King's grin stretched from ear to ear as he set his menu down. “I think so, too.”
We stood up and walked out of the restaurant hand in hand, heading up to our room for a night I knew I wouldn't forget any time soon.
CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR
KING
I was still floating on Cloud Nine as I pulled my bike into the clubhouse parking lot. It had been an incredible night with Abbie – quite possibly the best sex I'd ever had in my life. But it was more than that. There was something special about her. When I was with her, I found myself wanting to talk to her, to open up and share with her – which was uncharted territory for me since I wasn't one who ever opened up to anybody. But there was something about her that made me want to.
I liked Abbie. I liked her a lot and I wanted to see where things went with her.
All of those warm and fuzzy feelings rolling around my head died in an instant when I saw the small army of cops milling about in the club's parking lot. I took my helmet off and slowly climbed off my bike as Detectives Mahoney approached me – Roy right on his heels.
“King,” Mahoney said, stopping a few feet from me. “We need to talk.”
“I told him we don't know anything already,” Roy said. “But he won't listen to me.”
Mahoney turned around, his expression irritated. “Roy, I told you to go back into the shop and stay there. I need to talk to King and I don't need you getting in the way.”
“Look man, I'm just – ”
“Go back to the shop now, Roy,” Mahoney cut him off. “You keep getting in my way, I'm going to run you in for obstruction.”
Roy gave me a look that was half sick with worry and half filled with rage – which told me something really bad was going down. My defenses were immediately up and I was tense beyond measure. Grudgingly, Roy walked back to the shop, his posture stiff and tense as well. What in the hell was going on here?
“What's going on, Detective?” I asked. “Why do you have your men picking through our clubhouse?”
“It's part of an open investigation, King,” he said. “There's a copy of the warrant inside for you.”
I immediately worried about what the cops might find during the course of their search. I hoped beyond hope that Roy had the sense to stash everything when he saw the cop cars rolling in. We had a number of hidden safe spots in the clubhouse where we stashed the contraband for moments just like this.
“What are you investigating?” I asked.
“We received a package down at the station today,” he said.
Mahoney handed me a picture and I stared at it in shock and horror. It was a picture of two hands that had been cut off and set in a box. And on the hands, our club logo had been crudely drawn with a marker. I stood transfixed, not believing what I was seeing.
“What in the hell is this?” I asked.
“I was hoping you could tell me,” Mahoney said. “That's the Cossack logo, isn't it?”
I nodded, my mind numb. “You know it is.”
“The fingerprints were burned off with acid, so an identification is impossible,” Mahoney said. “I was hoping you could tell me whose hands these are.”
I shook my head, feeling my anger surging. The goddamn Incas were sending us a message. It couldn't have been anybody else. El Segado and his merry band of pricks were fucking animals. Savages. This was their work.
“I have no idea, Detective.”
“You're sure about that?”
I nodded. “I would tell you if I did, but I don't have a clue.”
And it was true. I couldn't identify the hands. It could have been any of my guys. Hell, it could have been anybody at all and not necessarily one of my guys at all. It was a pair of hands.
“Would you, now?” Mahoney asked.
“I would,” I replied. “Whether you believe me or not.”
“This is a pretty big escalation, King,” he said. “I don't need to tell you the seriousness of this. The last thing I want around here is a gang war – I don't want any innocents getting caught up in your bullshit. So if you know something, now's the time.”
I finally tore my eyes away from the picture and looked him in the eye. “I don't know anything, Detective,” I said. “I don't care if you believe me or not, but I don't want a war around here either.”
“Do you know who might have done this?” he asked. “The message was obviously meant for you and the Cossacks.”
Now, it was a little trickier. I didn't want to let him know that it was the Incas because that would only put me and my guys in further danger. He was going to have to ferret out that information on his own. I shook my head.
“I really don't know who might be trying to send us a message,” I said. “Or what this message is even supposed to mean.”
Mahoney sighed and handed me another picture. And when I saw it, I felt my eyes grow wide and my stomach drop into my shoes. The picture was of Abbie and it had been taken just outside of her apartment.
“King,” Mahoney said, “if you know something, you had better tell me now. I really don't want to have this girl's hands – or worse – sent to the station in a box.”
I felt sick and angry at the same time. I'm sure my face looked exactly like Roy's had when I'd seen him a few minutes ago.
“Do you have anybody watching her?” I asked.
Mahoney shook his head. “No, we're not sure what's going on and we don't have the resources to spread out like that.”
“Then I need to go,” I said. “Is there anything else you need from me right now?”
“Yeah, I need you to tell me what in the hell is going on.”
“I have no idea what's going on,” I snapped. “But those pictures seem like a pretty fucking direct threat to me. Now, unless you're planning on hauling me in, I'm going to get her and keep her safe.”
Mahoney sighed and nodded. “Go,” he said. “Protect her.”
I slammed my helmet back down on my head as I jumped back on to my bike and fired it up. I roared out of the parking lot and took off down the highway. My stomach was in knots and my head was spinning. I hoped and prayed Abbie was safe.
I needed to get to Abbie. I had no idea how in the hell the Incas had found out about her, but I needed to get to her and take her back to the club with me. Or just stash her somewhere safe. I didn't know what I was going to do other than getting to her as quickly as I could.
Sticking the Bluetooth in my ear, I called Roy. He picked up before the first ring had even ended.
“What in the hell is going on, King?” his voice was tight.
“I don't know,” I said. “The cops got a box with two hands and a picture of Abbie in it, though.”
“Abbie's hands?” he almost shouted. “Weren't you with her – ”
“They weren't her hands,” I said. “But I need to get to her to make sure she's safe. Do you have any idea whose hands they could have been? Has everybody checked in this morning?”
There was a pause on the line as Roy was presumably thinking. “I never heard back from Dawkins,” he said.
I shook my head. Dawkins was young and one of our newer members. He was a good guy and I really hoped it wasn't him.
“Call him again,” I said. “And keep trying. We need to find out what the fuck is going on here.”
“I'm on it.”
I hung up and dialed Abbie. The phone rang and rang, but went to her voicemail.
“Shit,” I cursed.
I opened up the throttle a little more and drove as fast as I dared. I wasn't all that far from Abbie's place, but at the same time, it seemed like I was a million miles away.
CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE
ABBIE
The pounding on my door startled me, waking me from a nap I hadn't intended to take. My time with King had worn me out, though, and I was still wearing the same clothes I'd been wearing when I last saw him. I walked to the door, trying my best to keep my heart rate under control, when I heard King's voice through the door.
/> “Abbie?” he called, pounding on the door again. “You in there? It's me.”
Something in the tone of his voice told me there was a problem. King wasn't somebody who got rattled easily, but judging by the near panic I heard in his voice, it sounded as if someone had died. Or worse.
“I'm here, King,” I said, fighting with the locks on my door.
As soon as the door swung open, King pulled me into a tight embrace and held me for several long moments.
“What's wrong?” I asked.
My pulse raced. Even though it was only King at my door and not a hockey mask wearing ax murderer, I was still scared by the way he was acting. It was way out of character. Something wasn't right. King finally let go of me – albeit, reluctantly – and slammed the door behind him, quickly locking both the knob and the dead bolt.
“King, what's going on?” I asked again.
Still, no answer as he moved over to the windows.
“Has anyone been by? Other than me, I mean,” he asked, finally speaking.
“No,” I responded, finding the question rather odd and feeling even more unsettled. “Why?”
“Good,” he said. King pulled back the blinds and stared out at the parking lot.
Night had fallen and it was dark, but the lights in the parking lot illuminated everything outside my apartment. I made sure all the lights were in good working order. Safety reasons, obviously.
King plopped down on my couch, sitting near the door, with a big sigh and a relieved look on his face.
“Care to tell me what's going on?” I asked, crossing my arms over my chest and staring down at him.
“Not really. But there's nothing to worry about, Abbie, I promise you that.”
“Okay, but why the freakout, then?” I asked. “You come storming in here and, to be honest, you're freaking me out.”
King didn't answer. Instead he patted the couch next to him. “Sit, please?”
I hesitated, mainly to show him I wasn't one to be bossed around, before reluctantly joining him on the couch. He wrapped his arm around me, pulling me close.
“I'm going to hang out here for a while, if you don't mind,” he said. “I'm not letting you out of my sight.”
That didn't sound like things were okay or that I had nothing to worry about to me.
“King, please – ”
“It's just a misunderstanding, Abbie. I'm sure everything is going to be fine. I just want to be careful, that's all.” King pushed a strand of my hair from my face and smiled. “Did I wake you up?”
Just a misunderstanding? Why wouldn't he tell me more? What in the hell was going on? He didn't seem to be inclined to talk about it just yet, so all I could do was play along. He would eventually give in and tell me what was happening and what had him so spooked.
“Yeah, I fell asleep on the couch after I got home,” I said, stifling a yawn. “You sure know how to wear a girl out.”
“Good thing you got some rest, then,” he said and then kissed me.
He managed to quiet all my fears, all my worries, with his mouth and tongue. He very nearly managed to make me forget my own name. King was a very, very good kisser. Holding onto my face, he kept me close to him, kissing my lips before moving down to my neck.
“King – ” I gasped.
“What is it, Abbie?” he asked, staring up with those soulful blue eyes of his.
“Are you sure everything is going to be fine?”
“Do you trust me, Abbie?” he asked.
Nodding, I said, “I do.”
“Then trust me when I tell you that everything will be just fine. I won't let anything happen to you, got it?”
I gave him a small smile and he went back to kissing my neck. As he ran his tongue down to my collarbone and back, my thoughts got a bit scattered. And when his hand worked its way up my leg and underneath my skirt, those remaining scattered thoughts were obliterated completely. I moaned as his fingers pressed against the delicate material of my panties before he pushed it aside and slid a finger deep inside of me.
Gripping him tightly, I moved my hips and ground myself down on his hand, forcing his fingers even deeper inside of me than they already were. Somehow, even in the middle of all the craziness, he made me feel safe. Even with everything going on, the potential danger beckoning at our door, when I was with King, I felt like everything would be okay.
I relaxed in his arms, let him touch me, kiss me, and stopped worrying about what he could be hiding from me. Because the truth of the matter was, I did trust him. Maybe I shouldn't, but I did. I trusted him with my body and my heart. I trusted him with my life.
King pushed me down on the couch and hovered above me, his fingers still working their magic inside of me as he moved them in and out, hard and deep. I moaned, bit my bottom lip, and thrashed my head from side to side. He was driving me crazy and I couldn't remove his pants fast enough, fighting with the belt buckle as King pushed my skirt up farther, leaning down to kiss me, shoving his tongue deep into my mouth. It felt like he sucked the breath right from my lungs, and it felt amazing. I never wanted it to stop, even if I suffocated under the weight of his body – I'd at least die happy.
But I was even happier when I heard the sound of his zipper. His pants slid down his body and my hands followed. I grabbed onto that firm, tight ass and pulled him down onto me, wrapping my legs around his waist. I wanted him as close to me as humanly possible.
I needed him inside of me.
And he felt that need, I could tell. He shared the need with me, in fact. Because there was no time for playing around or fumbling, he didn't tease me. I gasped as King slipped his hard cock inside of me. He filled me up and stretched me in ways no other man had before and in ways that felt utterly amazing.
I looked him in the eye and bit my bottom lip, reveling in the sensation of him moving his cock slowly inside of me.
“Fuck me, King,” I moaned. “I want you to fuck me. Now.”
He gave me a lascivious grin and braced himself on his arms, looking down at me. I squeezed him between my thighs and slid my hands down his back, digging my nails into his ass, encouraging him to give me what I wanted. What I needed.
King, of course, obliged. He leaned and kissed me, our tongues dancing in my mouth as he started to pound me harder and faster. My moans turned to screams as he began to fuck me even harder, the sound of our bodies slapping together echoing in my apartment.
I thrust my hips up to meet him, trying to take him even deeper inside of me. The connection I felt to him was intense and made my body feel like it was humming with an electrical current. I dug my nails even harder into his ass as he continued to pound me harder. King kissed my neck, sliding his tongue down to suck on my nipples.
It was amazing and I screamed out loud. King was moaning, his thrusting becoming more frantic, more urgent. I felt my climax continuing to build and get stronger as he thrust himself deep and wildly inside of me. And then the dam broke without warning and a flood of sensations tore through my body like a bolt of lightning.
I screamed and my body twitched as I came incredibly hard. Of course, that was how I always seemed to cum with King – hard. I reflected on the fact that he was a gifted and talented man as I tried to catch my breath and slow my heart rate down to something other than “just ran two marathons back to back.”
King was moaning and squeezed his eyes shut, no doubt trying to prolong our little sex session. As he leaned down to kiss me again, I pulled him down lower so he could hear me.
“Cum for me, King,” I moaned. “Cum for me now. Fill me up, baby. I want your warm, sweet cum inside of me.”
And then it was over. King's body jerked and spasmed as he came. He moaned loudly and called my name as he filled me up with his seed.
It was amazing – as always.
CHAPTER TWENTY SIX
KING
The sun streaming in through the window woke me up. I hadn't realized we'd fallen asleep – let alone, slept through the night.
I looked down at Abbie's naked body and smiled. It was something I was sure I'd never get tired of seeing. It was crazy. Even with all of the shit going on with the Incas and all the madness associated with it, I still managed to find some peace with Abbie. The world could be falling apart all around us, but whenever I was with her, I somehow found a sense of calm.
I didn't know how she did it, but Abbie managed to keep me grounded. Centered. Balanced. There was just something about her that, regardless of the storms raging around us, kept my feet firmly rooted to the ground. I ran my fingers across her back and even though she slept soundly, she murmured and smiled. Her skin was so smooth, her hair so silky, and she had the faint aroma of citrus upon her body. She was intoxicating. If I could, I'd stay there, on that couch with her, forever. I'd capture that moment and hold onto it for as long as I could.
HANDS OFF MY WOMAN: Padre Knights MC Page 38
