by Lilly Atlas
His cock surged, straining behind its denim jailer. Fia smiled against his mouth and rocked her hips into his. Hell, this was the hottest physical encounter he had in seven months and he was in his damned clubhouse surrounded by—
“Well, don’t you two look cozy.” Lila’s voice held a note of laughter.
Fia jolted against him and he gave her a soft, comforting squeeze as he pulled back.
Damn Lila and her shitty timing.
One look at Lila’s smug grin revealed her complete lack of remorse for interrupting them.
Fia’s face was bright pink, but she laughed and gave Lila a hug.
“You guys drinking beer? I could go for one of those.” She turned around. “Want one Emily? Jester?”
Jester shook his head and held up his half-full glass.
Emily shook her head as well. “No thanks. I’m good.”
Lila frowned. “Okay, girl, what gives? This is the third time we’ve been out that you haven’t had a drink. What’s up with—oh my God!” Lila squealed, the sound so high pitched, Acer flinched.
What the hell?
Lila threw her arms around Emily and screeched again.
Acer glanced down at Fia. She wore a radiant, excited smile.
“You’re—”
“Lila, shh,” Emily whispered, placing her palm over Lila’s mouth. “Please be quiet. I haven’t even told Jes—”
“Haven’t told me what? What the fuck is going on?” Hands on his hips, Jester scowled from at least a foot above Emily and Lila.
As clueless as Jester, Acer stared between the beaming women, his head whipping back and forth like he was a spectator at a tennis match.
Poor Emily’s face was beet red and she chewed her bottom lip. Jester stepped closer to her and ran his thumb along her mouth. She released the abused lip and spoke in a low voice. “This is not how I wanted to tell you. I’m sorry. We hadn’t planned for this.”
“Hadn’t planned for what? Woman, if you don’t tell me what the fuck is going on—” Jester’s big body coiled with tension and looked about five seconds from exploding.
“I’m pregnant.” Emily looked at the floor, wringing her hands at her waist.
Jester’s reaction was pure comedy. His mouth opened and closed about three times and his eyes went cartoon-wide. If he wasn’t careful, they’d fall right out of his head. “You’re…holy shit.” He let out a whoop worthy of his size and picked up his woman, spinning her around and laughing. “We’re gonna have a baby? Fuck yeah! Emily, I love you so fucking much.” He placed her back on her feet.
“You’re happy about this?” Emily’s voice was almost as stunned as Jester’s.
Jester bent his big body down and whispered something to his girlfriend. This wasn’t a moment anyone should have been present for, yet part of Acer was glad to see his brother’s unfiltered surprised reaction to Emily’s news.
Her face lost its tense distress as Jester spoke in her ear, replaced by a pretty pink blush.
“We’ll be back.” Jester scooped her up and stalked away without another word for the group.
Acer couldn’t help but smile. Those two had been through a hell of their own and emerged stronger and very much in love. Fia had a wistful expression on her face that sobered him. Did she want that? That happily ever after? The family? Of course, she did. She was a woman.
At some point, he would have to let her go, and sooner would be better than later. He wasn’t going to be her Prince Charming, wasn’t going to give her that happy ever after. He just didn’t possess the ability to do that. That pill was easy to swallow when she first moved in, why did he now feel like he’d be making a huge mistake to let her go?
“This is so fantastic. I have to tell Striker.” Lila darted off into the crowd leaving him alone with Fia.
“Exciting news,” she said.
“Yeah, they—”
“Hey, Acer? Sorry to interrupt, but Shiv wants to see you in the office for a second. I’ll sit with your girl.” Lucky winked at Fia.
Acer tipped his bottle back and drained the rest of his beer. “Duty calls. You gonna be okay to wait for me here?”
Fia nodded. “I’ll be fine.”
He pressed a quick kiss to her lips before turning toward Lucky. “Hands off, brother.”
Lucky made a big show of sticking his hands in his pockets as he smirked.
Acer flipped him off and made his way through the crowd. He missed Fia’s presence even before he reached Shiv’s office. Christ, his head was such a mess. With every fiber of his being, he felt that Fia was ignorant of her father’s nefarious dealings. His gut screamed at him to tell her, he could trust her with the information and maybe she’d have some helpful insight.
But he just couldn’t do it. He had some sort of mental block that refused to allow him to trust her. And that was why he wasn’t good for her. That was why she’d eventually leave. He was far too fucked up to give her what she wanted and needed.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
The minute Acer stepped away, a bit of unease settled low in Fia’s belly, as though he was directly linked to her confidence and safety. At some point, she’d have to cut the cord and learn to stand on her own two feet again. Needing something to do with her hands, she lifted the bottle to her lips.
“So, you think about my offer at all?”
Liquid sloshed its way down her trachea, and she coughed.
A large hand pounded her back, nearly tossing her off the barstool. “Woah, sorry, hon. Didn’t mean make ya choke.” Lucky’s smirk said he wasn’t really all that sorry.
“I…um.” She cleared her throat and blinked, her eyes watery from aspirating the beer. “Um, yeah, I’m gonna have to pass on your offer.” She couldn’t meet his eye.
“You sure? I—wait a second. I’m too late, aren’t I?”
Fia sputtered. Could she feel any more like a kid caught making out by their parents?
Lucky’s grin grew into a full-blown smile, the purple skin around his eye crinkling with mirth. “Good for you, hon. Acer’s a good guy. Since I’m assuming I was a close second choice, I’m going to give you some advice.”
She raised one eyebrow. Somehow, taking relationship advice from a man named for his penchant for getting laid didn’t seem wise.
He chuckled, then grew serious. “Don’t go spinning any fairy tales, sweetheart. Use Acer to work through your shit, but don’t expect a happy ever after. He’s a closed off bastard and doesn’t trust for shit.”
Pop. There went her newly formed bubble of happiness. His words weren’t anything she didn’t know, but she was beginning to let herself drift from the knowledge. Lucky’s reminder cemented the fact that she had to think of Acer as an amazing friend who helped her through a horrible ordeal, but nothing more. Nothing permanent. “He’s your brother. Why are you telling me this?”
He shrugged. “I like you. You’ve been through enough; you don’t need a broken heart to top it all off.”
Smart advice.
She wouldn’t be here all that much longer. Each day she felt more equipped to handle life. She was able to work from Acer’s apartment but it would be more convenient in her own space. If she didn’t leave soon, she was bound to start dreaming of those fairy tales Lucky mentioned. “I’ll keep it in mind.”
“You do that, hon. Since you gave me the brush off—are you fucking kidding me?”
Fia followed Lucky’s gaze to two men who looked about ready to rip each other’s throats out. One was huge, nearly Jester’s size, and the other not much smaller. The bigger guy swung a meaty fist in a wild arc that came close to taking out an innocent bystander. The smaller of the men laughed and curled his upturned hands in a bring-it-on motion.
“Shit, I hate to leave you alone but I need to help break that up before it explodes.”
Uh, yeah, he did, before someone was seriously injured. “Go, go. I’ll be fine.” She gave him a gentle shove.
Lucky dashed off, grabbing the smaller man ar
ound his chest a fraction of a second before the man’s fist would have collided with his opponent’s face. Thankfully, a few men latched onto the bigger man as well.
She sucked in a breath and rolled her shoulders. Lucky would be back in a second, and Acer shortly after that. She’d be alone for a few moments at most. Nothing to freak out about.
Fia shifted her attention to the oblivious and intoxicated dancers, blissfully unaware of the ensuing fight just steps away. Sitting a stone’s throw from men attempting to demolish each other didn’t help her nerves. She needed something else to focus on.
She was so absorbed watching a woman who had to be an exotic dancer use a man like a stripper pole, she didn’t notice when a large, leather-bound biker approached. He had an MC cut, like Acer’s but the patch said Hermanos de Sangue. What did that mean? She shoved the cobwebs aside and dug back to high school Spanish. Brothers in blood, or something like that?
“What’s a pretty chica like you doing over here all by yourself? Want some company?” He spoke loud to be heard over the pulsing music.
Not from you. Old Fia’s retort was on the tip of her tongue, but New Fia’s fear clogged her throat and rendered her mute.
“Aww, you shy, princesa? Don’t worry, I’m real good at getting women to open up.” He leaned close, until his face was level with hers and he rested his hands on the bar on either side of her body.
She was caged in, couldn’t escape without touching him. The uninvited tightening in her chest was instantaneous. Her eyes flooded with tears and her muscles trembled. She wanted to scream at him to back away, but it was though a hand squeezed her windpipe, cutting off her air and ability to vocalize.
“Speechless, huh, princesa?” He ran a hand up her thigh, the touch enough to kick her into action.
“N-no! Don’t t-touch me.” She tried to smack his hand away, but the quaking of her muscles made it impossible to put any power into the action. Her breaths became labored and the man’s image swam before her eyes.
She had to get out of here. She needed to be alone with her humiliation and fear.
~ ~ ~ ~
Lucky swiped at the blood on his lip and shook his head. Leave it to drunk bikers to fight over a woman who charged by the hour. “Thanks for the assist, Gumby.”
Gumby grinned as he ran a hand through his disheveled hair. “No problem, brother. Arizona’s turning out to be more exciting than Vegas so far, ain’t it?”
Lucky snorted. “My face ain’t exactly happy with my decision to move here.” He needed to get back to Fia. She was fun to tease, but she’d been through hell and he didn’t want her to be afraid sitting by herself. Not to mention the beating Acer would give him if she felt one ounce of discomfort. For a man who had no interest in having an ol’ lady, Acer sure acted like a smitten son of a bitch.
“What the fuck’s wrong with you? Jesus, lady, you’re crazy.” An angry male shout of pain rang out over the beat of the music.
Christ, what now? Lucky raised to his tip-toes to see over the crowd and locate the source the shouting.
Fuck.
A biker he didn’t know had Fia completely dwarfed by his size and stance, captive against the bar. Fia was shaking so hard, her stool wobbled. Lucky picked up the pace, shouldering anyone in his way aside to get to her. Just as he was about to yank the biker off Fia and beat the tar out of him, the guy jumped back.
“Fuck. Crazy bitch scratched me.” He held a hand over his right forearm. “Someone needs to teach this puta a lesson.”
“Back the fuck away from her, asshole.” Lucky snarled and plowed into the man, using his side to shove him away from a trembling Fia.
He stumbled back and raised his hands in surrender. “No problem, man. She’s your problem now.” He moved away, muttering under his breath.
Tears flowed down her cheeks and she gasped for breath.
Lucky stepped next to her stool. “Honey, it’s Lucky. He’s gone. Want to come with me to find Acer?”
Fia shook her head, her body still quivered and her eyes were unfocused. “No, no…Don’t bother Acer. Please…I just need to go home.”
Shit. She was about two seconds away from a meltdown like she had in the park. He could not let her leave. “Honey, there is no way you can drive, and Acer will castrate me if I put you on the back of my bike. Let’s go find him so he can take you home. Okay? Follow me. I’ll go first so no one bumps you.”
He turned and took three steps away from the bar before he glanced over his shoulder. That was his mistake. In that brief time, Fia slipped from the barstool and was halfway to the exit.
Fuck! How the hell had she moved that fast when her legs were trembling like they were brand new?
Lucky ran after her, but his larger frame wasn’t able to zig-zag through the drunken bodies nearly as fast as she had. He burst outside just in time to see Fia’s taillights speeding out of the parking lot.
He had two choices, follow her, or go back in and get Acer. He needed to follow. He could call Acer on the way. He shoved his hand in his pocket.
Goddamnit! Could one thing go the way it was supposed to?
He’d stashed his keys and phone behind the bar so he wouldn’t lose track of them after the party got going.
With another curse, he turned and jogged back into the clubhouse. He could see the headline now, Ladies man murdered by his brother for not protecting his woman.
Fuck.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
“Sorry to yank you from the party, Acer, but I wanted to keep tonight’s meeting about Lucky patching over and nothing else. Now I need to ask you about this shit down at the border. Where are you with it?”
Acer nodded and sat across the table from Shiv. “No problem, pres.”
As usual, the No Prisoners’ president had a thick stogie dangling from the corner of his mouth, the rising smoke mixing with the permanent smog of the room.
He hated to mention Fia’s father’s involvement, but it’s not like he could keep details from Shiv. “It looks like my old man and Fia’s old man have teamed up to try and fuck us. After our scuffle at the border, I hacked into Wellington’s emails.” His father’s cyber security was good, but he was better. “He had a shit ton of communication with Terrance Caldwell. Details about their trafficking operation. I pissed my father off when I turned down his offer to shuttle illegals across the border, and I pissed Fia’s old man off when I chewed his ass out about wanting to go to the media. This must be revenge.”
Shiv rubbed a hand over a scar that ran the length of his left cheek. No one knew for sure where it came from, but rumor had it the wound was inflicted when he was in prison. He served ten years for weapons trafficking back when he was in his twenties. It was also how he got his nickname. He’d survived a stabbing in the prison yard. “You gonna make this chick your ol’ lady?”
Acer choked on his saliva. Where the hell had that come from? He cleared his throat. “Uh, no pres, I’m not. She’s just rooming with me until she gets back on her own two feet. That’s all.”
If he said it enough, maybe he’d believe it.
Shiv pulled the cigar out of his mouth. “We’ll see. You boys are dropping like flies.” He waved the cigar. “Anyway, you got a plan to deal with this shit from the rich fathers?”
“I’ve got photos of Fia’s old man with a woman younger than she is. He’s been fucking her and does not want it leaked. It will ruin his reputation, his family, and potentially his business. I’m going to increase the pressure on him, let him know I won’t hesitate to release them to the media. Maybe send him some fake headlines. Make him sweat a little. My old man is a different story. He’s much more cautious with his dealings. I’m working on getting some dirt on him.”
Shiv leaned back in his chair and ran a hand over the new beard growth on his face. He’d been growing it for the past half year and it hung nearly to his chest, the graying color matching his long hair. “Maybe Caldwell will give you something if you squeeze him hard enough. We ne
ed them fucking gone. It’s just too risky to have anyone with a connection to us working the border. Even if we scare them into getting rid of the fake cuts, what’s to say they won’t find another way to pin the whole fuckin’ thing on us if they get caught?”
It was a risk. His old man’s typical style was to throw money around and make problems disappear, but if he was running short on cash, he may look for other ways to keep his ass out of trouble. He needed something big enough to make Reginald abandon the entire project. “Alright, give me a few more days to get a solid plan together. Aside from his sloppy emails to Caldwell, Wellington’s been very discrete. I’ll find a way to drive them out of Arizona. I’m sorry my family shit fell on the club’s doorstep, Pres.”
Shiv shrugged. “Don’t worry about it. If it wasn’t this it would be something else, right?”
“Guess so.” His president’s easy acceptance didn’t alleviate the guilt he felt over his old life’s intrusion into his current life. His brothers were now at risk, a pawn in his father’s games. Just as Derek had been.
“You need more help from the club, you let me know. This isn’t just your problem.” Shiv pierced him with a stern look.
“I can handle it.”
“I know you can, Acer. Just saying you don’t have to do this entire thing on your own. You got brothers.” He raised one eyebrow and removed the cigar from between his lips, flicking ash into a ceramic bowl.
Yeah, he did. And they had his back the other night. He could hand off some of this responsibility to a few of his brothers. It was just easier to do it himself, easier to have control over how much people found out about his shitty family. And the only one he fully trusted was himself.
“Have you told your girl about her old man’s involvement?” He inhaled from the cigar then blew rings of smoke into the air. The pungent odor followed him wherever he went.
Everyone referred to Fia as his. He supposed she was since she was living with him and now sleeping with him. Or had slept with him once. But she wasn’t his to keep. He needed to distance himself a bit, start laying the groundwork that she wasn’t a fixture in his life. “No.”