by Evelyn Glass
“So, let’s see if she can see it through,” Norm hissed. “Or is she just posing?”
Dawn’s arms felt heavy, as she clutched the gun tighter. She couldn’t do it; she couldn’t kill a man even if he was the enemy, Cade’s enemy.
“She’s not part of this!”
Cade pushed Norm into Lenny’s small arms, as he tried to race to her side when George held him back, his gun aimed squarely at his fellow Alpha’s forehead.
“Then, why the hell is she back here?” George asked. “If you don’t want a taste, then what’s her real deal?”
The blonde held his tongue, as Dawn felt sure that she would have to fire a bullet so he could save face. She couldn’t…there was no way that she could…
“Cade?”
Fighting the tremble in her tone as she spoke his name, she kicked Atticus aside, tearing off her shirt as she fell into his arms.
“Did I do good, baby?” she asked. “You want to grab a rack like right now?”
He looked at her with worry in his stare, and Dawn narrowed her eyes, silently pleading with him to move on her sudden lie, as she pushed her fingers into his arm.
“I…I want to…”
Before he could speak her name, Dawn kissed him hard, wrapping her arms around his neck and hoping.
“Take out the trash,” George laughed. “Cade’s girl is DTF.”
Letting them think that, she waited until Cade’s breath was at her back. Flashing him a quick wink, she nodded and felt their minds mesh.
“Now,” she whispered.
Cade touched her arms, and she moaned into his hold, as she felt him peel the gun from her hands. He stuffed the piece into his waistband, and Dawn watched as both men endured a smattering of fists to their faces on account of the Alphas. Grateful that she wasn’t the one who had to cut them down where they stood, she cowered into Cade’s chest when Lenny rolled under an idle truck and reappeared with a shotgun in his arms.
“It’s old school,” he said. “But you’ll take off now and keep your distance.”
Norm stared to charge forward again when Atticus held him back, a stream of snot dripping from his nose as he kept tugging on the older man’s sleeve.
“Back pedal,” Atticus said. “There’s more of them than we figured on.”
“There’s one slit,” Norm said. “Take her out and—”
Norm spied his fallen gun, and he tried to reach for the piece when Cade kneed him in his side.
“No one but me touches her.”
Cade stamped the ground for good measure, and he rammed his fist into Norm’s face. He groaned as he stopped short of tearing the man’s head from his neck. Then, he reached behind his back and took hold of Dawn’s hand. As soon as their eyes locked, Dawn managed to nod her head and speak softly.
“Do you really want to do this?” she asked. “Is it you?”
He grunted and looked ready to land the death blow when he held back and ordered his men to let the Panthers leave.
“What the fuck?” George demanded “Are you crazy?”
Dawn’s firmly planted her hands on Cade’s back, as she shifted her lips to his ears and whispered lightly. “It’s the right thing,” she said softly. “Only way you can tell your story.”
“Or you.”
She wanted to take words back and just take him into her arms, but Cade grunted, as he pushed her back. He retrieved his knife, as he pushed the tip of the blade into Norm’s neck. Holding her breath, Dawn feared that Cade would cut his throat—when he simply sliced the man’s cheek. Dawn absorbed his cry, as he pushed him back and gripped Atticus by his throat.
“You…you get lost and pass the good word around,” Cade started. “We can kill you. So can…”
His eyes drifted towards Dawn, and she tried to hide her hands behind her back as he smiled at her softly.
“So can my girl,” he said. “So get lost and don’t come back.”
Cade pushed Atticus away, and he helped Norm to his feet.
“Not at the moment,” Atticus said. “There’s too many of them.”
“You’re just scared of her,” Norm said. “You could have snapped her neck and—”
“Never happening.”
Cade clutched the handle of his knife tighter, as he kept driving them back and until the Panthers were at their bikes. The men mounted, and Cade’s stare stayed hard, as Atticus raced off and Norm fixed his eyes into a cold glare.
“We’ll be back,” he threatened. “Better watch yourself. And your little slut.”
The bikes moved off into the night, and Dawn’s knees buckled. So much more than she had bargained for, and she started to turn away from him when Cade pulled her close and peered into her eyes.
“Hold still,” he quietly warned. “Let me keep you safe.”
Dawn started to struggle against him when Cade kept her close. Again he whispered into her ear, and Dawn tried to pull away when his arm tightened around her waist. One look from his eyes nearly cooled her rage, but she was ready to push him back when Lenny charged forward.
“You…you said to keep my ears open,” he started.
“So what did you hear?”
“I…they think that…that she’s a smokescreen.”
“I am not!” Dawn insisted. “I’m—”
“Did you get a lead on the rest of their plans?” Cade asked, as he kept Dawn back.
“I…it’s all I got, Cade.”
He kept his hand in Dawn’s, as he pulled her away from the other Alphas. For a slight second, his shoulders sagged, and Dawn moved to touch his arms when he suddenly whirled away from her and took her into his arms.
“Keep quiet,” he whispered. “We’ll talk soon.”
She was ready to protest when he slapped his hand to her mouth. Dawn whimpered into his palm, wanting to break free, when he pressed a stealthy kiss to her hair, his hand curling around her neck as their eyes locked. Dawn stood tall, her body following the path of his back, as he stared down the other Alphas and gritted his teeth.
“Who let them get close?” Cade started. “A second time around?”
Save for George, Lenny and the other Alphas shuffled their feet. Even as Dawn listened hard, not one of them did anything but mutter under their collective breath. Cade kept her close and stood taller, as George rushed back to his side.
“What does it matter?” George asked. “They’re still onto us. And you’re girl is part of it.”
“I never said that—”
“Who the hell is she anyway?” he asked. “Doesn’t look so hot now.”
Cade shot him a sharp glance over his shoulder that served to silence his laughter but not his smirk. Dawn wished for a weapon of her own, or at least the chance to use her hands and smack the smugness from his face. However, she held back under the force of Cade’s hold and sucked in a deep breath, as he squared his shoulders.
“Reese is waiting,” Cade said slowly.
“Real Boss Man?” George said.
“Just gas up and get going.”
Lenny didn’t need a second word, and the other Alphas started to follow. However, George held his ground, as Cade dangled his knife just under the man’s beard.
“Don’t make me say it again,” Cade threatened.
“I’ll say whatever the fuck I want,” George hissed. “Who is she?”
“Friend of the pack,” Cade said. “And under my power.”
Dawn felt her heart swell at the sound of his words. In a life before yesterday, she would have flinched at the sound of any man, even the blonde-haired, blue-eyed Adonis, lumping her into the same equation as something only he could control. But she couldn’t help but savor the idea of being under his power.
Along with his firm body.
“We’ll see what the he has to say about all this,” George scoffed, as he started to turn for his chopper.
“So what?” Cade demanded, as he grabbed his arm and swung him back to his side. “Like now you’re loyal?”
“
Was always fucking loyal!” George spit, as he tried to push Cade back, the blonde’s body suddenly like concrete as he held his ground and narrowed his eyes. “And Reese’ll know as much. And where you’ve been spending your time.”
Cade brought his hand back, ready to land a punch when Dawn leapt forward , stunning him as she held him back.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
“He’s not worth it,” Dawn whispered. “Save your strength.”
Again George laughed.
“Maybe she ain’t no smokescreen,” George said. “Maybe you’re her bitch.”
The veins in Cade’s neck started to throb, and she could feel the tension racing up his arm, as he wanted to land a hard hit. However, Dawn pushed past him and reached for whatever manhood there might be between George’s legs, tugging hard, as he screeched like the true bitch he was and flailed back into his bike.
“And maybe I should make you mine,” Dawn said. “Show some respect!”
Staring at her with wide eyes, Dawn saw a soft smile swirling around Cade’s lips followed by a slight nod, as he kicked the moaning man’s shin and called his bluff.
“Get lost,” he said. “Tell Reese what you think you know. My version will make a hell of a lot more sense.”
“We’ll fucking see about that.”
George groaned, as he mounted his chopper, and Dawn barely stifled a laugh as he pulled away after the other Alphas. She savored the feel of his dust as he left, but there was suddenly a thumping in her heart. Who and what was Reese? Had she played her hand too quickly and become the problem that Cade needed most to avoid?
“Cade, I—”
He stunned her into silence, as he curled her into his arms and pressed her close to his hard chest.
“Glad you’re on my side,” he purred. “Let’s see what you can do with my junk.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
“Cade…”
“Don’t talk,” he said. “Not just yet.”
Pulling her close for a kiss, Dawn melted into his mouth, her heart burning under her breasts, as he smoothed his hands down her sides and pushed his fingers under her shirt. She moaned into his touch and pushed forward to bring their skin closer when the sound of the bikes roaring deeper and deeper into the distance forced her from his kiss, even as he kept her tight in his arms.
“I—”
“I said not yet.”
Kissing her again, Cade turned her to his bike and eased her body back to the leather. One hand stayed buried in her hair, as he played with the buttons of her shirt and brought her breasts into the night air. No chill—only the heat from his fingers playing around her flesh. Dawn moved to keep his hand close, even as she left his lips and looked into his eyes.
“I…I may need a moment, too,” Dawn murmured. “You really want to test me?”
He laughed at the joke, fighting to calm the rising passion poking through his jeans as he twisted to her side and simply took her hand.
“Keep the other one where I can see it,” he warned. Dawn curled her free fingers into a fist and playfully punched his shoulder before staring into the night sky.
“Can I speak now?” she asked.
“Make it quick,” Cade said. “I want to show you how impressed I am.”
“Impressed?” she asked. “You knew I could handle myself.”
“And it’s still fucking spectacular,” he said.
He laid a light kiss on her cheek, and Dawn curved closer to his mouth, as she kept her gaze on the moon and released a nearly contented sigh.
“So you like your ladies tough?” she teased.
“I like them like you,” he said.
He pressed his fingers under her chin, and her lids went low.
“And who is Reese?” she asked.
Cade’s hand fell, and she looked up to see him in the throes of a decision.
“Don’t… don’t back away from me now,” Dawn said. “I’ve already seen more than I imagined.”
“And I brought you to the dance.”
He kissed her again, softly, and Dawn almost came to rest in his arms, wanting nothing more than to be with him and never have to think about anything or anyone else. However, there was still a story to tell, and Michael would want answers when she made her way back to the Plough.
If she ever could.
“So…so spill,” Dawn said. “Who is Reese?”
Cade pushed away from his bike and took a few small steps from her side. She watched his back tense, as his shoulders lifted towards his ears. It had to be some secret, and she longed to know all of it when he whipped back around, peeling her body from the bike as he moaned into her neck.
“We should grab a drink first,” he said.
“Do we have time?” she asked. “George said that—”
“Pay that fucking clown no mind,” Cade said. “The man lives to stir the shit.”
And that’s what she was afraid of. Yet, Dawn relented, as they moved back to the abandoned Pub.
Dawn settled on a stray barstool, as Cade tapped the keg and pushed a frothy mug to her hands before helping himself. He downed his drink with one swallow and went for another, as Dawn sipped and waited.
“Georgie…he likes to think that he has some kind of power,” Cade started. “Been with the crew for a long time. Since Harold’s time.”
Dawn searched her mind for the notes still buried in her desk drawer.
“Harold…you mean Whitaker?”
He shot up straighter, his hand curling around the mug’s handle, as a hint of suspicion filled his eyes.
“Hey, you know my deal,” she said. “Told you I’m just after the facts.”
“And I said I believed you,” Cade said.
“Don’t you?” Dawn asked.
Polishing off his second drink, Cade wiped his mouth on the back of his sleeve and tapped his fingers to the bar, as he tilted his head towards his chest, a light stream of warm air leaving his lips as it swirled into her eyes.
“For some reason…yeah…I do, Dawn.”
Cade touched his finger to her wrist. Her skin buzzed, and she wished that they had stayed with his bike, mounting it in a new way, when his hand fell away, and he cleared his throat.
“Harold Whitaker,” he said. “Founded this chapter. Decent guy. There are honest men in this racket you know.”
“I do,” she said. “Got one right here in front of me.”
Growing bold, Dawn lifted away from the barstool, her lips just dotting his golden hair, as she stroked his cheek and lowered her eyes to the suddenly straight line of his mouth.
“I’m not always like this,” he warned her. “I can be mean.”
“And I’ve seen that, too,” she reminded him. “But the good outweighs the bad.”
“Nice of you to say that. But then you’re all about spinning stories, right?”
“Non-fiction,” she said. “I write about the things I see in front of me.”
Cade pushed his empty mug aside, as he hoisted her body to the smooth surface. Holding her down, he stripped off her shirt, cupping her breasts in his hands, and climbed on top of her.
“So just the facts, ma’am?” he asked. “That’s your schtick?”
“All you have to do is tell me the rest of the story.”
“When I’m ready,” he said.
Crushing his lips into hers, Cade brought her closer to his body, his kiss trailing down her neck, as he pulled her jeans away and pressed his hot hand between her waiting legs. A tremulous sigh hit the air, as she forgot her job, forgot her name, took him into her arms, and arched up to meet his pulsing cock.
“You…you feel ready,” she said, stroking him, as her lips lifted into a smile.
“You want to show me what you can do down there?” he said on the back of a whisper.
Dawn took hold of his cock, her body brimming at the feel of his lust nearly ready to drip between her fingers when she paused in her pursuit and narrowed her eyes.
“Why…shoul
dn’t you be running to cut George off at the pass?” she asked.
“Reese won’t buy what he’s selling,” Cade promised her. “Neither did his dad.”