Page 16 of Panther’s Magpie (Mountain River MC #1)

CHAPTER

FIFTEEN

MAGGIE

“ I ’m leaving you, Maggie. I have a new family now. Go back home.”

I’m crying as Aspen’s words puncture my heart. She does have a new family. All of these brothers are willing to do anything for her. I want to stay.

“Let me stay. Please.”

“There’s no place for you here. You’re the reason I got kidnapped. I’m being tortured because of you. You have to go. I don’t want you here.”

The words slice like a knife on my skin. I think I would rather have a physical wound than a mental one.

“Aspen, I didn’t want to leave you. You told me to go. I had to get help.”

“Did you get help, though? Or did you find my brother and try to steal him from me? You think I don’t know the impure thoughts you have about him? You should be looking for me, not lusting after him.”

“I can’t look for you. It’s dangerous, but I am helping. I told them that wasn’t your body. I helped them. I swear,” I cry out.

“Wasn’t it my body, though?”

The images in my head distort until I’m looking at the dead body again, only this time it is Aspen. The tattoos all match up. Her birthmarks. Nothing is out of place.

“Aspen,” I cry.

I wake up gasping for breath. Tears wet my face as I try to breathe.

Aspen isn’t dead. She’s alive.

Crawling out of bed, I go in search of anyone.

I can’t be alone right now. I am close to a full-on panic attack.

I don’t get them much anymore, but when I was a child and I would hear noises in the house, I got them all the time.

It’s a leftover trauma from being abandoned in a large, cold home every night.

One that I thought I had gotten rid of, but all of this shit with Aspen has brought it up again.

I stumble around in the dark, wishing for anyone to be here. I don’t find anyone. I know some of the brothers also sleep in the clubhouse. Eagle had told me a few of the other rooms were occupied.

I wonder if I should knock on one of them.

I don’t feel comfortable enough to do that, though. If only I knew where Panther slept.

As I head back into my room and grab my phone, I debate my options. I could call Rain. That would be the smart decision. She wouldn’t say anything to anyone.

I don’t call her, though. Instead, I dial Panther as I head back to the main room.

“What’s wrong?” he mumbles into the phone, voice full of sleep.

“I’m sorry.” My voice cracks as my hand covers my mouth.

“Don’t be sorry.” He sounds much more awake now.

I can hear shuffling in the background, then a door shutting.

“What’s wrong, Magpie?” he asks again.

“I had a bad dream. Aspen was there, and she was saying all these mean things. Then she was dead.” I sob into the phone.

“Shh. It’s okay. Aspen is alive. Remember? She is going to be okay. That was a nightmare speaking to you. Aspen loves you and wouldn’t say those mean things to you,” he says, his voice slightly out of breath.

Vaguely I wonder what he is doing, but I can’t focus on it right now. “What if she would? What if she wants me to go home when we rescue her? What if she wants to stay here without me?”

“She won’t. She has spent more time with you than anyone else. Trust me, she is going to need you when we finally get her back. You’re her best friend.”

His words are like a balm to my damaged soul.

“Thank you,” I whisper to him as I slide against the wall to the ground in the middle of the main room at the clubhouse.

“It’s the truth. Where are you right now?” he asks.

“The main room. I should go back to my bedroom now. I’m sorry if I disturbed you,” I tell him.

The phone hangs up, making me frown. Did he hang up on me?

“Magpie?” I hear him call out.

Standing, I find him by the back door.

“What are you doing here?” I ask him.

My eyes take in his body.

He is slightly sweaty from whatever he did to get here. His chest is bare, and all he has on is these gray sweatpants hanging low on his hips. Even his feet are bare.

“You called, I came,” he tells me.

“From where? Where are your clothes? Or your shoes?” I mutter.

He walks over to me, pulling me into his arms. I can feel how tacky his skin feels against mine, but I don’t complain. I need the hug. I need the comfort.

“I didn’t have much time to pull on clothes. I wanted to get here as soon as possible. You were freaking me out,” he admits.

“I’m sorry.” I wince when I realize what he said. “You were naked?”

He nods. “Yeah. Are you okay now?”

My cheeks heat. He was naked and in bed. Was he with another woman? Oh god. This is embarrassing. Not only is my heart hurting, but I’m not thinking about him naked. Talk about contradicting emotions.

“Yeah. I’m fine. You can go back to, uh, whatever you were, uh, doing,” I tell him, looking at the ground.

He pulls my chin up to meet my gaze. “I was sleeping. I can’t go back to sleep now knowing you were so upset. Why don’t you come back with me? That way, if you have another nightmare, you won’t be alone,” he tells me.

It’s exactly what I need, but I’m not sure I should accept it. Dream Aspen’s words still echo in my head.

“You should be looking for me, not lusting after him.”

It’s true. I should be looking for her, but I also need to take care of myself. Don’t I?

Before I can say anything, Panther lifts me into his arms.

“What are you doing?”

“It’s a rough trail back to my place. Don’t worry. I won’t drop you.”

I snuggle into his neck, giving up on protesting. I’m not meant to be a solitary person. I can’t stand being alone. Even though I know it’s wrong, I will accept this comfort.

I need him.

PANTHER

Hearing Maggie’s frantic tone when she called had my heart racing a mile a minute. I have never thrown on a pair of sweats so fast. Even running through the woods, stepping on all kinds of sticks and rocks, didn’t faze me. All I knew was I needed to get to her.

Now having her in my arms, I know I made the right decision.

She tried to argue at first, but I could see it in her eyes. She didn’t want to be alone. It doesn’t help that I didn’t want to leave her alone.

I’m quite attached to my little magpie. I don’t know when it happened, but I don’t want her to leave me.

She said in her nightmare, Aspen wanted her to go. I wanted to tell her that wasn’t Aspen’s choice. That if she wanted to stay, there would always be a place for her here.

It’s too soon for all of that, though. We can’t start something while in the midst of a disaster. Everyone’s emotions are high. I know mine are real, but the ones I see shining in her eyes for me could be a product of the situation.

I don’t want to risk that.

Still, having her in my arms feels good. It feels right.

Cloak always said that when you find your soulmate, you will know. Her soul would sing to mine like the wind does.

He was right. She feels like lying next to my favorite lake on a sunny day. Bright and warm. Safe and cozy. Loved.

She makes me feel loved.

I have never truly felt it in my life.

When my house comes into view, Maggie’s breath catches.

“This is where you live?” she asks.

“Yep. My home. You can come here whenever you want,” I tell her.

I mean it too. The house is never locked. It doesn’t need to be when it’s in the barriers of the compound. With my trust in her growing, I don’t even mind if she wanders without an escort.

Home.

I want her to think of this place like a home.

Walking inside, I set her down before shutting the door.

“I’ll take you up to my room so you can sleep,” I tell her.

She only nods.

I grab her hand and show her to my room. It’s nothing to write home about. A large room with a king-sized bed and a dresser to the side. It’s not decorated much. I haven’t had much I wanted to remember.

“There’s a bathroom through there. You can go freshen up. I’ll make the bed,” I tell her, looking at how the blankets are thrown all about.

I cringe at the idea that she saw my bed like this. I never saw much sense in making the bed every day when you sleep in it every night. Now I wish I had.

This place probably looks like a bachelor pad to her.

If it does, she is kind enough not to say anything. Instead she walks into the bathroom, shutting the door behind her.

I quickly make the bed, then wait for her to emerge. When she does, her face is free of tears.

I hold open the comforter and help her get into bed.

“I’ll be downstairs if you need me,” I tell her, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

Before I can pull away, she grabs my arm. “Will you stay? At least until I fall asleep? I don’t like being alone, especially after a nightmare.”

My heart leaps in my chest. I should deny her. Sharing a bed with her is too much too soon. She is not in her right mind.

Yet, I find myself turning off the light before sliding into the other side of the bed. She scoots closer, pressing her foot against my shin.

“Is this okay? I sleep better if I’m touching someone,” she admits softly.

I move closer to her, opening my arms. “Then come over here.”

My eyes have adjusted to the moonlight spilling in through the skylight above the bed. She looks at me with conflict in her eyes. After a moment, she moves over, her body molding to mine as she settles her head against my chest.

“This is like a log cabin. Did you build it yourself?” she whispers in the dark.

“Along with some of the other guys,” I tell her, my fingers finding their way into her hair.

“You got the logs from the lumberyard?” she asks.

“I did. Since I didn’t want to take away from the club’s profits, Eagle and I went and cut them ourselves. How did you know about the lumberyard?” I ask her.

“Lisa mentioned it. That’s where we are getting the lumber to rebuild the houses that burned down.”

I love that she is involved in that.

“I’m glad you are helping the girls with that. I think it’s good for you to make some friends,” I tell her.

“I have a friend. Aspen,” she tells me, her fingers moving on my chest.

I realize she is drawing on my skin.

“You do, but it’s okay to have more than one friend. I want you to be happy here. I hope we find Aspen soon, but I can’t let you go home until I do. That’s if you even want to go home,” I admit softly.

“You won’t make me go?” she asks, her fingers freezing on my chest.

“I won’t. This can be a dangerous place, but I think you fit in here. If you want to stay, then we will make it happen,” I promise her.

She is quiet for several moments, but I know she hasn’t fallen asleep. Her fingers have gone back to drawing images on my chest, making my dick awaken at the thought of the beautiful bombshell of a woman I have been daydreaming about being in my bed.

“Even if Aspen wants me to go?” she finally asks.

“You will always have a place here, Magpie. Even if Aspen hates it,” I whisper back.

She finally relaxes into me. After about fifteen minutes, her breathing evens out. Leaning down, I press a kiss to the top of her head.

I shouldn’t be making promises to her, but I can’t stop myself. I’m afraid the train has already left the station and is full force ahead.

I’m just along for the ride.