“Are you hungry?”
Before I can answer, my stomach growls again. I pull back and smile at him.
“I guess that’s a yes,” he says.
“I would’ve said no, but it looks like my body has other ideas.”
He leans down and kisses me in the center of my forehead, and together we leave the room and head downstairs. Instantly I smell a savory aroma. Even though my stomach made it known I needed food, I hadn’t realized until now how hungry I really was.
We reach the landing and round the corner to head into the kitchen. I can see Ace at the stove, the sound of something grilling filling the air. The scent is stronger in the kitchen, and my mouth starts to water.
Aston is sitting at the table with Kadence beside him. And even her friend, Melissa, is still here, sitting across from them. Everyone is focused on something else and they don’t see us right away.
Sterling takes me over to the table and I have a seat. I like him taking care of me, and this warmth that fills me has nothing to do with the arousal consuming me.
Kadence glances up and smiles at me. “How are you feeling?”
Before I can answer, Ace is coming over to the table with a plate full of steaks, the aroma so appetizing my mouth waters again.
Sterling comes over with a plate full of corn on the cob and other side dishes. They place everything on top of the table.
For as rough and brutal as these men can be, they are just a family.
Sterling already has a plate made for me before I can even reach for an empty one. Maybe I should be embarrassed for as much as I want to eat the entire thing, but at this moment I really don’t care. I start digging in and soon everyone is doing the same.
The sound of silverware clanking on ceramic fills the room. Aston and Kadence start joking with each other, and Ace starts bitching to Sterling about something that happened yesterday that pissed him off.
For just a second I don’t think about Kevin or the shit storm I’m in.
Everyone starts laughing at how angry Ace is getting despite the fact whatever pissed him off initially isn’t even a big deal.
I glance around the table at everyone, seeing that these men have their own lives, their own troubles. They protect each other in the most barbaric of ways at times, but at the end of the day they are blood, family. They would do anything to protect people who are not as strong as they are.
When I look at Sterling I can feel my love for him grow. I don’t know what will happen with Kevin or this entire situation, but what I do know is I don’t want to leave Sterling.
We’ve started something since I’ve been here, and although the situation hasn’t been ideal, and is downright gritty, I am glad that I came.
I’ll never regret what happened because it brought me to Sterling. And right now that’s all that matters.
I feel Sterling’s breath hit my ear before he speaks. “This here is my family and now that you’re here, no one at this table will let any harm come to you ever again.” He grabs my chair and pulls it closer to his, grunting across the table at Ace as he grins at us. “Just eat, brother.”
STERLING
“Oh, I’m eating. Eating up the fact that my other little brother is in fucking love, too. Big fucking softies. Looks like I’ll be calling in Killian for some backup soon.”
Ace doesn’t notice, but I catch him glancing over at Melissa, who is focused on cutting her steak.
He’s always said he’ll never fall for a woman, that he’ll never allow an emotion as strong as love to make him weak and vulnerable. But I have a feeling he wants to fall in love more than either of his brothers.
Without saying a word, I allow my gaze to go on to Wynter. I see her face is completely red as she pretends to be focused on her food and not on what Ace just said about me being in love.
He’s not wrong. A part of me has loved Wynter from the day I laid eyes on her as she watched me from across the classroom, looking as if she wanted to help me.
“Don’t mistake me for being a softie, big brother. I will still rip a man apart limb by fucking limb if I have to. Love doesn’t make you weak; it makes you stronger. Now eat,” I say stiffly.
I catch Wynter suck in a surprised breath, before she reaches for her glass of wine and chugs it, almost choking on it.
“You need another?” Kadence asks, standing up and reaching for the bottle. “Here, sweetie.” She smiles and looks at Melissa, both the girls seeming to know she needs more wine.
“Thank you.” Her gaze lands on mine and stays on me as she tilts back her glass for a drink before setting it down in front of her.
“Come here.” I scoot my chair back and pull her into my lap, reaching around to wrap my hands into her long hair.
I’m not afraid to show everyone in this fucking house how much this woman means to me. But Ace is wrong. My love for her will only make me stronger, fiercer as I take out every motherfucker who has ever hurt her.
I pull her down to me until our lips are brushing, the softness of her skin barely touching mine. Shivers run along my body, causing a small growl to sound in my throat at just the feel of her heavy breath hitting my mouth as she waits for me to kiss her.
Digging my hands deeper into her hair, I press my lips against hers, kissing her hard until we’re both fighting for air.
“I’ll never hide the way I feel for you from anyone. When I finally find that piece of shit he’ll know with the pain I inflict upon him just how I feel about you, too. He’ll feel it in every part of his body.”
Wynter places her forehead on mine and wraps her hands into my hair. “I’ve never felt safer than I do right here in your arms. But I just have one thing I need you to promise me.”
“Anything,” I say against her lips.
“Promise me you won’t let Kevin and his friends hurt you. Promise me I won’t lose you after this is all over.”
I grab her hand and run my lips over her knuckles, before gently kissing them. “I promise there is nothing that son of a bitch can do to hurt me besides placing his hands on you. And that will never happen again. That’s a promise.”
“Fuck yeah, that’s a promise.” Aston stands up and reaches for another beer. “You’re with the Lockes now. No one touches you ever again. If my brother here fails to keep you safe, you have two others as backup.”
I grin and throw my steak bone at my little brother, hitting him on the lip. “Oh, what? You don’t think I can keep my woman safe on my own? Fuck off, bitch. I’ll take you and Ace both on at the same time and still win.”
Aston and Ace both laugh.
“All right, little brother.” Ace pushes his plate forward and finishes off his beer with a twisted grin. “We’ll test that out someday, but trust me: I won’t be needing Aston.”
“All right, boys!” Melissa stands up and pours another glass of wine. “Maybe I need another glass, too. Does the bickering ever stop?”
Ace stands up and grabs the bottle from Melissa, leaning in until his mouth is against her ear. “Never. Welcome to the fucking Locke home.”
I ignore everyone else in the house and turn my attention to Wynter on my lap. “Ace and I will be heading out late tonight to find Kevin. Aston will be staying behind to keep you safe just in case the fucker comes here looking for you before we manage to get to him. King, our big fucking dog, will sleep in my room once I leave.”
King stands up at the sound of his name.
“I don’t want you up worrying after I leave. Okay?” I say and look at her mouth.
She nods in understanding and gently kisses my lips. “I’ll try my best not to.”
“Good. I don’t want you to have to worry about anything. Especially not me fucking getting hurt.”
There’s no way that son of a bitch is capable of physically hurting me. I just hope he’s ready for a long ass night of pain . . .
WYNTER
I wake up in a sweat, immediately sitting up and panicking as if something’s wrong.
It takes King sitting across my legs and looking up at me to make me realize that I’m safe in Sterling’s bed.
“Shit . . .” I say to myself while running a hand through my sweaty hair. I have no idea what time it is but I know for a fact that Sterling is out there looking for Kevin and I have no idea if he’s found him or if he’s hurt, in jail or . . . dead.
The thought has a whole new wave of panic taking over, causing me to run my hands over my face right before I toss the covers off and jump to my feet.
Aston must’ve heard me moving around because a few minutes later, he shows up in the doorway, gripping the frame above his head. “Sterling and Ace left a couple hours ago. If there was an issue I would’ve heard about it.”
I nod and stop pacing long enough to look him in the eyes. “Are you sure?”
He offers me a half-smile before releasing the frame, walking over to their huge Pitbull and petting him. “I’m positive, Wynter. My brothers and me have been dealing with assholes our whole lives. This isn’t new to us. This ex of yours is nothing compared to the shit we’ve been through. Now go back to sleep and I’ll let you know if something comes up. Got it?”
I let out a relieved breath and walk over to take a seat on the edge of the bed. “Yeah, okay. Just please make sure Sterling wakes me up as soon as he makes it back in. Please . . .”
“I’ll send him straight up. Now get some rest.”
After Aston leaves me alone in Sterling’s room, I lay back and close my eyes, hoping with everything in me that Aston is right.
I want to believe nothing bad will happen to Sterling. But I have a feeling that even if he takes care of Kevin, that after my father realizes I’m here and with Sterling, we’ll have a whole new situation to deal with that might be a bit more complicated than just my asshole ex.
I’m positive my father will find some way to control me again, even if it means arresting Sterling and threatening him to make sure he stays away from me.
He’s been controlling me—or trying to—my whole life and he’s the reason I left to begin with. I can’t even count the times he had Kevin arrested in the beginning just to prove a point.
And now I wish that asshole had stayed locked up, or I’d been smart enough to leave his ass.
But in regard to Sterling . . . my dad has hated the Lockes for as long as I can remember. It all started with their uncle Killian, and I know for a fact that he’ll do anything he can to hurt anyone associated with this family.
Especially if my father believes it’ll get me back home so he can control me just like he did my mother.
STERLING
My heart is racing and my body is strung so tight it feels like it will snap in half. We’re on our way to finally getting the revenge that is due.
It just pisses me off that we wasted time first by going to that asshole Riley’s house just to come up empty of both those bitches. It wasn’t in the plan to have to take a three-hour drive again to find Kevin, but I’ll do whatever it takes to get my message across.
My blood is boiling, and all I can think about is the violence I will inflict upon Kevin. I don’t care who is there, don’t give a damn if there are twenty of his friends ready to throw down.
I am ready, and so is Ace.
We turn onto his street and I get even more juiced up. I start clenching my hands into tight fists before relaxing them, doing this over and over again. This light sweat starts to cover my body, and I know this will be a fight that will go down in Locke history.
“Dude, you’re raring to go, aren’t you?” Ace says as he continues driving toward the house. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you this ready to lay down and draw blood.”
Truth is, I have never been this angry, never wanted violence this much before. But when it comes to Wynter, something in me has changed. I am like this feral, vicious beast, and I won’t let anyone live that harms her.
Ace pulls the vehicle up to the curb, just a few feet from the front of the house where Kevin lives. We won’t make this obvious. I won’t give them a warning bell that we are here. They’ll know that when I bust in the fucking door and beat the living shit out of anyone who stands in the way of me getting my vengeance.
“Ready for this, brother?” Ace glances over at me and the grin he gives me is primed for tonight, dangerous.
“I’ve been ready.” I’m focusing on the house, envisioning all the things I will do to that motherfucker.
“Then let’s get this party started.”
Ace and I climb out of the vehicle and head toward the house. We scope out the front, and when we see no lights on we make our way toward the back. If these fuckers are in the basement again I’m gonna lose my shit.
We stop right before we hit the backyard and I can see a large detached garage. The bay doors are closed but I can see light coming from the inside.
I gesture for Ace to stay put and I make my way toward the garage. Looking in the window, I can see three guys sitting around in a loose circle, a joint being passed between them.
Although I don’t know what Kevin looks like, I can see all the guys. None of them have marks on their faces, so that tells me Kevin isn’t one of them.
I turn around and go back to where Ace is standing. He’s leaning against the side of the house, a cigarette perched between his lips.
“The fucker in there?” Ace gestures toward the garage.
I shake my head and move toward the basement windows. I crouch down and look in, seeing several guys sitting on the couch. There’s a TV on across from them, a makeshift bar set up on the other side of the room, and a few girls giving lap dances.
Of course these dicks are in the same place they were last time.
I scan the room, trying to make out which one of these assholes is Kevin. And then I see him. I know in my gut, in the tightening of my muscles, that the prick who stands in the corner with a half empty bottle of Jack in his hand and a bruise covering his cheek, was the one who hurt my girl.
I feel my heart start to race as I think of all the things I’m going to do to him. They’re going to be dirty, violent things. They’re going to be acts that a sane person would never think of committing.
But in this instant I’m not sane.
In this very moment all I can think about is making him pay. And I will. I’ll make him pay with broken bones and blood covering my hands.
And it’ll feel fucking incredible.
I turn and look at Ace and gesture him over. He grins, this evil smile that I feel to my bones, that makes me know this is gonna be a good fucking night.
I grin in return, not able to help myself because I know what’s about to happen.
Ace stops in front of me, smashes the butt of the cigarette out, and flicks it aside. He crouches down low and looks in the window. When he glances back up at me, I see the excitement in his eyes.
“Are you ready, brother?” I ask just as he stands.
“Let’s show these motherfuckers what it means to mess with someone who’s associated with the Lockes.”
Together we make our way over to the back door. I’m tempted just to kick it in, but Ace reaches out before I can do that and twists the handle. It opens soundlessly, smoothly.
We make our way inside and step over empty beer bottles and cans. We reach the kitchen and see a door partially open, light spilling up from the stairs that descend. We can hear music and laughter, even a few female groans.
Both of us look at each other at the same time, matching smiles on our faces, violence surrounding us.
Yeah, this is what we’ve been waiting for, what I’ve been itching to do ever since Wynter showed up with her beat-to-hell face and the fear in her eyes.
No mercy will be shown tonight . . .
STERLING
The closer we get to the basement, the more prepared my body becomes. My muscles tighten and I’m ready to strike at the first motherfucker who stands in my way in getting to Kevin.
I’m smiling like a fucking madma
n on the inside at just the idea of hurting him, of placing my hands on him in ways that will scar him for life.
Once we reach the bottom of the stairs, my gaze immediately locks on my target. I clench my jaw in rage as I watch Kevin tilt back his bottle of whiskey, oblivious that we are standing right here.
With the music playing and women dancing, these fuckers haven’t even noticed us yet. It’s obvious Kevin doesn’t believe he has any reason to fear his life even though we passed on a message to blondie the last time we were here.
That’s a mistake on his part.
I turn to Ace and grab his long hammer, holding it my hands. A savage smile pulls at my lips as I walk over to the stereo system and swing out, causing shattered pieces of plastic and metal to fly across the room, getting the attention of everyone in the basement.
“The fuck?” I hear a bunch of assholes say.
“Who the fuck are you pricks?” Kevin sets his bottle down and pushes off the girl who was dancing against him when we first walked in. “And what the hell are you doing in my house? Don’t make me call the cops.”
I nod over to Ace with a lifted brow as he whistles and takes a step toward the middle of the room as if he owns the place. He motions toward the women, who are now reaching for their clothes in a panic. “Go. Now!”
It takes the females less than a minute to reach for whatever they believe is worth it and run up the stairs.
Tilting my head, I place Ace’s hammer across my shoulders and growl out, keeping my gaze locked on Kevin,. “If you don’t want to get bloody, now is your chance to leave. You’ve got ten fucking seconds before things get ugly.” I point the hammer at Kevin when he moves toward the stairs. “Not you. I’ve got a long fucking night planned for you.”
“Fuck you!” he yells, spit flying from his mouth. “Just take whatever the hell you want and get out of my house. Can’t you see we’re just some guys trying to have a good time? I don’t want any beef. Things don’t need to get ugly. I can even call the women back. They’re down to fuck and we’re good to share.”
Savage Locke (Locke Brothers, 2) Page 5