Fable's Foes, page 25
part #2 of Grimm Tales of Smoky Vale Series
“There’s no better man for the job than you, Booker. Hell, half these guys fear you more than me anyway.”
“Stop fucking around, Grimm.” I swiped at my eyes discreetly. “You know that ain’t true.”
“I still say it is.” He peered around me. “Where’s your man? Zak, come help put this on him.”
“Yes, sir.” Zak was all smiles as he rushed up to me and helped me out of my old cut and into the new one.
“Did you know about this?”
“Nope. I’m just as surprised.” He reached up and planted a kiss on my chin. “I’m so proud of you. Grimm is right. There’s nobody else who deserves this as much as you do.”
“Yeah, is Booker going to give a speech too?” Mort called out.
I glared at him. “You shut up if you want Cass to sleep with you again.”
Mort scowled at me, his eyes on the hunt for the boy he was smitten with. “Now that ain’t necessary. I was just kidding.”
“Seriously, though”—I swept my eyes over the expectant faces—“this is an unexpected honor. I’m happy to serve this club as best I can.” When they kept staring at me, I added, “Now go back to your partying. I have a bit of it to do as well.”
The music came back on, and the clubhouse was once more taken over by the drunk, the loose, and the already knocked out. Grimm, Jamie, Zak, and I headed back to the bar.
“You didn’t even hint about this.” I pushed Grimm’s shoulder.
“You would’ve just talked me out of it.”
“Damn right, I would have.”
“Truth is the club is growing, and I can’t do it alone anymore.”
Jamie slipped between Grimm’s legs, and the burly man nuzzled the boy’s neck affectionately. It made me think of Fable and how much time had passed without us seeing him. Eight days. Not enough time for us to risk seeing him, but damn. This was harder than I’d thought it would be. I couldn’t imagine what he was going through. At least I still had Zak around, but he had nobody to talk to.
Even the sexy videos we shared were usually deleted right after.
“I see we got more prospects while we were gone,” I commented.
“Yeah, some more impressive than others.”
“By the way,” Jamie piped up, “before I have to run to the hospital for the night shift, I spoke to Uncle Ben today. He was one of the two detectives handling Fable’s case.”
Zak’s body went just as stiff as mine at the mention of our boy. “And?”
“You were right about him,” Jamie said. “Fable gave nothing away, and they’re moving on to investigating from another angle. They’re trying to trace the other girls who got sold.”
“That’s good.” Zak nodded. “Hope they catch those culprits responsible. Where do they get off selling people?”
“Oh, one more question.” Jamie straightened up from Grimm’s arms. “What’s the deal with you guys and Fable? Did you hook up or what? You didn’t say.”
Zak and I glanced at each other. He gave me a little nod, and he was right. If there was anyone we could trust about our relationship, it was these two.
“We’re kind of waiting for the excitement of his return to die down before we see him again,” Zak said. “We don’t want to do it too soon and raise suspicion, you know.”
“Jamie, stop interfering.” Grimm stood and took the boy’s arm. “I need to drop him off at the hospital.”
“I just want to know who’s the Daddy?” Jamie dug in his heels as Grimm tugged him away. “It’s Booker, isn’t it? He’s definitely Daddy material.”
Grimm growled at him. “Do I need to spank you?”
That thankfully distracted Jamie, who beamed up at Grimm. “What? Right now? You’re going to send me off to work with a sore bottom?”
I shook my head as they walked away. Zak had my old cut hugged in his arms.
“What are you going to do with that?”
“I think Fable will like it, don’t you? I already have mine.”
I circled Zak’s wrist with my hand. “I like the way you think. Still have that last video Fable sent us?”
“I just want to watch it one more time before I delete it.”
“I have a better idea. Let’s watch it together.”
Chapter Thirty-One
Fable
“Fable, your doctor’s appointment is here.”
I blinked away from the piano where I’d been tinkering with the plastic keys and frowned at Hans. I swore if I sneezed, the man asked me if I needed to call the doctor. I’d never noticed before how much he cared, but ever since my return, he hovered, always asking if I was okay.
It was a welcome change from my parents’ attitude. They were still so preoccupied with the mayor’s campaign that they rarely had time to appreciate me returning home. Last night, I had to endure an asinine cocktail party with people whispering behind their hands and offering me platitudes.
“What was that, Hans?”
“I said your doctor’s appointment is here, sir.”
“What doctor’s appointment? I don’t recall having one.”
“You don’t?” The poor butler looked as befuddled as I was. “He specifically told me to inform you that Dr. James Dehaney is here to see you.”
James Dehaney? Why did the name sound so familiar? “That must be some kind of prank, Hans. I didn’t—”
“Fable, don’t tell me you forgot our appointment?”
Both the butler and I turned to face the handsome young man who entered the sitting room. Jamie wore a bright smile, his white medical coat, and carried a bag in hand.
“I’m sorry, sir.” Hans blocked Jamie from coming any farther. “It seems that you’re an impostor, and you need to leave.”
“It’s okay, Hans. I remember that appointment now.”
Hans turned toward me, his lips pursed. He didn’t seem to believe me. “Are you sure, sir? You didn’t recall having an appointment.”
“I’m quite positive, Hans. You can leave us now.”
“Of course, sir. If you need anything, please ring.”
Hans left, and Jamie approached me. We hadn’t exactly been friends when I left with Booker and Zak, but he’d been there for me in his own way. He was the reason I was alive, and he had a connection to Zak and Booker.
“Wow, this is some house.” Jamie looked around the spacious room. “That chandelier must’ve cost a fortune.”
“I’m sure you didn’t come here to check out the decor.”
I didn’t quite know what to do. He made the decision for me by placing his bag on the floor and throwing his arms around me in a tight hug.
“Of course not.” He laughed. “I came to see you. You look great. Well, there are shadows under your eyes like you’re not sleeping well, but otherwise, you look really good. Booker and Zak have been taking care of you.”
“Shh,” I shushed him, my cheeks burning, even though I wanted to question him about my Daddies to find out if they missed me just as much. “We should go up to my room and talk.”
Before we could make a dash for it, Father entered the living room.
“Fable, Hans said you had company. Why didn’t you tell us? Your mother wouldn’t have left to go shopping.”
“Um, well, James is a doctor,” I lied through my teeth. He wasn’t a doctor yet, since he was still doing his internship.
“He looks a little too young, doesn’t he?” The mayor frowned. “Is something wrong? We can get you the best doctor in town to visit the house, Fable.”
“I asked especially for Dr. Dehaney.”
“Dehaney?” He peered at Jamie with interest. “You any relation to Chief Dehaney?”
The breath that Jamie sucked in was audible. The smile on his face fell, and a shadow of grief passed over his face.
“Chief Dehaney was my father,” he answered with a small smile. “I work at Smoky Vale General Hospital. It’s a pleasure meeting you, Mayor Wentworth.”
The mayor outstretched his hand toward Jamie, and Jamie gave him a polite handshake. “Please call me Gerard. I’m so sorry for your loss. Your father was a good man. He was committed to fighting for the law and taking down those bikers that give this town a bad name.”
My hackles rose, and I had to bite back the words of retort. This wasn’t the first time he’d make his caustic remarks about the biker clubs around Smoky Vale since I was home. Each time it got harder and harder to tell him how delusional I thought he was.
If he’d only get his head out of my mother’s ass long enough, he would’ve seen that she was steering him wrong. He was a man blind with love for her, and it would be to his detriment.
“With all due respect, sir, I hardly think the bikers are the problem in this town. I’ve met quite a few, and they are honorable men—more than I can say for most of the politicians I’ve met.”
Father’s face went red. His mouth fished open and closed several times.
“Your father would’ve been very appalled by your opinion, young man,” he finally managed to utter.
Jamie lifted up his bag. “My father was a very complicated man, sir. Now, if you don’t mind, I’ll just spend some time doing your son’s checkup, and then I’ll be out of your hair. Nice to meet you.”
Wow, I’d never seen anyone dismiss the mayor like that before. Jamie strode out of the room, and I hurried to catch up with him. Once we were out in the hall, I grabbed his arm.
“Oh my god, you’re my fucking hero.”
He blinked up at me like he hadn’t realized what he’d just said. “What do you mean?”
“The way you spoke your mind. I wish I could just come out and do that too.”
“You can. People’s opinion of you shouldn’t bother you so much.”
Zak and Booker thought the same thing. At the time, while I was stuck at the clubhouse, when I revealed my condition to Jamie, I’d thought his lack of response to be professional. Now I wasn’t so sure. He didn’t seem to give a damn what anyone thought of him.
“Come on, this way.”
I led the way up the stairs to my bedroom and locked the door behind us with a key. I just had this feeling of insecurity these days being at home. Now I never even slept with the doors unlocked. For one, if that man who’d attacked me was to be believed, whoever hired him to kidnap me was still at large.
“This is your bedroom?” Jamie took in the expensive sturdy furniture.
“Yes, why?”
“I just expected it to be a little more fun and a lot less this intimidating. You know some stuffies on your bed, a night light by your bed—that sort of thing.”
“I don’t do that sort of thing here.” I was surprised when he put his bag down on the bed and pulled out a stethoscope.
“Just as I feared. You need those two men, don’t you?”
“So bad.” I stared at the medical instrument. “What are you doing?”
“I told you. I’m here to check up on you.”
My face fell. “Oh, I thought perhaps…” I shook my head. “Never mind.”
Jamie placed the circular diaphragm on my back. “Inhale and exhale deeply.” While I obeyed, he continued speaking. “You thought Booker and Zak sent me, didn’t you?”
“Well, it crossed my mind.” I exhaled. “So did they, or didn’t they?”
“Sorry, pumpkin. Nobody knows I’m here.” He shifted and placed the instrument against my chest. “Breathe. Pretty sure if Grimm knew I was here, he’d tan my ass. I’m still squirming from a couple of nights ago.”
I shook my head at him. “You’re always getting into trouble, aren’t you?”
He giggled. “Some trouble is worth getting into. Spanking can be fun.” He wrinkled his nose. “When he’s not using it as punishment. Then it just fucking hurts something awful.”
“I don’t like spankings.”
“Have you ever been spanked before?”
“Not by Booker and Zak.”
“Hmm, maybe you’ll like it when they do it to you. Try it and see. If it’s not for you, then that’s fine too. Try something else.” He removed the stethoscope from his ears. “Your lungs are clear, and your heartbeat steady. Let me check your temperature and pulse and draw some blood.”
“What for?”
He stroked my cheek. “Hon, you’ve been through an ordeal. It’s good to know your STD status. Then you know how to move forward with your men. You do want to protect yourself and them, don’t you?”
“I suppose.”
“There’s no supposing about it. We protect the ones we love and care about. This is no different.”
“Did you test before you had sex with Grimm?”
It was a rare occasion when Jamie blushed. “I didn’t need to test. I was a virgin, and I trusted Grimm when he told me he didn’t go bareback. Ever. Well, except for that time with Joel’s mom, but he learned his lesson there from then. Still, yeah, we kind of went about it backward and should’ve tested first. I don’t want you to make the same mistake.”
“They always wear a condom with me.” I shrugged. “I don’t mind.”
“But I’m sure if y’all are exclusive like I know Zak and Booker want, you’re ready to feel them bareback, right?”
I coughed at Jamie’s plain speaking. “I suppose.”
He pinched my cheek. “Well, aren’t you just cute. And that’s why I’m going to help you to see your guys. They’ve been dying without you.”
“Really?” I blinked up at him, eager for more. “’Cause I’ve missed them something awful too.”
“Yes, they are just pitiful. I can’t believe you got those two to fall for you.”
It was my time to blush. “Oh, I’m not sure if we’re there yet.”
“Pretty sure if not there yet, it’s pretty close. Zak, I can understand, but I’ve never seen Booker so mushy, and I’ve known the man for over ten years.”
“Wow, what was he like?”
“He’s always been kind of serious and brooding, you know.”
“Yeah, I realize that, but he’s really sweet when you get to know him.”
Jamie flicked my nose. “Boy, what have you done to the Fable who swore Booker was going to kill him?”
“I made him see there were more benefits to keeping me alive than to kill me.”
Jamie stood still staring at me with his mouth wide opened. Then he laughed. “Oh, babe, I love it. So is the sex that good because the way I hear it, you threatened to kill him too?”
I wanted to play it off all offended to talk so openly about my sex life, but the truth was that I’d never had a friend I could just blab to about stuff like this. I found myself giggling. “Yeah, it’s that good. Do you know what it’s like to have two hot guys worship your body and take turns with you?”
Jamie held up a hand. “All right, I have to stop you there. Do not spark my curiosity. Grimm is the only man I know, and that’s the way I want it to stay. But I guess I can live vicariously through you, so what the hell? Dish. Tell me everything. Have they DP’d you yet? Spit roast? A daisy chain? Fuck, there are so many ways to get creative with three guys. Well, don’t hold back. Tell me! I have an hour before I need to go to the hospital, and we still need to come up with a plan on how to get you and your Reapers back together.”
Chapter Thirty-Two
Zak
My ringing phone woke me up. I took one look at Horatio’s caller ID and immediately hung up. I groaned, thankful that Booker was already up. He’d been off, but I’d worked the graveyard shift at Grimm’s bar, not getting in until late. I’d been so tired I hadn’t been able to do anything but crawl into bed with him, fully dressed.
I was stripped down to my underwear, though, and I vaguely recalled Booker waking me up to help me undress. I must’ve promptly rolled over and gone back to sleep. Anything else that had happened was one mean blur.
I turned my phone off and lay back against the pillows, staring up at the ceiling. Nothing was going according to plan. Well, at least Aunt Hyacinth had been true to her word, and Fable’s toys and stuff had been delivered yesterday. It had been a bad day for Booker and me as we went through them, both of us distracted by our memories of Fable.
Soon, I needed to come clean about this FBI guy. I’d been hiding out from my house, staying with Booker, and he hadn’t questioned it. He didn’t mind having me around, especially since we still didn’t have access to Fable.
How much longer could I hide the truth, though? If I didn’t fess up, one of these days Horatio was going to make good on his threat to out me. I couldn’t allow that to happen. Grimm and Booker needed to hear the truth from me. Maybe when they heard more about my background, they’d be able to forgive me.
I’d asked my friend Alan to investigate Horatio. I needed something on him to get the man to back off. I’d give him a few more days to get back in touch with me, hopefully with a lot of dirt he had dug up on Horatio. Alan had been instrumental in helping me with club matters. Like shutting down the street cams when the Reapers rescued Jamie.
I’d called Alan from that first motel we’d stopped at with Fable, and he should get back to me any day now. It would be helpful in having a strategy in place before I confronted Booker and Grimm. At least they’d know I’d been working actively to take care of the situation.
If I planned to stay with Booker, I needed to grab a few more things too. I didn’t feel comfortable staying at the house that belonged to Horatio’s family.
I rolled out of bed and used Booker’s shower. I made it quick since it was already close to midday. I let the water beat the kinks out of my body. I found some clothes to wear, meaning the same shorts I had on yesterday and one of Booker’s clean shirts.
In the kitchen, I grabbed a pop from the fridge. Booker had gotten the kind I liked. I closed the door on my way out. It had no key, but nobody would be stupid enough to go through Booker’s things. To the best of my knowledge, everyone left his room alone except for Cass. That boy was a different case altogether and respected nobody’s privacy.
