“I know who that was…what does he want?” Trista grabbed her Samsung from Linx’s hands and began to play with it in a distractive manner.
“A better question is how the hell did he get your number?”
“Well, only one person could have given it to him and that would have been Trey but the $64,000 question is: did he give it to him before or after the phone call last night?”
“And why would Trey have such a special relationship with this Dizzy Cox? Isn’t he the President of the rival MC he belongs to?”
“Yes and no. Jonesy and Dizzy don’t hate each other per se. They just don’t see eye-to-eye on a whole lot. Their biggest differences involve a certain Raymond Jackson and Mexican drug cartel turned Motorcycle Gang, Aztecas Infierno.” She set her phone down on the coffee table and began to drink her coffee again.
Linx had a feeling Trista wanted to tell him more therefore he waited for her to continue on her own time despite time being of precious essence; they would have to leave soon if they wanted to make their flight to Northern Nevada.
“The Bastards have a deal with Jackson and they provide protection for him. He may be a gangster but he’s no gang leader or anything like that. Word is the man is as paranoid as they come. He doesn’t trust anyone outside of his family in his inner circle so he had no choice but to reach out to a club. Jackson pays Jonesy a hefty price for protection and when a deal goes down, he gets biker protection. They have been friends for many years…since Jonesy immigrated from Wales.”
“Why couldn’t he get protection from Dizzy?” Linx wondered out loud as he stroked her silky hair.
Trista laughed out loud. “Too much bad blood. Jackson’s younger brother has a daughter by Grace Cox, Dizzy’s sister. Jackson’s son has a baby by Misty Cox and abandoned her for an upstanding and intelligent German woman his mother hand-picked for him from her home country. Oh, yeah…Cillian and Gisela were high school sweethearts or at least dated although Gisela went to a very expensive all-girls Academy. No one knows what happened but both of them disappeared when they were around fifteen or sixteen. Granted I was a kid because both of them have to be around thirty now so this happened before my family moved to Northern Nevada.
“Anyway, Gisela came back about seven months later and Cillian didn’t come back at all. In fact he lived in Northern Ireland until he was around twenty and brought back an old lady with him. They have a son and a daughter and apparently, he’s sent her packin’ but kept the kids. There’s a rumor going around that he and Gisela are seeing one another again but she can’t admit that shit and remain his attorney.”
“Holy Christ…talk about drama.” Linx ruffled his own hair and breathed out loud. “And I thought my life was bad.”
Trista’s sky blue eyes met his and smiled wryly. “What are you talking about? I haven’t told you anything yet. Anyway, to put it lightly, there are too many family ties between the Jackson and Cox family despite Dizzy being an Irish fanatic who won’t even let members join if they can’t trace at least half their heritage back to the Emerald Isle. There aren’t any non-white members but it isn’t so much Dizzy’s a racist, he just doesn’t like people if they aren’t Irish Catholic. The Saints are a lot of things but they aren’t a neo-Nazi biker gang, not like the White Knights.”
“Okay, so there’s the complicated connections between the two of them but…what does Jonesy have against Dizzy?”
“What do you mean? Despite him stuffing the pockets of a dangerous Mexican cartel like Aztecas Infierno? Does he need another reason? Jonesy knows it’s only a matter of time before they make a play for their piece of Northern Nevada and the moment that happens, the heat will flood the tri-cities area of Reno, Carson City, and Lake Tahoe like a bad case of Herpes. The Feds will get involved, and they’ll bring most of the illegal activity to a halt. The clubs all make money from their illegal enterprises.
“It’s true the Saints wouldn’t be too bad off because Dizzy has other monetary sources but they all make cash from their nefarious dealings and they won’t be able to operate with the Feds swarming the area. And Aztecas Infierno is one of the most dangerous cartels from Mexico who have managed to operate here in the States. Dizzy buys his drugs from them and you think they won’t eventually want a part of the action up in Nevada?”
“What about the White Knights?”
“They operate outside of Nevada and control the meth trade. They make their own product so they don’t need the ‘niggers or the Spics’ to help them out. Of all the MCs, they are the absolute worst. Hell, when Brooklyn threatened me, I was genuinely scared because I know about what they are known to do to women and…it isn’t pretty.”
Linx shifted on the sofa and finally decided to drop the bomb.
“We’re not going to Belfast…at least not yet.”
Trista sat up before she whipped around to face him, her icy blue eyes unreadable at that moment. “Where the hell are we going?”
“We’ve been summoned…by Dizzy Cox. I don’t know why because he didn’t tell me but he’s bought the tickets and we have to go back to the place you’ve never wanted to return to…I’m sorry. I should have told you but frankly, I didn’t know how you would react.”
Linx stared at her as her eyes darted around and he knew she felt like the trap doors had been shut on her for good.
“Holy shit.”
He was about to respond when the doorbell rang.
Why did he feel like a bad situation was about to get that much worse?
Chapter Three
MY HEART THROBBED in my chest with a beat I couldn’t control. I didn’t want to face Dizzy Cox, regardless why he wanted to see us. Fortunately, we were saved by the door bell and interrupted a moment before something happened that could have been potentially so explosive between the two of us, I didn’t want to even think about it.
I had no desire to answer the door either but because I was blocking Linx’s path as I stood, and left the comfort of his warm body, I strode purposefully towards the double doors of our palatial Hollywood Hills home.
The sight that awaited me when I opened one of the doors was not what I was expecting. Cassidy stood there with Jimi and Brady; she spoke animatedly on the phone to someone as she exclaimed, “Yeah, I’m here now. As soon I drop them off, I’ll meet you at your place. Love you, babe.”
She ended the phone call and faced me. Her bright blue eyes sized me up before she placed a hand on one slim hip. “Hey, Trista. I thought you and Lennon would like to spend some quality time with the boys this weekend. Is that okay?”
I pursed my lips in her direction and shook my head. “Sorry, we’re actually on our way out of town and our driver should be here any minute.”
“Shit,” she muttered under her breath. “Listen, I am wooing this music exec at Introspect and he surprised me with a trip to Palm Springs. What the hell am I supposed to do about the boys? They can’t come with me and if you two can’t take them, where will they go?”
Before I could respond, Linx was behind me and slid his arms around my waist. “Take them to John’s house. I’ll call him while you’re on the way. Trista and I have to handle some business and as much as I want to see Brady and Jimi, it wouldn’t be appropriate for them to come.”
Cassidy glared from me to him and back again. “That’s just fucking great. First, you beg me for split custody but when I need you to do me a favor, you’re unavailable—”
“—and you would have known that, Cass, if you would have picked up the phone to call us,” I interrupted rudely before I looked down at Brady and Jimi. My heart thawed and I felt awful we were arguing about them while they stood there with their mother. “Sorry…I shouldn’t have said that. I was out of line. I’m under a lot of stress right now because we have to make a trip back to Nevada and I don’t really want to go.”
Cassidy glared at me long and hard. “Then don’t. What do I look like dropping the kids off at John’s house? He’s never liked me, you know, and he is goin
g to give me tons of shit—both of you know that!”
Linx didn’t waver as he placed his chin on my shoulder. “It’s the best I can do while you woo your new executive, Cass. So, what’s it gonna be?”
It didn’t take her long to think but as Linx reminded me as he squeezed my waist that time was of essence, I allowed a sigh to escape from between my slightly open lips.
“Shit…fine, I’ll take ‘em to John’s but he better be expectin’ me, Lennon.” Cassidy turned on the ridiculously high Christian Louboutins she wore and marched off with the kids in tow.
Linx ran past me and caught up with her in time to stop her in her tracks. He spoke to her before he lifted his boys in his arms and embraced them like it was the last time he’d ever see them again and suddenly the thought occurred to me: what if the hell it was?
AFTER THE PAINFUL goodbye between Linx and his sons, we grabbed our luggage and before hubby-dearest could lug all of it down the stairs, our driver was there to take us to LAX.
He’d called his brother, explained there was an emergency situation we had to take care of, and John had readily agreed to watch Brady and Jimi once Cassidy reached his home and dropped them off.
I couldn’t shake that feeling of dread, knowing I would be going back to the same place where all the shit had begun in the first place. The tri-cities area was supposed to permanently stay in my rear view and here I was going back yet again after having not yet been gone a full year.
This was one reunion I had no wish to make with people who made my skin crawl, and what was it with Dizzy? Why did he care about Trey so much we needed to see him before we could make the trip to Northern Ireland? It made no sense.
That train of thought followed me all the way to the airport, through baggage check and ticket retrieval, and on to the plane itself. I tried to think of all the reasons why he would give a shit and then the thought hit me like a brick upside the head.
Caitlin Cox.
The daughter Cillian shared with his soon-to-be-ex, Brianna. That kid didn’t look a damn thing like him but she did resemble a certain brother of mine who was crazy enough to fuck with another man’s old lady from a rival MC and get his ass beaten over it.
It was no secret Cillian’s ex-old lady had been pretty free with her love and she liked to fuck. Unfortunately, Cillian was always gone on the long runs and handled the big deals because he was VP and everyone knew Caitlin wasn’t his daughter but no one would openly talk about it.
There were rumors she might have belonged to one of his brothers but nothing concrete. I’d seen her around a couple times and there was something about her hazel-green eyes that reminded me of my mother…and Trey.
Both Tristan and I had inherited our striking blue eyes from our father while I had gotten my mother’s coloring while both my brothers were fair-skinned. They had the ability to tan but they would never get as dark as I did during the summer.
Maybe Dizzy thought he owed something to Caitlin and her biological father was better alive than dead. Though even that didn’t wash, not really. Cillian loved Caitlin with all his heart and even knowing what he knew, he was fiercely protective of her and would never allow another man to ever be called her father, whether she was of blood relation to him or not.
Linx grabbed my hand and startled me out of my contemplation. “You okay, babe? You been kinda quiet, and you know how much I’m worried about you. Everything cool?”
I swallowed hard as I turned to face his gorgeous blue eyes. “No, not really but I’m glad you’re here with me. To be honest, I don’t think I would have been able to get through this trip without you. You’re my rock…Linx. I may come off all tough and badass but only you know I am barely hangin’ on by a thread and the thought that something might have happened to Trey…it’s killing me inside and I honestly don’t know how much more I can take.”
I didn’t want the tears to come because I hated crying with a passion but I’d done my fair share over the past months and he wrapped an arm around my shoulders before he kissed my forehead.
“I promise I won’t let anything happen to you. I’d rather take a bullet—”
“Don’t you dare fucking say that, Lennon.” I purposely used his Christian name knowing how much he hated it. “You’ve got two boys who can’t be raised by that money-grubbin’, gold diggin’ whore who is your ex-wife and it would absolutely kill me if I lost you. But what about them? They’d never know what an awesome father they had…how he was a genius with the bass and how giving, intelligent, and courageous he was as a human being. You’re not trash and you’re as worthy for me as any man ever created.”
The tears fell and my cheeks were warmed by the liquid only to be chilled by the temperature in the plane. “I don’t want you to meet the people I grew up with and who shaped my life because it’s not me. It never would have been me. I wasn’t built for that kind of life and to be honest, you remind me of my dad. Is it that hard to believe that you’re a wonderful and decent human being?
“People see tattoos and they think you’re some kind of thug but you’re not. You’ll always be my prince, Linx. Promise me you won’t ever change, not even after you see what I came from and who I really am.”
He kissed my lips this time and although I shouldn’t allowed him to, when his tongue swirled around mine, it was soul-consuming and I desperately wanted to join the mile high club just to know how it would feel to be made love to at this altitude with the man who’d stolen my heart like a gypsy in the night.
“What are you talking about? You came from a decent family—none of the club life is a representation of you.”
“But it is,” I whispered ever so softly. “I followed Trey around like a puppy and I got a little too comfortable with club life. I know it so well, I could easily be an old lady but instead, I fell for a rock star and in my book, being with you is even better.”
Linx smiled a lop-sided grin. “No, I’m the lucky one because I couldn’t imagine a life without you in it, Trista. You truly make me the person I am today and I love you so much, sometimes I don’t think I would be able to breathe if I lost you. I know there are dangerous days ahead…dark days ahead but I would venture through the gates of Hell just to be with you and believe me, neither one of us will rest until we’ve found your brother, I promise you that.”
I leaned toward him and we were so close, I could almost feel our lips touching yet again. “I want him back alive, goddamn it. I couldn’t take the alternative and that is what drives me so bat shit crazy at times…what if he isn’t alive? It was hard enough losing Tristan and my parents but I can’t lose Trey too. I don’t know if I could deal and you didn’t sign up for this kind of shit.”
Linx grabbed my left hand and held it up in front of me. “Yes, I did. When I made you my wife, I said for richer or poorer, through sickness and in health…till death do us apart, and I meant it. Trista, if Trey—God forbid—is dead, then we will deal with it and I’ll support you when you can’t stand.
“I’ll catch you when you fall and most of all, I’ll be here for you because you are the woman I love and adore with all my heart. Never have I felt so strongly for another person and I know for a fact I never will. You’re my alpha and omega…my ending and my beginning. Everything beautiful and pure and true—outside of Brady and Jimi—has happened because I met you. And I don’t plan on that changin’ any time soon.”
I buried my head in his warm embrace and held on tight; to be honest, I didn’t want to let go because I was afraid if I did, my world of security and happiness would disappear before my very eyes.
Chapter Four
LINX DIDN’T KNOW exactly what to expect but the tall, lightly tanned biker who met them at the airport wasn’t it. He gathered the luggage he and Trista had brought along as the man approached them with stealth. He couldn’t have been more than thirty with piercing blue eyes and a physique that probably made most heterosexual women swoon.
“Trista,” he acknowledged with an air of so
meone who knew her though Linx doubted they knew each other well.
“Cillian,” she responded before she turned toward him. “This is Lennon Carter, my husband.”
Cillian strolled closer and sized Linx up and down. “The bassist for Winter’s Regret. I thought you were built more. Looks can be deceiving on the telly. You’re downright slight in build but tall so that had to be to your advantage when you were a scruffy little thing in South Boston.”
Linx stared him down. “You could say that.”
“Well, follow me, lady and rock star. The Prez doesn’t like to be kept waiting and everyone is antsy because we’re on lockdown due to those WK pricks.”
“Is there still fallout from what Trey did to Brooklyn?” Trista wondered as they began to walk toward a black Ford F-150 parked illegally in the Loading Zone.
In Too Deep (The Lovers Duet) Page 2