Saved by a Sinner

by A G Henderson

  "Why did neither of you say anything?"

  "Stupid question. Why would we? You only lied to protect us from the knowledge that our own flesh and blood had cut and run in a failed attempt to save his own skin. We've never held it against you and we never will."

  I cleared my throat, swiping roughly at my nose.

  "You've looked out for us every step of the way,” he continued. “You stole a kingdom and crowned two princes to help you run it. The castle has been secured, the gates are nearly closed, and the single thing you've wanted for yourself, your queen, is asleep in your bed and ready to rule at your side."

  I smiled at the thought of her wrapped up in my sheets. Surrounded by my scent. Comfortable in my home. Absolutely mine, in all the ways I've ever wanted. The heaviness in my heart turned to something bright and shining. Love so deep and strong it threatened to explode from my very being.

  "We do have a few more rats in the keep that need to be taken care of," I reminded him. The need to see Narciso dead was present, but no longer overwhelming.

  His grin turned savage, hungry. "That's exactly what we're close to doing. And when it's over, you're going to kick back, relax and enjoy your woman while Isaac and I hold the fort down."

  I stood, foot tapping an impatient beat on the floor. My legs were itching to carry me back upstairs and to my bed. To my goddess. “You think I trust you two not to burn the place down?”

  “Nope,” he admitted without an ounce of shame. “But I think you'll be occupied enough to not care about stepping in unless you have to, and that's all I'm asking you to do. Take this happiness for yourself. You've more than earned it, and I know Isaac would agree.” He got to his feet, extending his hand. “Think you can manage that?”

  I clapped our hands together and yanked him towards me, swinging an arm around his shoulder. “You know this doesn't boost your rank, right? You're still my second favorite brother.”

  He groaned and pushed my away. “Go back to your woman, bastard. Some of us have a work out to finish.”

  CHAPTER 28 - Carlos

  There was a saying about the best laid plans. Had a little something to do with mice and men and more philosophical bullshit than I generally enjoyed. But there was no ignoring the truth to it. Not as my phone rang late the next night, interrupting the woman currently kissing a slow, hot trail up my chest.

  Sylvia’s tongue came out, tasting my skin, making my cock jump. Silver eyes sparkled like the jewelry adorning her face as she glanced up from beneath her lashes.

  There was something different about her since yesterday’s revelation. Something brighter, lighter. Almost like pure euphoria was constantly bubbling beneath the tough as nails exterior forcing little secret smiles to pop up when she thought no one was looking. There were no words for how glad it made me each time I witnessed one, especially because catching them was a game of chance on its own.

  She tended to smother them quickly when we were in public, but I wasn’t going to bring it up any time soon.

  My woman wanted to save her smiles for me. Who in their right mind would complain about such a thing? Besides, I was enjoying how long it had been since she held a knife to my face.

  The phone rang again while she trailed a black tipped nail down the center of my abs. “Aren’t you going to get that?” she asked sweetly, leaning over my body to nip my chest with her teeth.

  I groaned, hands fisting at my sides. Why had I agreed not to touch her until she said so? Oh, right, it was coming back to me. The reason was because I was the idiot who assumed a Sinner would play fair.

  She’d laid out her terms. Told me to strip. I’d done so gladly, eager to prove. Her peeling off skin tight leggings and forcing me to watch her wiggle out of them hadn’t been part of the plan. She was such an intoxicating combination. Pale skin made more perfect by the earned scars. Sweet curves highlighted by unyielding strength. Luscious softness offset by black and silver piercings.

  So. Mine.

  A sharp pinch against my side had my gaze lifting from the soft lips that called me with their own song. Her brows danced, eyes amused.

  “Something funny, diosa?”

  “There might be if you don’t put those hands back where they’re supposed to be.” A growl left me and I dropped my arms from where they were coming up behind her, ready to crush her to me.

  A buzz near my head told me I had a voice mail. I didn’t mind it as much this time, since it at least served as a distraction. Sylvia glanced towards the bedside table and I surged up from beneath her, pinning her to my body. She yelped as I rolled her beneath me and I swallowed the tail end of the sound, lips pressing against hers.

  “You’re breaking the rule,” she breathed against me. Except her legs spread farther apart, making room for me between them. Her arms wound their way around my neck, fingers playing with the hair at my nape.

  “Punish me later.” I grabbed her hip, squeezing roughly. “Kiss me now.”

  Her lips parted on a gasp and I dove in greedily, gorging myself on her taste. The air between us quickly grew hot, heavy, laced with need. Our tongues touched and entire planets detonated inside me, exploding with the kind of ferocity that threatened to blot out the horizon until the only thing I could see was the woman beneath me eagerly licking the seam of my lips.

  At least before the buzzing started up again.

  I cursed, pressing my forehead to hers. She laughed, fingers drawing imperceptible patterns across my bare back. The heat cooled, becoming embers once more.

  “It might be important,” she offered helpfully.

  If this is someone trying to sell me something, I swear to God I'll hunt them down myself.

  I sighed deeply and rolled to the side, pulling it from the table. The number displayed there had me sitting at alert, throwing my feet onto the floor. He wouldn’t be calling at this godforsaken time if it wasn’t urgent. I felt Sylvia press herself to my back, aware of the shift in mood, and I made sure to hit the speaker button.

  “You need to get your people moving,” Rockwell said without preamble and I popped my jaw, muscles suddenly tensing.

  “What happened to Friday?”

  “A damned hot-headed fool up in Asheville happened,” he snapped. Sylvia and I shared a look. We both stood, recovering the clothes we’d discarded. “I don't know yet what caused it, but he started kicking in doors about a half hour ago and I’ve spent the time since calling in every fucking favor I’ve ever earned.”

  Sylvia paused, pulling a long sleeved shirt over her head. “So we’ve lost our chance at surprising Narciso?” I heard the tell tale click of her tapping her piercing against her teeth. I sympathized with her obvious irritation, but now wasn’t the time for anger.

  Rockwell was quiet for a moment. “Am I on speaker?”

  A flash of a snarl made an appearance on her face. “Is that really important right now? Answer the question.”

  So damn beautiful when she was pissed. I loved how my woman took shit from no one.

  ”Those favors I’m burning through? They’re the reason an entire city is experiencing a temporary cellular blackout.”

  “Damn,” I said, genuinely surprised. And more than a little unsettled. It was one thing to consider the government having that kind of weight to throw around whenever they felt like it. It was a brand new ball game when they actually acted on it. “You have that kind of pull?”

  “No, I don’t,” he said. “My ass is going to be in the hot seat as soon as this gets kicked up the chain of command. You’ve got about an hour, maybe less, before the metaphorical lights come back on. So I suggest you make the most of that time before all hell breaks loose. My team and I will proceed as planned.”

  My fists clenched. He was skirting over something. I could feel it. There was no way initiating a blackout without authorization was an easily dismissed slap on the wrist. But what's done is done and I wasn't willing to waste the time he'd bought us. Especially not when there was a chance he was paying for i
t with his very livelihood.

  “Thank you,” I said earnestly. Doing my best to communicate how much I appreciated the risk he was taking.

  For me.

  For us.

  “Don't mention it,” he said, tone growing fierce. “This is worth everything, Carlos. I may not be able to act directly against those bastards across the border, but they'll feel this just the same.”

  Sylvia's smile was a beautiful, terrible thing. “A knife to the throat from hundreds of miles away. If you ever feel like trading the badge for a leather jacket, I know a place you'll fit right in.”

  Rockwell laughed, a sound I didn't know he was capable of making. “Appreciate the offer, but believe it or not, I like my job. And I would rather go back to jumping out of helicopters before I'm ever caught on a motorcycle. Those things are death traps waiting to happen.”

  Another distant voice came through the line and I could barely make out a muffled conversation before he came through loud and clear again.

  “Listen,” he said. “I'll be leaving to meet up with my own squads in the city shortly. Let's wrap this shit up once and for all. Both of you keep your eyes open and don't do anything stupid. It'd be a shame to lose the only criminals I've ever almost liked.”

  The line went dead before I could comment. Sylvia knelt on the floor and reached beneath the bed, pulling out the large, black case she'd stashed a few nights ago. She stood and put it on the bed before going through the security process.

  Combination locks. Thumbprint scanner. Given the fanfare, a ridiculous part of me half expected to see mist slowly rolling along the floor as it opened to reveal a giant scythe. Instead, it seemed the Reaper liked to keep multiple tools to ply her trade.

  I let out a low whistle as she slid back the lid, revealing row upon row of knives polished to mirrored perfection. There were also matte black pistols of several different models, including a Desert Eagle that looked cool as hell but incredibly impractical.

  “Do you hunt bears in your spare time?” I asked, only half joking. Manny would feel the kick of firing something like that for days, and he would still miss.

  “It’ll blow a hole in a wall and whatever fuckhead is unlucky enough to be on the other side of it,” she muttered casually, her attention elsewhere.

  Sylvia reached deeper into the case, grasping the ebony handle of an oversized combat knife. She picked up it almost lovingly, turning it over and back in the light. Balancing it in her palms before taking a few testing swipes.

  I said nothing as I counted the tallied grooves etched into the steel surface. There were more than I expected, and I got the distinct feeling from the way she handled the weapon so expertly that only those who died by this specific blade were marked. It gave me an entirely new respect for the kind of life my woman had led to up to this point.

  There were enough dashes and scores to surpass my brothers and I put together.

  “You can say it, you know,” she said quietly, stashing the blade away again.

  I frowned, moving closer. “Say what?”

  Her silver eyes were bright as they met mine over her shoulder, shining with the promise of coming violence. “That I’m a monster.” Her lips quirked. “I promise I won’t get mad or try to stab you or anything else like that. It’s a title I’ve earned a dozen times over.”

  I wrapped my arms around her shoulders, pinning her back against my front. Enveloping her completely. She melted against me, letting me take her weight. “You’re assuming I have a problem with this. Why?”

  She shrugged, refusing to answer. Her response, or lack thereof, would’ve bothered me a week ago. Now? Not so much. Peeling back the layers was going to take time, and even then there were going to be things I struggled to understand.

  But patience had gotten me to this point, and it would carry me infinitely forward now that I had the only thing I ever wanted in my arms.

  I kissed the top of her head, then put my lips to her ear. “Remember what I said,” I whispered, loving the way she lightly shivered. My heart thrummed like an engine as her hips swayed against mine. “Nothing under the stars, Sylvia. Nothing.”

  She turned her head, offering up her mouth and I slanted my lips over hers. Pouring my love into her with every breath we shared. She was my destiny a decade in the making and I would prove that to her time and time again. Until she knew it with the same undeniable surety anchoring my very soul.

  Sylvia nipped at my lips as she pulled away on a soft sigh. “Save some for later, warlord. I’ve got an idea you’re not going to like.”

  ***

  “Well, this shit makes way more sense now.” Raze said, slowly strolling towards us despite being the last one to arrive.

  Sans Erin, who was currently on her way to one of our anonymous safe houses, we were all gathered around the crackling fireplace in my living room. Manny and Isaac sat to my left, while Sylvia shared the sofa at my side. To her right was the Sinner from the club, Tone. He sat comfortably sprawled, looking for all the world like we weren't about to discuss matters of life and death. Then again, my woman was equally as relaxed.

  This was just another day in the life for them.

  “So y’all are a thing, huh?” Raze pointed at me, then Sylvia. He grabbed a chair on the opposite side of the room from Manny and turned it around, throwing his elbows over the back of it as he sat. “I mean, I had figured it out already but is there a reason you had to keep this from me?”

  Manny snorted loudly, glaring at the blonde biker. “I can answer this one. It’s because you didn’t need to know.”

  “Pipe down, ya overgrown ogre. Nobody asked you.”

  “Fuck you, shit for brains.”

  “Dumpster plunger.”

  “Bottom feeder.”

  Sylvia leaned closer to whisper to me while they continued trading jabs and insults six year olds would be embarrassed to utter. “Are they always like this?”

  I nodded, placing my hand on her jean clad thigh and squeezing before leaving it there. “Unfortunately.” From the corner of my eye, I saw Tone notice the movement, and he made such an effort to not look pleased it looped back around to being obnoxious.

  Isaac raised his voice. “Children! If we could please focus for a bit it would be fantastic. You can both go back to measuring your dicks later on.”

  “I’d win,” they said at the same time. In the same cocky tone.

  I pinched the bridge of my nose. “Enough. As amusing as this is. We’re wasting time we don’t have.”

  “He started-”

  My look alone was enough to make Manny’s teeth snap shut. “I will not repeat myself,” I said softly, words laced with steel. “The moment Narciso realizes what’s going on, he’s going to connect the dots and batten down the hatches. We have to be inside before that happens. Assaulting his place from the outside is a death wish.”

  Isaac folded his hands in his lap. “There’s still a big problem. He’s only going to allow the three of us inside. We’re good, hermano, but we don’t know how many people are going to be inside his mansion. The odds are there’ll be a lot. We’re not that good, even with luck on our side. And we all know she is one fickle mistress.”

  “It won’t be just us.” My attention shifted to the woman beside me and I tasted ash in my mouth.

  The plan we’d discussed before everyone’s arrival hadn’t become any easier to swallow. Putting my woman in harm’s way appealed about as much sticking my hand into a running garbage disposal. But we didn’t have the liberty of carefully picking and choosing options. A decision needed to be made and acted upon.

  “He’s not going to let her waltz in,” said Isaac. “He’s a fat, pompous bastard, but even his stupidity has limits.”

  Sylvia only smiled. “No. But he’ll gladly take an offered prize.”

  I was watching Tone, expecting the blatant refusal to come from his corner. But it was Raze who lunged to his feet, chair skidding. “Fuck no,” he snapped. “Have y’all lost your collec
tive fucking minds?"

  “She has a point,” Isaac said evenly, ignoring the glare that swung his way. “The Reaper offered up on a silver platter? There's no way he could turn that down. It would be like passing on the holy grail.”

  Raze scoffed loudly, making his disbelief known. “This is fucking insane. Have I mentioned that?”

  “We heard you, Goldilocks,” Manny grumbled. “Now sit your ass down.”

  Raze pulled his seat back to him and straddled it once again. “Whatever. When this blows up in our faces, just remember who mentioned the live fucking grenade you chose to hold.”

  “You're our insurance policy if this does go bad,” I told him and his eyes narrowed. “I want every Viper you can spare at a safe distance. If bad turns to worse, you make sure that nobody makes it out of there alive.”

  “Tone, you're with him,” Sylvia added, raising a hand to silence any protest when he leaned forward. “Now isn't the time to question me. Gather whatever and whoever you need and do what the fuck you're told."

  He grimaced like her words physically pained him and sat back in his chair. I tried for a moment to garner some sympathy for his plight. After all, she'd been on the warpath against me not too long ago. But the emotion proved too difficult to bring to the surface. One way or another, he was partially to blame for the abrasions still marking my woman's skin.

  And all it took to squash any consideration of mercy was to remember how lost she had looked, alone and bleeding.

  My jaw tensed, teeth grinding. But I didn't make a noise. So I was incredibly surprised to find Sylvia's small hand slipping into mine where it sat on her thigh, fingers intertwining. The tension tightening around my bones fell away.

  I turned to my brothers. “Both of you remember what we discussed?”

  Sylvia squeezed my hand and I squeezed back, but I didn’t respond to her subtle inquiry. Nor did I take my eyes from the two people who had always had my back without fail. They nodded in sync with each other, catching what I wasn’t saying.