by Sybil Bartel
Six hours? Damn. “Since when do you need someone to hold your hand?”
“You said you’d call me back.”
“Yeah, well, shit happened.”
“What Stone did is fucked-up. We need to find her kid.”
I picked my head up and stared out at the ocean. “You find her. I’ll pay for it.”
André was quiet a minute. “Look, I don’t know what went down between you two but you’re both in a bad way. You should talk to her.”
“Fuck that, I’m done talkin’.” And chasing. She’d lied, not me. I understood it now, but I wasn’t over it, not that it mattered.
“Randy was looking for the kid.”
I glared at him. “If he’d stayed away from his piece-of-shit old man in the first place, he wouldn’t have put his daughter in danger.”
“He—”
“Do not defend that fucking asshole in my presence!”
André held his hands up. “Fine, bro. All I’m saying though is that Stone found out about Maddie while Randy was on his last deployment. Randy hadn’t told Stone he had a daughter.”
“I don’t need the details. It’s your problem now.”
“Classic. You know anything besides your fuck-and-run routine?”
Motherfucker. “Get the fuck outta my car.”
“What’s pissing you off more? That she had a kid with him or that you think she dumped you?”
“We weren’t together!” I yelled.
André didn’t say shit.
I turned the engine over, cranked the AC and stewed. Shit was all fucked-up in my head.
André broke the tense silence. “I don’t do missing persons. I need a team.”
“So get one.”
“Neil and Roark are on their way.”
“Great,” I said sarcastically.
“You’re my number three.”
“I told you, I’m not doin’ this.”
“Then I’m out.”
I turned on him. “My stupid ass is sittin’ in a car because I’m too much of a fuckin’ pussy to go back to the house where Siren is. You tell me what part of that makes you think havin’ me in on this is a good idea.”
André held my gaze for a second then dropped a bomb. “I don’t know what kind of shape we’ll find her kid in.”
I hadn’t vomited in ten years but right then, bile rose in my throat and I thought I was going to lose it in my car. I clenched my jaw tight and breathed through my nose. “Jesus fuck,” I muttered.
“We need your medical background.”
It never occurred to me that this child could be abused, or worse. It should’ve been the first thing I thought of. Not to mention if Stone still had the kid, what was he going to do with her now? “I got a bad feelin’ ’bout this. What’s Stone’s incentive to keep the kid alive now that Carter’s dead?”
“Don’t know. That’s why we need to move.”
Jesus. I’d wasted the whole day wallowing in self-pity. I threw the car in gear and got my head in the game. “What do we have so far?”
“Not much. Randy tracked a few leads but nothing panned out. He thought Stone had hidden her with an LC but Nicole said Randy had checked every member out and didn’t find anything solid.”
“Siren told me right before Carter died, he’d said he’d found her.”
André shrugged. “People say all sorts of shit when they’re dying.”
Christ, didn’t I know it. “You find anythin’ through your sources?”
“Nicole had her daughter’s social memorized. I called in a favor and got a hit. Three months ago, someone used Maddie’s social security number at a doctor’s office near Lexington, Kentucky.”
I didn’t want to know how he’d gotten that information. “Any LCs near there?”
“Don’t know. I thought you could call Candle and ask.”
I remembered Carter’s phone in my pocket. I pulled it out and handed it to André. “This was Carter’s.”
André looked at the bloodied phone with disgust. “Seriously?”
“Stop bein’ a pussy. Check the call log.”
André shook his head but took the phone. I dialed Candle.
He picked up on the first ring. “You cocksucker, you left her alone?”
Asshole. “Kendall’s a big girl. She can take care of herself for a few hours.”
“If something happens to her on your watch, you’re a dead man.”
“Take a fuckin’ number. I need information.”
“Fuck off.”
I ignored him. “Who does the club have in Lexington, Kentucky?”
“How the fuck should I know? Our chapters are in Florida and Georgia.”
“I’m losin’ patience,” I warned.
“That makes two of us.”
“Goddamn it, Candle.”
“You gonna pull a disappearing act again?”
“Kendall was never in danger.”
He didn’t say shit.
Fuck. “Fine. No.”
“I don’t know who the fuck is in Kentucky.”
“Find out.”
Candle sighed. “If I start asking questions, it’s gonna raise a flag. Shit is heavy over here.”
“Whoever it is, they may have Nic’s daughter.”
“Fuck. All right, I’ll ask around but I don’t need to tell you what Stone’s like. There’s no saying you’ll find the kid.”
My jaw clenched. “Just find out who’s in Kentucky.”
“Gimme a few hours.”
“You got one.” I hung up.
André tossed Carter’s phone in the center console. “Only two numbers in the log. One is the shop he worked at but the other has a Kentucky area code.”
“Fucking call it.”
“Already did. Disconnected cell number. What’d Candle say?”
Shit. “He doesn’t know dick but he’s gonna ask around.”
“If Stone finds out he’s asking…”
Candle was dead. “I know.”
We drove in silence for a few miles and I needed to talk about something else. “You okay with Neil?”
“We’re good,” he said instantly.
“You lyin’?”
“What does it matter if I am? Ariel’s a grown woman and Neil’s the size of a Viking.”
I smirked. “You goin’ soft? You afraid of a little muscle?”
“Fucker is six-six, two-fifty. That’s six inches and fifty pounds of muscle on me. What do you want me to do, arm wrestle him?”
“If you’re sweet on her, yeah.”
“It’s not like that.”
“Bull-fuckin’-shit.”
“Truth.” He shrugged and for the first time, I saw André look unsure of himself.
“What gives?”
André inhaled. “I can’t explain it, bro.”
“Try.”
“She’s Cuban,” he said, like it was obvious.
“So?”
“She’s like blood, man. I feel responsible for her. I don’t want to fuck her. I just… Shit. She has a kid.”
“Let me get this straight. If Neil was Cuban, we wouldn’t be havin’ this conversation? That’s fucked-up, dude.”
“I’m saying if Neil was from the neighborhood, I’d be making damn sure his intentions were to make her an honest woman before he got his dick wet. And no, I’m not saying this is because he isn’t Cuban or any other nationality. Any fucking dick that went after her that wasn’t him I would do the same thing to. But it is him and he’s Neil. He’s not going to marry her. He’s going to play his games with her.” The lines in his forehead creased and his dark eyes drew tight with a concern I rarely saw.
“I don’t see you settlin’ down.”
“It’s not even close to the same thing. I don’t fuck with single mothers.”
The single mother comment hit a little too close to home. I didn’t say shit but André wasn’t going to let it slide.
“What are you going to do about Nicole?”
“This the part
where you give me a come-to-Jesus lecture?”
“Do you need one?”
“I made my peace with that shit long ago.” Growing up, my mother put the fear of God in me. It lasted until my first deployment.
“Then what’s up with you two?”
“I killed the father of her kid. What the fuck do you think is up?”
“Neil said he pulled the trigger.”
“May as well have been me.”
“If you want to hide behind that excuse, that’s all on you.”
Fuck. I wasn’t having this conversation. “What do the cops have on us from two nights ago?”
André sighed and switched gears. “They think it was Maldonado’s men. They don’t know about you or Nicole being there. Neil said he had your bike all night. And even if the cops do catch up to any of the LCs, they’re not going to admit to their involvement.”
“How’d you explain that you were on the scene?”
André shrugged. “I said I was driving home and saw him on the side of the road.”
“And they believed that shit?”
“I’ve got a buddy on the Daytona PD force. We have an understanding. It helped that your bike wasn’t shot to shit like Neil said his truck was. That would’ve been harder to explain.”
“Shit, what’d it cost you to have them look the other way?”
André half smiled. “They might’ve gotten an anonymous tip about a shipment of guns at one of the LCs’ warehouses.”
Christ. “Why’d I ask?”
He ignored me. “Nicole’s a good woman.”
“Never said she wasn’t.” I pulled into Blaze and Layna’s development and waved at the guard in the guardhouse to open the gate.
“You ever think about settling down again?”
“Nope,” I lied, turning into the driveway behind two black SUVs.
André smirked.
THE FIRST THING I NOTICED when I walked in was Neil sitting at the dining room table with Siren having a hushed conversation. The second thing I noticed was how she was leaning toward him.
I saw red.
Knowing my projectile before I even took a step, André grabbed my arm. “Leave it. He needs to talk to her.”
“No, he doesn’t,” I seethed.
André stepped in front of me and got in my face. “He’s apologizing. Leave it.”
Siren dropped her gaze to her lap. Neil reached for her shoulder and she put her cheek—her fucking cheek—on his hand.
Six motherfucking hours. That was how long it took her to find the next asshole willing to pick up her cause? Neil could fucking have her.
Kendall strolled up. “Do you have any friends who aren’t muscle-head assholes?” She glanced at André and rolled her eyes. “Besides the little Cuban boy?”
André smiled at her. “Good to see you too, sexy.”
Roark walked in with his dog Missy on his heels, nodding as he passed me. “Talerco.” He set a large black duffel on the kitchen table next to two others just like it.
“Roark,” I grumbled, glaring at Siren, silently daring her to look in my direction.
Kendall glanced at Roark then Neil. “Do they fight each other for gym time or just shoot each other up with steroids before they lift?”
Siren put her hand on top of Neil’s and I lashed out at the nearest target. “Shut the fuck up, Kendall.”
She ignored me. “And the Irish-looking one’s dog hates me. She stares at me like she’s going to have me for dinner.”
Roark passed us on his way back to the garage. “I’m Scottish, not Irish, and she’ll only bite you if I tell her to.”
Right then, I would’ve handed over the deed to my house for a distraction like that. Roark had never said, and I sure as fuck wasn’t going to ever mention it, but I knew Missy was a PTSD service dog. Afghanistan had fucked us all in one way or another. And now I was getting fucked by a little blonde who’d used me and wouldn’t forgive me but was rubbing all over the man who’d actually pulled the goddamn trigger.
Kendall stepped out of the dog’s way and moved closer to André. “Charming,” she dripped sarcastically.
André threw an arm around Kendall’s shoulders. “Don’t worry, I’ll protect you.”
I was so intent on Siren, I barely noticed that André didn’t incur the wrath Kendall reserved for anyone who touched her.
Roark came back with two more duffels and set them on the floor next to the kitchen table. “That’s it.” He looked at his watch. “The plane will be ready at nineteen hundred hours.”
“Let me guess,” Kendall said dryly. “He served in the Marines with you two.”
“Semper Fi.” André grinned.
Neil stood and helped Siren to her feet. Eyes wet, she looked up at him like he was her fucking salvation. He pulled her into his arms.
I was going to kill him.
He finally released her, turned and came straight at me.
“What the fuck was that?” I hissed.
“What needed to be done.” Deep, quiet and threatening, his tone said it all. Drop it or I’d be sorry.
Fuck him. Fuck Siren. I wasn’t good enough for her but this asshole was? I fumed. “You gonna fuck her too?”
“You done being selfish?”
My nostrils flared and I was intent on only one thing—my hands, Neil’s neck.
“Talon?” Siren quietly asked.
My head snapped in her direction.
“Can I talk to you outside for a minute?” Her hands twisted in front of her.
I was so fucking mad, I couldn’t speak. I nodded.
She turned and I followed her to the lanai. She stopped in the front of the seating area but she didn’t sit. Inhaling, she faced me. “I know you didn’t kill Randy.”
I didn’t react.
“Neil told me what happened.”
I stared at her.
She glanced at her feet. When she looked back up, her face was softer. “I don’t blame you. Or him.”
“What the fuck do you want from me?” I bit out.
She flinched at my tone. “You left today, before I was done talking to you.”
For once, I could read her. Her posture, her voice, she was hurt and it only made me angrier. “Let me see if I get this straight. I wasn’t good enough for you when you thought I pulled the trigger but Neil ’fesses up and holds your hand and all’s forgiven?” Fuck her.
Her eyes went wide. “I never said I blamed you.”
“You didn’t have to.” What happened this morning, now this, my level of pissed off was hitting new heights. “It didn’t matter I was only there in first place because I was protectin’ you. That doesn’t mean shit to you, does it?”
“That’s not true.” Her tone went all fucking prim and proper. “You know it means something.”
I laughed without an ounce of humor. “How convenient.” I gestured behind me. “Now that you’re usin’ my resources and my friends are riskin’ their lives for you and your daughter. But hey, if it wasn’t me, you would’ve found some other asshole willin’ to risk his life, wouldn’t you?” I hated myself for saying it the second the words left my mouth.
She recoiled as if I’d struck her. “I’m sorry.” Anguish twisted her face then she turned her head away. “Call them off.”
I showed no mercy. “And be the bad guy? Not happenin’. I promised you I’d find your daughter and I keep my promises.”
Her arms wrapped around her stomach protectively.
“So do me a favor and stay the fuck outta my way.” I made one stride toward the house.
“Why are you doing this?” she called, her voice breaking.
Enraged, I spun. “What the fuck do you think I’m doin’? Besides savin’ your ass and tryin’ to find your kidnapped kid?”
“You’re shutting me out.”
“I’m shuttin’ you out?” My blood fucking boiled. “You spent days lyin’ to me, ignorin’ my ass and you have the nerve to say I shut you out?”
&nb
sp; “I’m not allowed to make mistakes? Or to grieve?”
“Grieve all you want,” I lashed out bitterly. I couldn’t believe we were having this conversation. Shit had gone so far off the rails and I only had myself to blame. I’d been blind to all the shit she’d been keeping from me. I was so hung up on how she made me feel that I let myself get fucking played. “By all means, give that fucker some more play time in that twisted head of yours.”
Her eyes narrowed and her expression turned to ice. “Says the man who was willing to fuck me but not have feelings for me.”
I took two strides and got in her face. “I told you, I fuckin’ told you, you were my game changer. Say whatever bullshit you want about me, but don’t you dare say I didn’t feel for you. I felt everythin’.”
Our eyes locked.
Then we were on each other.
Her arms flew around my neck, her hands grabbed at my short hair and her lips crashed into mine. I gave it all back and for one blinding moment, it was enough. Then it wasn’t. My tongue fought hers, I gripped her upper arm and yanked her off me.
Her surprised gasp echoed across the night but I was already moving.
I dragged her around the corner of the house and behind the pool shed. Without a word, I shoved her up against the rough stucco wall, took her wrists in one hand and pushed them above her head.
I grabbed her jaw and forced her chin up. “Tell me to stop.”
“No.”
I thrust my tongue into her mouth so hard, our teeth hit. Stealing her air, I didn’t kiss her, I dominated her. I kicked her feet apart and shoved my leg between her thighs.
I ripped my lips away from hers and bit her throat as I ground my hips into hers. “Is this what you fuckin’ want?” I growled.
“Yes.”
I stopped thinking. About everything. I wasn’t a Marine. I wasn’t a medic. I wasn’t a hero. I was anger and pounding adrenaline and a pulsing dick.
I jerked her pants halfway down her thighs then unbuckled my belt and unzipped my jeans. Fisting my cock, I drove forward and sunk to the hilt.
She screamed out and I slapped a hand over her mouth.
Her hips bucked forward, her wet pussy soaked my dick and she groaned.
I pulled back then slammed home.
Then I angry fucked her.
Dominating, relentless, I pounded into her. Every thrust, I took a piece of my aggression out on her. I fucked her because I wasn’t good enough for her. I fucked her because she’d had a kid with that asshole. I fucked her because she stole my fucking heart and I fucked her to erase every memory she ever had of any other man.