In response, Marcus reached behind the seat, pulling up the tranquilizer gun that Emma had used on Lockwood only hours earlier. “We're going to throw the book at him. He'll want to die, but that's letting him off too easy for what he's done. We're taking him down and taking him to jail.”
“Glad to hear it,” Addy responded, relieved that Marcus was thinking clearly. At that moment, Marcus turned the car off of the road, gliding up to an old bar. The neon lights, those that weren't burned out, showed a martini glass with an olive. There were few cars in the dirt parking lot and the building was made of dirty cement blocks painted an off white years ago.
“This is the place,” Marcus said simply, getting out of the car and grabbing the gun. He rummaged around in the back seat, grabbing a pair of hand cuffs and holding them out to Addy. “Think you can handle the cuffing?”
“Give me those,” she said, snatching them out of her hand, ready to get Joe into custody. She thought, the sooner he's behind bars, the sooner we can start our life.
They entered the bar, a bouncer immediately moving to block their entrance. The second he saw the gun, however, he backed off.
“Where's Joe?” Marcus growled, motioning with the gun.
“He's not here,” the bouncer stammered, though his eyes flickered to a door towards the back.
“I'm not going to ask again.”
“In the back, through that door,” said the bouncer, pointing with a fat finger.
“We'll be in and out. Don't bother calling the cops,” Marcus said, walking through the bar. Addy held up the cuffs, as if saying, Don't bother, I am the cops! and the bouncer backed off.
Marcus flashed her a smile, both knowing that his bluff waving the gun had worked perfectly. Addy took two quick steps to catch up with him. They reached the door and paused for a split second, before Marcus lifted his foot and kicked squarely.
The door shattered inwards, the frame splintering and cracking. Marcus was through the door in a split second, Addy immediately behind him. She caught a glance of a dingy little room: windows curtained over, stacks of old paperwork littering the floor and a small desk, and Joe wide eyed behind it.
“This is over, Joe. We're taking you in,” Marcus said. “Either come with us peacefully, or I'll tranq you. It's your choice.”
“You're making a big mistake, Nephew,” Joe growled. Anger was flaring in his eyes and his body was bristling in rage. “Do you really think you can get away with this? I'm a Clan Leader!”
“Your Elders are either dead or behind bars. You have no one to back you up.”
“Ramsey won't let this go unpunished. I'll be out in less than a week! Are you sure you want to do this, boy?”
“Ramsey won't be a problem. Now, are you going to go easily, or do I have to shoot?”
Joe stood up, hulking behind his desk. He held his arms out in front of him, waiting for the cuffs.
“Turn around,” Addy ordered. Joe's look of indignation faded as he turned around, extending his arms out behind him. Marcus raised the rifle, nodding. Addy took a few uneasy steps forward.
She looped the cuffs around one wrist and snapped them in place, then placed them over his other wrist. As she went to lock them, Joe sprang into action. He twisted around, surprisingly quick for his size, grabbing Addy by the forearm and yanking her over the table. She screamed and saw that Joe was starting to shift.
Marcus fired the rifle, the dart flying out towards Joe. Addy watched it in slow motion, the feathers tickling her face as the dart passed her. It embedded right in Joe's neck. He gave a cough and dropped to the ground immediately, pulling Addy down with him. She landed on his unconscious body. She got up, but not before slamming his other wrist shut in the cuffs.
It wasn't more than a few minutes before two cops piled into the room. Emma gave her a hug of relief and then was immediately all business.
“Here's the perp, Franklin,” she said, bending down and checking his pulse. The other police officer nodded, calling into his radio for an ambulance and more backup.
Addy and Marcus stood off to the side, leaning against Joe's desk and watching the whole scene unfold. Joe came to right as he was being taken out of the room on a stretcher. He shot Addy and Marcus a venomous look and fought against his restraints, but there was nothing he could do.
Marcus looked uneasily at his Uncle. “Do you think we did the right thing? He could come after us later.”
“There was no other option, Marcus. You wouldn't be able to live with yourself if you did anything more.”
He nodded, silent for a few moments, then he wrapped an arm around her and kissed her deeply.
Things had moved fast when they got back to King's Security Solutions. Without any leadership, the rest of the shifters were looking up to Marcus. All of the shifters, with the exception of those loyal to Joe who had fled, agreed that Marcus should take over as Clan Leader. The Elders were gone and Marcus was the next logical step in line.
Marcus, to Addy's surprise, had asked for her opinion on the matter. Together, they had agreed that Marcus should become temporary Clan Leader, with Clive and Russ serving under him as his second in commands. They had stood by him no matter what – even when he had made the wrong call so long ago. He would be able to trust them.
Now, Addy and Marcus sat together in the conference room. In their absence, the room had been repaired and cleaned as much as possible. New doors replaced the old shattered ones and many of the broken chairs had been removed. The main table, something that Addy had assumed was nothing more than firewood, had been put back together with wooden braces running along the bottom of it. It was a temporary solution at best. The room seemed more empty and lonely than ever.
“So, what do we do now?” Marcus asked, leaning back in the same chair Joe had been sitting in earlier. Addy was sitting to his side, elbows on the table, wondering the same thing.
“I don't know,” Addy said. “This changes everything.”
“It doesn't have to, Addy.”
“How?”
“We've focused our whole lives into serving our Clan. That can change, still. I know we wanted to take a step back, but we can actually make a difference now. Move our Clans forward. Move shifters forward. And we can do it all together. Once we've set things on the right tracks, we can step back and live our lives how we want to.”
Addy mulled it over. She would be lying if she said she hadn't been thinking about the future now that Joe and the Elders were out of the picture. After meeting Marcus but before he had taken over the Clan, she'd thought it would be best for both of them to take a step back. To live their lives without the Clans always imposing on them. But could they live their lives, within the Clans, and still be happy together? She thought they could. At least long enough to make a positive difference.
“Are you sure, Marcus? I want a life. I want a life with you. I don't want to look back on my life and realize I'd done nothing but serve my Clan until the day I couldn't any longer.”
“We can make a difference, Addy. I can become a Clan Leader, guiding my Clan and business into the new age, just like the way my father wanted. You can help bridge the gap between my Clan and your father's. We can help each other. We can help every shifter out there. If you want to, we can give it a shot.”
Addy smiled, leaning close to Marcus. Their lips inches apart, Addy whispered, “Okay, Clan Leader.”
Marcus was up on his feet in a second, wrapping Addy up in his long, thick arms. He pulled her close and she slid her arms over his shoulders, wrapping around his neck. His mouth found her's, kissing slowly at first, his lips knowing exactly what to do. His tongue darted between Addy's lips, tentatively at first, then pushing deeper when her own tongue came up to meet his.
Addy felt Marcus's hands wander all across her body, starting with the small of her back before moving down to her bottom. He squeezed with both hands, lifting her onto the table before his hands moved around her hips, down her thighs, over her knees and back up her bod
y. His large hands roved over her stomach, careful of her wound, then trailed up to her breasts, squeezing through the fabric until his hands moved up to her neck. His large fingers brushed lightly against her skin, then her cheek, outlining her face and pulling a strand of her hair out of her eyes.
“You're beautiful,” Marcus whispered, a finger still tracing the soft curves of her face. He bent his face down, kissing her cheek, her chin, her neck.
As his lips left wet marks on her skin, his hands never stopped moving. She felt his fingers dart underneath her shirt, fingertips sliding under the waistband of her panties and against her warm skin. She yearned for him to slide his hands down to her wetness, but his hands moved up the other way, peeling off her shirt. He let out a low moan that Addy could only decipher as delight. He reached a hand up, fingers deftly undoing her bra, eyes watching it fall away to reveal her breasts.
His lips moved to one nipple, sucking, his fingers against the other. Both nipples rock hard, Addy let out moans of pleasure as Marcus pushed his body closer to hers. She ran her fingers through his hair, feeling his thickness rubbing against the inside of her thighs through his jeans.
His lips moved from one breast to the other, kissing every inch of her as they did so. Addy reached down, grabbing his shirt and lifting it over his head. She marveled at his intricate series of tattoos covering his body. She fumbled with his belt, trying to undo it as he leaned in close, kissing every inch of her exposed flesh.
“Take off your pants...” she moaned. Marcus took a step backwards, pulling his belt and sliding it out of his pants. He dropped it to the floor, fingers undoing the button and zipper of his jeans. He kicked off his shoes and his socks before sliding out of his pants, leaving him standing in only a pair of boxer briefs. Addy could tell that his member longed to be free and she watched with delight as he slowly pulled his boxers down, inch by delicious inch. The space between his hipbones with smooth and rock hard and she let out a gasp when his cock finally sprang free of his clothing. Then, he stood completely naked in front of her, standing still and letting her take the sight in.
“Take off your pants,” he said in response to her. She leaned backwards on the table, undoing her pants. He yanked off her shoes and socks, tossing them somewhere across the room. When her pants were undone, he grabbed them by the legs and pulled them off of her body in one swift motion. Addy lay there exposed, only in her pair of sopping wet panties.
Marcus came close, running a finger against the wet fabric, sliding his finger along her aching slit. He dipped a finger underneath her lacy panties, pushing against her, and Addy bucked forward in pleasure, low moans of pleasure escaping her lips. Slowly, maddeningly, Marcus peeled away her wet panties and threw them to the floor.
He grabbed her hips and pulled her close, the tip of his cock brushing up against her wetness. She reached down, grabbing his length, trying to angle it into her, but he carefully pulled back and dropped to his knees between her legs. Marcus grabbed her by her legs, pulling her close to him, her ass just barely dangling off the table.
He pressed his lips against her wetness, lips kissing up and down her slit. His tongue darted over her, over every inch of her, exploring everything from thigh to thigh. She squirmed in pleasure as his tongue darted into her, then would squirm in longing as he kissed a thigh before pushing his tongue back deep into her. She moaned as his hands worked her body, squeezing a hard nipple and rolling it between two fingers as his lips worked her.
Soon, she felt warmth spreading through her, starting from the place between her thighs. She knew she was going to cum and let the bliss wash over her. Moans filled the conference room, Marcus's lips never stopping in their quest for her pleasure, and Addy finally came. The pleasure built to a crescendo, overwhelming her and consuming her body. She screamed in pleasure, biting a hand to try to quiet herself, but it was pointless.
After her orgasm had passed, Marcus stood up, grabbing her by her knees and pulling her even closer to him. Carefully, he grabbed his member and pressed it between Addy's legs. She felt herself spreading wide, opening up for his thickness, and then he was sinking into her deeper than any man had gone before.
He pushed slowly, until he was buried up to his hilt in her wetness. She could feel the warmth of his cock inside of her body, loving the feeling as he slowly pulled out of her and pushed back in. She wrapped her legs tightly around him just above his ass, pulling him deeper with every thrust.
His hands wandered over her body, squeezing a breast here, stroking her neck there, never stopping in their movements. She grabbed his hand, squeezing tightly, the pleasure of their rhythm the sole focus of her mind.
“You're...perfect...” Marcus managed to mumble between thrusts. He had lifted her legs up over his shoulders, letting him hit entirely different and entirely perfect parts of her. Their moans filled the room, the table creaking under their movements.
It wasn't long before Addy could tell Marcus was going to cum. She pushed herself against him, letting him sink even deeper into her as his moans increased in volume. His breathing was hard and ragged and the idea of Marcus cumming was pushing Addy towards the edge.
She felt him tense up, pushing deep, then he was cumming, his cock leaping deep inside of her tightness. That was all it took to make her cum. She felt her body going numb, wracked by waves of pleasure, feeling herself tightening around Marcus.
After what seemed like minutes of pure pleasure, Marcus pulled out of her. He climbed up onto the table beside her, rolling over and holding her. The table creaked loudly, but held. She felt his hands wandering over her body, roving over a breast or darting down to her wetness. She could feel his body heat radiating off of him and she snuggled closer, wanting to be as close to her man as she could get.
They laid there in silence for a couple of minutes, enjoying the afterglow of the pleasure they had just provided each other. Addy never wanted it to end. She never wanted to get off of the table, unless it was to get in bed with Marcus.
Together, they could work together and start a life together, helping the Clans. But they didn't have to devote their entire existence to them, either. She was ready to start a new life. A new life with Marcus. It wouldn't be perfect, but it would be damn close. She smiled –
And there was a knock at the door.
“Yeah?” Marcus called out, sitting up and grabbing some of Addy's clothes off the floor.
“It's Clive. Can I come in?”
“Yeah,” Marcus called, after making sure that Addy had pulled on her clothes. He was pulling up his pants when Clive opened the door and came in. He gave the two of them a look and a raised eyebrow, but said nothing.
“I've got some good news and some bad news, Marcus.”
“Let's hear it,” he said, sitting down, ready for his first day as the new Clan Leader.
“We haven't been able to find Ramsey. He, and the other surviving members of his Clan, have gone dark. There's no trace of the few members of our Clan that fled, either. We'll find them soon enough, though.”
“I'm not too worried about them. We'll find them eventually.”
“The good news is that Beth has pressed charges against Joe and Lockwood. It looks like they're going to stick. They're going away for a long, long time, after their trial.”
“That's good news,” Marcus answered, smiling. Addy felt herself smiling, as well.
“Also, Beth and I are getting married!”
“That's great news!” Marcus said, getting up and giving his friend a hug. Addy hadn't met Beth, but she'd known that Clive was a great guy, so she was happy for him. She found herself smiling at that news.
Marcus moved over to Addy lifting her up and spinning her around in the air. He planted a kiss on her lips, smiling. “Maybe one day?”
Slade (BBW Bear Shifter Moonshiner Romance) (120 Proof Honey Book 5) Page 78