by Atlas, Lilly
“Maybe while we’re there we can do some shopping or go to a day spa,” she said without taking her attention off her phone.
A few seconds later, Holly’s phone chimed.
With a squeal of delight, Cynthia stowed her cell in her oversize handbag. “This will be great Holly. I bet getting away for a day or two will give you a chance to get some perspective. With a clear mind and some space, you might see things in a different light.”
Whomp, whomp, whomp. Holly’s heart sank. So much for a new and healthier relationship.
With that little bomb, her mom stood, kissed Holly on the cheek, and practically floated out of the diner.
Left frowning, alone and hurt in the booth, Holly couldn’t shake the feeling she’d been played.
Big time.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
THREE WEEKS FROM the day the diner began selling Holly’s products, LJ found himself enjoying life more than he had in years.
And there was only one reason for it.
Holly.
He’d spent every spare waking hour with her in some form or another. They had dinner together nearly every night. He hit the diner on the way to work both for some sugar from Holly and some sugar from her oven. She’d swing by his job sites for lunch whenever her schedule allowed. They watched movies, rode his bike through the mountains, hung out at the clubhouse, and went on dates with the other couples in the MC.
And they fucked. As often and in as many ways as possible.
LJ had smiled more in the past month than he had in fucking years. And his brothers loved fucking busting his balls over it. Maybe if he didn’t have the sexiest woman on earth burning up the sheets with him, he’d take offense to their constant ribbing, but fuck it. He was happy, his dick was happy, and Holly was fucking happy as well. Only two things kept their relationship from absolute perfection.
Holly’s father and LJ’s refusal to fall asleep in her presence. Each night, after exhausting each other for hours with brain-melting sex, they retired to their own beds. Not once had Holly breathed a word about it. No complaints, no whining about being rejected, no questions. But it had to be killing her. What woman would accept an arrangement like that long-term?
None he’d ever met.
Though he had an idea Holly suspected something, she still deserved to know why he left her each night. He was just too much of a pussy to admit his reasoning.
And Holly’s father… Not much improvement on that front. She’d spoken with him a handful of times, but he hadn’t come around. Nor had he halted his attack on the MC. Which brought them to Copper and Shell’s new backyard for a cookout LJ assumed he was only invited to because of his connection to Holly. And while he trusted his president, he had no idea why the man requested his and Holly’s presence at a barbecue-slash-meeting of the executive board.
“Damn, brother, your woman can fuckin’ bake.” Maverick said as he sat his ass in an Adirondack chair next to LJ’s while rubbing his flat stomach. A fire crackled about ten feet away. Everyone who’d been invited sat around the fire, drinking beer and polishing off the Baileys cheesecake Holly had brought along.
“Tell me about it.” He squeezed Holly’s hip where she sat perched on his lap chatting with Chloe.
“What’s that?” She and Chloe both looked at Maverick.
“Just telling your man what a rockstar you are when it comes to baking shit. Hey, Thunder,” Mav said to the prospect sitting on his right. LJ had yet to figure out why Thunder was at this quasi-meeting too.
“’Sup, Mav?”
Mav handed his empty plate to Thunder. “Fork me over another slice.” He turned back to Holly. “You’re gonna make me fat, woman.”
LJ snorted at the same time Holly’s cheeks pinked and she giggled. “Glad you like it, but I’m pretty sure you could eat the whole thing and not gain an ounce.”
“I get plenty exercise.” Mav shot her a wink. “Hey,” he said around a mouthful of cheesecake. “You guys hear Thunder hooked up with Carli?”
From across the fire, Izzy groaned. “Ohhh, Thunder, come on. You kissed my cheek, man. Now I gotta burn half my face off.”
“What?” he said with his mouth full and face the picture of innocence. “I was tanked and horny, and she was there.” He shrugged.
Holly leaned back against LJ’s chest and asked, “Who’s Carli?”
“She’s a club whore who tried to stir up all kinds of drama when Steph and Mav got together,” Shell said. “She had some misguided idea he was going to make her his ol’ lady because he liked to…spend time with her.” She sent a pointed look Maverick’s way.
“Look, can I help it if my dick has the power to make women go crazy?”
Holly burst out laughing as the rest of the women groaned and rolled their eyes. Shell blew a raspberry and gave Mav a thumbs’ down. “I thought she’d left town. Is she back?”
“She did, and she is,” Thunder said. “Something about a sister being here.”
“I gotta admit the woman had serious skills. Even if the devil sent her here from hell-o, baby!” Mav said as he suddenly noticed Stephanie standing over him with a significant frown. “You look so pretty tonight.”
“Nice try,” she said as she walked around his chair. With a bit of a sinister smile on her face—the kind LJ hoped to never see from Holly—Stephanie plopped down on Maverick’s lap.
Hard.
Actually, it was less of a plop and more of a dropped-her-full-body-weight-on-him.
“Oh, fuck me, that hurt,” Maverick said with a pitiful whimper as she no doubt landed on his dick.
“No,” Steph said in a haughty tone. “I don’t think I’ll be doing that for a while.”
LJ winced. Damn, he didn’t envy the man. That couldn’t have felt good. Not that Mav didn’t have it coming.
“Nice, Steph,” Izzy called out. “I’ve taught you well.”
The rest of the women chuckled while the men winced in sympathy.
“Okay, everyone sufficiently fed, and good with their drink?” Copper suddenly asked. He’d been quiet throughout dinner, which did nothing to settle LJ’s unease.
Shell, who sat curled up on Copper’s lap, gave him an encouraging smile. Seemed none of the men wanted their women out of touching distance.
“I’m gonna let Thunder get started and let him tell you all what went down last night.” As Copper spoke, he shifted his gaze around the room. Did it linger just a little too long on Holly, or was that LJ’s imagination?
After draining his beer and dropping his empty plate to the grass, Thunder propped his forearms on his knees. His eyes shifted to Holly as well, and he had an almost apologetic half-smile.
What the hell had happened? By reflex, LJ tightened his arm around her waist as if he could protect her from whatever was coming.
“Sheriff arrested me last night.”
Holly gasped, making Thunder wince. What the fuck was Copper thinking, inviting her here? She didn’t need to hear any of this shit.
“Simmer down, LJ,” Copper said. “I can see you starting to boil over there.”
“It’s okay, LJ,” Holly whispered to him as she stroked his forearms where they lay across her waist. “It’s reality. I know how complicated the mixing of my two worlds is.”
“What the fuck did they arrest you for?” Jigsaw asked. He sat next to Izzy, their hands intertwined.
“Solicitation.” Thunder waggled his eyebrows as though they weren’t talking something serious, and he didn’t give a shit about spending time behind bars. Which in all honesty, the guy probably didn’t. “He caught me getting blown out in the alley behind the strip club.”
“Lovely,” Izzy muttered none too quietly.
The rest of the group, including Thunder, snickered. “Hey, what can I say, she saw me dance and couldn’t keep her hands off me. I was hard, so…there you have it.”
Holly wrinkled her nose.
“Anyway, I’d just finished my set when this chick came on hot and hea
vy. She dragged me out back and went to town. I hadn’t even had time to grab my money from my g-string, so when she yanked it down dolla bills scattered all over the ground.” He made a motion with his hands like he was scattering money all around.
“Oh, this story just gets classier and classier,” Izzy said.
“He’s a stripper?” Holly whispered.
LJ chuckled against her ear. “Yup.”
She cocked her head. “Huh. Yeah, I guess I can see it. I bet that boy can move.”
“Hey!” LJ tickled her side. “Don’t you picture him in anything other than a fucking snowsuit.”
“But no money changed hands for the act?” Zach asked.
“Nope.” Thunder shrugged. “I’ve done it a handful of times. If a woman wants to pay me to fuck her, why the hell would I turn that down? Ya know?”
“You want a list of reasons?” Izzy asked.
Holly barked out a laugh then covered her mouth. “Sorry,” she said behind her hand. “That was funny.”
“Damn straight it was, sister.” Izzy held her hand out for a high-five which Holly gladly gave. LJ stroked a hand up and down her back as she leaned far forward to reach Izzy. Pretty damn nice having a woman there with him. Of course, that nice feeling was about to be shot to shit.
“Anyway, I’m pretty sure it was some kind of set-up, because the cops came in hot and heavy like they fucking knew I’d be out there. Dragged me to the sheriff’s office. I got handcuffs, fingerprints, the works. Took their sweet fucking time sorting it all out too. Had me in lock-up about fifteen hours. That shit sucks, man.”
With a groan, Holly said, “Thunder, I’m—”
“Don’t,” Copper said in a tone so harsh, Holly jumped. Of course, she was gonna take this on herself, which was exactly why she shouldn’t be there. LJ wanted to place his hands over her ears to keep her from hearing any of this shit.
Mouth agape, Holly stared at Copper.
“Look,” he said. “It’s no secret that your old man has it out for my club. Now, I wanna be fully above board with you because I can see how good you are for my brother.” He glanced at LJ then focused back on Holly. “You deserve to hear what’s going on from us instead of from some gossip.”
Shame twisted LJ’s insides. Maybe he should have put a little more faith in Copper.
“T-thank you,” Holly said. Her rubbing his arm turned to gripping him with surprising strength.
“Also gotta tell you, I approached LJ to find out if he was willing to work you for information from your father a few weeks ago when you two first started up.”
“Oh, Copper,” Shell said with a groan as she smacked him on the chest. “Seriously?”
Holly stiffened so fast, she nearly jerked out of LJ’s hold.
Christ, Copper was lucky LJ trusted him as much as he did. Because were he anyone else, LJ would have already pounded him into the ground.
“Don’t get your panties in a wad, you two,” Copper said, holding up his hands. “Holly, he flat out told me no. Didn’t even give it a second of thought. Just want to put that out there because we are going to have to do something about this bullshit investigation. We’ve tried enduring it until it passed, but the fake claims and harassment have only escalated. Your pops is fucking up our businesses, and that needs to stop. But I want you to know, Holly, we won’t use you against your pops or vice versa. None of us are above getting down and dirty to fight our battles, but we don’t fuck with family. LJ is family and so are you by extension.”
Holly hadn’t relaxed her tense posture. Pride surged in LJ as she straightened her shoulders and looked Copper right in the eye. The six-foot-five, redheaded, bushy-bearded outlaw intimidated even the toughest of men. Something the MC counted on plenty of times to assert their position.
“Thank you,” she said. “For being honest with me. I just have one question, and I hope you’ll continue being honest with me.”
Beneath the beard, Copper’s lips quirked.
The man liked Holly. A lot. Not a requirement for LJ, but a definite bonus. Having his club’s approval, especially the leader of that club, went a long way.
“Fair enough,” Copper said. “Fire away, whisk.”
All eyes fell to Holly who stood her fucking ground and didn’t back down. Damn, she was something. “Are you planning to hurt him? My father.”
As he inhaled a slow breath, Copper stroked his beard. The attention that had been on Holly shifted to him.
“Of course not,” Shell said with a frown. Then she elbowed Copper. “Right, Copper?”
“You asked me not to lie, so here it is straight. No, I’m not going to hurt him and I’m not going to authorize anyone in my club to hurt him. Physically or otherwise. Now, were you not in the picture, we would definitely turn up the heat and try to make his life…uncomfortable. But you’re here, and you mean something to LJ. And I’d be lying if I said I didn’t fucking like you myself. You make a mean cheesecake. We are going to work through the club’s lawyers to get the sheriff’s office to back the fuck off.”
“Okay,” Holly said as she released a breath. “That’s good. Thank you.”
“I’m not done,” Copper went on. “Since I promised honesty, I need this to end and soon. So the club is actively working to have certain officers removed from the police force. Schwartz and Higgins to name a few. We’re hoping to get your pops to back off without jeopardizing his job, but I can’t one hundred percent guarantee it.”
LJ held his breath. The information share was more than LJ expected. Not great news, but a real fucking effort on Copper’s part. If it weren’t for Holly, the club would be moving in a very different direction in their efforts to get the target off their collective backs.
“All right,” she said with a nod. “Not that it matters,” she said with a breathy laugh, “but I can get behind that plan.”
There went Copper’s lips again. Quirking in a sort of half-smile. “It matters,” he said.
“Uh,” Holly said. “Did I hear you right? Did you call me whisk?”
“Sure did,” Copper replied as he lifted his beer to his lips.
“Why?” Shell’s forehead scrunched. “You could have picked a million better baking related nicknames, babe. LJ calls her sugar.”
“Don’t even think about it, prez,” LJ said with a mock scowl that had Holly pressing a kiss to his cheek.
“Shit got all scrambled when she popped up in my club,” Copper said.
For about five seconds, the crackling fire was the only sound. Izzy ended up being the first to lose it, but the rest of them followed shortly behind until everyone laughed like fools.
“Shit, Cop,” Mav said. “Think we all needed that.”
The conversation lightened after that. Tomorrow, in church, the patched members would work out a plan of action, but they could enjoy the rest of the night and the company before diving back into the heavy shit.
“Come on,” LJ said, patting Holly’s hip. “Grab a drink with me.” He didn’t give a fuck about a drink, but they could use a hot second alone. When they reached the house, which was a good sixty feet from the fire pit, LJ dragged Holly through the French doors.
They were the only two inside the quiet house unless Beth counted, but she’d been fast asleep upstairs for the past hour. Copper and Shell purchased the house about a month ago. At least three times the size of Shell and Beth’s itty bitty two-bedroom home, she’d been in love with the place the moment she saw it. As for Copper, anything was better than living at the clubhouse as he’d done for a few years.
“This place is great,” Holly said as they walked through the family room. “Shell did a fantastic job decorating. Seems like the perfect combination of the two of them, right?”
Um, what the hell did he know about decorating? “Sure?”
Holly laughed. “I’d describe it as mountain chic. The wood beams, the brick fireplace, and the dark cabinets, kinda remind me of Copper while the cozy furniture and pops of bright color are
all Shell. They did a nice job merging their lives, is all I mean.”
Well, he couldn’t argue with that. “They did. They’re a strong couple who’s been through some unimaginable shit. I’ll tell you about it sometime. Too deep for tonight.”
“Thought we were grabbing drinks?” Holly asked, halfway to the kitchen, as LJ sat on the couch.
“In a minute.” He snagged her hand and tugged her down next to him. “Wanted to check in first.”
Beaming at him, Holly stretched up and kissed his mouth. She’d meant it to be short and sweet, but he needed more. As she started to pull back, he grabbed the base of her skull and held her close for a proper kiss.
“Dayum, LJ,” Holly said as she panted and swiped her thumb over her lower lip. “You trying to get us caught going at it on our friends’ couch? ’Cuz I’m thinking we might not be invited back.”
Our friends.
It was fucking stupid how happy those two words made him. “Depends who walks in on us. If it’s Mav, he’ll just whip out his phone and start filming. Then we’ll be in a legal battle over the rights to the media files after he uploads them to some home porn site and makes big money. And that just sounds like way too much work, so maybe you’re right and I shouldn’t kiss you like that again until we leave.” He winked.
“Well, I didn’t say that…” She rested her head on his shoulder.
“Where’s your head at with everything Copper said tonight?”
She fell silent, and he gave her the moment to formulate her thoughts. Holly wasn’t reactionary, which LJ appreciated. He spent his days with hot-headed assholes at the construction sites then even hotter-headed fuckers at the clubhouse. Coming home to someone even-keeled made for a nice end to each day.
Would be even nicer if he could wake to her as well.
“I’m struggling,” Holly admitted. “Not so much with what Copper said. From his perspective, I get it. His family is being threatened and he needs the threat to go away. I’m sure if it wasn’t for me, he’d be taking a different approach, but I greatly appreciate how he’s trying to go a legal route instead of beating anyone bloody in the street.”
