“I know. I’ll deal with him later. Right now, I just need Zeke.”
Jonas impales me with his pale green eyes. I feel like I’m being judged as though he’s having some inner battle within himself. Finally, he smacks his lips together and nods.
“Zeke’s gone home. He’s with his family, but there’s trouble. Dane, along with a few of the boys, have gone to get him.”
“Is he okay? Is Kade with him?”
Jonas nods. “Yes, he’s okay, sort of, and yes, Kade is with him.” I stand and walk toward the door. “Wait!” Hand on the door handle, I pause and look over my shoulder at him. “Be careful. I’ll tell them you’re coming.”
“No!”
“No?”
“Jonas, I need to make this right. I don’t want Zeke overthinking this, and I need him to see that I’m all in.”
Jonas nods. “I get it, but I’m still telling Dane, up to him if he tells Zeke.”
“Fair enough.”
I stride out of the office, and my phone begins to ring. I look down at the caller ID, and it’s my daddy, so I ignore it. Then not five minutes later, it begins ringing again, this time it’s my brother. I don’t have the time or the inclination to talk to either of them right now. I know they’ll talk me out of going to find Zeke, and although things with him are a bit messy right now, he’s the one I want. Family be damned.
Zeke
Doc’s kitchen is sparkling in the early morning light. My body is healing, but I ache. I have my hands wrapped around a hot cup of coffee, and I’m listening to the sounds of the house. I can hear Doc upstairs, Dane in the living room, and Rebel is snoring somewhere, his usual loud self. A door at the back of the house opens, and I look up to see Rush walking down the hallway.
I smile at him, and he returns it.
“Coffee?” I ask him.
“That’d be good, but I’ll get it, you sit.” Rush opens the cupboard and gets himself a cup, then pours the coffee. He holds up the pot to me, and I slide my cup toward him. “Liquid gold.”
“I don’t think I’d go that far, but it’s nice and hot.”
Rush chuckles and sits down with me.
“Where is everybody?”
“Some are still sleeping. I can hear Doc upstairs. I’m not sure where they all are.”
Rush nods then sips his coffee. “It’s been good having you here. Ernest has needed the company. He spends too much time alone.”
“What about you?”
“Me? I still keep my hand in the pot, so to speak. I only take high-profile cases now or ones that pique my interest. You ever think about leaving Tourmaline and coming home?”
I scowl at Rush and shake my head. “Not in a million years. This town isn’t home. I don’t think it ever was after my mom died. My father, I mean Michael Russo, made sure of that.”
“Doc told me he’s not your father.”
Rush takes another sip of his coffee and clears his throat.
I nod at him. “Apparently not.”
Rush is nodding his head and staring intently at his cup.
“I knew your mother. Eleanora was a hell of a woman. Sweet. I’ll never know why she married him.”
“I think my fath… I mean, hell, I don’t know what to call him, but I think he was good at hiding his true self. I think maybe she saw through it at the end but couldn’t find a way out. Or maybe she was ashamed of me and thought she could fix things by staying with him. I guess we’ll never know.”
“She wanted to leave.” Rush continues to stare at his coffee cup.
“How do you know?”
“Eleanora came to see me. I should have done more to help her, but I was younger and not as wise as I am now,” Rush pauses and finally meets my gaze. “I loved your mother. Always have.” Rush’s voice breaks, he clears his throat.
“You’re my father?” I ask.
Rush nods as he struggles to control his emotions, words appear to be failing him.
“Doc took my DNA. But, boy, I now know, we even look alike. Your mother wasn’t some wanton woman who slept with anyone. Eleanora was a sweet, kind, God-fearing woman. I wished she’d picked me. I wish I could have been more to you.” A single tear slides down his cheek, and Rush brushes it away and tries to smile.
I take a sip of coffee. There’s much I want to say, but I know I need to word it carefully.
“There’s still time for you and me. Let’s wait for the results to come in. And Rush, no matter the results, I’d like for us to be friends. I’d like to hear your stories about Mom. So many of my memories of her are tarnished by him. If you could share your version of her, I’d like that.”
Rush clears his throat. “I can do that, boy. I can do that.”
Zeke
My ribs hurt, and if I’m totally honest with myself, I’m wishing I never set foot in this town. Nothing is how it’s supposed to be. My father isn’t my father, which tarnishes my mother’s memory. I’m in Doc’s kitchen at the table, and Dane walks in. He’s drinking coffee and staring straight ahead. Something’s on his mind, and I’m guessing that when he’s ready, he’ll talk to me about it.
The guys have kept Doc’s house clean. The laminate countertops are gleaming. Dane lived by himself for a long time. Before Kat, he was a stickler for keeping his home tidy. In reflection, it was like that house was waiting for Kat, waiting for a woman’s touch.
“So, you and Izzy?” asks Dane breaking me out of my thoughts.
“She’s a great chick, but I live in Tourmaline.”
“You could make the long-distance thing work or move here.”
I shake my head. “Not sure I want to come back.”
Dane nods, frowns, and pulls out a chair. “You have family here. And your real father wants to get to know you. Rush seems like a good man. Hell, he wants to bleed them almost as much as I do.” Dane chuckles. “Having a lawyer in the family might not be such a bad thing.”
Family. Most people don’t get it, and not all MCs are the same, but the Savage Angels? We are a family. It’s because of Dane, and he shares the wealth, takes care of its members close to home and far and wide. The man changed the way we do things. Most of the charters have turned things around with him. Dane has a mind for business, and if he doesn’t know the answer, he’s not too proud to admit it and find out. A good leader.
“Izzy is a good fit,” Dane states.
“As opposed to Cassia?”
“You need a woman who’ll stand behind you, not her daddy.”
“I don’t blame her. I was the one who lost my temper. Cassia wants to believe her father. I get that.”
Dane nods. “Yeah.” He looks down at the kitchen table.
“You got something on your mind, Prez?”
“Always.” Dane stands. “Good talk.”
I raise my eyebrows in surprise as he leaves the room. Good talk? Whatever it is that he wants to talk about, I think he just got his answer. But I have no idea what that was.
Kade walks into the kitchen, and he must have passed Dane on the way in.
“What did Dane want?”
“I have no fucking idea.”
“Trouble at home?” asks Kade.
“Why would you say that?”
“He was on the phone to Jonas earlier.”
I shrug. “He didn’t mention it. Kade, I…”
“I know.”
“You fucking know what?” I ask a little hotly.
“I know it’s not easy for you to take money from me, but seriously, Zeke, it’s not a big thing.”
The man is a fucking mind reader. I shake my head, trying to find the words. Kade punches my shoulder lightly.
“Destiny says hello.”
“It’s a big thing.” I clear my throat. “I’m forever in your debt.”
Kade scoffs. “Fuck, yeah, you are! But we’re family. What’s mine is yours and what’s yours is mine. Not that I want any of your shitty possessions.”
“You make us sound like a married couple,” I
mutter.
“Nah, more than that,” replies Kade earnestly.
“I ain’t fucking you.”
Kade barks out a laugh. “No, brother. I like vaginas.”
We both laugh.
“Honestly, Kade, thank you,” I say solemnly.
Kade shrugs. “You hungry?” he asks.
“Yeah.”
“Wanna go visit with Izzy? Get us some food?”
“Sounds like a plan.”
I’m sitting in a booth at the diner. Kade is across from me, facing the door. Izzy is in the back, making us some lunch. The bell for the door goes off, and I look up at Kade, his eyes widen making me turn around. Standing in the doorway is Cassia.
“Oh, my,” Cassia whispers when she sees me then louder, “What happened to your face?”
Awkwardly, I stand and go to her. She seems glued to the spot. I stop about an arm’s length from her.
“What are you doing here?” I ask.
In a flash, she’s in my arms, kissing my bruised face and squeezing me in a viselike grip. I wrap my arms around her as my ribs pulse with pain.
“Easy, love, easy. My face isn’t the only thing that’s banged up.”
Cassia immediately lets me go and stands at arm’s length.
“I’m so sorry. Zeke, I’m so sorry about everything. I wish I could go back to that night and change it.” Cassia steps back into my space and places a hand on my cheek. “I miss you. I love you. And I’ll never doubt you again.”
I pull her toward me with a hand wrapped around her neck.
“Promise?” I rasp.
Cassia’s tear-stained face looks up at me. “Promise.”
My mouth takes possession of hers. It’s not a gentle kiss, it’s a probing, passionate, claiming kiss. I feel like I need to drink her in, to make her mine. My dick is hard, and if this diner were empty, I’d be fucking her on one of the tables.
A cough from behind me brings me to my senses. I put my forehead to Cassia’s and slowly push away from her. I turn my head toward the sound, and it’s Izzy with a shocked look on her face. She’s holding two plates, and I walk toward her, taking them off her.
“Izzy, this is Cassia, my woman.”
Tears immediately form in her eyes, and she turns and walks out the back. I look at Cassia, who looks confused.
“I’ll be right back. Don’t go anywhere.” I glance at Kade, who’s smiling. “Sit with Kade.”
I don’t wait for her to answer or even see if she does as she’s told. I walk quickly to catch up with Izzy, who’s kept walking out the back door.
Izzy turns on me, arms raised. “Your fucking woman?”
“It’s complicated. I didn’t mean to deceive you. I didn’t even know if we were still a couple. But seeing her just now, she’s mine.”
Izzy gives me her back and wraps her arms around herself. “Right.”
“You know I think you’re amazing. You’ve been a good friend to me, Izzy.”
“Yes, I have. I guess I was hoping to be more.” Izzy sighs and rubs her arms. “I’ve been in this shitty town too long.”
“You could leave.”
Izzy turns. “And go where?” She shakes her head. “I have the diner, I have friends, I’m just lonely. Truthfully, we would never have worked, but you could have been a nice distraction.”
I grin at her. “You deserve more than a distraction.”
Izzy squares her shoulders. “Damn straight, I do!”
I close the gap between us and hug her.
“Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For going easy on me. For being a good friend.”
“You owe me.”
I chuckle and place my arm around her shoulders. “I could hook you up with a brother?”
Izzy laughs. “I think I’ll find my own man if that’s okay?”
“What, you don’t trust me?”
“With my life.”
I look down at her and know she’s speaking the truth.
I nod. “Right back at you.”
I’m sitting on the edge of my bed in Doc’s house. Cassia is in the chair that Kade sat in while he watched over me.
“Did you fuck her?” Cassia asks.
I snap my head in her direction. “No.”
“Did you kiss her?”
“No, I didn’t kiss her.”
“That sounds like a half-truth,” states Cassia.
“Izzy kissed me. But it wasn’t what you’re thinking. It was barely a peck.”
Cassia nods furiously as color works its way up her neck. “Right!”
I stand, and she does too. Cassia takes a step toward the door then stops and turns on me. Before she can open her mouth, I place my hand over it and push her up against the wall, my dick throbbing to be inside her.
“Izzy is a friend. You are my future. Do I care about her, yes. Does she make me feel like you do, like you are right now? No. My cock wants you. I want you. I haven’t betrayed you. I couldn’t. You’re it for me, Cass.”
I take my hand away from her mouth and place it on the wall beside her head. Cassia stares at me, eyes searching mine, then her lips crush against mine. Her tongue pushes inside my mouth, and her hands rub my cock. I groan and let my body press up against hers.
Compared to me, she’s so soft. Cassia undoes my belt and jeans, then her hands go to my cock and stroke it. I moan into her mouth, taking everything from her. Without breaking the kiss, I reach down and pull up her skirt, and with one quick movement, I rip her panties off. Cassia gasps, rocking her hips against mine. I walk us toward the bed with my jeans around my ankles. I turn, break the kiss, and sit down. Cassia pushes me back, then her mouth claims mine again, and she straddles my cock. Slowly, she eases down onto it, taking all of me. There’s nothing like having a woman on top who knows what she’s doing, or more importantly, Cassia, who knows what I like. She rolls her hips, and I break the kiss as I sit her up and grip her ass. When she moves again, I arch up and move her faster. Cassia moans. With her hands on my chest, she pulls my t-shirt up, needing to touch my skin. Every nerve ending is on fire, and when her eyes lock with mine, I grip her ass harder.
“Come for me, Cass.”
Her pussy pulses around my cock, and I move her faster as she loses herself to the orgasm that washes over her. Cassia’s sex grips mine, her head is thrown back as she rides me and the orgasm that keeps coming.
“Zeke!” Cassia cries out.
With my name on her lips, I find my release. I push up inside her as I explode. My only thought is her. My Cassia. She rides me with her pussy still clenching my cock. With one last grunt, I stop all movement. My hands reach up under her shirt, and I tenderly fondle her soft breasts. Cassia reaches down and pulls the shirt up over her head, exposing her breasts in a white lacy bra, then she collapses on top of me. It is only now that my ribs begin to hurt.
I grunt, and she raises up on locked elbows and looks down, seeing the bruises.
“Oh my God!”
Cassia goes to roll off me, but I stop her.
“No, petal, stay.”
“But you’re hurt.”
“Just don’t apply pressure to my ribs, and we’re good.”
With my cock still inside her, she sits up straight and lightly touches my torso.
“Why is it always so good between us?”
“You were made for me. We fit like a sword in a scabbard.”
Cassia giggles. “That does not sound romantic. I have visions of you stabbing me with your cock.”
“It’d be a nice way to go, though. Yeah?”
Cassia nods. “Yeah.” A smile plays on her lips, and she looks around the room. “Whose house is this?”
I stroke her thighs. “It belongs to Doc Green. I’ve known him since I was little. He’s a friend.”
My hand goes up under her skirt, and my thumb presses against her clit.
“Move for me, Cass.”
Crimson colors her face, and she gives a slight shake of
her head. I pinch her hard on the ass, and she rocks her hips to get away from me.
“Again.”
This time Cass does as she’s told, and I keep working her until she lets out a gasp, and her pussy once again contracts around my cock.
“Beautiful,” I state.
“That’s not fair,” purrs Cassia.
“Yeah, it was. I’ve missed you.”
Cassia rolls off and tucks herself into my side, her legs hanging off the side of the bed.
“How about we move?” I ask.
“Bathroom?”
I sit up, holding my side and reach for my jeans. Cassia is off the bed and on her knees pulling them up. I stand, and her mouth is the right height for my cock. If I weren’t wholly spent, I’d have it in her pretty little mouth. Cassia rises, pulling my jeans as she does, then she puts her shirt back on.
“Thanks, love.”
“My pleasure,” she says with a wink.
I walk her across the hall and close the door.
“You want a shower?”
“No, I just want to clean up.”
Cassia looks at the toilet and back at me.
“Don’t let me stop you,” I growl.
“Zeke, out. I need some privacy.”
I grin and wash my hands. “Okay, love.”
I open the door and go back to my room. A short time later, Cassia comes in. I shut the door and push her up against it. With my face close to hers and my lips almost touching hers, I stare into her eyes.
“I’m in this now. You’re mine. I have some family stuff to finish up here, but when we get back to Tourmaline, we’re finding a place, together. Your father be damned.”
Cassia nods. “Does it have to be Tourmaline?”
I move my head slightly to the side. “What do you mean?”
“My father has a long reach, and I need to put some distance between him and me. I was thinking about Pearl County.”
“Pearl?” Cassia nods. “Okay, love. Pearl it is.” I grip her chin with my thumb and finger. “You sure you’re okay with this?”
“Oh yeah.”
Zeke
I’ve got Cassia’s hand in mine as we walk further into town. It’s just to stretch my legs and spend some time alone with her. Cass is quiet as we walk, occasionally stopping to look in the windows of the few stores that are in town. With her here, this town doesn’t feel so tainted. Even my ribs feel better.
Savage Lies: Savage Angels MC #7 Page 11