Payback: A Vigilante Justice Novel

by Kristin Harte

  I picked one up, running a finger over the inner filter. Hard-core. “Not really. What do you think, Finn?”

  My brother checked out a mask, lifting it up and down as if checking the weight. “I can have guys in the woods in an hour if you want me to lead them.”

  A pang of worry knocked me in the gut, one that was more habit than instinct. I always worried about Finn, but I couldn’t babysit him every day. I also couldn’t blow off work to tackle the job myself.

  “Do it.”

  Finn’s eyes snapped to mine. “You’re not coming?”

  Fuck, I wanted to. “I’ve got a conference call with a lumber buyer out of Cleveland, and then an FBI friend from the Army is calling to share what he knows about the Soul Suckers. I trust you and your team to handle this. Just don’t do anything if you find the place. Mark it, call it in, and trek back out. We’ll make a plan once we get a verified location.”

  Finn nodded, glancing to Deacon as if for permission. Technically, Deacon was Finn’s boss, so that wouldn’t have been far from the truth.

  Deacon shrugged. “I can handle the bar for a few hours. Go get your G.I. Joe on, kid.”

  “Take Gage.” I might have been fine with Finn going, but I still wasn’t stupid enough to send any man out without serious backup, considering the threats against us. “He needs a long walk in the woods.”

  Finn shot me a smile. “You talking about Gage or Rex?”

  “Same thing, kid,” Deacon said before holding out his fist. Finn bumped knuckles with his boss before grabbing the box of masks and heading downstairs.

  “Think he’s going to find something?” Deacon asked, looking toward the stairs as if waiting for Finn to reappear.

  “Yup.” I had no doubts. A meth lab on that property would make a fuckton of sense considering what I’d learned from Parris and a few other people I’d gotten in contact with. The Soul Suckers were the biggest name in meth around these parts. The kitchen would be there, but so might a few men trying to get it either back in working order or emptying it out.

  “Me too.” Deacon gave me a smack on the arm before heading for the stairs himself. “And when he does, we’ll take it out.”

  I grunted, my thoughts already swirling. It’d been almost two weeks since the fire at Shye’s place. Just thirteen days since we first ran into trouble with the Soul Suckers, and already we had two homes destroyed and one dead friend in Justice. Take it out? If we found the kitchen, we’d fucking raze the place and the forest around it. And if we found any Soul Suckers in the area?

  They wouldn’t make it off the mountain.

  Chapter Eleven

  Alder

  That night, I turned down my road in the early evening. I’d been trapped in my office all damn day. The call with the FBI agent hadn’t given me anything more than I already knew, so that had been a waste of time. But the worst had been fully work-related. Fucking lumber buyer out of Cleveland took a full two hours to explain in great detail how he had some rich client who thought the fungus stains of my beetle kill pine would be perfect for her kitchen floors, but only if they were more gray than blue and more solid than mottled. I had kept explaining that I couldn’t control the damn beetles, but he’d refused to listen. He’d wanted a guarantee of color, which I couldn’t provide him. I could only give him first refusal at the next lumber milled.

  Truth was, the fungus—and therefore, the color—spread the longer the pines stood dead. The Hansen property had lost most of their trees before I’d come home eight years ago—I would have bet my business those would fit the client’s needs, but I couldn’t get to them. Not yet. Especially not with what was happening out at the property.

  Finn and his team had found what they assumed was the meth kitchen—an old, abandoned barn in a heavily forested part of the ridge. Found it quick, too. If I hadn’t known better, I’d have thought Finn knew the place was out there with how Gage described how fast the hunt had gone. Impossible, though. He would have told us if he’d known.

  The team had set up a perimeter around the building so they could keep an eye on it without going inside. Once in place, two men would be in the air ready to take out anyone who came near. Snipers on security detail… Since Deacon hadn’t gone on the search, that had to be Gage’s idea. I liked it.

  Logging was hard enough, though, and adding the destruction of a drug house to our workload seemed almost foolish. Really, it was more of a precaution for the safety of my men who worked in those woods…and a loud fucking warning to the Soul Suckers to get their asses out of Justice. For good. The site would be guarded until we could send a strong enough crew to sweep the property—a crew I definitely would be leading—and then the old, abandoned barn turned drug lab had to be destroyed. Then, and only then, could we even think of sending our teams up there to harvest.

  Tomorrow, maybe the day after. I wanted this shit done, but we needed to monitor the area first. Make sure we had every bit of info we could garner before we stepped inside that kitchen. I’d rather go in filled with knowledge and plans than with guns blazing.

  But the workday was finally over, and I craved a little time with my girl before falling back into planning lumber shipments, meth lab destruction, and subterfuge. Shye had been home alone all day. Well, not alone. I’d left Bishop with her in case of any trouble, so I wasn’t surprised to see him sitting on my porch as I pulled into the drive.

  “’Sup, brother.” He grinned and rocked back in his chair once I’d stepped out of my truck. How the man managed to look like a rattlesnake ready to strike while smiling, I’d never know, but that was the impression he left. Apparently, I needed to watch out for his fangs.

  “What’s got you so giddy?”

  He shrugged. “Your girl made me dinner, that’s all.”

  Motherfucker. There it was—the bite. I shot a look at the door, willing Shye to come out of it. Wondering if she was still in the kitchen…if we’d have dinner together, or if she’d already eaten. If she’d been thinking of me at all today while I’d been obsessing over her. I must have looked as irritated as I felt at the thought of not getting my time with my girl because Bishop laughed.

  “You are so far gone, man.”

  I ran a hand over my hair, unable to argue that. “Any news?”

  Bishop got serious real quick. “Soul Suckers tried to stop at Katie’s.”

  The only restaurant in town, recently opened by my little sister’s best friend from high school. One sitting in a building I’d offered her rent-free for three years when she’d called to say she missed home and wanted to come back but needed a job. She had absolutely nothing to do with the Soul Suckers bullshit.

  “Tried to stop?”

  “Two guys on bikes made a few loops around Main Street then pulled up outside. Deacon was already there for lunch, so he secured the building when they first passed and kept Katie in the back with him.”

  Fuck me. “That was damn lucky timing, but I hate relying on luck. Next time, we might not have a man there.”

  “Which is why I’ve put the whole town on lockdown until we can set up some perimeters. I figured you wouldn’t disagree that it’s needed.”

  “Not a bit. You even got the post office to close?”

  “Barney’s sorting mail in his garage. Says he can do the pickup in the morning, then take everything home with him. He’ll call people if anything important shows up. Otherwise, he’ll hold it all until one of us can do his route with him.”

  “Jesus.” I plopped down next to him, staring off over the driveway to the forest beyond. Main Street on lockdown, Katie having to hide in her own restaurant, Barney holding our mail so he didn’t have to go out alone, and a motherfucking meth lab in the woods. We were under attack. “You think they’re going plan a a hit on us, don’t you?”

  “Yup. I think they’re going to come after someone here in a bit. Go for a direct blow to make a point. Question is who the focus of that happens to be.” He stood, the floorboards groaning under his feet
. “Lock up tight, man, and call one of us if anything seems out of the ordinary. You don’t need to go chasing people down in a towel again.”

  Jackass. Still, I nodded, knowing I’d lock my shit down the second I walked inside. I couldn’t risk Shye’s safety. A thought that reminded me…

  “Thanks.”

  Bishop turned, his brow furrowed. “For what?”

  “Staying here today while I went to work. Keeping an eye on Shye.”

  His grin set my teeth on edge. “Oh no, that pleasure was all mine. She’s really something, isn’t she?”

  Yeah, and that something was mine. My bother was the ladies man of the group—bouncing from bed to bed and never settling down. I couldn’t blame him—his last girlfriend had really pulled a number on him. Still, he didn’t get to bounce into Shye’s bed. He didn’t even get to fucking think about it.

  I’d likely kill him if he tried. “Get out of here so I can go spend my evening with my girl.”

  “Yeah, yeah. Keep her all to yourself. A good brother would be willing to share.”

  “Not on your fucking life.”

  Bishop grinned and bounded for his truck, casual as ever, but I knew better. The man took his job seriously, took his duties to his brothers even more so, and he wouldn’t fail at a task I’d assigned him. I knew I could trust him to be Shye’s guard—he’d do whatever it took to make sure nothing happened to her because his brother needed him to. End of discussion. Didn’t mean he wouldn’t flirt with her every chance he got. Sometimes, you had to take the good with the bad. My brother was definitely both.

  Bishop was almost to his truck before he turned back, suddenly looking serious. “She’s a sweet girl, that one. Quiet, but definitely kind. I know Deacon’s worried about her past, but if she’s tied up in the Soul Suckers, it’s not intentional. I just can’t see it.”

  Yeah, neither could I. “I know.”

  He opened his driver’s-side door and leaned against the body, still serious. Still thinking. “If she’s in trouble, we’ll be fighting more than just our shit. We’ll need to handle hers as well.”

  “I know that, too.”

  “Just making sure. It throws a wrench into our plans, you know? They could come for you or for her, and we won’t know until they get here.”

  Exactly, which was something that had been eating at me. “I’ll keep her safe no matter what.”

  “I know you will, brother. And you’ve got me and Gage just a text away. He’s been staying at my place while he works on that old cabin he’s remodeling.”

  “You let that dog in your house?” Bishop was a bit of a neat freak—muddy paw prints and dog hair would likely drive him to drink.

  “Trust me—Rex is the easier roommate to deal with.” Bishop slipped inside his truck and rolled down the window as he started the engine. “Good luck.”

  I needed more than luck.

  As I walked inside, my thoughts of the Soul Suckers, the possible meth lab, and the danger tied up in the two disappeared. Shye stood in the kitchen. No, not stood. Danced. The girl swung her hips and shook her ass in a way that should have been illegal. My blood rushed south, my cock filling to the point of pain in seconds. I couldn’t move, couldn’t even breathe, too panicked that anything I did would make her stop. I never wanted her to stop.

  But she saw me, and when she did, she smiled. Gorgeous, stunning, beautiful…all too mellow for that moment. Something in her expression, in her happy eyes, called to me as much as her shaking ass had. I wanted her joy more than her body, her happiness more than my own. There was only so much I could do to guarantee those, only so much time to take my chance, so I finally gave myself permission to try.

  I stalked across the kitchen without thought and grabbed her, pulling her against me. Bringing us together roughly. Her mouth opened on a gasp when I grabbed her ass, and I took advantage. Kissing her deep and rough, the way she deserved to be kissed. Sweet. She tasted so fucking sweet. And when she grabbed my arms and pulled me closer, when she slipped her hands up my neck and secured me to her…I was done.

  I wanted her to be mine. Immediately and completely.

  Unable to resist a second more, I gripped her thighs and lifted her little body up onto the counter. Still shorter than me, but closer. And just the right height to put my cock level with her cunt. She definitely noticed that fact. She wrapped her legs around my waist, pulling me in. Giving me all the green light I needed. I stepped closer and pulled her to the edge so I could press my cock against her. So I could hear those little mewls and gasps she’d made that night in the kitchen at her work. It felt like months had gone by since then, with nothing but sexual tension and need driving me through the days. But tonight… Tonight, we’d break through all that.

  So I thrust against her, tugging her into me, watching for any sort of reaction. I could feel the heat of her already. Could practically sense the wetness growing between her legs. Fuck, I wanted to taste it, make her shake and yell and lose control on my tongue. Needed it like air.

  “Can’t stay away,” I mumbled, my fingers digging into the flesh of her ass as I yanked her against me. “Need you too much.”

  Shye groaned and followed my movements, telling me without words what she wanted. What she needed. I thrust harder, grunting on every press, hanging on to her hips to keep us connected. Turning us into a pair of lusting, needful beings hell-bent on the same goal. Fucking. Not making love, not screwing, not any other euphemism…we’d be fucking tonight. And I couldn’t wait for it.

  Shye gasped on a particularly rough bump, her head falling back and a groan rumbling through her chest. Laid out before me with her tits pushed up and her nipples hard. So fucking gorgeous, so completely mine, that my leash broke.

  “That feel good?” I thrust harder when she nodded, clutching her tight. Making sure she felt every inch of my cock pressing against her cunt. “Fuck, you’re already shaking. Are you wet, honey? Is that pretty pussy soaking your panties because of my cock?”

  “Alder.” My name sounded much like a rebuke, but her body never stopped moving, her hips rolling into mine. The girl wanted me, which worked in my favor because my cock wept for her. He’d have to wait, though. Three years of dreaming of this girl had left me with one particular thing I wanted, and it wasn’t shoving my cock inside her. It was watching her fall apart at my hands or my mouth, over and over again. I’d gotten that first taste, stolen a second one just the night before, but I wanted more. So much more.

  And Shye seemed ready to let me take it. “Alder, please. Please.”

  “You beg me like that again, I might just come in my pants, honey,” I gritted out, licking up the length of her neck to nibble on her jaw.

  “Yes,” she gasped, sinking her fingers into my shoulders. Making me hurt in the best way.

  “Not yet. I want to get you off first. I need to feel you come. Want to slide my tongue inside you to lick up all that sweet pussy juice. Been craving it.” I reached between us, pulling down the soft, stretchy pants she wore. I couldn’t take them off without letting her go, which wasn’t happening just yet, but I made enough room for me to slip my hand inside. To feel her hot, wet flesh. “Damn, girl, is this all for me? You’re positively soaked.”

  Shye moved as if to retreat, but there was no fucking way. I grabbed her hips and dropped to my knees. Those pants and panties were on the floor a second later, her legs up and over my shoulders, my face right up against her pussy. I hadn’t imagined it—that pink flesh was so fucking pretty.

  I ran a finger along her lips, circling. Teasing. “I’ve dreamed about this. Ever since that night at the restaurant when you finally let me have a taste, I’ve been dying to crawl back between your legs and watch you come apart because of me. Been waiting to taste you again. I’m going to lick this pussy so good, honey.”

  Shye grabbed my hair as she stared down at me. Mouth open, eyes gleaming. Hungry. My girl looked hungry. I understood that look—I’d been fucking starving for her.

&nbs
p; And I was about to eat my fill.

  I licked a path where my finger had gone, holding her gaze while I teased her opening with my tongue. Shye bucked and moaned, rolling her hips again, her thighs on my shoulders shaking as I took my time with her. She liked that, it seemed. Once more, I licked along that path, giving her just enough to feel. Not hitting anything important yet.

  But my girl had a greedy side. She fisted my hair and tugged, squeezing her legs on my shoulders to pull me closer. “Please, Alder.”

  It was the please that did me in. “I fucking love to hear you beg for me.”

  I opened my lips around her clit and sucked, letting my tongue flick the hot little bud for good measure. Shye practically jumped off the counter, writhing and moaning loud enough for people driving by to hear. Good. Let them hear her; let them know this girl was mine, and I would be the only one making this pussy happy from now on. The only one who would know her taste.

  Wanting to fucking claim her cunt in some way, I wrapped my arms around her legs and tugged her closer, feasting on her. Desperate to keep her juices on my tongue. To make her shake and buck against me even more.

  When I suckled harder, she tightened up, yanking on my hair, chanting something that sounded like my name. Something wordless and more noise than language. Giving me another thing to always strive for—to push her past the point of words, to make her mumble sounds I couldn’t understand every fucking time I ate her. Because this wouldn’t be the last time—no fucking way.

  With a quick intake of breath, she stopped moving—absolutely froze. Hanging on to the cliff of desire and waiting for me to push her over. So I wrapped my lips around my teeth and bit down gently one last time, giving her clit the pressure she needed. Pushing her right over the edge into her orgasm. Teasing her through the pleasure as she shook and curled her body toward me.

  I didn’t even give her time to finish coming before I picked her up, threw her little body right over my shoulder, and carried her up the stairs with my hand on her ass.