Primal Heat

by Piper Davenport

  I saw an intercom box thingy and pressed the button.

  “Yeah?”

  “Is this the Primal Howlers’ headquarters?”

  “Who the fuck’s askin’?”

  “I’m looking for a, ah, Mr. Stonewell?”

  “Bitch, you haven’t answered my first question. Who the fuck are you?” the gruff voice demanded.

  “Um... he doesn’t know me. My name is Sabrina Moretti. He knew my sister, Maria.”

  I swear I sat there for a good five minutes before the huge gates eased open and I assumed I was free to drive through.

  Time to face the music.

  * * *

  Stoney

  “Stoney!” Aero bellowed.

  I walked out of the kitchen, beer halfway to my lips. “Yeah?”

  “You got a visitor.”

  I frowned. “Who?”

  “She said her name was Sabrina Moretti.”

  I’d only ever remembered meeting one Moretti. A hot little bitch who climbed into my bed and did amazing things with her mouth. But that was a long time ago, and it had only happened once. “She at the gates?” I asked.

  “Yeah.”

  “Open ’em.”

  Aero nodded, and sent the order for the gates to be opened. I set my beer down, grabbed my jacket and walked out onto the porch to wait.

  Sabrina

  I drove slowly down the long road, a giant log cabin coming into view and I couldn’t stop myself from slowing down to appreciate the view. It would be incredible in the snow.

  Bikers milled in and out, some smoking, all drinking, except one. A tall, gorgeous man leaned against one of the pillars, his arms crossed, his eyes on me, and my breath left my body. I had never seen a better-looking man. Tall, dark hair that was slightly longish, with an epic beard, he looked beyond imposing.

  Was this Mr. Stonewell?

  And why did his name sound like some Jane Austen hero?

  God, this was the dumbest thing I’d ever done. I pulled up next to a couple of bikes already parked in front and turned off the engine. He continued to watch me from the porch, and I took a couple of minutes to calm my nerves, grabbing my purse and pushing open my door.

  Once out of my car, I closed the door, hit the key fob to lock it up, then squared my shoulders.

  “Didn’t think you were gonna get up the nerve to get out,” the man goaded.

  “Are you Mr. Noah Stonewell?” I asked, keeping my car between us.

  “Depends on who’s askin’.”

  “My name is Sabrina Moretti,” I said, my voice wavering as I spoke.

  “Yeah, I know,” he said. “What I don’t know is what the fuck you’re doin’ here. If you’re a cop or a lawyer, you can turn your gorgeous ass around and fuck off.”

  “I’m neither a cop nor a lawyer.” I bit my lip. “So, are you Mr. Stonewell?”

  “Stoney.” His lip twitched. “What do you want, Sabrina Moretti?”

  “I... ah...” I dropped my gaze, because looking at him made me swampy in areas I ought not be swampy. “I need your help.”

  “What kinda help?”

  I took a deep breath and opened my purse, pulling the envelope out and forcing my feet to move away from my car and toward the scary, but incredibly hot, man.

  He studied me, his eyes never leaving mine as I approached him. I held the envelope out, my hand shaking as I did.

  “You servin’ me?”

  “No.”

  He nodded toward my hand. “What’s in the envelope?”

  “I don’t know,” I lied. “I mean, I have an idea, but I haven’t looked in it. It’s from my sister.”

  He took it from me and read the front, turned it over, then focused on me again. “What do you think it is?”

  “I’d rather not speculate.”

  “Before I open this, tell me why you need my help.”

  “My nephew is missing.”

  “And how exactly is this my problem?”

  “I think you should read the letter,” I rasped.

  He pushed off the column. “Come in.”

  “No. I think I’ll stay right here,” I countered.

  “You scared?”

  “Yes,” I answered immediately.

  “How come?”

  “At the risk of offending you, I’d rather not say.”

  He dropped his head back and laughed. “Jesus, you always this honest?”

  “Guilty,” I grumbled.

  “No one here will hurt you, sweetheart.”

  “I’m good right here.”

  “Jesus Christ,” he hissed, walking away and yelling, “Wyatt!”

  “Don’t fuckin’ bellow at my woman like that,” another gruff voice yelled back.

  “Oh, keep your pants on,” a feminine voice ordered, and a gorgeous blonde appeared before me. “What’s up, bud?”

  “Sabrina here’s scared shitless to come inside.”

  The woman turned to me and gave me a gentle smile. “Sabrina?”

  I nodded.

  “I’m Wyatt.” She walked toward me, her hand held out. “I’m sure these men seem intimidating, but they’re actually really nice. You’re welcome to come in. My husband, Sundance, is the president.”

  “What the actual fuck?” Stoney snapped, and I glanced at him.

  He was reading the letter.

  Shit.

  “I’ll just wait,” I whispered.

  “Bitch, you need to get your ass inside.”

  “Stoney—”

  “Stay outta this, Wyatt,” he sneered, glaring at me. “You. Get inside. You’ve got some explainin’ to do.”

  “No.” I blinked back tears. “I can’t. I shouldn’t have come. I’m sorry.”

  Stoney started toward me, but Wyatt reached for his arm.

  That’s when all hell broke loose. Stoney pulled his arm away so fast, Wyatt lost her balance, and then the biggest man I’d ever seen was on top of Stoney, his hand at his throat. “What the fuck are you doin’, asshole? She’s pregnant.”

  “Sorry, Wyatt,” Stoney coughed.

  “Thorne,” Wyatt said, laying her hand on the big man’s shoulder. “Honey, let him go. I’m okay.”

  “This was a mi...mistake,” I stuttered. “I’m going to go.”

  “Don’t fuckin’ move,” Stoney ordered, still flat on his back.

  “Sorry. I shouldn’t have come.” I made a run for my car, but a strong, beefy arm wrapped around my waist and pulled me hard against him.

  “I said, don’t fuckin’ move.”

  “Oh, god,” I squeaked, terrified. “I need to go.”

  “No. You’re gonna explain the letter,” he growled.

  “Since I don’t know what’s in the letter, I can’t explain it, can I?” I retorted, my fear dissipating partly because Wyatt had started laughing.

  “Bitch—”

  I shoved my elbow back. “Don’t you dare call me a bitch. My sister may have allowed men to treat her like shit, but I don’t.”

  “Stoney, let her go,” Wyatt ordered.

  Stoney loosened his hold, then released me entirely, but didn’t move away. He continued to crowd me as I stared at the patch on his vest.

  ROAD CAPTAIN.

  Lordy, he smelled good. Leather and soap, a little smoke, but not cigarette smoke. Something else.

  “Did you just sniff me?” he asked, and I blushed. Hard.

  I met his eyes and lied through my teeth, “No.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “Explain the letter.”

  “I can’t,” I repeated. “I don’t know what’s in it.”

  “Your sister claims I have a kid in the world that no one fuckin’ told me about.”

  I squeezed my eyes shut. “Shit.”

  He crossed his arms and leaned in further, his nose almost touching mine. “So you need to start fuckin’ tellin’ me what I don’t know.”

  “You and my sister had a one-night stand, I’m guessing seven years ago or so. Out of that one-night stand, the worl
d received the biggest gift on earth. Felix.”

  “I am always gloved, sweetheart. There’s no way this kid is mine.”

  “Maria said you both got a little drunk and there was a moment in the morning—”

  “Fuck!” he snapped. “She was a junkie. How the fuck would she remember anything?”

  “How would you know she was a junkie?”

  “Outside o’ the fact she had track marks... she told me.”

  I bit my lip and nodded. “She had been clean for about a month when you two...anyway, she stayed clean the entire pregnancy and while she was breastfeeding, then she fell off the wagon. After rehab, she stayed clean for another five years. Then she OD’d. That was six months ago. Now someone has kidnapped Felix and I need your help.”

  “How do you know he’s been kidnapped?”

  “Because he didn’t come home. He’s not one to go off on his own or disobey me.” I met his eyes again. “I think Maria owed people money. I think they came to collect.”

  “Who?”

  “I don’t know.” I could no longer hold back the tears. “He didn’t get off the bus today, and the school doesn’t know where he is, but I think they’re covering their asses. My brother’s issued an Amber alert—”

  “Your brother has the power to issue an Amber alert?”

  I nodded. “He’s a cop.”

  “Jesus Fuckin’ Christ,” Stoney hissed.

  “Not really open to cops on Howlers’ property.” This came from the big man and I shook my head.

  “He doesn’t know I’m here. I mean, he can track me, but he promised he’d give me an hour.” I looked at my watch. “Of which, I’ve used half that time, so I should really head out.”

  “Not gonna say it again, Sabrina,” Stoney growled. “You’re not fuckin’ leavin’ until I get more answers than hearsay.”

  “Look, outside of the fact Fox looks just like you, I understand that you may need more proof. I am open to you getting a paternity test. I will even pay for it, but only if you sign your parental rights over to me. I don’t want anything from you—”

  “Shut your goddamned mouth,” he snarled.

  “Do not speak to me that way!” I snapped back, then threw my hands in the air. “I should never have come. There’s obviously a reason my sister kept him from you. I should have let sleeping dogs... no, I should have left you to howl at the moon all by yourself.”

  I hit the key fob, unlocking my car and attempting to make a run for it. But Stoney was too fast for me.

  “Stoney, seriously,” Wyatt warned. “Let her go.”

  “Stoney,” the big man warned.

  He released me with a hiss, and I rushed to my car, getting the fuck outta Dodge before anyone could stop me.

  * * *

  Stoney

  I watched her go, my mind racing. Pulling my phone out, I searched her name and got nothing but a business profile, which pissed me off. My rage on ten, I stalked back inside and bellowed, “Sierra!”

  “Stoneman, you need to take it down a notch before you talk to Sierra,” Sundance warned. “Wrath’s not as patient as I am.”

  I dragged my hands through my hair and nodded. He was right.

  But first, I needed to apologize to Wyatt because I’d been an ass. I saw her talking to Orion’s woman, Raquel, in the kitchen and headed that way. Despite my treatment of her, she smiled as I approached which made me feel even worse.

  “Hey, Stoney. You okay?” she asked.

  “Yeah, sweetheart. Wanted to apologize.”

  She smiled again. “You don’t need to apologize. I get it.”

  “Shoulda treated you gentler just the same.”

  She gave my arm a squeeze. “Well, thank you, honey. I’m good.”

  “Appreciate that. You know where Sierra is?”

  “She’s in Sundance’s office,” Raquel answered. “She wants to make it more feng shui.”

  I raised an eyebrow. “Does he know that?”

  “What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him,” Wyatt said, and I shook my head.

  “Fuckin’ nut.”

  “Eccentric,” Raquel countered. Sierra was her best friend and Raquel would defend her to the death.

  “Same thing,” I retorted, and made my way down the hall.

  Wrath stood in the hall, peering into Sundance’s office, his hands on his head, glaring into the room. “No.”

  “Come on,” Sierra said. “It’ll work much better for him.”

  “We’re not touchin’ anything in this office, Sierra. Get it out of your mind.”

  “His chi is blocked, Wrath. It’s why he’s so stressed out.”

  “Or he could be stressed because his woman’s pregnant and he’s the president of an MC.”

  “Wrath—”

  “No.” Wrath dragged a hand over his beard. “Out of his office, Sierra. Now.”

  “I actually need to talk to her,” I countered, and Sierra peeked her head out.

  “Hey, Stoney.”

  “Sundance said you were able to help him fix his email issue, and I need something a little more complicated than a google search.”

  “I didn’t do anything Violet or Drake couldn’t do,” she countered.

  Letti and Drake were Sundance’s youngest kids. Orion was his oldest, and their mother had been dead for more than ten years. Sundance had married Wyatt not long ago, and my president finally seemed settled. He deserved it. He’d beat cancer, only to be faced with threats from a rival club. The bullshit he’d had to deal with would have broken a weaker man, but Wyatt seemed to keep Sundance on an even keel. They worked perfectly.

  “Well, Violet and Drake aren’t here, so do you think you can help me?” I asked.

  “Depends on what it is,” she said.

  “I need to find the address of someone who’s unlisted.”

  Her eyes darted to Wrath, then back to me. “I’m not sure if I’m that skilled, but I can try.”

  I gave her everything I knew, then grabbed a beer and made my way to the bunkroom. I needed a few minutes alone to process. Sitting on one of the lower bunkbeds, I pulled the letter out and read it again.

  Stoney, this letter is probably going to piss you off, and I’m sorry. I’m in the process of working my steps, and I need to make amends with you. We have a child. A little boy. Felix. I don’t really know how to tell you, so I’m taking the coward’s way out by writing this, but just know that I don’t expect anything from you. Please forgive me, Ria.

  I shook my head. Jesus, I had a kid. I planned on taking a paternity test, but I already knew the answer would be positive. I remember the time in the morning with Maria. I’d woken hard and her soft ass was pressed against my dick and I went in. I remember being pissed that I’d been so caught up in her pussy that I’d forgotten a fuckin’ condom. She was right. We’d both been drunk, and she was a fuckin’ hoot when she was drunk.

  At least, I think she was. I didn’t know her, so I had no idea if she was like that any time she was drunk, but if she owed bad people money, she may have been a bit of a loose cannon. And she obviously didn’t care who she fucked, considerin’ she jumped into my bed after meeting me for all of five minutes.

  But I also got the feeling Sabrina had been gutted by her sister’s death, so there was more there than I knew. In my experience, families who’d dealt with addicts for a long period of time tended to get fed up and distance themselves. Sabrina still seemed devastated, which led me to believe something else was going on. And I intended to find out everything.

  A knock came at the door and I bid them entry. Sundance pushed the door open and stepped inside. “You good?”

  “No fuckin’ clue.” I sighed. “I already apologized to Wyatt, but that apology extends to you. I didn’t mean to be so rough with your woman, man.”

  “She told me. We’re good.”

  I nodded my thanks.

  “What’s goin’ on?” he asked, and I held out the letter. He took it, read it, then handed it back with a, �
��Fuck.”

  “Exactly,” I said.

  Sundance sat on the edge of the bunkbed across from me and settled his elbows on his knees. “What are you gonna do?”

  “If this kid’s mine, I’m gonna do what’s right.” I mimicked his position. “I’m just not sure Sabrina’s gonna be onboard with that. I also don’t know what the fuck to do with a kid.”

  My president smiled. “You just be you. You’re good with people, brother. Old or young, so I don’t think you’re gonna have a problem there. What’s gonna be hard is fitting in with the only family he’s ever known and finding your place within it.”

  “Yeah,” I said, dragging my hands through my hair. “How the fuck do you do that when they’re high class to the hilt?”

  Sundance chuckled. “You be nice. You’re nice, so that won’t be a problem.”

  “I’m not that nice,” I countered, and Sundance dropped his head back and laughed.

  “You’ll figure it out,” he said. “I’m gonna get a beer, you want one?”

  “Nah, I’m good, brother.”

  Sundance nodded, rose to his feet and left me to my thoughts again.

  Sabrina

  Pulling into my garage, I cut the engine, lowered the door, and dropped my head to the steering wheel.

  What the fuck was I thinking?

  I sighed, squeezing my eyes shut. Now that I was away from the compound, I could start to process everything I’d seen. No wonder my sister had jumped into bed with Noah ‘Stoney’ Stonewell. Jesus, I wanted to as well, and I was terrified of him. Grabbing my purse, I headed inside and dropped everything on the kitchen island.

  “You were gone—”

  I let out a scream and reached for a knife from the knife block, but quickly recognized my intruder as my brother.

  “Shit, sissy, sorry,” he said, then burst out laughing. “What were you going to do with that?”

  I glanced at my hand and realized I’d grabbed the knife sharpener.

  “You gonna sharpen me to death?” he retorted.

  I slid it back in its place and glared at Luca. “I could still draw blood with that. Your eye would be a good target. What are you doing here? Did you find Fox?”

  “No. But we will. I figured I’d wait here since I couldn’t do anything at the station. At least, nothing I couldn’t do here.”

  “Do you have any idea where he is?”