by Lilly Atlas
He reacted then, turning his head until his mesmerizing gaze bore into hers. The corner of his mouth turned up.
He liked her calling it home.
In that moment, she wanted nothing more than to tell him she loved him. In fact, she had to clench her lips between her teeth to keep the words from spilling out. Because she’d be damned before she’d spill something so important in front of her stupid ex.
But she’d tell Zach later.
She’d tell him every day.
Chapter Thirty-One
Zach had an overwhelming urge to tell the gorgeous, brave, feisty woman trying to keep him from a murder rap that he loved her. Fuck if he’d thought that would ever happen, but in just a few short weeks, the woman had turned his whole world on its ass and he couldn’t imagine ever being with another.
The thought of losing her, of not seeing her every day, of not touching her, tasting her, hell, of not just being in her presence made him physically ill. If that wasn’t love, he didn’t know what the fuck was.
Toni probably wouldn’t appreciate him telling her he loved her for the first time while he was two minutes away from offing her ex. He almost laughed out loud at the thought. Time to move the show along.
“Here’s how this is going to go,” Zach said, putting just enough pressure on Louie to have Chris nervous but not struggling to breathe. “You’re going to give me your computer and any flash drives or discs that might have a copy of that video.”
He had to hand it to the suit, for such a pretty-boy, the guy had balls. “Fuck you,” Chris said. “I’m not giving you shit. Everyone’s going to know what a slut she is. See if she ever gets a job again.”
Zach sighed. Why couldn’t Chris just make things easier on himself. Zach hefted Louie in his right hand and swung it like an axe toward the door. It landed with a crack an inch away from Chris’s head, splintering the wood and eliciting a high-pitched scream from the man whose balls just shrunk two sizes.
“You’re going to give it all to me, dickhead, and not just because I’ll bash your fucking head in if you don’t. As we speak, thirty thousand little green pieces of paper are being deposited into your bank account. If anyone checks, they’ll notice the money comes from one LBT Corporation. Huh.” Zach dug the tip of the bat into the carpet and leaned against it. This was going to be his favorite part by far—since he’d promised Toni he wouldn’t beat Chris bloody.
“Funny thing, isn’t that the same corporation your firm is involved in a class action suit against? We are talking big bucks, aren’t we?” He kept right on talking, not giving Chris an opportunity to answer any of his questions. He didn’t give two shits what the fucker had to say. Playing with him was just a little bit of fun. And thankfully, Toni remained bug-eyed but quiet throughout.
Her silence showed she trusted him to handle this for her and that meant the world to him.
“So, if someone you worked with, say Toni’s uncle, were to find a deposit from them, it would be a bad day for you, huh? It would look like you were taking bribes to blow the case.” He tsked. Time to bring it on home. “Don’t bother trying to move the money. It will make you look even more guilty. Do I need to keep going here, or are you catching on yet?”
Fury blazed from Chris’s eyes, but he was at least smart enough to realize he had no options. While Zach would love nothing more than to throw down with Chris, he’d made a promise to Toni. One he now regretted, but that was beside the point.
He tapped Chris on the shoulder with Louie. Chris was gonna be sore as shit tomorrow. Fuck yes.
“You want the video in exchange for canceling the money.” Chris’s voice was tight, fear-filled.
“Aww, baby, he isn’t as stupid as you told me.” Zach grinned at Toni, who rolled her lips inward seemingly to suppress her own laughter. Why, he’d never know. Laughing at the guy was the least she owed him. If she was willing, he’d hand Louie over and let her have at it.
And he never let anyone touch Louie.
“Can’t speak to the rest of what you told me. Remember, babe? About how much he sucked in bed?” They’d never spoken about any such thing beyond the time he walked in on Toni yelling about Chris’s poor fucking skills.
This time she chuckled and a sly smile lit her face as she shrugged. “Nobody compares to you,” she said with a wink.
“Damn, baby, you’re the sweetest.” Shit, this was fun. He could play this game all day, except that he had a wet pussy waiting for his mouth. She was always wet for him, so it wasn’t a stretch to think she’d be so now, watching him dominate her ex. “What’d you come, three times in an hour and a half last night? Fuck, it was hot.”
“Four.”
Zach’s dick twitched as he recalled the events of the previous night. Toni had been so nervous about the trip, he’d set out to melt her mind.
And he’d succeeded in just ninety minutes.
“Hell yeah! Four. Almost forgot the one where I—”
Toni cleared her throat.
Zach wanted to burst out laughing at the pretty blush on Toni’s cheeks, but he refrained. “Too much?”
Chris must have forgotten he had no power, because he mumbled, “Slut,” under his breath.
Quick as lighting, Zach jammed Louie against Chris’s chest again, loving the grunt of pain he emitted. “Every single copy. Or I’ll ruin you. This ever finds its way onto social media, I’ll ruin you. You come near Toni again, you so much as breathe the same air as her, I’ll ruin you. You’re also going to find a new firm. You’re done working for her uncle. Or, guess what?” He leaned his body weight into the bat.
“You’ll ruin me.” The words were so strained, they were barely audible.
“Ding, ding, ding.” Zach stepped back and released Chris without warning. The other man’s knees gave out and he almost hit the floor before his quads kicked in and kept him upright. “Looks like we’re done here. Unless you have anything.” He turned to Toni and extended his hand.
She took it without hesitation and he pulled her against his body. And fuck if she didn’t snuggle into his side like she couldn’t get close enough. Christ, he loved her.
“Where did you get it? The video,” she asked, slipping her arm around Zach’s lower back. Her small fingers hooked into his belt loop on his opposite hip.
Chris didn’t answer right away, so Zach choked up on Louie.
“I’ll tell you.” Chris raised his hands in a position of surrender. “Found the file on Mark’s computer.”
Toni gasped and Zach squeezed her close. “Why don’t you go call him and I’ll see our guest out.”
She nodded and walked toward her bedroom without so much as a glance in Chris’s direction.
As soon as she was out of earshot, Zach tapped Louie against Chris’s shoulder. The asshole jumped like he’d been electrocuted. “Drop your computer and any flash drives you have here before ten a.m. tomorrow. You do that, you’ll never see or hear from us again. You come anywhere near my woman, and I’ll make a beating from my bat look like a day at Disney. Get me?”
Chris nodded.
“Good. Get the fuck out of here.”
The door slammed shut behind Chris and Zach dropped into the chair he’d been in when the man arrived. After cracking his unsatisfied knuckles, he rested his head on the back of the chair.
A few minutes later, a soft weight landed in his lap. “Better move it along missy. My woman is one possessive wench. She’ll rip the hair right out of your scalp.” He spoke without opening his eyes.
Normally, Toni would at least give him a chuckle for a joke like that so when she didn’t so much as huff, he popped his eyes open. She was staring at him, a stricken look on her face.
“What’d Mark say, baby,” he asked, tucking her hair behind her ear.
“He was looking all over for me. Back then. And found me during…” She swallowed and closed her eyes for about five seconds. “He walked in on that scene and there was a camera. Shark’s men were seconds away from thr
owing him out and probably beating him bloody when he offered one hundred thousand dollars for me and the recording.” She dropped her head into her hands. “Oh my God, Zach, he paid one hundred thousand dollars for me. How on earth will I ever repay that?”
“Baby.” With a gentle tug, he removed her hands from her tear-stained face. The sight of the wet tracks on her smooth cheeks hit him like an arrow to the heart. “There’s a reason you never knew about any of this. And it’s because you don’t owe him a damn thing. He doesn’t want your money.”
“I feel so guilty. How did I not know any of this? It makes so much sense now that I actually think about it. Shark never would have let me just walk away.”
“Listen to me, Toni. Mark did what he did because he loves you. And he made sure you were in the dark for this very reason. He knows you and knew you’d feel guilty and want to pay him back. And it’s not necessary.”
“But—”
He held her face between his palms.
“But it’s so much—”
“Yes,” he said. “It’s a lot of money. But you’re worth it, baby. You’re worth ten times that.”
“Zach,” she breathed.
“Hold, up. Let me say something.”
She closed her mouth and nodded, green eyes solemn.
“Never thought I’d have an ol’ lady. Just didn’t give a shit about letting a woman into my life. Never wanted to know a woman beyond—” a delicate growl came from Toni and Zach laughed— “Yeah, okay, you get it. Anyway, what I’m trying to say is that I want you, Toni. I want you in my days and I want you in my nights. I want you when you’re happy. I want you when you’re pissed. I want you at your best and I want you at your worst. Thank you for deciding to leave this behind and give us a chance.”
Her lower lip wobbled and her eyes shone glossy with unshed tears. “Zach, I have no idea why I fought it so hard at first, but I’m done fighting. I want you. I want us.”
Whether she was about to say more, Zach would never know. He sealed his mouth over hers and kissed until they were both breathing like they’d run a marathon. “Come on,” he said as he stood with Toni in his arms.
She shrieked and flailed her arms before settling against his chest with a smile.
“I need you naked and spread for me in the next two minutes.”
“Hmm,” Toni said, tracing a tattoo where it peaked from his shirt sleeve. “I love that plan.”
He kissed her once and stared into her eyes. All sorts of feelings he’d never be able to properly express to her were bouncing around in his chest. So, he’d show her. Hell, he’d spend all night, every night showing her just how much he needed her in his life.
Before he was done with her, she’d be drowning in pleasure so deep she wouldn’t be able to fathom leaving him.
Epilogue
“You done yet, babe?” Zach shouted into the diner’s kitchen.
“Keep your pants on,” Toni murmured as she shoved her arm into the gorgeous leather jacket Zach had given her a week ago.
“You know you don’t mean that. I do my best work with my pants off,” Zach said the moment she stepped into the dining area. He bobbed his eyebrows and smirked.
“How did you even hear me?” She grabbed his outstretched hand and allowed him to draw her close.
“Don’t you know by now, baby?” He kissed her for a good thirty seconds. “I know all.”
With a snort, Toni followed him out of the diner. Arrogant man. Of course, he had the goods to back it all up, but still…
He snatched the diner’s keys out of her hand and secured the building. He had a thing about being the one to lock the house if they left together and the diner when he was taking her home, which was pretty much all the time. Said if he wasn’t the one to lock it, he stressed over whether or not it was done properly. Not that he didn’t trust her to take care of it, it was just a thing for him.
So, she indulged his quirk and let him lock the doors. Such a small concession for his peace of mind.
“Where’re we going?” Toni asked, accepting her helmet.
“Foothills Parkway.” After another kiss, Zach straddled the bike and waited for her to climb on.
“My favorite.”
“I know.”
“I forgot to tell you,” Toni said as she swung her leg over the bike. “I received an envelope from Mark in the mail today. On the back it said not to open it unless you were with me.”
“Huh. Guess we’ll open it when we get there.” Zach sounded almost disinterested in whatever it was she’d received from her uncle, but Toni got the impression that wasn’t actually the case. It sounded more like he already knew what they’d find when they opened the package.
What were those two up to?
She settled in behind him and took a moment to enjoy the feel of Zach in the circle of her arms. The strength of his firm back and shoulders. The hills and valleys of his abs beneath her fingertips. The smooth feel and earthy smell of his leather cut. Combine it all with the power and rumble of the bike between her thighs and it was a sensory experience to be savored.
As Zach maneuvered the motorcycle through town and out onto the Foothills Parkway, the view changed from storefronts and businesses to the gorgeous scenes mother nature gifted the area.
The farther from town they rode, the more a feeling of peace spread through Toni. There were a few weeks in there that she’d worried she’d never climb out of the darkness that had slowly enveloped her after she killed Shark. It had only been within the last seven days that she’d been able to sleep through the night without nightmares and stopped experiencing a heavy, almost suffocating, sense of guilt throughout the day.
There was no blowback on the club, or her. The Handlers saw to it that the evidence would never lead back to them, so she hadn’t really been worried about any legal repercussions. Taking a life in and of itself had messed with her head in a way she never saw coming. Even though there was a good chance she’d saved not only her own life, but Maverick’s and Stephanie’s as well, it had been hard to move past.
Zach was amazing. Patient when she needed to talk it out. Calming in the middle of the night when she woke up shouting and gasping for breath. Tolerant when she just needed some space to process. He’d been the epitome of a gentleman, except in bed where he tended to be more of an animal.
Just how she liked it.
After about forty-five minutes, Zach pulled off to an overlook they’d yet to visit. Viewing the sunset from different locations had become their thing over the past few weeks. This was a new one.
“Just in time,” Zach said as he dismounted and helped her remove her helmet.
The giant auburn glowing orb was just hitting the horizon line.
“Wow,” she said as she grabbed Mark’s letter and walked away from the bike. “It’s beautiful tonight.”
Zach sat on the ground with his knees bent, legs spread. He snagged her and drew her down between his thighs. “Sure is,” he said. “Second most beautiful thing here.”
She leaned back against him, loving his strong arms around her. “Quite the silver tongue you have there.”
“Damn straight. But that shouldn’t be news to you.” He tightened his hold on her and ran his tongue up the side of her neck.
Toni shivered and snuggled deeper in his embrace. With the altitude and setting sun, the air held a chill. “No, it’s not. I’ve been a fan of your tongue for a while now.”
“You know what day it is?” Zach brushed his nose along the shell of her ear.
“Yes, it’s Wednesday. Why?”
He chuckled. “It is Wednesday, that’s true. It also would have been the first day of school for you.”
“Oh, wow. I can’t believe I didn’t realize it. Guess someone’s been keeping me distracted.” How different her life was from the first day of school last year. Night and day. “I’m so glad I stayed,” she whispered.
She turned her head and stared up at Zach. “Really, Zach, I know it took m
e a while to come to my senses, and I know I’ve not been the most fun person to be around the past few weeks, but not once since I decided to stay have I questioned or regretted that decision.”
A full and true smile from Zach was one of Toni’s favorite things and it didn’t disappoint then. “You’re missing your sunset. Probably the most beautiful one we’ve seen yet,” he said.
“That’s okay.” She kissed his chin. “It’s not nearly as important as making sure you know how much I care about you.”
How much I love you.
Was it too early to admit those feelings? Because they were strong and on her mind almost every hour of every day.
It was at that moment, with the sun lowering below the horizon and the man she loved wrapped around her, Toni experienced complete and perfect happiness for the first time in her life.
~ ~ ~ ~
Six months ago, if someone had told Zach he’d be sitting in the dirt with his arms wrapped around a woman he loved, watching the sunset, he’d have driven them to the hospital. Psych ward.
It wasn’t that he hadn’t wanted it, he’d just never given much thought to having an ol’ lady. Who needed it when there were willing women hanging around the clubhouse with no goals beyond helping the club members get off?
Turned out, he did.
And he’d found it with Toni.
“Open the letter,” he said as he nuzzled her ear.
“Okay.” Without hesitation, she ripped the envelope open. “I’ve been dying to know what it is all—holy shit,” she whispered. “Zach what the hell is this?” She held up the slip of paper with two fingers like she was holding a scorpion by the tail instead of a check for one hundred thousand dollars.
He chuckled. “Looks like a check to me.”
“Yeah…but…what…” Her mouth opened and closed at least four times.
Giving her a squeeze, he said, “Why don’t you read the note.”
