Primal Hunger (Primal Howlers MC Book 4)

by Piper Davenport

  The two men approached, both carrying guns. Aero stepped in front of me before reaching into his waistband and producing a pistol of his own. I hated guns with a passion but had never been happier to see one in my life.

  “Holy shit, Yuri. Look it’s one of our Primal Howler friends,” the first man said to the second as they approached, seemingly unphased by Aero or his weapon.

  “Who the fuck are you?” Aero growled, leveling the gun at the two men.

  “It’s okay. It’s us. Sasha and Yuri Bulykin,” the first man replied with a relaxed smile. “I’m afraid you’ve caught us in the middle of work. This is no problem. Give us the woman and we can finish up,” he said, motioning to me.

  “If you want her, we have a big fucking problem,” Aero said.

  Sasha’s smile turned sinister. “Once again, the Primal Howlers’ stand in the way of my family’s business.”

  “I don’t care what the fuck business you’re into and I’m not here for my club. I’m here tonight for personal reasons, so unless you want things to get a whole lot more personal, I suggest you turn around, leave this woman alone, and walk the fuck away.”

  Sasha laughed. “It’s two against one, my friend.”

  “I swear to God, I’ll shoot you both dead before you get a single shot off,” Aero replied.

  “Coming at us would be an even bigger mistake than the one you are currently making, my friend.”

  “I’m not your fucking friend and I’m not handing over the lady. I’ll say it one last time. Whatever business you have here tonight is done. Go the fuck home.”

  “My brother and I would love nothing more, but we answer to the Beast and our boss would kill us if she knew we left a witness alive.”

  “One witness? What about me? You’re not gonna kill me too?”

  “I’d prefer not to. Daphne has plans for your club and I’d hate to spoil her fun.”

  “I thought you boys were in prison,” Aero said.

  “It was Ivan and Misha that your club helped send to prison,” he replied angrily.

  “Jesus, how many of you Bulykins are there?”

  “Enough to handle you and your club, that’s for sure,” Sasha snapped.

  “Is that so? Not big enough to stay out from underneath the Beast’s thumb though, huh?”

  “My family’s business is no concern of yours Evel Knievel. We came here tonight to settle a gambling debt, but little miss zookeeper had to stick her nose in our affairs.”

  “Your family is gonna be short exactly two brothers if you don’t leave this woman alone.”

  “She’s a witness. She must go. There’s really no other option, you see?”

  Aero let out a heavy sigh. “Yeah. I do.”

  True to his word, and before I knew what happened, Aero fired two shots. The first hit Yuri in the middle of his forehead. Dropping him like a stone. The second, hit Sasha in the neck. Blood instantly spurting from the wound. Sasha managed to get off a single wild shot, but the bullet missed us both by several feet. Sasha dropped to his knees and Aero kicked the gun out of his hand before pressing his own to Sasha’s temple.

  “I told you to walk away,” he said before squeezing the trigger one last time.

  My mind swirled as the sound of the gunshots rang through my ears. I could barely make sense of what I’d just seen. Of what I’d just been a part of.

  “Violet!” Aero shouted, pulling me back to reality. He’d clearly been calling my name for some time, but I had no idea how long.

  “W…what?”

  “Security cameras?”

  “Huh?” I stared at him blankly.

  “Are there security cameras filming this parking lot?” He asked.

  “Um…y…yes. Yes, I think so.”

  “You need to tell me where they store the hard drives.”

  “Joe. Joe will have access,” I said, only half aware of the words I was saying.

  “Who’s Joe? Violet. Who’s Joe?”

  “He’s inside,” I said, pointing back to the zoo. “He’s the one they were feeding to the lions.”

  “Lions? Jesus, Letti. Are you okay?” Aero asked, examining me.

  “I’m fine. They tried to throw him into the exhibit, but I think I was able to stop them, and then I ran, and you came, and…”

  “Everything’s gonna be okay, baby. Listen to me,” he said, gently taking my face in his hands. “I want you to drive to the cabin and wait for me. Don’t stop for any reason and don’t say a word to anyone. Do you understand?”

  I nodded, then immediately shook my head. “No. I have to stay.”

  “You need to get the fuck out of here.”

  “I’m not leaving Joe to deal with this crap. If you’re here, I’m here. I’m going to go back inside and find Joe and deal with the cameras.”

  He sighed. “I’ve gotta make some calls and I’m probably gonna be tied up for a while dealing with these two.”

  “Right,” I whispered, tears flooding my eyes as everything suddenly hit me. “Oh, my God, Aero. You killed them.”

  “They would have killed us both, or worse,” Aero replied, sliding his hand to my neck. “The Bulykins’ kill guys like me and traffic women like you all the time. I made sure you were safe and did the world a huge favor by taking them out and I’d do it again without hesitation.”

  “But, what about the police?” I asked.

  “I’m already on it,” Aero replied as he pulled out his phone and dialed. “Hey, I need a cleaning crew near the main entrance of the Denver Zoo.” He met my eyes and cupped my jaw. “Go, baby.”

  “I need my phone,” I whispered. “I think it’s still in my car.”

  “Get it, then get the fuck outta here.”

  I nodded, finding my phone just under the driver’s seat where it obviously fell, then I headed back into the zoo, putting a pin in my need to completely freak out. I needed to compartmentalize for the moment and help Joe. Making a run back inside, I found Joe limping toward the staff building.

  “Joe!” I called out. “Are you okay?”

  He faced me and leaned over, settling his hands on his knees. “Was that you doing the Tarzan yell?”

  “Yeah. Sorry. I just wanted them to leave you alone.”

  “You saved my life, Letti. Swear to Christ, they were ready to shove me in with Brady.”

  Brady was our oldest lion and had been with us since the day he was born. He was relatively docile, but you still wouldn’t want to be stuck alone with him.

  “Why are you limping?” I asked.

  “Cut my leg on the iron fencing. I managed to get free, but slashed my leg in the process. I was gonna see if I could bandage it up.”

  “I’ll help,” I said, wrapping an arm around his waist and helping him toward the first aid area. “You think you can do me a favor?”

  “Anything for you, Letti girl.”

  “I was hoping you’d say that.”

  Violet

  THREE HOURS LATER, any evidence of illegal activity had been scrubbed from the record so to speak. Mara arrived, apologizing profusely that she didn’t call anyone. Her brother had been in a car accident and she needed to help with her nephew and ended up getting in a little over her head.

  She said nothing about two dead bodies, so I could only assume she either didn’t park in the platinum lot, or Aero had already taken care of them.

  I hoped it was both.

  “You should go ahead and take off,” Mara said. “You were supposed to be off for two days, right?”

  “Yeah,” I said.

  “Well, go ahead and take three. I’ll email Al and copy you on it letting him know my screw up. If he has any issues, he can let us know.”

  Mara wasn’t my boss, but she had been with the zoo for ten years, so she had seniority over me. Al was the boss directly below the big boss, and typically handled most of the staffing issues, but he was not a micro manager when it came to scheduling. As long as someone was doing the job, he didn’t really care who did i
t.

  “Thanks, Mara, that would be amazing,” I breathed out.

  I was going to need at least one full day to completely freak out, so this would give me another day to recover.

  I gathered my stuff, then headed to Joe’s security office to make sure he was okay. My phone buzzed before I got to the door and since it was Aero, I answered.

  “Hi,” I said.

  “We’re done here, baby. You able to leave?”

  “Yes. I’m just checking on Joe.”

  “No, you’re comin’ to me now, Violet. I will take care of Joe.”

  “Like you did the Bulykins?” I rasped.

  “Baby, I will explain, but I need you to come. Now.”

  I nodded, and turned away from Joe’s door, heading out a side door and making my way out to Aero.

  “Baby, you still there?”

  “Yes, I’m almost to you,” I said. “Don’t hang up.”

  I was probably a few hundred yards from him, but I still felt like I needed the connection our phones brought.

  “I won’t.”

  I approached the gate, then pulled out my key card, swiping it and pushing the portal open. Then I was in Aero’s arms, and totally losing my shit.

  “Baby, hold it together for just a little bit. I’ll drive you home and you can freak out in the car.”

  “Will they come back for Joe?” I whispered.

  “No. We’re gonna take care of him, but you need to get in the car, okay?”

  He linked his pinky with mine and I nodded, then he released me just enough to lead me to the car but we didn’t quite make it, because my dad wrapped me tight into his arms and I had to grip his leather jacket not to fall.

  “You okay?” Dad asked.

  “Yes. I’m fine, Daddy.”

  He loosened his grip and cupped my face. “You sure?”

  I bobbed my head, lying in physical form.

  “I’m gonna stop by later to make sure.”

  I pressed my lips into a thin line and avoided his eyes.

  “Gonna let you go now,” he said, and I escaped to the car.

  Aero climbed in beside me a few minutes later and didn’t say a word until we were on the freeway.

  “You need to vent, Letti, vent it out. Don’t bury it.”

  “You shot them.”

  “I did.”

  I knew he carried. All the Howlers’ carried guns. I just didn’t really think about them using their guns.

  “Who taught you to shoot?”

  “Hatch,” he said.

  “Dad cleaned it up.”

  “In a manner of speaking, yes,” he confirmed.

  I nodded, the sting of tears hitting my nose. I swallowed convulsively as I rolled his words through my mind. It’s not like I didn’t know what my father’s club was capable of. It’s also not like I didn’t know that, just like my father, Aero would do anything, anything to make sure I was safe.

  Now I had to figure out if my emotional state was just shock—because it was totally shocking to see someone shot dead in front of you—or if the rubber had finally met the road and I needed to determine if this was the life for me.

  If I was in, I had to be all in. The choice was mine, but it had to be final.

  Aero reached his hand out to me, linking his fingers with mine, saying nothing. I squeezed his hand but continued to stare out the window as we drove home.

  * * *

  Aero

  Violet said nothing for the rest of the drive, and although she gripped my hand like a talisman, I knew she was battling demons I couldn’t fight for her. She had to work it out herself and I knew we were at a make or break moment.

  Things were good with us. Really good. I’d never loved another person more than I loved her, and I knew she felt the same about me.

  But…

  This life wasn’t for everyone. Hell, it wasn’t for most, and it didn’t matter if you were raised in it, prospected for it, or were already in it. There still came a point in the process where you had to make a choice. All in or all out. There was no in between.

  However, the thought that she might not choose me, gutted me. I don’t think I could live without her and I hoped to God she chose the club because the thought of leaving my brothers gutted me almost as much.

  But I would. I’d give it all up for her and I wouldn’t look back. Lifting her hand to my lips I kissed it gently, but she didn’t look at me. Just continued to stare out the window as we drove.

  I kept hold of her hand until I had to release it to park the car.

  We headed up to my place silently, but once we were inside, Violet faced me. The look she gave me made my heart race, mostly because it was blank. Her normally expressive face didn’t give anything away. She gripped my cut, leaning up on her tiptoes as she kissed me gently and far too quickly. I cupped her face, but she pulled away, stepping back, and my gut churned.

  I fisted my hands at my sides and waited. She had to work it out herself. As much as it killed me, I wouldn’t force anything from her.

  “I have never seen anyone killed before. Hell, I’ve never seen a dead body before. Not a human one, anyway,” she said, pacing the living room. “Dad wouldn’t even let us see Mom until she was dressed and done up in her casket and I remember her just looking like she was asleep.” She shook her hands out as she paced, then began to wring them in front of her.

  I dragged my hands down my face, then crossed my arms in an effort not to react. Not to interject.

  She stopped pacing and focused on me. “I didn’t like it.”

  No, I don’t expect she did.

  “I don’t ever want to see that again.”

  Fuck, fuck, fuck.

  I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

  “Will you promise me I will never see that again?”

  I opened my eyes and met hers. “Not sure I can promise that, Letti.”

  She breathed out through her nose in a long huff before she pressed her lips together and nodded. “God, I wish you’d given me a different answer.”

  I did, too, right about now.

  I was done letting her spiral. “Okay, I’m gonna—”

  She held her hand up. “Wait. I need to get this out, Jasper.”

  I crossed my arms again and nodded.

  “It is not lost on me that everything that happened this morning had nothing to do with the club, and that on any given day, considering the fact I work with a degenerate gambler, that this could have happened.” She started to pace again. “That being said, if you hadn’t shown up at the zoo—”

  “You shoulda never gone there alone,” I growled.

  “Yes. I’ll never do it again,” she said. “Can I finish now?”

  I sighed, then gave her a nod.

  “This could have happened to anyone. And if it hadn’t been me, then you, and subsequently, the club, wouldn’t have been there to save whoever the poor schmuck was who saw Joe get tied up and thrown to the lions.”

  I studied her, forcing myself not to pull her to me and hold her.

  She stopped pacing and faced me again. “Today was really disturbing. But the most disturbing part of it was that it felt good. Not that someone got killed, regardless of how horrible they were, let me be clear. But how good it felt to have you at my back. To have you protect me at the risk of everything you could lose.” She closed the distance between us, grabbing my cut and pulling me toward her, forcing me to uncross my arms. “To know that no matter what, I’m covered. Whether it’s by you or my dad, or by the rest of the brothers, I am protected. Nothing can touch me.” She slid her arms to my neck, pushing my cut from my shoulders, then throwing it over the back of the sofa. “It sounds crazy, but I didn’t realize, until about an hour ago, that this life, the life I fought against for so long, is the only life I could have ever lived.”

  At her prompting, I lifted my shirt off over my head and she ran her tongue between my pecs.

  “You were the only man I could have ever loved.”


  Sliding her hands to my waistband, she bit gently on my nipple, and I slid my hands into her hair gripping her scalp gently.

  “Yours was the only body I could have ever worshiped.”

  She unbuckled my belt, then unzipped my jeans, pushing them over my hips as she knelt in front of me.

  “And this was the only cock I could ever suck and enjoy.”

  Her mouth wrapped around my already hard cock, sucking the tip into her mouth and I gripped her scalp harder as she took me deep.

  “Jesus,” I hissed as my dick hit the back of her throat.

  She gripped my thighs and took me so deep, she choked herself. I lowered my head to look at her and she had tears sliding down her cheeks, but kept goin’ at me. Fuck me, she was gorgeous.

  She dragged her mouth back and looked up at me, licking the tip of my dick, then smiling. “Are you going to fuck my face or what?”

  I grinned, sliding back into her mouth and centering my legs, while she held my thighs and pressed her tongue against my dick, urging me on, so I stroked her cheek, then settled my hands on her head again and did as she demanded.

  I fucked her face.

  She added her hands, dragging them root to tip as she matched the motion with her mouth. She cupped my balls as they began to tighten, and I squeezed her scalp, my silent warning that I was about to come.

  “Now, baby.”

  She sucked gently as I released everything I had down her throat and she continued to work her mouth to milk me dry. I pulled away from her and knelt in front of her, kissing her gently.

  “I love you, Violet Morgan Graves. With everything I have.”

  She stroked my beard. “And I love you Jasper James Campbell with everything I have.”

  “Will you marry me?”

  “Yeah, I’ll so fuckin’ marry you,” she said, and I laughed, then kissed her again.

  “Tomorrow, you choose your ring, Saturday, we buy a house.”

  “Or maybe we set up some walk-throughs on Saturday,” she countered. “I want to find the right one with room for chickens.”

  I raised my pinky and she wrapped hers around it. “Yeah, baby, we can do that.”

  She smiled. “You wanna take this to the bedroom and return the favor?”

  “Hell, yeah, I do.”