Page 90 of Riding Bare

Chassis trembles beneath me, and I know she can’t hold my weight much longer. As much as I want to stay where I am, I gently ease myself out of her body and lie on my back beside her. I wrap my arms around her, guiding her against my side with her belly resting against me and her arm sliding around my waist.

“I love you, Amos. I fell in love with you before I ever saw you. The moment I found out you were willing to marry me, to take us on—and then again when you said you would protect and provide for me, asking nothing in return.”

I grunt at her words. While I was saying all those things to her, all I could think about was how much I wanted to be inside her—right where I am at this moment. I don’t say that, though, and she continues.

“Then I fell in love with you again when I discovered your heart, your soul, and your true kindness.”

“You need to stop,” I growl.

“Never,” she whispers.

Turning my head, I touch my mouth to the top of her hair, closing my eyes as I inhale her scent. She falls asleep almost instantly. I can feel the weight of her the moment she drifts off into dreamland. I’m glad for it. She needs her sleep. She’s been through a lot the past few weeks and needs to recover.

When I know for certain she’s deep in sleep, I slip out from beneath her body and grab a pair of jeans from the floor before heading for a drink.

Walking out into the bar, I look around and am surprised to see Cake sitting at the end, a beer in one hand. I head toward him and climb onto the stool next to him, motioning to the prospect for a drink.

“Whiskey,” I call out.

He dips his chin, and a few seconds later, there is a glass of whiskey in front of me, the bottle next to it. I jerk my chin in a silent thanks, then clear my throat before I swallow the contents, then pour another.

“It’s been a tough road,” Cake mutters.

“It has,” I agree.

“Gonna get tougher. A baby, a wife, the Russians, and not to mention that asshole in your back building.”

I snort, lifting the glass to my lips before I swallow the second shot. “Yeah,” I murmur. “Baby and the wife ain’t tough at all, brother. Russians can be reasonable,” I state.

“The asshole?” he asks.

Turning my head, I look at him. I know what he wants, and while I want to be the one who does it, I decide to let my father-in-law handle it. “Let’s go take care of that, Cake.”

“Yeah?” he asks.

“He’s yours to deal with. Consider it a thank-you for letting me claim your daughter.”

It’s Cake’s turn to snort out a laugh. “If she didn’t want it, she’d let me know. Seems like it was a good fit. And I know if you fuck it up, I’ll be right here to take care of it.”

He has no fucking clue. I would never fuck this shit up with Chassis. She’s fucking perfect for me in every way a woman can be, and if Cake ever tried to come between us, let’s just say it wouldn’t end well for him.

But that’s beside the point.

It’s a couple of what-ifs that’ll never happen.

While I love Chassis, I know Cake does, too. Neither of us would hurt her, which means both of us need to stay breathing. For now, we have a backstabbing, betraying cop who used to be on the Iron Flame payroll to take care of.

After Rustik killed Rocky, he handed me Officer Lee as his somewhat olive branch. I gladly accepted. Mainly because he’s just another one, I want to make sure never walks this earth topside again. And honestly, can you even trust that a job is done unless you do it yourself?

Sliding off the barstool, I reach over and curl my fingers around the neck of the whiskey bottle and slide it across the scarred wooden top. Cake lifts his hand, motioning for a new beer, and then together we walk out of the bar and head for the building where I know Lee is being kept.

I’m barefoot, the ground still warm from the sun as I move across the grounds and toward the building. It doesn’t take us long to get there. Both of us slip into the building, and then I close the door behind us as Cake flips the light on.

There, sitting in the middle of the room, tied to a chair, is Lee, the backstabbing cop asshole. He’s been there for a few days, but nobody has been looking for him, mainly because I burned his fucking house to a crisp.

I made sure to put a body inside that fit his description. Though they’d have to do some serious DNA testing to know if it was even him, considering I pre-burned the corpse before I placed it in the bed. Nobody is going to do shit, though. Everything was ruled accidental by the investigators.

So that’s that, and now we can dispose of him without anyone being the wiser.