Mixed with Trouble: A CASH BAR NOVEL

by Faiman, Hayley

  Some are terrified and just go limp in their arms, some cry, and some fight. The brothers don’t do anything but hold them close to their chests as they attempt to take them to safety, even the ones who are fighting tooth and nail.

  The women are still in the back of the truck, all plastered against the back, eyes wide.

  “Camille?” I call out a second time once I jump inside.

  “We got company,” someone calls out.

  “Camille,” I snap. “Your brother sent me,” I say.

  The smallest of the women takes a step forward. She’s blonde, pretty, petite. She’s a cute little thing, probably the same age as Lea, but she looks smaller, thinner, and really fucking terrified.

  “Benoit?” she whispers.

  “Benoit Caron, yeah, he sent us to save you all. But you have to hurry because Martel’s men are seconds away.”

  Camille looks to the women at her side, then she takes a step forward. “If Benoit sent him, then he’s safe,” she whispers to the other women.

  “Hurry up,” Snake shouts.

  The girls start to run just as headlights shine into the back of the truck. “Get them to the van, now,” Snake shouts.

  I hear the tires squeal as the SUV full of soldiers comes to a halt. Camille practically throws herself at me, and the other girls follow close behind as we hunch down and run before jumping out of the truck.

  Landing on the soft mud shouldn’t hurt, but I hiss as tingles splinter throughout my ankles and calves. The girls fall around me just as I hear a gun blast somewhere ahead of us.

  “Run to the van,” I call out as I continue to keep Camille close and run.

  Once we reach the van, I toss her inside then help the other three girls in. “Get them the fuck out of here,” I shout to Houston who is already in the front seat.

  Slamming the back of the doors closed, I slam my palm down and let out a sigh of relief when he punches the gas and the van lurches forward. Spinning around, I point my gun toward the SUV with men who are now all out and scattered around.

  “Caron,” I shout.

  “On it,” he calls out from the crowd.

  I watch as slowly each of Martel’s soldiers fall, one-by-one. I let out a few rounds, hitting one guy in the chest and grinning when he goes down. Sick motherfuckers. When the smoke settles and it’s just the Devils and Caron left standing, we all take a collective breath.

  “Got her in the van, she’s on the way to our clubhouse,” I say, turning to face Caron.

  He nods his head, all tension leaving his body, his shoulders immediately relaxing. “I owe the Notorious Devils my life,” he says, the French accent a bit thicker than the other day.

  “And we will take you up on your debt,” Snake announces.

  Caron looks back at the bullet hole-riddled SUV, then I watch as he spits on it. “Fuck Martel, the sick fucking bastard,” he says in French.

  I chuckle at his words, then lift my chin toward the waiting truck. One of the guys brought his pickup truck, just in case there wasn’t enough room in the van for the people being transported. Since Martel is a sick fucking bastard, and the transport was full of mostly children, there was plenty of room in the van for all of them.

  “We’ll see you at the clubhouse, you’ll be reunited with your sister after we deal with the Martels,” Snake announces.

  “Yes, Boss,” Caron nods, dipping his chin.

  “Pres, you can call me Pres. Fuck that Boss shit,” he snaps.

  Caron’s lips twitch and he dips his chin again. Snake turns away from him, effectively dismissing him. I watch as he makes his way over to the running pickup truck and climbs inside of the passenger seat.

  “Do we have confirmation?” I ask after we’re alone.

  Snake frowns as he looks down at his phone. “Keys and the guys are still rounding them up, we got a bigger fucking problem.”

  My entire body goes cold from his words. I can only imagine the worst when he says that there is a problem. I can only imagine that something has happened to Lea. I shake my head, not wanting to hear his words, not wanting to know the truth.

  “It’s Lea. Let’s get the fuck outta here,” he says.

  Without a word, without asking what is wrong. I run. I sprint. I don’t even see anything around me as I climb onto my bike, start the engine and roar away—toward the clubhouse, toward my Lea.

  LEA

  I’m shaking as my mom, Whitley, Hayden, and Ginger tend to me. The other women are around, but they’re keeping all the young kids away from my blood-covered body.

  I hear a noise coming from the bedroom hallway and I lift my head in time to see two prospects carrying a bleeding stranger away. I don’t recognize him, but I know he’s one of Martel’s men. He was sent here to kidnap me, to hurt me.

  “Is Coda okay?” I ask, not for the first time.

  “He will be, I’m sure,” Ginger whispers, although she doesn’t sound convincing in the slightest.

  Keeping my gaze focused on the hallway, I wait and watch, hoping to see him walk out perfectly fine. He doesn’t, at least not until a new wave of commotion uproots the atmosphere.

  “Oh my God,” Roxanne gasps from across the room.

  My eyes flick to hers, and she’s focused at the front door. Slowly, I turn to look and what I see causes my stomach to twist into something ugly.

  A group of fifteen children walk into the clubhouse, eyes wide and terrified, followed by four girls about my age, their expressions wide and terrified, but also haunted.

  “What the hell?” I breathe as I stand to my feet, shakily.

  Without even asking, I don’t have to, because I know where they came from. There is zero doubt in my mind that these women and children were Martel’s transport. I also know that these men that I have called family my entire life, that they saved them from a fate worse than death.

  This moment, right here—right now, I fall in love with the Notorious Devils as a whole. I’ll never leave them again, not ever. This is where I belong, and Baby’s side is where I’ll stay.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

  BABY

  Laying my bike down, I scramble away from it, not giving a fuck if I’ve scratched it or worse. It’s fixable, Lea may not be. Pushing past the women and children, my eyes scan the heavily populated room until they find her.

  My breath is frozen in my lungs. My eyes burn and swear to fuck, I’m on the verge of goddamn tears.

  She’s alive.

  But she’s covered in blood.

  Rushing through the crowd, I notice her look of surprise, but I don’t even slow down before my body slams against hers and I take her in my arms. My feet are moving too quickly and I can’t stop myself from continuing forward until Lea is against a wall.

  Pushing my body against her own, I cup her cheeks in my hands as I look into her eyes. “Tell me that’s not your blood,” I growl, my voice sounding more animal than human even to my own ears.

  “It’s not my blood, it’s someone else’s,” she whispers.

  My eyes search hers. I look feral, my eyes wild as I look into hers. She doesn’t look scared or frightened, like I anticipate. Instead her pupils dilate and her nostrils flare.

  Lifting my hand to her throat, I press my fingers firmly around the column of her neck. I can feel her heart racing beneath my touch.

  “Do you need me, Tiny?” I rasp.

  Her teeth sink into her plump bottom lip and I watch as her eyes flick behind me, then come back to my own gaze. “I do, Mitchell,” she breathes.

  “Fuck. I need to go to the warehouse,” I state.

  Licking my dry lips, I decide that I can’t leave her in this state. No way in fuck. Plus, my cock is so fucking hard at the idea that she needs me, truly needs me to satisfy her or make her feel alive, or whatever the fuck is going on that I can’t think straight.

  Sliding my hands down her body, cupping her ass, I haul her off of her feet and close to my chest. Without a backward glance, I carry her toward t
he closest empty room. There aren’t many with this whole fucking club being on lockdown.

  Slipping into the kitchen, I make my way toward the pantry, flipping the light on and closing the door behind us. There’s no lock, so instead of propping something against the door, I press Lea’s back against it for privacy.

  “Mitchell,” she whimpers.

  Letting her feet fall to the floor, I press my lips against hers. Slowly I kiss her, giving her gentle and calm, when inside I want to rip her clothes off and fuck her until she’s screaming her head off.

  My lips travel past her jaw, to her neck and then stop right at her collarbone at the same time my fingers gently slip up her shirt, grazing the underside of her tit, wishing she’d gone braless for the day.

  “Lea,” I murmur against her flesh. “I need to be inside of you. It’s probably going to hurt,” I admit. “I got zero self-control right now.”

  She leans forward, her mouth at my ear and I hear her moan. The sounds send a chill up my spine as I pant with anticipation. “Hurt me, Mitchell. I can’t wait.”

  Without further invitation, I straighten my back and look down at her for just a moment. Her face is flushed, her lips swollen from my mouth. She’s panting and her eyes are still dilated as fuck. She looks like she’s about to tear my fucking clothes off and if we were in our bed, I’d let her.

  Wrapping my hands around her waist, I spin her around. “Palms on the door,” I demand.

  I hear her palms slap against the wooden door and inwardly I chuckle at her quick response. Slipping my hands around her waist, I quickly work her pants open, then tug them down along with her panties as far as I can, around her thighs.

  Quickly, I work my own pants open, my cock springing free, hard and more than ready to be inside of its home.

  Unable to fuck her dry, knowing that it wouldn’t just hurt, it would fucking wreck her. I spit on my fingers and slip them between her legs. Groaning when my fingers touch her already wet center, I close my eyes and let out a sigh as I stroke her.

  She pushes back against my fingers as I pump them in and out of her, my thumb stroking her clit. Her head tips back, her eyes finding mine and she grins.

  “Whose blood is it?” I ask, continuing to play her sweet, soft, wet body.

  She hums, licking her lips as her hips move to the rhythm I’ve set. “Some guy of Martel’s. Cut him with a razor I found in your bathroom,” she whispers breathlessly.

  I pause my movements, my entire body freezing from her words. “Don’t stop,” she begs.

  My fingers move again, but I’m no longer thinking about the wet cunt they’re playing, I’m thinking about this man who was close enough to her that his blood is now on her body.

  Lea lets out a moan, then continues. “I used that straight razor to cut his neck, then when that didn’t put him down, I cut his dick.”

  Unable to stop myself, I remove my hand from between her legs and let out a roar as I fill her to the root. Wrapping my hands around her hips, I pull her back against me so that she’s completely full, stretch to capacity, with my cock.

  “Mitch,” she screams.

  “Fuckin’ you for being so goddamn perfect, Lea,” I warn. “Fuckin’ you because I could have lost you. And Finally, I’m fuckin’ you because I didn’t lose you and I want to remind both of us that we’re still goddamn breathing.”

  Rearing back, I pull out of her until just the tip is still nestled inside of her heat, then I surge forward in one swift thrust. She screams again, but this time it ends on a moan. That is how I fuck her, my hips thrusting in and out of her, hard and with precision.

  Sweat beads on my forehead and chest, my fingers grip her hips tightly and I grit my teeth together as I hold back my release. My back tingles, but I bite back my urge to come. I want to stay like this, fucking her hard, for a goddamn lifetime.

  “I need to come, it’s too much,” she breathes, dropping her head between her arms.

  I can feel her legs shaking, the muscles are probably burning, but even if they gave out, I’d hold her up and continue to take her. She feels that damn good.

  “Not yet,” I warn. “Touch yourself, but don’t come.”

  Her fingers immediately dive between her legs and I groan as I feel her nails gently graze my balls. Leaning forward, I bury myself deep inside of her, my lips touching her neck.

  “You’re playing with fire, Tiny.”

  She sighs, trembling against my chest. “That’s okay. I’m waiting for you to hurt me, Baby.”

  Growling, I open my mouth and sink my teeth into the flesh where her shoulder and neck meet. She only mewls at the sensation.

  Bending my knees slightly, I fuck her harder, holding her and hitting a different angle. One of my hands I slip around her and press against her stomach.

  “Oh, God,” she cries.

  “Faster, rub that clit faster,” I murmur against her neck.

  Sucking on her skin, her fingers move faster, my hips matching her speed and before either of us realizes what’s happening, I’m roaring with my release at the same time she’s screaming with her own.

  “Oh my God,” she whispers as her legs completely give out.

  Quickly, I wrap one arm around her chest, the other I keep pressed against her stomach and slowly, I lower us both to the floor. Shifting us around, I press my back against the pantry door and arrange Lea so that she’s sitting on my lap, her face buried in my neck.

  Pressing my lips to the top of her head, I ask her to tell me everything that happened, even though I really don’t want to fucking know.

  LEA

  My entire body feels like Jell-O as I attempt to catch my breath. I inhale Baby’s scent. He smells like leather and grease, oil and just plain him. Closing my eyes, I sigh before I re-open them and look into his blue gaze.

  “You’re okay? Were those women and kids that walked in who I think they were?” I ask.

  He grunts, his fingers dancing up my spine and causing my entire body to shiver. “I’m good, Tiny. Yeah, they’re exactly what you think they are. Hopefully we can get them to safety somewhere.”

  “More shelters,” I whisper.

  He hums, his fingers never stopping in their mission to make me feel so relaxed that I could fall asleep, half-dressed on the floor of the clubhouse pantry.

  “Hopefully Keys can find their families, but we don’t know where they came from, babe. They may not have families.”

  My heart squeezes at his words. I didn’t think, I can’t imagine. Pinching my eyes closed, I try to gather myself before I fall apart in his arms.

  “Where’s Coda?” he asks, his voice sounding a bit strange.

  Lifting my head from his neck, I open my eyes and look into his gaze. He doesn’t look strange, he looks pissed the fuck off.

  Shaking my head, I cup his cheek with my palm. “He told me to hide. I ran into the bathroom and locked myself in. When that man busted the bathroom door open, Coda was lying on the floor, I don’t even know if he’s alive or not,” I ramble quickly, hoping that he’ll calm down and not kill him, if he is indeed still alive.

  Something flickers in Baby’s gaze and he dips his chin. “Okay, Lea. Let’s get up and figure out what the fuck is going on. I’m still waiting on word that both Martels are in our custody,” he says.

  I’m surprised he’s telling me as much as he is. Usually, Old Ladies are kept completely in the dark on things. Maybe because this whole thing includes me, he’s decided to tell me a bit more. I’m not going to question it though, I don’t want him to stop.

  Baby helps me to my feet, then slowly rises to his own. We quickly fix our pants, but neither of us moves when we’re standing completely dressed in front of one another.

  Baby lifts his hand, his fingers touching my tattooed shoulder. It should still be sore, but it isn’t. It’s like my body has been through so much the past couple of days, that this new ink is just no longer an issue.

  “Happy to call you mine, Lea. You know that, yea
h?” he asks.

  Smiling, I lift my gaze to his, my eyes focused on his baby blue ones. “Happy to be yours, Mitchell. Looking forward to so much more with you,” I rasp.

  He nods, almost as if he’s nodding to himself, like he’s made some kind of decision. “This shit is done, we’re making it legal, immediately.”

  My eyes widen, my mouth parts slightly. “It’s only been like a week,” I cry out.

  He snorts, shaking his head a couple of times. “Nah, that’s where you’re wrong. It’s been years in the making, Tiny.”

  He doesn’t say anything else, and he doesn’t allow me to reply. His head slants and his lips are on mine. He seals his desires with a kiss. No matter what, this has always been my dream, even if it seems fast, he’s right.

  We have been years in the making.

  I lean into him, placing my palms on his chest and I kiss him back with just as much passion as he kisses me. Opening my mouth for him, I allow him inside, just like I always will—always.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

  BABY

  Lea and I emerge from the pantry and into the crowded bar. Just when I think we’ve escaped notice, Gracie marches up to us, her eyes focused on me and me alone. She practically runs me over, forcing me to stop in my tracks and tip my head to look down at her.

  “Mom?” Lea calls.

  Before I can say anything, Gracie’s hand shoots out and she slaps me across the face. The whole room seems to go quiet as my head whips to the side. The sound ricochets off the walls. My cheek stings and automatically, I lift my hand to rub the spot where she struck.

  “The fuck?” I growl, whipping my head back to look down at her.

  Gracie’s face is bright red, anger is radiating off of her, but I don’t even know what the fuck I did. Balling my hand into a fist at my side, I try to keep calm. The last thing I need to do is knock the shit out of Lea’s mom and an Old Lady.

  “You bastard,” she seethes.

  “Bitch, you better come up with another reason other than me being a bastard to have slapped me. Been a bastard for years, babe, this ain’t no front page news,” I growl.