Chapter 26
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
THREE MONTHS LATER…
M oon peeled Ember’s thigh off his hip so he could get out of bed. He rose and lazily rubbed his stomach as he went to the dresser to get clothes before showering. A snore coming from a hanger-on who would make an appearance every other Friday had him returning to the bed to shake her awake.
“Time to leave.”
“Come on; let me stay. I can’t move,” she complained sulkily.
“You didn’t have any problem moving an hour ago. You’ve been partying here long enough to know the rules.” Moon bent down to pick up her clothes strewn on the floor, tossing them to her on the bed.
“Why does she get to stay, and I don’t?”
“Ember belongs here; you don’t. I’m not going to argue with you, either. Get your ass in gear, or next Friday when you come to play, you won’t get in the door.”
Pushing herself off the bed, she dressed before sliding thin sandals on. “Next time, I’m choosing Nickel. Maybe he’ll let me stay the night.”
“I wouldn’t count on it, but give him a go.” Unfazed by her threat, he motioned her out the door. “I’ll walk you to the stairway.”
She slipped her arms around his neck and kissed him passionately. Unmoved, he pulled her arms away.
“Do you always have to be such a hardass?”
Once, he would have taken exception for being called a hardass, believing himself to be one of the more laidback Last Riders. As the years had passed, it was hard to deny the change in his personality.
After escorting her to the stairs, he watched as she reluctantly went downstairs and out the door. Hell, she had been coming for the last three months, and he still hadn’t made the effort to find out her name.
He went to the bathroom to shower, removing any trace of the women’s scent on him. Why did they have to cover their bodies with numerous scents? He had yet to find any he liked or thought any suited them.
Moon looked at himself in mirror as he brushed his teeth. Don’t lie to yourself. You liked the way Larissa smelled .
He had liked the smell on his sheets, and on her panties, until the vanilla scent could no longer be detected.
Rinsing out his mouth, he placed his toothbrush back in the cabinet before heading downstairs. He expected the kitchen to be empty so early in the morning, but Moon passed Shade sitting at the kitchen table.
The silence in the room became tangible as he went to the cabinet to take out a box of cereal and a bowl. Pouring the cereal, he then went to the fridge to take out the milk. He put the milk back in the fridge and grabbed a spoon before he headed to the kitchen table, where he scrolled through the news as he ate.
“How long are you going to keep up the silent treatment?” Shade asked.
Moon didn’t look up from his phone. “You’re never up this early after a Friday night anymore. Say what you have to say so you can go back to bed.”
“Cool. I can play it your way. Was trying to do you a solid.” Shade got up from the table to rinse out his coffee cup then put it in the dishwasher.
Moon watched him casually walk toward the door, his instincts telling him not to let Shade leave. The brother had maintained a stony silence for the last three months, so there had to be a reason he was breaking it now.
Despite his misgivings, he let Shade leave.
He finished his cereal and put the bowl in the dishwasher before getting started on breakfast. Starting the two pots of coffee, he had just placed the bacon in the oven when the kitchen door swung open, and Ember groggily walked toward the counter.
“I’m getting too old for this shit.”
“Right there with you.” Closing the oven door, he took the eggs out of the fridge.
“Did you hear Diamond has decided to close her office?”
“No, I didn’t,” he answered, carrying the eggs to the counter, where he had placed a large bowl.
“Knox is going to take a leave of absence for a month, and they’re all going on a vacation to her island.” Ember went to check on the bacon. “She doesn’t want to represent clients anymore.”
“I can’t say I blame her.”
“Shit, me, either. Knox came by to ask if anyone would be willing to come and help clean out her office this morning.”
“Any takers?”
“I think Nickel, Shade, and Viper told him they would.”
“I’ll text him. I can help after breakfast.”
Was that what Shade was going to tell him? About Knox needing some help? Moon didn’t think so. How would that involve doing him a solid?
Texting Knox, he told him he would swing by Diamond’s office after breakfast.
He gave Ember a harassed look when he smelled the bacon burning, then put both Shade and Knox to the back of his mind.
A s he went through the entrance of Diamond’s building, he couldn’t help but glance in the direction of Larissa’s office. Why in the fuck was he still thinking about her? There had never been a woman he had fucked who he hadn’t been able to forget about. What made her so different?
Moon found the brothers in Diamond’s office, taping up boxes. They had already removed the office furniture. An eerie feeling struck him at how stark the space had become.
Knox lifted a large box into his arms. “You mind cleaning out Dimond’s desk? She was supposed to do it. Brink was running a fever, and I told her I would take care of it.”
“Sure.” Moon took one of the empty boxes and carried it to the desk. It didn’t take long to clear out the odds and ends. Placing a pair of black shoes on top, he carried the box to the other room as Knox and Shade walked back into the office.
“You can take that to my car,” Knox told him. “Shade and I can get the desk when Viper gets back with the truck. Thanks for the help. I think we can handle the rest.”
“You sure you don’t need my help with the desk?”
“Yes, it’s not heavy. Shade and I could probably do it on our own.”
“All right, then. Catch you later.”
“Later.”
Moon left with the box, deciding to take the elevator instead of carrying the overstuffed box down the steps.
As he stepped off of the elevator, he had a clear view of the ER doctor and the woman who had been in the office the day he confronted Larissa.
There was a shopping bag on the front desk, and the doc was holding up a baby’s sleeper. He stopped cold when he read the word scrawled across the material.
Auntie’s Little Angel.
There was no fucking way. He had used a condom. One of them must be pregnant , he assured himself, despite his eyes telling him neither of the two women he could clearly see were expecting.
He had almost convinced himself until the one he had mistakenly kissed glanced toward the door. Moon thought the woman was about to pass out when she found him standing there. The other woman turned her head to see what she was staring at, and her face showed an almost identical expression.
Terror.
The box dropped from his hands. He strode toward the door and jerked it open.