Chapter Five #2
“Want to put you in front of a mirror, give you a good, hard fucking. That way, I get to see everything, even when I take you from behind.” He nipped my ear. “Then I’m getting that toy of yours out. The wireless one. How many times do you think I can make you come today?”
“Oh, God. It’s too much, Halden. I can’t…”
He ran his nose down mine. “You can. And you know you’ll love every second. You’re my personal little porn star. Only dick you get is mine, but damn, sweetheart. You could put those professionals to shame.”
My cheeks warmed. “Sex didn’t interest me until you. Or rather, I was never tempted to be with someone. The toys were fine on their own. Then this big, sexy biker came to my rescue, and now his cock is the only one I want.”
“Good answer.” He kissed me hard and held me close.
Life might not be perfect right now, but at least I had Charming. He made it all worthwhile. I’d never be alone again.
* * *
Charming
I glared at the phone and answered as quick as I could. “Do you have any idea what time it is, you motherfucking asshole? If you woke up…”
I snapped my mouth shut and looked at Dakota. I’d worn her the fuck out, and now she slept soundly in our bed. Even if we hadn’t had sex multiple times today, it was late enough she’d still be asleep by now. If the phone had woken her, I’d have kicked Phantom’s ass.
“If I woke up who, Pres? Last I heard, you didn’t have an old lady. I haven’t been gone that long.”
“Long enough. Next time you take off without discussing it with me first, I’m going to kick your fucking ass.
Now what the hell was so important you had to take off like that?
A few lines of text and you shutting off your damn phone isn’t how this works.
I need details. If you’re going to run off like a damn vigilante, I need to know exactly what’s going on. ”
I listened to him for another ten minutes and ended the call.
Scrubbing my hands up and down my face, I wondered why nothing could ever be easy?
Someone was after my woman. Now Phantom was bringing home a woman and kids he wanted to keep.
And they had trouble on their heels. I could just feel it.
More shit was about to hit the club, and I hoped like hell we were ready.
The worst part was not being able to tell the club about Dakota.
I skimmed the texts from Specter. The fucker was no closer to ending the mess he’d made.
If I got one more excuse from his sorry ass, I’d break his damn nose when he finally showed up.
For someone worried about Dakota, he didn’t seem to be moving very fast. I hated not knowing what the fuck was going on.
Why was she in danger? Who the hell had he pissed off, and how?
I hoped I didn’t regret my next move, but I needed some answers.
As much as I liked Shade, his skills weren’t good enough this time.
Even he would admit as much. I pulled up Wire’s contact information and quietly slipped out of bed.
I went into the bathroom and shut the door, not wanting to wake up Dakota.
The call connected almost immediately, and I realized it was late there too, and they had kids in the house. All I heard was a deep growl. No hello or anything.
“Sorry if I woke you, or bothered the kids, but I need help,” I said. “I know Specter contacted you about his sister.”
I heard the rustle of sheets and his steps, then the squeak of a door. “What about her?”
“Specter is aware of her location. That’s all I’m going to say about that. However, I need some information. I hoped you might know why she was in danger to begin with. He’s given me cryptic answers to every question I’ve asked, and I don’t like it.”
Wire snorted. “No offense, Charming, but he doesn’t owe you shit. Unless…”
I didn’t like the sound of speculation in his voice. “Don’t continue that sentence. I won’t confirm or deny your suspicions. But it’s important for me to know why she’s in trouble. Specter doesn’t seem to be any closer to making sure she’s safe.”
“Fine. We’ll play that game for a moment, but we’re circling back to why you need to know. I’m not going up against Specter. Being able to destroy lives from the comfort of my home doesn’t mean I want on that asshole’s bad side. You hear me?”
“I got you, Wire. Really. This is important.”
“I did some digging. Didn’t go too deep because I didn’t want him getting suspicious.
What I can tell you is that he’s on the Cartel’s most wanted list right now.
He took out an important player, and the guy’s wife disappeared around the same time.
My assumption based on things I found is that Specter has her.
They want her back, and since he’s not playing by their rules, they want Dakota as leverage. ”
“Well, they can’t fucking have her,” I said.
“That’s what I thought,” he murmured. “Just her? Or am I protecting… more.”
I sighed, hating that he’d uncovered the truth, but it was a risk I’d known I would take when I reached out to him. “More.”
“Won’t say a word to anyone. Does he know?”
“He does,” I confirmed. “No one else does. Well, that’s not entirely true. The prospects do, since they helped me sneak her in. But my brothers and their old ladies are in the dark.”
“Right.” Wire cleared his throat. “You know, Darian and Bull might want to come visit Scratch. Wouldn’t hurt to send a few extra guys with them. I can plant a few seeds, see what happens.”
“I appreciate it, but mostly, I appreciate your silence.”
“I hope you know what you’re doing,” he said. “Call if you need anything. I’ll keep this off the radar of my club and yours. Need to tell Lavender since she helps me most of the time. She won’t say anything.”
“Thanks, Wire. I’ll owe you one.”
I ended the call and stared at my reflection in the bathroom mirror. The motherfucking Cartel wanted my woman? Wasn’t the first time we’d gone up against men like them. There were a few times I wasn’t sure we’d survive. Now I had more at stake than before.
“What the fuck, Specter?” I muttered. If he didn’t give the woman to them, there was no way those fuckers would back off. So why was he holding onto her?
As much as I wanted to rip into him for the stupidity of risking Dakota’s life, and my child’s, over some woman, I knew better.
He wouldn’t have kept her from those assholes for no reason.
Which meant they’d either hurt her, or the dumb shit had gone and fallen for her.
I hadn’t heard about a woman in his life, even though I knew he’d had a daughter.
I rubbed my hand over my face and went back to bed.
I didn’t think I’d fall asleep anytime soon, but I could at least hold Dakota.
I enjoyed having her close. Every time I left the house, some part of me feared I’d return and find her gone.
I couldn’t leave a Prospect with her. It would look odd for Carlos or the others to be in my house when I wasn’t home, and I wanted the club to ask fewer questions.
I’d already caught a few looks when I’d run off quickly.
The club would only get more curious the longer things dragged out.
I’d spent more time at home this past week than I had previously.
More than once, someone had come to the door and Dakota had run off to hide before I opened it.
Hadn’t let any of them inside, which made things worse.
Something needed to give, and soon. My woman wasn’t the only one losing her mind these days.
Now I had Phantom coming home with a family.
A woman and kids in trouble. I didn’t know how much more we could handle.
Samurai had settled down, now his cousin.
The club would find out soon enough I’d found a woman.
We were dropping like flies. Before too long, there wouldn’t be any single men left in the club.
It wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. Our lives were definitely changing, though.
I sent Scratch a text. Might as well keep busy since I couldn’t sleep.
Call Church at noon tomorrow. Need to make some changes around here.
He didn’t answer, but I hadn’t expected him to.
He was more than likely snoring his ass off, if he wasn’t balls-deep in his woman.
The two were still crazy about each other, even all these years later.
I hoped one day Dakota and I would be like Jackal and Josie, Scratch and Clarity, and the others.
Well, maybe not like Havoc and Jordan. They were both batshit fucking crazy.
But I wanted to grow old with Dakota. Raise a family with her.
The downside to our age difference was the fact I’d have to leave her behind at some point.
When I turned seventy, she’d only be in her mid-forties.
I didn’t like the idea of leaving her alone.
As much as I wanted to be her one and only, I hoped when my time came that she’d find someone else to love.
A man who would protect her. Make her happy.
I rubbed at my chest, hating the ache building there.
This was why I’d avoided settling down. It turned bad ass men into sensitive, sentimental shits.
Then again, spending the next twenty or thirty years with the incredible woman in my arms would be worth any cost. If I was lucky enough to live that long.
Dakota whimpered in her sleep and twitched. I tightened my hold on her, murmuring in her ear. She relaxed and breathed out a sigh as she snuggled closer. I didn’t know what the fuck she was dreaming about, but it didn’t seem to be a happy one.
“You’re safe,” I whispered. “I’ve got you.”
“Halden,” she said softly.