Chapter 31
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
PIGGY
I’m glad I drove my truck down to the bakery, because Lainey loads up two huge yellow pastry boxes and two drink carriers with fancy-as-fuck coffees to take back to the clubhouse. She also states that she’ll be rounding up the girls and heading down there as soon as she closes up the shop.
Honest to fuck, I’m not sure if that’s a promise or a warning. Good news is, I won’t be there to find out. I’ll be at work, dealing with Garcia and whatever the fuck he’s got planned. Because I know he’s got something shoved up his sleeve.
He knows what I have when it comes to the accusations and his arrest record, but I’m still working on finding his old lady, and that I’m going to keep in my back pocket until I need it. Because I know I’m going to need it, without a doubt.
Parking my pickup next to my bike, I step out of the truck and head over to the passenger side, tugging the door open and pulling out the boxes and drink carriers. I know the guys are going to pounce on the pastries as soon as they see them, but Heidi and Millie get first choice.
The clubhouse is quiet, but Heidi and Millie are sitting right in the middle of the bar area at a table.
They both have a cup of coffee in their hands, although it looks like black sludge that one of the clubwhores made, probably Lolita.
She’s great at a lot of things, but making coffee isn’t one of them.
“How about something a little better than that shit?” I ask.
They both lift their heads. Their eyes don’t even make it to mine. They travel up and stop at the boxes and carriers in my hands. My lips twitch into a smirk the moment their faces light up at the sight of the drinks and pastries.
“My sister sent her best breakfast treats,” I announce.
“Lainey?” Millie asks as she reaches for the drink carriers. “Wow, she has her own shop?”
“She does,” I state. “I had the start-up capital. I knew she would make something of it, instead of continuing to make me eat her treats. I was getting fat.”
Heidi chuckles as she reaches for the boxes. I watch as she flips the lid open and then moans at the sight of all the pastries that stare back at her. She sucks in a breath, then her gaze meets mine.
“Your sister is a sweet creature who deserves everything good in this world.”
I can’t help but burst out laughing as I reach out for one of my favorite éclairs. Heidi reaches for something as well. I don’t pay attention to what she chooses because Millie begins to speak, and my spine straightens.
“I’ll just… take this other box into the kitchen,” Millie murmurs, picking up one of the boxes and hurrying away. I take it Heidi wants to talk to me alone. Sinking down in the chair across from her, I rub my palms down my thighs.
Thankfully, she doesn’t make me wait too long before she starts talking.
“Millie told me about the deal,” she begins. I arch a brow, pressing my lips together in a thin line as I wait for her to continue. “
“I’m sure you’re wondering just how I killed that bitch without even blinking,” she says.
“You know I am.”
Her words didn’t need an answer, but I gave her one anyway. I do want to know just how she did that without shaking in any way whatsoever. She’s done it before and maybe even liked it at some point.
“You don’t grow up in Vegas without dating some bad motherfuckers,” she states. “And you don’t dance in Vegas without warding off some bad motherfuckers.”
“Guys like Dante?”
She snorts. “Dante was sweet compared to them.”
“You’re safe now?” I ask.
She hums. “I had to protect myself in order to get away. Fight for my freedom. Kill.”
The mad respect I have for her goes beyond her knowing how to handle a gun. My teeth tug on my bottom lip before releasing it. My gaze searches hers, and I let out a sigh.
“You protected Millie, didn’t you?”
Her mouth curves up into a smile. “You know I did, Axton Colter.”
“And you’ll do the two years?”
She hums as she reaches for another pastry. I watch as she lifts it to her lips, taking a bite before she chews a few times, then swallows.
“Firstly, your sister is a magician. Secondly, I’ll do the two years because it keeps me out of doing life. Plus, I’m lonely in Vegas without Millie. Had I known that pissant was after her and who he was, I would have taken care of him there, but she ran off.”
My lips twitch into a smirk. “She ran off in an attempt to protect you. Probably because of the way you always protected her.”
“She didn’t know that I could have had both our backs, but to me, it worked out better, I think.”
“Did it?” I ask.
She hums, then lifts her pastry-filled hand and waves it around. “Hell yeah, it did,” she snaps. “Being here is awesome. It’s an adventure, and if it sucks, I’ll move on in two years. But I highly doubt it’s going to suck.”
I like this woman.
A hell of a lot.
“You’d better steer clear of this clubhouse. These guys are going to be all over you.”
Heidi winks. “You mean the same guys who work at the club?”
Oh yeah.
Well, shit.
MILLIE
After dropping off the pastries in the kitchen, I slowly make my way back to the bar area and hope I’ve given Heidi and Axton enough time to chat about whatever Heidi wanted to talk to him about.
When I arrive back at their table, Heidi excuses herself, saying she’s going to take a shower, carrying a coffee and an extra pastry. I reach for a muffin, peel the paper back, and take a bite, trying not to moan when I taste said bite.
“I wanted to talk to you,” Axton murmurs.
“You did?”
He hums then reaches out, wrapping his hands around my hips before he tugs me down so my ass slams against his thighs. I don’t wrap my arms around him, mainly because I’m still enjoying my muffin.
Axton’s hand gently glides up the center of my back, his fingers curling around my neck as he looks up at me. His eyes search mine, then he grins.
“You’re so goddamn beautiful, Mill.”
Shaking my head, I can’t even accept the compliment. It feels silly. I’m not ugly, I know that. Other men have called me beautiful, but it doesn’t feel real. It feels like an empty compliment from them because they’re drunk and I’m dancing naked for them.
But coming from Axton, it feels different.
Better.
Intimate.
“I wanted to let you know that I have to go to work tonight. It’s a twelve-hour shift from three to three. I won’t be back until probably four or five tomorrow morning. I’d like you in my bed when I come back here.”
“You’re coming back here?”
He hums and gently guides my face forward. His lips touch mine, then I feel his tongue slide along the seam of my lips before he gently shifts me backward. I bite the inside of my cheek, working the skin back and forth as I wait for his response.
“I have a small house. I usually stay there when I’m on duty, but since you’re here, I want to at least sleep beside you for a few hours.”
I don’t know why that makes my heart skip a beat, but it does. “Are you sure?”
His gaze searches mine, and then he clears his throat. “I’ve never been surer of anything in my life, Mill. You are my fuckin’ woman, and the only place I want to sleep is beside you.”
“When do you have to go to work?” I ask.
I’m breathless, my heart is slamming against my chest, and I have to squeeze my thighs together.
I want him.
Right here and now, I want him.
“I have to leave here in an hour. I’ve got to get my uniform ready and shit. But I’ll be back early in the morning. Do you want me to wake you up?”
Oh. Hell yes.
“Yes,” I exhale.
He chuckles, his fingers still curled around the back of my neck. He gently tugs my head close to his again until my lips connect with his. He doesn’t deepen the kiss. Instead, he slides his tongue across the seam before he speaks against my mouth.
“Yeah, I’ll wake you up, Mill.”
We stay that way for a while. I eat my muffin and drink my coffee, which are both absolutely fantastically amazing. I’m not sure I ever want this to end, but it does, about an hour later, and then he’s gone.
Off to work.
I watch him go with a bit of sadness consuming me. I know he’s coming back in less than twenty hours, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want him to stay with me. Always. The independent woman I once was has seemingly vanished, because I want him right here, next to me, forever.
“You doin’ okay, girl?” a deep, rough voice calls out behind me.
I look back at Shocker, who hasn’t left his post at the bar but has shifted around to face me. I smile, nodding a couple of times. “I’m okay,” I respond.
He grunts, shakes his head once, then speaks. “No, you ain’t, but you will be. The girls’ll sort you out.”
I start to ask him what girls, when the door to the club opens, and there stands not just Lainey, but Lainey and a whole-ass posse… and kids… at least four of them, maybe more.