Darby leaned close. “They’re all crazy.” There was affection in her voice. “When I first came here with my sisters, believe me, I was afraid, leery and felt totally out of place. They make a place for you. It’s as if once you’re accepted into their circle, they just somehow absorb you and you’re a part of them. It’s really cool, Bree. It took me a while before I could make myself give them a chance, but I was really glad when I did.”
Did she look that uncomfortable? Probably. It was more that she didn’t understand what was happening, and that always paralyzed her. She had a tendency to try to make herself small and invisible until she figured out protocol. These people baffled her. A good deal of the problem was that she had known them all first as Swords. They’d blended in with the club seamlessly, although they all looked, even then, as if they could eat their prey. They were like chameleons, blending in wherever they went.
How did she know what was real? She’d thought Steele’s feelings for her were real during the time they were together. Although he’d never once told her he loved her, she’d felt it when he touched her. Maybe she just had never known kindness and she’d mistaken that for love. It was also possible he’d felt some affection for her, and she’d mistaken that as well.
She forked the eggs into her mouth. This food was as different from the Swords fare as the table filled with obvious friendship and brotherhood was. Everything about Torpedo Ink was different. She just didn’t know if she could trust them to return Zane to her if—when—they got him back.
Steele’s hand slid up her back to the nape of her neck. She froze at his touch. There was no way to stop the flutters in her sex, or the weird sensation of a somersault in her stomach. She accepted that her body would always react to his touch no matter how much she tried to keep it from happening. She turned her head slowly toward him, bracing herself to meet his eyes.
“Everything’s going to be all right, Bree.”
“I want to go with you when you go after him.” She was going, no matter what they all said. They would have to lock her up to keep that from happening. She wasn’t going to say so though; she was going to stay quiet. If they left without her, she would find her own way to Louisiana, because she was going to be there to hold her son in her arms and comfort him.
He nodded slowly. “I’ve been giving that a lot of thought. We could communicate by phone, but having you with us to direct us to the next possible place would be the smarter thing to do. I need you safe though, Bree, so you have to give me your word you’ll follow orders. I’m not going to be telling you what to do just to be bossy. These situations can get dicey fast and can deteriorate in moments. We’re adept at reading what’s happening.”
That made sense as well. She let her breath out, nodding. “I have no problem with that.” She’d always let him take the lead because she’d trusted him. Now she wasn’t sure how she felt about him—what she trusted and what she didn’t. She was elated that she didn’t have to argue, beg or try to deceive him. She wasn’t good at deception. Not like he was.
“Good. Eat, baby. You’re going to need your strength.”
A shiver of awareness snaked through her body. His admonishment could have been about keeping her strong for travel, but his eyes and tone said something else altogether. Steele was a very sexual being. He was demanding, and often, they’d had sex several times a day. More than once, he’d just caught her, slammed her against a wall and drove her out of her mind. It hadn’t mattered where they were; she’d lost her ability to think around him.
He’d never had a problem being naked in front of others or having sex with others around. She didn’t either. The moment he touched her, it didn’t matter where they were, his entire focus seemed wholly on her, and she loved that. Once at a party, he took her right on the bar, and when someone else tried to touch her, he’d gone insane, beating the shit out of him. It had been a thing of beauty to watch him, his body like a machine.
Sometimes when they had sex, it was wild and crazy; other times, so intimate she wanted to cry. Always, no matter where they were, no matter if others were around—frankly, Steele had always seemed more comfortable and relaxed if some of his friends were close by—whatever the situation, they burned together hot and perfect.
Club life to Breezy, especially the parties, meant drug deals and the members forcing the women to make the deals with their bodies. She’d hated that. Dreaded every party. Until she’d been with Steele. Surrounded by Steele’s friends, she’d felt safe and protected, especially when Steele had her naked and mindless, crying out with orgasm after orgasm. The way he was had been thrilling and made her feel as if he couldn’t get enough of her. Now she felt it was just his incredibly strong sex drive and had nothing whatsoever to do with her.
His breath came out in a hiss of displeasure. “Stop it, Bree. Stop thinking. Just give it a rest until we can clear things up. Right now, finish your food. The kids are leaving, and we’ll get this operation under way. After, we’ll talk about us.”
She didn’t want to talk about them. There was no “us.” As far as she was concerned, there never had been. That fantasy had been in her mind. She accepted it like she accepted everything else that had happened to her. Steele had been too good to be true. She kept her head down and finished the eggs, although now, nothing tasted good to her. Everything was like cardboard.
Darby got up and began carrying plates and platters from the table. Several members of Torpedo Ink helped. Transporter and Mechanic along with Keys gathered up more dishes. She could hear water running as if they were rinsing them. Lana stood up and gathered more.
“Here, babe, take mine too,” Ink said.
Lana glared at him. “I didn’t know your legs were broken.”
“Muscle strain. At least that’s what Steele said,” Ink informed her.
Instantly the glare disappeared, and her expression changed. “Are you hurt? No one told me you were hurt. I was teasing.”
“So was I,” Ink said.
A roar of laughter went up around the table. Lana shook her head, a small smile playing at the corners of her mouth. “I don’t know why I fall for your crap every single time.” She placed the pile of dishes she had gathered directly in front of him. “For that, you can rinse.”
Ink got to his feet, picked up the dishes and sauntered out, more laughter following him. Lana gathered up the condiments and followed. Several of the others finished stripping the table and washing it down until the wood gleamed.
Darby caught up a book bag and took Emily’s hand. She waited by the kitchen door as Czar crouched down in front of Zoe. “You have a good day at Airiana’s.”
She nodded solemnly.
“What do we always do, Zoe?” he asked.
Breezy’s heart clenched hard. Clearly, this was a ritual. His hands were gentle and loving on her, rubbing her arms and then her hair.
“We always give our best, treat others with respect and we keep our business private. What we see, what we say and what we do stays here.”
“Very good. What else?” Czar smoothed back Zoe’s hair with gentle fingers.
“Anything I don’t like, I tell you, Blythe or one of my uncles or aunts, but our business in this home is private. My uncles’ business is private.”
Czar’s smile held pride and affection. “Exactly. We don’t share with the outside world, but we don’t keep secrets from one another. Anything upsets you, darlin’, day or night, you call us immediately. And if someone tells you it’s a secret, there are no secrets from us. Even if someone tries to scare you by saying they can hurt us, you tell us.”
Zoe hugged him tightly and then turned to her sister. “Darby too, right? I can tell Darby.”
Czar nodded as Darby took Zoe’s hand.
“Hey, what about me?” Kenny said. “You can tell me anything, Zoe. I’ll look out for you.” He ruffled her hair. “The club’s been givin
g me lessons in . . .” He broke off abruptly and looked up at Czar.
Blythe moved closer. “Lessons in what, Kenny? I can’t imagine what all your uncles might choose to teach you.” She looked at her husband, not at her son.
Czar gave her a lazy grin, wrapped his arm around her and pulled her in tight to him. “Woman, you have a dirty mind. Not sex. Basic self-defense. We’re working with Darby and Zoe as well.”
Blythe rolled her eyes.
“Don’t pretend you weren’t thinking we were giving him instructions on sex, woman. I can read you like a book.”
Another roar of laughter went up, and Blythe shrugged. “I wouldn’t put it past you.”
“Where else is he going to learn how to give his partner pleasure? He needs to hear it from us, not read about it on the Internet or learn it from watching porn.”
“Is this an appropriate subject in front of the children?” Blythe demanded, but she was laughing and let Czar kiss her until she was breathless.
“Sex is a part of life, baby. It’s a part of intimacy with their chosen partner. I don’t want them to ever feel shame.”
Breezy didn’t think any of the Torpedo Ink members had inhibitions when it came to sex, but then she’d been around the parties and somehow, she didn’t think Blythe had. Breezy had no inhibitions either, none at all, not when she was with Steele. Watching Czar with Blythe, she doubted if Blythe had many, but she was far more reserved than Bree would ever be.
She watched both kiss the kids good-bye and usher them out of the house. Instantly, the atmosphere changed. Code leapt up and got his laptop, opening it. The others positioned themselves around the table again. She found her heart pounding as they all settled, with Czar at the head of the table.
“Bree.” Code addressed her first. “I need to know names and everything else you can tell me about your grandparents. I’ve found Bridges’s birth certificate, but only his mother was listed, not his father. Can you give me any information on them now? I haven’t found any information on his mother since about forty years ago. Did you ever meet either of them?”
Breezy took a deep breath. This was important, although it had been drilled into her never to talk about her father’s parents. “According to my father, my grandmother Carlotta detested children. She had my father alone because my grandfather, Boone, was in jail by the time she had him. He was in for armed robbery. Carlotta and Boone were never married. From what I understand, Carlotta beat the crap out of Bridges, and any lover she took was encouraged to do the same. She hated him for messing up her life, and then loved him because he belonged to her. The moment Boone was out, she handed Bridges over to him. Boone was in the Swords club, so Bridges grew up in the club.”
“Last names,” Code demanded without looking up.
“Carlotta’s is the same as Bridges. Simmons. Boone is from a very wealthy family, at least that’s what I was told by Junk. He said Boone terrorizes his family when he’s out of jail and they do anything he says. It’s Abernathy.”
Code’s eyebrows shot up as if he recognized the name, and maybe he did. Breezy had heard enough about the old man that she didn’t want to ever meet him or his family. “Boone was pretty nasty, from what Bridges said, and I only saw him once or twice.”
“Do you know where they live?”
Breezy was horrified. She could feel the color draining out of her face, and her heart beat wildly. She tasted fear—no, terror—in her mouth.
“Do you really think my father would take Zane to either of them? He detests his mother and father with every breath he takes.” The sound of her voice was thin and wavering.
Immediately, Steele shifted closer to her, as if he could protect her from the idea of Bridges’s father or mother having anything to do with her son. She pressed her hand to her chest and leaned against Steele’s hard strength. She needed him. She didn’t care that he’d hurt her. Or thrown her out. Or crawled out from under naked women. She needed strength, and he had it in abundance. She was so dizzy she could barely find air. The room spun and tilted crazily.
“Breathe, baby. We’re going to find him. I promise you that. Code is covering all the bases, that’s all. If we can rule them out, we’ll have two less places to check.”
The absolute confidence in Steele’s voice penetrated the terror. She forced air into her lungs, but she didn’t pull away from him. Did it matter if she was embarrassed later? The only thing that truly mattered was getting Zane back.
“Carlotta is with a man, Jacob Daltry, who owns a plantation house just outside of New Orleans.” She gave Code the parish. “Boone is much more difficult. His family owns a ton of properties. When he’s not in prison, he chooses one and just moves in, regardless of who is in it, from what I understand. That’s what makes him hard to find when the cops are after him.”
“What about Bridges? Are there places he likes to go when he wants downtime? Or when the cops are after him? A fishing or hunting camp? Tell me about him,” Code persisted. “The more I know of him, the more we can narrow down any of the Abernathy properties that he might choose to go to. If his father does that, maybe he thinks he can do what his father has always done—use the family holdings to hide.”
The questions forced Breezy to think about her father. She realized she never did that. She tried to put him out of her mind as much as possible. She had when she was a child as well. She’d been a frozen little mouse, afraid if she even thought about him, she would come to his attention and he’d hurt her. For a long time, the emotional damage was far worse than the physical. At least Bridges tolerated Junk, but she didn’t seem to be worth anything at all to him—and that had hurt for the longest time.
“When he’s not on his Harley, he drives a Jeep. He only will drive a Jeep. Once, he needed to rent a car and he nearly beat up the attendant because they’d rented the Jeep they had to someone else.”
“That’s good, that’s the kind of thing I need. I can find Boone’s family properties easily, but Bridges’s habits are what is going to trip him up,” Code encouraged.
“He drinks Jack Daniel’s and smokes Marlboros. He prefers to get his gas at a mini-mart, where he can load up on snack foods, like Twinkies. He likes diners but not a restaurant if you understand what I’m saying.”
“People have habits, Bree,” Code said. “He has them. Patterns. Keep talking about him.”
“He uses women all the time. I can’t tell you how many women he moved in with and then pawned me off on when I was little, so they were forced to take care of me. He said he could avoid mortgages by letting the women pay.”
“Did he stay friendly with them after he left?” That question was from Transporter.
Breezy shrugged. “He beat the hell out of them, terrorized them so they wouldn’t dare leave him or report him, and then he would leave, but often, he’d go back time and again just to scare them. I don’t think you could call them his friends.”
“I need a list. Every name you remember. Every town. Every address. If he had no problem dumping you on them, he might not have a problem dumping Zane on them,” Code said.
Breezy closed her eyes and pressed her head into Steele’s chest. She hoped Zane was with one of Bridges’s past ladies and not at one of the Abernathy properties. At least he’d be safe. The women hadn’t always liked taking care of her, but they’d done it, and some of them had been nice.
“Medications?” Code prompted after she had rattled off the last of the women’s names she could remember.
Her head was still pounding from all the wild crying earlier, and thinking about her father wasn’t helping. She thought about trying to be strong and sitting up away from Steele, but it seemed like too much trouble, especially when he was rubbing her arm soothingly. She could feel his chest moving with every breath he took. When he exhaled, it was warm air against her neck and it felt familiar to her. Familiar. Intimate. A connection betw
een them when she desperately needed someone.
“He takes heart medication and always gets it at a Winn-Dixie. He doesn’t like the other pharmacies. It’s the same with actual groceries. He refuses to go to any of the bigger supermarkets.”
Reaper stirred. “Sergeant at arms for the chapter? Anyone know? If Czar took off, I’d be on him immediately. If we know who it is, we can track him as well.”
“That’s a good point, Reaper,” Czar said. “You don’t let me shave without one of you checking the shaving cream.”
There was laughter, but it didn’t ease the terrible weight pressing down on her. They spent the next couple of hours questioning her about every detail of her father’s life, going as far back as she could remember. In the end, she felt worn out and drained, but somewhat hopeful. If they were that thorough, then maybe they wouldn’t be looking for the proverbial needle in a haystack.
“We’ll take the majority with us,” Steele said. “Everyone volunteered to go, and Bree and I thank you for that. Czar, I think it best if we leave your team with you and I’ll take mine with me. We’re used to working together, and Reaper and Savage will—”
“I’m riding with you,” Savage said and got up. He pushed his chair back to the table, nodded at Blythe, leaned down to brush a kiss on the top of Anya’s head and prowled out.
Savage prowled. He never just walked, Breezy decided. There was something very scary about him. His declaration was met with silence.
“Should I be worried about him?” Breezy asked. “I don’t need a powder keg.”
They all looked at her. Focused entirely. She felt familiar fingers of fear creep down her spine.
“You should worry about your man, not one of us,” Reaper said. “No one goes up against Steele when he’s pissed. No one. Not me. Not Savage. You’re sitting next to the powder keg.” He got up, held out his hand to Anya and they followed Savage out.
Vengeance Road Page 14
