CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
– HEART –
“Six months ago,” Lina muses and thumbs through her notebook.
Her attention is still on her notebook when I say, “Look for a full inventory, but just to be sure? We shouldn’t ignore other things you bought around that time.”
She bobs her head while turning the page. “Right. Well, since it’s been six months I must have gone through the items already. Some items have been transferred to the store. Obviously, because they recognized some items. Here, you check. I don’t want to mess things up.”
“Like you mentioned in church, we’ll check both,” I tell her and check the notebook.
She has some items color coded, and there are a few listed as full inventory. Everything has dates and names behind them with the number of the invoice along with it.
“Great job keeping track of everything,” I tell her, and remember the lot number for the full inventory acquired around six months ago.
A smile tugs her gorgeous face. “Are we taking your bike?”
Her smile is genuine, and those stunning hazel eyes flash with a golden glint. The look she gives me makes me falter. It’s real. Nothing fake about it, like most of the women I encounter. Those damn eyes, they pull me in and show open emotion.
She cares about me. Me. Not the title on my denim cut, or wanting to be an old lady no matter what. Because she already is. The adoration on her face is real and all for me. This woman has managed to crawl under my skin in a matter of days.
“You like being on the back of my bike, don’t you?” I murmur and pull her close.
I now get a coy smile. “Like is probably an understatement here.”
Leaning in, I brush my lips against hers and ask, “Which do you favor? Me, or the bike?”
My ego hits pause and it feels as if this answer is more damn crucial than finding the golden coins. Her eyes fall shut and the hot breath carrying the word, “You,” feeds the oxygen straight into my lungs, kickstarting my body and stroking my ego in one go.
I never knew it would happen to me. Didn’t see it coming but I witnessed it firsthand when Fatal took the fall. This woman gives me something that was lacking from my life. Never realized it was missing until it just hit me.
Liking her is an understatement, and to jump right to love is fucking fast. Besides, I always thought love was bullshit, and it’s not a word that describes what I feel for this woman. She completes me. It fits the description of what I feel for her.
Give the woman a knife and she becomes as deadly as I am. Her pussy feels perfectly snug around my cock, and the way she fits into the brotherhood is of great importance in my life as well. Yeah, this woman was made to become my counterpart.
“Good answer,” I rumble and kiss her hard.
I want to bury myself inside her so damn bad, but now is not the time. The brothers are waiting for us, and the clock is ticking for her brother. Karev needs those coins back or he’s shackled to a woman he hasn’t even met yet.
Pulling back, I tell her, “Let’s see if we can find the coins to get your brother off the hook.”
I lace my fingers with hers and walk out of the room. Most of the brothers are already outside, sitting on their bikes.
Norie stays by Fatal’s bike while he saunters my way. “Remus and Gael are staying behind to watch Digby and Oswin.”
“Good. They might be able to get some more details of the other fucker involved. Dead or not? Jash’s body needs to be found,” I rumble.
Fatal nods. “No loose ends.”
“No loose ends,” I echo and guide Lina toward my bike.
The feel of her arms wrapping around my waist, tits pressing against my back as I fire up my bike, feels as right and real as life itself. I’m glad my prez and I are on the same page; no loose ends. I don’t want anything coming back to ruin shit, or threaten her life ever again.
Fuck. The thought about what might have happened if I didn’t find her in those woods a few days ago is making my chest squeeze painfully.
Rob lost his life in those woods. A man sent by the king of the underworld to retrieve those coins.
He couldn’t stand up against those fuckers.
So, it’s safe to say Lina wouldn’t have made it out alive either.
I wouldn’t have even known about how well she fits into my life. Motherfucker. It’s a good thing most involved are dead or locked up in our basement. All that’s left is to make sure we know where Jash’s body is. A smile tugs my face knowing that fucker died because I shot him in those woods.
Then we need to kill those two in the basement. It will wrap up the ones who were after the coins and took Rob and Lina into the woods. That’s the clearing shit up part for Lina. Finding the coins is for Karev’s future.
My focus is clear as I guide my bike onto the road right next to Fatal. The rest of the brothers follow behind us. The first ride is to Lina’s warehouse. Time drags by as we ride through the streets.
I throw a glance at Fatal and notice Norie who is wrapped around Fatal with her arms and her legs. The woman has been riding with him this way since the moment he put her on the back of his bike a few months ago.
Norie’s attention is on Lina and she grins. I feel Lina’s arms around me tighten as she snuggles closer. Those two old ladies are becoming fast friends. Like I said; she fits into my life as a missing piece of life’s puzzle.
I hit the kickstand to park in front of the warehouse with a new and determined mindset.
Lina gets off the bike and I quickly pull her close. “I want you keep this on you at all times.”
She watches as I unstrap the sheath of my favorite knife.
Eyes going wide she asks, “You’re giving me a knife? You do know what happens when I have one, right?”
“First time we met you mentioned you don’t always kill when you palm a knife, and the fact you always act in self-preservation. So, I’d rather you have a weapon on you if things go to shit than have no chance to defend yourself. Get me?”
Her smile strokes my ego, and with it my cock...or so it feels like it when she says, “Yeah, I get you.”
“You fuckin’ well do.” I brush my lips gently against hers while I place the strap around her waist.
Pulling away to secure the sheath, I notice the blinding smile on her face as she watches my hands. Yeah, I’m not letting her go. Not ever.
“Didn’t Karev tell you not to give her a knife?” Kepner asks as he comes to a stop next to us.
I don’t spare the brother a glance when I state, “Mind your own damn business, Kepner. She’s my property, no one has fuck to say about my old lady.”
“So very true,” Lina murmurs and I watch her twirl the knife I just gave her in her hand.
Kepner narrows his eyes as he watches the same move. He presses his lips in a thin line and quickly moves past us. A bark of laughter rips from me and it earns me a huge damn grin from my woman.
“Come on, let’s see if we can find the coins so your brother can dodge getting married,” I tell Lina who quickly places the knife back into the leather sheath.
She hands me the keys again and I open the door, letting the brothers into the warehouse before we step inside. Another thing I like; the trust she has in me. Handing over the keys, the notebook, things like that to let me take lead.
I rumble off the numbers of the full inventory and Lina walks straight to a place with several boxes and furniture. “This is part of a complete inventory I bought. The clock, along with three statues and some fake plants, are already at the store.”
“Everyone grab a box,” Fatal orders.
“Handle shit with care and place everything back the way it was,” I add, making sure my woman’s stuff doesn’t get trashed.
Karev walks up to Lina. “What’s the name of the person you bought it from?”
Handing Lina the notebook, she turns the page and shows it to Karev while she says, “Jenny Molin. She contacted me through email, and we talked on the phone twice to make everything in order. She flew down here to sign the papers and let me inside the house.”
“Jasper Molin’s daughter. She lives across the country. He stole the coins and he might have told her,” Karev murmurs.
I sigh in frustration. “So, if we don’t find the damn things we need to ride across country to see if she has them?”
Karev shrugs. “If there’s still time.”
Lina surprises us when she says, “I remember her telling me how she hated her father and hadn’t had contact with him in over twenty years.
Which is why she didn’t want anything or so much as go inside the house.
She opened the door for me and handed me the keys after she signed the papers.
I dropped the keys off at the real estate company who was going to sell the house for her. ”
All Karev says is, “Good to know,” before he stalks away to grab a box from the huge pile of Jasper Molin’s belongings. Lina and I follow and each grab a box. Time to search for three damn coins in a pile of old, used merchandise.