Cara sits down next to me and smiles, amusement all over her expression. “He doesn’t have anything to hide, so it’s okay.”
I make a face of disgust. “You don’t get it. That’s my bro. And now I will never be the same. I just came here to share some news with you. Nate let me in, then bailed, and now I know why.”
“What’s the news?” she asks, snuggling back into Rhett. He makes her so happy, and vice versa; I soften, letting go of the scene I just witnessed.
“I’m moving in with Felix,” I blurt out, watching for their reactions.
“We know. Your mom told us,” Cara admits, sharing a look with Rhett. “Sorry she stole your thunder.”
“Are you sure it’s not too soon?” Rhett asks, frowning.
“I don’t think so. I’m hopeful,” I say, glancing between the two of them. “Can you believe it? Me? Clover Black? The girl who blew off almost every guy who has ever asked her out, is moving in . . . with a cop.”
“He may be a cop, but he’s now the Wind Dragons golden child after taking that bullet for you,” Rhett says, running his fingers up and down Cara’s arm. “Everyone is talking about it. Tell Nate to watch out, they’re probably going to crown Felix the next president,” he teases, then laughs at his own joke.
“Don’t even say that,” I groan, scrubbing my hand down my face. “Although Nate would deserve it.”
If Nate doesn’t want to become president, my brother most likely would be the next one they would consider. Nothing is set in stone though, it depends on who wants to move up the ranks and who has the skills to lead. The president must be someone who is easily respected and someone no one wants to cross. Like Uncle Arrow? He’s the last person I want to piss off, after my dad of course.
“Who knows, maybe I’ll take over one day,” Rhett adds, shrugging.
“You definitely have the loyalty for it,” I tell him, smiling. If he wanted to be in the running, I know he would be a contender. He seems the most serious about the prospect, with Asher overseas traveling the world and Nate being so young and immature. “I’m sorry I interrupted you guys. If Nate had said you were in there, Rhett, I would have gone home and sent a damn text.”
“It’s all right,” Rhett murmurs, avoiding eye contact.
Cara and I share a look and then burst into laughter.
Rhett sighs and stands. “Guess I’ll make you both some breakfast then.”
“Bacon pancakes, please!” I call out as he heads into the kitchen. I glance around the house. “Man, you guys are having sex in Uncle Rake’s house? You have some balls.”
“I knew no one was here,” she assures me. “Mom and Dad left this morning and won’t be home until later. Nate must have used the spare key to let himself in,” she grumbles, covering her face with her hands. “Do you think he heard? Oh shit, I’ve scarred him for life. He said he was going to drop by to do some gaming with Rhett, but that wasn’t meant to be for another two hours.”
“Uh, he heard.” I laugh. When I see the mortification on her face, I try to make her feel better. “It’s not like he hasn’t had sex,” I say, remembering the conversation I had with him. “Don’t stress. He shouldn’t be lurking around the house. Probably trying to see if Uncle Rake has some alcohol.”
“We need our own place,” she announces. “Rhett normally lives at the clubhouse, but I can’t go there and spend the night, that’s so awkward! It’s like living in a house with all your overprotective uncles and their knowing you’re having sex every night. It’s my own version of hell.”
“You really do.”
“I can’t believe you’re moving in with Felix. I’m so happy for you, Clover. You have no idea.”
“I’m happy too,” I tell her, moving to sit with my legs folded under me.
“At least we’re both taken at the same time. It makes things easier, doesn’t it?”
I nod. “It really does, not that you wouldn’t be a priority even if you weren’t with someone. Bros before hos.”
She holds out her fist, and I bump it. “Always.”
Rhett sticks his head in. “Did you just call me a ho?”
Charmaine and Amelia come to visit me at my apartment to say good-bye. After everything that happened, Charmaine has decided to move away. They have family out east, so they’re going there for a fresh start.
Amelia jumps into my arms and gives me the tightest hug. “I’m going to miss you.”
“I’m going to miss you too,” I tell her, hugging her back. “But you know what? You’re going to be so happy in your new house, with your family and friends, that soon you won’t even remember me.”
“You saved me,” she says, cupping my cheeks. “I won’t forget you.”
Her words hit me in my stomach, because they are the reason I walked through those academy doors that day. I wanted to give something back after having been given so much in life, and even though I never got to stick it out, I did save this little girl, and if that was the reason everything happened, then so be it. I’ll take that. Charmaine is stepping away from her past to give her daughter a safe life away from drugs and bad influences.
“I won’t forget you either, Amelia,” I promise her, putting her back down on the floor. “You know where I am if you ever need me.”
“Thank you for everything,” Charmaine says, tears welling in her eyes. “If you hadn’t come across me in the mall that day, I don’t know where I’d be right now.”
“You should be proud of yourself,” I tell her, touching her shoulder.
It’s easy to judge other people’s situations, especially when you’ve never been close to being in them. But Charmaine really turned hers around from when I first found her, and I know how hard that must have been for her.
We say our final good-byes, and I wish them all the best.
After moving all my stuff into Felix’s . . . I mean our house, with help from Dad, Rhett, and Felix, I rearrange the place, giving it a woman’s touch, making it feel more homey.
“Everything you own is black,” Felix points out. “Or red.”
“I know,” I tell him. “But doesn’t it look so good? Black is just classic, and the place looks awesome.”
“It looks ten times better after you revamped it,” he agrees, wrapping his arms around me from behind. “I can’t believe we’re actually living together.”
“Me either,” I reply, spinning around to face him and threading my fingers around his neck. “And my dad actually approved and helped me move in, instead of killing you and hiding your body.”
“Always a positive,” he says in a dry tone, lip twitching. “A cop got a blessing from a biker, who would have thought?”
It’s been a whirlwind of a year. I made some terrible choices, didn’t think a lot of things through, but everything led me to this moment, and so I can’t really complain. They say everything happens for a reason, and if you asked me before this, I would have told you that that was utter bullshit, that you make your own fate. I still think that you do; life is more than just old-fashioned luck, but sometimes mistakes are a blessing in disguise.
“Not me.” I tilt my head to the side with a smirk. “I thought I was going to have to go on a date with this Luke guy everyone keeps trying to set me up with.”
“Do I need to take this Luke guy out?” he teases, dipping me backward and kissing me.
I lift my leg up, just like in the movies.
“No one is a threat to you, Felix. You stepped into the dragon’s lair, willingly, and came out alive. You got the approval of an entire motorcycle club, proving your loyalty by saving my life, and I think you made them realize that I don’t always make reckless decisions.” I pause, and add, “Just sometimes.”
“I like you just as you are, Clover. Wild, reckless, intelligent, and a little bit dark,” he says against my lips, then lifts me up and carries me to our bedroom, kissing me hungrily, tasting all of me and wanting more.
I love this man.
And I’m right abou
t this one—I’d bet my life on it.
He’s had my back as my partner, and now as my boyfriend.
I never thought I’d find someone I could trust outside of the MC world, but the truth is, I don’t think I really let anyone who isn’t a Wind Dragon in until now.
Felix managed to burrow his way into my ice-cold heart.
And now he’s here to stay.
EIGHTEEN
“YOU’RE back,” I say, running toward Uncle Vinnie and giving him a big hug, jumping into his arms. “I’ve missed you. And you’ve missed so much!”
“Sin has been keeping me up-to-date, don’t you worry,” he grumbles, putting me back down on the floor. “I have a shitload of photos for you from every country I visited, as you requested.”
“Perfect.” I beam. “Maybe I should take this time to travel, since I’m unemployed with nothing else going on.”
“Still dramatic, I see, Clover,” he replies, plopping down on my parents’ couch and getting comfortable. “I bet you already have a new plan of action, so tell me what it is.”
I sit down next to him, feeling amused. Uncle Vinnie is among the youngest of the WDMC men from my dad’s generation, and I’ve always been close to him for as long as I can remember. When he went away on an extended vacation it felt weird not having him around.
“I have an idea,” I tell him, excitement filling me. “I was thinking maybe I could start up some sort of charity to help women and kids get back on their feet after leaving bad situations like domestic violence and drugs,” I say, inspired by Amelia. “I have money I could use for the start-up, and I wouldn’t be making any money, but I’d be giving back to the community and helping people less fortunate than me.”
“That’s amazing, Clo,” he says with pride in his eyes.
“But I was also thinking of hitting Mom up and asking her if I can get involved with the FBI, like she is. The Black name was used against me when I tried to do things the normal way, so now I might as well use it, milk it for all it’s worth and use the connections that come with it. Mom manages to balance two worlds, so why can’t I, right?”
That’s actually why I dropped by Mom’s today, to speak to her about all of this, but instead of them being home Uncle Vinnie is here.
“If that’s what you want to do, you should definitely talk to her about it,” he says to me, shaking his head. “You should have just done that from the start.”
But then I wouldn’t have met Felix.
“Probably, but I never do things the easy way, as Mom always says,” I grumble, then start to ask him about his travels and Aunt Shayla, catching each other up on our lives.
“So when do I get to meet Felix?” he asks, and he sounds genuine about it, not like he’s dreading it, which is really nice to hear.
“He’s back at work today for the first time after being shot, otherwise he would have come with me,” I explain. “But soon hopefully. Maybe we should organize a big meet-up so you can see everyone all together. We’ve all missed you. It hasn’t been the same without our uncle Vinnie.”
His eyes soften in front of me. “You know I love you, right?”
I nod. “I do.”
“Good,” he says, pulling me in for a quick hug. “Tell your parents I dropped by to see them. I literally just got back a few hours ago, Shayla went straight to sleep, jet lag is killing her, but I thought I’d come see them quickly before I join her.”
“That’s dedication,” I tease. “I’ll tell them, don’t worry.”
He heads home, and I wait for Mom to get back, eager to talk to her about my new idea. If anyone can make something happen, it’s her. When they aren’t home after an hour, I fall asleep on the couch watching Grease 2.
Safe, warm, and happy.
But when I wake up, it’s to something heavy on my face, my nose blocked, and my legs held down. I fight as hard as I can, but everything soon turns black.
Forcing my eyes open, a soft groan escapes my lips at the pain in my head. I try to move to rub the back of my head, but my arms won’t move. I shake my head, trying to get rid of the grogginess and work out where the hell I am. I’m sitting on a chair, my arms cable-tied behind my back, in some sort of warehouse.
Fuck.
Wriggling my wrists, I test out how tight the ties are. My mom actually showed me a technique on how to break through these by leaning forward and using the pressure, but I need to wait for the right moment.
Glancing around the unfamiliar, dark, empty room, I have to wonder who has the balls to break into my parents’ house and kidnap me. It doesn’t make any sense. Niall was arrested by Aunt Johanna, and I can’t think of anyone else who would have a reason to want me.
I do know one thing, whoever chloroformed me is going to pay.
My parents’ house has surveillance cameras, and it’s only a matter of time until they have figured out that I’m missing. And Felix. When he gets home and I’m not there, he is also going to wonder where I am. When I see who walks into the room, surprise, anger, and betrayal fill me. Officer fucking Jones.
“Clover Black,” he murmurs, smug look in his beady eyes. “Didn’t think you’d be getting away so easily did you? I didn’t train you, put up with you, and let a criminal into my academy so you could just quit before doing what you were meant to do. You’re going to infiltrate the Cursed Ravens. You might have already brought down Reaper, but you fucked it up by not bringing the MC down with him, so now you’re going to have to finish the job. And if you don’t? You’re going to die, because you’re of no other use to me.”
So Reaper was just a tool to bring down the Cursed Ravens? Does he not care that we got the drug dealer off the streets? I don’t know how involved Reaper was with the MC, or if he was at all, but I doubt we’re going to find out now.
“You’re calling me a criminal? Pretty sure it’s you who has me tied up against my will,” I grit through clenched teeth. “It’s you who gives cops a bad name—dirty, power-hungry men like you. Let me go, and maybe, just maybe, I won’t kill you.”
He’s clearly pissed that I quit before he could get what he wanted out of me. Instead of me putting up with him and his demands to keep my job, I stepped away. I guess he’s a little bitter now and thought he could intimidate me, pull me right from a Wind Dragons household—which is a very bold move—and then manipulate me into doing what he wanted from the start. I don’t know if he sees nothing wrong with this, or if he just doesn’t care.
He barks out a deep, evil laugh. “You aren’t in a position to negotiate, I’m afraid.”
“So how is this going to play out then?” I ask him, still trying to get my hands free without making too much movement. “What do you want from me?”
“I want you to do as I requested. I want Gage Parker’s head on a platter. I want the Cursed Ravens all in prison. And I want you to make that happen. I haven’t been able to get anyone undercover with them, they are too tight-knit and don’t trust anyone. Erin trusts you, and I’m going to use that. The deal I’m offering you is I’ll let you live if you bring me Gage, and then I’ll let you go. You will be free.”
“You won’t kill me,” I state, knowing that even he’s not that stupid. “You’d be looking over your shoulder for the rest of your life, and being a cop won’t help you. My family has done time behind bars before, and I have no doubt they wouldn’t mind doing some more to avenge me. You’re old and ugly, yes, but you’re not stupid. If you wanted me dead, you’d have killed me by now.”
Not to mention Felix: he wouldn’t rest until he found out what happened to me.
Jones’s thin lips tighten. “You don’t know what I’m capable of. You wasted my time. And made me look stupid to my superiors, who didn’t want to allow this plan in the first place. Cops are cops for life; you don’t get to just walk away like that. No one does. And I brought you in, so you know what? If I want to take you out, I will.”
Great, I’m his loose end.
Now what?
Think,
Clover, think.
“So what? I say I’ll help you and you just let me go? Give me my badge back and wait until I infiltrate the Cursed Ravens?” I ask, wanting him to keep talking, the ties almost free.
He laughs again, and it seriously pisses me off. “No, it doesn’t work like that. You’re going to have to make it all happen as a criminal biker, not a cop. You’re going to be my criminal informant.”
He’s like a bratty child having a tantrum because things didn’t go his way. He also obviously hasn’t thought this plan out very well. What’s to stop me from saying yes then changing my mind? He might have been able to get to me once, but I can assure you that that won’t happen a second time.
I have two options right now.
I agree to help him and he lets me go, and then I make him pay for what he’s done today.
Or, I make him pay right now.
I go with the latter.
NINETEEN
AS soon as he has his back to me, I lean forward and pull hard in a quick motion. I break free from the cable ties, but I don’t just jump up and give that fact away. I remain seated and try to look worried. I want him to feel like he’s winning before I teach him a lesson.
You don’t fuck with the WDMC, or anyone in it.
And you especially don’t fuck with me.
I don’t know how powerful he thinks he is, but he probably should have brought backup with him if he wanted to intimidate me.
I must really suck at letting Jones think he has the upper hand because he pulls out his gun and turns the safety off, pointing it right at me. One slight movement and I’ll be dead.
Again, I think this is a bluff, but I’m not going to call him on that. He clearly has a few screws loose, and now wouldn’t be the time to push him.
“Are you in, or are you out?” he asks me, insinuating that out means death.
“Well, you aren’t giving me much of a choice, are you?” I grumble, staying deathly still.
“Joseph Banks would be rolling in his grave if he knew his son was dating a biker bitch,” he scoffs, shaking his head in disgust. “You’ve somehow got him blinded. What a waste.”
Fallen Princess Page 16
