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“Charlie,” I say, reaching out and clasping her hand before she walks away. I have no idea what I want to say, but I want her to look at me one more time. “Goodnight.”
“Goodnight, Linc,” she says, giving me her eyes one more time, then turns toward her room.
I don’t know if anything would have gone further than a simple kiss. Scratch that. It would have gone a lot further, but Lucy interrupting was probably for the best. There’s still too much unknown about everything that’s going on, and until it gets sorted, best not to blur the lines.
The annoying voice in the back of my mind is whispering too late.
“Linc, I need a word,” Ozzy calls the next morning as I’m grabbing a coffee from the kitchen. I slept like shit last night. The heat from the soft skin of Charlie’s neck was burned into my palm and the way her eyes were wide and filled with lust seared into my brain.
“Be right there.”
Since he didn’t call church, I’m assuming he means for me to meet him in his office. When I get there, he’s behind his desk with his fingers steepled under his chin.
“Got a call from the Italians this morning,” he tells me.
“What do those fucks want?”
To say we don’t have the best relationship with those assholes is putting it mildly. Since they shot up our clubhouse when Ozzy, Knox, and I were in high school and Trick, who was president at the time, put a bunch of their capos to ground for the attack, tensions have never been anything but high.
“Seems Charlie’s ex got a hold of a capo through one of his dealers. Said there was some info his ex had on the Irish and us, and he offered to sell it to them.”
“Wait, his cousin is part of the Irish crew we deal guns with, and he’s reaching out to their rival organization to sell out his blood?” I sit back in my chair and shake my head. Can’t say I’m surprised. Just goes to show what a complete waste of life that scumbag is.
“Why were they calling you?”
“The ex told them we have Charlie here. Said if they want the info, then he wants the Italians to provide backup when he comes to get her. Apparently, the two guys who were in Texas with him didn’t know she was protected by the club. They tucked tail and ran, but Jace is still out for blood.”
“The only blood that’s going to be spilled is that dumbfuck’s.” I stew in anger for a moment before speaking again. “Why did they call you to give you a heads-up?”
“They wanted to make a deal. I suppose they figured since it’s apparently widespread knowledge that she’s hiding something, they thought we’d want her taken off our hands.”
“The fuck we do,” I blurt out.
Ozzy holds up his hands in a placating gesture.
“Don’t worry. I told them I have no idea who Charlie is. The last thing we need is the Italians storming the castle.” Ozzy tilts his head, studying me. “Is there something going on between the two of you?”
I’m not sure how to answer that. I’m not about to lie to my president after everything he’s done for me… and for Charlie.
“Honestly, Oz, I don’t know where my head’s at right now. There’s something about her I can’t walk away from. I don’t want to, even if I could.”
“You’re talking like you want to make her your old lady.”
“Woah. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. I’m a long way off from giving her my patch. Shit, I haven’t even kissed her yet.”
Ozzy smirks. “Is your famous charm finally going cold?”
“Fuck off,” I laugh out, and Ozzy chuckles.
“I called the Irish to give them a heads-up. Since the Italians are trying to make a deal, I wanted to make sure they were aware and let them know they have a turncoat. Spoke to Finnegan. They had no idea Cillian’s cousin went after you in Texas. Jace isn’t connected himself, just Cillian. And they are none too happy about Jace or the shootout in Texas, let alone the bomb I dropped on them.” Ozzy leans further back in his chair, looking me directly in the eye.
“They know Charlie has some information and want assurances she doesn’t plan to use anything against them.” He scrubs a hand over his face. “Shit, I’d like the same. If you don’t plan on making her your old lady,”—I open my mouth to protest, but he holds a hand in the air to stop me—“I’m not saying you need to, but if that’s not your plan, I’d feel a hell of a lot better about having whatever she has in my possession.”
I nod in agreement. “Fair.”
“I told Finnegan we would handle it.”
I really hope he’s not saying what I think he’s saying as I eye him suspiciously.
