Protective (The Houston Defiance MC Series Book 5)

by K E Osborn

  “No… this can’t be right!” I mumble to myself capturing Texas’ attention as I internally begin to panic.

  Everything!

  My life savings.

  Everything is gone.

  Checking the withdrawal tab, and there it is, plain as day, every red cent, withdrawn all into the same bank account, but it doesn’t say who or why. Though I know immediately who, and I damn well know why.

  “That motherfucker!”

  Texas is by my side in an instant as I run my hand through my hair in frustration. He rounds the desk looking at the screen. “Fin, talk to me. What’s going on?”

  “Maxen… somehow he’s drained my bank accounts. For God’s sake, Texas! There’s nothing. There’s absolutely nothing left in any of my accounts.”

  Texas grabs the screen spinning it to face him as he scrolls down the page to check for himself. “Jesus. Now we know he has an incredibly clever tech on his side. How much did he take, Fin?”

  A wave of heat flushes over me and goosebumps litter my skin, but not in a good way. “One point five million, probably more.”

  The color drains from Texas’ face as he catches his breath for a moment. Then he breathes out with a heavy exhale. “Fuck.”

  “I thought Maxen would come after me physically, I never once thought he would do something like this.”

  Texas rolls his shoulders. “We have to get to the club. If Maxen has done this, we need to tell Zero. If we can get Neon to check into the cyber hack, then you never know what he might be able to do to reverse the problem with your money.”

  “But I have clients. I-I have work—”

  Texas grips me by my shoulders. “Fuck your work, Fin. I know you’re dedicated. I know you love your job, but this is your livelihood we’re talking about right now. Maxen has made a move, we need to strike back… while we still can before the trail goes cold.”

  Nodding my head, I shut down my main computer and pick up my laptop. “You’re right. Fuck him if he thinks he can get one over me.”

  “There’s the fighter I know.”

  “What about Phantom?”

  “We’ll pick him up on the way.”

  We make our way for the door, heading for the elevator.

  Jovie spots us lifting her chin. “Something going down?”

  Texas cracks his knuckles like he’s preparing to fight. “Oh yeah, Maxen just called for battle.”

  Jovie smiles wide. “Then go win the war! I’ll hold the fort here, Fin. Don’t worry about a thing, okay?”

  “Thank you. I’ll give you a raise if I’m still alive when this is all said and done.”

  Texas places his hand on my hip again ushering me into the elevator. “You’re not going down, Fin. I’d move back to Jersey before I let that happen.”

  My chest floods with warmth at his words. I know what that statement means to him. He hates Jersey because of his childhood, so that’s a pretty bold sentiment. The elevator doors close, and he spins me to face him. We’re so close, it shocks me as his hand on my hip holds me to him. “I mean it, Fin. I need you to know I’m going to do everything to protect you from that asshole.”

  My eyes meet his, and the energy circling around us is palpable, magnetic, cataclysmic as he stares into me. I inch closer, our bodies pressing together in every way. My lips part, letting out a small breath as our faces slowly move toward each other.

  I can’t fight the pull.

  I don’t want to fight the pull.

  My lips, they barely touch his, when the elevator doors ding and pull back opening wide.

  “Hey, guys!” Phantom calls out making me draw back dramatically from Texas before our lips touch completely.

  I pant for breath as I grip hold of the laptop like it’s my lifeline, and Phantom stares at us like he’s shocked at what he just saw.

  “Umm… the taco van was closed, so I just got coffee, but ahh… I can go away… far, far away if you need me to?”

  Clearing my throat, I step out of the elevator, rushing toward the exit.

  “Good timing, brother,” Texas mumbles under his breath, but I still hear it.

  “C’mon, we need to get ahead of this,” I call back to them.

  And I need to get my head on straight.

  Jesus, that was close.

  This pull toward Texas is undeniably strong. and honestly, I don’t know if I can withstand it.

  But right now, I don’t have a choice. My focus is Maxen.

  Everything and everyone else must wait.

  TEXAS

  We took Finley’s car back to the club, so the three of us could arrive together. As we pull into the gates, Neon and Zero walk over to greet us. Pulling the car to a stop in the parking lot, I glance at Fin. “Don’t worry, Neon is good. I’m sure he will have this fixed in no time.”

  She gnaws on her bottom lip but doesn’t reply. Opening the car doors, we get out.

  “Didn’t expect to see you back so soon. Something going down?” Zero asks, his brows creased in his concern.

  “Yeah, something all right,” Fin mutters under her breath.

  Zero shifts his eyes from Fin to me cocking his chin. “Someone start fucking talking.”

  “Fin’s bank accounts were drained this morning. But she has no idea as to the destination account, and certainly didn’t give authority to drain the cash.”

  Zero grunts. “Maxen?”

  “Of course, it’s fucking Maxen. Who else would it be?”

  Zero raises his hand to placate Fin as she starts to pace the parking lot. “Okay, I’m assuming by the amount of pissed off Fin currently is, it’s a hefty sum?”

  I dip my chin. “Yeah, Pres.”

  Zero turns to Neon. “You good with bank accounts?”

  “It won’t be easy. Depends on how dexterous the hacker is behind this. But I can look into it and see what I can find as long as you don’t mind me digging around in your accounts?”

  She waves her hand through the air. “There’s nothing in there at the moment, anyway, so what’s it matter?”

  Neon huffs. “It’s about trust, Fin. We’ve worked together on some pretty substantial shit together. You gotta give me some credit.”

  She slumps her shoulders, turning to face Neon. “Fuck… sorry, of course, I trust you, Neon. I’m just… a little more than fucking stressed.”

  “All right. I’ll see what I can do. Fin, I’ll need you to come to my computer den so I can gain access to your accounts. From there, I should be able to, you know… do my thing.”

  She takes a step closer to Neon, a genuine smile crossing her face. “Thank you. I appreciate you helping me… again.”

  Neon tilts his head toward the clubhouse doors and starts walking. Finley glances at me before I nod at her to go, then she follows Neon into the club.

  Zero folds his arms over his broad chest, glaring at me. “So Maxen isn’t letting up?”

  “Seems that way. This, though? This is not what we expected. Honestly, I don’t know what else he is going to throw at her. We were at her house for muscle, to protect her from the physical shit. I’m no good when it comes to this kind of attack.”

  Zero runs his hand over his beard. “Yeah, I get that. It’s difficult when you don’t know what angle they’re aiming… we gotta stay the course. Just because he went all cyber-attack this time, doesn’t mean the physical threat isn’t there. Stay on her, at least until we figure out what we need to do to get rid of the bastard. If we can get rid of him.”

  “Yeah, sounds like he has a team behind him. A damn good team. If we chop off the head of the snake, does the body keep slithering? That’s what I’m concerned about. We need to get her a fucking security system too.”

  “Exactly, and it’s whether he has a team that we need to figure out. We’ll keep digging. You keep protecting. We’ll work both angles.”

  “Will do, Pres.”

  He grips my shoulder as we turn for the clubhouse. “So, what’s her house like? Is it completely uptight
like she is?”

  Phantom and I both let out a booming laugh. “Yeah. You can tell she has wealth behind her. She is uptight, but believe it or not, she can relax… sometimes.”

  “Especially when she’s had some wine, right, Texas?” Phantom jokes.

  I smirk, my mind flashing back...

  Phantom tried to hoist Finley up higher while I held her on the other side, but all it did was make us both lose our grip. She giggled, as she stumbled up the stairs, and we all collapsed beside her.

  “Did anyone ever tell you guys that you’re both fucking hot?”

  As her fingers came out caressing my face, I smirked, grabbing her hand and placing it back in her lap as her head flung forward, like she was dazing in and out of consciousness.

  “She’s so wasted,” Phantom snickered.

  Her head popped back up, and her eyes rolled back as she tried to focus on the opposite side of the wall. “You know… you guys are fun. Your club has so much fun. I need to be more fun. I’m so stuck-up and pedantic, right?”

  “Right!” Phantom replied, but I glared at him.

  “No, not right. You’re perfect just the way you are, Fin. Don’t change.”

  She giggled, her hand coming back out caressing my cheek again. “And you, Texas. You are fucking bad for me. I could just go to town on you. Phew! Ride you like a—”

  “Okay, let’s get you to bed before you say something you’ll regret in the morning.”

  Phantom grinned from ear to ear as I made a move to stand, then hoisted Fin with me as I went.

  She was such a dead weight that Phantom had to help. Then before she could say another thing, her head flopped forward, and she was out like a light.

  Leaving me to deal with what she had said for the rest of the night.

  Wondering if she would remember, and what that would mean for our relationship.

  But she didn’t remember.

  Not any of it.

  And I’m glad.

  Phantom lets out a chuckle, bringing me back to the present. “Shut up, brother.”

  Zero grins. “Oh, there’s a story there—”

  “No... there’s not.” I grunt.

  “Yeah… there is. But if you don’t wanna tell me, I get it.” Zero laughs. “Fin and Neon could be a while. Come have some lunch. Fox has had a brisket on since this morning.”

  “Fuck yeah!” Phantom chimes, then rushes for the front door.

  “Pres,” I call out, and Zero turns back, bobbing his head in response. “Kevlar and Sunshine…” Zero raises his brow at me. “Well, Kevlar’s obviously one of us.” Zero lets out a small laugh as I continue, “And Sunshine is working with Fin at Finley’s office—”

  “You gonna make a point before I die of old age?”

  “How do they make it work? You know… Sunshine being an attorney and an Old Lady at the same time?”

  The corner of Zero’s lips turns up in the corner. “The thing you have to realize… Sunshine’s damn good at her job, yeah?”

  “Yeah?”

  “She only lets people know what she wants them to know. Sure, she has a family. A partner and stepchildren, but on paper they’re all aboveboard. When Kevlar goes to see her, he’s Liam, and doesn’t wear his cut. Not anymore. If an attorney wants to be with a biker, they can find ways around it, if they really want to. It’s a full-time commitment on both, but they make it work.”

  I let the words sink in.

  Zero slaps my shoulder. “Fin could do worse than you, I suppose.”

  My lips turn up as I smirk, shoving him off me. “Fuck you.”

  Zero chuckles as we make our way toward the main entrance of the clubhouse, and as we enter, the smell of Fox’s brisket lingers in the air. I can’t help but smile, loving the smells of home. Phantom’s already off talking to Nickel and Siren. Probably filling them in on everything that’s gone down.

  “Anything happening here at the club I need to know about?” I ask Zero.

  He rolls his shoulders. “I don’t want to say it, and fuck me, I know I will regret the words, but at the moment, things are quiet ‘round here.”

  “Dammit, Pres! You know not to use the fucking ‘Q’ word!” I tease.

  “Yeah, yeah, every time someone goes and says that shit, something dramatic happen—”

  “Hey, assholes… can I have your attention?” Wraith calls out. Little six-month-old baby Sephy is strapped to his chest in a baby carrier and Prinie is standing next to him.

  “See, I fucking told you!” I punch Zero’s arm, grimacing at him.

  Zero chuckles as we all move around Wraith and Prinie, wondering what they’re up to. I wouldn’t be surprised if Wraith has popped the question. I mean, they have a kid, so it seems like a natural progression from there.

  Cherry makes her way over, looping herself under Zero’s arm. They had an epic wedding day, that wasn’t short of its own chaos only a few days ago. The club is still getting over Anna’s betrayal and the fact that Damir, Wraith’s brother, is on the loose. We’re all waiting for that bomb to drop back on us.

  Prinie looks from Wraith, to Zero, then back to Wraith. She clears her throat, then starts, “We’ve been sitting on this for a while now. Both of us wanted to wait until the safety period was over, then shit just kept on happening… so, it never seemed like the right time.” She turns back to Wraith, who wraps his arm protectively around her body, and he exhales. “We wanted to tell you… especially you, Pres. But with all the shit dealing with Anna, Damir, the Baroness, and the Heathens, that all took precedence.”

  Zero lets out a huff. “Get on with it! What the hell is wrong?”

  Wraith’s free hand moves to Sephy’s head caressing it gently. “There’s a reason I was so protective over Prinie when Damir attacked.”

  Cherry gasps.

  Zero furrows his brows. “Because she’s your Old Lady! Yeah, so? It makes sense.”

  Wraith, glances down at Prinie, and she takes a step forward, placing her hand on her stomach.

  Oh!

  Cherry lets out a contented laugh as Zero’s eyes widen in shock.

  “No, it’s not that. It is because I’m pregnant, Zero. Seventeen weeks.”

  “What? That’s fucking…. I can’t count that fast, how far along is that?”

  “Four months, babe.” Cherry wraps her arm around Zero’s waist holding onto him tightly.

  “But Sephy is only six months. What the fuck?”

  Wraith lets out a stifled laugh. “It was a shock to us too. Trust me.”

  “You have fucking super sperm or something, brother?” I call out and everyone laughs.

  Except for Zero. A genuine look of hurt crosses his face. “I don’t understand how you could keep this from me for four… fucking… months?”

  Prinie steps over to Zero, taking his hands in hers. “The first three months aren’t a safe period. With everything we went through with Sephy, we wanted to be sure this one was safe. Then the club battles started, and it just wasn’t the right time. We didn’t want you worrying about me while dealing with the club issues.”

  “So why now? What made you tell us now?”

  “Because soon, we are able to find out the gender and I really want to be able to share that news with y’all. And with the risk of Damir coming back, we needed you to know why Wraith is so over the top protective.”

  “Well then, I guess we’re having another club baby!” Zero announces.

  We all cheer as Zero’s eyes meet with Wraith’s, a mutual understanding passing between them. They’ve come a long way when it comes to who is the rightful protector of Prinie. Zero and Wraith fought a lot when Wraith and Prinie first got together about who should have the final say over Prinie. As hard as it is for Zero to let go of his baby sister, we all know the responsibility now lies firmly in the hands of Wraith.

  Zero and Prinie embrace, then I walk over to the bar, leaving the family to deal with their growing empire. Pulling out a stool, I sit. I’m not sure I’ll ever get
to that point in my life. The kids. The wedding. I just don’t know if I’m that kind of guy or if it’s in the cards for me.

  “You look like you have a million thoughts running through your head right now, Texas,” Nessie states as she wipes down the countertop.

  While resting my elbow on the bar, I glance up. “Life’s strange, isn’t it?”

  She chuckles, glancing over to the two happy couples sitting in the corner discussing their family. Her eyes shift back to me, then she moves to the tap and starts pouring me a beer. “The two men of the club who I thought would never settle down have not only got old ladies, but now one is married and the other has a kid, and now another on the way. So, yeah, I agree life’s strange.”

  “You think this club is better now than it was before all… this?” I wave my hands around.

  She slides the beer across the bar, tilting her head at me. “The club changed when Cherry arrived. Everything turned upside down when Zero found his woman. The club isn’t better or worse, just different. Me? I’m all for it. It’s nice having a little more estrogen around here.”

  I let out a laugh. “And the kids? You think it’s okay having them here?”

  Nessie leans down on the bar, her smile falling to a sympathetic frown. “What’s this really about, Tex?”

  Shaking my head, I pick up my beer. “I don’t fucking know.” I exhale.

  “Yeah, you do.” She reaches out placing her hand on my arm.

  I take a sip of my beer then let out a long, drawn-out sigh. “We’re 1%ers. We do bad shit.”

  Nessie raises her eyebrow. “Doesn’t make you bad guys, though. You do bad shit for a good reason.”

  “For what? For profit? Financial gain doesn’t make it right!”

  “The money everyone makes is for family. You may do something shitty to get a pay day, but that money goes toward the brothers’ families. It might not be aboveboard, but it’s what we do for the people we love. Same goes for the violence, it’s all… for the people… we love.” She emphasizes the last few words as she moves around the bar. Nessie sits next to me and places her hand on my thigh.

  Movement to my left catches my attention, and I spot Finley watching me with Nessie, her eyes zeroed in on Nessie’s hand high up on my thigh.