Chapter 26
Seek
Iwoke the next morning to Hush shaking me.
We’d spent the whole night hanging out with the dogs, watching movies, and making love.
I was sore and exhausted, but I pried an eye open and I watched as he got out of my bed and pulled his jeans on.
It was a shame to be covering up any of that sexy body.
Now that I was awake, I was hoping to get second helpings of what I’d gotten last night.
Hush’s voice finally penetrated my sleep fogged brain.
“You expectin’ anyone?”
My brows pulled low and I sat up, the blanket pooling at my hips. His eyes dipped down, but then moved away as a voice echoed through the house.
“Jamie!”
My gasp was so forceful it stung my throat on its way out. I jumped out of bed, realized I was naked, and reached over to grab the blanket to wrap around myself. “Hide,” I hissed.
Hush gave me a look that told me I was out of my mind. “I’m fifty-one years old, Seek. I’m not hidin’ in some closet.”
It was too late anyway. My bedroom door swung open and my mom froze in the entryway.
“Oh! I’m so sorry,” she said. Shock held her still.
A half-naked man in her oldest daughter’s bedroom was only going to hold her immobile for so long.
Her eyes dipped down, running the length of Hush’s body before they landed on me.
She wasn’t sure whether to jump for joy, drool, or scold me. Her mother’s instincts were at war with each other in her expression. If I wasn’t so horrified that she’d just walked in on us, I’d laugh.
“Um… Mom, this is Hush. Hush, my mom, Melinda.”
“Nice to meet you,” he said, voice a deep rasp.
“Nice to meet you, too,” Mom said. “Jamie, may I speak to you out in the living room?”
I nodded and gave Hush an apologetic look as I followed her out wearing nothing but my bedspread. Shutting the door, I turned and found Mom in my face.
“Who is that?” she hissed. Somehow her tone held the accusation that I shouldn’t have a man in my bed, while also holding the implied hope of future grandbabies. It was something only my mom could pull off.
There was no point in lying. I’d known I was going to have to introduce them sooner or later. I’d just been hoping for later. “I told you about Hush,” I reminded her.
“I thought you two had decided to just be friends?” Her eyebrow rose as she took in my bedspread.
Clearing my throat, I shrugged my shoulders. “We changed our minds, Mom.”
“How old is he?”
“Mom,” I scolded her, dropping my voice. “He’s going to hear you.”
“Wait.” She lifted a hand to her brow. “Isn’t this the motorcycle guy?” The thought of leather clad grandbabies left a horrified look in her eyes.
“Mom,” I said, aggravation clear in my tone. “At least get to know him before you start judging.”
“I’m not judging. I’m just asking. Aren’t I allowed to know about the man who’s dating my daughter?” She shoved her hands onto her hips, mimicking the pose I didn’t realize I was in.
Thankfully my blanket was tucked into itself and held on or I’d be standing in front of her naked. “Yes,” I sighed.
“Well, then you’ll bring him for dinner.”
I groaned. “We need time to-”
“Tonight,” she said, bowling right over what I was going to say. “Six, and don’t be late.” She sailed out the door before I had time to argue. Probably on her way to the bookstore, though I doubted she’d find any self-help books titled Help! My Daughter Loves a Biker!
“That went well.”
I turned and found Hush leaning against my bedroom door frame, still half naked. “We have to go to dinner with her tonight,” I told him, eyes trailing over his muscular chest and defined abs.
His brows shot up. “Have to?”
I couldn’t help the smile that spread over my face. “She’ll make my life hell unless she gets the chance to interrogate you.”
“Sounds more like a you problem,” he said with a chuckle.
“Until I make it a you problem,” I replied in agreement.
“Got it. Dinner it is,” he replied with a sigh. “Get dressed, we need to go to the clubhouse.”
“What for?” I asked, stepping around him to go into my bedroom.
His arm snaked out and wrapped around my waist, pulling me up against his body. My breath escaped in a sharp exhale as my curves brushed up against the hard planes of his body. He tugged at the knot that was holding my blanket together and his eyes smoldered as it fell, revealing my body.
“Doesn’t look like you’re in a hurry,” I said. “Maybe we can be late.”
His lips were already on my neck, nibbling and biting his way lower. “Can’t,” he growled.
My head fell back as he sucked one of my nipples into his mouth. The brush of his tongue made me moan and I wrapped my leg over his hip so I could grind against him.
Hush spun us, so that I was pressed against the door jam, then hitched me up until both legs were around his waist. Our mouths met and he thrust his tongue inside, mimicking the act I wanted to be participating in.
His hands brushed up and down my sides before he broke the kiss and lowered his head to my breasts. “Get dressed,” he muttered, the command muffled against my skin. He stepped back and held me until my feet were back underneath me.
I was a bit irritated at him for riling me up and not finishing the job, but I went to my closet to get dressed. There would be plenty of time to pay him back later for leaving me wet and aching.
* * *
I fidgeted with my bracelet as I stood outside a room at the clubhouse.
Hush had told me to wait here, then disappeared inside.
I looked around at the space. It was a large open room and on one side was a bartop with an assortment of alcohol lined on shelves behind it.
There was a framed photo there of Daphne.
The little placard on the bottom of the frame read the same as her headstone.
On the other side of the room were some pool tables and dart boards.
It was empty right now, and I felt like an intruder in this space.
The door opened, making me jump, and Hush held out his hand. “Come on in.”
I followed him in and flinched inwardly when I realized there were nine other men inside the room, sitting around a large table. I smiled weakly at the room.
“For those who haven’t met her officially, this is Jamie. My old lady.”
There were nods and greetings from everyone.
I looked up at Hush, fully aware that there was a look of desperation on my face.
I didn’t know what I was doing here, or why I was being presented in front of their meeting.
I knew—thanks to the girls—that this was what they called church.
Which meant each of the men in the room was either an officer or enforcer for the club.
They were the men who made the decisions for the entire group.
“It’s fine,” he said, brushing his large hand over my hair.
I wasn’t typically an anxious person, but it was hard not to worry about why I was here. Was this some kind of initiation thing? Did I have to join the club the way the guys did? The other women hadn’t said anything about that, but I couldn't imagine why they’d have me here.
“I asked Hush to bring you by,” Lockout said, pulling my attention to him. “If you remember, I owe you a favor.”
Relief poured, white-hot, through me. In the heat of the moment I’d forgotten all about our deal.
My muscles relaxed marginally. There was still the matter of getting these men to agree to my plan, but at least it didn’t have anything to do with Hush and I, or my place—or lack thereof—in the club.
I made a mental note to ask him if there was anything the girls had failed to mention to me that would be expected of me as far as the club was concerned.
“Why don’t you tell us what you’d like us to help you with,” Lockout ordered.
“I-” I licked my lips, giving Hush a sideways look.
I hadn’t been prepared to talk to anyone about this at this moment; thankfully, I’d been thinking about it non-stop, other than when I was thinking about Hush.
My theory might sound insane to anyone who didn’t know about the missing people out in the Silverbell area.
Hush gripped my hand in his and my heart swelled.
He was giving me comfort in the only way he could.
My eyes moved around the room as I began to explain.
“I work in Search and Rescue.” Not all of the faces around the table had been there the day Dex had gone missing, so I figured it was best to start from the beginning.
“There’s a place north of here, out in the desert, called The Silverbell Mountains.
” There wasn’t any recognition on any of their faces.
“It’s pretty remote and…I’ve had a lot of searches out there. Six, in the last year.”
Hush was watching me intently, they all were. “I’ve never found anyone out in that area.”
“Isn’t that common?” Lockout asked. “To not find the subjects of your searches alive?”
“Key word, alive. I have a pretty good record,” I told him. “But that’s just it. I don’t find them…at all. Not alive, not dead. And that’s unusual. We almost always at least find a body.”
“What are you sayin’?” Hush asked. Every man was watching me intently as I spoke.
“They go missing and they stay missing. My friend—the Sheriff—looked into it, but unless he finds evidence of foul play they can’t get involved. They just don’t have the resources.”
“What are we talking about here?” Riptide asked.
“Smugglers?” Priest suggested.