by Cameron Hart
Keeping Kennedy
A Chaos MC Novel (Book 4)
By Cameron Hart
Chapter 1
Kennedy
I take one last deep breath before stepping out of my 1996 Pontiac Sunbird. My nervous hands busy themselves smoothing out the wrinkles in my slacks and shirt. I know I don’t have to wear my full uniform when working cases like this, but I figure since I’ll be spending a lot of time with a bunch of outlaw bikers, I might as well start off strong. Show them I don’t mess around. Show them I’m serious about helping them take down the Devil’s Knights and their various illegal prostitution ventures.
Or, at least that’s the message I’m hoping to send with the uniform, complete with my badge and my gun on display.
I make my way up to the front door of the Chaos clubhouse and step inside.
Something feels different in here. The air is thick. My skin ripples with goosebumps. My heart flutters, though not from nerves. What the hell is happening to me? I shake it off and make my way towards the group of large men in the corner of the bar, assuming one of them is the guy I’ll be working with.
Twelve pairs of eyes stare me down.
I should feel intimidated. Every single one of these guys tower over me. However, I like the challenge, the chance to prove myself. I won’t be overlooked. I won’t be pushed over. I won’t back down. I won’t show fear.
Keeping my head high, I steel my gaze and walk right up to them.
“I’m Kennedy,” I say confidently. “I’m here to take down the motherfucking Devil’s Knights.”
This earns me some grins and a few chuckles from the guys. One of the guys slaps another one on the back, causing him to cough. I snap my head over in that direction and see six feet, two inches of pure, muscled, trouble.
I know right away that he’s the reason my skin is on fire and I can’t seem to take a full breath. I fucking felt him when I walked into the clubhouse.
The Greek god of a man stares at me with intense light blue eyes. He holds out his hand, which strikes me as odd. This doesn’t seem like the kind of place for formal handshakes and introductions. I look from his large hand back to his captivating face. His eyes are too much for me. They make me feel naked and vulnerable. So I look back at his hand and grasp it in mine.
What was supposed to be a normal handshake, turns into the large man pulling me into his chest. I crane my neck to stare up at him in shock. He gives me a stupidly sexy smirk, one that I’m ashamed to admit makes my clit throb and my panties wet. I don’t understand my body’s reaction to this man.
Shoving those thoughts aside, I realize I need to get control of this situation. I can’t let these guys think I’ll let them push me around. So, I revert back to my old-school tactics of defending myself.
I slap the fuck out of his gorgeous face.
“Keep it in your pants, asshole,” I spit out at him before backing away.
This earns me more laughter from the guys, but the Adonis in front of me just grins. I’m really trying not to let that get to me, but goddamnit, he’s so infuriating. I feel my jaw tense and lock in place as I glare up at him.
“Let’s get started, shall we?” A calming yet authoritative voice cuts through the tension. My eyes snap away from the asshole in front of me and land on River, the club president. Yeah, I did my research on these guys. I know they look clean-ish right now, but I’m not an idiot. They definitely have a less than legal side business going on. But that’s not the point of this meeting.
The guys and I shuffle into one of the side rooms. Once inside, everyone seems to have an assigned seat. I glance around, feeling more out of place than ever. Which is saying something.
I feel a warmth behind me and the hair at the back of my neck stands on end.
“Looks like you’ll be sitting next to me, sweetheart.” The low whisper rumbles throughout my body, scratching my insides in the most delightful and confusing way. I don’t have to turn around to know who the voice belongs to.
“My name is Kennedy, not sweetheart,” I snap, turning my head to glare at him.
He just shrugs and steps around me, sitting down in one of two empty seats. I roll my eyes and sit down next to him, not sparing him another glance.
River gives some general introductory speech, nodding to a few of the guys and then introducing me a bit.
“Thank you, again, for working with us, Kennedy. I think you’ll find that we have the same goal in mind; to end the Devil’s Knights once and for all.”
I give him a curt nod.
“You’ll be working with Slash, our tech guy. He’s been running surveillance on the Devil’s Knights for a while now.”
“Which one of you is Slash?” I ask, looking around the room.
River tries unsuccessfully to hold back a smile.
All eyes turn towards the jackass sitting next to me. He’s wearing that same smug grin that I apparently need to slap off of his face again. Or maybe I need to kiss it off of his face.
Damnit.
“Perfect,” I scoff under my breath, though apparently not quietly enough.
“Yeah, I think so too,” Slash says, quirking an eyebrow up in a way that makes me hate him and melt for him at the same time.
I glare at Slash and make a point to scoot my chair away from him and cross my arms over my chest. Mature, I know.
He just chuckles at me. I bite my tongue before I yell at him or say something that will totally ruin the tentative truce between the club and local law enforcement. I pride myself on my professionalism and keeping my cool even in the midst of crisis. That’s what got me so far in my career at such a young age.
We sit side by side for the remainder of the meeting. I stare straight ahead at River, though I catch Slash stealing glances at me from the corner of my eye. When we’re dismissed, I brace myself for what’s next.
As much as I want to high tail it out of the clubhouse, I do actually need to do my job. Which means talking with Slash. And trying to ignore his mischievous blue eyes. And not thinking about his messy blonde hair that needs to be brushed out of his face.
“I know I’m gorgeous, but you’re making me self-conscience here, sweetheart.”
I blink my eyes and feel a rush of heat in my face. Since when do I blush? And since when do I openly ogle men? Shit. I’ve just been staring at him. What the hell is wrong with me?
“It’s Kennedy. Not sweetheart.”
“Oh, baby girl, you’re killing me here. We’re partners, yeah? So we should have codenames, right?”
“Listen here, Slash. I’m not your partner. I’m not your sweetheart. And I’m not your baby. In fact, I’m nothing to you. Just like you’re nothing to me.”
“You wound me!” He says in a dramatic fashion, clasping his hands over his heart as if I struck him.
“Can you be serious for one second? This is a huge case; does it mean anything to you at all?”
To my surprise, Slash sobers up real quick.
“Yeah. It means a fuck of a lot to me, Kennedy.” His eyes are hard, his face completely drained of humor.
After a few years on the force, I’ve learned a thing or two about reading people. Looking at Slash now, I don’t doubt his sincerity. Everything about him in this moment conveys a seriousness, a dedication, a sadness. From the way his muscles tense in his legs to the way his fingers flex and then ball up into fists at his sides.
But that side of him is schooled over in an instant, replaced by the cocky bastard mask I have a feeling he wears most of the time.
“But just because this is important, doesn’t mean we can’t have fun too. Right, partner?” He
wags his eyebrows and then winks at me, earning him an exasperated sigh.
“I came here to plan a takedown, not babysit an immature twelve-year-old.”
“Twelve? I’d peg me for eighteen, at least. Good thing for you, sweetheart. I’m totally legal, so you can do whatever you want with me.”
I’m about to give him a piece of my mind when River walks up and slaps Slash upside the head. I barely contain the giggle that rises up in my throat.
“Get it the fuck together, Slash. She’s not here to jump in bed with you, she’s here to do a job. Just like you are. Focus.”
Slash has the decency to look put in his place. At least until River walks out of the room. Once he’s in the clear, Slash grins at me again.
I hate him.
Well, no. That’s not true. I hate how much I don’t hate him.
He’s not my type. At all. Sure, he’s goofy and charming and yeah, sculpted and sexy as fuck, but he knows it. I bet he has had a different girl in his bed every night this week. And I also bet he doesn’t remember any of their names. Plus, there’s the fact that he’s a criminal. He’s completely wrong for me.
My mind is made up about Slash. My body, on the other hand, is a treacherous thing. I can feel my nipples rubbing against the inside of my bra. I’m glad my uniform is thick, otherwise Slash would know exactly how much I’m attracted to him. And let’s not even talk about the current state of my panties. God, what a mess. Both me and my panties. Fuck.
“Why don’t you just show me what you have?” I ask, hoping to get things on the right track.
“I’ll show you mine if you show me yours.”
“Seriously? I mean show me what you have on the Devil’s Knights, you asshole.”
He chuckles. “Fine, fine. But that’s a standing offer, sweetheart. We can play show and tell any time.”
“Fuck you,” I grumble.
“Hmm, yeah, that’s kind of the idea, baby girl,” he practically purrs.
I pick up one of the empty beer cans scattered around the meeting room and throw it right at Slash. He ducks out of the way and laughs. I hate that stupid laugh. But my body doesn’t. My body lights up like a damn Christmas tree.
“I think I’ve been assaulted by an officer of the law twice now. Can I talk to your supervisor?”
I growl at him and give him my best “I’m about to rip your fucking balls off” look.
Slash just grins. “Kidding, kidding. I surrender,” he laughs again, holding his palms out in front of him. “Jeez, let’s get to work, Kennedy. We don’t have all day to goof around.”
“Oh my god,” I groan. “You are going to be the death of me.”
“Well we can’t have that, now can we?”
With that, Slash actually gets down to business. He grabs a laptop and scrolls through some footage of the Devil’s Knights.
“I’m sure you know about the cult that was busted up here a few months ago,” Slash starts.
“Yeah, The Guardians.”
“That’s the one. The leaders in the inner circle were working with the Devil’s Knights to set up a prostitution ring before the cult was taken down. The Devil’s Knights looked elsewhere for connections and teamed up with a fucking low-life piece of trash to seal the deal.”
I nod, taken aback by the venom in his tone as he talks about the guy they worked with after The Guardians fell through.
“Spider, right?” I ask.
Slash’s face goes red with anger. “Yes,” he bites out.
He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. I can feel the tension ebbing away as the air drains from his lungs.
“That motherfucker got what was coming to him. A bullet in the back of his head. I hacked into the cameras around his motel room and watched him die on this very screen.”
There’s obviously a story there, but that’s not what I’m here for. I wait for him to continue.
“Anyway. Once that piece of shit was taken care of, we noticed some of the women we rescued from the compound of the cult were going missing.”
“You guys were in on the raid?” I ask in surprise. None of that came up in my preliminary research on the club.
“Oh. Yeah. Not sure if that was classified information. We helped the ATF take out The Guardians. Then we put the women up in apartments while they waited to testify. That’s how we found out a lot of the women who left the apartments after they were done ended up missing.”
“I see.” I try remaining neutral, but honestly, it’s pretty heroic of them to take down a cult, and then put the victims up in housing. Slash doesn’t need to know I think that, though.
“Turns out one of the women we had in housing somehow made contact with the Devil’s Knights and decided to start trafficking the women once they were done testifying.”
“Victoria,” I pipe in.
“Yeah. Victoria. We still have no idea where she is. She ran off two weeks ago, and now we have nothing.”
“Well, I wouldn’t say nothing. I’m here, after all.” The words come out of my mouth before I can stop them. What the hell am I doing? Is this flirting? Am I flirting with the sexy bastard sitting next to me?
“Kennedy. Please. No flirting in the work place. That’s highly unprofessional of you,” he scolds.
“I wasn’t… I mean, I didn’t mean…” I know he’s kidding, but this guy has me all flustered. “Whatever,” I huff.
Slash barks out a laugh and I throw another empty beer can at him. This time, I hit my target. Unfortunately, it only makes him laugh harder.
“Is that all you have for me?” I ask, hoping to make a quick exit.
“You want more?” He grins.
I don’t even respond, I just stand up and head out of the room.
“So I’ll see you tomorrow then, sweetheart?” He yells as I leave the room.
I answer him by throwing my middle finger up over my head, making Slash laugh again.
Jesus. I spent two hours with the man and he already pulled me down to his level of immaturity. What the hell is it about Slash?
Chapter 2
Slash
Kennedy flips me the bird as she sashays her perky little ass right out of the door. I’d follow her out, but my cock is painfully hard right now. Has been since she slapped me. The little spitfire. God, that was hot. She’s hot. Everything about her.
As soon as I laid eyes on the tiny, curvy Latina woman striding towards us, I felt the air around me change. Swear to fucking god, the sight of her short-circuited my brain.
All of me was consumed by all of her. Those dark brown eyes, her soft pink lips, the slight curve at the end of her little nose. That dark hair twisted high up on top of her head, begging me to free it and bury my nose in the soft strands. I bet her skin tastes like caramel. Even in her cop uniform I could tell she has a nice set of tits and a delicious ass. Goddamn.
I can’t believe earlier today I was bitching about having to work with an alpha male douchebag of a cop. Kennedy is certainly not what I expected. And boy does she hate me. I smirk at all the little huffs and eye rolls she gave me this afternoon. I can tell she takes her job seriously, and that she’s maybe a bit anal. Well, fuck. Now I’m thinking about other ways she might be anal…
Anyway. I know I shouldn’t have been such a little shit to her, but I can’t help it. I’m the comic relief. The one to break the tension. I’m always down for a drink and a good time. So joking around with Kennedy was easy as breathing, and just as natural. But when I realized it pushed all of her buttons… well, game on.
It’s been a while since I’ve been with a woman who doesn’t fall at my feet when I give them my signature smile. And I have never been slapped when turning the charm on. Though now that I think about it, that probably says a lot about the women I normally hang out with.
And Kennedy is certainly not like anyone else I’ve ever been with. Yeah, yeah, I know I shouldn’t even be thinking about her that way, but, seriously, who could blame me?
“Goddamnit, Slash
, if you scared Kennedy off already, I’m going to—”
“Chill, River. We went over what we needed to go over and we have a date for tomorrow.”
“Boy, don’t you mess with me,” River warns.
“Kidding, kidding. I just mean we’re meeting again tomorrow. I think.”
“You think? Was it unclear?”
“Well… I mean, I asked if I’d see her tomorrow and she flipped me off.”
River chuckles. “I’ll admit, I wasn’t sure what the hell the SFPD was thinking sending her to us, for her sake, not ours. But watching her slap you put all of my worries about her handling us to rest.”
“Thanks?”
“It wasn’t a compliment. For you, anyway. Just don’t… Don’t run her off, ok? We need this. It’s bigger than you. Start thinking with the head on your shoulders instead of the one in your pants.”
“I am,” I grumble.
River sighs. “I actually believe you. That is what has me worried.”
“What?”
“Nothing. Never mind. Just be on your best behavior, Slash. I’m serious.”
“Sir, yes, sir!” I give him a mock salute.
“Wonderful. Glad to know you’re taking our conversation to heart.” He rolls his eyes and turns to walk out of the room.
“River, wait.” He pauses and looks at me over his shoulder. “You know what this case means to me. You know I want these fuckers to burn as much if not more than anyone.”
“Good,” he grunts. “Then prove it.”
With that, he walks out and slams the door shut.
✽✽✽
An hour later, I’m drinking beers with other guys from the club. Jax and Claire are here, as well as Carter and Liv, and Dom and Beth. And then there’s me. Sure, we have plenty of single guys in Chaos. We just used to have a lot more. My closest friends have all found their match and I’m happy for them. Really. I am.
I’m not envious though. Not by a long shot. Claire, Liv, and Beth are great, don’t get me wrong. I just can’t imagine being with the same person for the rest of my life. It’s not even about having sex with the same person every day, though I do have concerns in that department as well, it’s more about the actual person. I can’t think of anyone I could live with full time, let alone living with them voluntarily.