Chapter Seventeen
Kytten
Sitting on the couch in the main room, I let my hand run absently over Tucker’s head. He had wormed his way into my heart and I wasn’t even a dog person.
Okay, so I didn’t know if I was a dog person.
I’d never had a dog. The Nyght Nymphs were called away at a moment’s notice, sometimes all of us at once.
It wouldn’t have been fair to the dog to be left alone for days on end.
And it wouldn’t have been fair to the women and children we helped if they lost precious minutes because we had to find a sitter for the dog when we left.
But once I gave in and let Tucker get close, I found the joy in not only having him close, but he was good to talk to. He couldn’t talk back and he couldn’t tell my secrets.
I told him everything.
Maureen came to the clubhouse most mornings, Tucker in tow. And I started taking him for a walk. Together we walked around the grounds. I was conscious of the cameras now and knew they had sound. That meant I had to be careful where I talked.
The dog didn’t judge me. He didn’t care if I cried. And when I started to call to the monsters, when I could feel my hand reaching to scratch my leg, he always seemed to know.
He would nudge his head under my hand. I guess the way he saw it was, if I was going to scratch, it needed to be him. I wondered if he knew just how much he helped me.
Looking into his eyes as he laid on his back and stared up at me, I thought maybe he did.
The front door opened and Tucker spun around so fast, I braced myself for danger. What I saw was another dog that looked almost identical.
Aspen walked in behind the dog, followed by Banshee. A brother I hadn’t yet met but one who voted with Cash anyway.
That was loyalty and trust.
I stood from the couch and walked closer. Aspen’s dog—Cash told me his name was Diesel—growled as I got closer, and I wondered if he could sense the monsters.
I swallowed hard as the dog bared his teeth at me until Tucker nipped him. Diesel stopped growling but watched me closely.
“Hi, Kytten.”
“Aspen. How are you?”
She shrugged. Banshee came up behind her and whispered in her ear, and I watched as she smiled and nodded. That was interesting. I knew Aspen’s history. About her father trying to marry her off to Banshee, and when he refused, Kronos chose Pepper.
Knowing what I did about Pepper, and seeing Banshee in the flesh, it was clear Aspen got the short end of that deal.
The officers filed in a few minutes later, and King and Cash appeared from the hallway. They headed into church, Haizley following them. Cash motioned to me, and I walked over, confusion marring my face, I was sure.
“We all agreed, you should be in here too.”
“Why?” I asked. I knew Sypher sometimes joined church. Dante rarely did, but he didn’t seem to mind. He hung out with Amber and the old ladies instead.
“Because you saved her. She needs a familiar face at her side. Someone she knows is there for her.”
I smiled at his words. If he only knew how much it meant to be included. I grabbed his cut and pulled him down so I could kiss him. His groan went straight to my pussy as his arms went around my waist.
A throat clearing had us both pulling back.
“Sorry, Prez,” Cash said, taking my hand and leading me into the room. I knew where Cash’s seat was, and when I looked at him with a question in my eyes, he smiled and hitched his chin in Aspen’s direction. That was only one of the reasons I had fallen in love with him. His respect for what I did.
I pulled out the chair next to Aspen and sat down. Her shy smile told me she was glad to have me there. I reached over and held her hand.
“You’ve got this.”
“Aspen, we know you’ve been through a lot the last few months, but we need to talk about the Death Dogs,” King began.
“I understand,” she said. Her voice filled with bravado.
“You gave a brief rundown before. But now we need to know everything,” King said.
The room was quiet as Aspen told her story. How she was introduced to Pepper. How quickly the abuse started and the reason behind why he put her in the hospital.
I watched as every man around the table fisted their hands with every instance of abuse, both mental and physical. I was proud to know I was involved with a club that wouldn’t stand for women being treated that way.
Cash and I had rushed into things. I could admit that. I still hadn’t told Val about him. Or that I was now his old lady. I didn’t know what her reaction would be.
I wasn’t sure I cared, if I was being honest. She had her daughter now. And once Amber knew who Val was to her, she would replace me.
“Kytten,” King called. “What can you tell us?”
“We got the call within minutes of Aspen being brought into the hospital. It wasn’t the first time she had been there, and the contact we have knew that if we didn’t get her out, next time she would be in a body bag.”
I rubbed Aspen’s hand when it tightened in mine. She knew it was the truth, but it didn’t make it any easier to hear.
“How did you get her out? Without raising the alarm?”
Everyone in the room had their eyes on me, except for Sypher. He already knew my answer.
“Club business,” I replied, my expression blank. I didn’t miss the look King sent Cash. “Without permission from my president, I can’t give you that information. I’m sure you understand.”
My eyes never left King as he tried to stare me down. If he was waiting for me to falter, he would have a long wait.
“Sypher?” he asked, his eyes boring into me.
Sypher let out a long breath. “Every member of the Nyght Nymphs has medical training. Valhalla goes in as a doctor and orders tests. The patient is then transferred, if they are stable enough, for the tests and wheeled out into an ambulance that takes them to an undisclosed location.”
King studied me as Sypher spoke. I knew what he was looking for. He wanted me to react to the fact that Sypher had given him information I refused to relinquish.
Only he wouldn’t get what he was looking for. I had spent years hiding behind fake smiles. I gave him one now.
“Jesus Christ,” Cash muttered. “Enough with the pissing contest. King, don’t be a dick to my woman.”
That got a reaction, though. My mouth dropped open, and I stared at Cash. “What the fuck did you just say to your president?”
His eyes snapped to mine. “Rose—”
“Nuh-uh. In this room, I am Kytten. Don’t use our relationship to be disrespectful.”
The men snickered around the table. Cash narrowed his eyes at me and promised, “We’ll talk about this later.”
You bet your ass we will.
“Let’s get back on track,” King said, slapping his hand on the table. “Aspen, do you have ideas about how the Death Dogs may have found you, or why they would move the whole club as opposed to sending a few men with Pepper to come after you?”
“I don’t. Pepper made it clear I was nothing to him. He didn’t want to marry me any more than I wanted to marry him, but his president ordered him to.”
“What is the possibility this is a coincidence?” Banshee asked.
“If they aren’t looking for Aspen, why move the club?” Blade asked.
“Why move the club at all?” I said. “Take Aspen out of the picture for a minute. What are the reasons you would move a club? The Death Dogs are not a small club, so why not start a new chapter, like you guys did? If you want to move into an area, why give up the area you already have to get it?”
“She’s got a point, Prez,” Gunner said, then winked at me. He could wink all he wanted; he was still on my shit list for the way he talked to Haizley. I don’t care if she liked it. If it was some kind of twisted foreplay.
I looked over at Cash. He hadn’t taken his eyes off me since I’d called him out. I thought about what Gunner said to Haizley about beating her ass. If Cash thought for a minute that shit would be okay with me, he could have his cut back.
“Sypher, Nav. Dig into Flagstaff; find out if there is a reason they left. We have to have someone down there we can contact.” He slammed the gavel on the table, signaling he was done.
I was still talking to Aspen when I felt his arms slip around me.
“Excuse me, Aspen, I need a word with my old lady.”
“Cash—”
“Let’s go, Kytten. ”
He lifted me off my feet like a doll and carried me out, while Jack held the door open, a wide grin covering his face. He didn’t put me down until we were by the stairs. He spun me around, and before I could say a word, I was bouncing on his shoulder as he jogged up the stairs.
As soon as the door to his room closed, he tossed me on the bed and climbed over me. My heart was racing but I refused to show him any fear.
“You have any idea how fucking uncomfortable that was for me?”
“Cash—”
He cut me off with a hard kiss. When he pulled back, I was confused.
“He was testing you, baby. I knew what he was doing, and it pissed me the fuck off. But when you called me out. Fuck, Rose.” He ground himself against me, and I could feel his stiff dick. “I’ve been so fucking hard ever since.”
He sat up on his knees, his hands pulling at my jeans. He had the button and zipper undone and my pants around my thighs before my mind could comprehend his words.
“What?”
He growled when my pants caught on my boots. Then, he pushed my legs forward and tugged off my boots and jeans.
“Cash, I don’t understand,” I said, leaning up on my elbows. I thought he was mad at me.
“Talk later, baby. Right now, I want to eat this pussy.” With his hand on my chest, he pushed me back against the bed. His face between my legs turned off my brain to everything but the feel of his tongue as he licked and slurped at my cunt. He sucked on my clit and my body exploded.
“This pussy is mine, Rose.”
“Yes,” I moaned. He could have whatever he wanted as long as he kept doing what he was doing. He moved up my body until his lips were on mine. His tongue shoved into my mouth, and I pulled him tighter.
My hands went to his belt, quickly unfastening the buckle and popping the buttons until I could reach in and fist his hard cock.
“Fuck, Rose.” His eyes closed as I moved my hand up and down the shaft, squeezing and twisting, causing him to hiss and moan.
We both cursed when I released him, but I needed two hands to shove the denim over his hips and ass. He leaned up on his knees to help, and I scurried out from under him.
“Where the fuck are you going? I’m not done with you.” The sexy grin I gave him made his cock twitch.
“Neither am I.”