by KB Winters
“Cross called church.”
And just like that, my good mood faded. “What about?”
Jag gave me a look. “What do you think? Stetson is closed for the week but you saw Bitsy so you know what the fuck is going on. Apparently a few of the girls at the Bungalows had the same problems, which means our problems aren’t as over as we thought.”
“Goddammit! This ain’t ever gonna end.” Ever since I came back it was one shit show after another and I was pretty sure it wouldn’t end until we were all dead.
“It will because we’re gonna end it.” Jag spoke with the kind of certainty I used to have when it came to the MC. But every year the other guys seemed to outnumber us, out gun us and worst of all, they were meaner than we were.
But we had no choice but to fight and to win. If we didn’t, our women and children would face a worse fate. “If you say so, brother. Come on Maisie, we’ll come back out later and play, okay?”
She looked up with pleading blue eyes. “Can Peaches come?”
I added apologize to the sexy hacker to the top of my to do list and nodded. “Anything for you, kid.”
“Love you, Gunny!”
“Love you too, Maisie.” Enough to do whatever it took to make sure the Reckless Bastards came out victorious against their latest enemies.
Chapter Twenty-Eight – Cross
Lying in bed with Moon nestled against my chest felt good. Hell, it felt damn good. This would be the first real holiday I’d spend with a woman other than Lauren. Instead of making me sad however, the thought brought a smile to my face. It had been a long road to recovery after I’d lost Lauren and the baby. Hard to forgive myself. Overcoming the guilt. And now I was living this, my second chance at life.
Moon woke up with a moan and a long stretch, her curves pressed up against me. “What’s that smile for?”
Nothing better than waking up with my woman in my arms. A smile on her face and her hands roaming all over my body made sure most days got off to a great fucking start. “I was just thinking about Christmas. Beau. Lauren. And how lucky I am to have you.”
“And what did you come up with?” That was what I loved most about Moon. She didn’t shy away from the hard topics and talking about my dead wife never made her uncomfortable.
“I was thinking how proud she’d be that I finally moved on and found such an incredible woman. About how I’d thought I’d never love anyone as much as I loved her. Then came you.” My statement was rewarded with a kiss. A slow passionate kiss that never failed to get me hard and aching for Moon. She was sensual in every sense of the word, from her graceful moves to the way she embraced pleasure and adventure.
“I think I’m the lucky one,” she purred against me, dotting my jaw with kisses. “I am so thankful to have you in my life. You are a special man and I love you with all my heart.”
Goddamn this woman had the power to bring me to my knees. If I wasn’t already flat on my back with her womanly curves pressed on top of me, I would have been anyway. “Right back at you, babe. I love you more than I can say and I can’t wait to make you my wife.”
Moon nipped my ear in that way she knew was guaranteed to drive me crazy. I thrust up against her until she threw her head back and moaned and ground against me. “As much as I want to make love to you right now, I’m on kitchen duty this morning.” She smacked a kiss right over my heart. “As soon as you win against your latest big bad, we can set a date. Okay?”
“More than okay. Happy Thanksgiving, babe.”
She smiled her beautiful, earthy, Zen woman smile that made my heart stutter and pushed off me, standing beside the bed in all her naked glory. “And happy Thanksgiving to you too, my love.”
When Moon left me alone with my thoughts, I couldn’t help but think of all the good things that had happened this year. Several brothers welcomed a new generation into the world, and some even added wives to the family. We all had something to live for, someone to fight for, which we needed because I had a feeling it would be necessary for the fight ahead.
I got dressed and stepped outside to inhale the cool morning air. Late November in Nevada could be hot as hell or cold as fuck but today the still chilly air felt good going down my lungs. I stepped back inside, bypassing my office and headed into the main area where the club mingled with the women and children playing games and setting the tables because according to Moon, this would be a typical Thanksgiving dinner where the meal was served just after noon to ensure everyone could eat nonstop. All day long.
“All right guys, we’re whipping up some breakfast to tide you over until the big meal is done,” Mandy shouted over the noise, her smile wide and her green eyes all business. “Someone bring in the coolers, please!” She clapped her hands a couple times, and just like that, several of the guys moved into action to do her bidding.
I grabbed up Dallas as he ran by, eager to help but too short to do anything helpful. “I gotcha little man. What do you think you’re doing?”
“Helping!” His smile was big and toothy, looking so much like Lasso they could be twins.
“Let’s help together.” We gathered a stack of napkins and I handed each one to Dallas who then set it on top of a plate. We didn’t stand on ceremony at the club so there was no point pretending with fancy napkin displays or holders.
Dallas and I were half finished adding napkins to the plates that Vivi’s friend Peaches had set out, when a crash sounded outside. Since everyone was inside the compound with a few exceptions, I handed Dallas off to Rocky who wore a worried frown. “What’s going on?”
“Don’t know yet, Rocky. Keep the women and kids inside. Got it?” She nodded, leaving me free to head out to see what the fuck made that noise.
“Any idea what it could be?” Lasso asked, stopping right beside me and scanning the parking lot the same way I did.
“None.” But then the culprit came into view. A red hatchback rolling down the driveway with flames coming out of all four windows. A busted up windshield with a brick through one side and most of the window missing on the other was headed straight for the light post. The cement light post. “Get a fire extinguisher! Now!” I didn’t recognize the car but that didn’t calm the icy dread from slithering into my blood and it had fuck all to do with the weather.
“What the fuck?” Savior ran outside, followed by Max, Jag, Stitch and Golden Boy.
“Do we know this car?” Jag looked around, his mind already spinning in about a thousand different directions.
Finally, the flaming heap came to a stop as it smashed into the light post with a sickening crash. For a long moment we all stood there, staring as the flames licked all around the car, a sick fascination passing through each of us, which said a lot because we were a jaded group of fuckers. Lasso came back, finally, with two fire extinguishers in his hands. “Let’s get this fucking fire out before it spreads.”
Golden Boy snatched one of the red cans from Lasso with a glare. “Let’s get this shit over with, man.” Without another word, Lasso and Golden Boy got to work killing the fire on all sides of the car. “Surprised they didn’t set the fucking gas tank on fire.”
“Is that a foot?” Lasso pointed to the backseat, eyes wide enough to tell me that it wasn’t really a question.
“Fuck!” Savior kicked the back tire in anger. “It’s a foot, a goddamn leg and a whole fucking body.” His gaze slid to me, anger and questions burning there. He wanted to know what they all wanted to know.
What the fuck we were gonna do about this. “Any flames left?”
“Nah, it’s out,” Golden Boy assured me as he stepped back to make room so I could step closer.
A red and brown plaid blanket was draped over the body, covering everything but a woman’s leg with a gold charm anklet melted onto her skin. She was white underneath the soot and the only other thing visible was a hand, shriveled and burnt. The door handle was too fucking hot to touch but I was too close now and I had a bad fucking feeling as I reached into the busted
out window and pinched one end of the blanket and yanked it back. “Fuck!”
The woman was naked, and her body was well-preserved which told me the bastard who did this wanted us to recognize her. A few of the Reckless Bitches had shown up for Thanksgiving dinner so she might have been one of them but I didn’t think so. The ankle that was protected from the fire showed signs of restraint with purple bruising all around it. Her wrists received the same treatment. “Whoever she was, they tortured her,” Jag added, always the calm fucking voice of reason.
“Who is it?” Gunnar’s gruff question echoed the sentiments of everyone around the still smoking vehicle.
I stepped closer as dread weaved its way around my body, squeezing so goddamn tight I was pretty sure I stopped breathing for nearly a minute, brushing brown hair, singed at the edges, away from the woman’s face but even before I got there, I saw a very familiar tattoo. Tears burned my eyes and bile rose in my throat as I realized who it was.
“Fuck! Goddammit! It’s Kat.” We all knew that fucking tattoo, the pink heart with a peace sign inside of it, right there on her shoulder. Years ago when she’d been just a fast twenty year old trying to become an old lady, she used to prance around in next to nothing, that fucking tattoo on display.
“How do you know?” Savior moved in beside me and I grabbed his shoulder, knowing he would take her death—no her murder—the hardest. He’d always had a soft spot for Katrina, insisting he was no damn good for her but protecting her life all these years.
“That fucking tattoo right there,” I told him and pointed at it.
“I will kill that little motherfucker with my bare hands!” Savior was so pissed off he radiated with it. The vein in his forehead stuck out dangerously and I knew it would be hard to keep him cool.
“Savior, go check on the women.” He stayed where he was, staring at the lifeless body of Katrina. “Go. Now.”
Max tugged him away from the car and shoved him inside the clubhouse, following just to be sure. The rest of the group remained in silent shock that one of our own had taken a hit.
“She was just at my house,” Golden Boy said numbly. “Teddy will be devastated.”
They would all be devastated. The wives and girlfriends didn’t see Kat as a threat, they saw her as one of them. Family. I leaned back inside the car and brushed her hair away until I could see her face.
“Should we call the law?” Lex asked.
I shook my head. “Hell no. We can’t. Kat would understand. Fuck!” It wasn’t pretty. “Fuck!”
“What is it, Prez?” Stitch’s voice was shaky. Worried and we all knew why. He felt responsible and he was worried that Marisol might meet the same fate if he let her out of his sight for one second.
“The bastard slit her throat from one end to the next.” She was damn near decapitated. “Black eye. Bruises all over.” Kat’s wasn’t the first body I’d seen or hell, it wasn’t the first for any of us, but this one was deeply personal. As personal as any of the men and women we’d all lost on the battlefield. I kicked the side of the car as hard as I could. “Goddamn this fucking cartel!”
“I’m with Savior,” Stitch growled. “We have to get this little motherfucker. We have to make them all pay for Kat.”
“Especially that fat fuck Guapo,” Gunnar said, his voice low and menacing. “I can’t wait to fuck that asshole up!” He punched his palm a few times and we all knew what he had planned for Carlito’s second in command.
I took a step back, away from the car. And then another step and another one until I could no longer smell the stench of Katrina’s burning flesh. When I could finally take a breath without the smell of fire or smoke or seared skin, I sucked it in like it was fresh mountain air. Then I turned to face my men, feeling strong yet defeated, resolute. Resolved. “We can’t just keep reacting to shit.”
“We’re not gonna respond?” Stitch was incredulous which was understandable, but respectful as always.
“Fuck yeah we are, but what we won’t do is react. We need to come up with a solid plan so that we can go after this motherfucker and take him out for good. We must be smart and force him to react to us.” What that plan was? I had no fucking clue, but I would.
Soon.
Jag nodded and clapped me on the back. “This is fucked up, man. Let’s get everybody back inside and I’ll grab a few prospects and clean this mess up. Kat was part of us and we gotta do this right.”
I hated to leave Katrina out there, but Jag was right. It was time to set this shit aside and be thankful as fuck that most of us were still around to enjoy another holiday. I had no idea how we were going to handle this, but I knew flying off the handle was just what Carlito wanted. No, I needed to be smart and make sure something like this never happened to my family again.
Chapter Twenty-Nine - Jag
“Yo, Jag, did your girl find anything yet? It’s been a few days and she hasn’t said anything.” Cross called out to me across the game room where a few of the guys had gathered, mostly to take a moment away from the serious shit of the past few days.
The women had been incredibly emotional after Katrina’s body rolled into the compound. Some, like Vivi and Teddy had been more pissed and ready to kick some ass in their own right. I turned as Cross made his way to me. “Nah, man, I haven’t heard a thing about it from her, but I’m headed to the camper right now.” Vivi had been especially tight-lipped for the past few days but she’d been up late. Working. On what? I hadn’t a clue.
“Find out and tell her time is a factor.”
“She knows,” I assured the Prez. “I’ll get back with you soon,” I promised.
“Good. And make sure she doesn’t do anything stupid.” I nodded and bit back a smile because I knew Cross didn’t mean it the way it sounded, just that Vivi could be a bit impulsive and spontaneous. She never waited for the club’s input when she thought she had a good idea.
“Got it.” Cross clapped me on the back with a smile on his face as Moon and Beau walked through the front doors. I made my way to the camper, pulling the door open just as Peaches was getting ready to leave. “Hey Peaches. You ladies stirring up trouble?”
“Don’t you know it, Jag. Problem?”
I nodded and held the door open for her. “Yeah. I’m pissed I wasn’t invited along for the trouble.”
Peaches laughed and Vivi joined in from somewhere inside the camper. “Yeah right,” she called out. “My little Boy Scout doesn’t do trouble.”
Peaches and I exchanged a look before she jogged down the three steps and brushed past me. “Catch you lovebirds later.”
Vivi finally emerged, standing in the doorway looking hot as hell in black leather pants and a thin white tee shirt that clung only to her gorgeous tits. “What are you gonna do, hole up in your room for the rest of the night?”
Peaches shrugged. “Maybe. What the hell else am I gonna do?”
“Gunnar was giving you the eye,” Vivi said with a knowing grin.
“Yeah, the stink eye. That guy hates me and thinks I’m gonna run off with his kid so yeah, I think I’ll stay in my room until it’s time to blow this joint.”
“You’re leaving?” Vivi looked distraught, a word I never would have ever attributed to her, at the thought of her friend leaving. “Where are you going?”
“I don’t know, maybe back east or maybe I’ll head to California. We’ll see where the wind takes me.”
Vivi crossed her arms and stared at her friend. “What’s wrong with Vegas? Mayhem is pretty damn cool.”
“I’ll think about it.”
“Liar.” Vivi stepped down and got in Peaches’ face. “Stay for the next few months and if you still hate it, I’ll help you find a place and I’ll come with you and set it all up.” They engaged in a tense stand-off and I wasn’t sure if it would end in a catfight or a make out session. Either would have been all right by me.
“Fine. Three months and no more.”
Vivi grinned. “Perfect. Three months starting after
we fuck up this cartel.”
Peaches wanted to argue, it was written all over her face from the pinch of her bright lips to the way the skin between her eyebrows bunched up with annoyance. “Fine. But as soon as this is over, I get the camper.”
“Deal!” I cut in because as soon as we were off lockdown Vivi was moving in with me. Without a fucking doubt.
Vivi and Peaches both turned to look at me, one with a question in her eyes and the other, a smile. “Oh yeah?” That was Vivi with a slinky look that made my cock twitch.
“Damn straight,” I told them. “Cross wants to know what you got on Salinas?”
Peaches’ eyebrows went up and disappeared behind her mane of curls and she took a step back. And then another. “What? I hear someone calling me, I’ll uh, talk to you kids later.”
“Vivi, is there something you want to tell me?”
“You look so handsome in that shirt.” She traced a finger down the middle of my chest, tucking the tip inside my waistband. “So, so hot.”
As much as I wanted to pull her inside the camper and slide deep inside her pussy, I knew she was hiding something. “Vivi, what did you do?”
She sighed, turned on her heels and disappeared inside the camper. “You’re not gonna like it.”
I had a feeling I would more than not like it. “Tell me anyway.” I stepped into the camper and closed the door behind me, wishing I’d chosen to take her inside and fuck her like I wanted to. I had a feeling it would be a long time before we got to do that again. “Vivi.”
“Fine. Sit down and don’t say a word.” I sat and listened to news I didn’t like. Didn’t fucking want to hear. News that made me so angry I didn’t know whether to strangle her or tie her to the bed and fuck her. Hard. Fast.
“Grab your computer and let’s go.” Cross needed to hear this along with the rest of the MC. “You fucked up this time, Vivi.”
“Again,” she clarified. “I fucked up. Again. Only last time no one had a problem with me paying the price.”
