“You’re still as fucking beautiful as you were when we were kids,” he said softly. He slid toward me and pulled me against him. I could feel his rather impressive erection pushing against me and I closed my eyes to enjoy the feel of his hard length. His hands skimmed over my shoulders and down my back, slowly trailing the curves of my body. Tears filled my eyes and I couldn’t hold back the sob that broke free.
He cupped my cheeks and forced me to look at him. “Why are you crying?”
“All this time, I’ve wanted you so much. I never stopped wanting you. I really didn’t think I would ever see you again. And now you’re holding me and I just know that everything’s going to be okay.”
He leaned into me and placed a soft kiss on my lips. I had thought Chris would be a demanding lover and maybe he was, but right now, he was nothing but sweet and gentle, and that was exactly what I needed from him.
He pushed me down on the bed and gently ran his large, rough hands over my body. Every touch made me shiver. I wanted to stop him, to remind him this couldn’t go anywhere yet, but he didn’t try for more. He just kissed me in the most random places, leaving wet trails all over my skin. I wanted to do the same to him, but every time I tried to move, he pushed me back down.
“I’ve missed the taste of your skin. When I was overseas, I was always trying to remember what you tasted like. It was the one thing that drove me crazy all these years, not remembering that.”
“I missed your breath against my neck. It was always so comforting to me.”
He moved himself behind me and wrapped his arm around my waist, pulling my ass against his erection. I groaned, not needing a reminder of what we couldn’t have. His breath tickled my ear as he kissed and licked the sensitive lobe and then down my neck.
“Is that what you needed?”
“Yes,” I said breathily.
“This is all I need right now. You in my arms, knowing that you’re safe and mine again.”
“I’ve always been yours,” I whispered.
“You always will be.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Chris
WHEN MY ALARM went off, I groaned in frustration. I just wanted to stay in bed wrapped around Ali. She was still sleeping peacefully next to me and it made me want to kick myself for every fucking morning that I woke up and she wasn’t there. All because I had left without so much as a second thought about her.
For the first time in seventeen years, I really looked at her and saw she wasn’t the same girl I once knew. She was an older version of the girl I once knew, but that was as far as it went. I could see the stress had worked its way into the lines on her face and silvery scars from what Slasher had done to her over the years were more obvious in the morning light. My battle scars were nothing compared to what she had lived through without me and I would make sure she never had to suffer like that again.
I gave her a kiss before pulling the covers up over her shoulders and climbing out of bed. If I was going to make things right for her, I needed to start by eliminating the threat that constantly hung over her head. I took a quick shower and dressed for the day. I had another hour before our meeting would start, but I was ready to get going now.
Cap was already downstairs looking at maps and talking over things with Becky and Rob. Looking at the security monitors, I saw that Hunter, Derek, and Lola were on watch outside. Ice and Jules were MIA, which meant they were probably still sleeping. I was curious where Lindsey was and wondered if she was in Ice’s room. It wouldn’t surprise me. As much as there was tension between the two of them, it was obvious he wanted to fuck her as much as strangle her. Though, hopefully he didn’t do both at the same time.
“Cap,” I said, walking into the room. “How’s Maggie this morning?”
“She’s asleep,” he said wearily. “Kate cleaned her up when we got here and she’s been keeping an eye on her.”
“Kate’s doing okay?”
“I think as long as she’s busy taking care of everyone else, she won’t be thinking about what happened. What about Alison?”
“I know she’s feeling guilty, but she’s doing fine. Axel…” I let out a little chuckle as I shook my head. “That kid is something else. He was sitting guard in her room last night. He wouldn’t even let Gabe in the room.”
“Definitely your kid.”
I nodded as I stared off in the distance. It was so weird that just a few weeks ago, I didn’t have anyone but the Sergeant and his wife for family and now I had my very own. I had missed out on so much time with them.
“Hey, stop that.” I shot Cap a questioning look. “You can’t change how things happened. Just be happy that you have them now.”
“I am. I just want this shit over so I can actually have a life with them.”
“On that note, I’ve been thinking about how to deal with this. We have Cash coming in with everyone he’s got.”
“It’s not enough to just take them out, Cap. I want this over, but I want those fuckers to suffer. I want them to know what it’s like to be hunted.”
He grinned and slapped me on the back. “Then we’re on the same page, but we have to be smart about this. Nothing leads back to us. I can get Sean to look the other way on a lot of stuff, but he’s not going to be a part of this. He can use his contacts in the department, but that won’t mean jack shit if we aren’t careful.”
“What do you have in mind?”
“Guerrilla warfare. We’re going to have to attack at the same time. I’m thinking we send OPS to the Night Kings while we go after the Blood Devils. If we do this right, we’ll make them each think they’re being attacked by the other gang. We set it up for them to take each other out and we take out any stragglers.”
“No,” I said angrily. “After all they did to Axel and Ali, I want them to pay. I want them to know that they’re being hunted and they have no way out. I want them so fucking scared that they’re pissing their pants when they see us coming.”
“There’s a greater risk of us getting caught that way.”
“Cap, we know how to do this right. We know how to stay concealed. Besides, Tennessee will be thanking us by the time we’re through with them.”
Cap sighed and thought for a minute. I could tell that he didn’t want to do things my way, but I could tell that he wanted blood just as much as I did. “I’m with you on that, but I won’t ask anyone else to risk their lives. This isn’t just a job. This would mean jail time if we’re caught. I can’t ask everyone to take that risk.”
“I get it, but this is the way it has to be for me.”
He held out his hand and I took it, shaking it firmly. “Then let’s get this shit done.”
“I get Slasher. That’s non negotiable,” I said fiercely.
“Just keep your head in the game. Slasher’s not a total dumb fuck. He has a power over you that could tilt things in his favor.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“Your woman and your kid.”
I shook my head. “He still thinks the kid is his.”
“And it’s best it stays that way. If he finds out that Axel isn’t his, you know he’ll take him out just to fuck with you. We’ll keep them safe, but you know how shit happens in war.”
“I want in.” I turned to see Axel standing just a few feet behind us. “I want to be the one to take out Slasher. I deserve to after all he’s done to my mom and me.”
“Axel, I know you have a bone to pick with him, but I’ve been dealing with this asshole since I was seventeen. He killed my brother-”
“You dealt with him for a few years. I’ve lived with him my whole fucking life,” Axel shouted. “I’ve been his punching bag and I’ve watched him beat my mom within an inch of her life and that’s after I heard her screaming while he was raping her. There was nothing I could do about it then, but I can kill him now. I can make him pay for everything he ever did to us.”
I hated that he had seen and heard all that over the years. No kid should hav
e to grow up that way. But I wasn’t about to let him become anything like Slasher. “That’s not going to be the way this ends. I won’t have you starting your new life by taking his. That’s not what I want for you.”
“Chris, no offense, you may be my dad, but this has been my life for the past sixteen years and you’re not going to step in now and tell me how to live it. Knowing you for just a few days has given me an idea of the kind of man I want to be and that starts with me taking out the man that has tortured me my whole life. You don’t get to take that away from me.”
I could see I was getting nowhere with him, so I conceded. “If, if, the opportunity presents itself, I won’t stop you. But I’m not bringing you along on this. You’re not trained and I’m not risking your life so you can get revenge.”
“But you’ll risk yours when we just got you back?”
I looked to Cap for help, but he just shrugged. “I’ve been trained to kill fuckers like this. I have a whole team to back me up. I’m not going anywhere.”
He snorted and crossed his arms over his chest. “Is that what you told Mom before you got her pregnant?”
He turned and walked out of the room before I could say anything else. I tried not to let his words get to me, but he was partially right. I had promised Ali the world and then walked away. He had every right to be pissed at me for the way he grew up.
“Let it go, Chris. He’s pissed. Just give him a chance to cool off.”
“I’m so fucking lost. I don’t know how the hell to start being a parent when my kid is almost an adult. I missed out on so much.”
“Just do your best, man. Look on the bright side. At least he’s not a girl.”
My eyes widened as I thought of the possibility of having a teenage daughter. He was right. That was even more terrifying.
✯✯✯✯✯
“Cash, thanks for coming.” Cap shook Cash’s hand like they had been life long friends instead of men that met through Sinner.
“We couldn’t let you have all the fun. The boys were getting bored out in Cali. Too many heiresses needing a hot bodyguard. It gets old fast.”
Cap smiled and led him into the room. I had yet to meet all the men of OPS and I was impressed with what I saw. I could see why Sinner had chosen to go there a few years back.
“Alright, let’s make introductions and then get to the planning. I want to take out these shitbags and get back to my life.”
Pretty much all of Reed Security was in agreement on that one. Not that we really had homes to go home to. All of our homes would need extensive repairs after we’d been attacked. Cap introduced all of us and then nodded to Cash.
“I’m Cash Owens, owner of Owens Protection and Security. We’re not quite as big as you right now. We only have three teams. Team one is Jerrod Lockhart, Ed Markinson, Brock Patton, and Scottie Thacker.” He pointed them all out and they nodded in acknowledgement. Then he pointed to another group of men.
“Team two is Marcus Slater, Mick Jeffries, and Tate Parsons. Team three is Bradford Kavanaugh, Eli Brant, and Red Warren.”
“Here’s the deal. The Blood Devils and the Night Kings have declared war on us. They attacked our homes and they tortured our women. Now, this all started with Chris’s woman and we’ve talked about how we want to deal with them.” Cap looked around the room at the men and women that were standing with us. “No mercy. By the time we’re through with them, there won’t be a single one of them still standing. What we’re going to do isn’t legal and it could land us in jail if we’re caught. If you don’t want any part of this, you can walk away. Some of you have families to think about and you won’t be thought less of for wanting to protect them. OPS can go back home and the gangs will never know that you were tied to this if something goes wrong. If you’re with Reed Security, you can stay here and be on protection detail while we’re gone. The choice is yours.”
I looked around the room and saw that no one was backing down. No one even looked hesitant.
“After what they did to Vanessa, you can bet your ass I want in,” Cazzo growled.
“They didn’t get Claire or Lucy, but they fucked up my house,” Derek said. “No one gets away with that.”
One by one, everyone from Reed Security put in their two cents on the matter.
“They shot my dog,” Jackson glowered. “I’m in.”
“My pillows are destroyed,” Chance sneered. “You can bet I want to fuck them up.”
The room went silent as everyone stared at Chance.
“What?” He looked around the room at the raised eyebrows and confused faces. “That bed cost me $3000. It was the most comfortable room in the house, and the pillows were $200 a piece. They were hypoallergenic.”
Still, everyone just stared at him. He rolled his eyes. “Hey, I don’t have a family or a fucking dog, but I do have creature comforts and it pisses me off that someone destroyed that.”
There was no arguing with that. The man had a point.
“I need a team to stay behind to guard the women and children.” Cap looked around the room for volunteers, but everyone wanted in on the action. “I was thinking Lola could-”
“No.” Lola had always been outspoken and fierce, but there was a command in her voice right now that even Cap didn’t question. I had no fucking clue what was going on between the two of them or her and her team for that matter, but whatever it was, Cap wasn’t challenging her.
“How many people are we talking?” Cash asked.
“We have eight women and three children,” I spoke up.
Cash shook his head. “That’s too many for one team. I’d say we should leave behind two teams to be on the safe side.”
“Cap, we’ll take over Alison’s security detail,” Alec stepped forward. “We don’t have as much in this as everyone else. Not that I don’t want a piece of them,” he muttered.
“I appreciate it,” Cap nodded.
Cash turned to his group of men and jerked his chin at one of them, who nodded in return. “Team two will stay behind. Do you have a preference which teams go to which states?”
“I’m going after the Blood Devils,” I said firmly.
“Your team will go to Tennessee with Cash, but the rest of us are going after the Night Kings,” Cap confirmed. “They fucked up Maggie.”
“Alright. When do we leave?” Cash asked.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Alison
“WHAT CAN YOU tell me about the Blood Devils?” Chris asked. All his friends were hanging around in the living room and I felt a little bit on display. It was very uncomfortable.
“Um, what do you want to know?”
“We need anything you can give us. Different gang members and where they live. Where they meet up. What they deal in. Anything that will give us a leg up.”
I saw Gabe looking at me and I could tell that he was assessing me, still trying to decide if I was a traitor or not.
“Okay,” I said, shifting my eyes from his gaze. “I can write out a list of gang members and where they live. I don’t know all of it and I don’t have addresses, but I can give you directions to the best of my knowledge.”
“What about meet up locations?”
“I wasn’t really privy to that information.”
I heard a scoff, but so did Chris. His head whipped around and he glared at Gabe. “You got a problem, man?”
“I can’t believe you trust her,” Gabe leered at me. “She’s been with them for over sixteen years.”
“Gabe, that enough,” Chance interjected.
“No. I’ve kept my mouth shut about all this, but someone has to be the voice of reason. She needs to give us something big that will prove that she’s on our side. Otherwise, how can we be sure that she’s not playing us?”
“What exactly do you think I did? Run away from the gang and draw them to Chris? For what purpose? Chris hasn’t been a part of my life in years. What could they possibly want with him?”
“I don’t know, but we’ve bee
n fucked over before. I don’t think it’s wrong to want proof first,” Gabe said.
“I agree.” I looked over to see a woman step forward. “I don’t think that you’re a traitor, but I’ve been on the wrong side of someone betraying us. I think it would make us all feel better if you could give us something.”
“Lola,” Chris said angrily.
“No, Chris. This affects all of us. We all want to be certain that no one here is going to screw us over.”
“I don’t understand. You already know that I didn’t give up the safe house and someone is always around me. When could I have even contacted anyone?”
Chris moved in front of me protectively and crossed his arms over his chest. “This is absolute bullshit. I’ve stood by all of you when you needed help and I never fucking questioned a thing. Since when is my word not good enough?”
“It’s not that I don’t trust your judgement,” Gabe said, “but you haven’t seen her in seventeen years. Do you really think that nothing else is going on here?”
“What could she be up to?” Chris questioned. “I haven’t had contact with the Blood Devils since I was a fucking kid. The only reason they came after us was because she ran to us to get away from them. They only want her and my kid. Whatever you’re imagining is going on, it’s all in your fucking head. Now, if you don’t want to help me take these fuckers out, then walk away right now. If you don’t trust her, that’s the same as saying you don’t trust me. So decide. Who’s fucking side are you on?” he growled.
Gabe shook his head and walked out of the room. Chris glared at him the whole way and I just stared at Chris’s back. I felt awful that Chris was having to deal with all this unrest because of me. I hated that his teammates didn’t trust me. I didn’t realize that I was crying until Chris turned around and cupped my cheeks in his large hands.
Whiskey: A Reed Security Romance (Reed Security Series Book 7) Page 16
