by Crimson Syn
Chapter Seven
CIARA
I’ll admit it, I want to hop on Seth’s lap and sink onto that thick cock of his he’s always telling me about. We both know what he wants and he’s definitely not hiding the fact from anyone, especially not me. I just didn’t understand why he hadn’t done it already. No. Instead, he’d gotten me wired up like a tight coil with all of his dirty words and sweet caresses. If he touches my pussy one more time I think I’m going to combust. I could feel that hot length of his on my thigh every time he pressed me too him, and my pussy clenches in pure need anytime he’s around. I hate him. I hate that he’s pushed me so far, I hate that I yearn for his touch and ache for his eyes on me. I’ve never experienced anything like the pull Seth Scardino has on me.
He’s been driving me crazy for the last week and I’m just glad my brothers were finally arriving. If there was anybody in this world that could keep my mind off of the Hell’s Lovers Treasurer, it was Sam and Joe Morton. They were straight up Navy Seals and tough as steel. The problem with them being here was that I couldn’t get anything by them. They’d find out sooner or later where I worked and who I worked for. My only worry was that if they disapproved, there no saying what they would, they might even send me back to Washington to live life as a hermit.
Our initial greeting was warm and I loved to see them looking so happy and relaxed. Rahyne had lent me her car for the weekend and after picking them up at the airport I headed straight to Grayson’s Apartment complex to get them settled in. They’d been surprised at my new place and I was so grateful to Scarlett I didn’t know how I was going to pay her back.
They took a look around, settled into one of the back rooms and immediately wanted to go out and see the city. I took them out for a nice dinner and an evening of catching up. It felt good to be around my brothers, a different kind of safe than when I was around Seth. I didn’t realize how much I missed their teasing and witty comments. Every time we’re together all we do is laugh.
Everything was going perfectly fine until Sam spotted Ravenous on the way home. I was trying to avoid it at all costs, but the bright lights seemed to hypnotize customers as they passed by. I could see the line of bikes parked up front and it being the weekend, is was probably packed with members.
“You ever been there, Sis?” Sam teased.
I stared at the brightly lit building and nodded slowly. Better to lay it all out on the table now, then have them find out later. “Um…actually…yes.” Both of them turned to look at me, mouths open in shock. I suddenly feel like I was under a heated lamp, just waiting for dissection.
“Wolf Chase is the owner. Actually, I lived right above Ravenous before getting my apartment.
Sam bounces up and down in his seat. “Let’s check it out then!”
“No! No, Sam, you don’t want to go in there.”
“Why not?” Joe asked, his eyes focused on me. “What are you hiding from us, Ciara?”
“Why do you have you to assume the worst, Joe? Come on! It looks like fun!” Sam opened the door and got out.
I looked back at my brothers and sighed. You have no idea.
“Fine. Let’s see what my little sister has been up to.” Joe stated and started getting out of the car.
“Wait!” I jump out quickly trying to find a way to detain them. “Please guys, don’t make any judgements…”
“Why would we make judgements?” Joe kept walking as I jumped in front of him again.
“And don’t jump to conclusions!”
I watched as Joe opened the door first and dread slowly started to seep in. “Joe, wait!”
Joe and Sam paused at the entrance, taking in what Ravenous was all about. “What the fuck!” They both stated, mouths gawking as I knew exactly the type of scene they were staring at.
I closed my eyes and my shoulders slumped. It was exactly the type of response I expected. Joe turned around and grabbed my arm. “What the fuck, Ciara?”
“I told you to wait!”
“Is this what you left your home for!” He waved his hand towards the licentious activity going on behind him and I frantically shook my head.
“No! I never…Joe, please!” As he dragged me towards the exit, a familiar set of boots stepped in his way. I slowly dragged my eyes up the man’s broad chest and wide shoulders, only to meet with a furious emerald glare.
“Where the hell do you think you’re going?” Seth’s voice was low and threatening and his appearance even more so. He was wearing his leathers and black boots. His blonde hair was ruffled, as if he’d dragged his hand through it a little too much, and his military tags glimmered under the lights.
Joe straightened to his full height and he came eye to eye with Seth. His frame was also powerful, and intimidating. “Get out of my way grunt. You don’t have any business here.”
Seth kept his stance and stared my brother down. “I suggest you take your hands off her. I wouldn’t want to ruin that pretty face of yours.”
Sam came up to my right side, amusement shone in his eyes as he took in the encounter. “So, who’s the guy?”
I looked at him in shock, my eyes wide and my mouth agape. I turned to Joe without answering him and placed my hand on his arm. “Let it go Joe. It’s okay.”
Seth’s eyes went to my hand and he clenched his jaw and squeezed his fists at his side. I immediately let go of Joe and looked up at Seth. “Let us through, Seth. It’s alright.”
“He’s touching you.” He growled. “No one touches you but me.”
I could feel Joe tense up behind me and Sam laughed at my side. “Looks like Ciara’s got herself a boyfriend, Joe.” He stepped up near my brother, his tall, wide frame coming up to par with theirs. “What do you think we should do about that?”
I stepped in front of Seth and turned to them. “Out! Both of you outside. NOW!”
They both looked down at me and blinked, shocked that I would defend someone other than family.
Joe grimaced. “Do you know him?”
I sighed. “Yes.”
“Is he your boyfriend?” Sam chimed in.
“No.” I said through gritted teeth as I turned to look back at the dangerous man behind me. His low growl made my insides flip, and I could feel the anger emanating from him.
Joe pursed his lips. “Explain.”
That’s all he had to say and I crumbled. “Joe and Sam Morton, this is Seth Scardino. He’s one of the club’s members and a good friend of the family I work for.” I turned to Seth pleading for him to calm down. “Seth, this is my family. My brothers.” I whispered.
His eyes grew and softened. He stared at me and then at my brothers. Clearing his throat, he relaxed. “Sorry.” He said gruffly. “Thought you were going to hurt her.”
Sam patted his back. “No worries, man. Glad my sis has someone to protect her.” Seth nodded and looked at Joe, immediately realizing that he was the alpha of the family.
Joe narrowed his eyes on him. “What do you want with my sister?”
Seth met his gaze. “Nothing you wouldn’t want for her.”
Joe raised his eyebrows and nodded. “Good to know.”
He looked down at me and winked. “Let’s go sis.”
As we walked out, Seth grabbed my hand. “Sorry, I didn’t know.”
“We’ll talk later,” I whispered.
His dark eyes showed sincerity and I squeezed his hand. Without another word I swept past him, but the feel of his warm touch went with me as we drove through the streets of Los Angeles. I knew I wasn’t going to get out of this so easily, and sure enough, as we sat at my new kitchen table, Joe dropped the bomb.
“Are you sleeping with him?”
“Joe! That is not something you ask your sister!” I turned to glare at him.
“It is when it seems another man thinks he has rights to her!”
I shook my head. “No! And even if I was, I wouldn’t tell you.”
“He looked mean, man. Like he belongs in a gang or something. You
sure he’s not bad news?”
Seth could be a lot of things, but he wasn’t a bad man. He was smart, he held an economics major, and he was sweet even though he rarely showed that side. Sure, he looked surly and rough, but he was a good man.
“Look, I know this looks crazy, but Seth’s not that bad. He’s the club’s treasure…”
“Club?” Joe’s questioning tone was not something that I wanted to hear. It was that tone that already had the sound of no to it.
I took a sip of soda and continued. “Yes. A club. He’s part of Hell’s Lovers.”
“And what the hell is that?” Joe asked grimly.
I sighed. “It’s a motorcycle club.”
“He’s a fucking gang member!” He shouted.
“Lower your voice.” I hissed. “It’s not a gang! It’s a club!”
He looked at me sternly. “No.” He shook his head and raised his hand as I tried to explain. “I don’ want to hear it! No, is no!”
“Goddammit, Joe!”
He leaned across the table and grabbed my hand. “I get it. You’re alone, you’re independent, and you want to do what you want. But I’m telling you Ciara, I don’t want you anywhere near this shit. Did you see what goes on in that club?! It’s disgusting.”
“It wasn’t that bad.” Sam whispered.
“Shut up, Sam!” I snapped at him and then slipped my hand away from Joe’s grasp. “It’s called sex, Joe. It’s not like you’ve never done it. And it’s not like I’m in there all the time. I don’t work there if that’s what you’re hinting at.”
“But you have been in there!”
I stopped myself from answering his question. I was angry that once again someone wanted to control my life. “I left Washington because I couldn’t take the suffocation. If you keep it up, I’ll leave L.A. too and this time, I won’t tell you where I’m going.”
Joe leaned back in surprise and Sam sucked in a breath. “You wouldn’t do that.”
I scoffed. “Watch me.”
Sam placed his hands on the table. “Alright guys. Come on. Everybody just calm down.”
I ignored Sam’s comment and glared angrily at my older brother. If there was one thing I had, it was balls. And living with two brothers taught me to be tough.
Joe broke down first and sighed. “Shit, Ciara. Why don’t you just listen for once? Why do you have to be so damn stubborn? Just like Grandpa.”
“I’ve been here three months and nothing bad has happened to me. I work with a wonderful family who is surrounded by wonderful friends. The baby loves me, and yes, there is a man who wants me. I am not afraid of him, and neither should you. He’s smart, and he runs not just one, but practically all the club’s businesses.”
“Illegal businesses,” he stated and rolled his eyes. Folding his arms across his chest he leered at me. “I’ll take you out of here myself, Ciara. Don’t mess with me.”
His tone should have scared me, but instead it pissed me off. I was twenty-one years old dammit. He lived half way across the world!
“You’ll have to lock me up big bro, cause I’m not moving anywhere.”
He sighed and ran his hands along his shaved head.
Sam leaned back in the chair. “She’s gonna do what she wants, Joe. Just leave her be.”
“I want to talk to him.”
“To who?” I asked cautiously.
“You’re boyfriend. I wanna know what his intentions are.”
I shook my head. “Well, that’s stupid.”
Joe looked at me, dumbfounded at my response.
“He’s not my boyfriend, Joe. It’s pointless. How many times do I have to tell you.”
Joe nodded. “Then talking to him shouldn’t be a problem.”
My brother was just as stubborn as I was, and I knew he’d find a way to talk to Seth with or without letting me know.
Chapter Eight
SETH
I needed to get back home. I was done sleeping on couches and not having my space. Knox and Cain had told me I needed to stay at Ravenous until things died down, but I really missed the boathouse. I felt homeless and tired, and I needed to get my head on straight. Lately, everywhere I turned I came across a memory of my green-eyed bombshell. At the moment, I was listening to the brothers as they figured out what our next move was going to be. All the while, I was remembering Ciara’s pretty lips opening in a silent scream as she came for me against the wall that Grayson was currently leaning on. I closed my eyes and pinched my nose. Wolf was pacing back and forth and Grayson was talking about the surveillance van I had spotted a few days ago. Wolf met my eyes and nodded.
“Good job, Seth.”
I nodded. “We have to be on alert. I was just doing my job.”
Grayson frowned. “We got word on your hit and run.”
My ears perked up. I kept to myself about the whole ordeal, because I didn’t want to make it a big deal. But I wasn’t stupid, this shit needed to get dealt with.
“What do you have?”
Grayson looked at Diesel and then they both turned to me. Diesel was the one to give me the information. “It was one of La Cruz’s goons. They were headed right for you, you could see on the footage we hacked. They knew who you were, Seth. Looks like whoever’s in that van, is also giving out our information.”
“So what do we do?”
“We send them a message,” Wolf’s voice was rough and angry. “They want to fuck with us, let’s make sure they know what happens when they hurt what’s ours.”
“Wolf, it’s over, just let it go.” I opened my arms and smiled. “I’m alive. No broken bones...”
“They tried to kill you, Seth.”
“Yeah, but if we retaliate then it’ll be announcing a full on war.”
“They’ve already started it,” Wolf lowered his voice and Grayson patted his back.
“I agree with Wolf. We have to do something. If we let it go, it’s showing weakness.”
“No! It shows that we don’t give a fuck.” I was trying to stop an all-out war from breaking out, but the brothers were on edge, and they had every right to be.
“We do something about it tonight,” Cain chipped in.
“What?!” I stood up. “This is crazy! What the hell are you planning to do?”
“We’re just gonna take the garbage out, for good.”
I stared at my brother and then back at Diesel. I saw the looks on their faces and I knew they were dead serious. There was no turning back now, all hell was about to break loose.
Wolf started shouting out orders and everyone started taking off in different directions. The next thing I know, I’m on Knox’s bike and heading towards the pier. Sure enough, I have a tail. The van is following me this time as I head towards the dark side of the docks.
I’m not alone though. The brothers headed out a back trail. Always have a way out, never get cornered. That was Wolf and his rules for you. As the rest of the members headed down the back trail, Knox followed the van in his old pick up. The mission was simple. I had to lure them into the back docks and then quickly disappear while everyone flanked them at all sides.
Sure enough, the fuckers were tailing me. As soon as we reached the docks I swerved and headed towards a narrow street where they couldn’t follow. Knox’s bike was slim and fast, speeding me through the gritty back docks. I knew these docks like the back of my hand. They had been my home for years. If anyone could get these fuckers turned around, it was me.
As soon as I was out of sight, there was nowhere else to go but to the waterfront. As soon as the van followed me in, Knox closed it off by one of the gates. Diesel, Poe and Ash, two of the Death Shooters, cut it off on the other side. Their high beams went off, blinding whoever was inside the vehicle. Grayson, Wolf, and I banked the opposite side, guns raised.
“Get out of the fucking vehicle!” Wolf yelled, while Grayson and I went around the opposite side.
We pressed our backs against the side of the van and waited. A red dot appeared on the
window and I looked up towards the roof. Gunner was probably up there, he didn’t miss the chance to put his sniper skills to good use. Suddenly, there was the sound of screeching vehicles coming up the road and I could hear gunshots and shouts coming from all sides.
Shots rang out from inside the van and se both moved quickly. Grayson yanked the door open while I covered him. I fired two shots and a body slumped forward onto the concrete. Grayson did his checks and we dragged the body to the front of the car. Meanwhile, Wolf was pulling the driver out of his seat and had a gun to his head. Gunner had taken out the driver of the other vehicle which had crashed into one of the freight shipments. The car looked bashed up from the left side and Diesel and Poe were dragging a body out from the back. Cain was also dragging a third guy off a bike while he held a submachine gun in his other.
“Fucker pulled this shit out on me!” My brother lifted the weapon in the air and signaled to Gunner. “If it wasn’t for Gunner I’d be dead.” Blood ran down the guy’s side as Cain dumped him down in front of us.
In less than ten minutes we’d brought down two vehicles and had three men down on their knees and one dead body on our hands. Guns were pointed at them from all sides and Gunner’s red dot was planted right at the main driver’s forehead.
“Who the fuck do you work for?” Wolf asked, his voice low and filled with vile.
All of them kept their mouth shut; right up until Poe fired a shot into the driver’s knee cap. I stared at the Death Row Shooter’s Sargent at Arms and I was glad I was on the opposite side of the barrel. If Cain was scary, this guy was a frightening motherfucker. Adrenaline pumped through him as the muscles in his arms tensed. His menacing glare would have made any man, even me, fear for his life.
The driver screamed out in pain. “La Cruz! La Cruz! We work for La Cruz!”
Wolf looked up at Grayson and Cain. “You part of his cartel?”
The guy Cain was holding up spit blood on the floor by Wolf’s feet. He gave him an evil grin that made me want to punch his face in. He was badly injured as he inhaled a ragged breath, blood coated his teeth.