by Deja Voss
“We have reason to believe, according to Nick Desmond’s private testimony, that Chief Sanderson did it,” Dean says, point-blank. Brooks eyes grow narrow.
“Fucking Gina,” he mutters.
“What?” Dean asks.
“His daughter. She was dancing at Esther’s club. Everyone made a huge effort to keep it under wraps. I haven’t seen or heard from her since the day Esther died, though. I’m gonna…” He stops midsentence, cutting himself off before he has the chance to incriminate himself in front of Dean.
“Listen,” Dean says. “I know exactly what you want to do with this information. You’re probably going nuts right now. I need you to be cool, though. I’m going to need your help, your club, everything. If you want to take this scumbag down, we gotta do it my way or you’re going to lose everything.”
Brooks grabs my hand and squeezes it, as if that everything is directed straight at me. I squeeze his hand back.
“Can we pick this up tomorrow?” I ask.
“Absolutely,” Dean says. “Where do you guys want to meet?”
“Come to my house,” Brooks says, to my surprise. “I have her bike. I have her books. I have everything. Whatever you need.”
We walk out the door into the dark parking lot, hand in hand. I don’t know what’s going through his mind, I don’t know how to comfort him, and I definitely don’t know how to keep him from doing the things that I’m sure he wants to do right now. I don’t know what to say to make this right. The way he’s staring me down exudes a calmness that jars me back to the reality that this is Brooks. He’s not some loose cannon, at least, not since I’ve been around. He’s not an idiot. He’s not mad at me.
“Meet you at the clubhouse?” he asks, opening the door to my Jeep for me. He presses his lips to mine.
“Are you going to be alright?” I ask. “I know this is a lot… I’m sorry I didn’t…”
He kisses me again, stifling my words.
“Josie’s probably fit to be tied right now,” he says. “I left her with Micah at the restaurant.”
“Don’t worry,” I say with a little laugh, grabbing the giant gift bag lined with tissue paper. “You know as well as I do that the girl accepts bribes.”
“I’m sorry I made a scene. I hope I didn’t get you in trouble.”
I press my lips to his. I don’t want to talk right now. I, too, just had my mind completely blown, and there’s so much to digest here that it’d take a lot longer than the half hour ride home to start getting into it. Tonight, at least for the time being, we need to pretend like everything is normal.
“I’ll call Micah and tell him to keep his mouth shut,” he says. “We better get out of here.”
I watch him walk to the truck, watch him get in, stare at him through the window, studying this puzzle of a man, wondering if I really am a missing piece. I know that before he came along, I was definitely missing something in my life. Was it just a good mystery to solve, though? Or was it true love? What happens when he gets the answers he was looking for and we put this whole thing to rest?
He catches me staring and nods. The way he looks at me like I’m the only person in the world melts away all my worries in just one second. It’s going to be a long ride home alone.
CHAPTER 26
HELENA
Walking in the clubhouse hand in hand, you could’ve heard a pin drop. I’m fairly certain at this point everyone is well aware that we’re together, even more so than I am, so that’s probably not why they’re looking our way.
“So nice of you two to finally show up!” Josie says. She’s got Rocky in her arms, and he’s dressed in a tutu and princess tiara. Dogs are running all over the clubhouse dressed in human clothes, and the guys seem to be on their best behavior. Even the club sluts are more covered up than usual. Olive wraps me in a warm hug when she sees me.
“Thank you so much for doing all this for us,” I tell her. I know how much my little sister loves this quirky blonde, and the way she goes out of her way to make her feel special is something that no woman in our true family has ever done before. “She’s lucky to have you as an adoptive auntie.”
“You guys all good?” she whispers in my ear.
“Yeah,” I say. At least, I think we are. We haven’t really had a chance to talk about things. He’s carrying Rocky around like a baby now, though, and helping himself to a beer. Business as usual.
“Well, I for one am glad,” she says. “We all are. Things have been really sad around here. I mean, Esther was one of my best friends in the world, and losing her was devastating. But losing Brooks, too? That shit was scary. The path he was taking us all down wasn’t a good one.”
“Don’t thank me,” I laugh, handing my sister the gift bag. “Thank this wild child who willingly got kidnapped by a motorcycle club.” Olive’s giggle is so loud and so shrill, but you can’t help to laugh along with her. I don’t know what it is about this woman, but she’s really one in a million. Just being near her makes you feel like you’re in on some inside joke. “I know this isn’t the time or place,” I say, leaning in to whisper in her ear, “but I’m going to need your help with something. It’s about Esther.”
Her bright blue eyes light up. “You know something?”
I nod. “I know everything." I know the only way we’re going to be able to take the sheriff down is with the help of someone who has the same charisma that Esther had. Someone who knows how to run her business. Someone who I can trust.
“What are you guys whispering about over here?” her husband, Tank, asks, grabbing her around the waist and pressing his lips to the top of her head, a sweet gesture coming from a big old dirty biker.
“Tampons,” she says with a shrug. She winks at me in such an exaggerated way I think her one open eyeball is going to pop out of her skull.
“Oh my God!” Josie squeals, tearing the tissue paper off the top of the bag, “Helena…” Her hands are shaking and she’s grinning ear to ear, clutching the bright pink teddy bear in her arms, hugging it tight. “Where did you even find this thing?”
“It’s not your original one,” I say. “I’m sorry.” When we were growing up, she had one just like it that she carried everywhere. One day, when our father was in a mood, I found him out back burning the thing along with the rest of the garbage. I didn’t have the heart at the time to tell her what happened. I told her Teddy went on vacation, and she checked the mail every day waiting for a postcard from him and spent many nights just crying and crying herself to sleep until I told her the truth. After that, she got a little meaner. I guess it was just another one of those catalysts that made us who we are today.
“I know,” she says.
“It’s not your real present, either. But I thought you might like it. I couldn’t protect you back then. I was just a kid, too. Now, I want to give you everything that I have. I want to make up for lost time.” She’s such a good kid. Tall and beautiful, and growing up before my eyes. I urge her to pull the rest of the tissue paper out of the bag.
She grabs the white envelope out of the bottom and rips it open. Her eyes grow ten times their normal size as she reads the sheet of paper.
“Holy shit, Lena, I’m rich!” she squeals, dropping the teddy bear to the ground.
“Not quite,” I say with a smile. As soon as I started working, I set up a savings account for her, throwing pretty much every penny I could afford into it. I knew the day would come where we would be reunited, and I wanted to be able to provide her with whatever she wanted. She earned it for the childhood she endured. “It’ll be enough to get you off to college, at least for a semester or two, though. I’m so proud of you. I know I was absent for way too much of your life, but you were never not on my mind, Josie.”
“I think it’s time for cake!” Trixie suggests. It’s hard for me to keep my laughter in, watching all the guys in the club on their best behavior for this girl. She really is special to them. It warms my heart knowing, that maybe after all this time, we both go
t the family we had always dreamed of.
We eat cake, Josie and the guys get wrapped up in a loud and competitive game of darts, and Brooks and I finally get a moment to ourselves. A moment I’d been waiting for since we walked in the door. I’m alarmed by his coolness, like his world hasn’t just been flipped on its side as he sits there at the bar, nursing his beer.
He pulls me onto his lap, wrapping his arms around my shoulders in a way that makes me feel like he’s claiming what’s his, not a care in the world about who sees or who is here with us. It feels good to me, like for once I know exactly where I stand, even with so many unanswered questions about the day we just had. I take his hand in mine.
“Thanks for making Josie’s birthday so special,” I say. “She didn’t really get a lot of nice birthdays growing up. I’m sorry I missed dinner.”
“You scared the shit out of me, woman,” he says. “The worst part was, when I was standing outside that hotel room door, even though I thought you might be screwing around, I wasn’t mad at you. I couldn’t blame you. It ain’t fair to you the way I’ve been jerking you around, just expecting you to read my mind. I was going to bust that door down and drag you out like a fucking caveman, no matter what.”
I laugh, resting my head on his shoulder, and he squeezes me tighter.
“I’m into you, Helena,” he says. “You’re my woman, right?”
“Brooks, I’ve known since I walked through your door to come get Josie back that I was into you. Maybe even longer than that. You’re a good man and I want to be with you.”
“Everything you do, I keep waiting for something bad to happen, it’s just the kind of life I’ve set myself up for. You never let me down. I feel like such a tool.”
“I’m no angel,” I say, biting my lip. “But I won’t do you dirty.” I would never willingly do anything to hurt this man. I’m crazy about him. I’m in love with him. I’ve just been so scared of pushing him away with my feelings that I’ve neglected to really say anything at all. “I wouldn’t be completely against the whole dragging me out of here like a caveman thing, though, if you know what I’m saying.” I tug his beard just a little, arching my back into his solid chest.
“You better watch yourself, girl,” he growls into my ear. “You keep grinding your ass on my cock like that and we might not make it out the door.” It’s as if everyone in the room has faded away and it’s just him and I, my desires, my lust for him, our overwhelming attraction, and now our spoken agreement. I inch my ass one inch closer to his hardening cock, staring into his eyes with defiance.
He shifts in his barstool, and before I can get in a word, he’s grabbing me by the arm, walking me through the dark web of corridors that wind through the clubhouse until we reach the office. My heart is racing as he throws open the door, pulling my t-shirt shirt up over my head with a needy desperation before he can even close it behind us.
His lips meet mine for a hard and passionate kiss, his tongue parting my lips, hands on the back of my head, possessively taking over my mouth as my legs begin to tremble.
“You know how fucking jealous you made me earlier?” he asks, as he carries me towards the desk, sliding my jeans down to my ankles. “I was out of my mind. Thinking about you with another man makes me crazy. You’re mine,” he says, bringing his hand to my damp mound, grabbing it while he stares me in the eye, the look on his face a mixture of crazy and sexy. I’d never seen that look before, but it’s turning me on.
“Yes,” I say, my voice hoarse. He strokes his fingers over my panties, teasing my clit in just the right way. I slide my bra off over my head, palming my breasts, pinching my nipples between my fingers while I stare him down. I lick my lips, noticing his swelling cock in his jeans, anxious to feel him inside of me.
“I love watching you play with those perfect titties,” he growls, moving his fingers faster and faster across the fabric of my panties, bringing me right up to the edge. “You only do that for me, right?”
“Yes,” I squeal as he pulls my panties off to the side, dipping a finger into my wetness. It’s not insecurity coming from him, it’s straight-up possession, claiming his woman, and something about it is incredibly hot. “Only for you, Brooks.”
“Good,” he says, pressing his lips to the crook of my neck, dragging his tongue to my ear as he works his fingers in and out of my pussy. My walls begin to contract around him, and I arch my back, losing all control on his hands. “You’re so sexy,” he whispers in my ear. “I love making you cum.”
I want him inside me right now, and reach for his jeans in desperation. Just the sight of his thick cock makes me clench my thighs in anticipation.
“Turn over,” he says, helping me from the desk. My panties around my ankles, his hand connects to the flesh of my ass, and I cry out, startled by the pain, and shocked by the pleasure. “Your ass is divine, woman” he says. He lands another slap on my flesh, my knees buckling, as I hug the desk. There’s something so erotic about how he knows his way around my body, how he can simultaneously make me feel dirty and sexy. “Does that make you wet?” he asks, gently tracing his fingers over his handiwork, as my flesh goosebumps under his touch.
All I can fathom is a moan, and I feel his hard cock pressed up against the back of my thigh. “You’re mine,” he growls, raking his finger through my hair. “You know how much that turns me on?”
“Fuck me,” I plead, grinding my ass into him, desperately aching for his cock, craving the feeling of him filling me, owning me, every part of me.
He lines his dick up with my slit, pushing his way in in one hard thrust, his groans like music to my ears. He thrusts in and out of me, slowly, hard, his hand pinning my back to the desk, and his thighs slapping off mine every time he slides that thick cock into me again.
My insides begin to tremble as he taps my g-spot with each thrust, and my explosion is imminent. I scream in pleasure, my walls clenching down around his cock. “Cum on my dick, babe,” he growls. “Show me how much you love my cock inside of you.”
I feel that familiar swelling inside of me, his moans escalating, and as he pulls out and covers my back in his cum, in one final act of possession, my legs turn to complete rubber and I hug the desk below me. His hands gently palm my neck, my chin, turning my head to him for a soft kiss.
“I mean it, Lena,” he says, running his fingers through my hair as I come down from this overwhelming high. “You’re my woman now. Just mine.”
“And what are you, then?” I ask.
“I’m the man that’s fucking crazy about you. I’ll never do anything to hurt you.”
I smile up at him as he towels me off with some tissues from the box on the desk, relishing his comforting touch, wishing that we could just spend the rest of the night here wrapped up in each other’s arms. I’m in no hurry to dress, even though we should probably get back to the party.
“Come on,” he urges, hugging me to his body. “There’s nothing in the world like a slice of Trixie’s birthday cake after a good fucking.” All I can do is laugh. I trust his judgment. Might as well take advantage of the opportunity.
He helps me dress, and I admire every inch, every muscle, of his sexy body as I watch him pull up his jeans. He wraps his arm around my shoulder and kisses the top of my head as he shuts off the office light.
I walk down that dark corridor a new woman, a changed woman, an “old lady,” I suppose. His hand never leaves the small of my back. My heart won’t stop racing. I am head over heels crazy about this man, and after today, I know in my heart he feels the same way about me. I feel like I’ve been born again, tossed into the life I always wanted for myself, but never had the courage to go for. I could still be an independent woman and his. The two of us together is better than anything I could accomplish on my own. Having someone to share my life with instead of flailing around in the dark, hoping that I one day find my way, is a dream come true. It doesn’t hurt that it comes in the form of this tall, bearded, sexy as fuck, biker who knows how to push all
my buttons.
By the time we make it back into the main room of the clubhouse, the place has cleared out significantly, and Josie is sitting at a table, sorting through the pile of birthday presents everyone showered her in, sniffing lotions and dabbing eye shadow on the back of her hand. Heat offers us a round of applause when he catches sight of us, and Brooks shoots him a middle finger while I try to stifle the urge to crack up.
I scoop a giant piece of chocolate cake onto a little paper plate, famished from the lack of dinner and surprise workout.
“You ladies ready to go home?” Brooks asks, finishing off his piece of cake. “We all have a long day tomorrow.”
I’ve never been more ready to go home in my entire life. Our home. My new family. Every hour I can spend with them between now and tomorrow, when shit is going to start hitting the fan, is precious. I help Josie collect her bags, and load them into Brooks’s truck.
Josie jumps in my Jeep with me for the short drive up the hill. She’s grinning from ear to ear, but her eyes are tired.
“Did you have a good birthday?” I ask.
“Not as good as your day, apparently,” she says with a giggle. “I know that look on your face. You got that sex hair, sis.”
“Gross,” I tease.
“So are you guys like a thing for real now? Please tell me you’re a thing for real now. I’m seventeen years old. I think I should be entitled to my own bedroom.”
“You can have your own bedroom,” I say. “You better not be sneaking dudes in the window, though.”
“You’re such a cock-block,” she teases. “How come you get to have all the fun?”