Primal Heat

by Piper Davenport

“That’s not good enough, Noah,” I said.

  He hunkered down in front of me. “I promise I’ll fill you in as soon as I can. I can’t tell you anything, because I don’t have all the facts. I just know that you aren’t safe outside these walls right now and that’s something I can control. By keeping you here.”

  “I have nothing here, Stoney. No change of clothes, nothing. If I have to stay here, I need stuff.”

  “Call your brother and see if he can pick up Fox. I will meet him in a neutral pla—”

  “There’s no way he’s going to go for that,” I pointed out. “He’ll take him to Mom and Dad’s.”

  “We need to get me on the pick-up list at school,” Stoney grumbled.

  “I’ll do that tomorrow,” I promised. “He’ll be safe at my parents, right?”

  “Yeah, baby, he will. I’ll send a guy over to make sure.”

  “Again, Luca’s gonna have an issue with that.”

  “I don’t know what you want me to say, Sabrina. If your brother wants to be a complete asshole about your safety, I’ll deal with him in a way that he’ll have an even bigger issue with.”

  “Okay, threatening my brother isn’t going to help the situation, Noah.”

  He dragged his hands down his face. “Will you please call Luca and ask him to pick Felix up and take him to your parents?” I nodded and Stoney rose to his feet. “Thank you.”

  I grabbed my phone and called my brother.

  “Hey, Bree.”

  “Hi. Are you too busy to do me a favor?” I asked.

  “I’m kind of in the middle of something.”

  “I’m tied up with something and I would really appreciate it if you’d pick Felix up for me.”

  “Yeah, I can probably do that.”

  I relaxed. “Thank you. Either Stoney or I’ll pick him up after dinner.”

  “Where are you?” he demanded.

  “I’m with Stoney. At the compound,” I said. “You wouldn’t be willing to meet Stoney and hand Felix over, would you?”

  “I would not.”

  “Figured.” I sighed. “Can you take him to Mom and Dad’s?”

  “Yeah, but is he gonna be safe there?”

  “Yes. Stoney said he’d send a guy over to watch the house.”

  “I can take care of our parents, Bree.”

  “Well, if you could do that, I’d appreciate it. Stoney doesn’t think there’s going to be an issue, but it’s always good to make sure.”

  “Jesus, what the fuck has he got you wrapped up in?”

  “Don’t start, Luca.”

  Stoney walked up and held his hand out to me.

  “What?” I asked.

  “Give me the phone.”

  I handed him my phone and he put it to his ear. “You gonna pick Felix up? Yeah. Good. You need to stop sayin’ shit to your sister that upsets her. You got a problem with something to do with me, you bring it to me. Leave her out of it.” He frowned, then smirked. “Name the place and the time, asshole. Jesus Christ, Luca, you don’t know what the fuck you’re talkin’ about, so it might be good for you to shut the fuck up. I thought he was in surgery. Jesus. Whatever, Luca, we did the right thing, so you need to calm the fuck down.”

  I groaned, dropping my face in my hands.

  “Glad you’re hearin’ me. Fuck you too,” he said, and handed me back my phone.

  It appeared he’d hung up on Luca, so I frowned up at him. “Who’s in surgery and what did you mean by ‘did the right thing’?”

  “Not answerin’ that, Breezy.”

  “How are we going to get past this hostility, Noah? I can’t have you and my brother at each other’s throats.”

  “You’re gonna need to take that up with him. I’m not the one who has the problem, unless he’s fuckin’ with you, Felix or my club,” he said. “If he calms the fuck down, the problem’ll be eliminated.”

  I’d argue with him, but he was probably right. My brother had that effect on people. It was partly because he was a cop, but mostly because he liked to dig at people. It was probably what made him a good detective, but it made things difficult when he decided he didn’t like someone. He and Maria butted heads all the time, and I watched and vowed I’d never date someone Luca disapproved of. I didn’t plan on falling for the epitome of everything my brother hated.

  “Hey,” Stoney said, sitting on the coffee table across from me and leaning his elbows on his knees. “We’ll figure this out.”

  “I just don’t want to fall into the same trap Ria did. She and my brother were at each other’s throats at the end, and I don’t want to alienate my family in order to be with you.”

  “You won’t, baby. We won’t let that happen.”

  “I’m falling in love with you,” I whispered. “And I’m afraid Luca’s going to make me miserable because of it.”

  His hands cupped my face and he leaned forward, kissing me gently. “I’m already there, baby, and I won’t let him fuck any of this up.”

  I nodded, kissing him again. “Okay.”

  “I need to take care of something. You okay here?”

  I nodded. “Can I raid the pantry?”

  “Yeah. Take whatever you want.”

  “Thanks.”

  He kissed me again and then walked out the back doors, and I made my way into the kitchen to see what there was to eat.

  I had just set bread onto the island when Wyatt walked in before I could open the fridge to grab deli meat.

  “Hi,” she said. “I didn’t know you were here today.”

  I smiled. “I wasn’t supposed to be.”

  “Uh-oh, everything okay?”

  I shrugged. “I have no idea. Stoney won’t tell me what the hell is going on.”

  She wrinkled here nose, settling her hands on her growing belly. “That’s the worst. It drives me mad when Sundance doesn’t disclose.”

  I opened the fridge and pulled out turkey, cheese, and I even found a tomato. “Sandwich?”

  “I’d love one, thanks. No tomato.”

  I nodded and went in for mayo then liberally spread it on my bread. “Does he ever tell you?”

  “After it’s over, yes,” Wyatt said, pulling a stool up to the island and taking a seat. “He’ll give me some information before...sometimes, but it’s rare. Afterwards, though, he’s pretty forthcoming with information.”

  “Mayo?” I asked, and Wyatt nodded. “I’m not sure how this all works.”

  “You slather it on the bread, then add meat and cheese,” Wyatt retorted, and I chuckled. “You just have to let them do their thing, honey. It’s frustrating as hell a lot of the time, but they are the best of the best when it comes to humans, in my opinion, and you’ll never be loved as deeply as they love.”

  I sighed, sliding a sandwich toward her. “Yeah, I kind of figured that part out already.”

  “It’s not always so drama filled,” she said. “This is a weird time, but I’m hoping it’ll be over soon, and we can get back to peace.”

  “I just wish I knew what was going on. I had bikes following me this morning and thought nothing of it until Stoney called. I’m chattering away, thinking he’s showing me his support and then he’s telling me to drive here as fast as I could.”

  “Oh my god, that must have been terrifying.”

  “Beyond,” I agreed, taking a bite of my sandwich.

  “You can talk to me about anything,” she offered. “Double check with your man so I’m not speaking out of turn, but if you have questions, I’m happy to answer. This whole life is different for sure.”

  “You’re telling me,” I grumbled.

  “I know this goes against all girl code, but do whatever Stoney tells you to do. Just about club stuff, to be clear,” she said. “He’ll keep you safe. And if he doesn’t, Sundance will. You’re part of us now, Sabrina, and we mean to keep you.”

  “I can’t figure out if I should be concerned or comforted.”

  Wyatt laughed. “Oh, concerned. Be very concerned.”r />
  I grinned, taking another bite of food, feeling more relaxed than I had in a while. “Thanks, Wyatt.”

  “Anytime, Sabrina.”

  “There you are,” Sundance said, walking over to his wife, and greeting me distractedly. “Hey Sabrina.”

  I gave him a little wave. “Hi.”

  “Where’s your phone?” he asked Wyatt.

  She took a bite of her sandwich and gave him an innocently guilty look, shrugging as she chewed.

  “You are the worst,” he complained, wrapping an arm around her waist. “At least you’re eating. How are you feeling?”

  “Good. Now that I’m eating,” she sassed.

  “Did you get your shit done?”

  “Nope,” she said. “I still have about an hour of work. Can you make yourself busy and stay out of my hair for an hour?”

  “Yeah, possibly.” He grinned, kissing her quickly. “I’ll leave you to it.”

  “Okay, honey.” She stroked his beard. “Love you.”

  “Love you, too.”

  He gave me a chin lift then left the room.

  Wyatt helped me clean up, then I went back to work myself.

  Sabrina

  My phone rang, pulling me out of my work haze, and I saw Luca’s name on the screen, so I answered. “Hi.”

  “Hey, sissy. Fox has been delivered to Mom and Dad without incident. I needed to get back to the office, but I left a patrol unit on the house. I also saw an unmarked van parked across the street, so I investigated. It’s one of Stoney’s guys.”

  “Okay,” I said carefully.

  “I did a quick check on him.”

  “Luca—”

  “He’s clean, Bree, so I didn’t fuck with him.”

  “Thank you.” I sighed. “Does that mean you’ll stop fucking with Stoney?”

  “No.”

  “Luca, he’s clean. You know he’s clean, why do you feel the need to poke the bear?”

  “Because my little sister’s in love with the asshole and I mean to make sure he’s worthy of her.”

  I blinked back tears. I swear, my brother was one of the best people on the planet... when he wasn’t being nosy. “Are you serious right now?”

  “I didn’t do this with Ria, Bree, and I regret that every fuckin’ day.”

  “You don’t need to do that with me, LuLu,” I pressed. “I’m a better judge of character than Ria was. Although, considering the fact she made a baby with Stoney, she wasn’t a bad judge after all.”

  “You don’t think that’s weird?”

  “No. Because it all happened a long time ago, and I didn’t come here looking for a date, Luca. I came here looking for Felix’s father. Which I found. I just didn’t expect he’d be so wonderful.” I bit my lip. “He’s a really good man, Luca, and if you’d pull your head out of your ass long enough to look around, you’d see that too. Please don’t make me pick between you two, because it will break me.”

  “I’d never make you choose, Bree,” he said with a loud sigh. “It’s just gonna take me a minute to wrap my mind around him.”

  “I get it,” I said. “Do it for Felix if you can’t do it for me.”

  “I’d do anything for you, sissy. Don’t ever doubt it.”

  “Okay, then make nice, please.”

  “I’ll try.”

  “Thank you.” I looked up to find Stoney walking toward me, a look of concern on his face. I smiled, and he seemed to relax a little as he sat beside me. “I need to go, but I’ll keep you posted on what I need with Felix.”

  “Okay. Talk to you soon.”

  “Bye.” I hung up and faced Stoney. “Hi.”

  “Everything okay?”

  “Everything’s actually really good.”

  I filled him in on the conversation with Luca and he nodded. “That’s good, baby. Hopefully, he’ll chill.”

  “One can dream.” I cocked my head. “How much can I talk to Wyatt about?”

  “She’s safe,” he said. “You can talk to her about anything you feel comfortable with.”

  “Okay, thank you.”

  He smiled. “You done with work?”

  I nodded. “I’m actually ahead.”

  “Good. I’m gonna take you to your place. I’d like you to pack a bag for both you and Fox. Enough for a week.”

  “What?” I squeaked. “We have to stay here for a week?”

  He shook his head. “You’re gonna stay here for a day or two.”

  “Then why am I packing for a week?”

  “Just in case.”

  I opened my mouth to object, but then the words Wyatt had just said in the kitchen floated into my mind. Stoney was trying to protect me, and this was the only way he knew how. If I fought him on it, I was hindering him in his attempt to make me safe.

  “Okay, honey. When do you want to go?”

  “Now.” He leaned down and kissed me. “Thank you.”

  I nodded, rising to my feet.

  “Bring your stuff and I’ll show you where you and Felix’ll be, then you can decide what you want to pick up.”

  He took my hand and led me upstairs and down the hall. He unlocked a door and pushed it open, stepping back so I could walk in. I couldn’t stop a little gasp as I glanced around the room. “This is gorgeous.”

  The room was huge with a king-sized bed and two alcoves with big windows. One had a single bed, the other had a sitting area with a flat screen television on the wall. Behind the door in between the alcoves was a bathroom with a shower.

  Across from the bed were French doors that opened onto a small balcony that overlooked the club land. “Wow.”

  Stoney wrapped an arm around my waist, and I leaned against him. “This was Sundance and Morgan’s room.”

  “I thought he was married to Wyatt.”

  “Morgan was his first wife. She died and he hasn’t used this room since. He and Wyatt built their home on this land, so he didn’t use it with her either.” He pointed to the west and there was a gorgeous log home sitting in front of the Mountains. “That’s their new place, and over there,” he pointed to the east, “is Orion and Raquel’s place. Then we have a few other cabins available for any of the officers who want to utilize them.”

  “What about you?”

  “I have a shitty apartment that I really need to let go of. I’m here most of the time, so I’m payin’ rent for a place I barely live in.”

  I smiled. “I meant, what about you while Felix and I are here?”

  “I’ll stay here, too. Not here, here, but downstairs in the bunkroom.”

  “So, you’ll be close.”

  “Yeah, baby, I’ll be close.” He cocked his head. “Did you think I’d make you stay here alone?”

  I shrugged. “I’ve never been in this position before, so I had no idea what you planned to do.”

  “Well, I plan to be here as long as you’re here. I will never leave you to fend for yourself, baby. You need to start wrapping your mind around that.”

  I smiled. “Okay.”

  “Okay.” He touched his nose to mine, then kissed me. “Come on, we’ll drop by your place, then pick Felix up.”

  I gripped his jacket and stood on my tiptoes. “Thank you.”

  He smiled. “You’re welcome.”

  We pulled up to my townhouse and I noticed my brother’s truck was in my driveway. “What’s Luca doing here?”

  “Shit,” Stoney hissed.

  “What’s going on?” I asked, just as my brother slid out of his truck and walked toward us.

  “Let’s get inside and we’ll explain,” Stoney said.

  I frowned, but climbed out of my car and led Stoney and Luca inside.

  “You found out somethin’,” Stoney said to my brother.

  “Yeah,” Luca confirmed.

  “What’s going on,” I demanded.

  “You might want to sit down,” Luca said.

  “I don’t want to sit down, I want you to spit it out.”

  “Your sister didn’t OD,�
�� Stoney said. “She was murdered.”

  “What?” I squeaked.

  “She’s got somethin’ on some really bad guys,” Luca said.

  “No shit?” Stoney asked.

  “Yeah. Coco squealed before he went into surgery. My team confirmed it as we started to delve back into the Los Psychos’ file. Ria apparently had RICO level evidence, but no one knew where she kept it.” Luca slid his keys in his pocket. “They ransacked her place and after they stole her car, they dismantled it to see if she’d hidden anything inside of it.”

  “Jesus,” Stoney hissed.

  “I know where it is,” I rasped.

  “What the fuck?” Stoney snapped.

  I nodded. “She gave me a crate—”

  “Holy shit!” Luca exclaimed. “I didn’t even think of the fucking crate.”

  “You didn’t think this might be the reason that asshole broke into her home?” Stoney growled.

  “No, why would I?” Luca demanded.

  “Oh, I don’t know. Maybe because you’re a fuckin’ detective and shoulda had her back?”

  “Fuck you, asshole—”

  “Stop!” I bellowed. “Both of you. Stop!”

  Luca dragged his hands down his face while Stoney glared at him.

  “Why don’t we pull the crate out and see what she put in it?” I suggested.

  They nodded and I led them upstairs.

  * * *

  Later that night, I tucked Felix into bed at the compound, and Stoney read him his favorite book (I’d brought ten from home just in case), then we settled quietly in the alcove with the television on low. Luckily, Fox slept like the dead, so it was unlikely we’d wake him.

  I snuggled up against Stoney and sighed. “I can’t believe Ria didn’t tell me about all that evidence.”

  We’d discovered a false bottom in the crate and Luca had pulled out audio recordings, notes, and photos of papers Maria had acquired while at a party two years ago. Anything that might have fingerprints or DNA on, she’d bagged and tagged, just like a cop would. I wasn’t sure what Luca was more impressed with, the evidence itself, or her gathering of the evidence.

  “If she’d told you, you’d probably be dead.”

  I shivered. “Maybe. Do you think they’ll come back?”

  “Until your brother gets this wrapped up, I’m not takin’ any chances. If you’re not here, I’m at your place, or one of my guys is.”