Worth The Battle (Heaven Hill Series) (29 page)

“It doesn’t, baby,” he smiled. “I’m just saying that Layne can be a little volatile and a few therapy sessions aren’t going to completely change that. It might make things better and easier for him, but it’s not going to change his personality overnight. Don’t pressure him, don’t pressure her. Let them move at their own pace, and you two ladies just keep your noses out of it.”

She sighed.

“I love you.” He tilted her chin up so that he could look into her eyes. “You have a good heart and so does Meredith, but these two have problems that none of us have ever dealt with. They’ll figure it out, you two just need to be patient.”

“I love you too, I want all the guys to have the love that I have for you,” she huffed.

“They will, but we can’t force it,” he assured her. “I’ve already seen a large difference in Layne, I suspect we’ll see a bigger one as he continues to let Jessica in and go see Doc Jones. We all have to be willing to help him, and if we’re pressuring him, we aren’t helping him.”

“I know,” she pinched his stomach.

“Oww,” he laughed shooing her hand away. “What the fuck was that for?”

“I hate when you’re all sensible.”

He shifted his weight on the couch and moved her further down against his body before moving his head so that it rested against the cushion more comfortably. “I’m sensible because I want to get some sleep, so shhh,” he shushed her.

She smiled against his chest, listening to his heart beat loudly against his chest. “I’ll ‘shhh’ if you hold me tighter,” she whispered.

He tightened his arms around her and they quietened down, both falling asleep within minutes.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

“H
ave you found out anything about this Jackson Wright?”

Steele looked up from his computer at the sound of Tyler’s voice. He rolled his head around on his neck to loosen up some of the tight muscles there. “A little.”

“Do share.” Tyler had a seat next to him and turned to face the other man, giving him his full attention.

Turning his laptop so that Tyler could see it, Steele took the sucker he absent-mindedly sucked on out of his mouth and set it on the wrapper beside him. “He’s Jessica’s ex-boyfriend.”

“Really? So was this revenge?”

“I’m thinking so. I’ve gone through his financials with a fine-tooth comb…he needs money in a big way. I can’t prove it, but I know that asshole stole those pictures and the writings from her house.”

“What does he have to do with the Vojnik though?”

Steele rolled his chair over to the side and grabbed some papers off the printer. “I don’t think it’s him, I think it’s her—indirectly.”

Tyler sat up straighter, his eyebrows coming together. “You think Jessica has ties to the Vojnik?”

“In a way, yes,” he answered, pursing his lips. He hated saying those words. “I think it’s Thomas. If my sources are right, he’s her dad.”

“Well motherfucker,” Tyler rubbed his hands up and down his face. “Let me go get Liam. I don’t want you to have to explain this shit twice.”

Better Tyler than himself, but he really did hate what he was going to have to say. It could hurt a number of people he cared about, or was beginning to care about.

Tyler was pissed as he stormed through the clubhouse, heading for the door. His mind was going a million miles a minute. He had to get to Liam to figure out just what in the fuck was going on, and at the same time, he wanted to call Layne and tell him to get this woman into another country. He wasn’t sure that Layne could handle it if it turned out that she had been untruthful to him. As he exited the clubhouse, he pushed the door roughly, causing it slam against the outside. It made a loud smack and it made him feel better. Normally if he was going to see Liam, he would just take his truck, but instead, he needed to feel wind against his face for just a few minutes. He turned on his heel and went towards the garages. Once he made it to his, he pulled the door open.

“Meredith?” he gasped in surprise as he saw his wife sitting on the ground, across from his bike.

She turned from him for a few moments, furiously scrubbing at her cheeks before facing him again. “Hey,” she did her best to smile at him, but tears overflowed her eyes and ran down her cheeks.

“What’s wrong?” he asked her, the anger welling up further in his body. Somebody must have hurt her and there was going to be hell to pay.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” she choked out, pulling her arms against her stomach, around herself.

“That’s just too damn bad.”

He had a seat next to her and attempted to put his arm around her shoulders. She shrugged away from him and irritation rolled up from his belly. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”

“Don’t cuss at me, Tyler Blackfoot,” she yelled at him.

He turned and sat with his legs folded in front of him. “Then look at me and tell me what’s wrong, goddammit. I come in here, pissed as hell to begin with, and find you sitting on a nasty-ass floor crying.”

She cried harder, and he did his best to call on the patience he always had for her, but it was difficult. Instead of saying anything, he sat there, allowing her to let it all out. Just when he was about to really lose it, she unfolded her arms and handed him what looked like a pregnancy test.

“What does this mean?” he asked, glancing at the stick in his hand.

“Still not pregnant,” she whispered, sobs rising up from her body.

“Mer,” he said softly, as he pulled her into his arms. “You know this doesn’t matter to me,” he told her, tightening his arms around her.

“I know.” And she did know, he’d told her numerous times that it didn’t matter to him, but it did to her. She couldn’t understand why it did, but it felt like life or death for her, and she couldn’t believe that she would be so damn defective.

“I don’t think you do know, but you’re going to have to believe me on this, Mer. I don’t give a shit if the two of us ever have children. I would be lucky to live the rest of my life with just you. It’s not that big of a deal for me, but I know it is for you.” He pulled her deeper into his arms, his big body swallowing hers. “It upsets me every time I see you cry over this. I can’t take it.”

“I try to keep it from you,” she breathed out, the gasps coming in short pants.

“Don’t,” his voice was loud, strong, and hard. A tone he never used with her. “Don’t you ever fucking keep this shit from me. If you’re upset, I want to know about it. It’s my job as your husband to make sure that you’re happy. If this is bothering you, I need to know about it.”

She felt small when he talked like that. As much as he loved her, he couldn’t fix everything. There would always be things that he wouldn’t be able to fix, but she was scared to even put voice to those thoughts. “I love you.” He kissed the side of her neck.

“I love you too.” She held on tightly to the arm that crossed in front of her chest. Her back pressed hard against his chest. She breathed deeply and smelled the familiar scent that was Tyler. “No matter what, I know that my life is significantly better here and with you in it.”

How could he leave her now? How could he go to Liam’s and explain to him that someone they had brought into their fold just might be someone that could potentially hurt them. Cursing under his breath, he pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and dialed with one hand.

“Steele? Yeah, I need you to go tell Liam what you told me.”

He sighed as the other man had a minor freak out on the phone with him.

“You know your shit—it’s time to step up, buddy. I have something else that requires my attention right now,” Tyler told him, glancing down at the top of Meredith’s head. When Steele made more sounds of protest, Tyler hardened his voice.

“Travis, you know your shit. I have complete faith in you. Go tell Liam what he needs to know and go tell him now. Otherwise, when I get sick of beating up Layne in the ring, you’re my next target.”

He hung up after those words, putting emphasis on them.

“You’re mean,” Meredith laughed softly.

“He’s got to learn to be more confident in the shit he knows.”

“Like you?” She looked back at him, leaning her head against his chest.

“All you do is fake it till you make it,” he chuckled, as he leaned down and placed a soft kiss on her lips. “C’mon, let’s get outta here.” He stood up and helped her off the floor.

She brushed the dirt off her back and thighs before grabbing the helmet he held out to her. She waited until he got on and then got on behind him, hugging him tightly around the waist. He took off and didn’t even tell her where they were going; at this point, she didn’t even care.

Steele ascended the porch of the Walker home as quietly as possible. He had only been here a handful of times, and it felt weird. He didn’t like paying a visit to his president at his familial home. Walking up to the front door, he knocked cautiously.

“Hey, Travis,” Drew said as he walked to the front door.

It had been a few weeks since Travis had seen Drew, being in his electronics cave and all, and it amazed him how much the boy looked more like a man every time he hit a tiny growth spurt. He was already almost as tall as Travis, and Travis realized that if he didn’t start hitting the gym—and soon—the kid was going to be in much better shape than him.

“Hey, is your dad around?”

“Yeah,” Drew moved back and let the man in. “He and mom just got up from a nap.”

He followed Drew through the foyer and into the living room where Liam sat stretching. He was the only one in the room, and Steele was grateful for that. “Hey, pres.”

Liam’s eyes came together, the question going unspoken. “You wanna go have a smoke? I just woke up, so I could use one.”

Steele nodded and followed him through the house to the back porch that he’d heard so much about. It still amazed him that his president really did enjoy the quiet life when he was at home with his family.

“So why are you here when Tyler isn’t?”

“I don’t know, I all but begged him to come. Something must have happened with Meredith, that’s the only reason he would send me,” Steele said as he lit his cigarette and blew the smoke out in a slow stream.

“What do you have to tell me?”

This was the hard part, telling the man in charge that they had possibly made a mistake, and the one guy on their team with a true hair trigger might be the person hurt the most. “I did a little digging on the guy that was mentioned to us, Jackson Wright.”