Outlaw: Chapter 10
It had been two weeks since I’d given Tarin her property cut and we’d made love for the first time. And it was love we made, not just sex. I loved her and I was ready to tell her. I’d been holding back, because I didn’t want to scare her or make her feel like she had to say it back to me. I knew she had feelings for me. If it wasn’t love, it was getting there. We spent every spare moment together. I’d convinced her that she was staying in Hunters Creek and not going back to Atlanta. I offered to go pack up her house, but she said she’d hire someone to do it. I guess she’d been living in an apartment. I asked if her landlord would let her out of the lease. She’d laughed then told me she owned the building. I wasn’t sure how I felt about having a woman who had so much more money than me. I did know I wanted to be the main provider.
Today, she was moving to the compound to live with me. We’d recently finished the guest townhouses we’d started to build a few months ago, around the time Demon and Zara got together. Tarin and I would be the first people to stay in one. She’d objected and said we could stay in my room, but I wanted more privacy than that. Besides, I saw it as practice for when we’d eventually be married and living in our own house.
With any luck, that house would be done in three or four months. She had no idea I was having it built. I’d enlisted the help of the other old ladies to find out what kind of house she liked and the things she would like in her dream home. They had been sneaky as hell about it. This tradition of building on the compound was one I gladly embraced. The guys out in Dublin Falls had started it and we continued it. For Bull and Bear, they’d already had houses. Me, I'd been content in the clubhouse until I met her.
We’d been at the compound one day and I took her for a walk. I'd shown her the acreage, and she’d pointed out a couple of spots she said would be perfect for a house. I’d paid attention and one of those was where I was having ours built.
It didn’t take much to get her stuff together. I think I had her convinced to go to Atlanta to get more of her clothes, rather than waiting for them to be packed up by the moving company. It was less than a three-hour drive. We could leave early, pack what she needed, and be back the same day. I think she was considering it because she needed something to do.
While she didn’t need to work, she wanted to work. Even with all the money her stepdad had set aside for her in a trust fund, she’d always worked since she got out of high school. It had mainly been in a spa doing facials and stuff, though she didn’t seem to love it. We’d told her there was a spa in town. One of the women who’d worked there, Rylan, had to leave unexpectedly. That had left them short-handed and Maverick upset.
He’d been interested in Rylan, but she wouldn’t let him in. When she left, he said the hell with her and good riddance. I didn’t believe it for a minute. She’d been gone for just over two months and I had yet to see him hooking up with anyone. Maybe he was doing it on the sly, but why? He’d never hidden when he went off with one of the bunnies in the past. I was certain he still hoped Rylan would come back and give him a chance.
We’d just gotten her suitcases to the townhouse when my phone rang. I saw it was the PI, Irv Petrillo. “Babe, I need to take this call. I’ll be back.”
“Take your time. I’m exploring where stuff is and trying to think what we might need to get.”
I gave her a quick kiss then answered my phone. “Outlaw,” I said.
“Hey, Outlaw, I wanted to see if you had time to sit down and talk? I just got back to town and I have something. Or at least I think it’s something. I don’t want to talk about it over the phone. I can meet you somewhere or you can come to my hotel.” He had a tone of concern in his voice. What the hell did he find out?
“Can you come to the compound? You remember where it is from last time, don’t you? I’m here moving in with my old lady. Say, in an hour?”
“Sure. I’ll see you in an hour.” As soon as he hung up, I called Mitch. He was at the gate today. I told him to expect Irv and to bring him to the clubhouse. I went inside. I hadn’t mentioned to Tarin that I had asked someone to look into her background. I wanted to wait and see if he discovered anything. She was in the bathroom putting away her stuff.
“Baby, I need to go meet with someone in an hour. Will you be okay here by yourself? Do you want me to send someone over to help you with anything?”
“Damian, I don’t have much to unpack. I’m going to go through the house and think about what I have at my apartment that’s coming and what we might need to get. I’ll work on making my lists. Will you be gone long? I hope nothing is wrong.”
“Just some business. I doubt it’s serious. I should be back in a couple of hours max. Which reminds me, I need to talk to your dad. Let me do that before my meeting.” I hated not telling her. I felt like I was lying when really, I wasn’t. She gave me a kiss and went back to working in the bathroom. I headed over to Bear’s house. He wasn’t at The Dark Angel today. Ilara had a doctor appointment later with the baby doctor. I knocked on their door.
A couple of minutes later, Bear opened the door. He had Hope on his shoulders. I smiled up at her. She was starting to look a little less pale, even though she went once a month to get a round of chemo. She waved at me. “Hey, Outlaw, come on in. What’s up? You need help at the townhouse?” He waved me inside. I saw Ilara was in the kitchen.
“Can I talk to you for a minute?” I whispered.
He raised a brow then sat Hope down. “Go to Momma, Sugarplum. Daddy needs to talk to Outlaw.” She ran over to her mom. Ilara was watching us. He took me into his office and shut the door. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing that I know of. Irv Petrillo called. He said he just got back from Atlanta and he thinks he might have something. He didn’t want to talk about it over the phone. He’s going to be here in,” I looked at my watch, “in about forty-five minutes. Do you wanna join us? I told him to meet me at the clubhouse.”
“Shit, okay, let me make sure Ilara’s set then I’ll meet you over there. She doesn’t see the doctor until three. Does Tarin know?” I shook my head.
He frowned. “Why do I feel like we’re going behind her back?” he asked me.
“I don’t know, but I feel the same way. As soon as he’s gone, I’m going to tell her. She needs to know and I’m hoping this was all just a crazy feeling.”
“Me too. I’ll see you in a few.” We left his office. Ilara gave me a questioning look when I told her goodbye. I hurried over to the clubhouse to wait. Most of the guys were at work and the other women were working or at home with the babies. Alex was at the bar. I grabbed a cup of coffee. It wasn’t long before Bear joined me and grabbed himself a cup. We sat there saying nothing. When the door finally opened and Mitch walked in with Irv, I was ready for this to be over with. I needed to go home and talk to Tarin. This should be coming from her, unless it was something she didn’t know.
Irv took a seat after shaking our hands, and I had Mitch grab him a cup of coffee. Once he was settled, I leaned toward him. “Tell us what you think you found? Why didn’t you want to talk about it over the phone?”
He sighed. “Because I never like the thought of someone hearing what I have to say. I’m paranoid, I know. Anyway, I did what you asked. I snooped around in Atlanta. I talked to maybe a dozen people who knew Merrill Mercer. Most of them had nothing but great things to say about him. How he was a saint and was all about the homeless and the needy. He gave all kinds of money to charities and shit like that.”
“You said most of them. What did the others have to say?” I asked him impatiently. I already knew the other shit.
“There were some unsavory rumors going around about him and how he treated his family. No one could say for sure if it was true, but they said he was abusive in some way. Something big went down when Tarin was ten years old. Whatever it was, his wife filed for divorce immediately. She moved out of the family home and took Tarin out of her school and put her in another. There were some behavior problems with her for about six months. By the time she calmed down, the divorce was final and her mom had gotten everything she’d asked for. According to one person, what was speculated to have been done to Tarin by Mercer—” he didn’t finish because we heard a cry.
I turned to find Tarin standing there. Her hand was over her mouth and she was pale. As in so pale, I was afraid she'd pass out. I jumped to my feet at the same time Bear did.