“Where?” I groan. “Where can I come?”
“All over me,” she releases me with her feet and I pull out with super human effort. She jacks my cock while I thumb her nipple. Something about the way her eyes get dark, her mouth hangs open, and her nipple responds gets me every time.
“Shit, shit, shit,” I throw my head back as I chant in time with her hand on my length and then I feel myself let go, coming against the smooth skin of her stomach.
It seems to go on forever, but I know in reality it’s only a few seconds. Sweat pours down my body and my chest heaves as I try to slow my heartbeat and breathing down. Getting on my feet, I somehow make my way into the bathroom and return with a towel for her before collapsing face down beside her.
She giggles as she taps my shoulder. I sleepily move my face to the side so I can see her gorgeous smile.
“Hey,” she smirks. “Congrats.”
“If that’s the way you congratulate me? I’m gonna do something amazing every fucking day.”
She laughs again as she snuggles against me. Closing my eyes for a few seconds, I realize this right here? It doesn’t get much better.
CHAPTER THIRTY
Tank
“So how does it feel?”
I look over at Renegade, not able to keep the smile from spreading across my face, or the joy out of my voice as I answer. “To be back? It feels fucking amazing.”
He laughs as he takes a drink from his to-go mug of coffee. “It’s awesome to have you back. I like Ace, but you’re my best friend.”
I’m letting Renegade drive, which is totally unlike me, but they’ve all asked me to be honest with them, and I admitted to Holden it would be best for me to wait a few weeks. I need to do a couple of pass-through’s on the bottoms before I’m ready to drive the road myself. It’s nothing like PTSD, but there’s a nervousness I can’t explain, even though I’ve tried. Everyone seems to understand and for that I’m grateful.
“I know, I love Blaze, don’t get me wrong,” I stretch my leg out, pleased at how it feels. “But I’m glad to have someone else’s company for a while.”
He nods in agreement. “Same. I love Whit and Stella, they are my life, but I enjoy coming to work and hanging out with the guys.”
“Y’all set a date yet?” I ask as I take a drink of my coffee.
This right here, riding the backroads of Laurel Springs and talking with my best friend is what I’ve missed more than anything. It’s just not the same, texting.
“We’re talking about it,” he stops at an intersection and looks both ways before he eases through. “I think it’d be fun to have a destination wedding this summer.”
“Dude, who the fuck are you? How do you even know what a destination wedding is?” I’m this close to revoking his man card.
“I live with a damn wedding planner, man. The question is how do you not know what it is?”
I shoot him a look. “I’m sorry, you’re the one who figured out she wanted to actually go to an Alabama game for her birthday, after she tried to tell us for years. I think that should tell you how well I’m able to comprehend shit my sister talks about.”
We’re interrupted as the biggest boom I’ve heard on this side of the world rocks the silence, and the ground surrounding us trembles.
“Either we just had an earthquake, a bomb went off somewhere, or a fuckin’ still just exploded,” Renegade stops the car and both of us get out to look along the tree line.
“Over there, near the Strather’s place,” I point to dark smoke billowing above the trees.
We jump back in the car as I radio in our position and let dispatch know we’re responding. Seems like everyone else is also responding and as we come to a screeching halt at the access road, we all get out of our cars. The team can see the flames from where we stand, we’ll have to wait for the fire department to do their thing before we can move in.
“Alcohol vapor?” I question as we stand around in a circle.
Ace nods, rolling around a toothpick in his mouth. “Or it overheated. Either way, it’s enough to make it go boom. Highly concentrated, whatever it was.”
“Think we’ll find a body in there?” Renegade asks, as he wipes the sweat from his brow. This fire is hot as hell.
The roar from the fire trucks drown us out until they get set up. All of us stand a respectable distance away, letting them do what they need to.
“To answer your question,” Holden looks at Renegade. “I don’t think we’ll find a body. I think they’ve started to automate the process.”
“You figure that out, or did Leighton tell you that?” The words are out of my mouth before I can take them back. I’m not sure if everyone knows he took her home with him or not, and to be honest, it’s not my place either.
Luckily he doesn’t hand me my balls, but from the look on his face, I know not to push my luck again.
“To be honest,” Holden meets my gaze. “I think this is to send Leighton a message. They know she’s staying with me because they aren’t fuckin’ slick about snooping around my property. They’ve been watching me, and I’ve been watching them. I think they’re afraid Leighton will talk so they’re getting rid of evidence and moving operations.”
“Has Leighton said anything?” Renegade asks as we watch the fire department go to work.
There’s a stormy look on Holden’s face, one I’d never like to be on the receiving end of. “She doesn’t talk much about them, and I can’t say as I can blame her. If she talks about them and incriminates herself, she’s probably afraid I’ll take her in.”
“You have before,” I point out. “It’s a valid concern.”
“Yeah,” Renegade laughs softly. “Unless you’re married. Then you can invoke your right to silence, but who’d get married to someone they don’t love.”
“Somebody who’s scared to death,” I answer for them. “I saw her that day, she was scared to death. Hell, I’m scared thinking what may have happened to her had her path not crossed with Blaze. None of us truly know what she’s been living with in her family.”
Holden’s eyes darken and his face becomes a mask. I think for the first time, maybe he does know some of the things she went through, maybe Leighton’s confided in him. But my gut tells me if she has confided, she’s not told him everything. I don’t think she trusts anyone that much. “He’s right, she is scared to death of them, and this is definitely something they would do.”
“Probably because the trial is in a couple days,” I remind him. “Are you all going to be there?”
“Damn right we’re all going to be there. We have a couple of guys from Birmingham coming in to cover shifts while we’re all at the court house. We want to see Brooks get what’s coming to him. He deserves that and more after what he did to you,” Holden and Renegade both agree.
“You know it’s not in our hands. It’s in the hands of the judge and jury, so we’ll have to respect whatever happens.”
It’s hard to have that mindset about the trial, though. I want badly to know exactly what the fuck’s going to happen to the kid who tried to ruin my life and the bitch of it is, I have no say in the matter. Other people do, and they have the option to either make him pay or let him walk free. Neither option feels great to me, because I think above all, he should learn a lesson.
I just hope like the hell the judge does the right damn thing.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Tank
I tug at the collar of my dress shirt as I stand outside the courthouse, surrounded by friends, family, and coworkers. There’s a part of me that doesn’t want to be here, but there’s also another part of me that knows I need to be here. I have to see justice be served. More than anything, I deserve to see justice served.
“You doing alright?” Blaze asks as she stands next to me, her hand on my arm.
Glancing down at her, I take in the dress she’s wearing. Conservative, not her normal wear, and she has her hair pulled back in a pile of curls on her head. She looks nothing, if
not sophisticated. Beside her my family stands, and then the guys from the Moonshine Task Force.
“I’m good,” I clear my throat. “Want this over with so we can truly move forward.”
“It does feel like there’s a dark cloud hanging over us in the form of Brooks, doesn’t it?” she puts her arm around me, leaning into my chest.
“Yeah,” I answer truthfully. “It’s the unknown. I don’t want to ruin the kid’s life, but he also deserves to pay for what he did to me. I could have died, at the same time, I’m almost thankful because it brought us back together. I’m conflicted as hell. He’s lucky he didn’t kill someone.”
She nods her agreement as I see Holden ascending the stairs with Leighton on his arm. She looks pale, but that’s nothing unusual; her dark hair gives her the look of a modern-day Snow White every time I see her. “Thanks for coming,” I put my hand out for Holden to shake it, and then give Leighton a quick hug.
“I never apologized to you for what my brother did. I’m really sorry,” Leighton tucks a curl behind her ear. “He wasn’t ever taught better and didn’t care to learn, either. I hope he’ll still have some life left if they decide to let him out.”
“My wish isn’t for them to lock him up forever, it’s that he learns there are consequences to actions, and not all of those consequences involve paying off someone,” I shake my head, pissed off because that’s normally what the family does. “No disrespect meant to you.”
“None taken,” she smiles sadly. “All of us have to learn in our own ways.”
The state prosecutor comes over to our group, pulling myself and my family to the side. “This morning there was a meeting for a possible plea bargain and I refused to play ball. I’ve got this little bastard dead to rights traveling in excess of ninety-five miles an hour on a curvy backroad where the speed limit is thirty-five. I’m gonna nail his ass to the wall, but if you, as the injured party in the attempted vehicular manslaughter charge, want me to work with his lawyer I will. He’ll still go to jail for his reckless driving, felony reckless driving, and driving on a suspended license. You tell me what you want, Trevor,” she looks at me, her lips pursed.
To be honest, she scares me and I’d hate to face her in a court of law. I think she could probably take a man’s balls and pull them over his head if given the chance. I realize I can’t make it easy on Brooks, none of this was easy for me. I had to recover, had to prove my physical fitness to get my job back, and I’m the one having to deal with the sweaty palms every time we drive that stretch of road. I have my consequences just like he’s going to have his.
“No deal, let him get what’s coming to him.”
Everyone with me seems to breathe a sigh of relief as they hear what I say. I have to admit, I do too, but now all I want to do is get this whole situation over with.
* * *
The whole trial passes in a blur, I try not to pay attention too much. For me, the less I know, the better off I am. I have no recollection of the wreck, and if I can keep it that way, I think I’m better off. For the two hours we’re there, and while the prosecutor presents her case, I keep my gaze on Blaze, watch at points where her face pales, and then I see tears pool in her eyes. Only then do I glance up to see they’re showing pictures of my truck and pictures of me from what must have been the first day I was in the hospital. They turn my stomach and I decide to again focus my attention on the beautiful woman sitting next to me. On the other side of me, my mom grabs my other hand, holding on tightly.
At one point, Renegade leans forward from behind me, claps his hands on my shoulders and quietly tells me, “This fucker is going down for good.”
I know without a doubt he will, but I can’t let myself get fucked about it. It happened, and I’m moving on.
“Do you have any remorse for what you did, Mr. Strather? The man you hit is a respected officer, a member of the Moonshine Task Force, a boyfriend, a son, a brother, an uncle, and a loved friend to many of the people in this court room and in this entire community. Do you understand what you could’ve done?”
Only then do I let my eyes meet his. I want him to look at me as he says whatever it is he’s going to say.
He smiles, and it’s cocky as hell. “When it’s your time, it’s your time. Regardless of who or what causes it, ma’am, the good Lord chooses, not me and my lead foot.”
“Son of a bitch,” I gnash my teeth together, shaking my head. I have to take my arm out from behind Blaze and shake my momma’s hand out of mine. Anger courses through me like nothing I’ve ever felt before. Scooting forward, I put my elbows on my knees and stare straight ahead at this piece of shit. He’s going to talk about me and my time to die? He can damn well look at me while he does it.
Blaze scoots beside me, talking in my ear. “He’s young, babe, he doesn’t get it and look where he comes from. He doesn’t know any better.”
I’m trying like hell to remember she’s right. He’s a product of his environment, but it doesn’t make it right. I let out a deep breath and try to calm the adrenaline flowing through my body. Getting pissed won’t do any good to anyone. Finally I calm down and sit back against the bench again. My mom grabs my hand, quietly soothing me.
When the verdict comes in, I feel vindicated when they give him twenty-five years with the possibility of parole in fifteen. Chances are he’ll get out earlier because of overcrowding and good behavior, but it’s a lot more than a slap on the wrist.
We’re all getting up to leave when Leighton’s dad, Jefferson, walks over to our group. He singles her out, ignoring the rest of us. “I see you’re sittin’ with the enemy. You think I’m not watching you? You think I don’t know the things you’ve probably told these people, Leighton?”
She doesn’t back down, but I can see her shaking. “What are you gonna do? Beat me? Already did that.”
He steps closer to her. “If I find out you’ve betrayed your family, little girl, I’ll kill you.”
Holden picks that moment to step in between them, putting his body in front of hers, and it’s then that anyone who’s never seen him work figures out why we call him Havoc. He’s able to ruin someone with one punch, one well-placed word. “To get to her, you’re gonna have to get through me. Bring it on, I’ll rain down hell on you.”
Bailiffs rush over to separate everyone, and I grasp Holden around the waist. “C’mon, not here.”
And I know without a doubt the Moonshine Task Force isn’t done with the Strather family. I have a feeling we’re only just beginning. I glance at Whitney, our eyes meeting over the fray. If there’s one thing I do understand, it’s sometimes choosing family and love over the long arm of the law.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
Blaze
“It’s too cold to get in that pool,” Whitney and Trevor’s mom, Mona, yells at Ryan as he dips his feet in the shallow end of the pool in their backyard.
It’s been hot all day, but as night falls this time of year, it usually gets cold.
“He’s gonna catch his death of cold,” she mumbles as she watches him not heed her warning.
“Whatever, it got up to ninety today and it’s almost April. Hell,” he takes a drink of the beer in his hand. “It’s damn near summer.”
I glance at Whitney, who shakes her head laughing when she sees Trevor making his way over to Ryan, sticking his feet in the pool too. I’m not sure what the two of them are talking about, but we’re rewarded with their deep laughs as they both throw their heads back. I love their friendship.
I’m holding Stella in my lap, facing outward so she can see all the goings on. In the past few weeks, she’s started to become more animated and to show a little bit of personality. She smiled at me the other day and I thought I’d break my face smiling back.
“Those two are always getting into trouble together,” Whitney looks back at her mom. “Do you want me to help you?”
“No, it means a lot that all of you came over for dinner tonight. I hate being here by myself when your dad’s
workin’ through the week,” Mona sighs as she sets a platter of deviled eggs and a bowl of baked beans on the table in front of us. Those join a salad and what looks to be enough potato salad to feed all the guys at the EMS station and every member of the Moonshine Task Force.
“I’m ready for either one of you to grill,” she yells to the guys.
“I got this,” Trevor hops up, carrying his bottle of beer with him. Sitting it down on the table in front of me, he bends over to give first Stella a kiss on the cheek and then me a kiss on the lips. “Watch this Stell Bell, I’m gonna show your daddy how to cook a steak,” he tickles her stomach, smiling when she laughs back at him.
“Why don’t you hurry up? The rest of us are hungry,” I smack his ass as he makes his way around me.
“Perfection can’t be rushed,” he yells back. “Mom, is everything over here?”
“No, the steaks are marinating in the house, let me go get ‘em for you.”
“You stay there,” he’s already jogging for the house. “You did all this for us, let us do the rest.”
We all watch as he takes his place at the grill. I’m bouncing Stella on my knee, but I notice the rest of us are deep in thought. There’s something weighing heavy on my heart, and I have to tell these women what I’m thinking.
“Thank you for inviting us. I never had anything like this with my family,” I smile over at Mona. “It’s so weird for a kid like me, who basically grew up with servants making sure she had a little bit of love, to be in a situation like this. It used to make me uncomfortable, but you all make me feel kind of like I’m home,” I finish, praying I haven’t overstepped my boundaries with these friends of mine.
Whitney and her mom exchange a look, and it makes me even more nervous so I keep playing with Stella, trying to make it seem like their non-answer doesn’t hurt.
When I hear Mona talking, I glance up, shaken by what she says.
“You are family, honey. If Trevor loves you, that’s the only thing that matters to me. He’s a great judge of character,” she reaches over, grabbing my hand. “Not many women your age would have stuck by him when they saw what you did at the crash site. So many people nowadays are selfish, and they immediately think how much an injury like what he had would inconvenience them. You never did that. Geeze Pete, you took time off from your job to help him recover. I couldn’t think of a better woman for my son.”
Tank (Moonshine Task Force Book 2) Page 17
