Dyno sighed. “He knew something he shouldn’t have.”
“And he got killed for it.” Quinn laid his hands on the table and stood. “We figure out who that is.”
“But why?” Rhino asked. “Why do we have to stick our necks out for some kid we didn’t know? I get that Deedra knew him, but are we just asking to get shot at if we go sticking our nose in this shit. This has nothing to do with us.”
Quinn tapped his fingers on the table. “You’re not wrong, Rhino. This doesn’t have anything to do with us. The odds that they were shooting at Deedra are pretty slim.”
“Then why are we doing this?” Rhino asked.
We were all thinking the same thing. Even I was. I saw how hurt Deedra was when the kid was shot, and I never wanted her to feel that way again. But chasing down whoever did this might bring more blood and death to our door.
None of us wanted that.
“Because this is our town, and if we let this bullshit happen now, pretty soon, we’re not going to have any control. We know what we’re doing. We know what the consequences could be if things go south. This kid was more than likely trying to do the right thing, and he got killed for it.” Quinn pounded the table. “That shit is not going to happen anymore. People are not going to die in our town for doing the right thing.” He leveled his gaze on Rhino. “I get what you’re saying, and I agree with you, but we’re not going to sit idly by and watch our town go to hell. We took the garbage out with the Clarks, and now we’re gonna do the same thing again. When it comes to our women, we’ll die for them. We’re the Kings of Vengeance, and we didn’t get that name for doing nothing. We’re gonna avenge this kid’s death and then make sure it never happens again.”
*
Chapter Nineteen
Rectify…
Deedra
“You good with just staying here?”
I grabbed Point’s empty plate and looked down at him. “Just for tonight?”
He grimaced. “Uh, maybe a few nights?”
I eyed him warily. “Why?” Just what was going on?
“Drop that in the sink, and then, we need to talk.”
I frowned. “I don’t like your tone, Point. What’s wrong?” Forget the dirty plate.
“I’m gonna tell you, Dee.”
I set the plate back in front of Point and sat down. “The dishes can wait. Talk.”
He chuckled and grabbed my hand. He pressed a kiss to my palm and sighed. “We need to stay here, Dee. For a while.”
“What in the hell happened in your meeting, Point? Did you find something out about who killed Joseph?” What happened in the meeting they had? I figured they were just talking to Barracuda and figuring out what he was doing here. Obviously they had talked about much more than that.
“No.” He sat back in his chair. “We don’t know anything more than we did earlier today.” He ran his fingers through his hair.
“Then I don’t understand why we have to stay here. I like my house. I like having you there with me. I don’t want to stay here,” I insisted. I loved hanging out with the girls, but I needed space to myself. Sharing this big place with thirteen people was not my idea of how I wanted to live. No thank you.
“Because if you want us to find out who killed Joseph, then we’re gonna have to stick our noses in places they don’t belong.”
“I do that all the time, Point, and I still live in my house.” Did he not get what I did? I was an investigative reporter. Getting the story no one wanted to tell was part of my job. Sure, I went above and beyond what most reporters did, but that’s why I was so good at my job.
“Dammit, Deedra.” He tightened his grip on my hand. “What we’re doing is a hell of a lot more dangerous than you chasing down a lead. Someone has died, Dee, and he, unfortunately, won’t be the last.” His words were low and his eyes connected with mine.
“You’re scaring me,” I whispered. I understood Joseph might have been involved in something dangerous, but all they needed to do was find out who killed him. Hell, detective Kaye was working on it, too. We had the police working with us. This shouldn’t be horribly dangerous.
“You know how you said I’ve changed, Dee?”
I nodded. I had said it a few times. We both had changed.
“Well, my life has changed, too. You’ve only been with me for a week now, but you’re about to be thrown into the deep end. The Kings aren’t going to let the police handle this and sweep it under the rug. Things are happening in the shadows that Joseph was trying to bring to the light.”
“So we think.” The problem was we didn’t really know anything about why Joseph was killed. In the end, we didn’t know a damn thing right now.
“But we’re gonna find out, Dee. And we’re gonna piss off some people when we do.”
“So, we have to stay here because it’s not going to be safe,” I stated. Understanding dawned on me. This was bigger than anything I had ever done before. It was a world I had only heard about.
He reached over and brushed his fingers over my cheek. “Yes, and I will completely understand if you want to walk away right now. My life isn’t all hearts and roses, Dee.”
“It’s motorcycles and bullets,” I whispered.
He nodded. “Yeah, and it’s not going to change anytime soon.”
“But it’s also family, friends, and good times. The bad doesn’t outweigh the good, Point.” I leaned forward. “In case you haven’t noticed, I’m not really one to sit by idle while the world rushes by me.” I also wasn’t going to run when things got hard. I had done that once and I regretted it more than anything.
“You’ve always been a thrill seeker,” Point laughed. “And that’s something I always loved about you.”
“So, it may be your time to be a bit of a thrill seeker, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to run away.” I smirked. “I’ll probably want to join in on the fun.” Afterall, I was good at my job, and Point was essentially going to do my job when he went looking for whoever killed Joseph.
“Hell no, Dee,” he laughed. “You are not getting any more involved in this than you already are. Right now, we don’t think they were aiming for you, and we’re going to keep it that way.”
I stuck out my bottom lip and pouted. “You don’t let me have any fun, Point.”
“You can have your fun chasing down stories for the news. You’re gonna leave this one to the Kings, though.” His words were firm and I knew I wasn’t going to be able to fight him on this.
Hell, my own brain told me not to fight him.
“Fine,” I sighed. “So, I can’t go home, but I’ll be able to work?” If Point was going to tell me I couldn’t work anymore, I was going to blow a gasket. Tell me I have to stay here, fine.
But make me miss work? Yeah, no. That wasn’t going to happen. Not only was he going to have to figure out who killed Joseph, he was also going to have to worry about me going stir crazy if I was confined to there.
“You’ll still be working, but you’ll have a shadow following you around.”
I rolled my eyes. “I have Pat with me all of the time, Point. Nothing is going to happen to me while I’m working.” He was crazy to think anyone was going to mess with me at work. Hell, I didn’t think I was the target at all when Joseph had been shot. That was literally me being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
He grabbed my waist and lifted me into his lap. “You’re right about that because I’m gonna be with you all of the time. I’m going to be your shadow.”
I groaned and wrapped my arms around his shoulders. “We might be rushing into things here. I’ve been on my own the past three years, and now I’m going to have you attached to my hip?”
“You wanna work, Dee?”
I nodded.
“Then, me or one of the guys is going to be with you.” He brushed my hair from my face. “You might as well just accept it right now. Be a hell of a lot easier.”
I looked past Point at the rest of the club members scattered around
the clubhouse. “I’ve never really liked the easy way,” I muttered. A smile spread across my lips. “Do I at least get a say who comes with me?”
“What?” Point laughed. “Is there someone you don’t like? Or is it someone you do like?”
I shook my head. “I mean, I like them all just fine, it’s just that Zephyr seems to be a bit cranky.” I lowered my voice. “I think he needs to get laid or something.” And that was just the honest truth. He just was the more grumpier out of all of the guys. Maybe I just needed to get to know him better?
Pointe grunted. “He’s not the only one.”
My eyes connected with Point’s, and I watched them melt into passion and need. “Is that so?” I whispered.
“Been a long time since I felt your body under me, Dee.” He leaned forward and brushed his lips over mine.
I slid off Point’s lap and held out my hand to him. “Maybe it’s time we rectify that.”
*
Chapter Twenty
New ink and old feelings…
Point
“This is new.” Deedra traced the tattooed heart on my chest. “What does it mean?” she asked.
“Well, when I got it, I told myself it was me claiming my heart back from you.”
She tipped her head back and looked at me. “Jesus.”
I laughed. “It was all a fucking lie, though. You still have my heart.”
She looked back at my chest. “Maybe a little battered and bruised from me not realizing what I had, but now I promise to treat it with love.”
“You always did, Dee.”
She sighed and laid her head on my chest. “We both know that’s a lie.”
I hooked my finger under her chin and tipped back her head. “We both needed to grow up. If you wouldn’t have left like you did, nothing would have happened. You might have grown to hate me for keeping you from your dream, and I would never have found the Kings of Vengeance. We had to lose each other for a little bit to come back better than ever.”
“Fate,” she whispered. “It was all fate, in the end, Point.”
“Yeah, it was, Dee. We just took the long road to get here.” I rolled on top of her and pressed a long kiss to her lips.
She moaned at my touch and ran her nails down my back.
“Would it be too forward of me to ask for round two?” she laughed.
“We haven’t even had round one yet, Dee.”
She shrugged and moved her hands to my bare ass. She had pulled me into my bedroom and proceeded to rip off all of my clothes but had been distracted by the new ink on my chest.
“I like to look forward to the future,” she whispered. “Especially when it involves you.”
“You and me, Dee. Forever.”
“Sounds like heaven.” She grabbed my ass and arched up to me. “Can we get to the really good stuff now?”
“It’s all good, sugar.” I snaked my hand down our bodies and brushed my hand over her pussy.
Her legs dropped open, and I fell between them. I parted the lips of her pussy and circled her clit.
“Point,” she moaned.
This was something Deedra and I always got right. Our bodies joined together was never the problem between us.
My fingers played with her clit, building her up while my other hand tweaked her nipple.
Her fingers wrapped around my cock, and she squeezed gently. “I missed this.”
“He missed you, too, Deedra.”
She laughed and stroked up. “It’s good to know I wasn’t forgotten or replaced.”
“Never.”
While she stroked my dick, her body writhed under me with each flick of her clit. I feathered kisses along the curve of her neck, and her other hand gripped my waist.
“Please, God, please,” she called.
“You and me, Deedra. This is where you’ve always belonged.”
“Yes,” she moaned. “Yes!”
A shout escaped her lips, and her body shivered beneath me as her release washed over her.
I pushed her hand away from my dick and guided myself into her pussy. I sunk deep, and her tight walls pressed around me. I pulled out, her core convulsing around me, and plunged back in.
Her nails scraped up my back, and my name came on a shout of pleasure from her lips.
As one, we moved. Both climbing and reaching for the same thing.
With a shout of her name, my orgasm exploded, and she followed close behind.
For three years, I had missed Deedra, but with time, my memories had dulled. This was one memory I never forgot. I always remembered what it was like to be with her.
This was that and so much more.
Deedra and I were finally one again, and I was never going to let that go.
*
Chapter Twenty-One
I have friends?
Deedra
“That thing is bigger than my bike.” Point leaned against the huge pumpkin and folded his arms over his chest.
“Pretty sure that thing weighs three times as much as your bike, too,” Zephyr chuckled. His shades were pulled over his eyes and a smirk played on his lips. I was still a bit wary of him, but he seemed to at least be in a good mood today.
“Can you two please move away from the pumpkin? I need to get a few shots without you two in it trying to pick it up.” I fluffed my hair and took a deep breath. Point and Zephyr could find another pumpkin to play on.
“This is what the girls were talking about,” Zephyr laughed. “Down to Business Deedra is here.”
I rolled my eyes. He may not be cranky, but he sure was a smartass. “It’s Professional Deedra, Zephyr, and I didn’t get this far in my career by being a Softy Deedra.” I glared at Point. “I’m gonna hit him if you don’t get him out of my shot.”
Point pushed Zephyr out of the way and gave me a slight bow. “Your stage is set, milady.”
Pat chuckled behind the camera. “First day back to work, and this shit is interesting as hell.” I had briefly explained to Pat that I was going to have company the next few weeks until they figured out who had killed Joseph. He had thankfully nodded his head and took my words for what they were.
I backed up to the camera and took a breath.
Things were definitely interesting, but now it was time to report on this big-ass pumpkin.
I was back to work, but I also had Point and Zephyr tagging along for the ride. At least Point wasn’t trying to tell me I couldn’t work.
Day one…and I prayed for the dust to settle. I didn’t know how long I would be able to work with Point watching my every move. Part of me wanted to pull him behind the hay bales to make out, and the other half of me wanted to kick him to the curb.
I opened my eyes and zoned out on everything except for the camera in front of me. I took a deep breath and plastered a huge smile on my face. “It’s a beautiful day for a hayride and to take a gander at this record-breaking pumpkin at Hank Denise’s pumpkin patch!”
I managed to finish the rest of my report without noticing Point and Zephyr to the side of me. Though I did hear a few scoffs and laughs when I mentioned it was almost bigger than two motorcycles. A good reporter took their facts from wherever they could get them. I assumed they knew what they were talking about so I ran with it.
I may still be a reporter, but I was also an ol’ lady now.
The crowning end to my report was when I signed off with my name. “I’m Deedra Schmid reporting for Channel 10 news.”
“And cut,” Pat called. He lowered the camera and laughed. “You are going to confuse the hell out of the viewers with that.”
I shrugged and handed him my mic. “Maybe it’ll make me more endearing if they find out I have a husband who doesn’t find me a bitch or intimidating.” I knew it shouldn’t bother me, but I was still trying to figure out ways to make myself more endearing to the viewers.
“Worth a shot,” Pat laughed. “I’m gonna get a few shots of people milling around, and then I’m gonna hang with the family.”
I smiled and nodded. I had the same plans. Though my family was a bit different from Pat’s. “Sounds good. I’ll see you tomorrow, Pat.”
“Does that mean you’re done for the day, Deedra Schmid?” Point called.
I shielded my eyes from the sun and smiled. He was leaning against the pumpkin and folded his arms over his chest. “You like that?” I hollered.
Point smiled wide. “Never heard anything better in my life.”
“There she is!”
“Oh, fuck,” Point moaned. He glanced at Zephyr who was a few feet away. “Did you tell them we were here?”
Zephyr shrugged. “It might have been mentioned.”
Kimber and Petra came bounding over with Gunner in their arms.
“Did we miss it?” Petra asked. “We wanted to see you in action.” Her smile was huge and her eyes were filled with joy.
I nodded. “Uh, yeah. You just missed it.” Though they would be able to catch it on the news in a couple of days.
“Fuck,” Kimber grumbled.
“Can you not cuss with my kid in your arms?” Queenie called. She was a few feet behind Kimber and Petra, with Sledge next to her. She had sunglasses over her eyes, but a huge smile sat on her lips. “Sledge wants to be the one to teach him bad habits.”
Sledge scoffed. “I think you got me confused with yourself, doll.”
Queenie pulled down her glasses and glared at Sledge. “I’m a saint, okay. Remember that.”
Point and Zephyr moved over to us. Point put his arm around my shoulders and pressed a kiss to the side of my head.
“That was great, Dee. Even if it wasn’t about busting a drug ring or something like that.” Point pulled me flush to his side. “Everyone needs to know about a pumpkin that’s the size of two motorcycles.”
I leaned into him and sighed. “I think the two motorcycles line put it over the top, yeah?” I laughed.
“Best line of the whole thing,” he chuckled.
Thrill Seeker (Kings of Vengeance MC Book 5) Page 12
