Edge Of Retaliation : Books 1-3

by Bella Jewel

  He pulls back, breaking the kiss and rasping, “I can’t. Fuck. I can’t, Callie. I’m not a cheater.”

  His words feel like a slap to the face, a sting that goes deep, burning me right to my core. “Oh,” I say, climbing off his lap.

  Of course he’s not the kind of man to sleep with another woman in a relationship, I wouldn’t want him to be. I respect that he’s a good type, but it doesn’t take the sting out of his words. It doesn’t make me feel any less stupid right about now. I drop my head, even though he can’t see it, and we sit in silence for a moment.

  “She’s a good person,” he says. “She’s good for me. You’re ...”

  “I’m not,” I whisper. “I know.”

  “Fuck, didn’t think you’d make this so damned hard on me, but fuck, you are.”

  “I’m sorry, that wasn’t my intention.”

  “We should go.”

  I hear him stand, and I get up, too. I exhale and follow behind him back up to the truck.

  When is anything going to go right?

  Anything at all?

  19

  JOANNE

  “You’re bringin’ a club into the mix?” Ethan asks, glaring at Alarick.

  We’re all standing in the shop after Alarick ordered me to call them all in because the situation was getting out of control. His words, not mine. So, I told Tatum and he brought everyone in. The only problem is that Ethan and Tanner aren’t overly fond of the idea. They think bringing the club in is going to cause more harm than good.

  “Yeah,” Tatum says, “because they know what they’re fuckin’ doin’ and clearly we don’t. If we did, we wouldn’t be in this mess to begin with.”

  He makes a valid point.

  If we had done more research, we never would have put ourselves in such a stupid situation. We would have realized that if our plan went wrong, which it absolutely did, then we would end up in more danger than we first started out with.

  Tanner looks to Ethan when Tatum says this, and I can see in his face that he agrees. It’s hard not to. I mean, it’s the truth.

  “We deal with this kind of thing all the time,” Alarick says, crossing his arms. “We will deal with it for you now, because these fuckers are gettin’ too close for comfort and I don’t like this shit happening in my town.”

  Tanner studies him, and then nods. “I just want it to be fuckin’ over. So whatever works.”

  Ethan exhales and shakes his head. “This is a bad fuckin’ idea. We’re goin’ to cause more problems if it goes wrong.”

  “You don’t think we’ve got what it takes, boy?” Alarick says, his eyes steely. “We’ve dealt with far fuckin’ worse, more often than I can count. You let us deal with this, and you’ll walk away clean. You don’t let us deal with this, you might not walk away at all. Your choice.”

  Ethan’s jaw ticks, but he doesn’t argue any further.

  Alarick looks back to Tatum and says, “Give me all the information you’ve gathered, including your brother’s name. I’ll get the club members to start askin’ questions, find out who is new In town and where they are. When we find them, we’ll go from there.”

  “You think my brother is dead?” Tatum asks, and my heart aches for him. Poor Chase has been with these guys for about a week now, and god only knows what they’re doing to him. Death would probably be kinder than if they’re torturing him. I do feel for him, because he seems to keep getting the raw end of the deal.

  Alarick’s face grows stony and he tells the truth, because that seems to be his strongest asset, telling the truth even if it’s brutal. I’ve figured that out the hard way when he’s assessed some of my work. “Chances are, if he’s alive, he’s in a bad fuckin’ way. If they’re cuttin’ fingers off, they’re not messin’ around. They might keep him alive, to lure you in. You’ll probably get another message soon, if I were to guess.”

  Tatum nods, but I can see the pain in his eyes. He knows his brother has done wrong, but it’s still his brother and he doesn’t want to see anything bad happen to him. Of course he doesn’t. It’s family.

  “The good news is, the men he’s using are clearly not his own because they’re fuckin’ sloppy. Tryin’ to snatch the girls in random, open places, and running when someone arrives says he’s just taking what he can get. That could work in our favor. Because he’s not local, he’s not runnin’ his show as tightly as he should be.”

  Tanner nods, and says, “That’s good for us, if we can find out where he’s hiding out.”

  “Yeah,” Alarick says, “should make it easier to get in. Let me get back onto my boys, see what I can come up with. Sit tight, and watch those girls, because he wants them, and he’ll do whatever he can to get hold of them. He wants to make you both suffer.”

  “Why would they suffer if he takes the girls?” Madeline says, narrowing her eyes. “It doesn’t make sense.”

  Nobody says anything, but good old Alarick, being the truth teller that he is, says, “Because they’re in love with those girls, and that man knows it. Later.”

  He turns and walks out, leaving Madeline with wide eyes, Tanner with a tight jaw, and Tatum glancing at me like a huge secret has just been revealed. Is it true? Does he still care about me? I know Tanner still cares for Callie, even if he hasn’t told her yet.

  Just as he leaves, Callie walks in and stares at us all, having missed the entire conversation. “Why do you all look like he just told you that the world is about to end?” she asks, staring at Tanner.

  Madeline looks at Callie, really looks at her, then in a huff, turns and storms down the hall. Tanner, exhaling, turns and follows her. Callie watches them go, and a flash of pain spreads across her face. I know something happened between her and Tanner last night, but she’s not talking much about it.

  “What’s going on?” she asks me.

  I walk into the kitchen and grab out a bottle of vodka and a few glasses, filling them and handing her one. “Let’s get drunk and I’ll tell you.”

  She laughs. “Sounds good to me.”

  “Boys?” I ask, holding out a glass to the two men staring at us, Tatum’s face looking like he’s not dealing with the idea of Chase not doing well in there, so I know he could use a drink, or ten.

  “Yep,” he says, stepping forward and taking the bottle out of my hand instead of the glass. He tips his head back and swallows it down, gulp after gulp, his eyes squinting from the burn.

  Only then does he hand it back to me to fill the rest of the glasses. I stare at the bottle, quarter empty now. “I guess we’ll be needing another one of these,” I say.

  Callie grabs her keys. “I’ll go get more alcohol and snacks. Looks like we’re going to need it.”

  “I’ll come with you, you can’t go alone,” Ethan says, following her out.

  Tanner and I are left alone, and I can hear Tanner and Madeline squabbling in the room, even though the door is shut. I take the bottle to Tatum and hand it to him, then I walk out onto the large patio and take a seat. A moment later he joins me.

  “We’ll get Chase out of there,” I say to him after a few moments. “Alarick is the best, I know it.”

  He nods but doesn’t say anything. He’s hurting, he’s confused, and he’s angry.

  “I should have never let him hide all those years ago. Can’t fuckin’ live down that guilt. He was wrong, and I should have made him face it.”

  “Why didn’t you make him face it?” I ask, taking the vodka when he hands it to me and taking a long sip. Loving the way it burns as it goes down.

  “Because he was young, and he was so fuckin’ broken about it. He was scared. He wasn’t a bad person, I knew that, fuck, I grew up with him. I knew what he was and what he wasn’t. He made a mistake. I was tryin’ to help him.”

  I get that.

  “I’m sorry you had to go through all of that. I don’t think what you did was wrong. I just think you made a choice that wasn’t the smartest, but you did it for family and that’s really something. Not man
y people can stand back and say they’ve done things like that for their families.”

  He looks over to me, his eyes scanning over my face. “What would you have done?”

  I think about that, really ponder it. I don’t honestly know what I would have done. I think about loving someone that much and being that close to them. My mind goes to Callie, and honestly, I’d probably have done the same for her. In fact, I would have done the same. Because she’s my family.

  “I would have done the same,” I tell him, and it’s the truth.

  He looks away, and the muscle in his jaw jumps. “I need to talk about something else. I feel like I’m goin’ to combust. If I think about Chase any longer, I’m goin’ to do somethin’ stupid. Knowing he’s in there, and I can’t do fuck-all about it, is eating me up. Tell me something, talk to me about something, anything to get my mind off this.”

  “Okay,” I say softly. “What do you want me to talk about?”

  He shrugs. “Do you hear from Patrick anymore?”

  I snort. “Gosh no. As soon as I signed that document and we got divorced, that was it. I still see him in the media here and there, or on Facebook if I’m looking, but mostly I don’t see anything about him and I’m totally okay with that.”

  “I saw him once, and he tried to pull me up, but I told him unless he wanted me to smash his pretty fuckin’ face, then he’d want to get out of my way. He moved. That was the end of it.”

  I giggle, the vodka already hitting my head. “I can only imagine how that would have looked.”

  “He’s not a strong man, not by a long shot.”

  “No, you’re right. He isn’t. He didn’t protect me at times he should have.”

  “You’re right about that,” he murmurs. “You were too good for that piece of shit.”

  I giggle again. “Well thanks.”

  Tatum looks to me, his eyes dropping to my lips. He’s well on the way to being drunk, I can see it in his face. “I missed that.”

  “What?” I whisper, heart racing.

  “That sound. Your laugh. I fuckin’ missed it.”

  Oh god.

  My heart aches.

  It feels like it’s just going to launch right on out of my chest.

  I wish I could tell him just how much I missed him, too, but there are no words to describe it. Nothing to explain the longing in my heart.

  “I missed yours, too,” I tell him.

  He looks back out over the patio.

  I take another sip of vodka.

  I feel like it’s going to be a long, interesting night.

  I’M DRUNK.

  My back is pressed against the wall on the patio outside, and I’m staring up at the stars, the wind blowing softly on my face. It feels nice, standing here, for one moment forgetting about the world. The laughter trailing out from inside tells me everyone is finally getting along, finally relaxing.

  Alcohol has a way of doing that to people, bringing the walls down and letting them feel the truth.

  I feel like we’re all in need of a good truth serum right about now. We need to bring it all out into the open, we need to just get it over and done with and move on from it. It’s the only way we’ll ever forgive each other and move forward.

  “Hiding?”

  I turn my head to the left and see Tatum standing at the open doorway, looking over at me. I’m on a part of the wall that you can’t see from inside, so I don’t know how he knew I was here.

  “Yeah,” I laugh softly. “Maybe.”

  He places his glass down, his eyes on mine, and walks over, catching me off guard. He stands in front of me, places his hands on the wall either side of my head and leans in closer, “You’re not makin’ this easy for me.”

  “Huh?” I ask, confused.

  “You, walkin’ around, looking so fuckin’ perfect, makin’ me wonder just how good you feel, rememberin’ how good you taste, and twisting my fuckin’ mind. I want to hate you sometimes, it would be so much easier, but ...”

  “But what?” I whisper holding his eyes.

  “But I fuckin’ don’t. I don’t hate you. So far from it. I miss you, like fuckin’ crazy.”

  Oh god.

  Oh, my sweet lord.

  “Tatum,” I say, my voice soft, but he cuts me off by stepping closer, bringing his lips close to mine.

  “Tell me I can taste you, Jo. Tell me I don’t have to wait a second longer.”

  “But ...” I whimper when his lips graze my neck. “They’re just inside.”

  He lowers down, getting to his knees and taking the hem of my dress, sliding it up, “Then you’ll have to make sure you don’t scream.”

  Oh god.

  Oh lord.

  This is happening.

  He pulls my panties to the side and then his mouth is in my pussy, tongue sliding up through the already damp depths. I grit my teeth to stop from crying out as he gets to work, and boy does he get to work. His mouth devours me, his hands grip my thighs, my fingers tangle in his hair, and the most incredible pleasure builds slowly in my body.

  I can hear the laughter still going on inside.

  I don’t care.

  I don’t care if they all walk out right now and see Tatum. I don’t care if they hear my whimpers of pleasure. I don’t care. Oh, god, I don’t care.

  I arch my back as his tongue action gets stronger, deeper, until I can’t take a single second more. I clench onto his hair as the best orgasm I’ve had in years washes over my body, making my knees weak and my legs tremble. Tatum holds onto me, licking until every last shudder is ripped from my body.

  Only then do I beg, “Fuck me. Please.”

  He stands up, panting with lust, and his fingers move to his jeans, unbuttoning them. He frees his cock and I stare down at it, under the moonlight it looks ... eerily perfect. He strokes it a few times, running his hands up and down the thick length and then he steps forward, lifting me so my legs wrap around his hips. He reaches between us, pulls my panties to the side and then his cock is in me.

  So fucking deep in me.

  The stretch and burn makes me moan with utter pleasure as I adjust to his thick length. He growls in my ear, and then slowly begins fucking me, dragging his dick in and out, making me hang on even tighter. I press my mouth to the warm skin on his neck and I kiss it, smothering my moans as his thrusts become even more frantic.

  We don’t have long.

  Seconds, even.

  If someone comes out now, we’re done for.

  That’s something they’ll never unsee.

  Yet I don’t want it to stop.

  The thrill of knowing that we could be caught at any second makes everything feel so much better. The erotic sensations rolling through my body right now are out of this world. My pussy clenches around his cock as his thrusts become frantic, and when I cum, I do it with my teeth biting into the flesh of his shoulder.

  With a feral hiss, he follows behind a minute or two later, his whole body winding up tight, and then releasing as his cock pulses inside of me. We’re both panting, both clinging to each other, and I would have to say, that was worth the wait.

  The years of wondering how it would feel.

  All the fantasies.

  It was worth every fucking second.

  Fucking Tatum will go down as the best night of my life.

  No doubt about it.

  I’m in heaven.

  20

  CALLIE

  Madeline isn’t happy.

  It’s written all over her face.

  She’s staring at Tanner and me, with this look that says she’s about to combust. I can’t say I blame her. I mean, I’d be pretty uncomfortable if someone just told me my boyfriend was in love with the girl we’re staying with. That’s not a nice feeling for anyone, and I’m not cold enough to think she shouldn’t have feelings about it.

  Still, she’s glaring at me like she wants to gouge my eyes out, and that’s starting to get on my nerves. I haven’t done anything to her, not really. T
hey came to my apartment, insisted on staying, if she’s angry at anyone, it should be Tanner for putting her in this position. Not me.

  She’s made a few moves toward him, as if over-compensating to make me realize they’re together, as if I didn’t know that already, insert eye roll here. She climbed on his lap and made out with him and has been practically hanging off him for the last hour, which, by the looks of things, isn’t going down well with him.

  He snapped at her to fucking stop, and now she’s sitting on the sofa, acting like she’s going to claw my eyes out if I even swing them in his general direction.

  Still, I’m having a great night, so she can glare away.

  We’ve laughed, all of us. We actually sat back, drank, and laughed. We told stories, we spoke of memories, and we chuckled until our bellies hurt. That has to be the nicest feeling I’ve felt in such a long time. It feels like we’re all meant to be here, like maybe this is how we’re going to find our freedom.

  Maybe we’ll all get past this and just fix the issues and go back to being happy.

  Also, I’m drunk, so that’s probably not the case and I’m just fantasizing about the impossible.

  Whatever, it sounds nice.

  Tatum and Jo walk in from outside, and one look at her flushed cheeks and I know damn well what she just did out there. My mouth drops open as she meets my eyes and gives me a look that tells me if I call her out, she’s probably going to punch me in the face, and yet I can’t wipe the grin. I wiggle my brows at her, and she shakes her head with a laugh and goes into the kitchen to get another drink.

  I stand and rush in after her.

  No way she’s getting away with not tell me all about this.

  The moment I’m in there, I whisper-hiss, “Did you just fuck Tatum, you animal?”

  She laughs and puts a finger to her lips, “Shhh.”

  “Oh my god, you did, on my patio!!”

  She comes closer, and leans in, “I was just standing out there, and he came out and told me how much he’s missed me and then his mouth was on my ...”