My head tilted back, giving him more room, as I closed my eyes. “Nuh-uh,” I groaned.
“Uh-huh, but that’s alright. We both know you’re lying to yourself.”
I didn’t respond, knowing it was true, and I was too chickenshit to acknowledge it. Instead, I unbuttoned the pajama shirt I wore, dropping it on my side ofthe mattress. “You have…twelve minutes…to make…me…” I didn’t dare look at him as I lifted to my knees, pushing my underwear and the pants down my legs until they were out of the way.”…come.”
He held himself at the base, hardened to the point his dick was sticking straight up. “Sit on me.”
Lifting, he helped guide me until I hovered above him. His other hand gripped my hip, holding me steady as I slowly dropped. Inch by inch, I took him inside me until there was no way to determine where I ended and he began. Neither of us filled the silence with the words I knew I desperately wanted to hear but was afraid would change everything.
“You’re strong enough to do this on your own, but I’ve got ten minutes.” He pushed up against me while rocking my hips backward.
The motion sent lightning through me until it burst into a million colors across my vision. I should have told him I loved him, but I dug my nails into his shoulders as he picked up the pace. I didn’t want to float away, but when I gave up the fight, knowing he’d catch me, I thought I heard him speak.
“Don’t leave me, Liz.”
***
Thunder
Church went silent when the prospect closed the door.
“I know this isn’t what everyone wants to do on a weekend, but we need to get ahead of whatever is coming,” Sabre said.
“Where do we even start?” Grizz moaned, leaning back in his chair as he rubbed his neck.
“Peter,” I said. Every brother turned in my direction. “I refuse to call him Pulse. He wasn’t a brother.” There were a few nods. “We know Alex sanctioned him to join the Lopezes. How did he get here?”
“Showed up at the gate one day with his own bike,” Wreck said. “It was too nice for a prospect, and when I asked him where he got it, he said he’d won the pink slip in a street race.”
“I remember that,” Zook said, pointing at How. “I had to hold you back. You were drinking one night and thought it would be fun to race him down the road in front of the clubhouse. He laughed at you.”
“Yeah, that sounds like something I would do.” How shrugged.
“So, who sent him? Alex or the Lopezes?” Sabre took a gulp of coffee from the mug sitting in front of him. “He was here for Grace’s first Family Sunday, and there’s absolutely no doubt in my mind he was aware of Matt’s dealings. In fact, I would bet that Pulse was meeting with the men who showed up at the tit show.”
“El Sombra Roja still has the protection orders out. They don’t explicitly say, but they include both kids.” Cyph popped the tab on an energy drink before taking a long gulp. “Oh, fuck. Fuck!” Cyph’s eyes were wide open. “I need a piece of paper and your pen.”
Pretty held his pen close to his chest. “No, this one is my favorite.”
“Here.” Grease rolled a pen down the table.
“I need a piece of paper, fucknut.”
Pretty gave Cyph a death glare, slowly ripping the back page out of his notebook.
Cyph uncapped the pen before drawing three lines on top of each other, labeling them “The border”, “the Guardian Knights”, and “us”.
“What’s the point of all this?” Op asked. He was following along, but his mind was running through missions, and by the look in his eyes, he was coming up blank.
“The Lopezes need our territory, and Pulse saw an opportunity at the diner. I think he knew exactly who Aunt E was when he saw her and figured if he took her to the Lopezes, it would be one step closer to eliminating Daddy. Buster was collateral damage.”
“If he had succeeded, we would have had to choose a side. You said it yourself, Prez. We can’t fight a two-front war.” Op dropped his head into the cradle of his hand. “We also know more now than we did then.”
“Something else to consider,” I started, staring at the paper. “The old run lines are still intact. They come up from the south, so if the Lopezes were to take our territory, they could easily squash the Guardian Knights.” I could still remember the nights I’d slept in the brush, running drugs or guns. “Run whatever they wanted without paying a single dime.”
“Krait’s probably thinking the same thing, which is why he wanted us to burn the warehouse. It would have been one more spark for the Lopezes to retaliate. That’s where he fucked up though, because if they take our territory, Krait would have to push east through Tombstone.” Cyph finished his energy drink, popping the tab of a second one.
“Yeah, but that’s Saint’s Outlaws territory, and Scorpion is pay to play.” Sabre slid forward in his chair, laying his arms on the table in front of him. “We’ve never had to reach out, but we’ve all heard the stories about the Saints.”
