Page 51 of Mischief Mayhem
Castor made a noise that said he agreed before nodding down to my computer. “I finally found your stalker.”
He’d been working on it diligently since it happened.
“She has a stalker?” That got Wheels’s attention, and he raised his brows halfway up his forehead. “Who?”
“It’s not Curtis,” Castor said. “That motherfucker is currently doing five to ten for attempted rape.”
“Wait . . . what?” I couldn’t keep up with only two sips of caffeine.
“He’s not harassing anyone anymore, unless he’s holding someone’s pocket.” Castor pointed to the screen in front of him. “Whoever sent you those messages is in Madison County, right under our noses. It took me fucking forever to find him. He’s good . . . but I’m better.”
“Great.” I rubbed a palm over my face. “That makes me feel really awesome.”
“You’ve got a whole motorcycle club looking out for you,” Castor said. “I’ll keep working on a location. Once I know where he’s logging in, I can hack his system and see who it is through the webcam.”
“Cas,” I said, alarm shooting down the center of my chest. I rubbed a hand over my sternum, trying to alleviate the pressure in my scar. “Don’t get yourself hurt.”
“Who said anything about me getting hurt?” Castor balked and raised his eyebrows. “I’m going to line the back forty with this asshole’s guts.”
My phone buzzed with a message from Pollux.
Ugly Twin: Y’all coming or what?
“Our brother is ready for us to pick him up.” Excitement replaced the dread in my stomach at the thought Pollux was finally leaving the hospital. They’d given him strict instructions not to do anything strenuous for the first few weeks since he was barely out of the wheelchair. But Pollux wanted to go out to celebrate, and after these months trapped in a medical prison, I couldn’t fault him for aching to have a bit of fun.
Castor closed my laptop and nodded to Wheels, who set down his coffee and stood.
“You should have told me you had a stalker,” Wheels said while we walked outside to his pickup. “It’s my job to protect you.”
“I thought it was a bot,” I said. “But I promise to keep you in the loop from now on.” He was right. He couldn’t keep me safe if I wasn’t honest with him about these things. It was stupid of me to keep it from him.
Wheels agreed, and the rest of the trip to the hospital passed in amicable small talk. I’d always liked the jovial Rose, and when Dad assigned him to babysit me, I didn’t put up much of a fight because of that.
When we got there, Dad and Pollux were already at the discharge desk, getting the rundown of medications and release recommendations.
“Don’t forget to make the appointment with your physical therapist,” the pretty nurse said. She’d been the one that had given Pollux her number with a blush a few weeks ago.
“Anything for you, gorgeous.” Pollux shot her a wink before grabbing his crutches and tucking them under his arms. “Are we still on for Tuesday night?”
She rolled her eyes, her pink cheeks and girlish smile hinting at her amusement. “Stop it, Montgomery.”
“All right,” Dad said, shaking his salt-and-pepper head at my idiot brother. “That’s enough harassing the nice nurse. C’mon, son.”
Pollux laughed and waved goodbye to the staff that had healed him before turning to face the barrage of family there to take him home.
“Look at you,” Castor said, holding his arms out to hug his twin. “All that surgery and you’re still uglier than hell.”
“At least I don’t look like fresh ground shit.” Pollux punched Castor in the gut before turning to me. “Hey, little sis. You keeping these fuckers in line?”
“You know that’s a full-time job, and I’m a part-time gal.” I turned to Dad and pulled him into a hug, too. “Hi, Dad.”
“Hey, V.” His growly voice sounded the same as normal, but I saw through the mask. Dad had been stressed for the last year and a half, ever since KC shot Benito Caputi and escalated things with the crime family. They were trying to work out a peace with Leo Caputi, but the constant threat of violence was enough to keep anyone up at night. I wished I could do something, anything, to make it easier on him. But Dad had chosen this mantle himself. He’d wanted to be the president, the patriarch that kept the family together, and with that power came the burden of maintaining it.
We took Pollux back to Castor’s place, where he showered and dressed before announcing he wanted to head to the clubhouse to see everyone. Some of the brothers were still at work as it was only three in the afternoon, but the ole ladies showered him with kisses and the hang-arounds lined up a row of shots to do in his honor.
“Look at what the mangy cat dragged in!” Doc clapped Pollux on the back and shook his head. “Honestly, my dude. I didn’t think you were gonna make it.”
“That woulda been music to your ears, huh?” Pollux teased, joking with the MC’s enforcer.