He scowled at her for a few more seconds, then turned on his heel and left the room. Olivia grabbed the bottle of wine on the table and took a long pull from it, forgoing a glass.
“You okay?” Jasmine asked.
“Murder’s still illegal, right?”
“Yes, but I’m here for you if you need to hide a body.”
“Not a hair, not a fiber, Jazz,” Olivia said.
“Oh, I know how to deal with hair,” Jazz assured, and they burst into giggles.
I made a mental note not to piss these women off as I focused on my wine.
“Liv,” Doc called.
She craned her neck, but didn’t get off the couch. “Yeah?”
“Got a minute?”
“Do I look like I ‘got a minute’?”
“Babe,” he breathed out.
“Jesus, Doc, keep your pants on,” she hissed out, handing the wine to Jasmine and standing. “I’ll be right back.”
I had a clear view of the couple as Doc slid his hand to her neck and then guided her through the kitchen.
“He’s so fucking gone for her,” Quin said.
“Looks like she feels the same,” Kennedy said. “She’s just protesting too much.”
I had a feeling my bestie was right, but I didn’t say that out loud.
Finch
I walked into the meeting room and sat beside Dash who gave me a chin lift. “How long are you here?”
“Couple of weeks,” I said. “Gotta get Remington sorted, then get back to Portland.”
“We should go out. The four of us.”
“I’m in,” I said, just as Doc walked in.
“Thanks for getting here so quickly,” Doc said, and took his place at the head of the table.
Today we were meeting in the room utilized for Church. The large mahogany table had a glass top with the Dogs of Fire flag between it, along with the patches of dead club members.
I knew I’d been invited in only because Remington was one of the ones threatened, and I didn’t take that for granted, but I also wasn’t gonna sit back and stay quiet if it meant Remington was exposed.
“We’ve got a lot of shit to cover, so I’ll get right to it,” Doc continued. “I got a call from Dalton Moore, who let me know the F.B.I. have arrested a suspect in the Gentleman Strangler case.”
The room began to celebrate, but Doc quickly cut us off.
“Shut the fuck up, all of you. There’s more news, none of it’s good, and it involves everyone in this room. More importantly, it involves our women.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?” I asked. “Is there more going on than verbal threats?”
“Verbal threats with some serious money behind them,” Doc clarified. “The guy the F.B.I.’s picked up is Seth Backstrom.”
“Backstrom. Why does that name sound familiar?” Doom asked. Doom was the road captain for the club and had some serious anger issues. No one crossed him. Ever.
“Because the Backstrom family is related to the Ellis family, and they’re about as rich and powerful as it gets,” Alamo said. “In fact, Seth Backstrom is Thomas Ellis’s cousin.”
“What the fuck?” I snapped.
“That’s right,” Doc said. “They share a grandmother. Seth lives in North Carolina now, but he and Thomas grew up together, about as close as brothers could be, and would spend every summer at their grandparents’ property in Savannah. The F.B.I. are currently working off the theory that Thomas and Seth have been in this together all along, and that Thomas’s death has triggered these recent killings.”
“What’s Seth saying?” I asked.
“Not much, considering.” Doc and Alamo shared a look.
I frowned. “Considering what?”
“Local PD pulled Seth over for a busted taillight and the officer noticed he was acting strange. He was evasive and didn’t want to answer even simple questions. The officer asked him to step out of the car and that’s when he went from quiet to stone silent. The officer said Seth was like a robot, and someone had thrown his standby switch. Seth refused to acknowledge the officer’s commands or comply with his requests, so he took him to county figuring he was high on drugs. He was searched and placed in a private holding cell, but the guard who processed him missed the razor blade hidden in the waistband of his underwear. Before he could be questioned, he cut out his own tongue.”
“Jesus,” I hissed.
“The guard said Seth was sitting perfectly still on his bunk, hands folded, with his tongue in his lap. The only indication he’d butchered himself was the copious amount of blood all over his front. He never made a noise, no cry of pain, nothing. He was rushed to county hospital, and it was then that they started carefully going though his belongings, which is why the F.B.I. was notified.”
“What the fuck did they find?” Doom asked.
“Among his belongings was a small notebook full of poetry.”
“Poetry?” I asked.
Doc nodded. “Yeah, really dark and twisted shit. It’s all violent and it’s all about three women. Women he refers to as the Flower, the Tree, and the Gun. The poetry is all about what he’s going to do to these women when he gets his hands on them. How he’ll dress them and strangle them before taking their photos.”
“Sounds familiar,” Alamo said.
“Exactly, so the police notified the F.B.I., but before they arrived, Seth decided to plead the fifth permanently.”
“So, if the Feds think this guy and Thomas were working together, why the cause for alarm if they’ve got him? Why the lockdown?”
“The F.B.I. analysts had no idea who the Flower, Tree, and Gun could be, but as soon as Agent Moore saw the poetry, and the connection had been made between Seth and Thomas, he knew who they were.”
“Who are they?” I asked.
“Think about it. If he’s upset about Thomas’s killing, wouldn’t it make sense that he’d make the Dogs of Fire pay? And if he kills women, wouldn’t it stand to reason that he’d come after ours? Jasmine is the Flower, Willow the Tree, and Remington...”
“The Gun,” I said.
“Holy shit,” Doom said.
“Exactly, so we’re not taking any chances. We’re gonna make sure we’ve got protection for every single one of our women. Just because he only mentioned three, doesn’t mean we know what he has planned, and we sure as hell don’t know if he and Thomas were the only ones involved.” He turned to Doom. “You got Aspen secure.”
Doom nodded.
“This just keeps getting better,” Badger ground out.
“In addition to bringing everyone here that we can, I also want Stump to guard Michelle’s hospital room and I want soldiers posted at every officer’s house. Seth is hiding a big fucking secret and we’re not gonna be surprised by it when the time comes.”
Everyone in the room nodded, and we discussed the logistics of the protection details for the next half-hour before breaking.
* * *
Remington
Soft lips on mine had me smiling as I forced my eyes open. “I thought you said you’d be lucid,” Merrick accused.
“I was just resting so I’d be ready for you.”
He chuckled, pulling me up off the sofa gently. “Let’s head to bed.”
“Wait, where’s Kennedy?” I asked.
“She’s been taken care of.”
“Meaning?”
“Let’s just say that sometimes the cheese gets the Mouse.”
I frowned. “Huh?”
“Don’t wor—”
I gasped. “Oh my god, she’s bumping uglies with that really young guy? The one you call Mouse?”
“I’m not sure what they’re doing, but they headed off toward an empty bunkroom, so I can deduce that, yeah.”
“Is he nice?”
“Don’t know him, but from what Alamo says, he’s a good guy, baby.”
“You checked?”
“Yeah.”
“To make sure she was safe?”
; He smiled. “Yeah.”
“God, I love you,” I whispered, and kissed him.
“Love you, too.” He took my hand and gave it a squeeze. “Let’s hit the hay.”
“I should get my stuff.”
“Already sorted, Rem.”
“Maybe I should fall asleep on the sofa more often.”
Merrick chuckled and led me upstairs, pushing open his door and stepping back. I walked in, flipping on the light as I passed the switch, then turning to face him.
“How did your meeting go?”
He shook his head.
“Not good?”
“I’m not talking about it.”
I wrinkled my nose. “So it was bad.”
“Remington, I’m not talking about it.”
“Well, are you up to fucking me? Hard?”
“Has there ever been a moment when I wasn’t up to fucking you...hard?”
I smiled. “Just want to make sure, honey. If you’ve had a difficult meeting, I don’t want to add stress to you.”
“I know what you’re doing.”
I slid my hands under his shirt. “What am I doing?”
“You’re trying to get me to talk about the meeting.”
“Fine.” I sighed, sliding my hand under his shirt. “If you don’t want to talk, then you need to fuck me.”
He chuckled. “That I can do.”
Sliding off his cut, he pulled his T-shirt off and I felt the need to run my tongue over his Dogs of Fire tattoo. Tugging at the waistband of his jeans, I unbuttoned them and pushed them down his hips, his dick springing free as I knelt in front of him.
He stroked my cheek. “I thought I was fucking you.”
“After I blow you.”
“Oh, yeah?”
I ran my tongue up his length. “Yeah.”
I wrapped my lips around the head of his cock, taking his length as deep as I could, working the shaft with my hand, and jacking him with the same motion of my mouth.
Merrick’s hand went to the crown of my head and his fingers dug into my scalp. I knew he was close to coming when his fingers squeezed a little harder. “Rem.”
I cupped his balls and took him deeper, jacking just a little faster.
“Fuck, Rem.” His hand twitched again. “Now, baby.”
I sucked a little harder and he came. Hard. I took every ounce down my throat, then felt myself lifted and dropped onto the bed where my clothes were practically ripped from my body.
Then his mouth was on my pussy and I was writhing against him, trying to figure out a way to hold off my orgasm.
I never found one.
Instead, I came so hard and so fast, I could barely catch my breath, but then Merrick shifted me onto my stomach and lifted my hips, sliding into me and he was building yet another orgasm in me.
Merrick slammed into me. Flesh slapped against flesh as our bodies connected, and an orgasm hovered at the edge. I wanted to come... wanted it more than anything, but I needed this to last. Goosebumps swept across my skin and I knew I wouldn’t be able to wait much longer. “Merrick,” I begged.
“Wait.”
“Baby, I can’t.”
“Wait, Remington.”
I whimpered as his hand connected with my ass, and I forced myself to hold back, but when his palm connected again, I lost my composure.
“Merrick!” I screamed as I came, my pussy contracting around his cock.
He thrust again, then once more, his hand connecting with my bare flesh with a smack, and I cried out as another orgasm hit.
He wasn’t far behind and we fell into a heap of sweat and heavy breathing, his arms coming around me and holding me tight. “I love you, Remington.”
“I love you too, honey.”
“Want you to marry me, baby.”
I gasped, rolling to face him. “What?”
“Want to make this permanent.”
“Tweety, we’ve barely known each other a week.”
“Two years and a week,” he countered.
“You don’t think this is a little rash?”
“Nope.”
“We don’t know each other.”
“I’m not saying we have to get married tomorrow. Just want to make it a little more permanent.”
“Are you going to stay here with me?”
“I can’t. I was hoping you’d come home with me.”
“I can’t, Merrick.”
He sighed. “Then we’ll need to figure some shit out.”
“Which is why we can’t get married.”
“Oh, we’re getting married, Remington. Have no doubt about that.”
“I haven’t said yes, Tweety.”
“You will,” he said, and kissed me gently before sliding off the bed and heading to the bathroom.
I followed him. “I don’t think we’ll ever make this work.”
He flushed the condom. “I know, Eeyore.”
“I’m not being Eeyore about this, Merrick. We live on opposite sides of the country. I don’t think I could make a long-distance thing work.”
He smiled, then washed his hands and face, totally ignoring my comment.
“Fuck you, Merrick,” I snapped and stomped back into his bedroom.
His arm snaked around me and his face burrowed into my neck. “Baby.”
“No. You don’t get to minimize this.”
“I’m not.”
“Yes, you are,” I argued. “We have a real hurdle here. Not something small or insignificant.”
“I know, honey. We’ll figure it out.”
I turned in his arms and frowned up at him. “How?”
“I don’t know yet, but are you willing to figure it out with me?”
I shrugged, tracing my finger over his collarbone.
“Is that a yes or a no?”
I shrugged again.
“Remington, are you being difficult?”
“I don’t know, Tweety, am I?”
His lips twitched, and I forced myself not to smile. “Fuck me, you’re gorgeous.”
“Even when I’m being difficult?”
“Especially when you’re being difficult,” he whispered, and kissed me.
Before things could get interesting, his phone buzzed on the nightstand, and he answered it without looking at the screen, then scowled. “Hey.” He glanced at me. “Yeah, sissy. Yep.” He handed the phone to me. “My sister wants a word.”
I bit my lip. “Should I be scared?” I whispered.
“Probably.”
I took his phone and said, “Hey, Grace.”
“Are you fucking kidding me? ‘Hey, Grace.’ Is that all you have to say?”
“Well—”
“You disappeared. Not cool. In fact, it was a total twat thing to do.”
“Well—”
“I’m not finished.”
I bit my lip again and stared at Merrick in desperation. He just shook his head and shrugged.
“We are friends, are we not?”
“Of course we are,” I said.
“Okay, well, my friends don’t disappear without saying goodbye.”
“I’m sorry, Grace.”
“I don’t accept,” she snapped. “Not yet, anyway.”
“Ah...”
“You don’t get to do that again, Remington. I need you to hear me on that. I will put up with a lot of shit, but if we’re friends, you don’t get to just fuck off and worry me. It’s not cool, Rem.”
No, I couldn’t imagine it would be with everything she’d gone through.
“I know, honey. I really am sorry. From the bottom of my heart.”
“I don’t want you to apologize, Remi, I want you to never do it again.”
“I promise, I’ll never do it again.”
“Prove it.”
“I will, Grace.”
“Okay. You can give the phone back to my brother.”
I handed the phone back to Merrick, then stepped into the bathroom. I’d fucked up with Grace, and I didn’t realize
how much until Merrick had filled me in on her trauma. I was a bitch. Now, I just had to figure out how to make it up to her.
“You okay?”
I continued to stare at the sink as I shook my head. “I fucked up, Tweety.”
“You didn’t fuck up. Erred slightly, but Grace’ll forgive you. She probably already has.”
I washed my hands, still focusing on the sink, but as I rinsed, the faucet was turned off and I was turned toward Merrick. “You’re safe, honey.”
“I know.”
“Do you?”
I nodded. “Yes.”
“Emotionally.”
I dropped my eyes. “Oh.”
“Oh,” he mimicked, lifting my chin and meeting my eyes again. “You’re safe in that regard too.”
“I’m starting to get that, Tweety.”
“Yeah?”
“Yes. I’m just not used to it.”
“I get it.”
“What happened in the meeting?” I asked.
He sighed.
“You don’t have to tell me everything, Merrick. But I am the one being threatened, so I feel I have the right to know something.”
“Do you know Seth Backstrom?”
“He’s Thomas’s cousin. I met him a couple of times, why?”
“He’s the one who issued the threats.”
I gasped. “Why?”
“Pretty sure he’s deep in Thomas’s pockets. Or he was when he was alive.”
I nodded. “That makes sense, and they were really close, but he was nice. I can’t imagine him making threats, let alone murdering anyone.”
“Well, he did, baby, so don’t minimize this.”
“I’m not,” I said, and frowned up at him. “What aren’t you telling me?”
“Something I have no intention of telling you.”
“Because you don’t trust me?”
He ran a finger down my cheek. “Because I’m not putting the visual in your head.”
“It’s bad?” I asked.
“It’s worse than bad, Rem,” he said. “We’ve got people watching Michelle.”
“Jebus, that is bad.”
“Yeah.”
“Kennedy’s going to freak.”
“She’s covered.”
I shook my head. “No. She dated Seth.”
“Fuck me.”
“Later,” I retorted. “Focus on this right now.”
His lips twitched, and he kissed me gently. “I need to let Doc know about Kennedy. He’ll want to talk to her.”
Road to Freedom Page 10