AUTHOR's NOTE: So I know it's been a while since my last chapter, but I promise it was for a REALLY good reason. This chapter is also a little shorter than the other ones, but I think that I left it off at a good spot. Remember to review and give me feedback. If there are inconsistencies, errors, or even just moments of WTF…let me know. I am always grateful for your views and reviews.
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I woke early and headed for the gym. I needed to run.
"You're up early." Binkie said pushing an enormous of weights.
"Yeah, well. I have a lot of stuff to do today." I hopped on the treadmill, plugged in my ear buds and ran. Eight miles and about an hour later I staggered off, stretched and headed towards my apartment. When I got in, I slumped onto the sofa and flicked on the television. Just as I was flipping through the guide there was a knock on my door.
"Come in." I shouted, leaning forward and preparing myself to stand up.
Hector strolled into my apartment and grinned when he saw me.
"Bella, you look well spent." He offered his hand and I took it, pulling myself to my feet.
"I went for a run this morning." I stretched my arms over my head, and he poked my belly. "I have to try to get ahold of Diesel today."
"That sound like it will be complicated." Hector shrugged.
"Diesel is complicated." I chuckled. "What about you? What are your plans for today?"
"I'm going to follow you around." His face broke into a huge Cheshire grin.
"Why?"
"Nothing better to do." He plopped down on the sofa and kicked his feet up. "Go shower and get ready. I'll wait here." He picked up the remote and started flipping through the channels.
I strolled into my bedroom and shut the door.
Forty five minutes later I was clean and dressed. Hector was watching some DIY show and munching on some triscuits.
"That was quick." He looked up, saw my still wet and tangled hair and frowned.
"Yep. I'm efficient." I pulled out the comb and hair tie that I carried from the bathroom and grinned ear to ear. "Do you mind?"
"I don't mind." He shook his head chuckling as he sat up and motioned for me to sit on the floor between his knees. I did, and he got to work untangling the wet mass of hair. "This reminds me of when my sisters were little."
"How many sisters do you have?" I asked closing my eyes and relaxing as his fingers delicately worked through my curls.
"Five." He gave my hair a quick tug, playfully. "I'm the oldest, and my youngest sister is 10 years younger than me. Mom worked a lot and dad was never around. So, I helped out as much as I could."
"You would make an awesome big brother."
"You'd think right." He sighed, finally able to pull a comb all the way through my hair. "I guess I was, up until they started dating. Then, I admit, I became a bit of an asshole."
"Understandable."
He began braiding my hair, tugging gently and quickly. I can imagine how his fingers quickly twisted and wrapped around my hair probably without even messing up at all. He was done in a matter of minutes; tying the end with a tie.
"I love your hair." Hector's voice was soft and sounded far away, as if he was remembering something. "My sister Anna had hair like yours. Not red of course, but just as thick and wavy."
"It's a bitch." I chuckled, touching the delicate braid with my finger tips and joining him on the couch. "Now that I know you can do this, I might take advantage." I winked.
"I am hoping that you do." He tapped my nose with his finger. "Call Diesel."
Pulling out my phone I scrolled through the names, tapping on his. The phone clicked over and began to ring.
"Sup." Diesel answered groggily.
"Are you busy?" I played with the end of my braid nervously.
" ?" I could hear what sounded like bedding being rustled and then him stretching.
"I was hoping that you could come by." I nibbled my lip. I hated asking him to drop whatever he was doing to come and cater to my inquiries.
"Sure. Let me throw on something and I will be there in a minute." I heard more shuffling. "You at your apartment?"
"Yep. Hector is here with me. Just in case you have reservations about popping in with him here."
"Not a problem. Be there in five." He hung up.
"He coming?" Hector asked, resting his arm on the sofa behind my head. I nodded. "That's good. How long will it take him to get here?"
"Five minutes?" I watched as he raised his eyebrow at me. "He is pretty talented."
"We should probably call down to control so they know to let him up." Hector angled himself and reached for his phone in his pocket.
"No need." I chuckled. Hector looked at me, shaking his head. He quickly placed the call to control.
"Manny…Hector." He said. "There is going to be…"
Large arms reached down from behind the sofa and yanked me up. I squealed. Hector, being ever so vigilant jumped to his feet and drew his weapon.
"What the fuck?" Hector said as Diesel cuddled me into his arms. I could hear Manny yelling through Hector's phone.
"Sexy." Diesel laid a kiss on the top of my head. "Like the hair."
The door flew open and Junior and Ram stumbled in. Hector was still standing there mouth opening and closing like a gold fish.
"How the fuck did you get in here?" Ram stuttered, looking around the apartment. "I've been watching monitors…there was no sign of you anywhere."
"He's magic." I laughed. "We are fine guys."
"Shit." Junior let out a breath. "You scared the shit out of me."
Diesel put me down, wrapping an arm over my shoulders. Hector was still standing staring at us. Ram and Junior walked out of the apartment, shaking their heads and muttering something about drinking too much.
"Hector...you need to breath, man." I walked to him and put my hands on his face. He shook his head and took a deep breath. "There you go, Love Muffin. It's fine. I promise." He pulled me into his chest and kissed my cheek.
"You sure know to give a man a heart attack." He chuckled and released me.
"So, what's up?" Diesel was lounging on the couch, feet on the ottoman
"I have some questions and a favor." I said, taking the seat next to him. Hector took the recliner across from us, sitting at the edge of the seat.
"Okay, shoot."
I looked at Hector and then at Diesel. I was trying to figure out exactly how I was going to word this so that Hector didn't have some sort of existential crisis.
"It's fine Opie." Diesel took my hand, gently rubbing circles over the palm of my hand.
"Marco's emails are getting weird." I blurted out.
"Weird as in how?"
"He has never been pleasant, but now his emails are just one giant threat after another." I pulled out my phone and tapped into my email program. "See." I handed it to Diesel.
As Diesel read, I watched Hector's face. Emotion after emotion flitted past. Shock, anger, worry, anger, fear, worry. Finally he spoke.
"Bella, why didn't you say anything?" His fingers steepled in front of him as he leaned back.
"Shit." Diesel spoke before I could answer. He pulled out his phone and quickly dialed a number. "You can't do this." He spoke into the phone, anger rippling off him like fire. I watched his face as the person on the other line spoke. "Wolf, I'm warning you."
"Wolf?" I gasped. He was one bad dude. The idea of him having something to do with the emails sent a cold shiver of fear through my body.
"Listen fucker!" Diesel gritted through clenched teeth. "You can't just..."
"It's not a game, Wolf." Diesel continued, placing a warm hand on my hair and stroking my head gently. "If I get to him first, I will come after you next. Get him back where he belongs." There was another moment of silence. "Fuck!" Diesel chucked his phone onto the seat next to him and pulled me into his arms. "Fuck, I'm sorry Opie. I'll get him."
"What's going on?" I asked my voice weak and soft. Angry Diesel was kind of scary.
"Wolf has a sick sense of humor." Diesel ran his hand over his face. "I have to go."
And he was gone.
"Should I even try to figure this out?" Hector mumbled, running his hand through his hair.
"It's probably is best if you don't." Chuckling I curled up on his lap.
"Bella, what's going on with this Marco?" His hand was resting across my thighs, running small circles with his fingers. "If he's threatening you..."
"He's an ass." I sighed, leaning my head on his shoulder. His hand went to my back and stroked from the base of my neck to the small of my back. "He wants my car, and I am NOT giving it to him. He has EVERYTHING else."
"I can get you a car, Bella." Hector chuckled. "I can get you ten cars."
"Look at you Mr. Big Bucks." I poked him in the ribs. "It's not the cost of the car. It was the first new car I ever had. I earned it, and I don't want to give it up because he is a selfish prick."
"That can't be the only reason why he's harassing you."
"No, probably not. But I don't want to know about the other things." My stomach growled loudly, causing me to jump. "Wanna get some lunch?"
"Sure." He stood, holding me against his chest for a moment before setting me back on my feet. Should we see if anyone wants to come with?" I nodded. He pulled out his phone and sent a quick group text. After a moment his phone pinged back. After reading it he responded and turned back to me. "Bobby is off today. He suggested Pino's. Is that good?"
"That sounds great?" I ran into my room and slipped on sneakers, strapped my holster to my side and grabbed a light jacket. I glanced at my reflection in the mirror to make sure that my gun wasn't visible; it wasn't so I slipped my wallet in my back pocket and headed back to Hector.
"How about I drive?" Hector said, as I locked my apartment.
"Sure." I hadn't seen Hector's personal vehicle yet. "Is Bobby meeting us there?"
"Nope." He pointed behind me. I turned to see Bobby, decked out in jeans and a t-shirt strolling towards us.
"Opie. Hector." Bobby wrapped an arm around my shoulder and tucked me into a half hug when he got to us. "Who's driving?"
"Hector."
We took the elevator to the garage, because it was our day off. When you are as active as we are, sometimes something as simple as taking an elevator can be a blessing. I followed Hector when we reached the garage, looking around to see what vehicle he was going to have. I shook my head as a set of headlights flashed.
"No fucking way." I giggled. There in the far corner of the garage, tucked behind a giant half wall was the most amazing car I have seen in a long time. "Is that…..a 67 Impala?"
"Yes." Hector laughed and pulled me next to him. "Surprised you knew that."
"Serious?" I rolled my eyes. I remembered that maybe Supernatural wasn't a TV show here. "I have a friend that drives one of these."
"Oh really?" Hector was a human lie detector, but he let it slide.
When we got up to the car I ran my fingertips gingerly across the glossy red paint. This was a damn sexy car. Bobby and Hector just stood; shaking their heads with a smirk on their faces as I mentally molested the car.
"Do we need to leave you alone with the car for a bit?" Bobby finally said, pulling open the passenger door and motioning for me to get in.
"Oh fuck no." I flipped the seat forward and pointed in. "You are getting in the back. I need to be up close and personal with this car."
Bobby just laughed and squeezed his giant frame in the back seat the car, settling in the middle of the bench seat. I slid in, and sighed as my ass slid across perfect leather. The smell was amazing. A mixture of leather cleaner, and citrus. Hanging over the perfectly clean dash was a small wooden rosary.
"I love this car." I bit my lip and stroked the dash board. "I want this car. I don't think I have ever had so many inappropriate thoughts about a car in my life."
"Bella…you are a dangerous woman." He chuckled and started the engine. I almost moaned as the engine caught and roared to life. "You can make a man second think his sexual preference."
"It's worse when your sexual preference is already pointing in her direction." Bobby laughed and pulled on my braid.
"Oh shush you two." I swatted at Bobby's hand. "Head to Pino's before I drag you both of this car and change my own sexual preference."
The car filled with laughter as we pulled around in front of Pino's. Of course, being Merry Men, the perfect parking spot was waiting for us. We parked and strolled inside. The place wasn't packed, as it was later in the afternoon. There were still a few customers enjoying the quiet. We straddled up to the counter and put in our orders. Beer and sandwiches with a side of something deep fried and smothered in cheese.
"I'll bring over the beer, why don't you guys get settled at a table." Bobby tilted his head towards the back of the restaurant. I followed Hector as he wound through tables. I had to stop for a moment while an elderly man exited his booth.
"You bitch! Where's my fucking car!" The deep man's voice behind me made my blood run cold. I turned and looked at his face, gasping.
"Marco?" His cold eyes sending a chill through my body. "How..."
He twisted my arm and pulled me up so that my feet barely touched the floor. Chairs scraped the floor as Hector and Bobby shout for him to put me down, but I just stood terrified staring into his eyes.
"O…where's my fucking car?!" He screamed, twisting my arm and making me whimper. A large hand slid around his neck, as another slid around my waist. Hector pulled me back by my waist and tucked me protectively against his chest.
"Fucking Bitch!" Marco grunted as he hit the floor. Bobby struggled to keep him on the floor. Marco is a big guy and when he's angry there's no feeling pain on his end.
"Call it in." Hector steadied me and joined Bobby to detain Marco.
With shaking hands I pulled out my phone and hit my speed dial for Tank.
"Sup, Opie." Tank answered.
"Need backup at Pino's." I stuttered, my voice sounding very small.
"Got it." I heard Tank shout for someone to join him. "Injuries?"
"Minor." I looked down at the bright red splotches on my arms darkening into bruises.
"Fucking Cunt!" Marco spat out, pushing off Bobby and Hector and lunging for me. I screamed, and tried to move out of the way as his body hit mine and we fell to the floor. He grabbed my head with his hands, his fingers digging into my scalp. "I'm tired of your bullshit!" I wriggled and kicked out, my hands cupping over his digging my nails in trying to loosen his grip. I could hear Tank's voice yelling from my phone, which were a couple inches from my head.
Bobby's thick arms wrapped around his neck as Junior tried to pry me out of his grip. Marco was probably roided out. His eyes were pin pricks and he was sweating. He lifted my head, cursing me again. I knew he was going to slam my head down into the tile of the floor. I closed my eyes, anticipating the pain.
There was a sickening crunch, and Marco's body went slack and covered on me; knocking the wind out of me. His body was hauled off of me and Hector wrapped me into his arms.
"Shh...Shh...Bella. I have you." He whispered over and over, running his hand up and down my back softly. I didn't realize I was crying until I noticed how wet his shirt was getting.
"Need…Phone." I hiccupped.
The front door burst open and I jumped, causing Hector to tighten his grip. Tank and Les looked around, their faces filled with panic.
"Opie." Les ran to me and pulled me out of Hector's arms, running his hands over my face and arms. "What happened? Are you hurt?"
"I'm fine." I sniffed, wiping my eyes and taking a deep breath. "I need my phone."
Hector looked down, picked up and handed me my phone. I looked at the chaos. Bobby had handcuffed Marco and was standing over him dabbing the blood off his lip. Marco was bleeding from the mouth and nose, and a faint boot print blossomed across his face. I looked up at Hector. He was sporting some bruises and a knot on the side of his face. Tank was standing, hands on hips by Bobby looking from me to Marco.
I reached around Les and pulled Bobby and Hector to me, wrapping them in a hug.
"Thank you." I whispered, their arms wrapping around me. I kissed them each on the cheek.
"Who the fuck is that?" Les pointed at Marco, who was now being moved to an awaiting SUV by two other Rangeman. Tank, rubbing his head, walked up next to us. I grabbed Les' hand and squeezed.
"That's Marco. My ex-husband." I sighed and scrolled my phone and dialed Diesel.
"Are you okay, Princess?" Bobby pushed back my hair, which was now looking more like bride of Frankenstein. I nodded and put my phone up to my ear.
"Sup." Diesel's voice sang into my phone.
"Here. Now." I growled, touching my fingertips to the side of my head and wincing.
"Uhh…not even a hello?"
"Blink your fucking ass here. NOW." I hung up and stowed my phone in my pocket. Les pulled me into an embrace and kissed my head. "I really can't fucking do right, Les."
"Don't worry. He's gonna sit in holding until you tell us what you want to do with him." He pulled me against him and wrapped me tightly in his arms. I felt his lips press softly against my head. "Who'd you call?"
"Diesel." My voice muffled. I didn't even move when I heard the front door crash open.
"OPIE!" Diesel's voice echoed through the building. I raised my free arm up and waved it slightly. I could hear his heavy footsteps stomped across the room, stopping directly behind me curled up in Les' arms.
"Hey!" Les shouted as I was pulled unceremoniously from his arms and turned. Diesel had his arms on my shoulders and was looking me over head to toe.
"Who?" Diesel's voice was clipped.
"Marco." I sighed before he pressed me to his chest.
"Jesus...Opie. I have been trying to get my hands on him." His arms wrapped around me as his hands ran softly up my back and over my hair. "Where is he?"
"Haywood." I said, once again muffled against a man's chest.
"Let's go then." He picked me up, bridle style and carried me outside. Les trailing behind us.
"Put me down." I scoffed, smacking his chest. "I can walk."
"Fine." He set me down, but grasped my hand firmly in his. "Which ride?"
"Mine." Hector strolled up next to us and tipped his chin towards the car.
"No shit." Diesel smiled and looked down at me. "Is that what I think it is?"
"Yep." I smiled. "67 Impala. It's not black, but it's still sexy as hell."
Diesel cuddled me next to him, his arm wrapping around me. Hector remoted the doors unlocked and we slid into the back seat, giving Les the front. Bobby had crawled into Tank's SUV and we all headed towards Haywood.
"I'm sorry I didn't find him in time." Diesel whispered, curling his hand into mine. "I swear, when I get my hands on him…"
"You'll have to wait in line." Les growled, his eyes never straying from the road in front of him.
"As long as I get a piece I'm happy." Hector laughed, looking into the rear view mirror and winking at me.
"You are all such….guys." I laughed. It was touching that they all wanted to beat the tar out of him. I turned to Diesel and whispered quietly in his ear. "Why did Wolf bring him here? I thought that you couldn't really do that without invitation?"
"Wolf, like me, has ways around the rules, Pumpkin." He sighed. "He's trying to keep me from the stones. Lizzy and I are so close to the next one, and he has decided that he is going to play dirty."
"What a fucker." I ground out, looking out the window.
"Yeah he is." He chuckled and snuggled back into me.
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*****Review…review…review. Hope that you are enjoying the story so far. It's been a little while since my last chapter, but you know how real life can be. ***
