The Joy of Revenge

CHAPTER 46 Red Roses Joy | woke up to a beautiful Sunday morning. | sat up on my bed and stretched my hands above my head.

After the doctor cout to tell us Abigail was stable, we all heaved a sigh of relief and decided to head home, except for Nicole. She opted to stay with Abigail until her parents. arrived and Sebastian agreed to stay with her.

| felt a tinge of jealousy, but Nicole had information and if Sebastian had to f uck her for it, so be it.

Liam offereda ride home, but Cristos intervened saying it was out of Liam’s way and promised he would make sure | got hsafely. Before Liam could say or do anything else, Jack pushed him towards his BMW with Cris chuckling behind them.

Since Xavier rode with Sebastian and Sebastian wanted to stay, Xavier rode with us.

“You went missing awhile ago, Bo,” | said. “What did you find out?” “I thought | went unnoticed,” he replied from the backseat. “Well, someone needed to spy on Liam and Jack. Since all three of you were preoccupied, | decided to follow the two at the ction. According to Jack, witnesses saw a truck sideswipe Abigail's car which off the rode and hit a tree. The police will be going through the CCTV footage. tter grab that footage before the Sheriff has that wiped off from their database.

do, Cristos said. “Did you overhear anything else?” “Just that Liam warned Jack to back off. Liam thinks Virtue likes him,” he scoffed. “It must have been one hell of a dinner for him to think that.” Cristos scolded him. “What else did you “Bo, it isn’t the tto play the jealous boyfriend,” hear?” Xavier sighed melotically before continuing.

“Well, Jack asked Liam if Virtue and him were a couple and Liam answered no. Jack argued Virtue has a right to choose,” Xavier elaborated. “And get this, Jack even said if he has to, he'll warn-Virtue about Liam's past. Liam becso angry, he was about to take a swing at Jack, if it wasn’t for a nurse standing next to them.” He laughed and shook his head. “I'm guessing they'll be competing for your attention, Virtue. Chip, next weekend, | need you to keep the pub open.” “Why?” 1/5 CHAPTER 46 Red Roses “While we were doing surveillance at Hillcrest, we overheard two men sporting identical black sling bags discussing a delivery at the dock for next weekend. We had to climb the hill outside Hillcrest to find the da mn dock.” “And?” Cristos asked, urging him to continue.

“There's a dock just outside the clubhouse, obscured by the tall fence around the perimeter,” Xavier said. “Any news if Lou found the meeting point on the other side of the lake?” “Nothing so far. But if there’s movement over the weekend, we'll catch it. Lou and my ment have put up cameras in the area,” Cristos answered.

“Good. I'm having a team of my men coming in as delivery men for Virtue’s merchandise. They're on the road and will be here in a couple of days. Your men will stay in Bismarck, mine will be at Lincoln while Dom is sending his men to Mandan. In the next couple of weeks, it will get nasty. Virtue, | need you to be prepared. Liam, Jack, Cris and Noah will find themselves in a shi tstorm. Take advantage of it. By the way, we still need a bug at the Sheriff's station. Cby the grocery tomorrow so | can give you one.” “No problem. I'll cin the morning, Bo.” “I'll wait for you. And Virtue, you look really beautiful tonight. When this is over, I'll take you a proper date that will take your breath away” Xavier promised as Cristos parked his car nt of my house.

The lights at Noah's house are on and his truck is in the driveway,” Cristos pointed out. “He was a no show at the hospital earlier. He must have been ordered to do something important. Make sure your security system is on. | have Lou watching from the cameras. He'll inform us if something out of the ordinary happens.” Well, nothing did. | was able to sleep soundly. | checked my phone for messages and saw one from Xavier remindingto pick up my order from him and another from Liam thanking for the special night. Men.

| took a shower and got dressed in a pair of flared jeans and a fitted beige ribbed knit short sleeved blouse. | decided it was a no make-up kind of day. | tied my hair up in a messy bun, put on a pair of beige pumps and filled a beige purse with my essentials. After grabbing my keys, | punched in my security code and opened the door to find Noah standing on my doorstep with a bouquet of red roses. He was wearing a white shirt, jeans and sneakers.

“Good morning!” | greeted him after | closed the door behind me. “We missed you last night.

at the hospital. Are the roses for me?” 2/5 13:36 Mon, Mar CHAPTER 46 Red Roses “Good morning, Virtue,” he said thrusting the bouquet in my direction. “A delivery man cwhile | was about to ring your doorbell.” | took the bouquet of long stemmed roses and immediately read the card. It was from Liam and had a cheesy dedication on it. “Roses are red, violets are blue. No one in this town is as beautiful as you.” I imagined sending him poison ivy with my own version of the poem written on a card.

Roses are red, violets are blue. | have five fingers and the middle one’s for you.

“Thanks, Noah,” | said, cradling the bouquet in my arms. “Is there anything I can do for you?” “I cby to ask how Abigail was doing. My mom wasn’t feeling well last night, so | couldn't make it,” he explained sheepishly.

“Abigail is stable. I'll be visiting her later,” | replied. “How’s your mom? Is there anything | can do for her?” “She's better, thank you for asking,” he replied, grinning at me. “I-l got to thinking the other day a-after | said those awful things to you...maybe you're right. | mean about fixing the porch and reading to my mother. That is, if you still want to...” His voice trailed off as he ited for my answer.

elt something had changed. He was acting terribly nice... too nice.

What are you up to, Noah? “Of course, Noah. The construction material are in the shed at the back. You are welcto take the material at any time,” | offered.

“I'll get the material now if that's okay and start with the repairs. It's a Sunday and my day off,” he said.

“Sure. | need to head to Bo’s to pick up a few things, but I'll be back after | visit Abigail at the hospital. I'll tell her you said hi. Before | forget, how’s the boutique going?” | asked.

“On schedule. Ceiling and walls have been painted and lights have been installed. We start installing the hardwood flooring and the tiles in the bathroom tomorrow.” “I'll drop by and check. Thanks Noah.” “Drive safely, Virtue.” 3/5 CHAPTER 46 Red Roses | walked to my car and noticed footprints on the soil near the elm tree, including pieces of bark. | smirked. He couldn't break into my house so he placed a camera in the tree. | glanced at him as he walked to the back of the house. He'll probably put up another camera in the back.

| sighed as | threw the bouquet in the backseat of my car. | sent Liam a message thanking him for the roses and another massage to Lou to keep an eye on Noah while | ran my errands. After my housewarming party, I'll have to bring Lou in to de-bug my house.

Xavier r was waiting forat the entrance of Bo’s. Once the door to his office closed behind us, he pulledinto his arms and kissedpassionately.

“I want to do more, but we can’t,” he groaned when our lips finally separated.

How disappointing.

“Noah was waiting foroutside,” | said, plopping into a chair. My knees were wobbly from our kiss.”l think he placed a camera in the big elm tree in front of my yard.” “Yup, Lou called to tell us that. I'm telling you we should put him on the list. He's as guilty as any one of them, Virtue,” Xavier reasoned. “Chip heard him speaking to someone on the phone through the bug you placed inside his home. Whoever it was wants to keep an eye on at all times.” he, put him on the list,” | said, giving in to Xavier. He grinned, happy Noah was now a target. “Was it Liam?” “He didn’t say a name, Xavier replied.

“They really think I'm undercover. | need to prove them otherwise. Anyway, where's that bug you wantto put in the Sheriff's office?” “Here.” Xavier handeda black case. “And this is the blanket you ordered. Anything else?” “Booze. | need to stock up for my housewarming party. Booze and jealous men are a great combination,” | said.

“For when?” “After 1 my boutique is done. | need champagne for the grand opening for the boutique while | need hard liquor, red wine and beer for the house.” | stood up and walked to the door.

4/5 CHAPTER 46 Red Roses “Got it. | will personally deliver everything myself,” Xavier said while he opened the door. “And what about food?” He asked as he ledout. “Steak, barbecue, burgers?” “I'll probably order food from Harold's or maybe the diner. We'll see. Thanks again, Bo.” | walked out and headed to do a quick inspection of my boutique.

| was inside playing with the lights and thinking of placing a light installation or a chandelier in the middle when the glass door opened and in walked Jack wearing jeans, a blue shirt and brown leather boots.

Ah, the very man | needed to see.

The blue of his shirt matched his eyes. His chest muscles were bulging through his shirt and the short sleeves displayed his muscular arms. He looked good out of his uniform.

“Oh wow! You look different without your uniform, Undersheriff. Sorry, but my merchandise isn’t up yet,” | joked.

“So, what can | do for you, jack?” Chapter Comments Luna-Mom interesting chapter.

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