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“Lollie,” Noah whispers. He’s worried for her. He heard her cry the other night, and that was just another reason to hate the man in the casket.
“I keep wondering why he despised me so much. Was it me who made him so angry and hateful? I keep thinking that if I wasn’t there, maybe he would have treated Mom better or would have been around for you,” she says to her brother.
“Don’t say that.” Noah shakes his head. “You’re the best. You were the only reason I made it this far. I lost my way, and you never gave up on me. Never!” He points to the casket. “When he left, I didn’t care. I had no reason to love or hate him, but knowing what he did to you and how he’s making you feel, even after he’s gone, I wish I’d been the one to kill him. He got off too easy.”
Guard’s deep voice calls him back. “Bud, maybe not now.”
“It’s not her fault,” Noah retorts, looking at Guard.
“You’re right.”
“She’s gotta get that,” Noah insists. He glances over Guard’s shoulder and sees a sea of bikes.
The Pride is here, with their women, standing in a row and waiting for us. Charlotte hasn’t noticed them yet. After a moment, she turns and puts a hand to her mouth in awe.
“They’re here for you, baby,” I say. “This is what family does. Good times, we celebrate. Bad times, we congregate.”
“Maybe Dad had a purpose after all. His mess brought me to you and to all of them.” She does a little wave toward the group waiting for us. I don’t want to negate her thoughts. I was coming for my girl anyway, and Charlotte was beloved by all way before the disaster with her father took hold. But if this is the solace she needs in order to move on, then she can have that.
* * *
Two weeks have passed,and in that time, Reno and Guard have met with most of the men who Paul owed money to. Most were convinced to write off the debt, mainly because Reno had his men make personal visits and they preferred to keep their fingers rather than collect on a debt from a dead man’s daughter.
As a favor to Reno, a man called Alessio stepped in and negotiated the money owed in Vegas. Alessio owns that city, and what he says goes. Marco fromLa Famigliawas able to eliminate any threats from his side, except for the original deviant who sent Mariano and Iano to take Charlotte to him.
Marco Moretti and his crew have sent messages out to have Crusher delivered toLa Famiglia. It’s been over a week and they’ve heard nothing from their underground network. Guard and the Pride have put up a finder’s fee to get this done, and still, nothing. Crusher’s gone underground, and that’s a bad sign.
Demon and Risk are taking another run at the surrounding clubs. They’re hoping a ride out with Razor and his brothers will rattle some cages and they’ll get a lead on where Crusher might be hiding out. Orion’s hacked into the police network and has created warrants. He’s made Crusher a wanted man in three surrounding states. The best thing that could happen to Crusher would be getting caught by the cops. With all the digging Marco’s son, Nero, and his right-hand man Luciano have been doing, it’s been discovered that Crusher’s been intercepting product on the docks in their territory.
As part of the deal, if Crusher is found by any of our clubs, we’re delivering him toLa Famiglia. I will personally be the one making the drive. But we might get a flat at the halfway point. There’s no way I’m going to miss out on getting retribution.
We’ve come to the conclusion that the drive-by was meant for me. Getting me out of the way would make it easier to get to Charlotte. Crusher is regrouping.
Priest is waiting outside with Noah.
“Noah’s spending the night at the compound,” Priest says. I lift my brow and wait for him to tell me why. He leans in, his hand lands on my shoulder and says, “You can thank me later.” Before I can respond, he’s in the car and they drive off.
Suddenly, I hear the fire alarm go off. I rush through the door and find Charlotte yanking open the oven door. A wave of smoke and steam gushes out, making her jump back a step.
“Oh no, no, no!” she shouts. “This can’t be happening. Not tonight.” She whimpers, grabbing two pot holders, which I take away from her, nudging her carefully out of the way. I pull out what would have been dinner. By the looks of it, it would have been roast beef and potatoes.
I dump the pot in the sink and open the kitchen window to let out the smoke, then grab a dishcloth to wave under the smoke alarm until it stops. When everything finally goes silent and the cloud of smoke dissipates, I notice Charlotte standing by the sofa. She’s wearing a fitted peach dress that falls just above her knees. Her dark hair is fluffier, with massive curls bouncing around her face. She’s wearing makeup, not a lot, but enough to notice. She’s gloriously beautiful, except for the sad expression and the fact that she’s going to make her lip bleed, the way she’s biting it so hard.
“I wanted everything to be perfect,” she blathers. “We have the place to ourselves, and I wanted to make a romantic dinner. I started dinner and got distracted doing all this.” Charli moves her hands down her body. “The next thing I know, the alarm is blaring and dinner is burnt. Completely inedible. I wanted tonight to be special.”
I’m still staring at the beauty before me as I walk around the counter. “Special?”
“We haven’t been alone since the night we moved in, and we never—I mean, I did, but you didn’t…” She expels a heavy sigh. “You didn’t, um, finish.”
I hold her hips and draw her closer.
“Were you planning on seducing me, baby?” I tease.
If she wasn’t already so horrified, I would start laughing, but her mouth is gaping and she shoves against my chest to get away. Instead, I pull her so that we’re melded together and I can feel her heat. Charli tilts her head back and meets my gaze.
“Are you feeling good?” I ask. She nods. “Leg’s good?” I get another nod. “I’m not hungry for dinner, but starving for a taste of my woman.”
Her face lights up with a sexy grin. “Really?” Her fingers inch upward, circling my neck. Our kiss is long and wet. I thread one hand through her lustrous rich locks, holding her to me as I take my fill. I flex my hips forward so she can feel my aching cock against her belly.
