Chapter Eighteen
Jenna
I thanked my lucky stars my spare room was located down the stairs as opposed to down the hall. I was also pretty relieved my parents had gone to bed in the forty minutes it took Kade to leave and come back. But most of all, I was exceptionally happy my man had come back.
It wasn’t because of the two orgasms he made sure I enjoyed.
Or, rather, it wasn’t just because of those.
I was happy that after dinner with my parents, knowing they’d still be around in the morning, he wanted to stay.
They were good people, Pete and Stacey Hayes. I hadn’t exactly meant to test them, but I’d left out enough details that Kade had been a bit of a surprise once fully revealed. I noticed how dad kept a close eye on him throughout the evening, and the way mom was constantly assessing me. In the end, they’d been friendly, because that’s who they were, while Kade had been laid back and easy to talk to, because that’s who he was.
After Kade left with Barb, mom commented on what great company they were; dad complimented me on dinner; they both told me they loved me, and then they went to bed. It wasn’t a boisterous vote of approval, but we all knew that wasn’t what I was after. What I wanted more than anything was acceptance, from all sides, and I’d received it.
I suspected I’d get a phone call from mom in a couple of days, wanting a real mother-daughter chat about the man I’d given access to my heart. I looked forward to it. I wanted to know what she thought of him, and all the things dad would say only when they were alone.
But when I woke up on Sunday morning, stretched out naked along Kade’s side, I was content knowing I’d made my choice.
I wasn’t sure of the time. Neither did I feel like rolling away from Kade to check my phone and find out. The sun peeking through the blinds was pale, so I knew it was still early. Nevertheless, given the movement I heard down the hall, I took that to mean it was time to get up.
It was silly to think Kade and I could be awake and showered before my farmer parents. Even without an alarm, I had no doubt they were up and around before the sun. I didn’t always mind the layout of my townhouse and its lack of a primary bathroom—but I did that morning.
Hopefully we didn’t reek of sex.
I glanced up at Kade and found him still sleeping. With a smile, I lifted the covers in order to maneuver my way on top of him. My legs straddling his hips, I leaned down and touched my nose to his neck, breathing him in. He still smelled like him—manly and delicious—but with a hint of something else. The musk of us .
“You get me hard, we’re not leavin’ this room until I’ve had your pussy,” he rumbled, his voice gravely and low.
I laughed as I sat up, but I didn’t move away from him as he took hold of my hips.
“We cannot have sex right now. My parents are definitely awake and, at this point, probably caffeinated. We can’t even sneak out for a shower. But, if you want to go first, I can run interference."
“Don’t mind the scent of you, babe. I can wait. Could go for a cup of Joe myself.”
“Okay.”
I leaned in for a quick kiss before we both got out of bed. Kade donned the jeans and tee he’d worn the night before, leaving his kutte on the bench at the foot of my bed. He did, however, extract a thick band from one of its pockets, and I couldn’t help but to watch as he bent and threw his hair over his head before gathering his curls into a top knot. It was very rocker-esque and kind of hot.
I slipped into a pair of leggings and a baggy sweatshirt, then stole one of my hair ties from Kade’s wrist—leaving him with four.
He quirked an eyebrow at me, expressing his disapproval.
Speaking through a grin as I finger combed my hair into a ponytail, I assured him, “I’m only borrowing it.” After I felt somewhat presentable, I took a deep breath and asked, “Ready?”
He smirked. “Babe, your parents aren’t dumb. They know we’re fuckin’.”
I felt a blush warm my cheeks. For a second, I wasn’t sure if I was more embarrassed by what he’d said or by the fact that what he’d said made me blush.
Shaking it off, I huffed, “Sure, somewhere, subconsciously they know. But in thirty seconds, they’ll know . They’re aware I’m not a virgin, but I’ve never rubbed it in their faces.”
His smirk had turned into a grin, and he was almost laughing when he replied, “Foxy, you may have introduced me as Kade, but the Maverick in me is always on full display. They took one look at me and knew we were fuckin’. Way you kept touchin’ me durin’ dinner all but solidified it. Stop over thinkin’ it. This won’t be the last time we walk out that door to have coffee with your parents.”
I bit my lower lip, annoyed he was right.
I also really liked the part about this not being the last time.
Without another word, I turned for the door.
I ignored his soft chuckle as I stepped into the hallway.
Then he reached for my hand, lacing his fingers through mine, and every part of me softened. When I peeked up at him out of the corner of my eye, he was still smiling. I shook my head as we continued down the hall, now annoyed I couldn’t stop myself from smiling, too.
We found mom and dad at the kitchen table, dressed and ready for the day with mugs of coffee in front of them.
“Good morning.”
Dad spotted us first, cleared his throat, and reached for his mug as he mumbled, “Morning.”
Mom looked our way, and I saw a flash of surprise at Kade’s presence, but it was gone in a second. “Well, good morning.”
And there it was again—their acceptance.
I shouldn’t have been amazed. They knew as well as anyone, what someone looked like didn’t define the characteristics of their heart. Not to mention, I was happy, I knew they saw how much, and they wouldn’t take that from me.
Still, I was suddenly in a really good mood.
“Your dad and I have already made our way through our first cup of coffee and helped ourselves to another. The pot’s running low, but I’m more than happy to make some more,” Mom said as she started to stand.
“Mom, sit. I got it.”
She didn’t sit. Instead, she started for the kitchen and said, “Okay, you handle the coffee, I’ll handle breakfast. You’ve got everything I need for biscuits and gravy, unless you were planning on using that sausage for something else? Kade, are you alright with biscuits and gravy?”
“Yeah. Sounds great.”
“Biscuits and gravy it is,” I conceded.
A little more than an hour later, dad and Kade were finishing their second helping of breakfast and bonding over their mutual agreement of the best classic rock bands when Kade got a phone call. In all the time I’d known him, he rarely even responded to a text when he was with me. He was as old school as his music tastes. His phone was always on him, but he wasn’t glued to it. So, when he looked to see who was calling and excused himself from the table in order to answer, I knew it was important.
When he reappeared, his feet no longer bare and his kutte on his back, my nerves caused my full stomach to cramp.
“I’m sorry. I hate to leave in a rush, but I’ve gotta go. Thanks again for breakfast. Babe, walk me out?”
I was on my feet before he’d even finished the question.
As I made my way to his side, mom murmured, “I hope everything’s alright, and we’ll see you again soon.”
Kade merely dipped his chin in a silent farewell as he took my hand and started for the stairs. We were out on my front stoop before he stopped to tell me what was going on.
“Gotta ride, foxy.”
The nervous feeling in my stomach grew more intense, but I tried my best not to show it.
“Okay. Um—on a scale from one to ten, how dangerous is this ride?”
The corner of Kade’s mouth twitched in amusement before he replied, “Five.”
“So, not zero ,” I muttered.
“Babe,” he started to say, bending a little to bring his face closer to mine. “I’m gonna need you to trust me. Trust I’ll find my way back to you. Trust you , all on your own, give me a reason to watch my back that much more.”
I nodded as my chest grew tight.
It was a really nice thing of him to say.
I reached up to take hold of either side of his face and brought him to me for a kiss. He didn’t resist, his tongue seeking entrance into my mouth right away. I parted my lips happily, wanting as much as he would give me.
For a moment, we got so lost in the kiss, I almost forgot we were saying goodbye.
It was Kade who pulled away, bringing me back to the matter at hand.
“Short on time, babe.”
“Right. Sorry.” I dropped my hands to my sides and took a step back. “Check in when you can?”
“Will do.”
Before he walked away, he pressed a kiss to my forehead, and my eyes fell closed of their own volition. He’d never done that before, and I wasn’t sure if the act made me feel more or less anxious.
At the sound of his retreating footsteps, I opened my eyes. I watched as he mounted his Harley, my heart racing as it roared to life.
'Trust I’ll find my way back to you.'
I didn’t know where he was going.
I didn’t know why.
All I could do was trust him and the brothers who had his back.
Maverick
He had time to stop at home for a quick shower and a change of clothes. He also made sure to hook his concealed, waistband holster into the back of his jeans before he filled it with his nine-millimeter Smith Bull, Shepherd, Mustang, and Wrangler were around the table when he arrived. Twister was soon to follow. Slick rolled in last, clearly hungover.
Bull, who’d sounded pissed when Maverick had taken his earlier call, appeared not to have calmed down.
“If you’re not good to ride, get out.”
Slick jolted at the command. “The fuck? It ain’t even noon on a Sunday.”
“Yeah, and we’ve got a man dead. I don’t have time for anyone’s bullshit.”
“ What? ”
It was Mustang who asked the question on everyone’s mind as all eyes snapped toward their leader.
“River. Twenty-five-fuckin’-years old. Young and dumb is what he was, but he was still one of ours. Or, better put, one of Viper’s. ”
“ Shit ,” hissed Twister.
“Viper?” asked Wrangler. “Son-of-a-bitch. It was the cartel?”
Bull jerked his chin in reply, and Shepherd pounded his fist against the table as Mustang got up and kicked his chair, causing it to topple onto its side.
“One of ours, not one of theirs,” Maverick said, trying to process the onslaught of information. “What does it mean?”
“We were warned. We retaliate and it’s war.”
“Not gonna lie—not sure I’m down to fight a war Viper started all on his own,” said Mustang.
“I’m with Stang,” piped in Slick, who had grown more alert in the last two minutes.
“We’re not warrin’ with Alvarez,” Bull assured his men. “We’re out of the drug business. Couldn’t be more fuckin’ clear about it.”
“Viper’s done,” stated Twister.
Bull cut his eyes at his VP and muttered, “Viper’s in the wind.”
“Fuck,” Maverick breathed.
“So, what now?” asked Wrangler.
“No one goes anywhere unarmed, just in case. And we’re takin’ a trip. Need to have a chat with Alvarez. He needs to know Viper’s on his own. Any business dealings he conducts are not in the name of the Wild Stallions. We’ll deal with the problem, and there will be no retaliation.”
“And Viper?”
“We gotta neutralize the threat first,” Bull replied. “Viper turns up stirrin’ shit and Alvarez doesn’t stop at shootin’ one of us in his territory but comes huntin’ us down? We’ll have bigger problems than the ones we’ve already got.”
“Understood.”
Shifting his attention Maverick’s way, Bull said, “Headed to Laporte.”
Maverick nodded, having already pieced that together. Laporte, Colorado was just outside of Fort Collins. It was a discrete location for the cartel’s compound and Gabriel’s small mansion. Only problem was, there was no discrete way of getting there. Even the back roads would be guarded.
“487 to 287 would be my vote. I-25 gets us to Laporte faster, but we’d have to drive through town to reach the compound.”
“They know we’re comin’?” inquired Mustang.
“No. Alvarez is shuttin’ me out,” replied Bull.
“We’ll split up,” interjected Maverick. “Me, Twister, and Wrangler will roll in first. We’ll establish that we’re not there to make trouble.”
“Map it,” Bull commanded in agreement. “We ride in thirty.”
Five minutes later, Winnie brought in sandwiches as an early lunch for those who hadn’t eaten. Maverick did as he was told and mapped out their route. It was simple enough, so long as they didn’t run into any trouble along the way.
They’d stop for fuel halfway through their five-hour journey. On the tail end, there was a small gas station four miles up the road from the compound. The plan was for group A to head straight for the cartel while group B hung back until they got the all clear.
Thirty minutes later, they were mounting their hogs.
Before they set out, Maverick remembered to shoot Jenna a text.
He didn’t wait for her reply.
He pocketed his phone and hit the road at the front of their pack.
It was a long ride, but the weather was mild, and traffic was light, offering the freedom of speed. They got lucky on their journey, the wind at their backs as they reached the southern parts of Wyoming. As discussed, less than an hour after they crossed the Colorado border, the four men at the rear of their formation broke off to hang back at the gas station along their route. Maverick slowed down as they drew nearer to the compound, Wrangler and Twister following suit.
They were a quarter mile from their destination when shots were fired.
Maverick heard the pop-pop of the first two gunshots.
He didn’t register the sound of the third, but he felt the burn of the bullet as it hit his neck.
“ Fuck ,” he shouted, his hands tightening instinctively around the handlebars of his cruiser.
He pulled off to the side of the road only to make a wide U-turn before he headed in the opposite direction at full speed. More gunfire ensued, but Maverick couldn’t see where it was coming from. Neither did he bother to investigate, instead listening to ensure his brothers were still at his back. The rumble of their nearby engines was his confirmation.
He gritted his teeth, the pain at his neck a sensation he couldn’t ignore, regardless of the spike of adrenaline coursing through his veins.
“Fuck!” he cried into the wind.
They pulled into the gas station in under five minutes. Maverick didn’t realize his hands were shaking until he parked his hog, killed the engine, and reached for the side of his neck.
“What the hell happened?” Bull demanded to know.
“Shots fired. Didn’t even reach the gate,” answered Wrangler, sounding pissed.
Maverick pulled his hand away from his neck to find his fingers smeared with blood.
“Shit,” he muttered the same time Twister asked, “Mav, you hit?”
He didn’t get a chance to answer before Mustang was at his side.
“Fuck, man,” he grumbled, edging closer. He carefully pushed Maverick’s head to the side to get a better look. “Broke the skin. There’s a good amount of blood, but no way it hit an artery. You wouldn’t have made it this far on your own.”
“You get hit anywhere else? You okay?” asked Bull.
“Stings like a mother-fucker, but I’m fine,” Maverick answered.
“What about you two?”
“We’re good,” insisted Twister. “I mean, we’re fucked, but we’re good.”
“Move,” came Shepherd’s voice a second later. “I’ll patch him up. Nothin’ more than a Band-Aid, but it’ll keep it covered until he can see the doc.”
Bull, who now had his phone pressed against his ear, pointed at Maverick as he said, “We hit Gillette, you head straight for him.”
“Nurse in my bed will do me just fine. Sooner we get the fuck goin’, sooner I get there.”
Satisfied with his plan, Bull dipped his chin in approval, then shifted his focus to the voice in his ear. “You lay low. I don’t want Cheyenne takin’ on shit! If I hear you got work outside the garage, you’re done.”
They all knew he was talking to Bronco. Or, more accurately, showing the man mercy. Viper had created this mess, but Bronco’s inability to govern his men couldn’t be overlooked.
Bull didn’t bother with goodbye before he disconnected and started for his hog.
“We’re out. Until I find another way to get in touch with Alvarez, we’re all layin’ low.” He mounted his Road King, then looked back at Maverick and asked, “You good to ride?”
He could feel the blood leaking from his neck already starting to soak the bandage Shepherd had applied. The open wound still burned, but he could ride. He didn’t have much choice. He wiped the blood from his fingers onto his jeans then started up his cruiser, revving the engine for good measure.
More than the five-hour ride he had ahead of him, he was worried about the shit he’d get from his lady when he showed up at her doorstep with a blood-stained collar and a wound he needed her to treat—but he didn’t share this.
Instead, he simply hollered, “Let’s roll.”
Jenna
I was in a nightie, wrapped in my robe, sitting on the couch, barely paying attention to the reality show I’d turned on to distract me. My parents had left for home late afternoon, giving me the extra headspace to think about my man.
It was after ten o’clock, and I knew I needed to be in bed—but it was after ten o’clock , and I hadn’t heard from Kade in hours .
When the rumble of his approaching motorcycle caught my attention, I shifted my eyes toward the window. A part of me wanted to be relieved he was back, but I was too agitated for that relief to penetrate. I turned off the TV, got to my feet, and hurried down the stairs.
As I swung open the front door, ready to let him know how much I did not appreciate him going back on his word, leaving me to worry for most of the day, I had to admit—I was a bit of a sassy pants.
Surprise, surprise, he was right about me. Again .
Except, after he got off his hog and started heading my way, I noticed something was wrong. At first, it was the way he stormed toward me with a stony look on his face that made me lose my bravado. It wasn’t until he stepped into my porch light that I saw the bandage on his neck and the blood staining the collar of his tee.
I was no longer feeling sassy.
“What happened?” I asked, shock keeping my panic at bay.
“Got nicked,” he answered matter-of-factly.
He didn’t stop but grabbed my hand and pulled me after him inside.
“Nicked?!” I cried as panic began to claw its way into my chest. “With what ?”
He closed the door behind us, dropped my hand, and raised his eyebrows at me. “Foxy—”
“With what , Kade?” I semi-repeated, refusing to be handled.
“Bullet,” he muttered.
My eyes got huge.
“A bullet? A bullet?!”
“Came straight here, babe. Would appreciate it if you lost your shit after you patched up your man.”
I opened my mouth, ready to lose my shit, then replayed what he said in my head.
He’d been nicked.
By a bullet .
He had a Band-Aid over a gunshot wound.
I closed my mouth, turned on my heel, then stomped my way up the stairs.
Kade trailed after me.
“Sit,” I demanded, pointing at my kitchen table as I made my way to my first aid kit.
I kept it underneath the sink. I rarely used it, but it was stocked like I handled emergencies in my living room all the time.
One could never be over-prepared.
Like, say, when a gunshot victim showed up on your doorstep.
I washed my hands, gloved up, then set about patching up my man .
A dozen questions swirled around in my mind as I cleaned and treated his wound. I wondered how long ago he’d been shot. I was curious how soon after he’d been nicked was he able to cover the wound. I wanted to ask about his pain level, and if he’d like a numbing agent. It wasn’t an insignificant graze.
But I kept my mouth shut and assumed the worst.
I took my time, showing him extra care, hoping it would help me calm down a bit.
After I’d rubbed a bit of numbing cream around the affected area, Kade reached for my bare thigh, stroking the back of it repetitively. I guessed this was his silent way of saying thank you , and—admittedly—it made me feel a little better.
Unfortunately, this didn’t last long.
Once I’d applied a fresh bandage, I removed my gloves and then proceeded to search the rest of him.
“Foxy?”
I ignored him, continued my search, then froze when my fingers found a hole in the side of his kutte.
“Two bullets? Two? ”
He looked down, as if news of the second bullet was a surprise, and I lifted his shirt to make sure he really was otherwise okay. When I found his skin perfectly intact, I took a step back and proceeded to lose my shit.
“Getting shot at is not a five-out-of-ten danger level, Maverick! Try twelve-out-of-ten. Try twenty -out-of-ten! This is never going to work if you aren’t honest with me. I’m doing my best here. I really am. But do you understand how stressful my life is on a regular day?
“I work in an emergency room, for crying out loud. Now I’ve got a man who thinks getting shot at is a five-out-of-ten danger level, plus a dick of a doctor threatening me, and I can’t deal, Mav. Something’s got to give!”
Kade’s eyes grew dark, and he spoke slowly when he asked, “Someone’s threatening you?”
“So not the point right now!” I cried.
He stood to his feet, forcing me to look up, and up some more.
“You’re pickin’ a fight, which means you hidin’ shit from me is fair game.”
My jaw fell open, and my eyes got wide again, appalled by his logic.
“Someone shot a gun at you—not nearly as big of a deal as some jackass threatening my job.”
“When are you gonna learn, anyone messes with you, they’re messin’ with the Stallions?”
My voice rising, I yelled, “I can fight my own battles, Kade! What I can’t do is live without you! ”
As soon as the words rolled over my tongue, I gasped and clapped both hands over my mouth.
I hadn’t meant to say that. It just, sort of, came out in the heat of the moment.
Except, as I stared up at him—his brown eyes staring right back—I realized it was true.
Since the moment I’d chosen him, I’d let my heart go wild.
I wasn’t holding back.
I wasn’t checking boxes.
I wasn’t writing and rewriting countless versions of an unhappy ending.
I was falling in love with him.
He’d become the man I wanted.
The man who made me feel safe.
The man I could trust with my heart.
He wouldn’t hurt me. Not on purpose. I was sure of it.
But the thought of losing him by someone else’s hand made me feel frantic.
I couldn’t lose him before we got our chance at real happiness.
Every time he had to ride it wasn’t merely Kade I had to trust.
It wasn’t my choice in him, or my confidence in his promises.
It wasn’t even his brothers in whom I could fully rely.
His world was dangerous, and there was no escaping that.
We stared at each other for a long time, my declaration between us.
Kade was the first to move.
His eyes still pinned on me, he shrugged his way out of his kutte and blindly tossed it onto the table. He then removed his bloody tee, dropping it to the floor.
Finally, he reached for my wrists, gently tugging my hands away from my mouth in order to make room for his.
His kiss was insistent and tender, like always; but it was also slower and deeper, making it feel more intimate. Just like so many of his kisses, regardless of the frenzy of emotions swirling around my head, I couldn’t bring myself to stop it. Instead, I pressed up onto tiptoe, wrapped my arms around him, and gave him all my worry and fear.
He took every bit of it and then some.
When he broke our kiss, I whimpered my disappointment, but that disappointment was short lived. He bent to scoop me against his chest, my legs hooked over one arm with his other across my back.
“Kade,” I murmured as he began carrying me toward my bedroom.
“Hush, babe,” was his gentle reply.
At the threshold of my room, he paused, and I flipped on the light. He then took me to the bed and laid me in the middle of it. Rather than join me, he proceeded to remove the rest of his clothing. I watched, arousal coursing through me at the sight of his erection.
In that moment, I knew he was right. This was what I needed. To have him naked and inside of me. For me to see and touch and feel all of him and know that he was alright, really alright, and that he was still mine .
He got on the bed with me, then proceeded to help me out of my clothes. When we were both completely naked, rather than touch me or reach for a condom, he made room for himself between my legs, and came to me for another kiss, his hard length heavy on my abdomen between us.
It was another slow, deep, sensual kiss, and with his warm skin against mine, it made me want him all the more. Soon, my desire felt more like an ache.
“Honey,” I whispered against his lips, my hands pressing insistently against the small of his back.
He pulled away a little, just enough for us to see clearly into each other’s eyes.
“You on the pill?”
The butterflies in my stomach went wild.
“No, but I have an IUD.”
“You trust me?”
I trusted him with my whole life.
I let him know this as I spread my knees open with a nod.
My breath caught in excitement when he reached down between us, wetting his tip in the arousal already leaking out of me. Then he began to slide inside of my center. He took his time, biting his lip as he went. When he was fully seated, he groaned, propping his forehead against mine. My sex clenched in response, and that earned me another kiss.
It was wet and unrestrained and absolutely perfect.
But it was when he began to move in and out of me, rolling his hips just so, that I understood the extent of what he was doing.
He wasn’t merely taking me bare for the first time.
He wasn’t just letting me know with his body that he was okay.
He was making love to me.
My chest grew tight with the realization, and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to cry or moan. In the end, I did a little of both, my hands roaming over every part of him I could reach.
“Right here, foxy,” Kade mumbled, brushing away my tears with a kiss of his lips. “You feel me?”
He thrust deep, and I arched my back, pressing my sensitive breasts against his chest.
My nipples tingled as I sighed, “I feel you, honey.”
He pulled out slowly, then thrust deep again, and I moaned my delight.
He did this for a while, patiently coaxing the passion within me.
The longer he kept at it, the bigger the promise of my orgasm felt.
When it was just out of reach, each return thrust beckoning it to the surface, I was panting even as Kade continued to love me slowly.
“Kade, baby ,” I gasped, my fingers gripped around the back of both his biceps for leverage. “Don’t stop! Baby—oh, honey— yes .”
I lost my words as my pleasure overwhelmed me.
No sound left me at all as wave after wave of ecstasy rushed through me, causing my entire body to tremble as my sex pulsed around Kade’s length.
I was still coming when he tucked his face in my neck, licking my skin as his hips began to jerk erratically, picking up speed as he surrendered his own passion at the pull of mine. He spilled his seed inside of me and with one final thrust, buried himself deep and stilled.
When we were both spent, he gave me his weight, and I wrapped him in my limps, not even the least bit bothered that all of him on top of me made it difficult to breathe.
It only lasted a moment, anyway.
Soon, he was on his forearms, propped over me, his gaze locked with mine.
“We’re goin’ the distance, babe. You’re not gonna lose me.”
“Okay,” I whispered, the tightness in my chest returning, my heart suddenly incredibly full.
“I mean it. Not goin’ any-fuckin’-where. Not so long as I’ve got you.”
Speaking around the knot in my throat, I warned, “I’m going to hold you to that.”
He smiled, and the butterflies within danced.
“Don’t I know it,” he replied before he kissed me.
When he pulled out a minute later, he made sure to watch me as he did it. My mewl at his departure earned me a smirk, and then he left me alone in bed, instructing me not to move. He returned with a damp cloth and proceeded to clean me up, then we both climbed between the sheets naked.
I barely had a chance to get settled before he was on his side, head propped against his fist, his eyes on me as he insisted, “Now, tell me about this doc threatenin’ you.”
I froze for a second, having forgotten I’d mentioned that.
“Are you going to beat him up if I do?” I asked, turning to mimic his stance.
“We’ll send the appropriate message. Nothing more, nothing less.”
I hesitated as I considered the ease of letting Kade and the Stallions resolve my issue, but then I shook the thought away. “I really am trying to handle this on my own, honey.”
He stared at me for a moment, and I saw the debate he had with himself play out in his eyes. Finally, he muttered, “Fine. Compromise. When this shit with the club gets sorted, if your shit isn’t handled, it becomes my responsibility.”
Compromise . I liked the sound of that. A lot.
“How much time does that buy me?”
“Wish I knew. Hiccup today set us back. A week. Maybe two. Can’t let it drag on too long or we’re fucked.”
I frowned at the possibility of the Stallions being fucked . Seeing as my man had been shot at twice that day, which was apparently not fucked—by his standards, certainly not mine—I very much did not like the idea of whatever it was dragging on too long.
“You’re ruining my mellow mood,” I told him.
“I know how to get it back. Now, we got a deal or what?”
A week. Maybe two.
If I was honest with myself, and I knew I needed to be, that was probably about all the length of time I could take. My shifts with Logan had become extraordinarily exhausting. I was always having to triple check everything to ensure I wasn’t putting a patient’s life in danger. That was on top of me having to pretend I’d heeded his advice and stopped asking around about him—which I had not. He’d certainly made it a lot harder, and I was still having trouble getting anyone to talk to me, but I hadn’t given up.
Add to that, Kade wasn’t the only one I hadn’t told about Logan’s threat. I confessed to Heather he was onto me, and she should be careful, too; but I didn’t tell her how bad it was from fear she’d shut the whole thing down.
“Babe, plan on gettin’ that mellow mood back soon as we’re done talkin’—so, we got a deal?” Kade asked, his eyebrows raised expectantly.
My mind made up, I nodded, and this was apparently all the answer Kade needed.
The next thing I knew, I was on my back and lost in a really great kiss.
An hour later, and way past my bedtime, I was beyond mellow.
Sated and content, wrapped in my man’s arms, I found sleep with ease.