Chapter 25
CHAPTER
TWENTY-FIVE
Julie
I’m making dinner when I hear the key in the door. I tense as I turn to see who it is.
I’m relieved when Yak walks through.
“Why do you look frightened? Did something happen?” he asks, crossing the room quickly to get to me.
“No. I guess I’m still a little jumpy,” I admit.
He grabs my chin, kissing me deeply before he lets go, dropping one last kiss on my forehead.
It’s the forehead kiss that has me sighing contentedly.
“Maybe we should move you out of here. I’m staying at the clubhouse, but Sap has a place farther out. He’d give us a room if I asked. Only until I can find us a place.”
I grab his shirt, looking up at him. “Are you asking me to move in with you?”
He laughs. “I already live with you, Angel. Have you not figured that out yet?”
He’s right, though. I have noticed more and more of his things showing up. I have had to tuck them away in case my dad stopped by.
“Is it going to be safe if we move?” I ask.
He frowns. “Things are in motion, and shit is about to go down. I don’t know when, but soon. After, though? It will be safe. I’m going to make it safe for you,” he promises.
“Then we stay here until it is safe. At least here, I don’t have to come up with lies to my dad about where I’m living. When it’s safe, I’ll introduce you, and we can move on from there.”
“Meeting the dad, huh? Never thought I’d be with someone long enough to do that.” He rubs the back of his head as I move toward the stove.
“Are you saying you were a playboy before you met me?”
He laughs as he comes up behind me, kissing my neck.
“Not really. I wasn’t a saint, but women were never on my radar,” he admits.
“No? Why not?” I ask as I move to grab plates.
He reaches around me and grabs them, going to the stove to help me. As I plate dinner for us, he continues to talk.
“Didn’t have a great childhood. I have two sisters who have a great life, but I think it’s because their mom was decent. She got them out before shit got too bad. Probably helped that my old man went to prison. Hard to ruin a child’s life from behind bars.”
He carries my plate to the table before taking his seat. I do the same and look over at him.
“I didn’t know your dad was in prison.”
I take a bite of the penne alla vodka I made. It is perfect.
“I know,” he sighs. “I don’t really talk about him.
Up until my brother called me to come here, I didn’t really talk to any of my family.
It was better that way. Rich can’t find us if none of us are together.
” When he takes a bite, I smile as he closes his eyes, seeming to savor the taste. “This is so good.”
“Thank you.” I clear my throat. “Your brother is why you are here? Who is your brother?”
He tilts his head. “Yooper. I told you that before.”
“Oh.” Then it hits me. “Oh. I thought you meant brother like a club brother. I didn’t realize you meant he is your actual blood brother. Wow. So much makes sense now.”
“What do you mean?” he asks.
“You look a lot alike. I wondered if it was a biker thing, but no. It’s just DNA.”
He chuckles. “You saying my brother is hot?”
“What?” My cheeks heat. “No. I didn’t say that.”
He shakes his head. “Relax. I’m kidding. Besides, if we look alike, then I hope you do think he’s hot. As long as you think I’m the more attractive brother.”
“The most arrogant too,” I tease.
“Seriously though. I don’t know what it is about you, but it’s different. You are worth risking it all for.”
I reach out, grabbing his hand.
“I’m risking a lot too. My father won’t understand. At least not at first. You’re worth it, though. This? Whatever this is between us? It’s worth it.”
He brings my hand to his lips, placing a kiss on the back of it. “You haven’t figured out what this is yet?”
I swallow hard. “You rescued me from a bad situation. I keep waiting for you to decide you’re bored with me. That the adrenaline has worn off.”
“You silly girl.” He pushes his nearly empty plate away, leaning across the table to kiss me. “This has always been more than that. I love you, Angel. You know that, right?”
My heart feels like it is about to beat out of my chest.
“You love me? Like really love me? You’re not just saying that?” I ask, desperate to know.
“Julie, I am so hopelessly in love with you that you have become essential to my being. You are the first person I want to see when I wake up in the morning. The last one I want to kiss before I close my eyes. You’re the person who quiets my mind when the chaos becomes too much.
Before, I had a task, and I was doing it, but you brought focus to me.
Motivation. I’m tired of keeping this to myself.
You need to understand how I feel about you.
This isn’t fleeting. I won’t wake up tomorrow and decide I don’t want you.
For me, this is forever. Every single day, I find more reasons to be in love with you.
Not less. No matter how you feel, you deserve to know the truth.
I love you, and it’s the best feeling in the fucking world. ”
Tears fall freely from my eyes at his words. I have never felt more loved or desired than I do in this moment.
To think, the night I met this man, I watched him kill two people to protect me. It was a shock to my system. I didn’t know how to handle it. Now, I know without a doubt I made the right decision. I put all my trust in him and took the leap. It brought me here, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
“Jameson,” I manage to choke out.
He cups my cheek. “What, Angel?”
I smile. “You owe the swear jar like fifty dollars.”
He chuckles, wiping away my tears. “I’ll put a hundred in later.”
I nod, trying to get my thoughts together. Through it all, he is patient.
This is the man I want to marry. I guess I already did in a way.
“I love you, Jameson. I think I fell in love with you the night you murdered two men in my name. I don’t know what the future holds. We have some stuff to figure out, but I know I want you by my side. As long as we are together, it’s us against the world. Right?”
He pulls me from my chair until I’m straddling him in his.
“It will always be us against the world.”
In that moment, I know everything is going to be okay because I have this man right here with me.
The craziest thing is he loves me.
Yak
After confessing my feelings to Julie, I took her back to bed and fucked her the way an old lady deserves to be fucked. She blacked out from coming six times. I kept my cock sunk into her, as it has become an addiction of mine, and let myself fall asleep holding her close to me.
Now it’s the middle of the night, and my phone is blaring. Only it’s not my phone. It’s my burner phone.
I hesitate, looking at how peaceful Julie looks. Whatever is on that phone is going to change everything.
Sighing, I pull away from her and pull the phone out. Swift has done his job well. Inside the link he sends is a single location.
The location is all we need.
I hate that I have to wake her, but I can’t leave her here. Aragon has become obsessed with her. He wants her, if only to break her spirit. Hell, to break mine too. If he lays a hand on her, I am going to go berserk.
Quietly, I get dressed for war. It’s not until I’m fully ready that I make my move.
Standing next to the bed, I gently wake Julie.
“What? What’s going on?” Her sleepy tone almost has me smiling.
“I need you to get up and get dressed. I’m taking you to your dad’s.”
It’s not exactly how I planned to meet him, but it’s the only place she will be safe.
“It’s the middle of the night. He is going to shoot you,” she hisses, sitting up in bed.
The blanket falls away, showing her tits. Fuck if I don’t want to lose myself in them. In her, really.
I can’t though.
“Angel, I need to go handle some shit. I can’t have you here unprotected. Aragon is dangerous. If all goes well, this ends tonight,” I promise her.
She looks scared as she crawls across the bed, gripping my shirt as she pulls me to her.
“If I agree to go, you’ll be careful, right? You’ll come get me later.”
“I will fight tooth and nail to get you back from your father. I promise.”
She kisses me hard before she crawls out of bed.
I watch as she starts to get ready. I don’t take my eyes off of her. This could be the last time I see her. I refuse to tell her how dangerous this really is. I plan to come home, but I know as well as anyone that it only takes one bullet to end a life.
I won’t let Aragon have her, even if it means he takes me down with him.
Pushing the dark thoughts from my head, I hold my hand out to her. She grabs it, holding on for dear life.
Looking out the window, I see a cop car down the street.
“Does your dad have someone watching you?” I ask her.
“I don’t know, but I wouldn’t be surprised.”
I nod. “We should take your car. That way they don’t see you leaving with a man. Less of a heads-up for your dad.”
“Okay.”
I lead her into her garage and help her into the passenger seat. Then I round the car and get into the driver’s seat.
As we leave the house, I go away from the cop. Doesn’t stop him from following us, though. He keeps his distance, falling off as we get closer to her dad’s place.
“Shouldn’t I stay with you?” she says in the silence.
“No. I need you to be safe.” I pull her hand to my lips to kiss it.
“I feel safest when I’m with you.”
Pride fills me at her statement.
“I know, but the situation I am going into is going to be intense. There will be guns and fighting, and if you are there, I will be more worried about you than what is going on. I won’t be able to focus, which will make me reckless.
I’ll make a mistake, Angel. A mistake that could cost me my life or, worse, your life.
I won’t risk it. I feel you are safest with me too, but not tonight.
Please promise me you will stay at your dad’s. ”
“Why do you have to go? Can’t you send the others? Tell them you need to stay with me. To protect me. Please don’t go put yourself in danger.”
I smile sadly, staring out the window. “I would love to do that. Trust me, I don’t want to be leaving you, but Julie, how can they respect me if I lead them into danger only to flake out at the last minute?
Those are my brothers. One of them is actually my damn brother.
I can’t ask them to walk in there and go to war without being willing to be on the front lines with them.
I’m not a coward, and I wouldn’t be the man you fell in love with if I didn’t go help them.
I’m doing this for us. I want to eliminate the threat so that we can live our life in peace. Please tell me you understand.”
I’m pleading with her now. I need her to let me walk out that door. If she begs me to stay, I don’t know if I can walk away.
She sniffles. “I don’t want you to get hurt. I don’t know how to go on without you.”
“I know, and I will do everything in my power so that you don’t have to figure it out. I’m coming back to you. I’m tough as hell, and I have a whole lot to come back to. You trust me, don’t you?”
I glance over at her, hating the devastation on her face.
I look back to the road, finally pulling into her father’s driveway.
“I do. With all my heart and soul,” she finally whispers.
“Good, then trust me to handle this. Your old man is pretty fucking amazing if I do say so myself.”
She giggles, wiping her tears. “You’re going to single-handedly pay for my next vacation with that potty mouth of yours.”
“I will do so willingly.”
She sighs. “Okay. Let’s go introduce my biker boyfriend to my police chief dad at two in the morning. This couldn’t possibly go wrong.”
I smirk at her. “That’s the spirit, Angel.”