by KJ Dahlen
Talon unhooked Bret from his carseat like a pro.
That alone made Fiona’s stomach clench.
It was amazing to see the way Bret trusted Talon. No offense to Talon but he looked the part of a nasty biker, and it didn’t seem to faze Bret at all. Fiona got out of her car and walked side by side with Talon.
Falcon and Raptor were standing in the same spot where Fiona first met them.
“VP, what’s the word?” Falcon called out.
“Bloodbath,” Talon said. “Let me get the kid settled and we have to talk.”
“You hear about Hammer’s place?” another biker called out.
“I heard,” Talon said. “Meeting soon. We’ll get this worked out.”
Inside the clubhouse, Fiona looked around and saw how quiet it was for once. There were a few women there, wearing clothing that was more lingerie than something you’d want the general public to see.
“Smokes out, kid’s here,” Talon announced.
And just like that, anyone smoking put their cigarettes out.
The respect for Talon was sexy to see, Fiona had to admit.
Talon plopped Bret down on a barstool. He pointed to a prospect behind the bar. “See that guy there, kid?”
“Yes,” Bret said.
“You call him prospect. Can you say that?”
“Prospect,” Bret said.
“That’s right, kid. Anything you want, you call out prospect and he’ll help you. If he doesn’t, you tell me.” Talon then raised his brow at the prospect. “Make some damn grilled cheeses. And get a beer for me, an apple juice for the kid, and this pretty girl anything she wants.” Talon nodded at Fiona. “This is how your welcome should have been in the first place.” He gave her that sexy smile.
Fiona had to take a minute to swallow the drool she thought may have formed on her lip. Dammit, why did he have to make this so hard, by being like this? “I’m fine,” Fiona said as she got close to Talon. “Can we talk?”
“Of course.” Talon pointed to one of the pool tables and they walked away from Bret.
Two of the women went right to the bar.
“That makes me uneasy,” Fiona said.
“Why? He’s a kid.”
“Those are—”
“They’re harmless,” Talon said. “Lost little kitties looking for a home. They mean well. They know how to protect their own. You’re part of that.”
“I’m not taking orders from some bar whores,” Fiona countered.
“Good. You shouldn’t. Tell them that.”
“Talon—”
“Right.” He touched Fiona’s face. “What a fucked up day.”
“There’s so much happening right now.”
“I know, sweetheart. That’s how it goes. We’ve got it under control.”
“I love you for that saying that, but that’s bullshit.”
“Oh?”
“There were a lot of gunshots. And talks of apartments exploding. Talon...”
“Fiona, you need to focus on you and Bret.”
“Is Devin dead?” Fiona asked.
Talon turned his head and looked away as he clenched his fists. “No.”
“What?”
“Look, sweetheart, you have to trust me.”
“I thought you were going to—”
“Nothing is going to happen to you or the kid. Okay? He understands what he’s up against.”
“That does nothing for me, Talon.”
“We have his number. His phone. His contacts. Everything. He won’t take a shit without us knowing. And when things settle, he’s going to get his. Plus, I gave his money back.”
“What?”
“Hundred bucks, right?”
“Yeah. You paid him?”
“So he has nothing on you. It’s over.”
“So I owe you a hundred bucks now?” Fiona asked as she crossed her arms over her chest.
Talon smirked. “You can find a way to make that up to me.”
Fiona hesitated she didn’t know whether to slap him or kiss him. In the end, she slid her hands up Talon’s hard chest. “I think I can do that.”
They shared a quick kiss before Fiona turned and went back to Bret.
“He’s adorable,” one of the women said to her.
“Fiona,” she said. “You?”
“Leia.”
Fiona turned her head to the other woman. “And you?”
“Cat.”
Fiona motioned them both over out of earshot of Bret.
They both looked curious and stepped over.
“Thanks for keeping an eye on Bret,” Fiona said. “If I need anything else from you, you’ll know.”
“Oh, feisty,” Cat taunted.
“I didn’t have to suck dick to get into this clubhouse,” Fiona stated. “So that puts me ahead of you both. And considering I’m fucking the VP of this club, you might want to listen when I talk.”
Both women’s eyes went wide.
With that said, Fiona had taken her stake in the clubhouse. She had to do it or else these women would eat her alive and she knew it.
The two women walked away and Fiona sat next to her Bret. This was survival again, it had been like that around the strippers she’d worked with. She knew this cut throat stuff only too well. A piece of her heart still held onto the fantasy that the outlaw life could be sexy and calm at the same time. It wasn’t that. And it never would be.
“Grilled cheese and apple juice,” one of the prospects said as he came from the kitchen.
“Thanks, prospect,” Bret said as he raised a brow exactly like his father would do.
Fiona started to laugh. She looked back at Talon, who was grinning.
Be proud, Talon... he’s taking right after his daddy...
Fiona finally eased away from Bret, confident he would stay asleep. The TV was turned down and the light bounced off the walls.
Talon leaned against the dresser with his arms crossed, looking too good for his own sake or hers. “Sleeping?” he whispered.
“Yeah. Long day.”
“Come here, babe.”
Fiona nestled right up in his arms. She shut her eyes and smelled him. He still smelled the same. That dirty roughness. A mix of leather, steel, grease, smoke, and whiskey. The greatest smell to her, besides when Bret was a newborn.
“I’m sorry you had to have a day like this,” Talon said. “But it’s going to get fucking worse. The war is just starting out there.”
“I know that.” She looked up at him. “That’s how this goes. I remember it all too clearly.”
“I know you do,” Talon said. “I have to head out for a little bit now. I won’t be back until late. So I need you to get sleep.”
“Where are you going?”
“I can’t tell you that.”
“Talon...” Fiona felt her heart racing. Fear. Jealousy.
He touched her face. “We can’t go back there.”
“Says who?”
“Me.”
“Not me, Talon.”
“Jesus Christ, Fiona. We were younger.”
“Not much,” she said. “Last time you said that to me...”
Talon sighed. “I know what happened. You think you caught me fucking some kittie. Smashing her into the bed like she was nothing. Which was the truth. She was nothing to me.”
“Your dick was inside another woman right after you said you loved me.”
“I did love you. I still fucking do.”
Fiona shook her head. “That’s not how this works, Talon. I’m not like them out there.”
“You came begging for help and protection.”
“And that means you can fuck anyone with a vagina?”
“So piss me off and send me out there, huh?”
“Is that a threat?” Fiona asked as she pushed off him. “I’ll take Bret and leave.”
“Is that a threat?” Talon asked with a snarl on his face.
“Go fuck anyone you want. It just won’t be me.”
Talon moved
at her, his body suddenly against her. A hand to her ass, other hand to the back of her leg. He lifted her with ease and pushed open another door to a separate room, kicked it closed then walked her to the bed.
Fiona gasped as he put her down on it.
She felt his thickness between her legs, bulging from the inside of her jeans.
“That’s right,” he whispered. “I can fuck anyone I want. I can go out there right now and drop my jeans and have ten of those kitties on their knees, begging for just one flicker of their tongue against my cock.”
“I hate you,” Fiona said.
“No you don’t.” He eased away just enough so he could touch the button on her pants.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“You’re not stopping me, sweetheart. What does that make you then?”
Fiona bit her lip and put her hands to the bed as Talon stripped her jeans and panties off in one swift motion. He was an expert... too good at it.
She watched as he unzipped his jeans and stuffed his hand in and pulled out his long and vein filled thickness.
“Anyone can have it, but I’m giving it to you,” he said as he lowered back down to her.
Fiona felt the sudden pressure between her legs as he took her.
She tried to cry out but lost her breath, which was a good thing, because they weren’t alone.
Talon took himself deep and thrust with force. Fiona hooked her legs around his body and slapped her hands to the back of his leather cut.
He growled into the crook of her neck right before his tongue began to kiss her wildly. He sought out her mouth, his tongue exploring her with command.
As they kissed, Talon began to pump, moving with a needful force, making it damn clear this wasn’t an all night lovemaking session.
He was fucking her and making a point while doing so.
Fiona’s body climaxed far too quickly, but she couldn’t help herself. Talon was everything she loved, everything she hated. Everything she needed and wanted. He was the father of her child. And he was the only one who touched her like this and made her feel this way.
Talon broke their kiss as he hissed. “Fucking hell, Fiona, pump those curves at me right now. Feel me. Ride my cock, sweetheart.”
Fiona bit her lip and rocked her hips as fast as she could.
She felt him thickening as he approached his ending, offering her one final wicked thrust forward before holding there as he released, his body jerking hard as he did so.
Fiona gasped and put her head back, shutting her eyes, feeling herself coming for a second time.
Talon then pulled away and stood up like nothing had happened. He let out a groan as he tucked his cock back into his jeans. “I’ll be back later. Don’t leave the fucking rooms.”
Fiona hurried to prop herself up on her elbows. She watched him leave, as the feeling between her legs hadn’t let up yet. The warmth, tingling, the pleasure. Her body wouldn’t stop throbbing either.
She took deep breaths to calm herself.
But there was no calming down now.
She was right back where she had been before with Talon.
Only now there was a kid involved... their son.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
As everyone drank, Talon thought about the dying man’s words.
The table meeting was shot down by Eagle, who insisted everyone take the night to have a fucking drink and get laid. Which they were all hard working on getting that done. Talon had half that list done, but he didn’t plan on drinking.
At least not yet.
Eagle walked the clubhouse floor as Talon pointed to the door.
They both exited, Eagle with a beer in hand. He lit up a smoke and gave Talon a side eye look. “No booze?”
“I have to take care of something, Prez.”
“The kid?”
“Nah, nothing with that. This is personal.”
“Your old man?”
“I’ll take two prospects,” Talon said.
“You want to fill me in on this?” Eagle asked.
“I’m going to visit Digger.”
“Jesus, VP, you’re going to kick something over you don’t want kicked.”
“Hey. He said something about my old man. Okay? And there’s something else... I wanted to bring it to the table.”
“What’s that?”
“Those guys that ambushed us in the hallway. They weren’t working for Devin, Prez.”
“Why? Because one of them said so?”
“I heard something and right before that guy died, he mentioned Digger.”
“He said Digger’s name?”
“Yeah,” Talon said.
Eagle’s lip curled. “Let me ride with you, VP.”
Talon put a hand out pushed at Eagle’s chest. “No. You’re drunk. Let me do this. Because if something is going on here, I have my way in. Which is my father. I have reason to show up and bother him. You show up, drunk and swinging fists, you’re going to fuck it up. Don’t be like Hammer.”
Eagle turned and threw his beer bottle against the brick wall of the clubhouse. It popped and shattered. “Fuck,” he growled.
“I’ll be back, Prez. I don’t know where this shit is going yet. But it’s all going to come together.”
“Or come crashing down on us,” he said.
“We’ve survived worse.”
“Have we?” Eagle went back inside the clubhouse. When he opened the door, the sound of music and laughter echoed out for a few seconds.
Talon stood there for a minute, thinking everything over.
When someone patched into the Princes of Hell, it was for life. You wore the cut and you died with the cut and you were buried with the cut. It was rare for someone to give up the cut. Walking away was a sign of weakness and most who did ended up with a bullet in their head.
Talon wondered if that would be the same fate for Digger.
There was a pickup truck and a motorcycle in the driveway.
It was a small ranch style house, the garage looking bigger than the house. That would be expected for a wrench head like Digger. After he patched out of the MC life, he went right to work at a garage and eventually opened his own. He lived a simple life, but when you walked the line as an outlaw, nothing was ever that simple.
Talon hammered his fist to the door.
“Who is it?” a voice yelled.
“Talon,” he yelled.
The lock came undone and the door opened.
Digger stood there in a black t-shirt and black jeans. “Talon...”
“I’m sorry to bother you this late. I need to talk to you.”
“Can it wait?”
“No, brother. I need to talk to you about my father.”
Relief seemed to wash over Digger’s face. He hurried to open the door more. “Oh, right. Well, come in then, brother. Can I get you a beer?”
“Yeah, sure,” Talon said.
The house smelled like old food and garbage. It was no wonder Digger was single. He aged like shit too, looking half dead and ready to collapse.
Digger opened the fridge and took out two beers. “What do you need?” he asked Talon. “I told you all I know already.”
“You brought up a name,” Talon said. “Jethro Williams. And I found the papers you mentioned. He was involved in the death of my father. Hell, he killed my father.”
“Goddammit,” Digger said. “I’m sorry, brother. I remember your father and Hammer. They were close. I think your father really tried to pull Hammer out of the fire. I mean, you know Hammer was good to your father.”
“I know the history, Digger,” Talon said. “The whole thing bothers me. An old Dog member serving a life sentence is the one who killed my old man? Why didn’t we have vote and killed the motherfucker already?”
“That’s a question for your President,” Digger replied easily. “I don’t wear the cut anymore.”
Talon pushed the full can of beer away. “See, that’s what has my mind racing too. It seems li
ke every time this thing with Hammer creeps up, people get scared. Right? My father tries to help and then there’s an ambush and my old man is killed. Then a while later you patch out. And now look what’s happening after Hammer’s death. See, he’s short fifty grand on a payment for his debt and the MC is coming under fire.” Talon laughed. “Fuck, we got ambushed ourselves today.”
“Did you now?” Digger asked. “Jesus. Talon. You okay?”
Talon opened his arms. “No bullet holes.”
“Thank the reaper for that, brother.”
“But the thing is... the whole thing was fucked up. It was rushed. It was cheap. It wasn’t a good ambush, Digger.”
“That’s good for you.”
Talon stepped toward Digger. “Is it? Digger, were you there when my father died?”
“Yeah, I was. So was Hammer. Fucking mess.”
“And Jethro did it?”
“That’s what I heard. You found the papers. That’s your guy.”
“And you patched out... why?”
“Personal reasons, brother. Don’t do this—”
“Do what? Find out the truth? You sent those guys together, Digger. One ratted you out.”
“Fuck!” Digger stepped back. “Look, Talon, it’s not what you think. Those were punk runners who have never killed anyone. They were just stirring the pot.”
Talon threw an arm out and grabbed Digger by the throat. He slammed him against the fridge. “Did you kill my father?”
“No,” Digger said in a hoarse voice. “I swear...”
“Then why did you patch out?” Talon yelled.
“I’ll show you. Please—Talon...”
Talon threw Digger to the side like a toy.
Digger slammed into the wall and bounced back then he turned.
Talon quickly pulled out a gun. “Don’t fuck with me. I’ve got two prospects with me. You’ve got shit.”
“That’s right,” Digger said. “I’ve got shit. It’s all I’ve ever had, Talon.”
“Meaning what?”
“Hammer was lost in gambling debt. I knew about it. Okay? So did you father. We all knew. It was bad back then. Then I got lost too.”
“Gambling?”
“No.”
“Then what?”
“Running on the side,” Digger said.
“Jesus Christ. You moved drugs? Without a club vote?”
“Yeah...I’m not proud of what I’ve done in life. I got behind on payments on an addiction.”