“Okay. There are agents in the townhouses on either side of this one as well. All incoming and outgoing signals are blocked, so there’ll be no phone calls, texts, emails, or contact of any kind with anyone until you’ve heard from me,” Luke explained.
“How will we hear from you?” I asked. The geek in me had to know.
Luke flashed me a grin, complete with dimples, “We have our ways, Mrs. Marks.” With that, Luke walked out the door.
The silence that followed his departure was uncomfortable, to say the least. I felt like I was being examined under two different microscopes. The agents were watching and analyzing my every move. Phoenix and Shaker seemed to be fixated on my face, as if waiting for me to have a breakdown. It was too much.
“Stop staring at me! I’m not going to try to escape or break one of the communication rules, and I’m not going to have an emotional meltdown,” I yelled.
Agent Hall nodded, “We’ll be in the kitchen.” Agent Lindstrom nodded once as well and followed Agent Hall.
Phoenix and Shaker were both grinning at me. “What?” I huffed in exasperation.
Shaker chuckled lightly, “I wasn’t sure if you were truly okay or not until you put everyone in their place.”
“I appreciate your concern, but I’m fine. I’m just ready for this to be over,” I said.
Chapter Twenty
Shaker
We waited for hours before we heard anything from Luke. The tension in the room grew as the minutes turned into hours. The agents assured us that these things took time and we were nowhere near the time to start worrying. Easy for him to say. His immediate future wasn’t relying on the outcome of the next few hours.
Phoenix was asleep on the sofa, and I was lost in my thoughts with Keegan snuggled into my side when we heard a phone ringing in the kitchen. My ears strained to make out the words spoken. Moments later, Agent Hall entered the living room, his expression giving nothing away. “Hastings and Hensley are in police custody. You three are free to go, but I would strongly advise you to keep the events of this evening to yourselves for the time being. Luke will be in touch.”
I turned to Keegan to find her smiling from ear to ear. “Let’s go home,” she said.
“We have to stop by my mother’s house first. She won’t be satisfied until she has seen you with her own eyes. Plus, the rest of the brothers are there waiting for us,” I told her.
“You’re kidding, right?” she asked.
“No, why?”
She laughed. “I just can’t picture a bunch of bikers lounging around on the antique furniture in your mother’s sitting room. Maybe they’re sipping tea from her fine china, too.”
“They were slurping coffee from it when I left,” I deadpanned.
Her eyes widened, “We should probably get moving.”
The ride back to my mother’s house seemed to pass by much faster. We pulled into the circular drive and were met with a sea of biker’s standing on the front steps, my mother up front and center. She rushed forward and pulled Keegan and me in for a hug the moment our feet were on the ground. “Oh, thank goodness! I’ve been so worried. Are you both okay? What happened? Where’s Lawrence?”
“Mom, slow down. We’re fine. Let’s go inside, and we’ll fill everyone in on what happened,” I said calmly.
“Of course, dear. Lead the way,” she said and made a show of gesturing toward the front doors.
Once inside, everyone gathered in the family room to hear the story. “We can’t go into much detail, and I’ll explain why in a moment,” I began. “Keegan’s stepfather and his business partner were unknowingly being investigated by the FBI for running a whore house as well as selling woman. Lawrence used my mother to get a ransom from me and to lure Keegan here so he could take her with the intent to sell her. Actually, he did sell her; he just didn’t know the man he sold her to was actually Agent Luke Johnson.” Gasps and murmurs sounded throughout the room, but I continued with the story. “Luke was able to extricate Keegan and get her to a safe house without incident, which is where we have been for the last several hours. We were allowed to leave when we received word that Senator Lawrence Hastings and Harold Hensley were in police custody.” Hoots and hollers erupted from everyone, including my refined mother.
“There are still some loose ends to tie up, so keep this to yourselves for the time being. We don’t want anything to possibly jeopardize the case,” Phoenix ordered. The brothers murmured their agreement.
My mother loudly clapped her hands to garner the room’s attention. “Who’s hungry?” I couldn’t help but laugh. My mother was without fail a wonderful hostess, regardless of the circumstance.
By the time we finished dinner, it was getting late. We needed to get on the road to get back to Croftridge if we were going. I wasn’t sure if Keegan was up for the ride or not. “Do you want to go home tonight or in the morning?” I asked quietly.
“Tonight, please. I need a shower, and I want to put on my own pajamas and sleep in my own bed,” she said with a yawn.
That yawn was enough to tell me she wouldn’t last on the back of my bike. We said goodbye to my mother and promised to call the moment we arrived home safely. I tossed my keys to Byte and climbed into a cage with Keegan and Edge.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“You’re tired, and you were drugged earlier today. It’s safer for you to ride back in the cage, and I want to ride with you, so I’m letting Byte ride my bike back,” I explained.
She smirked, “Is that considered a romantic gesture for a biker?”
I shrugged, “I wouldn’t call it romantic, but it’s a big deal to let someone else take your bike.”
“Oh, well, thank you, kind sir,” she said sweetly, exaggeratingly blinking her eyes.
“You know, it’s not the first time I’ve let a brother take my bike to stay with you.”
“It isn’t?” she asked and rested her head on my shoulder.
“Guess you don’t remember. When I found you on the side of the road, you asked me to stay with you.”
“And you did?”
I kissed the top of her head, “Yeah, baby, I did.”
I was right. She was asleep within 10 minutes of being on the road. “So, what happens now?” Edge asked.
“I’m not sure. I guess we wait for the story to hit the media outlets. The press is going to be all over the two of us. I need to make sure a brother or a prospect shadows her when I’m not with her until this passes,” I said, more to myself than to Edge.
“Did you officially call off Kellan?” Edge asked. I shook my head. “Problem solved. He’ll keep shadowing her until you say otherwise.”
“We need to patch him in. He has more than earned his cut as far as I’m concerned,” I said. Kellan’s quick thinking and intuition had saved Keegan several times. I would forever be grateful to him for keeping Keegan out of harm’s way.
“So, are we going to talk about you being filthy rich and no one knowing about it?” Edge asked jovially.
“Nope,” I replied and crossed my arms over my chest, effectively ending the conversation.
***
I woke to the sound of my phone ringing. Judging by the minuscule amount of light streaming in from the windows, it was too early for anyone to be calling with good news, which was confirmed the next second when I saw Phoenix’s name flashing on the screen.
“Morning, Prez,” I grumbled into the phone.
“Luke called just now. The media has gotten wind of a scandal involving Senator Hastings and prominent businessman Harold Hensley. They are holding a press conference later today. I know you were expecting some attention from reporters, but it sounds like it’s going to happen sooner than you thought,” Phoenix said.
Fuck! I was hoping Keegan would at least have a day to recuperate before the press started hounding her. “Thanks for letting me know, Prez.”
“Think about staying at the club for a few days. Or Ember could set you up in a room on the
farm. Just until the vultures get bored and leave town,” he suggested.
“Thanks, Phoenix. I’ll talk to Keegan about it,” I said and disconnected the call.
“Talk to me about what?” she asked, her voice still raspy from sleep.
I rolled to my side to face her and cupped her cheek with my hand. “Staying at the clubhouse or the farm until the media storm passes. Parts of the story have already leaked, and Luke just let Phoenix know they will be holding a press conference later today,” I explained.
“The farm. Since I work there, I wouldn’t have to leave the property,” she said.
“Okay,” I said softly. “I’ll call Ember and make the arrangements. We should probably get over there sooner rather than later.”
“Sounds good. I’ll get up and get my things together. How long do you think I’ll need to stay at the farm?” she asked.
“I wouldn’t think any longer than a week,” I guessed.
While Keegan packed, I called Ember to reserve a room. To my surprise, she offered us a fully furnished cottage to use as long as we needed. I readily accepted, happy to have the extra privacy.
We were packed and headed to the farm within the hour. Thankfully, we didn’t run into any reporters between Keegan’s house and the farm. I fully expected to see a few standing outside of the gates at the farm property.
Keegan was pleasantly surprised when I pulled up to the house Ember provided for us. I have to admit; I was impressed with the place. It was a cottage in every sense of the word—small, quaint, charming. I thought it was perfect. Keegan, however, had a different opinion.
“Were you planning on staying here, too?” she asked.
“Yes,” I answered slowly, unsure of why she would even ask.
“Where are you going to sleep? There’s only one bedroom, and I don’t believe this is a pull-out sofa,” she said.
I should have known this was coming, but it honestly hadn’t crossed my mind until she mentioned the sleeping arrangements. Now that Lawrence was in custody and she was no longer in danger, we could end our marriage and go our separate ways. But there was no way I was letting that happen without a fight.
I stalked toward her, feeling much like a dangerous predator. When I reached her, I dipped down and hoisted her over my shoulder, carrying her to the bedroom. I tossed her onto the bed and came down on top of her, my hands braced on either side of her head. “I’m sleeping with you, wifey,” I said and immediately covered her mouth with mine, not giving her even a second to protest.
She still tried though. She weakly pushed at my chest and tried to buck me off with her hips as she mumbled something against my lips. When I didn’t remove my mouth from hers, she gave in and melted into the kiss. Once she surrendered, it didn’t waste any time showing her what I was unable to put into words.
She watched intently as I carefully removed her clothes followed by my own. Then, I took my time and worshipped her body, kissing and touching every square inch. When she tugged on my hair and whispered my name, I opened the condom I’d grabbed from my jeans and slicked it over my shaft.
Moving over her, I cupped her cheeks in my hands and softly kissed her while I slowly sank inside of her. She let out a contented sigh when I was fully seated. I pressed my forehead to hers and held her gaze as I started to move with slow and even thrusts.
I felt her body tense and knew she was close. Capturing her lips, I maintained my pace as she clung to my shoulders and tightened her legs around my hips. When I felt her internal walls start to flutter, I let myself go, and we climaxed together.
I stayed where I was, enjoying the connection with shared, for as long as I could. Then, I got up and quickly dealt with the condom before climbing back into bed with her and pulling her sated body flush against mine. Moments later, we both drifted off to sleep.
I woke before she did, and while I wanted to stay in bed with her and keep her in my arms, I couldn’t. So, reluctantly, I got up and got in the shower. Despite trying to be quiet, Keegan woke while I was getting dressed.
“Jacob,” she said softly, “we have to talk about this.”
“Talk about what?” I asked, as if I didn’t know what she meant.
“This,” she gestured between the two of us. “Us. The marriage. Just, all of it.”
“I think we should hold off on that discussion for now,” I said. I was an asshole for doing it, but I played the only card I had left. “I don’t think we should do anything in regards to the marriage until you’re granted custody of your sister.”
Her eyes widened at my words, and then she was nodding her head, “I hadn’t thought about that, but I completely agree. Trying to get custody of my sister while simultaneously divorcing a man I’ve been married to for less than a month probably wouldn’t be the best idea.”
I leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on her lips. “I need to go to the clubhouse. Do not leave the farm property for any reason whatsoever. Okay?”
“I have no intention of leaving the farm. I’ll probably be at the new barn all day trying to get caught up. I’m almost afraid to find out how far behind schedule I am,” she said.
“Oh, I forgot to tell you. When I talked to Ember about staying on the property for a few days, she said to tell you to take as much time off as you needed. According to her, you were ahead of schedule and Duke has pitched in so you wouldn’t fall behind,” I said.
“Really?” she squealed. “They are too good to me! Now, I’ll be able to spend some time with my babies.”
“Make sure you have your phone on you or at least have it nearby, especially if no one else is around.”
“Yes, sir,” she said with a wink, making my dick twitch.
Damn her.
***
When I left for the clubhouse, I was surprised to find no reporters hovering outside the gates of the farm. I found out why 20 minutes later. They were all hovering across the street from the clubhouse. The prospect on gate duty was quick to let me in and close the gates before any of them could make it across the road.
I shook my head. Now that I had been spotted entering the clubhouse, they would wait for me to leave and follow me back to the farm. I was assuming the lack of media presence meant they hadn’t discovered the farm’s association with the club yet. Maybe I could get by them unnoticed in a cage.
I entered Church and took my seat, noting that we were still waiting on a few brothers to arrive. When I also Luke Johnson sitting in a chair off to the side, I was instantly on alert. His presence in the clubhouse wasn’t a good sign.
“What’s he doing here?” I asked Phoenix, jerking my chin in Luke’s direction.
“He has some information to share with the club. I wanted to wait for all of the officers, but if they’re not here in the next five minutes, we’ll get started without them,” Phoenix grumbled. It didn’t sound like he was happy to see Luke either.
True to his word, Phoenix closed the door at the five-minute mark and called the meeting to order. Everyone except Badger was there. “Luke has some information to share with us. Keep your mouths shut and let him talk,” Phoenix ordered.
Luke stepped up to the table and began, “We will be holding a press conference today regarding the arrests of Senator Lawrence Hastings and Harold Hensley. Obviously, the media is already aware of Jacob’s and Keegan’s affiliation with the Blackwings MC. I would advise you to ignore them as best you can. Don’t say anything other than ‘no comment’ to them. The reason I’m here has to do with why we began investigating Hastings and Hensley.”
He shifted his weight and cleared his throat. “When we raided the farm property a year and a half ago, we discovered ties between Octavius Jones and Hastings. Octavius was helping Hastings and Hensley get into the human trafficking business,” he said. He grimaced and turned to face Phoenix.
Phoenix gripped the edge of the table so hard the wood creaked. He growled low in his throat and barked, “Say it.”
Luke stood and squared his shoulders.
“Hastings was the man who was going to purchase Ember.”
Chaos erupted in the room. Men were shouting and cursing. Phoenix was vibrating with rage while Carbon struggled to restrain him. Duke was also struggling to contain a furious Dash. And I was on my feet moving to stand in front of Luke. The door burst open to reveal Ranger with his rifle at the ready. “What in the fuck is going on in here?” he bellowed. Everyone froze, and no one said a word. “Well? One of you fuckheads start talking.”
Luke, the only non-member in the room, answered, “I just gave them some shocking and rather disturbing news.”
“And that was?” Ranger snapped.
“Senator Hastings was the man who tried to buy Ember from Octavius. That was ultimately what spawned the investigation into Hastings and Hensley,” Luke explained.
“And?” Ranger asked.
“That’s it,” Luke replied.
“So, why in the hell is everyone so pissed off?” Ranger asked incredulously.
Phoenix growled, “He should’ve told me who tried to buy my baby girl when he found out!”
“Why? So you could go down for murdering a government official? Pipe down and let the man explain,” Ranger ordered.
Phoenix heaved in a deep breath, and I watched in awe as he reined in his rage. He remained silent but gave Luke a sharp nod.
“I couldn’t tell you when we first discovered the connection because we weren’t sure what they were involved in. By the time we discovered it was women, a full-blown federal investigation had been launched. Ember was safe, Octavius was dead, and his men had been arrested. I didn’t have a justifiable reason to tell you,” Luke explained.
“Why wasn’t Hastings arrested before now?” Dash demanded from the spot where Duke had him pressed against the wall.
Luke shook his head, his eyes cast to the table, “Believe me, if I could have arrested him, I would have. We didn’t have enough proof. We needed solid evidence before we could accuse a senator of human trafficking. Since the transaction regarding Ember wasn’t completed, we had to wait for another one. It took him a long time to find another supplier, for lack of a better word, after Octavius died. When we got word that he had found someone, I went undercover as a potential buyer. We had everything set up over a month ago, but the girl vanished. The money had already been transferred, but we needed the girl for the charges to stick. None of us wanted to wait another year, so I put some pressure on him for losing the girl I had purchased. I demanded half of my money back and a new girl, which is where Keegan came into the picture.”
Shaker (Blackwings MC Book 5) Page 15
