by Simone Elise
“Brad. It’s been awhile.” I looked him squarely in the eyes. “How are you?”
“Been tracking your ass down for the last three months, so you could say I’m worn the fuck out.”
“Sorry,” Kim piped in, and her eyes flickered to Trigger’s. “Where’s Dad?”
“Roach is inside. He’s waiting for you.” Trigger gestured with his arm for us to follow him, and my gut was telling me something was wrong.
Just being here felt too right that it had to be bad, didn’t it?
The clubhouse door swung open, and the scent of liquor, cannabis, and sex flooded over me. I wanted to groan. The mix made me feel at home; safe.
I had expected to be dragged into the boardroom. Instead, a long table had been dragged into the center of the clubhouse. My eyes naturally were drawn to the head of the table, and there was Dad.
Shaved head, looking like he hadn’t aged a day, but the bags under his eyes told me he wasn’t sleeping. My heart clenched because I knew I was part of the reason that would be adding stress to his plate.
Still, after everything he did, after everything he said, I cared. How was that possible? Guess that is why they call it family.
Kade was standing to his right, and I swallowed sharply, not wanting to meet his eyes.
He would see right through me. He would see how nervous I was. I couldn’t let my walls fall.
“Dad.” I placed a hand on my hip and held my head higher. “Thanks for fitting us in.”
“Always got time for my daughters, even if they want to kill me.” His voice hardened, and he dragged a chair out, dropping his full body weight down. “Sit the fuck down.”
Kim and I looked at each other then dragged a chair out on the opposite side of the table. Time to get down to business, and it was going to get fucking messy.
“Abby, you wanna explain the tattoo on your shoulder?” He fired off the first question and honestly, I should have expected it.
“It’s a tattoo, get over it.”
“You girls came here for something.” He reached for his cigarette packet. “Wanna tell me what that something is?”
“I want to come home,” Kim blurted out.
You had to be kidding me. Seriously, she couldn’t keep it to herself.
“Then come home.” Dad’s voice softened, and it was noticeable. The look that covered his face told me that was exactly what he wanted to hear.
“We can’t.” I glared at Kim for a moment then looked at Dad. “Damon won’t let us walk. Not to mention we have commitments, and he isn’t letting us out of them.”
“Then I’ll kill the fucker.” Dad shrugged his shoulders. “Problem solved. You can come home.”
“Damon Bishop isn’t someone you just kill and get away with. He’s the type of man you kill, and you start a war.”
“Then finish up your commitments with him.”
“We can’t.”
Kim was nervously shaking her legs. We had both agreed on not telling Dad the fact that the condition of us leaving was taking the money from them.
“Why?”
“Because.” I snapped and reached into my handbag, finding my own cigarette packet and pulling one out. “You can’t help us, and we can’t get out of this…” I frowned, trying to think of the words to describe it. “Situation.”
“Try us,” Reaper spoke up.
My eyes snapped up, locking with his. Even now I was pulled to him. It was like I was my sixteen-year-old self and I was just pulled right back to him. There was only one way to describe it. Love.
I loved Reaper.
And to hell with it, I would do anything I could do now to have him back. There was so much goddamn weight on my shoulders right now. Would it kill me to share it? I sighed, nodding my head. I guess all I could do was share.
“Damon wants the cash that I gave up to you. If we give him the money, he will let us walk. If we don’t well, we stay.”
Kim looked at me, shaking her head. “So much for not telling them.”
“We give it then take it back. Easy fix.” Trigger pulled himself forward on the table. “The girls get freed, we get to use our guns to get the money back.”
“It won’t be that easy. Do you really think they will just let hand over the bag of cash and not ask us where we got it from?” Kim rolled her eyes.
“You tell them the truth. Your old man gave it to you. I want you girls home and if that costs me some money, then so be it. Not like we won’t make it back,” Dad said simply. Like it wasn’t a shitload of cash he was about to willingly give up.
“Boss, that is some serious money we will be giving up.” Brad looked up and down the table. “Club money. We can’t just hand it over.”
“We can, and we will.” Dad’s voice rolled with anger. “Then when we get our shit together, we will get the money back from them.”
“Because Damon just leaves opportunities to be stolen from all the time.” I looked Dad directly in the eye. “We don’t want the money. We are sorting our own shit out. But we just wanted to make it clear that we can’t just come home. Kim can’t just walk like she wants to.”
“And you, Abby? What do you want?”
“Don’t know.” Liar.
“Really? Because I thought you wanted to ride off with my Vice President into the fucking sunset. I tell ya now I would rather you be on the back of the Reaper’s bike than where you are. So we are giving the money up. If anyone has a problem with it, raise your fucking hand so I can shoot it off.”
I opened my mouth.
Then shut it.
Sometimes there was no arguing with Dad. This was one of those times where you just backed down because he had his head locked on to what was going to happen and there wasn’t anything changing his mind.
So this was one of those times. You either folded and gave in to his will, or you stood strong and fronted the storm by yourself.
Why did I feel this was questioning my character and who I was, or more importantly, who I should be?
Was I the girl who ran home to Dad to solve my mess, or was I the girl who took the gun pointed at my head and twisted it back in Damon’s face?
Guess it all depended on one thing.
I pushed back on the table, my chair dragging backward.
“Can I talk to you?”
Kade’s eyebrows arched as his eyes stuck to mine. “Sure, why the fuck not.” He rose from his chair and, in silence, we walked out of the boardroom. He pushed the door open for me and held it.
When it swung shut, his eyes were locked on me. My eyes drank in the man in front of me. Tall, covered in leather, tattoos, and scars. Those soul-sucking eyes of his that I could lose myself in.
I took a sharp breath in. “I love you.”
He frowned. “Where’s this coming from?”
“Do you love me?” It was a simple question. Yet I knew it would have a complicated answer.
But after all these years, surely he knew, right? Surely deep down he would know.
He stuffed his hands in his pockets and just stared at me. “Never been hooked on a woman as much as I have been on you. Done a lot of shit to try and keep you, and then done a lot of shit that should have driven you away. So no, Abby, I don’t love you. I fucking love you. I would kill for you, die for you, and what I feel for you is fucking unhealthy, but I wouldn’t change it. Does that answer your question?”
It answered a hell of a lot more than one question.
“Then I will fold. Let Dad take over.” I took a step forward, placing a hand on his chest, feeling the leather under my hand. “It’s not easy to swallow my pride, but I will. For us. So we can move forward.”
“Babe, as soon as you drove into the lot, I wasn’t letting you leave.”
A smile spread across my lips. Guess I should have expected that.
Chapter 6
Abby
They say you have to meet the devil before you know the important things in life. I learned my lesson the hard way that r
unning doesn’t get you anywhere. You can run, but what you are really running from just follows you. That shit follows you to your early grave.
The door swung closed behind me. The door that had Reaper’s name painted on it in red writing. You would think by now I would have learned this lesson, but I just kept going back to the devil and each time I left him, I lost more of myself.
The leather vest slid down his arms; he hung it on the back of the chair. He undid the holsters and placed them on his bedside table. The tight-fitting tee shirt was on the floor within a minute, and he slumped down at the edge of his bed.
The beautifully inked skull across his chest that mixed with black roses and thorns caught my eye. He lit a cigarette and placed it between his lips.
How could a man that screamed danger be so alluring?
And I just stood at the door.
Watching.
His tattooed hand handed across the lit cigarette. Taking the few steps toward him, I took it.
Maybe when it came to him, I was just stupid.
Sighing, I sat down beside him on the bed, still keeping some distance between us.
How many times was he going to burn me before I learned my lesson? Was the Reaper really capable of love? I glanced at him, his eyes locking with mine. Looks like I wasn’t the only one doing some heavy thinking.
I sucked in the smoke, holding it in before lightly blowing it out.
I was afraid. The fear was slowly creeping through every blood vessel in my body. I loved him. I think I’ve loved him since I was sixteen. Still, was that enough?
I handed back the cigarette and sighed.
Everything about him pulled me in. The scars across his body, the badly scarred bullet wound on his stomach, the marks across the Satan’s Sons tattoo on his back. His chiseled face, the way when his eyes locked with mine, it was as if he could see through me.
Like right now.
Could he see my doubts?
Could he see how much I was in love with him?
Maybe the Reaper wasn’t capable of love, but Kade was; I had seen it.
My hand reached for his cheek, and he pushed his head into it. Blowing out the last of the cigarette, he dropped it on the floor, stomping on it once with his heavy boot.
“I love you.” I blew out, finding myself needing to tell him again. My whole world was him. Without him, I couldn’t cope. With him, I was a mess, but I was his mess. “Always have.”
He stood up, placing his tattooed hands on either side of my body. I fell backward on the bed, just looking up at him. He hovered over me, those soul-sucking eyes locked with mine.
“I’m never letting you leave me again.” His voice was thick with emotion, as if he was scared. Scared I would leave him. “Never gonna let you out of my sight again.”
I ran a hand down his face, “I don’t want to be out of your sight again.”
His hands linked with mine and with one quick pull, I was standing, and he wrapped his arms around my body, bringing us chest to chest.
“Can we really do this? You and me?” My hands locked around his neck. “You and I have always been close but yet so far. I don’t know if I can survive something pulling us apart again.”
Who was I kidding? I knew I couldn’t survive something pulling us apart again. Look how I reacted without him.
His hands ran down my back. “I’m telling you this now, Abby. I’m going to protect you. I’m going to wake up with you every morning. I’m going to fuck you, a lot. And I’m never letting you go.” His forehead rested against mine. “I’ve done a lot of fucked up shit, and I didn’t think I deserved you. But if having you is what sends me to hell, then I’ll take the ride willingly.”
He reached for the hem of my tank top and pulled it up over my head.
He inhaled sharply, and then his hands were unbuttoning my jeans and pulling down the zip.
“You still going to take the President patch in the South Charter?”
He nodded his head while dragging my jeans down my legs. I stepped out of them.
“That means I’ll be the old lady of a President.”
He stood back up, slowly nodding his head. “Can you handle that?” His expression was masked, as if he was expecting me to say no.
Could I handle anything without him? No. So yes, I could handle it. Would handle it gladly.
Nodding my head, his hands ran down my back, stopping at my hips. He lifted me up with ease, my legs wrapping around his waist.
“Means you will be leaving your old man.” His lips ran over my collarbone while he walked us back to the bed.
“No.” I grabbed his head, bringing us nose to nose. “It means I’ll be starting a life with you.”
I knew it wasn’t going to be a crystal-cut type of life. I knew that there was going to be times when I wanted to kill him, and other times I wouldn’t want him out of my sight. Still, I would take it. I would take all the bad every day if it meant I fell asleep by his side every night.
He gently lowered me till my back rested on the bed.
“That’s if all this shit with Damon works out.” My stomach curled with nerves. Dad might have a plan, but it still had to be acted out, and I knew he wasn’t going to take me leaving lightly.
“Babe, I’ve put a bullet in a man’s skull for less. I’m not going to let him hurt you.” Kade sounded more like the Reaper than himself. I gasped as his lips ran up my neck.
“I’m more afraid of him not letting me leave.” I finally strung a sentence together, trying not to get completely lost under his touch.
“You keep forgetting something.”
I tilted my head to the side, wondering what I could possibly be forgetting. “And that is?”
“I’m the Reaper. My reputation is enough to get him to back the fuck off.” He looked down at me, and for a short second, I saw his face harden and saw the man that everyone was scared of.
I knew he hadn’t done it on purpose. I knew he wasn’t trying to scare me, which was what had my lips cracking into a smirk. “Think a lot of yourself, don’t you?”
“It’s the fucking truth.”
“Well, can I ask the Reaper something?”
He pulled back, his lips leaving my skin. His eyes danced with amusement. “What?”
“Are you planning on fucking me anytime soon?”
A grin spread across his lips. “No.” He kissed my lips quickly and then his were gone again. “I’m planning on making love to you.”
“I thought you didn’t make love?”
“With you babe, only with you.”
Kade
There was a thing about Abby that not a lot of people knew or noticed. When she was happy, it lit up every one of the adorable features on her face. Her smile just made you want to smile. So as her lips turned into the most captivating smile, one I had been dying to see since I left her, I couldn’t stop myself from smiling down at her. Pride ran through my veins knowing I had caused that smile on her face.
“You don’t have to sweet talk me now; you had me hooked years ago.” Her blue eyes locked with mine, causing my demons to melt away.
All that mattered right now was her.
Her and that beautiful smile.
I wanted her more than I wanted anything in my life. I didn’t know what love was, but I was beginning to think it felt like this. Like you were slowly going insane, over thinking everything, willing to jump in front of the gun or be the man pulling the trigger just to make sure you kept them. She was everything to me and right now, as she lay half-naked under me, it still wasn’t enough.
Hooking a thumb under her underwear, I pulled them down her ivory thighs. Her hands reached for my pants, and I don’t know what sparked it, but suddenly I needed her in a way I had never needed a woman before.
I inhaled sharply, seeing the sight in front of me. She was so goddamn beautiful. I think I’m losing my mind now. Did she know how much she was killing me? I couldn’t stop my hands from running over her flat stomach and u
p to her breasts. So perfect for my hand.
“Don’t tease me, Kade.” The fire burning in her eyes told me it wasn’t just me who was dying with need right now.
Her legs wrapped around me, pulling me closer. I smirked at her greediness. God, she was acting like she was dying to have me. Her hands ran up my back, and while her touch was driving me insane, I needed more. I had to have all of her. I didn’t just kiss her. I claimed her. Her tongue was swirling so perfectly in my mouth, but the taste of her sweetness wasn’t enough. I wanted all of her. I wanted her hot and sweaty and panting my name.
All I knew was that I wanted her. I wanted in her. I wanted her mine and mine alone.
Fucking hell.
I wanted her on the back of my bike. I wanted her in my bed every night. I wanted her moaning my name every night.
With one thrust into her, her walls clenched around me, causing me to take a steady breath in. She was going to fucking kill me.
“God you’re tight, babe.” I pulled back out and then pushed up into her slowly, her back arching and head tilting back.
She was feeling this just as much as I was.
She wanted me just as badly as I needed her.
Her fingers dug into my shoulders. “Bet you say that to all the girls.”
I scoffed and just for that comment, I pushed into her harder, causing a sweet moan to escape her lips.
“Wanna say that again?”
“If getting you pissed off makes you fuck like a beast, then yes.” Her eyes were alight with laughter, making her look younger. Her tough exterior was gone and what lay under me was my Abby, my sweet, innocent Abby.
“Fuck, I love you.”
“Yeah, hun.” She pulled herself up on her elbows. “Me too.”
“You want it hard or soft?” I paused inside her, loving the feeling of her warmth surrounding me.
“Hard.” Her lips were inches away from me. “Fuck me like you’re never going to again.”
A smirk spread across my lips. “That ain’t never gonna happen.”
But for her pleasure, I gave it to her, hard.
***
“You gonna wipe that grin off your face anytime soon?” Brad arched an eyebrow, looking over his beer at me.