Keeping Kennedy: A Chaos MC Novel (MC Chaos Book 4)

by Cameron Hart

  The longer the discussion goes on, the more agitated Slash is getting. His knee bounces almost violently and he tenses and releases a balled-up fist at his side. I can feel the tension and anger pouring off of him in waves. When the exchange is over, Slash slams the laptop shut, causing me to jump.

  “What the hell is your problem today?” I ask, maybe more forcefully than I need to. I can’t help it; the man is stressing me out.

  “Nothing!” He yells.

  “Yeah, seems like it.”

  “This case is important to me. And we’re getting close. And I hate that it’s taking this long.”

  “Yeah, I get it—”

  “No, I don’t think you do. We need to get this done. Now.”

  “Slash, we’re—”

  “We’re not doing enough!” He yells again, standing up and knocking his chair over. “You and your red tape are making it impossible to do anything worthwhile! Fuck!”

  I’m standing up now too, getting all up in his face. Or, well, as much as I can considering he’s about ten inches taller than me.

  “First of all, I do get it. You don’t think I want these fuckers to pay for what they’re doing? For what they’ve done? Shit, Slash, why do you think I became a cop? I know what it’s like being helpless when faced with evil and I never want anyone to feel that way. I have more power now, more control, and I’m in a position to help. So don’t you fucking tell me what I do and don’t understand. You don’t know me, asshole. You don’t know what I’m capable of. And second of all, I have some info too. Enough for us to act, so why don’t you sit down and we can plan out our next move, huh?”

  I’m breathing heavily after my rant. As much as I hate to admit this, it feels good to express any kind of emotion with Slash, even if it’s anger.

  “What do you mean?” He asks, most of the anger drained from his voice.

  “I’ve got some information—”

  “No, not that part. What happened? Why were you helpless?” He’s looking at me with such sincerity, such intensity. It’s like he’s trying to pick me apart and drag out all of my secrets from the dark corners where I keep them well hidden.

  “Nothing. Just… I know what it’s like being at the mercy of men who get off on lording their power over you.”

  “Who?” He grits out.

  “Who what?”

  “Who lorded their power over you?”

  “Slash, I’m fine. It was a long time ago.”

  “Fucking tell me right now, Kennedy.” He’s getting all worked up again, and while I really don’t want to get into the details of my pathetic childhood in foster care, it’s kind of nice having someone upset on my behalf.

  “Who hurt you, sweetheart?” His tone is so much softer, so gentle. Jesus, why the hell do I feel tears spring into my eyes. I combat that shit with the only weapon I have. Anger.

  “You gonna tell me the real reason you’re all worked up about this case? I know there’s more to this story than you’re letting on. You’ve been all keyed up from the beginning,” I huff.

  Slash just stares at me like I’m some sad mystery to be solved. After a few seconds, he shakes head and runs a hand down his face.

  “Why don’t you tell me about whatever you have that’s going to bring this thing to a close?” He says, sitting back down in his chair.

  I follow suit and sit back down at the table, pulling out the file I have on Davis, one of the leaders of The Guardians currently on trial.

  “I talked to Davis yesterday and got him to tell me about Victoria.”

  “You what?!”

  And we’re back to yelling, so it seems.

  “Fuck, Kennedy, please don’t tell me you saw him alone.”

  “What the hell is going on with you today? Yes, I saw him alone. He’s in jail for Christ’s sake, what’s he going to do? Besides, I thought we already established that I can take care of myself.”

  Slash grunts and turns away from me. I know my face is flushed with heat just thinking about the day I brought him to his knees. Literally. It’s the first time the incident has been mentioned, and if I’m not mistaken, Slash appears to be as affected by that afternoon as I was.

  “Anyway,” I continue. “He said she was as close to leadership as they allow women to get. She was known to have slept around with some of the elders. Though he wouldn’t admit to sleeping with her, he definitely implied that they were intimate. Davis said there was a cabin out past highway twelve where he and some of the elders would decompress, whatever that means.”

  “And you think that’s where Victoria is?”

  I nod. “He referred to the cabin as the hive.”

  “Oh shit.”

  “Yeah.”

  “What do you need the guys and I to do?”

  “Oh, are you following orders now?” I tease. I know I shouldn’t, but I can’t help it.

  Slash smiles, like a real, honest to god smile. It’s gorgeous, of course.

  “I just want you to know I… we value your opinion and the work you’re doing here. You’re right, I have no idea what you’re capable of, but I know you are good at your job.”

  “Oh. Uh…” Well, shit. How do I respond to that? What is this side of Slash? “Thanks.”

  He nods and then looks away again. Good thing too, or else he might see me close to tears again. What the hell is wrong with me today?

  “My team and I will find the cabin. We’ll track Victoria and hopefully convince her to work with us, offering her a plea bargain. Then, we’re setting up a sting operation. When I give you the word, I want your guys to surround the drop off location and intercept the women.”

  “And that will be enough to take them down? We’ve already helped a couple women escape, but they wouldn’t talk. It wasn’t until Beth, one of the guys’ woman, almost got taken that we even knew it was Victoria luring the ex-members away in the first place.”

  I sigh, knowing exactly what he’s getting at. “No, it’s not enough to take them out if no one is willing to talk. But the safety of those women comes first. And with Victoria in our pockets, we just have to milk her for more information. From there, we can catch them in the act. They have their hands in all sorts of shady shit, we just need something and this is the closest we’ve gotten.”

  “Or, you could just let us destroy them and look the other way.”

  “I’m going to pretend I didn’t just hear you say that. We’re doing this the right way, and we’re closing in on them, ok? But first things first.”

  “Alright. For now,” he grumbles.

  I give him a curt nod.

  “Great. I’ll prep my team on the details.” I tell him as I pack everything away. “Want me to come back tomorrow so we can discuss stuff with River?”

  “Yeah, that’d be good.”

  He follows me towards the door, where I turn to him before walking out completely. I don’t know what I’m going to say, I just… I guess I don’t want to leave him yet. God, I need to get over whatever this little crush thing is between us.

  We stare at each other for a beat and then Slash breaks the silence.

  “Good work today, partner,” he grins.

  I roll my eyes, even though secretly I love that he’s joking with me again.

  “We’re not partners,” I remind him, though I can’t help mirroring his grin.

  “Whatever you say, sweetheart.”

  I scoff and then walk out, forcing myself not to turn around and look at him.

  Once I get back to my car, I see I have three missed calls and a voicemail from Amanda. Shit.

  “Kennedy. You know we’ve been working on the case with Timothy Arnold. Unfortunately, there’s not enough to justify reopening the investigation. We had a lead, but due to a mishandling of evidence, the trail has gone cold. The chief doesn’t want us wasting more time on a case that has been closed. I know this case is important to you, but you have to let it go. You can’t get personal with these things or else you’ll never survive in this
job.”

  “FUCK!” I yell, throwing my phone in the passenger seat.

  That’s it. I’m getting drunk tonight.

  Chapter 6

  Slash

  Jesus Christ, seeing Kennedy get pissed off had me sporting a fucking painful hard-on. Then she went and made me all soft and worried for her by giving me a little bit of her past. The chick is messing with me and I’m not sure what to do about it.

  Instead of processing through all of that shit, I decide to head over to Bernie’s. It’s a shitty little karaoke bar on the other side of town, but no one really knows me there and I can usually find a decent chick to go home with. I haven’t been with anyone in a while which is probably why Kennedy is getting to me so much. I just need to get laid and then this whole obsession will be over.

  It’s a great plan. A brilliant plan. And a plan that is completely thrown out the window as soon as I open the door and see Kennedy at the bar looking sexy in that effortless way of hers.

  Because of course she is. Fuck. Me.

  Kennedy isn’t in her normal professional clothing, nor is she dressed up like she’s on the hunt. No, she’s just… her. She’s got on a pair of black leggings that hug her like a second skin, and a light, oversized sweater that hangs off of one shoulder. Her long black hair cascades down her back in waves, giving her a softer look than the tight buns or ponytails she normally wears when she’s working the case. The look is completed with some ankle boots that have a pretty high heel, probably four or five inches if I had to guess.

  I take the seat next to her, waiting for her to notice me. Kennedy checks her phone, chats up the bartender, orders a double shot of tequila, her second, from the looks of it, and then just closes her eyes, breathing deep. I can’t help but notice the swell of her tits as she takes deep breaths. I mean, fuck. They are perfect.

  When she opens her eyes, Kennedy looks over her shoulder. She still hasn’t notice me yet, which is pissing me off. Is she waiting for someone? Does she have a boyfriend? Why the fuck does the thought of Kennedy having a boyfriend send me into a jealous rage?

  Finally, she turns around and sees me. She’s so beautiful. Jesus Christ.

  “Slash!” She exclaims. Her excitement to see me is a first, and it snaps me right out of my foul mood. She might be a little more drunk than I originally thought.

  I grin at her and she flashes me a brilliant smile, complete with sparkling brown eyes. I never noticed before that they have little flakes of gold in them. I feel like I’ve been punched in the fucking gut. She’s gorgeous. I mean, I knew she was hot, but this… this is on a whole other level. I notice the cutest little dimples on her cheeks as her soft lips open in a wide smile to show me perfect white teeth. I can’t help the fact that my mind wanders to what her lips would look like wrapped around my cock.

  But then she drops her gaze from mine and stares in her lap, shaking her head. I can literally see her walls come back up as she chastises herself for allowing me to see a glimpse of the real her. I miss the warmth of her radiant smile and something snaps inside of me.

  I want to be the one to make her smile like that. Always.

  Well, shit. Where did that thought come from?

  She clears her throat. “Slash,” she sighs.

  “Kennedy.”

  “I’m really, really, not in the mood for your antics right now.” She sounds exasperated.

  “Oh? What are you in the mood for then?”

  “Getting wasted.” To prove her point, she licks the back of her hand and sprinkles salt on the wet spot. She licks the salt off, slams the tequila shot, and sucks on the lime wedge served with her drink. Fucking hell, seeing her little pink tongue gives me all sorts of dirty ideas.

  “Another one!” She shouts at the bar tender.

  “Maybe drink some water first?” I suggest. Why I give a shit about her alcohol consumption is beyond me, or the fact that I want to keep her hydrated so her hangover doesn’t suck as bad.

  Kennedy scoffs at me. “I can take care of myself, thankyouverymuch.”

  She motions for the alcohol, but also accepts the water. I order whiskey and get to drinking.

  “Want to tell me why we’re drowning our sorrows?” I ask.

  “We aren’t doing anything. I am drowning my sorrows. You’re just here to annoy me. Actually, why are you here? Seems a little far from Chaos.”

  “Needed a change of scenery,” I shrug.

  Kennedy snorts. It’s somehow endearing.

  “And you found me instead?” She laughs.

  “I’m not complaining,” I wink at her.

  She rolls her eyes and starts sipping the water. Good girl. Not that I care.

  Kennedy reaches for the tequila shot, but I grab it before she gets to it. She glares at me, and then pouts. Fucking pouts. Goddamn do I want to kiss that look right off of her face.

  “You get the shot when you tell me about your shitty day. Tell me why you’re giving your liver a workout tonight.”

  “I could just order another shot, you know.”

  “You could,” I agree. “But I think you want an excuse to tell me what’s going on.”

  “Fine,” she groans. It’s fucking adorable.

  She doesn’t say anything else, so I try asking her a question to get the ball rolling. “Is it work related?”

  She nods. “Yeah. A girl from a case I closed a while ago reached out to me. I looked into things, tried helping her out but… It didn’t end well. The alcohol helps though,” she grins, no doubt hoping to get the shot from me and change the subject.

  “What was so important about the case?”

  Kennedy gets that fire in her eyes and I can tell she’s winding up for a fight.

  “Every case I work is important to me, asshole. It’s my job.” Her nostrils flare and I swear I hear a tiny growl fall from her lips. My cock twitches.

  “I have no doubt you’re good at your job, sweetheart.” She glares at me when I use my nickname for her. “But I’m guessing every case you work doesn’t send you to the bottom of a tequila bottle. If it does, I might suggest a career change.”

  Kennedy narrows her eyes and snaps, “I don’t owe you and explanation for anything. In fact, I’m calling it a night.”

  She hops off of her bar stool and stumbles slightly. I stand and grab her with one hand, steadying her even as she glares at me.

  “You really want to know about my shitty day?” She bites out. I can tell she’s trying to be tough, and I can respect that. But I can also tell she needs someone to talk to. My hand slowly slides down from her bicep to her forearm. She doesn’t pull away.

  “If you tell me what happened today, I’ll buy the rest of your drinks for the night. And I’ll do one karaoke song, of your choosing.”

  This gets her attention.

  “Really?” She asks in disbelief.

  “Really.”

  “Why… why do you want to know so bad? Why do you care?” The sincerity and confusion in her eyes tug at something deep inside of me. My hand moves on its own, sliding further down her arm and lacing her fingers in mine. Still, she doesn’t pull away.

  Why do I care so much? I have no fucking clue. But I do.

  Unwilling to unpack those foreign feelings just yet, I shrug and go for nonchalance.

  “I figure as partners, we should be able to talk about these kinds of things,” I wink at her.

  “Oh for fuck’s sake, we are not partners.” Kennedy rolls her eyes and yanks her hand out of mine. I don’t like it. I want her hand back.

  She glares at me and then eyes me skeptically. Finally, she gathers her long hair up in her hands and twists it, throwing it over one shoulder. I’m momentarily distracted by those long, dark waves. I get the urge to reach out and run my fingers through the soft strands. I wonder if they feel as silky as they look.

  Letting out a huge sigh, Kennedy busies herself by playing with the ends of her hair and looking down at her feet.

  “Like I said, it was a tough c
ase. Some asshole mid-level dealer, making his fucking foster kids run drugs for him. One of the foster kids text me last week asking for help. I had him. Fucking had him. He already slipped through my fingers once and I was determined to get him this time. But before the arrest was made, some evidence was mishandled and the whole case was thrown out the window. Again. There’s nothing I could do. The girl who reached out is fourteen. She’s just a fucking kid, she shouldn’t have to deal with all of this. I failed her, fucking failed her. Failed all of them.”

  “Kennedy, it’s not—”

  “I mean, I know what it’s like, you know? I used to be her. And now I’m just another adult who broke their promise. I… I… Fuck!”

  She won’t look at me, but I see a tear fall. Jesus, why does that physically hurt me? Without thinking, I pull her into my arms.

  “What are you doing?” She protests.

  Her words say one thing, but her body says another as her soft curves melt into me. Truthfully, I have no fucking idea what I’m doing, I just knew I had to do something.

  “Isn’t this what the guys are supposed to do when a girl is crying?” I tease.

  “I’m not crying,” she says indignantly through her tears. I can feel them soak through my shirt where she has her head nestled.

  Her defiance makes me grin. I turn my head so my lips graze the shell of her ear.

  “Well, can I hold you anyway?” I whisper.

  She nods against my shoulder and wraps her arms around me. I pull her in tight, pressing her body as close to mine as possible. Fuck, it feels so damn good holding her. Protecting her. Not that she’d ever admit to needing protection. Which is why I want to provide it for her all the more.

  Kennedy squirms in my arms and then pushes away from me. I don’t want to let her go, but I also don’t want to suffocate her. I can’t ignore the fact that my arms feel empty without her in them.