Tom was the closest I’d come, and given a little more time I can’t say that it wouldn’t have happened. Tears gathered in my eyes, making them burn. Sex with Rock was phenomenal. It always had been. He’d always seen to my needs before his own. In spite of his rough around the edges ways, he was a great lover. Of course, I had nothing to compare it to, it was just something I instinctively knew. He made me feel alive. I wanted to believe that I was the only woman in his life, but I knew better. I was sure there had been many over the years who’d sampled his possessive brand of fucking.
I brushed the tears away angrily. After our argument I’d kicked him out of the bedroom and told him to go sleep in the guest room, surprised when he’d gone without a fight. Thank goodness Sam had slept through everything, because lord knows we hadn’t been quiet. The raging storm outside must have helped drown out the noise of our rediscovering of each other. I punched my pillow again and closed my eyes, determined to force myself asleep.
Eventually it worked, and the noises in my head died down as I let the sounds of the storm lull me into blissful sleep.
Morning came too early. It seemed as though I’d just fallen asleep when Sam came bounding into my room and jumped into bed with me. In spite of my rude awakening I smiled. We didn’t have enough time on school mornings, but on the weekends I always looked forward to our snuggle time in bed, knowing that we didn’t have to hurry.
“Who is this waking me up so early in the morning?” I grumbled in my fake angry voice.
Sam giggled. “It’s me!” He crawled beneath the covers and snuggled up against me. “Who else would it be?” he asked innocently, and I instantly thought of Rock.
“No one but a little, sneaky munchkin,” I laughed.
“Are you gonna make us French toast and bacon for breakfast?”
Sam loved my French toast, so I made it at least once during the weekends. He was also a little bacon thief, so I’d learned early on not to cook up the whole package at once. “Are you sure you want French toast and bacon this morning? I could make something else instead,” I teased.
His little face grew serious. “No, it has to be French toast and bacon, okay?” I nodded, giving him a hug. “I bet daddy will like it, too!” he added with excitement.
I was about to respond when I heard a noise coming from the living room area, followed by voices.
“Who’s that?” Sam asked with round little eyes. He was already moving to get off the bed to go and investigate.
Frowning, I pulled my blanket aside, and followed him. I stepped into the living room and came to a halt upon seeing Rock and two of his big, burly brothers standing together in my tiny kitchen. The next thing I noticed was the stack of moving boxes sitting next to the TV. It didn’t take a genius to know what they were for. I glanced at Rock, who was standing in the kitchen with a cup of coffee at his mouth, trying to hide his smirk.
“Well, hello, little man,” one of the men said while ruffling Sam’s hair. “You’re a little version of your daddy, aren’t ya?” Sam’s grin went from ear to ear as he vigorously nodded his head in agreement.
Now I was the one smirking, but for a totally different reason than Rock. I knew he was eating this up.
“You must be Allie,” the other man said with a big grin.
“Yes, I’m the lucky one.” The two men laughed while Rock remained silent, sipping away at his coffee, his gaze indifferent. Was he still angry over being banished from my bed the night before? Well tough, that’s the way it was going to remain.
“I’m BK, and this is Big John.”
I didn’t recognize either one of them, deciding they must have joined Phantom Riders after I’d left. “Nice to meet you both.” It seemed the right thing to say, even though I didn’t like the reasons they were standing there in my living room.
“Have some coffee before we get started.” Rock poured three cups, setting two of them on the counter toward BK and Big John. They didn’t hesitate to snatch them up.
Rock held the third cup out in my direction. As much as I wanted to ignore this impossible man, coffee first thing in the morning was my weakness, and a must if I wanted to act halfway human. It was the fuel that got me started for the day. I took it with or without creamer, though he’d set the creamer out. I walked closer and reached for the cup.
“What about me, Dad?”
Rock grinned down at Sam. “Nice try, son, but I think you’re a little young for coffee.”
“Mom let’s me drink hers,” he was quick to say.
“Sip, Sam,” I corrected. “I let you take a sip once in a while.” His little mouth turned down into a pout that was meant to get him his way. I was used to his persuasive ways and grabbed one of the empty boxes. “Why don’t you start packing up your toys while I make breakfast.”
“Okay!” He grabbed the box and went running to his room. It was clear that he was excited to be moving to his dad’s place.
“Breakfast?”
I couldn’t help smiling at the enthusiastic tone coming from Big John, and his hopeful expression, which mirrored BK’s. “French toast and bacon, I’ll make enough for everyone.”
“Babe?”
That sexy baritone sent a shiver down my spine, and released an unwanted flutter in my belly. I met Rock’s eyes, noticing the humor swimming in them. His gaze quickly fell down my body and back up again, causing a reaction in me that I couldn’t control. God, I wanted to hate him for what he did so easily to me. Maybe he wouldn’t notice my nipples turning hard. “What?”
“You might want to put something on before you start breakfast.”
Holy crap! I’d forgotten I was only wearing a pair of very short boy shorts and a crop top that left the lower half of my torso bare. I was so used to walking around like that in the mornings that I hadn’t given any thought to my lack of attire. I cast an embarrassed glance at his brothers.
“We don’t mind how you’re dressed,” said BK with a happy smirk.
“Brother,” BK’s gaze shot to Rock. “Don’t make me beat your ass this early in the morning.” The look in his eyes said that he wasn’t kidding. BK shrugged, unconcerned, and turned his smile on me.
“Before you leave to cover up that smoking body, what are we taking?”
The question came from Big John, and before I even had the chance to think about it, Rock responded. “Only personal stuff.” We exchanged looks. I’m sure he noticed my surprise. “I have everything you’ll need at the house.”
He was lucky that most of the furniture had come with the house, but there was no way I was letting him get away with his high-handedness. I pinned my gaze on his waiting brothers and said firmly, “The furniture stays except for Sam’s room. Everything in there goes with us.” I looked pointedly at Rock. “I still want him to have his things, Rock. I want him to be comfortable in your home. The small appliances in the kitchen belong to me, the books and movies on the bookcase in the corner, and the plants on the porch.” I turned to go to my bedroom before he could respond.
On the way past Sam’s room I peered inside and noticed him tossing his toys into the box. He was murmuring beneath his breath, and I wondered where his little mind had gone. He had a great imagination and was quick to turn almost any situation into some kind of game. Sometimes his lack of focus got him into trouble at school.
Since I was going to be working all day packing, I quickly slipped into a pair of old jean shorts and a tee, and then pulled my hair up into a messy bun. When I re-entered the living room I saw all three men packing the boxes with the items I’d mentioned. I grabbed a box and returned to my bedroom to pack my clothes. Everything in my closet would go with us because it was filled with mementos, old family pictures and personal records. Three boxes later I stood staring at the empty space. It was kind of sad that I could put seven years of my life into three boxes, but I’d always rented places that came furnished.
Sam had made some headway, too, I discovered as I walked into his room. He was nowhere to be
seen. The men had already taken his chest of drawers and dismantled his bed. Most of Sam’s toys were packed, but I noticed he hadn’t touched his clothes. A smile spread across my face as I realized that Sam was the typical boy, worrying more about his toys than anything else. It didn’t take long to empty his closet, and then I was moving on to the pictures on the wall.
I was taking down the curtains when he came rushing into the room. “The moving truck is here, Mom!”
“It is?” His enthusiasm was contagious. “Cool!” I couldn’t help thinking that when we’d first moved to Cedar Key I’d told Sam that we wouldn’t be moving again. How quickly things had changed. “Make sure you don’t get in the way.”
“I won’t. Dad sent me to see if you need help.”
How nice of dad, I thought, a little bitter at how quickly Rock had gained influence over Sam. I supposed I could have fought him harder against the move if I’d really wanted to. But Sam needed this, he deserved to know his dad, and so far Rock appeared genuinely interested in having a relationship with him.
“I’m about done, honey. But you can take that small box out.” I grabbed a bigger one and followed him outside to the U-haul. BK was inside the truck, stacking the boxes as they were handed to him. I walked up to where Rock was handing off boxes to Big John. “What about my car?” Even though I’d assumed that I’d be driving it, I asked anyway. I’d packed an overnight bag for me and Sam for the car.
“BK will drive the truck. Big John will drive you and Sam in the car. Their bikes will go in the U-haul.” He never stopped picking up boxes and tossing them to Big John as he spoke.
That news surprised me. I was expecting Rock to drive with Sam and me as he’d mentioned earlier, but in a way I was glad that we wouldn’t be holed up inside my small car for two days. It might give me the time I needed to come to terms with the sudden change in my life. I handed him my box.
“Let me go fix us some breakfast before we leave.” I’d gotten so busy with packing that French toast and bacon had been forgotten. Rock didn’t say anything when I turned and headed back inside the house. Sam remained outside with the guys. I trusted Rock to keep an eye on him. That was one thing I was comfortable with, anyway.
He’d already proved himself to be a good dad to Sam.
Chapter 12
Rock
“Welcome back, brother.” Hawk slapped me on the back with enough force that it would have sent a weaker man stumbling. He was a giant of a man, and sometimes he didn’t know his own strength. Or maybe he did, and he just liked reminding others of it, not giving a fuck. “We waited for you guys to return for church.”
“Good to be back. Florida is hot as fuck.”
He laughed. “Since when can’t you handle the heat?”
I took my seat next to his. “Not that kind of heat, brother.” I knew that there were MCs based in Florida, but fuck if I knew why.
He nodded in understanding. “When are we going to meet Sam?”
“Soon. I want to give them a chance to get settled.” I grimaced, thinking about Allie and her demands. Separate bedrooms, no sex, Sam wasn’t allowed on the back of my bike, even with body armor. No one came into my home and told me what was what. I’d let her get away with that shit until she pushed too far. Fuck, who was I kidding? She’d already pushed too far, and I was acting like a pussy by letting it go on.
“You look pissed. I take it Allie’s not happy with the move back?”
“Allie’s busting my balls with all her fucking rules. She keeps that shit up and I’m going to have to put my foot down.”
I didn’t like the sound of Hawk’s perceptive laugh. He’d been through his own hell with Audra when she’d first come on the scene. “So, she’s not putting out?”
I didn’t bother answering him. The room was filling up with brothers for church. I was glad to be back, I fucking hated being on unfamiliar ground. This was my home and had been for most of my adult life. Sure, we went on rallies and shit like that, but I’d always had my brothers at my back, and our motto, ‘Live Together, Die Together’, was the code we lived by. Soon the table was packed and growing quiet. Brothers were looking down the table at us, giving Hawk the respect he’d earned.
“Brothers, let’s get this meeting started. Covacks needs our help eliminating someone in the Russian mob. Personally, I’m not sure we want to get involved with them.”
“We’re not pussies!” Painter’s outburst was met with nods of approval.
“You are a pussy,” Bullet laughed.
“Christ, Painter, why do you always have to start shit?” Hawk grumbled with mock anger.
Painter shrugged, a goofy grin spreading across his face. “Can’t help it, brother. The club hasn’t seen any kind of excitement in a long time.”
“I’m not sure ‘excitement’ is the right word,” I replied, glaring at him. Painter only shrugged again.
Hawk released a heavy breath. “Getting back to the shit at hand--” The room quieted and gave him their undivided attention. “We’ve done business with Covacks for years. I don’t need to remind you of what that’s done for our club in terms of success.”
Everyone at the table was probably thinking about the million dollar payoff we’d received for finding his son’s murderer.
“But do we want to get involved with the Russian mob?”
“What’s the payoff on that?” BK asked.
“Five mill,” Hawk said with some hesitation. The room erupted with enthusiastic comments, whistles, and gung-ho eagerness.
I couldn’t blame them, five million dollars was a shit ton of money. I wouldn’t have minded having a piece of that myself. But knowing Hawk better than anyone else in the room, it wasn’t lost on me that he didn’t want to do this job. The old Hawk would have jumped on it, if not for the money than for the excitement, and because it’s what MC’s like ours did. Having a pregnant old lady and two kids hadn’t turned him soft, just more cautious with regard to decisions in the club. No one at the table would fault him for that.
“I know some of you live for this kind of shit, but I have a lot more to live for now. I’m not sure I want to place my family in the kind of position that will come from offing members of the Russian mob.”
“You want to turn this down?” Big John asked. “Won’t that jeopardize our affiliation with Covacks?”
“That’s the point, brother.” Hawk caught everyone off guard with that comment. “We’ve had a couple of good years. Some of us have started families, we have successful businesses outside of the club. We’ve been living the life clubs like ours fight for and strive for. Some of us have gotten fat and lazy.” Laughter filled the room with that comment, and all eyes shot to Ned.
“Hey, my old lady is a chef! I had no control,” he defended himself quickly, rubbing the slight paunch above his belt. “Fuck, she can cook.”
“My point is, do we need to keep doing this shit? Trouble that can get us killed, or put us in prison, threaten our families?”
“We’re a one percent club,” Big John reminded everyone. “It’s what we do.”
He was right, but I was thinking about Allie and Sam, and I was beginning to understand where Hawk was coming from. If anything went wrong with the job, if the mob found out who was involved, it would mean death for all of us.
“I don’t think anyone at this table has forgotten that, brother. But I agree with Hawk. This isn’t a run of the mill protection run or us providing muscle at one of Covacks’ clubs, this is fucking bigger than that. Anything goes wrong, or they find out we’re involved, it means we all die.”
“Won’t go well for Covacks, either,” Ned added. “They find out it’s us, they’ll make the connection that Covacks hired us.”
“Not if we do this right,” I argued, and then turned to Hawk. “What exactly does he want?”
“He wants us to hit them and hit them hard, wipe out as many of them as we can, and make them see there is nothing for them here.”
Clay snorted.
“All the while making sure it doesn’t lead back to Covacks? That’s not gonna work unless we hit their top members, and I doubt they’re here trying to get in on Covacks’ fighting empire. More likely we’ll be dealing with their fucking lackeys.”
Clay had a valid point. Besides, we all knew there was no way we’d be able to wipe out the Russian mob, even if we went to Russia to do it. They were too big and powerful, and they were everywhere.
“Makes me wonder what’s really behind Covacks’ request. He’s not stupid, he has to know what this move will do to the club.”
“Maybe we’re the ones he wants obliterated,” Big John responded to my comment.
We all grew quiet. He’d voiced a thought that hadn’t been considered before, but just as some of us were coming to our own conclusions and shaking our heads negatively.
No Mercy Page 8
