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I just grunted. It was too early for orgasms, even for me. My energy levels were dangerously low.
“I did some digging while the four of you were out yesterday,” Scorpion began, looking at me, Blayke, Gidget, and Dom. “The Russians aren’t fucking happy. Not only did we take out one of the Ghosts of Chaos’s men, but we also made Gabriel disappear. They don’t like not knowing if he’s dead or alive since he knows too much. I’m sure they’ll be rampaging when they find their VP.”
Tango stayed silent, drinking in everything Scorpion was saying. No doubt, he was already working out safety plans in his head for Gabriel. “Right now, we all band together to keep Gabriel safe. He’s barely an adult, and he’s already seen more than most of us sitting in this room have. We also lay low. Word on the street, Russians are moving in, and there’ve already been altercations between them and the Mexican Cartel. Shit’s about to get ugly in Texas, and Joey’s crew is getting pulled in.” Joey was the president of the Sons of Hell MC. He and the leader of the Mexican cartel, Alejandro Garcia, shared a woman. No one knew the exact dynamics, especially since Alejandro was a true monster. “Keep your ears to the ground. Do not ride alone.”
He looked at me. “Sophia will need to reopen soon, I imagine.” I nodded once, though I didn’t fucking like the idea. “You and one other member will always be at the bookstore with her, and you will shadow her. No one touches her again, clear? I’m working with Logan to come up with tighter security in the meantime.”
Logan was a member of the Savage Crows MC Mother Charter. He owned his own security firm, and his clientele had much deeper pockets than those we worked with. His clients were very high profile and demanded everything top of the line. Which meant Logan’s equipment was even better than ours.
“Alejandro?” I asked. “Sons of Hell? Fathers of Mayhem?”
“All on board,” Johnston answered. “Especially after the Russians came for Alejandro. Alejandro has his men crawling the streets. The Russians will get the war they want, but it’ll come at a high price—possibly on both sides.”
I nodded once in understanding, though the thought of war made me sick to my stomach. It would be a fucking miracle if all of us made it out of this alive.
Johnston leaned forward. “Gun practice and self-defense training happen every fucking day, even if you’re so sick, you can barely drag your ass out of bed. We only have each other to rely on when shit gets ugly. Remember that. Don’t let your brothers down, got me?”
We all showed our acknowledgment. Scorpion slammed his gavel on the table, concluding church. I finished the rest of my coffee and left the room, taking my cup to the kitchen. When I walked in, Sophia was helping Jessica make breakfast. I tugged her to me and lowered my head, kissing her, tonguing her mouth for a moment before I released her, leaving her panting.
“I’m going back to bed,” I grunted.
She pressed a kiss to my cheek, an adorable smile on her lips. “Sleep well.”
Unable to resist, I kissed her again before I slipped out of the room and headed back up the stairs. I passed out as soon as I sprawled across the bed, not even bothering to kick my boots back off, take my cut off, or pull the blanket over me.
19
Chase
Iwatched from my perch against the back wall of the bookstore as Sophia organized books on the shelf in front of her, looking completely in her element. Seeing her surrounded by the things she loved most in this world just made my heart expand in my chest. After too long of her looking miserable, she was finally finding peace.
I’d been irritating her by trying to help and breathe down her neck, so she was keeping me occupied with coffee. And I sure as hell couldn’t complain about that, especially when she was making them especially for me.
Gidget was with us today—the guys were doing a cycle, of sorts—and he was camped out in the back room, watching cameras and occasionally taking a break to walk the bookstore and outside, keeping an eye on the general area. We wouldn’t take the chance that the Ghosts of Chaos would try attacking her again. They said lightning didn’t strike in the same place twice, but I’d seen too much shit happen when it wasn’t supposed to happen again for me to have much belief in that bullshit saying.
Logan had come in and installed his most expensive security system, and I was paying for it so Sophia wouldn’t have to. It had zero blind spots—even kept a look on the roof. The alarms were silent inside the store, and if someone didn’t know what they were looking for, they’d think this place had zero security.
But it linked directly to an office Logan had recently opened nearby, and his team would be notified immediately and here within a couple of minutes, which was a lot faster than any of us could be here.
Even with the new security system though, the guys and I agreed we still weren’t comfortable with leaving a woman attached to the club unguarded. And Sophia, the fucking champion that she was, was rolling with the flow. I was pretty sure she was nervous to be alone outside of the safety net of the clubhouse, which was understandable. No one would ever make her feel bad for that. Especially not after what she’d endured.
She’d gone through something horrific. No one went through something like that and had zero fears afterward.
Sophia winced and rolled her neck around. Pushing off the wall, I strode toward her. “Break time, cupcake,” I ordered, plucking the book from her hand before she could stop me. I set it on the cart she was working from.
She sighed and planted her hands on her curvy hips. “Chase, I need to get these put up.”
I pressed my hand to her lower back, leading her toward her office. “And you will. Just as soon as you sit down, take some Tylenol, and rest for a damn minute,” I assured her. I pushed open her office door, leading her inside before shutting it behind us. Her other employee, Heather, would be able to handle the store for a little while. She was more than capable of doing so. “Sit,” I commanded once the door was shut.
Sophia sighed and sank into her desk chair, reaching for her bottle of water and the bottle of Tylenol. I watched as she swallowed a couple of pills before she leaned back in her chair, shutting her eyes. I ran my hand over her hair, frowning at her. “You’re pushing yourself too hard, cupcake.” I knew she felt she needed to after being closed for so long, but the world wouldn’t end if she slowed down a bit and paced herself better.
She opened her eyes, looking up at me with a frown pulling at her sweet mouth. “I don’t know how not to,” she confessed.
“Well, you’re going to learn.” I crouched at her feet and slipped her sneakers off before taking her foot in my hand, rubbing at the sole of her foot. She sighed in contentment, her head slipping back to rest against her chair. A moan slid from her throat, and my dick reacted strongly, hardening so fast, it made me just a tiny bit dizzy.
“That feels good,” she mumbled.
“Good enough to agree to be my old lady?” I teased, pressing in just the right spot. She softly moaned again, her body slouching further into the chair.
