Rock point collection, p.73
Rock Point Collection, page 73
I’d been so caught up in the moment after making him come, I let him strip me out of my clothes and bend me over his desk, a hand between my shoulder blades to hold me down as he pistoned inside me. I was so wrapped up in the feel of him bare inside me—the first time since getting the all clear from the clinic on Friday—not even for a second had I considered the closed door was hardly an effective way to keep people out.
Mouth open, my hot cheek pressed to the cool surface of Ouray’s desk, I was trapped when the door opened and a clueless Nosh stuck his head inside and looked right at me. The surprise on his face quickly morphed into amusement as he backed out, throwing me a jaunty wink in the process.
Mortifying.
To me anyway, Ouray seemed of the same mind as Nosh, and considered it amusing, which is probably why he’s still wearing that damn smirk hours later.
“Are you good with that plan, Luna?”
Nothing like your boss’s voice to work as a cold shower on your thoughts. “Sorry. I missed that.” I try to ignore Ouray’s low chuckle, throwing him as deadly a glare as I can muster, which doesn’t do much to stem his mirth at my expense.
“You’ll cover Ouray, spending the nights here, at his house. With his recovery as an excuse, you can explain he’ll get more rest here than at the clubhouse. It’ll also give us a place to meet quietly. The rest of the story is that Kaga’s staying at the clubhouse until Ouray gets his feet back under him, and invited Dylan to stay with the club for a bit as well, in support of his sister. Between the two of them, they can keep an eye on everyone else,” Damian repeats.
“I want Ahiga to stay with us.” At the puzzled look on my boss’s face I quickly explain, “The boy you saw when you came in. His name is Cody Washburn, he’s the boy I’ve asked Jasper to look into. He’s hearing-impaired and I’d feel a whole lot better if he stayed close to us.”
Damian scratches his goatee, looking at me from under his heavy brows. “The boy means something to you?”
I nod and throw Ouray a grateful look when he adds, “To me as well. The boy stays.”
“Good. That’s settled then. Jas and I will coordinate with Blackfoot on the investigation and keep you updated on that front. Let’s flush these bastards out.”
When Ouray closes the door after the last person leaves, he walks straight to the stairs.
“I’m just going up to see how Ahiga is doing.”
“Why don’t you ask if he wants to come watch a movie with us? I can see what we have in the house and make some snacks.”
Instead of heading upstairs, he stalks over to where I’m leaning over the back of the couch. He tucks his knuckle under my chin and lifts my face, only to confuse me when he says, “You said we.”
“I said what?”
“You said ‘what we have in the house.’ I like it.”
“Okay…” I’m still a little foggy.
“How attached to that little shack you call home are you?” he asks with an intense look in his eyes.
“My house?” He grunts, confirming. “It’s been a good place to keep my things. A bed to sleep in. I don’t know, I usually don’t spend much time at home. I also move around a lot. I get restless when I stay somewhere long.”
“Mmm. I say you ditch the place, and move in here with me.”
That blush is creeping back up my cheeks, and I try to look away from his probing eyes, but his damn thumb keeps my chin trapped in place.
I’m literally stumped for words. Living here with him would be… I don’t really know what it would be like. Or maybe I do. I’ve spent most of the past almost four weeks almost plastered to his side. Still, not even quite a month, surely… “Isn’t that a little soon?” is what I finally manage to verbalize.
“That depends.” He shrugs with a smile. “How much notice does your landlord want on that place? Or do you have a lease?”
“I never sign anything longer than a six-month lease and go month-to-month after that.” I think for a minute. “I moved in the first of April, I believe.”
“Perfect, that means your lease runs out in a few days anyway, and you shouldn’t owe him more than a month’s rent after that. Call him tomorrow.”
“But we haven’t even…I mean it hasn’t even been a month.” This time I manage to slip my chin from his hold and turn my head to the front door, maybe looking for an escape, but then his hands cup my face and he drops his forehead to mine.
“You said yourself you get restless, move around a lot. Just call this your next stop. You were expecting to be here with me for the immediate future anyway.”
I look into his warm eyes and swallow. “But what if I get restless after a while?”
“That happens, Sprite, we’ll deal. But one thing I do know, worry about what-if too much will only paralyze you.” He rubs his nose along mine, and presses a soft kiss on my lips. “Trust me on this.”
“How can you be so sure?”
His eyes take in my face as he brushes a curl from my forehead. “Because, Sprite…I’ve always been clear on what I don’t want—so it doesn’t take a lot for me to know when what’s in front of me is exactly what I’ve been holding out for.”
TWENTY-FOUR
Ouray
“What the fuck?”
Yuma is just getting on his bike when we pull up in the rental. Of course with Luna behind the wheel, which still irks me. Since she won’t let me drive—yet—one of the guys will have to go with her to drop off the rental today.
The moment the car comes to a stop, Ahiga—who was up at the goddamn butt crack of dawn this morning—is out and running into the clubhouse. Probably straight into the kitchen. We’d better get some more food over at the house if he’s going to stay with us.
“Close your mouth, brother. Things could get lost in there,” I snap at Yuma, immediately wondering if I should read more into his obvious shock. I fucking hate this shit.
“The hell are you doing back here? How’d you get out?”
“Cops managed to get their heads outta their asses, that’s how.”
“Well shit, I was just heading over to River’s Edge. One of the tenants has some plumbing issues,” he smirks and I almost groan out loud. Probably sniffing around that new tenant. “But now I kinda want to stick around, see the looks when that bunch of cranky gravediggers in there sees you come in. Talk about low morale, brother. That was the worst fucking ride this club’s ever seen.”
A little more encouraged, I clap him on the shoulder. “In that case, get on the horn and round the brothers up. My office at noon.”
From what I can tell, the few brothers hanging around the bar are relieved to see me. Even Dylan, who apparently came straight here after leaving my place last night, puts on a good show of clapping me on the back. He clearly missed his calling on the stage, because he has my guys treating him like one of their own. After refusing a proper drink for the third time in a row—sticking to the bottle of water Luna shoved in my hand earlier—I’ve had enough, and as I’d been instructed, I quickly withdraw to my office.
The plan is for me to pretend I’m not doing that great yet, still recovering, making me an easier target. Gomez seems to think it may force the assholes who have it out for me to move quickly. I’m not about to argue with that. As far as I’m concerned, the sooner I can look my brothers straight in the eye again, the better it is.
“Do you need anything from the store?” Luna sticks her head around the door. “I’m going to head out with Lea to pick up some last minute groceries for Momma, and I’ll grab a few things for us as well.” Since the boys got in late last night, Momma is putting on a welcome home meal tonight. Luna disappeared soon after we got here to help her and Leah in the kitchen.
“Where’s Cody?”
“You mean Ahiga?” She grins as she slips into the room. “You gave him that name and now he won’t answer to anything else, so the least you can do is use it.”
“You giving me a hard time?” I tilt my head to the side. “I may just have to come up with one for you.”
She shakes her head sharply. “No thanks, I like mine just fine. Anyway, he’s in the garage with Lea’s twins.” She grins, looking at me from under her lashes. “Has them practicing sac squeeze ’n twists on each other.”
I bark out a laugh. “Christ. Figures the kid would turn out to be a shit disturber.”
“He’ll fit right in.”
Her eyes are bright when she smiles at me, and I’m smiling right back. Jesus, I’m turning into a fucking pussy. I’d be raked over the coals if my guys could see me now.
“We’re gonna need a truckload of food for that boy, Sprite,” I tell her sternly, trying to find my balls as I pull out my wallet, and take out a stack of bills. “Stock up. I’ll get Rowtag and Wapi to follow you in the van. They can help you carry.”
“I can afford a few groceries, you know. You don’t have to shove money at me.” She flaps a hand at the money I hold out to her. The heated flush is back on the cheeks of my feisty little Sprite, and her back is ramrod straight. Fuck, I love that attitude of hers, however misplaced it is. I put the money on the edge of the desk and sit down, waiting for the next volley, because I know for a fact she’s not nearly done yet. She doesn’t keep me waiting long. “And sending a bunch of snot-nosed, ill-tempered, wanna-be men to babysit us is frankly insulting. I could take on both those punks with one hand tied behind my back and twirl a fucking baton with the other.” She gestures wildly with her hands while she’s talking, hair flopping in her face. When she’s done, she plants her hands on her hips, and attempts to stare me down. I manage to hold back a grin until she purses her lips and attempts to blow a wayward blonde curl out of her pretty blue eyes, looking like more like an angry fairy than a lethal, pissed-off FBI agent. Then I bust out laughing.
“Hold on, hold on,” I call out, scrambling out of my chair, and barely catching her at the door she’s about to march out of. Blocking her path, I lean down so she has no choice but to look at me. “First of all, I’m sending those ‘punks’ with you so you can keep an eye on them, not the other way around. You heard me tell Yuma I’m expecting all brothers in my office? I don’t want nosy cubs around for that.”
“Oh.”
“Oh is right. Secondly,” I continue, leaning over to grab the money off the desk, and stuffing it in her jeans pocket. “The money. I take care of my family, there’s no discussion there. The time comes you’ve moved in, and your new car is parked outside the house every night, we can talk and get finances sorted. But for now it’s still my house, which means it’s also my empty fridge, which will get filled with groceries bought with my money. Can you live with that?”
“I guess,” she says, looking a little sheepish and pretty fucking adorable.
Before she has a chance to think up more objections, I take her face in my hands and kiss her thoroughly. By the time I lift my mouth from hers, I’m pretty sure I’ve left her temporarily incapable of speech. Just long enough to nudge her out the door and quietly close it behind her.
Luna
“What’s with that guy?”
I turn to Lea, who seems to be staring in her rearview mirror intently, and swing my head around. The club’s white van is behind us, carrying Rowtag and Wapi.
“Who?”
“Rowtag. Do you know he was the most timid kid when he came to Arrow’s Edge? Soft-spoken, surprisingly polite for a kid who’d seen too much hard life. I don’t even recognize him anymore. Most kids arrive here with a chip on their shoulder, despair in their eyes, and anger in their hearts, but over time you see them gradually change. They settle in, start to learn about respect and trust, and eventually grow up into good, decent men. This one?” She cocks her thumb over her shoulder. “He’s the only one I know who went the other way.”
I can hardly identify the boy she describes with the foul-tempered punk I’ve encountered. “Soft-spoken and polite certainly aren’t terms I would’ve associated with him. He definitely does not like me.”
“He seems to have a problem with women in general. The only females he appears to be civil with are Momma and Britney. Besides, Kaga told me you kicked his ass in the ring.” Her mouth twitches as she looks over at me. “So of course he doesn’t like you. He doesn’t like losing and certainly not to a five foot nothing, blue-eyed cherub with breasts. He’s a bully among the cubs and the younger kids, and I’m sure you damaged his street cred.”
I’m mentally filing every snippet of information, trying to figure out how it might fit into the puzzle—if at all.
When we turn into the parking lot of the City Market and Lea pulls into an empty spot, I turn to her. “I meant to ask you, whatever happened to Britney? I haven’t seen her since we went to the casino in Ruisodo.”
“Took off. Probably found herself another biker to hook onto. That girl is bound and determined to get on the back of some poor sap’s bike, claiming old lady status. You know she had her hopes set on your man, right?”
“She made that clear.”
Lea snorts. “I’m sure she did. Anyway, she never showed Friday night, and Jill told me the next morning her stuff had been gone from the cabin when her and Hanshaw got back from the concert.”
“No message? No note?”
“Nada. Apparently not the first time she’s disappeared on Jill. She didn’t seem too concerned. Said she’ll probably float to the surface again at some point.”
Wapi is waiting behind the car when we get out.
“Where’s Rowtag?” I ask, looking around.
“He had to take a call. Says to go ahead.”
I spot him sitting behind the wheel of the van, the next row over, eyes on me and talking into his phone. I’m torn. I’d like to keep my eye on him—and I’d really like to know who he’s talking to, since I know the club is holed up in Ouray’s office right about now—but I don’t want to make unnecessary waves either. Turning away from him, I follow Lea’s retreating back into the grocery store.
Two almost full carts later, I head over to the deli counter, leaving Lea to hit the freezer aisle. I’ve just placed my order when Wapi sidles up to me.
“Be careful,” he says, under his breath.
“What do you mean?”
The cub looks around to make sure he can’t be overheard before bending closer to me. “Rowtag. He has it out for you.”
“That’s not news, Wapi,” I whisper back.
“Right. It’s just that…I can tell he’s up to something. Just watch your back.”
Before I have a chance to ask what makes him think that he steps away, just as Lea walks up with her overflowing cart.
“You about ready?”
“Just waiting for my deli meats and I’m good to go.”
I don’t see Rowtag until we push the heavy carts, loaded with bags, onto the parking lot. He’s waiting by the back of the van, the door already open. Wapi’s words still echoing in my head, my training kicks in, and I quickly scan my surroundings. Other than a harried looking mom, trying to wrangle two little ones on her way into the grocery store, the parking lot is empty. Call me paranoid, but it feels like the air just got heavy.
“Wanna take my cart?” I ask Wapi who’s a step behind me. “I forgot something.”
“I have to grab something,” I call out to Lea who is walking in front.
Without waiting for an answer, I turn and jog back toward the store, sharply aware of every kind of movement around me. I let out a big breath when I step inside, immediately turning to look behind me.
Nothing. Other than Rowtag standing in the same spot by the back of the van—while Lea and Wapi load the bags inside—his eyes on the store, no one is even paying attention to me.
Still, I quickly pull out my phone and dial Ouray’s number. It rings a few times before going to voicemail. Guess he turned the sound off. So instead I send a short message, tuck my phone back in my pocket, and randomly grab some batteries and gum from the rack by the closest cash register.
While paying, I keep an eye on the van through the glass of the store front, watching Wapi close the back doors and pushing the carts out of the way. The moment I see Lea head over to her car and get in, I keep my fingers crossed. Sure enough, she backs out of the parking spot and drives toward the store. As soon as she pulls up outside the doors, I dart outside and get into the passenger side.
“What the heck is up with you?” she demands to know when the first thing I do is look over my shoulder at the van behind us.
“Just feel something’s off, and I can’t get hold of Ouray.”
“It’s because they turn their phones off when they congregate in the office,” Lea explains.
Shit. I freeze when I see the van suddenly pull around beside us, my hand sliding down to the ankle holster I’ve been taken to wearing. Wapi’s window rolls down and before I can stop her, Lea lowers hers as well.
“What’s the delay?” Rowtag leans toward the open window.
“Luna says—”
“I’ve got one more errand to run in town,” I cut Lea off quickly. “Why don’t you head over to the clubhouse. We won’t be long.”
“Chief says to stick with you. We stick with you,” he says, looking at me sharply.
“Fine.” I quickly adjust my hopes to ditch them. “You want to follow me all the way down to the Verizon store on South Camino Del Rio, be my guest.”
“Is that where we’re going?” Lea wants to know as she rolls up her window.
“Yup. We’re shopping for a phone for Ahiga.”
We’ve barely turned down Main and my phone rings.
“Something’s up…what the hell kind of message is that?”
I ignore Ouray’s irritation and dive right in. “Gut instinct. That, and a whispered warning from Wapi to watch my back with Rowtag, who’s had laser eyes on me the whole time. Like I said, something’s up.”
“Stay put, I’m coming—”
“You’re not supposed to be going anywhere,” I stop him in his tracks. “Besides, it’s not necessary. All you have to do is call him back to the clubhouse with the groceries. They’re in the back of the van. Lea and I are on our way to the Verizon store, and he’s stuck to our ass like glue. He gives me the creeps.” The last I add for Lea’s benefit. I’m not sure how much, if anything, Kaga shared with her, and I don’t want her to freak out.
