by J. L. Drake
“Shut up!” Rail huffed. “Don’t you need to be in school or something, shit?”
“Not my fault you hit like a girl.”
Rail straightened. “Seriously, why the fuck is he here?”
“School’s closed.” I tossed a punch at his shoulder, which did dick for my mood. I had to wear gloves with the guys or I’d kill them.
“Nipple twist him!” Fin screamed again.
“No, don’t,” Brick laughed from the doorway. “He likes that.”
My arms fell when Rail glared at Brick. “So does your momma.”
“Yeah, and so does yours.” Brick gave him the finger then licked the tip.
“Fuck me,” I hissed and knew another pissing match was on the way.
“Can I play?” They fell silent as I whirled around and saw Maze’s cousin in a little pair of tight shorts and a sports bra.
She ducked under the ropes and smiled up at me. “You think you can take me?”
“No chicks in the ring,” I muttered, brushing past her. My head wasn’t in the mood for another child right now.
“Is he always so friendly?” she whispered as I tossed off my gloves and slicked my hair back.
“No,” Brick and Rail said in unison.
She appeared at my side, her oversized blue eyes blinked up at me. She was pretty, but in an annoying way. You could tell she’d be high maintenance once she roped you in.
Ignoring her, I grabbed my towel and headed to the front of the club. I didn’t have much time before I needed to get ready.
“So, I, ah…” She rushed to match my strides. “I was wondering if I could stay here for a while.”
“Why?” I didn’t care for the answer, but I wanted her to know this wasn’t a hangout for strays.
“Maze paid for my apartment, but now that he’s gone, I’m being evicted. Got nowhere else to go.”
I snatched a water bottle from the fridge behind the bar and caught Tess serving Cooper and a few of his friends.
She didn’t spot me right away; the bar was in full swing.
“So?” I vaguely heard the girl as I moved around the bar. Just as I was about to approach Tess, a hot hand clamped around my forearm.
The entire place went quiet when I stopped and whirled around, feeling the demons flip the fuck out inside. Acidic rage coursed through my bloodstream, rushing to the surface and scarring the inside of me.
I dropped my gaze to her hand then backed up. She was confused but didn’t let go.
Morgan whistled from behind the bar and glanced at her hand with a warning. Finally, she got the hint, and her arm fell with a thud.
“So, you don’t like to be touched?” she asked in disbelief. “The great, almighty fighter can kill with his bare hands, but he can’t be touched by a woman?” She nearly laughed, and I saw her death flash in front of me. A quick snap to her neck to shut her up would be ideal.
“How do you screw?”
“Bitches with mouths don’t last long here,” Morgan warned again.
My switch vibrated, and the maddening screams became ear-piercing.
“First rule in a club is respect, little girl.” I stepped closer, and she cowered away from me. I almost smirked. Tess would have given me lip. “Maze’s blood or not, you don’t belong here.”
“I’ll vouch for her,” Jace said, and I flicked my gaze over to him.
“Quit thinkin’ with your dick.”
“She’s got nowhere to go.” He shrugged.
“Yeah, man.” Tat, one of Cooper’s cocky friends, said and rose out of his chair. “She got no one since you got her cousin killed.” He smirked at the girl, and I glared at Cooper. He knew better than to let a non-club member hear club information.
“Tat, shut the fuck up.” Cooper punched his buddy in the arm. I knew that shithead used Cooper for free booze and tried to join the club a few years back, but I refused him. He never got over the fact I didn’t let him in.
“That’s the problem with this club. Everyone is expendable. Just takin’ this one a little longer to see it.” Tat draped his arm over Tess, and she sidestepped out of his reach with a hiss.
Red. I saw nothing but red.
I rubbed my mouth to take a moment to calm down, but it didn’t work. I snatched the hunting knife Rail carried, held it by the tip, and whipped it with all my might into Tat’s shoulder.
His eyes popped while he grabbed at the blade. Blood lined the wound and soaked into his shirt.
The girl screamed as Tat struggled to comprehend what had happened. I eased into the chair and took the drink Morgan set in front of me.
Tat shot up behind me, white as a sheet, and stuck a gun to the back of my head.
“No,” Tess whispered. “Tat, don’t.” She started to move, but Brick stopped her. “Tat, look at me,” she tried again as my patience fizzed away.
“How can you love such a monster, Tess?” Tat shouted, foaming at the mouth. I guessed I underestimated his interest in Tess. Tat’s body was rejecting the sudden intrusion.
“Because,” her voice shook, “I’m one too.” She pushed Brick’s hand away when he tried to stop her again. “So, point that at me, not him.”
I sipped the amber liquid and watched as he tried to push the blinding pain away. If he so much as twitched in her direction, he was dead. Well, he was dead anyway.
Tess moved closer, and I tried not to reach for her. She was insane. What the fuck was she doing?
Tat blinked a few times before he focused back on me.
“I hope she watches you die by your father’s hand,” he whispered.
Flip.
Chapter Fifteen
Tess
Trigger flipped his hair out of his face and turned to the screaming chick in Jace’s arms. The broken whiskey bottle was tossed to the ground a few feet away.
“Remove her, or I will.”
“How can you kill someone like that?” she screamed. “Sick son of a bitch!”
“Now! Or she’s next.”
“Come on.” Jace literally had to yank her along by the arm to get her to leave.
Trigger turned to me then closed his eyes. He was trying hard to get himself back under control, and it wasn’t easy for him. “Everyone out!”
Within seconds, the room had emptied except Tat on the floor in a puddle of blood, myself, and Trigger. Trigger reached out and held onto the bar. I had never seen him like that. He seemed to be struggling with something.
“Trigger?” I whispered, unsure what the hell was running through his head. “You okay?”
“No,” he hissed and glared at me, and his pupils searched mine before he spoke. “Are you fucking insane?”
“You sure you want to pull at that thread?” I attempted to joke.
“I’m not fucking kidding!” His voice echoed throughout the room. I was thankful the music was still on, but I was sure some may have heard him.
“He had a gun to your head. What was I supposed to—”
“You let me deal with it, Tess! Not get him to point a gun at your fucking face!” He kicked Tat hard and covered his mouth and muttered something.
“I knew he wouldn’t hurt me.”
“How?” His bark made me jump. “How the fuck do you know what was going through that fucker’s head?”
I felt my back go up.
“He asked me to leave you for him. He told me he wanted me, and that he could make me happier.”
It was true. He had pulled me aside while Trigger was in the ring that afternoon. I laughed at first, thinking he was drunk, but when he leaned in to kiss me, I shoved him aside.
“And?”
Oh, please!
“We’re planning our marriage right now.” I dripped with sarcasm, and my fury burned through my eyes. Shit, when would he ever get that I wanted him?
“Be careful, Tess. I just killed a man. You push me too far, and I’ll kill again.”
I stepped closer and pushed my chest into his. His heat smoldered around me, hold
ing me tight.
“You saying you’d hurt me?”
“I’m saying I’d kill for you.” He grabbed my face between his huge hands and pressed his forehead to mine. I clutched his shoulders and held him just as hard. He needed an anchor. “Don’t ever do that to me again. Promise me. If anything happens to you, I…” He stopped himself.
“You’d what?”
“Promise me, Tess.” His voice was strained, and I needed to stop pushing. It was enough for now.
“I’m sorry.” I pressed my lips to his and let him devour my mouth. Right as I was about to grab his belt, he pulled away.
“We need to leave.”
Just like that, the moment was gone, and just like that, Tat was forgotten. The MC world had no room for screw-ups or mourning, and if I was going to allow myself to fully fall for this man, I needed to learn that now.
***
“Who are we meeting up with?” I walked through the door he held open for me.
“Mike.”
I grinned with delight. I liked Mike and was curious why I was brought along for the ride.
“Really?”
“Don’t be too excited,” he grunted, but I saw the humor in his smile.
Trigger’s playful moods didn’t happen often, so when they did, I relished them.
“Can’t blame me. He has all the goods on the books…” I trailed off when I caught sight of a table full of beautiful people. “Oh, my sweet non-fictional heaven, what have you done?”
There sat the cast of the Broken trilogy. I knew because I Googled the shit out of them when I finished the first book.
Savannah was dressed in a pair of blue jeans and an oversized sweater. She wrapped me in her arms. “It is such a pleasure to meet you, Tess!” She smelled like heaven in a jar. “I’m Savannah, but please call me Savi.”
All I could do was freak the fuck out inside while I played it cool on the outside.
“Please, the pleasure is all mine.”
Her smile made me blush. She had a whimsical way of moving that reminded me of a ballet dancer. She had such grace and poise.
Then there was me.
Trigger and Mike stepped off to the side to speak while Savi introduced me to everyone else.
Mark was cute as hell. He was clearly a boy in men’s clothes. Keith was the silent, broody type, and then there was Cole. Holy hell, there were no words to describe that kind of sexy. Not entirely my type, but I sure wouldn’t kick him out of bed for any reason, ever.
Savannah handed me a glass of champagne when the waiter returned. I raised an eyebrow and wondered how she knew what I liked.
“Trigger filled us in.”
“That so?” I laughed softly. “What else did he say?”
“Actually, a lot,” Mark said with a wink. “Like how he wanted us to meet you for your birthday.”
“What?”
Shit just got interesting.
“Yup, but something happened, and our last trip got canceled. So, when Mike said he was coming here for a meeting, we all tagged along.”
“Wait.” I flipped my hair out of my face, more to cool off my warm cheeks than anything. “Trigger planned for you all to meet me for my birthday?”
“That’s right.” Mike flashed me a killer smile. “First time I have ever heard him speak about a girl.”
“Hmm.” I tried to hide my smile, but Savi mirrored my mood.
“Feels pretty good, doesn’t it?”
I tapped my glass to hers. “Kind of does.”
I loved how Cole found some way to touch Savannah, or how he watched her tell a story. He was obviously captivated by her. Part of me was envious of how he didn’t mind showing his affection for Savannah in public. His finger twisted a lock of her hair, which made her lean in and press her cheek to his chest. They were beautiful together.
They grilled me about Trigger. It was odd to think they were interested in us when I had a thousand and one questions to ask about them, but I went along with it. Truth be told, I rather liked it. I felt like I was in a normal relationship, or something like it, anyway.
Keith caught my attention though. He kept glancing at his phone, and his mood seemed edgy. Finally, Cole picked up on it, or maybe he was just as curious as I was.
“Everything—” Cole started when Keith answered his phone.
We all went quiet when he spoke, obviously agitated. “No, you can’t do that,” he said then paused to listen. “I will not bail you out again!” He paused. “No, no way. I won’t do it. I told you that the last time.”
Mark tried to hold back his smirk. I guessed he knew who was on the other end of the line.
Keith leaned forward and tried to muffle his voice. “The boy is twenty-two. You cannot pinch his ass in the checkout line! I will not be a part of this—” He stopped mid-sentence. “No! I will not.” He stopped again. “Dammit, Nan! Fine, but I’m callin’ Mom.” His eyes widened. “Watch me.”
“He won’t.” Mark shook his head.
“Find your own way to bingo.”
“Such a lie.” Mark sighed, and I tried not to laugh while Savi pressed her lips together to hide her smile.
Just when I thought Keith was going to hang up, he lowered his voice. “See you Thursday.”
“For bingo.” Mark leaned out of the way of Keith’s swat. “Nan puts a seventeen-year-old boy on prom night to shame.”
“Not gonna lie, I kinda want to meet the woman.” I made the table laugh, Keith included.
Trigger glanced over at me from the bar. He didn’t smile, but he held my gaze. My lungs contracted and trapped the air, and I felt a rush of lust hit the center of my belly.
“I know that look,” Mark stole my attention, “and I don’t mean yours.”
Savi beamed at me. “So, we have something for you.”
“Me?” I shook off my moment with Trigger and sat a little straighter, intrigued by what was in the silver box in front of her.
She slid it over. I pulled on the ribbon and opened the top. There sat a paperback with the whole Broken trilogy.
“The author signed it, and we all did too.” She laughed.
Holy…
“You did this for me?”
“Not entirely.” Cole nodded at Trigger. “It was his idea too.”
I gently pulled the cover back and flipped the pages in disbelief. “Can I ask some questions?”
“Of course.” Savannah pulled her hair to one side and leaned in like she was ready to go.
Where to begin…?
“Keith.” He broke out in a smile. I guessed he didn’t think I would start with him. “I haven’t gotten to your book yet, but I have to know. Why did you leave Shadows?”
“It wasn’t easy.” He glanced at Cole, who gave a slight nod. I assumed it was his way of asking how much he could talk about. “At first, it was so I could be closer to my family and to keep Lexi close.”
“But now?”
“All I can say is Mike and I are getting things set up the way we want them, and it takes a while to get a house to run smoothly. Will we stay there forever? Probably not.”
Mark broke out in a boyish grin. “They’re training some guys to run the house. Only a matter of time.”
“Really?” I liked that idea. “I mean, I get it. You can’t really have a safe house with kids running around.”
“Well, that was the problem at first,” Cole chimed in. “But after they left, the house hasn’t been the same, so Savi came up with the idea of building some homes on the property. We are a family first, and special ops second.”
“Life’s too short to be without the ones you love,” Savannah added with a laugh.
Keith reached over and squeezed her hand. Jesus, they were all such good friends. I had to admit I was a little jealous, but we had our club love, maybe just a little warped and sharp around the edges.
“Okay,” Mike shook them off, “what else you wanna know?”
“Well, I have one for you.” I leaned forward so h
e could hear me better. “Are you dating anyone?”
Everyone looked at him with smiles.
“Yeah, Mikey.” Mark spat soda out of his mouth. “You datin’ anyone?”
“Nah.” He glance down at his colorful hands. “I’m not exactly the boy you bring home to meet the parents.”
I thought I heard my heart break.
“I disagree.”
“That’s ’cause you’re dating him.” He nodded at Trigger. “You, Tess, are a rare breed, and I appreciate that a lot.”
Warmth spread through me; I understood being an outcast.
“Savi,” I grabbed her attention from Mike, “you play any more paintball?”
Cole’s face dropped but lit up when Savannah smiled at him. “Not that I can openly admit to.”
“Pardon me?”
“Bah!” Mark jammed at Cole’s shoulder. “Great question, Tess!”
“So help me God, Lopez.”
Mark held up his hands in defense, and it gave me an opener for my next topic.
“Okay, okay, one more, and I promise I’m done.” I couldn’t help but smirk. “Is Doc Roberts still dating Abigail?”
“No!” Mark yelled, but the entire table broke out in a loud laughter, and I was thrown a million and one yesses.
***
Trigger
“I don’t know, man. Listening to all this sounds like you got a real shit pile going on.” Mike rubbed his head while he nursed his beer. “Aaron and Doyle been joined at the hip lately. Those two are sure as hell on someone’s payroll.” He tapped the photos he brought of the two cops having coffee. “Clark has some USB drive with a bunch of secret shit on it, you have a mole, Tammy says there’s more to this than you know, and now you’ve agreed to a fight.”
“Yeah.” I nodded slowly.
“You seem unfazed, my friend.”
“Shit’s coming. Just gotta be ready.”
Mike nodded and asked for another drink. “Now that the coke contract is done, what will you do?”
“Between the garage, strip club, and debts owed to me, the club will be fine.”
“If you ever need anything, you know we could use you at the house.”