Fallout

by Lila Rose

  “Yes, Knife’s on his way back, and then I want to pick up some cakes to bring for dessert.”

  “Darlin’, Mum’s got a shitload already. You don’t need to bring anything.”

  “Miah, it’s cakes, no one can never have enough.”

  “Christ, all right, but you know we’ll just end up takin’ them home.”

  “Again, it’s cakes. Would that really bother you, Dad, or me…? Don’t bother, I know the answers a big fat no. See you soon.”

  She was right. I grunted. “Love you.”

  “Love you back,” she said softly into the phone, and then hung up. I’d never get tired of hearing her say that. Each time was like a shot of goddamn bliss to the heart.

  “Aw, look at that. Even after three months, he’s still got it bad for her,” Roda said, appearing out of nowhere.

  “Sometimes I have to go to bed early just to get away from the mush,” Charlie teased with a smile, and then took a swig of his beer.

  “I think it’s beautiful,” Mum bragged, before swatting Charlie in the back of the head. They’d become close over the last few months. Only friendship, but it was good to see. They both needed it.

  “Where in the hell is everyone when a brother needs help with all this shit?” was yelled from the front of the house.

  Roda scoffed. “It’s not that much. Just get your black arse in here with it.”

  Blackie strode in with his arms chock-full of trays, boxes, and bowls.

  “Roda, I told you I had the food handled,” Ma complained.

  “Woman, I told you I can’t come to a lunch without bringing anything.”

  Blackie grumbled about something as he laid shit out while I sent off a quick text to Poppy, stating Roda had arrived armed with a mountain of food. Her reply was instant.

  Poppy: :P I’m still going to get cakes. I’ll have the girls over and we’ll finish off what we don’t eat today.

  “Poppy’s going to organise a girls’ night to finish off all the food,” I said, more to Charlie than anyone since we were still living under his roof.

  “Fuck,” he clipped.

  Fuck was right. When the women got together, you never knew what was gonna go down. The last time it was at Charlie’s, I took him out to the pub for a while, and when we got back, it was to find Julian stripping on the living room coffee table while the women screamed crazily at him. Lucky the guy was gay, or shit would have hit the fan.

  “Oooh, that sounds like a good night.” Roda clapped. Charlie, Blackie, and I looked at each other.

  Our clubs helped one another out from time to time, but things were changing for the better. Blackie and Roda were invited to family days at the Hawks compound, since they were in mine and Poppy’s life, and with Charlie being a Venom, it was bound to happen.

  Soon, if not already, the women would conspire to just join the clubs together in some way. Roda loved the Hawks pussy posse. Only, it’d never happen unless Blackie stopped dealing in flesh. And knowing Blackie, he wouldn’t; he liked the money the girls brought in.

  “Roda—” Blackie started. He stepped close to his woman, ready to give her a piece of his mind.

  Her hand came up in his face. “Don’t you Roda me in that tone. They’re my girls, no matter where they come from. I ain’t asking we switch patches. We’re Venom. Doesn’t mean we can’t have friends. Hell, they’re so far in my heart I’d cut anyone who fucked with any of them.” Her eyes narrowed. “And I’d cut a brother if they tried to take my girls from me.”

  Blackie glared back, snorted, and then leaned in to kiss her. “Glad we got that sorted.”

  Roda laughed. “Me too, baby.” She swatted his arse when he turned back to the food. “Means you’ll be gettin’ some tonight,” she sang.

  I cringed. Charlie groaned as if he was in pain from hearing that, and Mum giggled.

  Only it all fell silent in the next second.

  It all fell silent when we heard a bang out the back.

  My phone picked that moment to ring. Charlie and Blackie started for the back door while I answered a call from Parker. “Brother?”

  “Shit. Fuck, Fang. I didn’t know until now.”

  “What?” I barked. Mum froze, Roda went right to her, curling her arm around her shoulders.

  “Been searchin’, brother. Got nothin’ until just now.”

  Christ. Switch.

  “Where?”

  A shot was fired outside. I took off towards the hall to the back door, only to come to an abrupt halt when the back door opened, and Charlie was pushed in.

  “Fang? What the fuck was that?”

  “Don’t matter, brother,” I said into the phone.

  “He’s there?” Parker asked in a quiet, deadly tone.

  “Get off the phone,” Switch snarled. Shoving Charlie again, he stumbled, but caught his hands on the wall to steady himself. It was then I saw Switch had a gun pointed on Charlie.

  If anything happened to Poppy’s dad….

  “Fuck,” Parker said before I ended the call.

  “Throw it to the ground,” Switch ordered. “And back up.”

  I did.

  I kept backing until I was in front of Mum and Roda hugging each other. Charlie entered, Switch behind him.

  “Perfect day for a family reunion.” Switch laughed.

  “Where’s my man?” Roda asked.

  Switch met her gaze and chuckled again.

  “Where’s my man?” Roda screamed.

  “Bleeding out hopefully,” Switch answered.

  Roda made a move to go around me, but I put my arm out to stop her. “No,” she cried. “No!” she shouted, and then pounded my back.

  “He’ll be okay,” Charlie comforted, and got a hit to the back of the head for it. Mum gasped.

  Roda yelled, “I’m gonna kill you.”

  “Ma,” I called.

  “Roda, come on,” Mum said quietly. Then I heard her whisper something to Roda, and I lost her weight from my back.

  “Leanna, good to see you, lovely.”

  “Fuck off, Switch.”

  Switch snorted. “That any way to talk to your man.”

  “What do you want?” I demanded, before Mum said anything. Switch just wanted to play mind games with her, with us all, but I wouldn’t fuckin’ have it.

  “Ah, my son. Heard you were looking for me, so I thought I’d pay you a visit and clean up a few messes before I head out of Australia for good.”

  He was one fuckin’ idiot if he thought he was leaving.

  “I see that look, son. Know you were on the phone to your pig. Know he’ll be on his way. So I’ll make things quick.” He pulled his gun from Charlie and aimed it at me.

  “Don’t,” Mum screamed.

  Switch sneered. “You’ll be following him. You all will.”

  “No, they won’t.”

  No. Fuck me, no, no, no.

  “Poppy, get outta here,” I bit out.

  Switch’s eyes widened. “Poppy? The piece I tried to get to heel but Blackie interrupted that night.”

  My jaw clenched. My heart was fuckin’ going crazy while my body trembled in fury.

  “I’m not going anywhere,” Poppy said from behind Switch.

  Switch didn’t have a care in the world with Poppy at his back. He’d think she was weak, but I knew my woman.

  “You think you can threaten the people I love?” Poppy demanded, her voice high with emotion. Probably fear and anger.

  “Just fuck off, sweetheart. I’ll deal with you later.”

  “You’ll not harm anyone, motherfucker.”

  A gun was fired. Switch cried out, and I dove for Roda and Mum, while Charlie spun around and smashed his fist into Switch’s face. Switch hit the floor and tried to get up straight away, until Poppy hovered over his he
ad, a gun in her hand, and aimed it between his eyes.

  I scrambled to my feet, back over to the doorway. “Poppy,” I called softly. Blood dripped from Switch, making a pool of red under his left leg.

  “He was going to hurt you all,” she whispered.

  “Honey, we’re fine. Put the gun down,” Charlie tried.

  “He was going to shoot you all,” Poppy shouted. “I would have lost you all.”

  Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Her bottom lip trembled.

  “Darlin’, you wouldn’t have,” I said.

  “H-how do you know?”

  “Because I would have gone Hulk on him eventually.”

  She snorted, wiped at her eyes, but didn’t move the gun away from him. Switch was smart enough to keep his trap shut. She’d already made him bleed. He finally understood she was capable of doing it again.

  She shook her head. “I won’t risk any of you. He’s already hurt Blackie.”

  Christ, what could I say to get her to back off? I didn’t want her to take a life. I didn’t want that mark upon her soul when mine was already dark. I had to protect her from making the choice of taking a life, even when Switch’s needed to end.

  Mum came up beside me. “Poppy, please, baby girl, don’t.” At first, I thought she was going to defend Switch, but then she added, “He needs to rot in jail like the piece of rubbish he is. Let him live his life in hell.”

  “Poppy,” a new voice said. She flinched. “Let me take him.” Parker stepped through the back door. “He’ll pay before he rots. You know he will.”

  She sniffed, nodded, and finally stepped back. “The blood was kind of making me queasy anyway.”

  Jesus. My woman. Laughter fell from my mouth. Charlie followed.

  “Blackie?” I asked.

  “Outside, cursing up a storm because he wanted a go at Switch and Poppy stole his weapon.” So that was where she got the gun. Parker added, “He’s fine. Lan’s with him, and he’ll call an ambo when we get Switch outta here.”

  “Of course my man is fine. Nothing can kill that bastard but me, and it’ll come close for gettin’ himself shot,” Roda snapped from behind me.

  “This won’t be—” Switch started, until Charlie leaned over and knocked him out cold with one punch.

  I met Parker’s gaze. His brows lifted, and I nodded. “Compound first, then you can take him in.”

  “Use Blackie’s van,” Roda said as she stomped her way around and over things to get to the back door. “Just pull it up the drive to the back fence. Load him in that way.”

  Hell, had Roda had experience in loading up bodies?

  That was something to think about another day. Charlie headed towards the front. “I’ll get the van.”

  I made my way Poppy, stepping over the motherfucker on the floor, but also looking back to see if Mum was okay. She nodded, gesturing me on with a smile. In seconds, I had Poppy in my arms. I lifted her and walked us out the back door. Ignoring Roda chewing out Blackie, I put Poppy’s feet down. She wrapped her arms around my neck and smiled up at me. “I didn’t realise shooting someone was so freeing.”

  I jerked my head back in shock.

  She laughed. “Doesn’t mean I’ll be doing it again.” Her humour finished, she said, “I was so scared, Miah. Scared out of my mind I would lose all of you.”

  “I know, baby. I would have been too.”

  She snorted. “No. Hulk never gets scared.”

  Threading my hand into her hair, I tugged gently until I had her eyes. Touching my lips to hers, I then pulled back, and admitted, “When it comes to anything harming you, I’m scared.”

  “Then we’ll protect each other.”

  “Yeah, we will.”

  By the time Switch was loaded, Vicious and Pick arrived to drive him back to the compound, and Roda was still letting Blackie have it when the ambo arrived.

  The paramedics walked through the back fence, and since I was standing over Poppy while she sat with Blackie, who was sucking up the attention from her since his woman was a hard-arse, I felt Lan tense at my side. He’d been smirking down at the ground, amused by Roda and her ranting, but his gaze rose when we heard the gate. His body locked solid when he saw the ambos.

  Two guys, one tall, the other shorter, and it was the shorter one who stumbled a step when he spotted Lan.

  “East,” Lan said.

  The guy nodded, and quickly averted his eyes, then went about checking Blackie like his partner was. Something had happened between Lan and that East guy, and I wasn’t the only one who noticed.

  So did Parker. It caused his face to get serious as he watched Lan eyeing East. He shook it off and said, “Name’s Parker. Jarrod Blackcomb was shot by an intruder in the shoulder.”

  “Looks like it’s gone right through,” East said. “Let’s get you to the hospital to get stitched up.”

  “Didn’t catch your name,” Parker clipped.

  “Easton Ravel.”

  “Didn’t know you were back in town,” Lan piped in.

  Poppy caught my eyes and widened. She’d caught on that something was happening.

  “Well, I am.”

  “East—”

  “Sorry, can’t talk. Oliver, let’s get Mr Blackcomb up. Don’t think we’ll need the stretcher. Do we?” he asked Blackie.

  “Fuck no, I can walk.”

  “Not for long,” Roda mumbled.

  “Can you give me a sedative?” Blackie questioned, moaning as he got to his feet with the help of the ambos.

  “I’ll get you set up with one in the ambulance,” Oliver said.

  Blackie snorted. “It ain’t for me, boy. Think my woman needs it so she’ll stop givin’ me shit for being goddamn shot.”

  Easton and Oliver gave each other a look, smiling. Lan’s jaw clenched. Parker’s eyes narrowed at Lan and the Easton guy.

  I curled Poppy into me and kissed her forehead. What a goddamn day.

  “See you soon,” Parker called to me. I gave him a chin lift. Yeah, he’d see me soon, when he picked up Switch from the compound after I was done with him.

  “You okay here with Mum?” I asked.

  Her arms tightened around my waist. “Sure am.”

  She knew where I was going, what I was gonna do, and she didn’t say anything about it.

  Fuck me, but my woman was bloody heaven sent.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Poppy

  “Jesus, woman,” Jerimiah groaned, throwing his head back against the tiled wall. His hands threaded through my hair as I sucked down to the base of his cock. “Christ,” he hissed. “Your mouth feels so damn good, baby.” I wanted to grin, pleased with myself, but I didn’t. I was busy. As water sprayed down from the shower over my back, I slowly dragged my mouth back up to the tip of his cock. I swirled my tongue around the end and looked up. My man was losing it. His jaw clenched so tightly it protruded the muscles on his neck. Amazing.

  His head dipped down, meeting my gaze. His was intense, darker than normal. One hand left my hair and came around to glide over my top lip as I took his cock down the back of my throat. “You like suckin’ me.” It wasn’t a question; he knew I did. Still, I hummed anyway. His eyes flashed, and too soon he was dragging me up his body.

  “I was enjoying that,” I complained.

  His lips twitched. “Know that, darlin’. Think you’d live with my cock in your mouth if you could.” I nodded, my glare doing nothing to stop him. He turned us in the shower. My warm back hit the cool tiles and I gasped. His mouth slammed down on mine, and he picked me up, using his hands on my arse. I wound my legs around his hips.

  “Look at me,” he demanded. I brought my gaze from the ceiling down, my body finally used to the shock of the coldness against my back. He captured my gaze. “Gonna fuck my woman.”

  I nodded. “Please.”r />
  His hand back between us, I looked down and watched him take his cock in hand and hold it so the tip just touched my entrance.

  “Watch us,” he growled.

  “I am.”

  “Watch,” he clipped, and then thrust himself deep inside of me. I gripped his shoulders tightly and moaned. “Watch,” he said again. I opened my eyes since they closed in the sensation of Jerimiah filling me wholly. He pulled out and slid back in slowly. “So wet,” he groaned. “Fuck, Poppy. This is us.”

  “Yes,” I cried when he pulled back out and thrust back in. “So good.”

  “Fuck yes.”

  “Miah,” I whispered. He lifted his head and gave me what I wanted. His mouth on mine. His hands on my arse pressed in, holding me as he fucked me hard. I whimpered against his lips, and he growled in response. Breaking the kiss, I tilted my head back, only to bring it back and into the crook of his neck. There I licked, sucked and then bit.

  “Hell, Poppy,” Jerimiah grunted. His pace somehow picked up, driving into me fiercely.

  “C-close,” I said against his neck.

  He braced me against the wall. I lost one hand off my butt, which he slid around to grip my breast. “Mouth,” he ordered. I picked up my head after one last nibble, which caused him to shudder, and planted my lips against his. He opened for me. I teased my tongue with his. A pinch of my nipple took me over the edge. I wanted to pull back, to scream while my walls clenched around Jerimiah’s cock still pumping in and out of me, but I didn’t. Jerimiah liked to feel my moan, feel my breath panting, and take my whimpers into him.

  “Fuck,” he mumbled against my mouth. His body tensed for all of a second. His hands gripped me tighter than before, and I caught his groaned release in my mouth, drinking it down as he shot his cum inside of me.

  Slowing his thrust, he kissed me one last time and met my gaze. “Amazing each and every fuckin’ time.”

  “It’s because it’s us.”

  He grinned. “Damn right.”

  After the shower, we headed to the compound since Pick wanted to talk to Jerimiah about something. It’d been a couple of months since Switch showed and things were better than I could have imagined. I didn’t ask what happened when Jerimiah went to the compound, and he didn’t tell me. Though, I had overheard Switch ended up staying in the hospital for a long time due to his extensive number of injuries until he was fit enough to go to jail.