by E. C. Land
Oh my.
Um.
What do you say to something like that?
I lick my lips and snuggle into him rather than giving him a response. There’s no way I can actually put words together right now. No way. My head is fogged by the Isaac enhanced orgasm he’d given me.
A whimper of protest escapes my parted lips when he slips out of me. Isaac rolls me to my back and I meet his gaze.
My heart stills in my chest at the ink color of his eyes. There’s something to be said about it but I’m not sure what to make of it. I mean I’ve wanted this man to be mine for years and now here he is holding me in his arms.
“We gotta talk, Amaya,” he announces, and my heart begins to race once again. God knows when it comes to this man it can’t make up its mind on whether or not it wants to beat rapidly or if it wants to stop working altoghether. At least it hasn’t plummeted to my belly yet. If that happens, I don’t know what I’ll do.
“Okay, but um, would it be possible to have coffee?” I ask, unsure if I can handle any kind of heavy without coffee. It’s one of the few pleasures in life I allow myself. With a little sugar it’s the best thing ever.
“Yeah, Sweetness, we can do this over coffee.” He grins and leans down, presses his mouth to mine for a chaste but still hot kiss.
I’m in trouble when it comes to him.
Yep, that’s a guaranteed truth. I can’t deny it. He could ask me to do just about anything and I’d do it for him. Because he’s Isaac and my heart, without him knowing, has been his for four years.
Climbing out of bed, I go into his bathroom and quickly do my thing. I open the door and come face to chest with Isaac though where I’m naked he’s standing there in front of me in a pair of loose fitting sweatpants.
His hands come to my hips and I do my best not to flinch when he touches one of the deeper scars.
“These are one of the things we’ll be discussing, Amaya, so don’t think you’ll get out of talking about them. It’s happening,” he announces, and there goes my heart sinking straight to my stomach.
Closing my eyes, I nod my head. I can’t think of the disgust he’ll feel toward me once he finds out.
¡qué mierda de vida!
Isaac gives me a grand total of ten minutes to get coffee into my system before he started in on me with his demands.
“Time to talk, Sweetness. First things first, I need you to tell me about the scars on your back,” he mutters quietly.
How I wish Lincoln would wake up right about now?
Sighing, I lean back in the chair I’m sitting in and lift my feet up putting them on the seat. I wrap my arms around them and begin.
“When I was a kid, my mom would cheat on my dad. She would send me off on an errand or whatever while she did this. One day my dad came home early and found out about what was going on. He blamed me for not telling him. Said my mother wouldn’t stray if I were home. So this started the whippings. But they weren’t just the ones you get with a belt, no, I had switches as well. Sometimes he’d get one that had thorns on it. Other times he’d use his belt and not the side without the metal. The deepest scars come from the thorns and the piece on the belt that goes through the holes.
“My mom took this as her way of getting to do what she wanted. She didn’t care I would be punished for her actions. Guess you can say I became her whipping boy or in my case girl,” I say, taking a moment to close my eyes.
“Sweetness,” Isaac mutters but I shake my head. He wants to know so I’ll give it to him. Then he can make his decision on if he can handle all my scars.
“I don’t eat meat because my mom screwed up yet again, but since this had to do with the kitchen, my dad shoved raw hamburger into my mouth. I was forced to eat it since he covered my mouth with tape. This was my life until I turned eighteen. Emilia and I left home and got the apartment we lived in together. We’d made a promise to always be there for each other. She’d been my rock, the only person I could turn to for so long, I hate myself for not seeing the signs,” I murmur.
“You know Emilia as the wild child the one who loved to party. That’s who you fell for and I don’t blame you. I remember the day you two met because I’d wanted to go up to you, but of course, I’m the idiot who could barely string two words together, let alone speak to a guy.”
“Amaya.” I ignore his gentle tone and keep going.
“There were times I wanted to tell you of her actions, but I promised I wouldn’t because she was the only person I had at the time. Then when you broke it off with her, she’d been devastated and angry. Once she found out she was pregnant, Emilia seemed to change. As if she wanted to be a good mom. Then about a year after Lincoln was born, she started acting funny. I would go over there and she’d be barely clothed.
“The day I walked into the house and saw her screaming at Lincoln as she tried to drown him, I should have called the cops. I should have, but didn’t, because again of who she is. I’m pathetic. I don’t know. I’m supposed to be this smart cyber chick that can find anything, but I’d been blind to what Emilia was doing this entire time.”
This time when I stop to take a breath, I open my eyes and I open my mouth to start again but I don’t get the chance.
“Sweetness, you’re not an idiot and don’t ever say something like that again about yourself. You’re a beautiful person who sees the good in people rather than the bad,” he rasps.
Standing up, Isaac steps to me, bends and lifts me out of my seat, and then moves to sit back in his. He then shocks me further by placing a kiss to my temple. “Your dad’s a fuckin’ douche and if I ever see him, I’ll be sure to let him get a taste of his own medicine.”
Oh boy.
That isn’t the reaction I expected.
“As for Emilia, I never should have given her the time of day. What I should have done is not fucked around and came to the table you were standing at that night. If I had, I wouldn’t have missed out on time with you.”
Um, what?
“Missed out on time with me?” I murmur.
“Yeah, Sweetness, missed out on time with you. But I’d let my dick lead me and allowed Emilia to charm her way into my bed. Thought for a while I loved her, and I was pissed with myself because I’d see you at the apartment and my chest would tighten. I didn’t understand it then. Shit, until recently I can say I still didn’t understand it. Now I do. I’ve seen what my brothers have and with you I have it too,” he growls the last six words.
“If you hadn’t been with Emilia you wouldn’t have had Lincoln,” I mutter to point the little tidbit out.
“True and this past week having him here has been great. Love the kid. He’s mine through and through. And it’s because of you I get to have that,” he states.
“I didn’t do anything,” I say, shaking my head.
“Yeah, you did, Amaya. You brought him to me. You spent months trying to tell me and because of my own stupidity, I ignored your letters,” he murmurs, his hands coming up to clasp my head in his palms. “Sweetness, don’t you feel?”
“Feel what?” I whisper.
“This, what we have, the connection. My brother, Blaze, his ol’ lady says each soul has two sides and when those two halves meet, it’s as if your heart is being struck by lightning. It’s in this moment you should know you’ve met the other part of your soul. Sweetness, you’re mine.” Tears well in my eyes at his words.
“Tu eres mi alma. El que siempre he querido,” I murmur, knowing he won’t know what I’ve just said.
“Amaya, love it when you talk like that but I don’t know what the fuck you just said and I gotta know,” he growls.
“Pretty much I agreed with you,” I say shyly not wanting to repeat my words to him.
“Good, now we gotta talk about a few other things,” he announces.
At the same time, Whip comes in the room with a grim expression on his face and Lincoln who has a smile on his face.
“Brother,” Whip mutters as Lincoln passes by him
and comes straight to me. I reach out and take him and put him in my lap.
In the morning, he’s not a big talker but is always smiling.
“What’s going on?” Isaac asks with an alarming tone.
“Got a call from Brielle,” Whip states. “Someone just tried to snatch her and Lucy.”
Who are they?
“Fuck, they okay?” Isaac taps my leg, signaling for me to hop up.
“Yeah, they’re good. Ryder keeps someone on her at all times when she’s not with them,” he says, lifting a hand to run his fingers through his hair.
Moving back to my seat, I sit with Lincoln still in my arms and listen to the two of them talk. Evidently, Brielle is Whip’s sister and Lucy her daughter. Something in the back of my mind triggers and seems to go into full speed with thoughts racing through it.
They want to know who would try to take his sister and I’m willing to bet I know. And if I’m right it’s not good.
Chapter Seventeen
Venom
After listening to Amaya tell me about her childhood and what she endured as a kid, is fucked. I hate she had to go through it all. Then to hear my woman call herself stupid and all that bullshit made me want to go to Texas and kill every last fucker who made her feel this way.
Including Emilia.
Just as we start to move on to the next part of our conversation not only does my son wake up but Whip comes in the kitchen. I didn’t expect him to inform me about Brielle, his sister, nearly being taken. Something’s not adding up and it hasn’t been for a while. Standing from my seat, I pace the kitchen while Whip and I discuss it. We need to get to the club and tell Stoney.
“Isaac,” Amaya murmurs, calling my name.
“Yeah, Sweetness.” I refuse to ignore her whenever she needs to speak. I won’t have her feel invisible and inferior. Amaya has a voice and I want her to know she can say whatever the hell she wants.
“I need to get to my computer. I left it at the clubhouse with Nerd,” she says, placing Lincoln on his feet.
“You wanna tell me why?” I prompt.
Amaya shakes her head, “I would prefer to know I’m right about what I want to say before I go any further. I just need to get to my computer. The sooner the better.”
I nod my head in understanding. Right now, her mind is at work, I can see it and I respect it. “Go get dressed, we’ll head out in ten. Linc can have breakfast at the clubhouse,” I say, reaching out for my son. “I’ll get him dressed really quick.
Amaya sighs and heads off to the bedroom. I turn my focus to Whip as I press a hand to Lincoln’s head to brush my hand through his messy hair. Kid’s got thick hair like I do. “Think she might know something,” I mutter.
“She’s gotta,” Whip says, nodding in agreement.
“Let’s hurry and get to the clubhouse,” I state and look to Lincoln. “You want waffles at the clubhouse?”
“Affles,” he yells, perking up.
Kid and his waffles.
Grinning, I carry him into the room that has now been deemed his and get him dressed in a pair of jeans and a dinosaur long sleeve shirt. With it being cold, I grab the hoodie I’d gotten for him with the Devil’s Riot MC logo on it and throw it on over his shirt. Don’t need him getting sick.
I ask him to put his shoes on while I go get dressed and check on Amaya. In the bedroom, I find my woman looking nervous, standing there in a pair of jeans that are overshadowed by one of my Harley Davidson hoodies.
Fuckin’ beautiful.
“I . . . um . . . I didn’t have a clean sweatshirt to put on since I haven’t had a chance to do laundry. I hope you don’t mind,” she whispers.
I close the distance between the two of us and put my arms around her. “Sweetness, you can wear whatever shirt or hoodie you want to wear whenever. I like seeing you in them. Means a lot.”
“Thank you,” she utters mutely.
“You don’t have to thank me, Amaya,” I murmur, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “Finish getting ready and we’ll head out,” I tell her as I drop my arms and step back.
Time to find out what’s going on and if my woman can help, then I’ll stand guard to make sure she’s safe while doing what she does best. I’ve seen the stuff she can do. So have my brothers. We all thought Harlow, Vi, and Raven were all badass bitches, which they are on their own level. Whereas Amaya is on her own level. One that is just as dangerous if not more so with the way she can get through barriers which shouldn’t be penetrated.
Getting to the clubhouse, Lincoln immediately goes straight to where Luca, Sebastian, and James are, at the little kid’s table. Seems he’s grown attached to them. They’re all around the same age, the other three being a little older than him, my kid doesn’t seem to mind.
Glancing around the room, I nod to Rachel and Victoria who are sitting at a nearby table drinking coffee and talking quietly to themselves. “Do you mind watching him for just a bit?” I ask.
“Of course not, he’s fine. Go do what you need to,” Rachel says, waving her hand in a dismissive gesture.
Nodding, I head in the direction of Nerd’s room. I knew he and Cara were staying here last night due to the party and whatnot. On the way to his room, I spot Stoney coming out of the kitchen with his and Rachel’s youngest in one arm, while he held his coffee in the other. Corinne, their daughter, right next to him. I give him a chin lift and keep going with my arm wrapped around Amaya.
At Nerd’s door, I knock on it and wait for him to open it. He opens in his boxers looking pissed at the world. “What?” he mutters.
“Sorry, brother, not trying to interrupt.” I grin. “But Amaya needs her laptop,” I state.
“Hold on, I’ll get it,” he grumbles and leaves the door cracked. A minute later he’s back holding it out to him. “Anything you need me for right now?”
“No,” Amaya murmurs shyly.
“Go finish spending time with your ol’ lady,” I chuckle and turn Amaya back down the hall. “Can you do this in the main room while I get you some breakfast or do you need to go to my room?” I ask, wanting her to be focused.
“Main room is fine,” she says, nodding her head.
“Alright.” I guide her into the main room and to the table Whip is already seated at, with a few others who’d come out of their rooms. Soon as she’s seated, I kiss the top of her head and leave her. I check on Lincoln and make sure he’s good then head into the kitchen and get Amaya a plate of food I know she’ll eat as well as my own.
Carrying the two plates, I head back to the table. My eyes focused on Amaya, I watch her do her thing as her fingers fly across the keyboard and her gaze is locked on the screen. I put the plate down next to her laptop and without missing a beat, she reaches out, picks up a grape, and plucks it into her mouth.
I take my seat and talk with the others quietly while she works. Thirty minutes later, she lifts her gaze and looks at me.
“Um, you’re not going to like this and I . . . I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have missed this. I don’t know if you can forgive me,” she mutters, tears welling in her eyes.
“What is it?” I ask cautiously everyone in the room going quiet.
“Emilia, she’s the one behind everything. At the house, Whip said something about someone going after his sister and niece, I remembered something. Emilia had pictures hanging up in her room and I should have paid more attention. But I didn’t. Oh God. I could have stopped it,” she says, tears running down her face.
“Stopped what?” Whip demands, his voice even softer than my own. To him Amaya has become family.
“She’s the one the police are looking for in the murders of the men you used to work with,” Amaya announces. I’d told her about the two guys who were in my unit who were killed this past week when she heard Whip and I talking about it.
What?
How the fuck can she be? The woman is barely five and a half-feet tall. There’s no fuckin’ way she could do something like that.
Chapter Ei
ghteen
Amaya
I think I’m going to throw up.
How could I not have figured this out by now?
The signs were all there like a blinking light in front of me. She had a photo in her bedroom of Isaac and his unit from a cookout we all went to. I remember being the one to take a picture of them all. Next to Isaac had been Emilia and the other women were cuddled into their men as well. One of them had a beautiful little girl in his arms.
Emilia would make a big hype about how she would get Isaac back and the two of them would be happy. That they would be a family. I even wrote about it in the letters to him. About how she wanted him to come back and that she’d do whatever it took.
So why this?
Why kill men who were close to Isaac?
I didn’t want to believe it myself until I saw the security footage from the security feed of one of the bars one of the men was seen at. The footage is grainy in both systems, goes to show you how much they care about the safety of their customers. I’d been able to clear them both up marginally enough to see and recognize the tattoo on one of the women’s arms. In both bars she’s there and in both places she does try to flirt with the men. Her tattoo of Isaac’s name on her wrist with a strange design around it.
God, the signs have all been there this entire time. I should have seen them.
“¿Cómo podría ser tan estúpida?” I mutter under my breath as I close my eyes and lower my head in failure.
“Amaya, look at me,” Isaac commands.
Slowly, I open my eyes and do as he demanded. This day started out great and has turned into the worst. “I’m sorry,” I utter quietly.
“Why are you sorry, Amaya? You didn’t do anything wrong. Now, are you sure it’s her?” Isaac asks, his voice vehement yet as he looks at me it’s not with hatred or condemnation.
Taking a deep breath, I nod. “Sí, estoy seguro de que es ella.”
“Sweetness, you know I love it when you switch up like this but not right now. Need to understand you and I’m shit with Spanish,” he grumbles.
