by C. M. Owens
“It was Garren,” Drex tells Axle quietly.
I idly notice the Death Dealer cut they’ve pulled off the guy and tossed to the side.
“Herrin sent him on a suicide mission.” Axle’s response is just as quiet as Drex’s, and I wonder if I’m not supposed to be listening.
Hell, I’m just happy that my hearing seems to be okay again.
“Pop was just sending a message,” Drex says. His jaw clenches so hard the muscle along the jawline actually jumps.
“Yeah, and the message is that he can come at us any time.”
“Or that he’s not afraid to come after you,” I point out, then clap my lips shut when Axle shoots me a look I don’t particularly like.
“Herrin is definitely afraid,” Axle tells me. “He’s just a coward who plays like he’s fearless. It’s easy to sentence someone else to death. If he wasn’t a coward, he’d have already rolled up in here himself and opened fire.”
I say nothing. I have a healthy relationship with fear and self-preservation, but I’m not a coward. I still don’t handle the grunt work on my own. It’s just not the civilized manner of handling things back home. You have guys for that. You have reach for a reason.
But apparently things work differently with them.
“I say we send a message of our own.” The new voice startles me, and I look over my shoulder to see Jude standing there.
Holy crap, that look is scary. He’s too pretty to be so scary.
“I’m in agreement with that,” Drex says, a cold smile on his lips. “We’ll hit the club afterwards.”
He turns and walks over to the tattoo parlor, and I bite back the questions I want to ask and the advice I want to give. It’s a great show of disrespect to any organization for a guest to butt in and start getting nosy or too helpful. It’s also suspicious.
I’m sick of suspicion.
I’ve already overstepped by telling Axle not to launder their money for a while.
“You two get inside the warehouse and lock up. We’re going to go make some noise,” Drex is saying as Eve walks out and into his awaiting arms.
I sort of envy how easily they seem to fit together, and remember not to ever be jealous of her again. Even if she wasn’t obviously in love with Drex, Axle wouldn’t ever do anything to fuck up his friendship with Drex.
I watch as he kisses the top of her head, and find myself leaning back on Axle. “Should I be worried about you watching D?” Axle asks, drawing me out of my thoughts.
The dead guy is gone when I glance over, and I turn to face my favorite brooder as I frown.
“I know you’re not being serious, so I’ll skip over that rhetorical question. What I would like is for you to tell me that making some noise and delivering a message is you two banging on some war drums and not blowing something up or putting yourself at risk for more gunfire.”
His eyebrows go up, and he opens his mouth to speak.
Just to be clear, I add, “Lie to me, Axle. Right now, just lie to me.”
Something in his eyes softens, but as usual, he hides any expression behind a blank veil the second he shows too much. The guy loves his mysterious factor.
“We’ll be banging on drums and completely safe,” he lies.
Taking a shaky breath, I nod in gratitude, and turn to walk back to the warehouse that is safer than the tattoo parlor. Just as I reach the door, he spins me around, and his lips come down on mine, surprising me.
The only time he kisses me in front of the others is when he’s making a point of claiming me or something just as barbaric as that. But this…this is how he kisses me when it’s just the two of us.
It’s real, and it’s almost desperate. It always feels so desperate, as though he’s making sure to soak it all in before it goes away. I do the same.
He pulls back, his eyes intensely on mine as he straightens to his full, very tall height.
“I’ll let you know when we’re finished banging on the drums,” he says in that sex-gravel voice of his.
A full breath of relief comes out. “Thank you.”
He hesitates for a second, his gaze shifting over my face like he’s trying to get inside my head, but then turns around and heads to the open hangar. I walk inside, pretending like I’m not already staring at my phone and waiting for this night to be over.
It’s a hell of a lot harder to be on this side of things. I’m used to being the one calling the shots, or at least weighing in on what shots get called.
Now I’m sidelined because I’m on someone else’s team, and it sucks because I have no control over Axle’s fate.
Maybe he should join my crew and leave all this behind so I can keep him safe.
CHAPTER 20
AXLE
Drex pulls the pin on a grenade, and we all hang back, guns poised and ready. He nods at us, and then he twists, launching the grenade as hard as he can.
He turns and sprints, running as fast as he can back to us, and leaps over the trench from the desert to the property line. He scrambles back into it just as a loud explosion crackles through the air.
The top loft of the building blows, all windows breaking under it. I can feel the pulse of it, even from the distance I’m at, and the heat hits me next.
I’m the first to pull my trigger as Drex stays covered, keeping his head down so we don’t accidentally shoot it off.
Rapid fire hits the warehouse, punching holes in the metal, sending out telling pings. We fire for about two solid minutes before we realize no one is firing back.
Either that grenade killed them all, or the fuckers changed their location to a safer place that isn’t in the middle of no-damn-where.
Fuck.
Drex heaves himself out of the trench and comes to join us, a pissed off look on his face that tells me he’s reached the same conclusion.
“I want to know why we never heard about a move, and I want to know where he is!” he snaps.
“On it,” Dash says, turning his bike around as he revs the motor.
Drex gets back on his bike, and I glance back again, cursing at how easily we could have ended this if we’d just struck sooner. Then again, it was way too easy for all of us to get this close, even though we did approach from the desert instead of the road.
No doubt they had security protocols in place before they abandoned it.
Not to mention the backlash from the other charters had we hit first. Might have even caused a war. No matter what, we’ve drawn the short straw, and nothing seems to be working in our favor lately.
We ride back to Halo, everyone pissed and ready for a fight we can’t have yet.
Maya was too close to getting caught up in a war that isn’t hers. I have no fucking clue how I got her down and covered in time to avoid the gunfire, but I’m thankful I did, even if I did cut her up on the pavement in the process.
It happened too fast for me have really felt anything much, but I was definitely pissed. Still am.
I’m also still bleeding, haven’t changed out of my dirty clothes, and now we’re pulling up at the damn strip club.
I pull out my phone and text Maya, remembering the actual worry and dread in her eyes when she asked me to lie to her. Not sure anyone has ever been that worried about me before.
ME: Drums are played, but there was no audience to hear it. Another time.
MAYA: That took a long time! I’ve been freaking worried to death, and there wasn’t anyone there?
A slow smile curls my lips before I can stop it. This girl is definitely getting under my skin.
ME: Sorry you worried. We’re at the club now. Stick with Eve and Drake, or lock yourself in my room.
MAYA: Don’t get any lap dances. I shouldn’t have to remind you that I’m crazy.
Smirking, I put my phone away and head inside. The guys are already at our table, and a girl is already getting shoved out of Drex’s lap. Pretty sure he’s about to make her cry. Girls know the rules with him, but always break them.
Never ha
d that fucking problem personally, so Maya has no reason to be crazy.
My feet slow when I see a Grim Angel approaching the table. I join the party, listening as Nicholas—the P—talks to Drex.
“Never saw a kid more loyal to his pop than you,” Nicholas is saying. “So I figure Herrin did something real bad to split up the club the way he did and end up on the opposite side as you. I heard the rumors, and only one makes sense, if you know what I’m saying.”
“It’s an in-house problem,” Drex says cautiously. If he tries to spread the rumor himself, people will question its authenticity—it’d be too forced. But I can tell Nicholas has already heard the right rumor we want to infect people with.
Nicholas smirks. “Understandable. Just wanted you to know that you have a friend with us if you find yourself needing allies. I’ll take loyalty over cowardly rat any day, and I’ve always known Herrin to have a streak of yellow.”
After an exchange of parting pleasantries, they clasps wrists, shaking once, and Nicholas gets up, leaving us behind.
The night dissolves into business talk after that. Dash ends up doing shots from a stripper’s breasts and Drex ends up smoking while lost in thought. I make a few calls, seeking out more work for our crew.
Putting in an appearance is showing everyone we’re not backing down or afraid of Herrin.
By two in the morning, I’m sick of putting on said show.
Liza, Sledge’s old lady, who runs the club for us, is talking to us about the messed up message Herrin sent, and the fact it cost Garren his life. It’s the same thing as normal, and usually I have no problem with it, but tonight, I’m just not interested in conversation.
“I’m ready to head out,” Drex says, standing up and leaping over the back of the seat.
Fucking finally.
Liza looks over at Sledge, and I try to dismiss what she says, but it has my blood simmering a little too close to the surface.
“That new girl you guys have at the clubhouse needs to go.” She’s deliberately saying it loud enough for me to overhear. Liza regularly oversteps her boundaries when we bring in new girls. “All this trouble started happening once she blew in. First the setup, and now this. She’s almost as much trouble as Eve, and I know Drex tends to overlook all that.”
“The setup was before her,” Sledge says, casting a glance at me before looking back at her and giving her a grin. “Don’t you worry about the girls laying those boys. They’re harmless.”
I snort derisively, and Sledge winks at me over Liza’s head when I turn to look at him. She doesn’t have a clue just how dangerous Maya is, but it’s safer for her if she doesn’t know. Drex is wishing Eve hadn’t been in there now, because he doesn’t even want her to know.
The ride home is boringly uneventful, and as soon as my bike is parked, I’m heading toward my room. I don’t even bother turning around when I hear Jude call my name, because I’m taking the stairs two at a time.
Not sure why I’m worried about her not being here, but for some reason, the feeling is there, and it’s gnawing away at me unexplainably. I unlock the door, walk in, and breathe out in relief when I see her sleeping on my side of the bed.
After shutting and locking the door, I strip out of my clothes and slide into bed on her side before pulling her to me and kissing my way down her neck.
I feel it the second she wakes up and her hands slide up my back, like she’s searching for my scars and making sure the right man is on her. That leaves an uneasy feeling in my stomach, but my mind returns to the right place when her lips search out mine and kiss me like she’s been waiting for me all night.
After tossing back the covers, I shift until I’m between her legs, and smile against her mouth when I realize she’s already completely naked.
Her legs move until her knees are pressed against my sides, and her nails dig into my back like she wants me closer. My cock glides between her legs, feeling her slick and ready for me. It slides right in without any guidance, and Maya’s breath hitches as I hold back any of my own sounds.
Sinking deep inside her, I feel encased, gripped, and too damn good. It’s the first time in my life I’ve had a girl waiting in my bed when I came home, and it’s the first time I can remember never wanting to give something up.
CHAPTER 21
MAYA
After living in Axle’s little warehouse room for over a month, I’m definitely going a little stir crazy. Skating around the warehouse below only happens when the guys not in the inner circle are out on rides.
It gives me a break.
Soft lips find the back of my neck as I read the latest text from the latest takedown, and I lean back on Axle.
“Your brother is trying to figure out who’s fucking up his operation,” he murmurs against my neck, sliding his hand over my stomach and pulling me back against his chest. “Just heard about it yesterday when one of his guys came to ask Drex if he’d heard about anyone new in town.”
I stiffen. “One of Lathan’s guys came here?” I ask tensely.
“No. They sought him out at the salon when they heard he was there with Eve. You don’t just roll up at a clubhouse unless you’re invited or stupid.”
I grin at that, relaxing against him.
“What’d Drex tell him?”
He drags his lips to the other side of my neck, kissing a trail down the curve, working his way to my shoulder as he pushes my shirt out of the way.
“Told him he hadn’t heard of anyone new in town, but that Halo was ours anyway. And Lathan had no right to be operating so close. The guy lied and said he wasn’t operating out of Halo, and scrambled off, high as fuck and tweaking the entire time.”
Definitely sounds like Lathan’s people.
His lips leave me abruptly, and I almost fall backwards when he’s suddenly not there for me to lean against anymore.
He stands, fully clothed for a change, and I cock my head as he grabs a pair of my sneakers and tosses them to the bed.
“Put those on. We’re going out. You’ve been caged up in here for too long,” he says randomly.
“If Lathan’s people are sneaking around here, then—”
“Shoes on, Maya. Meet me downstairs in five.”
He turns and walks out, and I stare at the door when it shuts. I’m really not used to being bossed around, and I have no idea why I simply put my shoes on like that isn’t what just happened.
Even guys who didn’t know my identity didn’t have the balls to boss me around.
Axle is a different breed of man altogether.
Putting my phone and a credit card in my back pocket, I tell myself that it’s merely curiosity propelling me forward to find out what he’s up to instead of being dominated by him. Yep. Not one bit of submission in my body.
I tell myself this all the way down the stairs where Axle, the smirking bastard, who probably knows what I’m thinking, is waiting on me near the bar. Drex is drinking a bottle of water across from him, and Jude is lying on top of the bar and throwing a baseball up and catching it on its way down.
“You wanted me to come be boring with the rest of you wild ones?” I muse, slipping easily next to his side, and peering up at him with scrutiny when he just continues to smirk.
Jude casts a glance at me before rolling his eyes and resuming his task of tossing a ball straight up and catching it.
Reckless danger going on here, people.
Axle says something to Drex that I miss, and then he turns, grabbing my hand and guiding me toward the door.
“Where are we going?” I ask, still following like a follower.
“For a ride,” he states flatly.
“Is that smart?” I ask, jogging to get to his side instead of trailing behind, still holding his hand.
“It is if no one can see our faces. We’ll look like some randoms just taking in the sights as long as we use one of the spare rides, since mine is too well-known.”
I start to argue as we step into the massive beast of a bike
hangar that only has a few bikes in it today. He drops my hand and goes to grab two sleek, solid black helmets off the wall that are equipped with darkly tinted visors on the front.
Okay then. That’ll do.
He hands me one, and I take it, tugging it on a little forcefully. Snugly hidden from sight, I follow him to a black Harley with chrome fixtures.
Nice. Glad to see this is just a spare.
Wordlessly, he takes a seat, helmet on already. I imagine his eyes are staring at me impatiently, but they’re completely hidden behind the tinted glass of the visor.
Finally, I take his hand, using it as a balancing tool as I climb on back, sitting with my legs spread around his hips as close as possible, since the saddlebags on this thing are huge.
The damn thing is so obnoxious when it roars to life that I might squeal a little. Not that you can hear the sound over the damn loud-ass thing under us.
As soon as my arms wrap around his waist—tightly—he shoots out of the hangar without warning, not bothering to crawl out like I expected. My grip tightens even more, and I clutch his middle as I peer over his shoulder at the roads he’s crossing, driving us toward the edge of town.
As soon as we’re on an open, car-less stretch of highway, I stop tensing and just start enjoying the ride. A stupid, pointless, and somewhat confusing grin spreads across my face for no reason at all.
I’m not supposed to like motorcycles, damn it.
But in this moment, I love everything about it. The freedom. The openness. The fresh I taste when I lift the front of the visor. The feel of the wind against my skin.
The bugs fucking suck because they feel like stray hail slapping me.
But I can deal with the occasional insect collision right now, because the positives outweigh the negatives.
My ass is numb way too soon, though, and my legs are cramping from holding this position for so long. It feels like we’ve been riding for days instead of hours.
Fortunately, Axle parks us just outside a hotel. A nice one, by the way.
Hello, room service. I’ve missed you.
He pulls his helmet off, and I follow suit, grinning at him even though my head is a little gross and sweaty.
