Warrant (Righteous Outlaws #1)

by Savannah Rylan

  The bastard took it as his opportunity to drape his arm across her shoulders. She rested her head against him, and something inside of me snapped. We decided that my world wasn’t safe for her, but I didn’t push her away so she could land in the arms of that fucking prick. He might be able to provide her with a big house, and all the fucking shit she wanted, but there was no way in fucking hell I was going to let that happen.

  If she wanted him, she would have chosen him that night, but she chose me. She walked away from him and got on the back of my bike. I’d be fucking damned if I was going to let her go back to the thing she ran away from.

  I was about to storm over there and throw her over my shoulder. Take her far away from that shithead, find the nearest place where I could stick my cock inside her, and remind her of what I could give her. Who needed money when I could fuck her stupid and make her come like a goddamned geyser? But, Nick walked in front of us, halting me in place.

  “We have company,” he said, and I focused my attention to where he nodded. On the far side of the street, there was a car with three guys leaning against it. Their arms were crossed over their chests, looking like they were waiting to cause trouble.

  “Who the fuck are they?” I asked.

  “My guess is Gordita’s crew. I have Stanson and his guy going over there now to check it out. Figured it’s best to send a uniform, hoping they’ll keep it civil. The last thing we need is for shit to go down right now. This event is to prove we’re not those guys. Those fucks can completely blow our cover.”

  He wasn’t telling us anything we didn’t know. We kept the town safe and profited on that promise. Blowing our cover would only be the beginning of a fucking shit storm if those pieces of shit tried anything.

  Stanson and his guy approached the three guys, and I couldn’t help but notice they all some resemblance to Anthony. Suddenly, my mind went back to Aubree holding that gun, and Anthony’s dead body beneath me. What if they knew? What if they were here for her? No. That was fucking crazy talk. Kade covered that whole shit up. There was no way it could be traced back to any of us.

  Still, my eyes snapped away from the powwow across the way, and back to where Aubree just was, but she was no longer there. I scanned the other booths, and the playpens with the dogs, but I couldn’t spot my sunshine.

  Kade elbowed me in the side. “They’re leaving.”

  I darted my gaze back to the car and watched as the three guys got back in. The edge didn’t wear off until they pulled away and were out of sight.

  Stanson and his guy went separate ways, and Stanson came toward us. Nick met him halfway and me and Kade flanked him.

  “Just a bunch of thugs who have nothing better to do,” Stanson explained.

  “I doubt they were just thugs,” Nick said, but the rest of his words were lost to me as I spotted Aubree going into the building alone.

  “I”ll be back,” I said, and took off. I was done sitting back and watching her parade around with that douche. I know I should keep my distance. Stay the fuck away from her, but the desire to see her is too strong, and I just didn’t feel like fighting it any longer.

  I slipped into the building, and watched her enter the restroom. I waited for her outside the door and, when she walked out, I grabbed her arm, put my hand over her mouth, and pulled her down a hallway.

  She struggled against me and, when we were out of the main area, I spun her around and pressed her against the wall. The fear in her eyes gave way to surprise and lust. “Cash? What are…” I kissed the words right off her mouth. She pushed at my chest, but it only fueled my needs. I snaked my hand around her waist and pulled her tight against my throbbing cock.

  I thrust my tongue past her crease, dipping it into her mouth, and claiming what was mine. Her hands dug into my back and then ran around to my front. She smacked them hard against me, shoving me off of her.

  “Are you crazy?!” she exclaimed, taking deep steadying breaths, and trying her hardest not to act like that was exactly what she wanted.

  I pushed my hand against the wall behind her and leaned down to her lips. She smelled so fucking good, and it took all that I had to keep from pinning her against the wall and taking what was mine. “I am fucking crazy. Crazy about you.”

  She blinked up her eyes full of despair. “I’m here with William,” she whispered.

  “I know and I don’t like it,” I growled. “I don’t like him, and I don’t like you with him.”

  “It doesn’t matter what you like. We both decided going our separate ways was for the best. You not only agreed with me, you let me walk away.”

  “Because it’s what you wanted. I made my decision when I asked you to stay everything after that was on you.”

  “Don’t,” she spat. “Don’t put this on me. That’s not fair.”

  “Who said anything about fair, Sunshine? I’m just telling it as it is.”

  She took a deep breath, and then looked up at me with those pretty brown eyes. “Look, Cash. It was amazing while it lasted, but we need to accept that it’s over.”

  I brushed her hair off her face, tucking it behind her ear, and letting my hand linger on her cheek. “Is that really what you want though? Because I gotta tell you, Sunshine, I’m having second thoughts.”

  “It might not be what I want, but it’s what it has to be.” A sadness washed over her, and it ripped at my fucking insides.

  I leaned my weight on my arm against the wall and let myself move closer to her, until I could smell her sweetness. “Are you happy? Because if you can stand here, look me in the eye, and tell me you’re happy, I’ll fucking walk away. Right now. I’ll just go. But if you can’t… If you’re not happy, I’m going to pick you up and bring you to the closest room and show you just how fucking much I’ve missed you.”

  “I…I…”

  “Come on, Sunshine spit it out. It’s either yes or no. Doesn’t get much more cut and dry than that.”

  Her eyelashes fluttered and she caught my eye. “No,” she whispered and, as soon as the word was out of her mouth, my hands were in her hair, my lips on hers. I grabbed her ass and hoisted her up on me. Her legs linked around my waist, and I fumbled to the nearest room.

  My hand latched onto a knob, and I pushed into the room, slamming the door behind us and pinning Sunshine to the hard wood.

  “I’ve missed you,” she said, as I dragged my tongue down her neck, nipping at her collarbone.

  “I’ve missed you too, Sunshine. So fucking much.” Her hands grabbed my face and she planted her lips on mine. I loved that she wasn’t afraid to take what she wanted. I slipped my fingers under her shirt and snapped her bra strap with one flick.

  I pinched her nipple through the thin material of her shirt, and her body arched. Her legs slid down me, and she got to her feet, her hands working at my pants. “I need to feel you now,” she breathed.

  I grabbed her hands, and pinned them over her head. “Not so fast,” I growled, devouring her with a kiss, and not wanting to rush this. I waited so damn long to taste her sweetness, to feel her soft skin beneath me, and I wasn’t going to let it slip away from me so quickly. I was going to savor every fucking second.

  My knee went between her legs, and spread them wide, as I kissed a trail down her neck to the V of her shirt. Her fingers knotted in my hair, and it was battle of give and take. I ran my hand up her sides, skimming the roundness of her tits as I made my way to her face.

  I crushed my lips back to hers, plunging my tongue into her mouth. My cock throbbed, begging to be released. I scooped Aubree off her feet and brought her to a desk, laying her down on top. I stood back for a moment, admiring just how fucking gorgeous she was. My beautiful sunshine.

  “Talk to dirty to me,” I said, as I pushed her shirt up and pressed a kiss to her stomach.

  “I don’t know what to say,” she said coyly and, if it wasn’t the cutest fucking thing. She was positive, determined and confident in so many things, and now she chose to play shy. It drov
e me fucking crazy.

  I snatched her up, pulling her to the end of the desk and hitching her legs around my waist. I grazed my mouth across her ear. “Tell me you want me,” I said.

  “I want you,” she cried out.

  “Tell me you want my big hard cock inside you.”

  A moan slipped from her pretty lips, and her body arced, as if my words were a direct link to her very core.

  “I want your big, hard cock inside me,” she whispered, grabbing hold of my neck and yanking me to her. Her fingers laced back in my hair, and her head fell back. I hooked my fingers into either side of her shirt and ripped. The buttons popped open, and I dipped my head, trailing my tongue down her perfectly round tit.

  “I want to make you my dirty little girl,” I growled against her skin. “Do you want me to?”

  “Yes!” she cried out, and I wrapped my hand around her back, pulling her flush against me.

  “You drive me fucking crazy, you know that? I can’t stop thinking about you. Not seeing you has been my own personal hell.”

  She pulled back, holding my face in her hands. She looked deep into my eyes, deeper than any girl has ever looked. “I want you,” she breathed and it was my undoing.

  I captured her lips in one quick motion determined to make her mine in every sense of the word.

  I heard a click, but ignored it, too consumed in my need for my Sunshine. “Aubree, are you in here?” A voice came from behind us and Aubree went still.

  “What the hell is going on in here?!”

  I spun around, belt falling from its loops, and hitting the floor with a thud. My unzipped pants hung open, my throbbing cock pressing hard against my jeans.

  My eyes focused taking in the familiar man. “Doc, what the fuck are you doing here?” I asked.

  Aubree sat up behind me, pulling her clothes back into place. Her lips parted, and tears filled her eyes. “Daddy, I can explain.”

  “Daddy?” I exclaimed, looking from Aubree to the doc.

  “I’m going to fucking kill you!” the doc said just before he lunged at me.

  Aubree

  Daddy’s eyes were filled with rage as he lunged at Cash. He knocked into him, taking down a shelf. Shock and disbelief completely consumed me as I watched my father attack the man I was falling hopelessly in love with. This was worse than any nightmare, because I knew there was no waking up from this. If I didn’t do something. If I didn’t intervene, they would kill each other.

  Dad’s fist came flying at Cash, and Cash ducked, causing Dad to punch the wall. He cried out, grabbing his hand. “Daddy, no!” I yelled. He was a surgeon; he needed that hand. If he did damage, he wouldn’t be able to work. He wasn’t thinking clearly, and I needed to be his brains. “Please stop!” I begged, hoping that my voice would snap him out of the dark place he slipped into. My words couldn’t reach him though. Nothing could. Dad continued to throw more punches and Cash continued to dodge them. I looked around the room for something I could use to restrain him.

  “How dare you touch my fucking daughter?!”

  “I didn’t know she was your daughter!” Cash yelled, trying to defend himself, but it was as if a switch flipped in Dad. Nothing was getting through to him. The look of fiery rage burned brightly in his eyes, and only grew with each passing second.

  Cash held him by the shoulders, determined to hold him back. I knew he was resisting using his full strength because of me. I didn’t know what else to do, so I jumped in front of Cash as Dad brought his fist back.

  It came at me in slow motion like a movie just before something bad was about to happen. “No!” Cash yelled out, and grabbed Dad’s fist before it made contact with my face. He threw Dad on the floor, seething with a murderous glare.

  I had to do something and I prayed that my pleas would work better on Cash than they did on Dad. Cash raised his hand above his head ready to strike. “Cash, stop.” I grabbed his wrist, halting him from beating Dad’s face to a pulp. “Please. Don’t hurt him. Please,” I begged, and he snapped his eyes to mine. The deathly glower dissipated as he rose to his feet. He took my face in his hands, resting his forehead against mine. “Are you okay, Sunshine?”

  “I’m okay,” I assured him, and then broke away to check on Dad who was pushing himself up from the floor.

  “Daddy, here let me help you.” I went to grab his arm to help him up, and he snatched his whole body away from me. “Daddy?” Tears filled my eyes as, for the first time in my life, I saw my father look at me in total and utter disgust.

  Dad pulled at his collar, and swiveled his neck back and forth. “What are you doing with this dirtbag?” he demanded as he got to his feet.

  “He’s not a dirtbag!” I sneered, and then looked at Cash with a silent apology.

  “He’s a criminal, Aubree. A goddamned criminal.”

  “You don’t even know him!”

  “And you do?” Dad questioned with venom in his tone.

  I went to speak, to defend Cash, but Dad held his hand up halting me.

  “Aubree, we’re leaving.” I didn’t move. I stood between Cash and my father, an impossible decision lingering before me. Do I alienate my father? A man I loved and respected. A man who worked hard and gave me everything. Or do I give up Cash, the man I was falling hard for? “Now!” Dad yelled, and I jumped at the pure ferociousness in his tone. Something I never heard before, and didn’t even know he was capable of.

  “No! I’m not going.” I crossed my arms in defiance, finally taking a stand for myself. I was so tired of him thinking he could make my decisions for me. I might have lived under his roof, and loved him unconditionally, but that didn’t make me his puppet. I was an adult, and this was my choice. It was time for him to respect my decisions and stop treating me like a child.

  “Fine, you want to act like a child, then I will treat you like a child.” Dad’s hand latched onto my wrist, and he pulled with an angry yank.

  I stumbled forward and a surprised squeak spilled out.

  Cash lunged toward us. “Don’t you fucking touch her!” He stood in front of Dad, blocking our path, and hovering over him by several inches. Cash looked down at Dad, moving closer to him with each second.

  He eyed my father with a murderous glare, and I couldn’t take it anymore. I couldn’t stand to watch these two fight about me. This was all my fault. I knew Dad would never approve of someone like Cash, and that was the main reason I went after him. Kind of like a “eff you” to Dad to show that I didn’t fit into this perfect little box that he tried to mold me into. In hindsight it might not have been an adult thing to do, but I had no regrets.

  I just never expected to fall for Cash the way I did. It was so quick and so easy. He came into my life like a tornado, uprooting everything I ever thought I knew about myself, and changing me. I never believed in soul mates, but for a second there I thought maybe they were real. I wanted him so badly, but I wasn’t sure if the cost of losing my family was worth it.

  “Daddy,” I said, again, this time tears cascading down my cheeks. “Let’s go.”

  My gaze swung to Cash’s, and I might as well have drove a knife through his heart. He stumbled back, a man stripped of power and control in this situation. I did that to him, and I didn’t feel stronger. All I felt was complete and total remorse and overwhelming sadness.

  His eyes looked deep into mine, a quiet plea not to leave him. But, what other choice did I have? As much as I wanted him, I didn’t want to give up my family. I mouthed, “I’m sorry,” and walked away from Cash again, knowing this time it was for good.

  Out in the hallway, I straightened myself up, and ran a hand down my front to make sure nothing was out of place.

  “Where have you two been?” Mom’s voice echoed off the walls, as she and William appeared at the end of the hallway.

  “My button broke, and Aubree was helping me fix it.” Dad said the lie so easily; it just rolled his tongue. I wondered how many other lies he had told so easily over the years.

&n
bsp; I cleared my throat, fighting back the emotion that was clawing its way to the surface. “It’s good as new now,” I said, with a perkiness I didn’t think I could manage.

  “Good, now let’s get back. There are people asking for you, and we have dinner reservations in an hour at the club,” Mom said, as she glanced at her Cartier watch.

  “I’m not going to be able to make it to dinner,” Dad said.

  “What?” Mom exclaimed. “You missed dinner the other night. What can be so important that you have to miss it again?”

  Dad ran a hand down his arm. “I just have a lot of paperwork at the office. It can’t wait till tomorrow,” Dad said, and I knew it was another lie. He just couldn’t stand to be in the same room with me. He didn’t want to sit across from me at dinner. Didn’t want to be reminded of what a disappointment I was to him. It was going to kill him and the realization tore at my heart, ripping it to a million tiny pieces. I was not only humiliated, but hurt that my own father couldn’t stand to be in my presence.

  “You okay?” William asked, and draped his arm around my shoulders, pulling me gently against him. He was warm and safe, but, in that moment, it suddenly became abundantly clear to me. Warm and safe would never be enough for me when I knew hot and dangerous was in my reach. I craved it and the need for it was stronger than anything I had ever felt before.

  We all made our way to the door, but I couldn’t help myself from glancing back. Cash stood in the doorway like a shadow. I searched his face, trying to determine what he was feeling. To know that he understood my decision and was just as heartbroken as me. But, as I scanned all his hard lines, I found nothing. He was completely devoid of emotion.

  Cash

  I’d been shot, stabbed, and tortured. All of which caused unbearable pain, yet having Aubree choose her father over me rivaled them all. Anger surged through my veins as I watched her walk away from me with that douchebag’s arm wrapped around her shoulder as if he owned her. He didn’t own shit. She was mine, and I needed her back.