Tears rose to my eyes as clothes draped over his body.
“I want you to tell me everything you know about Sebastian,” Jace said.
But I couldn’t hear him. I was still stuck on all the details I had missed. On how selfish our sex had been. On how clouded my eyes and my mind had become to where I could have missed such obvious things about his person. Guilt flooded my chest. Anguish pooled in my gut. Tears freely dripped down my cheeks as Jace sat on the edge of the bed, his hand sliding up and down my covered leg.
“Leti, I need you to be strong.”
“I’m sorry,” I whispered.
Jace crooked his finger underneath my chin and slowly pulled my gaze to his.
“You have nothing to be sorry for, beautiful. But, I do need you to find it within you to talk about Sebastian one last time. Okay?”
I nodded slowly as his thumb came up and brushed away my tears.
“I’m so sorry,” I whispered again.
“No need to apologize. I promise. Okay?”
I nodded again, feeling the last of my tears meet their death upon his thumb.
“What can you tell me about this man?” he asked.
“He’s… he’s dangerous, Jace. Manipulative. He takes what he wants, and he’s cocky about it. He thinks he can make me do anything he wants, and that includes having sex with him. I’ve been punished a couple of times by refusing that.”
“Punished… how?”
I watched anger rise in his eyes, and it forced my gaze down to his chest.
“Nothing that physically hurt, if that’s what you’re asking,” I said.
“No. That’s not what I’m asking. How did he punish you, Leti?”
I sighed and shook my head, my gaze falling to the bed.
“The first time I told him ‘no,’ he made me try the merchandise.”
I felt Jace stiffen as I cleared my throat.
“He forced his product onto you,” he said.
“He did, yes.”
“How?”
“Held a gun to my head, until I snorted it.”
“When?”
“A couple of months ago. They were testing out new things on the product, and they wanted to see my reaction to it.”
Jace drew in a deep breath. “Do you have his address?”
“Please don’t do this,” I whispered.
“I need his address, Leti.”
“I can’t lose you!”
I don’t know where the words came from or why my voice had gotten so loud, but I curled away the second they fell from my lips. I pulled the covers up underneath my chin and put distance between myself and Jace’s touch. I closed my eyes and grimaced. The words physically hurt to utter. And yet, there was nothing about them that was false.
“If my brother really is dead, then you’re all I’ve got, Jace. And I know that isn’t much and I know we haven’t known each other long, but I like you. I feel safe with you. I… enjoy you.”
My eyes connected to the sheets of the bed, unwilling to look at Jace’s reaction.
“If I lose you and my brother, though, I really do have no one. So, I can’t give you his address. I can’t send you into the lion’s den knowing damn good, and well you might not come out.”
It happened in a flash. I wasn’t sure how Jace could move that quickly or why. But the second I felt him wrap his hands in my hair, my head came back, and my body felt warm. He crashed his lips into me. He pressed his tongue between my lips. My back fell to the bed with the intensity of his kiss, and he followed me effortlessly. My legs spread for him. My entire body automatically opened for him. I wrapped my arms around his neck as our tongues collided as we devoured one another.
And when he pulled back, I gasped for air. Like I hadn’t been afforded breath in days.
A knock at the door interrupted our moment, and his nose nuzzled the tip of mine. I stroked my hands through his hair, wanting to keep my hold on him. Wanting to keep him safe within the confines of my arms. But, I knew he was going to go. Whether or not I wanted him to, I knew that was where he was headed. My eyes connected with his and he pecked my lips one last time.
Then, his face grew stern.
“That’s Maverick,” he said.
I nodded as the two of us sat up, my arms still around his neck.
“I promise I’m coming back to you,” Jace whispered.
“I really hope you’re one to keep your promises,” I said.
Another knock came at the door, and Jace slid out of bed. He walked to the edge of the steps and turned to look back at me, and I knew what he was doing. It was just as hard for him to leave as it was for me to watch him go. I saw it in his eyes. The way he wanted to stay. The way he wanted to crawl back in bed with me. And he knew if I asked one last time, he wouldn’t go.
“I don’t remember the address exactly, but I can give you directions on how to get there,” I said.
“Then I would appreciate them if you could,” he said.
“Go out to the main road and take a left. Take it all the way into town. You’ll pass by two diners. One on the left and one of the right. After you pass the one on the left, take that road to the left. You’ll travel it until the homes become dilapidated and rotted out. There’s a house with a bright yellow porch. Freshly painted. That’s him.”
“Main road, left. Diner on the left, left. House with piss yellow porch.”
I giggled and shook my head before I drew in a deep breath.
“Yeah. Yeah, that’s… that’s him.”
One last knock came at the door, followed by the banging of someone’s fist.
“I’ll be back soon,” Jace said.
And with a few strides of his legs, the door was open, and he was gone again.
Chapter 20
Jace
The wind whipped through my hair as the guys, and I headed down the main drag. Ninety didn’t seem fast enough when dealing with shitheads like this. I had Maverick to my left, Colt to my right, and Duke bringing up the rear. This shit was going down today, and I wouldn’t stop until Sebastian knew to never touch Leti again. We’d deal with the drugs later. Dean would want his personal touch on that issue. But my sole focus was getting Leti out of their hands. I knew we were dealing with a delicate situation. Because I knew there was no way in hell those drugs had been accidentally left behind.
Especially after finding that dummy account in her name.
I couldn’t explain it, but I knew they were already setting her up to take the fall for something. After consulting with a guy from the High Rollers MC, I came to find out that the small baggie of cocaine, depending on the purity, came with anywhere between seven and fifteen years in prison. Just that small little baggie. And with the powdered residue in the suitcase as evidence of more? They could easily put Leti away for the rest of her fucking life.
And that shit wasn’t going down.
“So, what’s the plan once we get there?” Maverick asked.
My headset rang out in my ear as all of the other guys chimed into the conversation.
“Pretty sure Jace is ready to blow some fucking testicles,” Duke said.
“So is Dean, so no worries there,” Colt said.
“Why isn’t the old man with us again?” I asked.
“Doing something with Brynn and Diesel today, or so he said,” Duke mentioned.
“Uh huh. Want to take a vote on how true that shit is?” Colt asked.
All of us chuckled as we finally breached town. We slowed our pace down, and I kept my eyes peeled for the diners. One on the left, and one on the right. The conversation came to a grinding halt until we happened upon the diner I knew Leti had been talking about. There was a dirt road that ran right beside it, so we all took a left and started on the last leg of our journey.
I knew Sebastian would hear us coming, and I wanted him to.
I wanted him to get to know the sound of his enemy.
“So, plan,” Maverick said.
“The plan is to put
a bullet in that man’s face,” I said.
“Okay. Plan B, then,” Maverick said.
“We need to get information out of him. At the very least, he needs to know that people are watching him in this town,” Colt said.
“But are we doing anything else other than our first reach-out before we sink these fuckers?” Duke asked.
“If they make a wrong move, we slaughter them,” I said.
We rolled down the street, and my eyes took in the houses that lined the streets. Homes with roofs that were caving in. Uneven foundations that hadn’t been fixed in years. Porches that were rotting away and overgrown yards with snakes and spiders and all sorts of nonsense in them. We passed abandoned structure after abandoned structure, pouring ourselves into the poorest side of town. Houses were practically stacked on top of one another, and it dawned on me how perfectly-hidden Sebastian and his crew were.
It didn’t look like anyone came through this part of town anymore.
“We rolling up onto the house? Or are we parking and walking?” Duke asked.
“I think we should park and walk. Element of surprise,” Colt said.
“I want that fucker to hear us coming,” I said.
“Which is a recipe for ‘death,’ which I’m not feeling today,” Maverick said.
“Park and walk. Follow me, guys,” Colt said.
Colt maneuvered his way in front of us, and I groaned. I knew I was talking from a hot-headed place, so I followed. Even though I wasn’t happy with it. We found a vacant storefront with a paved parking lot and parked our bikes, readying ourselves for the fight ahead. I drew my weapon. I stacked it with ammunition just in case any of them made a wrong fucking move. All of us had our guns at the ready, and when we were all settled onto our feet, I began scanning the houses.
Then, I found it.
The one with the yellow porch.
“That’s the house,” I nodded.
The guys turned and looked before turning back towards me.
“You gonna be able to keep it together?” Duke asked.
“I will until they pull some bullshit,” I said.
“Sounds about right,” Colt said.
“You guys ready to welcome the new guys into the neighborhood?” Maverick asked.
And after a brief moment of agreement between us all, we started down the block.
We approached the rickety door, our guns at the ready. Colt reached out and knocked on the door, and footsteps scurried behind it. I furrowed my brow at the commotion. I looked at the guys and saw them level their guns at the windows and the door beyond Colt’s shoulder. I drew in a deep breath as voices began to approach the door, and my blood boiled when a thick accent had a name on the tip of his tongue that he should have never uttered.
“It’s about damn time Leti got her ass here.”
The guys peeked back at me, and I whipped my gun straight up to the door. And when it flew open, I stuck my barrel right between his eyes. I took the man in. All scrawny limbs and bullshit tattoos all over his face and neck. I watched his eyes bulge. Men scrambled beside him, trying to pull their weapons.
But we came ready, and my men already had their guns trained on him.
“Sebastian. How nice to meet you,” I said.
“Who the fuck are you?” he asked.
“We’re the town’s welcoming committee. Let’s have a nice chat.”
We pushed our way into the old house, and my men took care of his men. They wrestled the drug heads to the ground as my hand reached out and fisted Sebastian’s shirt. I dragged him into the kitchen, my gun pressed deep into his head. My trigger finger itched. It shook. Trembled with a need to blow this man’s brains out. How dare he force anything onto Leti. How dare he use his own fucking product to try and manipulate the help he had kidnapped and blackmailed.
I forced him into a chair as my guys came into the room, dragging his men as leverage with guns pointed into their skulls.
“Not much of a welcome, if you ask me,” Sebastian said, grinning.
“You’ve got no idea the town you’ve walked into with your drugs, asswipe.”
“And you’ve got no idea who you’re pointing a gun at.”
“I know exactly who I’m pointing a gun at, and I know exactly who I’m messing with. We’ve run you guys out of this town more than once. And while I admire someone with a set of balls, what I don’t admire is stupidity,” I said.
Sebastian grinned, and I wanted the bullet of my gun to wipe that damn smirk off his face.
“Your town is nothing compared to what we’ll do once we can branch out from it,” Sebastian said.
“You won’t get that far. Not with us. I guarantee it,” I said.
I heard a man struggling and panned my gaze over to the corner. I saw Colt struggling to keep the asshole in his grasp. My eyes darted back to Sebastian, who had the cockiest grin on his cheeks alive.
But I knew Colt. He wasn’t just our Road Captain. He also had the biggest set of balls on him out of all of us. And when I heard his gun go off, I actually laughed a little.
“What the fuck!?”
Another gunshot, another little bitch crying out like the idiot he was.
“What the hell!?” Sebastian exclaimed.
“My fucking foot!” the man exclaimed.
“Told you not to move,” Colt said, shrugging.
I snickered and shook my head before I heard a body plummet to the floor. Colt was a fucking maniac, and he didn’t put up with anyone’s shit.
“Do we have your attention now?” I asked.
Sebastian growled as he went to rise up from his chair, but I jammed my foot into his chest. I pushed him back down, watching him gasp for air before I cocked my gun. I pressed my heel into his groin, watching him writhe and cry out while the barrel of my gun sat just beyond his nose.
“I said, do we have your attention now?” I asked again.
“Yes. Yes. Yes. Fuck, get off me, asshole,” Sebastian breathed.
“Good. Because I want you to listen,” I said as I removed my foot. “We will drive you out of this town. And if you don’t want to cooperate, then we will find a way to wipe you from the planet. For some people, that’s death. For others, life in prison. Either way, this town won’t become yours. You won’t funnel your bullshit supply into our airport, and you certainly won’t disperse it through our neighborhoods.”
“Trust me, if your neighborhoods look like this one, there ain’t much to it.”
I cracked my gun against his cheek, listening as he howled out in pain.
“That’s for thinking you could one-up us. We have a reputation. Nothing goes unnoticed by those who know we protect them. And the longer it takes to bring you down and push you out, the worse it will become for you. That, I can promise you,” I said.
“You talk a lot of game for someone not pulling that trigger. Maybe you should get your buddy over there to do it.”
I heard Colt cock his gun again and aim it directly at Sebastian. A maneuver that happened so coolly and so quickly that I saw true panic rush behind the man’s eyes.
“Don’t tempt me,” Colt said.
“I really wouldn’t tease him. Colt doesn’t like teasing,” I said.
“That’s the fucking truth,” Maverick said.
“His women love him for it, though,” Duke said, grinning.
I crouched down in front of Sebastian, watching small droplets of blood roll down his cheek. I’d scratched through a couple of tattoos. Which was good. He needed a few less on his fucking face. I reached up and traced the blood with the barrel of my gun, watching as Sebastian flinched back. He was a coward. A bloodthirsty coward that got off on intimidating women to feel more powerful.
I looked at his blood on the tip of my gun before wiping it off on his crotch.
Then, I leveled my gun at his dick.
“I’m going to make this easy. I’ll give you a chance since you bleed like a pretty little princess. Get your shit and get out. Find another
town for you to conquer. Or be chased out of. And if you leave, we won’t kill you.”
Sebastian started chuckling, and I was ready to take his dick off.
“And if you don’t leave, then we will take you out. We’ll kill you. And your friends. And associates. And business. We’ll kill your bank accounts. Drain them for all they’re worth and line our own pockets. We’ll kill your reputation. Your legacy. We’ll piss on your dreams and use them as toilet paper for our asses once we’re done grinding you into the dirt. And just when you think we’re done, we’ll go after the one thing that means so much to you.”
But when I looked up to finish my threat, I saw Sebastian gazing over the top of my head, and he let out a loud laugh.
“Leti Rodriguez. How nice of you to finally join us.”
And when I whipped my head around, I saw her standing in the doorway. Her beautiful form, with her eyes stoic and her face hardened, and that damn baggie of cocaine dangling from her fingertips.
What the fuck was she doing here?
Chapter 21
Leti
Watching Jace walk out that door shot something through my veins. After that kiss. The way he drew me in. The passion behind his lips. It ignited something within my bones I couldn’t deny. A protective instinct rose up in me. The kind of intuition I’d always had with my brother. I didn’t know what the hell I was going to do, but what I knew was that I couldn’t let Jace do this alone. I didn’t want him approaching Sebastian on his own, even though I knew he’d be with the guys. I had been dealing with that man for months. And this was a mess that had fallen onto my shoulders. A mess I had brought into his world.
I needed to be there to help Jace in some way.
I slid from my bed and paced the apartment. I showered and pulled on my clothes, hoping that piecing myself together would ignite some common sense. But the farther away Jace rode, the closer he got to Sebastian.
Jace (The Black Hornets MC Book 1) Page 12
