by Jade Kuzma
I stayed silent while I listened to his story. I still didn’t know what this had to do with me but a part of me was wondering how it could.
“The people who did it were thorough. Masks to cover their faces. They removed the license plates to make sure they were untraceable. But they made a mistake. They left evidence at the scene. A single fingerprint on one of the workbenches. Fortunately for me, the fingerprint was on file. It belonged to one Joseph Macdonald…”
I swallowed hard, clenching my jaw to maintain my composure. But as hard as I tried, I couldn’t hold back how much I was beginning to shake.
“I… I don’t know…”
“Of course, you don’t know.” The grin on his face grew even wider, which just made him look even more threatening. “A woman like you would never be involved in something like this. But you know your brother as well as anybody else. Surely you’re aware he’s capable of something like this.”
I looked away from him, staring off into the distance. Joey was capable of something like this. And remembering how flustered he was just the other night, it made sense. “If you’re looking for him, I don’t know where he is. If you want his number, I can give it to you but I don’t think they’d be of any help. I… I can’t help you.”
“No… No, you can’t. How could I expect you, his own sister, to help me find the man who robbed me?”
“…What will you do when you find him?”
“When I find him? I’ll do what I’ve already done with his associates. I’ll take care of him in an appropriate manner.”
I squinted at him, wondering if I’d heard him correctly. The way he smiled, I knew that I had.
“That’s right,” he continued. “I’ve already found the men he was working with. They’ve been dealt with. You’re not familiar with me. I can understand that. But in some circles, I have a reputation. A reputation I need to maintain.
“I don’t expect you to just hand your brother over to me, but I think it would be in your best interests to do so, should he try to contact you. Perhaps you can even send him a message.”
“And what’s that?”
“Tell him I’m waiting for him. Whether it’s here at Amy’s or at Finn’s bar… or even your parents’ farmhouse. I’m here in Ivory… Waiting… Ready for him to give back what he stole from me.”
I kept staring straight while he got up from his seat. From the corner of my eye, I could see him fixing his already unwrinkled black suit.
“I apologize for interrupting your breakfast. Perhaps we can meet again and have another cordial conversation. I heard the tiramisu here is to die for.”
The heels of his loafers clicked against the pavement as he got into his car. I listened to the sound of the SUV rev its engine before slowly rolling into traffic and disappearing down the road.
I didn’t want to think about what I just heard. But the pieces fit too well for it not to be true. My brother freaking out. A stranger managing to find me less than 24 hours later.
Picardo wanted to kill my brother. And there was no telling what he would do if he didn’t get his hands on him.
“Dammit, Joey…” I muttered to myself.
I looked down at my phone and thought about what I could do. I realized I didn’t have much options. This wasn’t just about Joey. It was about me and my family, too. There was only one person I could depend on.
“I hope he’s awake…”
Chapter 14
ASHTON
Finn’s was the one spot in Ivory where nobody had any control. No MC could act bigger than the others. No woman could act like she was better-looking than the next. No man could pick a fight without suffering the consequences. The police did their rounds of the place every night to arrest the guys who’d gotten into it after a drunken stupor but they knew better than to get more involved. Finn’s bar was the demilitarized zone everybody had agreed upon. Even in the middle of the afternoon, people knew better than to start shit here.
When Rose texted me telling me she wanted to meet in a place where she wouldn’t have to worry, I suggested the Bone Pit. But that wasn’t enough to calm her down. Even from her messages, I could feel her panic. And it was clearer when I heard her voice.
The scene wasn’t as rowdy as it was at night but there were more than enough bastards and assholes around the bar to get into it with. I leaned up against the counter, swallowing down a shot of whiskey. It was bad enough I had to deal with Picardo now Rose was telling me some serious shit came up. Just my luck it all happened at the same time.
Rose walked into the bar, her pale skin on display even underneath the shit lighting. She caught a few eyeballs. Pretty girl like her couldn’t help it. The white sundress made her stick out even more. All kinds of motherfuckers came into Finn’s but you never saw an innocent-looking woman like her very often.
Before any of the sleaze could try to impress her, she spotted me and made a beeline right toward me. Her chest rose and fell as she took deep breaths. I had a bad feeling something was wrong and the look in those gorgeous green eyes of hers just confirmed it.
“I need to talk to you.”
“That’s obvious.”
“I…” She put her head down and sighed deeply again. “Bartender. Lemme get a double. Whiskey.”
I raised an eyebrow as I watched her swallow the whiskey down without hesitation. She didn’t even flinch.
“Shit…” I muttered. “Tell me what’s wrong, Rose.”
She looked around the bar. The way she shifted her head and widened her eyes made her look more paranoid than I’d ever seen her. “I need to talk to you alone.”
“Nobody’s listening. Nobody in Finn’s gives a shit about someone else’s business—”
“Somewhere where nobody can see us. This has to stay between you and me.”
I would’ve made some smart-ass remark but the worry in her eyes wasn’t going away. I exhaled softly and nodded. “You can’t get much privacy in Finn’s. But maybe we can talk out back. Nobody will see us but we’ll be close enough that you can be sure who is and who isn’t following you.”
“Nobody’s following me.”
“You sure about that? Because you keep fucking looking around like you’re expecting someone.”
“I… Ashton, I—”
“Come on.” I headed to the back of the bar with Rose following right after me. We made our way through the small crowd before stumbling into the back alley. The place was empty outside of the smelly dumpsters and the strays looking for a bite to eat. Down one end of the alley, I could see the traffic in the distance. The other end of the alley was just a dead-end.
“What’s this all about now?” I crossed my arms, waiting for a response.
Rose put her head down, pacing back and forth while she twiddled her thumbs. I could almost see the words caught in her throat. She had something to say but she couldn’t quite get it out. I didn’t push her.
After a few moments, she stopped in her tracks and turned to me. A weak smile made its way onto her lips, like she was trying to mask how she really felt. She moved toward me, wrapping her soft hands around my face and bringing me closer. I didn’t argue with her as she kissed me. The whiskey on her tongue. The flowery scent of her perfume. The softness of her body against mine. Everything about her consumed me to the point that I didn’t give a shit why she was suddenly kissing me. I just wanted her.
“Just fuck me…”
Not words I hadn’t heard before. A part of me was still wondering what this was all about but I couldn’t deny her when I needed it worse than she did.
“Fuck me, Ashton…”
I paused for a moment, looking into the desperation in her eyes. But any answers I needed would have to wait. This is what she needed right now and my body took control.
Our lips found their place back on each other. Her fingers frantically worked on my belt. I hiked her dress up her body and found her panties, tugging them down to her knees. She unzipped me and I felt just how much I was throbbing. A fe
w strokes through my underwear got me primed and ready. I stuck a finger in her slit and the wetness dripped out of her.
“Fuck me… Give it to me…” Her voice was desperate, out of breath and needy. I grabbed her by the wrists and spun her around, pinning her up against the brick wall next to us. The entire time, she kept pumping my cock through my underwear.
I didn’t care it was the middle of the day. I didn’t care anybody could stumble through the backdoor and catch us. I needed her now and nothing would stop me.
She turned herself around willingly, pressing her chest against the brick wall and pointing her ass out at me. I through the skirt of her dress up over the small of her back and saw the pale ass of hers. Between her legs, her pussy dripped with anticipation. It was fucking calling out to me and my cock was twitching bad.
“Fuck me… I don’t wanna think… Just give it to me…”
I ran a hand along her waist. My other hand primed my cock and guided it toward her folds. Just my tip against her aching slit was enough to make my knees buckle.
“Don’t make me wait… Don’t…”
Her jaw dropped and a gasp poured out a second later as I plunged my cock into her. I buried myself completely, pressing my hilt against her cheeks. The wet warmth of her pussy had my legs trembling even more. I firmed my grip on her waist and thumped against her. Slow but hard thrusts, shifted her entire body. A squeaky whimper pushed out of her with every stroke.
I gritted my teeth and dug my heels into the pavement, driving my cock into her deeper and deeper. The rhythmic slapping of my hilt against her cheeks grew loud enough that I was sure people at the end of the alleyway could hear us if they walked by. Hell, they could see us if they bothered looking. It wasn’t often you saw a pretty redhead bent over, pressed against the wall with a man mounting her from behind. Shit would’ve been obvious from a mile away.
But any chance of getting caught just turned me on even more. I didn’t care about how much my muscles tensed or how much I sweat or even my legs beginning to give out. My cock was throbbing so bad I was starting to leak.
I ramped up my pace, hammering my dick so deep she got louder. Loud, guttural shrieks came out of her. I kept going until I knew I would lose control.
My orgasm slammed into me. I couldn’t get the words out. There was no warning. Just my body seizing up as my cock pulsed with a thick spurt of cum. Rose pushed back onto me, taking everything I had like she didn’t want any of it to spill out. I held her waist so hard I would leave marks on her porcelain skin. I didn’t want her to go anywhere though. I wanted her to feel every moment of my orgasm.
I came as hard and as long as I could before my body was spent. I gasped deeply as my muscles relaxed. My senses returned to me. My cock softened and fell out of her. I looked down to admire the sight of my seed trickling down the inside of her thigh before her dress fell down to cover her ass.
I waited for a moment before pulling my pants up and putting myself back together. Rose stayed quiet except for the sound of her breathing, resting up against the wall. Her eyes closed, she was in deep thought. I couldn’t hold back any longer.
“Rose… You have to tell me what’s going on.”
“I… I need to be somewhere. Somewhere safe.”
“The Bone Pit is safe. Nobody will mess with you at the clubhouse—”
“No. Somewhere where nobody will be. Somewhere nobody knows about. Somewhere we can be safe.”
“You know, I’ll protect you, Rose. No matter what—”
“It’s not me who needs protecting. It’s…” She turned and looked me right in the eye. Her throat shifted with a hard swallow. “Do you know a place or not?”
I thought about it for a moment then nodded. “Yeah… I know a place.”
Chapter 15
ROSE
My brief moment with Ashton was exactly that. Not even as good as he made me feel could make me forget about what I had to do. Even with him by my side, the anxiety in my stomach hadn’t gone away.
I squeezed my arms tight around him, worrying the entire time as we sped through the streets. It wasn’t long before we came upon a small storage warehouse in the heart of Ivory.
Ashton quickly pulled his ride up to the side and we snuck inside of it as quickly as we could. He flipped a switch and the lights flickered on. The sprawling warehouse was completely empty.
“What is this?” I asked.
“The MC keeps this place for storage. Spare parts. Furniture for the clubhouse. All of the shit we can’t fit in the back of the bar.”
“It’s… empty now.”
“Some asshole blew it up awhile back. Lost everything. We let go of the man guarding it. Now it’s just… what you see.” He walked up to me and put his hands on my shoulders. “Nobody knows we’re here. Nobody will bother looking for us in a place like this. I’ve been tailed before. I made sure nobody was even close. It’s just us, Rose.”
Ashton was so ruggedly handsome it was easy to forget how strong he was. I hadn’t forgotten about what I had to do but I felt safer than I had ever since I got the visit from Picardo.
He took a step back from me and put his hands on his hips. “Now… You wanna tell me what the hell this is all about?”
I looked down at my phone. Joey didn’t respond to the message I’d sent but I knew he’d read it. I could only hope he’d make it to the address without drawing any attention to himself.
“I… I’m in something, Ashton. Something deep. Something I don’t think even you can help get me out of.”
“Why don’t you tell me what it is and I’ll be the judge of that?”
“Right…” I sighed softly. Despite everything happening, I still managed to work a smile onto my face. Ashton had that kind of effect on me. He’d been here this entire time and even this didn’t seem like it would be enough to scare him away.
“My brother… My brother got into something. He got into it with some real bad people. He’s in trouble. I know he is.”
“Your brother… You never talked much about him.”
“He’s my half-brother. Not that it matters one way or another. But he’s never around that much. Ever since I left for school, he’s popped in and out.”
“And when he popped in, he brought some trouble with him.”
“That’s putting it lightly.” My head dropped. I stared down at the ground, trying to figure out a way to soften the news. Ashton stayed calm. I could feel his eyes on me as he patiently waited for me to keep going. “It’s…”
A sudden knock on the steel door to the side cut me off. I gulped so hard it echoed inside of the empty, silent warehouse. We both stared at the door for a moment before turning to each other.
“Yo, Rose! You in there?” My brother’s voice came through the door.
Ashton narrowed his eyes, reaching behind his waist where he kept his piece.
“It’s okay.” I put my hand up to calm him down. “It’s him. It’s Joey…”
Ashton pulled his gun out, pointing it at the door as I approached. I swallowed hard before opening it up. As soon as I did, Joey pushed his way inside and slammed the door shut.
“Jesus,” he muttered. “Had me standing out there looking like an asshole.”
“Shit, Joey…” I rushed my arms around him and squeezed him tighter than I’d ever hugged him. “I thought something happened to you.”
“You know me, sis. Nothing is ever gonna happen to me. I know how to take care of myself. I haven’t met a…” He stopped talking as soon as he noticed Ashton, who was still pointing his gun right at him. “Shit… What the fuck is he doing here?” The sudden panic in his voice confused me. Ashton scrunched his face like he wasn’t sure what to think. “Rose. This guy—”
“It’s okay.” I pressed my hand on Joey’s chest to calm him down. “It’s Ashton. He’s my boyfriend. You can trust him.”
Joey blinked his eyes like he’d misheard me. “I’m sorry… D-did you say boyfriend?”
“What
’s wrong? You knew I was dating a biker.”
“Right…” Joey twisted his lips as he took a step closer to Ashton. I still wasn’t sure what to make of either one of them but cooler heads seemed to be prevailing.
“Ashton… It’s okay…”
Ashton hesitated for a moment. For some reason, he still kept his gun pointed at Joey. I was just about to warn him again but Ashton lowered his gun down, almost reluctantly.
Joey sighed a soft breath through his nose then turned back to me. “We need to talk.”
“Yeah, we do—”
“Alone.”
I shook my head in confusion. “We are alone.”
“I mean just us two. He… He can’t hear about this.”
“Joey, they’re threatening mom and dad. Ashton can help us. He’s the only man in Ivory we can trust.”
“You mind telling me what the fuck is going on?” Ashton finally spoke up. “Somebody is threatening your parents? Am I hearing that right?”
“Listen, pal. I know you care about my sister and all that. But you don’t have to worry about it. I’ll take it from here—”
“It’s some gangster,” I said. “Some guy who calls himself Picardo.”
“Picardo?” Ashton raised an eyebrow at me. “Aaron Picardo?”
“Yeah… I think that’s the name he gave me. Apparently, he does have a reputation around here…”
“Aaron Picardo threatened you and your family? And why would he do something like that?” Ashton shifted his stare toward Joey, who’d suddenly become uncomfortable.
My brother rubbed the back of his neck and looked at me with a nervous smile. “Come on, sis. You don’t need to worry about this. I head out of town and Picardo will come looking for me. He won’t bother you or mom and dad. He wants me, not you.”
“I don’t know Picardo,” I said. “But he doesn’t seem like the kind of man who’ll let something like this go so easily—”
“It’s you.” Ashton cut me off, his eyes locked on Joey. “It’s you.”
Joey gave him a confused look and shrugged. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, man.”
