by A. M. Myers
“Have you ever watched those true crime shows or CSI?” I ask and he shakes his head as he leans back in his seat and takes a sip of coffee.
“No. I don’t watch a lot of TV.”
“Okay, well, in those shows, you always see a big fucking board with all the evidence laid out in a timeline and I think maybe that’s what you need. Besides, if you can see it in front of you, all at once, maybe you’ll notice something you didn’t notice before.”
He studies me for a second. “Huh… I can’t believe I never thought of that before.”
“So, I only did like two semesters in college before I dropped out but I was super interested in psychology and took a class on it where we learned that when people are too close to a problem, like you are, it’s like being in the middle of a thick forest. You can see what’s right in front of you but you can’t see very far into the distance or anticipate what is up ahead.”
His scowl is etched into his face as he crosses his arms over his chest and I can practically see the wheels in his head turning. “I need to step back, then?”
“Or just get an outside perspective,” I reply, motioning to myself and he laughs, staring at me for a second before he nods.
“Okay, I’ll give it a shot.”
I smile. “For now, just give me the CliffsNotes.”
“Has your brother told you anything? Or Tate?” he asks and I shake my head, my mind drifting back to the party last night. They mentioned talking to me about it later but I don’t know if they meant it or if they were just stalling in the hope that I would forget about it. If that’s the case, I’m sure they think they’re protecting me by not telling me but I fully believe what I said to Travis. There is no way I could possibly make the right decisions and keep myself safe without knowing the facts. He sighs. “Right, okay… For the last two or so years, someone has been targeting the club but at first, we didn’t know anything was going on…”
“What do you mean?”
He runs a hand through his hair. “Well, in the work we do, sometimes the women we rescue go back to their abusers so when the first girl was killed, that’s what we thought happened.”
“Oh,” I whisper, staring at him with wide eyes. When people kept mentioning this threat, never in my wildest dreams did I think that people had died and that things were this serious. Now it makes perfect sense why Lincoln wanted me at the clubhouse instead of at his cabin.
“I’m sorry,” he says, reaching across the table and grabbing my hand. “You said you wanted to know.”
I nod. “I do… I just never…”
“It’s bad, Rowan. Really, really bad and that’s why we’re all so fucking stressed and at each other’s throats.”
Squeezing his hand, I nod. “Keep going.”
“The first girl that was killed, her name was Dina and we all assumed her piece of shit ex had been the one to kill her.”
I nod. It makes sense with the work the club does and it probably would have been my first assumption as well. “So what changed?”
“For a long time, nothing. We lost another girl but the case was so different that we didn’t even connect them until later and then we lost someone that made us all wake up.”
“In what way?” I ask, my food abandoned as I soak up every word he says.
“The man we rescued her from was dead so he couldn’t have come back to kill her and when someone found her, our business card was right on top of her body like someone placed it there.”
I blink as my mind races. “Jesus.”
“Yeah,” he breathes with a nod. “And then just a few weeks ago, this girl walked into the club. The thing was, though, it was a girl that had been missing for close to a year and we had been investigating her case.”
“I’m guessing it wasn’t a coincidence, then.”
He shakes his head. “The man who had abducted her dropped her off at our front door and he had a message for us.”
“What was the message?” My heart is pounding in my chest and I am hanging on his every damn word, somewhere between fascinated and terrified.
“I am just getting started…”
Christ.
I pull my hand from his and we both fall back into our seats as silence descends over our table and my mind races. Travis is right, this is so much bigger than anything I ever imagined and just thinking about the planning and patience it must have taken this person to put all of this together is astounding. Shaking my head, I meet his eyes across the table.
“Do you know anything else?”
He shakes his head. “Nothing concrete. That’s why we were going to talk to Tawny today.”
“Right,” I whisper. God, that feels like it was days ago and we literally just left her apartment. “So did she tell you anything that you didn’t already know?”
“Yes and no… She gave me a name which is something but that doesn’t mean I’ll find any information on him and she said the thing about how angry he was but that’s one of the things that doesn’t really help my investigation.”
Sighing, I nod. “True, but I guess it’s good to know who you’re dealing with because there is a difference between someone who is in control of their rage and someone who isn’t.”
“And what would that be?”
“Someone who isn’t in control of their anger makes mistakes.”
He nods, turning to look out of the large window next to our table as he sighs, stress lining his face, and my heart breaks for him. “Then I’d say this guy is very much in control of his rage.”
I want to tell him it’s going to be okay but I don’t know that it will and there is no part of me that wants to lie to him so instead, I turn back to my food and take a bite of pancakes. It’s tasteless now and my mind can’t stop going over everything he told me. Maybe I should have stayed in Alaska. It would have been lonely but at least I’d be safe. Then again, I’m glad I’m here with my brother… even if we’re technically in the trenches right now.
“You regretting that move from Alaska right about now?” Travis asks and my head whips up, my gaze meeting his as I shake my head.
“How in the hell do you do that?”
He arches a brow. “Do what?”
“Read my fucking mind,” I answer, pushing the food around on my plate aimlessly with my fork and he laughs.
“Well, in this particular instance, it was all over your face.”
I sigh. “Oh… well, just so you know, I’m not sure if I regret it yet. I love Alaska and it’s where I grew up but it was quickly becoming hell so in that sense, I’m happy to be here.”
“What made you leave?”
“What didn’t?” I shoot back with a dry laugh as tears sting my eyes. God, how is it that even just the mention of my home state can bring back all of the awful memories I’ve been trying so hard to forget since I got here? “My mom died a month ago and I didn’t have any family left there…”
“So you came to Baton Rouge for Kodiak?”
I shake my head. “No, I came for me. I needed something… different and new. Plus, after I walked in on my ex-boyfriend banging this girl I worked with, there was nothing keeping me there.”
“Shit,” he mutters, making a face of pity and I shake my head.
“No, it’s okay. I wasn’t actually that hurt by it all which means it was past time to end things anyway. I was just pissed and embarrassed and the fact that he did all that while I was dealing with my mom’s death was a kick in the teeth.”
“Yeah, that’s fucked up,” he agrees with a nod and I shrug.
“Better to find out now than after I wasted anymore of my life on him,” I say. He narrows his eyes and cocks his head to the side as he studies me. Fuck, I hate it when he does that… but I also kind of like it. I squirm in my seat, uncomfortable with his scrutiny but he doesn’t seem to care as he continues watching me. Finally, I slap my hand down on the table and sigh. “What?”
He shakes his head. “I was just trying to decide if you really mea
nt all that or if you were just putting on a brave face.”
“How about both?”
“Fair enough,” he answers with a nod. Grabbing my mug of coffee, I take a sip and do the same to him, studying him closely as he arches a brow and fights back a smile. “What?”
“Oh, now I’m just waiting for you to tell me something about you.”
He laughs, shaking his head. “That’s not going to happen.”
“Why not?”
“This is supposed to be casual, remember?” he asks, motioning between the two of us and I roll my eyes.
“So? Does that mean that all I get to know about you is your name? Besides, you only told me that so I could scream it later.”
He grins. “And what a glorious sound it was.”
“Shut the fuck up.” I laugh, grabbing a jelly packet and lobbing it across the table at him. He catches it and grins as he drops it on the table next to him. “Just tell me something… anything. Fuck, I don’t even know how old you are.”
“Twenty-eight.”
I clamp my hand over my heart with a dramatic gasp. “Oh my god, you’re so old! See, this is something I should have been made aware of before I slept with you.”
“Watch it.”
Arching a brow, I meet his stare. “Or what?”
“Princess, if you think for one second that I give a shit about the other people in this diner,” he says, his voice low and full of a growl that makes goose bumps creep along my flesh. “You’ve got another thing coming.”
“Oh, yeah, what will you do?”
“Push me and find out,” he answers and I watch him for a second before smiling sweetly. My heart thunders in my chest and my belly flips with excitement because a part of me is scared but more than anything I want to find out what he’ll do. Leaning forward, I level a glare at him.
“Do you honestly think I’m going to be scared of someone so… geriatric?”
His green eyes flare with heat and my belly flips again as my pussy clenches with need. With a casual smile that betrays the intense look he’s firing in my direction, he stands up and pulls his wallet out of his back pocket. Taking one last sip of my coffee, I stand up, every cell in my body humming as I struggle to catch my breath.
Shit.
The anticipation is killing me.
He tosses a few twenties down on the table before slipping his wallet back in his pocket and stepping back so I can start walking toward the door. I shoot him a confused look as my thoughts screech to a halt and my heart sinks. Goddamn it, I was really looking forward to…
I let out a squeal as he scoops me up and throws me over his shoulder before casually strolling out of the diner with every other customer staring at is. My cheeks heat and I cover my face as a giggle bubbles out of my lips. God, I don’t even care that he embarrassed me in front of all these people because between last night and this morning, I’ve thought about my mom and Ash a total of two times instead of the constant mental anguish that I was going through before and it feels so good to laugh again. And it feels even better that it’s genuine. Around Travis, I’m not forcing smiles to my face or laughing because I know that’s the appropriate reaction and it just reaffirms again that moving here was the right choice for me. Plus, this is only day two and despite the threat to the club and the danger we’re all in right now, I’m really looking forward to finding out what else Baton Rouge has in store for me.
Chapter Eight
Travis
I pull the Impala into the clubhouse parking lot, thanking God that it seems quiet as I glance over at Rowan in the passenger seat and slip into the last space in the lot, the one furthest away from the clubhouse door. My mind has been running crazy on me since I hauled Rowan out of the diner over my shoulder and the quick kiss she pressed against my lips once I set her down next to the car only made me want more. If it hadn’t been for the little old lady giving us some serious side-eye as she climbed out of her car, I might have just pressed her up against the Impala and fulfilled my need right there but instead, I held her door open for her and tried to come up with anything to calm myself down. It didn’t work. Since we got in the car, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about all the things I want to do to her and the idea I had this morning about locking us both in my room for a week is becoming more and more appealing. Just the thought makes my cock ache and I shake my head. She’s fucking addicting and like any good addict, I need my next fix. Throwing the car in park, I turn it off and turn to her as she pulls my hoodie over her head. Her tits come into view, pressing against her thin t-shirt and I have to bite back a groan. Once it’s off, she balls it up and hands it to me with a smile on her face. I take it from her and toss it in the back seat as my gaze falls to her lips, remembering how fucking perfect they looked wrapped around my cock last night.
I need her again.
Before I can even think about what I’m doing, I reach across the car and grab her, pulling her into my lap as she lets out a squeal of surprise but she doesn’t fight me. Giggling, she straddles my lap in the cramped space as her skirt rides up around her waist and our eyes meet. Her breath hitches and in an instant, we collide. Neither one of us made the first move but it was more like we were pulled together by an unstoppable force, like there was no other option. We’re almost feral as we go at it like animals, all rough, desperate touches, and the sound of our heavy breaths filling the car. Her lips sear themselves into my memory and I groan as her tongue darts out to tease mine as she grinds down on my lap.
Fuck. Yes.
“We should stop,” she whispers in between frantic kisses as her hands creep up under my shirt and I nod as I grip the back of her neck to pull her closer.
“Mm-hmm.” Yeah, we should definitely stop this… just as soon as I get my fill… or hell freezes over. Whatever happens first.
Reaching down between the door and my seat, I find the recline lever and pull it, sending us backward but it barely even slows us down as she slowly rocks her hips against mine and sinks her teeth into my bottom lip. My cock swells, pressing against my jeans and I groan loudly as I fight the urge to flip us over and fuck her like my life depends on it. Instead, I grab a chunk of her hair and pull it, forcing her head back as I leave a trail of kisses down her neck. She arches her back, pushing her chest out as her nipples press into the fabric of her t-shirt and my cock jerks, desperate to get inside her again.
“My brother could come out here,” she says, panting for air as her hips continue moving on top of me, making me hard as a goddamn rock, and I’m not sure who exactly she is trying to convince - me or her. Either way, it’s not working. I glance down and have to fight off another groan when I see the white lacy panties covering her perfect little pussy and an image of pulling them to the side and slipping inside her fills my mind.
“Let him,” I growl, grabbing the front of her shirt and lifting it above her chest before sinking my teeth into her tit. She gasps and rocks her hips against me again and again, faster now, as she plants her hands on my chest. Is she…? Her fingers dig into my skin and she picks up the pace, rubbing against my hard length to get herself off and my eyes widen in disbelief.
Holy shit.
It’s so, so hot but I’m fucking torn.
On the one hand, I would love to watch her use my body to make herself come and I’m pretty sure the memory would be primo spank bank material for the rest of my goddamn life. But I also can’t wait to get inside her again. I fucking want her like I’ve never wanted another girl, fucking ever, and my body is strung tight, in a constant state of need and I don’t want to pass up any opportunity to get another taste of her. My mind rages, warring between the two options, and I honestly can’t make up my mind.
“Oh, God,” she moans, her cheeks heating and her eyes squeezing shut as she rocks a little faster and my decision is made for me. All I can do is stare at her and try not to blow my load in my pants like a fucking fourteen-year-old as her moans get louder and louder. Grabbing her hips, I help he
r rock against me as I thrust up and she starts to shake as she gets closer, desperately clinging to me as the pleasure mounts.
“That’s it, Princess, use me. I want to see you come.”
“Travis,” she cries out, lowering her head and meeting my eyes as she reaches forward and wraps her fingers around my throat. Fuck me, that’s the hottest shit I’ve ever seen in my life and if she’s not careful, I’m going to fuck her right in the middle of this parking lot. I don’t give one single shit who sees us. Her mouth hangs open as moan after moan echoes through the car, her eyes burning into mine and my cock throbs. She holds me captive with her gaze, fire burning in their depths and I couldn’t look away even if I wanted to. Digging my fingers into her hips, I press her down harder into my lap as I thrust up into her, eager to watch her shatter on top of me. She rocks back and forth and her eyes widen, giving me the warning I need to pull her lips to mine so the entire clubhouse doesn’t hear her screams. She cries into the kiss as her entire body shudders in my arms and her release ignites my own, sending me spiraling through the haze of an orgasm so intense I almost black out.
Jesus fucking Christ.
“Rowan,” I groan, burying my face in the crook of her neck as my cock throbs and she continues shaking in my arms, trying to catch her breath. We lie in silence for a few seconds before her body melts into mine and she releases a breath.
“That was fucking insane.”
I nod. “Fuck yes, it was. What the hell was that choking thing?”
“I don’t know,” she answers, turning just enough that she can meet my eyes. “I just did what felt right in the moment. Did you not like it?”
“I didn’t say that,” I shoot back with a grin and she smiles, her eyes twinkling and just like that, I’m thinking about going again. This fucking girl, man… she’s dangerous to my health because I’m pretty sure I would forgo any other bodily need as long as I was inside her.
“I’ll remember that for next time.”
Groaning, I lay my head back and close my eyes. Fuck, I swear I can still feel her fingers around my throat and I can’t wait to do it again. She sighs, laying her head on my shoulder and I wrap my arms around her, enjoying this one perfect, peaceful moment before we have to go back in the clubhouse and pretend like none of this happened. I don’t know how the hell I’m going to stay away from her, though.