Thief: Devil's Own MC (14 page)

Jimmy smiled again, but it was an odd look. I realized that his eyes were just as serious as ever, even though his lips were curled up. “You sure you’re okay, man? You seem real changed,” he said thoughtfully. “You havin’ some kind of beef with Red?”

“Not at all, I just want to make sure he keeps his hands off my girl,” I snarled. “Ain’t nothing wrong with that.”

We rode in silence for a few minutes. I looked at Jimmy’s face but he was as hard to read as ever.

“They’re telling me I could face a lot of jail time,” I said after a moment. Jimmy’s head snapped around and he looked at me. Somehow, talking about it was making me feel worse, not better than before. “As if I deserve that.”

“What the fuck for?” Jimmy demanded. “That Aztec scum broke onto
our
property and you defended yourself against three of them. How the fuck can they even
think
about locking you up for that?”

I laughed humorlessly. “I know, it’s fucking ridiculous. But both Barney and this stupid cop tried to feed me shit about past offenses. I think they want the MC gone. I think they’re convinced they can rule the land themselves. But these assholes don’t know how bad things get when drugs are involved,” I said, raking a hand through my hair. My hand bumped up against a wound and I winced, pulling it back down. “They don’t fuckin’ get it, man,” I said, sighing. “And they told me to stay out of shit, but I feel like they’re just waiting for a situation where we fuck up again. I don’t want us all getting locked up, man. That ain’t fuckin’ fair.”

Jimmy sighed. “It feels like a long time coming,” he drawled. He lit a cigarette and passed the pack to me. When I’d helped myself and passed the pack back to him, Jimmy turned in his seat and looked at me. “Abel is convinced that things are real different around here, that we need to find an alternate form of income. He thinks that guns aren’t gonna cut it for much longer. But I know that if we get wrapped up in anything worse, the cops will be on our ass faster than we can say boo.”

I nodded. “You’re both right,” I said. “This is the kind of shit I wish that we could have talked about today. When do you think Abel can come back? Are we just gonna have to fuckin’ wait around until he’s better?”

Jimmy shrugged. We pulled into the parking lot of the MC and I glared at the hole in the fence.

“That’s gonna be a bitch to fix,” I commented. “I can’t believe those shitheads. It’s like they’re trying to piss us off as much as possible. How did they get so fucking cocky overnight?”

Jimmy laughed. “That’s their fuckin’ end-game, ain’t it? To run us out of town. They’ll get their wish if we go to jail.”

Slowly, something dawned on me. “Jim,” I said loudly. “Do you fuckin’ think they’re working with the cops? It’s the only fuckin’ thing that makes sense. I don’t see another reason why the cops would be so blind to logic. In any other case, there’s no way I could get time for defending myself on my property. They must have a fuckin’ bribery scheme going on.”

Jimmy nodded. “That makes a lot of sense, man. Ever since that new crew took over, we’ve have a lot of problems with them. I wonder if they’re in the pockets of the Aztecs.”

I shuddered. “I hate cops,” I said. “I’d hate them even if they weren’t fucking pigs, but these guys are the worst. I can’t believe they’d rather cozy up to fuckin’ drug dealers than us. We’re not that bad!”

Jimmy laughed. “You look so awful right now, man,” he said. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to laugh, but it’s so funny. You look like some fuckin’ villain in a horror movie. No wonder the cops didn’t fuckin’ listen to you!” He hooted with laughter. Irritation crossed my face but as he laughed, I felt it melt away. Before I knew it, I was laughing right alongside Jimmy.

“Come on,” Jimmy said. He turned the key in the ignition and hopped out on the ground. “Let’s go fix that fucking hole in the fence, and then you can go see your girl.”

Chapter Twenty One

Sarah

“I can’t believe how late he is,” I hissed under my breath to Julia. “This is the fucking worst!”

She eyed me sympathetically and I felt a flash of anger and embarrassment. Of course he
would
be this late after I’d spent the whole day gushing about him to my best friend. It wasn’t fair; just when I thought life was starting to go my way, everything went wrong.

Julia picked at her cuticle and yawned. “Do you mind if I go to bed?” she asked softly. “I have to be up at eight and it’s after midnight right now. I’m surprised Hailey was able to sleep through all of this.”

“It’s fine,” I said, tears pricking my eyes. “Whatever. Can I sleep on the couch?”

Julia nodded. “Of course,” she replied. “Make yourself at home. Just try not to make too much noise,” she added with a grimace. “And knock on wood that Hailey doesn’t wake up.”

But instead of getting up, Julia just sat on the couch and stared moodily at the wall. I watched her tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. She frowned.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” she said with a sigh. “Just thinking about Derek, that’s all. And how much I wish things had turned out differently between the two of us. It’s crazy to think about how in love with him I was years ago, and now he basically feels like a stranger.”

The same pang of acute self-awareness went through me. “I know,” I said. My mouth went dry and the words seemed like foreign objects lodged in my throat that I was about to choke on. “I know. It feels weird to think about the past like that.”

Julia bit her lower lip and looked at me. Suddenly, she looked years older. In the dim light of her living room, I could see every single laugh line on her face. It made me wonder if I looked that old, too, but I didn’t want to say anything. She still looked beautiful, but it was in the odd way where you could tell that she had obviously been through a lot.
Like every other woman I know
, I thought sadly.
Men are such assholes sometimes
.

“I’m not trying to lecture you, but I think it’s worth listening to what I have to say. You don’t wanna wind up like me, Sarah,” she said. “I’ve been through a lot and I don’t even feel like I came out with my head on top. I feel like every day is a new challenge and I’m irrationally proud of myself for getting through everything. Derek doesn’t help, the child support
barely
helps, and his parents treat me like I’m some kind of alien bitch for wanting more than that. Like, I’m sorry your deadbeat son didn’t realize how hard being a dad would be. But can you at least not judge me for trying to provide your only grandchild with a decent life?” She rolled her eyes.

I opened my mouth to argue but closed it quickly. When Julia was in one of her moods like this, I had no idea how she was going to respond. I felt like if I said anything at all, she could jump down my throat.

“And, like, whenever they want to see Hailey and take her shopping, she comes home with hundreds of dollars worth of shit that she doesn’t even need,” Julia groused. “Would it be so fucking hard for them to pick out a pair of sneakers or hiking boots or something? I swear, Sarah, they sent her home with a pair of pink sequined snow boots. Hailey was obsessed with them, but they didn’t stay clean for five minutes. So then
I
had to pay for them to get cleaned. Can you fucking believe that?”

I rolled my eyes. “She’s a kid,” I said patiently. “I guess I expect that kids will always want what’s impractical.”

Julia shook her head. “It’s not about that,” she said. “It’s about the fact that Derek’s parents don’t even try to be reasonable people when it comes to their grandchild. I’m supposed to be grateful for everything they do, but it only adds more stress. They don’t know how to actually raise her. I have to instruct them every time and then spend the whole freakin’ time she’s gone worrying!”

I bit my lip. It seemed like a long rant considering I didn’t really want to have kids, but I wondered if Julia was going to try to make a point about Blake.

“And it wasn’t always like this,” she continued. “When we first got together, I trusted him. He was so different from other guys; he was so
intense
.”

I nodded. “Yeah, Derek was an intense dude,” I agreed. I remembered the time that I’d met him for all of five seconds at a barbecue at Julia’s old house. He’d shown up three hours late with a bunch of friends, all tatted up like he was. Julia had acted like it was the biggest thing in the world when he finally got there; she’d made a show of bringing him around and introducing him to everyone. You could tell he was wearing this smug grin like,
this girl thinks I’m amazing even though I’m not
. It had been so incredibly hard to be nice to him.

Julia shook her head. “He totally swept me off my feet,” she added. “He made me think that everything was going to be okay as long as we were together. And I got pregnant, like, right away. Do you remember? He was convinced that we’d be able to be a little family.”

I nodded. “I remember,” I said. They’d only been together for a few months when Julia got pregnant, and the two of them had been so happy about it at first. I remember that Derek had crowed about having a son, and toasted Julia’s belly with beer.

“He was so excited about having a little boy,” Julia said wistfully, as if reading my mind. “But he didn’t even stick around long enough to find out that Hailey was a girl.”

Suddenly, a door in the hallway creaked open and Hailey’s little pink face showed itself through the crack. “Mommy, are you talking about me? I heard my name,” she exclaimed loudly. Julia gave me a look, as if to say ‘well, now you’ve really done it,’ but she obediently got up from the couch and went to collect her daughter.

I leaned back and blew out a gust of air that sent my bangs flying.
Fuck him,
I thought.
He better have a good fucking excuse this time
.

Julia disappeared inside Hailey’s room and shut the door. In a few seconds, I could hear them singing a nursery rhyme together, and Julia told Hailey to pick out a book for “second bedtime.” I had to smile; even though she was an exasperated and exhausted mom, I still envied her ability to raise Hailey so well. Hailey wasn’t going to grow up to be a fuckup like her mom or me. She was probably going to be a scientist or the first female president or something. She was already more determined to succeed as a toddler than I’d ever felt in my whole life.

My phone buzzed in my lap. When I looked down, I saw Blake’s name.

“Hi,” I said drily. “Forget something?”

“I’m so sorry,” Blake said in his gruff voice. “I didn’t forget, but something happened. Where are you? Can I pick you up?”

“I’m at Julia’s,” I told him. “We were just about to go to sleep,” I added. “It’s really late, Blake.”

“I know,” he said. “I promise I won’t take long to get there. Can you wait ten more minutes?”

I bit my lip. The sound of his voice was arousing, and already my anger with him was starting to fade. “Fine,” I said. “But don’t be late this time, okay?”

Blake chuckled and I felt a blast of warmth in my lower belly. “I won’t be late,” he said gruffly. We hung up without saying bye and I could already feel the butterflies starting in my stomach.

Julia opened Hailey’s door and came back out to the living room. If possible, she looked even more tired than she had a few minutes ago.

“Don’t even have children,” she warned me, yawning in the middle of her sentence. “You’ll never sleep again, and you’ll be able to recite nursery rhymes in your sleep but somehow manage to forget everything else you ever learned.”

I laughed shortly. “I’ll take that into consideration,” I said. “I’m gonna go, Jules. Blake just called. He’s on his way.”

Her stony expression darkened further. “Sarah, don’t go with him,” she said. “Don’t reward him for such bad behavior.”

I blushed crimson. “He said something bad happened,” I said quietly. “Is it so wrong to at least
want
to hear him out?”

Julia tossed her hair and gave me the same weary look that she’d had earlier, talking about Derek. “It’s fine,” she said. “It’s your life, Sarah. I just don’t want you to make the same mistakes that I’ve made. Don’t you get that?”

I bit my lip just as we both heard Blake’s motorcycle roar into the parking lot of Julia’s apartment complex. “I get it,” I said. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to let you down, Jules. You know that.”

“It’s fine, it’s your life,” she said. The words came out cold and she grimaced. “Have fun, and be safe, okay? And listen to your gut.”

I nodded. “I will,” I told her. “Thanks.” We hugged—it felt stiff—and then I let myself out the front door and skittered down her steps. Blake was waiting for me, still perched on his bike. He held out the extra helmet to me. Something about his face looked different, but I couldn’t see what it was in the moonlight.

“Hey,” he greeted me. “How are you? Exhausted?”

I shook my head. “I think I’m getting a second wind, actually,” I told him. “I’ll be okay.” I looked at the ground as I strapped my helmet on, and when I climbed on behind Blake and wrapped my arms around him, he gunned the bike into gear and roared out onto the street.

The ride back to his house was quiet. Talking while on Blake’s motorcycle was all but impossible, so I was left alone with my thoughts. I buried my face in his jacket and inhaled deeply, breathing in his musk and cologne. Something about being with him felt so right, so safe that everything Julia had warned me about flew out of my head. I was blissfully happy and turned on by the time we pulled up in front of Blake’s. Between the scent of his body and the bike thrumming between my legs, I was soaked. Blake climbed off and started walking towards his apartment without looking at me. I had to jog to catch up.

“Wait,” I said playfully. “You know how much shorter I am! That’s not fair.”

“Tough shit,” Blake grumbled, and I laughed. He shoved the key into the lock and opened the door. When I followed him inside, my heart started to beat even faster. His whole apartment smelled masculine, like he did, and I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. It was like falling asleep in Blake’s bed. Being surrounded by his scent was both comforting and arousing, and I was sure I’d always feel the same way about him.

When Blake flipped on the lights, I saw his face. It was swollen and bloody, with big black-purple bruises spreading over his right eye and down his cheek. I gasped out loud and clapped my hands over my mouth.

“Oh my god,” I said. “What happened? Is that why you were late? Are you okay?”

Blake laughed. “I’m fine. It looks worse than I feel, trust me.”

A sick feeling started in my stomach. “Blake, that looks terrible!” I cried out. “Can I wash your face? You still have some blood there,” I said, pointing to his lip. He winced when my fingers got too close and I drew my hand back, breathing shakily.

“I’m fine, really,” he said, low laughter bubbling out of his throat. “It’s just a little scuff. Happens a lot. I promise I’m fine.”

“Blake, I knew you were a tough guy, but this is crazy!” I exclaimed. “I’m so worried about you!” Guilt flooded my body. “And I’m so sorry that I was mad when you were late! You poor thing! You didn’t have to pick me up, I promise. Do you want me to go? Would you rather sleep?”

Blake laughed again, harder this time, and stepped towards me. “Stop worrying,” he said gruffly. “I promise I’m fine.” A chill ran through my body when I realized how close he was. I bit my lower lip and tucked a strand of red hair behind my ear.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered softly. “I was just so worried. Are you sure that you’re really okay?”

Blake nodded. “I promise,” he said. “Come here, Sarah.”

When he said my name, my heart started thumping hard once again. I stepped forward, closing the distance between our bodies, and Blake wrapped his arms around me and held me close. I closed my eyes and buried my face in his chest; despite the wounds, he smelled clean and like fresh cologne. Blake squeezed me hard and I felt arousal begin to pulse between my thighs. With one hand, he reached down and pulled my chin up for a kiss. At first it was light, tender, but it grew in intensity until he was sucking on my lower lip. I moaned softly and slipped my tongue into his mouth, desperate to taste him, to be as close to him as I possibly could. Blake’s hands trailed down my back and squeezed my ass, sending bolts of arousal through my body. I squirmed and pressed against him. Almost instantly, I could feel his erection poking me through his dark jeans. My lower belly stirred at the memory of how big he was; I couldn’t wait for him to rip my skirt off and slide inside of me. Blake’s hands slipped under my skirt and yanked it up towards my waist, exposing my ass in a satin thong that I’d worn just for him. As his rough hands slid over my bare skin, I shivered and worked my mouth furiously against his. Blake kneaded my ass firmly with both hands and I blushed. It was like getting a really intense massage, and it was almost ticklish and almost painful. He parted the cheeks of my ass and ran a finger down the center, over my silky thong. When I felt his finger brush past my asshole, I shivered in delight. Blake stopped when his fingers were over the mound of my labia. I cried out and wriggled, desperate for him to touch me. As he stroked his hand lightly over my panties, I broke the kiss and nuzzled into his neck, biting at the tender skin.