Checkmate: Checkmate, #8

by Finn, Emilia

  I stop in front of him and bend my neck to meet his eyes. “How old are you, Gunner?”

  His lips twitch. A memory from forever ago flitters through my brain.

  “I’m thirty-three and a half.”

  “Which makes Kane your big brother, and Jay, your baby brother. It makes you family. No, it’s not your responsibility to care about their feelings. They’ve had each other this whole time, they’re a team, and that’s great for them. It’s more than you got. They seem to be a pretty impenetrable pairing, and I know that if I was you, I’d be scared of approaching them, because as a Bishop, it’s your rightful place to be beside them. They might reject you, and that’s scary.”

  I don’t fight when he takes my hand and begins rubbing my stinging palm.

  “But if they’re good, if they’re more you than they are him, then isn’t it worth trying?”

  Gunner’s chest shudders as he drags in a deep breath and lets it out in jutting spurts. “What if you’re wrong? What if I go to them and simply… ask, but they turn? I’ll have given up my cover, I’ve put my company and the livelihoods of a hundred thousand people at risk. What if they–”

  “Reject you?” I repeat on a quiet sigh. “It’s a scary thought, isn’t it?” His eyes are warm like how I remember. The boy is in there, hidden beneath twenty years of fear and loneliness. “Do you want me to come with you?”

  “They don’t know who I am yet?”

  I shake my head.

  “They didn’t ask in that hour I waited outside 188?”

  I nod. Then I let the tension coiling in my belly out on a laugh. “Of course they asked. They want to know who you are. They want to know why I shoved you out of a window instead of let my chief see us together. Sophia resorted to blackmailing me to get answers.”

  Theo’s eyes darken on the word blackmail. “You say they’re good, but they’d blackmail an officer? What does she have against you, baby?”

  I turn my face away when he strokes my jaw. “She’s protecting her family. I think it’s different to blackmailing someone when it’s for your family instead of money.”

  “They’re not good people, Lib. No matter what they do or don’t know, no matter what they have to tell me, they’re not good.”

  “You might be right. Maybe they’re not perfect, but I don’t believe that they’re bad either.” I swallow and meet his eyes. “Kinda like you, I suppose. Not good, but not bad.”

  His brows pull closer. “I’m not a bad person. I’ve never hurt an innocent.”

  I cup his hand and press it to my good cheek. The pain is growing, not easing, and makes me fear for tomorrow. “Sometimes, when it was necessary, you would steal things to help your mom make ends meet.” I turn and press my lips to his palm. “Sometimes we have to do what we have to do to survive, and as long as it’s not done cruelly or hurting the innocent, it’s fair game. Right? It means you aren’t good in the eyes of the law, but it doesn’t make you a bad person either. It just means you were given a shitty hand, and you’re doing your best to survive without stepping on someone in the process.” I step close enough that our toes touch, and when I place my hands on his hips and pull him in, we touch from the floor to our chests.

  Then he closes the circle and presses his lips to my brow.

  “I can go with you to see them,” I whisper. “I have your back. I’ve had it since I was a child.”

  “Libby?” His hot breath moves over my skin and forces my eyes closed. I haven’t felt this comfortable this quickly with a man since… ever. “Babe?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Do you think a boy can fall in love when he’s eleven?”

  My heart thunders, lodging in my throat and rendering me speechless.

  “Do you think it’s possible he held onto it this whole time? That we possess this pair of hearts that just couldn’t detach in all this time, despite the fact they should have? It was one hour.” He cups the other side of my face with the gentlest touch and draws my eyes up. “They were just children, but she saved him on all of those lonely nights in the streets. She saved him just by existing.”

  “And he saved her,” I whisper. “He was the only friend she had for a decade, even if he was dead.”

  His bright eyes soften as he pulls me closer. “And now we’re here. In this hotel, in the same town. I’ve already tasted you, because your body knows what your heart knows. Your brain is the only thing that has to catch up.” He leans in and presses a gentle kiss to my tender lips. “It shouldn’t feel like this, right? This isn’t normal.”

  “It’s not normal for me,” I answer quietly. “It’s impossible.”

  “And yet, here we are.”

  “We can be on the same team, Gunner. We can have each other’s backs. But I won’t walk with you if you’re hurting people you literally don’t know. I cannot get on board with that.”

  “You would be with me?” He pulls back and shows me a shaky smile. “What about your reputation?”

  “Well…” My heart skips to a stop. “Would I be with Gunner Bishop; the dude with really unfortunate lineage? Or Theo Griffin, the dude with questionable money?”

  He chuckles. “I swear to God, every cent is accounted for and thoroughly audited. It’s not dirty money.”

  “How can I know?” I press. “How can you expect me to believe your company turns over that kind of money?”

  “Because…” he hesitates. “I have the records to back it up. I have proof.”

  “Does it bother you that I question your accounts?”

  He nods. “I worked hard for that money, and while I was hustling, you were my only companion. For you to question it stings a little.”

  “Right…” I pat his chest and ignore the sting that still pulses in my hand. “So when we speak to Sophia, perhaps you can remember that about her money.”

  His eyes narrow when he catches on. “Whose fucking side are on you on, Elizabeth? You’re awfully fucking defensive of that family you supposedly don’t know.”

  I turn away on a laugh, but make it barely two steps before his arm wraps around my stomach and my small laugh turns into silly giggles. I don’t recognize this giggling version of myself, but Gunner doesn’t care as he picks me up and tosses me to the bed.

  My brain rejects the swift movement, but the bed is soft like a cloud, and mercifully, it absorbs my weight rather than bounces me. Then Gunner follows and climbs over top. He rests his knee between my legs, his hands on either side of my head, then he blocks out the harsh lights from the ceiling when he’s all I can see.

  His strong jaw. His bright eyes that have hurt way too much for way too long. His shoulders are strong, broad, and seem to expand as his muscles bunch and he holds himself above me.

  “Stay with me, beautiful Libby? You can’t go home anyway. Someone needs to make sure you wake up again.”

  “This is going to end so badly,” I whisper. “Everything we’ve ever known is a clusterfuck. Just because we’re grown won’t change that.”

  He shakes his head, and when he moves and the lights flash in my eyes, my brain pulses in the most painful way. “I promise to wake you every two hours. I’ll watch you all night.” He peppers gentle kisses along my jaw. “I would never let you hurt when I’m keeping guard.”

  “I don’t mean my sleep.” I scrunch my eyes closed to fight the pain. “I have a headache, not a brain injury.”

  “Well…”

  I open my eyes to find his smug grin.

  “Semantics. I believe a concussion is, quite literally, brain damage. But I’ll keep watch, okay?” He looks down my body, letting out a dramatic sigh when he has to work on my clothes all over again. He unsnaps my jeans for the third time tonight and slowly begins peeling them down my legs. “You need to stop pulling skintight jeans on, babe. It looks tasty as fuck, but I’m sick of them being in my way.”

  He leans in and peppers kisses along the top of my thigh.

  “You seem to be awfully comfortable with a woman you ba
sically only just met.” I begin to squirm when heat pulses between my legs. “Like, seriously. From strangers to lovers, from you being on a date with someone else, to me getting smacked in the face with a sledgehammer.”

  He tugs the denim off and drops it to the floor with a shy smile. “We’ve never been strangers. Our souls have known each other for…” He shrugs. “Ever. Now we get to explore the physical side too. We’ve been together for more than twenty years. There’s no room for shyness.”

  “It’s like our life is a book,” I whisper. “You’ve torn out the middle and peeked at the back. That’s cheating.”

  He chuckles. “Someone else told me something similar recently.”

  He climbs over top of me, digs an arm beneath me and pulls me up. I think he’s going to kiss me, but what he actually does it pull my bloodied shirt up and oh so gently peels it over my head so I’m completely naked beneath him. Tossing it aside and pausing, he takes a moment to look down at my body and study every curve and line.

  “This isn’t what I expected to find.” He runs the very tip of his finger along my abdominal muscles. “This is absolutely not the body I’ve been thinking about since I was a kid.”

  “What did you expect?” I bring my arms back and rest my head on them. “Twenty years is a long time. People change.”

  He scoffs. “I expected fatty dimples. Chubby knees. The cutest, fattest cheeks in the world.”

  “You’re an asshole.”

  He laughs. “I fantasized about you, but chubbier. You have a six-pack, Lib. What the fuck is that?” He runs his finger along the ridges. “How can you have a six-pack?”

  “Lean meat, high protein, no sugar–”

  With laughing eyes, he glances up and silences me with a kiss. “You’re so literal all the time. Did you try the ground turkey? It’s good, right?”

  “Yes, I tried it. No, it’s not good. It’s disgusting.”

  “It’s cheaper, leaner, and good for you.”

  “I don’t care if it’s cheaper. I can’t choke that shit down even twice, let alone as often as I eat chicken.”

  “Now who’s flashing cash around?” He leans in and nips at my neck when I ball my fists. He laughs against my skin, lowers his bottom half, and silences whatever I might have said when he grinds his jeaned pelvis against my bare core. “Are you sore?”

  I shake my head.

  That gives him pause for a moment. I know what he’s thinking. I know what he refuses to say out loud. “At least lie to me and say I’m the best you ever had.”

  I burst out laughing and wrap my legs around his hips. “Okay, you’re the best I ever had.”

  “Ugh.” He gives my neck a punishing bite and grinds against me a second time. “Don’t patronize me, woman.” Lifting just a little, he unsnaps his own jeans, pushes them down far enough to free his cock, and then he touches the tip to my opening.

  “Wait.” I pull his shirt up, because I want his skin touching mine.

  I don’t want this to feel fast and dirty, I want to feel his heart beating against mine. I tug his shirt off and toss it as far as I can manage, and when our eyes meet, I let out a pleasure-filled sigh as he slides in and buries himself to the hilt.

  “That’s better.”

  17

  Theo

  The Prodigal Son

  Libby stalks my hotel room in a Griffin shirt and panties. Her legs look magnificent from this angle – “this angle” being me in bed, leaning against the headboard, with a cup of coffee in one hand, and both eyes trained on her ass while she nervously wrings my shirt and dials a number on her phone.

  I should be nervous. I mean, inside, my heart is racing, and sick sludge coats my stomach, but on the outside, I focus on Libby’s perfect body. Her nerves are enough for both of us, and her face is so fucked up, I’m finding it hard to focus on my own problems when I have her right here in front of me.

  “Dolly?” Lib stops in the middle of the floor and meets my gaze with dread in her eyes. “Uh, hey. Officer Tate here.”

  “Mmm.” I grin and watch Lib’s face burn red. “Officer Tate. I never thought that would turn me on. But here we are, and I’d let you use your cuffs.”

  Lib bats at me, despite the fifteen feet of space between us. “Yes, the chick cop. I was hoping Kane was in? I’d like to speak with him… A warrant?” Lib’s brows furrow. “No, I’m not questioning him… Dolly, do those boys make you ask for a warrant every time the police call?”

  I chuckle and take a sip of my cooling coffee. I’d like to think that’s a sign of guilt and another strike in their column, but I have a general dislike for the boys in blue too, and I can’t say I’ve ever spoken to a single one without asking the same question.

  Except Libby. She’s an exception to every rule.

  “No, no one is in trouble, but I was hoping to have a meet with one or both Bishops. When?” Her eyes shoot to me. “Uh… as soon as they’re free.” She begins pacing again as Dolly the receptionist talks in circles. “Both of them are free at eleven?” She gulps. “Five-hundred-dollars-an-hour consultation fees? Woman! I will get a damn warrant and take them to the station.” She throws her hands up. “I don’t know! I’ll find a crime and prove it was them.”

  My soft chuckles turn to a full laugh. They really don’t like the cops.

  “Book me for eleven.” Her eyes come back to me again. “Yes, the women can be there. I don’t mind. I’m not bringing trouble. Boardroom at eleven. Alright. See you guys then.”

  She hangs up and stops for a full minute. She stares into the space ahead of her, holds her breath and lets her chest shudder, then she lets it all out again and turns to me. “Fuck, Gunner.”

  “It’s gonna be okay.” I climb off the bed to snag her hand, and pull her with me until I lay back and she straddles my thighs. I set my coffee cup aside and hold her down when anxiety pulses beneath her skin. “Why are you so nervous? This technically has nothing to do with you.”

  “I don’t know…” Her green eyes flicker between mine. Her left side is as beautiful as always, but the right is dark purple and makes me want to rage against the prick who is still in the cage a mere few miles away. “I agreed to letting the girls come because, I mean, I’m coming, and you wanna ask Soph stuff anyway. It’s only right to say Jess could attend too.”

  “It’s a whole family affair,” I insert dryly.

  Her fidgeting hands stop. “Right. But Sophia is smart. She’s genius smart. Jay is the hothead, and Kane is the true soldier. If you want to know which one is most like Colum, it’s Kane.” She shakes her head when my body turns rigid. “That’s not to say he’s bad. He doesn’t hurt people. But he’s the most soldier-like. He can turn his feelings off and get a job done. He’s quiet, watchful, extremely protective of those he loves, and if the rumors around the station are true, the coldest.” Her voice turns quieter. “He doesn’t hurt innocents, Gunner, but I know for a fact he slit a man’s throat when the guy was going to hurt Jess. Nobody fucks with his family.”

  “Okay…” I know she said she wouldn’t share their information, but she’s already begun, so I file it away for future dissection. “Jay is the fighter. Kane is the soldier. Sophia is the brains on legs. And Jess?”

  She pulls in a deep breath until her chest expands. “Jess…” She exhales again. “Well, she’s the queen. She’s the heart of Kane’s world. And Kane’s world is the only world that matters. Now she’s full-term with Bishop babies, which makes him vulnerable. And a vulnerable Kane is the most dangerous of them all. I wouldn’t be entirely surprised if she’s not at the meet today. He might not let her.”

  “And everyone else at Checkmate?”

  “It’s a brotherhood,” she whispers. “It’s an army, yes, but they form their army with love, not threats or pain.”

  “Must be nice,” I grumble. It bothers me that not being in that club bothers me. It’s insane to even consider it, but the exclusion annoys me almost as much as their connection to Colum. “I wonder if m
aybe you should stay away from this today.” I catch her hands when she winds up to argue. “If Kane keeps his girl away, then that means he’s ready for violence. And you…” I cup her face. “You need to rest.”

  “Absolutely not. I made the call. This is my meet. I’m not watching you walk in there and hoping you come out again.”

  “You don’t expect me to come out alive? You think they’ll attack?”

  “No, I think you’ll attack, and then they’ll be forced to react. I’m going there to make sure you behave, because if shit goes bad, it’ll be because of you. Because you hit on their girl, or because you made a threat. Because you are vulnerable right now, and a vulnerable Bishop is the most dangerous of them all.”

  * * *

  We woke at seven.

  Libby let me have her body again, despite the pain I know she feels in her head today.

  At nine, she made the call and organized the meet.

  At ten, we ate, despite the fact neither of us were particularly hungry.

  Now it’s eleven, and I’m reconsidering everything Libby talked me into overnight. I came to this town with a cover, with a name that connects in no way to Colum Bishop, with a story, and an ability to take my enemies down without anyone knowing who or why.

  Then Libby begs me to walk through their front door and announce myself. She makes it all seem so logical and easy, and when she’s in her underwear, she can convince me of just about anything.

  Olly reported in via telephone while Libby and I were eating, so I told him most of my plans today. I told him I was going to Checkmate, that I had a meet with them, and that I wanted him close by just in case.

  But I don’t tell him the minute details. I don’t tell him that I’m scared, or nervous, or freaking the fuck out that I’m willing to give all of my plans and cover up on the word of a girl I met when she was nine.

  I pull up in the same parking space I was in yesterday. Without telling them of my Bishop connection, I know I’ve worn out my welcome by touching Sophia. There will be no warm welcomes, there will be no more Griffin and Checkmate collaborations. There is only suspicion, and it’ll get worse once we get inside and talk.