Breathe

by N. M. Catalano

  He’s got a hard-on for me and Raven now, and he won’t be satisfied until he’s collected. He’s an amateur compared to us. Let him bring his fucking toy bat. I’ll ram it so far up his ass, he’ll be eating it.

  We’ve got bigger problems. Possibly three to be precise.

  After closing the bedroom door, even the Queen of Hell needs rest, I turn to Rock. “Talk to Gringo?”

  He’s in the kitchen with a bottle of water in his hand. “Yeah.” His eyes flick to Summer.

  He doesn’t want to talk about this in front of her. I don’t either, but there’s only so many showers she can take in a day that gives us some time alone to discuss things. Despite the fact the cat’s already out of the bag, so to speak, we will never reveal everything to her. Just fucking no, even I agree with that. I think it’s good she knows there’s something brewing, you can’t prepare yourself for a situation unless you know it’s there. She needed to know, and I’m glad she does, but she will always only know so much, just enough to keep her safe.

  That’s Rock’s job. My job is to keep them all safe. Even Raven now. Whatever the price.

  Gringo’s room is next to ours. There’s a connecting door that’s currently closed which can join the two rooms, and usually stays that way to give him privacy to speak freely with whoever he needs to about our situation. And to give us privacy when we’re fucking.

  And now Raven’s problem as well.

  Dude probably hasn’t had any sleep, and not for reason’s he’d prefer. Like a sweet little mamasita or two.

  Boy’s got issues he likes to keep quiet, we all do, but his are a bit more evil. They want his blood, and he’s been keeping them pacified for years. This shit going down right now could hopefully get them a sacrifice, or make them more demanding. The jury’s still out.

  “I’m going over.”

  “Okay,” Rock mumbles.

  I bend to give Summer a kiss. “Good morning, beautiful.”

  She strokes my cheek. She looks content, happy, and ready for whatever the fuck is coming. The woman is strong. “Good morning, Snake. You did good.”

  My heart constricts painfully. That wasn’t shit. I’m sure the worst is yet to come.

  “Thanks, Tinkerbell. It was nothing really. Nothing happened, but we’ll tell you about it later.” Because that was kids play. The little hellion wanted to draw blood.

  I know Rock’s glaring at me, biting at the bit waiting to hear everything about Raven’s retrieval.

  She’s ours now, but she’s still a mission, just like Summer. Just a hell of a lot more complicated, both of them.

  Gringo’s door’s not locked so I step through and find him sitting on the couch with a laptop on his thighs.

  “Updates?” I ask as I take a seat in a chair next to him, a telescope and a rifle with a silencer behind me at the window, and binoculars sitting on the table beside it.

  Taking the Glock out from where it was tucked into the back waist of my pants, I never use it but we’re all carrying just in case, I place it on the table with his gun and sit back, and put my feet on the table where his are. Might as well get comfortable.

  “Good fucking morning to you too,” he growls.

  “It is, as a matter fact,” I respond dryly.

  He’s an extra dickhead today. I’m not surprised.

  “Don’t bust my balls, Snake, I’m seriously not in the mood.” He lifts his hands from the keyboard and scrubs his face.

  He’s a mess, circles under his eyes, scruff that’s days old, and he’s got on the shirt he was wearing last night.

  “You been to bed yet?” I ask.

  “No, not really. I fell asleep right here for a little while. But I’m good, don’t worry about me.” His voice is a little hoarse.

  I’m not worried about him in that respect. We’ve all gone days without sleep, rage and adrenaline had been our sustenance. But this is something different.

  “What’s up?” I ask.

  My entire being is on alert. He is too, despite the disheveled appearance and his look of fatigue. Gringo could take out twenty guys in his present state, no problem, it’s who we are.

  “Hawk thinks there are three more contracts on us. He doesn’t know who,” I open my mouth to interject. He lifts a hand to stop me. “He didn’t say how he knows, you know him. We were lucky we got him to talk as much as he did. He gave us what we needed, no more, no less.”

  “Fine. Is he going to walk away?”

  It’s no secret Hawk gave us a gift when he contacted us and alerted us to the death warrant over our heads. The guy’s a rebel. I can only assume he does what he does for his own personal reasons and I can only make my own conclusions as to what those are. He’s one of the best in The Program, but also the most unpredictable. If he wasn’t so good, they’d probably have terminated him a long time ago. Permanently. But he’s too valuable, too expert, too much of exactly what they want.

  A cold hearted killer.

  But he’s got a conscience, and chooses which orders he’s going to follow. He’s a wild card and they never know which one he’s going to draw. With Hawk, it’s a very real possibility he could turn and aim his gun, or whichever device is his flavor of the day, at the boss man, if we actually knew who he is.

  “We didn’t come right out and ask him…”

  “Why in the fuck not?!” I can’t believe this shit.

  “Because he was talking, and you don’t interrupt him when he’s finally saying something. He might’ve clammed up and walked away,” he snaps.

  “Goddamn it,” I rake a hand through my hair, frustrated.

  “Me and Rock are in agreement with him walking. No one gives up that kind of intel if they’re still playing for the opposing team. That just wouldn’t make sense. So, yeah, we think he’s going to walk.”

  They’re right. Hawk wouldn’t waste his time coming to us. And he doesn’t play those games. This is business, he might be a cold ass son-of-a-bitch, but he’s fair and doesn’t fuck around.

  “I agree. But did he have any idea who might be the other three?” The other three killers. Because that is exactly what the powers that be would enlist to get to us.

  Nothing or no one else would succeed.

  Gringo shakes his head slowly, eyes on the screen in front of him. “No, that’s what I’ve been trying to figure out all night. Going through the guest list for the hotel, watching for any new arrivals, and sifting through the known registered affiliates of The Program, trying to remember anyone who they’ve been connected to in the past.”

  “Anything new come up?”

  He rubs his face roughly again, the heel of his palms digging into his eyes. “Not a fucking thing.”

  Gringo is one of the best at counter intelligence. He’s good. Nothing gets by him. When he says he can’t find it, it means we’re not looking in the right place.

  “Tell me what you’re thinking.”

  He slams the computer shut. “It’s not here.”

  And there it is.

  “Okay…go on.”

  Putting the machine to the side, he gets up and heads to the kitchen to pour himself a cup of coffee from the full sized coffee maker that’s sitting on the counter, one that didn’t come with the room. Bro was ready for these all-nighters.

  “It’s one of two things: first I believe that outsiders were contracted. Second, if they are Program, they’re not staying at this hotel or registered with the expo. That’s why nothing’s coming up on our radars. If they are outsiders, we need to talk with other people, get names of underground best of the best. If they are Program members, we need to start searching surrounding hotels databases.”

  Fuck! Right back to square one. Only this time it’s multiplied by three.

  Cold and venom seeps through my system, reigniting my need to destroy, to annihilate, to take out any mother fucker connected with any of this.

  “I’ll start checking out underground contract killers,” I murmur.

  “They would be
a very specific type…,” Gringo adds.

  “I know what the fuck we’re looking for,” I growl.

  “Don’t fuck with me, Snake, I am NOT in the fucking mood,” he seethes.

  My gaze slides to his face. It’s tight with anger and frustration, and it’s more than what we were discussing.

  “What else?” I ask slowly.

  He sits back and tilts his head to rest on the couch, his face turned up. “Bull says so far things are good with the Steel Brothers. They’re rotating shifts keeping watch. The report is there is no suspicious activity.”

  “Did you fill him in on Raven?” I don’t have to say more; Gringo knows what I’m talking about.

  Does Bull know we’ve got the girl who stole the Steel Brothers counterfeiting plates and right now she’s under our protection?

  “Yeah, he knows. He says the boys out there don’t know it yet, but he suspects they will, oh, by…,” he raises his head and lifts his arm to glance at his watch, “about eight. So in about an hour and a half.”

  That’s fine. We can come up with a plan to deal with Raven’s situation and any damage control that’ll be necessary.

  “Snake,” Gringo’s got that look on his face, the one that says I’m not going to like whatever he’s got to say. “You know we don’t need the shit that chick’s bringing with her. There’s a shit load of Steel Brothers back at home, guys we put there. And Bull’s left alone to deal with the mess.”

  I drop my feet to the floor, lean forward with my elbows on my knees, and get in his face.

  “I would never do anything to jeopardize any of you. Bringing her here was Summer’s idea, and I wouldn’t have if we all hadn’t agreed. You know that.”

  Because, yeah, she's all kinds of bad, and I want her any fucking way.

  “Believe me, I get it. From what I saw yesterday, she is not what they said she is. Raven’s the farthest thing from a strung-out hooker, that’s obvious, the story doesn’t add up. But we’ve got our fucking hands full as it stands. If we’re distracted by cleaning up her mess, that could leave us vulnerable. We can’t afford that.”

  It’s my turn to screw the heels of my palm into my eyes in frustration.

  “She’s in the room sleeping right now. As soon as she wakes up, we’re going to have a deal put together to present to the Steel Brothers that’ll fix her problem. And, yes, Bull’s back there in the middle of what will soon be a very pissed off bunch of bikers, but he’s got a past with the president. That will keep them at bay. If we need to buy some time, that’ll do it, but I don’t think it’ll come to that.”

  “I hope you’re right,” Gringo mutters.

  I’d better be right.

  “Just so you know, we might have an Italian looking to get some revenge.”

  Gringo’s eyes meet mine. For the first time this morning, he looks relaxed. He thinks that’s funny. I do too. “Yeah? Who’d you piss off?”

  “Batman. Seems like Raven and him were old friends…”

  “Were?” he cocks a brow.

  “I don’t think she considers him a friend anymore. Raven contacted him to help her get rid of the counterfeiting plates. I think it’s safe to say Bat Boy wanted the one mil reward to turn her in more than her friendship. Or her life.

  “He came to visit her this morning when I was in her room to get her. Let’s just say it didn’t go well for him,” I laugh.

  “What did you do?” Gringo sits back, all smiles now. He loves this shit.

  “Dude, it’s not what I did. The little hellion threatened to cut out his tongue, and probably would have if it had been under different circumstances. Had her fucking knife pressed against his face and everything.”

  That is still hot as hell.

  Gringo’s eyes are wide. “No shit?”

  “I kid you not.”

  He gets serious. “You think an unstable woman like that can be trusted with us? With Summer?”

  And there’s what it all boils down to.

  Because that’s what we’re here for.

  His gaze is piercing as it locks in on me, daring me to tell him something other than the truth.

  Because, yes, this is a fucked up situation, and yes, she’s all kinds of trouble, we should keep her as far away from us as possible. But here’s the thing, I want her despite of it, and because of it. I want her in all kinds of fucked up ways, and fuck me, I want her with us. With me, Rock, and Summer.

  And so help me God, I know she wants us too.

  “Gringo, if I didn’t think so, if we all didn’t think so, she wouldn’t be here.”

  That’s the truth.

  “Okay. You and Rock work out the plan with the biker club and fill me in. And let me know what you find out about underground contract hitmen. I’ll get started on nearby hotels.”

  Gringo’s tying things up, but there’s still something bothering him, something that’s still bugging the shit out of him.

  I’m not leaving until he tells me.

  “What else?”

  “Nothing man,” he mumbles trying to ignore me.

  “Don’t give me that shit.”

  “Don’t you have some crazy ass broad you’ve got to babysit?”

  “She’s in good hands right now.”

  He looks up at me, there’s that wild glimmer in his eyes he always has just before we gang bang.

  We’re all fucked up in some way or another.

  “So that’s how it is,” he smirks.

  “That’s how it’s going to be.”

  He narrows his eyes at me. “Summer too?”

  My cock stirs. “Summer too.”

  He nods and looks back to the computer. Long breaths of silence pass before he speaks.

  “It’s Sasha. She’s acting crazy.”

  This is what’s fucking with his head. The woman he’s in love with. Although my boy won’t admit it.

  Sasha is crazy.

  Crazy women seem to be our preference. Apparently anything else doesn’t do it for us.

  “What’s she doing?”

  “It’s not what she’s doing. It’s what she says. She wants me to come and get her. Says her husband is acting strange, he’s going to late night meetings and leaving her alone in the house for hours in the middle of the night. She says he barely talks to her and is treating her differently.” His brow is creased with concern, genuine concern.

  “Do you think he knows about you two, or three?” because he and Bull ride her often.

  She loves it.

  So does Summer.

  I hope Raven is going to when we get that ass and pussy.

  “Frankly,” his gaze meets mine and there’s an expression of disgust on his face, “I wouldn’t be surprised if he hopes she’s fucking around. It would justify his slimeball ways. The guy’s crooked as shit, I just haven’t investigated to see what the hell he’s into.”

  “Does she know you’re having her watched?” because we need to.

  Anyone we have an attachment to is in danger. Besides us, that’s Sasha, Gwen, and Mrs. Merriweather.

  “No, but she has asked about all the new bikers in town. Everyone has. At least her little entourage have some new playthings. The bikers don’t concern themselves with the husband factor. They’d bang the broads on the tables of the coffee shop if they could, and probably take bets on who busted a nut first.”

  “That’s a plus. Lots of new dick for the horny housewives. Sweet.”

  “Good for the boys too. Keeps them happy.”

  “Talk about a win/win,” I laugh. “Seriously though, once this shit is over, we’ll all find out what’s going on with Sasha’s asshole husband. Hopefully whatever we find will take care of everything.”

  He nods silently. He knows what I’m talking about.

  Gringo’s in love with another man’s wife. A man who has some prestige in the small community we live in. And if I know my friend, he doesn’t feel like he deserves a woman like Sasha. What he’d never admit is that she doesn’t deserve hi
m.

  Before anything else, we have to keep everyone safe.

  That’s exactly what I’m going to do. Even if it kills me.

  CHAPTER 17

  Raven

  Shit just keeps getting weirder and weirder. It's not your normal shit I'm talking about.

  What's shocking the hell out of me is the fact I'm not hating being with Snake and Summer, and even Rock. It's not them personally, they're fine. I just hate people. I hate everything about them, I hate being around people, I hate having to deal with people, I hate having to talk with anyone.

  It seems people hate me too. No love lost there.

  But with Snake, I'm not ready to stab him in the eye. They're not pissing me off. Not yet.

  "Here's the thing," Snake's saying, "you've got the Steel Brothers plates. They say you stole them. They are not happy."

  "No shit, Sherlock," I roll my eyes at him. "Did you need a college degree to figure that one out on your own?"

  A sly grin spreads across his face. "I am very much going to enjoy spanking that pretty ass of yours, hellion. My palm's already tingling."

  Rock's standing off to the side listening to us talk. His lips twitched with amusement when Snake so colorfully said he's going to punish me like a naughty little girl.

  He can try.

  "You think so?" I glare at him.

  His grin broadens. "I do. Then after I'm done, Rock's going to bring it home, aren't you, Rock?" Snake's eyes never leave mine, his threat looming heavy in the air.

  I tremor ripples through me. There I go again, reacting.

  Both of them are staring at me, gauging me, reading me, scrutinizing me. And still, I don't want to run.

  "Do you think I'm afraid of you?" I ask, sounding unaffected, when in fact, I'm anything but.

  Snake slowly turns his head side to side. "No, not at all. That's not our intention, is it, Rock?"