I smiled. “A little.”
“As much as I don’t like to see you in pain.” He stroked my cheek. “I do like knowin’ you’ll be thinkin’ of me for a few days.”
“I’d be thinking of you even if my vagina wasn’t on fire.”
He frowned. “Are you in that much pain?”
I chuckled. “Just messing with you.”
He squeezed my chin. “You need to take some ibuprofen and relax for the rest of the weekend.”
I rolled my eyes. “I will.”
“Love you, Cat.”
I smiled. “I love you, too, Silas.”
“We should get to the club. We’ll take your car.”
“How did you get here?”
“I rode.” He raised an eyebrow.
“You put Nova on your bike?”
“No, baby. I had one of the club trucks so I could haul her around. But I rode here because it was faster.” He cocked his head. “Do you want to ride instead?”
“Nope,” I replied with an emphasis on the ‘P.’ “We’ll take my car.”
He kissed me once more, then we took a quick shower and headed to the club.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Catalina
PULLING UP TO the barn, Silas folded his giant body out of my car, then met me on my side. “Careful,” he warned, holding his hand out to me.
“You punched my V-card, honey, I’m not going to pass out… even if you are hung like a mule.”
He chuckled, sliding his hand around my waist. “Still want you to take it easy.”
“Well, I want to go home and do all of that again.”
“You’re not the only one.” Silas kissed me. “But let’s give your body a minute to heal, then I’ll fuck you six ways to Sunday.”
“I’m going to hold you to that.”
He kissed me again, pressing me up against my car, and I slid my hands up under his cut, gripping his Henley.
“Uncle Shutter!” Nova squealed, forcing us to break the kiss.
She came running, her hair with a million little braids in it.
He turned and scooped her up, grinning wide. “Hey, baby. You havin’ fun?”
“I couldn’t find you.”
“I had to go pick up Cat,” he explained. “But we’re here now, so how about we get some food, then you can have a cupcake?”
“I already had a cupcake.”
I couldn’t stop a smile when her face hit the light and the evidence of one of Kennedy’s red velvet goodness was on her cheek.
Silas wiped it away with a chuckle. “I see that now.”
“Did you have real food?” I asked, and she bobbed her head, pitching toward me.
“I had a hot dog.”
“Good.” I caught her and held her close. “Are you having fun?”
She bobbed her head again. “Alfie and Kinsey are showing me how to braid my hair.”
“That’s awesome,” I said, setting her on her feet. “Let’s get inside where it’s warm and we’ll get you another cupcake, sound good?”
She took off like a rocket, leaving me and Silas in the dust and he laughed. “I guess she didn’t miss us that much.”
I grinned as he wrapped an arm around me and guided me inside.
“Cat!” Posey called, making her way to me.
“Hey, lady,” I said, hugging her.
“Girls’ night next Friday, you in?”
“Hells, yes, I’m in,” I said. “Just got to make sure Nova’s settled.”
“I got Nova,” Silas said. “Recruits’ll drive all of you.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, baby.” He grinned. “Let your hair down.”
I nodded and he walked away just as Willow grabbed my hand and pulled me down the hall. “Baby?”
“Thanks for watching Nova,” I said in an effort to change the subject.
“Nice try,” she said.
“He calls me baby all the time.”
“No, this was different.”
She grinned. “Are you two finally making things official?”
I bit my lip, then nodded.
Willow pulled me in for a hug. “I’m so happy for you.”
“Thanks. I’m not sure if we’re making this public, so just between us, okay?”
She met my eyes. “Of course, honey, whatever you need.”
We walked back down the hall and into the great room where Silas promptly closed the distance between us, wrapping his arms around me and kissing me rather pornographically.
“Guess you’re making this public,” Willow retorted, as she passed us.
“Silas,” I hissed, pushing at his chest.
He didn’t budge.
“Yeah, baby?” He met my eyes and grinned.
I glared at him. “Seriously?”
“Would you rather I tap a knife against a beer bottle and make an announcement.”
“You’re the worst,” I hissed, but couldn’t stop a slight smile.
“And you love that.” He kissed me again, then wrapped an arm around my waist and led me out to the back where the picnic tables were.
Badger’s wife, Quin, rushed over to us, grabbing my arm. “I’m gonna borrow her for a minute.”
Silas nodded. “I’ll make you a plate.”
“Okay, thanks,” I said, and followed Quin back inside. “What’s going on?”
She tugged me down the hall and pulled me into the room Lyric and Olivia used as an office. I was confronted by all of the club’s old ladies standing with their arms crossed, staring at me.
“What’s wrong?”
“How long has this ‘thing’ with Shutter been going on?” Olivia demanded.
I bit my lip. “A few days?”
A bevy of female squeals, followed by hugs all around, indicated they were obviously very, very happy about this.
Once the room had calmed, Olivia, the wife of the club President, Doc, handed me a glass of wine. “He’s been crushing on you for more than a few days, honey. I’m just glad you finally gave him a chance.”
“Like you’re one to talk,” Jasmine, Alamo’s wife, retorted, and Olivia smiled.
“Hello… I gave Doc a chance, so much so, I pushed his twins out of my vagina.”
“She’s got you there, babe,” Willow said.
Jasmine snorted. “Whatever.”
“Well, I for one am very glad that you and Shutter are finally boning,” Quin said, and I nearly spit out my wine.
“Who said anything about boning?” I asked.
“Please,” Jasmine said. “You got a man as hot as Shutter, you fuck him. I should know. I couldn’t keep my hands off Alamo from the second he said he wanted me. It’s why he keeps knocking me up.” She grinned, running her hands over her expanding belly. This was baby number four for the couple, and they seemed overjoyed by the new addition.
“How do you keep popping babies out and still manage to run a business?” Quin asked in awe.
Jasmine laughed. “Because my husband is a god, not to mention, there are no less than fifty or so people willing to help watch those kids.”
We heard a knock on the door and Olivia pulled it open to find Kinsey, Alfie, and Nova, their heads filled with haphazard braids indicating they’d all been practicing their hair styles. Alfie was Willow’s daughter and almost eight, but she was smart as a whip and she and Kinsey were close, even though there was an age gap. Alfie and Nova were barely a year apart, and I could tell Alfie was trying so hard to draw Nova in, but Nova was still pushing back a little bit.
“I didn’t know where you were,” Nova accused, tugging on my hand.
“Well, now you found me.”
She bit her lip and leaned against me. “Can I stay with you for the rest of the night?”
“Of course.” I stroked her cheek and then wrapped an arm around her. “Your hair looks pretty, baby.”
She smiled up at me. “I did it all by myself.”
“Good job.”
“There you are,” Sila
s said, breezing into the room. “I thought you ran off to look for your monkey.”
I gasped, covering Nova’s ears, and biting back a laugh. “She does not look like Pippi Longstocking… but nice reference.”
“I don’t have a monkey, Uncle Shutter,” Nova said, pulling my hands away from her ears. “Can I get one?”
“No, you cannot get a monkey,” I said, glaring at Shutter above her head. “But we’ll take you to the zoo when it warms up so you can see them, sound good?”
She grinned and jumped up and down. “Yes! Zoo!”
“I want to go to the zoo,” Kinsey said.
“Please,” Quin prompted.
“Yes, ma’am,” Kinsey said. “Please.”
“How about we make it a club outing?” Silas suggested. “We’ll do it as soon as it’s sunny.”
Alfie and Kinsey let out girlie squeals of delight.
“Come on, Nova, let’s go play pinball,” Kinsey said.
Nova wrapped her arm around my leg. “I want to stay with Cat.”
“Are you sure you don’t want to play with your friends?” I prompted, and Nova shook her head, squeezing me tighter, so Kinsey took Alfie’s hand and led her away.
“Kennedy, did you make those peanut butter cupcake things?” Silas asked.
Kennedy chuckled. “Of course I did. I’m not a monster.”
Kennedy was Mouse’s wife, and she owned a local bakery and cafe. Her place was next to Parker’s flower shop and I noticed a lot of fresh flowers around the barn of late. Parker was married to Rabbit and he was currently out of town and would be for several more weeks doing something super-secret and bikery. As was the club way, everyone was rallying around her and her kids to make sure she was covered with food, babysitting, help with the house, along with her business, in an effort to soften the blow of Rabbit’s absence.
Silas grinned down at Nova. “You want more cupcakes?”
She nodded but didn’t release me.
“We’ll all get cupcakes,” I said, and Nova gripped my hand and tugged on it. “Now,” I amended. “We’ll get cupcakes now.”
Silas laughed and followed us down to the kitchen.
Once we’d loaded up on Kennedy’s treats, we headed into the great room just as my brother snagged Silas and pulled him away. I glanced at Posey who shrugged, standing and making her way to me and Nova.
“Nova, honey, I want you to sit at the coffee table and eat that, okay?” I said, setting napkins on the table and waiting for her to kneel in front of it.
Once she was comfortable, I went back to Posey and whispered, “Any idea what the guys are talking about?”
“None.” Posey frowned. “Shadow got a text and immediately went looking for Shutter.”
I glanced at them. “They don’t look happy.”
She sighed. “No, they don’t.” She shook her head. “This is going to be a fun night.”
I chuckled. “Just set up your massage table and grab your oil. He’ll forget all about his woes.”
“I wish it were that easy,” she admitted.
“Are you guys okay?”
“What?” Her eyes widened, then she smiled quickly. “Yes, we’re good. He’s just been a little stressed lately and he’s not disclosing why.”
I sighed. “Sorry, honey. He does that.”
“Yeah, I’m figuring that out,” she said. “But I’ll get it out of him… eventually.”
I chuckled. “You’re about the only one who can.”
“That might be one of the nicest things I’ve ever been told.”
I turned back to Silas and my brother. Silas crossed his arms and leaned in slightly, looking at something on my brother’s phone.
“Fuck,” Silas growled, and I immediately headed their way.
“What’s wrong?” I demanded.
His eyes swept to Nova and I shivered as his body stiffened. “We’ll talk later.”
I frowned. “Why not now?”
He took my hand and squeezed. “Later.”
“Okay.” I leaned into him and sighed. “Later.”
Just after midnight, we took Nova home, and I moved through the bedtime ritual in somewhat of a fugue state. I was distracted and needed to get Silas alone.
“Can I get a puppy?” Nova asked, out of the blue just as we were ready to turn off the light.
“Not right now,” I said.
She sat up, her eyes wide and hopeful. “That’s not a no, right?”
“It’s a no for now, baby, but not a no forever… unless you don’t go to sleep.”
She closed her eyes and flopped back onto her pillows, her smile firmly in place, and I closed her door and went looking for Silas who was in the kitchen boiling the kettle.
“Thought you might like some tea,” he said, pulling a mug down from the cabinet.
I nodded, leaning against the counter. “Thanks, honey.”
“The cops are looking into Darlene’s connection with Harlan Cavanaugh.”
I frowned. “Why does that name seem familiar?”
“Because he’s the man who kidnapped Poppy and tried to bring down the club.”
I gasped. “Isn’t he dead?”
“Super dead,” Silas confirmed. “But the mafia isn’t, and Darlene was into something with them.”
“Oh my god,” I breathed out.
“They’re comin’ after Nova.”
“What? No.” I shook my head, bursting into tears. “They can’t have her.”
He pulled me against him and wrapped his arms around me. “There is no way in hell anyone’s gonna get to her, baby. I promise.”
“How?”
“How, what?”
“How are they coming after her?” I demanded.
“Don’t know that yet.”
“That’s even worse!” I cried. “If we don’t know, how are we supposed to protect her?”
“We ain’t gonna do dick, Catalina. I am going to work with the club to protect her and keep you off their radar.”
“You don’t actually think I’m not on their radar, do you?” I countered. “If they know about the club, then they know about me.”
His body locked. “Yeah.”
“So, what does that mean?”
“Don’t fuckin’ know, baby, but we’re gonna figure it out. Rabbit’s back next week, so he’ll be able to do more on the cyber side of things, which always gives us an edge, but in the meantime, we need to wait for them to make a play.”
“You’re seriously sitting here telling me you’re not going to do anything until they make a play?” I squeaked.
“No.”
I relaxed.
“I’m standing here telling you that.”
“Silas,” I hissed.
“We’re done with this conversation, Cat.”
I scowled up at him. “You’re planning something, I know you are.”
“Tea?” he asked as the kettle whistled.
“Silas, I’m serious.”
“So am I.” He dropped a teabag into the mug and poured hot water over it.
“Forget the tea. I’m going to bed,” I ground out.
“Babe—”
“Alone.”
I stormed into my room, wishing I could slam the door, but closing and locking it quietly instead.
* * *
The dipping of the bed had me sitting up with a gasp, and I almost screamed, but Silas wrapped his arms around me, pulling me over his chest. “It’s me.”
“I locked the door.”
“It’s cute you think a locked door was gonna keep me from you.” He pulled the covers over us and snuggled close. “Jesus, woman, it’s fuckin’ freezing in here.”
“I opened the window because I figured I was sleeping alone.”
Tonight was the perfect winter night to let the fresh air in. I love cuddling under my blankets when everything around me was cold.
“That’s never gonna happen, Cat,” he whispered, giving me a gentle squeeze. “Especially, if we’re argu
ing.”
I threw the covers off. “Then I’ll go sleep on the sofa.”
“No.” He held tight. “We can talk, sleep, or fuck. Your choice, but you leaving our bed isn’t one of them.”
“Neither is talk, apparently,” I grumbled.
“You’ve been in the life long enough that you know club business stays club business, Cat.”
“Except this affects me and Nova.”
“And I’m gonna make sure you’re both covered.”
I tried to sit up, but he held tight. “Silas, how the hell are you going to make sure both of us are covered if you don’t know the entire scope of the threat?”
“We won’t be in the dark forever.”
“I get that y’all have some kind of weird code, and honestly, I don’t care, but now that this threat includes me and Nova, I want to be kept in the loop.” I moved to sit up and this time, he let me. “I’m not asking for confidential information or for you to show me the secret handshake… I just want to know I have some control over my safety, as well as Nova’s.”
Silas sighed, sliding his arm behind his head, before reaching his free hand out to me. “Come here, baby.”
“Not until you promise to fill me in. You told me about Mike and the scar man, why is this suddenly confidential?” I challenged.
He scrubbed a hand over his face. “I will tell you what I can, will that work?”
I wrinkled my nose but let him pull me back onto his chest. “How do you know they’re after Nova?”
“Say what you will about Darlene, but she kept everything, and even took recordings that I’m pretty sure no one knew about. I found a secret panel in the bottom of a desk drawer and grabbed everything in it before I had to get out.”
“How did you know to look for a secret drawer?”
“Honestly, it was a fluke. The drawer wouldn’t close, so I tried to slam it. I discovered the false bottom because shit fell down the back of the desk, so when I yanked the drawer open again, it dropped to the floor and the panel popped open. I didn’t look at any of it, just shoved it in my backpack, and looked for things like Nova’s birth certificate and any other records we might need.”
“Okay,” I said. “Smart.”
“After Shadow and I went through everything, I had Lyric have a look for the legal side of shit, then Doc, Doom, and Alamo went through the tapes.”
“Why not you?”
“Because I needed to take care of you and Nova.” He kissed my temple. “I delegated. Doc also has to make the ultimate decision on how involved the club decides to get and Doom and Alamo have to figure out how to coordinate.”
Revealing the Biker's Destiny (Dogs of Fire: Savannah Chapter Book 9) Page 10