called me. Shelby, I am so sorry to be the one to tell you this, but someone broke into your restaurant and demolished the place.”

Chapter Twenty

Antonio

“Luke. What the hell is going on?”

The minute Natalie left, I picked Shelby up off of the floor, trying my best to console her. Her beautiful face was crumpled as she cried and mumbled incoherently. Knots form in my throat listening and taking notes in my head as Luke rattles off everything he knows, which isn’t much. All he really knows is that someone broke into her restaurant and tore the shit out of the place.

“We’ll be there. Thanks, brother.”

I toss my phone down.

“Babe. Come on. We have four hours to get to Grand Rapids and catch a flight. Luke booked one for us.”

Shelby is staring out the window, focused on God knows what. Saying nothing, barely blinking. Damn it. Hasn’t she been through enough in her life? She’s found her happy, it’s me, it’s with me! Once I realized I was falling madly for this woman, I knew there would be nothing that would take me away from her. I’ll be damned if she is going to slump back into her own little world.

She may not realize this now, not when she is cut so deeply, her life’s dream destroyed by the ruthless people who did this to her. I’m strong enough for her to lean on. She knows this. Right now she’s in shock, in denial. I leave her sitting there, racing to my bedroom and retrieving our suitcases, tossing in clothes and toiletries as I run around like the mad man I am.

Markus. I need to call him. I dash back into the living room where my girl hasn’t moved an inch. Fucking hell. The panic-stricken look on her face rips my heart out of my damn chest. Everything has been going perfectly. She was finally happy, and now this. Jesus Christ. I rub my hands up and down my face. I snatch up my phone and sprint back into my room, dialing Markus’ number, placing it on speaker as I move about the room to make sure I get the things we need.

“Antonio! Fucking finally. I have been worried out of my damn mind. Where is she? I need to talk to her.”

Desperation and worry bleed from his voice.

“She’s in shock right now. She hasn’t said a word since my neighbor came over and told us the news. Markus, I’ll take care of her. I know you’ve been the one-”

“Antonio, shut the fuck up. I know you care about her, I also know you will do everything you can to help her get through this. This restaurant is her life, it’s all Shelby knows. The guys who did this, demolished the whole inside. It’s barely recognizable.”

I feel like I could throw up. Something like this could take months, years even to rebuild.

“Wait, you said the
guys
who did this. The cops caught them?”

An uneasy sigh trickles its way through the phone line. Silence is all I hear for a few beats.

“A fucking gang. Four of them, all strung out on drugs and shit. The cops shot and killed two of them. The other two they were able to apprehend. That’s about all I know, and that information is coming from the news. The cops won’t tell me shit.”

“Yeah, that’s how it usually goes. They’re going to want to talk to her,” I say while tossing the last bit of Shelby’s clothes in the suitcase.

I close it up, grab mine, and sit them both on the floor.

“Listen, we have a flight in a few hours, Luke booked it. I don’t even know what time we land, but I will text you once we get settled at the airport here and let you know. Can you pick us up?”

“Of course. One more thing before you go. I called Erin and told her and Adam. They were booking flights and coming home. I freaked the hell out when I couldn’t get hold of her and I knew Erin would want to know. I hated having to call them on their honeymoon, but I had no other choice.”

“You did the right thing,” I say, shrugging. The fact that he can’t see me doesn’t matter.

I disconnect the call and put my phone in my front pocket, thinking about the long flight ahead. Fifteen minutes later I have a very shaken up Shelby loaded up in my truck, driving toward Grand Rapids. She still isn’t talking, but at least she’s stopped crying. Her eyes are all puffy, and the anguish is still apparent in her troubled appearance.

I have no clue what to do or say to her as we drive in silence down the highway. The closer we get to Grand Rapids, the less snow there is on the road, making the drive much faster. Knowing I cannot take away her pain, I do the only thing I can think of. I reach over and tug one of the hands she is wringing in her lap, and link our fingers together, placing it on the console between us.

I begin to rub slow circles over her knuckles, hoping she knows this is my way of letting her know I am here for her and at the same time giving her the space she needs. We’ve been driving for a little over an hour when her words startle the shit out of me.

“Did you know Markus and I designed my restaurant ourselves?”

The sharp, agonizing pain burning from her feels like someone has set fire to my soul.

“No. I didn’t know.”

Jesus, was that the right thing to say? I have no idea what to do.

“I had it all mapped out in my head. Where I wanted the kitchen, how I wanted the tables set up, where the bar should go. Everything. We took our childlike drawing to an architect thinking we had this kick ass design and it was going to be a piece of cake. I was so pissed when the architect laughed at our drawing that Markus has to kick me several times in the leg.

Needless to say, it took several weeks of me arguing back and forth with her because she thought something would look better here and I refused to budge an inch because it was mine and I wanted it the way I had dreamed of having it my whole life.”

She stops to pause, removing her hand from mine and begins twisting them again in her lap.

“It was perfect when it was all done. Perfect. And now...”

Her words break off as she starts to cry again.

“Someone has ruined my dream, they’ve destroyed it, and I- I don’t know what to do.”

“Shelby, I can’t imagine what you’re feeling right now, but sweetheart, know this. You are not alone. I will be there with you every step of the way. Don’t seal yourself off from me, or Markus, or anyone.”

She needs to know I am here for her. She doesn’t need to feel so desolate. I can’t fix her grief, but I sure as hell can let her know I
sympathize with what she is going through.

“I’m glad I have you, Antonio. I wouldn’t be able to make it through seeing this without you.”

A deep-seated feeling pierces my gut at her words. Instead of saying anything to her in return, I leave her in her own thoughts. However, the urge to be touching her, to really let her know she is not alone, overwhelms me in the deepest way. To be close to her, I clutch her hand in mine once more.

“You need to eat something,” I say as we prepare to go through the security gates at the airport. “And don’t say you’re not hungry.”

I dip my head down to look into her eyes. Her gaze is cast to the floor as we walk toward the small food court.

“I’m really not hungry. Maybe just some coffee and a muffin, or fruit or something.”

“Coffee, muffin and fruit it is.”

Releasing her hand, I drop our bags onto the floor beside a table. My mind was focused on Shelby so much when I was packing that I never even gave it a second thought. Someone must have been looking out for us because I grabbed small enough suitcases to use for carryon bags, which speeds up the process of us not having to wait for our bags once the plane lands.

I leave Shelby sitting at the table, glancing back to her every minute while I stand in line texting Markus to let him know what time we will land. I also shoot a quick text to my parents and to Luke letting them all know I will keep in touch with them and for Luke to do the same if Shayne should go into labor while I’m gone. Thank God none of us have any really big trials coming up for a few weeks, but it’s a good thing my father is still practicing law just in case.

After ordering, I bring the food to our table. Shelby takes a few small bites of her food when her phone rings from inside her purse. Rummaging through her purse for her phone, her nose scrunches up in confusion as she looks as the screen. I know who it is just by the look on her face. It’s Erin and she is probably wondering why she is calling. I didn’t tell her they were coming back. Shelby is going to put the blame for them cutting their honeymoon short on herself.

“Erin?”

Her tense body relaxes as does mine when she answers and gracefully composes herself as she speaks to her sister in a hushed tone.

“No, please don’t do that. Antonio and Markus are here with me.”

“Erin, please.”

She’s not happy as a single tear trickles down her face and she swipes it away while she looks at the floor and listens and talks to her sister.

“All right, I’ll see you tomorrow evening then, just call me when you land so you’ll know where we are.

“I love you too. Bye.”

Dropping her phone back into her purse, her sad, stormy eyes find mine.

“They’re coming home, but you knew that already, didn’t you?”

A gloomy cloud of guilt hangs over her.

“I did. Markus told me. I figured she would call, and if she hadn’t by the time we got on the plane, I was going to tell you.”

“I feel terrible, but I would do the same thing for her, and to be honest, I really need all of you. I have no idea what I am about to walk into, or how I am going to get through all of this and face the assholes who did this to my baby without support.”

She shudders at the thought I am sure as she shakes her head.

“Thank you.”

Standing and placing her hands on the top of my shoulders, my arms move around her waist. Those two small words coming from her bring a ravenous need of wanting to kick someone’s ass. I bite down on my tongue to the bitter taste of blood. There’s no way she’s going to come out of this unscathed.

Shelby’s not much of a drinker. I did talk her into having a glass of wine. I remind myself to thank Luke for booking us first class tickets. The less than an hour long flight from Grand Rapids to Chicago allowed her time for the one glass. Now we’re in flight to Dallas and she is fast asleep on my shoulder. The sounds of her light breathing soothe my angry mind. Closing my eyes, I drift off to sleep myself only to be woken what seems like a few minutes later to the sound of the flight attendant letting us know we are beginning our descent. Shelby stirs at my side, a small smile forming at the corners of her mouth.

“Sorry about falling asleep like that.”

Her voice is sleepy, though anyone who knows her would be able to hear the dread in it.

“I fell asleep, too, shortly after you did.” I give her a peck on her nose. “Markus is picking us up. I can’t remember if I told you or not.”

I help her out of her seat after reclaiming our bags from up above.

“I figured he would be.”

She stands and straightens herself out, peering out the window. The late evening darkness cascades with lights from the airport. Remembrances of the many times I searched out flights to come down here and set her ass straight after she left in a heated rush several months ago crawl into my memory. If I could kick my own ass I would, at how foolish I was for not just packing up and high-tailing it down here. I wasted four damn months of my life without this woman by my side. What a damn fool. I should have never let her leave the way she did in the first place.

I tuck that sentiment back for a later time as we depart the plane and walk up the tunnel leading us into the crazy airport. Hell, even at this hour, people are bustling all about walking at a fast pace to get to their destination. It’s when I hear the word “Swanky” from a few feet ahead of us that I watch my girl’s shoulders start to shake as she embraces her best friend, holding and hugging him as if her life depended on it.

And to her, it does. I shouldn’t feel a ping of jealousy wishing she would hold onto me like that. I know their friendship is like a brother and sister and I know she loves me. That, too, I swallow and toss away, leaving the two of them to their reunion as I stand off to the side. A few minutes later we are rushing through the airport like everyone else making our way to the exit.

Once we reach his car, I toss our bags into the trunk. Shelby climbs into the back and I get in the front with Markus. All is quiet for a few minutes as he weaves his way through traffic like a crazy madman. I forgot what it was like to live in a big city where everyone is in a damn hurry to get to God knows where. Jesus, I feel like white knuckling it on the dashboard as Markus flies onto the ramp for the highway heading east.

“You okay back there, Shelby?” he asks, observing her in his rear view mirror.

“No. I’m scared, pissed, and I want to beat someone’s face in. I have so many questions. Are the cops going to let me see the place, or what?”

“I called the detective in charge and he is meeting us there. I have no clue how this shit works.”

He turns his gaze toward me.

“You’re a lawyer, how does it work?”

“They’ll let us see it, but they won’t allow us to touch anything or for you to take anything out of there. And they will most likely walk around with us while we’re in there.”