“What the fuck’s ‘River Run’?” Fox asked.
“You mean River Run Creek?”
We all turned our heads towards Gemma while her eyes stayed connected with mine. I could see the shock in her eyes while she studied my blood-soaked form. I felt someone lift Calista from my arms before they walked off with her body, and in an instant, Gemma was charging me.
Everything inside of me was screaming to push her away. To hop on my bike, ride off into the sunset, and not look back until I knew she was gone. Her legs were carrying her towards me at a lightning pace, and the only thing I could think about was how the blood on my body hadn’t dried just yet.
But as she leaped into my arms and pressed her face into my neck, the only thing that filled my nostrils was the smell of her perfume.
Gemma was all right.
My beautiful Gemma was all right.
Chapter 22
Gemma
I hunkered down onto the cot and pulled my knees to my chest. I had no idea what was going on, but I could hear some high-pitched sound outside. I heard someone yelling, but I couldn’t figure out what they were saying. He would yell and then there’d be silence. He would yell, and then more silence. Something akin to a child crying out pierced my ears, and then it happened.
A gunshot rang out that spurred a firefight.
I felt myself trembling with fear while I hunkered down deeper into the cot. Guns were going off, and people were shouting. Bikes were starting up, and that high-pitched squeal filled the air again. I could hear someone crying before the sound of squealing dirt kicked up, and the only thing that ran through my mind was the fact that Talon was out there.
He was out there with a gun, and he could’ve been hurt.
I slowly inched the door of the room open and saw no one in the garage. The gunshots stopped ringing out, and all was silent to the world. The high-pitched squeal and the roar of the motorcycles were slowly beginning to fade into the background, so I got on my hands and knees and crawled to the window.
I had no idea what was going on, but I knew this was the trouble Jace had been talking about. The shit he’d mentioned when we were fighting about Talon. He kept going on about how Talon wasn’t in a good place to take on something like this. He kept talking around the lines, insinuating that something was going on with the club.
Then it was Talon that told me that woman was being used for information. That he was doing nothing else but fucking around with her to get intel or some shit.
Holy fuck… were those people from The Devil Saints?
I reached the window and slowly pulled myself up. I peeked over the windowsill and watched while the dust settled. I could see the guys gathered around in a circle, their guns pointed out in front of them while their heads kept turning on a permanent swivel.
And I saw my brother trying to hold back tears.
I felt my heart drop to my toes. I scurried myself off the floor and headed for the door. I ripped it open, no longer caring about the fate that would befall me. All I needed to know was that Talon was safe.
I needed to know that the man I loved was still alive.
I ripped the door open just as I heard a question. Something about ‘River Run.’ I tried to listen while the men turned around, their heads bowed into the middle of the circle while someone was trying to stand. I watched the blood-soaked body rise up from the desert dust, like a Phoenix rising from its ashes. And in their hands was the body of a woman I recognized.
Calista.
Oh my fuck, Calista was dead.
Then, my eyes rose up to meet Talon’s. Those bright blue eyes connected with mine through all the blood and dust and grotesqueness of the day and I watched Mac take Calista’s body from his arms. And then I heard it again. Those two words they were trying to figure out.
River Run.
“You mean River Run creek?”
I saw all the guys turn around at my voice while Talon’s chest moved up and down with his breaths. He was breathing. Despite all the blood on his body that was already beginning to dry on his hands, he was breathing steadily.
That meant the blood on his body wasn’t his.
That meant he was okay.
Without another thought, I took off towards him. My shaking legs carried me as fast as they could, and in an instant Talon opened his arms to me. I sprang off my feet and barreled myself into his body, feeling his strong and rippling arms tighten their grip around my back. I dug my face into his neck, crying with relief at the fact that he was still standing.
Still breathing.
Still alive.
My beautiful, wonderful Talon was still alive.
“Are you okay, Gemma?” he asked.
“Yes. Yes, I-I-I’m… uh…”
I could feel my body trembling again. His lips connected with the side of my head and all I could do was press myself further into him. I blocked out the blood that was soaking into my clothes, and I blocked out the gunshots still ringing in my ears. I blocked out the fact that Jace was standing right there and I even blocked out the fact that Talon had just been holding a dead body.
All I wanted to focus on was him.
“What happened?” I asked breathlessly.
“Trouble,” he said.
“What happened to… to her?” I asked.
I raised my eyes up to his, and for the first time, I watched the strong man in front of me buckle just a little.
“I broke my promise, and she paid the price,” Talon said.
“What. Happened?” I asked.
I raised my hand to cup his cheek, trying to get his eyes to settle down. His shining blue eyes were darkened with the storm his body was weathering, and I knew I had to get him to settle. I placed my other hand on his chest, trying to prompt him to breathe evenly. I needed him to settle his body and mind. I needed him to find his center.
I needed him to be okay.
“The Devil Saints,” he said. “They’re coming for us.”
“Then we’ll be ready for them,” I said.
“There’s so much…”
“You don’t have to tell me all about it now,” I said. “But if they’re coming, we’ll be ready. Now… why is Calista dead?”
I watched him swallow hard before his eyes reddened with his tears. It broke my heart to see him this way. I broke my heart to see him so… broken in his own right. I was getting a glimpse of the vulnerable teenage boy I’d come to know while I was in high school, and I raised my lips right up to his.
“It’s okay,” I whispered against his skin. “I promise.”
I planted a small kiss on his lips, and immediately his hands dropped to my back. He pulled me into his body, and I could feel his skin quaking. He cloaked my back while his salted tongue found my lips, and I instantly parted my world for him so he could lick up whatever he wanted. Talon needed to forget. He needed to find a way to root himself into the ground. His body was threatening to take off with him, and I wasn’t going to let it.
I moaned into his mouth a desperate approval of his taste, and as he pulled back and sighed his forehead connected with mine.
“Her husband found out she was talking with one of us. Feeding us intel,” Talon said.
“Holy shit,” I said breathlessly.
“Her husband’s also the President of The Devil Saints,” he said.
“Good fucking lord.”
“I promised her I’d take care of her. Her and her daughter. And now she’s gone… and I have no fucking clue where her daughter is,” he said.
And then I remembered it.
River Run.
“Who was asking about River Run Creek?” I asked.
“We all were, honestly,” Hawk said. “Do you know it?”
“Yeah. She kept repeating it,” Fox said.
“It can’t be on our territory. I know our fucking territory like the back of my damn hand,” my brother said.
“Because it’s not ‘in our territory,’” I said.
�
�Then where is it?” Mac asked.
“It’s about twenty minutes into the other side of town. I guess what you guys would call Devil Saints territory,” I said.
“How the fuck would you know that?” my brother asked.
“I did plenty of shit in high school you’ve got no idea about,” I said.
“We’ve got the reason to believe that her daughter’s there,” Fox said.
“Any idea you could talk us through where it is?” Hawk asked.
I gave the guys basic directions before Mac headed to his bike. Hawk and Fox were right on his heels, but my brother only took a step towards us. Talon immediately stepped out in front of me, his protection instincts kicking right back in, and the two of them stood toe-to-toe while my brother stared Talon down.
“We don’t have time for this, guys!” Mac said.
But my brother didn’t fucking budge.
“I will always protect your sister,” Talon said.
“Like you protected Calista?” Jace asked.
I watched Talon raise his fist, and in an instant, my hand came down onto his arm.
“That was a cheap fucking shot, and you know it, Jace,” I said. “You can either accept it, or you can move the fuck on from my life.”
My brother’s stare hit hard onto mine, and I knew in that very moment which man I stood behind. I’d always stand behind Talon. I’d always support his side. I’d always make sure he had everything he needed, and I would weather any storm that came his way. My brother was a hot-head, and he needed to figure out that his hot-headedness had consequences.
But then I saw him do something I’d never seen him do before.
I watched my brother back down.
“I see how the two of you care for each other,” he said, “and trust me, that tastes terrible to admit. I know what Talon’s capable of when it comes to protecting those he cares about. This whole fucking situation that spiraled out of control was because he was trying to balance all the shit he gave a shit about.”
I felt Talon thread his arm around me while I walked up to his side.
“But the moment you hurt her, Talon. The moment she comes to me crying. The moment you break her heart-- or hell fucking forbid, you strike her-- I will kill you. Without a second fucking thought. You might know how to hack into a website, but I know how to make shit disappear. I’m a fucking magician, you hear me?”
I saw the flurry of fire behind my brother’s eyes and I knew he was serious. I knew the moment Talon really fucked up, he’d be gone from my life. Jace would make that man disappear in a heartbeat, and I stood there holding my breath.
But once Talon nodded, my brother held his hand out to shake.
“Good luck,” Jace said. “She’s a fighter.”
“Hey now. I resent that notion,” I said.
“I don’t,” Talon said as he held me close. “Not one bit. And Snake?”
“Yup?”
“I’ll never hurt Gemma like that. Ever,” he said before he shook my brother’s hand.
And every single part of my being believed him when he said it.
“Hate to break up the party, but we got a little girl to find,” Hawk said.
“You comin’?” Snake asked.
“No, he’s not,” I said.
I felt Talon look down at me, but I stood my ground. I knew he wanted to go with them, but I knew the guys could handle it.
“He’s been through enough. He’s coming with me. Text him when you find her. I know we’ll both wanna know she’s all right,” I said.
My brother looked up at Talon, but all he did was shrug. I grinned up at him while his eyes flickered down to mine, and at that moment we made a silent pact. The two of us were headstrong, independent fighters.
But we both knew when enough had been enough.
“We'll letcha know,” Fox said as he started up his bike.
“Call me if you guys need help,” I said.
“Will do,” my brother said.
The both of us stood there while the rest of the guys got onto the road. They kicked up dust behind them that swirled around our bodies, but that still left another job to do.
We had to do something with Calista’s body before we could go anywhere.
“Does she have any family?” I asked.
“None that I know of, except her daughter,” Talon said.
“What should we do?” I asked. “We can’t just leave her in the shadows.”
I looked over to where Hawk had carried Calista’s body while nausea started to roll over my body.
“Why don’t we do this?” he asked. “Why don’t you go back to my place and get cleaned off? Take a hot shower, wash that beautiful hair of yours, and figure out what you might wanna eat. I know what to do here.”
“I’m not leaving you,” I said.
“Yes, you are. I’ll be behind in about an hour, okay? I’ll send one of our prospects with you to make sure you are safe.”
Everything inside of me wanted to fight him, but the darkness that clouded his vision had finally dissipated. His sparkling blue eyes I’d always known him to have, were back, and I clocked the even swelling of his chest. His breathing was stable, and his hands were no longer shaking, and I knew at that moment I was talking to a level-headed man.
A man who was thinking through his actions instead of allowing the moment to consume him.
“I’ll see you in an hour,” I said, nodding.
The only thing he answered me with, however, was a grin, and I knew exactly what that grin meant.
Talon needed a way to lose himself tonight. A way to forget about all the turmoil and the bullshit that had just been experienced tonight.
And I knew exactly how I would greet him when he got home.
Chapter 23
Talon
Taking care of Calista’s body was hard, but it had to be done. As much as I wanted to go find her daughter, I knew my brothers would find her. The way Calista spoke, I could tell that she had hidden her from Beast, which was why he was so upset.
Taking care of Calista’s body was the last thing I could do for her. And it was not something I wanted Gemma to witness. Which is why I sent her home. Needless to say, by the time that shit was finished I was ready to be home. I wanted to wrap my arms around Gemma and forget all the bullshit today. I wanted to get a shower, scrub this blood off my body, and try to take the steps I needed to shove this shit down with the rest of the fucked up stuff I’d done with my life.
But when I got home, I heard the shower running already.
I grinned at the sound before my foot crunched onto a piece of paper. I picked it up and opened the note, taking in words on the page. I didn’t recognize the handwriting, but I did recognize the tone of the note, and I shook my head before I began peeling my clothes off.
Talon,
Take off your clothes and put them in the trash. We don’t need them anymore. And leave your leather by the door. I’ll get it dry-cleaned. Then come find me in the shower.
I was amused at the fact that she was giving orders now. Shaking my head, I threw my clothes away, hung up my coat, and walked my naked ass back to the bathroom. Steam filled my nostrils as I opened the shower door, and there in all her glory stood the most beautiful woman I’d ever come into contact with. Her curves were dripping wet, and her body was shining and clean, but before I could reach out to her, she planted a soap-soaked sponge onto my body.
“Relax,” she said.
Stroke by stroke, Gemma washed the blood and dirt from my body. I watched it swirl down the drain, locking me into its mesmerizing spiral while her hands drifted along my aching bones.
Today had taken a much bigger toll on me than I’d realized.
Once my body was entirely clean, with my hair washed and my body shining, I felt her wrap her arms around my waist. She planted kiss after kiss into the middle of my back, but I was already waiting for her. I whipped around and picked her up before I pinned her to the shower wall, and already my c
ock was throbbing for her.
“What do you need?” she asked.
Her voice was so light. So innocent. Like she hadn’t just witnessed one of the most grizzly things she could ever encounter. I leaned my lips into hers and captured them with my own, relishing in the sweet taste of her skin. Her long legs wrapped around me perfectly while her hands cupped my cheeks, and slowly I lined my cock up with her entrance before I inched my way in.
“You,” I said.
I slid into her effortlessly, and she sighed ever so perfectly for me. I didn’t want anything fancy or explosive. I didn’t want anything mind-blowing or erotic.
All I wanted was her pussy tightening around my cock until she said my name in that sweet little voice of hers.
Her fingernails clawed at me while my hips set a steady pace. I could feel her juices already dripping down my cock, coating my balls before it dripped onto the floor. She had been waiting for me, probably dreaming of how my cock would slam into her. She was probably thinking about my tongue between her legs and how I would drink her juices down in one massive gulp.
But all I did was pepper her neck in kisses while I pinned her hands to the wall.
Her tits rose against my chest while I swallowed her moans. My hips picked up the pace and began sloshing in and out of her depths. Already I could feel my balls rising up, and I wasn’t ready yet. I wasn’t ready to coat the insides of her just yet.
I wanted to lose myself just a little bit longer.
“It’s okay,” she said, whispering.
I opened my eyes and found her big, bold stare, her lips smiling even while her eyes still dripped with worry.
My beautiful Gemma was worried about me.
“Take what you want,” she said.
In an instant, I slammed my hips into her. She cried out in pleasure while my tight curls raked against her swollen clit. I bit down into the meat of her neck, sucking in a patch of skin while my hips beat relentlessly into her body.
I could feel her juices splattering against my skin while the hot water beat down onto my back.
“Talon. Yes. Please. Oh, shit. You feel so good. Oh, baby. Please. Do it. Spill into me. Make me yours.”
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