by RB Hilliard
Christ, she had him tied in fucking knots. As he shrugged out of his cut and stripped off his boots, he couldn’t help but think of all the times he’d teased his brothers. How he’d heckled the shit out of them for being pussy whipped, and how crazy he thought they were for taking it. Now he understood.
“Ooh, are we getting naked?” Her face split into a goofy grin.
Laughter bubbled in his throat, and he couldn’t help but kiss her. Pulling back slightly, he said, “You’re drunk, and I have to take a piss.”
He started for the bathroom, and she called after him, “Just admit it, Biker Man, you love me, too.” Smiling, he thought, if this is love, then I’m pretty damn okay with it.
While in the bathroom, he took a minute to brush his teeth. He also grabbed a condom. At the last second, he decided to lose his shirt. Smiling like a man who was about to get laid, he opened the door and pulled up short.
“What do you think?” she asked.
Standing before him wearing nothing but his cut and a sexy smile was his fucking wet dream.
“I think it looks better on me than it does on you.” Her body swayed precariously as she attempted to model it for him. There was no doubt in his mind that it looked better on her.
Chapter Nineteen
STEELE REACHED LUCIANA in two long strides and pulled her into his arms. His hands slid under his cut, and she sucked in a surprised breath as he cupped her ass. Feminine fingers grasped his shoulders as he lifted her off the ground, her long legs curling around his waist. Whiskey-colored eyes gazed down at him, the look of love in their depths staggering, as he captured her mouth with his. He thought about taking her back to bed, but then she started grinding her hot pussy against his stomach, and he lost all reason. In three quick steps, he had her back pressed to the wall. Their breaths came in fast pants as he tore down his jeans and rolled on the condom. Her mouth found his and she swallowed his groan as he drove inside her body, pushing it all the way to the hilt. Muscular legs tightened at his waist, her back arching to meet him, and he gave it to her with powerful, driving strokes. It didn’t take long for the sweet heat of release to start pooling in the base of his spine. He was getting close. Pulling her in tight, he ground their bodies together in short, fast thrusts. Luciana broke the kiss on a gasp. Her head dropped back to her shoulders, her mouth opened, and the sexiest sound he’d ever heard spilled from her gorgeous lips. His orgasm slammed into him, and he nearly dropped to his knees.
“Holy cow,” she panted.
Laughing, he carried her over to the bed. “Be back in a sec,” he told her and hustled to the bathroom to get rid of the condom.
He’d barely settled into bed beside her, when she said, “I’ve never had this before.”
Her quiet tone bothered him, and he wished he hadn’t turned out the lights, because he really wanted to see her face. Pulling her close, he pressed his lips to the side of her head. “Had what?”
“A family.” His heart gave a painful squeeze. “I barely remember my mom. She was an only child, and both of her parents were gone by the time I was born. Dad’s dad died when I was two, and his mom passed when I was seven. His brother was in the military, so we only saw him a few times a year. When I was a kid, I loved going to my friends’ houses. I loved being around their families because they always seemed so full of life. That’s how it is here. It feels like one big family.”
Steele had to laugh. There he was, wishing he could escape it all, and here she was, wanting to embrace it. The irony wasn’t lost on him.
“What’s so funny?” she asked.
“You wanted a big family, and I didn’t.”
“Then why’d you join?”
“Because it was expected of me; and I didn’t want to disappoint my dad.”
“What did you want to do?”
“Run my own garage. Get married and have kids. Anything but this.” He’d never told anyone this, and probably shouldn’t be telling her now.
“I get it,” she sleepily murmured.
“Get what?”
“Why you wanted to be Just Arlan.”
His hand found hers, and he gave it a squeeze. “And I get why you like it here. It’s not that I don’t, it’s just—”
“Shhh, you don’t have to explain. Tell me about this place. Has it always been a motorcycle club?”
Glad for the change of subject, he gave her a brief rundown on the club’s history. “As you know, it’s called The Cave because of the bat caves surrounding the area. The original house was built in the early 1900s, but back then, it was a small wooden farmhouse. When it burned to the ground, a much larger home took its place. Through the years, as the family grew, so did the house. The old place served as a speakeasy in the roaring ’20s and later a brothel and hotel. My Great Uncle Benjamin inherited the property in the ’50s, and along with his VP, Devon Raider, they established the club. My dad became president in the ’80s.” He waited for her to respond, but all he got was a quiet snore. She’d fallen asleep.
Early the next morning, Steele woke to someone banging on his door.
“Go away!” Luciana shouted, yanking the covers over her head. Rolling sideways, he gave her covered head a kiss and laughed when she grumbled at him. Someone’s cranky.
At the second knock, he called out, “Give me a minute,” and quickly pulled on his jeans.
Jake and Loco greeted him at the door. He took one look at their exhausted faces and knew what they were going to say. “Are you serious, you didn’t get him?”
Jake scowled. “You act as if we didn’t just spend two whole nights looking for him. The motherfucker has vanished. If you don’t like it, then go look yourself.”
Steele bristled at Jake’s sharp tone and was seconds away from laying into his ass, when Loco came to the rescue. “We’re both tired. It was a long night. Any news from Carver?”
Shit, he’d forgotten to show the photo to Luciana. He gave a quick recap of his conversation with Carver, ending with the information about the missing undercover cop.
“Shit,” Jake exhaled. “We do not need to be in the middle of a drug war right now.”
Steele didn’t disagree. He also didn’t respond. He was sick and tired of Jake’s bullshit. He told them to grab some sleep and that he would call if he heard any news.
He returned to his room and took a quick shower. He then left a still sleeping Luciana still sleeping and strolled down the hallway to check in on Grover and Buck. They’d managed to capture two still shots of the guy but still couldn’t tell dick about him. After strongly encouraging them to speed shit up, he headed upstairs for his meeting with the girls. The conversation was quick and concise; they could either apologize to Luciana and be welcomed back into the fold or not. They both chose to stay.
With that done, he grabbed a plate of food from the kitchen and headed back downstairs to Luciana, who was out of the shower and in a much better mood.
Over breakfast, he mentioned his meeting with Treena and Zoe.
“I still don’t understand why Shelly has to leave. You act as if she was selling club secrets or something. She was upset about her friend, surely, you can see that?”
He tried to think of how to explain it to her to where it made sense. “The girls are here for a reason—a mutually beneficial reason, which is established the moment they step foot inside the house. There are rules they have to follow. Shelly broke two of those yesterday. If I let it slide, then I’ll have to let other shit slide. Do you see where I’m going with this?”
“Yes, but I still don’t agree.”
He frowned. “Can we agree to disagree about it?”
“Yes, but on one condition.”
His eyes narrowed, and she smiled. “I’m afraid to ask.”
“I want to do something to honor Hannah. I was thinking of asking her friends to help.”
Not at all surprised by this, he said, “I’m sure everyone would like that. As long as it stays inside, I have no problem with it.” The
y discussed it some more while she finished eating.
As soon as she was done, he pulled out his phone and scrolled to the picture. “I want you to take a look at something for me.” Handing it over, he asked, “Do you recognize this guy?”
She glanced at the screen, and her eyes immediately widened in recognition. “That’s the guy! I recognize the cross tattoo on his neck. Who is he? How did you find him?”
He wasn’t ready to fill her in just yet, so he said, “My brother found him. We’re still trying to figure out who he is and how he fits into the puzzle.”
“Well, that’s definitely the guy. Do you know if he’s alive or not?” The hopeful look on her face made his stomach twist.
“Sorry, babe.” Her shoulders slumped, and he pulled her in for a kiss. “I’ve got to get some work done. Do you want to hang out here or walk upstairs with me?”
Luciana opted to go upstairs with him. He left her in the kitchen with the girls, and on his way to his office, he nearly ran into Loco’s Ol’ lady coming out of Jake’s office.
“Hey, Mary, if you’re looking for Loco, he said he was going upstairs to crash.”
“Oh, uh, thanks. I just checked with Jake and he told me.” She asked how much longer he thought they would be in lockdown, and he told her he wasn’t sure.
He’d barely settled behind his desk when Carver called.
“Yo,” he answered, “I was just about to call you. I showed Luciana the picture, and she recognized the cross tattoo on the guy’s neck. She said it’s the same guy Gamble took out.”
“I’ll do you one better,” Carver replied. “Guess who just got fished out of Lake Travis?”
“Gamble?” Steele asked.
“Nope, Dario Peña.”
_______________
Later that afternoon, LuLu was sitting at the kitchen table discussing decorating ideas with Glenda and Mary, when Montana, Treena, and Zoe walked in.
Glenda stopped talking mid-sentence in order to give the three girls a scathing glare. “I heard what happened, and as far as I’m concerned, you can walk your asses right on out of this kitchen.” Montana’s eyes grew five sizes bigger, and she looked as if she were about to burst into tears. LuLu felt sorry for the poor girl. After all, she was only trying to help.
Treena gave Glenda a wary look before addressing LuLu. “Can we talk?”
LuLu hadn’t paid much attention to Treena—probably because she’d been trying to avoid Hannah at all costs. Her shoulder-length hair was purplish-red in color. She had a round face and big, brown eyes that were framed by mile-long lashes. Her pointy lips were lined with black and filled in with red. Even though her makeup was overdone, it was done well. She was shorter than LuLu, but not as short as Montana and had several tattoos and piercings. Like all the girls, she dressed in what LuLu called “biker-girl” gear. Today she was wearing ripped jeans and a Harley Davidson pullover.
“Have a seat,” LuLu said. The three girls stared at her as if she’d just sprouted six heads. “Come on, I won’t bite.” Glenda started to stand, and LuLu stopped her. “Please, stay.” Glenda seemed put out, but at least she didn’t leave. As the girls took a seat at the table, she noted that everyone looked extremely uncomfortable. Did they not even sit together?
Treena broke the silence. “I, uh, just wanted to say I’m sorry for what happened. Hannah was one of my best friends, and it’s just been really hard. I’m not making excuses for what we did. We wanted someone to blame. Zoe didn’t really know Hannah; she just went along with Shelly and me.” Her gaze drifted to Montana. “You were right to say something. I didn’t think it would get so out of hand. Anyway, I just wanted to say I’m sorry.”
LuLu didn’t know how to respond. Normally, she would accept the girl’s apology and move on, but there was nothing normal about this. She felt caught between two worlds, one she knew how to navigate and one she didn’t. The Ol’ ladies, except for Reyn and Sage, despised the club girls, and from what she could tell, the girls felt the same about the Ol’ ladies. One party wouldn’t change it, but at least it was a start.
Chapter Twenty
“I APPRECIATE THE apology, Treena. Believe it or not, I know how hard it is to lose someone you care about. I too, would like to apologize. I’m deeply sorry for what happened to Hannah. We had our differences, but I never wished her any harm.”
“You didn’t know,” Montana cut in.
“You’re right, I didn’t, but that doesn’t change the fact that I brought this mess to the club and that an innocent woman died because of it. We can’t go back, but we can go forward. That brings me to what I wanted to discuss. I would like to do something for Hannah. I know we’re on lockdown and have limited freedom, but what if we did something different. What if instead of mourning her death, we celebrate her life? We could have a remembrance party.” No one responded, and Luciana grew nervous. “I know it’s not what you wanted, but I think we could make it special. We’ll have to keep it indoors, which isn’t ideal, but it’s doable. We could serve up her favorite foods and, I don’t know, whatever you think she would have liked. So, what do you think?” Treena burst into tears, and LuLu’s stomach dropped. She couldn’t tell if she liked the idea or not. Glenda and Mary certainly weren’t helping matters with their stony silence. “You know what? Forget I mentioned it.”
“No! It’s a wonderful idea!” Treena exclaimed through her tears. “Hannah loved parties.”
“Really?” What a relief. For a minute there, she thought Treena was going to tell her she hated the idea. “What did Hannah enjoy doing most? I was thinking we could incorporate it into the party. Glenda snorted, and LuLu’s face flushed when she realized how that must have sounded. “I wasn’t referring to that. I meant activities or—” She could tell by their expressions that she was only making it worse. “Hobbies,” she lamely finished. Zoe coughed, and the entire table busted into laughter.
“What’s so funny?” Lucy asked upon entering the room.
“Nothing,” LuLu quickly replied, which brought on more laughter.
It took a minute before anyone could speak without laughing. Reyn, Sage, and Aimee wandered in to see what all the noise was about, and LuLu filled them in. She was surprised when they jumped at the idea.
“I’ll help with food,” Reyn offered.
“Same,” Glenda chimed in.
Sage’s hand shot into the air. “I can do decorations.”
“I’ll help you,” Aimee told her.
“What are we doing for entertainment?” Lucy asked, and the room once again erupted into laughter.
They finally decided on a good ‘ol southern cookout for the food and karaoke for the entertainment. They were still divvying up who was responsible for what when Arlan and Jake strolled in. LuLu hadn’t gotten a good read on Jake, probably because he hadn’t spoken more than three words to her, but she got the impression that he wasn’t well-liked.
Arlan dropped a kiss on her mouth. “How’s the party planning going?”
“We’re having karaoke. I hear you’re an amazing singer,” she teased. His bark of laughter silenced the room.
“Sorry to burst your bubble, babe, but I don’t sing.”
“Ever?” she asked.
His gray eyes lit with humor. “Never.”
“I don’t know, that kind of sounds like a challenge to me.” He got that I’m-going-to-spank-your-ass look in his eye, and she wanted to jump him right there.
“Oh, that’s definitely challenge material,” Lucy replied.
“I’m willing to take bets,” Jake said.
“No singing, no bets, and that’s final,” Arlan clipped. “Now, are you good, here, because I’m gonna be covered up for a while?”
She stiffened at his brisk tone. “Is everything okay?”
“It’s fine.” Ax stepped in from outside, and Arlan announced, “Meeting in five. Put the word out for me.”
“On it,” Ax replied, his gaze wandering to Sage, and LuLu couldn’t help but wonder
what was up with those two. She made a mental note to ask Sage about it later.
_______________
Steele had been reeling ever since Carver broke the news about Dario. With the undercover agent and Dario both dead, his worry for Luciana’s safety was quickly escalating. Gamble had tried to get to Luciana once. It was only a matter of time before he tried again. Steele said as much to Carver and had been shut down. Carver told him he was looking into it and to stand down until he had some answers, but Steele knew in his gut that he needed to act now or risk losing his woman. It was time to call a meeting.
Once everyone was seated, he dove right in. He filled them in on his initial conversation with Carver and followed it with the discovery of the missing agent. He then told them how Luciana had positively confirmed that the dead guy and the missing agent were one and the same.
“Shit, she saw a cop shoot another cop. That’s fucked,” Ink said.
“That’s not all,” Steele told them. “Dario Peña was fished out of Lake Travis this morning with his head nearly sawed off.”
Jake threw up his hands. “I fucking knew this was going to happen!”
“He’s cleaning house,” Buck said.
Steele stared around the table at each of his brothers, hoping they would back him, but resolved if they didn’t. “I’m going after him. I’ll try to reason with him first, but if that doesn’t work, I’m taking him out.”
“I’m going with you,” Buck said.
“Fuck, yeah,” Ax agreed.
“Count me in,” Taz and Loco both said in unison.
Everyone but Jake supported his play. Steele didn’t say a word about it, but he knew that once this was over, Jake was out.
“What’s the plan?” Taz’s question broke through his thoughts, and he started to respond. Then he thought, fuck no.
He stared at Jake, who was acting as if nothing was wrong. “If you’re not willing to show your support, then why the hell are you still here?”
Jake’s face twisted in anger. “What? I can’t have my own opinions about shit? Is that what it’s come down to? This is a cop we’re talking about, not some random Joe on the street.”
