Passing the Torch (Devil's Knights 2nd Generation Book 1)

by Winter Travers

I nodded. “Sounds like a full day.”

  He shrugged. “Sounds like a fucking draining day.”

  “I can’t remember if you said. Did you know her? Bunny?”

  Hero shook his head. “Can’t say that I did. I’m sure I had seen her before since she worked at the strip club, but I couldn’t pick her out of a line up if I had to. I don’t hang out at Sultry Knights too much.”

  The toast popped up, and I swapped it out with two other pieces then grabbed a plate. I found it hard to believe that a guy like Hero didn’t hang out at Sultry Knights. Whenever I went by Sultry Knights, the parking lot was always packed. “You don’t go to the strip club?”

  Yeah, the question popped out. At this point, I wasn’t surprised at my lack of filter. Might as well just roll with it. Might help me get answers to the questions that were swirling around my mind.

  Hero chuckled. “I’m not there every day, Sunshine.”

  “Every other day?” I quipped.

  He shook his head and smirked. “Awkward and sassy.”

  I worked on slathering both pieces of bread with mayo and then made an intricate blanket on one of the pieces. I slapped the other piece on, mayo side down, and handed it to him. “Eat up. I gotta work in forty-five minutes.”

  Hero took the sandwich and chomped into it with a huge bite. I built my sandwich, twisted the lid back on the mayo, put it in the fridge, and turned back to see Hero had already finished his sandwich.

  “Holy hell, man. Did you inhale that?”

  Hero drained his coffee cup and moved to the pot for a refill. “I was hungry.”

  Obviously. “Do you want another one?”

  He shook his head. “No, Sunshine. I’m good. Just need about two more cups of coffee and I’ll be good for the day.” He filled his cup and turned to lean on the counter. “That was good, though.”

  Well, that was nice to hear. “Thank you.”

  He looked me up and down. “You ready for work?”

  I glanced down at my faded jeans and orange shirt. The word Sunkist was sprawled across my chest. I was a junkie for vintage shirts. “Yes.”

  I grabbed my sandwich and took a big bite. I didn’t know if that was a loaded question or not. I had darted to my room when I had woken up before Hero and gotten ready. I wouldn’t have won any beauty contests, but at least I looked presentable.

  He nodded but didn’t say anything. He asked me if I was ready for work as if I didn’t look like I was ready. What exactly did he expect me to wear to wash and groom dogs all day.

  “Are you ready for work?” I countered.

  Hero choked on his coffee. He swiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “You keep me on my toes, Sunshine.” He wiped his hand on his jeans. “I’m about ready as I can be.”

  Even sleeping in his clothes, Hero still looked good. If I would have worn the clothes I had slept in all night, I would have looked like a wrinkled mess.

  I ate three more bites of my sandwich while he finished his coffee. He set his cup in the sink and stepped toward me. “I’m gonna run, Sunshine.”

  Oh. Okay. I swallowed the bite I had just taken and set my sandwich down. “Okay?” Why did I always sound like I was so unsure of myself when he told me something. Lord.

  He took another step toward me. He was an arm’s length away. Wanna know how I knew that?

  Because he reached out and laid his hand on my waist. The heat of his palm burned through the thin material of my shirt. “I don’t know if I’ll have time to stop by the shop today.”

  I didn’t think he would, but I was still a little disappointed. “No worries. It’s not like Barbara will be there waiting for you or anything.”

  He laughed and shook his head. “As much as I think Barbara is a good girl, I don’t come there for her.” He leaned into me, and his other hand wrapped around my waist. He pulled me close, until my lips were a breath away from his. “You good if I kiss you?”

  Whew, Lord! His words sent goosebumps up my arms, and my heart fluttered. “Uh, are we doing that? Kissing, I mean?” I still didn’t get what we were doing. I mean, if he wanted to kiss, then who I was to tell him no?

  “Only if you’re down with it, Sunshine. I need a green light from you right now.”

  I blinked twice. Hero was taking the lead, but I was still in control. I could tell him to leave right now and he would. “Just what are we doing here, Hero?” I whispered.

  He smiled.

  Sweet Jesus. I thought his smile was lethal before when he was across the room. Up close and personal was out of this world.

  “We really gotta give it a name?”

  I bit my lip. Did we? No. But I wanted to sort of get a feeling of what was happening. “No, but…” Gah. I didn’t know how to get the words out of my mouth without sounding like some clingy woman. We had only known each other for a few days. It wasn’t like I wanted his vow of undying love, but maybe a couple words like “I dig you” would be acceptable?

  “How about we just ride the wave and see what happens, yeah?”

  “And the wave has kissing?” Filter, Reva. Could I please just use my filter?

  Hero chuckled. “Yeah. I hope it has a shit-ton of kissing.”

  “Ditto.” I blurted out. “You know, I tend to not think when you’re around. Especially when you’re this close.”

  He tucked a stray hair behind my ear. “Maybe that’s a good thing.”

  In an instant, he closed the gap between us and pressed his lips to mine. I melted into his touch and savored the taste of his lips. They were soft and supple yet demanding and strong. My hands pressed against his chest and moved up. They wrapped around his neck, and I just held on. I couldn’t remember any other kiss but his.

  It had started off slow and gentle.

  His hands roamed over my back and bunched up my shirt. His fingers touched the bare flesh of my back, and I thought I had melted into his touch before, but now I was basically a puddle on the floor.

  It was hot.

  It was needy.

  It was everything and more.

  I finally ran out of breath and ripped my lips from his.

  “God damn, Sunshine.” His voice was raw and gravelly. “You expect me to leave after that?”

  I stared at his lips and couldn’t string two words together.

  He stepped back, out of my reach. “I’ll call you later, Sunshine.”

  “I, uh.” I shook my head and tried to come back to Earth. “Okay?”

  Hero laughed. He stepped back toward me, laid a quick kiss on my cheek, and then he was out the door.

  I leaned back against the counter and listened to his motorcycle roar to life. Clutching my hand to my chest, I tried to calm the racing of my heart.

  I didn’t know what in the hell was going on with Hero and me, but I knew for damn sure that was not going to be the last time he kissed me.

  *

  Chapter Eight

  Hero

  “Look who’s strutting in doing the walk of shame.”

  I pushed my sunglasses on top of my head. “You sound like a teenage girl.”

  Easy flipped me off. “And you look like shit.”

  “Church in half an hour,” I called.

  “Zig and Zag aren’t here. You want me to give them a call?” Frost asked.

  “Where the hell are they?” I demanded.

  Frost shrugged. “Last I heard, they were heading to Sultry Knights last night to help console the girls about Bunny.”

  I scoffed. Of fucking course. “Find out where they are and tell them to get their asses here.”

  “Something wrong?” Snapper asked. He was sitting in front of the large TV flipping through the channels.

  “You’ll find out when you get your ass to church.” I headed down the hallway toward my room. I pulled my keys out, unlocked the door, and closed it behind me. Then I walked straight to the small bathroom, turned on the hot water, stripped out of my clothes, and stepped into the scorching hot water.

  I
had a fucking hard-on the whole ride back to the clubhouse, and it wasn’t going down.

  One damn kiss from Reva and I was a fucking hormonal teenager ready to go off like a damn rocket.

  I braced my hand on the wall in front of me, the water cascading over my head, and gripped my dick in my hand. My eyes drifted closed. Reva’s sweet face flashed in my mind, and I stroked my cock.

  I pictured her slowly falling to her knees and her sweet mouth wrapping around my dick. I moaned low and sped up the pace of my hand. The thought of her tongue gliding over the tip of my dick, licking a drop of cum, spurred me on. My hand pumped up and down faster ‘til I emptied a huge load of cum on the floor of the shower.

  I panted heavily and opened my eyes.

  One goddamn kiss and she had me stroking my dick like a thirteen-year-old reading his first Playboy.

  Fucking shit.

  *

  Reva

  I walked into my bedroom and stopped dead in my tracks.

  The closet door was partially open, and one of my sweatshirts was lying on the floor.

  I didn’t remember dropping that before. Though, I had been a bumbling fool trying to wrap my head around Hero staying the night when I got dressed. I grabbed the sweatshirt off the floor, opened the closet, and hung it back up. After I closed the door, I pushed it extra hard to make sure it stayed shut. “Stay.”

  Something felt off, but I didn’t know what it was.

  After Hero left, I managed to get a grip and finish my coffee and bacon sandwich. Then I had checked the forecast and saw it was supposed to rain later today and figured I should bring my raincoat along in case it rained when I had to take the dogs out to use the bathroom.

  I grabbed my rain jacket off the back of my bedroom door and turned around to look at the room again. An eerie feeling washed over me. It felt like someone had been in here, but that wasn’t possible.

  When I had changed earlier, I hadn’t gotten that feeling, and there was no way someone had been in my bedroom when Hero and I were in the kitchen.

  I shook it off and closed the door behind me. Then I snagged my purse off the counter and my travel mug of coffee. Maybe I needed to lay off the true crime podcasts I listened to while working. They were going to my head and making me paranoid.

  Harry was sitting on his porch again, and he shyly waved to me.

  “Morning, Harry,” I called. It had been a really good morning beside the eerie feeling, and I felt like I had a little pep in my step.

  “Morning,” he replied.

  I hopped into my car and noticed a huge smile on my face when I glanced in the rear view mirror. Hero had put that there, and I didn’t think I would be losing it anytime soon.

  I still didn’t really know what was going on between us, but it seemed like whatever it was, there was going to be a lot of kissing.

  I couldn’t really argue with that.

  *

  Chapter Nine

  Hero

  “No, Luna.”

  She rolled her eyes, grabbed a chair from the wall, and plopped it down right next to me. “You really think I’m not going to be here for this?” She dropped down in the chair and folded her arms over her chest. “Proceed.”

  This was the first official meeting where I was sitting in King’s seat.

  Luna decided she was going to be a part of it. Right fucking next to me.

  “Luna, come on,” Pie hissed. “What in the hell do you think you are doing?” he demanded.

  She glared at Pie and raised her middle finger at him. “I’m gonna sit here and listen to what you dumbasses are going to do about Bunny.”

  I laid my hands on the table in front of me. “There isn’t a whole hell of a lot we can do, Luna. It’s in the hands of the police now.”

  Luna scoffed. “You’re telling me there isn’t going to be some Devil’s Knights revenge being served up?”

  I tapped my fingers on the table. “That’s club business, Luna. You know that.”

  “I’ve heard that BS my whole life, Hero, and that’s exactly what it is. Bull. Shit.”

  “Luna,” I growled. I could only patronize her for so long. She shouldn’t have even been in here in the first place. To then demand to know what we were doing was crossing the line.

  “You really think King would sit where you are and do nothing? You’re already fucking up, Hero,” she snarled.

  I slammed my fist down on the table. “Talk to me like that one more fucking time, Luna, and find out what happens,” I thundered.

  The guys around the table glared at Luna. She may have been Pie’s sister, but she didn’t have the right to barge in here and talk down to me.

  “Knock it off now, Luna,” Pie echoed. “You can’t pull this shit just because King isn’t here. Hero is in charge, and you listen to him just like you do King.”

  Luna growled under her breath, but she didn’t say anything more. She knew she was crossing the line. I got that she was upset and wanted to make sure whoever killed Bunny was found, but being a raging brat wasn’t going to get her very far. “I’m sorry,” she muttered.

  “You’re not part of the club, Luna. You can’t be in here.”

  Luna scoffed. “Bullshit. My dad has been in more meetings than you can count and don’t even get me started on Uncle Leo being in meetings.”

  Luna and Pie’s dad was Troy who happened to be King’s ol’ lady’s best friend. Their mom, Marley, also happened to be the daughter of one of the oldest members of the club, Gravel. Gravel was also married to Ethel, who was King’s mom. To say that shit got a bit confusing was an understatement.

  “Shut. Up.” Pie was at his wits end with Luna. A vein in his neck throbbed, and his face was turning red. “I told you this wasn’t a good fucking idea, and yet, here you are raising cane.”

  “You know the only reason it wasn’t a good idea for me to come in here was because I don’t have a dick hanging between my legs.” Luna jumped up, and her chair skidded into the wall. “Bunny is dead, and all you assholes care about is beating your chests like fucking King Kong.”

  I cared about Bunny. We all fucking did. Luna’s emotions were bubbling over, and she was ready to blow.

  “Sit down, Luna,” I asked quietly.

  She panted heavily, ready to yell at us again. I was done with the yelling.

  “If you want us to talk to you, then I’m gonna need you to show us some respect and we’ll do the same.” I reached behind me, grabbed her chair, and slid it back next to me. “Sit.”

  She sat and folded her arms over her chest.

  Everyone settled back down, and I relaxed into my chair. Shit was crazy right now, and we all needed to just take a damn breath.

  “We can’t go around demanding answers like we’re the cops,” I started. “We do that and we’re just going to end up on the cop’s radar even more than we have.”

  “I say we talk to the girls at the club. See if they might know who would have hurt Bunny,” Pie suggested.

  I glanced at Luna. “I’m sure you’ve already started doing that.”

  Luna shrugged. “Maybe, but I only talked to a couple of girls last night. Most of them were so upset that they couldn't really get a coherent sentence out. Everyone really liked Bunny. As far as I knew, she didn’t really have any beef with the rest of the girls.”

  “Was she seeing anyone seriously?” Frost asked.

  Luna raised one side of her mouth. “I mean, she was dating, but she wasn’t seeing just one guy.”

  That might prove to be a little harder. If she would have been seeing one guy, we could have talked to him. Now we were going to have to deal with a few guys. “You got names for them?” Pie asked.

  “I’ll have to talk to the girls she normally worked with. She was friendly with me, but I could tell that she always held back a little bit because I was her boss.”

  “Let’s just do this all on the down low like I said. I doubt any of the girls would go running to the cops if we start asking questions,
but we don’t need to be broadcasting that we’re trying to get our own answers.” I sighed and rapped my knuckles on the table. “The sooner we figure out who killed Bunny, the sooner we can lay this all to rest.”

  “You think it was someone she knew?” Easy asked. “Maybe it was just some random shit. Like the psycho walked past Bunny’s place and decided to kill her on a whim.”

  I shook my head. My eyes connected with Frost. “Whoever killed Bunny knew her and wanted her to suffer for something.”

  Frost nodded. “That’s the damn truth. They were definitely sending a message.”

  A message we couldn’t decipher. “We’ll all head to the club later, and we can divide and conquer with talking to everyone.”

  Luna’s phone buzzed, and she pulled it out of her pocket. “Hello?” She held the phone to her ear and pursed her lips as she listened. “Are you sure?” she asked. She listened more and frowned. “I understand, Tanya.” She ended the call and sighed.

  “What was that?” I asked her.

  “One of my waitresses called in. Said she was too torn up from Bunny and needed the night off.” Luna tipped her head back and groaned. “Now I’m short staffed.”

  “Looks like you’re gonna have to wait some tables tonight, sis,” Pie laughed.

  Before Luna had become the manager of the club, she had been a waitress. She had been damn good at it, but now that she was the boss, she hated having to do anything but stand behind the bar and sling a couple of drinks when they needed it.

  “Maybe that’ll be good. Put you out on the floor so you can talk to the girls and not have it seem like you’re interrogating them,” I suggested.

  “Does that mean all of you are going to be out on the floor getting your ass grabbed by horny assholes?” Luna grumbled.

  “Uh, no,” Easy laughed. “I’m gonna grab a table, order a beer, and chat up whatever waitress I get.”

  Frost pointed his finger at Easy. “And that is a fucking brilliant idea.”

  Luna groaned and stood. “I’m gonna run home for a bit and then head out to the club.”

  “You good?” Pie asked her. They may argue and flip each other off an exorbitant amount of times, but in the end, Pie and Luna always had each other's backs.