by Jani Kay
Jade stood in the doorway and waved goodbye. She looked fucking adorable with her round stomach, and those long naked legs made my cock twitch. I blew her a kiss before I disappeared down the road.
Fresh air hit my face and cleared my head. The long ride down to the club gave me time to think, to mull things over in my head. I couldn’t be in a better place in my life. Things were sweet between me and my woman, and with our new additions to the family everything would be perfect. As a young boy, I’d never imagined I could ever be this happy, or that one woman would hold my happiness in her hands.
All too quickly, I reached the compound that was home to the Scorpio Stinger MC. Once I’d entered through the gates and parked my bike with all the others, I shook my legs out, then cracked my knuckles one by one before making my way to Cobra’s office. I kinda missed this place. After all, it had been my home for more than a decade. It had taken me a while to become accustomed to living in luxury in Malibu with Jade. I was a simple man, and my needs were small. All I really needed was Jade, my brothers, and my Harley. I could live without the rest.
Hammer was the first one out to greet me. “Hey, dude. How the fuck have you been?”
We did the brotherly hug with lots of back-slapping before walking side by side to the main building. “I’m good. No, I’m better than good—I’m fucking awesome. How are you?”
Hammer chuckled. “It’s all that ‘falling in love’ shit that’s gotten to you. I miss seeing your ugly mug around here.”
“Sorry, I can’t say the same about you,” I joked back. I followed Hammer into the clubhouse where a group of guys were playing a game of pool.
Razor looked up over the balls he’d just set up for the break in the triangular rack, an expression of scorn on his face.
“Hey, Ryder. I thought you’d forgotten all about us, cocksucker. Now that you’re in your little love nest, you have no time for your brothers.” Razor’s eyebrows knitted together as he chalked up the tip until it was blue. He leaned over the green table to stare down the tapered shaft of the cue before he took the break shot. He slammed the stick into the cue ball with so much force that the seven striped and seven solid balls scattered in all directions.
Who’d blown smoke up his ass?
“That’s bullshit and you know it,” I shot back, his tone irking the fuck out of me.
He nodded toward Cobra’s office. “Pres is waiting for you.”
“Thanks, Bro,” I said as I slapped him on the back, ignoring his obvious foul mood, and made my way to Cobra’s office.
“Maybe we can shoot some eight-ball when I finish with Cobra?” I said over my shoulder as I reached the door. The boys were right. I hadn’t spent much time at the clubhouse recently and guilt pushed up in my gut.
The only answer I got from Razor was a snort.
I shrugged and simply presumed he’d had another fight with Lexi, because if those two weren’t fucking each other’s brains out, they were fucking with one another’s minds. But that was none of my damn business, and I wasn’t getting in the middle of that one any time soon, if ever.
Even though the door was open, I knocked before entering out of pure habit. Cobra rose from his chair and closed the distance between us, a huge grin on his face. “Ryder! Fuck, it’s good to see you. You’ve been scarce lately.”
Usually Cobra and I insulted one another as a way of showing our affection. The fact that he was so openly pleased to see me worried me even more than I had been before. It meant that he didn’t have the time to think about verbal abuse, even if in jest.
“What’s up, bro?” I asked as I rubbed my hands together. Except for bags under his eyes, Cobra didn’t look too bad from what I could tell by a quick glance.
“Want coffee? It’s getting cold now, and the wind can be icy when you ride a longer distance.” Without even waiting for my reply, Cobra yelled out, “Two coffees. Make them extra strong and extra hot. And bring cookies.”
Some things never changed and that was just the way I liked it. I grinned as I sank into the closest chair and pushed my hair back with my fingers before settling in, legs wide open and my head resting back as I got comfortable. I was lucky that lately I was becoming somewhat of a chameleon and could adapt more easily to most environments.
We waited for the coffees to be delivered and made small talk for a while. Now that I had the time to study his face more, I noticed that not only were his eyes a lot puffier than normal, he also had dark rings under his eyes and he kept flexing his hands.
“Thanks, babe,” he said to Amelia, one of the club whores, as she set two steaming mugs of coffee, a plate of cookies and a sugar bowl down on his desk a few minutes later. “Close the door behind you,” he ordered in a gruff voice.
Until he was ready to spill his guts and tell me what was worrying him I’d play it cool, but the fact he wanted the door closed confirmed my suspicions.
I sniffed the air. Cobra always chain smoked when he was worried and since I already had doubts, I smelled for signs that he’d been smoking.
He chuckled. “You’re an untrusting bastard. Don’t think I don’t know what you’re doing. I told you I’d given up smoking. You and Mia should start believing me.”
“Yeah, yeah. I’ve heard that bullshit before.” I chuckled, but secretly I was happy that Cobra had quit. I sure as hell wanted my friend to be around for a very long time.
“With all the pressure from you and my woman, I had to give up my one and only vice and pleasure. But to be honest, I do feel better since I did. I won’t lie and say that I don’t still crave it, especially when I’m having a bad day or shit stirs up, but you know I’m a tenacious bastard, and once I make up my mind about something I kinda stick to it.”
Instead of taking his seat behind the desk, Cobra leaned his ass onto the desktop in front of me, but rather than crossing his legs at the ankle like he normally did when he was relaxed, he pressed his palms down into his knees in a nervous and restless kind of gesture.
My muscles tensed up as the nagging feeling returned to my gut.
“Yeah, you have your two little ones to think about. It’s not only about you anymore. I’m starting to learn that now that Jade is having our twins. Fuck, man, you and I are going to get disgracefully gray together and cause havoc in our old age,” I said in an attempt to lighten the mood.
“I’m looking forward to that—giving my kids as much grief as what my old man gave me.” Cobra and I both laughed. He was nothing like his deceased father. Chopper Malone had been a hard man, whereas under his tough exterior, Cobra had a good heart. Sure, he hid it like most men did, but he couldn’t fool me. My best friend had more compassion in his little finger than any other man I knew. He was just not that comfortable showing it. Yet whenever it counted, Cobra stood up for his beliefs and his people.
Cobra held up the sugar. “Need some?”
“Nah. Not since Jade weaned me off the sweet stuff.”
He handed me a mug. I took the first sip and let the brew warm me up from the inside. “Enough of the small talk. Tell me what’s worrying you.”
Cobra gave me a lopsided grin which faded quickly. “Whatever gave you the idea that something is worrying me? Don’t tell me your eye has been twitching lately.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Should it be?”
Cobra hesitated before answering, as if looking for the right words. “I don’t know yet. But I’ve had some news, and it’s not good. Daemon’s club has made a deal with the Don’s Mexican cartel, worth millions. Alone, each of them has serious power, but together they’ll be virtually unstoppable. They’ll both have connections either side of the border, and that makes them stronger and a lot more dangerous.”
My stomach dropped into my boots.
“Joining forces isn’t anything new, but yeah, you might be right. On their own they each can cause serious damage, but together havoc and mayhem is a given.”
The atmosphere turned thick and heavy.
My gaze met C
obra’s. It was only then that I noticed his bloodshot eyes. My friend probably hadn’t slept much, and I couldn’t blame him.
“Yeah. Even though both the fuckers are dead, it seems their people are still going strong.”
That twitch that Cobra was waiting for—my left eye jumped. It wasn’t a good sign.
I took a long, hard look at Cobra. There was something else he wasn’t telling me, and that worried me more. “Talk to me, brother. Tell me what’s eating at you.”
“Fuck, you know me too well. I wasn’t going to tell anybody because I didn’t want you to worry if nothing ever happened.”
My fucking eye twitched like that of a crazy person. I sat forward, on the edge of my seat and spoke in a gravelly voice. “Spill. Everything. There are no secrets between us—isn’t that what you told me?”
Cobra shrugged. “Mostly true, but you know every man has his own skeletons. And if I tell you, Mia can ever find out. You have to guarantee me that.”
My eyebrows knitted together. “I’m fucking bleeding that you don’t trust me enough to know that if that’s what you want that’s the way it will be. It will stay between you and me—nobody else.”
Cobra let out a deep sigh. We sat silent for a beat, raucous laughter drifting to us from the clubroom and sounding absurd. “There’s a contract out on me. From both Daemon and Don Pedro.” He hung his head and stared at the ground. My intestines grew cold. “I’m doubly fucked.”
Unblinking, he lifted his head and met my gaze. His eyes were blazing.
“I’m not a hundred percent sure yet, but I think they’re gunning for you and Razor too. It’s not confirmed, but I wouldn’t be surprised. And Hammer isn’t safe either. None of us are. This is fucked up, Ryder.”
I sucked in a deep breath and held it. “Fuck,” I said on a long outward breath, trying to digest his revelation. The room felt hot and stuffy and I needed fresh air.
We should’ve seen this coming, but I’d been too blinded by my own life, with my focus on Jade and our new family. Retribution for lives taken had always been the norm in the underworld. The dark side had reared its ugly head, and the enormity of Cobra’s disclosure hit me in the gut. The truth was that once a contract was out there was very little that could be done to stop it.
“I’ve put Hammer on it to get the facts. I’m sorry, brother, but the chances are that they’re coming after you and Razor. As soon as I know for certain, I’ll have to tell Razor too. But for now I want only the three of us knowing.”
My stomach churned, and as bile rose to my throat, I had to swallow hard to push it down and not get sick.
Fuck. Like a movie my life flashed by in my mind’s eye. The highs. The lows. The good and the bad. I wouldn’t have cared if I died a few years ago but now I had every reason to want to live.
All I could think about was Jade and our babies. This wasn’t fair to any of them.
I jumped up and paced the room, my mind going into a spin.
“Why in fuck’s name didn’t you tell me sooner? We’re brothers, Cobra. Brothers tell one another shit like this.” My voice was harsh, echoing through the room and bouncing off the walls.
Cobra licked his lips. “You’re in the happiest place you’ve ever been in your life. I didn’t want to burden you with this crap until I was certain. I wanted to see you enjoy your woman because you deserve happiness.” He shrugged as he ran a hand over his shaved head. “I thought I could handle this on my own if they were only after me.”
Silence fell between us as he sucked in a deep breath. I sank back into the chair, my shoulders slumped as I closed my eyes and rubbed my temples. My mind went blank and my body limp. I struggled to breathe.
I’m too afraid to think of what could happen.
Cobra’s voice drifted to me as if he were a thousand miles away. I opened my eyes and focused my gaze on his pale face. His lips moved as if in slow motion but his eyes were wild.
“I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that I’m scared shitless. Not so much for myself—hell, we’re all going to die—but for Mia, and the kids, for you and my brother, and for the club. I haven’t slept since I found out, and Mia is on to me. Like you, she knows me too well, and she’s asking questions I don’t know how to answer.”
I rubbed the back of my neck. “Don’t you think you owe her the truth? Mia has been with you every step of the way. She gave up her life for you, Cobra. The least you can do is to be honest with her and tell her what’s going on.”
How was I going to keep this from Jade? I’d have a fucking hard time not telling her because sure as hell this was going to gnaw at me. But more than that, I hated having secrets between us. What happened to one of us affected the other just as much. That’s what being in a relationship was all about.
Cobra’s jaw tightened, and his eyes went hard. “No. Mia has been through enough. She doesn’t need any more shit. I don’t want her worrying about me, looking over my shoulder all day long, waiting, wondering when it will happen . . . living in fear. I won’t do that to her.”
I shifted in my seat. “I understand better than you think. We all try to protect those we love. But if something happens to you and Mia never knew you were in danger or had a chance to say goodbye, don’t you think that would be worse? And Jade—I don’t know if I can keep this from her. Fuck, I can’t not tell her the truth.”
I hated having to talk about death, but there was no avoiding the subject. A contract meant a hitman. A hitman meant a bullet with Cobra’s name on it. There was no pussyfooting around the topic. And if Cobra was right, there was a tombstone waiting to be engraved with my name too. And Razor’s.
He didn’t hesitate for a beat. “I’ve given this a lot of thought. In fact, I haven’t stopped thinking about it for five solid days. There’s only one option, and that is to rally everyone together. I’ve got to call in all the Scorpio Stinger brothers from around the country. This is war and our enemies are out to attack us. We’re stronger when we aren’t scattered.” His gaze locked with mine. “That includes you, Ryder, as well as Jade. I’m sorry—I know you were enjoying your freedom, but this is a matter of life and death.” He threw back his head and laughed. It rang out loud, yet it sounded hollow. “My death. And maybe yours too.”
3 — Jade
Before I got to do too much damage to the credit card, Eva and I finished shopping. We had a long, slow lunch, and I was too tired to continue our shopping spree.
“How about I treat you to a full-body massage before our bellies are too big? I know this place that does amazing Chinese reflexology as well. Sound good?” I hoped Eva would agree, because putting my feet up was exactly what I needed.
Eva smiled. “That’s the best idea I’ve heard all day . . . since my stomach is full anyway. Let’s do it.”
I hauled my phone from my purse and made a quick call. I spoke to Suzi, explaining what services we needed while Eva texted on her phone. She giggled a few times when a new message pinged in and messaged back right away, totally engrossed in her conversation. She was clearly having fun and I had a suspicion she was getting naughty messages from my brother because her cheeks were rosy and her eyes glittered as she licked over her full lips. Only a woman in love glowed like that.
“Thanks, Suzi, I appreciate that. See you soon,” I said as I turned to Eva. “They can fit us in if we go immediately. Apparently a few customers cancelled today, which is lucky for us.”
Eva finished her text and casually dropped her phone back into her bag, but the mischievous grin stayed on her pretty face.
“Oh yay. I can’t wait to get my shoes off.” She laughed. “Are your feet as swollen as mine?”
“Hell yeah. I just have flats left to wear that don’t squeeze the crap out of my toes,” I said grimacing. At least I wasn’t the only one with puffy feet and fingers.
“Next time we’ll go shoe shopping and get some cute outfits for our baby bellies, too. What do you think?” Eva said, eyeing my feet and then her own.
; Funny how women always had to compare themselves to other women; good or bad. In spite of her growing belly Eva looked gorgeous and as elegant as ever. I felt frumpy standing next to her and I was glad she was Ryder’s sister and we weren’t competing for the same man. But I couldn’t hate Eva even if I was a little jealous that her bump was small and round in the front only compared to mine that seemed to have spread to my hips and ass.
“You took the words right out of my mouth,” I agreed, swallowing my envy. Ryder told me every day how sexy he thought I was as my breasts got heavier and my clothes got tighter and I was determined to hold on to his words for all it was worth. He wouldn’t lie to me and the way his eyes gleamed with lust while he stared at me whenever I was naked was proof enough for me.
“It’s a deal then. Next week is all about shopping for us.” Eva turned her head to appraise her reflection in the shop window as we walked to my car. “God, I feel so fat and nearly nothing in my closet fits me anymore. I need a whole new wardrobe.”
“You and me both, hon,” I said, looking forward to our plans for the following week.
I loved how well Eva and I got along. Harrison was damn lucky to have found a woman like her. Nobody else would have put up with his crap the way she did, nor taken the time to really get to know him and not judge him too harshly for sometimes being an asshole. For as much as I loved my brother, he wasn’t always easy to like. It took a woman like Eva to tame the man who’d been tormented by his past and I admired her guts and strength of character, but above all I appreciated that she hadn’t given up on him when so many other people would have.
Since Ryder and I and were planning our wedding to take place soon after Eva and Harrison’s it was another great thing we had in common. We were kind of going through the same things at the same time and it was fabulous to have a friend I could confide in and who understood exactly where I was coming from.
