“Yeah?” I called out, going back to my socks.
“How you doin’?” Poet asked, poking his head in.
“This is bullshit, and I’m about to take Cec and run,” I replied flatly.
Poet chuckled. “Yeah, I had a feelin’ that’s where you were at.” He swung the door open and lifted his hand, shaking a bulletproof vest from side to side. “Your woman, Lu, told me to give this to you.”
“They left?” I asked, taking the vest.
He nodded. “Should be all set up by now, I’d imagine.”
“They better be,” I replied, silently thanking Lu for having the presence of mind to pack a vest and the generosity of giving it to Cec instead of protecting herself.
“We got some of those, you know,” Poet said, jerking his chin toward the vest as I dropped it on the bed.
“Not as good at that one,” I replied, standing to slide my boots back on.
“You’re probably right about that,” he said thoughtfully. “That one’s in better shape, for sure.”
“You’re stayin’ here?” I asked.
“I’ll be here,” he said firmly. “Mack’s already here. Leo’s on his way back. A few others and a couple of older prospects on the gate. We’ll keep an eye on things.”
“Not sure if I’m pissed more people aren’t stayin’ with Olive, or glad they’ll be there to watch Cecilia’s back.”
“Hell,” Poet said, slapping me on the shoulder. “We’ll also have the women here. Your mother-in-law is somethin’ else with a shotgun.”
“Farrah’s not my mother-in-law.”
Poet guffawed. “Soon enough.” He turned and whistled as Cecilia came in the room behind him.
“Put your tongue back in your head, you old goat,” CeeCee teased, slapping his chest with the back of her hand as she passed him.
“I’ll let you two finish up,” Poet said, grinning. “I don’t see you—find me when you get back.”
“Will do,” I said.
As soon as he’d left the room, Cecilia pointed to the vest. “What’s that?”
“This,” I said, lifting it up, “is your newest accessory.”
“Is that a bulletproof vest?” she asked, staring at it like it was going to bite her.
“Just a precaution,” I replied, pulling open the Velcro on the side. I lifted it over her head.
“I thought they were heavier.”
“The older ones are,” I replied, closing the sides snugly around her. As soon as I was satisfied with the fit, I tapped against the front of it with my knuckles. “Okay?”
“It’s bulky,” she said, running her hands down the black fabric.
“You got a hoodie?” She nodded. “Put it on. Should hide it pretty well.”
I grinned as she pulled a familiar gray hoodie from one of the bags. “Did you steal that from my house?” I asked.
“You wouldn’t have even noticed it was gone,” she grumbled. “You have, like fifteen of them.”
“Hey, I like what I like,” I said with a laugh. “Looks good on you.”
“My boobs have disappeared,” she said, looking down at herself. “Goodbye, new boobs.”
I pulled on the neck of her hoodie, trying to peer down the front of it. “Nah, they’re still in there somewhere.”
“We’re all set,” Cam said from the open doorway. The light conversation had done little to relax us, but Cam’s words erased any semblance of calm we’d been faking.
Cecilia turned and knelt down in front of the bags. As I watched, she took out her driver’s license and slipped it inside the neck of her hoodie.
“You’re drivin’ the truck. We already unloaded CeeCee’s car and unhooked the trailer, so you’re all set,” Cam said. I turned to face him. “The rest of us will be on our bikes.”
“Ready as I’ll ever be,” Cecilia said as she got to her feet. “Where’s Mom?”
“They’re at the bar,” he said. “Pretty sure she was changing Olive’s diaper up there.”
“That better be the last time she lays on that bar for any reason,” I grumbled as we made our way out to the main room.
“What?” Cecilia joked halfheartedly. “You’re worried about her doing body shots?”
“If she’s anything like her mother—” Cam said, letting his words fade away insinuatingly.
“Shut it,” Cec muttered, elbowing him in the side.
The next few minutes passed by faster than I would have liked. I watched as Cecilia held Olive against her chest, the baby’s head resting against her cheek. She closed her eyes as she whispered to her, rocking from side to side. Then, in a split second, her expression changed, and she lifted her head. Determination lifted her chin and straightened her shoulders as she handed Olive back to Farrah and kissed her mom quickly on the cheek.
Without a word to me, she strode out the front door. If I hadn’t turned back to Farrah in that exact moment, I would’ve missed the terror in her eyes as she watched her daughter leave. Within a heartbeat, her expression changed exactly the way Cecilia’s had, and her chin tipped up. Even though I’d noticed the resemblance between the two women before, for some reason, witnessing this moment rocked me.
“I’ll bring her home,” I told Farrah, kissing the side of her head with affection that I hadn’t felt in years. Leaning down further, I kissed Olive, too. “Be back soon, best friend.”
When I got outside, Casper was waiting for me at the hood of the moving truck.
“You hold back about five minutes,” he said. “Give us time to take separate routes and still casually meet up at our place before you.”
“Got it,” I said. “You put everything I need into the cab?”
“Everything,” Casper confirmed. “Down to the brass knuckles and the grenade, you crazy motherfucker.”
“I like to plan for any eventuality,” I replied, glancing at Cecilia’s pale face through the windshield.
“Just try not to fuck up my yard with that thing,” Casper griped as he stalked toward his bike. He turned back and grinned. “Be real careful on those curves near the house, yeah? Don’t take ’em too fast.”
I jerked my head in agreement.
Casper’s calm fed my own and I felt myself falling into a familiar zone as I opened the driver’s side door and climbed into the truck’s cab. Cecilia was still staring blankly out the windshield, and I gave her knee a squeeze as I bent down to pull my bag of supplies onto the seat between us. Opening it up, I matched the list in my head to the contents of the bag. Then I did it again as bikes fired up, and one by one, Aces left the safety of the compound.
I checked my watch.
Cecilia inhaled a long breath and let it out the same way, her hands fisted in her lap.
I started the truck and checked the gas gauge. Full.
I checked my watch again.
“Hey,” I said, getting CeeCee’s attention. She was grinding her teeth so hard that the tiny muscle in her cheek flexed when she turned to look at me.
I’d planned on saying something funny or dirty to soothe her nerves a little, but one look in her eyes, and I knew it wouldn’t even be possible. Instead, I reached out and wrapped my hand around the back of her neck and tugged her toward me until I could reach her mouth with mine.
The kiss was hot and deep and desperate and filthy from the moment our lips made contact, and I sucked the feeling deep, letting it set fires under my skin and sharpen my focus.
I didn’t let go of her neck as I pulled away from the kiss, keeping our faces only inches apart.
“Do exactly what we planned,” I said, my voice gravelly. “No matter what happens.”
She nodded.
“Give me the words, Cec,” I insisted.
“I’ll try,” she whispered back. “We have to go. Now.”
I closed my eyes in frustration and nodded as I let her go, the world tilting as I realized that, for the rest of my life, I was going to have a partner that didn’t make promises she couldn’t keep—even if it m
eant scaring the shit out of me.
Chapter 23
Cecilia
Taking a deep breath, I sat back in my seat, shifting a little as the vest I was wearing pressed uncomfortably against my waist. Its presence was more terrifying than comforting, because it reminded me of the large expanse of my body that it didn’t cover. It also told me that Mark’s team fully believed that what we were doing was going to work. I was about to be thrown into a situation that I felt fully unprepared for. I felt like a sacrificial lamb.
As we drove the familiar road between the club and my parents’ house, I glanced at Mark’s profile and got a feeling of déjà vu. How many times had we driven this particular stretch of road, racing to my house to be alone when I knew the house was empty?
“If I get in a wreck, your knees are gonna smash right into your face,” Mark said, nodding at my feet on his dashboard.
“Then don’t get in a wreck,” I shot back, grinning as I wiggled my toes, the sunlight pouring through the trees around us speckling the skin and polish with rapidly changing shadows.
“It’s not me I’m worried about,” he said, reaching out to push gently on my thighs until I’d dropped my feet to the floorboard. “It’s everyone else.”
“You can’t protect me from everything,” I teased, turning in my seat to put my feet in his lap. “This better?”
“Not really,” he said glancing at me with a small smile.
He turned back to the road and I sighed, leaning my head back against the window so the sunlight warmed my face.
“I’ll do my best,” Mark said quietly, wrapping his hand around one of my bare feet.
“Do your best at what?”
“Protecting you,” he said with a squeeze.
“Give me a shot, first,” I said with a laugh, digging my toes into his belly, making him squirm. “If you see things going south, that’s when you can step in.”
Mark laughed. “Fine,” he grumbled jokingly. “Quit ticklin’ me, I’m trying to drive here.”
The memory was gone in an instant as soon as I felt the truck move from the smooth asphalt to the gravel of my parent’s long driveway. Without conscious thought, I reached for him, my hand gripping his thigh.
“Showtime,” he said, his eyes only leaving the road ahead of us to scan the surrounding trees. “Straight in the house, baby.”
“Yeah,” I said, trying to keep my expression relaxed.
We were only unloading my belongings into my parents’ garage to be stored—nothing more, nothing less.
The men who’d ridden to meet us were already parked in front of my parents’ house, and I watched in awe as they milled around, laughing and joking. Tommy made a rude gesture toward my brother Cam, and then laughed like a hyena. My Uncle Grease slapped the back of his head good-naturedly and said something that made Cam grin. My dad lifted his chin at us in welcome from his spot leaning casually against the porch rails.
Mark rolled down the window as we got close. “Should I back it in?” he called.
“Nah,” my dad shook his head. “Grass is soggy as fuck, and you’d probably get stuck. We can carry shit an extra twenty feet.”
“Hey, speak for yourself,” Tommy complained. “I still think we shoulda brought one of those flatbeds that tilt—back up and pour her shit into the garage.”
Cam laughed and nodded.
“This is the fucking Twilight Zone,” I breathed.
“Seatbelt and scoot,” Mark said as he rolled forward and parked in front of the garage.
I followed his order to the letter, knowing exactly what to do. Unbuckling my seatbelt, I scooted across the seat, pulling his bag onto my lap. As he stepped out of the truck, I set the bag to my right and scooted it into the driver’s seat as I climbed down behind him.
“Be right back,” I called to my dad.
“Hey,” Tommy said. “Where you going, this is your shit.”
“I have to pee,” I shot back, never pausing as I strode toward the house.
My hands were shaking as I opened the front door and slid it closed behind me.
“Atta girl,” Dragon said.
“Jesus Christ,” I spat, my entire body jerking with surprise. “I wondered where you were.”
“Wouldn’t make sense for me to be here,” he said from his place beside one of the windows facing the front of the house. “I’m the president, you know.” He grinned and it completely transformed his face. “I’m not expected to help anyone move.”
“Did you see anything?” I asked, glancing toward the window. “Are they out there?”
“Didn’t see anythin’, no,” he replied, his eyes back on what was happening outside. “But instinct says they’re close. Haven’t been wrong yet.”
I sat down on the floor and wrapped my arms around my knees. My dad had been very specific when he told me where to place myself once I was inside the house. My spot between the windows was impossible to see from outside no matter the angle. When I’d offered to hide in the bathroom, he’d shaken his head at me. Apparently, I needed to stay right where I was in case we had to leave in a rush.
Time passed so slowly that I started absentmindedly picking at my lips, unable to stop the urge. After what felt like an hour later, but must’ve only been a few minutes, I raised my eyes to the ceiling when I heard someone walking upstairs.
“Forrest,” Dragon said without looking at me. “He’s in Charlie’s room.”
“Why?” I asked automatically.
“Keepin’ watch,” Dragon replied, then paused. “The fuck?”
Sitting where I couldn’t see what was happening was agony. My heart was beating so fast that it felt like I’d run a mile and the muscles of my shoulders were so tense, they were practically up around my ears.
“Someone’s drivin’ a fuckin’ Hummer up the road,” he said, his voice emotionless.
“They’re not trying to sneak?” I asked in disbelief. I wasn’t sure how much longer I could stay in position. I needed to see what was happening. My family was out there.
“Only one reason a man thinks he doesn’t have to sneak,” Dragon said grimly, pulling a handgun out of the back of his pants to methodically check the magazine. As he pressed it back into the grip, he looked at me. “He thinks he holds all the cards. Stay here.”
He passed me, moving easily as he opened the front door and stepped out onto the front porch.
Crawling on my hands and knees, I made my way to the window, peeking my head up above the sill. I felt like an idiot. Like a kid playing hide-and-seek. But what I saw outside made everything inside me go cold.
Drake Warren was casually climbing out of the passenger seat with a small smile on his face as he paused. Behind him, someone was opening the back of the dark SUV. I held my breath as the person came into view, dragging a body.
I couldn’t see the top half, but an uncomprehending moan escaped my throat as soon as I saw the lower half. Bloody, ripped to shred denim. One black motorcycle boot. One white sock stained almost completely red.
As the man dropped the body and stepped back, I covered my mouth with my hand to keep myself from screaming.
Leo’s cut was almost completely ripped at the seam along his side.
“A trade,” Drake said cheerfully.
“Fuck you,” Dragon replied from the porch.
Drake smiled, making my skin crawl. He lifted his hand and pointed a pistol at Leo’s prone body. He glanced around, and I knew without being able to see them that my dad and the boys had all drawn their own weapons.
“You’re at a distinct disadvantage,” my dad called out, his voice ringing with the high-class accent that he’d picked up in private school. I sucked in a sharp breath at the sound. I hadn’t heard him speak like that in years—not since my last parent-teacher conference. My dad was called Casper for more reasons than I probably knew about, but the most well known was his ability to fit in anywhere.
“About that,” Drake said with a shrug. With a slight nod of his head
, men came from the trees. Ten that I could count, and my view was blocked on one side by the moving truck.
I looked at Leo. Was he breathing? I couldn’t tell. If he was alive, he was in really bad shape. He hadn’t shifted at all from where he’d fallen.
“We don’t trade,” my dad said in disgust.
“Perhaps it’s not your decision,” Drake countered. His eyes shifted to the left. “I’m growing impatient.”
I knew he was looking at Dragon. I knew it, and my stomach twisted so hard that I almost gagged. He was making him choose. Me or Leo. Me, or his only living son.
I was barely aware of getting to my feet and crossing the room, gaining speed as I rounded the wall to the kitchen and headed for the door to the side of the house. I was outside in seconds, and I gulped as I saw the five men I hadn’t counted on the other side of the truck. Without thinking, I strode forward, keeping the truck between me and the men I knew would never let me pass.
I heard the first curse as I rounded the back of the truck and came into view.
“I’ll go,” I said to Drake, holding my shoulders straight and lifting my chin as he stared at me.
I glanced down at Leo and had to swallow back the bile in my throat. What I’d seen from the window was a thousand times worse up close. His clothes were shredded, and from the short time he’d been laying in the gravel, little pools of blood had formed.
“That wasn’t so hard, was it?” Drake said.
“Goddamn it, Cecilia,” Mark roared behind me.
I couldn’t look at him. I couldn’t look at any of them. I couldn’t let the fear on my face be the last memory they had of me.
Drake waved his hand for me to move forward.
“No,” I said, holding my ground. My hands shook. “You come to me.”
Drake laughed and stepped toward me, away from Leo. As soon as he was close, his hand snapped out and grabbed me by the hair.
“Thank you for making this easy,” he said in my ear as he stepped in behind me. “I would have rather had you both, but once you’re gone, it’ll be easy to get little sister back. The courts put a lot of stock in blood relatives, you know.”
I kept my eyes down and refused to react as he pulled me backward toward his SUV. He’ll never get Olive. Even if it all went to shit, Mark would make sure of that.
Craving Cecilia Page 29