Rough & Real

by Hayley Faiman

  My thumb runs along her bottom lip, my eyes staying on hers. “Thank you, baby. Thank you for saving her, and yourself.”

  “I love you, West,” she whimpers as tears fall from her eyes. “Only ever you, baby.”

  We stay that way for a few minutes. Whispering to one another and she recalls what happened after I went down. She doesn’t know everything and I’m glad for that. However, I need to know everything, including where Derek’s body is. “Go get, Torch, yeah?” I murmur.

  “Okay.”

  I watch her walk away and I let my head fall back on the pillow, closing my eyes for a brief moment. I hurt, but I’m relieved. Nobody was injured, except me. Nobody died, except Derek. My family is safe, and there isn’t some unknown threat still out there.

  “Holy shit, your woman is a badass,” Torch’s voice calls out a few minutes later.

  Turning my head to the side, I open my eyes and watch him walk into the room, closing the door behind him. He’s not wrong. Ivy is a fucking badass. “That being said, she freaked out and basically told me to kick you out of the club,” he chuckles.

  “Shit,” I mutter, scrubbing my hand down my face.

  Torch shrugs. “Pretty sure she doesn’t realize how shit works, but if you want to live a different kind of life, I’d probably allow that,” he announces as he sits down on the sofa.

  “What the fuck would I do for a job?” I ask, lifting my brows. “I got three kids creeping up on college age. I can’t do anything different and I don’t fucking want to. She’s just killed a man, I think she gets a pass for an outburst.”

  “She does,” he chuckles. “Derek’s body is in the warehouse, by the way. Figured you’d want to deal with it when you get outta here,” he shrugs. Fuck yes, I would, and I will.

  I grunt and lift my chin to Torch as my only response. He knows I want that sick fucking pervert, dead or alive, I don’t care—he’s mine to dispose of. “Doc says you can get out of here tomorrow morning,” he announces.

  “The bomb, was that shit real?”

  Torch glances at me and gives me a slow nod. “Apparently when Ivy went into the clubhouse to get Rosalie, she told everybody to leave out the back, and grabbed a knife,” he explains. “We had Hacker get into his phone and yeah, that shit was real. We don’t know where he got the bomb or the idea, but he did it. Hacker disabled the phone, and we found the bomb, and I personally disabled that shit.”

  “Fuck,” I hiss.

  Torch shakes his head and lets out a puff of air. “Nobody knew he was capable of that, brother. It’s not on anybody. He was fucking unstable.”

  “Who vouched for him to prospect?” I ask, unable to remember. We had several prospects start at once and he was one of them.

  Torch rubs the back of his neck with his hand and exhales. “Nobody. He was a hanger. He’d come to every single fucking party for over a year, made some friends. Hacker is gathering intel on him now, seeing if anybody will come looking for him, but brother, nobody really knew him.”

  “I fucking trusted him with my family,” I grunt.

  Torch stands and walks over to my bed. “You did, but Camo, we all did,” he mutters. “Your mom is about to tear someone a new asshole, so I’m going to send in her next, then the kids one at a time,” he announces. I watch him walk out of the room and let out a heavy sigh.

  This fuck, nobody knew him, and he just wormed his way into our club and into my wife’s panties. Although, I can’t really blame him, or Ivy for that, I practically forced that shit to happen with my adolescent behavior.

  However, I didn’t know him, not really, and I blindly trusted him because he was prospecting with my club. I trusted him with my entire fucking family, and it almost not only got me killed but got my wife and daughter seriously hurt.

  “Never again,” I whisper to myself. “Never again.”

  “Don’t you dare,” I scold, planting my hand on my hip.

  West growls at me, his eyes narrowed into slits as he sits on the edge of the bed. “Woman, I’m not an invalid. I got shot in the arm.”

  “You just got out of the hospital last night. I’m sorry but, no, you need to rest,” I urge, sounding more demanding than anything.

  He stands, ignoring me completely. I watch as he starts to walk toward me. I take one step backward with each advancing step he takes in my direction. “What are you doing?” I whisper as my back crashes against the closed door.

  “Maybe if I fuck you, you’ll realize that I’m fine,” he murmurs.

  His lips brush mine and my entire body breaks out in a shiver. West’s lips press hard against mine and his hand slips between my thighs. His fingers tug down my panties, and I’ve never been so glad I wore a dress than I am right now.

  West spins me around and I place my palms flat on the door, pushing my ass out and spreading my thighs. “Fuck, Ivy,” he groans as his fingers gently brush through my wet center.

  “Baby,” I whisper, dropping my head back.

  His hand fists in my hair and tugs my head back a little further, right before his cock slams inside of me. I’m unable to hold in my gasp at the surprise of his sudden entrance. He doesn’t move immediately, allowing me to stretch around him.

  “Look at me,” he demands. I open my eyes and look at his face upside down. “I’m okay, baby,” he whispers as the hand not fisted in my hair gently slides around the front of my throat.

  Tears well in my eyes at his words. West leans over slightly and presses his lips to my forehead. “Baby, I’m okay,” he repeats.

  My words are caught in a lump in my throat so I don’t even try to speak them aloud. West doesn’t allow me a moment anyway, he releases my throat and wraps his fingers around my hip before he starts to roughly thrust in and out of me.

  It’s almost painful, but the place he’s hitting inside of me causes a warmth to spread throughout my entire body. I let myself relax against his hold and just feel him fucking me. He’s relentless, and my scalp burns, but I couldn’t ask him to stop if I tried—I wouldn’t want him to.

  I pinch my eyes closed tightly and try to push against him, meeting his thrusts as much as I can before my entire body freezes and my climax washes over me. West continues to grunt, and his fingertips bite into my hip before he stills. I feel his release spill inside of me and he lets out a long moan before his hips begin moving again in languid strokes.

  He releases my hair and his fingers gently skim down my spine. They make their way to my chest, and he grabs ahold of one of my breasts in his hand. He holds onto my breast, tightly, then presses his chest against my back. “I’m okay, baby,” he whispers against my ear.

  “No riding your bike,” I breathe.

  He chuckles as he rolls his hips, causing me to gasp. “I’ll take the truck,” he grunts, slipping from me.

  I turn around and grab my panties from their discarded place on the floor as he tucks himself back into his jeans and buttons them.

  “What are your plans today?” I ask.

  West’s head lifts and something dark crosses his gaze before it completely disappears. He grins and shakes his head once, reaching out to cup my cheek. His dark eyes stay on mine as his thumb runs beneath my eye. “I’ll be home for dinner,” he states.

  I open my mouth to reply but his fingers flex. “You know that I’ll answer what I can, when I can, Ivy. This isn’t one of those times that I can give you a complete answer.”

  Nodding, I wrap my hand around his wrist and give him a smile. “Boys have a baseball game at six tonight. I promised them I’d take them out for burgers afterward at the diner.”

  “I’ll be here at five, we’ll all go together,” he murmurs. He leans forward, his lips grazing mine before he whispers against them. “Love you, baby.”

  Releasing me, he walks past me and out of the bedroom before I can reply. I don’t mind, I love him too, and he knows it. Closing my eyes, I suck in a deep breath. Making my way to the bathroom, I quickly clean up before I head out for the day. I glance
at the drawer that holds my workout gear and I make a snap decision.

  Dressing quickly, I throw on a pair of exercise leggings and a sports bra, covering myself with a tank and switching my shoes. Running out of the house, I head toward the gym. I haven’t seen Chad and Brian since West was shot. I need not only to work out but to talk to them about possibly working for them.

  I already quit my job at the dentist office, and I felt guilty, but to be honest, I had more time off than I actually worked. It wasn’t fair to them.

  The gym looks busy and I’m glad for that, although it will make getting some alone time with both of the boys a bit harder.

  Hurrying out of my SUV, I make my way into the building and smile when I see Brian behind the counter. “I thought we’d lost you forever. The gym at the clubhouse isn’t really that great and I would have been sad if you’d chosen to hang out there more than here,” he announces as soon as I step through the door.

  “I could never ditch you guys for that shitty equipment. Besides I’m pretty sure they don’t clean that shit,” I state. Brian laughs and walks around the counter to wrap his arms around me.

  I welcome his embrace and let out a heavy sigh. “How’s he doing?” he asks quietly.

  “Driving me crazy. He won’t just rest.”

  Brian takes a step back and chuckles. “I didn’t expect him to, how could, you?”

  Rolling my eyes, I let out a laugh. “I know, I know,” I wave my hand. “Could I talk to you guys when you’re both free?”

  Brian looks at me, his eyes scanning my face and he tips his head to the side. “Must be serious.”

  “Kinda,” I shrug. “I’m going to work out for a while, let me know?”

  He nods and I give him another quick hug before I hurry to the equipment. I haven’t had a really good work out in a while so I’m going to spend the afternoon here, trying to get my ass back in gear. Then, hopefully I’ll leave this place with a little side job, which would be like a dream come true.

  My lip curls when I walk into the warehouse. It smells so fucking bad in here. Derek’s lifeless body hangs on a hook that’s suspended from the ceiling. I tip my head to the side and take him in. The hook is the same one that one of the boys who took Rosalie hung from just months ago. I should probably feel bad about that, and about Derek. I should, but I don’t.

  “He’s pretty fucking ripe,” Grease grumbles next to me.

  I turn my head and glace over to him. “Yeah. I’m not sure what to do with him. Kind of wish he would have lived so I could torture him a little,” I shrug.

  “Apparently my sister doesn’t fuck around.”

  I chuckle thinking about Ivy stabbing this fuck in the neck, more than once. “She scares me a little, now,” I murmur.

  Grease laughs and slaps me on the shoulder. “She fucking should.”

  Derek’s cut is on the ground in a heap of leather beneath his feet. “Shall we deal with that thing first?” I ask, pointing at it.

  Grease takes a few steps toward it, bending over to grab it before bringing it back to me. “Cut the patches off,” he murmurs.

  I pull my knife out of my pocket and start to cut the fabric away. My shoulder burns but I don’t stop. I want his patches fucking off. When I’m finally done, I drop the leather to the ground at my feet and hand Grease the patches. I shove my knife back in my pocket before I pull my dick out and piss on the leather cut. Grease laughs but as soon as I’m done, he starts to piss on it too.

  “His body?” he asks.

  I glance at the body, then the piss soaked leather cut at my feet. “Burn him,” I murmur.

  “Not worthy of a burial.” Grease nods in agreement.

  Walking over to the door, I stick my head out and tell the prospect to come inside. “He needs to be burned, with the cut. There’s a barrel out at the edge of the property where we do that.”

  “Yeah, I know,” he states, lifting his chin.

  The prospect is young, only about nineteen years old. I highly doubt he’s anywhere near twenty-one. He’s probably seen some fucked up shit here the past few months, but he needs to understand that this is the life we live. We’re all about the party, we’re all about the dope and the pussy too. But when it’s time to get shit handled, it ain’t fuckin’ pretty.

  I leave the warehouse with Grease behind me. We don’t speak another word walking straight toward Torch’s office. Once we’re inside, Grease throws the patches down on Torch’s desk. He looks up from the computer and then glances at the material before he lifts his eyes to us. Leaning back in his chair, he grins.

  “Prospect is burning the body,” I announce.

  Torch nods. “Everything good with you?” he asks.

  My hand automatically touches the healing bullet wound at my chest and I nod. “I’m good.”

  “Ivy?”

  I know what he’s asking. Ivy kind of flipped out on him and I don’t blame her. I’m not leaving my club, my brothers though. We haven’t talked about it, but I know she just had a moment. A lot of shit went down in just a short period of time.

  I don’t blame her for being scared. “She’ll be okay,” I state wrapping my hand around the back of my neck. “It was just a lot.”

  “She’s been through a hell of a lot. If she needs to talk, you make sure you get her help before it turns into something else,” he advises.

  I nod in agreement. He’s right. I could see Ivy getting lost inside her own head, the events from the past few months piling up and becoming overwhelming.

  “She’ll be okay, though. I talked her into quitting her full-time job at the dentist office. She’s going to ask her friends at the gym if they need some part-time help there. I just don’t want her to be too busy to process.”

  Torch nods and Grease slaps me on the back. “Good idea, on both counts. Now that Derek is dealt with, and you’re off of your punishment,” Torch winks. “I don’t want to send you off to Colorado anytime soon. Let’s get you healed up, and make sure Ivy, and the kids, are okay before I add you back to rotation. You cool to work the docks until then?”

  “Yeah, I’m good.”

  We spend the next hour or so shooting the shit. I stand, deciding I need to get going when MadDog walks into the room. His eyes scan me and he lets out an exhale.

  “You’re good?” he asks.

  “I’m good, brother,” I admit.

  He runs his hand through his hair and looks down at his boots. “Fuckin’ shit. I should have checked into him better,” he admits. “Loner, no family, an orphan. Military background. I should have paid more attention to him,” he rambles.

  “Nobody could have known, MadDog,” I say. “I fucked up. I fucked up with my marriage, and I fucked up with how I reacted. I should have come to the club, done a vote, and done shit the right way.”

  “What a clusterfuck,” he rasps.

  I wrap my hand around his shoulder and give it a squeeze. “None of this is on you, not a goddamn thing. Get that shit outta your head. I’m okay, Ivy’s okay—we’re all fuckin’ good.”

  “Finley ain’t good,” he mutters as he shakes his head. “I’m sending her off for some help. I can’t help her, none of us can help her,” he admits.

  “Where are you sending her?” Torch asks. I glance over at him and he looks about as worried as I feel.

  MadDog walks over to the sofa in the room and sinks down, spreading his legs wide and letting his head fall backward. “A PTSD trauma retreat place. It’s in Newport Beach. Mary-Anne found it.”

  “How bad is it?” I chance asking him.

  MadDog opens his eyes and turns to me. “I haven’t slept a full night since it happened, neither has she,” he admits. “She leaves tomorrow. We’re drivin’ her down there as a family. Gonna miss the fuck out’ve her, but she’s my baby and she needs help.”

  “You’re doing the right thing,” I murmur. Grease and Torch agree as well.

  MadDog changes the subject and we all talk about Torch’s latest meeting with the
Russians. He tells us that their new shipments will have even more supplies on them. We’re going to have to load up two trucks at the docks, instead of just the one. They’re fucking ruling New York and have started transferring a portion of our shipment all the way from Colorado to the East Coast.

  “How are the law enforcement payoffs in Humboldt area?” I ask.

  Torch grins leaning all the way back in his chair. “Got the Feds in that area on my payroll, the locals, and the state highway patrol. We’re fuckin’ good, brother.”

  “Shit, yeah,” I laugh. “Then that sounds like a good fuckin’ deal for us and our bank accounts.”

  “I agree,” Grease chuckles. “Wanted to talk about that prospect, Jordan, is it?” he asks, mentioning the kid that’s burning Derek’s body right now.

  “He’s up for a vote this week,” Torch states.

  Grease nods with a grin.

  We all disperse a few minutes later, and I glance at my phone to see that it’s already after four. I don’t go to the bar like I normally would. Instead, I make my way to my truck and I drive home to my family.

  Tonight, I’m going to watch my boys play some fuckin’ baseball.

  I kiss all three of my babies on the forehead before I meet West at the front door. I glance back at them, taking them in. They’re not babies anymore. Granted they still need an adult around, but they don’t need me twenty-four-seven like they used to. I miss that, and yet, there is a freeing feeling about not having to be mom, all day, every day.

  “Ready?” West asks, reaching out for my hand.

  His warm fingers curl around mine and I look up to him. He’s still the sexiest man I’ve ever met, time has only enhanced his appeal. He grins and leans down slightly “Let’s go, baby,” he whispers against my ear.

  Looking back at the kids one last time, I smile. Calling out my goodbyes, they distractedly wave back to me. My mother-in-law tells us to come back early enough in the morning for breakfast and we agree. Then we’re out the front door.

  I carefully throw my leg over West’s motorcycle seat and straddle it in my short black dress and black high heels. He puts my helmet on before climbing on his bike himself. I fit myself against his back before we take off down the street.