Still, losing to her usually involved her gloating, and I liked watching her gloat. Especially if that included her squirming on my dick as she did so.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” he groused, even as he began packing up tools, tools that were black with the work he’d been doing.
Even though I liked to think of myself as being pretty open-minded, it still blew my mind that Lily Lancaster, a woman who’d been born with a silver spoon in her mouth, liked a man who got his hands dirty for a living touching her. I kind of felt shitty for thinking that way, but there was no evading just how different Lily and Link were.
Sure, their names started the same way, but alliteration wasn’t the key to a happy future. And fuck, I cared. I loved Link. He was my brother by choice and that was all that mattered to me. I didn’t like the idea of this bitch coming in, wrecking his world, and just for…
I blew out a breath.
What?
For what goddamn reason would Lily have done the things she had if it wasn’t to cauterize her life from her father’s?
I knew that, I did. Really. But fuck. I was protective. And Link? He had shit judgment where women were concerned.
“Thought I was the one in danger of turning,” he rumbled, still pissed at me. “Or can I just feel your eyes on my ass because it’s wishful thinking?”
A snort escaped me, one that quickly morphed into laughter. The fucker could always make me laugh, even if I was rolling my eyes at the same goddamn time.
“You wish,” I retorted.
“Oh, you’re right. I do.” He puckered his lips and sent me a kiss that had me wrinkling my nose, and Gunner just shook his head before he tossed a greasy rag at Link’s face.
Link, good-natured bastard that he was, snatched the rag, tossed it on the side table where he was working, and asked, “What are you doing here anyway?”
“Lodestar’s hit pay dirt.”
His eyes widened even as he stopped tossing tools into a box. I wasn’t sure why he bothered when he’d be working on the same vehicle in the morning, but I knew my brother had a routine. He cleaned the garage and himself down every evening, so that things would be just so the next morning when he came in.
He’d fought against running this place, and I wasn’t sure why. It was his natural habitat, but I figured it had to do with him not wanting the extra responsibility. He was already Road Captain, and throw this in? A business that had already been mostly made thanks to his fame with custom work? More responsibility, less time to do what he liked doing—boning chicks and partying.
Something that had seemingly changed since he’d met Lily.
Another reason this entire situation blew my fucking mind.
An old dog couldn’t learn new tricks…but was that right? Wasn’t I an old dog? Hadn’t Giulia taught me some new shit? Why couldn’t Lily teach Link something new? Giulia sure as fuck kept me on my toes, so I couldn’t imagine Lily not doing the same for my best friend.
“What? How?”
His urgent tone had me blinking when I realized I’d tuned out of the conversation.
Lodestar was a soldier buddy of Mav’s that he’d met overseas. She’d been recruited by the CIA and did shit I really didn’t want to know about. For some reason, they kept in touch. I wasn’t sure if Mav had boned her, but had to think that if he had, then it was unlikely she’d still be talking to him and willing to do the illegal shit she did for us.
Not that he asked her often, but when we needed her help, it was usually for something bad.
And she always came through.
Always.
“What did she find?” Link demanded, surging toward me, a storm cloud in his face that told me he really fucking cared for Lily. Enough that this was all he could think of. Her safety was as imperative to him as Giulia’s was to me.
“He’s in Hong Kong, which makes Vietnam and Cambodia likely destinations for him if he’s going to flee to countries with non-extradition orders with the US.”
“Okay, so?”
“She’s found some shit that would help persuade those governments to return him to the States.”
His eyes widened, glee filling them. “You’re shitting me?”
“Nope. I promise I’m not.”
“What did she find?”
“Ties to the Triads, more ties to the Fieris.” I rubbed my chin. “Lots of trafficking shit, Link. Lots of Vietnamese and Cambodian women…”
“What about them?”
“You know that shit with China? The One Child Law?”
He blinked at me. “Yeah. They could only have one kid per family, right? Population control or something.” He scratched his head. “I ain’t no historian.”
“Yeah. Well…” I blew out a breath. “Okay, so that’s created a deficit. Lots of dudes, not a lot of pussy.”
Link’s mouth dropped open. “What? He’s transporting women across the border for men to buy?”
“Well, not him in particular. He’s the money man.”
He shook his head. “Why the fuck has he gotten involved in this? He was legit. He didn’t have to go down this road.”
“Lodestar found out why.” I paused for a second. “He and Benito Fieri were in college together. Benito introduced him to Henry Lindenbourg.”
I watched him process that, process a name that was up there with Rockefeller, the Vanderbilts, and the Rothschilds. “I mean, I know who Henry Lindenbourg is, but what does that have to do with anything?”
“Henry is Lily’s grandfather.”
His mouth dropped open. “Now you really are shitting me.”
“No, I’m not. This shit has been tied up for a long time. It’s come full circle.” I blew out another breath, still a bit confused over all this myself. “But it means we can go to the sheriff with what we’ve found without fear he’ll never come to justice. You ready to ride?”
His jaw worked. “More than fucking ready. Let’s take that cunt down.”
I caught his eye. “When he’s on American soil…”
Mouth tight, he spat, “We’ll ride and watch him burn.”
We bumped fists and sealed that promise.
Lily
As I hovered in front of the door to the bunkhouse I knew housed the women my brother and father had abused, a door I’d been trying to knock on for the past three damn days, I bit my lip over whether I should go in to help.
I got the feeling that Giulia, the woman Luke had attacked, was working to help them alone, and I wanted to assist. My family had done this to them, after all. I should be one of the people to do something to make things right.
But I was nervous.
Really nervous.
I deserved their hatred, deserved to have shit thrown at me, and…
I blew out a breath as the roar of bikes suddenly drowned out even the noisiest of my thoughts.
When I twisted around to see where the racket was coming from, I saw about six bikes riding into the yard in front of the clubhouse.
I didn’t know any of them, but as I looked over the bikes and the helmets topping the guys’ heads, I had a pretty good idea which one was Link.
Whether it was the bike or just the fact that it was Link, my body started to overheat, and when the throb of the engine cut off abruptly, I was reminded of the fact that I really wanted to feel that buzz between my thighs one-on-one.
As the men climbed off their modern-day stallions, I leaned against the wall and watched them strip off their helmets, revealing exactly who they were to the world.
When I saw the same men who’d been around the council table the first day I’d come here, I had to figure they’d gone out to do something. Exactly what, I wasn’t privy to, but I had to hope it included my father and his arrest.
Link punched Rex in the arm, which made Rex grab him by the head and give him a noogie. The sight made me grin—Link was such a jackass sometimes. But I got it. Beneath the gruff exterior was a man who didn’t cut himself enough slack.
/> He was like Puck from A Midsummer’s Night Dream. Except, his mischief wasn’t meant to harm, but to distract.
I didn’t think even Link recognized how he acted the fool to make others feel better, but I liked that I was tying myself to a man who did that on the regular. Who thought of others and their feelings before he thought of himself.
What other kind of man would promise a woman no sex until she was ready at our ages? I wasn’t a teenager, I was out of college, for God’s sake. And I didn’t know how old Link was—Christ, how terrible was that?—but I knew he had to be in his late thirties.
That kind of promise was selfless, and I appreciated him all the more for it. Not because I wanted to take advantage of him and what he was giving me—safety—but because it made me want to give him the things I wasn’t sure I was ready to give yet. I just knew when I was ready, he’d be the one I wanted. Just as he’d been that first time I texted him and asked him to come over to Tiff’s place.
The guys strode into the clubhouse, Nyx at their back like a storm cloud. His shoulders and arms were tensed, bunched up like he could throttle something—
“Don’t worry about Nyx. He always looks like that.”
I jerked in surprise at the voice. Twisting around to find its source, I realized it came from the window to my left.
A beautiful woman of distinct Italian heritage was looking at me like she—
My brow puckered. Like she, what?
I couldn’t really make it out. Was she angry with me? Distrustful? Disapproving? Her face was a mixture of expressions, most of them negative enough to make me want to step back because I knew she knew who I was.
Licking my lips, I whispered, “I-I can go.”
“Go where?” The other woman sniffed. “Seems like you’re cornered.”
Was she talking here, now? Or just in life?
I wasn’t sure which option was better.
Fuck, I really was cornered. Hell, more than that, screwed.
“I’m Nyx’s woman. Giulia.” She pushed her hand through the window’s opening and thrust it at me.
Surprised by the gesture, I grabbed hers and shook it. I wanted to do so gingerly because the polite offering and gesture seemed too banal for this woman, but I made sure to give her a solid handshake. Like I’d give any of my father’s associates.
Only by exuding strength and confidence did you show no weakness to a potential foe.
“You’re Lily Lancaster.”
I could feel my face pucker as a whole, like I’d just chomped on a thousand Atomic Warheads.
Giulia laughed at that, surprising me. “No, we don’t like that surname around here either.”
I licked my lips. “I loathe everything my father gave me.”
Giulia arched a brow. “I wouldn’t loathe his millions.”
“Billions,” I corrected. “Each of them corrupt.”
“From what Nyx said, Link thinks you’re waiting on that money so it can’t be that corrupt.”
“I want my mother’s original fortune. Nothing more. Nothing less.”
“You just gonna toss the rest away?” she countered.
“No, I have plans for it.” I tipped my chin up. “Not that I’ll get it now. They’ll probably freeze all his accounts once he’s arrested.”
“When they unfreeze them, what will happen?”
“I have no idea. His stakes go far beyond anything he informed me of. I was the useless daughter. He kept me in the dark about most things.”
Giulia pursed her lips. “You gonna hurt Link?”
My eyes flared wide. “No! That’s the last thing I want.”
“Seems to me you and him are pretty close, and it’s all very fortuitous on your side.”
I snorted, but I wasn’t offended. I could appreciate that she was looking out for Link even if, on this occasion, it wasn’t necessary.
“Nothing was fortuitous about any of this. It was all bad luck and good timing.”
Giulia frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It all started unfolding when Luke set his eyes on you.” My mouth tightened. “You weren’t the first, but I’m glad you were the last.”
“You don’t have a problem with me taking out your bro? Your daddy sure did.”
“He isn’t my ‘daddy.’ He was barely my sperm donor, and even then, sperm donors don’t do to their daughters what he did to me.” Something flashed in her eyes at my words, and I held her gaze, refusing to relent. “My brother was the spawn of Satan. Evil and twisted. I’m glad you put him down, and I’m glad that I helped get these women out of the hell he put them into.” I blew out a breath. “Now, I’d like to help them. Even if it’s just, I don’t know, sitting with them.”
“They’re not that big on communicating, Lily,” Giulia warned with a wince. “They’re mostly on the road to healing now. Of course they’re fucked up, but most of them are internalizing their shit. I think they’re going to need therapy to get them on the right road. Physical healing is only one side of the struggle.”
“True. I know where to find a therapist.”
Giulia tilted her head to the side. “You do?”
“Yeah. She’s my friend. She’ll help.”
“You trust her?”
“With my life.” Tiffany was probably the only person I’d ever trusted throughout my childhood, even if I hadn’t been able to share the worst aspects of my life with her.
Giulia hummed. “Let me talk it over with Nyx first. He’ll take it up with the council.”
I shrugged. “Fine. Whatever. But Tiffany is solid. She’ll want to help. Especially when everything comes out.”
“You sound excited about that,” Giulia mused, her eyes drifting over my face.
“I am. I want to be free of him.”
“Maybe you should unchain yourself from that name of yours.”
I blinked. “Maybe you’re right.”
“Usually am.”
My lips twitched. “Good to know.”
“What’s your mom’s maiden name?”
“Lindenbourg.”
As I’d expected, her eyes widened at that. “Holy shit. You’re a Lindenbourg?” Her mouth gaped as she thought about exactly who the Lindenbourgs were. “No wonder you want your mother’s stake back.”
I shrugged. “I have plans.”
“What kind of plans? To buy an island?” she scoffed, then her brow furrowed and I figured she was thinking about Link.
“To protect myself and any other women like me.” I jerked my chin up. “I’ve been chattel all my life. My mom was too. I refuse to be that anymore.”
“Hell yeah,” Giulia agreed. “Fucking men.”
Despite the thoughts flushing through me, and the rage and annoyance they brought, I had to laugh at that. “Yeah. Fucking men.”
“What did we do now?”
Giulia grumbled, “For big motherfuckers, you’re sneaky as shit.”
“All the better for hunting you,” Nyx retorted, but he looked smug.
Link just looked confused.
Hell, how had they both approached us without us noticing?
I shot him a shaky smile, and though it took more courage than he probably knew, I held out my hand for him. He eyed it, then me, then took a step forward. When our hands were clasped, something inside me sighed, and I twisted my arm under his so I was touching his side.
“You giving Lily shit?” Nyx asked Giulia as he leaned against the bunkhouse wall.
“Just vetting her. Making sure she’s good enough for our Link.”
Nyx snorted. “What did you decide? Can Link bone her with your permission?”
My cheeks flushed with heat at his crudeness, and Link groused, “Fuck off, man. Don’t talk shit like that about my woman.”
Nyx’s brows arched. “It’s like that, huh?”
Link grunted. “Yeah. It fucking is. And you already fucking know it. Stop picking fights you ain’t got a chance of winning.”
Giulia he
ld out a hand. “You owe me a Benjamin Franklin, Nyxy-poo.”
The nickname had me curling my lips inward to hold back a smile. Nyx just grunted, even as he reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. When he slapped a note on Giulia’s still outstretched palm, he looked at me and said, “You’ve helped the club and I thank you for that. But if you hurt Link, I will end you.”
He said it so easily, so casually, that I knew he meant it. And when he said ‘end,’ I knew he meant a whole other verb.
“Well, that really scared the shit out of her. Jesus, Nyx. You need to work on your bedside manner,” Giulia complained, even as she pocketed the money she’d evidently won in a bet.
On us.
What on Earth?
“She’s going to hurt me, and I’m going to hurt her. But I’m also going to make her happy and she’ll make me happy too,” Link rumbled. “Ain’t that what happens in a relationship? Ain’t there good times and bad times too?”
Giulia’s smile was soft, then it turned wicked when she looked at Nyx. “Yeah, babe, ain’t that how shit rolls when you’re in wuv?” Nyx pulled a face, but before he could reply, Giulia continued, “Lily says she knows someone who’s a therapist who might be able to help the girls.”
Link turned to me, but it was kind of awkward because I didn’t release my odd clasp on his hand. “Who?”
“Tiffany.”
His brows lifted. “She’s a therapist?”
“Good one.” They didn’t need to know she wasn’t fully qualified. When Tiff got her ass in gear, she’d be the best. So I hedged, “But she doesn’t have to do it, so she doesn’t.”
“Why doesn’t she have to do it?” Giulia questioned.
“She’s a Farquar,” I answered with a shrug. “In our circle, the daughters go to college, but it’s not really to get a job.”
Giulia made a fake puking sound. “It’s to find a husband? Jesus Christ. What is this? 1820?”
“Pretty much.” I shrugged. “Not for me now though.”
“No,” Link concurred, his hand squeezing mine. “We spoke with the sheriff. Showed him the footage you found. Things are in motion even as we speak.”
A shaky smile crossed my lips. “Good.”
Giulia’s gaze softened on mine once more, then she murmured, “Come back tomorrow. I’ll tell the girls about you. If there’s a problem, I’ll tell them to get over it, but it’s good to give them some time to gel with things, you know? They still jump whenever one of the guys comes inside.”
Forgotten & Found: A Dark & Dirty Sinners' MC Boxset Page 52