17. Dax
DAX
It wasn’t surprising I was in a fantastic mood the next day, even if I was going to need like ten cups of coffee to keep my eyes open.
Cognac had woken up early like a crazy person and brought coffee to me in bed, so I didn’t kill anyone before I got a shower and made it down to the kitchen where Sprocket had another mug waiting for me.
“Did you two have fun last night?” he asked with a knowing grin.
I glared at him over the top of my mug, unsure if he was being sarcastic or not. “Why do I feel like I don’t have to answer that question?”
“Because the whole damn house was kept up until two in the morning with your fucking moaning,” Picasso grumbled as he poured himself a refill. “This is our second pot of coffee if that gives you a hint on how well we slept after you two quieted down.”
“You could hear me in the garage?” I blurted, kind of impressed with myself.
“No, I was sleeping on the couch while Wes and Cam worked in my bedroom. They thought it would help them focus better if they weren’t jerking off the whole night,” Picasso explained.
I looked around the room at the others, taking in the bags under their eyes and how slow they were moving. “This might be an obvious question, but why didn’t you sleep in?”
Eagle slammed the frying pan down on the stove before he turned to face me. “We need to drive to Vegas today, and it’s a four-hour drive in good traffic. Unless you forgot that we have an MC to take down tomorrow?”
My brows rose higher the longer he talked. “Damn, do I need to give you a mouth hug right here in the kitchen to help you with that nasty case of blue balls? Or is there something else that’s making you this pissy?”
“Fuck you, Dax,” Eagle muttered as he turned back to whatever he was making.
“If that will help. My pussy is a little sore, but my ass is up for the job,” I teased, knowing I was playing with fire. Something about pushing Eagle to the edge made my twisted little heart happy, knowing I had that much influence over him.
I moved to walk over to Eagle, but an arm wrapped around my waist and pulled me back onto their lap. “Little demon, I know it’s fun to play with fire, but I wouldn’t distract him while he’s making your food.”
That had my attention, so I relaxed back in Void’s arms and sipped on my coffee. There was always time later in the day or tomorrow to torture Eagle, but food always came first.
“How did you sleep, big guy? You don’t seem as tired as the others,” I asked, peering up at him.
He grinned down at me with a wink. “In a house full of men who used to bring random women back with them, you learn to keep earplugs in your nightstand.”
I burst out laughing. “Fucking brilliant, just brilliant.”
“Pretty sure the only person who would bring people back here is Cognac,” Picasso shared as if he was trying to get the man in trouble with me. “The rest of us took them elsewhere, so we didn’t have to deal with the noise.”
“If that’s what you want to tell yourself to cover up the fact you never got any pussy, that’s fine,” Cognac retorted, scratching his chin with his middle finger.
The grin on my face just kept getting wider as I watched the interactions between the guys. “Man, they seriously need to make a reality TV show about guys all trapped in one place instead of women. They seem to think we’re the crazy ones. I’m not so sure about that.”
“Trust me, spitfire, this is nothing. Wait until you see the guys when it comes to sports. More specifically, when two of them want to watch different sports on different channels on the same day. There have been many a fistfight over who gets control of the TV,” Picasso whispered.
I leaned in close to Picasso. “So who typically won?”
The sound of a cabinet slamming shut and dishes being set on the counter drew my attention back to Eagle.
It seems this might be a touchy subject for our realist president which led me to believe he might be the loser on occasion.
Before I could stir up more trouble, food was placed in front of me, and I was delighted to see a plate full of eggs Benedict.
“If you want me to stop asking you to cook for me all the time, you’re gonna need to stop making such amazing food,” I warned as I snatched up the fork and knife.
“So does that mean you think Eagle is a better cook than I am?” Wes asked directly behind me and into my ear, making me almost fall out of Void’s lap.
Thank God he had a firm hold on me, keeping me right in place. I glared at Wes over my shoulder. “Don’t come popping out of nowhere. It’s dangerous for my health and yours. I could have stabbed you!”
“I see how it is. First, you doubt my cooking, then you question my reflexes. It’s almost as if you’re replacing me.” Wes sighed, shaking his head in disappointment.
“Don’t you dare get all butthurt on me. You know you could never be replaced,” I grumbled, shoving a bite of food into my mouth. “As for the cooking… Eagle just keeps feeding me. You never shared what you made unless I asked before you started making whatever meal it was at the time.”
“Now, Dax, I wonder why it is I do that. Maybe it’s because you stole my entire meal more than once after I’d asked you if you wanted me to make you some,” Wes said as he walked into the kitchen and leaned across the counter, placing a quick peck on my lips.
“You’re lucky you’re cute. That’s the only reason you survived doing that as long as you have. ”
Well, that logic was hard to argue with when he put it that way.
So instead, I decided to shovel my face with food and let the men talk among themselves.
Once we had all finished our meal and got ready for the day, I realized as the others packed that Wes and I didn’t have clothes or other personal possessions here.
“Hey, what do you think about borrowing a vehicle and going into town?” I asked, bumping Wes with my hip.
Looking down, he wrapped an arm around my shoulders and pulled me into his side. “That actually sounds like a great plan, but do you want to wait and hit up something along the way?”
“Don’t you think it would be better if we didn’t bring more attention to ourselves once we get into Nevada?” I countered.
He seemed to take a moment to think about that. “Good point. Do you have a feel for where you want to go shopping?”
“The closest mall is in Santa Clarita,” I shared, feeling like that was backtracking too much.
“If you don’t mind the fact it’s not designer, there’s a Walmart on the way out of town,” Sprocket interjected. “It would be easy to stop there since it’s super close to the highway.”
“Really, that’s the best place to go for things we need since all I have is the one toothbrush Eagle got me so I’d stop using his,” I teased, giving the pres a wink.
“If that’s the case, then we can’t take the bikes unless someone wants to make the drive alone in the car,” Cognac commented.
That seemed to make them all pause and go over all our options.
“I don’t mind driving, and I don’t have a bike to ride with you guys,” Cam spoke for what seemed like the first time since he joined us this morning.
It appeared not all things about Cam had changed.
He was still the boy who preferred to be in the background, observing all that was happening around him, not clogging up the air with useless words.
Seeing him so vocal all the time since he joined us made me wonder if this was a permanent change.
Clearly, it wasn’t since the idea of driving alone in the car for four to five hours seemed to excite him.
“That settles it then,” Picasso said as he washed the dishes. “Cam drives the SUV with all our stuff and the rest of us can ride our bikes. Good thing it was only the Camaro that was blown up in the fire and not your bike as well.”
“Too soon, motherfucker,” I snapped as I picked up the salt shaker and hurled it in Picasso’s direction.
He ducked like he’d been expecting some sort of retaliation and grinned at me. “You gonna tell me I’m wrong? I know you loved that car, but your bike is way more important to you.”
“She’s got a point, man. I know you love to be the asshole, but that might have been a dickier move than normal,” Cognac pointed out. “Now, as punishment, I think you need to go with them for their shopping trip and hold all her bags and push the cart.”
I turned to Cognac, grabbed his face, and planted a sloppy kiss right on the lips. “God, if I didn’t love you before, that idea right there would have done the trick.”
Cognac tried to lift me so he could get a better angle on our kiss, but Eagle wasn’t having it and snatched me away. “You’ve had her all night to yourself,” Eagle grumbled. “Now you have to share.”
“Fine,” Cognac answered with a pout and headed back upstairs.
Twisting in Eagle’s arms, I looked up at the fearless leader of the Phantom Saints. “You see any sign of Dante?”
“No, and that worries me slightly. Should we leave not knowing who the mole is or wait until we’ve made an example out of them?”
“We can play this one of two ways. Let them know we’re going on a trip to keep me out of the city since someone is after me, or we tell them the same story we did to my people,” I explained as I let my hands rest on his muscular chest, totally distracted by the tight T-shirt.
“If we play the game, won’t they figure out we’re telling both sides the same thing and catch on?
” Sprocket asked, walking up behind me and placing his hands on my hips so I was boxed in by them both.
“Personally, I think we need to let Dante do his thing. We brought him into this so we didn’t have to deal with both situations. ”
Eagle grunted his agreement before lifting my chin and kissing me deeply to the point I had to gasp for air when he pulled back. “We leave in ten minutes. Make sure to grab your toothbrush.”
I smiled at the order as he left the house, presumably to let everyone know we’d be gone for a few days. “That man just can’t help himself from having the last word, can he?”
“Sounds like someone else I know,” Sprocket whispered in my ear before nipping at it.
“Come on, go get your toothbrush, and let’s get on the road.
I have a feeling this shopping trip isn’t going to be quick with everything you two need.
” He gave me a gentle shove forward, followed by a slap on the ass to get me moving.
Damn, what’s it with these guys that once you sleep with them, they get all grabby hands?
They’re lucky I think they’re all cute, pulling shit like that, or they might not be alive to tell the tale.
My internal ranting stopped when I saw two duffle bags on Eagle’s bed.
One was filled with his things, but the second one had all the clothes Tilly had gotten me with my pink cheetah print toothbrush sitting on top with a travel-sized toothpaste to go with it.
“Goddamn him, he has no right to be that adorable,” I muttered as I grabbed a pair of shorts out of the duffle and put them on under the shirt I’d stolen from Cognac this morning.
Zipping up both bags, I carried them out to the porch where I almost collided with Tilly.
“Whoa, girl.” Tilly laughed as she dodged out of my way.
“Sorry, I wasn’t paying attention.” I sighed, giving her an apologetic smile.
Tilly grabbed one of the bags and walked with me down to the SUV Eagle just pulled up in. It was Sprocket’s rebuilt Land Rover Defender, all tricked out like a mini tank, ready to take on whatever we might need, plus it had decent trunk space.
“It’s alright. I get it. You’ve had a lot going on the past few weeks without your home getting blown up,” Tilly said as she tossed the duffle into the back seat.
She leaned against the side of the vehicle, crossing her arms over her chest, and looked at me with a knowing gaze.
“While I’m all for the guys getting you out of town for a few days, I know that isn’t the complete story. ”
I met her challenge head-on. Besides Harper, I hadn’t had much luck with having ‘girlfriends’ in my life.
Tilly was exactly who I needed. She understood the world I lived in and wouldn’t judge me for the choices I’ve made and still make to this day.
I could trust her to be honest and upfront with me like she was right now.
She knew what the guys were saying was bullshit, so she came to me directly.
Now I just had to make sure I didn’t fuck this up, so I was going to be honest with her.
“T,” I started, liking the nickname that Mutt used for her. “I want to be able to tell you what’s really going on, but for your safety, I have to be tight-lipped. What I can tell you is we’re going to deal with an issue affecting both my Empire and your crew.”
Tilly narrowed her eyes at me, not liking my answer. “That’s all I get?”
“If you happen to make the acquaintance of a new male friend while we’re gone, who’s asking questions or looking into things they shouldn’t…
stay clear or help them, but don’t stop them from what they’re doing.
You’ll always be able to reach me through the guys if you need something, and the moment I can tell you more, I will.
I promise,” I answered, reaching out to take her hand and squeezing it.
“I’m about to smoke out the real villain before I blow the fucker up in return for what he did to me.
It will make them lash out at whatever they think is important to me or the guys, and I can’t have them go after both my best friends.
It’s way too much work to find new ones. ”
Tilly grinned and punched me. “Fucker, you better not even think about replacing me because I’m not that easy to get rid of.
” She pulled me into a hug, and I returned it.
“Please be safe and keep them safe too. My guys and I will make sure things are held down here. Mutt and Gator are who they put in charge when they aren’t around anyway, so don’t let them say otherwise. ”
The rest of the guys joined us, talking with Tilly’s husbands, probably going over last-minute things just as Tilly and I had.
I gave her one last hug and a wave before we all mounted up on our bikes and took off with Cam in the SUV following after us.
Now it was time to shake off the sentimental and get ready for war.
I was about to light the criminal world on fire.