by Marie James
“I can’t wait until you turn eighteen,” I rasp in her ear before kissing her forehead quickly. “Keep that pussy warm for me.” She gasps loudly at my words.
I walk away from her, but not before having to adjust myself in my jeans. Why the fuck did I just say something like that to her?
“You ready?” BT asks as I near his table.
“Yeah, man. Let’s go,” I say getting up from the table.
“Thank fuck. I have to get out of here before I do something that lands me in jail.”
Chapter 23
I wanted to make sure he knew just how much I wanted him before he left. I wanted him thinking of me while he was gone. I didn’t take Emmalyn’s advice about leaving Kid alone and not taunting him. He was leaving for who knows how long, heading to Sin City. I’ve never been to Vegas but it is common knowledge that it’s an ‘anything goes’ type of city. Hookers, drugs, gambling.
I know he has options. Hell, he has options here at the house, but I had to let him know that I was an option also. We haven’t talked about us. I have no clue if we’re even in a relationship. It feels that way to me, but he’s not very verbal about where I stand with him, and that makes me nervous. I know I will be heartbroken if he messes around with another woman, but I’m not even sure if I have the right to get upset if he does.
I came to my room after breakfast. Emmalyn seemed deep in conversation, that I could tell was turning very sexual with Kincaid, so I knew they wouldn’t be around for a while this morning. I have no transportation, so I have no real way to leave and just get out of the clubhouse. I could walk, but that idea doesn’t appeal to me in the least.
I pull out my disconnected phone and pull up my pictures. With Kid gone, I seem to be a glutton for punishment. I smile sadly as I swipe through the pictures of Alec. I miss him terribly. I miss the easy conversation we had. I’m able to talk to Kid, but it’s different than talking with Alec. The sexual tension between Kid and I is always waiting to bubble to the surface, and that adds an extra layer of stress.
I try to imagine a conversation with Alec if he could see the situation I was in right now. I know he’d tell me I’m moving too fast. He’d urge me to find out more about not just Kid, but the MC as well. He’d want me to actually be safe rather than just feeling safe around Kid. I’d argue that I have pretty decent instincts on judging people and I’d all but guarantee my safety with Kid. Physical safety anyways; I have no idea how safe my heart is at this point.
A hard knock on my door draws my attention away from my phone.
“Come in,” I say figuring Emmalyn is coming to check on me.
Snatch swings the door wide as if he’s making some sort of grand entrance. The flare of dramatics makes me smile.
“Kid told me to grab you a phone,” he says handing me a bright orange bag.
“Thank you,” I tell him reaching my hand out to take it from him.
“I programmed everyone in the club’s number in there in case you need it.”
“I appreciate it,” I say as I open the bag, then the box that the phone is in.
“Unlimited data, minutes, texting and all that good shit,” he informs me.
I smile and power on the phone.
“Umm, Khloe?” I look up at him.
“I wouldn’t send any… you know… naked pictures to Kid. Since you’re still under eighteen and the information bounces off all sorts of cell towers before it makes it to your destination, it could possibly be considered child pornography in some states,” he warns.
I stare at him, mouth agape.
I never even considered sending Kid naughty pictures, but I’m grateful for the warning. The threat of getting in trouble, or worse yet, getting Kid into trouble, is enough to keep me from ever sending naked pictures.
“I know your phone was much older,” he says walking closer to the bed. “Let me show you where everything is on here.”
I smile up at him, grateful for the offer, and hand him the phone.
“You’re not afraid of me anymore, are you?”
I huff a laugh. “Nope.”
He raises an eyebrow as if saying everyone is terrified of him.
I tilt my head a little. “Snatch, I’ve seen you dance and sing to Justin Bieber and Jason Derulo. That doesn’t really help you maintain the scary guy image.”
He laughs heartily, holding his stomach as if he’s pained by the action. “Yeah,” he finally says. “I guess you’re right.”
He quickly shows me some of the features on the phone and then leaves me to fiddle with it on my own. Everyone that I’ve had interactions with here has been very helpful. I know many motorcycle clubs aren’t like this. If they were, the stereotypes that seem like common knowledge to everyone wouldn’t exist.
I smile picturing Alec here. He would be in hog heaven with all of the handsome guys around. I know he’d crush hard on Snatch since he had a thing for tattoos and piercings. We’d sit on my bed for hours on end and gossip about the men. My heart clenches when I’m reminded that I’ll never have that again. My best friend is gone, and even though my life doesn’t feel as helpless as it did a few weeks ago, there is still a huge hole where Alec had once been.
I climb off my bed and wipe a tear from my cheek. I have to get out of this room and out of my own head before I end up down the rabbit hole of depression again.
The clubhouse is quiet as I make my way out front. I notice the droop to the flowers Emmalyn and I planted days ago so I set about watering them, hoping they can be saved. After completing that task, I just wander around the property, noticing for the first time that there is a magnificent porch on the back of the building. There is a stone paver patio that reaches out into the backyard complete with a huge grill and enough tables for everyone in the club to sit down at and visit with each other or enjoy a meal.
I opt to sit on the porch since the harsh heat of the sun is directly overhead. It’s so peaceful and relaxing back here, and I know immediately I’ll be spending quite a bit of time here.
I close my eyes and allow myself to listen to the birds call out to one another. This is almost as enjoyable as the time I spent with Kid on the dock at his friend’s house. The only thing missing is the lapping sound of the water against the shore.
An unfamiliar ding startles me before I realize it came from the new phone Snatch gave me.
I pull it from my pocket and notice a text message.
Emmalyn: Where are you?
Me: Back porch
I wait for another message to come but it doesn’t, so I place the phone on the table in front of me and close my eyes again. Mere minutes go by and the back door opens.
I roll my head on the back of the chair and look over to see Emmalyn making her way out to the porch.
“I love it out here,” she says sitting in the chair directly across from me.
“I didn’t even know this was back here. I’m glad I found it,” I tell her.
“It’s perfect when it rains,” she says reclining further in her chair. “The roof is tin and it sounds amazing.”
“I’ll have to remember that next time it rains.” I look over at her. “What are you doing today?”
She smiles brightly. “The girls and I are going to Bull’s.”
I gasp. “You’re going to a female strip club?”
She laughs. “Not exactly. Wednesday is ladies’ night. Male strippers come over from Albuquerque and dance all night.”
I laugh at her excitement. “Sounds like a blast,” I say but shake my head no. “Kincaid is okay with this?”
“He’s not doing backflips at the idea, but I’ll find a way to make it up to him,” she says with a wink.
I love how easy things are with Em. She doesn’t seem to see me as a child. If she did, she wouldn’t have just implied she’s going to do sexual favors in exchange for her fun tonight. I feel like a grown up around her, and that’s exactly what I need.
“Well, you ladies have fun.”
“W
e will. I wish you could go.” She scrunches her nose. “Next time we go you can join us. They won’t let you drink, but the show should be just as fun sober!”
“Yeah,” I say softly. “Not really my thing.”
“We’ll see,” she says with a quick wink.
“I’m sure the guys are going to order in pizza and sit around the living room bitching about the women being gone, so you may want to stay out of the line of fire.”
“Are you saying it’s not safe out there with them?” I feel a wave of unease come over me knowing I’ll be here alone with all of the guys.
“Oh, God no!” she says quickly. “You’re perfectly safe. There’s not one man in this clubhouse that would ever cause you harm. They’re protective and chivalrous to a fault. I’m just saying you probably won’t want to listen to them bitching. When we first talked about it a couple of weeks ago, you would’ve thought we said we were all running off and eloping with men we don’t even know.”
“Seriously?”
She nods and a wide smile crosses her face. “I can’t complain though. I got one hell of a private show from Kincaid after that.”
I laugh as she opens the back door to go back inside. “Too much information,” I tell her and shake my head.
“Yeah, okay,” she says with a mischievous smirk. “Like I didn’t listen to your mutual masturbation story yesterday morning.”
“You practically hounded me for that information!” I exclaim.
“I did, and believe me Diego loved it when I did the same thing with him this morning.” I shake my head at her. This woman is nuts. “Later,” she says with a quick wiggle of her fingers.
Maybe it won’t be so bad here while Kid is away.
Chapter 24
“So just four years in the Corps?” BT asks as we cross the New Mexico state line.
“Yeah. Believe me that was long enough.” I look out the window and watch as we pass the red dirt, rock formations, and sage grass on the roadside. “I honestly went in thinking I’d make a career of it, but I found out real quick that shit wasn’t for me.”
“You like what you’re doing now?” He knows all about the work we do with Kincaid. Shadow knows him from when Blade was at Walter Reed years and years ago.
“Love it. Just an all-around better fit for me.”
We ride in silence for a while, which I’m fine with. My head is trying to work through everything that has happened since I pulled Khloe off the edge of that bridge. I can’t seem to pinpoint the exact moment when she got under my skin. It almost feels like she’s always been there.
“So you and Khloe, huh?” I sigh loudly. I knew he’d bring her up eventually. I may have been at the table with her this morning, but I still saw the way he watched us, as if what we were doing was wrong, and on some level it felt wrong to me too.
“Looks that way,” I admit and run my hand over my still not quite familiar beard.
“She looks younger than seventeen.”
I want to ask him if he’s taken a long look at her. She may be small framed but every part of her that makes her a woman is there. The woman has more bodily assets than some of the other girls at the club, even with their enhancements.
I opt for comedy rather than taking the chance of him picturing Khloe’s spectacular breasts in his mind. “That’s because you’re old, man.”
He laughs and nods his head. “Okay, I’ll give you that.”
I feel the need to explain. The last thing I want is anyone thinking I was trolling the high school campus looking for a young thing to take back to the clubhouse for less than pure activities.
“She’s had a rough life. Parents are dead; she’s been in shitty foster homes for years.” I shrug my shoulders, attempting to hide the rage I feel every time I think about that horrible foster dad of hers. “I just wanted to help her out.”
“Never intended to fall for her then.” It’s not a question; it’s a statement. I’m certain anyone who watches our interactions can see how much I care for her.
“Not in a million years,” I mutter and turn my attention back to the landscape that is sailing by.
“No judgement here, man. I’m heading to Vegas for a girl I’ve just kissed a few times.”
BT keeps his eyes on the road and lets me try to work through this shit without spectators for the rest of the trip into Sin City.
***
We head directly to Vegas. The first thing we do is grab a nicer hotel room. The plan is to stay here while we do surveillance. Just because we will be dealing with nasty shitheads daily, doesn’t mean we have to stay in a crappy hotel.
BT plans to somehow lure the SINdicate into loaning him money, so we also have to drive closer to The Golden Dragon and get another room. He has to appear to be on his last leg for the story to stand up.
After securing the nicer room, I drop BT off at the shitty hotel to grab a room there, and I take the car back to the nicer hotel. A quick cab ride later, and I’m walking through the dusty doors of The Golden Dragon. It reeks of stale cigarettes and spilled beer. Why anyone would want to come in here is beyond me.
I walk across the threadbare carpets looking for BT. Spotting him at a blackjack table, I settle in at a slot machine. Not only are the machines some of the oldest ones I’ve ever seen, but even the drink girl also looks a decade or so past her prime. This is not something that would ever happen at a casino on the strip. An attempt to pass this mess off as a Vegas good time would quickly end in bankruptcy.
This isn’t even the kind of place the locals would frequent. This place seems more likely to be visited by the people who are so far down on their luck, they’re here more for the air conditioning rather than the slots and tables.
I have to admit that BT plays a drunk stupid guy really well. I watch as he sways in his seat, placing the most ridiculous bets. Even to me he looks like a target. He clears the table faster than I thought possible, each man getting up one by one as he ruins their luck right along with his.
No less than five minutes after watching him at the table, he’s broke and walking to the ATM. I stay back but keep him in my line of sight. I see a man approach him and escort him into a hallway set off from the side of the teller desk where he was attempting to get money.
The hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. He should have more help than this. I know Shadow said this is his to deal with, but I’ve never gone into a situation so blind before in my life. There are always too many factors, too many possible outcomes in a situation like this to go in with no intel.
I’ve seen two other guys come out from behind the door BT disappeared behind, both dressed in semi-nice suits, both looking exactly the way you think a douchey mob guy would look. It was comical almost.
Just as I’m about to get up and kick the door in, BT emerges with his hands clutched around a wad of bills. Somehow that fucker went from bum of the year to the possessor of at least ten grand in cash.
The next two hours is very painful to watch. BT is able to lose every single penny he got from the guys behind the wall. I’m seriously considering asking him if he wants to play poker once this whole job is over. Seems it would be a very lucrative endeavor for myself.
I’m sure he only has a few hands left so I leave the casino. I have every intention of going back to the hotel and getting some sleep. Last night was horrible and I know tonight won’t be any better. I opt to hit the strip instead. This city seriously never takes a break. I give the evil eye to all of the porn promoters as they flap and whip little cards with bar, club, and prostitution promotions on them. They must sense my mood because they don’t thrust them out in front of me like they’re doing with everyone else.
Walking down the street, lights flashing, half-naked women everywhere, and my mind only holds one thing. Khloe. The memories of her are relentless, and for the first time in my life I don’t even mind the fixation.
We’ll start surveillance on The Golden Dragon tomorrow which means hours and hours of sitting a
nd watching. I actually look forward to sitting with nothing to do but run our story through my head. Nothing like a long torture session to keep me on my toes.
I shoot off a quick text to Snatch to get Khloe’s new phone number and send her a message.
Me: Hey, Sweet Girl.
I watch the three dots begin and then stop and then begin again. She’s either writing a super long message or she’s rethought what she was going to send originally.
Khloe: Hey
Yeah, she deleted it.
Me: What were you going to type?
Khloe: Nothing
Me: Don’t lie to me, beautiful
Khloe: I was going to tell you that I was thinking about you
Me: Oh really? In what capacity….
Khloe: I’m in bed….
Me: Nice!! Send me a picture
Khloe: Can’t
Me: Why not?
Khloe: Snatch said no child pornography…
Me: So you were thinking naughty thoughts about me?
Khloe: Remember the other night?
How could I ever forget?
Me: Yeah
Khloe: Picture that
This girl is going to be the death of me. I turn around and walk back to my hotel, hoping no one pays attention to the rod I’m now sporting in my jeans.
Two weeks and she’s eighteen. I think the second I get her in my arms the way she should be, I’ll never let her go.
Chapter 25
“Wow,” I say walking into the kitchen for breakfast. “Rough night?”
The men in the room are as chipper as ever and seem to be enjoying the clear pain every one of the women is in. They’re all a sickly shade of green with bloodshot eyes, and less than enthused facial expressions.
“Serves their asses’ right for going to the strip club,” Snatch says even though his words don’t match his behavior. I watch as he takes a bottle of Tylenol and a full bottle of water to Snapper. She’s not my favorite person, but seeing her this miserable is painful.