Page 91 of Fox (Road Rebels MC 4)
I tore the envelope open carefully and flipped open the printed page. It was barely a letter. It had just one sentence printed in the middle of the page.
I’m watching you, Ensley.
Love,
Ryan
The page fell from my hand with a jerk, and fear began to course through my body. My hands rose up to my mouth, and a low shriek escaped my lips. I had stood up from my chair hurriedly and knocked the mug of hot cocoa all over the carpet.
I glared at the sheet of paper lying on the desk now. It was like the words were emblazoned in my eyes. I blinked rapidly, and I couldn’t get them out of my vision.
In an instant, I was no longer the confident Ensley who was on the successful TV show. I was the frightened girl in my apartment in New York. How did he find me?
With my heart in my hand, I rushed to the windows one by one. I was pulling the curtains shut in every room. I ran to double check the front door to make sure it was locked.
I knew I was being watched. For the past few weeks, I had a nagging feeling inside me that I was constantly in the presence of someone else and my gut had been right. This wasn’t just an empty threat. Ryan was manipulative, but he always meant his word. This wasn’t just a way for him to scare me. He wanted me to know that he was a step ahead of me. That despite me leaving New York and him behind, he was still watching my every move.
I slid down to the carpet, with my back pressed against the door. My breathing was ragged, and little pearls of sweat had formed on my forehead now. I felt like I was gagging like someone had their hand around my throat.
I didn’t know what to do.
Every fear I had about Ryan was coming true.
Chapter 11
Thorn
It had taken every ounce of will-power I could muster, to stop thinking about Ensley. She had completely and aggressively occupied my mind. I had spent the night trying every distraction that I could think of.
Nothing worked.
I kept picturing Ensley on the stool, sitting with her legs crossed, her tight rounded breasts under that shimmering blouse she was wearing, her dark painted lips. My thoughts wandered to what it would look like to have those lips around my cock. There was a movement in my pants again, and I had to do everything I could to not let off steam.
Nothing would feel as good as actually having her.
Distractions. I needed to distract myself. I drank, I did push-ups, I tried to fall asleep, I flicked through channels on the television, I did some more push-ups. Nothing seemed to do the trick. The only thoughts in my head were of how hot she looked tonight and how I would have given anything to go find her now.
It was past midnight, and I had already spent close to two hours in my apartment trying to kill time. It was going to end up being another night of waiting up till the sun rose so I could go to Dirty Harry’s and meet up with the guys. That’s where I should have been tonight in the first place. If I hadn’t ridden all the way downtown, I wouldn’t have met Ensley, and then I wouldn’t be feeling this fucked up in the head.
I lay down on my bed now, staring up at the ceiling when I thought I heard my phone ring. I’d left it in the living room on the couch, and I rushed to it. On the screen, an unknown number flashed and my first thought was that something was going on with the club. My brothers were in trouble again.
Cursing myself for not being with them tonight, I answered the call and heard a woman’s heavy breathing at the other end.
“Who is this?” I barked into the phone. My shoulders were heaving, and my brows were crossed. It wasn’t until I heard Ensley’s squeaky voice that I was able to relax.
“It’s Ensley, from the bar,” she said, in a quiet voice and I couldn’t believe that she was actually calling me.
“There is no need to clarify. I know exactly who you are,” I said, and I had to do everything in my power to not burst into a laugh of relief. I thought I would never hear from her, and here she was, calling me within a few hours of parting ways.
“I’m sorry to call like this, I know it’s late,” I heard her say, and slowly, I sat down on the couch. I was getting the feeling that this wasn’t just a social call. She sounded anxious and nervous over the phone.
“It’s okay. I wasn’t sleeping,” I told her, and I heard her take in a deep breath.
“I probably shouldn’t be calling you. It’s just that…I didn’t know who else to call,” she said, and I ran a hand through the long hair on top of my head.
“It’s fine. What’s going on?” I asked, and there was silence for a few moments. I could hear her heavy breathing in the background. Something was definitely up, and she had called me for help.
“Ensley?” I urged her on, and she sighed again.
“I don’t know…I’m just…I’m just very scared right now, Thorn,” she said, and within moments, she had broken down. I could hear her sobs and cries over the phone, and I stood up from the couch with a jerk. Hearing Ensley crying had a knee-jerk reaction on me. I couldn’t stand it. I couldn’t bear to hear her crying.
“Tell me what’s happening. What can I do?” I asked her, and she continued to sob and sniffle, till finally, she managed to breathe more naturally.
“I don’t know what you can do. I just needed to tell somebody that I’m scared,” she said, and I was pacing the living room.
“Okay, it’s good you called me. I’m going to come over to you. Is that okay?” I said.
I could hear her thinking for a few moments. I had no idea what was going on, or why she had called me or why she was so scared but all I could think of was the look of fear in her eyes at the bar. I was right. She was scared of something, and it had triggered again. The last thing I wanted was for her to keep feeling this way.
“Okay. I’m at home,” she replied, after a few moments of silence.
“Give me your address,” I said and listened as she called it out to me. I didn’t need to wri
te it down, I memorized it instantly.
“Okay, I’m coming over now. Do you want to stay on the phone with me?” I said as I rushed to my front door. I was holding the cell phone to my ear as I put my jacket on.
“No, I think I feel better now. You can’t be on the phone while you’re riding your bike anyway. I’ll be fine,” she said, in a small quiet voice.
“Okay, just hold tight. I’ll be there as fast as possible,” I said, and with that, we ended the call.
I ran out of my apartment and towards my bike. It was the middle of the night, and I was rushing to go to the apartment of a woman who I didn’t know anything about. But I was glad that she had called me. I was glad that she had reached out for help and I felt a sense of responsibility towards keeping her safe. Funnily enough, I wasn’t looking for anything in return. I just wanted Ensley to feel better.
Chapter 12
Ensley
Even though I knew that Thorn was on his way to my apartment, I didn’t have the energy to change out of my pajamas. Being in something sexy for him was the last thing on my mind right now.
I was nervous as I waited for him. All the windows were shut, the curtains were pulled, and there was just one dim floor lamp switched on in the living room. The letter from Ryan still sat on my desk, and I couldn’t bring myself to go near it. I was sitting on the couch, my feet constantly tapping the floor as I waited for the moment when I would hear the knock on my door.
I had no idea why I’d called him. Other than the fact that I was crazily attracted to the guy, he didn’t owe me any reason to show up in the middle of the night. The very fact that he had rescued me from Murray was a gesture of pure politeness. He didn’t have to do it. Just like he didn’t have to come to my place right now.
I knew I was asking a big favor. From someone who I barely knew. But at that moment, when I was terrified and scared that Ryan was somewhere close by, that he was watching me constantly; my mind had immediately gone to Thorn and the fact that he had given me his phone number.
