by K E Osborn
Ishikawa smiles. “And they have made a lovely addition to our collection. Now, you better run along before the Italians shoot you.”
“You better shut your mouth, before I shoot you,” I tell him as I signal my men to pick their weapons up. I don’t miss the Andrettis gripping their weapons tighter. We don’t trust them, they don’t trust us. They might have come through for us in this moment, but it doesn’t make us square—not by a long shot.
I glance to Trax who’s also looking around wondering what the hell is going on. I know he’s the biggest of Andretti haters, and knowing they helped us out of this bind would be eating at him right now.
“Go on, off you go.” Enzo makes a ‘shoo’ motion with his hands, and I glance behind me to the empty shipping container.
Ishikawa chuckles. “The look on your face when you saw it was empty. Priceless.”
I turn back looking to my brothers and gesture for them to start to head off back down the tracks. We didn’t get our guns, and we’re potentially walking away from two enemies right now, both of who could shoot us in the back. That’s a big gamble. But I put faith in Enzo to show up, and he did. Now, I have to trust he’ll do the right thing here too.
My brothers all turn and start to walk off hoping like fuck they’re not going to get shot in the back as we step away. My adrenaline’s spiking through the roof as we head down the train tracks knowing at any second either side could open fire on us. I don’t want to look back to check if they’re watching us, or if they’re aiming their weapons at us because that would make me appear weak. I can’t do that, especially not in front of my brothers.
So with my stomach churning, I walk at a fast pace with my men beside me, and we march back to the flea market. None of us saying anything as we round the corner far enough away now, so I think we’re in the clear. I let out the breath I was holding as we head for our bikes.
I look to Chains and shake my head. “Fuck.”
He clenches his jaw and rubs the back of his neck. “Holy shit.”
Ace and Trax come to our sides both looking as pissed as I feel.
“Well, that was a shitshow. And fuck, Torque, bringing Enzo in… you could have fucking warned us,” Trax grunts obviously pissed because Enzo was there helping us.
“I had no idea Ishikawa was Yakuza. All I know is Torque… this is bad. Real fucking bad,” Ace huffs as I glance over to Sensei who’s sitting on his bike ready to leave but avoiding any conversation or eye contact. Which is strange for him. He’s always the first to offer advice or counsel. I’ll deal with his issues later. We need to get back to the club and fill Surge in on what’s happening.
***
Banging the gavel on the table, church is called. Everyone’s here as it’s serious business that needs tending to. “Okay, most of you know what the hell happened on the run to retrieve our guns. For those of you who missed it. We ran into some… trouble.”
Surge looks at me and raises a brow. “What kind of trouble?”
“We met the new kids on the block. The conglomerate trying to take over everything. Seems it’s the motherfucking Japanese Yakuza. The Ishikawa Syndicate. They’ve come here to take our city, and then the rest of America, so they say.”
Surge sits up taller in his chair and shakes his head. “Obama put sanctions on the Yakuza in America?”
Ace nods. “He did, on a couple of the families that were operating in the States, so that’s why they’ve sent a new Yakuza family. One operating under the table. They’re basically starting again, right under everyone’s noses. If no one knows the name Ishikawa, then they can’t place sanctions on them. That’s why whenever we tried to run the names of the conglomerate buying shit up, it was always hidden. “They’re trying to remain anonymous. If no one knows who the hell they are, they can’t be run out of America like the previous Yakuza families.”
“With Obama gone, who knows if there’ll be other sanctions on these fuckers,” I add.
“Exactly, we’re in the dark,” Ace exhales. “We might have to play this one ourselves.”
Rolling my shoulders, I grit my teeth. “As much as I hate this, and it’s eating me up inside to even say the words, the only thing I can think of… is to dance with the devil. He came to our aid when I put out the call. We have to work with fuckin’ Enzo.”
General unease filters through the room, and I glance to Surge who nods and places his hand on the table. “Way I see it, we have no other option. He’s the lesser of our two evils right now. And better to side with one to take out the biggest than to have Enzo turn and side with Ishikawa and they both bring us down.”
Everyone nods, and I let out a loud huff. “So we’re all in agreement? Tomorrow we talk to Enzo about bringing down the Ishikawa Yakuza?”
A resounding ‘aye’ filters through the room, and I bang my gavel hard on the table. “Done. Tomorrow we find a way to fix this mess. Tonight we process. Rest. Take the night for yourselves. Do whatever you wanna do. Tomorrow we ride for Enzo. Disperse,” I call out, and everyone stands up, and I glance to Trax who stays seated.
I swivel my chair to face him as everyone leaves the chapel, excluding him and me.
With a breath, he looks at me and cracks his knuckles. “Brother… you’re my president. I respect you. I know you have the club’s best interests at heart. But dealing with Enzo. I mean that fucker does my head in. Are you sure this is the right path?”
Leaning forward, I place my arms on the table and look at him. “You have a better option?”
He chuckles. “My option would be to go in and fuck everyone up. Get the grenade launcher, and just say hello to my little friend. If you know what I mean?” He smirks, and I shake my head.
“The thing is, Trax, not everything can be solved with violence. Take for instance… if we went into Andrettis and attacked after we got shot up, we’d be at war with them now, and it wasn’t even them who shot us up. See where I’m coming from? Sometimes your shoot-first method doesn’t work.”
He grins. “It’s way more fun, though.”
I shake my head. “This is why you’re VP and not the President, little brother.”
He chuckles and cracks his neck to the side. “Imagine if Dad were here now. Seeing you side with Enzo. Fuck! He’d be rolling over in his grave.”
I wince, that’s a low blow. “Trax… there a point to this?”
He sits back in his chair and sighs. “I’m just saying… you need to watch your back with Enzo. Don’t trust him for a second. He’ll turn on you the second he gets a better offer.”
Nodding, I look him in the eyes. “Thank you, brother.”
“Don’t thank me yet. We’re knee deep in shit, and I don’t see a way out.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence.”
He chuckles standing up. “Anytime. Right, I need a beer and some pussy. Not necessarily in that order.”
Snorting out a laugh, I stand up and walk with him out to the clubroom to see the festivities starting to begin. The mood in the room is cheery despite the events of tonight. I told the guys to chill and they will. I intend to do the same. So I smack Trax on the back and walk away from him in the direction of Surge, who’s sitting with Mom. As I walk up, they’re both laughing, and I move in resting my hand on Surge’s bad shoulder. He looks up to me, and I waggle my brows at him. “Should you be drinking with the pain meds you’re taking?”
He chuckles and tilts his head. “Since when did you become the father in this relationship?”
Rolling my eyes, I purse my lips making him laugh. “I’m going to Heeley’s. Call me if anything happens or if you need me.”
He nods and smiles wide. “Glad she’s back on board. Have a good night, son.”
“Oh, I plan, too.”
“Oh… Lordy, Lordy, Lord, too much information,” Mom calls out making me laugh as I walk out toward my bike.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
TORQUE
Pulling up my ride out the front of Heeley’s apar
tment, a sense of adrenaline rushes through me. Being here again excites me. I honestly didn’t know if we’d get back to this place, but fuck if I’m glad we have. Throwing my leg off my ride, I don’t hesitate to walk toward her door. But before I reach it, I haven’t even had time to pull off my helmet, and the door swings open.
She’s standing in the doorway.
The light shining behind her is lighting her up like a motherfucking angel as she stands there in her robe, the one with the drawstring I used to tie her up.
I smile wide while yanking off my helmet and step right up to her quickly placing my helmet to the grassy patch by her front door. Heeley giggles as I race forward and sweep her up into my arms. She laughs as I rush forward slamming the door shut with my foot, and press my lips to hers, hard. Her legs instinctively wrap around my waist as I walk and then press her back against the wall kissing her passionately, so I don’t have time to think about what’s under that robe. Her hands slide around my neck gripping onto me tightly, and it’s like it is the first time we’ve seen each other in a decade.
She begins to chuckle against my lips, and it’s enough to make me pull back and look at her breaking the kiss.
Raising my brow, I smirk. “Something funny, foxy?”
She shakes her head biting her bottom lip timidly and sighs. “It’s just, with you, I can’t seem to control myself.”
I move in and nip at her neck making her squirm against me. “I don’t see that as a bad thing.”
She giggles again, and I grind my semi-hard cock into her pussy which is pressed against the seam of my pants. “Well, it is when we need to talk before we go to the bedroom.”
Raising my head, I raise my brow. “Bedroom first, then talking,” I grunt, and she unwraps her legs from around me, sliding down my body with a smile.
“No, talking first, like adults… then bedroom.” She pushes on my shoulder, making me take a step back as she walks past me pulling her robe around her more as she walks to the loveseat.
I clear my throat while rearranging my cock in my pants and crack my neck to the side. “I do believe I gave you pretty clear instructions when I left you at the store, foxy.”
She raises her brow and smirks. “Right, the whole ‘be naked when you get here’ thing?”
I look at her robe and raise my brow stalking toward her. “Yes, I do believe you’re breaking my rule.”
She lets out an all too fake gasp as she begins to untie her robe, and I can’t help but look at the drawstring as her fingers loop through it. “Oh, no, whatever will I do about that?” she mocks in an all too innocent voice as I step closer, watching her every move as she unthreads her robe and then slides one side open to reveal her naked breast.
I pull in a sharp inhale as my cock hardens even further.
“Good girl.” I tilt my head gesturing for her to take the rest off, and she obliges peeling off the robe, leaving her beautiful, flushed, perfect body sitting cross-legged on the loveseat for me.
“I obeyed your rule, Torque. Now you obey mine.”
I cock my head. “Ahhh… what rule?”
“We talk first.”
I let out a stifled laugh and rearrange my cock again as I keep my eyes on her perfect pussy. “You expect me to talk to you while you sit there fuckin’ naked?”
“Mm-hmm…” Her tone high pitched as she curls a strand of hair around her fingers. It makes my cock ache so bad, but if I’m going to do this fucking relationship thing, I guess I have to try this whole give-and-take scenario she has going on. All I know is once we’ve finished talking, I’m going to fuck her like she fucking deserves.
“Fine.” Sitting down next to her I purposely look straight ahead. But the foxy devil throws her legs over mine, her silky smooth bare legs drape right over my cock. I shake my head as I look down at her smirking face, and I chuckle knowing this is her version of payback for me demanding she be naked when I get here. I’m going to have my hands full with her. The problem is, the idea of her fighting me at every turn excites the hell out of me. I’m so screwed.
“So, babe. How did you go finding out who the Ishikawa are?” she asks seeming genuinely interested.
Taking a deep breath, I look at her perfect tits then up to her eyes. For this conversation to take place, another one has to first.
This is going to get real serious fast.
I reach out grabbing her hand, and her bright smile falls, obviously knowing our little back and forth is over and the real talking is going to begin.
She swallows hard, and I let out a long sigh.
“Okay… I need you to make a choice. If you’re with me, I mean really with me in this as in you’re my girl, I need to know now there’s no backing out. I wanna put a claim on you, Heeley. I want you to be my Old Lady. That means wearing my property patch. Belonging to me. Being part of the club. If you’re mine, you’ll be the head of the women in the club. They will respect you, and you’ll lead them. It’s a lot to take on, but I know if anyone can do it, Heeley… you can. But I’m not gonna stake a claim on you if you don’t want it.”
A slow smile creeps up on her face, and her body relaxes against mine. “I’m sorry for taking time away from you. I think seeing all your brothers with bullet holes, and the chaos that ensued… it threw me. My life’s always been simple, but on the other hand, I’ve always sought something more…” she pauses looking me in the eyes, “… and with you, I can have more. Sure, it’s going to be dangerous. I’m going to have to cover my tracks with my job, and I know I’m going to have to look over my shoulder. But the thing is, with that, I know without a doubt you’ll be there to back me up. You’ll be by my side to help me through anything I need.”
I nod. “Always and without question.”
She grins and tightens her hand in mine. “Then, yes, Torque… claim me.”
My chest fills with pride as I rush forward and press my lips to hers strongly. Her hands thrust up into my hair as my free hand moves to her tit, and I give it a tight squeeze making her moan into my mouth. Her tongue collides with mine, and fuck do I want to take this further, but her promise of talking has gotten into my head, and I know our chat isn’t finished, and we have a long night ahead of us.
Fucking can wait.
I pull back from her, pinching her nipple as she smirks at me, and I bite her bottom lip and shake my head. “Fuckin’ hell, Heeley. You know how to make a man happy.”
She runs her hand up and down my arm and smiles. “You make me happy, Rylan. But I want you to know something…” I glance at her and raise my brow in curiosity as she continues, “… it’s more than okay for you to still love Zoey.”
My shoulders slump, and I glance into her eyes, they’re calm and completely serious. “Heeley—”
“No, listen… I know with a little more time, your heart is big enough to love us both. I don’t need you to stop loving her to love me. I don’t want you to stop loving her, Ry. Not at all, okay? She was far too important to you, and that’s not what I’m about. There’s room for both of us in your heart.”
My stomach swarms with warmth, and I take a breath before I can find the strength to talk. “There’s absolutely room for you both. I’m already making plans in my head for us, Heeley. I wanna settle down with you. Have kids. I wanna do the family thing. I know it comes with its own set of dangers, but I’ll always take care of you. You might not like the fact you’ll occasionally have a tail on you. Or that you’ll sometimes be on lockdown. But it’ll always be in the best interest of you and your family… our family.”
She smiles at me and nods. “I know I’ll be a brat about it sometimes, and we’ll fight. We’ll argue about Zane following me—”
I laugh tilting my head. “You’ve noticed him, have you?”
She raises her brow. “Kinda. He’s not as stealthy as he thinks he is. But my point is that it will be like a normal couple just arguing over slightly less normal stuff. I know we can do this, Torque. If we work together.”
&nbs
p; My chest swells, and I lean in pecking her lips once more before I get back to the task at hand. “So, before I can answer your question about the Ishikawa, I need you to answer something for me.”
She nods and looks in my eyes.
“Remember the two choices I told you about? When you’re an Old Lady, you either know it all, or you opt to know nothing…” She hesitates but nods. “You have to make that choice now, Heeley.”
She takes a deep breath but looks directly into my eyes. I see no hesitation, no fear, no concern as she answers, “Tell me everything.”
I have to admit, I’m surprised by her answer. I was sure she would go the other way. “Are you sure? This will make you liable in everything we do.”
She sits closer to me and nods. “I understand. But Rylan, I want to be with you, and I want to know everything that’s happening with you. How am I supposed to support and guide you through things if I have no idea what’s going on? I understand the risks, and I’m willing to take them… for you… for the club.”
Her last two words are the real kicker.
She mentioned she would do it for the club, not just for me.
Holy fuck!
She is a real Old Lady.
How the hell did I get so fucking lucky?
Shaking my head, I smile so wide I feel like I might actually burst.
“Fuck, woman, you can’t talk like that and expect me not to wanna fuck you right here, right now.” I lean over her, and she places her hands on my chest stopping me, and I groan as she chuckles pushing me back in place.
“Soon, Ry. Soon. Keep your cock in check. Ishikawa… I’m dying over here. Tell your Old Lady what happened.”
My lip turns up in a sly smile. “I like that, my Old Lady.”
She snaps her fingers in front of my face with a beaming smile. “Focus, Torque.” She laughs.
“Right.” I slide my hand between her thighs, and up, so it sits right at the edge of her pussy making her shift slightly. “We went to retrieve our guns which were taken. Ace’s tracker was still pinging, and we had the location. We knew Enzo didn’t have the guns, but we wanted to see who did. Anyway, when we got there, it was just a shipping container with no fuckers guarding it. That should have been our first fuckin’ clue something was up.”
