Merry with a Gambler (Love Beach Holiday Collection)

Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

Stack (Dax)

Storing what I can in my saddle bags I strap the rest to my luggage rack. Shit, my gut twists. I can get her whole world on the back of my bike.

The five-minute ride took longer because of the extra stuff on the bike and the weather. The two-unit duplex is on a quiet, unassuming street. HARDCORE Inc., signed a year lease on the unit the last time I was undercover watching my brother’s back. Hitting the remote on my keychain to open the two-car garage, I pull in next to my company issued SUV.

“I haven’t been here in a while. Let me do a quick walk through then I’ll bring in your stuff.” I unlock the door leading in from the garage, hit the lights, and enter into the kitchen. “Wait here. I’ll be right back.”

Patch obviously had the place cleaned and checked for bugs—the surveillance type. The clothes I’ll need are in the master bedroom. The second bedroom is set up with a loveseat and my office equipment that I’ll need for my assignment, research and investigation. Back at the garage I nod at her. “Looks good. Let me grab your stuff.”

Walking into the master bedroom, I grin. “You’re still going to have to share a bathroom, but I promise Mom trained me to put the toilet seat down.”

Placing her things on the bed I open the closet and grab the garment bags with my clothes.

“This is your room. I can sleep on the couch for the night.”

I turn and look at her. “You are not sleeping on the couch or going back to that flophouse. You will stay here until we find you a safe, reasonably priced place to live. Tomorrow we can start looking. The other bedroom is my office, and I sleep in there half the time anyway. This is non-negotiable.”

She looks at me a worried expression clouding her gaze as she scrunches one of the bags to her chest.

“I want you to lock the bedroom door when you go to bed and I can guarantee it’s better than the one at your old place. I’m not going to hurt you. I only want to keep you safe.

“Pull out your phone, flower girl, and call Pax. Put the call on speaker.”

“He might be asleep.”

“I know his type. He won’t be.” I can’t tell her he’s waiting for my call.

She punches a number on her phone, and I have her hold it between us as it rings.

“What’s wrong, Boots?” Pax’s voice comes across loud and clear.

“Pax, this is Stack, the biker from the bar. I’m with your employee, Boots. I gave her a ride home because of the rain but when we got there some guy was loitering at the door. He ran away as I walked her up the sidewalk, but I didn’t want to leave her until I knew she was home safe. I walked her to her room. It had been broken into and trashed. Honestly the place is a dump anyway. Four bedrooms to a floor and they share bathrooms. It’s not an apartment, it’s a bedroom.

“I’ve got a two-bedroom duplex at Rush and Winters. I didn’t want her to stay in that place alone after the break in. Hell, the doors and locks are worthless. They wouldn’t keep a six-year-old out.

“I got a part time gig. Thought I could help her look for a better place between my shifts. This is a safe neighborhood.”

“How do I know I can trust you?” he asks.

“I’m Army, just like you.”

“What unit?”

Asshole, what’s he up to? “Seventy-fifth.”

“What’s the address?”

“Twenty-three, twenty-five Winter.”

“What’s your phone number?”

I give it to him.

“Boots, take the phone off speaker.” She then puts it to her ear.

I can guess what he’s asking her. When she looks at me, her reply doesn’t surprise me.

“Yes, I feel safe.”

“Yes, I’ll lock the bedroom door.”

“Yes, I’ll keep my charged phone next to me.”

“Fine. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

She hangs up and looks at me. “Thank you.”

“There’s extra towels and stuff in the bathroom if you want to shower. The fridge should be stocked with some basics: water, juices and probably fruit. Make yourself at home. Get some sleep and we can talk more in the morning. There’s no rush to wake up. I’m off all day.”

“Thank you. I appreciate your help.”

I feel my phone vibrate in my pocket as I stop and grab a water from the fridge. Asshole is probably calling me already. The shower comes on as I close my office door and answer.

“What the fuck are you doing? You can’t have her staying with you. You could be putting her in danger.”

“Don’t fucking tell me what I need to do. Did you check out the shithole where she’s been living? I couldn’t leave her there. Some guy was trying to break in when we pulled up.

“Did you know she’s carrying about seven grand around in her backpack because she’s afraid of getting another bank account after her old boyfriend ripped her off?”

“Fuck,” I hear him drop into his leather chair. “What’s the plan?”

“My job is going to be mostly at night on the Faro Lady Casino ship. I’ll see if I can find her a better place to live during my down time during the day. If not, she should be safe here with all the security we put in. Unless they’re being blatant with the drugs and prostitution on board the ship it’s going to take me a while to uncover anything. I’ll find her something before it becomes dangerous.”

“She’s stubborn as hell about taking handouts.”

“Yeah. Flower girl’s got an attitude. But hey, so do I.”

“Don’t I know.” Pax groans. “Stay frosty. Keep me up to date. I’ll talk to Nyla and tell her what’s going on.”

Hanging up I go pull any clothes Pax would have put in the dresser in the master and move them to the spare room/office while she’s in the bathroom.

A few minutes later I hear the shower shut off. Unable to stay put I open my door and head into the hall separating our two rooms. Wrapped in one of my oversize towels she’s standing in the bathroom doorway worrying her lip.

“What’s wrong?”

“I—someone went through my clothes. That’s kind of gross.”

“Stay here. I’ll be right back.” Grabbing one of my T-Shirts I return and hand it to her. “Wear this for tonight. We can throw your clothes in the wash now and finish them when we get up.”

The look of relief on her face makes me feel like a hero. “Laundry is off the kitchen, meet me there when you’re ready.”

When she joins me in the kitchen, I nearly groan out loud. She looks so damn cute in my shirt that hangs above her knees like a dress. Her wet hair is twisted on top of her head, and she’s used the scarf she wore as a belt at work, to cinch the T-shirt at her waist.

As we’re loading the washer, I realize how little she really has. I never paid attention before but thinking of the different outfits I’ve seen her wear to work, she mixes and matches the same few items with her work T-shirts to make them look different with accessories.

“Anything that needs to go to the dry cleaners?”

She shakes her head. “I don’t buy anything that needs dry cleaning.”

“Anything missing?”

Her cheeks turn a bright pink.

“Boots?”

“A pair of my panties. The red ones.”

“That seals it. You’re never going back there. Is that something your ex would take?”

“No.”

“Has anyone else, any one at the bar given you trouble? Followed you home?”

“No.” She looks up at me. “Maybe I just missed them in the mess.”

I didn’t miss them, and I checked everything after her. What the hell is going on? I should have called the cops for her, but I can’t take a chance of exposing myself while on assignment.

“Do you have your landlord’s number?”

“Yes, but he never answers. He’s the one who yelled that he was sleeping.”

“Call, leave a message telling him that your apartment was broken into and you didn’t feel safe to stay. Then we’ll send the pictures I took.”

By the time we’re done sending everything, her wash is almost ready. Once the clothes are in the dryer, I send her off to bed. In my office I reach out to my brother.

He answers the phone on the first ring. “What’s wrong?”

“Whoever broke into her place stole a pair of her underwear. I don’t like this. I didn’t call the cops because…. Well, I can’t while on this assignment. Can you reach out to that cop that helped you and Nyla out?”

“Detective Ford. Yeah.”

“I’ll send you the pictures I took. I had her leave a message for her landlord. Waste of time, but it’s on record.”

“You need to stay out of this. We can’t have you blowing your cover. We can move her over here.”

“No.” He’s right but I want her here where I can watch over her. “No, you’re newlyweds. I can work around this. Have him come to the bar to talk to her. I’ll give her a reason not to mention me. I’m just a friend or something. I’ll take care of it.”

“Dax, is everything okay? You… this isn’t like you.”

“She’s got nothing, man. Hardly any clothes. Fuck, I fit ALL her belongings on the back of my bike in one trip.” I run a hand through my hair. “He took her fucking underwear. That’s sick.”

“Relax. Ford will work with me. But Dax, you have to be careful. This is serious shit you’re investigating. You get sloppy because your head isn’t in the game, you could…. I need you, man.”

“I know. I can handle this. If I can’t you’ll be the first to know. I won’t put her at risk.”

Pax lets out an annoyed sigh. “Yeah, I’ve fucking heard that before. Tomorrow.”

He doesn’t wait for a reply and hangs up.

I run my palm down my face. This feels bad. I just… I don’t want anyone else watching out for her. They wouldn’t do it like I will. I need to protect her. Just until I know she’s safe, then I’ll walk away.