by K. C. Stone
“Did you ever find out what happened?” I asked.
“Yes, he knew I would never question anything, so he used the club as an excuse and fell in love with freedom and another woman,” she whispered.
“I’m so sorry,” I whisper. I can never imagine how I would feel knowing my husband loved someone else.
“By the time everything happened and Matthew’s dad had passed away, Hamish was killed shortly after and for the first time I had never felt so alone. Aidan and I started to get to know each other, I grew to know the guys in the club and realized they’re not the monsters my husband was.”
Just as she was about to say something, the door busted open. I almost jumped right out of my skin, if Killian had not been asleep on my lap, I probably would have. Larger than life, Aidan walked around the table, reach down, and place a gentle kiss on Juliane’s lips ever so softly.
It was sweet and nothing like the way you would expect a biker would kiss his girl.
“Cara, I have everything ready for you to go back home,” he says, looking at me.
“Wait, you’re leaving,” she asks.
“Would you want to be separated from him?” I question because I know the answer is no.
“I get it.” Is all she says, wrapping her arms around me. “Take good care of my grandbabies,” she whispers.
“I will.” I couldn’t help but smile, the fear of her hating me was lifted.
“Tell my son he needs to make sure he takes care of my sweet daughter as well. If he doesn’t, well, I might just have to come there and teach him a lesson.” She places a kiss on each of my cheeks and I can’t help but let my tears fall.
“My child, don’t cry, I never hated you and I now can see just how much you love my boy.” Just as we finish our goodbyes and are making our way back to the clubhouse the girls meet us outside.
“We are all packed and ready to go,” Jules says, taking the baby from me.
“You ready to go home and see Dada,” she coos at him.
“Dada,” he baby talks and his chubby smile makes us laugh.
“Yes, baby boy, we are going to go see Daddy,” I tell him. I know that something inside me will not settle until I’m back at home with him.
“Are you girls sure you want to go with them?” O’Brian asks.
They look at each other. “Yes, we want to go and start over, somewhere new,” Emerson volunteers.
“Everywhere we look our pasts confront us, Sean might be dead but his presence is still very real to us,” Imogen offers.
“I understand but if you girls need anything, just call me or have Locke call and we will take care of it,” he offers.
“That goes for all of you, please anything.” The silent look he gives me tells me a lot.
“Same to you, maybe you can come for a visit to the States, you will always be welcome,” I tell him, placing a kiss on each cheek.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Locke
I’m sitting at the table in church with Dom, each of us with a glass of whiskey in front of us, discussing the events from the past two days and what the fall out might be. I know it could be bad but if this lures John out then I will do whatever it takes. I will not let this bastard try and stop me. If he thinks having someone sneak around my club will stop me that fucker has another thing coming.
“I’m really proud of you, taking charge while I was gone. I heard about Tex and Gunner,” I offer.
“Don’t even think about it, brother, I’m your second that’s my job,” he says.
“Yes, but it could have been worse had you not had that idea,” I tell him and he just nods his head in agreement.
“So, what do you think the girl’s link is?” Dom asks, spinning his glass on the table.
“Who knows but something tells me she’s not innocent in all this,” I say. Something inside me tells me that I’m right, she will have a role to play in all this, I just need to know what the hell it is.
“She hasn’t said anything?” Dom questions, leaning back into his chair.
“Nope, that bitch is tight lipped, Marcos on the other hand will not shut the fuck up,” I tell him.
Just then the rest of the brothers come filing into the room, tossing phones in the box one by one. I make a mental note to call Cara, I have not heard from her since yesterday. I don’t even know where the fuck my phone is at this point.
“Nice job boys, I think we got our point across.” A round of fuck yeses and damn rights echo through the room.
I look around the table at each one of my brothers, they held this shit down when I was gone, and I’m proud to lead them.
I noticed Ezra isn’t here.
“Where’s Ezra?” I ask.
“He’s at the hospital with that girl,” Viper informs us.
“Dom said it would be a good idea. Doc wanted to take her and he said a brother should go with her,” he continues.
“What about the girl, Tech?” Dom inquires.
“Damn, brother, she’s in rough shape. Doc says it will take some time, her jaw is fractured, so are her ribs and left wrist. Doc had to take her to the hospital to do some x-rays and shit,” he finishes.
Shit, I shake my head. “What the fuck was she doing in that bathroom with them?” I wonder.
“No fucking clue, she hasn’t said anything, she only whimpers,” Tech explains.
“No shit, Sherlock, her jaw is broken,” Viper chimes in, smacking him on the back of the head.
“Dick,” he fires back, and I chuckle.
Clearing my throat.“Here is what we know, Sal had a house out in Brooklyn that has now become occupied by John and his crew. I want Tech and Gunner to go ahead and find everything they can on that house. Something tells me Cara nor Jules know anything about it. Simply because they have never said anything about it before. Which leads me into the next thing. We need to dig into Sal’s past, figure out a way to get into the house. Now that John has Sal’s old crew the big house will be empty. We need to destroy that place find out everything we can, and it needs to be done quickly,” I say. “Dom, I need you to do me a favor, find me the information for Moretti. I want to reach out to him, maybe we can clear some shit up without spilling more blood.”
“You think he will have a sit down?” he inquires.
“Shit, it wouldn’t hurt to ask,” I tell him.
Out of the corner of my eye I see something happening on the cameras.
I look at the monitor thinking, fuck another damn issue, when will I get a motherfucking break. The gate opens and a black SUV pulls in.
“What the fuck is this? Let’s go,” I order, and we all grab our guns and leave church.
Just as we get outside the door, Fitz steps out of the SUV. I charge out into the parking lot.
“What the fuck, Fitz, what are you doing here? You fucking left my family in another country, you asshole, without my say so,” I fume.
I reach for him just as the second door opens and Cara steps out.
“Cara, what the fuck are you doing here? It’s too fucking dangerous for you to be home,” I yell as I rush to her. Part of me is furious that she put herself in harm’s way, the other part is so damn happy to have her here. After I left her, I know I was a moody fucker.
“I’m sorry to disobey you, but, Matthew, this is not your fight, this is our fight, we will do this together,” she tells me, and I know what she means, she’s sick of being sent away. I have underestimated just how strong and brave she really is.
“Boss,” Mac says. My eyes pull from Cara’s beautiful face to his. “Brother, she’s got this,” he says.
I heave out a breath, if one more of my brothers tells me how fucking strong my woman is, I will have to beat them.
“I will stand with you forever, Matthew McKenzie, no more running,” She stands firm and I get it she’s sick of worrying about what is going on.
That was when I looked and realized that everyone had come back, not only Mac, Cara, and Fitz but the girls and Kill
ian as well as some new faces.
“What the hell are you guys doing here?” I gruff out, sounding harsher than I should have.
“Who the fuck are you?” I question the younger girl with the identical image of Emerson, but she doesn’t answer.
“Who the fuck is she and why does she look like you?” I point to Emerson still unsure what the hell happened after I left.
“This, Locke, is my little sister, Enya. Enya, this is the man that changed our lives. This is Cara’s husband, Locke,” she says introducing the young girl.
“Damn, baby, you brought back half of Ireland with you,” I whisper low enough only she can hear.
“Don’t worry, my love. I will explain it all later, now kiss me hello,” she says, grabbing my face and smashing her lips to mine.
“Get a motherfucking room!” Mac booms and we all start laughing.
I flip him off. I know I need to get them inside but I need my woman and something tells me I’m not the only one. I look over and see Dom with Jules wrapped up in his arms.
“Hey, calm down that’s my fucking daughter,” I yell at him and I can hear his chuckle.
“No, seriously let’s get them inside now,” I order.
The men grab bags and empty the SUV in a rush.
Once inside and everyone is sitting in the main room, I say, “Look, I know we have a lot of shit to talk about right now but let’s get the girls settled then we can sit down and go through everything, like how half of fucking Ireland came back with them.”
“Hell, I’m glad they came,” Axel chimes in and I toss that horny bastard a look.
“Cool it,” I yell.
“Let’s meet up in one hour.” I grab Cara’s arm and lead her and the baby toward our rooms.
“Let me put him down, he’s exhausted.” She lays him in the crib and just as she stands, I crush my body to hers.
“Listen, we don’t have time for me to fuck you raw but I want you to think about it all day because tonight that’s all mine,” I say, grazing my hand between her legs.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Cara
“We need to talk, sweetie, about you and your lack of obeying orders,” he scolds me.
I hold out my wrists. “Want to tie me up and talk about it?” I wink giving him the sexiest grin. My boy has craved me since the moment we separated.
“Woman, you’re evil,” he replies, pulling me into him, tasting my mouth once again.
This time it was carnal, pulling at each other trying to dig deeper into one another. His hands dig into my hair and I can feel the slight pull which just adds to the fire, when I pull away, we are both heaving for breath.
“Woman, that mouth is absolutely sinful,” he whispers against my lips. “Now is not the time for this, my love, we need to talk,” he says again, trying to distract me from stripping his clothes off his body and having my way with him.
“Okay,” I concede but just a little. I walk over to the closet listening to him talk about small stuff nothing big, as I unzip my top and slide it down. Reaching for another shirt I make sure he can see just a glimpse of my flesh, once I have my shirt, I unzip my skirt shimmying it down my hips revealing a lacey, pale pink thong. Before I know it, my back is pressed against his front, he releases a growl deep from his chest, and I can feel he’s as hard as granite.
“You like to tease me,” he growls in my ear while running his hands up and down my body feverishly.
“Yes,” I whisper breathlessly as his rough fingers pull at my nipples; I arch my back into his hands. His teeth clamp down on my ear and I moan low and deep.
“You like that? The way my rough hands feel against your soft skin, brushing your nipples.”
“Yesss,” I hiss, my brain unable to say more than just one word.
“What about here?” he teases, running his fingers through my curls and into my core.
I’m a mess right now, not able to articulate anything more than moans and panting. His endless assault on my body has my legs quivering. If he doesn’t stop my legs will give out. Before I’m aware of what is happening, he has me bent over our bed my feet arched up onto my toes.
“This will be fast, we have things to do but right now I need to be buried in you,” he leans in and tells me, grabbing a fist full of hair, slamming into me, hitting that spot in my belly that has been aching since he left.
“Aaaahhhh,” I rasp out, still unable to say actual words. I can only register feelings and right now I’m strung so tight and with every thrust I fall closer and closer until I feel his fingers pluck at my nipples. I convulse, squeezing him, my vision goes white, my legs give out and I’m spent, collapsing on the bed with him on top of me.
“What are you doing to me, woman? So tempting, no wonder Adam ate the apple if Eve was anywhere as tempting as you,” he jokes, standing, instantly I’m cold missing that connection from before.
“I need to talk with you and Jules,” he says as I’m getting dressed and my blood goes cold and a chill runs down my spine.
“Okay, love, why don’t you have Jules and Dom meet us in the kitchen,” I offer.
“No, they are waiting in church for us,” he says holding out his hand waiting for me to take it.
I hate being in this room, it’s somewhere I never get used to being, bad news always happens in here and today is no different.
“Jules, baby, you’re not going to like talking about this, but I need you to focus for me,” Matthew pulls out a phone with one hand while running the other hand up and down my back.
Dom stands behind her giving her his silent strength.
“While you guys were away, we managed to eliminate some of the threats. We might have pissed off a couple more but that was the plan, we need them to show their hand so we know just what we are dealing with,” he explains.
“What is it, Matthew?” An unsettling feeling creeps over me, I hate when he’s so cryptic.
He pulls up a photo and slides it in front of Jules, the look on her face sends a pain shooting into my heart.
Her head jerks up and she looks at him. “Is that her?” he asks.
Her slight nod indicates yes. “Whoever she is.”
“Who is she?” I ask, needing something other than is that her.
“Jules, baby, listen to me,” Dom grabs her chin. “You’re just fine, baby, I promise you’re safe and I will kill anyone that tries to hurt you. Do you understand me?” He gets into her face.
“Baby, do you understand me, I need you to answer me?” he demands firmly but filled with love.
“Damn it, who is she and why does my daughter look terrified?” I slam my fist on the table. “You are all talking like I’m not here, and I have asked three damn times who she is.” Now I’m pissed.
Jules clears her throat. “Momma, it’s okay,” she says, her tone says she’s visibly shaken.
“She’s the woman that lured me into the alley that night,” she says, her voice barely above a whisper.
I gasp, “What?! No,” I cry out.
“She was the one who said her friend was wasted and she needed my help, she lured me around the corner and that was when they grabbed me.” She wipes a tear off of her cheek.
“She will never hurt you again, do you understand?” Matthew had both of her hands in one of his the other gripped her chin.
“Never,” he whispers.
“You can’t promise that, Dad,” she says still with a tremble in her voice.
“Juliane look at me, I can promise you that and I just did,” he says with such clarity in his voice laced with terror. His tone tells me that he can promise she will never touch Jules again; something tells me he has already seen to it.
“Wait did you . . .” she asks unable to finish her sentence.
“You don’t worry about that, babe. Just know your dad and I took care of it and she will never lure another woman again,” Dom tells her.
Her shoulders fall and visible relief washes over her. I watch her and realize that
maybe she needs to talk to someone, her fears are still evident, she’s still afraid of what is happening on the outside of the compound.
“What about the rest of them?” she questions.
“What about the other men, the ones in the van?” Her voice still with traces of trepidation.
“No idea yet, my love, we have the head of the Kings, this woman, and what is left of the Bowery Boys club,” Matthew informs us.
“What do you mean?” Jules asks.
“Nothing for you to worry about,” Matthew says.
“Dad, tell me what you did, please. I need to know.” The look on her face tells me she knew it might put some of it at ease.
Matthew looks to me, I nod giving him the go ahead.
“We blew up the Bowery Boys club with most of the members in it, there are some members out there still but nothing that you need to worry about,” he explains.
“Wait, what do they have to do with what happened to me?” she asks, leaning more into Dom.
“They were working with Sal and now they are working for John,” Dom relents.
“No more, she doesn’t need to hear about any more of this,” I say standing.
“Let’s go lay down, sweetie,” I say standing, taking Jules’ hand, and leaving the room.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Locke
The look on her face gutted me, my baby girl was terrified when she looked at that photo. It wasn’t like she had a hand in the physical abuse that occurred but if this woman hadn’t tricked Jules into helping her then Jules would never have been taken. I know that thought is irrational because John wanted her, and he would have tried another way to get to her.
It did feel good though knowing she will never harm another person when I shot her, I made sure she knew why.