“I don’t know,” I truthfully offer.
“You sat on my lap, said it not too long ago, tell me again,” he demands.
My breath hitches. I know what he wants me to say. “Joel,” I whimper. He growls. I suck in a deep breath. “I love you,” I say.
“Fuck yeah. Felt that in my dick, cariña. I’ll call you tomorrow when I can. Burying myself in that cunt as soon as I fucking can,” he growls.
I let out a small gasp, my nipples harden from his words and my pussy tingles. Dammit, I wish he was here right now, doing exactly that.
“Hurry home, Joel,” I exhale.
“Fuck,” he hisses. “Yeah, bye babe.”
The call ends, but I could hear his frustration on the other end of the line. I feel it too. Then I feel frustrated with myself. How could I go from crying and feeling hurt and betrayed, to so turned on that I can hardly control myself.
“What the hell?” I groan, throwing myself back on the bed. “What. The. Hell.”
What have I just gotten myself into, I mean really. Lifting my hand to the side of my neck, I hold my fingers to my skin. I wonder if this is where he’ll brand me, and why I’m even considering it, at all. I shouldn’t, I should refuse. Fight, claw, scream and refuse.
My hand travels down beneath the waist of my jeans, following the same path his took earlier. When my finger finds my center, I whimper at how wet I am. I should not be wet, not when I was literally crying only moments ago. But I am, so incredibly wet.
It feels wrong, naughty, to do this on top of his bed with his son just down the hall but I can’t stop myself. My fingers swirl my clit before I slowly slide two inside of myself. Lifting my other hand, I shove it in my mouth to muffle the sounds I make as I bring myself to climax. It doesn’t take long, I know myself pretty well after all of these years, however, I feel hollow when I’m finished. The edge is taken off, but I am definitely not satisfied.
My eyes slowly open, and I look at the ceiling. I know why I’m not satisfied, because I’ve become this woman. This woman who needs only Joel to satisfy her needs. I don’t know how it happened, and I’m afraid that I’ll be tethered to him in a way where it could get really unhealthy, really quickly. I bite the corner of my lip and shake my head with what I already know.
We’re already unhealthy.
What does it matter? As long as we’re happy, what the hell does it matter?
These words, this thought process could be my undoing. Maybe I’ll end up like my aunt Lucille. She fell in love once, it was crazy love, or so I was told. He died, and she was never the same again. She lives in a facility now, she was never right after her lover died. Maybe that’s me in a nutshell, maybe it’s hereditary.
Oh, God. Well, if that’s the case, then Joel better fucking live forever, I immediately decide.
Chapter Twenty-Six
SILVER
Ending the call with Presley, I frown. I decide to shoot Eagle a text and ask him to keep an eye on her and Buster while I’m away. His road name was chosen not only because Eagle’s are badass, but because he has a fucking eagle eye. He’s the only brother I would trust with my family.
My gut clenches.
Family.
Fuck. I have one of those now. Not just a kid back at home, but a real fucking family. My lips twitch as I text eagle.
10-4. Is his only response and I shove my phone into my pocket.
Looking toward the group of huddled men, I walk in their direction. They’re all looking at the metal building in the distance, a shack really. A place where drugs that have been smuggled in from Mexico are dropped off. A place where they’re packaged for bulk sale and then loaded onto a truck to be delivered to us.
Right now it looks completely fucking abandoned, except for a few cars that are parked in the back. The desert night is black, and there aren’t any lights around this warehouse, and for good reason. You don’t want an illegal warehouse surrounded by flood lighting.
“Got any ideas on what we might find in there?” Wolfe asks.
My eyes linger on the building for another moment before I turn toward Karma. “I don’t know, you got any idea?” I ask, keeping my eyes focused on him.
Karma jerks his head back, his eyes widening for a beat before he narrows them. “Why would I know anything?” he asks.
I shrug, sliding my thumbs through the belt loops of my jeans. “No reason, just curious.”
Mountain chuckles. “Jaguar, Taz, and one of the Skulls go around back. The rest of us will go in the front. I personally don’t want to be here, in the middle of nowhere, right on the border for much longer. My bed and a couple of bitches are calling my name and I’d like to get back to all three,” he winks.
Clearing my throat, I lift my chin and watch as Jag, Taz, and a Skull make their way toward the back of the building. I have a feeling what we’re about to find inside, is going to shake up our whole operation, and not in a fucking good way either.
“Let’s get this shit over with,” I grunt.
Reaching into my shoulder holster, I take out my piece, watching as the other men do the same. Together we walk toward the front of the building. I take the lead since these are technically my contacts.
Lifting my hand, I wrap it around the door handle, I’m a bit surprised to find it unlocked. Frowning, I pull it open and stand to the side. The other men are at the sides as well. There is a dim light pouring out of the room and we all slip inside, hugging the walls.
“Oh fuck. I’m going to puke,” one of the Skulls says behind me.
I don’t bother turning my head to look at him though. I keep my focus ahead and on one thing, and one thing only. Well, rather eight things.
Four dead bodies.
Four decapitated bodies.
Their heads are left to the side, their bodies rotting for God only knows how long. It smells fucking rancid. The blood has all dried and thanks to the heat, and the fact that it’s just a dirt floor, there are maggots and bugs crawling all over the corpses.
“Well, this explains why the shipments didn’t arrive in time,” I state.
Wolfe snorts, while I hear one of the men puking in a trashcan by the door. “What now?”
My eyes narrow as I take in the scene in a little more detail. The tables are in place, the equipment still exactly where it should be. There is only one thing missing… the product. “It looks like a cartel murder, but the way they handle business is no secret, could be copycats,” I say.
Mountain walks in from the back of the building, his eyes snapping up to me when he sees the bodies. He places his hands on his hips and surveys the room as well. It looks far too neat and tidy. If there was any kind of struggle, we would see evidence. These men were killed by someone they knew.
Walking over to the heads, I shift them around with the toe of my boots to see if I can recognize any of them. Their soft tissue is gone, no eyeballs, no tongues, no lips left. But I recognize the third head that I turn over. I didn’t have a name for him, I didn’t have a name for any of them. I called him A. He was my contact.
“This is my contact,” I announce. “We have a serious fucking problem. One that I’m not sure how to fix,” I mutter.
“Where do we get the product, we need in the timeframe we need it?” Mountain asks.
I lift my chin, looking up from the decapitated man. “Exactly. I think it was all stolen. Which means someone got a fuckton of free shit, and we’re out. Luckily, the money wasn’t transferred. I only do that on delivery of goods. So there’s that.”
“We know a guy,” Karma announces. All of the Beasts turn their heads to look at him. I don’t know how the other men are watching him, but I’m eyeing him with nothing other than suspicion. “Don’t know what you guys need, or how much you need. I’ve used him for shit in the past. He’s professional, though.”
“You just happen to know a guy?” Wolfe asks, thinking my exact thoughts.
Karma clears his throat, I watch as he lifts his hand and runs his
fingers through his hair. “Yeah, I do. When I first took over, we thought we could try and deal, try and find something like you all have. I spent what we had and bought a fuckload of product from this guy. I couldn’t move it, at least not quick enough to make a decent profit. Which is why we decided to contact you,” he explains.
I’m still feeling suspicious, and I probably will always feel that way about Karma and his Skulls. At the end of the day, they still took my woman. Even if he’s accepted his punishment, he still violated Presley. I’ll never forgive him, not ever. I will always question everything he says, never taking him at his word.
“Who is your contact?” Wolfe asks. I watch as his eyes shift from me to Karma as he waits for an answer.
Karma sighs, lifting his hand again, he runs his fingers through his hair—again. It’s his tell when he’s thinking and trying to stall, when he’s trying to decide if he’s going to tell us the truth, or if he’s going to lie. I wait, watching him, never taking my gaze off of him.
His eyes lift to meet mine and he lifts his chin. His decision is made, and from what I can tell, he’s going to give us the truth. His cocky smirk has all but disappeared since I created the constant look on his face. He’s humbled, but is it all an act, or is it real? Only time and circumstance will tell.
“He’s in El Paso. His operation is similar to this. A warehouse in the middle of nowhere. His women are his employees though. Just him and four bitches do all of the cutting, packaging, and loading. Then he hires subs to drive it to the final destination,” he explains.
“His bitches?” Wolfe asks with a frown.
Karma chuckles. “Brother, I do not ask. I went down to look at his operation twice. Both times four bitches, completely naked were working. He made it clear they were there to work, and serve him. Both times, same women. I didn’t ask details,” he says, raising his hands, palms up.
Wolfe chuckles, the tension in the room easing only slightly. “Well it’s only three hours to El Paso from here,” he says.
As our road captain, it’s his job to know the areas we travel. Though we don’t make it to Texas often, it doesn’t mean we haven’t been there, and Wolfe is actually from there, so he knows the area pretty damn well.
“What do you want to do with this place?” Jaguar asks, his eyes focused on me.
Since these are my people, at least in the sense of they were my contacts for distribution, it’s up to me I supposed to do something with this shack.
Clearing my throat, I look around.
“Burn it,” I announce.
The room is silent for a moment and then everyone starts to shuffle out. I find some accelerant in a closet, where I knew it would be, just in case. A had shown it to me once, said if the feds or border patrol were ever on him, this is what he would do, and how he would do it.
This is what he would want.
Dousing their bodies with the accelerant, I pour the rest around the tables and things that I know will burn. Sure the metal building itself will most likely stay standing, but at least the inside will be charred. When I’m finished, Wolfe approaches me, bending down he lights the area I’ve just finished pouring and together we jog away from the building.
“Border patrol will make their way out here soon when they see flames,” he says.
Reaching into my shirt, I pull out the rosary that I have thrown over my neck. It’s something I typically wear when I go on runs like this. It’s black and plain, always tucked beneath my t-shirt. I place a bead between my fingers and say a small prayer.
Not that I’m an extremely religious man, but to burn these bodies, is not right. I pray for their souls, then because I’m selfish, I pray for my own fucking soul before we load on our bikes and head toward El Paso. I was fooling myself if I thought I would be home tonight, then I fooled Presley when I said I would be home tomorrow. It isn’t looking very fucking promising, no matter how badly I want in her tight cunt.
PRESLEY
Buster and I head out to the garage after we eat breakfast. I made breakfast tacos, with eggs, bacon crumbles, and cheese. He ate four. Something that I didn’t think his little stomach could hold, but he proved me wrong.
I stand next to the door that leads out to the garage. There is a key rack that has spots to hold four sets of keys, but only one is dangling from a hook. “Dad said you could take his car?” Buster asks, almost suspiciously.
Looking down at him, I smile as I reach for the keys. “Yeah, he did. My car’s air conditioning went out, remember? He didn’t want us coming home in the heat this afternoon,” I explain.
Buster has a look of horror on his face when I mention that there is no a/c in my car. Removing the key from the hook, I wrap my hand around the doorknob and slowly twist. Opening the door, I gasp at the sight in front of me.
I don’t know what I expected to see. But the cherry red car that is winking back at me was not what I had envisioned, not even close.
“It’s a seventy-one cuda,” Buster announces.
I nod once, unsure of how to speak at the moment. I know exactly what kind of car it is. A Plymouth hemi-cuda, I know because when I was sixteen years old, I scrimped and saved for one. I only had it for three months before someone rear ended me and totaled it.
I’m not really a knowledgeable car person, but this car, it was something I’d always wanted. I made it happen and then my dreams were dashed. I gave up on the dream though after it was towed away. I wanted to get another, but I was always too scared, always too worried that it would just happen again. Kind of like the way I’ve lived my life until now, until Joel turned me upside down and shook me all up.
“Yeah,” I grin.
“It has air,” he states.
I continue smiling, turning my gaze to look down at Buster. “Let’s get to school.”
Honestly, I don’t care where we go, I just want to drive this beast. Buster must feel my excitement. He runs and practically dives into the seat, quickly fastening his seatbelt. I try to play it a little cooler, or maybe I’m just afraid I’ll slip in my heels if I attempt to run. Whatever the case, I walk toward the driver’s side and slowly sink down in the seat.
Touching the garage door button, I watch it lift before I slide the key into the ignition. Starting the engine, it roars to life and sends a thrill up my spine. I look over to Buster, his smiling face is staring right back at me.
“My dad must love you,” he says, his smile widening.
I frown because although he likes to hear me tell him how I feel about him, he’s never expressed those words and I’m not sure if he ever will. I’m just not sure that’s the man he is. “Why do you say that?”
He looks out of the front of the window, then shifts his dark eyes back over to me. “He wouldn’t even let Trista drive this car. I’ve never seen anyone but him even sit in the driver’s seat. Not ever,” he says quietly.
I want to tell Buster that even though I’m not sure how he feels about me, that I really do love his dad. Sighing, I don’t say that. I reach over and wrap my hand around his and give him a gentle squeeze before I lift that hand and shift the car into drive. I’m thankful that Joel backed the car in, I drive straight forward, touching the garage door button once the car is out of the garage, and then head straight for school.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
PRESLEY
Buster runs out of the car and heads straight for the school. I suspect he has playground things to do. With a smile, I grab my bag full of paperwork and my purse, then slip out of the cuda. Locking the door, I take a step forward then look back at the bright red car.
“Beautiful,” I sigh.
“You are just that,” a voice says.
Turning my head, I see Benjamin leaning against his Honda Civic, his eyes looking right at my breasts. I try not to let out a groan or make any kind of reaction to him. I really do not want to deal with him, today or ever. However, I know that he is a co-worker and as much as I want to tell him to fuck off, I can’t. He and my boss
are super-secret bffs or some such shit, and the last thing I need is the principal on my ass.
“How was your weekend?” I ask, hiking my bag over my shoulder.
His eyes scan my body again, landing on my breasts for longer than they should—again. Finally, after what feels like a lifetime of his leering, he lifts his gaze to my face.
“It was good, would have been better had we gone out,” he grins. “Heard you went partying with Esther. You know she just quit,” he says as if it’s just too scandalous for words.
He has no idea what scandal is. I want to roll my eyes, except I’m surprised he’s telling me this, I’m surprised she’s quit. “She wasn’t feeling well last week, I didn’t think she’d quit though,” I mutter the lie. From what I’ve seen she’s feeling all sorts of right, with two devilishly sexy men giving her their full attention.
Benjamin shrugs, placing his hand on my lower back as we head toward the front door. I sidestep his touch, only to have him move with me. Holding my body stiffly, I try to move away, but he keeps following me. Every move I make, he anticipates.
“Don’t think her man would like the way you’re touching his property,” a deep voice rumbles as soon as we reach the front doors of the school.
Benjamin’s steps falter and I let out a sigh of relief. Moving my gaze over to the man, I give him a small smile. I don’t recognize him, but I recognize his patches. He’s one of Joel’s men, presumably sent to protect me or something of that nature. I won’t deny that it feels odd to have him here, watching me, but I’m glad for it all the same.
Having Buster around last night, and this morning put me at ease, but as soon as he ran off, as soon as Benjamin approached me, I felt a niggling feeling at the base of my spine. I don’t really want to be alone. I don’t feel safe. Maybe I should, after all, Joel has promised he’s taken care of Karma. He’s also promised that he’ll protect me, but I feel exposed when he isn’t near.
UnScrew Me (Savage Beast MC Book 1) Page 22
