Chapter 6
Chapter Six
KIT
“You going to patrol the fridge next, Sergeant?” Kit drawled.
It was three hours after Quinn had left. Kit was bored. Like ready to pick a fight bored. And the only person in sight was Red, who was patrolling the clubhouse—again.
Red ignored him and headed for the window to test the locks.
Geez, how many times has he checked the damn locks. If they weren’t open before, they sure as hell aren’t open now.
Kit gnawed on his thumbnail. He was so tempted to mess with Red by opening a couple of them when he was out of the room, just for shits and giggles.
Red would suspect him, but seriously, what could he do? Kit shivered a little at the thought. Images of him over Red’s lap, pants trapping his legs, bare-assed naked, being ‘disciplined’. Oh yeah, Kit would be down for that.
He licked his lips and contemplated his next move.
If only Tony wasn’t here.
The thought of being spanked by Red was a real turn-on. Being caught by his brother, not so much.
Red turned to leave the room and Kit rolled to his feet, stretching his arms above his head, making sure his tight shirt rucked up to display his snake. He watched closely to see Red’s reaction.
Nothing. Not even a flicker of his eyes. He just walked by him and left the room.
Dammit. Kit stamped his foot in frustration.
Kit didn’t believe in false modesty. He knew he was a handsome man.
In his teens, he’d been more androgynous, lithe, with cheekbones to die for.
After years of dancing and swimming he was more muscled, but with the shape of an athlete, not a gym bunny. He had a great canvas for his ink.
The piercings were just an extension of the ink, and they annoyed the hell out of his brother.
Tony didn’t know about all the piercings though.
Kit called them his fun times. What would Red make of them?
Would he love them or hate them? Kit brushed the rings in his nipples, making himself gasp.
Did Red know how to work a chain? More X-rated images crossed through Kit’s mind.
Kit looked down at the bulge in his jeans, so tight it hid nothing. The last thing he wanted was Tony to ask why he was sporting a boner. Red now…he could ask. Kit rearranged his cock. He needed to calm the hell down. This wasn’t a night club. He wasn’t going to get a happy ending.
Maybe he’d have a different happy ending. Something to upset Sergeant Red on his next round. Kit grinned. He jogged over to the window and tried the lock. The window didn’t budge. Kit looked around for the key. Red had probably walked off with it. These were old windows. All they took was a nudge…
Job done, Kit went in search of fresh entertainment. Red was nowhere to be seen, but his brother was bellowing at someone on the phone in his office. Kit grimaced. As every other word was an expletive, Kit decided to avoid his brother for now.
God, he was bored. He went in search of his quarry and found him in the kitchen talking to one of the younger guys from CDR. They were both drinking coffee and involved in a heated discussion over a tablet.
Kit watched the two of them for a moment. Neither of them had spotted him. Anger roiled in Kit’s belly as he glared at the handsome bodyguard with glossy black hair. Kit would kill for hair like that. Why did he have to stand so close to Red? He was almost breathing the same air.
The young guy looked up and smiled at Kit, his smile fading when Kit didn’t return it. He murmured something and Red looked up.
“Hey, Kit. Do you need me?”
There were so many ways Kit could answer that and none of it was PG rated.
“No, I’m just getting chips and soda.”
Red frowned and looked at his watch. “It’ll be lunchtime soon.”
Kit rolled his eyes. “Are you on snack patrol now? I’m a big boy now, Dad.”
“Yes, but…”
The other man nudged Red which set off flames in Kit’s head.
He ignored the chuckled “He’s got a point, Red,” and stalked into the pantry.
He found an old tray decorated with Harleys, and filled it with chips and salsa and a pack of soda.
Then he tossed a pack of cookies and added two chocolate bars.
He eyed the over-filled tray. If he ate all of that he’d feel sick.
He reached out to the fruit bowl and added a banana.
There. He was healthy. He picked up the tray and walked back out of the pantry, steadfastly ignoring the two men as he helped himself to a cup of coffee, then headed for his bedroom.
Kit dumped the tray on his chest and stripped off his shirt and jeans for a faded gray t-shirt, soft gray sweats, and a darker gray hoodie.
He wore bright color relentlessly, but his comfort clothes were all muted colors.
Then he took the coffee, retreating to his window seat, and staring out at the heavy clouds promising more rain.
Kit took one swallow of the coffee and tried not to gag. Even with creamer, it was bitter, over-brewed and barely warm. Three out of three reasons to dump it in his sink and scowl as the horrible brew went down the plug hole. He returned to the seat, ignoring the food. He wasn’t hungry now.
Footsteps creaked outside his door. Kit looked over as Red came in holding a cup.
“That coffee was disgusting,” Red announced. “I brought you a fresh cup.”
Warmth percolated through Kit. Red had thought of him.
Like a Daddy would.
Red handed him the coffee, then walked past him to check the window lock.
Kit scowled at him. Seriously? He was on patrol again. “It’s been like five minutes since you last checked the damn locks,” he snapped.
“Some. And I’ll check them again in another five minutes,” Red agreed.
“Why? They’re not going to miraculously open just because you’re not looking at them.”
Red leaned against the wall and folded his arms across his chest. “Funny you should say that because I just discovered an open lock in the den. You wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?”
“No,” Kit lied, but for some reason, he couldn’t meet Red’s gaze. Just the thought of lying to Red made his stomach tie itself in knots.
Red grunted. “Must have thought I locked it. Gotta be careful. Kit. We have a detail posted around the club, but hostiles can still get through.”
“Hostiles?” Kit had been ready to make a crack about spanking the perp’s ass, his fantasy still playing in his head, but it skidded to a halt at Red’s words.
“People you don’t want to meet in a dark alley. Or your home,” Red said with pointed emphasis on the last word. “And you should stay away from the window.”
Kit stared at him. “You’re banning me from being near windows? You’d have to be a bird to get in this window.”
“Or a half-decent sniper.”
Breath caught in Kit’s throat. A sniper? He’d never thought of that. That was some serious shit. People wanted him dead.
“I thought it was just another club Tony had pissed off.”
“We don’t know yet and I’m not taking any chances,” Red said.
Kit started trembling just at the thought.
An arm went around his shoulders. “Drink your coffee.”
The cup pressed to his lips. Kit took a swallow, choked a little, and coughed, but some of it went down the right way.
“More,” Red insisted, and Kit obediently swallowed again.
Red made him drink most of the cup and though it felt bitter in the pit of his stomach, Kit obeyed. Red held him and between the strong support and the caffeine, Kit felt the shaking gradually ease. He didn’t move from the comfort of Red’s arms though.
All too soon, Red took a step back and Kit wanted to beg Red to hold him again. “Feeling better?”
“Define better.”
“Less like you want to throw up,” Red clarified.
“Yeah.” Kit ran his hands through his hair. “You mean it, don’t you.”
“About what?”
“The sniper and hostiles.”
Red inclined his head. “I do. Tony’s managed to upset some dangerous people. It goes beyond just another MC.”
“Why am I their target?” Kit demanded.
“It’s their MO. To be honest, the first thing people usually know about it is when their loved ones wind up with a bullet between their eyes. The fact that CDR got the intel first is the reason you’re still breathing.”
Kit swallowed hard. “Don’t sugarcoat it for me, Red. Tell me what you really mean.”
Red barked out a laugh. “If you wanted a diplomat, you picked the wrong guy.”
Kit wanted to point out he hadn’t picked Red at all, but he didn’t want to give Red any reason to go away from him. Kit was one breath away from a freakout and it was only Red’s solid presence that was stopping his complete meltdown.
“Sit down,” Red murmured, guiding Kit to the end of the bed.
He sat, and to his surprise, Red joined him. They weren’t touching but he was close enough to comfort Kit.
“You seemed to phase out,” Red said.
Kit stared at his hands. “What am I going to do?”
“You are going to sit tight and quit messing with the locks just to piss me off.” Red fixed Kit with a stern expression.
“I don’t know what you mean.” Kit did his best to look innocent but from Red’s expression, he wasn’t buying it.
Red rolled his eyes. “Yeah, you do. Kit, don’t play with your safety. CDR are assessing the danger to you and Tony.”
“What does that mean?” He turned to look at Red, noticing the fan of lines around his eyes were deeper. The bodyguard looked tired. Kit guessed it had been one hell of a nightmare twenty-four hours for him too.
Red turned to look at him, his gray eyes kind, but resolute. “Whether we can guard you here or should we relocate you.”
Kit wrinkled his brow. “Like WITSEC?”
“Kinda. I don’t know much about CDR. I worked for Monaghan. But they have better resources than Monaghan did. And that means they ain’t cheap.”
Could his brother afford to pay for their help? That was what Red was asking.
Kit hummed as he thought about how to answer this.
He knew more about the club’s resources than anyone except his brother.
Tony had made sure of that in case anything happened to him.
It wasn’t something he was prepared to discuss with Red, even with Red’s history with the MC.
It was a conversation Tony needed to have with CDR. It was why Kit spent so much time away from the club.
He loved his brother, but Tony traveled a morally gray area when it came to the club’s finances, as his parents had, and Kit did not want to be involved. Guilt by association was bad enough.
“That’s something CDR needs to discuss with Tony.”
Red stared at him for a moment, then gave a curt nod. “Understood.” He got to his feet. “No messing with the locks. I mean it, Kit. If I think you’re non-compliant, I’ll pull out.”
Kit took a moment to process that. And of course, his mouth went in a totally inappropriate direction. “Ooh, Daddy. I didn’t know you were gonna penetrate me.”