Angel Unseen: An Unseen MC Novel

by J Bree

  The trembling gets worse and a sob bursts out of my throat, no matter how hard I try to swallow it. His arms turn to stone around me, crushing me to him as I dissolve into sobs, tears sliding down his chest as I just break the fuck down.

  I’m waiting for him to get angry and leave, just walk out and forget about the stripper that was hot enough but too much fucking work. I mean, he’s gotten the notch in his belt from fucking me already. What else is he around for?

  “Angel, sweetness, please stop crying. I can’t fucking take it, I’m gonna fucking kill every man you’ve ever fucking met if you don’t stop soon, baby.”

  I can’t stop.

  It’s like the dam has broken and now all of the tears I refused to cry when I ran away are flooding out of me. I try to pull away but he doesn’t let me, just pulls me into his body even tighter so we’re as close as two people can get. Fuck, it’s as if he wants to absorb me completely until we’re one person.

  My dad used to say my mom was the other half of his soul and being together was as close as a man came to feeling whole again.

  I don’t know why that popped into my head.

  Fuck.

  I can’t handle him holding me like this on the off chance this doesn’t work out because when he knows everything he’s going to hate me. I need him to stop right the hell now. “I’m fine. I just—I need a second. Let me go clean up.”

  “Angel, you’re shaking too fucking much to get up. Just go the fuck back to sleep and we can sort it out tomorrow.”

  I settle down a little but his words come back to me.

  You’re mine.

  Maybe I am his, maybe I can trust him and when I tell him everything he’ll be… okay. He’ll still want me.

  When my phone pings and wakes me a few hours later, I wriggle away from him to see who the hell would be messaging me.

  Your truck is done! Tell Tomi to let you out from your tower for the night and come get her.

  I let out a sigh and text her back, a smile on my face.

  “Should I be fucking jealous over who’s making you light up like that or what?” Tomi grumbles and when I glance down at him, he’s frowning and scratching at the shadow of a beard that’s starting up on his face.

  “My Chevy is fixed. I can grab her on the way to work tonight, Poe’s going to bring me the keys.”

  He huffs and sits up, his back popping and crunching. I wince, it’s my fault he’s gotta be feeling sore. It must be guilt because I say to him, “It was my dad’s truck. It means a lot to me.”

  He tenses up a little but doesn’t make any other reaction. “Oh yeah? It’s a beauty, ’69?”

  I nod and pull my knees up to my chest. “Yup. It was his baby, I got it in his will. He died of cancer when I was nine.”

  He nods and stands up, holding out a hand to help me up. I take it and let him pull me up, pulling me into his chest. He’s only got a pair of boxers on, all of his tattooed skin on display and I kind of feel like he’s teasing me with his nakedness.

  “Listen, Rue is staying home to keep an eye on things while we’re gone. He’ll be splitting time between the hospital and The Boulevard. Axe will be there for all of your shifts too, so you go to either of them if anything is up. Anything at all, Angel. Promise me.”

  I nod and when he swoops down to kiss me I push up on my tiptoes to meet the kiss. Jesus, the first time he’s doing something and I’ll be late to work if we do anything more than just this kiss.

  He groans into the kiss and pulls away from me, grabbing a box from his desk and handing it over to me.

  “What’s this?” I say but the box is clearly holding an iPhone.

  “I need to be able to get hold of you while I’m gone. Keep it charged and on you.” He pulls away from me properly and grabs up the bedding from the floor and throws it all back on the bed.

  “I can’t afford this kind of phone, I can get a cheaper one,” I mumble and walk into the bathroom for a shower.

  He walks in behind me. “I added you to my plan, take it. We’re talking about where the fuck all your money is going when I get back Angel, no excuses.”

  I shrug and fuss with the hem of my shirt before I lift it over my head. I’m a stripper for fuck’s sake and yet here I am, blushing like a fucking virgin because his eyes drag over every inch of skin on show as I stand there in nothing but a pair of skimpy panties.

  He grabs my hips and drags me in close to his body, his eyes focussed entirely on my nipples. “When I get back we’re talking about it, Angel. We’re talking about the money, your ex, who the fuck beat you, and where the hell you’re living. Non-negotiable. I’m going to your new place and I’m setting up security there, I’m sleeping in your fucking bed, and we’re going to figure this shit out.”

  I tilt my head up to meet his lips when he leans down to kiss me. He’s gentler this time, still commanding and brutal but the sharp edge is missing. Like maybe this time he’s not trying to punish me, only possess me.

  My legs are shaking before he straightens up. He reaches up and cups my cheek, stroking a thumb across my skin and staring at me like he’s trying to memorize every detail of my face before he goes.

  It makes my heart thump in my chest in fear.

  Where is he going that he thinks he might not make it home?

  “You’re coming back, right?” I croak, my voice all gravelly from his kiss.

  He smirks at me and rubs a thumb over my bottom lip. “Course I am, sweetness. Can’t get rid of me that easy.”

  I smile at him and then, on instinct alone because I have no real clue on how the fuck to flirt with him, I suck his thumb into my mouth and watch as his pupils blow out wide, swallowing the brilliant blue of his irises. He groans and shoves me back into the tiled wall, one hand grabbing at my face to keep my mouth locked around his thumb and the other sliding down to cup my pussy through my panties.

  “We don’t have time to finish this tonight, sweetness, but when I get home I’m gonna give you something to swallow. Fuck, this pussy is everything a man could ever want and it’s mine, you hear me? If you’ve been lying to me about having an old man you better lose him before I get back. When I’m home, we’re making this shit official.”

  I can’t speak around his thumb so I nod slowly. I’ve never felt this way about a man before, I’d never had the chance, and maybe he hasn’t been the kindest or the sweetest choice but he’s the only one I’ve ever wanted.

  Maybe I could be happy with him.

  I get through my shower and getting ready for work at the clubhouse. Tomi waits until I’ve made it down to Pops’ safely to grab the Chevy before he rides out with the others, the roar of the motorcycles loud on the quiet streets of Coldstone.

  Pops hands over the keys and talks me through what Poe has fixed up and what else I might need to watch out for.

  “You bring her here from now on, you hear? We take care of family.”

  I swallow roughly and smile at him. “I really appreciate everything you and Poe have done for me. Really, it means a lot.”

  He waves me off, dropping the hood back down with that respectful sort of care a man has when he’s dealing with a classic like this. “I saw you comin’ out of the compound. You get rid of that man of yours and found a biker?”

  I startle and clutch at my bag a little tighter. “Oh— uh, yeah. I’m seeing Tomi. It’s much… uh… better. Thanks.”

  I don’t want to lie to him, especially when he’s showing such a kind interest in my wellbeing, but I also don’t want to explain what the hell is going on.

  “Tomi’s a good man. Hawk and Keely raised good kids, Rue’s a good one too. Watches out for Posey, keeps her safe. You’re in good hands, Keely wouldn’t stand for any of ‘em raising a hand at a woman.”

  I wring my hands a little and he huffs out a breath at me again. “Off you go, you’re a busy girl. Drive carefully, call if you need anything.”

  I make it to my shift and spend the night with Axe, following his every dire
ction and studying quietly in Tomi’s office between dances. I finally feel as though I’m getting enough sleep and food, and it’s much easier to focus on my classwork between dances than it ever was at the library.

  After my last dance I take a shower like I always do and when I get out Axe walks me to my truck, waiting there in the parking lot until I’m out and on the road.

  I drive out to the next town over to get a hotel for the night.

  Even with my truck back I want to get a little more classwork done before I pass out and… I mean, it’s my birthday.

  I want to spend the day quietly doing nothing but relaxing and sleeping.

  I might go find cake to eat by myself.

  I check in and park up, getting my bag inside but when I go back out to the truck for my laptop I find Rue leaning against the door.

  I freeze.

  “Well, well. This doesn’t look like a new apartment, Angel.”

  Fuck. “Why are you following me?”

  He gives me a dark look. “Tomi wants to know you’re getting home safe. He’s about ready to throw down over you, Angel, and this? This is going to tip him over the edge.”

  I pull my jacket around myself tighter. “So you’re going to tell him I slept here? Can you give me a couple of days to sort my life out first?”

  He groans and lights up a cigarette. “I don’t get mixed up in his ‘struck shit, Angel. That’s something for a man to figure out by himself, y’know?”

  Struck?

  I don’t have time to figure out what the fuck that even means. I’m so close to being out of this life and in a new one.

  My chest aches at the thought of Tomi finding out and being pissed at me though.

  “Look, there was a delay in getting into my new place and so I lied to Tomi about it being ready because I know he’s heading out on a run. I didn’t want to mess with club business. I’ll be in a place next week. I have three nights left of sleeping in a hotel, it’s not that hard. I’m safe here and it’s really none of your business.”

  He looks at me, his face completely unreadable, and then he pulls out his phone.

  Fuck.

  “I’m taking Angel back to the club. I’ll give her the keys to your room… she’s had a problem with her new place, she needs to stay for another couple of nights. She called Poe while I was there, I sorted it out. I’ll call you if she disappears.”

  I swallow as he hangs up, shifting around until he’s fussing with his keys and handing one over to me. “Consider this a favor. I’ll lie about tonight and you’ll stay at the clubhouse without kicking up a fuss because if you do, I’ll drag you there and call Tomi without thinking twice.”

  I look at the key for a second before I reach out and take it. “I don’t want to stay there without him. I don’t like… how many people are there.”

  Rue shrugs. “I’ll take you around the back way, there’s a courtyard between me and Tomi’s rooms. Grab food on the way home and you don’t ever have to come through the front.”

  Uhh what? Now I’m pissed. The amount of times I’ve been groped or stared at or had people just get too close to me.

  What an asshole. “Well, why the hell has Tomi been walking me through the bar if we could go around the back?”

  Rue shakes his head at me, rolling his shoulders back and slinging his helmet back on his head. “The two of you need to get your heads outta your asses because this shit is getting on my damn nerves. Grab your shit, we’re leaving.”

  I have no choice but to do as he says.

  I’m pissed about losing the money for the night but Rue doesn’t leave any room for argument, just stands around until I grab all of my stuff back out and dump it all in my truck.

  I head straight to the compound, too anxious now to eat, and when I park up Rue grabs my bag and laptop out for me. He grunts a little under the weight of the bag and I try not to get twitchy about him touching it.

  Just so long as he doesn’t look inside.

  He walks me around the back and through a tiny, walled courtyard. He taps his boot at me until I huff and get the door unlocked and opened. I grab my stuff off of him and he waits for me to get it all inside before saying, “Lock up. Both doors, don’t open it for anyone but me. I’ll come get you for work tomorrow. If you need anything, call me.”

  He’s too freaking scary to try to be stern or assertive with, so instead I keep my eyes on his shoes and say, “I’d really like to know why I couldn’t be using this door the whole time. Walking through the bar isn’t fun for me.”

  Rue grunts and rubs his face. “Angel, for fuck’s sake. He walks you through so every brother in this club knows he has claim over you. No one is going to touch you and, better than that, if they see your boyfriend smacking you around on the street they’ll fill him full of lead and bring you home to Tomi. That’s why. He wants you fucking safe and someday soon you’ll need to start trusting him a little. I get that he was a dick but he’s trying. Either try along with him or cut him the fuck out. Plenty of other clubs you can dance at that won’t be messing with his head.”

  I fumble over my words. “I don’t have a boyfriend.”

  He huffs at me. “Nah, you have an old man now. A Callaghan who will own your shit so keep your ass in line and start trusting us to have your back.”

  He turns away and only manages a step before he glances back at me. He’s a little scarier than Tomi, harder and grumpier than his cousin, but he obviously cares about him enough to protect me… keep an eye out for me the same as he does Poe.

  “The day you wore his jacket in here they knew. They all knew what that meant so you just sleep easy and keep both the doors locked. Pretty thing like you, too fucking tempting to idiot men and I don’t need a war breaking out over Tomi skinning these men. Hell, he wouldn’t get the chance to, I’d have them dead before he made it home.”

  I don’t get the chance to say anything back to him.

  I sleep in Tomi’s bed, my head buried in his pillow and his blankets wrapped around me so tight I can barely breathe.

  Chapter Twenty Six

  Tomi

  We get the news as we ride out for the run that Speck has finally woken up.

  Keely tells me they expect him to stay in intensive care for a full week, rehab after that because there’s shit going on with his lungs.

  It’s like a weight has been lifted from my shoulders but also the rage in my gut has been stoked, knowing the kid who has always been like a brother to me is fighting for his life in there while the rats who’ve played a part are walking around in my clubhouse, drinking beer and having a good fucking time.

  Makes a man ready to fucking throw down for his blood.

  I tell her we’ll be home in a few days, which she already knows but I need to remind her to keep herself safe and secure while we’re gone. She’s used to Hawk and I fussing over her, Rue too but in his own grumpy ass way. I send him one last text about keeping an eye on everyone before we leave.

  We ride through town to meet up at the rendezvous point Jameson picked out. He called Axe for their weekly football and beers call, and gave him the code so we knew where to find the container. There’s a lotta country dirt roads that barely get used out this way and the Unseen know every last one of them.

  We pick up the cargo without a hitch.

  Hellion drives the truck with Hawk out in front and Cole and I flanking it. King takes up the rear, all of us carrying enough firepower to light any fucker dumb enough to try and mess with us the fuck up.

  That should all be a sign of a quick and easy night but I know there’s no chance that this is going to be a routine drop.

  There's something wrong in the air.

  Call it intuition, call it the Callaghan curse, I can feel it sliding across my skin like oil, coating the back of my throat until I feel as though I might choke.

  It’s only made worse by the fact that Rue isn’t here too, because I may trust every member of my blood and brotherhood who’s riding here wit
h me tonight but none of them know me like Rue. None of them can form a plan with me without so much as a word between us, barely a fucking look shared between us, and sometimes that is the difference between life and death.

  I have someone to come home to now.

  I have a woman who needs some fucking help. I might not know exactly how I can help her but I know deep in my fucking gut that she needs something only I can give her.

  The roads are quiet as we weave through the town and it only makes the unease in my gut grow.

  We get to the state lines and find Thorn waiting there to see us through safely. We’ve only had to use him once to run interference but it was fucking handy to have and the day that Thorn leaves the force and patches in, Coldstone PD ain't gonna know what's hit it. He raises one finger from the steering wheel in a salute and I nod my head as we pass through, the rest of the roads clear as we move.

  We’re on the road for a solid ten hours, only stopping for gas and food.

  We sleep at a shitty motel on the side of the highway. I’m convinced I’ll be walking outta here with fleas and Hellion refuses to get out of the truck. He just puts the seats back as far as they’ll go and passes out half sitting up. I’m jealous of him but he pulls rank on me when I offer to swap out.

  Asshole.

  The first thing I do when I wake up is text Angel.

  I no longer give a fuck if this makes me a cuntstruck idiot, I’m twitchy as all hell about leaving her when my skin is fucking crawling in warning.

  Something is going to happen.

  I just need to keep my fucking eyes open and my mind on the fucking job.

  I slept in your bed last night. I dreamt about you instead of the other stuff.

  Hawk is snoring exactly half a foot away from where I’m laying on this shitty single bed so I will not be thinking about those words coming outta that magic mouth of hers, the one that can swallow every fucking inch of me right down to her throat and sucks down every drop of my cum like she needs it to fill her belly.