Battle Hearts

by Nina Levine

  I’m almost at Winter’s office when Maddox, the boy I met here the other day, runs into me as he exits one of the rooms. He’s moving so fast that we hit each other pretty hard.

  “Fuck,” he says. “Maybe watch where you’re going next time.”

  This kid has some serious attitude, but there’s something about him I’m drawn to. I don’t know what it is, but it’s like I can’t look away from him.

  But that attitude needs to go. “I was watching,” I say, my tone making it clear I’m not about to argue that point.

  “Yeah, well the bruise you probably just gave me would say otherwise.”

  “Maddox,” Winter says, joining us, his eyes boring into Maddox. “Where’s Eloise?”

  Maddox holds Winter’s gaze, unaffected by the hardness in my husband’s voice. “Fucked if I know.”

  Winter’s nostrils flare. “Well go find her. I need to speak with her.”

  “For all I care, she could have fucked off and gone home—”

  Winter leans in close to him and practically breathes fire when he says, “Go and find her, and stop giving me your goddam attitude.”

  With one last scowl, Maddox turns and walks away from us. He doesn’t move fast and I can tell that pisses Winter off just a much as the way Maddox spoke to him.

  I reach for Winter’s arm, drawing his attention to me. “Leave him be.” Winter told me why Maddox and Eloise are at the clubhouse. All I can think is that the boy must be feeling lost and confused over the events of the last couple of days since finding out Eloise isn’t his aunt, as well as being forced to stay somewhere he probably doesn’t want to be.

  “He pushes all my damn buttons,” Winter says. “He’s given me nothing but fucking lip since he’s been here.”

  It’s so unusual to see Winter this worked up, but then again, he’s tense from club stuff, so maybe that’s why his fuse is shorter.

  “He’s a teen, and his whole world has been turned upside down. I’d give you lip, too, if that happened to me.”

  Heat flashes in his eyes. “And I’d bend you over if you gave me lip. At least I’d be able to do something with it.”

  I move into him, putting my hands on him. “I really need you to bend me over. Like, soon.”

  “Fuck, I wish I had time for that now, but I don’t.”

  “Maybe tonight?”

  Before he can answer me, Ransom calls out, “Winter, you got a minute? Hunt just found something you’ll be interested in.”

  “Fuck,” Winter curses under his breath. Then, nodding at Ransom, he says, “Yeah, gimme a minute.”

  I drop my hands. “You go. I’m thinking I might spend some time in the kitchen.”

  “Here?”

  “Yeah. You’ve got men who need food, and I’ve got time to make it. And then maybe you can take me home and whisper dirty things in my ear.”

  “I’d fucking like that,” he says before kissing me and leaving to go talk with Ransom and Hunt.

  I find a mess in the kitchen. Two of the shelves on the wall have fallen down and it looks like someone started to assemble new ones, but got sidetracked. On top of that, someone has done a big food shop and just dumped all the cans and cartons of long-life milk and juice on the counter in the middle of the room.

  I set to work putting the food away and cleaning up. When I get to the shelves, I go in search of the power tools the guys keep in the maintenance cupboard. I’m on my way back to the kitchen when I spy Maddox sitting in the corner of the bar looking bored. Or pissed off. I can’t be sure which, but he certainly doesn’t look happy.

  “Hey,” I say, joining him. “You got a minute to help me with something?”

  “What is it?” Going by his voice, I’d say he’s pissed off about something rather than bored.

  “It’s a boy job I don’t think I can handle on my own.” It’s only a small lie, but I have a good reason for it.

  “A boy job? Haven’t you heard that women can do it all now?”

  I smile, liking the change in his tone. He doesn’t sound so annoyed. “Well, that might be what your generation says, but I still firmly believe there are some jobs that boys are more suited to.” My smile grows. “But that’s just between you and me, okay? I would never tell Winter that.” Another small lie; Winter knows exactly what jobs are on his list of things to take care of.

  He looks a little interested in the conversation now. Crossing his arms, he says, “Okay, tell me, what jobs are boy jobs?”

  I take the spare seat across from him, placing the drill I’ve been holding on the floor. “My list is long. You got time?”

  He nods and remains silent, waiting for my list.

  “Fixing the car when it’s broken, taking the rubbish out, building furniture, painting the house, mowing, removing spiders and bugs from the house, pest control, trimming hedges. Things like that.”

  “So basically anything you don’t wanna do?”

  I grin. “Bam. You got it.”

  “Right, so you look like a princess because you are a princess.”

  I lean forward. “No, I’m a fucking queen.”

  He doesn’t smile, but his eyes let me know he likes that.

  “So,” I say, standing, “you gonna help me put some shelves up?”

  He takes his time, but eventually stands. “I may as well; there’s fucking nothing else to do in this place.”

  I smile to myself as I lead the way into the kitchen. I think I like this kid.

  Three hours later, the shelves are up, and Maddox and I have cooked huge batches of spaghetti and beef casserole. He’s a pro with a drill, telling me that Eloise is useless around the house, so someone has to fix things when they break. I’ve also learned she has a drug addiction that sometimes keeps her away from home for days at a time. This, though, is how he’s lived since he was nine when her addiction grew, so he’s used to fending for himself. I don’t like to judge people, but I don’t like the way she’s raised him. Children deserve more than what it sounds like she’s given him. It’s no wonder he has attitude. I didn’t give him any of my thoughts or opinions on anything he told me; I simply listened and let him speak.

  “You want these in the freezer now?” Maddox asks, pointing to the portioned containers of spaghetti and casserole.

  I nod. “Yes.”

  After we finished the shelves, I asked him to help me cook. I thought he’d say no and leave, but he surprised me when he shrugged and said, “Sure.” He’s also a pretty good cook. I guess he had to learn how to feed himself at a young age.

  As he loads the containers into the freezer, I say, “How old are you, Maddox?”

  “Fifteen.”

  “So grade ten?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Do you like school?”

  “It’s somewhere to go that gets me away from Eloise and her bullshit, so yeah.”

  God, I hate that, but I keep my thoughts to myself.

  “What’s your favourite subject?”

  He stops what he’s doing. “Seriously, you wanna talk about fucking school? What makes you think I like any fucking subject?”

  Up until this point, we’ve mostly talked about what we were doing. The few things he told me about living with Eloise were shared because they related to putting the shelves up and cooking.

  “I didn’t love school, but I loved one thing about it,” I say. “I guess I hoped that you had at least one thing you liked, too.”

  He stares at me. “What was your thing?”

  “The library. I loved reading and I loved that the library was the one place I felt safe away from the mean girls. I used to spend hours in there.”

  His brows arch. “The mean girls picked on you? Fuck, you look like the bitches at my school who are the mean girls.”

  “Right, so firstly, thanks for that. I look like a bitchy mean girl. Noted. And secondly, I didn’t look like this in school.”

  “Bullshit.”

  “I had braces and pimples in high school. And hair
I didn’t know how to style. I was a hot mess.”

  “Wow.” He seems genuinely surprised.

  “What, that’s all you’ve got for me? No smart ass response?”

  “Nope. You were a nerd in high school with no clue, and now you’re a princess. I’m thinking about all the nerdy girls at my school and wondering how hot they’ll be when they’re your age.”

  Maddox returns to filling the freezer, seemingly done with our conversation. I turn around and finish washing the dishes we created. We work in silence until he says, “Reading is my thing, too.”

  I still, and don’t respond straight away. God, but I want to. My heart beats a little faster, because he just opened up to me and shared something significant. Well, in my eyes it’s significant.

  Finally, I glance at him and smile. “It’s a good thing to love.”

  Winter enters the kitchen as Maddox and I share a moment over reading. His eyes come to mine. “I’m not sure what time I’ll be finished here.”

  Maddox closes the freezer and says, “You need me for anything else, Birdie?”

  “No. Thank you for all your help. I really appreciate it.”

  He nods. “Sure thing.” With a quick glance at Winter, he exits the kitchen.

  “He’s been helping you?” Winter says.

  “Yeah. He put the shelves up for me and then helped me cook. He’s not a bad kid.” As Winter eyes the shelves, I say, “I’m gonna go home and take a long bath. You can whisper dirty things to me another night if you don’t get home before I fall asleep.”

  He brings his gaze back to me, running his eyes over my body. “You have no idea how much I wish I was going home with you now.”

  I stand on my toes so I can kiss him. “I think I do, and it’s all good. I love you, baby.”

  “I love you, too.”

  Watching him leave, I decide to force myself to stay awake until he gets home. I’m beginning to feel starved of him, and I can see in his eyes that he feels the same way.

  32

  Winter

  * * *

  I eye Birdie entering the clubhouse as I hang up from a call with Scott Cole. He reported that they still haven’t heard a peep from Zenith in Brisbane yet, and still haven’t located them. Frustration seems to be my constant friend these days. We’re getting fucking nowhere with anything we’re doing.

  When Birdie reaches me, I pull her close and kiss her. “You get dressed up for me again, angel?”

  She keeps her body pressed to mine and her hands to my chest as she smiles. Fuck, I love it when she smiles. “You can pretend I did.”

  I glance down at her short dress and heels. “Yeah, I’m gonna pretend those heels are for my benefit.”

  Gripping my shirt, she says, “You left early this morning. I was going to wake you up exactly how you like being woken up since I fell asleep before you came home last night.”

  “Fuck, baby, we need to move this to my office.”

  Her eyes light up. “You’ve got time?”

  “Yeah.” I take her hand and lead her down the hallway. I’ve reached the point where even if I didn’t have time, I’d fucking make it so I did. After trying like fuck to get home at a decent hour last night, I didn’t make it out of here until 2:00 a.m. Birdie was fast asleep by the time I arrived home.

  Kicking the door closed behind us, my arm goes around her waist and I pull her to rest her ass against my desk. Spreading her legs with my feet, I place my hands to the hem of her dress and slowly slide it up while keeping my eyes firmly on hers.

  “Tell me how you want this,” I say.

  “How I want this, and what I’ve got time for, are two different things.”

  “You’ve gotta leave soon?”

  “Unfortunately, yes.”

  “Fuck,” I say as I lean in and brush my lips over hers. “I’m beginning to think you’ve forgotten what my dick looks like.”

  “Baby, your dick is the biggest thing in my memory. I will never forget what it looks like.”

  “Good. Keep it that way.”

  She brings her hand to my neck. “I want it hard and rough, and I don’t even need any foreplay.”

  My hand glides up her thigh to her panties. “Angel, we’ve had fucking weeks of foreplay.” I hook my fingers in her panties and find her pussy. She’s wet for me, so fucking wet that I struggle to restrain myself from ripping her clothes off.

  Gripping my neck, she arches her back as I push two fingers inside her. “Oh my God, yes.”

  My mouth finds hers and I kiss her roughly, like I know she loves it.

  The kiss sets her off, and she tears at my shirt, and then my belt, before finally undoing my jeans and taking hold of my throbbing cock.

  “Fuck,” I growl as she strokes me.

  Going without my wife for so long is not fucking good for my health. I’m a knotted ball of stress, and while the shit going on with the club is a lot of that, I know that almost zero time with Birdie is a big contributor, too.

  Before I know what’s happening, she spins around and bends over the desk. Lifting her dress, she begs, “I need you inside me.”

  Christ, I don’t need any further encouragement. I tear her panties off and slam inside of her. Hard and fucking fast.

  Birdie grips the desk while I take hold of her hips and work us into a rhythm. When I reach around and work her clit, she comes almost instantly. I orgasm not long after, and then wrap my arms around her and kiss her neck. “I’ve fucking missed you.”

  She places her hand over mine. “Me too.”

  Reluctantly, I pull out and we clean up. Birdie eyes me as she scoops her torn panties off the ground. Holding them up, she says, “You realise this means I have to show up for my meeting at the bank with no underwear on, right?”

  “It wouldn’t be the first time you’ve gone out like that.” I used to tear her panties off regularly.

  “Yeah, but this is a super short dress. It’s gonna be awkward.” When I don’t say anything, she adds, “I mean, I’m meeting two guys. I hope I don’t accidentally flash them while I cross my legs or something.”

  My possessive streak roars to life, something that hasn’t happened for a long time. My arm snaps out and around her, and I pull her close. “You keep those legs of yours shut tight as fuck. No one but me sees your pussy.”

  Her eyes blaze with desire and a smile dances across her lips. “There’s my man.”

  “Yeah, here I am, and I don’t fucking like the idea of you flashing anyone.” Fuck, I wish we had the entire afternoon so I could fuck her until she couldn’t walk.

  She kisses me. Long, slow, and deep. When she finally drags her lips from mine, she says, “I love it when you go all caveman. You should do that more often.”

  I let her go, because if I don’t, she’s not leaving this office for her meeting. Jerking my chin at the door, I say, “You need to leave.”

  She pouts. “You’re not going to walk me out?”

  “Fuck,” I mutter. “You’ll be the fucking death of me.”

  Her smile returns. “You love me.”

  “I fucking do.”

  I walk her out. We’ve nearly reached our destination when we come across Eloise and Maddox. They’re in the middle of an argument. That’s putting it lightly, though. Eloise is screaming abuse at him and he looks like he’s given up fighting. It looks like this is something he’s used to.

  Then she hits him. Not once, but repeatedly. He flinches, and again, he seems used to this.

  I’ve seen enough; I step in and pull her away. She kicks and flails all over the place, screaming at me to let her go. I restrain her tightly and bark, “Enough!”

  “Or what? You’re going to send me home? Good! I wanna fucking go home!”

  I let her go and push her away from Maddox, anger burning through me. Looking at Maddox, I demand, “She do this often?”

  He stares at me without giving me an answer.

  “Does she?”

  His silence is my answer, and
it only makes me feel angrier towards her. Not a good fucking place to be. I never take anger out on a woman. Fucking never. But damn if this one isn’t pushing me hard. She’s been nothing but a pain in my ass since she got here. If she keeps going the way she is, I fucking will be sending her home.

  Birdie reads the situation and comes close to me. “You should go back inside.”

  I can’t drag my eyes from Eloise who’s glaring at me. Ignoring Birdie, I say to Eloise, “You feel powerful taking your shit out on a teenager?”

  “Fuck you,” she spits back. “Our relationship has nothing to do with you.”

  “That’s where you’re wrong. I’ve just made it have something to do with me. I’ll be watching you, Eloise.”

  “And what?” she challenges. “You’ll dob me in to DoCS? Take a child away from the only parent he’s ever known? Nice. Real fucking nice.”

  “Continue down the path you’re on and you’ll find out.” With that, I look at Birdie and say, “I’ll call you later.”

  She nods and I turn and stalk back inside.

  I’m all fucked up with everything going on. I’m feeling shit I’ve never felt, and it’s fucking with me. I need to sort this club stuff out and get back to normal.

  “Winter,” Axe says, interrupting my thoughts. “We’ve found your rat.”

  I should have fucking known our rat was Striker. He’s held a grudge against me since the day I hauled his ass out of his girlfriend’s house years ago. All his fuck ups make sense now; he was working against us.

  Axe and Hunt discovered he’s the rat when they intercepted a call between him and Leif Jensen. Leif was pissed Striker had called. Apparently talking over the phone is no longer allowed within their organisation. Leif told him never to call again, but rather to use the messaging system as per usual. That fucking messaging system is one of our biggest problems. The security they use has it locked down tightly; hacking into it isn’t an option.

  We tracked Striker’s location and I sent Hunt and Memphis to bring him to our warehouse. They arrived five minutes ago with him.