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“I never said I had all the answers. When I lost James, I thought I’d never be truly happy again. My heart felt like it had literally broken into two shattered pieces. I promised myself I’d never open my heart up to that kind of hurt again. And then I ran into a grumpy man’s house.”
She rolled over on her back and smiled up into his eyes with an emotion he’d never felt directed at him. She put her hand on his chest, over his beating heart. “Life is too short. Nobody is guaranteed tomorrow so you have to take what you want, no matter the mess.”
There wasn’t a chance in hell that they’d work together, but he didn’t have it in him to disappoint her any more than he already had. Let her live in her land of roses and unicorns shittin’ glitter. She’d understand in time. Time that was running out.
CHAPTER 19
Janel
“Tell me about the Kings of Chaos?” Janel asked, as they lay in bed after making love. The past two days had been some of the best of her life, and they’d been spent in his bedroom at the club. They hadn’t been having sex the entire time, her private parts might argue with that, but whatever they’d chosen to do was amazing.
They’d watched a few movies, one war movie and a love story. It was only fair. They’d played cards, if you consider strip poker a card game and not foreplay. They had even invaded the club’s kitchen late at night and Dozer had cooked. Finding out he actually knew his way around a kitchen was a pleasant surprise.
With all of those incredible ways they spent time together, her most favorite was when they lay in bed and simply talked. The subject didn’t matter.
“What do you want to know?” Dozer asked as he rubbed her back.
“What does the KOC do?” She knew Dozer didn’t have a job he went to every day. He said he worked for the KOC, but what that entailed she didn’t know.
His hand stilled on her back. “We do what needs to be done.”
Cryptic replies were something she knew a thing or two about. “You don’t want to talk about it.”
He sat up and adjusted until he was leaning against the headboard, and then pulled her into his lap until she could look into his eyes. “The mission of the club has evolved over the decades. I would not have been proud to be a member in the early days. That’s not to say everything we do these days is on the up and up. It isn’t. We get shit done that needs to be done. At times, shit gets ugly.”
“Dangerous? Have you ever beat someone up? Have you ever killed someone?”
His eyes met hers and he didn’t need to reply. She saw the answer clearly behind the regret he was trying so hard to hide. “There’s no way around that, sweetheart. Not everything we do is shitty. We work with at-risk kids through a school program that Prez’s dad started. The Kings own a variety of businesses where they intern, learning a skill while hopefully gaining respect for a different way of life than what they’re used to. If any bullying goes on, we’re the first to be called in. Just our show of support is usually enough to change a kid’s life. There’s a lot more good we do; we aren’t all bad. Only when we have to be.”
The Kings of Chaos was a lot more complex than she’d realized. “You said you were going to be gone tomorrow for a few hours. Is it going to be dangerous?”
He didn’t answer right away, which was concerning. “It could be. If the demon is setting us up.”
She frowned. “Why do you call him that?”
“Demonte is his name. Fitting, I think.”
“I don’t know the man you’re talking about. But then again, I didn’t know his brother either. Travis, I need to talk to Luc. I need answers.”
“No,” he snapped.
She rolled her eyes. “Just no? No compromise or discussion?”
“He’s not trustworthy. His family deals in human trafficking. That’s why your fiancé was killed and that’s why you’re in danger. Because of his family.”
She didn’t believe Luc was involved with that part of his family business. Not the man she knew. “But I heard him say he was trying to change. Don’t you believe him?”
“I will not put your safety at risk by believing everything he says. Prez believes him, to a point. That has to be enough.”
She looked up into his eyes. “Is that where you are going tomorrow? To help him?”
“Club business is private. I can’t tell you anything, for our safety and for yours. Don’t worry. We’re leaving enough men behind to protect you. Nothing and no one is going to hurt you.” He took her chin in his hand and kissed her. Their tongues dueled and caressed until she was breathless. He tore his lips away and looked into her eyes. “I need your promise, princess. Tomorrow, while I’m gone, don’t run. I need to know you are safe behind the protection of these walls. And whatever the fuck you do, don’t go on stage showing every asshole there what’s mine.”
Her heart almost stopped. That was the first time he’d claimed her. She nodded and his hand stilled, “No, princess. I need the words.”
In all of their recent conversations, any mention or their future had been a subject they’d shied away from. The look on his face, he couldn’t conceal from her. He cared. “I’ll be waiting for your return.” She took his face in her palms. “You better come back to me.”
He nuzzled her neck and slipped a hand between her legs.
