AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Thanks. Haven’t had a drink since I quit in Benton Falls. I’ve been busy every day of the week and only go to bed when I can no longer keep my eyes open. Haven’t been fuckin’ the Fallen girls or anythin’ since I’ve been here. When the guys go out, I stay here and try to get some work done. I’ve tried so hard not to have to call for help, but it’s too much right now,” I tell him, pulling back as Killer steps up and pulls me in for a hug.
“We’re fuckin’ proud of ya, Vault. You turned your shit around and are keepin’ it that way. Don’t fuckin’ hurt her,” Killer whispers so only I can hear him as he releases me and joins Playboy in greeting the rest of the men who now fill our common room.
Stryker, Fox, and Boy Scout all enter the clubhouse and greet me as if nothing happened in the past before I left to come here. They all give me words of encouragement before going to greet everyone else. Finally, I turn back to the door as Annabell, my sweet Angel, enters the clubhouse with Hunter following behind her. They’re laughing as he wraps his arm around her shoulders and my heart stutters in my chest. I know I told her to let me go and move on, but I didn’t realize she was going to move on with Hunter. It really doesn’t matter who the guy is, I won’t be happy seeing her with anyone at all. No one’s me and I want to be the one she confides in and shares every single thing about her life with. I don’t want to be kept on the outskirts as nothing more than a spectator. Unfortunately, I ruined it all and now I have to suffer the consequences of my actions.
“Annabell. Thank you for comin’ down to help us out,” I tell her, making her pause next to me as Hunter removes his arm from her shoulders.
“Vault, it’s good to see you. It’s been a long time,” she responds, her soft voice shooting straight to my cock as the walls I built around my heart shatter into a million pieces.
Annabell is so fucking sexy. Her normally tan skin is so pale I can make out her veins mixed in with the tattoos that now cover her left arm from her wrist up to her shoulder. I want to explore the ink up close and trace every fucking line with my tongue. Annabell’s black hair has the same golden highlights she’s always had as the ends reach just above her ass. Her body has filled out. She’s still skinny, but Bell now has curves and she is doing nothing to hide them from everyone around her. There’s a confidence that radiates from her and it’s something I didn’t get to see in the past. I’m happy as fuck to know she finally found herself and doesn’t give a fuck what anyone thinks of her. Annabell has always been my dream girl and now it’s only going to be worse because she’s what every man wants to have at his side. A woman who knows her worth and is sexy as fuck. Her heart is huge and she’ll treat her man like a fucking king.
“Pretty Girl!” my brother calls out, making Annabell turn her attention from me as she spots Valor a few feet behind us.
Without hesitation, she runs away from Hunter and me and jumps in my brother’s arms. He holds her close and whispers something to her that makes her laugh out loud. Fuck! I’ve missed the sound of her laugh. It’s soft and sweet, but there’s a deep husky quality to it. The sound fills every inch of my broken heart in places I didn’t even know was missing anything. I’ve been so numb for the longest time and now everything is rushing back at me full force. I almost drop to my knees with the weight of my feelings for Annabell. The only reason I don’t is because Hunter puts his hand on my shoulder and grounds me. Looking up at him, I nod my appreciation and pull him in for a man hug.
“It’s good to see you, Hunter. I hope things have been goin’ good for you and Annabell,” I tell him, forcing my voice to be steady and strong even though I want to break down.
“Annabell’s my best friend, Vault. We’ve never gone past a close friendship. I honestly see her as my sister and nothin’ more. Yeah, we spend every day together, but we were never meant to be more than friends. Not like the two of you,” he states while keeping his voice low so no one else hears him as he shocks me. “I’m not sayin’ she didn’t date while she was in college, because she did. That’s her story to tell though. The only thing I’m gonna say is either man the fuck up and claim your girl after you work shit out. Or give her the closure she needs to finally move on from lovin’ your ass.”
I nod my head in response as I turn to watch him walk further in the clubhouse and greet the others he’s only met once or twice. Valor and Annabell have their heads bent close to one another and for the first time in a long time, my brother is lighter and free of everything that’s been weighing him down. Part of my walls go back up because she’s not like that with me any longer. Annabell is going to keep me at arm’s length so I don’t get the chance to hurt her again. I can’t blame her because there’s no reason for her to do anything more than get the closure Hunter just mentioned to me. She doesn’t owe me anything and I owe her the fucking world for how I treated her.
“Annabell, I can show you to your room if you’d like to get settled in,” I say, walking closer to where she stands with Valor.
“Okay. Um, thank you,” she says, several emotions shuttering through her eyes too quickly for me to figure out what they are before a mask drops in place.
Annabell waits for me as Hunter runs out to get her bags from her trunk. The familiarity between the two of them feels like a knife twisting in my gut and I know I don’t have the right to feel that way. There’s nothing I can do to stop it though. Annabell follows behind me so I can’t put my hand on her lower back like I want to. I can’t even see her from where she’s walking. Shaking my head, I lead her up the stairs and down the hallway towards the end where my room is.
“Right here is Valor’s room,” I inform her, pointing to his door before pointing toward mine. “This is my room. Every other room on this floor is full of the guys and two Prospects we have. There are currently three Fallen girls and they sleep in rooms on the first floor. The hallway for their rooms is off the left of the common room. The offices, church, and the room our tech guy will eventually set up in is in the hallway right next to the stairs we just came up. There’s also a bathroom there. Past the bar on the right is the kitchen. It’s fully stocked and you can help yourself to anythin’ you find in there. If somethin’ has a name on it, leave it alone. That’s the only rule we have for food.”
“Okay. Will I have an area to work here?” she asks me as I open her door and step aside so she can enter while I remain in the hallway behind her.
“Yeah. I’ve got an office next to mine set up for you. There’s a desk, laptop, chair, and fan in there for ya. If ya need anythin’ else, just let me know and I’ll make sure you get it. Fox already sent me the files for you to download on the computer. I guess it’s the same programs you’ve been usin’ for your dad. Fox said to call him or Kingston and one of them will walk you through what you need to do,” I tell her, not making a move to get any closer to her or enter her room. “I personally cleaned the room for you and made the bed. Everythin’ has been washed. If you need anythin’ else in here, let me know. Uh, the mini fridge over there has all the drinks I remember you used to love. There’s also some chocolate and stuff in there too.”
“Thank you, Vault. I’ll get settled and come find you. If you don’t mind showing me the office where I’ll be working, I can check out the programs and see if I’m going to need Fox and Kingston to help me. I’d like to get started early tomorrow morning. When do you want me to start at Hound’s?” she asks me as I step back away from her doorway.
“If you want to take the day tomorrow to get the computer system up and ready for you, I can take you to Hound’s the day after. I’ll be gone from early in the mornin’ until whenever we close up shop tomorrow night. Valor is plannin’ on stickin’ around in case you need him. George and Martin are the Prospects here. They usually leave in the mornin’ after we do to help out at the various businesses. I think Red and Crab will be here too. They work at the bar and it doesn’t open until the early evenin’. When you come find me later, I’ll grab a bunch of files for you to start with. Please, take your time with them,” I tell her, my voice low as even more emotion fills me.
Annabell is standing in the middle of her room and the sunlight is hitting just right through her window. It hits her hair and makes it shine and appear as a halo is above her head. Exactly like the picture I took of her before everything turned to shit. With one last nod in her direction, I leave her behind and head back down to the common room. If I don’t leave her now, I’ll make the biggest mistake of my life and blurt out things I’m not ready to share with her just yet. I pass Hunter in the hallway and watch as he enters her room and the door gets closed behind him. Yeah, that’s really fucking with my head.
Sitting down at a table with the guys, we all spend the rest of the night talking and laughing. It’s been so long since I’ve cut loose and just sat down with the guys here in the clubhouse. I’ve been so busy making sure this chapter doesn’t fail that I haven’t allowed myself to have time for anything else. That’s something that I’ll be changing as of now. We fill the guys in on what’s been going on here in Pine View and they share stories of what’s going on back home. When the Phantom girls enter the common room, I watch as their eyes light up.
“Back the fuck off. These men are all untouchable and their ol’ ladies will gut you with smiles on their faces. None of them are single. You know the rules and if you break one, you’re fuckin’ done and out on your ass,” I state, letting my voice fill the common room as the girls drop their gazes and shoulders. Yeah, they thought they were gonna fuck the new arrivals and it’s not gonna happen.
“You already got rules in place for the girls?” Killer asks me, pride filling his face.
“Yeah. The second they walk in the door, they’re explained. There is no second chance or probation period here. I’m not gonna deal with their shit. The main rule is that none of them touch me. If I want them, I’ll let them know. I won’t be touchin’ them for any reason. If a guy shows up here and isn’t single, he’s off limits no questions asked. They’re to clean, cook, and do anythin’ that’s asked of them. If that’s not how they wanna be, then they can get the fuck out,” I say as Annabell hovers behind me at the table and listens. I don’t miss the slight gasp she releases when I say that none of them are to touch me and that I’ve never been with them.
Getting up, I lead Annabell to the office next to mine. She goes through everything as I leave her and head to my office to grab the first group of files I want her to work on. The stack is thicker than I thought it would be, but I know she’ll work through them as she can. Before leaving my office, I pause to adjust my hard cock in my jeans. It hasn’t gone down since the second I laid eyes on my Angel. It’s gonna be a long night as I drop the files off and rejoin the men in the common room. I’m not going to force my presence onto her. She’ll let me know when she’s ready to talk or spend any kind of time with me.
Chapter Fourteen
Annabell
BEING IN PINE View with Vault and Valor is surreal. It’s been so long since I’ve seen either one of them and I definitely wasn’t ready for it. So many emotions hit me all at once the second I saw Vault. He’s changed so much over the years since he’s been gone. Vault is so much bigger than he was when he left. He’s been working out and the muscles now covering his body are enough to make my mouth water. The man was sexy as hell before and now he’s walking sex on a stick as well. Vault’s got tattoos covering his golden tanned skin and he’s shaved his head. It honestly makes him appear a little menacing if you didn’t know him. Even knowing him the little that I do, I’m honestly afraid of him and how he looks now. But, when he turned his chocolate brown eyes on me, the same feeling of him looking straight into my soul filled me as usual. Vault is the only man who ever makes me feel as if he can see deep down to the depths of my soul and find all the secrets I want to keep hidden.
The one thing that hasn’t changed about Vault is his voice. It’s deep and graveled from him smoking. Depending on the time of day, it has that raspy quality I find sexy. When he was talking to Killer about the Phantom girls, his voice was so commanding and filled with a dominance I haven’t heard from him before. He might have been talking to Killer, but he was also talking to those girls and making sure they remember their place here at the clubhouse or he’ll kick them out on their asses. I’m honestly impressed that he had the forethought to put those rules in place because these women will walk all over everyone in their way to get what they want. Most of them want to become an ol’ lady to these guys and they don’t give a fuck who they’ve hurt. I’ve seen it too many times over the years. Hopefully these girls are smarter than the ones who have been at my dad’s clubhouse in the past.
It surprised me to learn that he hasn’t fucked any of these women since being here in Pine View. Vault was one of the men who was constantly fucking someone. Yes, he tried to hide it from me, but women talk and I heard more than I wanted to about his sex life over the years. Especially once he left Benton Falls because the girls missed him and what he did to them. I figured if he wasn’t fucking these girls then he was surely finding women when he went out to fuck no matter where he was. But, he implied that’s not the case either. I don’t know what to even think about that because it’s a complete shock and not what I was expecting to hear from the man I always thought would be my first. However, I’m trying to force those thoughts aside and keep them out of my mind because I don’t need to be thinking about Vault’s sex life and who he is, or isn’t, fucking.
