by J. L. Drake
“No,” I hissed. “Leave.”
He sighed heavily, but he didn’t leave. “Fox thinks he has an idea to lure her out. Give me fifteen minutes, and we might be able to convince her.”
A low chuckle came from the across the room. I turned my head and saw the sly grin on Gus’s face.
The man had a death wish.
“You think she’s ever going to betray Trigger?” He squinted through his two black eyes. “You clearly don’t know her at all.”
I tapped my fingers on the bloody wall while I mulled over his comment.
“Perhaps she won’t betray Trigger, but how far would she go to save you?”
The eyes gave nothing away, and he held his irritating, smug face.
“I’m nothing but a fuckin’ weathered old man. She’s tougher than you think an’ won’t risk the club for me.”
I smirked. “Yes. You are a weak old man, not worth shit, I agree, but those two boys of yours might be worth exploring. She will do what I want because of them.”
His tongue darted out to lick his lips. I’d hit home.
“Ah, yes,” I purred, pleased to have hit the nail on the head. “The moment you set eyes on your nephew years ago, I knew I had you. You have a weakness for kids, like so many people do. It’s interesting to me that people get so emotional over sniveling, snot-nosed little brats. I’ll never understand the allure.”
With that, I left and headed upstairs to shower the techy nerd’s blood off me. My green eyes stared back at me from the mirror. I knew my reflection was just a mask, and as I stared, I opened my mind to reveal my real self. I stuck out my tongue. Oh, yes, there it was.
The devil’s fork.
“Allen,” Gus banged on the window, “stop fucking around and let me in. I have a right to see my nephew.”
“Did I say you could touch that?” I screamed at the little shit who held a piece of bread he’d stolen from the bag on the counter. “You already ate.”
His gaze dropped to the ground, but he didn’t put it back.
“What are you, stupid? Put that shit back. You think I’m made of money?”
He shook his head and rested the bread on the counter. His hands fell to his sides as I marched over and tossed the bread in the trash.
“That was your fault I had to throw it out. Now you don’t get dinner.”
He stood still like he always did when he was in trouble. It was frustrating when he didn’t answer me.
I gave him a smack to the head, but he didn’t react. He was a tough little son of a bitch.
“Answer me,” I commanded.
He cleared his throat, lifted his head, and held my gaze. “Sorry, sir.”
I could swear I saw a tiny smirk before he lowered his head again.
“Get the fuck in your room before I give you the belt again.”
Suddenly, the door flew open, and Gus blew in. The little shit took that moment to run to his bedroom. Gus, of course, followed, and I plopped in my chair.
“So, you’re out of prison again, Gussy?” I shouted before I tuned into the TV, annoyed.
“Hey, kid,” Gus whispered loudly, “sorry it’s been a while. What do you have there?”
Silence.
“Ha,” he chuckled lightly, “it looks well used.” I heard the squeak of the mattress. He must have sat down. Please, make yourself at home, Gus. I rolled my eyes. How pathetic. I listened for the kid to answer him.
“Do you know who gave you that?”
I turned my head toward his room, curious about what the kid had.
“No,” the kid answered.
“Someone special, that’s who.” There was a scuffle of feet, and then the bed squeaked again. “Is that where you keep it?” Pause. “That’s a good spot.” The kid’s grunt seemed to agree.
I started to push up from the chair to go see what the fuck the little shit had been hiding from me, when I noticed a flyer on the coffee table. My buddy Nick had dropped it off the other day, but I hadn’t looked at it.
Underground fight taken to a new level.
Come see Mad Mike, the untouchable eleven-year-old!
My blood ran hot as excitement raced through me. I needed to make some quick cash, and Nick had said that Mad Mike kid was insane.
“What do you call him?” Gus’s voice pushed through my thoughts as I hurried to the phone to let Nick know I was in for tonight.
“Mr. Rabbit.”
“Father!” Zay raced into my room. He held his hands in the air so I wouldn’t snap his fucking head off. “She still has it! The chick has some balls because she used it to blackmail the fuckin’ judge to get them released.”
“You said you saw her destroy—”
“I know,” he interrupted me, and I glared at him with a twitch in my neck. “But I had no idea she had a second copy. It wasn’t like I could look around the club, and Trigger was there, and that stupid fucking bartender had eyes in the back of his head.” He stumbled over his words.
My hands covered my mouth as I thought about my plan. The bitch had a second copy, or maybe even more.
I almost felt the power surging through my body. All was not lost.
***
Tess
“Ah!” I yelped. “Trigger, it’s cold!”
“Mm,” he moaned in my ear. “I’ve tried to play the understanding role, but you’re out here in this,” he fingered my swimsuit and twisted my nipple, “talkin’ to Cooper while I’m dealing with my own problems.” He grabbed my hand and pushed it to his giant erection. I gave it a squeeze before I nipped at his chin. He picked me up and plunked me back on the mattress then crawled up and lay beside me. He paddled us over to the side to snag a joint out of the bag on the pool deck and pushed us off again.
He sucked back a large puff before he twisted and blew it slowly in my face.
What was it about Trigger when he smoked pot? It was as if he was mind fucking me in all the right places. His eyes would darken, his breath smelled sweet like the drug, and the feeling I’d get when he drew the smoke into his lungs made me clench internally.
“I can help you with that problem.” I panted and dragged my tongue up his neck to his jaw. “I’m here. Do what you want.”
He leaned up and flexed his strong muscles and looked down at me through hooded eyes.
“Too many people.”
“Never stopped you before.” I couldn’t help but say it. Trigger was known for fucking women wherever, whenever.
“No.” He hopped off and pulled the mattress over to the edge and hauled me off. He hiked me up over his shoulder and walked to the back of his pickup.
“It’s cold,” I yelped as my back hit…a blanket? “Oh.”
His fingers clawed at my bottoms and tossed them over his head, and before I had a moment to think, his mouth covered my opening, his tongue deep inside me.
“Shit,” I cried as I strained to keep up.
He lifted my hips high to plunge his tongue even deeper. My nails combed his hair blindly, and I pressed hard against his head. My body was wound up so tight, I needed this so much, but my inner coil fought the release he offered me.
He dove, sucked, and nipped, but my head was stuck. Guilt wouldn’t let go, and I didn’t blame it. What right did I have to feel such bliss when Gus was stuck in that hell wondering if I made it back?
“Tess,” Trigger grunted, which brought me out of my inner loop, “where the fuck are you?”
“I’m here.” I was confused and, honestly, pretty jacked up inside.
He studied me for a moment before he rubbed his lips dry.
“Are you?”
Fuck, this was not how this was supposed to go.
“I’m sorry.” I inched back from him.
“Don’t.” He caught my leg before I could move any more. “Don’t pull away like that.”
“Trigger,” I moved to my knees and took his hand, “I feel so guilty.”
I could swear tears were on cue when it came to the situation with
Gus.
“I know,” I waved him off, “it was the only way out, but it doesn’t make it any easier to know he’s there and I’m here.”
Trigger moved to sit on the truck bed. “What did he say to you before you left the last time?”
“Just that it was the only way to get out of there, and I was to find the blue folder that was in the top of his closet and use it if he didn’t return.” I shook my head. “I haven’t found it yet. I don’t want to.”
“Mm.”
His reaction made me wonder if he knew what it was. “What is the blue folder?”
Trigger pulled me to his chest and kissed my head. “Gus gave me custody of the boys when Fin turned one. I’m their legal guardian, but Vib doesn’t know. He got her to sign the agreement when she was wasted.”
I moved to face him. “You’re the boys’ legal guardian?” Holy shit. Wow. “Why didn’t you ever step in when Vib was spiraling?”
“I did.” He tucked my hair behind my ear. I wondered if he knew the tenderness he was showing. “I just don’t let the others know.”
“That’s pretty cool.” I grinned boldly. I loved this new insight I had into Trigger. I knew Vib had disappeared into drugs more than once, and the fact that Gus had done that for his boys didn’t surprise me.
I turned and tugged at his waist. “You started something a moment ago.”
“I did.” He pulled at the strings of my top and popped it forward. “Fuck, I missed these.” He bit my nipple, and when I moaned, he lifted me over his lap so I straddled him.
His was everywhere. His hands roamed freely, not leaving one place untouched. We were starved for each other.
I felt as if I were flying in and out of a hurricane. My vision would blur as he nudged me toward the edge of my climax then quickly dragged me backward into clarity.
My back bowed in an arch off the flat bed to get him deeper. I dug my heels into the strong muscles over his shoulder blades.
“Yes,” I moaned when he tipped my opening. One hand grabbed his hair, and I pushed him further inside me. “Harder!” I forgot how much I needed his wildness to come out when I was exposed like this. I needed to know it was okay to let go.
He pulled back and stared down at me with hooded eyes. “Shift down.” He offered me a hand before he pulled his jeans off. His erection flopped down heavily, and a little excitement dripped from the tip.
His hands slid slowly up my inner thighs then came together at my opening. His thumb rubbed a small circle as his other hand gave himself a few pumps.
I dripped with need, my stomach clenched, and my breathing was hot and heavy. I was two seconds to losing my shit in the clubhouse’s back yard.
A fever broke across my tender skin as he pushed inside me to the base.
Trigger released a low growl, and both hands palmed my breasts as he twitched inside me and drove my clit crazy. My body ached with need. I needed a goddamn release now!
Just as I started to move, he pulled out. “Flip over.”
I didn’t waste any time. I waited eagerly for another good thrust. Instead, I jumped when I felt his tongue drag up the length of my spine.
My nipples grew hard and pointed. It was such an intimate act that I had to shake my head clear of emotion. I didn’t want to spoil the moment.
“Tess,” he groaned in my ear and twisted one of my greedy nipples.
“Damn it, fuck me, Trigger,” I wanted to get in a fight just to have him flip his switch.
I barely got the last word out before he slammed into me. One hand held my shoulder and the other my hip. His thrusts knocked the air out of me as I clung with sweaty hands to the edge of the steel frame.
Yes.
Over and over and over again he took what was his and left me feeling wanted and loved in our twisted, fucked-up way.
I barely felt him lift me as he swung me around and put my back against a tree.
“Open your eyes,” he grunted. “I fucked you up against a tree the first time, and it won’t be the last.” He dropped me onto his erection and found his spot on my neck and started to suck away. I clawed at his back, wanting more, but wanting less. It was wonderfully painful in all the right places.
Trigger let out a roar as he came. His stomach flexed and quivered, which tipped me over.
Fuck me.
I couldn’t care less at who was around. It was our moment, and we so desperately needed it.
***
After my shower, I pulled on my clothes and headed out to the bar.
My phone lit up the space under the bar. I waited until I served my last customer before I finally checked it.
Shantee: Girl, I’m in town tonight. We need to go out!
An hour later…
Shantee: Don’t make me hunt you down, Tess.
I laughed to myself. She was such a trip. I quickly wrote her back.
Tess: Meet me at Duke’s in twenty.
Shantee: On the way.
I grabbed my bag, let Morgan know where I was going, and headed down the road.
I was halfway before I turned and waited for Ryder to catch up.
“For a short chick, you walk fast.”
“For a prospect, you suck at following someone.”
He rolled his eyes. “Trust me, this is the last thing I want to be doing tonight.”
“I’ll be with my friend, Shantee. You don’t need to spend the entire time there. I can call you when I’m leaving.”
He shrugged, and I could tell he left out the part where Trigger forbid him to leave.
“Remind me who she is again?”
“Shan was born in a man’s body, so when she was eleven, she started the change.”
“Right.” He shook his head, and I shot him a dirty look.
“Imagine if you were someone different on the inside than you were on the out.” He shut up, which I was thankful for. “Wouldn’t be fun.” I sighed.
Ryder stayed downstairs, and I met Shantee up on the balcony.
“Holy shit.” She held open her long arms and smashed my face into her double D boobs. “Girl, you look amazing!”
“Thanks.” I gasped for air. “Is that a new perfume?”
“Yes, it’s called Summer Nights.” She missed my point of why I said it.
We sat and ordered some food and sipped our drinks while we waited.
“How’s the house?”
Her face fell, and one of her drawn-on eyebrows rose. “It’s rough there right now. Your mother has lost her shit. I even caught her ripping apart Clark’s office, muttering like a madwoman. Whatever she was looking for, she couldn’t have found it,” she gave me a knowing look, “because every inch of that place was ransacked.”
“She’s nuts.” I downed the rest of my drink.
“She is, but it’s my home. Makes me sad to see it go downhill so quickly.”
I looked over her shoulder when I remembered something.
I watched as Cooper left, then turned my eyes back to Clark, who had something in his hand.
“You want proof that it was always you I loved, well, here.” He handed me a card.
“What’s this?”
“My gift to you for all the shit I’ve ever put you through.”
“Whatever.” I shoved it in my pocket, annoyed he wouldn’t even share what the fuck it was. Classic Clark and his mind games.
After I killed him, I shoved it in my drawer and forgot about it, but now I was curious.
“Ladies,” two men pulled my attention away from my thoughts, “can we buy you a drink?”
Shantee glanced at me, concerned, but she forced a friendly smile and said, “No, thanks, guys. We’re just having a girls’ night.”
“Come on,” one wrapped an arm playfully around me as he whistled for the waitress to bring us another, “what’s the harm in one drink?”
I searched the faces for Ryder, but he seemed to be missing. Maybe he did leave.
When our food arrived, the men pulled up seats to join us. W
e tried to be polite, but my patience was wearing thin. The guy wrapped his arm around me, and it pissed me off. I pulled away from his grip and struggled to hold my temper.
“Look, man,” I pushed his hand off my thigh, “I’ll say it one more time. I’m not interested. I have someone.”
“Sorry.” He held up his hands, but they soon returned. The idea of a throat punch was looking real good.
“Maybe it’s time to go?” I eyed Shantee, who had been groped at least three times already.
When she stood, he grabbed her boob, and her voice suddenly dropped several octaves.
“I said no.”
The man stepped back and looked disgusted that she wasn’t what he thought she was.
“What the fuck?” He wiped his hands on his jeans. “That’s fucking wrong! You should wear a goddamn sign that says you have a dick.”
“Why do men like you feel embarrassed when they realize I’m trans? I’m beautiful, aren’t I? You shouldn’t feel badly about it.”
His drunk buddies started to laugh and poke fun at their friend. His face grew red, and he looked like he might punch Shantee.
“Time to go.” I grabbed her arm and started to walk quickly down the stairs.
“Men are such assholes.”
“It’s 2018, grow the fuck up,” I yelled over my shoulder.
We got about two blocks before they showed up behind us, shouting that they were going to show us what real men could do. I quickly pulled out my phone and sent a text.
Tess: Need your help. On PCH and Pine. Two drunk guys.
Trigger: Keep walking toward the club. I’ll meet you.
A sense of relief spread over me until they started to gain ground on us. They were moving faster than I’d realized.
“Shit,” I hissed and pushed Shantee, their main target, out of the way.
One laughed. “I could blow, and you’d fall over. Save yourself and move. Let us get to your he-she.”
I saw red and punched him straight in the nose. He fell but jumped forward and pushed me into the brick wall.