My eyes widened as I saw Slade take a fighting stance out of the blue.
“Fight me!” he said, throwing up his fists.
Riot stood there looking at him with boredom.
“Not today, dude,” he said.
“C’mon, man, it’s been forever since I got a good punch in!”
“No man, fucking stop,” Riot said.
“Fine. Where’s Wreck? That scarred up brother isn’t opposed to a little jaw-cracking.”
“You’re a maniac,” he said. Slade danced around him, his fists up as he threw little air punches Riot’s way. “Leave Wreck alone, too. Go take out your frustrations on the punching bag.”
“It’s not as fun as real flesh, and you fucking know that, brother,” Slade insisted, as Riot walked away shaking his head. Slade looked my way and came jogging over.
“Hey, girl, how you holding up?” He sat down beside me and lit up a joint.
“I’m doing alright,” I said.
“Cool, cool,” he said, nodding and staring out at the trees. “This place is a trip, huh?” He took a drag and offered it to me.
“A surprise around every corner,” I quipped.
“Ain’t that the fucking truth,” he said. “You never know what’s coming for you.”
“Coming for you?” I asked, alarmed.
“Well, not you. I mean, just, you know, in general. Life. But yeah, I mean, we’ve got all kinds of critters coming out of the woods, though.”
“I met Oliver and Olivia this morning,” I said.
“Yeah, I heard you scream,” he laughed, taking the joint back.
“Oliver landed on my shoulder,” I replied.
“Did he?” he askd, lifting a brow. “He knows a good person when he sees one.”
“I’m not really a good person,” I said, shaking my head.
“No? Why not?” he asked. “You kill a priest or something?”
“You heard my story yesterday.”
“Yeah? So?” he said. “Oh, you mean, because you’re a…what did you call it? A hustler?”
“Yeah, a thief, a con, whatever you wanna call it,” I said.
“Hell, we’re all hustling, Sis. Life is a big ol’ game of survival. Last one standing wins. I figure you did what you had to do to survive. And if you’re still here talking and breathing, then you’re still winning, in my book.”
“Thanks,” I said, smiling. “That’s kind of how I look at it so I can sleep at night. Plus, I try to never take advantage of anyone who I know doesn’t deserve it. People like Artie…I don’t feel sorry for them.”
“You shouldn’t,” he insisted, taking another deep drag before passing it back to me. “You think that prick thinks about anyone else’s welfare? Guys like him? They’re all about themselves. Fuck ‘em.”
As I laughed, I decided then and there Slade was one of my favorite Gods.
“Hell, I’ve taken my share of things that didn’t necessarily belong to me. Life, man. Survival of the fittest,” he winked at me and flashed me his crooked grin.
“Tell me about your wife,” I said, gesturing to his wedding band.
“Diana?” he asked, his eyes lighting up instantly. He placed his hand over his heart and his crooked grin stretched wide across his face. “Oh, man, she’s the fucking best thing ever. A good woman, if there ever was one. I mean, hell, she puts up with me, right? That takes a fucking saint right there. But, not only that, she gave birth to my mini-me!”
“You have a son?” I asked.
“Yep. Jeremiah. He’s adorable,” he said, pulling out his phone. He pulled up his photo gallery and began flipping through photos of the cutest little blonde-haired boy I’d ever seen.
“He looks just like you,” I said.
“He’s handsome, yeah, but he really looks just like his mama.” He showed me a picture of Diana and I gasped. “Wow, gorgeous.”
“Yeah, I’m one lucky bastard,” he said, putting his phone back in his pocket. He paused, patting his pockets, a confused look washing over his face. “What the fuck?”
He stood up, looking around where he was sitting.
“What’s up?” I asked, knowing damn well what was up.
“My fucking wallet,” he growled. “It’s —.”
He stopped, looking at me in awe as I held it out to him. “This wallet?” I asked, smiling mischievously.
“Holy shit, you’re good!” he laughed. “I didn’t feel a thing and I was sitting on that fucker!”
I winked at him and handed him his wallet back, as he nodded appreciatively.
“I like it, I like it!” he laughed, nodding his head. “The girl’s got skills!”
“I try,” I laugh.
God, it felt good to laugh with him. I needed that. I couldn’t remember the last time I really laughed and I took in a big deep breath just to savor feeling good for a second.
“Alright, Little Bandit, I gotta get going and talk to Ryder for a bit, but you stay cool,” he said, laughing as he walked away, while he slipped his wallet back in his back pocket.
“Bye, Slade,” I said. “See ya later.”
I couldn’t help but wonder if this is what I’d been missing all along.
Friendship. Connection.
Maybe I didn’t realize how much I needed it.
I thought of Bea and my heart sank. She had to be worried and wondering what happened to me by now.
It felt weird just sitting there. Doing nothing but eating in the Autumn sunshine.
Laughing.
I almost felt guilty.
I put my dishes away and walked back to my cabin alone, keeping my eyes peeled for any fluttering wings coming my way. Once locked inside, I went to the bedroom and pulled my bag out from under the bed.
I knew the contents by heart.
I just needed to reassure myself that my safety net was still there. I needed to touch it, see it, let it comfort me.
All this happiness had left me feeling so good it felt foreign and weird and I almost wanted to flee.
This is why, I thought.
Why I’m all alone.
Why I go through my life trying not to feel anything.
Because happiness isn’t a part of my life. It hasn’t been since Pop collapsed on that rainy day fifteen years ago.
And when I felt it then, it disappeared.
Why should I believe in it now?
All I feel is apprehension because of the tiny glimpses I’ve felt here. I want to trust it — trust them — trust this feeling, but how am I supposed to get past the suspicion that it’s just going to melt away into nothing?
I pulled out the diamonds and jewels and my cash and the gun, spreading it all out on the bed and staring down at it.
This was my security.
This was my family.
This was what was going to save me. Not a bunch of beautiful broken people living in the forest.
Don’t get me wrong, I wanted to believe so badly, but that faith only lasted for a fraction of a second before my past reminded me to be vigilant, to stay alert, to expect the unexpected and prepare for the worst.
Satisfied, I put everything back in the bag, wrapping the diamonds back up in the velvet cloth they were wrapped in, before stuffing it deep into the bottom of the backpack.
Unzipping the inner pocket, I pulled out an unused burner phone. I’d given Lacey one of them, but I still had two more that I hadn’t used at all. I opened it and turned it on, punching in Bea’s number and sending her a quick text.
“Bea, it’s me. Sorry I had to bail. Are you okay?”
I knew she’d know it was me, without using my name. Like I said, she didn’t have anyone else. I waited a few minutes for her to reply, gathering up my hoodie and a bottle of water for my walk with Storm.
I’d successfully avoided thinking about him for the last hour. Part of me wanted to avoid him altogether, but another, deeper part was curious about him. For now, the best thing was for me to just wait this out, I knew that. I plan
ned on giving Riot and Grace the time they needed to do their jobs, but I also knew I wasn’t going to be here for much longer.
I’d move on, even if I didn’t know where I’d land.
In the meantime, though, another feeling was forming. Storm looked like he could be a lot of fun. And he was here. And I was here. And we both seemed to have a lot of time on our hands.
Why waste it?
If I was intrigued by Storm, why not indulge and get to know him a little better, I thought.
I had nothing to lose, did I?
I certainly could use a little bit of relief from all this tension, while I was waiting this out. Maybe Storm was the place to find that relief.
Bea hadn’t texted me back, but I figured she was just taking a nap. I put the phone away and then shoved the bag back under the bed.
After locking up the cabin and walking back out into the sunshine, sprays of red and gold leaves fell around me as I made my way back to the clubhouse.
Chapter 18
ARTIE
The surveillance footage showed just what I’d suspected.
That bitch was clearly watching me as I opened the safe that night.
And once the party was over, the tape showed someone else coming into the house, the same woman who’d seen me fighting with Tulsa.
Dressed completely differently each time, her disguises did nothing to conceal her sexy walk or her killer curves. Now, I just had to figure out who she was.
I couldn’t share any of this with the cops, of course, because I couldn’t answer any questions about the diamonds and if they knew about them, that would definitely lead to even more questions.
It was better to let them think she’d killed Tulsa.
Once they led me to her, I could get the diamonds back from her myself. I watched the recording over and over, seeing her watch me as I punched in the key code to the safe, her curvy ass wrapped tight in that clingy dress.
Over and over, I watched our interaction in the hallway, my lips close to her ear, my hand running over her ass, slipping my card between her tits…and I felt my cock swell.
She was fucking hot.
Once I’m done with her, she’s going to make a really fucking hot corpse, too, I thought, as I reached down and unzipped my pants, hitting the play button again…
Chapter 19
PEPPER
Storm was right, the owls joined us on our walk.
In fact, when I got back to the clubhouse, they were all three waiting for me, with Olivia sitting in Storm’s lap as he gently pet her head. Oliver’s head shot up when he saw me coming and he immediately flew over and landed on my shoulder, his sharp claws clinging to my shoulder.
Storm stood up and nodded to me.
“Hello,” I whispered, as he rubbed his face against my cheek. I looked over at Storm and smiled.
“You ready?” he asked, his voice a deep growl that sent shivers through me.
“Sure,” I replied, returning his smile.
We set off into the woods together, surrounded by lush foliage, the birds chirping overhead and the owls following along gleefully.
Peacefulness surrounded us instantly, as if we were entering some enchanted forest.
“Is it always this amazing here?” I ask, my voice a whisper. Moss covered every branch and rock, blanketing every surface that wasn’t naturally green with a fuzzy, electric-green hug.
“Nah, it’ll start raining soon and then it’s just dark and cold,” he laughed. “These last few days of September are like a race to squeeze every drop of sunshine out of the days that you can get. Pretty soon, it’ll start getting dark about four in the afternoon and we don’t do anything but drink by the fire and try to stay dry and not freeze our asses off.”
“Oh,” I said, oddly comforted by the fact that it wasn’t actually like this constantly. It actually was too good to be true.
“Slade wouldn’t stop bragging about how you swiped his wallet,” he said.
“I was just having a little fun with him,” I said. “He seems like a good guy.”
“He is,” he replied. “They all are.”
“What about you?” I asked, taking a moment to look over at him. He was nearly as delicious as the beauty surrounding us. He met my gaze, his eyes peering into mine. “Are you a good guy?”
“I try,” he shrugged, smirking. “I guess so, sure.”
“What’s your story?” I asked. “How’d you end up here?”
He paused before answering. If he was anything like me, he was weighing how much to say. Some parts of our stories are best left in the dark. I wondered what parts of himself he kept in the dark, but I didn’t dare ask.
“I wasn’t always a good guy,” he said, his eyes darkening. “I did some shit I’m not proud of. The club I ran with…we did shit for money that we probably shouldn’t have. But some shit went down and our leader went to jail. Everything went to hell. The club broke up and I thought I was done. Figured I’d end up on the streets, or worse, in jail myself. But out of nowhere, an opportunity opened up. When I found out about the Gods, I welcomed the chance at a better life. Something I never had.”
“Did you find it?”
“Hell yeah, I did.”
“How’d you become a biker in the first place?” I asked.
His eyes darkened now and I knew I’d hit a nerve.
“My girlfriend, Ava…she died. Car accident, it was really bad. Before that, I had dreams of being a lawyer, if you can believe that shit. After the accident, I just got involved with a bit of a darker crowd to match my mood, I suppose.”
“And you’re happy now?” I asked.
“Happy?” he asked. “I don’t know. I’m glad I’m not in that old club anymore. It needed to die. That part of me needed to die, because I was having a real hard time looking myself in the eye every morning, you know?”
“Yeah,” I said. I’d felt like that before. I talked myself down every time, though. If you let that kind of thinking get away from you, it could trip you up. I could never afford that.
“But happy? It’s hard to be happy when the world is such a fucked up mess. We see shit you wouldn’t believe. The things people do to one another never ceases to blow my mind.”
“I admire you all,” I said. “I have a lot of respect for what you do.”
“Thanks,” he said, his voice quiet and thoughtful. “What about you, Pepper? You think you’re going to go back to your old life when this is all over?”
His question caught me off-guard. Of course, I was. What other choice did I have?
“Probably,” I replied. “It’s all I know.”
“I get that,” he said. “I felt that way, too. The thing is — it’s all you know, till you find something different. Then, you get to know the new thing.”
I laughed and nodded. “I guess you’ve got a point.”
We were deep in the forest now, our boots muddy and wet. The sound of rushing water echoed faintly through the trees. Oliver and Olivia flew up ahead, then rested on a tall branch waiting for us to catch up.
The trail was already rustic and unpaved, but the further we ventured into the forest, we were forced to navigate over stretched out roots and fallen rocks and limbs. At one point, a very large tree trunk blocked our way and Storm easily vaulted over it. He turned back to me, grabbing my hand to help me over and as soon as his skin touched mine, a shock of electricity shot through me. My eyes crashed into his in surprise and I jerked my hand back like I’d touched a flame.
Despite the freshest air I’d ever inhaled, I could hardly breathe. Heat rolled off Storm as we began walking again and I wiped my brow. If just barely touching his hand resulted in my entire body shuddering with desire like this, I knew I was in deep trouble. And yet, somehow, I didn’t mind it.
In fact, I wanted him to touch me again.
We kept moving towards the sound of the rushing water and Oliver landed on my shoulder once more.
My heart skipped a beat at how delightful this
entire adventure was. I swallowed hard, trying to figure out how the hell I was getting so soft. I chalked it up to such a sudden change in scenery.
Must be all these fucking trees, I thought.
Or this tattooed hunk with electricity running through his veins and the damned storybook owl sitting on my shoulder…
Chapter 20
STORM
“This is absolutely incredible!” Pepper exclaimed, her eyes lighting up at the sight of the waterfall I’d brought her to. It didn’t have a name, it was just one of many on the Gods’ property, but it was one of my favorite places to visit.
Now that I’d shared it with Pepper, it was at the top of my list.
The look in her eyes was hard to avoid sinking into. Her own joy seemed to catch her off guard. It was almost as if she didn’t know how to relax, or how to have a good time or enjoy the beauty of Mother Nature. I wanted to put that look in her eyes over and over.
The waterfall was powerful, a two-tiered rager, with a huge boulder sitting in the pool at the bottom of it.
“Come up here,” I said, climbing up on the boulder and grabbing her hand to lift her up. It was the second time I’d touched her and it sent me reeling.
Something about this girl…
“Good god, it’s just too beautiful to be real,” she said. I watched her drinking in all the beauty of the Pacific Northwest that I loved so dearly and I thought the same thing about her. She was too pretty to be real.
“It’s definitely real,” I whispered, even though I wasn’t talking about the scenery.
“I love it, thank you,” she whispered back, as if talking in a normal voice would be inappropriate here. Her eyes had softened since she arrived and it was an incredible transformation. She spun around the boulder slowly, taking in the view from the top of the rock. Mist from the fall landed in her hair, leaving the tiniest drops clinging to her short black hair.
Obviously, she was tough and independent and had built a lot of walls around herself. One would have had to to go through what she’d gone through. Who could blame her? She’d done what she needed to do to survive. Instinctually, she knew what she had to do and did it.
THE HUSTLE: GODS OF CHAOS MC (BOOK FOURTEEN) Page 10
