by Addison Jane
“And if we don’t work out?” I asked quietly, lowering my head and pressing my forehead to his chest. His breathing was deep.
In.
Out.
I tried to mimic it, in an attempt to calm my racing heart.
I’d prepared myself all morning for this, knowing that I would have to say goodbye. Possibly forever. My plan had been simple.
Run.
All I needed to do was outrun the timer.
“If things change later on, we will deal with it then. But until I know you’re safe, I’m not giving up,” he told me, his strength and position unwavering. “We’ll figure this out, and we’ll do it together.”
I inhaled his scent, it was masculine. A mix of leather and the spice of his cologne. It made me feel safe, a comfort I hadn’t had for a long time.
“Okay,” I whispered.
“Okay?”
I nodded, my head brushing against his leather cut with a subtle squeak. A thick finger hooked under my jaw and tilted my face upward. When his eyes met mine, I could tell they were searching, needing solid confirmation that I was willing to give this a try.
“You gonna be mine?” he asked, his body tense.
Forcing a smile, I reached out, wrapping my arms around his waist and anchoring myself to him. “I’ll be yours.”
He gave me a moment to inhale a shaky breath before he dipped his head and pressed his lips to mine, swallowing all my nerves and reluctance, and replacing them with the excitement of having him to myself.
There would be no more screwing the men in the club in order to have protection, Leo was offering me so much more. He was giving me a promise that he would do whatever it took to keep me safe, and at the same time, he would give me himself. I would be his. For now.
My reservations about what might happen between us when all this was said and done, still lingered in the back of my mind.
Would he resent me for putting his family in danger?
Was he only doing this because there was no other option?
Leo was broken.
He’d lost the love of his life, and as much as I wanted to fix him, give him everything I had and hope he felt the same, I had to wonder if there was enough space in his heart for me. I understood that he would always love Kim. I knew I could never take her place. But I didn’t want to either.
I cared for Leo and Macy. And Kim was a part of them.
I would happily share their hearts with her because she was the reason Leo’s the man he was today, and she was the reason Macy was in this world.
I just hoped they could let me in.
Leo’s mouth broke from mine, us both gasping for air. His hands moved to my ass, and he lifted me off the table, slowing lowering me to my feet before spinning my body so my back was flush against him.
“You’re scared,” he stated, one of his hands moving across my stomach while the other brushed my hair from my shoulder.
“Yeah,” I whispered. “Petrified.”
“Of him?”
Shaking my head, I tilted it to the side as his bearded face came to rest on my shoulder.
“No. Not of him.”
His fingers traced the line of my jeans, tickling across my bare skin, just underneath my shirt. “You’re scared of me?”
“Of how you make me feel,” I corrected. “I want you, so badly. I want to be yours.”
He chuckled lightly. “You miss what’s going on here? That’s what you just agreed to be. Mine.”
I gasped as his hand slipped inside my jeans, having been too preoccupied with the feel of him against me to realize they were now undone.
“You see those words on the table?” he growled into my ear as his fingers dived into my panties. I eyed the Brothers by Blood symbol that was etched into the dark wood. The name of the club above and Athens underneath. “That’s your home now. That’s your family. That’s who you belong to. You’re an Old Lady now, and there’s shit you need to learn. But you will… later. The future is unpredictable. It has no mercy for how we feel, no empathy for our situations. So you need to live in the now. Trust that I will do what it takes to keep you safe, I will fight to make you happy, and your life full because I’m your Old Man.”
His fingers moved across my clit to my center, gathering some of the wetness that had already pooled there and using it to lubricate his fingers.
I ground my ass back against him, feeling his hardness press into me.
“I want to fuck you, right now, right here,” he whispered, his bristles tickling my neck.
“Please,” I pleaded as he swiped back and forth against my clit, sensations already building in my stomach.
“Not yet. We sort this shit out first, we go to my room and I fuck you right. You’re not a club whore. Ain’t gonna disrespect you by screwing you here while my brothers sit outside waiting for us,” he told me, his hand now retreating from my pants and my body sagging in disappointment. He used one hand on my waist, turning me to face him just as he raised his hand to his mouth and slipped his fingers inside, sucking my wetness off them. “Just wanted to taste you. Now I know there will be no other man inside you, you taste all that much sweeter.”
My lips hung open as I stared at him in awe.
“You get it yet, baby?”
I licked my lips. “I think so.”
I was still scared but also desperate to see where this could lead. I wanted to fight, still unsure if I was willing to put his life, and the lives of the people he cared about, at risk for something that could just be a case of lust.
But he’d made his position firm. There was no running. If I stayed or left, the results would be the same. He and the club would find me, and do what they had to in order to keep me safe.
He’d taken away my options.
But I was kind of glad.
I wanted to be with him, and like he said, the future was unpredictable. So if this was all the time I was going to get with him, I was going to make it count.
I would take everything he was willing to give me, and I would cherish it for the rest of my life because having him for a moment was better than never having him at all.
She was mine.
For now.
I knew she was freaking out. She’d been ready to give up her life to try and protect me, and Macy, and the club. She’d no doubt spent half the night preparing for the idea of walking out of here today and not looking back.
Maybe in that time she’d convinced herself that we couldn’t work. That it was too soon to be feeling these ridiculous emotions that I knew were surging through the both of us, but that we’d both been tiptoeing around for the last week or so.
But I’d thrown a spanner in the works, and suddenly, we were forced to deal with them.
I’d been honest when I told her I hadn’t felt anything like this since I was with Kim. I think that was why I was so freaked out about the whole situation. I thought Kim would be the only woman I’d ever love, or even care for. It didn’t seem like it was possible to feel that way about more than one person.
She’d owned my thoughts and heart for so long now, letting someone else in was a challenge. But for Hadley, it was one I was willing to accept.
Talking to Op about removing Hadley as a club girl had been an idea I was considering. Having to watch her fucking my brothers while I pined after her, wasn’t my idea of fun, but I knew what the only other option was if I expected to keep her safe too.
It wasn’t the ideal circumstances, but I knew inside that, I wasn’t ready to lose her. I’d already lost Kim, and if what I was feeling for Hadley was real and I let her walk out that door, I don’t think my heart would survive this time around.
“You ready for this?” I asked her, slipping my hand into hers as my brothers filed back into the room.
She looked down at where our hands connected, wetting her lips with her tongue before looking back up at me. “Nope.”
I smirked. “Come on.”
I pulled her over to my chair, s
itting down before pulling her onto my lap.
She eased into me, twisting her body sideways so her legs lay over the arm of the chair and her head dropped onto my shoulder.
It felt good to have her there, knowing that all my brothers would see how I’d claimed her.
Op called for silence in the room before turning to me with a smirk. “Guess congratulations are in order.”
I looked around at my brothers. Some smiled, some seemed indifferent. When my eyes met with Slider’s, I expected a witty retort. He always had something smart to say when another brother lost his shit to a woman, him being the kind of guy who was determined to fuck his way through life. But instead of catching him laughing or making a smart remark, his eyes were hard. And they weren’t focused on me, they were on Hadley.
I felt her huddle closer against me.
I wanted to ask him if he had a problem, but Optimus was quick to cut through the tension that had obviously settled over the room. “Okay, let’s get this shit sorted, so we can start working on a solid plan,” he ordered, his eyes narrowing on me.
“So, what it basically comes down to…” Blizzard started, taking over and putting us back on task, “… is Simon needing Hadley in order for him to keep his place in the Syndicate.”
Optimus nodded. “I talked to Skins a minute ago. He said they have the option to put Hadley in a safe house, but with Simon’s connections in the bureau, they can’t be sure it would protect her.”
“She ain’t going in a safe house,” I said simply. That was not an option. I wasn’t about to put her safety in the hands of the people Simon works for. Who knows where his connections are and how far he could reach.
“If he doesn’t make his deadline and get her there, or show proof that she’s dead, he loses his title,” Kit explained. “The Syndicate will see it as an insult to their laws.”
“So then, either the Bureau will take him out because he’s fucked up, or the Syndicate will,” I stated, the pieces of the puzzle falling into place.
“We just need to keep her out of reach until the time is up,” Op offers, his fingers tapping on the table.
I frowned. “How do we know how much time we have?”
“The flowers coming in already have half their petals, and it’s been about four weeks since the packages started,” Hadley said, speaking up for the first time. “Simon likes patterns. He’s meticulous when it comes to that kind of thing. But I haven’t seen any packages come for…” Her voice trailed off as she looked around the room. “They have been coming haven’t they?”
“Couple more, yeah.” Blizzard nodded.
“Okay, so say we have four weeks,” Op interrupted. “He’s gonna want her some time before his deadline hits. Who knows when or what kind of backing he will bring with him. We can’t lock the club down for a month, that’s too long.”
I felt Hadley tense, and my hand moved to her leg, giving it a gentle squeeze.
“So we play an epic game of catch me if you can,” Tally said, the Troy VP speaking up for the first time. “We shuffle her around. Different places. Different states. Different towns. It’s easy for him to bring an army and attack one place, but if he can’t pinpoint exactly where she is, he’s going to have to spread his resources thin.”
It was a good idea, solid.
Optimus looked to Hadley. “You know him best.”
Hadley nodded. “Tracking wasn’t Simon’s expertise. He would have to call in other sources, and if he used the Bureau, Judge would be able to find out quickly and hopefully get a warning to us so we could move.”
Op looked around the room, waiting for anyone to speak up if they disagreed or had something better up their sleeves. Satisfied, he nodded. “Looks like we’re playing hide and go seek.”
I knew Optimus hated to run from a fight, but he was a smart leader and one that knew when there were too many unknowns that it wasn’t worth the risk.
“First stop, Troy?” Kit asked.
“Sounds good, man,” I agreed. “Give us a little extra time to sort out our next step.”
“Leo, Hadley, stay,” Op ordered. “The rest of you, out.”
My brothers filed out, Blizzard, Optimus and Kit staying with us.
Hadley moved from my lap, taking the chair beside me that Kev had just vacated.
“How you gonna handle this, Leo?” Blizzard asked. “I know you wanna go with your girl, but you have another little girl who desperately needs your attention right now.”
I gritted my teeth. He was right. Macy was still scared, leaving her now would be almost cruel, despite the fact that she would probably be a lot safer if I left her with Carly.
“We’ll take her with us,” I answered, looking over at Kit. “At least to Troy, just so it gives us some more time to help her to see that she’s safe.”
“I’ll talk to Oz. I’m sure he and my mom would love to have you guys at the house with them. Might feel a little more homely than the clubhouse,” he explained.
I nodded, blowing out a slow breath. “Thanks, bro, that’d be awesome.”
“You’re gonna need to get a new truck,” Op said with a silent smirk. “We’re thinking about using yours for target practice out the back.”
“Fuck no,” Kit protested. “I’ll have that shit for parts for the auto shop if you’re just going to blow the fucker up.”
I laughed. “You can get it down there, it’s all yours. Insurance is gonna pay out for it, but not for a few weeks so one of you fuckers can lend me yours until then.”
I had enough money to go pay for a new truck. More than enough actually. I definitely wasn’t strapped for cash. But the boys were looking to head out in a couple hours back to Troy, and that would be cutting things fine.
“Take mine,” Blizzard offered. “Rose has her car to carry Jay around, and it’s older, due for an upgrade anyway. Just don’t let Hadley drive.”
He looked over at Hadley with a smile, she wasn’t so amused and raised her middle finger at him. “I was dodging bullets.”
“With the amount of holes in that thing, you would’ve thought you were trying to catch them.” He laughed.
She looked over at me. “Now I’m an Old Lady, can I punch your brothers?”
I smirked. “If they deserve it.”
She turned back to Blizzard and wiggled her eyebrows. “Hear that?”
He laughed harder, pushing back his chair to stand. “You’ll have to get through Rose.”
“She hears your smart mouth, and I’m pretty sure she’ll be right there beside me,” she called as he walked out of the room, laughter booming in the hall.
Optimus looked over at Kit. “Remind me again why the hell we choose these kinda women to be with.”
Kit chuckled. “‘Cause it’s fucking hot when they get all feisty.”
Optimus scoffed. “Wait till you get Harmony pregnant and she gets all those hormones running through her. Chelsea yelled at me this morning for leaving the lid off the fucking toothpaste.”
We all laughed, but his frown grew deeper. “This is my fucking clubhouse, and I’m getting in shit for leaving the lid off the toothpaste.”
“So what’d you do, boss man? Tell her to put it back on herself?” I asked through my laughter.
He flicked his head to me with a sharp glare. “Fuck no. And deal with the tears and screaming and bullshit that comes with it?”
I laughed harder. Optimus was our president. He was hard and stern, but he was a reasonable man. Fair with everyone. He was intimidating to look at, his stature large like mine but when it came to his woman, there was nothing he wouldn’t do.
“Hope you’re taking notes,” Hadley said, teasingly as she stood up and patted me on the shoulder.
I shook my head. “Hell no, woman. Don’t go getting any ideas.”
“Sure!” she said, heading for the door.
I looked to my brothers, the both of them looking like they were trying to hold back their laughter.
“I’m fucked, righ
t?”
Hadley was different than Kim. They were similar in the ways that their hearts knew no end. They loved hard, they protected the people they cared for, and they were both beautiful, inside and out.
Kim was strong, she held her head high with pride, but she kept her opinions to herself, not wanting to stir or judge others for their choices. She didn’t pry or gossip, wanting to respect others’ privacy.
Hadley was strong and confident within herself, which meant she wasn’t afraid to stand up and speak when something needed to be said. She’d kept it under wraps, being a club girl meant being quiet and keeping your mouth closed on matters that didn’t concern you. But Hadley was inquisitive. She asked questions and wanted answers. Now she wasn’t a club girl, the rules had changed. But there were still rules, ones she needed to abide by because now she wasn’t representing herself, she was representing me too.
I felt an extra bounce in my step as I walked out into the main room, the boys grumbling behind me as they followed.
Okay, so maybe there wasn’t a lot to be happy about when you have a crazed ex-husband hunting you down, but when I felt his arms wrap around me from behind, I couldn’t help but smile.
“You need to go and pack your bag. We’ll be heading out in a few hours with Kit,” he said, squeezing me gently.
I spun in his arms, tiptoeing up to kiss him on the lips.
“Woah, did I miss something?” Chelsea asked, stepping out from behind the bar. She had one hand on her stomach, and a soft smile on her face as she looked between us.
“Something like that,” Leo answered cryptically, tapping me on the ass and pointing to the hallway. “Go… get your stuff.”
I threw Chelsea a cheeky wink before heading for my room.
“Explain,” I heard her demand to the room behind me.
I filled my bag, it didn’t take me long. I hadn’t brought many clothes or things with me, having no real idea about how long I’d be here. Packing light was probably a good idea anyway. We would head to Troy with Kit, Harmony, and the boys, but how long we’d stick around was anyone’s guess. And who knew where we would go from there.