The Darkest Flame

by Christina Lee

As I made my way to the door, my eyes met his, and I saw something in his gaze. Something that made me pause. Worry, melancholy, affection.

  “You see anything suspicious, you let me know,” he said.

  “What does Jake look like?” I asked tentatively. “Just curious…need to know who I’m dealing with.”

  He nodded once. “Brown hair, usually wears it longer, ties it behind his bandana. Skinnier than you.”

  My stomach squeezed, but I played it off with a smirk. “You like them thin, huh?”

  He looked me up and down, making gooseflesh break out. “I like them just like you.”

  “Good to know.” I turned the knob before I did something else to prolong my visit. “Catch you later.”

  All of a sudden, fingers curled over the top of my hand and he flung me around, forcing my shoulders against the door.

  “What the hell are you doing?” I said as my breath swept out of my lungs at the intensity of his gaze.

  “Getting one last taste,” he growled, forcing his groin against mine. “Not sure if I’ll be able to again.”

  He grabbed my neck and crushed his mouth against mine, nudging my lips apart. His tongue delved deep as it explored all the crooks and angles of my mouth. He kissed and nipped and licked me into submission, making certain to swipe at the scar on my lower lip, which he seemed so mesmerized by. I was a quivering mess before he released me and let me walk out the door.

  That kiss was something. It was as if he had marked my soul.

  As I bounded down the stairs, my hands shaky on the railing, the hairs stood up on the back of my neck. I got this strange sensation that even though we probably had a snowball’s chance in hell to ever be a real couple, something might happen to forever guarantee it.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Vaughn

  Between the intense makeout session and the eerie sense of doom, I could barely see straight enough to drive home. Thankfully I hadn’t spotted Felix on the way out, and hopefully he hadn’t heard Smoke fucking me that last time. At least I wouldn’t be showing up there again, so even if he had caught wind of something, it could easily be explained away.

  By the time I got to my apartment building I already felt different. Changed. Almost like this place didn’t belong to me anymore, and that pissed me off. I’d been renting this unit for the better part of five years. Maybe it wasn’t the best place I’d ever lived, but I had done what I could to make it my home.

  That motherfucker Jake had better leave me the hell alone. He tries anything again, hopefully I’ll be waiting for him and his skinny ass.

  I could smell the disinfectant as soon as the key turned in the lock. As I walked through the rooms, I saw how shiny all the surfaces were. When I got to my bedroom, no evidence of what had gone down was in sight, and I breathed a sigh of relief.

  The aroma of urine had been completely obliterated, and now that the contents littering my bed had been cleared, I gathered up my comforter and sheets and walked out to the laundry room to throw them into a hot water cycle. I overloaded the detergent for sure and even considered throwing them in the garbage bin, but I figured this was a decent start.

  Then I pulled a second sheet set out of the linen closet and made the bed. I finally felt clean and allowed myself to breathe deeply as I sat down hard on the edge.

  Over the years I had never asked for anything from the Disciples.

  I enjoyed owning the Hog’s Den and doing my job. I was a simple man, much like my father.

  The Disciples had some bad stuff go down in years past at the bar, mostly meetings that had gotten out of hand as Mal continued to clean up his father’s past sins. But nobody had every come into my home and messed with me.

  Had Smoke never said anything about his suspicions, I would have gone on assuming it was some sick fuck who was a former patron of the bar. Maybe somebody I had kicked out. But now I couldn’t help thinking one or both of us was in danger.

  It could’ve happened sooner given my association with the club, but didn’t it just figure it was related to some of the most satisfying sex of my life.

  And until we figured this one out, we’d have to go on pretending that we weren’t doing anything on the side. Of course we were already pretending. But that was in front of the Disciples. Not to be able to take your private business home with you was a different story.

  I took a quick shower and got ready to open the bar. I called my dad to check on him, leaving out the details of my break-in. No reason for him to worry.

  When I pulled in the lot, I spotted other bikes, which meant early club business. Two of the Disciples had some short guy with a large gut out by the back dumpster.

  “I catch you coming around here again,” Jonas was saying, and I averted my gaze as he finished his intimidation of the guy, whom I didn’t recognize. More than likely he was some small-time criminal who had crossed their path. “This is our turf.”

  I’d seen plenty over the years, so that kind of scene didn’t even make me flinch. But this time I made sure to catalogue the guy’s face for future reference. I didn’t know what was going to come at me next.

  It also afforded me the sobering realization of why Smoke was anxious about crossing his brothers. We might have been cool with each other, but this was still an outlaw motorcycle club. Sure, they were pulling themselves out of some messes, but they looked the other way when those parts came into their shop. They’d take you down if they had to, no question.

  I heard Mal’s voice in the back room as I quietly strode to my office. I had some paperwork to catch up on before I took stock of the bar. As I twisted the knob, I heard another deep and familiar voice. Mal was speaking to Smoke, and before I could step inside the room I heard him say, “You keep eyes on Vaughn every night.”

  “Maybe that’s not a good idea,” Smoke said in a strangled voice, and I tensed up. “I already do that here. Maybe one of the other recruits—”

  “You got a problem with Vaughn?” Mal’s voice boomed, and I could tell he was irritated with Smoke back-talking him. Fortunately I understood why Smoke was trying to stay away.

  “No at all, but what if—”

  “What if what?” Mal asked.

  Shit, he had him trapped.

  “Nothing, Prez.” I couldn’t tell if Smoke was standing or seated, but I could picture his head bowed down in deference to the one man he respected beyond all others in this organization.

  Mal smacked his hand on the desk and I jumped. “You got too many jobs, too much to do?”

  “No, Prez.” Smoke’s voice was tight, quiet. As if he were getting a lecture from a parent figure. And maybe that’s what Mal had come to represent to him.

  “You don’t trust my instincts on this?” Mal said through clenched teeth.

  “That’s not it,” Smoke said in quick succession.

  “So when I give you a direct order, I don’t want any protest unless it’s real important.” I heard the scraping of a chair and imagined Mal standing up suddenly. “And so far you’ve given me nothing.”

  I heard Smoke sigh in defeat. “Sure, I got him covered, Mal.”

  I hurried into my office and sat down at my desk. I was lucky nobody had caught me eavesdropping. I didn’t do shit like that. Normally I heard enough to have a general idea of club business. But this time it concerned me, and I couldn’t help listening.

  Unexpectedly, Smoke was standing in the doorway, and even though I was pretending to be busy, it was no use. He looked behind him before stepping inside and shutting the door.

  “You heard that?” he asked, biting his lip.

  I leaned back in my chair, spreading my legs wide, and Smoke followed my motion. “Yeah.”

  He took a step forward. “You understand why I—”

  I held up my hand to stop him. “Of course.” But there was a small tremor in my voice.

  Just drinking in the sight of him made my balls tingle in response. The idea of being with somebody else after Smoke made my stomach bottom
out. I was beginning feel a bit frazzled and consumed. What the hell had I gotten myself into?

  Simply standing this distance from him now, getting the faint whiff of his spicy cinnamon scent, made me feel so animalistic, I wanted to pull him over the desk and claim him as mine.

  But he wasn’t mine. He would never be mine. Not in the way I was beginning to want him to be. And that was pretty fucked up, because I had no idea what the man in front of me was truly feeling beyond his all-encompassing desire for me. That much was obvious. But that was also purely sexual. We were definitely good in bed together.

  “Listen,” Smoke said so low I almost didn’t hear him. “You’re going to have to pretend, man. Just business as usual.”

  “Sure, of course.” I cocked my head to the side. “How do you mean?”

  He looked at the ground, not meeting my eyes. “Bring some girl home this week. So Jake thinks…”

  So that Jake would think he was wrong about the two of us. As evidenced by the fact that Smoke couldn’t even get the words out, he wouldn’t be wrong at all. I’d admit I liked hearing him struggle. It meant I wasn’t alone in this. “I’ll try my best.”

  There was something in his gaze he was fighting. He knew damn well I didn’t want to bring home anybody else. And he didn’t want me to, either. But this was the way things had to be. Still, it would’ve been nice to hear it voiced out loud.

  “I’ll keep patrol with Felix,” he said. “See if we come up with anything.”

  “Think that’ll do it?” I said. “Pretend we’re not together. That we were never together. Go about my business?”

  “Unless the fucker had binoculars and saw inside your place…” He finally looked at me, and there was sadness and resignation in his eyes. Also a good dose of uncertainty, like he knew what this guy was capable of. “It’s worth a shot.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  Smoke

  Fuck, I had brought this on myself. I allowed myself a taste of Vaughn, and now look at the mess I was in. If my suspicions were right, Jake had been keeping tabs on me and was trying to fuck with Vaughn.

  But damn, now Vaughn was all I could think about. His tongue inside my mouth, his throaty moans when I thrust inside him. But those memories would have to do, because shit was going down and I didn’t have a good feeling about it. At all.

  I headed to the Scorpions compound to meet up with Fish and his crew. I felt terrible hiding things from Mal. But I needed to figure some things out on my own first. Get my head on straight. Maybe this thing with Vaughn was scrambling my brain.

  I parked outside the large concrete structure, which looked like it might’ve been an old school building taken over by a bunch of bikers. Uneasiness settled in my stomach, not because I was fearful of being here. But because I was about to give up some intel on my old club. And I was uncertain of exactly who was screwing with me.

  Some of Fish’s crew, who were playing pool in the large and spacious room, nodded in my direction. Another guy by the door told me that Fish was waiting in the back room.

  One of his men looked up from his smartphone and seemed to follow my every move. When my gaze met his, he looked me up and down in a way that made me uncomfortable. Not because he was being cautious or protective. That would’ve been easier to understand. The look was one of lust, like he was checking me out. But that couldn’t be right. I was probably reading too much into it. Regardless, it was awkward, so I averted my gaze and kept on walking. But I could still feel him gawking at my ass.

  Fish was sitting with a couple of his men at a smaller round table, poring over something on his computer screen.

  Fish stood and shook my hand, as did his two men. “Have a seat, Smoke.”

  He turned the monitor toward me and clicked through a series of photos.

  “This is out at the Russian warehouse. It looks like the Asylum was casing the joint.” It showed the men dressed in black climbing in through a window and apparently having a look around.

  I pointed to the screen. “That’s Johnny and a guy they call Horse.”

  One of his guys snorted. “As in hung?”

  “Something like that,” I said grimly, remembering how many women that guy had been with. “He was pretty proud of it.”

  Fish’s voice was harsh as he attempted to rein us back in. “So these fuckers are trying to skim off the top, even though they’ve got a deal in the works with the Latino mob?”

  I shrugged, because I wasn’t going to presume the wrong thing. Not all of those guys were bad news. Some were only lost like I had been, and I would have hated to see them taken out.

  “I know they wanted the Russian territory pretty badly because of the location and because the police chief in that district looks the other way,” I said. “Plus Terrence hates the Russians because of some old beef with them.”

  “Enough to stage a break-in or a takedown?” he asked. “We need to give them a heads-up if our intel is right. And then we can have an ally when we bring them down.”

  I cringed. Fuck, an all-out war was what they were setting up.

  “The situation might’ve changed since I was with them, but I do remember one thing,” I said, making sure my voice didn’t waver. “When Terrence gets it in his head that somebody has done him wrong, he’s tough to reason with, for sure.”

  Fish stared at me long and hard, and I nearly faltered beneath his gaze, but I held my ground. “Thanks for your insight.”

  I sure hoped that Mal knew what he was doing by asking me to help them out.

  But I trusted him, didn’t I? Wasn’t that why I had sworn allegiance again to another club? Maybe it was the Scorpions club that I didn’t trust. But unless I told Mal my suspicions, how was he to know how I felt? Maybe he was relying on me to tell him just that.

  I headed to the auto parts store to report to Mal. When I got there, Felix informed me that he had just left to meet with Jonas at the Hog’s Den.

  “That a new shipment?”

  Felix nodded as he signed the driver’s form and then opened the doors to unload. We didn’t ask where the dealer got the parts he supplied to our shop, but he charged a fair price and kept us in a lucrative business.

  “Is my piece ready to be fired back there?” I asked. Felix was busy helping the driver unload one of the large boxes.

  “All set,” he said, looking back at me. “That is a thing of beauty. The customer is going to love it. I almost want to keep it for myself.”

  I nodded, pride blooming in my chest. I headed back to my creation, which was my version of a knight on horseback. I had used hubcaps to create the mare’s flank and chest and then smaller scrap pieces that I had heated and manipulated to form the mane.

  For the next hour I got lost in my work, which helped relieve the tension from my meeting with Fish.

  “All set,” I said to Felix as I wiped my hands on a clean towel. He was bent over a shelf of belts and hoses, adjusting the sales price. “The customer can pick it up in twenty-four hours. Needs drying time.”

  Then I headed to the Hog’s Den. When I came through the back door, my gaze immediately sought out Vaughn’s. It was a slower night, but I couldn’t help wanting to be behind the bar with him, to be part of something more solid, rather than that slippery meeting I was just involved in with the Scorpions.

  Sure, we’d dealt with way worse, but with Mal trying to clean up the club, this felt like taking a step backward.

  When Vaughn met my gaze, he tipped his chin. The woman in front of him was attempting to gain his attention, and when he threw her his trademark killer smile, my heart knocked hard against my chest. As he quickly glanced up at me and then back to her, I knew what his play was going to be.

  He held steady to his rule of never dating customers, so I knew this was about my plan to get Jake off his back. Still, my heart had climbed a thorny path to my throat.

  Turning away, I told myself this was how it needed to be.

  I found Mal at the back table with Jonas. “Gra
b a seat,” Mal said.

  I sat backward on the chair with my eyes to the front, so I could steal glances at the bar and watch Vaughn work his magic. Pure torture.

  It was interesting viewing Vaughn from this vantage point, because he was always moving, speaking, grinning, and joking around. He was in his element here, and it showed. The only time I saw different was when he was out at the compound or when we were behind closed doors.

  Sure, he liked to talk while I was giving it to him good, but he was needy and demanding and nearly desperate at times. Writhing and grinding and moaning. Fuck, I loved that side of him. The one that sounded so wrecked for me.

  “How did your meeting go with Fish?” Mal asked, bringing me out of my thoughts. I needed to get my shit together.

  “Fine,” I said, and it only took a split second before he heard the hesitation in my voice.

  He grasped at my shoulder. “What is it, Smoke?”

  “I…” I looked into his eyes and saw concern there. “I don’t know, man.”

  “What is it with you lately?” he grunted out. “You got something to say, you better say it, before it’s too late.”

  I looked back and forth between him and Jonas. “I’m afraid that what Fish has planned will bring us back in the mix, and other clubs will want retaliation.”

  Mal’s eyebrows scrunched together. “Go on.”

  “I know this is paying back a final debt,” I said, choosing my words carefully. “But I don’t know…I’ve kind of got a bad feeling about this.”

  “Bad how?” Jonas asked, his brows arching behind his messy bangs. “You don’t think Fish is on the up and up?”

  I thought about it for a long, hard minute.

  “I know you told me you and Fish go way back,” I said. “But I wonder if he’ll only think of his club when it comes down to it. If he’ll throw us under the bus.”

  As Mal stared at me, I squirmed. Then something gave way in his gaze. A moment of respect. He clapped me on the back. “I told Jonas you would be our man.”

  “What do you mean?”