Chapter 7
7
Carver
I sipped at my coffee as Blink took his seat at the head of the table. He cleared his throat and looked at me. “Brian is coming to meet Jennifer.”
The fuck ?
I clenched my jaw. “Why?” I demanded. “The fuck does he need to meet her for? If he’s been doing business with the fucking Lockheart MC, then shouldn’t he know who she is by now?” I didn’t want anyone that wasn’t family around Jennifer. She’d been through enough. What if Brian betrayed us and told the Lockheart MC where she was?
Blink shook his head. “According to him, only club girls were present when he was there. If she was there, she was kept under lock and key.”
I gritted my teeth. “Still doesn’t answer why he wants to meet her, Blink. You don’t think this is a set-up? It’s fucking weird, brother.”
Blink shook his head. “Brian’s not like that. I asked him for his help. Because when the Lockheart MC finds out she’s here, Derrick is going to bring hell down upon us. And we need more numbers than what we have now. We need back-up and allies, Carver.”
I clenched my jaw. Carter gripped my shoulder, squeezing hard enough to force me to bring my temper back under control. “Rein it in, brother,” he murmured. “ If Brian tries something stupid, we’ve all got your back when it comes to protecting her. Right?” he asked, looking pointedly at Blink, who ultimately called the shots.
Blink inclined his head to me. “You have my word, brother.”
I relaxed a little. If Blink was giving his word to protect her, I knew he would. Which meant he also wouldn’t bring around anyone he thought might bring her harm.
“Okay,” I muttered, giving in. “We’ll do it your way.”
Jennifer frowned at me. “You want me to… meet someone who does business with my dad?” Her voice trembled near the end of her question, trepidation flickering in her pretty blue eyes. I hated the fear lingering there. I would never let anything happen to her.
I sighed. “ I don’t want you to,” I admitted. She frowned. “But your father will eventually find out where you are—” She made a small squeak full of fear, so I drew her to me, holding her in my arms, “—so Blink wants to get Brian on our side. This way, if we need help, he’ll come through. There’s only four of us, princess. Your father’s club has—what?”
She blew out a soft breath. “Ten patched members and two prospects,” she said quietly.
That was a much higher number than what we had; that was for sure.
I pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “We won’t let anything happen to you,” I promised her. And that was a promise I intended to carry to my grave. Gripping her chin, I tilted her head back, forcing her eyes to lock on mine. They were filled with nerves, those blue depths unable to hide a thing from me.
She was so open. A breath of fresh air amongst the monsters I’d been surrounding myself with since I joined the military at eighteen.
“Do you trust me?” I asked her.
She ran her eyes over my face before slowly nodding. Her fingers curled into the edges of my open cut, a shaky breath falling from her lips. “Yeah,” she said softly. “I… I do.”
I tried to ignore the way her soft admission filled me with warmth, but it was damn near impossible to do. I’d done nothing really to earn her trust, yet she was giving it so freely.
“Then trust me to take care of you, princess,” I urged. “The moment I snatched you up from that alley was the last time anyone but me ever touched you.”
Her pupils blew wide, lust smothering the fear that’d been buried in them. With a groan—unable to fucking help myself—I lowered my lips to hers, kissing her with a hunger I’d never felt before. Touching other women, kissing and fucking other women, had always been a means to an end. To just get off.
But with her, I found I wanted to take my time. To learn what made her gasp. What made her moan. What made her fucking whimper . Where did she like to be touched? How did she like to be handled?
Fuck, this woman was deep under my skin.
She softly moaned, pressing her body against mine as I licked at her bottom lip. When she granted me access to her sweet mouth, I growled low in my throat, my left hand clamping around her hip to hold her body so tightly against mine, I couldn’t tell where I ended and she began. My right hand slid into her soft curls, the strands falling through my fingers like silk. Gripping a handful, I tilted her head just slightly to the side so I could devour her properly.
A knock sounded on my door, and with a snarl, I reluctantly pulled my lips from Jennifer’s, glaring at my apartment door as if it’d personally offended me. “What?” I barked.
“Brian’s here,” Carter said, his voice muffled with the door between us. “Might want to get your ass downstairs, brother. Bring your woman with you.”
Your woman …
I looked down at Jennifer, who was still looking a bit dazed from our hot as fuck kiss. Yeah—she was definitely my woman.
“Come on, princess,” I murmured. I grabbed her hand in mine and linked our fingers together before leading her out of my apartment and down the stairs. Sure enough, Brian was standing there with his Vice President and Sergeant at Arms, two of the last remaining members of his club. Jennifer’s hand, already a bit sweaty from nerves, tightened around mine. She pressed herself against my side as she stared at him, remaining silent.
“You look like your mother,” he finally said, breaking the tense silence. “She was a beautiful woman. I didn’t know she’d given birth to a child.” Jennifer’s fingers trembled. I gave them a light squeeze. “If I’d know, I wouldn’t have left you there with him. Your father…” Brian sighed. “He’s a good businessman, but he’s a shit human being.”
Jennifer’s hand was sweating in mine. She opened her mouth to speak, then closed it, lost for words. I squeezed her hand, hoping she knew I was still right at her side—not just physically, but emotionally.
Brian looked at me. “He’s making it known he’s on the hunt for her, and he wants her back home. And anyone who stands in his way…” He let the rest hang silently in the air between us.
“Over my dead fucking body,” I snarled. “She’s mine .” Jennifer sucked in a sharp breath, and her gaze burned into the side of my face. I didn’t turn to look at her.
Brian nodded once. “You have my club’s protection and help, as well.” He looked at Blink then. “Shall we talk?”
Blink nodded once and led Brian into the chapel. I looked down at Jennifer and reached up to cup her cheek. She ran her eyes over my face, searching for… something. I didn’t know what though.
“Remember—trust me.”
She nodded. “I am. I do , Carver.”
Fuck, she was being so brave.
I pressed a kiss to her forehead, noticing Lindsey coming out of the kitchen over her hair. “Go chill with Lindsey for a bit,” I told her, gently nudging her in that direction. “I’ll come get you when this is over.”
She nodded, and after a moment, she dropped my hand, turning on her heel. Lindsey welcomed her with a warm smile. Blowing out a soft breath, I headed into the chapel with everyone else, ready to come up with a protection plan for Jennifer.