by J. L. Drake
“Yes, sir.”
I stood and turned to the principal, who didn’t get up.
“He won’t do it again.” I pulled the kid out of his chair by the back of the shirt and urged him out of the office. Fucking school rules. I hated them, but I didn’t want what I went through at school for Denton. It sucked being the odd one out. Being weird wasn’t cool, but he didn’t need to be throwing his weight around.
“Welcome to parenthood,” the security guard muttered under her breath. I let the door slam behind me.
The walk home was quiet. It wasn’t often I was alone with the boy. I wasn’t sure how to connect, other than when we were in the ring. Fighting was my connection, so walking along the sidewalk like normal people was strange.
He finally spoke as we waited for the light to change. “Gus isn’t coming home, is he?” He kicked a rock and watched it bounce.
“Don’t know.” I figured it was best to be blunt.
He shoulders sagged. “Those kids, they deserved what they got, Uncle Trig. They’re fuckin’ assholes.”
I gave him a sideways glance.
“They said me and Fin were orphans living in a warehouse.”
I tried to hide my annoyance. Kids were assholes.
“It’s not blood that makes family. It’s about loyalty and respect.” His hopeful eyes blinked up at me, and I could see he needed more. Fuck. “You got more family than all those kids combined.”
“Still assholes, though.”
My hand clamped down on Den’s shoulder when I caught sight of someone’s head as it jerked back between two buildings. I should have known he’d be here. His partner’s family owned the coffee shop he was next to.
“What?”
I shook my head and kept moving forward, placing him on the other side of me. Just as we came up on the alleyway, I swung out and slammed the man to the brick wall.
“Jesus, Trigger!” Officer Doyle screamed in my face, fear widening his eyes. “What are you doing here?”
Was he hiding from me? Normally, Doyle pranced around all puffed up and shit. Usually hid behind his badge.
Everything clicked.
“Whose kid is it?”
He tried to shove my hand away, but my grip only tightened.
“You thought sending your slutty sister with a kid to my club was going to rock me?” I managed a dark smile and showed the devil’s damage in my eyes. “I crawled my way out of a triple life sentence with no chance of parole.” I leaned in and lowered my voice. “Let’s remember how I managed that.”
“It wasn’t my idea—”
My fist met his stomach, but I kept him upright, so the pain was more intense.
“You touch my family, I’ll touch yours.”
“I have to do as he asks!”
“Who?” I twisted my fingers into his bruised muscles.
“Your father! Your fucking father!”
What?
“Where is he?” He tried to answer, but I shook him hard.
“Last I heard,” he struggled to think straight, “he was back in Vegas.”
“If I find out you know more, I’ll start to leak the information about you and the sergeant’s daughter.”
His face fell, and I knew I had him.
“It’s not your kid.”
“Keep your sister away from my family, or you’ll find her at the bottom of the pier.”
I slugged him again and dropped him to the ground then pushed Denton back out on the street. I heard him giggle, and I shook my head.
“That was different.”
“Sure thing, Uncle Trig.”
***
Tess
My skin was covered in a thin layer of sweat, and it made my shirt grab and hold as I stretched to reach the glasses. The storm system that was coming in brought rain, which meant high humidity and an all-around sticky feel.
I felt him come up behind me and trap me in place. His hands landed on my hips, and his lips found my neck. I loved the solid feel of his muscled body.
“The kid isn’t mine.”
I froze for a half a second before I sagged with relief.
“How are you sure?”
“I ran into Doyle.”
I didn’t want to know what that meant, so I happily shook off that particular stress as I grabbed a wedge of lemon and started to chop it into little pieces.
“Anything else I should know about?” I twisted in his hold to look at him face to face. His eyes were dark pools of pissed-off-ness. Of course, my chest tightened, and my nipples hardened. “I don’t share, so don’t stray.”
His thumb stroked down the side of my neck, and I heard Morgan whistle at the others to get out.
Trigger reached behind me and grabbed something, then his hand slipped into the front of my bikini bottoms under my skirt and pushed something up inside me.
I yelped when I felt the cold and realized it was an ice cube. He lowered his head and slowly drank me in. Fuck, that alone nearly tipped me over the edge.
I heard the release of his belt, but I was lost in the delicious smell of his shaving cream. The ice was starting to melt, and it was a pain-pleasure thing.
He reached down and swung me out from behind the bar and onto the pool table. I didn’t have a moment to think before he glided into me. He sucked in a sharp breath at the chill, but he didn’t stop until he was all the way in.
Trigger grabbed my hips and hauled me up so he was still in me, but I had to strain to look into his eyes.
“Choose your words carefully, Tess.” He gave a hard flick of his hips that made my mouth open. “You are embedded deeply into this club now, and there’s no getting out.” He smiled at his choice of words.
I nearly licked my lips with need—need for him to lose it. My back bowed, and every part of me screamed for him to flip.
“Don’t ever give me a reason to leave.” I barely registered the words coming out of my mouth, but I was hanging on by a thread.
“We got to stop meeting like this,” a familiar voice broke through my bubble of lust. Trigger jerked back, grabbed his gun, and pointed it at the man standing by the bar with a smug smile.
I wiggled back and pulled my skirt down, not that there was a reason to. He’d seen all of me before.
“Who the fuck are you?” Trigger barked and eyed the door for Big Joe.
“Your bouncer is a little distracted with my friend outside. I’m here to see her.” He smiled at me, and I wanted to coil up like a snake and strike. His eyes flickered over my shoulder, and I saw his demeanor change. “Matt, it’s been a while.”
Brick came to my side, his gun held up like Trigger’s. “Not long enough.”
“Agreed.” He stepped a little closer but held his hands up to show us he wasn’t carrying. “Tessa, can I have a moment alone with you?”
“No,” both Trigger and Brick answered for me.
“Brick?” Trigger’s tone changed.
“Leon Davis, old client before Felicia made him her errand boy.” Leon nodded like he was impressed. “Clark never liked him.”
“Why?”
Brick glanced over at Trigger and gave him a look. “The same reason you hated Clark.” I watched him as he absorbed that one.
“Guys.” I rounded the pool table and pushed Leon to the front of the bar and into a chair. “You have five minutes.”
“Only need two.” He pulled out a wrinkled envelope. “Tess, Lilly’s mom needs your help.”
I snatched the envelope and fished out the letter. I quickly scanned the words, a mother’s desperate plea for help. Lilly was sick, and the bills were becoming too much for her.
I held the paper up with a laugh. “Seriously? This is just pathetic, Leon.”
“What?” He glanced at Trigger, who had gotten a phone call.
“Oh, come on, I really expected a little more from you—” In a heartbeat, he whipped out of his chair, pressed a gun to my head, and wrapped his other arm around my neck.
What? My he
ad fought to catch up.
“And I expected a little more from you, Tess.” He half laughed but stopped when Trigger and Brick both raised their guns. “You went from luxury to frat house.”
“Screw you, Leon. You don’t know jack shit about my life.”
“I know more than you think.” His sweaty fingers dragged across my scar, and I wanted to head butt him.
“Hey!” Trigger drew our attention. “You come into my club and point a gun at my family?” Trigger’s voice was deep and haunting. “That’s suicide.” I noticed he kept his phone to his ear.
Leon yanked me back against him and leaned to look out the door. “You think I’d come here alone?” He breathed in deeply through his nose. “You still smell how I remember.”
“Sadly, so do you.” I tried to wiggle free, but he pressed the tip of the steel harder into my temple, and my pulse beat wildly against it.
Think, Tess.
“You know what happened to the last guy who did this?” I bit out. “I slaughtered him in his lover’s bed.”
He chuckled in my ear and fixed his grip around my neck. “I know. I watched the video of you leaving. Nothing sexier than a dangerous woman. Turns me on.” He pressed his erection into my back, and I wanted nothing more than to cut it off at the root.
“Tess,” Trigger began but stopped as at least fifteen other men I had never seen before came in with long rifles.
My body temperature plummeted, and I locked eyes with Trigger. I could tell he was counting how many of them there were.
“Like I said,” Leon stood a little straighter and visibly relaxed, “I didn’t come alone.”
“Here, take this.” He shoved me into the arms of some other sweaty guy who reeked of BO. “Now,” Leon rubbed his gun against his brow, “all this can go away, if you just give me the flash drive.”
“What?” flew out of my mouth. “That’s why you’re here?”
“Why are you so surprised? Oh!” He laughed wickedly. “You thought I was here to find dear old Clark. Why would I do that when I can make a quick eighty grand for delivering the flash drive?”
Huh?
Leon traveled over to the bar and examined a bottle of whiskey on the shelf. He rolled it along the palm of his hand. “Now, hand over the flash drive or your club will be blown to shit.”
As soon as I saw Morgan and Big Joe peek around the corner, something came over me.
“Fine,” I said, and Trigger hissed at me to shut up. “It’s not worth the club, Trigger.”
“Oh, Tessa,” Leon dropped the bottle on the floor with a smash and rounded the bar toward me, “you think after all these years I would trust anything that comes out of that pretty little mouth of yours?”
I shrugged. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.” I bent down and shot backward to use the fucker who was holding me as a brace to kick Leon straight in the chest. He was bigger than I was, but for that one second, he lost his focus, and I was freed.
Bullets flew in all directions. I quickly dropped to the floor and crawled under a table. The shit-ass that held me fell with his head turned toward me, half his face missing.
I reached out and grabbed the handgun from his holster. I checked the clip, and there was a full round. I popped up and popped right back down again.
Holy shit.
I gave myself a mini pep talk in the middle of a freakin’ shootout. I pushed aside my fear and peeked out to find one of Leon’s guys firing off a huge rifle. The sound nearly burst my eardrums. I pointed at him and squeezed the trigger. Nothing. His pissed expression turned toward me, and he smiled. The gun swung at me as my finger flipped over the safety.
Pop!
Pop!
Two shots to the neck, not my best work, but it would fucking do. I swiveled around to find my next victim, then Rail flung his body over the table I was under and landed nearly on top of me.
“Thought you could use this.” He held up a gun, all excited about the fight.
Pop!
I shot the man who came up behind Rail.
“Already got one.”
“I think I just came.”
I was able to take out four more men before the silence took over. Trigger’s massive hand reached down and hauled me to my feet.
“You good?”
“Think so.”
“Everyone else?” Everyone checked in, and I let my breath go when I saw Brick step out from behind the door in one piece.
Trigger tucked me against him while he looked around the room.
“I’m thinking we need to stop using glass behind the bar,” Rail muttered as he sidestepped one of the dead guys. “Joe’s hit.”
“I’m fine.” Joe pulled his shirt down to look at the bullet graze. “Nothing a Band-Aid and some rum can’t fix.”
“What the hell was this?” Morgan tossed his gun on the bar, pissed. “We’re just letting anyone in now?”
Trigger grabbed Big Joe by the shirt and shoved his gun in his face. “Why did you let him in?”
“Some chick distracted me.” Joe’s eyes bulged. “I didn’t even see the others.”
“She could have been killed!” he boomed. “We all could have been killed. You’re telling me you didn’t see twenty men hanging outside the clubhouse with long guns?”
“No,” he answered calmly, “I didn’t. I’m sorry, but I didn’t.”
Trigger waited a beat before he let him go and reached for me and tugged me forward.
“Is anyone going to point out the big, fat elephant in the room?” Rail lit a joint and squinted. He always looked so relaxed after anything insane happened.
Brick tipped a stool to clear the glass and eased onto it. “Dear old Felicia, always about money, never about love.”
“Was it ever about love, or just about the competition with her daughter?” Rail snickered.
“She’s twisted.” Trigger spoke like he was a million miles from us.
“And people wonder why I am the way I am.”
“I’m fucking sick of this shit.” Trigger looked around the bar at all the dead bodies that littered the floor.
“Clean this shit up and hire a second doorman.”
Chapter Eleven
Trigger
“Where is he?” I parked my bike, slammed down the kickstand, and headed toward the bar.
“Back window.” Park, my Oregon VP, pointed. “Doorman’s got itchy fingers. Last time, I lost my prospect. Don’t want to lose another.”
I nodded and moved in front of him, and they followed.
“Nah, man.” The sweaty guy with cheap sunglasses stepped in my way. “No DRs in this club.” I didn’t break stride. My fingers curled into a heavy fist, and in a blur, I plowed it into the side of the doorman’s head. He crumpled to the ground, and I kicked the door in.
The place went silent. Some scattered, and I could hear the scrape of several guns as they were snatched up and pointed at me. I cracked my neck slowly and stood there to let my eyes adjust. My cut said a lot, and no one wanted to be the one to draw attention. I pointed at the shit in the corner.
“I’m here for him.”
The bartender nodded, and they lowered their weapons. The shit in question looked everywhere at once to find an escape route and started to run, but someone tripped him. I walked over and stood above him then reached down and hauled him up. I nodded my thanks toward the room; I wanted no interference. Then I threw the piece of shit up against the wall.
“Tell me what you know.”
“I don’t know shit.”
“I hate repeating myself.” I reached back for a stool and snapped off one of the legs over my knee.
“You’re insane.” He held up his hands and closed his eyes. “All I know is they were traveling back to the west coast.”
“What else?”
“Nothing! I swear, nothing.”
I snapped my fingers, and Park handed me his phone. I turned it around and watched his face fall.
“You know nothing, yet you
were seen with Zay?”
“They just wanted me to find your girl. They did mention your uncle was still alive.”
“Did you find my girl?”
“No, I haven’t! Fuck, man, I hardly looked.” He sputtered in fear as spit flew from his mouth, and his eyes were wild. “Look, man, I mean nothin’ to them, really.”
“Lucky for you, you mean nothing to me either.”
I tossed the broken wood in the air, caught the bottom, turned, and jammed it through his neck. He cried out as I stepped forward and pulled out the stick, and blood shot from his neck all over me and my crew. I kicked his feet out from under him and pushed him backward.
“Anyone have any information for me? Now is the time to speak up.” The entire bar went still; they knew I meant what I said. “I know you’ve heard Devil’s Reach is on a hunt for any Stripe Back and Serpent who has hooked up with my father. If you hear anything, find me, and I will compensate you. If I hear you have helped him in any way, I will find you, and I will fuckin’ kill you slow.” I tossed the dripping stick on the ground, turned, and left the bar.
Before I got on my bike, I swiped at the blood that dripped from my hoodie with sticky fingers, then pushed it back and ran my hands through my hair to clean them. I kicked it into gear and signaled my men to fall into formation. I wasted no time heading back to the city. I needed to know how the rest of the chapters were doing.
“Where were you?” Cooper met me in the hallway with a handful of vodka bottles.
“Oregon is handled.”
“Stripe Backs?”
“Yeah.”
“Long-ass drive for you.”
I shrugged. “Worth it to make a point.”
“Looks like it.” He grinned and headed down the hallway.
My shower was stained red when I was finished. I tossed out my clothes and hung up my cut. I didn’t like not wearing it, but it needed to dry. I tugged on a t-shirt and headed outside to clear my head.
I rubbed the cat under her chin and listened to her whine. It had been weeks since I’d seen her. After all the shit that went down, I wouldn’t have been surprised if she was gone.