by Addison Jane
“We’re ready,” Mix announced, flashing some papers casually as he walked past. Avery’s eyes moved between us then narrowed cautiously.
“Good,” I answered, not bothering to turn to my brother but keeping my eyes focused on the woman in front of me. After a few seconds of silence, I cracked a smile. “You’re not gonna ask?”
“Since when has it been my place to ask?”
“Since we started raising a fucking child together,” I rasped, taking her hips in my hands and lifting her from the bar onto the floor. There wasn’t a lot of height difference between us, so when I braced my hands on the bar behind her and pressed my hips forward, I couldn’t help but enjoy the way her breath hitched, and she reached for me. Leaning in, my mouth sided up to her ear while she clung to my leathers. “If you didn’t know already, I plan on making this something more soon. I’m just giving you time to get used to that idea. Time to really fall in fucking love with me before I put my patch on your sexy fucking ass.”
She shuddered, and I fucking grinned. I wasn’t sure if it was because my words scared her or because she fucking liked them. But I didn’t care.
I pressed my lips hard against hers, devouring her, delighting in the way she softened at my touch. Her hands moved up my chest, curling around my neck and tugging me in a little closer, pressing her body harder against mine. “Goddamn,” I cursed, pausing to take a breath and pressing my forehead to hers. “Better be careful, or I’m gonna throw you over my shoulder right now and carry you upstairs.”
One of her hands instantly slipped from my neck, and I caught it just as she reached for my belt, a mischievous smirk on her face.
“Don’t make promises you can’t keep,” she whispered, her tongue flicking out and brushing over my lips.
My cock was straining hard against my jeans. But unfortunately for me, I’d already called my brothers in, the plan to have church before we can sit down, relax, and eat.
“I’ll be less than an hour,” I answered, taking her hand I had a hold of and pressing her palm to the front of my jeans so she could feel just how badly I wanted her. “You better be in my bed, naked, touching yourself, so when I walk in, your pussy is already drenched, waiting for my fucking cock.”
Her mouth fell open, and she stood a little taller, moving her hips unconsciously, no doubt the throbbing between her legs already beginning.
“You hear me?”
She swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded. “Yes, sir.”
And with that, I was gone.
Not looking back.
Knowing if I did, I might just change my plans and take her upstairs. But I had business to take care of, trying not to let my thoughts of Avery distract me from the job at hand.
She protected my child with her life today. She was ready to lay down for him to that psycho bastard. Just like she was my old lady. Just like that baby was her own.
But I was still aware of her fears, so I was going to move slow.
Warn her.
Prepare her.
Get her used to the idea of being fucking mine. Let her fall in love with me, with Gage, and make sure that when I lay that shit down, there is no fucking way she was going to say no. There was no way she was going to freak out and run.
My cock was still pressed uncomfortably against the front of my jeans when I sat at the head of the table and leaned in. “What’ve we got?”
“Thayleah Ryan,” Mix announced, sliding the papers he had flashed me earlier across the table.
Mix had joined us a few weeks ago from Troy, Alabama. He wanted to change things up a little, be a little closer to a younger brother who was going to college in California. The kid had managed to pull himself out of a bad place after getting caught up in a street gang in New York. Mix, having contacts in more places than I think anyone was really aware of, cut a deal to get him out and shifted him as far across the country as possible.
Got him into school.
Got him something to focus on.
And since we were the closest club, Mix moved right along with him.
I was grateful for the addition to the club. He had skills, and when I said his contact list was long, I wasn’t exaggerating. He knew people. He knew people who knew people. And on top of that, he’d earned people’s respect. So when he came knocking looking for something, more often than not, doors always opened.
I flicked open the first page, finding a photograph tucked just inside. “This her?” I questioned, picking it up and leaning forward, studying it for a second. She looked like Emma, only with darker hair and a sad face. It was a strange thing to point out, but for the most part, I always remembered Emma being this smiling, beautiful soul who lit up a room. Her energy was all sweetness and love which, now that I think about it, was probably why we didn’t exactly work out.
Every woman that hung around the club, whether it be old lady, club girl, sisters, daughters, or just associates, they were loving, caring, and had huge hearts. But they also weren’t afraid to lay it down if they had to. They were not afraid to throw a fist. Or pull a trigger.
That wasn’t Emma.
She was strong but not in the way that I needed.
“She’s almost seventeen,” Mix continued, looking through a matching folder of his own. “Been living with Emma for eighteen months, moved in just before she got married to the bastard. The girl’s mom isn’t exactly your world’s best parent. Thayleah and Emma both have a long record of being in and out of foster care, often after they’ve been found living out of their car or at a shelter.”
“Where’d this information come from?”
“Neighbors and someone I know from inside Child Protective Services,” he answered, flicking the page. “Had a chat with a few people who lived around her before the husband got locked up and before she had Gage, trying to figure out if anyone had seen them. Or knew of friends he had. Maybe a clue as to where he might be keeping her.”
“Any luck?” I asked, feeling like I should cross my fucking fingers or say a goddamn prayer. Knowing he had this kid locked up somewhere was the only thing that stopped me from killing the bastard today. He could have her tied up in the desert somewhere or locked in some goddamn cabin in the hills that we would never find.
I had no fucking idea what he was capable of, but I knew I wasn’t about to risk Thayleah’s life too. I had to hold back, fight every fucking burning muscle in my body that was so ready to make him pay for what he did and give some kind of retribution to Emma because I knew she would want us to find her sister.
She was Gage’s aunt.
And that made her family.
So the motherfucker got to live.
But hopefully not for long.
“No luck with her neighbors,” Mix answered, pushing his shoulders back. “But Kid and I are gonna head up to his place tomorrow and have a chat with his neighbors, ask if they’ve seen any young girls, any strange visitors, or know where he’s been going during the day.”
I tapped my fingers on the table. “Good. Also, Auron...” I turned to him, and he sat a little taller, his eyes focused on me, so I knew he was paying attention. His mind could run at times, his brain wired a little differently from ours. “Your job is to simply check him out. Follow where he’s going for a few days. Let me know if there are any places you think we should check out.”
“I’m on it,” Auron answered with a salute.
“We’re gonna catch him out,” I told my brothers, their heads all bobbing in agreement. “The long game has already begun, and later this week, he has a meeting with the board at the hospital, where he’ll be asking for his job back. They’re going to ruin his day and say no, and he’s going to be fucking furious.”
I grinned.
I couldn’t fucking help it.
I wished I could be a fly on the wall at that medical board meeting. I already knew what kind of man Garrett was. He wanted control, attention, and that god-like power his job offered him. He wanted everyone to look at him in awe
. Men to want to be him, women to want to be with him. After seeing Emma’s apartment, Austin explained to me how they had suspicions that Garrett had some kind of personality disorder. More than likely, narcissistic personality disorder. It wasn’t just the self-importance or the superiority he had, it was the lack of any other fucking emotions other than cool, calm, arrogance, and red-hot anger.
It meant that this game had to be played a certain way. We needed to push him. Nudge him. Right to the edge of fucking crazy. Right to the point where he loses control because it’s there that he will make a mistake. And when he makes a mistake, we will find Thayleah.
“And how do you know they’re gonna say no?” Kid questioned when the rest of the table just sat back looking smug.
“They have a couple of heavy hitters that organize fundraisers and are donating a lot of money for a new children’s wing,” I explained, leaning back in my chair and folding my arms across my chest. “I just told the hospital that if they wanted it to go ahead, it wasn’t in their best interest to have a convicted abuser on their payroll.”
Kid’s eyes widened as he realized exactly what I was saying.
I’m sure Garrett had no idea either that these dirty fucking bikers that he looked down on like the scum of the earth had the smarts, the money, and the contacts to rival the fucking FBI.
But he was soon going to learn that I could play games too.
AVERY
Stepping out of the bathroom, I had to pause, my eyes drifting to the bed.
The sheet sat low across his hips.
His hair tossed in all directions.
A perfectly toned and sexy as sin torso temping me for just a second.
The one thing stopping me from attacking him? The tiny baby tucked protectively into the crook of his arm.
I’d left the two of them there thirty minutes ago with a fresh bottle for Gage while I got ready for school. It was now half empty and being loosely held in Shotgun’s limp hand, the leftover contents spilling onto the sheets. I’d change them later. For now, seeing them sleep bought a smile to my tired face. The both of us were feeling like hell warmed up this morning, Gage letting us know he was not a happy camper right now by waking us up every hour last night. The poor little thing was completely unsettled. I still wasn’t sure why, but hopefully, a trip to the pediatrician this afternoon would help us understand.
For now, though, I had a class to go to, and the longer I stood there staring, the more my heart wanted to say fuck school, just so I could be with my boys.
My boys.
My stomach twisted, but at the same time, my heart didn’t sink.
It skipped.
An excited skip.
The two things together stealing my breath.
Things were changing. I could feel them. Every day Shotgun was constantly proving me wrong. Showing me the kind of man he was, making me fall further and further until I needed to just close my eyes and let it take me, because eventually, hitting the bottom was either going to be the best feeling ever or it was going to hurt so damn bad.
But I couldn’t risk one without the other.
I took a deep breath, dragging myself slowly toward the door and sneaking out with a barely audible click.
Class, come home, get ready for my shift at Empire.
Adrian is having Gage until my shift is done at midnight.
Shotgun is there until closing.
Each thing shot through my head. A mental list being ticked off as I made my way down the hall.
“Hey.” I paused, just before the staircase, looking to my left. Slate leaned against his doorframe, shirtless, jeans sitting low and unzipped on his hips.
My nose crinkled. “Let Holly know I’m leaving now if she wants a ride.” The comment wasn’t meant to come out as sharp as it did. Holly was a big girl, if she wanted to mess around with club members, she could do what she wanted. I wasn’t her keeper, and I needed to stop trying to be.
“She already left,” he replied with a gentle laugh, shaking his head.
I could tell he was holding back. There was something else.
“Just say it, Slate.”
“Your girl, she’s in deep.” The laughter in his eyes dropped away, and he rolled his shoulders back.
It sent a tingle through me, though I tried to shake it off. “What do you mean?”
“I know addicts, Avery.”
I couldn’t stop my head from shaking back and forth. She wasn’t an addict. She was a girl who spent too much time drinking, and the drinking put her in bad places which stopped her from making smart decisions. The drugs. They were forced on her.
Slate reached deep into his back pocket and pulled out a tiny canister. Shaking it, making it rattle. “You think I’m crazy? Look what I found in her pocket.”
“What are they?” I rasped.
“Does it fucking matter?”
No.
It didn’t.
My hands were shaking, tears burning my eyes. “I’m gonna be late for class,” I whispered.
“I’m only telling you because my brother loves you. And I don’t want to see her hurt you, but if you keep letting her have these chances, she’s going to keep taking them until something fucking breaks. You know what happened to Shotgun, what hell he went through, what he had to do,” Slate whispered, his eyes moving to Shotgun’s closed bedroom door. “You need to be careful and don’t put him in that fucking position where he has to once again make a choice to protect the people he cares about.”
That was the twist.
The knife in my heart and the sharp jerk as Slate tested just how much I gave a shit about his best friend.
“You need to stay the hell away from her,” he continued when I didn’t reply.
I couldn’t.
I didn’t know what the hell to say, whether I should be protesting or whether I’d had enough of protesting for her.
“If Shotgun doesn’t do it, I will. Because it’s my job to have his back. Not yours.”
Did I love him enough to stand up to a friend, who I felt this strange loyalty to, or was I about to put him in a situation where I was wrong? And where he might just have to hurt someone to protect the other people who loved him.
“I hear you,” I answered, my voice cracking. I scurried for the stairs, and my hand traced the banister as I walked backward, Slate watching me the entire time. His voice echoed after me as I jogged down the stairs.
My cheeks were hot.
Fury and embarrassment filling them with fire.
The drive to school was slow, a million thoughts attacking my brain. But one that I kept coming back to.
How long was I going to keep allowing my fears to impact the people around me?
First with Shotgun. Seeing the way he looked at me and the way I hurt him when I pushed him away.
Now with the club. So scared to give up on my best friend and losing her too that I allowed her to walk in there and do that. Carrying drugs. Inside a clubhouse where the president was dead against them. Around people that I had this strong loyalty to protect.
My class passed in a blur.
It was the same one that Holly and I shared, so every time the door opened or something moved behind me, my entire body tightened, the hairs on my arms standing on end. I simply wanted to get through this and get back to the clubhouse because I just wasn’t sure I was ready to deal with anything else.
“Avery!”
I’d almost made it back to my car.
“Hey, sorry I bailed early this morning,” she explained happily as she jogged over. “Some of the girls demanded bonding time, so we went fo—”
“Stop!”
Her brow pulled together for a brief second before she let out a sigh. “I’m sorry I slept with Slate. It just happened. You know my attraction to his type, and he’s a major flir—”
“That’s not it… and you know it.”
Her usual casual attitude came to an earth-shattering halt, her eyes growing wide like a deer stuck
in headlights.
“You gave him dru—”
“He took them from my pocket! I would never offer them to a club member. Do you think I’m that stupid?” she protested loudly before suddenly realizing there were people walking around us, dipping and dodging on their way home from class. Holly stepped in closer, lowering her voice, “He said if I tried to offer them to anyone at the club, that he’d end me. You know me, I wouldn’t—”
I cut in, and I wasn’t so cautious with my tone. The only thing keeping me at a slightly normal level, the fact that my angry breathing was drying out my throat and making it horse. “It doesn’t fucking matter if you would or not. It’s the fact that you are.”
Her bottom lip trembled.
And so did my heart.
I’d spent so much time worrying about letting people walk out on me, I hadn’t even considered who I was letting walk in. This wasn’t the Holly I knew. This wasn’t the woman who had dropped everything to be with me when I needed her. This wasn’t the woman who I’d looked up to like a bright beacon, who had drawn me in and made me feel a little bit of life again.
Who I swore I’d never give up on.
Who I swore I would always answer when she called.
“What the hell happened to you?” I whispered, trying to keep my voice strong, to keep it from breaking like it felt my heart was. “You’re just carrying pills around now? Like a local dealer?"
“A-Avery…” she whispered, her voice cracking, breaking under the pressure.
“Tell me.”
“I can’t.”
“Let me help you then—”
“Holly!” a deep voice shouted from across the parking lot, the both of us snapping our attention that way. “Let’s go,” Cooper called, a sharpness in his tone and on his face that I wasn’t sure I’d seen before. His remarks had always been playful, arrogant, and he hid everything else well. But I could see the shadows, the darkness in his gaze, and how it instantly made Holly curl in on herself.
“What the hell have you done to her,” I screamed, taking at least three steps toward him before Holly grabbed my arm and jerked me back, almost sending me tumbling to the ground. I fought against her, the sneer that curled Cooper’s top lip letting me know things were more serious, that he wasn’t happy with me figuring things out.
