“It is,” I tell her.
“Okay, then I’ll get out of your hair. Take a week off or so, just until you feel better. You went through a lot last night.”
“I will, but Finley . . . do I need to worry about anything, about the guy, or whatever?”
“No, not at all. Everything is handled. We always protect our own, Gemini. Remember that. There is one more thing I should tell you. Since Omen has claimed you as his ol’ lady, I’m opening a suite up for you at the Fort. It’s a bit different there, but it will still be very safe for you. You won’t be working as much as you have been before, so we really should open this room up for someone else. But we won’t worry about moving you for a week or so. Just let your body rest.”
Chapter Eighteen
Omen
Things should be good between Gemini and me now. We both talked about our relationship, and from the text message I got from her a few hours ago, she spoke with Finley and we’re all on the same page now. She won’t see any men as clients anymore, and she will be finishing out her yearly contract. Even so, while I was driving up to New York, I was praying someone would call and tell me they found Devi.
Reno and Abyss had already started riding up, per my instruction. I didn’t want to hold them up since I needed to talk to Gemini, so they went on ahead. We were pretty much done down in Virginia anyway, but I wasn’t ready to leave. I wanted to stay down there for a bit longer, but it’s only because Gemini is there. Add in what happened last night and leaving her didn’t feel right, but Finley did assure me Gemini will be protected, so that does make me feel a bit better.
Now I’m back at the clubhouse, and Devi’s been gone for a full twenty-four hours. They found her cell in the park and her bike’s at the park too. No one has any clue where she could be, or where she might’ve gone.
The first thing on everyone’s mind is the cult. We’re all worried she could be the result of warfare. There are so many possibilities to what could’ve happened to her, so we’re going to do what we can to find her. We have friends in high places, so Boss suggested we make calls to see if any of our hacker friends could find any video camera footage.
We did end up getting some footage of her getting into a fight with a dark-haired woman, and then she was hit on the head. Two men jumped out of a vehicle and the other woman came in and grabbed Devi. The plates were spray-painted over, and besides a make and a model, we have nothing.
The entire club is feeling the pressure, knowing we don’t have one solid lead besides the make and model, so everyone is going out to garages and body shops to see if anyone turned over a vehicle that could match the description.
Now I’m sitting across from Boss, who’s already drinking vodka on the rocks. “This is fucking bullshit. She didn’t even tell anyone she left. You know that? She didn’t even ask someone to take a ride with her. If she was in danger she would’ve done that. Devi isn’t stupid.” Boss is practically talking to herself, but little does she realize we all hide something.
“Sometimes people want to hide things from others, so they aren’t looked at differently,” I tell Boss.
She cocks a brow. “What in the world would Devi hide from us? It’s not like we would judge her.”
“Maybe so, but people keep secrets for a reason. We all have them. Every single one of us.”
“Don’t start with your Yoda bullshit now, Omen.” Boss groans. She just hates it because most of the time, when I have something to say like this, I’m right.
“Don’t hate on me for being accurate,” I mutter. Leaning back in the seat, I glance out the window to see snow falling. Man, I wish Gemini were close by. It might sound stupid, but I’d kill to make her a cup of hot chocolate and have her beside me under a blanket.
“Omen?”
Boss pulls me out of my inner thoughts. “Yeah?”
“I asked if you had secrets?”
I give her a knowing look, a silent warning she won’t like what I’m about to say. “Yeah, Boss. Like I said, we all have secrets.”
“Why do you keep yours?” Boss asks me.
“Because I don’t want people thinkin’ I’m irresponsible.” It’s a shitty way to explain it, especially when the reality is I’m not irresponsible, I’m guilty. I should’ve been there more for someone who needed me, and because I wasn’t, I can’t ever make things right.
“Why the hell would someone think that about you?”
“Because people worry about different things. I worry people will view me differently, so I keep my skeletons tucked away in my closet. Now, I can’t say what Devi did, but I will say she probably has a reason for keeping things to herself. We can’t rule out the fact she could’ve known the people who did this to her. At this point, we can’t rule out anything.”
Boss nods in agreement from behind her desk. “I don’t mean to change subjects or anything, but Vex tells me you fell for one of the girls who works for Finley.”
Shit, is Vex always so damn chatty? Ugh, women. “Yeah. Her name’s Gemini and she’s my ol’ lady now.”
“So, Abyss and Reno weren’t pulling my leg. Good to know.” Boss cackles. “On a serious note, I’m glad you found someone. Is she uh, into, you know.”
A devilish smile pulls at my lips. “Oh yeah, she’s a down for anything type of woman.”
“Well then, she must be a dream come true for you.”
My eyes lock with Boss, and she couldn’t have said it better. “You hit the nail right on the head.”
Chapter Nineteen
Gemini
It’s almost eleven at night, and my phone starts buzzing on the bedside table, so I roll over and grab it, smiling as I realize it’s the man I’ve been thinking about. “I thought you forgot about me,” I tease him as I answer.
“Oh, baby girl, there’s no way in hell I’d ever be able to forget about you. How’re you feelin’?” Omen questions me. His tone is soft, like he’s tired from the day. He didn’t even send me a text to let me know he arrived safely, but someone is missing at his club. I imagine everything is a bit tense and he just forgot.
“I’m okay, still kicking.”
“Good. Have you taken your meds and had dinner?”
“Mhm, Chas brought me that soup last night and she ordered some takeout. I had some hibachi and oh gosh, it’s the best.”
“What’ve you drank today?” Omen asks me, and I narrow my eyes.
“I can take care of myself, you know.”
“It’s my job to take care of you now, and you better not forget it.” Omen’s tone sounds normal now. Authoritative and serious, but I dig it. I like it when he’s in charge and tells me what to do. It’s hot, sexy, and pretty much is what sex dreams are made of.
“Okay. I drank a little under a gallon of water so far.”
“Good. How’re things down there?”
I sigh heavily. “They’re okay. But they’d be better if you were here.”
“I know. I miss you and I wish I was there by your side, but I can’t be right now. I’m needed up here.”
“I know. I just miss you, and I feel like an asshole for being so selfish. Someone is missing in your club and here I am whining about missing you.” I roll onto my back and pull some covers up over my body.
“Don’t be. I like knowing you miss me as much as I miss you. Being this far apart feels weird, considering how connected we’ve always been.”
I don’t know if he’s baiting for me to ask, but I will. “Are you worried we won’t be able to handle this long-distance thing?”
“No, not in the slightest. We’ll be fine, baby girl, so don’t you worry. I did want to talk to you, though, about something I noticed.”
“Which is?”
I make sure to tap the volume up a bit more, just so I can hear him better. “I can’t help but notice every time I talked about New York, you got nervous. So, I’d like to talk about it and see if there’s a common theme here.”
The wind practically gets knocked out of me. I know Doms are
very perceptive and pay attention to the smallest of things, but I wasn’t expecting him to pick up on it, I guess. I could lie to him. I could keep my secrets to myself, but what good would it do? The answer is simple: nothing.
Inhaling through my nose, I strum up the only courage I can manage and start talking before I change my mind. “When my family moved from Warsaw, we were in New York. So, going back there is something that frightens me a bit. You see, I,” I pause for a moment and take another breath, trying to find an easier way to say this, but there’s no way for it to come out easier. “I was at a party with my friends, Lea and Nikki. Anyone who’s anybody knew my father was the guy you get the best drugs from, so I took some for us that night. Long story short, Lea died, and her family blames me for her death. Well, Nikki and me, I guess. We both survived and Lea didn’t, so we’re the ones in the wrong. We’re the ones who fucked up, but in reality, I shouldn’t have ever gotten the drugs from my father’s vault in the first place. I didn’t know what I was doing. I was young and stupid, and I left New York and vowed never to return. I mean, you know my relationship with my dad is absolute trash. I never had a reason to go back, not until . . .” I pause, lick my lips, but Omen’s quick to jump in.
“Not until I came in the picture.”
“Exactly,” I agree with him.
“Thank you for opening up to me.”
“If I can’t trust you, then who can I?” I say to him and hear him chuckle on the other end of the line.
“Well, I appreciate your trust. It’s something I will never take advantage of, and this is a promise I truly mean.” It’s like I can almost imagine how he’d be smiling at me right now. He’d be playing with my hair, telling me I look beautiful, but most of all, he’d make me believe it.
Omen has a funny way of doing that, making me feel like I’m the most gorgeous woman in the entire world. Even when I look in the mirror and see flaws, whether they’re physical or mental, his voice is starting to pop in my mind sometimes. Almost like he’s a warrior fighting my inner demons.
“I know you do, and I’m excited to continue on this journey with you.”
“Good. I’ll be back in Virginia as soon as I can, but things aren’t lookin’ like it’ll be anytime soon.”
Oh no. They must be having issues with their missing member. “No leads?”
“We have a couple, but we’ve already followed them and we haven’t come up with anything new. I’m sure we’ll find her, but I just hope she’ll be alive when we do.”
Omen’s words make me realize how dangerous his lifestyle is, but if I can be a Polish drug dealer’s daughter and survive that, I can be an ol’ lady to an MC’s Vice President.
Dear Readers,
I hope you enjoyed Omen and Gemini’s story as much as I did. This was definitely a different route to go down, which was super fun to explore. I already have the next couple books in the Iron Vex MC world plotted, and let me just say the action and the heat level will both be rising.
The next book in the Iron Vex MC that’s releasing is Nikki’s Nemesis, which will release on January 15th, 2022. I made an announcement in early August of 2021 how I’m taking a few months break from any solo releases so I can focus on making my books longer for you all, as well as take some time to be with my husband, who I can now happily say is in remission. He was diagnosed with small cell lung cancer in February 2021, and the last few months have been very difficult as a family. It’s taught me to take life one day at a time, so I’d appreciate your patience as my release schedule is updated slightly.
Even though the delay of some books might be saddening, I do promise you that the quality of the books will be so much better. I’m still planning to release my co-writes with E.C. Land, and I still will be in the anthologies I signed up for, but you’ll have to wait a couple months longer for my solo releases.
Much love and as always, thank you for your support,
Elizabeth
Dex’s Devotion
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Detest
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Malevolent
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Nikki’s Nemesis
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Keenan’s Kingdom
(Mafia Heirs: The Gallaghers #1)
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