by Ambere Sabo
He hugs me around the waist for a few minutes, before pulling back. “Thank you, Reine. You have no idea how much it means to me to hear you say that.” Casting his eyes to Venom he points and orders, “You. You didn’t see shit.”
I can’t help but laugh at that. Men. “Now, take this beautiful girl to get some sleep,” he tells Venom, and so he does.
Chapter 17
Venom
I can’t remember the last time I simply slept with someone in my arms. I’m usually the fuck ‘em and leave ‘em type, but this girl has got me doing all sorts of shit out of the norm for me. As long as she never asks me to buy tampons for her, I’m good. That’s a hard limit for me—ain’t gonna ever fucking happen.
We’re going to The Reapers’ clubhouse today, and everyone is on edge. We have a couple of the members heading out with us just in case shit goes south. Reine is convinced that Wraith is a good guy and was faithful to her pops. I really hope she’s right, but I am definitely down to handle shit, if it comes to that. But fuck if I want anything to happen while she’s there.
We’re all waiting for her to bring her sexy little ass downstairs so we can head out. Always waiting on a woman. Chicks.
“Venom go up there and make sure she’s good. We need to hit the road,” Rodeo comments.
I know he wants to get there sooner rather than later. We're likely to run into fewer members that way. I nod at him before heading up the stairs. When I make it into my room, she’s sitting on the edge of the bed staring out the window lost in thought.
“What’s on your mind, baby?”
She doesn’t acknowledge I’ve entered the room, but responds, “What if I’m wrong Venom?”
“Wrong about what?” I question, coming up beside her. I’m not sure where her head is this morning, so I don’t want to assume anything. I know what they say about making assumptions, and I don’t wanna look like an ass.
“Wraith. What if he’s in on this? What if they all are?” she whispers, finally turning to look at me.
“Well, there’s only one way to find out, babe. Unfortunately, that means putting our cards on the table. You sure I can’t convince you to stay here?”
Her face flashes from concern to irritation with a quickness. I put my hands up in defeat. “Hey, you can’t blame a guy for trying.” That earns me a small smile.
I pull her up from the bed, and my lips find hers. I let her lead the kiss, getting her frustrations and fears out. My hands wander down her body, and I pull back breaking the kiss.
“What’s wrong?” she asks searching my eyes.
“So, you do own pants,” I say with a grin. “I thought I was going to have to make one of the club whores go shopping for you, so I wouldn’t have to watch another motherfucker check your ass out in those damn shorts you love.” She laughs, and it's music to my ears right now.
I know I’ve gotten her out of her mood when she swats at my arm, “Of course, I own jeans crazy! We may live in Texas, but it still gets cold for a bit.”
“Well thank God for the weather,” I chuckle as she swats my arm again. On a sigh, she says, “Come on, let’s get this shit over with.”
I grab her hand, and we walk down the stairs together. The brothers all keep their mouths shut when we reach them, and I’m thankful for that. They know how hard this is for her. Hell, no matter how fucked up it is, The Reapers are her family.
Havoc pulls her in for a bear hug, whispering something in her ear as I walk over to Prez.
“She okay?” he asks me.
“Yeah, she’s a tough chick. She’ll get through this,” I assure him. He nods before turning to the room.
“Let’s roll out,” he commands.
We glance at each other, then nod and follow him out.
The ride to The Reapers’ clubhouse takes just over thirty minutes. When we roll up to their front door, Gunner, our Road Captain, is out front followed by Havoc and me. Prez and Reine are in the middle with Rev and Dash behind them. A few prospects bring up the rear.
There’s no masking the sound of ten bikes as we arrive. Their Road Captain, Gears is on the porch sitting with Wraith and a few members I don’t know. All of them have semi-automatic weapons trained on us. As soon as Reine has her helmet off, they lower their arms. Thank fuck.
“Cessy,” Wraith hollers as he walks over to wrap her in a hug. My body is on edge. I don’t like anyone touching her but me. Especially when we don’t know if he is trustworthy.
“I wondered where you’d been, baby girl. We haven’t seen you around the clubhouse very much these days. Want to tell me why you needed an entourage of Sons to come home?” he says gesturing at all of us.
“They’re here in case shit goes south,” she answers honestly.
Confusion crosses his face. He doesn’t seem to know what she could be talking about. He keeps his hand on her shoulder as he gazes at her, probably trying to figure out what the hell is going on.
I want his hand off of her. I climb off my bike and stroll over to the reunited pair. When I tuck her into my side, Wraith looks between the two of us, still confused as fuck. When she nods her head, he looks like he wants to take my head off as understanding finally crosses his face. Thankfully, Rodeo comes over to joins us.
They shake hands. “Rodeo, long time no see man! He one a yours?” he asks tipping his head in my direction. Like he doesn’t already know by the cuts we all wear.
“He is. Wraith this is Venom, our club Enforcer.” He didn’t need to add that into my introduction, but I’m thankful he did.
“Alright then,” he says tensely. “What brings you to our neck of the woods?”
“I think we need to talk in private, man. Cessy has asked for our help in a matter that I believe you need to be made aware of,” Rodeo tells him.
Hurt flashes across his face with the knowledge that she came to us instead of her pops’ club, but he nods, “Alright let’s go to church.”
Havoc, Cessy, Prez, and I follow him through to the back of the clubhouse.
He turns around realizing Havoc, and I are still following. “I take it y’all are coming too?”
“That a problem?” I growl out.
Reine puts her hand on my shoulder trying to calm me down, when Prez replies with a chuckle trying to lighten the mood., “Yeah, these fuckers won’t let her out of their sight. If you want one of your brothers inside with us, I understand, but we mean no ill will.”
Wraith looks at Reine before answering, “No, we’re good. If she trusts you with whatever the fuck this is, I will too.” He ushers us into the room. We settle into borrowed seats around The Reapers’ table.
Reine sits protectively in my lap as I stare down her pops’ VP. Rodeo is going to lead this meeting like Reine insisted. She only came because Wraith would trust the information more if she were present. She also knows how to explain the missing money better than we can, and he’ll want to know details.
“Alright what’s going on?” Wraith asks as he sits down.
“We have a lot to talk with you about. Some of it you won’t like, but know that the only reason we’re giving you the courtesy of telling you is that Cessy trusts you. Regardless of your opinion, the plan to take care of this is already set in motion,” Rodeo tells him.
Wraith bristles at the bluntness of Rodeo’s words, but there’s really no other way to go about this right now. Hell, I don’t think The Reapers even deserve the courtesy.
“Well then, fucking out with it,” Wraith grumbles. My girl reaches over and puts her hand on his trying to calm him just like she did me. He relaxes a bit at the contact, but I fucking hate it.
Rodeo begins—telling him about the money Hawk realized was missing, handing him Reine’s detailed receipts of what the club brought in versus what Loki has been delivering.
Then he explains how the trail led us to Martinez or Caine, explaining his connection to not only the cartel, but Davis as well. The rage that comes across his face with Davis’s name makes me thi
nk that maybe this fucker can be trusted after all. Other than a muttered curse, Wraith sits silently through the sharing of information.
Finally, Rodeo tells him about the warehouse and what we fear is happening in its depths. He’s been around just as long as Rodeo, if not longer, so he knows all about the warehouse. But he apparently didn’t know that Loki had acquired it.
With that piece of information, Wraith’s leaps out of his chair, flipping it over as he bellows, “I’m going to fucking kill him.”
“No,” Reine exclaims. Then she’s out of my lap and in his space. “If something happens to him, we could lose the girls. We have to save them, Wraith,” she pleads, with tears shimmering in her eyes. She grabs his arm trying to stop him from storming out.
Wraith glances at her hand on his forearm. There is so much rage rolling off of him that Havoc and I are both on our feet. He levels us with a glare. “I would never fucking hurt her, you fucks,” he yells.
“They know that Wraith,” she says trying to calm him, all while shooting a glare at us to back off. Havoc sits back down, but there’s no way in hell that I am backing down. She looks at me, pleading with her eyes, so I do the best I can and sit on the edge of the table. Still close enough to grab her if something pops off.
“Why didn’t you come to me?” he asks, the hurt evident in with the waver in his voice. “I would’ve helped you, Cessy. I will always help you. You’re family, no matter what.”
“I didn’t know who I could trust,” she admits, looking down at her feet. “We still don’t know who else might be working with Loki, and I didn’t want to come in here and accuse him of anything without proof. You know the chaos that could’ve caused without something to back it up.”
He tilts her chin, so she’s looking up at him. I really hate how he keeps touching her, and I can’t help the growl that escapes me. He looks over at me with a glare, but doesn’t remove his hand from her face, “I understand why you did it, honest I do. But it doesn’t mean I have to like it.” When she nods her head in understanding, he steps away from her.
He begins pacing back and forth along the length of the chapel. “So, what do we do now?” he asks Rodeo.
“We need to know who’s working with him,” Rodeo says.
“Ok, I can find that out. You gonna let me in on this plan of yours to handle one of mine or what?” he snaps.
Rodeo looks to Reine, and she nods her head. Over the next two hours, we go over the plan we’ve put in place. After changing a few things here and there with Wraith’s input, I think we’ve prepared for everything.
Famous last words, right?
Chapter 18
Cessy
Pushing back the raid on the warehouse by almost a week is driving me out of my fucking mind! What if they move girls while we wait? What if they know we’re coming? What if we don’t get them all out? What if something, anything goes wrong? Even with all the chaos at Blue Bells tonight, I can’t keep from worrying.
A lot of extra guys are in the area, with all the other chapters sending in more brothers than any of us expected. They’re just as enraged about the possibility of girls being held in those cells as we are. The clubhouse is packed, and too much testosterone is never good. So they’ve been letting off steam at Blue Bells, making for a crazy, busy week. They’re all more than ready to get everything handled in the morning and head back to their homes.
As I count tonight’s profits, I worry over what tomorrow may bring. I hope my gut is wrong and there are no girls in that warehouse. But I won’t believe it until I see it for myself. Of course, I’m not allowed to go into the warehouse with the guys. I have to wait until they clear the warehouse of anyone who could harm me or any other female being held. They did their best to keep me from coming along at all when they go tomorrow. But fuck that! If there are girls in those cells, they aren’t going to want to go anywhere with a bunch of fucking bikers.
Rodeo agrees with me on that, and it’s the only reason I’m even being allowed within a mile of that place. Venom’s not happy about that, and he is currently back to his broody self in the bar. I don’t even care at this point, I just don’t want to fight about it right now. Our focus needs to be on getting anyone and everyone out of the warehouse safely, not on where my ass will be.
I finish counting the drop for the night. Wraith didn’t want to create suspicions by not letting Loki continue to pick up the money. Luckily for me he already let me know he wouldn’t be coming tonight. Thank fuck! I don’t know how much longer I can continue to pretend I don’t want to put a bullet in his fucking head.
After I put the money in the safe, I take my time straightening out my desk and locking up the office before heading out to the bar. Venom is in his usual spot waiting for me, spinning a shot glass on the bar. A bottle of our tequila sits in front of him. Tension rolls off him in waves that I can feel from across the room—they are nearly visible like the Texas heat rising up off the sidewalk in those shimmery undulations in the middle of summer. I really hope he isn’t geared up for a fight. Sucking in a deep breath to steel myself for a possible confrontation, I walk over to the bar and grab a shot glass. If we’re going to have it out about this again, I’m going to need a drink.
I stand in front of him, the bar between us, and pour myself a shot. He’s been aware of my presence since I left the office, but he still hasn’t said anything to me. He just watches me with his chocolate brown eyes that truly are the windows to his soul. He doesn’t realize it, but I can always tell his mood just by looking in his eyes, like my own personal Venom mood ring.
Right now, all I see is sadness in them, and it kills me that I might be the reason it’s there. I take my shot watching him the whole time, trying to gauge how this conversation will go. The guys have been so caught up in planning and worrying about me, that they have forgotten if this goes south and something happens to them, I may lose my mind. I can’t lose anyone else; I won’t. After placing my glass on the bar, I pour us each a shot.
“Look, I know you’re not happy about tomorrow, but I already promised to stay out of the way until it’s time to get the girls out. I need to know you’re all safe. Please don’t take this from me, Venom,” I plead with him. He doesn’t respond for what feels like forever. Then he lifts his shot glass in the air and waits for me to do the same. No toast is said but we take our shots, and I continue to wait for him to say something, anything.
“Do you know why I never used to come here to Blue Bells?” he asks. I’ve wondered about it. I shake my head no. I’m not sure where he’s going with this, so I’ll just let him get it out. “Emily was the first girl I ever gave my heart to.”
“Emily?” I ask confused.
“Tempest is Emily,” he responds. Well, fuck. That would’ve been a nice bit of information to have before now.
“We were young and stupid, but I thought the sun rose and set for her. I knew she had taken a job here, but I thought she was just a waitress. That’s what she told me anyway. After a month or two, she started working damn near every night. And when she wasn’t working, she was always too busy with school and shit, or so she said.” He watches the spinning of his now empty shot glass on the glossy surface of the bar.
Jealousy roars through my veins at the thought of him caring about someone before me. But even stronger than the jealousy, is the pain I feel in my heart as it hurts with him. I want to reach out to him and wipe the sadness from him. But I am afraid if I do, he will stop speaking.
“I came up here one night to surprise her. That day, we had spent the entire day at the lake. Then she had to come to work. I just wanted more time with her. A few of the brothers were headed this way for a few drinks, and I decided to tag along and bring her home with me at the end of her shift.”
I shake my head, imagining what he saw when he arrived that night. Most girls here never stay just waitresses, and Tempest certainly hadn’t. And knowing Venom’s protective streak with me, I couldn’t even picture what finding ou
t his girlfriend stripped would do to him.
He takes a deep breath and continues, “When I got here, I couldn’t find her anywhere, so I asked one of the waitresses where she was. At first, she didn’t know who I was talking about.” He shakes his head at the memory replaying in his mind.
“She had to ask another waitress who I was talking about. When she told me that she was in the VIP room giving a private dance, I asked why a waitress would be giving anyone a fucking dance, and she laughed at me.” His fingers wrap so tightly around the shot glass that I am certain it is going to shatter between his fingers. The sadness has been firmly replaced by rage. I want to say something to soothe him, to make it better. But what the hell could I say that would help?
He slams the shot glass on the counter, startling me with the sharp sound. His voice is a quiet contrast to the loud sound the glass made on the bar. “I lost my shit on her, and grabbed her by the arm. I didn’t think it was fucking funny that my girlfriend, who I thought was a waitress was giving anyone a private dance. That’s when the girl let me know Emily had started dancing as Tempest almost a month before. I don’t think I had ever been as angry as I was at that moment, she hadn’t said anything to me about dancing.”
I pour him a shot, figuring he needs it. He tosses it back then continues. “I headed straight back to the VIP room with all intentions of dragging her out of here and figuring out what to do.” He drags his fingers through his hair, gripping the ends and pulling hard enough that I’m sure it hurt, but he didn’t even wince in pain. “But nothing could’ve prepared me for what I saw in that fucking room,” he stops with that.
I’m pretty damn sure I know what he saw because I’d found out about the VIP room too. My heart broke for Venom. I don’t think I’ve ever wanted to kill anyone more than I do Tempest right now. Hell, if Loki hasn’t already.