Page 46

FORTY-FIVE

declan

It’s been two months, and Willa is getting sick of being stuck at home. I get it. I really do. She hasn’t been anywhere since the trip to Maine with my parents. But I still travel all the time or at the very least go to the training center. She sometimes comes with me to watch practice just to get out of the house. We made the playoffs with our first game happening tomorrow. I’m both excited and nervous because I’ll be officially announcing my retirement at the end of the season, whether that’s at the end of this seven-game round or in June while holding the cup. Either way, it’s the end of this part of my life.

Harrison is still going over the journal Mav’s dad gave him. He’s been sending information to all his contacts in various government agencies to help with the case against Eva. Maverick has asked to be left out of all of it unless it pertains to him personally, and I really can’t blame the guy for that.

Harrison was able to confirm that Abigail was Maverick’s biological mother and James had suspicions that Eva arranged her death and staged it to look like suicide. Maverick took the news better than I was expecting, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the poor guy had a complete breakdown after all this was over. He earned it, honestly.

“Can I come with you?”

I look at my wife. She’s fidgeting with a throw pillow on our couch and giving me her best puppy dog eyes.

“You want to come with me to physical therapy?” I ask with a smirk. She thinks anything outside of this neighborhood is exciting at this point.

“They can give me tips on how to help you at home,” she tries to reason.

“You help me plenty,” I tell her, leaning in and giving her what was supposed to be a quick kiss. Willa grabs my shirt in her fists and holds on, deepening the kiss until I’m groaning. “I have to go, Princess.”

“You have fifteen minutes before you need to leave,” she says, her voice raspy. I can’t deny her when she sounds turned on like that.

“Clothes off. Now.” She obeys immediately, shedding the t-shirt and sweatpants she was wearing with nothing underneath. I strip as quickly as I can and sit on the couch, pulling her onto my lap. “This is going to be quick and dirty.”

“I want you inside me.”

I lift her and guide her over my already throbbing length. Willa has taken to walking around braless, knowing exactly what it does to me. I pretend to complain, but I love every minute of it. Especially the evil little laugh she does when I point it out.

“Fuck,” I grunt out when she seats herself fully. “You take me so well, Princess.”

“My husband has such a big cock.”

The sound that comes from my throat when she says that can only be described as animalistic. “Say it again.”

Willa leans forward, slowly rotating her hips in a way that has my balls tightening already. “Cock.”

“Fuck, Willa.” I grip her hips and plow into her from below. “Does my wife have a dirty fucking mouth?”

“Yes,” she moans, her head thrown back.

“I’m going to fuck that dirty mouth when I get home.”

“Harder, baby,” she groans, leaning into me and biting down on my shoulder.

“Yes, Princess.” I fuck her even harder, gritting my teeth as I feel that familiar tingle at the base of my spine. She’s clenching around me, so I know she’s right there with me. “Come. Come on your husband’s fat cock.”

Like the good girl she is, she comes hard, clenching around me so tightly I have no choice but to follow her right over the edge. We’re panting, our sweaty bodies stuck together. There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.

“Do you really want to come with me?” I ask her. She nods into my shoulder.

“Alright. But only if you put a bra on. I don’t need anyone checking out my wife.”

“People check me out all the time. A bra isn’t going to fix that,” she says, laughing as she pulls back to look at me. The happy, post-orgasm glow on her face makes my chest warm. I love every version of Willa, but this is my favorite.

“You’re right. You can wear my clothes. Then they can’t see anything.”

She laughs and pulls off me, walking to the bathroom with her legs glued together to stop the mess running down her leg. I’m getting hard again just thinking about the mess we made. I shake my head to get my thoughts in order because I actually do need to leave.

“Can you text Cal while I get ready?” she calls from the bathroom. “I don’t want him freaking out because I left without telling him again.”

I sigh and grab my phone from my pants pocket before pulling them up. I know why he wants us all checking in, but it’s getting old. It’s not like I can’t take care of my own damn wife.

Willa is coming to physical therapy with me. We should be home around five.

Cal

I roll my eyes. I throw my shirt on and grab my jacket.

“I’m going to leave without you, Princess!” I call.

My phone vibrates again.

Mav

Family meeting.

I have physical therapy. Can you update me later or is it an emergency?

Mav

It can wait until you’re home.

Cal

Can you pick up dinner, Dec? I’ll call it into the Indian place next to the training center.

Kai

Get extra garlic naan. You always forget and fucking eat it all.

Cal

Yeah yeah.

Sure, I can get it.

Belle

Should we be worried?

Mav

No, but I think I figured something out.

Harlow

Mysterious. I like it.

I snort and pocket my phone.

“Willa!” I call again.

“I’m coming!” she yells, running into the room. She’s wearing jeans that hug her in all the right places. She’s paired it with a Bruisers long sleeve that has “Mrs. Monroe” on the back. Her lilac hair is up in two buns. I think I heard her call them space buns before. I want to fuck her again. Right now. Screw physical therapy. Who needs functioning knees?

She smirks, knowing exactly what I’m thinking. Laying her palm over my heart, she gets up on her toes and kisses my jaw.

“We’re running late,” she says and then leaves the house.

I follow right behind her. The invisible tether that ties her heart directly to mine pulls me along like a dog on a leash.

Woof.

Willa sat quietly during my appointment, occasionally asking questions and taking notes. I didn’t think she was serious about wanting to know more about helping me at home. It was easy to assume it was an excuse to get out of the house, but I should have known better. My woman has always been my greatest supporter, and she always will be.

“What do you think Maverick wants to talk about?” I ask her.

“No idea. He’s still refusing to read the journal. Harrison gave it back to him a few days ago, and Jo said he won’t even touch it.”

“Maybe it’s related to the charity stuff he’s been doing with Millie. He mentioned some sort of fundraiser at the last guys’ night. He asked if I could get some signed merch from the team to auction off.” I was surprised when he told me he was still working on his charity initiative, even after finding out Eva was never a victim of domestic abuse. He still feels strongly about it, though. Probably because of what happened to Belle, or because he’s genuinely a good guy.

Willa blows out a breath. “I hope so. I miss when family meetings were just Cal complaining about someone eating all his snacks.”

“Harlow’s been blaming it on Cora so he can’t say anything.”

Willa laughs. The car falls into a comfortable silence until we pull into Cal’s driveway.

“I should’ve eaten the naan on the way back,” Willa says, slapping her palm against her forehead. I chuckle, grabbing the bags of food and following her into the house.

“Finally!” Kai says, snatching the bags from me and bringing them into the dining room where everyone is already sitting. He goes right for the garlic naan, taking a giant bite out of it and glaring at Cal.

Once everyone has food in front of them and has at least taken a bite, Maverick speaks up.

“I got a call from Millie earlier,” he says. He looks down at his hands and swallows audibly. I look at Willa. She looks just as confused as I do. “She wanted to give her condolences for the death of our manager.”

“Jon’s dead?” I ask. “Was his throat slit?” I’m halfway out of my chair and ready to scoop Willa up and move to an island somewhere with new names.

Maverick shakes his head. “Well, yes, but not recently.”

“Huh?” Cal says.

“Are you saying Jon isn’t Jon?” Harlow asks, catching on faster than the rest of us, as usual.

Maverick pulls a news article up on his phone and shows us. It’s a picture of someone that isn’t Jon who also had his name, birthday, and occupation, but died almost two years ago. His body was found in his car in a lake in New Jersey. Scuba divers came across it and contacted the police.

“Millie just heard he died. She hadn’t read the article before calling.”

“How did she hear?” I ask, lowering myself back to my seat, but pulling Willa onto my lap.

“The agency called Logan. She overheard as she was calling me for something related to our fundraiser. So she gave her condolences.”

“They’ve been billing us for two years for Jon’s salary,” Kai says.

“Millie actually has Logan looking into that one, since his label works so closely with them,” Maverick says. “I’ve had his entry revoked at the gate. Assuming that would stop him, anyway.”

Jo’s frowning, and then suddenly jumps up from the table. “Harlow,” she says. “It’s him. It’s been fucking Jon this whole time.”

Harlow’s eyebrows shoot up. “He was here the night Dean died and arrived after he was dead. He said he was with his other clients the day James was killed and went missing the night Nate was murdered.”

Jo grabs her phone and looks at the screen. “He’s calling. Should I answer it?”

“Answer it,” Willa says. I want to disagree and talk all of them into running somewhere he can’t find us, but I know that’s not really going to work.

“Hello?” Jo says, putting the call on speaker.

“You know my secret,” Jon says.

“You sound pretty good for a dead man,” Jo answers.

“Why, Jon? Or whatever the fuck your name is,” Belle asks.

“My name is Patrick. And you haven’t figured out the why?” He chuckles, and it sounds dark.

Harlow is typing furiously on her phone. I’m assuming she’s talking to her dad right now to update him and hopefully get the police after this asshole.

I knew something was off with him. I just thought he was into really weird porn or liked to collect dirty socks. Murder wasn’t on my list.

“Dean wouldn’t let Eva in and probably threatened to call the police. James was actively a threat against her. If he flipped on her, it would be over. But why Nate?” Jo asks.

Patrick chuckles again. “Nate has been in this business a long time. I did a good job avoiding him at your shows for the most part. Unfortunately, I didn’t do a good enough job, and he realized I wasn’t who I said I was. He cornered me at your last show, said he was going to tell you. Couldn’t have that, now could we?”

I watch all the color drain from Harlow’s face as she realizes something. “You’re a plant. Eva planted you here. You’ve been listening to our meetings,” she says.

“And I know Ezra’s alive. Thanks for that little tidbit. I’ve been funneling all that to Eva. She’s very impressed with you, Harlow.”

“Fuck you,” Cal growls.

Patrick laughs again. “I tell you what, you find him first and you can keep him. If I find him first, I get to slit his pretty little throat in front of you. Happy hunting.” The line goes dead, and we all just stare at each other. I hug Willa tighter to my chest.

“We can’t,” Harlow says, answering the question we were all thinking. Do we call the number James left?

“Calling it would lure Ezra to us. Jon,” Jo stops and shakes her head. “Patrick, would be waiting.”

“We could call it and warn him,” Willa says.

“Then we would have no other way to contact him after that. It’s probably a one and done number. Using it will burn it,” Harlow says.

“I think we leave it for now,” I say. “No one knows where he is still. That keeps him safe. If we get even a hint Patrick knows where he is, we’ll have to call.”

“He said if we find him first, we can keep him,” Maverick says, his voice so low I barely hear him.

“He probably meant his body,” Kai says, his face filled with grief.

“Fuck!” Mav yells, jumping up from the table and storming off.

“I’ve got him,” Jo says, running after him.

“I recorded that conversation on Cal’s phone and just sent it to my dad. He’s turning over everything he knows plus the video to the police,” Harlow says. Cal looks down to where his wife is holding both phones and pats his pockets.

“How did you do that?” he whispers. She just shakes her head and kisses his cheek.

“Did he say how close authorities were to getting Eva?” Willa asks.

Harlow sighs. “They’re close to an arrest, but they need something ironclad that will put her away for good. If she’s out, she’s a threat to Maverick.”

Cal’s phone rings in Harlow’s hand. “It’s Logan,” Cal says, taking his phone from her and answering. He quickly puts it on speaker.

“I’m with my brother, Theo,” Logan says. “I think he can help you guys out.”

“Hey,” a deeper voice says through the phone. “Logan caught me up on what’s going on, and I’m going to do my best to help you out.”

“How?” Harlow asks.

“Theo’s a hacker. He does it legally, but in certain circumstances, he doesn’t mind bending his morals,” Logan explains.

As far as I know, Logan isn’t up to date on everything that’s been happening. Just what’s been public in the news and now with the Jon thing. Having a hacker help us with all of it could be a game changer for us.

“Hey, Theo. Logan. This is Declan. Do you think we could set up a meeting? Everything that’s been happening has made me wary of even talking on the phone.”

“Absolutely. I’ll give you all my number, and we can figure out when and where to meet. Is there more than just Jon you need me for?” Theo asks, probably reading between the lines of what I said.

“Yeah,” is all I offer.

“I’ll shoot Cal a text and get this set up,” Theo says after giving us his number.

“Thank you,” Cal says. The call ends, and we’re sitting in silence once again.

“I didn’t even think to ask Theo about any of this,” Belle says.

“I knew he owned a cyber security company, but it never occurred to me to ask a guy that prevents hackers to hack,” Cal says.

“I’m going to coordinate the meeting with Theo and my dad so that everyone is on the same page,” Harlow says, snatching Cal’s phone and leaving the dining room. Cal watches her go, looking like he wants to go with her, but stays put. She’s been moody recently. She hates being stuck in the house as much as Willa does.

I get up, Willa coming with me since she was still on my lap. We silently help Cal clean up the food, all of us still processing everything.

“I don’t know what to do,” Cal says, his hands gripping the sink, shoulders hunched and head bowed. “How do I keep my family safe? I let that man into my home! I let him around my daughter! My wife!” He spins, so much anger and panic on his face I immediately go to him and crush him against me.

“We’re going to get him, Callahan. Theo is going to help us. Jon, Patrick, whatever the fuck his name is, will be taken care of. Eva will be behind bars with him, and then we can bring Ezra home. It’s almost over.”

Cal sobs into my shoulder, and Willa comes over and hugs him from the side.

“It has to end, Cal. This is it, I can feel it,” she tells him.

“I’m so tired,” he admits, backing up from us and wiping under his eyes. “I’ll give Theo a chance, but if nothing comes of it, I’m done. I’m going to leave the band and move my family away from here. I won’t risk them anymore.” He drops his head into his hands and whispers. “Not even for Ezra.”

Willa comes to my side and wraps her arm around my waist. “I agree.”

I look at her, surprised. She meets my gaze and smiles sadly. “I want to find Ezra, but not at the risk of everyone I love. At the risk of any family we create. He wouldn’t want that for us.”

Cal hugs her quickly and heads to find Harlow. Willa and I slowly make our way back to my car and our house. There are so many things running through my mind, but there’s one thing that keeps coming to the forefront.

“You want kids?” I blurt out the moment the front door shuts behind me.

Willa turns and looks at me, alarm on her face. She must think I’ve changed my mind since we last talked about having a family. “You don’t?”

I walk right into her space and grab her face gently. “I want everything with you, Princess.” I kiss her. “Fuck yes, I want kids. It would be the greatest honor of my life for you to be the mother of my children.”

I kiss her again, her melting right into it. “Not yet,” she breathes. “Not until I know they’re safe.”

I nod against her lips. “We can still practice.”

She giggles when I sweep her up and throw her over my shoulder.

I take her to the bedroom and practice all night long.