by Ryan Michele
“I guess.” Her eyes gleamed from the lights in the room, giving the green a shine.
“That’s what this is. Fate stepping in, taking over, and I’m holding on.”
She dropped her chin to her chest. Using my index finger, I lifted so she met my eyes.
“It’s gonna be okay.” I’d damn well do anything and everything I could to make sure of that.
AFTER HAVING A conversation with Ike about staying close to Trixie, I rushed to the club. I was going to be fucking late, something I didn’t do.
It was time to give Fox his money, and I needed to get a vote on it before I handed it over. Fuck, it was my mom, and I felt like an asshole, but Fox could cause us some serious trouble. I didn’t need that shit. I’d told Mom to stay away from his table, but she hadn’t listened.
I entered the clubhouse to find the guys standing around.
“About time,” Bosco chided.
“Got held up. Let’s start.” I tossed my phone on the table outside the door before entering the room.
The smell of smoke and years of decisions billowed through the air. Our symbol—the skull with Vipers on either side of it—was painted on the far wall. The other had pictures of good times we’d had in the club. In the center sat three large, square tables that we pushed together to make one long table with padded chairs around it.
I took my seat at the head as the guys piled in. Boner sat to my left, Stiff to my right, and Dawg next to him with everyone else sitting scattered.
I slammed the gavel down, and we went through all the shit with the garage and numbers first. Most of that was to the point.
“One more vote we need to do.” I looked around the table, meeting each man head-on. “My mother is four k in the hole with Fox. He knows she doesn’t have that kind of money and would come to me for it. If I pay it, we’re on his radar, and when it happens again, we’ll be expected to pay. If I don’t pay, he puts my mom out on the streets to work it off.” I shook my head. “We need to vote if I should give her the money.” Fuck, I hated this, hated she put me in this position.
“All those in favor of me giving her the money, say yes and raise your hand.” Everyone’s hand in the room flew up. Every. Single. Fucking. One.
I looked down at the table. My brothers were going to take this full-out, head-on if it came to that. Hopefully, my mother would get her shit together, though.
“Vote is yes. Approved.”
“We gotta talk about the Colonel and Trixie,” Bosco said, cracking his big knuckles. “What’s going on with that?”
“She and I are meeting with him in a couple of days.” Nothing more needed to be said, because I didn’t have anything else to give them.
He nodded.
I slammed the gavel back down. “Adjourned.”
“I KNEW YOU’D come through for me,” my mother cheered when I picked her up the next day to go pay off her debts. I could have given her the money and let her pay it, but Fox knew it was from me in the first place, so I might as well cut it off at the head. Also, I couldn’t trust my mother to actually pay it instead of betting again and losing.
“Last fucking time, Mom. I mean it, too. You gotta get a job selling your ass to pay back your debt, you’re doing it. You don’t start thinking smart, you’re gonna piss off the club, and we’ll cut you off altogether.” I stared out the window, but in my peripheral vision, I saw her mouth drop.
“You don’t mean that. My boys wouldn’t turn their backs on me.”
“Your boys are sick of your shit. You have enough to live on and be comfortable. Stay off the fucking tables. Do you understand?”
I was fucking done.
We pulled up to Fox’s estate. It didn’t surprise me one bit that he had a gate.
I hit the buzzer¸ and a flowery female voice came over the line. “Yes?”
“Spook and Larraine here to see Fox.”
“Hang on one moment.” She was gone for a good five minutes before she came back on. “You may come in, but it is advised you leave all weapons in the car as you will be searched upon entrance.”
“Got it.” I’d already put my Glock in the glove box. I wasn’t fucking stupid. We had his money; therefore, he had no reason to hurt either one of us.
The drive was lined with trees on each side while we drove on concrete. The home came into view. I was used to big things, considering our compound, but this brought overindulgence to a whole new level.
Yellow? The whole three-story, windows everywhere house had stucco tinted in yellow. Well, wasn’t this happy and cheery.
The main door opened as I put the car in park. A man in a black suit, white shirt, and black tie stepped out, walking with purpose toward the car.
I got out, raising my hands in the air as he came to me. Not saying a word, he patted me down, finding nothing. He did the same to my mother, even looking in her purse and pulling out the large envelope with the money in it.
“Money,” she said.
He grunted, opened it to assess that we weren’t lying, and then finally gave it back to her.
“This way.” He took off, walking up the massive staircase.
We followed.
To say the house was overdone would be an understatement. Holy fuck. Art lined the walls of the foyer with a huge sculpture in the center of it. The whole thing screamed gaudy as fuck. Plus, there were so many twists and turns I couldn’t tell where the hell we were going.
“Follow,” the big brute ordered.
I wasn’t a man used to taking orders, so him giving them to me gave me more fuel to be pissed at my mother.
The guy opened a door. “In.”
We stepped into a fucking huge-ass office. It was nothing like either of the two I had. Bookshelves lined two of the walls from floor to ceiling, which had to be more than ten feet tall, with a ladder propped up to the side. The monstrosity of a desk took up half a room with the computer on top, looking like a kid’s toy.
The door reopened, and Fox stepped through. He was in his fifties with silver hair and a cleanly shaven face. He had on a pure white suit, including his shoes. He was drying his hands on a paper towel, his eyes cold.
“I trust you have my money?” he asked, moving to the chair and taking a seat. He held out his arm, motioning to the two seats in front of him.
“Yes, Mr. Fox,” my mother said, reaching into her purse.
“So, why do I have the honor of you being here, Spook?” He chuckled at my name, not that I gave a fuck.
“You knew it would be coming from me, so I’m here.”
My mother rose, handing him the envelope, then sat back down.
“Now she’s clear. She doesn’t sit at any more of your tables, Fox.”
“Ah, so you came to issue orders, did ya?” He rubbed his chin with his polished hand like he was thinking. “How about this: your mother keeps herself away from my tables, and there’s no problems? If she comes back, then we all have problems.”
I nodded. It was fair. I’d have to figure out how to put my mother on a fucking leash.
He smacked his hands together. “See? I get my money, and everyone is happy.” He gave a smile that said he knew he’d be seeing me again. Fucker.
I stood up. “We’re going.”
My mother followed suit.
“Yes, and I’ll see you soon, Larraine.” He winked, and my fire burned hot. If my fucking mother went back, I’d kill her my own goddamned self.
I NODDED TO Ike as I walked into Trixie’s office, carrying Italian for lunch.
After reaming my mother in the car, I picked up my favorite food before heading to Sirens. I needed to get my mother and her shit out of my head, and Trixie was just the person to do it.
“Back already?” she asked, taking off those sexy as fuck glasses and tossing them to the desk. Her hair was a mess on top of her head, but she looked fucking hot. “I mean, you weren’t supposed to be here until four.”
I held up the bags. “Brought you lunch.”
She gave me the sexiest smirk. “You think feeding me is gonna get you in my good graces?”
I shrugged, putting the food on her desk. “Whatever works.”
She cleared off her desk then pulled the food out of the paper bag while I pulled a chair up and opened the containers.
“Lasagna, bread, and salad,” I told her as she sniffed the air.
“God, it smells so good.” She took her first bite and moaned. “I love Bastas.”
I said nothing. I simply watched her eat with vigor. The fork gliding in and out of her mouth made my cock hard as a brick. I shook my head and began eating.
“So, Trixie, it’s a little late for this, but tell me about yourself.”
She laughed. “Now you ask me this?” She rolled her eyes before taking another bite of bread. “There’s not much to tell, Cade. I work. Sirens is my life. The Colonel isn’t in my life much. That’s it.” She waved her fork in the air then paused, shock hitting her face.
“What?”
“The Colonel paid for my college. He used the money from the girls to pay for it.” Her wide eyes looked lost.
“Trixie, it’s over and done with now. You can’t put that shit on your shoulders.” The money might have come from a dubious source, but none of that mattered now. It was a thing of the past, and she needed to lock it away as that.
She didn’t say anything, just stared.
“Trixie?”
Her eyes came to me. “Sorry. I can’t help feeling dirty about it.”
I knew the feeling all too well.
“Sometimes, this kind of dirt doesn’t wash off,” I admitted.
“Ever?”
“Ever. It stays with ya, but you learn to live with it and move on.”
She set down her fork, worry playing in her eyes. “I’m nervous about seeing him, knowing now what he does. I hate it.”
“I know, but that’s his shit, and you do not get involved with it,” I repeated.
“I get that. That doesn’t mean I have to like any of this.”
“No, you don’t. But you deal and move on.” I felt the rock hit my gut. “Or try to.”
She went back to eating her food. “I went to college and got a degree in business. I didn’t do the partying thing. I mostly kept to myself. I didn’t want to go, but my father demanded it, so I did. When I graduated, no one came to the ceremony.” She looked down in despair.
I got up, moving to her. I picked her up from the chair as she let out a small yelp. Then I sat down on the couch with her in my lap. She felt perfect there.
“What the hell?”
“Keep going. Can’t have you talking about this shit without being close to ya. I’m sorry you didn’t have anyone there.” Damn, that shit hurt, but I had no doubt that it made her a stronger woman.
“Yeah. After that, I tried a few of the local offices, and it wasn’t my thing. Then this place came up for sale, so I got a loan and bought it.” She laid back against me. “And that brings us to now.”
“Do you still like to color in those books?”
Her breath hitched. “You remember.”
She used to have these weird books that had different things in them, like stars and moons. She’d use these gel pen things to color, saying it calmed her.
“I haven’t done that in a really long time. What about you? Do you still work on bikes?”
I sighed. “No. I miss it, though. I work more in the office now. Some days, I just wanna pick up a wrench and get to work.”
She turned to me. “Then do it. What’s stopping you?”
“There’s always something that has to be done.”
She rested her hand on mine that was on her knee. “You used to talk about all the different parts of a bike, how to do this and that to them. I had no clue what the hell you were talking about, but you were so excited about it, which made me excited for you.”
“Yeah, shit happens.” Fuck, life happens.
“You’ve gotta do what makes you happy. We only get one life; we have to do what we can to stay sane.” She laughed.
“What do you do?”
“I work.” She looked around her office. “That’s it.”
“Sounds like you need to get out more. Maybe poker at the clubhouse.”
She scowled at me. “What, for another test?”
“Easy there, wildcat. Just for fun.”
She shook her head as a knock sounded on the door. She tried to pull off my lap, but I didn’t release her.
“Yeah,” I called out, which got me another glare.
“Ike.”
“Come in.”
“Let me go and stop giving my staff orders, or I’ll cut off your fucking balls. You need to know this right now; this is my club. Mine. I don’t tell you how to run your club, so you don’t tell me how to run mine.”
I pulled her down for a quick kiss that she wasn’t expecting then turned toward the door.
“Yeah,” I said as Trixie turned around, still in my arms.
“What’s going on, Ike?” she asked.
“Nanette. Can’t find her anywhere. Checked phone, credit cards, relatives—I got nothing. None of my contacts have spotted her since that night at Vipers Creed. She’s hunkered down deep.”
“Fuck.” Trixie pulled away from me, and I released her this time. “Alright, keep on it. She’s gotta be here somewhere.”
When Ike left the room, Trixie paced, chewing her nail.
“She must be with a boyfriend or something.”
“Don’t know, but baby, I’m tellin’ ya, you ain’t gettin’ your money back.”
She growled—yes, growled. “Watch me.”
I laughed, loving how feisty and determined she was when she wanted something. Now I just needed to get that determination on me.
“HERE’S THE BOOZE order and the schedule for the girls for the next two weeks,” Jett said, standing at my desk. She’d had a lot thrown on her shoulders these past few days and handled it like a pro.
I took the papers. “Thank you for taking on all this shit.”
She shrugged. “I’ve got your back.” Yeah, she did.
“I know. What all needs to be taken care of?”
Her smirk told me I wouldn’t like what she had to give me.
She held out a file folder. “Expense reports for this month.”
I huffed out a laugh. “Yay, fun for me.”
“I can go over them if you like.”
I waved her off. “No, I’ll do it. I’ll make sure all the numbers add up.”
Her eyes drifted behind me to the man currently lying on my couch. It was my turn to silently shrug.
“You good?”
I nodded. “Yeah. I’m good.” Not really, but Sirens was the only stable thing I had going right now.
“Alright, I’ve got things to do,” she said, giving me a slight wave before heading out the door.
“You like doing all this shit?” Cade asked from the couch as soon as Jett left.
I thought he was asleep, considering I hadn’t heard much from him, but looking over at him, I saw he was typing on his phone, calm as could be. Not me, I was a nervous wreck. The Colonel would be here soon.
“What?” I asked stupidly, putting the papers in my hand down on the desk.
He waved his hand in the air, motioning to my desk. “The paperwork. Do you enjoy it all?”
I tilted my head, taking him in. I popped my lips and answered honestly. “Like doing isn’t what I would call it. I look at it as, if I want Sirens to be run right, I need to have my hands in everything. It’s the only way I know for sure what’s going on all the time.”
He chuckled, and I lifted a brow. Surely, he wasn’t laughing at me.
He shook his head. “No, not laughing at you. I’m laughing at us.”
“And why would that be?”
He licked his sexy bottom lip, and I felt my belly quiver. “You and I, we’re cut from the same cloth.”
When he didn’t continue, I asked,
“And that means …?”
“I run the garage and the club. I’m neck deep in paperwork all the time. After my dad made a fucking mess out of everything, I took it all on my shoulders.”
A warm feeling spread through my chest, yet something puzzled me. “But you’ve been spending tons of time with me here. I haven’t seen you do a single piece of paperwork in that time.” Hell, since three days ago when he took me out of the hotel, he’d been with me almost nonstop.
He held up his phone, shaking it from side to side. “Boner was on my ass about not delegating, so I did. He’s been scanning the important shit to my email and handling the rest. This way, I’m still taking care of shit and doing what I need to get done.”
“You’ve put all this in motion in the last few days?”
His laughter slithered down my spine. I’d always loved it.
“Yeah. We move quickly when it’s important.”
“You know you don’t have to be here all afternoon,” I quipped.
He leaned forward, his elbows on his knees, and laced his fingers together. “Trixie, the only way I’m gonna get you to trust me is if I’m here. You know all my shit now …” He trailed off.
“How do you trust that I won’t go to the cops or something?” Not that I ever would, not in a million years.
He rose, coming at me. I turned my chair on its swivel as he dropped to his knees in front of me, his eyes alight with lust and caring. The action hit me hard. It was profound in a way I couldn’t explain.
He grabbed my hands, and the warmth from his touch had my eyes going to our connection. “Fifteen years ago, you tunneled your way into my heart.” He cleared his throat. “One look at you in my clubhouse, and that was all it took. I knew … knew you were mine. In knowing this down to my fucking bones, I trust you completely. I know I have to earn yours. I get it, and I’m doing it by spending time with you, fucking you, and dealing with the hard shit like talking to the Colonel. When I have shit that’s really important, like a meeting with the boys, then I deal and come back to you. I’ll always come back to you … for you.”
