Starving For Vengeance

by Debra Kayn

  Lee, his sunglasses on, rode close behind her. She squinted and peered harder into the mirror. Her grin tingled her whole body. What she saw made today totally worth the embarrassment. Lee rode with a smile on his face.

  She drove past the walk bridge over the river on her right, and shifted the truck into third gear. A bubble of happiness grew inside of her and she laughed, dancing on the seat. Lee's relaxed state was her doing. They'd had a good time. They had sex, laughs, and spontaneity. For one day, they acted like any other normal couple, and she was responsible for the smile on his face.

  If he could relax for one day, then maybe she had a chance at making him happy for two days. Then maybe one day soon he'd push away whatever hardened him against relationships. Just maybe, there wouldn't be an end to their time together.

  Chapter Seventeen

  A low buzzing in Lee's head brought him awake. He opened his eyes and stared into the darkness, his muscles tense. Reality set in and he slid out from underneath Shari, reaching under his pillow for the pre-paid phone he'd seized off the table downstairs.

  He squinted at the screen.

  555-3152

  "Damn," he said under his breath.

  Shari moaned, grabbing the pillow and hugging it to her chest. He tapped out the numbers and put the phone to his ear as he walked into the bathroom and shut the door.

  Tango picked up. "What the fuck was that about yesterday? You've been at the club for a month, and you're already fucking my niece?"

  "You're calling me in the middle of the night—"

  "It's seven o'clock in the God damn morning, Ramchett," Tango barked.

  "Shit." Lee turned on the shower to muffle the phone call.

  "If you put her on the back of your bike, and I'll kill you," Tango said.

  "I think she'd have a lot to say about my death." He lifted the toilet lid and pissed. "What's the real reason you're calling?"

  "There are visitors in Federal. They're staying in plain sight at the motel in town. We have three agents covering them. Apparently, they came early. It's only a matter of time before Bantorus learns that Los Li is in town, and that can't happen. I need you to make sure Bantorus doesn't do anything different than they did yesterday or the day before."

  Lee flushed. "I'm taking the information to the club."

  "You can't. Not yet," Tango said.

  "Bull shit." Lee paced the small area. "I won't risk my family...or your niece. I'll contact you tonight."

  "Ramchett, you fuck this up and the situation will grow worse. We need to do this one by the books," Tango said, his voice growing louder. "Let us handle it."

  "Not happening." He braced his hand on the rod of the shower curtain. "You can't expect us to ignore the Mexican mafia in our town, on our territory. I will not let the girls be victims of their sick perverted minds again. Make sure everyone is ready on your end, or I'll go in myself."

  "Then put the girls in lockdown, and keep the men out. Herrera will sniff out any signs that Bantorus is planning to rally, and the whole sting will fall apart. We can't have that happen. We're too fucking close," Tango said.

  At the mention of the Los Li leader's name, Lee's hand gripped the cell phone painfully. "Trust me."

  "God damn it, Ramchett," Tango said. "I'm doing you a favor and letting you in on the sting. If you—"

  "Got it." Lee lowered his chin to his chest. "Give me a time."

  "We'll meet tonight. I'll call you with a location." Tango sighed. "Keep your head, brother. This is it."

  "Yeah, let's hope so" Lee whispered, disconnecting the call.

  The plan came faster than he'd expected, but he was ready. His stomach burned at the thought of the take down happening near Shari. He'd have to secure the club. The chance of something going wrong was higher than normal. Los Li, while reckless, would never enter onto Bantorus territory unless they were prepared to spill blood.

  He'd have to act fast.

  Fully awake and pumped on adrenaline, he hopped in the shower. He'd invested his whole life to this moment, and he wouldn't rely on the government to take down a strong arm of the mafia. With the inside information they coerced out of Risa's mom in prison, it could all end up in Bantorus's lap in the end. Nothing about the plan was one hundred percent sure. It was a gamble, and the stakes were high.

  He closed his eyes and shampooed his hair. As soon as he finished, he'd call Kurt and set up a meeting. The Feds owed the club. After every attack, Lee cleaned up the mess and kept Los Li out of the limelight, all so this day would happen without any problems.

  "Lee?" Shari called out.

  He shook his head, dispatching the water on his face, and leaned outside the curtain. "In here."

  She popped into the bathroom, her hair in all directions, her handprint on her cheek, and her lips still rosy and swollen from his whiskers. He pulled the curtain aside and lifted his chin. "Come and get some, doll."

  She walked straight to him, stepped inside, and stood under the spray of the warm water. He cock hardened, enjoying the view of her naked curves under the water when she wrapped her arms around his waist and laid her cheek on his bare chest. He tangled his fingers into her hair, holding her close. Tango's news brought everything home for him. He had to protect everyone, especially Shari.

  She tilted her head, opened her eyes, and slowly lowered herself until she kneeled on the bottom of the tub. His balls tightened and he fisted himself.

  Drops of water dribbled off her chin. He swallowed hard, watching the droplet slide down her throat, over her breast, and curl around her hard nipple. His hand tightened and he blinked the water out of his eyes, afraid to miss a second.

  She planted her hands on his upper thighs. His whole body pulsed, and he let go of himself.

  Shari moistened her lips, leaned forward, and swiped the ridge of his swollen head with her tongue, stroking the sensitive line from tip to root. He widened his legs and laid his hand on the top of her head to keep her hair from falling and blocking his view.

  She licked the slit of his cock, which flexed out of her reach. He arched his pelvis, giving her every inch in the hope she'd take the whole length in her mouth.

  Her gaze came up and she placed her lips on his engorged, pulsating erection, and sucked. He rocked forward. A moan erupted from his chest.

  She ran her tongue over the spot beneath the rim of his cock, down his length, and used her lips and tongue to stroke him. His fingers tightened in her hair and he raised his hips.

  She gagged. He pulled on her hair, keeping her away from him.

  "Easy," he said.

  She tugged against his hold, keeping her gaze on his eyes. A flash of power so complete washed over him. She was on her knees, sucking him off, giving to him, and asking nothing in return.

  He stroked her lips around his dick with his thumb and forefinger. "Like this, doll."

  She laughed around the mouthful. His cock grew bigger with the extra vibration of her enjoyment. When he thought he wouldn't be able to hold out, she swallowed, adding more pressure. He groaned, holding her in place while he pumped into her mouth in short, quick strokes.

  Her eyelids fluttered. He couldn't look away, because from his position and her submission, the pleasure consumed him.

  He thrust deeper. She vacuumed her cheeks, took his length, and he lost it. He shot his load. His spine vibrated from his head clear down between his legs.

  Shari continued to stroke him with her tongue, taking every drop. The satisfaction in her gaze left him weak.

  He lifted her to her feet, and while she shampooed her hair, he washed her body. Without wasting any time, he had them both out of the shower, toweled off, and Shari laid out on his bed.

  She shivered, and he set forth to warm her again. He parted her legs and swiped his tongue from bottom to top over her sex, flicking her clit.

  Her back arched off the bed. He used his lips, his tongue, his whiskers, and caressed her folds. The sweet scent of her arousal filled his nostrils, and he hu
ngrily lapped up her wetness.

  "Lee..." Her hips rose, pressing against his mouth.

  He raised his head and kissed the inside of her thigh. The left. The right.

  She fisted his hair and dragged him back to her pussy. He grunted his approval against her sensitive flesh, slipping his hands under her ass and holding her in place. He nuzzled, licked, nipped, and tickled. Her gyrations grew, and he finally sealed his lips around the tiny bud and sucked the bundle of nerves into his mouth.

  Shari panted, groaning underneath him. He circled his tongue, reading her body's reaction and settled on a steady stroke, up and down on the left side of her clit where he knew would get her off. He wanted her to experience what she'd given him, but he could already feel himself hardening again. He moved his right hand and entered his middle finger into her, pressing up while he tongued her.

  Her head came off the mattress and she convulsed fast and hard with her orgasm, grabbing his shoulders. He continued to lick her in long, soft strokes, until her thighs unlocked around his head and she sighed in completion.

  He kissed his way up her stomach, her ribs, her breasts, and hovered over her, puckering his lips. She planted her hands on his chest.

  "Don't you dare kiss me," she said, laughing lazily.

  He grinned and hopped off the bed and went into the bathroom. After washing up and brushing his teeth, he found her sitting on the bed with her legs crossed, smiling.

  He stopped to gawk. She was beautiful.

  Her wild damn hair in disarray around her shoulders and her heart-shaped face happy. The sense of ownership went straight to his head.

  "Thank you," she said, catching her lip under her teeth.

  He stalked to the bed, kissed her hard. "Whatever happens, don't you forget who you belong to."

  She tilted her head and frowned. "What's wrong?"

  "Promise me. Shit happens, I want you inside this club, no matter what you hear or see," he said.

  "I don't understand." She came up on her knees. "What's going on?"

  He cupped the back of her neck, brought his forehead down to hers, and wanted to whisk her far away. "Things are going down. I need to go let the club in on what's happening."

  "Does this have to do with my uncle?" She grasped his arm. "Talk to me, please."

  "I can't yet." He kissed her again. "Stay in the club."

  He waited for her acknowledgement, and it finally came in the form of a nod. He palmed her cheek. "I'll have the girls come inside and stay with you. As far as they're concerned, everything is normal. If they want to talk you into going out, make up some excuse to keep them here. I'll have Kurt talk to them after the meeting."

  Shari sank back on the bed and finger combed her hair in short, hard strokes. He dressed and put on his boots. She was worried about her uncle, but there was nothing he could say to put her at ease. What they planned to do had never been done before to this degree. There were at least three different gangs in the United States within Los Li's umbrella. Half of those members on the outside, half in prisons scattered across the Northwest. Most of them planted inside to take care of business on the outside.

  No one ever knew if they were being set up or being dealt straight. One mistake and people ended up dead.

  He grabbed his pistol, put it in his back pocket, and added a small .380 in the leather concealment on his boot. "Promise me, doll."

  "Yeah. I promise." She stood, grabbing her shirt.

  He put on his vest. "I'll be in the warehouse, and then a meeting. I'll be back as soon as I can."

  She stepped toward him and stopped. "Be careful."

  "Always." He walked out the door.

  Shit just got real, and what he'd strived to do his whole life was going to go down. Over the years, he'd gone in knowing he probably wouldn't walk out. His chest tightened. This time, he wanted to walk out, because Shari would be waiting for him.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Alana handed Carrie the last dirty plate, and returned to the table in the kitchen. Shari motioned for Monica to close the door. She had to talk to the girls before the men came back from the warehouse.

  "Does your talk with us have anything to do with Kurt rushing Lilly and me out of the house this morning, and ordering us to stay inside the club all day?" Risa asked.

  "No." Shari suspected the lockdown was about the same thing that had Lee hyped up this morning, but she had something else that needed taken care of first. "This is personal. I need to step away from Silver Girls."

  "Because of Lee making you drop out of the individual dances last weekend?" Alana's nose wrinkled. "Girl, stand up for yourself."

  "It's not like that." Shari shoved her hands under her bare legs. "Well, it sort of is. He's not big on having me dance for other men and if I'm in town, the miners will expect me to dance."

  What she couldn't tell them was she'd no longer dance when her uncle came back and told her it was safe to live her own life. It wasn't fair to the others for her to build their hopes up on her running Silver Girls when she'd be leaving Bantorus MC and Federal when she goes back to California. She couldn't put her faith into Lee wanting her to stick around. He never once said they'd continue seeing each other when his business was over.

  "Did he claim you?" Risa's gaze narrowed. "Because the men can't make demands unless he's making you his property. I can talk to Kurt if you believe Lee's pushing too hard. He's been away from Bantorus for a long time and used to making his own decisions. It might be that he's reluctant to go in front of the club."

  Shari shook her head. "No, he didn't claim me, and I'm not ready to belong to him. I don't know what I'm doing. I also have no idea what is going through his head."

  The girls stared at her. She sighed and leaned forward, cupping her mug of coffee in her hands. One minute she was hopeful, the next she doubt her and Lee would ever amount to more than sex buddies.

  "I like him," she said, getting it off her chest.

  Risa blew out her breath. "I'm the last one who should warn you about setting yourself up for failure, but honey, Lee's wild. He rode nomad for years. I know he's Kurt's brother—"

  "This has nothing to do with him being related to the president or being a biker." Shari placed her hands on her cheeks. "We've connected, and no matter how much I try to keep level headed about what is developing between us, I can't help but go forward. I know it seems like I'm stepping away from dancing to please him, but it's bigger than that. He needs me, and I want to do this for him."

  What she couldn't tell them was her uncle was doing something dangerous right now to insure her freedom from the club. Her head pounded, and she rubbed her temple. Any day, Uncle Ted would come back and she'd have to tell everyone goodbye.

  "Mm hm." Alana's brow lifted. "You're going to lose yourself in him."

  She turned to her friend. "But what if I find myself instead? You all have a place here, and while I love being a part of Bantorus, there's something more that I need to do with my life. I'm not..."

  She shook her head. If she talked through her thoughts with the girls, she'd insult them. That was the last thing she wanted to do, because she respected them all. She couldn't explain what pulled her toward Lee, because she didn't understand it all herself. She just knew that remaining a Silver Girl until she was too old to please the men was not in her future. She wanted to grab life while life was still happening.

  "Is it more than sex?" Risa asked. "You don't have to answer. I'm curious, because I care about you. I don't know Lee well enough to tell you what he's thinking. Just know that he comes with a lot of baggage. His childhood sucked, and if not for Bantorus MC, he wouldn't have survived. But, if you think a man outgrows the trauma of his childhood, you're wrong. Those scars shape the man."

  "And the woman." She raised her chin. Once the words were out, she couldn't take them back.

  Risa's gaze softened and she lowered her voice. "Fair enough, honey."

  The kitchen door swung open. Kurt stuck his head inside, settl
ed his gaze on Risa, and lost some of the tension marking his face. "We're calling a meeting, and while it's going on, everyone's in lockdown. Big Dawg, Wyatt, and Beckett are posted at the doors. Nobody leaves.

  Risa stood and went to Kurt. Shari looked out into the hallway from her position, but no other bikers were there.

  "What's going on?" Carrie whispered.

  "Sh." Shari concentrated on the low conversation at the door, but she couldn't hear a thing. "I don't know."

  She told the truth. The information Lee shared wasn't enough to know anything, except it was huge, and she suspected risky.

  Risa kissed Kurt, closed the door, and returned to the table. "The men will talk to us after they get done at the table. Don't ask, because I don't know what the meeting is about."

  "This sucks." Lilly slumped in her chair, speaking for the first time today. "I hope this doesn't mean Pitnam Bantorus members are coming to Federal. The last thing I need is my parents coming here. They'll talk me into going back home."

  Because Shari had spent so much time with Lee, she still had no idea why Lilly was at the club and why she stayed at Kurt and Risa's house instead of in one of the spare bedrooms. Shari sipped her cold coffee, hoping that'd settle her stomach. Anxious for any news on her uncle, all she could do was wait.

  "How are we going to work tonight if we're in lockdown?" Monica asked.

  Everyone looked toward Shari. Her stomachache worsened. At the time, their idea to go back to dancing seemed like a good one, now she was quitting, the club was in chaos, and the miners were expecting them tonight. Maybe they were being unfair to the club to add more to their plate by dancing.

  "I don't know," Shari said, honestly.

  Lilly tapped her long, painted fingernails on the table. "If the guys let you dance and whatever is going on inside the meeting right now doesn't involve a full blown shutdown, I'll take Shari's place."

  Risa laughed. "No way, honey. Rain would kill anyone here who allowed you to dance."