Chapter 6
Hellfire
The days passed in a blur and not once had I found the right time to talk to Smoke about my plans for his sister.
Lock and the other club members were keeping me busy during the day and I didn't want to interrupt Smoke and Dani at night.
They were busy enjoying their time together before they ended up with a new baby.
Swiping my hand over the back of my neck, I brushed the sweat away.
It was scorching hot as summer settled down on us.
But I'd finished the errand Lock had needed doing and I was back at the compound.
And more importantly, so was Smoke. He and Ricochet had their heads together as they sat out back at one of the picnic tables, looking at something on Smoke's phone.
Their laughter floated on the hot, dry breeze.
"Hey," I called out as I approached.
Both their heads lifted and they grinned in greeting. "Check this out," Smoke said, passing over his phone.
I watched the video with a grin as Priest's girls tormented Butcher and Toxic. "I swear, those two were afraid of kids not that long ago."
"Babies," Ricochet replied.
Arching my brow in question, I handed Smoke's phone back to him. "What?"
"They're terrified of babies," Ricochet elaborated.
"They seem to really enjoy kids, though," Smoke said.
"They're easily corruptible," I replied, answering his unasked question about why that would be.
Both men chuckled again. "True," Smoke said. His eyes settled on me and he leaned forward, his forearms on the table. "Haven't seen you around much in the last few days."
"Lock needed help with something."
"Something to do with The Italians?" Ricochet asked, sitting up a little straighter. We were all eager to pay Amato back for ordering his men to come after one of our own.
"He thought it might be, but it turned out to be a dead end," I replied.
"Rat hasn't found them yet?" Ricochet questioned with a frown.
"He knows where they are," Smoke said. "We all know where they are."
Afanso Amato's home was nestled into the Catalina foothills.
It belonged to his father before him and was the place their empire was born.
I doubted their rich neighbors had any idea they lived out there, tucked in the mountains, next to a mafia don.
A grin spread over my face as I thought about them finding out about that.
"What are you thinking?" Ricochet asked, eyeing me suspiciously.
I chuckled. "Just thinking about how much fun it will be when we go after those fuckers."
Smoke grinned. "You have a mean streak."
"I do," I agreed with a shrug. "But I'm not going to apologize for it."
"Never expected you to. We’re all going to enjoy the destruction The Italians have coming to them." Smoke stood and stretched. "We're heading in for a drink. You coming?"
I shook my head. "I need to speak to you."
Smoke's brows shot up. "Oh yeah? What about?"
"Not here," I told him. "Want to go a round in the gym?"
"Fuck yeah, I do," he muttered. "I haven't had a chance to box in weeks."
Ricochet stood and slapped us both on the back as he walked by. "See you two later."
Heading into the clubhouse, I made my way down the hall toward the gym. It was quiet here this afternoon. Most of our brothers were either at work or out running errands for the club.
The gym door opened and I heard Smoke's footsteps behind me as he followed me inside. We both went over to the lockers and started stripping off our shirts. He was already dressed in shorts and sneakers, he and Ricochet must have just finished up a workout, so I quickly changed.
"So," he said, rubbing his hands together with a grin, "what did you need to talk about?"
"I kissed Kit," I told him, punching my gloves together as I bent to make my way between the ropes of the boxing ring.
"Well, fuck. Warn a guy before you say shit like that," Smoke grumbled as he followed me in.
"You walked in on us," I pointed out.
"That was a nice slap she gave you," he replied, a wide grin splitting his face. "Not nearly as good as what I'm about to do to you, though."
"Do whatever you want," I growled, "but I'm taking Kit as mine."
That knocked him back a step. "What the fuck did you just say to me?"
Glaring at him, I stepped in and threw a quick jab at him while he wasn't paying attention. His head snapped backward and a malicious smile quirked my lips.
"Fuck! God dammit, Hell." He wiped his now bleeding nose on his forearm. It spread all over his face. "We haven't fucking started yet!"
"The fuck we haven't," I muttered. "Fight and talk or get the shit kicked out of you. I don't care which."
"What’s up your ass today? And what the fuck do you mean, you're taking Kit?"
"Making her my old lady." I was circling him, waiting for him to slip up and drop his guard.
He sighed and shook his head. "You sure know how to ruin a guy's fun."
That had me stuttering to a stop. "What?" I ducked as he took my moment of surprise to throw a right hook at my face.
"I was planning on harassing you and making your life a living hell until you realized that you wanted Kit."
This time his punch connected because I was standing like an asshole with my mouth hanging open.
Swearing, I wiped blood from my face where his glove had split my eyebrow.
"The fuck are you talking about?" I muttered, swiping more blood away before it dripped into my eye. I was expecting to have to beat Smokehouse into compliance, not have him admit that he wanted me to date his sister. This wasn’t like him at all.
"You seriously think I didn't notice after the women were attacked at the Event Center?"
"Notice what?" I snapped, getting pissed off because he had me off balance.
Smoke bounced from foot to foot, looking for an opening in my guard. "How much you want her."
My brows shot up, then immediately dropped back down in a scowl.
"Noticed that, did you?" I watched him cautiously as he circled around me. Was this some kind of trick? Was he planning on telling me he’d give me his blessing only to make me drop my guard? Mentally, I shook off that thought. He was one of my best friends. Even as protective of his sister as he was, he wouldn’t do something like that to me. Which meant, this was really happening.
"It's not like you were being fucking subtle," he muttered.
I snorted. "I've been trying to keep my hands off her for years."
"Why?"
"Because she's your sister."
He cocked his head, looking confused. "So?"
"You've beaten the shit out of every man who's even looked sideways at her," I told him, tone incredulous.
"That's because none of them were worthy of her," he replied with a shrug.
"And… I am?" We weren't boxing anymore, just standing, bleeding, and talking.
"Who better for my sister than my best friend," he answered with another shrug. "I know you better than anyone else fucking does, Hell. No one is better for Kit than you."
"So, you're not going to give me a hard time about this?" I asked. I was still suspicious of how easily this was happening.
"I mean, I still plan to fuck with you, but I won't stand in your way." His eyes narrowed. "If you hurt her though, all bets are off. I'll fuck you up."
Nodding, I held out my glove. "And I'll let you."
He tapped my glove. "Can we box now?"
"Yeah," I growled and lunged at him, gloves swinging.
The gym inside the clubhouse rang with our grunts and hits as we fought.
This was something all our brothers enjoyed doing, especially now that we were on hold, waiting to see what the plan for The Italians was.
No one wanted to wait around, but we couldn't storm the gates of Amato's home either.
We'd be gunned down by his security team before we ever stepped foot on his grounds.
That’s why Lock had me out so much this week.
Me and a few others were tracking down any leads Rip, Dash, and Rat found to see if we could find another spot to confront the mafia at.
It wasn’t proving easy. They either didn’t have another area, or they made sure to keep that shit on the real down low because our guys weren’t having any luck.
We had to come up with a solid plan. One that would take out Amato and as many of his men as possible.
We weren't going to stop until they were all dead.
Then we'd move on to Fremont. That fucker was next in line for a bullet. Not that we could just kill the DA that easily, but Lock would think of something. He always did. I was an enforcer. It wasn’t my job to come up with game plans.
It was my job to execute them and as many people as Lock and Rip pointed me at. I was perfectly happy with that.
Smoke and I finished up and went our separate ways after a shower. He was headed home to Dani. I had other plans. Plans that involved a certain woman with dark hair and blue-gray eyes. Pausing in the clubhouse hallway, I cocked my head as I studied the door across the way.
"What the fuck. May as well get all my answers at once." I knocked on the door.
"Come in."
I entered Lock's office and nodded in greeting at my president. He studied my bruised and still bleeding face. "Who won?" he asked.
Chuckling, I shrugged. "Hard to say." As strong as I was, Smokehouse was a fast fucker and we were decently matched.
We'd beat on each other until we'd called a truce.
My muscles were fatigued and I'd gotten the blessing I needed from him.
Now it was time to get a second one. "I want to make Kit my old lady. "
Lockout blinked at me as he processed the words I'd blurted out. He leaned back in his chair and folded his hands together on the desk in front of him. "About time." He motioned for me to take a seat.
"I'll make sure to take good care-" It was my turn to stare at him in confusion. "What?"
"I wondered when you would finally act on your feelings for her. Took you long enough."
"How did you know? How am I the last to know?" I muttered, though I wasn't sure why I was bothering to ask. Not much escaped Lockout's notice. It just made me wonder how many of my brothers knew I’d been in love with Kit. I thought I’d done a damn fine job of hiding it. Apparently not.
He chuckled. "You've been in love with her since you stepped foot on the compound. Have you spoken to Smokehouse?"
"What do you think this was about?" I motioned to my bloodied face. I ignored the slide of blood over my skin. Getting my eyebrow to stop bleeding had proven impossible.
He nodded. "Probably the smarter way to go about it. He'd handle a discussion like that better in the ring."
That was the truth.
"So, why are you here, talking to me?" Lock asked.
"I want to make sure that you won't have a problem with it." I shrugged my shoulders.
"As much as I appreciate that, Hell, I don't get involved in who dates who."
"You sure seemed to get involved when Hush was trying to break it off with Seek," I pointed out.
Lock made a face of concession. "You have me there. Why would I mind if you dated Kit?"
"She works for the club. If things go sideways, you'll lose the one who actually manages The Bunker, 'cause we all know it isn't Riptide." We both chuckled. "If it goes sideways, Smoke is going to try to kill me."
"If it goes sideways you'll be blaming yourself and a lot less useful," Lock said, getting into the spirit. He leaned forward, holding my gaze. "That means there's just one thing to do, Hell."
I flinched, expecting the worst. "What's that, Prez?"
"Don't fuck things up with her. That's if she even gives you a chance. Ultimately, the choice is completely up to her."
That was all the blessing I needed. A smile slowly spread over my face. "I don't plan on fucking up."
"Good. Get out of my office. You're bleeding all over my floor." The words were said with a smile, so I didn't take exception to them.
Shoving off the chair, I walked out the door. Now I just had to seal the deal with my fierce vixen. I'd never been closer to having everything I'd ever wanted than I was right now.