Sydney Storm MC Complete Series

by Levine, Nina

  My back door opened up onto a cemented outside entertainment area that then led to a brick path that took me down the side of my house to the front. I found one of my pot plants had been knocked over, the dirt spilling onto the cement.

  Shit.

  My breathing picked up and my heart thumped in my chest.

  “Can you see anyone?” Maree whispered into the phone.

  “No, but someone’s been here because the pot plant is knocked over,” I whispered back, not really sure why the fuck I was whispering when this was my house.

  And then I heard my side gate latch, and my heart fell into my stomach.

  I wasn’t sure whether to move towards the sound or away from it, but my instincts took over and my legs began walking towards the gate. I switched my phone’s flashlight on and shone it down the side of the house, expecting to come face to face with the intruder any second.

  I saw nothing. The gate was shut and the path was clear. I hurried through the gate to the front yard, just in time to hear a squeal of tires and a car speeding off down the street. The car was so far away I couldn’t even work out the make or model.

  I switched off the flashlight and put the phone back to my ear to hear Maree screeching at me.

  “Shhh,” I said, “he’s gone, and I’m okay.”

  “Oh my god, don’t ever do that to me again, Evie! I was asking you if you were okay and you weren’t answering me! Do you have any idea how many grey hairs you just gave me?”

  “Sorry, but I needed the flashlight to see.”

  “Fuck, so there was someone there?”

  I tried to calm down from the fright and get my breathing under control. “Yes, there was definitely someone here.” I’d made it back inside and locked the door behind me, but I was leaving the outside lights on tonight. It probably wouldn’t stop someone intent on getting in, but I felt better having them on.

  “Christ, you need to call Kick and get him over to stay with you tonight.”

  “No, I don’t want to bug him. And besides, there have been a few break-ins around here lately so it was probably someone trying to get in, and now I’ve scared him off. I doubt he’ll be back. I’ll call the police in the morning,” I said, feeling too exhausted to wait for them to come out tonight. And besides, what could they do anyway? It wasn’t like the cops had the resources to position someone on our street just waiting for a burglar to come by.

  “Do you want me to come and stay?” she asked, being the wonderful friend she was.

  “No, I’m okay,” I said, “but thanks, babe.”

  “Mmmm . . . I’m not convinced I shouldn’t come over.”

  “Maree, I have security on the house. I’m locked up tight and no fucker is getting in tonight. I promise, I’m all good.”

  She was silent for a few moments and then conceded. “Okay, but you call me the minute you are worried. And I’ll be calling you in the morning to check on you.”

  We ended the call, and I crawled into bed.

  It was probably a good thing Kick wasn’t here. He’d go all crazy protective, and while I loved his bossy way in the bedroom, I didn’t need him trying to control my every movement.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Kick

  I pocketed the cash we’d just collected for King, and turned to Nitro as we headed towards our bikes. “I like it when jobs are that easy.”

  He nodded. “Yeah, makes it a lot fucking easier when they just pay up with no encouragement needed.”

  Just as we reached our bikes, my phone rang. King. “What’s up, brother?” I answered it.

  “Have you been to Hawk’s to collect yet?”

  “Nope.”

  “Good, cancel that job. I’m gonna give him an extra week to pay,” he said, stunning me. King rarely gave extensions.

  “Yeah, the motherfucker’s mother needed cash for an operation so I figure she needs it more than us.”

  “You believe him?”

  “He wasn’t the one who told me. Jen told me when I saw her yesterday before she left.”

  I was so confused, not understanding the connection between Jen and Hawk, but I figured King knew his shit. “Right, so we’re done for the day then. I’ll bring the cash back now, but do you need me after that?” I hadn’t seen Evie since yesterday afternoon and was fucking craving her.

  “No, you and Nitro can call it a day.”

  “Thanks. I’ll see you soon with this cash,” I promised before ending the call.

  Nitro raised his brows. “We done for the day?”

  I nodded. “Yeah, man.” I reached for my helmet. “Did you finish working on the engine?”

  “It’s nearly done. Thanks for your help the other day.”

  “Sure. Just call out if you need a hand again.”

  My phone buzzed with another call, and my face broke out in a grin when I saw the caller ID.

  Evie.

  Nitro chuckled. “Looks like some good pussy there, brother.”

  “Yeah, you could say that,” I said as I answered it. “What’s up, baby?” I said into the phone.

  “Someone’s broken into my house . . . can you come over? It’s okay if you can’t, but -”

  I was instantly on alert; Evie sounded panicked. “I’ll be there in about ten minutes. Are you okay until then?”

  “Yes. Thank you,” she said softly, relief clear in her voice.

  “Fuck,” I muttered as I shoved my phone in my pocket.

  “What’s up?” Nitro asked.

  “My girlfriend’s house has been broken into.”

  “You need help?”

  “Nah, should be alright,” I said, turning over the engine of my bike.

  He nodded, and I gave him a chin lift. “I’ll catch you later, man.” And then I took off for Evie’s place.

  Whoever had broken into her house would pay dearly.

  * * *

  I’d expected to find Evie still panicked, but she’d calmed down by the time I got there. I took in the mess as I walked through the house to find her in the kitchen. The place had been trashed and it looked like we had a big clean up ahead of us.

  She looked up from the table where she sat. “Thank God you’re here,” she said as she got up and came to me.

  I opened my arms and pulled her close. She gratefully stepped into my embrace and rested her head against my chest. I felt the tightness of her body, and rubbed my hand up and down her back. I held her until she lifted her head and looked up into my eyes.

  “Why did they have to wreck the place as well?” she asked, her voice cracking a little.

  “Fuck . . .” I swore, “because they’re assholes.”

  “Yeah, they are.” She let me go and walked to the sink. “I need a coffee. You want one?”

  “No, I’m gonna take a look around.” At her nod, I headed into the lounge room and surveyed the damage. It didn’t look like anything of real value had been taken. The television and stereo were still here. I walked around the entire house and then back into the kitchen. “Babe, what’s actually missing?” I asked, because I couldn’t work out what had been taken. All big ticket items seemed to be in place.

  She was on the phone, on hold, and she answered, “That’s the weird thing. I can’t work out what’s been stolen.”

  “Who are you on the phone to?”

  “The cops.”

  I reached for the phone and she let me take it. Ending the call, I said, “I don’t think anything’s missing, unless they took jewellery or something smaller like that?”

  “No, I checked that, and nothing is missing.”

  “Do you want to claim this on insurance?”

  She frowned. “I don’t know. Why?”

  “If you want to claim it you’ll have to involve the cops. If not, you can forget them and just let me and the boys find out who did it, and deal with them for you. Either way I’ll be finding out who did it, but I’d prefer not to have the cops involved.”

  She thought about it for a moment and then sa
id, “I’ll just let you handle it.”

  I gave her a quick kiss and said, “Okay, I’m gonna get started on it now. Will you be alright on your own?”

  She gave me a smile and nodded. “Yeah, Maree said she’d come over if I need her, so I’ll give her a call. She’ll help me clean up, too.”

  Thank fuck for her friend. I didn’t really want to leave her on her own.

  As I headed out, I mulled it over. My natural instinct would be to suspect Gambarro because I was a paranoid bastard, but this didn’t seem like a job he would pull.

  It seemed to me that if he were involved, Evie wouldn’t be breathing anymore.

  But it wouldn’t hurt to check in on him.

  * * *

  “Mr Gambarro is out of the country.” His security guy glared down at me, challenging me to argue with him. He was refusing me entry to Gambarro’s building and feeding me stories about Gambarro not being here.

  “You expect me to buy that?”

  “I don’t give a fuck if you do or don’t; it’s the truth. Now fuck off and leave me alone.”

  I assessed the situation and decided to confirm that information with my other contacts before pursuing this any further, but I did ask, “When will he be back?”

  The guy glared at me harder, in a ‘you’re-fucking-kidding-me’ look. “I said, fuck off.”

  I pulled out my phone and began dialling as I walked away.

  Bones answered on almost the first ring. “Kick. What’s up, my man?”

  I liked Bones, simply because he usually had solid information, and he was always willing to share it with me. He ran strip clubs and girls, and, in general, had his finger in a lot of pies. “Do you know if Gambarro is out of the country?”

  “Yeah, he left last week. Pretty sure he’ll be back this week, maybe in a couple of days.”

  “Thanks for that.”

  “Why do you ask?” Bones was a nosy motherfucker and while he had his uses, I didn’t trust him with my secrets.

  “Just checking some shit out for a friend. Their place was trashed, and they suspect him, but I don’t figure him for that kind of thing.”

  “Yeah, it doesn’t sound like something he would pull. Gambarro would be in your face; you’d know it was him without a shadow of a doubt.”

  “My thoughts exactly. Thanks, man, I’ll keep investigating and figure out who else it could be,” I said and then ended the call.

  No doubt that information would start spreading and perhaps whoever was responsible would come to light sooner rather than later.

  * * *

  I headed to the clubhouse after that and found King in the bar. The newly painted bar. He was on one of the old couches with one of the club whores. Brittany had gotten her way with the new paint but not with the new couches. There’d been no point really; new couches would only get used in the same way the old ones did.

  King dragged his attention away from the ass he’d been admiring to look at me. “You come to play, Kick?” he asked with a wicked glint in his eye.

  “No, I’ve got your money for you, plus I need to talk to you about something.”

  He slapped the whore’s ass and moved her so he could stand. “Wait here, I won’t be long,” he ordered her before leading me to the office.

  I shut the office door behind me and handed him the envelope of cash. “My girlfriend’s house was broken into today. They trashed it, but I don’t think they stole anything.”

  He punched in the code to the safe and dumped the cash in it. Turning back to me, he asked, “Are you thinking this is retaliation from Gambarro? Or Silver Hell?”

  “Fuck, I hadn’t thought of Silver Hell, but I had considered Gambarro for it. Doesn’t seem to fit his usual style, though.”

  Shaking his head, he said, “No, it doesn’t.” He sat in the chair behind the desk, a thoughtful look on his face. I waited for him to speak. “What about Silver Hell, though? Did you find out anything else about where they are at with Marco’s death?”

  “Last I heard they were chasing up a lead that Black Deeds were involved in that. They weren’t even looking in our direction so I don’t think this is their work, either. It’s too subtle.”

  He shrugged. “Maybe you and I are just too fucking paranoid for our own good, brother. Maybe this is your run-of-the-mill neighbourhood burglary and has nothing to do with us.”

  “Yeah, could be. I’ll keep looking into it.”

  King’s eyes narrowed on me. “This chick means something to you?”

  “Evie means everything to me,” I stated, aware this would trigger further questions from him.

  “As much as the club means to you?”

  “My loyalties are even.”

  He was silent for a moment, and then he blew out a long breath. “Well, fuck, I never thought I’d see the day,” he murmured.

  “Is that a problem for you?” I really fucking hoped it wouldn’t be because it might force me to admit to myself, and everyone else, that my loyalties actually weren’t even. That my loyalties were fast becoming slanted more in Evie’s direction.

  Standing, he said, “No, brother. She means something to you, then she means something to the club. We’re behind you with this. Whatever you need, you’ve got.” His eyes bore into mine and told me he meant every word he said.

  I let out the breath I didn’t realise I’d been holding. Nodding, I said, “Thanks.”

  Contemplating that conversation as I headed back to Evie’s house, I realised how deep I was in with Evie. Seventeen years of club loyalty meant more to me than anything else in my life. But not more than Evie meant to me.

  And fuck, I didn’t know what to make of that.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Evie

  Kick arrived back at my house about two hours after he’d left. Maree and I had cleaned up most of the mess the intruders had made, and we were now in the kitchen discussing the break-ins that had been occurring in the neighbourhood lately. Kick entered the kitchen and the energy shifted immediately. He stopped and stared at me, a look of pure need in his eyes. But there was something else there, something I couldn’t quite put my finger on straight away.

  Maree sensed it, too, and gave me a look that said ‘fuck, I am getting out of here so you can get laid’. She grabbed her bag and said, “I’ll call you tomorrow and make sure you’re okay.”

  “Thanks for your help, babe,” I said as she left.

  Kick didn’t take his eyes off me. As soon as the front door closed behind Maree, he came to me. His hand went straight to the button on my shorts and a moment later it was in my panties, searching for my slit. No words were exchanged; our eyes did all the talking. And Kick’s eyes were loud. And dark. If I didn’t know him as well as I did, I would be scared of his intentions.

  His finger roughly entered me, and he hissed. Pushing in deep, he began fucking me with it. My eyes rolled shut, and he growled, “Keep your eyes open, Evie. I want to watch them as you come.”

  I shuddered at the hardness in his voice and in his eyes. This was the Hard Kick, and I didn’t know him so well. I realised I had no idea where this would go tonight. So I did as he said. Kick was completely in charge of tonight.

  While his fingers fucked me, his other hand came to my cheek, and he roughly grasped me, his thumb tracing my lips. Our eyes remained locked and our breathing matched in its shallowness.

  Oh god, I was going to come.

  I was going to come hard.

  “Let it go, baby,” he commanded, knowing my body so well. Knowing I was so close. “But keep your eyes open.”

  The rough authority in his voice did it in the end. I came, forcing my eyes to stay open the entire time. My whole body exploded with pleasure, and my legs threatened to give way under me. Kick’s arms came around me, and he lifted me and carried me into my bedroom.

  A moment later I was on my feet and he’d quickly stripped me. I stood naked in front of him, his eyes hungrily running over my body. He’d already brought me to org
asm once, but I could feel it building again, simply from the intense hunger radiating from him.

  I needed to touch him, but when I took a step in his direction, he barked, “No.” His eyes snapped back to mine, and he lifted his tee over his head, and then removed the rest of his clothes. His cock was rock hard, and my pussy screamed for it, but I did as he said and stood still, waiting for his next move.

  Desire slid right through me when he reached for the handcuffs sitting on my bedside table. “I want you on your back on the bed, with your arms above your head,” he ordered, his voice hard, not containing one scrap of the gentle, fun Kick.

  And I fucking loved the shiver it gave me, from the unpredictability of him.

  I did as he said and waited.

  He remained standing, his eyes on mine. I couldn’t be sure, but it seemed he was weighing something up in his mind. It seemed like he was at war with his need.

  “Kick -” I began, but he cut me off.

  “Don’t talk,” he bossed me, his breaths starting to come hard and fast. And then he muttered, “Fuck.” He shoved his hand through his hair, and turned around and walked out of the room.

  What the hell?

  I shifted so I could lean on my elbows and see where he went, but he’d moved out of my line of sight. Moving off the bed, I went in search of him, finding him in the lounge room, his back to me, his shoulders tense.

  “What’s wrong, Kick?” I asked quietly, almost afraid of the answer. I’d always wanted to know this side of Kick, but his intensity was freaking me out a little.

  He turned to me, his eyes flashing anger, and that scared me even more. I hadn’t done anything to earn that anger. When he finally spoke, his voice was strangled, broken almost. “I’m mad at you . . . and I don’t want to be mad at you . . .”

  I frowned, unable to understand the words coming out of his mouth. “I don’t understand,” I almost whispered.