by Jade Kuzma
I pumped my cock into her wetness until my release was right there on the edge. I was having trouble keeping my eyes open but I forced myself to remain staring at her. I wanted to look into her eyes. I wanted to stare at her as I lost control. I wanted to see the beauty looking back at me as I filled her up.
“Fuck…”
I grunted hard. My body seized as I started to come. I tightened my grip on her waist and held her in place. Thick throbs of semen fired out of me and spilled into her. I buried myself as deep as I could, making sure not a single drop leaked out of her.
Lenora tightened around me and milked my cock. She was so wet that I could have slid right out of her if I tried. But I wanted to enjoy the feeling of being inside of her for as long as I could.
I had my limits though. I could only spend so much time in heaven.
All of my energy had been drained. I pulled out of her and rolled over on the bed next to her. I caught my breath as I stared at her.
The way she looked after sex was amazing. Glistening, soft skin. Chest rising and falling softly. And that beautiful smile of hers. I was hypnotized all over again and I didn’t care.
I would do anything for her.
Nothing was gonna stop me from making Holmes pay for what he put her through. His time was coming.
Chapter 23
LENORA
“There’s no safer place for you than here. Not anywhere in Ivory. Not anywhere else in the fucking world. As long as you’re here, you got nothing to worry about, sweetheart.”
Garnet gave me a wink. It was strangely reassuring.
“Thanks,” I said with a laugh. “It means everything to me.”
“Char’s a Reaper. I got his back like every other patch.”
I didn’t know much about the politics of the Black Reapers. But it was easy to understand why Garnet was the president of the club. Just being around him alone was enough to make me feel comfortable enough that I almost forgot about everything going on tonight.
Everybody else in the bar seemed to feel the same way.
The Grindhouse was the clubhouse of the Black Reapers but there were members from the other clubs out here tonight. They were all laughing, relaxing, and having a good time. Garnet was one of the few people who knew that we couldn’t enjoy ourselves too much tonight. Not until everything was over.
“Have a drink,” he said as he shoved a beer in front of me.
“No thanks…”
“You know, Char’s a tough cat. I wonder where he gets it from.”
“He was an Army Ranger for a few years. Did a few tours on the other side of the world.”
“I guess that explains it. You can’t go out in the field without growing a set of steel balls between your legs. I guess you’d know about his balls better anybody now, wouldn’t you?”
He gave me a smirk and raised his eyebrows at me. I giggled and shook my head, trying and failing to hide my blushing cheeks.
“It’s all right,” he said. “No shame in sleeping with a Reaper. That’s what every woman in Ivory wants.”
“It doesn’t matter to me whether or not Charles is a Reaper. I care about him.”
“I know you do.”
Garnet put a hand on my shoulder and whispered into my ear.
“He can take care of himself. If… And that’s a big if… If something happens to him. I’ll be right here for you. You can count on me. I won’t let Holmes or Lieberman or anybody else fuck with you. I gave Char my word.”
I breathed a deep breath through my nose and nodded to Garnet. I was still nervous. My heart was racing. My blood pressure was going through the roof. But looking into Garnet’s eyes, I knew that everything would work out for the best.
“Have a beer,” he said as he patted me on the back. “You’ll feel better.”
Garnet left me alone at the bar while he tended to whatever business he had to deal with.
I sat by myself while the rowdy bar continued to party into the evening. I ignored them, still waiting for any sign that Charles had made it through.
My hand was clutching my phone so tight that my palm was sweating. I kept glancing down at it over and over, waiting for any message to come from him.
I wasn’t aware of how much time had passed when I looked at the entrance of the bar. The door opened and Lieberman walked in followed by two of her cronies.
“Shit…”
I muttered to myself and put my head down but it was too late. She’d already made eye contact with me and saw me sitting at the bar. I hopped off of my seat and turned my back to her.
“Miss Gibson. There’s no point in trying to run.”
I didn’t move. All I could do was sigh and turn around.
Lieberman slowly sauntered up to me, her thumbs in her pockets. She was so out of place that she started to draw the attention from some of the other people in the club.
“What are you doing here?” she said.
“I’m just enjoying a night out on the town,” I said with a smile. “Can’t a girl enjoy a beer?”
“You’re old enough to drink. But you have to admit… It’s interesting that you would come to the clubhouse of the Black Reapers. That’s Lawrence’s club.”
“Is it? That’s quite a coincidence.”
I kept smirking at her, holding my ground as she took another step toward me. She leaned in close to me with that hard look in her eyes she always had.
“Cut the bullshit,” she whispered. “What are you up to?”
“I’m not up to anything. I’m just out here, trying to enjoy my night and have a beer. I was laid up in that hospital bed for longer than I wanted to be. Can’t a girl have any fun?”
She kept glaring at me. I stared back at her, my jaw clenched as I waited for her to walk away.
“Agent Lieberman.”
Garnet’s voice boomed through the bar. He walked next to me, flanked by the other members of his club.
“It’s a pleasure of you to stop by,” Garnet said.
“It’s a pleasure to be here, Cunningham. And please. Call me Jane.”
“Sure thing, Lieberman. What brings you out here? Fancy a beer? We’ve got all different kinds on tap. I can give you a recommendation if you need one.”
“No thanks. I’m not drinking tonight. And if you knew what was good for you, you wouldn’t be either.”
“Oh, really? And why’s that?”
Most of the bar was looking at Lieberman at this point. The rowdiness of the clubhouse had quieted down. All of the conversations had stopped.
Lieberman started pacing back and forth.
“We’ve got intelligence reports that Holmes has beefed up his security,” she said. “He wouldn’t have done that unless he knew something was happening.”
“That still doesn’t explain why you’re here,” Garnet said.
“Oh, I think it does. Holmes is preparing for something. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that now, would you, Cunningham?”
“If I knew anything about it, what would I be doing here in my own clubhouse?” Garnet replied. “The same goes for all of the other Reapers.”
“All except for one.”
“No, this is all of them. BRIC. Black Reapers Ivory Chapter. All present and accounted for.”
Lieberman took a step toward Garnet and looked him right in the eye.
“If anything happens to Holmes on my watch—”
“You’ve got nothing on us,” Garnet cut her off. “We’re all here in the clubhouse. And we’ve got a bar full of witnesses. You won’t be able to prove shit.”
Garnet was defiant. Even in the face of a federal agent, he didn’t budge.
But he had every reason to be confident. Garnet wasn’t involved in this. None of the other Black Reapers were either. This was all on Charles.
Lieberman moved away from Garnet and turned to me.
“Come with me,” she said. “It’s not safe.”
“What?” I exclaimed. “What are you talking about?�
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“Holmes attacked you. There’s no reason he won’t come after you. I’ll put you in protective custody.”
“No,” I said, shaking my head. “I’m not going anywhere. I’m not afraid of Holmes. And I’m not afraid of you either.”
“You heard the lady,” Garnet said. “She just wants to enjoy her beer. Now… Unless the three of you are having a drink, I’d appreciate it if you left and let my customers enjoy themselves.”
Lieberman ignored him.
“He’s not gonna get away with this,” she whispered to me. “Whatever Lawrence is planning on doing, you have to tell him to stop. Before it’s too late. I’ll lock you up myself if I have to.”
There was no doubt in my mind she was serious. I already knew what she was capable of.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said.
“Come with me, Miss Gibson. I can protect you.”
“You didn’t protect me before. What makes you think I’m going to trust you now?”
Lieberman took a step back from me. She had the attention of the entire clubhouse.
“Let me make one thing clear to all of you,” she said. “I don’t care if you’re a Reaper or a Cobra or if you’re even patched into an MC at all. I want you all to understand that you’re being watched. If any of you slip up, I won’t hesitate to lock you up and throw away the key. I know something is up. Don’t test me.”
Lieberman leaned in close to me and whispered.
“If Lawrence is up to something, he’ll fall. And you’ll fall right along with him. You’ll never be able to leave Ivory.”
She spun on her heel and walked away before I could respond. I watched her leave with the two men she came into the bar with. As soon as she disappeared, the bar started to get noisy again. Everybody returned their attention to their conversations like nothing had happened.
“Don’t worry.”
Garnet put a hand on my shoulder to give me the reassurance I needed at the moment.
“Char’s a Reaper,” he continued. “He’ll get through this. You’ll see him again. I can promise you that.”
I felt helpless sitting in The Grindhouse. But I didn’t have a choice. The only thing left for me to do in Ivory was wait for Charles so I could finally leave everything behind for good.
Chapter 24
CHARLES
I never dealt much with explosives. Most of my time in the Army was spent with heavy firearms. I put men down from a distance, not able to look them in the eye until death had already come calling.
But I wasn’t enough of a layman that I didn’t know what I was doing. And it was a good thing, considering what Petey gave me.
I had enough C4 to level a building.
I rode through town that night on a mission. I kept my headlights low and stayed off the main streets to avoid drawing any attention.
Blade’s place was far away from town. A small mansion on a hill that was above the rest of Ivory. He was a small-time dealer trying to live the life of someone more important. That was the second biggest mistake he ever made. By the time he came calling for help, nobody would be able to get to him in time.
I parked my bike behind some trees as I scoped his place out. There was an armed security guard standing at the entrance. Security cameras along with everybody being on high alert meant that I would be spotted as soon as I got anywhere near it.
I joked about waltzing through the front door. Now I planned on doing just that.
I walked up to the entrance where the security guard was standing. He immediately pulled his pistol from his hip and pointed it at me.
“It’s all right,” I said as I put my hands up. “I’m just here to see Blade.”
“Is that right? Gimme one good reason I shouldn’t put a bullet in your fucking head right now.”
“Because…”
I slowly zipped my vest down. All of the C4 was taped to my chest. I held my phone up to make it clear to him.
“This shit is rigged to go up if anything happens to me,” I said. “It’s tied to my heartbeat. You put a bullet in my head, you might as well put a bullet in your own head along with everybody else in this mansion.”
The security guard stared hard at me. He knew he didn’t have much of a choice.
“He’s here,” he said into the radio on his shoulder.
He kept his gun pointed at me as he opened up the front door.
“Don’t try anything stupid,” he said.
“Too late for that,” I replied.
He escorted me into the mansion. I stepped into the main hall and saw a couple more security guards, armed and ready for me. If it came down to it, they weren’t anything I couldn’t handle.
They all walked behind me as I made my way up the stairs. I moved down a long hallway until there was another set of double doors with another security guard in front of it.
“You got any weapons?” he asked me.
“Gun on my waist.”
I stood there while they pulled my pistol from my belt. I kept my eyes locked on the man guarding the door. I couldn’t help but smile at him.
“Don’t worry,” I said. “I don’t plan on blowing all of us up. Just one man.”
“Shut the fuck up.”
He opened the double doors and shoved me inside. My entourage of security guards stayed behind me as I entered the room.
The place was more lavish than the rest of the mansion. It wasn’t very big but there were gaudy gold and platinum pieces of art along the sides. Expensive-looking paintings hung on the walls. But I didn’t pay too much attention to the marble floors or the small chandelier on the ceiling. I was only focused on the man lounging in his chair, staring out toward his balcony window.
“Leave us,” he said.
The guards followed his orders and left. The doors clicked closed behind me. I stood there, patiently waiting for the man to give me his attention.
He waited a few moments before finally getting up out of his seat.
Slick-backed hair. Expensive suit. Over-sized watch. Cheap cologne. Yeah, he was the definition of a man who wanted to play the role of a big shot.
“Charles Lawrence.”
“Blade.”
“The man Asia actually fell for. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”
He walked toward me with a grin. It was the same kind of smile you’d see from cocky punks like him. Cheap cologne and an expensive haircut weren’t enough to mask who he really was.
“There’s no need for that,” he said as he pointed at all of the explosives on my chest. “I instructed my men not to kill you. I wanted to talk to you one on one. It’s a shame we have to meet under such circumstances.”
I didn’t bother listening to him. I just stood there, my fists balled and ready to punch a hole in his head. Everything he did to Lenora was still playing over and over in my thoughts.
“I remember the first time I met her,” he said. “She was such a beautiful girl. But she was alone. Lost. She didn’t have anybody. Just like me. I came to this town because I wanted to find myself. I ended up finding it in her. Asia was the girl I always dreamed about. Someone who had nothing but finally made something of herself.”
“You used her. You pimped her out so you could fatten your own pockets.”
“Asia would be nothing without me. She would be dead if I hadn’t saved her.”
“Saved her? You put her in the hospital—”
“I loved her!”
He was getting worked up, breathing hard through his nose. He tensed his jaw. I locked my stare on him, just waiting until I could finally put my hands on him.
“I loved her,” he whispered. “I loved her more than any woman I’d ever met before. I was gonna make so much money and take her all over the world. I was gonna take her to the beach she wanted to visit so much. But then she had to go and break my heart.”
“What do you expect? She could never be with a man like you.”
He laughed in response.
“And I suppose you’re any better,” he said. “A man who traveled all the way to Ivory to kill someone? Oh, but you’re better than me, I suppose.”
Holmes started pacing back and forth in front of me, his hands behind his back.
“I did my research,” he said. “It’s not hard to get information on somebody with a criminal record.”
The familiar smirk on his face returned.
“Charles Lawrence. Former army ranger. Enough confirmed kills to fill a cemetery. You have more blood on your hands than I ever will. And you have the audacity to claim that you know what’s best for Asia?”
“I have blood on my hands. I won’t deny that. But none of it is Lenora’s.”
He stopped smiling at me. He just glared at me as he took off his jacket.
“Ivory is a peaceful little town,” he said, tossing his jacket off to the side. “Everybody here just wants to enjoy their lives in comfort. When you came here, you disrupted that harmony. You should have never come here. I would be happy. The people in this town would be happy. Asia would be happy.”
“She was never happy in Ivory. Living in this city, her whole life has been miserable.”
“And I suppose you’ve come to do something about that? You’ve come to save her from her miserable life?”
“I’m not here to erase the past. I’m not here to save her from her miserable life. I’m just here to give her the justice she deserves.”
“Justice… It’s a shame that you and the federal agent can’t let a man live. Then Asia had to go and break my heart when I loved her so much.”
He unbuttoned his sleeves and rolled them up. He put his hands on his waist.
“I’ll make you a deal,” he said. “Walk away. Leave Ivory right now and I’ll never speak of you again. I won’t come looking for you and I’ll find a way to deal with Lieberman so she won’t bother coming for you. I’ll even give you some cash.”
I took a step forward.
“You think you can buy me off?” I said.
“Why not? Everybody has their price. You should know that better than anybody else. You fell in love with someone after paying for her.”