by Chelle Bliss
“Where the hell are Thomas and James?” Tamara’s grandmother asks, holding a spoon in her right hand with an oven mitt covering her left. “I can’t hold dinner much longer.”
“They should be here any minute,” Joe tells her, glancing down at the watch on his wrist. “Said they were only a few minutes away when they called.”
“They have five more minutes, and then we’re eating without them,” she announces before spinning back around and marching toward the kitchen.
“Tamara’s other uncles,” Sal explains. “James and Thomas were tying up some loose ends on a case.”
I’d heard about them. More like I’d heard of them from the guys in the Disciples. I’d never met them, always out of town on business when they were around and when all hell broke loose back in the spring. But I knew their reputations and their willingness to straddle the law when necessary.
“We need to talk.” There’s a hand on my shoulder, and I crane my neck back to see Pike’s face. “Now.”
Anger’s not a look I’m used to seeing on his face. He was never really pissed off and was usually pretty even-tempered about everything. He was so chill, I wondered what it would take to really set him off. Based on his face, I’m about to find out why his anger is pointed at me.
The three men in the room stare at us as I stand, excusing myself, and follow Pike past Tamara and her parents, and out the front door. He doesn’t stop on the front porch, stalking down the walkway toward the driveway before weaving in and out of the cars until we reach the road.
“What the fuck are you doing?” he asks, running his fingers through his hair like he’s about to yank every strand out by the roots.
I stare him straight in the eyes and shrug a shoulder. “Nothing, man. I wanted to make sure Tamara made it home safely.”
His eyes never leave mine, and neither does the fire inside them. “She’s here and you’ve done your duty, but I don’t know why you’re still standing here.”
“Tamara asked me to stay, and so did her grandmother,” I tell him, not understanding what the big fucking deal is. “What the hell’s your problem?”
“What the hell happened to Crow? I figured he’d bring her home. Tamara went to the compound looking for him, but somehow she’s on the back of your bike.”
I blow out a breath, trying to keep my cool so I can explain the reality of the situation to my old friend. “Crow turned her ass away.”
He cocks his head like he didn’t fucking hear me. “Say that again.”
“She showed up, looking all cute and shit, bag in hand, looking for the asshole, and he told her to fuck off and turned his back on her.”
Pike’s jaw ticks, and his fingers curl into tight fists against his palms. “He did what?” he grits out through his clenched teeth.
“Yeah, man. Threw her out like trash. It was dark outside, and he was just going to leave her out in the parking lot all by herself.”
Pike closes his eyes, nostrils flaring, looking like his head is about to explode. “I will fuckin’ kill him.”
“Crow’s an asshole,” I mutter, but Pike already knows that.
Everyone does.
He’s pacing now, wearing a path in the grass near the edge of the driveway. “He was so nice to her, led her on, and then went to turn her out like that.”
“He’s about to do some solid time, Pike. The man didn’t want her tangled up in his bullshit. I think, for once at least, he thought what he was doing was best for her and not him.”
Pike stopped moving. “He’s about to do time?”
I nod. “Facing ten to twenty. Trial starts next week, and the evidence is solid. If he takes a plea, he’ll be in for five.”
“That’s why that fucker kept talking about holding on to the good and to just let him soak her in,” he says, rubbing his forehead. “I thought it was so strange.”
“He wasn’t so into soaking her in when she showed up out of the clear blue. I’m pretty fucking shocked he didn’t sleep with her as a last hurrah. Crow’s never been one to think twice about breaking anyone’s heart.”
Pike slides his hand to his neck, tipping his head toward the ground. “So, what? You brought her home out of the goodness of your heart?”
“Well…” I spread my hands apart, knowing I have to be up-front and frank. “The girl had a mouth on her and had an attitude to boot. I was trying to mind my own damn business, but I couldn’t.”
“You fucked her.” He levels me with his gaze. He isn’t asking me a question. He already knows the answer and wants confirmation.
I raise an eyebrow, crossing my arms over my chest. “How is that any of your business?”
A small growl escapes his throat, and he balls his fists at his sides again. “She’s like a little sister to me. The last thing I want is for her to get mixed up in the Disciples’ bullshit. I like you, Mammoth, I always have, but you’re not right for Tamara.”
I jerk my head back. His words strike a harder blow than his fist ever could. “What the fuck does that mean?”
The vein near his temple bulges as he takes a step toward me, but I don’t move. “She’s not the type of girl you can just throw out with the trash. She may seem like a party animal and a little crazy, but damn it, she’s more than that.”
“You really care about her,” I observe. I can see it on his face and in his eyes.
There’s respect there and even love. An emotion Pike showed as rarely as he did anger.
“Not only am I in love with her cousin, but Tamara’s my neighbor, and I work with her father.” He throws his hand toward the house. “I love and respect this family. The last thing I need is someone coming in here, fucking up everything I’ve worked so hard to get.”
I rub my hands together, clenching my jaw, knowing I need to set his ass straight. Either that or I’m going to knock his ass out for implying I’m using Tamara like the other guys use and throw women away on a whim. “First,” I say, stepping forward until our boots are touching. “I know she’s not a whore, and I’ve never treated her like one. Second, I like this girl—hell, I like her more than I’ve probably ever liked anyone before. She’s sassy, smart, and totally not afraid of anything, including me.” I take in a breath and quickly continue before he can interrupt me. “Third, I’m not here to fuck anything up. Tamara asked me to stay, so I stayed. Simple as that. I don’t need to explain myself to you or anyone else in this world, but out of respect, I’m going to clue you in on a few things because I’ve always thought of you as a friend.”
He grunts, but he keeps his mouth shut as he glares at me.
“If she asks me to stay longer or wants to see me again, I’m not going to ask you for permission, and I’m sure as fuck saying yes.”
His forehead wrinkles as his eyebrows draw down. “If you break her heart…”
I jerk my thumb toward the house. “You think I’m going to break that wild thing? If anything, she has the ability to crush me, brother.”
He draws his lips back, snarling. “You’ve spent, what, two days with her? I think you’re both wading into dangerous territory. You’re in the Disciples, and Tamara isn’t cut out for club life. Her family wouldn’t stand for it and, frankly—” he lifts his jaw, eyes narrowing “—neither would I.”
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves here. Tamara wants me around, I stay. She wants me gone, I go. She wants to see me again, I’m there. She wants to cut me off, I move on. It’s entirely up to her. Not me. Not you. Got it?”
He inhales before blowing out a long exhale. “Don’t fuck shit up. Not for me. Not for her. Not for anyone in that house.”
“It’s not my plan, Pike. And just so you know…” I rub the back of my neck, ready to tell him something I haven’t told anyone yet. “I’m growing weary of the life.”
He rocks backward, eyes wide. “Never thought I’d hear those words from you.”
“They helped me during a time I didn’t know my ass from my head, but I’ve got my shit together now
. I know what I want out of life, and it isn’t prison time. I want a family. I want a normal job where I don’t have to look over my shoulder every day, wondering if someone’s going to put a bullet in the back of my head for something I didn’t even do. The life gets old.”
A Challenger with blacked-out windows hurtles into the driveway, coming to a stop right next to us.
“These two motherfuckers,” Pike mutters. “Scariest men you’ll meet outside the MC.”
I move my gaze to the car. “Really?”
Pike laughs. “You’ll see. You know they’re in tight with Tiny and Morris. They’re ex-DEA, but they have some shit going on around them I can’t quite put my finger on. Just be prepared for the inquisition because, no doubt, they already know everything about your life. They seem to know everything and everybody. Their reach is far and wide, Mammoth.”
“So, now we’re friends again?” I snap, my eyes still glued to the Challenger.
“You’re not my enemy unless you fuck Tam over. If you do, then it’s game over. Plus, if her family hates you, nothing else will matter.”
The Challenger’s engine cuts off.
“Hey, baby,” Tamara says, coming up behind me before the men have a chance to get out of the car while Pike walks back to the house. “Everything okay?”
I wrap an arm around her, staring down at her beautiful face. “We’re good. What about your folks?” I tip my head toward the house, knowing it wasn’t all pretty. I didn’t hear much when we walked by, but enough to know it wasn’t smooth sailing.
“I think my mother’s finally calmed down. We should be good.” She smiles up at me, slowly wearing away the calluses around my heart. “Wait until you meet my uncles. They’re freaking amazing.”
“I’ve heard.”
The doors open, and I turn my head, zeroing in on one man.
A man I know.
A man I never expected to see here.
Someone who knows too much about me and can destroy whatever Tamara and I have before it has a chance to get started.
Fuck.
13
Tamara
Mammoth’s body stiffens next to me, and I gaze up, finding his eyes locked on my uncles, jaw tight.
“Saint?” Uncle James says, drawing my attention away from Mammoth and straight to him. Uncle James’s gaze sweeps from our faces to where our bodies are touching. “What the fuck are you doing with my niece?”
Mammoth’s hand is at my waist, his fingers tightening against my skin. “Fuck,” he hisses softly, closing his eyes for a moment.
“You two know each other?” I ask, my eyes moving from Uncle James back up to Mammoth’s face.
Holy shit. This isn’t good.
The look Uncle James is giving Mammoth is nothing short of murderous. Maybe they know each other from the Disciples or from a case Uncle James worked in the past, but either way, there’s no love passing between their glares. But James called him Saint, not Mammoth. He knows him from outside the circle of the MC. No one there called him Saint. Only by his nickname, something they all do like they don’t even know each other’s real names.
“Do we know each other?” Uncle James repeats my words, moving around the Challenger and coming toward us. His footsteps are fast, and his stride is long. “We’ve known each other for close to ten years.”
I do the math in my head. That puts Mammoth close to twenty. He was stationed near Miami, Uncle James’s hometown. “Ah. So, you know him from the army?”
“Princess.” Mammoth peers down at me.
James clears his throat, standing so close and tall, he casts a shadow over me, blocking out the afternoon sun. “Princess? You’ve got to be shitting me.”
“It’s not what you think,” Mammoth says quickly, and it’s my turn to stiffen because like hell it’s not what he thinks.
“What the hell, man?” Uncle Thomas asks, coming to stand next to Uncle James, forehead wrinkled and eyebrows drawn down like he’s just as freaking confused as I am.
“We have…history,” Mammoth says, eyes locked on Uncle James, muscles still tight and grip still firm on my body.
History could be good. It usually is. But based on Mammoth’s body language and the way Uncle James looks like he’s ready to rip Mammoth’s throat out with his bare hands, I’m thinking there’s a lot of bad.
“She know?” Uncle James asks, talking in code as he dips his head toward me. “Everything?” He’s speaking around me but not to me, which is odd. Uncle James has never been the type of man not to be up-front and especially not to treat a woman like she’s invisible.
“Hello,” I say, waving my hands. “I’m right here.”
Uncle James’s glare snaps to me, and he grunts. But the recognition is short-lived before he’s back to Mammoth. “Does she?”
Mammoth shakes his head. “She doesn’t.”
I immediately start conjuring up the worst possible shit imaginable. Murder. Drugs. Kidnapping. Extortion. All the ways my uncle and Mammoth could know each other and why Uncle James is so pissed Mammoth is touching me.
I push away from Mammoth, craning my neck back to stare up at my uncle. “If you have an issue, you should probably talk to me instead of around me.” There. I found my balls, talking to my uncle like I’ve seen Aunt Izzy do my entire life.
There’s only silence, and for a moment, his eyes don’t leave Mammoth. But then they do. If I’d had a full bladder, I would’ve literally pissed myself at the way my uncle’s head turns slowly, eyes narrowing even more. This is the scary, badass side of my uncle I rarely see, but when I do…I want to hide.
“I know he’s in the Disciples, Uncle,” I say, trying to calm his fears and get his hard, angry shell to crack just a little bit. “It’s not a big deal.”
Uncle James tilts his head, staring at me, not blinking and certainly not looking amused or at ease. “How much do you know about him?” He says him like the word is glass in his throat.
I turn my head, glancing over my shoulder at Mammoth, smiling at the big guy. “I know enough,” I say before giving my full attention back to my uncle.
“Enough?” He raises an eyebrow.
The man is impossible, but I shouldn’t be surprised. I don’t know any man who isn’t exasperating and exhausting, especially in my family. “I know he’s in a biker club. I know he served in the army and lived near Miami. I know his dad was in the army too. I know he moved around a lot as a kid. I know his name is JD Saint.” I leave out some stuff, like I know the way he sounds when he has an orgasm or the way he smells just after having sex. They sit on the tip of my tongue, wanting to push my uncle over the edge, but I also know I want to live to see another day.
Mammoth’s hand is back on my waist, giving me a soft squeeze. “Give us a minute, princess. Your uncle and I need to have words.”
“No,” I answer quickly, hating that I’m being dismissed.
“Tamara, listen to the man,” Uncle James tells me.
Uncle Thomas steps forward and touches my shoulder. “I’d like to talk to you about what happened at the compound. Think you can debrief me before we walk inside? If we’re any later, Ma will have our heads.”
I know what Uncle Thomas is doing, but at least he’s being nice about it. He’s excluding me from a conversation but using more tact. It’s always been his way. He’s less dismissive of everyone, always taking into account other people’s feelings, while Uncle James is more concerned with getting what he wants.
“I’ll be fine,” Mammoth says when I don’t move right away. “I’ll be right behind you.”
“Fine. I’m going,” I say, rolling up on my tiptoes and kissing Mammoth’s cheek right near his lips. “But not because he told me to go.”
Uncle James grunts, but I ignore him. He deserves as much for the way he dismissed me, talked around me, and generally acted like an asshole.
I’m not two steps away from Mammoth when Uncle Thomas hooks his arm around my shoulder, drawing me closer to him. “I don’t k
now what it’s about, but it’s best to let them work it out, kid.”
“Why’s he such an asshole, Uncle?”
Thomas sighs and shakes his head. “He always is when he thinks someone he loves is in trouble.”
I stop walking, turning up my face to look at Uncle Thomas. “Mammoth isn’t trouble. The MC, for sure, but not Mammoth. He was nothing but a gentleman to me.”
It’s a lie. I know it, and from the way my uncle’s nose wrinkles, he knows it too.
“You pulled a dumb-ass stunt the other day, taking off without letting anyone know where you were going.”
“On any given day, no one knows where I’m at, Uncle. I don’t even live within one hundred miles of here. So, unless you have a GPS tracking device on my car…”
He laughs, but I don’t.
“Wait, do you have a…”
He shakes his head. “No, sweetheart. We don’t have anything on your car. All I know is you scared the shit out of Gigi, and Pike sang like a canary.”
“Asshole,” I mutter, remembering Pike deserves payback for ratting me out.
“What happened at the compound?” Thomas asks as we start walking again, making our way toward the house.
I shrug. “Nothing. They went on lockdown soon after I got there, Mammoth was left behind to make sure I didn’t get hurt, and when it ended, he brought me home.”
“Did you hear what the lockdown was about?”
I think a minute, trying to remember if there was anything I’d overheard, but the days passed in a blur. “Honestly, I don’t remember.”
He pulls me closer, kissing the top of my head. “No worries, Tam. I’m just happy you’re home safe. What happened to Crow?”
My eyebrows rise, and I almost trip. “Pike,” I grumble, knowing he spilled a whole lot of details to my family and not just general information. “Such a dick.”
My uncle laughs again. “Don’t be too hard on the guy. He was worried, and we’re not an easy group to keep a secret from. We have a way of working information out of someone even if they don’t want to speak.”
“Sure,” I mumble, knowing they are a mighty force when they come together, but I’d thought Pike was stronger than that. I figured he could withstand a Gallo grilling after living with the Disciples. Hell, Gigi and I had mastered resistance at the age of fifteen. Pussy.
