by Lynn Burke
“I don’t trust that fucker,” he grumbled, snatching another piece of garlic bread from the basket between us.
“He hasn’t done anything inappropriate,” I said, lifting my chin, hoping to portray more confidence than I felt since he sure as hell said inappropriate things on occasion—especially when sparring in karate.
“He bothers you, you let me know.”
I nodded even though I knew I would do no such thing. Ryker had softened my thoughts toward him in the short time I’d lived under his roof, but even if Devil had bothered me, I wouldn’t have told him.
He peered across the table at me, his eyes cold enough to send a shiver down my spine. I wondered if those were the last things Mr. Griffey saw before drawing his last breath.
I kinda hoped it was.
“I gotta head down to the club later. Want to go along?” Ryker asked, and I sat a little straighter, glancing at Pia like a kid whose parents had asked if the other wanted to go for ice cream.
“If you want us to, sure,” she replied for both of us.
He grunted an affirmative.
Biting back my grin, my fingers flew over my cell’s screen.
Me: Heading to the Viper’s club after dinner. C U there?
HaF: Already here—and now I’m hard again.
Laughter escaped me, and I swore Ryker grumbled something about killing that fucker.
Chapter Ten
Devil
I’d texted the officers earlier in the day, telling them I finally got a fucking lead. Vigil called a meeting, and I headed over to the club early in need of chilling the fuck out.
Two beers in, and I still couldn’t stop thinking about Dasia and how much longer it would be before Ryker showed with her and Pia in tow.
Warmer weather had moved in with a fucking awesome jet stream, so once more we lingered around outside by a bonfire, but with a ton less people than the party two weeks earlier.
My dick sprang to attention the second I laid eyes on Dasia in her skinny jeans hugging an ass so damn fine I went light-headed as shit. I couldn’t wait to get my hands on that ass... Lick and bite every damn inch while she lay trussed up and shivering, skin pebbled, nipples straining.
Our eyes met as she neared the fire enough I could see her face, and I bit back a groan while adjusting my swollen dick.
She’d gone without makeup, leaving her fresh faced just like I claimed to love every morning before karate.
Ryker eyed me, but I ignored him and headed toward where Vigil and Ricky sat a ways away in the dark. The last to arrive, Ryker followed—but didn’t say a word to me.
“Whatcha got?” Vigil asked once the officers all stood together in a tight circle.
I laid out what I’d found so far—the evidence to link the mob, Martínez, and the fucker who’d kidnapped Dasia.
“Is it enough to get their asses hauled in and put away?” Vigil asked.
“Not enough I’d bet money on it, no.”
“Fuck,” Ryker muttered, knowing I didn’t bet money lightly.
“But I’ve connected the dots the damn FBI hadn’t even numbered yet. It’s only a matter of time until I have what we need.”
“Some fucking footage—goddamn pictures of that fuck tossing women into containers would be nice,” Ryker said.
“And if we knew where Dasia had been held, I’d be all over that shit.”
“Maybe you ought to take her for a little drive down to the harbor,” Stone suggested. “Snoop around and see if it pokes her memory.”
While a good idea, his suggestion twisted my guts.
“No.” Ryker left no opening for argument in his tone. “Damn girl’s been through enough. She’s finally starting to relax sitting at a table with me. Even smiling and joking. Won’t have that fucked with.”
“You mean Pia won’t have that fucked with,” Ricky tossed out. “You pussy-whipped fucker.”
Vigil slapped his hand on Ryker’s chest as he took a step forward toward his brother.
Ryker halted, glaring at our president.
“Calm your tits,” Vigil said, removing his hand. “Nothing wrong with wanting whatever your old ladies wants—something dipshit over there hasn’t learned yet.”
“Don’t see an old lady on the back of your bike,” his younger brother snipped back.
“Fuck.” Vigil laughed. “You need to get laid.”
“Fuck off, Frankie.”
The whole circle got real quiet. Ricky never called Vigil by his real name unless ready to toss down and go all out, something they’d done countless times since I’d joined the Vipers.
I stepped into the center of the ring, absolute fucking zero interest in watching fists fly when the little blue-eyed beauty waited for me over by the fire. “I’ll have what we need soon,” I said, changing the subject and clasping a hand on Ricky’s shoulder. “Let’s go get a drink.”
I dragged him off with me, but Vigil didn’t say shit about the treasurer—me—adjourning the meeting.
Keeping my eyes on Dasia, I grabbed both Ricky and I another beer from the cooler we’d brought outside. I handed one off to our VP, and he grumbled a thanks before heading into the club. He’d been living in one of the rooms upstairs for almost two years now, but rarely showed his face unless his brother called a meeting.
I made my way over to Dasia who sat on a blanket a few feet from the fire, her arms wrapped around her upturned knees.
She patted the empty spot beside her when I neared, and I sprawled out on my side, propped up on an elbow while facing her.
“How are ya, Jail Bait?”
Her laughter warmed my fucking heart. “You’ve really got it bad.”
“Damn right.” I swigged around my grin. “Anyone ever tell you that you throw a punch like the Black Widow?”
She blinked down at me, and her smile widened. “Are you a Scarlet or Avengers fan?”
“Already told you I was a total nerd.”
“Get. Out.”
“Thor’s my man.”
Dasia snorted in laughter. “Fight him for ya.”
I held up my hands in defeat. “Share?”
I’d never seen such beautiful, lively eyes, like a summer sky full of promise as she smiled at me. “Share. Hmm. Wouldn’t that be something.”
One of my eyebrows shot up at the lust in her eyes. “Kinky girl.”
She turned toward the fire, her smile fading.
“What’d I say?”
“Nothing.” She brushed it off, but there was no denying something had hit a nerve.
“So,” I said, deciding to let it go, “one more week, huh?”
“Yeah.”
“Got any big plans?”
She shrugged, glancing at Pia standing a few feet away with Shaun and Giada. “Not really, no. Pia’s making me brownies—my request. Have you found anything?”
“What do you mean?”
“The whole skin trade thing.”
I glanced at Ryker who stood with Vigil, his scowl directed at me as usual. “What all has Ryker told you?” I asked, turning to face her once more.
“That you’re a genius hacker—”
“He called me a genius?”
“He’s called you plenty of not-so-nice names, too.”
“Yeah, that sounds about right,” I said, lifting my beer to my lips and fighting back a grin.
“He says you’re compiling evidence to take down the ring and make it safe for me to live a normal life.”
“That’s been my focus since you came here, Dasia,” I said, pushing up to sit beside her, close enough our elbows brushed.
“Why?” She faced me fully, her eyebrows slightly furrowed. “You don’t know me from a hole in the wall. Don’t know my past—nothing.”
“I’d like to.”
Chapter Eleven
Dasia
My focus dropped to his lips, speeding up my heart rate. I jerked my head back to face the fire as the familiar want and aversion swirled together in my brain.
Tainted. Stained. The usual negatives whispered through my head.
“Do I make you nervous?” he asked, his voice low while leaning just a little closer so our knees brushed.
“A-a little.” God, I did not know how to talk to real men.
“In a good way or bad way?”
I shrugged, heat creeping up my neck. “You’re a tease.”
“And given the chance, I’d aim to please.”
Oh... My throat didn’t want to cooperate when I tried to swallow. “How?” I heard myself whisper, a rush of heat sweeping over me.
Devi let out a low groan and shifted. “Touching you. Tasting you,” he quietly repeated what he’d texted me earlier in the week.
My body reacted the same as it had then, but I wasn’t about to go to the bathroom as an excuse to secretly get myself off to thoughts of his hands and mouth on my body.
I gulped for air, every inch of my skin on high alert from the heat of his knee and elbow pressing against me. Fully clothed, no skin on skin, and fire hotter than the flames I stared at singed me from the inside out.
“I think about it every hour of the goddamn day,” Devil whispered, leaning so close the scent of licorice and hops swarmed over me.
A shiver wracked my body, raising goose bumps along my arms and legs.
“My little Jail Bait—so fucking alluring, I can’t get you out of my head. Don’t want to.”
That damn war inside my head...
“What else do you think about?” I whispered, clinging to the lust side in hopes of winning against the aversion and thoughts of being sick and broken.
“Stripping you down, worshiping every inch of your too-young skin.”
My heart skipped a beat, but not at the thought of him doing that very thing. “You want me because you can’t have me,” I said what his declaration had meant in my head, shifting away and facing him.
Those eyes … my breath caught at the intensity in his focus, unwavering, full of need.
I inhaled until it hurt, needing to let him know I knew the truth. “If it was two weeks from now you wouldn’t—”
“I’d still fucking want you, Dasia.”
I stared, completely caught up in the energy crackling between us, the pounding heartbeat in my ears. “How?” I had to ask—had to know.
“In my bed, at my mercy. Sweating. Panting. Tied up tight so I could tease the living fuck out of you and me both.”
My eyelids slammed shut, my lips parting to suck in much-needed oxygen as his words kicked off one hell of a fantasy in my mind.
“I want your submission—fucking crave it, Dasia.”
Submission. Restraints.
Oh God.
I hopped up, needing space to breathe, to calm my racing heart as memories of Ivan and his fists slammed into me.
“Dasia?”
Ignoring Devil, I moved toward Pia who chatted with Shaun but watched me.
“Are you alright?” she asked when I got closer, glancing beyond me—probably at Devil.
“Not feeling too great,” I managed to wheeze out past the tightness in my chest while fighting the need to wrap my arms around my middle. “Can we leave?”
Pia’s brow furrowed, but she slipped an arm around my shoulders. “I’ll see you later,” she told her friends, and started in the direction of Ryker and the guys he stood with.
“Are you alright?” she whispered again, and I nodded, determined to keep my shit together until we got back to her house.
Ryker noticed Pia first—then me—and his usual scowl dented his brow.
Please don’t cause a scene...
“What’s wrong?” he barked, and Pia squeezed my shoulder.
“Nothing,” she told him. “We’re just getting tired.”
Ryker glanced behind us, his gaze narrowing. “That fucker upset you?”
“No,” I lied, but didn’t even bother trying for a smile since my voice probably betrayed me. “Just tired. Long week.”
He eyed me long enough I shifted on my feet, glancing away into the dark beyond the compound’s fence. My arms found their way around my waist, and I clung tight.
“Go on, Ryker,” Vigil said using his head to motion toward the parking lot out front. “Get the ladies out of here. It’s late, anyway.”
Hardly, I thought, but appreciated his input just the same.
Pia held out her hand, and Ryker laced his fingers through hers before turning and leading the way.
“Thanks,” I whispered at the Vipers’ president before scampering after them, my backside tingling and my chest still tight as hell.
Fear was a bitch, one I wanted to strangle.
Perhaps it was time to talk to someone other than Pia.
Chapter Twelve
Devil
I lost control and fucked up. Got too close, breathed in her sweet scent, gave into the first hint of curiosity I’d gotten from her. Fucking caved.
And scared the shit out of her.
Cursing my selfishness, I stared after her as she left the compound on Ryker and Pia’s heels. She didn’t glance back, merely kept her shoulders hunched as though trying to hide.
Stupid fuck, I cursed myself out while running a hand through my damn hair I still hadn’t cut—because Dasia didn’t want me to.
At least Ryker hadn’t come at me—she must have made an excuse for them to leave as quickly as they did.
Twice, I’d made her uncomfortable, and my mind quickly recognized the first once the second slapped me in the face. I’d called her a kinky girl then admitted to wanting to tie her up.
While I expected PTSD from the kidnapping fucked with her mind, I should have caught onto that and been more careful with my words.
Heaving a sigh and cursing myself a few more times in my head, I pushed up from the blanket, planning to leave the party behind. Vigil called to me, and I changed my course toward where he still stood with Stone and Warden.
“The fuck did you say to her?” Vigil asked, frowning at me like the fuck up I was.
“Got caught up in our word sparring.”
“Mentioned ropes?”
I glanced away. “I might have.”
“You stupid fuck.”
“Yeah, I’ve already called myself worse, thanks.”
Warden watched me, his brow furrowed while Stone just stared with a blank face.
“Ryker finds out, he’s going to kick your ass,” Stone said.
Vigil snorted. “He’ll do worse than that. You three didn’t see what he did to that Griffey fucker—Dasia might not be his flesh and blood, but he’s protective as fuck over her.”
“You need to make it right,” Warden said, his dark eyes staring me down. “We can’t have this kind of shit going on right now.”
“Why don’t you just stay the fuck away from her,” Vigil said.
A muscle ticked in my jaw as I peered over to the parking lot and the empty spot where Ryker’s truck had sat. “Can’t.”
My brothers held their silence long enough I turned back toward them. All three stared at me, but I refused to shift under their scrutiny.
“You want her for more than a fuck toy?” Vigil finally asked, and I didn’t hesitate to nod. “Then you’d best get your head screwed on straight. Go to Ryker with your intentions. Lay it out—what you want, what you plan.”
“And if he says no,” Warden interjected, his dark eyes letting me know he’d kick my ass just as fast as Ryker, “then you leave the girl alone.”
Leaving Dasia alone wasn’t a fucking option. Even if Ryker said no, I wouldn’t listen. I had to hear it from her lips—had to know what she wanted, not what everyone else wanted for her.
“And if she says no, don’t push,” Stone said. “You’re like a goddamn pit bull once you set your mind on something, but she’s flesh and blood, not a code to crack or a firewall to find a way through.”
I nodded, but knew I would struggle with that last bit of advice as well. Perhaps she and I needed to have a good, o
ld fashioned sit down and work shit out talk.
“I’m heading out,” I said, tossing my empty beer bottle into a nearby can.
“Score!” some drunk asshole behind me shouted.
I lifted a hand and took off, my mind made up.
****
I waited until Ryker’s bedroom lights in the front of the house shut off before pulling my truck closer and cutting the engine. I waited another half-hour before climbing out and making my way down the road with nothing but a cool breeze and my soft footfalls to keep me company in the dark.
Ryker lived in a small neighborhood where houses sat a good hundred yards from one another with trees in between to offer privacy. Sneaking up on his ass came easy. Too easy. The fucker didn’t even have motion sensor lights around his place.
Deciding on needing to have a little chat with Ryker about his lack of security, I sat in a lounge chair on his back patio and pulled my cell from my sweatshirt’s pocket to text Dasia.
Me: Can we talk?
I waited, thinking maybe she’d gone to bed and silenced her cell. An owl hooted in the distance as the breeze ruffled my hair. At least it wasn’t so cold that my sweatshirt would suffice against the fall night.
My cell buzzed.
Jail Bait: Sure.
Me: In person? I’m out back on the patio.
Five long as fuck minutes later, the lock on the slider clicked. Dasia shuffled out, quietly sliding the door behind her once more. Her hair tumbled down close to her waist, the brightness of the red dulled by the night. She’d wrapped herself in a thick blanket and wore pink fluffy slippers.
I patted the lounger beside me.
She sat on the edge of the chair facing me, her back ramrod straight. Enough of a moon shone that I could easily make out her face, but not enough to read her eyes to discern her emotional state.
“I’m sorry,” I said, keeping my voice low even though I knew Ryker’s second floor bedroom lay at the front of the house. “I lost control, and I’m sorry.”
“I overreacted.”
“No you didn’t.” My brow furrowed. “Telling you my fantasies was totally inappropriate and insensitive considering what you went through.”
