Tank POV

Watching Fleur's eyes widen and almost pop out of her head at hearing Ghost tell me to keep watch on her was almost amusing enough to break the tension around me. However, the fact that someone we know has a family member that was taken from under our noses is enough to keep me focused on the task at hand. That task being keeping Fleur safe.

It's no surprise that those shithead Renegades would come to our area. They know we've been scouting all the towns where people are going missing. I'm guessing this is a message they are sending us...one saying they are not afraid of us.

That pisses me off to not end.

Knowing that I need to get Fleur out of here so Ghost and Blade can start planning with the rest of the brother's, I make my way to her and guide her out of the room. Outside of Ghost's hideaway, the rest of the bar and club area are living it up. Completely unaware of what else is going on. Soon the rest of the brothers will know what's going on though. I expect the mood to die down pretty quickly.

As we head out, Fleur still in shock, but quiet...we pass by the bar only to have Katie call my name and stop us. Before I open my mouth to see what she wants, she tosses a set of keys my way. Her car keys. She must be in my head, because she speaks up before I can say anything. "I know my brother was upset with Fleur being on the back of a bike. Take my SUV, I'll get a ride," is all she says before turning away to tend to some men that were waiting on the other end of the bar.

With that, I walk Fleur and myself out of the club and towards Kate's vehicle. I open the passenger door first, and help Fleur in. Once inside, I turn to look at Fleur before buckling in to see she still looks in shock.

"Hey..." I say in a tone that's softer than I thought I was capable of. As soon as my voice hits her ears, I see her shiver slightly. I would love to bask in the fuzzy feeling that gives me, but now is a bad time. Once she turns and looks my way, I can see the fear and confusion laced in her eyes and it's heartbreaking. Being used to this world and the uncertainty of it has made it easy for me to mask my feelings. Seeing everything written on her face right now has my guarded exterior wanting to crack.

Without when realizing I'm doing it till it's too late my hand makes it's way to the side of her face and cups it. The gasp from her mouth is what breaks my zoning out and I have to snatch my hand away before it gets too weird for her.

"It's going to be okay," I manage to say even though my throat is constricting. God, I feel so weak around her, unable to keep my composure. After a deep breath I get a little more centered before I decide to buckle up and get her to her room and not out in an open parking lot.

The short trip to the hotel she is staying at is quiet and the air is so tense you could choke on it. At least it feels that way on my end. Once we park she's quick to open her door herself. Maybe she doesn't feel how I think she feels. Maybe she doesn't like what she saw, what our lives are. That thought doesn't settle well in me at all. I don't mind people looking down on me, mostly because they don't know me or what I'm about. If I spent every second worrying about what others think of me, I'd have no time to live my life. However, I think the muscle in my chest would tear if Fleur thought the worst of me.

After a deep breath to settle the doubts hovering around in my mind, I make my way out and walk briskly to catch up to Fleur's slower pace. Once we make it inside I continue to follow right behind till we make it to the elevators. It doesn't take long for the next available set to open before we make our way in. Fortunately, we are the only ones in and I let out a relieved sigh while Fleur presses the number '3' on the wall.

A few seconds pass before the doors close and we make our way up. My head is everywhere with what's going on a with the club as well as being put on guard duty for Fleur that I only hear her faintly talking to me.

"Sorry, what was that?" I say in that newfound soft tone again.

"What are we going to tell Justin?" she asks in a timid voice.

"We'll tell him as much of the truth as we can," I tell her with a small shrug.

As soon as I finish the elevator stops and the doors open and I hear Fleur mutter 'As if I know the truth' yet I choose to ignore it and follow her down the hall. I wish I could tell her everything and at the same time, I really don't want her to know much about us. I'm torn, but I know the truth has to come from Ghost before it comes from me. It's only right.

Towards the end of the hallway Fleur stops and faces a door on the right before digging in her pocket and pulling out her key card. Before she puts the card in she turns to me again, this time with a less timid and more serious air about her.

"Please be nice," is all she says before she turns and finally places the card in to open the door. Not going to lie, that firmness in her tone and the little confidence that came through right there had my mind going straight to the gutter. Quickly shaking off that sort of excitement running through me, I follow her once again into the room and the sight before me, makes my blood pressure skyrocket...

The room is decently sized and nicer than anticipated. What has me fuming is the fact that this room holds one, big bed. One. One bed for two people. That means these two have been sharing this one bed. I've never thought of myself has a jealous person, but this has me solid green with envy. I don't want to be jealous and I know she can do what she pleases, but that doesn't mean I'm okay with that little shit being the one she shares the bed with.

Why did she have to tell me to be nice?!

I hear the shower running in the connected bathroom so I know he's here. I kind of can't wait to see his reaction to my being here. I see the way he looks at me. He's intimidated, as he should be. Fleur is digging through her bags for God knows what, but I'm guessing it's more to avoid having to entertain me or even acknowledge that I'm here. I guess she's trying to avoid her feelings.

I'll let her have her freedom from them...for now.

Not knowing what else to do, I lean against the wall and pull out my phone to see if the brother's have any updates on their plans. Unfortunately I have nothing so far, so I have to pretend to give a damn about other things on my phone to avoid staring at Fleur like the creep I am. To my luck, Ghost sends me a message a few minutes later warning me to keep a close eye on Fleur. I'm more than happy to have a reason to keep my eye on her, but he doesn't need to know that. I like seeing that protective side of Ghost. He hasn't known Fleur for very long, but he'd do anything to keep her safe. That's why he chose me to watch her. Best decision he could have made.

A few more minutes go by and Fleur seems to have found whatever it is she was looking for and is now sitting on the bed with a book in her hand. However, I can tell she's not paying any attention to said book and I can see her constantly glancing my way through my peripherals. I can't help but glance right at her the moment she looks up again with a smug smirk on my face to let her know she's busted.

The red on her cheeks and the drop of her jaw when she was caught was worth it.

After a split second she recovers and closes her mouth, but the blush remains. God, that blush makes my pants tighten in wanting to see where else it travels to. We both keep our eyes connected and the longer I look the more I'm enraptured by her natural beauty. Sure there is plenty of beautiful women around, but this one calls to me on a different level.

It feels like minutes go by, yet I'm sure it's only seconds before the sound of the bathroom door breaks our concentration and jolts us back to reality. Trailing out with a bathroom full of steam, the little shit she calls 'Justin' walks out in shorts only while drying his hair off. I feel something clenching in the bottom of my gut, it feels a lot like jealousy. He gets to sleep with her like this?!

He hasn't noticed me and I'd rather him notice me on his own. I'm dying to see his reaction when he sees me here and when he hears I am to keep an eye on Fleur all the time. The jealous feeling soon leaves and is replaced by something akin to giddiness as I wait for him to see me.

Taking another peek at Fleur I can see she's so nervous she can't even look up at him. If they're in a real relationship, it's not off to a good start if she's too nervous to share something like this with him. No matter how insecure he might be, he should be okay with it. It's for her safety, but that's just my opinion.

Finally, Justin spins around to put his towel back in the bathroom, but instead stops dead in his tracks once he sees me. For a split second he was wide eyed like a deer in headlights before it was replaced with a scowl.

"What the hell are you doing here?!" he asks in an angry tone that I can closely compare to a cat in heat. Or maybe I'm just being a biased prick. Who can blame me?

I don't have time to respond before Fleur chimes in. "He's...um..he was ordered to keep an eye on me per my dad's orders." Justin turned to face her during this time and the tension in his body was obvious. I really want to feel bad for this kid, but a) he's kind of a little asshole with me and b) he's a speedbump in my way of getting to something I want.

"Flo, he's not your dad! Your dad is back at home, in Oregon. That man is pretty much a sperm donor who's into God knows what. Why the hell does he have someone like him watching over you?! Why anyone has to watch over you seems shady as fuck. You know that..."

Fleur looked like she had been slapped when he said that about Ghost, her real father. I know she wasn't raised by him, but it's not his fault. That was a low blow and as much as I want to beat the shit out of this kid for yelling at her like that, I know she wouldn't want it. I take a deep breath to contain myself. I swear my life has been deep breaths over and over since she arrived.

Fleur takes a moment and clears her throat before responding. She's shy with everyone else, but seems able to handle him. I guess that's a good thing right now, otherwise I would eventually give in to my urge to high five his face with my fist.

"Something happened with a girl being kidnapped nearby and...and in a panic Max gave Tank instructions to keep an eye on me, on us. He's only concerned for my safety, Jay. I know I have a dad in Oregon. And he will always be my dad, but Max is..well, Max is also my dad. I'm sorry for all of this, but he really only means well." Not that she had to justify anything to him, I'm happy with what she said and I'm sure Ghost would have something resembling a grin on his face if he heard.

Justin seems to have calmed slightly. I guess the shock of seeing me wore off. I know he sees me as a threat and I'm one hundred percent okay with that. If we were in the wild, he'd have already been challenged by me and lost her to me. Too bad we're human and she's not a possession.

I'm feeling slightly victorious with the situation and Fleur backing her dad and in that me as well. That is until Justin opens his mouth again.

"You're right, Flo. I'm sorry for blowing up, I was surprised. I'm guessing you're tired from all that happened. Let's get some rest." Before I can react in anyway he turns to me with a smug look in his eye. "Do you need a pillow? You can have mine since I end up sharing one with Flo anyway with how close she cuddles up to me."

This mother fucker.

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