She was about to walk into a bar full of people she’d walked out on. That would make any person nervous as hell.
We danced around each other in the house until it was time to head to the bar. We hopped on my bike and make our way down the road, and by the time we got there the parking lot was full. Apparently, word had gotten around that I was bringing in some sort of surprise, and everyone had apparently shown up to witness it. Syd locked up the moment she saw all the bikes piled outside the bar, and she gripped harshly onto my jacket as I turned my bike off and parked it.
“It’s gonna be all right. I’ve got you,” I said.
“My god, they’re going to kill me,” she said.
“Far from it. No one’s gonna lay a hand on you, okay?”
I helped her get off my bike, and I could see her shaking. We both turned towards the bar as the neon sign kicked on, signaling the official draping of night out there in the desert as she held tightly onto my arm. We stood there for awhile, simply taking in the night sky as we craned our necks back.
Then, she slipped her hand into mine, and her shaking ceased.
I looked over at her and saw a strength I’d never seen in her eyes before. There was determination, perseverance, and a protective stare I’d only ever seen in my mother’s eyes. She knew she had to do this for Emery. She knew she had to do this to keep her daughter safe. The stoic stare and the way her body simply stopped shaking, it was a protective mama bear stance.
In that very moment, I knew how much I loved Sydney.
She took the first step forward, and I followed right by her side. I pushed through the double doors as we slowly walked into the bar, and all of a sudden everything stopped. People looked over from the bar and up from their cards. The members playing pool dropped their cues to the tables as they gawked. People’s eyes were raking over Syd, trying to make sure their eyes weren’t deceiving them.
And then their eyes trailed to our hands.
Mac parted the pool of people and slowly made his way for us. His eyes were on fire. Angry. Shocked. His eyes flicked towards me before landing heavily on Sydney, and all she did was roll her shoulders back while she held his stare. His stature loomed over both of us as he stopped, cloaking us in his shadow while Syd stood toe-to-toe with the man who’d taught her everything she knew about fighting when she was younger.
Then, he did something no one else had seen him do.
He threw his arms around Sydney and pulled her close to him.
“Uncle Mac,” she said breathlessly.
“Holy fuck, Sydney. Where the hell have you been?” he asked.
The bar erupted into cheers and celebrations as tears wafted down Sydney’s face. Mac held her close, a small grin creeping from his cheeks as Sydney worked her arms around his stout frame. For the first time in years, I genuinely smiled. This crew had welcomed her back with nothing but open arms for the little girl they’d lost six years ago, and I could see Syd melting back into her family even as she stood there hugging Mac.
“I’m so happy you’re finally back,” Mac said.
“So am I,” she said, whispering.
“Mac, I hate to ruin the moment, but we really need to talk,” I said.
“Yep. You two follow me,” he said.
I took Syd’s hand and weaved her through the crowd. People stopped to hug her and tell her how wonderful she looked. Some of the girls gave her kisses on her cheek while some of the men told her what a beautiful woman she’d grown into. I squeezed her hand before I pulled her close, showing them all who she belonged to as she giggled. Her hand patted my chest, trying to get me to calm down as we finally made our way back towards the back room.
And the rest of the men stood to greet Syd with all smiles before we sat down and got to business.
“Have you told her?” Mac asked.
“I told her we had a plan, but that was it,” I said.
“I believe I’m to blame for the DEA being here,” she said, and everyone’s head turned toward her face.
“How so?” Talon asked. “Whatcha get yourself into, Marshall?”
“Talon,” she said, grinning. “You look good. I haven’t heard you talk this much… well, ever.”
He grinned and pulled her back in for another hug before she started talking.
“I just need you guys to listen, all right? Because a lot of this is going to come as a shock. Just know that my father never meant to lie to you guys. This was just a different club when it came to family when I was born,” she said.
“Your momma’s not dead, is she?” Snake asked.
“That’s who I’ve been with for the past six years,” she said. “Until she passed away a couple weeks ago.”
“Sorry for your loss,” Talon said.
“Sorry for both your losses,” Mac said.
I heard Syd draw in a shaking breath and I held her close to me.
“You’re good here, okay? The hard part’s done,” I said into her ear.
“My mother lived near the Iron Souls,” she began.
“Say no more,” Fox said. “They’re on a witch hunt. If they’ve seen you with them once, they’re tryin’ to round ya up.”
“Do you know anything?” Mac asked.
“No. They think I do, because apparently, their joyriding route was also one of their trade routes? But I didn’t know any of that,” she said.
“An agent approached her in the hotel I found her in,” I said.
“An agent talked to you?” Mac asked. “You sure you were just joyridin’?”
“I hung out with them, yes. But I was never patched as someone’s property. They just reminded me of…”
I gripped Syd’s hand tightly while Talon rubbed her back. If there was one thing this club was sensitive towards, it was people intimidating their women and children. They didn’t put up with it, and they didn’t tolerate it.
“That agent threatened you, didn’t he?” Mac asked.
“‘She,’” Syd said. “And yes, very much so. Threatened me with jail time, with exposing secrets, all sorts of shit.”
“Exposing secrets?” Snake asked. “The fuck’s that mean?”
I searched Syd’s face as war raged behind her eyes. The men sat back and waited for her to make her decision, giving her the space she needed to gather her thoughts.
“We’re a different club now, Syd. Let’s tell ‘em,” I said.
“Hawk and I… the night… that night,” she said.
“That night,” Mac repeated.
“I was just overcome with grief. I didn’t want to think about it. I didn’t want to process it. I just wanted to distract myself from it. And Hawk, he would’ve done anything I asked him to.”
“The two of you have a kid,” Fox said.
Syd closed her eyes as a tear fell into her lap.
“They threatened to take Emery from us,” Syd said, whispering.
“A daughter,” Talon said, grinning.
“They what?” Mac growled.
“Called me a bad mom. Threatened to tell Hawk that I was a terrible mother who left my child home at night with my own mother while I went joyriding with criminals across town,” Syd said.
“They fucking did what?” Snake asked.
“Did all this shit in front of Emery, too,” I said.
“Emery was there?” Mac asked.
“We were swimming,” Syd said, sniffling. “I was-... in the hot tub and-... and Emery was jumping into the pool. She looked so scared and that agent… she didn’t give a shit.”
“All right, I’ve heard enough,” Mac said. “This club won’t stand for that shit. Hawk, congrats on the kid. It’s time to get your family safe.”
“Thanks,” I said.
“Ain’t no one mad at you, either,” Snake said. “This shit rolled up onto my doorstep? I would have done the same thing.”
“I’m so sorry, you guys,” Syd said breathlessly.
“You went to the only place you knew you could run,” Fox said. �
�If anything, it’s good you still feel safe with some of us.”
Fox reached out to grab her hand and Syd clung to it desperately. I looked around the room at the men that now ran this club, and I couldn’t have been more honored to be apart of this kind of family. It took us years to change the way The Road Rebel viewed family, but I really did believe that after all this was said and done, they would respect whatever decision Syd made.
I just hoped the decision included me.
“If it makes you feel any better,” Mac said, “the President of the Iron Souls gave me a ring when they got busted. Warned me that the DEA was now looking for drugs and our supplier and that we should watch out. I’ve had a few plans in the works to protect ours and our own, so it’ll be easy to integrate you into things.”
“Really? It’ll keep Emery safe?” she asked.
“I’m your Uncle Mac. Of course, it will.”
“Should we tell her about the plan?” Talon asked.
“Your plan. You go ahead,” Mac said.
“Sydney, look at me,” Talon said. Syd slowly lifted her gaze to look at him, and he smiled brightly at her. In all my days, I’d never seen Talon smile that big, and it was almost awkward to look at since it was so foreign.
“It’s long and convoluted and required me to go undercover and all this bullshit, but we have someone who’s going to roll over on the Devil Saints,” he said.
“Are you serious?” she asked.
“Yep. The gist of the plan is this: we’re taking the personal loss and switching the drug trucks. The DEA is onto us, so we’re using that against the Devil Saints. When we switch the trucks, the person we’ve found that’s rolling over on the Saints will phone in an anonymous tip to the police. It’ll bust up their whole bullshit, and once DEA is focused on them instead, she will come forward and testify about everything that they forced her to do and get rid of them for good.”
“Wait. They’re selling their women?” Syd asked.
“They’re making their women be the mules and the sellers. That way they are staying out of the line of fire from the DEA.,” Talon said. “Trust me, this is a good thing that we stop them.”
“How does this protect Emery and I?” she asked.
“The moment the heat’s off the Iron Souls, they’ll have to close that case in order to pursue this one. One thing we know is that the DEA doesn’t have that much manpower. They can’t conduct two witch hunts at once. I take it Emery’s safe?” Talon asked.
“She is,” I said as Syd squeezed my hand.
“Lay low. Stay with Hawk. Bounce around to houses and shit if you have to. Once this all goes down and shit blows up with the Devil Saints, the Iron Souls witch hunt will be a thing of the past. You and Emery will be safe, and maybe you could come back. If ya wanted,” Talon said.
“We aren’t talking about that right now,” I said. “Right now, this is about getting Syd and my daughter safe.”
The men grinned at my statement as Syd pressed her body into mine.
“That’s the plan. Lay low. Don’t follow any more black sedans. That’s all you gotta do,” Mac said. “Hawk, the shipment’s supposed to come in tomorrow night, but be prepared in case it’s tonight. I got something that’ll shut that agent up, too. The one that harassed Sydney.”
“What do you wanna do?” I asked.
“When the shipment comes in, tell Sydney. Have her call that bullshit agent and tell her where to go. She can get a fun little look first-hand at what’s really going on. We can set something up and distract them from the real delivery. Sydney feeding her that information we’ll be sure to get shit off her back if laying low doesn’t work,” Mac said.
“I can do that,” Syd said.
“Sounds like a good plan to me,” I said
I could feel how heavy Syd’s body was becoming. The weight of the past couple of weeks weighed down on her. We all stood and shook hands, and the guys tightly embraced Syd before we ventured back to the bar. People tried to get us to sit down, tempting us with free drinks and food and shit. But I could tell Syd was overwhelmed and needed some space, so I quickly guided her out to the side of the building where I parked my bike.
Without a word, we mounted my bike. I slid my helmet on as she wrapped her arms around me, and a part of me sighed at the fact that she was so tired. We had to be so quiet with Emery in the house, and this was our chance to devour each other’s bodies without having to hold back.
Like we used to when we were younger.
But apparently, I wasn’t the only one thinking that. The moment I started my bike up, I felt Syd’s hand drift to my cock. She massaged it, prompting me to pause as I started growing against her hand. If she wanted to keep this shit up, I was never gonna make it home, and as her lips attached to the part of my neck exposed by my helmet, I knew exactly where I was taking us.
And it sure as hell wasn’t back to the house.
Chapter 16
Sydney
I shivered as he parked his bike in an alleyway not far from the club. My hands were groping his rising cock, my fingertips already pulling it out before I slid from the back of Hawk’s bike. He put down the kickstand and sat there, feeling my hands all over him as he slid his helmet from his face.
I slowly wiggled out of my jeans, feeling Hawk’s eyes on me the entire time as I tossed them to the ground before I crawled into his lap.
“Syd, what are you-?”
I crashed my lips into his, and his hands were immediately on my body. I could feel my pussy already wet, coating his exposed cock as I worked his pants down on his hips. I pulled my panties to the side, collecting his cock between my pussy lips while I moaned into his neck. I could feel all of me giving over to his desires as my curves engulfed his body.
“Holy shit, Syd,” he said, groaning.
Without another word, I rose up and slid down onto his cock. My head lobbed back, my neck exposing itself as he sank his teeth into my skin. His hands clung to my hips as I rode him, my juices dripping down his balls and soaking the leather of his bike. I rolled hard into him. Desperate. Unrestrained. My swollen clit was raking again and again against his tightly body while my legs shook and my lips peppered his neck with kisses. My pussy was tightening, and my arousal was pouring from me. I could feel his pulse quickening from the adrenaline and the effort he was putting into pleasing me while trying to keep his bike steady.
He encompassed his lips with mine before he began to thrust into me, rocking the bike we were sitting on as the shadows of the alleyway covered our writhing bodies.
“I love you,” I whispered. “I love you. I love you. I love you.”
“Oh, Syd. Fuck. The things you… do to me… oh, shit.”
His hands flew up my shirt and cupped my clothed tits while I whimpered out into the nighttime. He wrapped his free hand around my body, pulling me closely to him while my entire form trembled. My pussy finally gave way, clamping down on his cock, putting it in a vice grip as my body pulled him deeper and deeper into mine. I could hear his muffled sounds as they ricocheted down into my ribcage, rising up an animal inside of me I hadn’t felt in a long time.
He pounded into my body furiously, his body rubbing harshly against my clit as I felt my body quickly dumping into a second orgasm that rendered me speechless.
Suddenly, his movements ceased. I could feel him unloading into me, covering my pulsing walls with his scent and his mark as I tried to catch my breath. My entire body collapsed into him as he held me, our intermingled juices trickling down our legs and coating his bike further. Never had I felt this alive in the arms of a man before, and I lined his neck and cheeks with kisses while we both caught our breath.
“The hell did that come from?” he asked.
“I just… couldn’t help myself,” I said.
“Well, feel free to help yourself anytime,” he said, grinning.
Once we could gather ourselves, we made our way back to his home. We peeled off our cum-covered clothes and tossed them o
nto the floor before we both made our way upstairs and slipped into bed. His body was warm around mine as his rippling thighs captured my leg, and I could feel the love he had for me vibrating out from his skin. He reached out, tucking a strand of auburn hair behind my ear before he leaned in and kissed the tip of my nose.
I couldn’t help but giggle at the sensation as his eyes warmed my soul.
He stared at me for what seemed like hours while my hands danced around his body. I traced the outline of his muscles, feeling him jump and twitch as my touch grazed his skin. I loved the way he jumped for me. I loved the way his body gravitated towards mine. It only served to reinforce the love I knew he had for me back. A love I never thought I’d feel again.
But the words that poured forth from his lips were effortless, and it all took me by surprise.
“I love you, and I want my family back,” he said.
My eyes searched his before I nestled close to his body. I didn’t respond, but I could feel the weight of my statement slamming down on both of our shoulders. Soon, the two of us drifted off to sleep, but we were awoken a few hours later by Hawk’s phone ringing out all the way downstairs.
“Shit,” he said, groaning.
He rolled out of bed while I stretched myself awake. He walked his tired ass downstairs to his pants, but soon I heard him running back up the steps. Suddenly, my purse was chucked into my lap as I saw him holding his cell phone to her ear, and my eyes widened with a realization that woke me up faster than my morning cup of coffee.
It was happening, and sooner than we thought.
“What’s up, Mac? Tonight? How long? Yeah, yeah, I can get there. I’m getting dressed now. Yep, I’ll have her call before I leave. See you soon.”
“Is it happening?” I asked.
“It is, sweetheart,” he said.
Worried bubbled up into my throat as I watched Hawk throw clothes on his back. I sat on the edge of the bed and smoothed my hair from my face, trying to find a way to settle my racing mind. Hawk looked over at me before he sat down and I knew he could see the worry racing in my eyes. I needed to settle myself down so I could perform my part, but before I could grab my phone Hawk’s lips were on top of mine.
Girth (Marked Skulls MC Book 1) Page 60