5 | Addison
“Have you got something?” I whisper, taking the call immediately when I see Charlie’s number flash across the screen.
“I’ve got something alright, and I’m telling you, I don’t think you should be looking into this, kid.”
So overprotective.
“I’m not a kid, and I need to know. Are you going to tell me or are you going to keep playing hero?”
He chuckles. “Never a dull moment with you. I’ll tell you what I have, but promise me you’ll stay away from it. These people ... they’re no good. I don’t want you getting tangled up in something that could get you killed.”
Well, that doesn’t sound good.
“Is she alive?”
“Still workin’ on that answer, but last time she was seen was with a man named Darth. He wasn’t anyone special, but he was getting into some pretty bad business with dangerous people. Those people have been known for their illegal trading, trafficking, and shipments. They’re bad news. I’m unable to tell if she was with him willingly or not, but I’m trying to find out.”
“Do you have a last name?” I question, writing down the name on a scrap of paper.
Charlie hesitates.
“Come on, Charlie, you tell me or I’ll find out. You know I will.”
“Archer. I don’t know who he works for, but he has a bad history. He has gone off the radar, but if your man’s sister was involved with him, it isn’t looking good for her because that crowd is dangerous.”
No.
Indeed, it isn’t.
Still, it’s something.
“Did you find out anything else about Clara?”
“Jagged past. Cade has one count of assault against him, he beat his father nearly to death. Not sure what happened. His father died a few years later. Clara was caught with drugs when she was twenty, claimed they weren’t hers. Another report she made of domestic violence that was dropped. Hard time these two had, it would seem.”
My heart aches.
Cade has never told me about his past, and the more I’m learning about it, the more it upsets me.
He spent so long listening to me talk about mine, and all along he had one equally as dark. Why hasn’t he told me?
Doesn’t he trust me with it?
Hurt washes over me.
“Thanks for the information,” I tell Charlie. “If you find anything else, let me know. I just want to find out if she is alive or dead, I swear.”
“Promise me you won’t look into this deeper than that, it’s dangerous, I have a bad feeling about it.”
Crossing my fingers behind my back, I say, “I promise.”
It’s not that I want to lie to Charlie, it’s just that he doesn’t understand how important this is.
I need to know what happened to Clara, and if she’s alive, I need to bring her home.
I know they might have had a rocky past, but she is still his family, and by the sounds of it, the only one left.
That matters, even if he doesn’t realize it yet.
“Do I at least get a coffee with you for all this information I’m providing?”
I laugh. “I think I can manage that.”
“Good, I want to hear how your life is going outside of all this.”
“That’s fair. How about tomorrow? Skye is in daycare so I can manage some time.”
“It’s a plan. I’ll text you.”
Hanging up the phone, I stare down at the name on the paper. I wonder how I’ll go about finding out more about this man and what his involvement with Clara was, or is. Are they together? Are they a team or is she his victim? Pulling out my phone, I quickly type his name into Google, seeing if I can find anything. A few articles come up, but nothing major.
A Facebook page shows up, and I click into it.
Trusty Facebook always has an answer.
There is a profile picture of a man with dark hair, brown eyes, and a crooked smile. He doesn’t look so bad, but that doesn’t mean anything, that much I know for sure. There is a woman in the picture with him, blonde, light green eyes. Is that Clara? I click the picture and zoom in, my heart skips a beat. She looks like Cade, there is no doubt about it. That’s his sister.
The last post on the page was over five years ago, and that has my heart sinking.
It’s not an active page.
That picture is old.
Scanning through the photos, it is the only one I can find with the two of them in it. I open the comments and read some, finding a family member who commented something rather interesting. The comment states I wish you just trusted us to take care of you, then you wouldn’t be gone. I miss you, brother.
Brother.
Clicking onto the profile that commented, I see the name of a woman who is seemingly active still. Her name is Celeste Archer. Heart racing, I look through her photos, but she has most of her profile blocked so I can’t see much. Do I dare message her? Do I dare reach out and see what she knows? Finger trembling over the message button, I think about what I’m about to do.
This could be the lead I need, but it could also take me down a very dangerous road.
Closing Facebook, I take a deep, shaky breath.
I need to think about this more.
I need to be careful about my next move.
I don’t want to bring trouble into my home, or my family.
Dammit, Clara, where the hell are you?
~*~*~*~*~
“HOW YOU DOIN’ PRECIOUS?”
Staring at Spike, I offer him a smile. “I’m as good as can be, bestie. What about you?”
He grins. “You’re the best liar I know, it’s scary.”
“It’s not a lie,” I chuckle, taking a sip of my drink before I head home to Skye for the night. Janine’s mom has all the kids one night a week, so we can head out and have a drink together. She’s a god send, and she loves those kids more than her own life. “I am good.”
“Rephrase,” he murmurs, sipping his beer as his eyes swing to Cade who is at the bar getting another round. “How is your quest to find Cade’s long-lost sister?”
I grin. “You know me, I don’t give up easily. Do you know anything about her? You’ve known him for a long time, so you surely met her.”
“Even if I did, I wouldn’t tell. He’d have my head. Loyalty and all that.”
I roll my eyes. “You bikers and your loyalty. I want to just shove it right ...”
“Did someone say loyalty?” Ciara turns in her seat, stopping her conversation with Serenity who is sitting beside her. “Because if any one of you is as loyal as you claim, you’ll help my pregnant ass up and to the toilet.”
Spike grins at his woman. “Pregnant tomcat, you’re doin’ things to me.”
She scowls at him. “Do not even start me, Danny. I am blaming you for this.”
Pushing away from the chair, he stands and extends a hand to her, helping her up. Then he takes her toward the bathroom.
“Aw, how romantic,” Serenity croons, then giggles. “I love pregnant people.”
Jackson gives her a devilish grin. “No.”
She shoots him a look with a wicked smile. “I’m not letting you anywhere near me again if it means I continue to get called Grandma!”
I laugh. “Aw, but you’re the cutest grandma around.”
She glares at me. “I will take you down, Addison. I might be small, but I can fight.”
Janine nods. “It’s true, I’ve seen it. She’s crazy.”
“Well,” I say, putting my hands up. “In that case I’m going to go help Cade get the drinks. I’ll bring you two, Granny.”
Serenity throws a string of curse words at me as I walk toward the bar where Cade is talking to Jenny who has worked at this bar since I have been coming here. Ciara and she get along really well, and when Ciara isn’t pregnant, she said she wants to come back for a few shifts because she loves it here. Spike is less than enthused with that idea.
“Hey, Jenny.” I smile, stopping at the counter.
“Hey, Addi, how’s it all going?”
“Good,” I say, glancing at Cade who is looking at me, his eyes not giving a single thing away.
I can feel the distance between us, and I hate it. He won’t give in until I give up, but he knows that isn’t going to happen. Not until I find out what I want to know. I don’t even know who is mad anymore, at first it was me and now it’s him. It’s like a loop we keep going around. I need to break it, at least for tonight, because I miss him, and I don’t want to spend the next few months falling apart.
“Can you take those to the table for me?” I ask Jenny. “I just need to borrow my guy here.”
Cade’s eyes flash, and Jenny nods, taking the tray of drinks.
When she’s gone, I reach for Cade’s hand and take him out the back and down the hall to the private bar that is used for functions. Stepping in, I turn toward him, my expression hooded as I step up closer to him. “Remember where you brought me in here?”
The memory of him using ice on my body, his wound up in jealous rage, has heat rushing up my spine. His eyes flash as he takes a step toward me, forcing me to back up toward the bar. Leaning down, he growls, “You wanted me jealous, and it worked. You had me remind you that every little thing you do is with fuckin’ me.”
I shiver. “So possessive.”
He growls. “Yet now here we are, with you being equally as defiant as you were back then. I don’t do defiant, sugar.”
“Then put me in my place,” I whisper, biting my lip. “And make it hurt.”
His eyes flash, a look of desire and a smidge of rage flashing across his features. “I’m not sure you know what you’re askin’ for.”
“But I do,” I say, sliding my bottom onto the counter and spreading my legs. “I’m not sure you’ve got it in you.”
His hand lashes out, curling around my throat as he hauls me forward. Gasping, my pussy clenches with need as he growls into my face, “I’m angry enough that you’ll come to regret those words, sugar.”
“You might be angry,” I breathe, loving the way my body feels as his grip tightens around my throat, “but you’d never hurt me enough to cause damage.”
His tongue slides out, running over my bottom lip before he leans in close, pressing his mouth to mine. Moaning, I love how his fingers tighten around my neck as he kisses me with such force, it almost hurts, but my god it turns me on. When he pulls back and bites my lower lip, I yelp in pain, fingers curling around his wrist as I jerk back. Blood trickles down my chin as I stare at him.
Leaning forward, he licks it off.
My entire body jerks.
I’ve never seen this side to Cade, and I think I might just like it.
With a feral hiss, he releases my neck and steps back, his cock pushing against his jeans. Keeping my legs spread, I watch with desire as he reaches between them, sliding my panties to the side and exposing my pussy. A low, pleased rumble leaves his throat as he runs his tongue up my wet slit. “You like it when I hurt you,” he rasps, pushing a finger inside my heat, making me whimper with need.
“You have no idea,” I moan. “I like it when you do anything to me, Cade. It doesn’t matter what it is.”
Stepping up closer, he keeps his fingers inside me as he fucks me with them, bringing his mouth down over mine and kissing me with the kind of passion I’ve been craving from him since all of this unfolded. His muscles clench as he drives his fingers in and out of my pussy, curling them just right, bringing me close to the edge. His tongue does wicked things in my mouth, and just as I’m about to find my release, he pulls his lips from mine and removes his finger, leaving me aching.
His eyes swing to the door, and I curiously look over to see Jenny standing, her eyes wide as she watches us. My cheeks grow pink, and I go to leap off the counter, but Cade stops me with his hand to my chest.
“I’m so sorry, I didn’t ... I didn’t realize you two were in here. I just finished my shift and wanted a quiet drink ...”
“You knew we were in here,” Cade murmurs, his voice husky and low.
What’s going on?
Cade keeps my legs spread by standing between them, and my cheeks burn knowing Jenny is getting a good look at my exposed flesh. She doesn’t seem to mind, in fact, she seems more than a little intrigued.
“Jenny here swings both ways,” Cade turns back to me, his voice low. “You ever had your sweet cunt licked by a girl?”
My eyes get big. “Cade ...”
“Say no if you don’t want it, sugar, but I’m tellin’ you she does.”
With burning cheeks, I look to Jenny, who isn’t saying anything, but the expression on her face tells me that he is right and she is thinking about it. God, I’m drunk, but not drunk enough for this. Right? I’m straight, straight as they come. I’m not sure I like the idea of a woman going near my bits, even if the thought of it is making me a little achy.
“I ... I’m not sure,” I say, softly. “I don’t think I swing that way, Cade.”
“Don’t have to swing that way,” he growls. “It’s called living. Tryin’ somethin’ new.”
“You want to watch a woman ... go down on me.”
A low, thrilled growl leaves his throat. “You have no fuckin’ idea. Can’t stand the thought of another man touchin’ you, but this ...”
“I think I’m too sober for this,” I mumble.
“That can be changed.”
Cade reaches over the counter for a bottle of whiskey and hands it to me. I meet his gaze. Could I do this ... do I even want to? Part of me is nervous and shy and all the feelings that come with something new, but part of me is incredibly curious. Taking the whiskey bottle, I take three big skulls before glancing at Jenny. She’s watching me, her face impassive, as if she’s trying not to put pressure on.
“Can we just ... take a minute,” I say, coughing as the liquid burns my throat.
Cade steps out from between my legs and I close them, feeling a little better that I’m not on display. Nodding in Jenny’s direction, he has her come in closer. She stops in front of us, taking the bottle he hands her. She takes a drink, her eyes on me, and then passes it back. God, I’ve never even considered being with a girl. I’m a mother. Do I dare do something so ... wild?
Looking to Cade, I see him watching me and only me.
“You want out, you say it, and we’ll go home,” he murmurs. “I’d never, not for a single second, make you do anything you don’t want.”
“Neither would I,” Jenny pitches in.
“You really swing both ways?” I ask her. “All this time, and I never knew that.”
She laughs, her accent thick. “It’s not so much that I swing both ways, it’s more that if I’m attracted to someone, I’m attracted to them. It doesn’t matter to me who they are.”
“You’re attracted to me?” I ask, quickly taking another sip of whiskey when Cade hands it back.
“Have you seen yourself, Addison? Everyone in this bar has their eyes on you.”
Flushing, I shake my head. “Now you’re just being nice. I ... can I have some time to actually ponder this?”
Jenny nods, reaching for the bottle. “Absolutely. Go home and enjoy your man, I’m going to take this bottle and join the party.”
When she leaves, I look to Cade who is watching me curiously. “You’re thinkin’ about it.”
“I mean, it’s hard not to think about it,” I say. “What I am thinking about for certain is how you’re going to finish what you started.”
Grinning, he hauls me back up on the bar, lowering to his knees as he pushes my knees apart, exposing my wet pussy.
“Don’t you worry about that; I’ve got you covered.”
Oh. He does indeed.