Strip You Bare (11 page)

This would only ever be here. In this mansion. In this bed.

She would have to be content with that.

Micah woke sometime after the sun set. He didn’t usually fall asleep with his lovers. In fact, he never did. But, no matter how much he might like to, he couldn’t deny that Sarah was different. Maybe because she’d been a virgin? Maybe because she was younger, sweeter than most of the women he typically associated with.

Then again, maybe all of this was New Orleans’s fault. It was comfortable to blame the city. Like it had black magic that reached inside of him and controlled his actions. Possessed him. Made him someone different.

It was a hell of a lot more comfortable than admitting that it might just be him. That all the darkness he thought he’d left behind here in this godforsaken city had been deep inside of him the whole time.

He looked at Sarah who was still sleeping, slid his palm over her bare curves, letting his hand rest on her hip. She shifted, but her eyes remained closed. He was about ready to wake her up and get things started again when his phone, which was sitting on the nightstand, buzzed.

He looked and saw that it was Ajax. He really missed the days when no self-respecting biker carried a smartphone. But then, he considered himself more businessman than biker, so he would probably have one anyway. He didn’t know what the fuck Ajax’s excuse was.

His clothes were still downstairs, so he grabbed his phone and walked out of the bedroom silently, naked. Hopefully, there were no workmen in residence. If there were, they were about to get a little better acquainted with him. Which didn’t bother him any, but would probably bother them.

He walked down the stairs, quickly accepting the call and lifting the phone to his ear. “What?”

“We have a situation,” Ajax said, none of the usual humor in his voice.

Micah walked across the empty room, grabbed his jeans from off the floor, and tugged them on. Then he reached down and picked up his shirt, holding it in his hand. “What’s the situation?”

“Just get your ass down to the Priory. We are not talking about this on the phone.”

Micah looked over his shoulder, back at the stairs. Toward the bedroom where Sarah was still sleeping. “I’m not sure if I can leave right now.”

“Nothing is more important than this,” Ajax bit out. “This is about Priest.”

“I’ll be there in five minutes.” Micah pulled his shirt over his head and looked back at the stairs one more time. He wasn’t going to leave her a note. He wasn’t a sixteen-year-old boy. But for some reason he felt bad leaving her there without waking her. It was that thing again. Whatever that thing was that made Sarah feel different. It was a nuisance.

He had things to take care of, and she was a grown woman. She would be fine. This was her family mansion after all. The Deacons might own it, but Sarah certainly didn’t seem to acknowledge that. He chuckled and walked out the door. Sarah didn’t seem to acknowledge much of anything where the Deacons were concerned. She wasn’t afraid of him like she should be. Wasn’t looking over her shoulder for the rest of the club like she should be.

Sweet, debutante virgins should not screw around with bikers at all. But Sarah seemed bound and determined to take him on at every opportunity. Not that he could complain. The sex was mind-blowing. No, she wasn’t classically skilled in the art of handling a man’s cock. But she took direction well. More than that, she seemed to get off on it. She liked it rough, she liked it hard. She brought out the beast in him in a way no woman had in the past ten years. If ever.

The Priory came into view and he felt tension gathering at the base of his skull. Whatever Ajax had to tell him, it wasn’t going to make his life easier.

But, it might mean getting back to San Francisco soon.

Which was what he wanted. So he had no idea why he felt a pang of disappointment at the thought.

Well, he did. Because he was simple. Because he was enjoying the pussy he had here a lot more than any he had on the West Coast. That was all it took apparently. To make a place that had seemed unbearable appear preferable.

Nice to know that at thirty-two he was still being led around by his dick.

It was early, and the Priory had that calm-before-the-storm atmosphere to it. Groups gathering for ghost tours, and bachelorette parties gearing up to begin what would end as a walk of riotous shame. Customers were on only their first or second hurricane, so the alcohol haze wasn’t quite thick enough for them to start making the really bad decisions just yet.

Back in the day he’d loved making himself available to be one of the bad decisions. In that way, at least he had advanced some. A quick screw with a drunk chick in a bathroom stall had a lot less appeal these days.

He was fucking old.

He looked around the dimly lit room and saw Ajax leaning against the bar, Sophie behind it, her forearms rested on the roughhewn surface with the history of a lot of good bar fights scratched deep into the wood. Travis and Billie were standing at the bar too, and across from them were Blue and Alice.

His arm was wrapped around her slim waist, holding her hard against his body. He looked like he was protecting her from something, his large hand splayed over her stomach, his grip clearly possessive.

“What’s going on?” He approached the group, conscious of the strange dynamic he walked in on.

“Big-ass news from the Ministry,” Ajax said. “Though Blade still says they weren’t part of this, Blue still believes him. I’m starting to think it’s bullshit.”

The expression on Blue’s face was feral, and Alice’s matched. “Blade didn’t know. No one knew. Don’t go starting the wrong war, Ajax. Not now.”

“Don’t pretend it’s the wrong fucking war just because your bitch has a Ministry tattoo.”

Blue released his hold on Alice, making a move toward Ajax. “You watch your fucking mouth, you prick. You might be president, but don’t forget who I am and what I can do. Don’t forget who she belongs to.”

“I’m in the mood to kill someone, Blue, so you’re welcome to volunteer as first blood.”

Blue advanced on Ajax, and Alice grabbed ahold of her man’s jacket. “Hey,” she said. “Calm the fuck down, Leon.” She looked at Ajax. “You going to question my loyalty now, Ajax?” Alice asked, stepping out of Leon’s hold. “I helped you. I helped you get this far. I loved Priest, and you know that.” She directed her attention to Sophie. “The rest of them didn’t know.”

“You want to fill me in?”

“You want to start acting like you’re part of this?” Travis asked.

“Rich coming from you, Cash.” Travis hadn’t wanted to be back here any more than Micah had in the beginning. Suddenly, the presence of Billie had changed that and Travis had gone full bayou again.

“Don’t push it, Prince,” Travis said. “Not now.”

“They got Gator to talk. Something involving a wrench. Blade is a sick fuck, I’ll give him that,” Ajax said. “They say it’s Blue’s family.”

“What?” Micah asked.

“In between all the begging for mercy, the pansy-ass turncoats said they were working for Delacroix. Acting on his orders. They killed Priest on Delacroix’s dime.”

“You didn’t kill
them,
did you, Ajax?”

“Not yet,” the other man said, his eyes glittering. “Only because I still need more information.”

“Priest must have had something on them,” Micah said. “Why else would we have a Delacroix property? There isn’t another reason, not really. And Delacroix must have wanted Priest dead for a reason.”

“You’re going to have to find out what that reason is. I have no problem going in shooting up the old family manor.”

“I would have a problem with that,” Leon said, crossing his arms over his chest, staring Ajax down. “No one is more aware than I am that my family is a den of snakes. But Sarah doesn’t deserve to get caught in the middle of this.”

Rage burned in Micah’s chest. “Damn straight. If you catch an innocent woman in the crosshairs of this . . .”

“Collateral damage,” Ajax said, his voice rough.

“Ajax,” Sophie said, putting a hand on his shoulder. “We have time to figure this out. There doesn’t have to be collateral damage. He was
my
fucking father. Don’t forget that.”

Micah could see that Ajax wasn’t thrilled with Sophie’s attempt at placating him. But he could also see the other man turning her words over in his head. She was right. Time wasn’t of the essence here.

“What did they do with the men who confessed?” Micah asked.

“They’re still being held at the Ministry clubhouse,” Alice said.

“Assuming one of the other Ministry bitches hasn’t gone to tell Delacroix what’s going on, that’s just fine. And we don’t have to worry about time. But that requires putting my trust in a club that has given me very few reasons to trust them,” Ajax said.

“So, what?” Alice exploded. “You going to go over there and kill everybody? You can’t do that. You’ll get yourself killed for a start. And then you won’t be any good to anyone. Not only that, don’t forget those men protected me for a long time. I was a Deacons girl in their territory and Blade never let anyone touch me. Why would he suddenly go after Priest? Especially not after everything . . . We’ve been through this already. You won’t even have to deal with the traitors. Anyone acting without Blade’s orders will be dealt with.”

“How much are you willing to stake on that, Alice?”

“Don’t threaten my property, Ajax,” Leon said, his voice barely more than a growl.

“Shut up, Blue,” Alice said. “Everything,” she directed the word to Ajax. “Blade had nothing to do with this and I’m confident in that. Trust him.”

“I trust one person,” Ajax said. “Everyone else is out of luck.”

“Trust them for now,” Sophie said. “Micah is already in the Delacroix mansion. He has access to a Delacroix. There are easier ways to get this than starting a firefight on the main drag.”

“That’s where you’re wrong, Sophie,” Ajax said. “Starting a firefight would be easy. This is just cleaner.”

“It might also be the only thing that gets you what you want.” Sophie’s tone was determined. “You don’t want to kill innocent people. You want to kill the one who’s responsible. So find the person who’s responsible.”

Micah watched as Ajax weighed Sophie’s words. Then Ajax turned his attention back to Leon. “You’re the only connection that we have to the Delacroix. What did you do? You piss them off?”

“I’m no more of a connection to a Delacroix than Prince is,” Leon said. “I haven’t spoken to a member of my family since I left when I was sixteen.”

“You sure about that?”

“Yes,” Blue said. “I’ve been in exile in some godforsaken swamp. I feel obligated to protect Sarah. I feel obligated to defend them if they are innocent. But that’s the beginning and end of my connection. It’s blood. I have to honor blood as much as I can. But there’s a limit to it. The Deacons are deeper than that. They’re the family I chose. Don’t question my loyalty.”

Ajax shook his head slowly. “I don’t.”

“Sarah doesn’t know anything,” Micah said. “She feels protective of her grandfather. Didn’t want me busting into his home and asking a whole bunch of questions about how we came into possession of the mansion. Considering how fragile he is. Because of how much he’s lost,” Micah said, looking at Blue as he spoke.

“Does she consider me a loss?” Blue asked. “She’s probably the only one.”

“She’d never heard of the Deacons, and she said she’s pretty sure you’re dead. You’re right about one thing, Blue. She’s sheltered as hell. Doesn’t even know enough to be intimidated.”

“You might have to push her, Prince,” Ajax said.

“There’s nowhere to push her.”

“So she says. She might be a good actress.”

“She’s not,” Micah responded.

Ajax arched a brow. “Really? This sounds a lot like dick logic to me.”

Micah could feel Blue’s gaze boring into the side of his head. He turned to face the man he once considered a brother. “Yeah. I’m fucking your cousin. She seems to enjoy it, though.”

Blue’s fist connected with his face before Micah could even respond to the threat. “Shit!” He straightened, holding his jaw, his vision blurring.

“I told you to keep it in your pants, Prince,” Leon said, his voice rough.

“I think I told you to keep your dick away from her too,” Ajax said.

“Why? Because it’s fine for the rest of you to fuck around with the most convenient warm body but not for me?”

“Because we don’t know what the connection is,” Ajax said. “And you’re defending her when you should be suspicious of her, now that we’re finding out the Delacroix family was involved in ordering Priest’s death. If you weren’t screwing her, this wouldn’t be a problem.”

“It’s not a problem. I’ll do what I have to do.”

“If I let you walk out of here,” Leon said.

“You will.” The command came from Ajax. “Doesn’t do me any good to have the two of you fighting over a woman. It’s not like she means anything to you, Blue. Or you, Prince. If you can still get your job done, I don’t care where you’re sticking it.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Micah said again. And it didn’t. He wouldn’t believe Sarah knew anything whether he was sleeping with her or not. Ajax and Leon hadn’t met her, so they didn’t know. Didn’t know how soft she was. Soft but strong. And most definitely not involved in anything as nefarious as a murder plot. He had a feeling he had been at the center of every single one of Sarah’s most radical rebellions.

“See that it doesn’t. Your connection right here is the only thing that’s keeping me from going over to the Ministry and busting skulls. So do your job, and do it well.”

“You forget. I have a pretty big incentive to get this finished. I want to leave. I’m not going to stay here and join this fucked-up justice league. I’ll get the information we need. We can do it without shooting up any old estates. And we’ll know for sure if we need to litter the Quarter with bodies before we actually do it.”

He turned away and started walking back toward the door of the Priory. “Don’t disappoint me.”

“I’m not going to lose any sleep over disappointing you, Ajax.”

“You might lose an eye over disappointing me, Prince.”

Micah said nothing. Instead he held up his hand, extending his middle finger as he made his way back out to the street.