Saving Glory (Hells Saints Motorcycle Club Book 4)

by Paula Marinaro

  “That’s a definite,” Hal called out a confirmation. “Like Glory said, I bike that trail all the time. And I’m not the only one. Granted, it’s not a heavy traffic path, but it’s not unusual to run into a jogger or someone out with their dog. I doubt, with everything that was going down, that they got a real clear look and even if they did, all they saw was two scared women. At least my sister and Claire had the common sense to somewhat disguise themselves. They had their hair covered up in baseball caps and wore those big sunglasses.” Then Hal added with thought. “Santino’s not the smartest guy under the best of circumstances. I doubt, that with everything else he had going on, that he would have two and two together.”

  Prosper hung an unlit cigarette from his mouth and paced the floor for a minute or two.

  “So this is what I’m thinking—notify everyone we’re in high alert status. Let the brothers know that they need to do whatever it takes for them to keep their families safe, then I want the boys here. Set up some grills, tap one of the kegs. Make it look like a regular meet for anyone who might be watching—business as usual from the outside. Inside we arm the fuck up and prepare for an attack. My guess is they’re gonna try to surprise us. They will most likely use something that can contain a crew of armed men like maybe a utility truck or a delivery van. Some Trojan horse type shit. When it happens we’ll be ready. In the meantime, Jules can work his magic and find out what the hell we’re dealing with.”

  “So either the fuckers are already gone and this can be a good drill for the boys, or we are ready for them when they make their move,” Jules confirmed.

  “Exactly,” Prosper agreed grimly.

  “So where we gonna put our women?” Diego leaned back in his chair and drew his fingertips into a steeple. “Please tell me that one of you fuckers have thought that through. Because I’ve got to tell you right now, the shit is going to hit the fan in a big way if I have to go back home and tell my woman that she is going to have to pack up our kids and hide out in a hotel.”

  Despite the dire circumstances, every man in the room released a small commiserating grin when Prosper growled out a long suffering sigh.

  “Aw shit. I hadn’t thought of that. A full scale turf war with the Colombians ain’t gonna be nothing compared to managing this situation with the women.” Prosper shuddered. “There is absolutely no way that I am going to talk Pinky into being locked up in that house of mine without her girls. And we just don’t have the room for everyone. Besides all of our addresses are public record and I can’t spare anybody to keep a watch on them.”

  “That leaves out the lake house,” Hal added. “Remote enough, but it’s not secure.”

  “Reno’s place is a goddamn fortress,” Jules offered.

  “Still an address of public record. They storm the gate, the girls are on their own.” Diego shook his head.

  “So what are we gonna do with them? I can’t waste any more time on this shit. We’ve got about one minute to decide, then I’m gonna book them all on a plane somewhere, and deal with the fuss later,” Prosper announced.

  “Yeah, good luck with that,” Diego muttered.

  “Bring them to me.”

  All heads turned to Gianni.

  “The house is large and the grounds are secure. The women will be safe there. Dolly will join them. My daughter will be happy for the company.”

  “You have a daughter?” Prosper said in surprise.

  Gianni nodded and said simply, “I have a daughter. She’s been away. Now she’s back.”

  “You don’t know what you’re offering.” Diego shot out a warning. “I love the hell out of my wife and kids, but they’re a handful. And all those women under one roof? Damn.”

  “Like I said, the house is large.” Gianni shrugged. ”And I don’t imagine it’ll take more than a few days for this to be over, one way or another.”

  “Appreciate it Gianni. But I have got to agree with my brother, D, on this one. Our women are feisty and hard-to-control pains in the ass under normal circumstances. Lockdowns are a damn nightmare.” Prosper admitted with honesty.

  “I’ll go with,” Hal suddenly volunteered. “Run interference. See to their needs and shit.”

  “Why the hell would you do that?” Jules dismissed his earlier misgivings about Hal being a non-patch. “We could use you here.”

  Prosper shook his head and said, “Not this time. You know it and I know it, Jules. We’ve already bent the club bylaws more than we should have. No fucking offense, Hal.”

  “None fucking taken,” Hal assured him. Then he added with a wry grin. “I’m willing to take one for the team.”

  “Then if you’re willing,” Diego said with relief. “I’d sure feel a hell of a lot better about dumping our women on Gianni here, if you were there to help out.”

  Gianni stood and reached behind him to release his suit coat from the back of the chair. “I will go now and make preparations if it’s settled.”

  “Yeah. Shit’s settled.” Prosper lifted his chin at Hal. "Brother, you wanna stick around for a few more minutes? While you’re here, I’ve got a few more questions about this Santino asshole. It’ll be a while before the girls get packed up anyway. Then you can meet them at Gianni’s.”

  Diego let out a low chuckle and slapped Hal on the back. “Take my advice and take your time. I’d rather face a cartel shoot out any day than spend a couple of days playing house boy to that bunch. And don’t let Raine give you any shit. And if she wants you to do something for her and you say no to her then she smiles at you instead of getting mad? Whatever you do, don’t smile back at her. Not even once. That’s how she knows she’s got you. Works on me every damn time.”

  *****

  As Jules made his way across the yard towards his room, he thought about Glory and what she had told him about her parents.

  Now that’s some irony for you.

  His dad and hers had a lot in common.

  Both were successful, smart fuckers who hadn’t put family or being faithful to their women high on their list.

  Why settle for one when you can have them all? Jules had heard his father bragging to his golf buddies more than once when he had been forced to caddy for them. And in the small affluent town where Jules grew up, it was no secret that Dr. Bonny had made it his life mission to have them all.

  Jules’s father had not been a businessman, but rather a well-known cardiac surgeon. But just like Derek Thomas, Harold Bonny had a strong gambling addiction. However, Jules’s father didn’t like to gamble with cards. Oh fuck no. He liked to gamble with people’s lives. Dr. Bonny was an arrogant man with a God complex.

  Although Jules had harbored a strong interest in medicine from a very young age, the fear of living in his father’s shadow, or even worse, becoming a man like him stopped Jules from pursuing a medical career. After battling his own demons—demons that resulted from bad decisions, dangerous pursuits and the normal adolescence angst taken to the extreme—Jules triumphed. And he did it by pulling himself out of the gutter and joining the Marines. In his role as a field medic, he volunteered for the toughest assignments, the bloodiest battles, and he was known for his cool head and his bravery.

  Now as Jules approached the door to his room, he thought about his large collection of condoms and the even larger collection of females that he had had in his bed over the years. He thought about the "woman’s place is in the home" bullshit that had been drummed into his head by his philandering and self-serving father. He thought about his mother with that damn perpetual plastic smile on her face waiting for the good doctor to come home.

  And he realized that despite all his efforts to the contrary, a part of him had held fast to those archaic, misogynist ideals. The ideas taught to him by his bastard old man.

  And Jules knew that if he wanted to keep the only woman he had ever loved and probably ever would love by his side, he better cut that shit out fast.

  But first he had to get Glory to a safe place until all this cartel bu
llshit was over.

  Chapter 28

  Jules knew he should wake her up.

  He knew that he should just lean over, shake Glory out of sleep and get her ass over to Gianni’s as fast as possible.

  He knew that.

  Jules knew that he should resist the urge to crawl into bed with her. He knew that he shouldn’t be placing small kisses on her full lips, or coaxing panties down her smooth hips.

  But she looked so damn beautiful lying there.

  Glory in his bed.

  So damn sexy with those long legs parted, as if in invitation. The urge to satisfy his need for her, to feel her, to touch her, raged through his system and propelled him forward. As if of its own volition, Jules found his big body wedged between her legs while his lips began to place small kisses along the silky smooth skin of her inner thighs.

  “Jules?” Glory called to him in drowsiness as the scruff of his short beard tickled her intimately.

  “Relax, babe.” His eyes met hers in a blaze of need. Then he lowered his head again before she could protest. Jules’s mouth began to explore Glory with exquisite skill. When he felt her body tense and quiver beneath him, he plunged his tongue deep inside her. Over and over he pleased her with his mouth until he felt her hips rise up in welcome and heard her breath release in low moans of pleasure. He slipped a finger inside her body thrusting deeper and deeper until he found that incredibly sensitive spot. Rhythmically he teased her with his finger while his mouth tugged on the silky, tender intimate nub until she cried out for release.

  Several moments later Glory lay in Jules’s arms, her breath uneven and her body still tingling in all the best places. Once the dizzying ecstasy subsided, she nuzzled herself tight against him. Then with a shy touch her hands began to roam over him in gentle exploration. He lay very still as her fingertips grazed over his muscled chest and taut belly. She captured his nipple in her mouth and bit on it gently. When Glory heard Jules groan, her lips followed the trail of her hands, over his chest, past his belly and lower. She moved from his side, rolled on top of him, and slid herself down between his powerful thighs.

  With a gentle hand and shy exploration she began to tease and pull tenderly on the round firm sac. When his breath hitched in a low primal moan, she rose to her knees, pushed her bottom up in the air, bent her head down and captured him with her warm wet mouth.

  Glory let out a small cry of frustration when Jules pressed his hands firm around her head in a stop motion. When Glory stopped and looked up at him in surprise, he flipped her over on her back and pushed a pillow beneath her hips. She parted her legs in welcome.

  He didn’t need any further invitation, he positioned himself along her glistening folds and began to slowly enter her. With a knowing touch Jules reached between her legs and found the center of her pleasure. With every inch of cock he fed her, he worked her clit faster and faster until she cried out in climax. Her body had barely stopped quivering in orgasm when Jules withdrew from her, flipped her over on her belly, and pulled her up by her hips. Pressing her head down, he entered her again. There was no gentleness in him now, only the driving need to dominate, and possess. Jules anchored her by wrapping a strong arm around her waist while he plunged into her over and over again until he pulsed hot and long inside of her.

  A few moments later they lay wonderfully sated and depleted and wrapped in each other’s arms.

  “Wow. That was—” Glory sighed in appreciation.

  “Fucking amazing. I know. ” Jules grinned and kissed the tip of her nose. Then he glanced at the clock beside the bed. “And you can thank me later. But right now you’ve got to get your fine ass out of bed. I should have gotten you out of here an hour ago.”

  Jules untangled Glory from under his arm, stood beside the bed and hauled her up next to him.

  “Am I going back to the lake house?” Glory began to rummage through the sheets for her clothes.

  “No.” He found the small scrap of lace and tossed it to her. “You’re going to the wop’s house.”

  “Gianni’s house? Why?” Glory pulled on her panties.

  “Potentially threatening situation…” His voice trailed off as though the conclusion was obvious. “Your girls will be there too. Hal will drive you over and stay with. You take your lead from him, and try not to give him any shit.”

  “But we should be safe at Gianni’s, shouldn’t we? Why does Hal have to be there?”

  Jules stood with his back against the wall, enjoying the sight of Glory’s breasts bouncing deliciously as she tugged on her jeans. Damn if he wasn’t getting hard for her again. When Glory pulled the silky triangles over her breasts and reached around to fasten her bra, Jules forced his eyes back up to her face. When she shot him an expectant look, he fought hard to remember the question at hand.

  Something about Hal being at Gianni’s?

  “Up to this point Hal’s involvement with the club has been acceptable.” Jules forced himself to focus and resist the urge to kiss Glory’s neck where she gathered her hair up in a high ponytail.

  “I don’t understand.” Glory’s nipples swelled against the constraints of the thin silk as she reached up to tie an elastic band around her blond locks.

  “The bylaws.” He tore his eyes away from those perfect peaks with effort. “Driving the van for the brothers on a long-ass run or hanging at the clubhouse is one thing, but today Hal sat in on a meet that, as a non-member, he had no business being at. He gave us some valuable information, but that shit has to cease. Diego brought up the point that a house full of women could be a huge pain in the ass, so Hal volunteered to run interference.” Jules let this out in one long impatient sentence, because as much as he enjoyed watching Glory get dressed, he had shit going on. The Colombian threat was a strong one and needed to be dealt with. So with that in mind he tossed Glory her T-shirt.

  “Now stop asking so many questions, and hurry up, babe. I got me some killing to do.”

  Chapter 29

  Jules left Glory in his room to finish getting dressed. As he made his way across the compound, he concentrated on the very serious matter at hand and put on the mantle that he was born to wear.

  Defender.

  In his heart he would always be a soldier. A Marine defending, protecting and serving. His position as Sergeant At Arms of the Saints was a natural extension of that. Jules had given his oath to protect the club members, the club property, and the club territories from outside threats. It was a vow he had taken with pride and would give his life to defend. To that end, Jules walked across the large yard with his cell, stabbing in phone numbers, barking out orders and calling in markers.

  He was about halfway across the yard when the earth trembled beneath his feet. It felt as if a large angry boot came crashing down from the sky without warning. Shattered glass, thick black smoke and blazing fire spread along all corners of the yard. The high-pitched whistle of the alarm system rang out ferociously and mixed with the squeal of the security gate being torn from its hinges.

  The brothers started pouring out from every building in the compound with rifles and pistols in hand. Jules rose on unsteady feet from where he had been brought down by the force of the blast, and when he did, he saw the vehicle careening up the driveway. A dozen men leaned out from the bed of a tricked out truck and riddled the compound with bullets. The roar of automatic weapons shot through the air all around him.

  “Glory!” Jules shouted when he saw her standing confused and terrified in the doorway. “Gun and keys—by the bed. Truck—by the back entrance. Take the utility road and drive straight to the highway—shoot through anything that gets in your way! GO!”

  When another round of bullets punched through the air, Glory froze in terror. As if in slow motion, she turned around slowly surveying the damage until her eyes landed back on Jules. Her expression turned to one of dazed horror when she took in the shattered glass and debris that covered the ground at his feet. When she made a small confused move towards him, Jules felt a co
ld fear grip his heart.

  “Go to the truck now!" he thundered at her. “Now!"

  Another explosion shattered through the air before Glory’s trance-like state was broken and she was galvanized into action. With one last tearful look at Jules, she nodded her understanding, turned from him and ran back into the building.

  Thank God!

  “Jules!” Hal shouted and he turned around just in time to catch the assault rifle and the pistol. With a nod of thanks he slung the rifle on his back and unlatched the safety on the handgun.

  “Glory?” Hal roared out the question above the sound of gunfire.

  “She’s okay!” Jules shouted back. Then he lifted his chin in the direction of the truck and with two fingers, Jules made a motion towards the main clubhouse. Then he pointed to the roof.

  Hal followed Jules as they zigzagged their way to the back of the building. With one hard tug, Jules pulled down the metal fire escape ladder that connected to the rooftop. Hand over hand he scaled the ladder to the top of the clubhouse. Hal followed close on his heels.

  From their vantage point, the men had a clear view of the gun fight that was happening below. Bautista’s crew had hit all right, but thanks to Glory and Claire’s foolhardy decision making, the Saints were ready for them.

  Jules had barely time to frame that thought when another truck stormed through the flattened security gate. As Hal crawled up beside him, Jules nodded to the driveway and shouted to be heard above the gunfire. “Incoming!”

  Jules took another quick scan of the perimeter before he yelled out the order.

  “You get the truck. I’ll take the ground.”

  Hal’s response was immediate and deadly. He flattened himself in a sniper position. One by one and with deadly precision, Hal picked the Colombians off as easily as if he were shooting fish in a barrel. While Hal was busy laying waste to the guys pouring out from the truck, Jules took careful aim to help any man that may be pinned by gunfire exchange on the ground.