Tap'd Out

by Harley Stone

  With my pistol ready, I crept in to find Breaker.

  ***

  Sasha

  After about twenty minutes outside, Emily and Julia returned. Both were smiling from ear-to-ear like two satisfied cats who’d just feasted on one hell of a fat canary.

  “What did you two do?” Naomi asked. “Spill.”

  Stepping forward, Emily went first. “I called a few local reporter friends and told them that someone busted into the Serpents’ compound and found several missing girls and a whole lot of drugs. Oh, and that they found evidence that the city’s chief of police is somehow involved. Every news station in the city is about to land on the Serpents’ back porch and shine a big freaking flashlight on the Seattle PD.”

  “Wait, what? I thought they were just going to rescue the girls.” I was so confused. This didn’t sound like the plan we’d discussed at all. “Did they get the girls out?”

  “Yes. Sorry. I forgot that part. The girls are safe. The Serpents are currently all handcuffed and ready to be taken into custody. The men aren’t playing around, and they’re sure as hell not letting people get away with trafficking in Seattle. We altered the plan a bit after we left to make sure no amount of money, power, or influence can bury this for the Serpents.”

  “It gets better,” Julia said. “Yesterday, I met with Noreen Tomlinson, the wife of the acting mayor, and told her what was happening. She and my mother used to be friends, and I knew she’d see me if I pressed the right buttons. She’s very political and wants nothing more than for her husband to win his current position in the next election. Anyway, Alan Tomlinson’s election platform is all about cracking down on crime, so Noreen will make sure that he’s personally involved in the prosecution of everyone involved in the Serpents’ operation. I sent her the files Morse collected from the bugs Tap planted in Buzz’s office. They’re not admissible in court, but at least the Mayor now knows who to have investigated.”

  “This is amazing!” Jayson said, fanning his eyes as he hugged Emily. “This is exactly why I encouraged you to fall for that sexy, brilliant, tattooed, hung-like-a-horse Neanderthal. I knew he’d remind us why we started practicing law in the first place and help renew our faith in the system.”

  Laughing, she hugged Jayson back. “Yeah, you were right all along, Jay.”

  He sniffled. “I mean, I usually am right, but it’s nice to be reminded of my brilliance every once in a while.”

  I was still too shocked to speak. It was more than I could have ever hoped for.

  “You okay?” Naomi asked, rubbing my arm.

  “Yes. I just… it’s a lot to take in. The Seattle PD is going to be shaken down to its roots. It’ll be interesting to see what all falls out of the branches. It’s still hard to believe that a motorcycle club risked itself to go after these cocksuckers, and that they have amazing women who helped them. I’m just… I need Tap here safe and sound so I can reassure myself that this is real and not some incredible dream I’m having. Are the guys on their way?”

  “They’re headed back to the station,” Julia said, typing into her phone. She stopped and looked up at me, her expression softening. “But Tap’s not with them. He went after Breaker.”

  Time stopped. It felt like my heart stilled. All the what-ifs I’d been trying not to think of all morning came rushing back to my head, drowning me in worst-case scenario images.

  “He’s gonna be okay,” Naomi said, pulling me in for a hug. “Tap is one of the smartest people I’ve ever met. He’s calculated. He’s not going to rush into danger and get himself hurt. If he’s going after Breaker, he has a plan.”

  My mind knew she was right, but my heart hurt so bad I could barely breathe. After everything I’d lost, I’d finally found something worth keeping. I didn’t want to lose him, too.

  ***

  Tap

  Sasha’s living room, kitchen, and bathroom were all clear, leaving only the last room on the right-hand side for me to check. Holding my breath, I grabbed the doorknob and slowly turned it, cracking the door open.

  Another sleeping gas canister would be really fuckin’ nice right about now.

  Unfortunately, I’d only been given one, and I used it in Breaker’s room back at the compound. So, I did what I’d been trained to do, and listened. The faint sound of snoring encouraged me to keep going. Opening the door just wide enough to admit me, I crept in and looked around.

  A dresser stood in the corner by the door, a closet was to my right, and a queen-sized bed sat on top of a simple bed frame under the window on the far wall. And Breaker was out cold in the middle of the bed with one hand down the front of his pants and his other resting on the empty bottle of Jack Daniels beside him.

  This was exactly why I didn’t drink. There was no way in hell anyone would ever catch me passed out in the bed of a woman who didn’t want me, with my hand down my pants like some pathetic creep.

  Breaker disgusted me, but seeing him in Sasha’s bed flipped a switch that filled my veins with rage. Not only had this asshole drugged and fucked her, he’d been in her space, seen her things, and slept in her bed. His presence had violated her apartment before she even got the chance to show it to me. We’d never sleep in this bed now, not after knowing he’d been in it.

  Sasha was mine.

  Breaker couldn’t find her, but he hadn’t given up. The pizza boxes and fast food wrappers by the side of the bed told me this wasn’t the first night he’d spent here. He wouldn’t give her up. Hell, he had no contact with her, so this was how he’d chosen to fuck with her head.

  Goddamn amateur.

  The dumbass had no idea what he was up against, but he was about to learn. I pulled my backpack off my shoulder and got to work.

  After I was finished, I slipped out of Sasha’s apartment and tugged a burner phone out of my backpack. Disguising my voice as a woman, I called 911 and reported the crime.

  ***

  Sasha

  Forty-two minutes had passed since the rest of the guys made it back to the fire station. I knew, because Link had called Emily, and I’d been counting every minute since. I’d never had an ulcer, but the past forty-two minutes of waiting and wondering where Tap was had sure torn the hell out of my stomach.

  I didn’t want him going after Breaker. I wanted him here, safe, in my arms.

  If he dies, Hailey will be an orphan.

  The thought was just one of many that kept assaulting me. Tap had too much to lose, too much to live for, to go after Breaker. It was crazy, and I wanted to kick his ass for doing it. How many times had the man gotten on me for endangering myself?

  Hello, Pot, meet Kettle.

  “Do you hear that?” Naomi asked, turning around on the sofa to peek through the curtains.

  “Hear what?”

  But then it registered—the roar of a motorcycle. I knew nothing about bikes, but it sounded powerful as hell as it drew closer. I sprinted across the room and joined Naomi to stare out the window. Seconds ticked by, and then the most beautiful bike I’d ever seen came into view. It was matte black and sleek, looking like something a dark knight would ride.

  “What is that?” I asked.

  “That is your man, riding his Fat Boy that’s been customized all to hell. Talk about one beautiful machine.”

  Yes, it was, but I couldn’t get past the first part of her sentence. Tap was okay. And he was here. I didn’t give a single fuck that there was a warrant for my arrest. I tore out of the house like my ass was on fire, desperate to wrap my arms around him and make sure he was one hundred percent unharmed.

  The garage door opened, and I changed my trajectory, running right in behind him. He parked, stomped the kickstand down and the garage door closed behind us. The second he got off the bike, I jumped into his arms, crushing my sore ribs between us. But I was far too relieved to feel pain.

  I tugged at his helmet, but he stopped me and took it off, grinning from ear to ear.

  “Happy to see me, are ya?” he asked.
r />   I kissed his cheek, and the other side of his cheek, and his lips, and his nose. “Yes. I was so damn worried. Are you okay? You’re not hurt, are you?”

  He laughed. “Babe, I’m fine. Everyone’s fine. It’s all gonna be okay.”

  “Where were you? They said you went after Breaker. What happened?”

  “Remember how you said you wanted someone to care about you enough to possibly do jail time to protect your honor?”

  My eyes widened. “Shit. I take it back. I didn’t mean—”

  “Relax.” He laughed. “I’m too wily to end up in jail, but I’d do some pretty sketchy shit for you.”

  “What did you do?” I asked, barely resisting the urge to shake him.

  Still laughing, he wrapped my legs around him and carried me into the house like a front pack. “Come on. I’ll tell you all about it.”

  Sasha

  Two Weeks Later

  “BIGGER,” LINK SAID, leaning across the desk to study Tap’s arm.

  “What the fuck do you mean, ‘bigger’? It’s takin’ up half of my goddamn arm,” Tap replied.

  We were in the tattoo parlor all the Dead Presidents used when they got their logo inked. Apparently, prospects were traditionally inked the day they became patched members. Tap had gone a year without going under the needle, and Link was now making him pay for it.

  I was perched on the chair opposite of Tap, watching their battle of wills unfold. Normally, I’d bet on Tap, but today’s battle seemed to be swaying Link’s direction.

  “Make it the size of his bicep,” Link told the tattoo artist, Kacey.

  Kacey smiled at him. “You got it, boss.”

  “That’s ridiculous. Nobody else has a tat that big,” Tap complained.

  “Nobody else waited a year to get one. This is the price we agreed on. Quit being such a pussy.”

  Tap wasn’t a fan of needles, or blood, or even tattoos, but he sat his ass in the chair for a full six hours while Kacey turned his entire right bicep into a billboard for the club.

  Link only stuck around until the design was outlined. Then he turned to me, and said, “If he gets up from that chair, shoot his ass.”

  I wasn’t packing, and there was no way in hell I’d shoot Tap, but Link wasn’t someone you said no to, so I nodded.

  “Traitor,” Tap growled at me after Link left.

  “He’s scary,” I replied. “Besides, tattoos are kinda hot.”

  “Preach, sister,” Kacey said.

  “Alright, but I’m doing this because you find tattoos sexy, not for the club.”

  I didn’t know how I’d handle Tap with a tattoo. If the man was any hotter, my panties would probably melt off every time he was in the room. I mean, really, could he get any more perfect? He’d already rescued me from a gang, nursed me back to health, worked with his club to free a bunch of kidnapped girls and take down the bad guys, moved me into his house, and destroyed my personal nemesis. And he was getting a tattoo? I might as well never wear panties again.

  Moving in together had probably been jumping the gun, but the four of us had taken a family vote and decided I should stay. I really loved being with Tap, and although our relationship was new, it was comfortable and healthy. Also, since I wasn’t working, I could no longer afford the astronomical Seattle rent to keep my tiny apartment. Even if I could, I’d never feel safe there again. Not after seeing how easily it had been broken into.

  Of course, Breaker’s days of destroying people and apartment doors had come to an end. Thanks to Tap, Seattle’s finest had followed up on an anonymous tip to find Breaker passed out on my bed with a large collection of child porn playing on his phone. A water bottle full of liquid X was beside him, and twenty grams of coke were found in the saddlebags of his bike.

  When Tap took someone down, he didn’t fuck around.

  Breaker would finally be getting that room under the jail he deserved.

  The rest of the Serpents weren’t faring much better. Turns out news reporters weren’t afraid of anything, so when they arrived on scene at the compound and found the gate and doors wide open, they took it as an invitation to waltz right in. With their cameras rolling, they caught every dirty Serpent sin, from the handcuffed bikers in compromising positions, to the cages of girls in the basement, to the drug lab where Breaker and his men had been mixing their sex drugs to use on unsuspecting young women.

  The Serpents were ruined, and the Seattle police department was getting scrubbed clean.

  Julia was right about the acting mayor’s political aspirations. Mayor Tomlinson rode the department like it was his own personal bitch. Last I’d heard, he’d fired the chief of police, Sergeant Wilkens, three detectives, and eight cops. He’d also handled that pesky little matter of the warrant for my arrest.

  And his chances of election were looking mighty promising.

  My phone dinged with an incoming text, taking my attention off the delicious man getting tattooed in front of me.

  Naomi: Motorcycle Mamas?

  I couldn’t help but laugh. For two weeks now, we’d kept this group text thread going, trying to figure out a name for our organization. Everything else seemed to be falling into place—we’d found a possible location, we’d enlisted the help of Wasp’s fiancé, Carly, and we had a couple of big sponsors on the hook—but the perfect name kept eluding us. And we weren’t about to settle.

  Emily: You’re not even trying now.

  Naomi: I hate all the names. Maybe we should just be nameless? Or we could be like Prince and use a symbol. Maybe the symbol of the woman in the dress? Like on the bathrooms.

  Julia: How would people search for us online?

  Naomi: Shit. I didn’t think of that.

  Jayson: Four Beautiful Bitches and their Sexy Boy Toy?

  Carly: You guys are cracking me up! I just got out of a parent-teacher conference, and I really needed this laugh. Keep them coming.

  I loved my new little tribe. It was refreshing to be a part of something so dedicated to empowering women and improving the city. We had all kinds of plans for this organization, and I couldn’t wait to see them come to fruition.

  After Tap’s tattoo was finished, we hopped on his bike and went for a drive. It was a nice evening, so he took me along Lakeside Ave, from Seaward Park all the way up to Volunteer Park. The evening air was chilly, but we’d both worn coats and I snuggled against him to keep warm. I didn’t care if it was freezing out, I loved these moments on his bike. I felt so free, alive, and loved racing over the pavement with him.

  Doris and Hailey were still gone when we got home. During the club’s lock-in, Doris had gotten to know Margo, Link’s step-mother, and the two had become fast friends. This was their second weekly dinner at the fire station, and I was happy to see Doris enjoying herself. She’d given so much for her family, and it was about time she got to do something for herself. She and Margo also planned to help us with the non-profit once it was up and running.

  Tap parked Valkyrie in the garage and we headed inside.

  “Want me to whip us up something for dinner?” I asked.

  “But we’re alone,” Tap replied, wrapping his arms around me. “I’m sure we can think of something better to do than cooking.”

  Lately, alone time was a foreign concept. Hailey had accepted my role in her life with open arms and a big grin, and she wasn’t big on sharing me with anyone, even her daddy. She still didn’t understand that I wasn’t her ‘real’ mom, but I was more than happy to love her like she was mine.

  “So you don’t want me to cook, huh? Aren’t you hungry?” I asked.

  He nipped at my ear. “Oh, I plan on eating.” He attacked my neck, tickling me with his growing beard.

  Laughing, I squirmed away and sprinted for the stairs. He caught me halfway up and threw me over his shoulder, carrying me the rest of the way. Then he tossed my ass on his giant, comfortable bed, and unbuttoned my pants. I shimmied and he tugged, until finally, I was naked from the waist down.

 
“You weren’t wearing any underwear,” he noted aloud.

  “There’s no point. They melt when I’m around you.”

  “I’m that hot, huh?”

  “Smokin’, I tell ya.”

  “And famished.” He knelt between my legs and got right to it, swirling his tongue around my clit and teasing me until I was so ready to come I was shaking. Then he slid up my body until his thick, hard cock was at my entrance. He held my gaze as he plunged into me, stealing my breath away.

  Every time, he felt amazing.

  Every.

  Fucking.

  Time.

  Sex with Tap was more than a physical act. It was like every emotion was exposed, every thought was intertwined. I was his, body, heart, and soul, and every time we made love, he claimed me. Every orgasm he gave me was better than the last, every kiss more passionate, every touch more meaningful.

  Every day, I fell deeper in love with him.

  “I love you, Sasha” he whispered as he held me after we finished.

  I snuggled against him, enjoying the warmth and strength of his body. “I love you too.”

  We weren’t perfect. He had trust issues, and a past he was still worried about catching up to him. He monitored everything and still had backup plans and stashes hidden away should we need them. I had a superhero complex and a questionable sense of self-preservation.

  But somehow, we were perfect together.

  Thank you so much for reading Tap’d Out. I hope you’ve enjoyed the journey. Please take a moment to write a review. They only require twenty words and help me tremendously. I appreciate your support!

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