Chapter Ten
Jag
I slipped out of bed before dawn as carefully as I could so I didn’t wake Ada.
Her breathing remained deep and even as I eased away from her warmth, the sheets whispering softly against my skin.
The floor was cold beneath my bare feet, a sharp contrast to the heat I’d just abandoned.
I pulled on jeans and a T-shirt in the darkness, my gaze never leaving her sleeping form, watching the gentle rise and fall of her chest. Even in sleep she looked strong.
Fearless. Everything I never knew I needed until she crashed into my life.
Grabbing my cut from the chair, I shrugged it on and made my way outside the apartment.
The hallway was quiet, the compound still drowsy in these early hours. Outside the converted warehouse, the air hung heavy with fog. A few brothers were already up, circling the perimeter on patrol. They nodded at me as I passed, their faces grim and determined. No one was taking any chances.
I found Knuckles in the security office, hunched over a computer with Knight beside him. Surveillance images covered the monitors along the wall. Neither man looked like they’d slept.
“Anything?” I asked, keeping my voice low despite the empty room.
Knuckles glanced up, dark circles under his eyes making him look older than his years. “Nothing concrete. Knight’s analyzing camera footage from the docks, trying to narrow down where the bastard came from.”
Knight didn’t look up from his screen, fingers flying over his keyboard. “Fucker’s good at staying in the shadows, but he’s not invisible. I’ve got a couple of likely spots, just need to confirm.”
I nodded, shifting my weight from foot to foot. Waiting had never been my strong suit, but the whole of Kiss of Death had mobilized to defend us while I’d been struggling to process my fucking feelings. It felt wrong not to be helping more than I had.
“Ada’s helping with the Haven move today,” I said, more to myself than them. “I can take her and be the extra set of eyes, if Tiny doesn’t mind, that is.”
Knuckles nodded. “Good. Sully will be there, too. No one’s getting close.”
“Which brings up something else.” Knight pecked on his keyboard while he talked. “Tonio wants Sully to bring Darby to his estate until this is over, Sully’s refusing, and Darby told Tonio to go fuck himself.”
Knuckles sighed, rubbing his eyes with the thumb and fingers of one hand. “Just another day in paradise. What’d Tonio say?”
“Surprisingly, he laughed. I think he’s sending some men and firepower. Said he’d make sure the cops stayed away if things went to shit, but if Darby is hurt he’ll nuke the place.”
Ice, who’d been standing in the far corner snorted. “Sounds like someone I need to get to know.”
Cain shrugged. “Tonio Miles is Alexei Petrov. Rich, entitled, smart motherfucker with just enough military sense to be taken seriously.” Silence followed Cain’s explanation. “What?” he demanded.
Knight cleared his throat. “If Tonio has my place bugged, I don’t know that guy.” He hiked his thumb over his shoulder at Cain. Cain just flipped him off.
“Go be with your woman, Jag. I know all the new people and the routine change is challenging. Ada seems to ground you.”
Knight turned his freaky gaze to me and held my attention. “Do not hurt her. I can and will make your life hell.”
“Relax, Knight.” I sighed. “Look, I’ll do whatever you want me to do. If you want me to stay away from Ada, I will.” I looked away. “I know she’s too good for me.”
“I must be goin’ soft,” Knight muttered. “Knuckles is right. I think you’re good for each other. I haven’t seen my sister this happy in a long while. I think she likes fussing over you.”
“Go on, Jag,” Knuckles said, chuckling as he tossed a wadded-up piece of paper at Knight. “I’ll call if anything changes.”
I headed back to our apartment, the sun just beginning to crest the horizon, painting the sky in shades of pink and gold that seemed obscenely beautiful given the danger lurking in the shadows. Each step back to Ada felt like a relief, like I could breathe easier the closer I got to her.
When I pushed open our door, I found her awake, propped up on one elbow, the sheet pooled around her waist. Naked from the waist up, her skin glowed in the soft morning light filtering through the blinds. Her eyes, heavy-lidded with sleep, tracked me as I closed and locked the door behind me.
“There you are,” she murmured, her voice still rough from sleep. She lifted the sheet, a clear invitation. “Come back to bed.”
I hesitated, torn between giving her what she wanted and being a responsible adult. “Shouldn’t we be getting ready? We’ve got the Haven move this morning.”
She smiled, slow and deliberate. “We’ve got time. The truck isn’t coming until nine.”
I glanced at the clock -- not quite six-thirty. Definitely had time before I had to be a responsible adult. Ada’s gaze held mine, steady and sure, and I found myself stripping off my cut before folding it and laying it on the dresser. My shirt and jeans fell to the floor as I shed them.
The bed dipped under my weight as I slid in beside her, the sheets still warm from her body. She turned to face me, her palm coming up to cup my jaw, thumb petting my beard like I might be a cat. Like a cat, I arched to her touch.
“Hi,” she whispered, looking up at me with a sleepy smile.
“Hi,” I replied, surprised by the softness in my own voice.
Her lips met mine, not with desperate hunger, but with something gentler, more deliberate. I matched her pace, letting my hands roam over the familiar curves of her body with newfound patience. My calloused palms, rough from years of hard work, moved over her skin with gentleness and reverence.
Ada sighed against my mouth, arching into my touch. The sheet slid away, exposing her completely as morning light spilled through the blinds, casting golden stripes across her skin, turning her into something ethereal. I paused to drink in the sight of her, memorizing every detail.
“What?” she asked, noticing my hesitation.
“Just looking at you,” I admitted. “Never get tired of looking at you.”
A flush spread across her chest, up her neck, to her cheeks. Even now, after everything we’d done together, I could still make her blush. It was a fucking miracle.
She pulled me back down to her, wrapping her legs around my waist, guiding me home.
I entered her slowly, savoring each inch, each soft gasp from her lips.
We moved together with deliberate restraint, a stark contrast to our usual urgent coupling.
This wasn’t about reaching the end as quickly as possible.
This was about the journey, about feeling every sensation, every shuddering breath.
Making the moment last as long as possible.
“Jag,” she whispered, my name a prayer on her lips. Her fingers dug into my shoulders, not from desperation but from the need to anchor herself as pleasure built between us.
The light through the blinds shifted as the sun rose higher, painting new patterns across our entwined bodies.
Time seemed to stop. All that mattered was Ada.
Her body wrapped around mine. Her sweet, welcoming pussy wrapped around my aching cock.
I lost myself in the rhythm of our bodies, in the warmth of her against me.
In the steady beat of her heart echoing my own.
When she came, it wasn’t with the screams of our previous encounters, but with a soft, shuddering gasp, my name a broken whisper on her lips.
I followed her over the edge, burying my face in the curve of her neck, breathing her in as my orgasm washed over me in gentle waves and I emptied my cum into her tender body.
We lay tangled together afterward, her head on my chest. The connection between us felt different this morning.
Less desperate maybe, more intentional. Like I imagined two people who were used to waking up in each other’s arms might do on a lazy Saturday morning.
Like we were building something that could last beyond the here and now. I wanted that dream.
“We should probably get up,” she murmured against my skin, making no move to do so.
“Probably,” I agreed, tightening my arm around her.
In that moment, I realized with startling clarity that I really would burn the world to ash to keep her safe.
Not because I was her protector or because she was Knight’s sister, but because she had become essential to me in a way nothing and no one had ever been before.
The thought terrified me even as it anchored me.
I’d been adrift for so long, and somehow, she had become the reason I would wage war against anyone who threatened my peace.
Eventually, we both rolled out of bed. I pulled my T-shirt over my head when a sharp knock sounded at our door.
Ada was in the shower, the sound of running water a comforting background noise.
I moved quickly across the room. Through the peephole, I spotted Knight’s distinctive tattooed face, his expression tight.
I opened the door, stepping back so he could enter.
Knight clutched a tablet in his hand, his thumb nervously tapping against its edge. I noticed the dark circles under his eyes had deepened since I’d seen him earlier.
“Got something,” he said, voice low enough that it wouldn’t carry to the bathroom. He unlocked the tablet and handed it to me.
The screen showed grainy surveillance footage, a timestamp in the corner indicating it was from less than an hour ago.
I recognized the location immediately, the far corner of the dock storage area.
Abandoned shipping containers created a maze-like layout perfect for someone who didn’t want to be found.
“There.” Knight leaned over, tapping a shadowy figure moving between two containers. “Frame by frame.”
I watched as he swiped at the screen to show me what he wanted me to focus on.
I watched the sequence unfold. The figure moved with a distinctive, slightly hunched posture that sent an unwelcome shiver of recognition down my spine.
Another swipe, and the man turned slightly toward the camera.
Though his face was partially obscured by a ball cap, the sharp, rat-like profile was unmistakable.
Rat Man.
My jaw clenched so hard I heard my teeth grind. Every muscle in my body tensed, a familiar coil of anger and something dangerously close to fear tightening in my gut. My knuckles whitened around the edges of the tablet.
Knight noticed the shift immediately. “What is it?” he asked, studying my face. “More than just seeing him, I mean.”
I set the tablet down carefully, fighting the urge to smash it against the wall. “It’s complicated.”
“Usually is.” Knight didn’t push, just waited with that unnerving patience of his.
The shower shut off in the bathroom. I glanced toward the closed door, then back at Knight.
“I was barely seventeen when I fell in with Rat Man’s crew,” I said finally, keeping my voice low.
“Just a dumb kid looking for somewhere to belong.” Knight nodded, no judgment in his strange, tattooed eyes.
“Rat Man took me in. Gave me a place to crash, food, protection.” I ran a hand over my face, the memories bitter on my tongue.
“Made me feel like I was part of something. Family, he called it.”
“And by the time you realized what kind of family, you were in too deep,” Knight finished for me.
I nodded, something tight easing in my chest at his understanding.
“They don’t exactly hand out resignation forms. First time I tried to walk away, Rat Man had two of his guys hold me down while he broke three of my fingers.
” I flexed my left hand unconsciously. Though I’d managed to straighten them out, mostly, the old injury still ached from time to time.
“Said it was because he cared. Couldn’t let family just walk away. ”
Knight’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Then you went inside.”
“Yeah. Then I went inside. Thought I was free of him. But guys like that…” I trailed off.
“They don’t let go easy,” Knight finished.
“No. They don’t. If it hadn’t been for Knuckles, they’d have made it hell on me on the inside.” I cleared my throat, needing to purge this emotion before it dulled my wits. “Ada’s helping Hannah and Violet move supplies from Haven this morning.”
Knight nodded. “Truck’s supposed to be there at nine. Tiny’s driving.”
My stomach knotted at the thought of Ada leaving the compound with Rat Man lurking so close to our territory. I grabbed my cut, shrugging it on with quick, jerky movements. “I’m going too.”
Knight agreed. “Another set of eyes and hands is always welcome.”
The bathroom door opened, and Ada emerged wrapped in a towel, her hair damp around her shoulders. She stopped short when she saw Knight, but recovered quickly, offering a casual wave.
“Morning, bro. Didn’t know you were here.” She glanced between us, immediately picking up on the tension. “What’s happened?”
Knight and I exchanged a look. I didn’t want to worry her but keeping her in the dark could be dangerous.
“Knight thinks he’s figured out where Rat Man’s holed up,” I said, deciding honesty was the safest route.
Ada’s expression tightened, but she nodded. “All the more reason to get everything out quickly.” She disappeared back into the bathroom, emerging moments later in jeans and a T-shirt, her wet hair twisted up in a messy bun. “I’m ready when you are.”
The simple bravery in her voice made something in my chest ache. She wasn’t cowering or asking to be protected. She was rolling up her sleeves and facing the danger head-on. It made me all the more determined to make sure nothing happened to her.
“I’ll keep an eye on everyone,” Knight said, already texting as he headed for the door. “Got a couple of the brothers going to escort you and Tiny. They’ll take a look around the area at Haven while you guys are loading up.”
“You guys ready?” Ada snagged her backpack and slung it over her shoulder.
I crossed to her, cupping her face in my hands. “Stay close to me today. Please?”
She covered my hands with hers, her eyes steady on mine. “I will.”
“Let’s go then.”
As we headed out, my mind kept returning to the footage of Rat Man skulking through the shadows.
I’d escaped his orbit once, through bars and barbed wire.
I wouldn’t let him pull me back in. And I would kill the miserable son of a bitch.
This time, only one of us was walking away.
And it sure as hell wasn’t going to be him.