by A. M. Myers
“Well, this is an interesting development,” I murmur as I watch them kiss like they’re going to die if they don’t and I can’t help but chuckle as I shake my head.
You know, sometimes, these fuckers make this shit way too easy on me.
For months, I’ve been trying to come up with something I can use against Streak to amplify his suffering and coming up with a whole lot of nothing but now he has just dropped the perfect thing right into my hands. The one thing Streak cares about more than anything in the world is this club and his brothers so I can only imagine that he wants to keep this little fling a secret. Grinning to myself, I pull my phone out and snap a few pictures of them in the thralls of passion and wonder how Kodiak would feel about his brother fucking his baby sister.
Would it be enough to make him cut ties?
Would it be enough to make him kill Streak?
That would be perfect, actually. Nothing would tear this club apart like one member killing another. I wouldn’t even have to do anything. As I watch them, my mind begins to wander about how I could get these photos to Kodiak and another idea hits me out of nowhere, pulling a startled laugh from my lips. It’s so fucking devious, so perfect that I can’t believe I didn’t think of it before and the best part is that while I might be pulling a few strings, I know enough about Streak to know that he will do exactly what I need him to do for this plan to work. He will play right into my hand without even knowing it.
My phone buzzes in my pocket and chuckling to myself, I slip back through the fence before answering it. “Hello?”
“This is a collect call from an inmate at the Allan B. Polunsky Unit in Livingston, Texas. Do you wish to accept the charges?” the automated voice on the other end of the line asks as I walk through the trees back toward my car.
“Yes.”
“Please hold,” the voice replies before silence greets me. After a few seconds, I hear a click and the sound of someone breathing.
“Warren?”
I smile. “How are you, Samson? How is prison treating you?”
“Oh, just great,” he scoffs with a humorless laugh. “I was just calling to see how things were going out your way.”
“Good… really good.”
He sighs. “What the hell does that mean?”
“It means that things are moving along perfectly,” I tell him, thinking back to the plan that just struck me. I’m not the only person Streak has messed with and Samson wants revenge on the man as much as I do. Hell, maybe even more. “Don’t you worry about a thing.”
“I want to know what’s going on,” he growls and I shake my head. I would happily keep Samson informed if he wasn’t currently sitting on death row, waiting to be executed, where they record every word of every phone call he makes. Telling him everything would bring the whole plan crashing down around us and we’d both end up behind bars.
“You know why we can’t.”
A noise of frustration greets me before he sighs. “Just promise me you’re going to get this done. I want him to suffer, Warren. I want him…”
“Okay. I think you’ve said enough, friend.”
“Right,” he mutters before sighing again and I feel for him. I can’t imagine what the hell I would do if I was behind bars, unable to get justice for everything that has been done to me. I shudder as I think about sitting in a small cell every single day with only my rage to keep me company. It’s enough to make you go insane.
“I’ll take care of it, Sam. I promise you.”
“I don’t have much time left,” he murmurs. “My last appeal was rejected by the court today and they’re talking to me about scheduling my execution. I want to see him get what he deserves before I go.”
I nod as I reach my car and slip behind the wheel. I fucking feel for the guy and wish I could do something more to make the last of his time here on this earth memorable but they’re aren’t exactly going to let me take a videotape of our revenge into a jail. “Don’t worry. We’re near the end now and you’ll get your justice.”
“Good. Make it hurt, Warren.”
I laugh as thoughts of what I have in store for these boys plays through my head like a major motion picture. “Oh, trust me, I will.”
Chapter Six
Travis
Peeling my eyes open, I blink at the bright sunlight streaming in through my bedroom window and try to stretch when I feel the warm body next to me and glance down. Rowan is curled up against me, playing little spoon as she sleeps peacefully, her lips parted and her lashes fanning out across her pink cheeks. As I watch her, my mind drifts back to last night. I was surprised as hell to find her in my room but not even the slightest bit upset since I hadn’t been able to peel my eyes away from her from the moment she walked through the door. I don’t know if it was the awful fucking week I’ve been having trying to find answers in my recording of Veronica’s interview or if it was just her but I wanted her from just a look. I have never felt anything like it, the way she stole all of my attention without doing anything and the way I felt like I had to touch her, I had to have her. There was no other option because I wanted her more than I’ve ever wanted anyone else. Hell, I still do. She lets out a groan, pulling my attention to her as she stretches, rubbing her round ass against my cock and I bite back a hiss as my dick twitches. She settles again, releasing a breath.
Fuck.
I want her again despite the fact that we had more sex last night than I’ve ever had in a twenty-four hour period. Hell, if we could lock ourselves in this room for a fucking week without Kodiak finding out and trying to murder me with his bare hands, I might just make that happen and it still might not even be enough. Wrapping my arm around her, I blow out a breath and shake my head. It’s not like I haven’t been with a lot of girls because I have but usually after round one or two, my mind is drifting to other things and the girl I’m with isn’t able to hold my attention. I don’t see that being a problem with Rowan. At all. There is something about her that I can see myself getting totally lost in and maybe that’s exactly what I need right now. But I meant what I said to her last night - there is no way in hell this is ever going any further than that. She and I are hella attracted to each other, the sexual chemistry is fucking insane, and we have earth shifting sex but I don’t do love. I won’t be the next in the long line of Devils to fall in love, get married, and start popping out babies.
“No…it’s too early,” Rowan mumbles to herself before throwing her arms over her head in a stretch and my eyes fall to her tits, appreciating the way her back arches and her ass presses into me again. I lean down and press my lips to her neck as a soft moan slips past her lips.
“Princess, if you keep doing that, you’re gonna make me hard.”
She grins and wiggles her ass against my cock without opening her eyes. “I like the sound of that.”
“So do I,” I groan, gripping her hip and kissing her neck again before biting at her earlobe. “But I don’t think you want to wake up the whole house with your screaming.”
“Fuck,” she hisses, her eyes snapping open as she throws the covers off of her legs and jumps out of bed. I watch her run around the room, grabbing her clothes and throwing them on as I laugh.
“What are you doing?”
She shoots me a glare. “I have to get back down to my room before anyone wakes up. If Lincoln realizes I spent the night up here, he’s going to lose his shit.”
“You’re a grown woman and you can sleep with whoever you want to,” I tell her and she stops in the middle of my room, arching a brow.
“Okay. You go tell him you fucked his little sister eight times last night.”
The thought makes my balls crawl back up inside my body. “Uh… better get going, then.”
“That’s what I thought,” she says with a laugh as she continues getting dressed and when she’s got everything back on, she walks across the room and leans over me, pressing her lips to mine. I’m sure it was supposed to be a quick kiss but our bodies have
other ideas and I can’t stop myself from pulling her down on top of me with a groan. She straddles my hips and rocks against my cock, moaning before she pulls away and shakes her head. “We can’t.”
“I know.”
She flashes me a devilish grin. “My brother might actually kill you if he finds out about this.”
“That’s why we’re going to keep it on the down low.”
“Do you regret it?” she asks, chewing nervously on her bottom lip. It’s so goddamn cute that I can’t help but smile as I reach up and cup her cheek.
“Not a fucking chance.”
“Good. Me either,” she whispers before leaning down and pressing another quick kiss against my lips, pulling away just enough to let her mouth brush against mine as she smiles and meets my gaze. “Can’t wait to do this again.”
Shit.
“Me either,” I agree, kissing her again but she stops it before it can go too far. God, I want to pull her back to me and spend the whole fucking day in this bed. She jumps off the bed and winks over her shoulder at me as she walks to my bedroom door. I watch her as she cracks it open and peeks into the hallway, checking that the coast is clear, before slipping out and shutting it behind her.
Sitting up in bed, I turn and lean back against the wall, sighing as I run a hand through my hair. I glance over at the bedside table littered with condom wrappers and I shake my head.
Eight times in one night?
Really?
It’s hard to believe but at this point, the entire evening is just a blur of naked skin, kissing, biting, and moaning so who fucking knows. Maybe her and I hooking up was an awful idea and I’m pretty sure that if Kodiak finds out, I’ll have to go on the run but I can’t deny that it was exactly what I needed. This weight I’ve been feeling for weeks now is a little lighter this morning and if the look in Rowan’s eyes last night was any indication, she needed it just as much as I did. Besides, like I said, she is a grown ass woman and she can do whatever she wants with her body so what the hell is wrong with the two of us using each other to deal with our shit if we both are clear that it will never go any farther? Then again, if I use the words “using” and “your sister” in the same sentence when talking to Kodiak, I’m a dead man either way.
Pushing those thoughts from my mind, I throw the covers off of my legs and climb out of bed, sweeping the wrappers into the trash before grabbing my jeans off of the floor and getting dressed. I shuffle over to my desk and sink into my chair, scrubbing my hand over my face and yawning. As I pull up Veronica’s interview, I shake my head. I’ve listened to the thing close to fifty times and at this point, I could probably recite it for anyone else but I just keep hoping that I’ll hear something new, something that will break this whole case wide open even if I know that’s stupid. Just as I’m about to push play and listen to it again, I remember her comment about the woman her abductor met in a bar and I lean back in my chair, scowling. There is only one person he could be talking about and she is also just about the last person I want to go speak to.
But we need answers.
Groaning, I grab my phone off of the desk as I stand up before heading for the door as I slip it into my pocket. Goddamn it. I would rather do just about anything than meet with this girl but I know it’s my best bet. Every other leads we’ve managed to track down has been a dead end and we need a new angle – even if that angle is someone I can’t stand. I yank the door open with more force than necessary and Moose turns to look at me with wide eyes as he stops in front of his and Juliette’s room with a cup of coffee in each hand.
“Everything okay?”
I nod. “Yeah. I just realized I need to talk to Tawny, though.”
“Shit,” he whispers with a wince and I can’t say that I blame him. If anyone knows exactly what Tawny is capable of, it’s Moose. “Take back up.”
“You volunteering?” I ask and laugh when some of the color drains from his face. He shakes his head.
“Absolutely fucking not.”
Moose and Tawny were hooking up for a while before he met his wife, Juliette, but she got it in her head that they were getting serious when they couldn’t have been further from the truth and when he ended things with her, she fucking lost it. Blaze had to kick her out of the clubhouse and the next thing we knew, the police were talking to Moose because she had filed assault charges against him. In the end, the charges were dropped due to lack of evidence and we thought that was the end of it until Tawny showed up at the clubhouse a few weeks back. She told us about the guy she met in a bar who had encouraged her to let him punch her in the face so she could press charges against Moose and mess up the club’s image. There is no way in hell this isn’t the same guy and if she’s had an up close interaction with him, I need to speak to her.
“I’m serious, Streak,” Moose says, snapping me out of my thoughts. “I won’t get anywhere near her but you need someone with you. The last thing any of us needs is her claiming some shit again.”
I nod. “I hear you. I’ll go see who’s up.”
Nodding in approval, he turns and slips back into his room as I head downstairs to see who is awake and willing to go along with me. I can’t believe I was really about to go talk to her, all alone, when I know what she’s like. If you’re going to be around Tawny, you need fucking witnesses. The bar is quiet when I walk in and I sigh, glancing back toward the stairs.
Shit.
People usually give me a hard time about sleeping until noon but lately I’ve been up before everyone else, my mind constantly working over the case as I try to find some answers, even in my sleep. Not that it’s done a damn bit of good. A door opens from down the hallway and I turn my head as Rowan steps into the room in fresh clothes, a jean miniskirt and t-shirt, with her dark hair piled into a bun on top of her head.
“Hey,” she says, flashing me a loaded smile that has me thinking about taking her back up to my room.
She’s going to be the death of me.
“Anyone else up?”
She shakes her head, her gaze dropping to the keys in my hand. “I don’t think so. You going somewhere?”
“Yeah…” I sigh, looking over at the door before turning back to her. “Actually, you want to go with me?”
“Where are we going?”
I laugh as she comes out from behind the bar and stops next to me. “Is that a yes then?”
“Obviously,” she shoots back, rolling her eyes and I shake my head as we start walking toward the clubhouse door. “You didn’t answer my question.”
“Uh… we’re going on a little mission and I need backup.”
She studies me as we step outside. The chilly early morning air wraps us up and she crosses her arms over her chest to keep herself warm. “I hate to tell you this now that you’ve chosen me to go with you but I’m not good in a fight. Like, if someone comes after you, I’m no Tate.”
“Thank God,” I answer, laughing, and she grins at me. “And it’s not like that. I need to go talk to someone and it’s best to have witnesses when around this particular person.”
“Why?”
We reach my car and I open the passenger door for her as I reach into the back seat and grab one of my hoodies before handing it to her. “It’s kind of a long story but I’ll fill you in as we drive over there.”
“Okay.” She takes the hoodie with a smile and pulls it over her head. She’s swimming in it and it covers her skirt, too, making her look like she’s not wearing anything else, but she doesn’t seem to care as she sinks into the bucket seat of my sixty-nine Impala. Once she’s in the car, I shut the door and jog around to the other side, sliding behind the wheel. The rumble of the engine makes me smile and as I pull out of my parking space, she turns to look at me. “Start talking.”
I arch a brow. “You’re a bossy little thing.”
“I seem to recall you liking it last night.”
Well, she’s got me there. Shaking my head, I ignore her comment and begin telling her the Tawny saga as
we drive through Baton Rouge to her apartment, starting with the way she worked her way through several of the guys, trying to get one of them to make her their old lady before settling on Moose and then framing him for assault. When I’m done, she falls back in her seat and releases a breath.
“Okay… well, now I see why you needed backup. Who the hell lets a stranger hit them so they can blame it on someone else?”
I shrug. “Someone not right in the head.”
“Clearly,” she agrees before turning to look at me. “You said she worked her way through several of the guys, right?”
“Yeah… why?”
She scowls. “Did you sleep with her?”
“Oh, hell no.” I fight back a shudder of disgust. “I told all of them to stay the hell away from her but do you think they listened to me?”
“Obviously not.”
I nod as we pull up in front of Tawny’s apartment. We haven’t even made it out of the car yet and I already want to leave. Sighing, I turn off the engine and climb out, waiting for Rowan on the sidewalk as she rounds the hood and when she reaches me, she slips her hand into mine. I peek over at her as we approach Tawny’s door, wondering why the hell this feels so natural but before I can delve too deeply into it, she knocks on the door. We wait for a few seconds before the door squeaks open and Tawny glances out at us through the crack.
“Why are you here?” she asks, her voice shaky and her eyes darting between Rowan and me. “I haven’t been back to the club or bothered any of you.”