“Hear ye, hear ye,” Slider’s—the Tomb Raiders’ president—voice rang out in the room, as he rapped his knuckles on the wooden table. It was the same chant most presidents used at club meetings, normally with a carved, wooden gavel that had been passed down for generations. Archaic but effective and showed a sense of shared camaraderie and deeply held tradition. My grandfather’s handle was beginning to chip and maybe someday I’d retire the thing if only to preserve it. The room grew quiet and everybody promptly found a seat. “This meeting was called so we could all connect on Northeast club business.”
Slider’s eyes zeroed in on Fish. “Everyone in this room is aware you helped the Russians take down the Asylum. Can you fill us in?”
He nodded. “As you know, the Asylum—more specifically Terrence—was skimming weapons from the Russians,” Fish explained. A rumble reverberated around the place when he mentioned the Asylum’s president’s name. He had duped many people in the room. “The Russians had surveillance footage of them filching from one of their warehouses. We also used corroborating evidence from one of Mal’s men who was formerly with the Asylum.”
“That’s right,” I added, remembering how Smoke met privately with Fish to view the stakeout evidence. “And one of Terrence’s men was messing with my recruit.”
“I heard it was more than that,” DJ, the Crypt Keeper’s president piped in, and I attempted to keep my lips in a neat, straight line. “Way I heard it—Smoke and Jake were screwing around right under their president’s nose.”
The sound of disapproval lanced through the room and in my peripheral vision, I saw Sawyer stiffen.
“Can’t speak for what happened in Smoke’s past,” I replied in a controlled voice. “All I know is Jake decided to come back in his life long after Smoke was clean and on the mend. He broke into my bartender, Vaughn’s, place and messed with his animals. Sent out veiled threats to Smoke that he was watching them. The guy had earned his nickname. He was a snake through and through. If it were one of your men, you’d take action as well, yeah?”
A low rumble traveled through the room as a couple of other club members piped in about how the Asylum had been skimming off the top in their business dealings. About how shady and unreliable many of them were, including Jake.
Slider rapped his knuckles on the table, and the room fell silent again. “Let Mal finish.”
When all eyes fell on me, he nodded in my direction. “So Fish and I planted a decoy in the form of one of his men,” I explained as I glanced at Sawyer.
“How was Sawyer involved?” Slider asked.
“He befriended Jake, partied with him, provided him some good stash in an effort to gather intel for all of us,” I replied, meeting Fish’s gaze.
Slider turned his attention to Fish, who suddenly sat up straighter in his seat, unquestionably bracing himself for the worst.
“Let me get this straight. To repay your debt to the Russians, you sacrificed one of your own to screw around with Jake…” Slider asked Fish. “Literally?”
7
Malachi
“Literally?”
The room burst into laughter over Slider’s veiled quip.
I clenched my jaw as I stole another glance at Sawyer. His head was bent, his hands beneath the table, probably balled in his lap like I’d seen him do on a number of occasions. I waited on Fish to support his man. To say anything at all in his defense. Instead, his cheeks colored and he joined in with a low chuckle.
As far as I was concerned, this was no laughing matter. Felix understood that as well as his gaze darted around the room and then soberly met mine.
Abruptly, Sawyer rammed his fist on the table, rattling some coffee cups in the process. “I did what I had to do to help out the Disciples and Scorpions. Plain and simple.”
“He did us all a favor, way I see it,” Fish finally said. Too little, too late in my opinion. “We no longer have to worry about those fuckers, do we?”
Murmurs of agreement resounded around the table as Sawyer bit his lip and shook his head. I attempted to catch his eye to show him my support, but he wouldn’t meet my gaze.
“I commend your loyalty to the Scorpions.” Slider folded his arms across his ample belly. “Suppose your sacrifice means you’re into men?”
Before I could tell this motherfucker it was none of his business, Sawyer responded on his own behalf. “I’m bisexual—if you must know. And I’m not ashamed of it. Going to guess more than a handful of men in the clubs are, just keep it to themselves is all. For obvious reasons.”
When Sawyer narrowed his eyes at Slider he lifted his hands in surrender. “Meant no disrespect.”
“Unless you’re telling me none of you have ever done risky shit for your club, then there’s nothing else to discuss.” Sawyer continued looking around the room at the men, some averting their eyes. “Christ, those assholes were smoking all of their stash away, probably yours too. They were fucking reckless.”
The room grew quiet again, but I couldn’t get a read on what any of the men were thinking. I just knew Fish should’ve been defending his man way more, and I sure as shit planned to set him straight about it.
“Still,” one guy from the Tomb Raiders spoke up at the opposite end of the table. “Not sure I could take it up the ass, loyal or not—”
“Stop this bullshit!” I thundered as I sprang up, my chair nearly toppling over. I heard an intake of breath from Felix beside me. “Are you saying what happens between people behind closed doors is more relevant than what these motherfuckers were doing with their business dealings?”
My gaze traveled around the room, looking each of them in the eye, knowing full well many of them were not innocent. “So you’d be fine with everyone knowing what goes on in your bedrooms?” That got a few gawks out of these idiots. “Who you’re with, what exactly you’re doing?”
“Point made.” Slider rapped his knuckles again and as I took my seat, I could feel Sawyer’s gaze heavy as steel in my side view. But if I looked in his direction, I’d only be tempted to jump over the table and kiss the shit out of him right in front of these fools. Not only to make a point but to show him I cared, that I was in his corner. “Let’s move on, gentlemen. Shall we?”
A bunch of nods and hear hears from the damned peanut gallery. “So what happens going forward?”
“We should be all square now with the Russians,” Fish remarked. “The Scorpions are going to follow the Disciples’ lead and pull completely out of all weapons deals. Don’t want no more trouble over this.”
“Your decision,” Slider said and the room grew silent. They weren’t going to give us any shit publicly but behind the scenes, they might be wondering about future loyalties. But as long as we all stayed aboveboard, we’d be good. “Anything else?”
“If there’s any retaliation from the Asylum business, we’d appreciate some backup,” Fish said and as soon as every single president in the room agreed, the meeting was adjourned.
“Good job, Prez,” Felix muttered as we stood up and relief coursed through me that it was over, and we could soldier on from here in good faith. Before I could even move from the table and out the door, Sawyer was already gone.
I walked out behind Fish. “Think Sawyer’s okay? Maybe go check on him?”
“Nah, he’ll be all right,” he said dismissively. “If he seems off at the bike show, then I’ll talk to him.”
I gritted my jaw. “Not sure you understand—”
“Understand what?” he asked, turning to look at me. There was an edge to his voice I didn’t like, but I certainly wouldn’t chew him a new asshole in front of all of these men. We still needed to present a united front. Wouldn’t be the first occasion we disagreed on something, but this time felt too personal when it shouldn’t have, and I needed to reign it the hell in before he caught wind of something. So, Sawyer and I had a one-off last night. Big fucking deal. I couldn’t let it ruin everything our clubs had built together over the years.
“
Nah, nothing,” I said, pushing past him in the hall. “Catch you later.”
As soon as I finished making more small talk with some of the other guys while moving toward the lobby, I patted Felix on the back. “Going to head to my room for an hour.”
Right then I caught a glimpse of Sawyer heading toward the stairwell at the end of the hallway, probably trying to bypass the crush at the elevator. So I sped up, hoping I could catch him in time, despite my earlier reservations.
The steel door echoed as it closed shut and I could hear his footstep a flight above me. “Hey, wait up.”
Sawyer glanced over the side of the staircase, his eyebrows drawn together.
“You okay?” I asked as soon as I climbed to his level and found him leaning against the railing.
“Yeah, all cool.” He didn’t meet my gaze as he said, “Thanks for—”
I crowded him against the cement wall. “If you were one of mine, I’d go to bat for you every time.”
His eyes flared with a mix of appreciation and desire before he shook his head. “You didn’t have to—you’re not obligated—”
I gripped his chin, forcing him to look at me. “Don’t think for one minute I did that because of what happened between us last night.”
His breath caught as he stared at me. “No?”
“No.” I leaned closer to him. “I did it because I care about you. I admire you.”
His gaze softened. “The feeling’s mutual.”
“Yeah?” My gaze drifted from his eyes to his lips. “What exactly do you admire about me?”
He shut his eyes momentarily and then puffed out a breath as my fingers remained on his jaw. “Just…who you are, not only as a leader but as a man. Strong and confident. Open and honest.” His gaze snagged on mine. “Hot as fucking hell.”
I bit back a groan. “Fuck, Sawyer. You know how hard it’s been not thinking about you this morning? Your eyes and your hands.” My thumb swiped his bottom lip. “This mouth.”
His eyes blazed with longing. “Does this have anything to do with my offer of getting on my knees for you?”
“Maybe a little.” I angled closer, the desire—to touch him, smell him, taste his skin again—strong. My knuckles brushed along his chin and I felt him shiver. “But right now I want this more.”
I tentatively kissed the side of his mouth, feeling the scrape of his beard against mine. He inhaled sharply through his nose, not expecting it, and hell, I couldn’t believe I got up the nerve either. His skin was soft and he smelled like a mix of soap and coffee. His lips parted slightly and his warm breath fanned across my mouth. I could see his pulse jackhammering in his neck.
I’d been thinking about those lips for days, and if I was truly being honest with myself, for weeks. They were plump and a soft crimson color, and damned if I didn’t want a better taste of them. Just this once.
“Mal, what are you—” I sealed our mouths together, his groan vibrating against my lips as my fingers connected to the side of his neck. His mouth was full and soft, yet firm and unyielding. His hands fisted the back of my shirt, yanking me closer. My lips stayed fused to Sawyer’s mouth…savoring him for as long as I could.
Fuck, this was so different but so damned good, and I wanted more.
I licked at his lips, top then bottom, outlining his luscious mouth. The tip of his tongue flicked out to meet mine and it was like the zap of an electric current, making my pulse spike in my veins. I groaned, wanting to taste more of him as I parted his lips with my tongue and pushed in deep. Taking the opportunity while I could, I explored every corner, from his teeth to his gums to the roof of his mouth, swallowing his sexy sounds.
Our tongues were battling, our groins were aligned and rubbing together,
and I wished we were in my room again so I could take full advantage of his mouth.
All at once the door banged open one floor below and I realized what a hell of a fucking risk we were taking. Shit. I backed away as soon as I heard Fish’s voice and Sawyer’s jaw dropped open.
“Those elevators are taking forever,” Fish grumbled to somebody down below. “Catch you later.”
Just be cool, I mouthed to him. My feet moved two steps away from Sawyer but I certainly wasn’t going to run and hide. I may have been doing something that would shock the shit out of the men here, but it wasn’t wrong. It was a man kissing another man, wanting to feel close to him. Yeah, it was complicated—not only because it was a first for me but because I was the president of the Disciples, and Sawyer was with another club, one I had forged a partnership with.
Fish would shit a brick if he knew this was going on. He was suspicious by nature and would accuse us of sneaking around behind his back. Even though he’d given Sawyer permission to meet with me while gathering intel about Jake, he would certainly have other ideas about it now.
As Fish rounded the corner his gaze sprang up to meet mine before looking warily between the two of us.
“What’s this?” he asked narrowing his eyes.
“Didn’t want to wait for the elevator,” Sawyer said, shifting his feet. “Ran into Mal in the stairwell. Guess he had the same idea.”
I nodded and then thumped my fist on Sawyer’s shoulder. “Anyway. Glad you’re all cool with everything.”
As I turned to head up the stairs to my floor, I heard Fish’s grunt. “You don’t need to keep checking on him.”
“Yeah, I do,” I replied, swinging back to glare at him. “He did something huge for my club, and I will always be fucking grateful.”
I bounded up the last of the stairs and got the hell out of there.
8
Sawyer
We watched as Mal climbed the remaining steps and opened the heavy door. I resisted swiping my hand against what felt like swollen lips. Damn, that kiss. And what he did for me in that meeting—taking up for me when he didn’t even have to—was unbelievable.
As soon as the sound of the door shutting echoed off the concrete steps, Fish turned to me. “We don’t want to be indebted to the Disciples. Mal’s a good man, but just like any other club, we cross him, and we’re going to pay. You feel me?”
“Yeah, sure, I feel you.” Fish was a decent guy and a good prez, but he’d always had a problem with loyalty. You had to sell your soul to get him to believe you were on the up-and-up. To prove to him you wouldn’t stab him in the back. I figured what I did with Jake would’ve demonstrated my allegiance by now, but he took his time coming to my defense at that meeting. I knew he meant well and didn’t owe me anything, but I would hope by now he knew my worth.
Like Mal did. I shook the thought from my brain. No way I needed to get sucked into something that was way too complicated on so many levels. I needed to focus on getting my life back on track, and I wanted nothing more than to earn an honest keep at the garage doing the one thing I loved and was damned good at.
“What was Mal talking to you about anyway?” Fish asked, crossing his arms.
“Just checking if I was okay,” I replied, and then took a deep breath. “Listen, Fish, while all of that was going down with the Asylum, I had some hard nights having to pretend with that prick, and Mal…well, he recognized I was sort of a wreck and was pretty cool about it.”
Fish gripped my shoulder. “Why the fuck didn’t you talk to me about it?”
“I didn’t choose to talk to anybody. He just guessed, the couple of meetings we had.” I didn’t share it was more than a couple; it had been quite a few. I’d make up any excuse to go see Mal and hang with him—sometimes in the dead of night after I left Jake passed out cold. I think Mal knew my reasons were lame, but he never turned me away. “Besides, you had enough on your plate and I didn’t want…”
“Didn’t want what?” Fish asked, his eyes narrowing.
“To be a pain in your ass and I…didn’t want you to think I was soft because I…I respect you.” Somehow my statement made him square his shoulders and stand up taller. I wasn’t bullshitting him, I definitely did respect hi
m, but I also knew he needed to hear it at that moment. “So whenever Mal asked how I was doing, I appreciated it and—”
“So what’s that mean?” Fish asked suddenly and his change in mood practically gave me whiplash. “You want to be a Disciple now? Go work for him?”
“Fuck no,” I responded, my stomach clenching. “What the hell are you talking about?”
Fish began pacing back and forth on the step, sometimes reaching for and gripping the railing. “I know Mal, and something don’t feel right. If he’s trying to recruit you—”
“You’re fucking shitting me, right?” Paranoid bastard. “Nothing like that is going on. Truth is, Mal and I have become friends. And I think he likes to check on me like he does Smoke—like an…older brother.” My stomach roiled at the descriptor. I might have thought that at one point but after last night, no way. “I think maybe he was afraid I’d become an addict too—with the shit they were constantly shooting up their noses.”
“Mr. Bleeding Heart,” Fish mumbled, knowing full well how Mal’s history affected him. “All right. If that’s all it is then we’re cool. But next time you let me know if there’s something I can do for you. I care about you, Sawyer. Your brothers do too.”
“I appreciate that.” It was the first time he’d said those words and I didn’t realize how much I’d needed to hear them. I couldn’t help thinking it took Mal’s actions—his unwavering concern—in order for Fish to admit it out loud.
But as I made my way to my room, it became clear—this was a dangerous game Mal and I were playing and it couldn’t continue, not with Fish’s suspicions. Most likely, he’d be vigilant of our interactions the rest of the day. And besides, it wasn’t like we had any reason to see one another after this weekend. Not anymore.
The Faintest Spark: Roadmap to Your Heart, Book #1.5 Page 5