CHAPTER 20
AXLE
Drex pulls the pin on a grenade, and we all hang back, guns poised and ready. He nods at us, and then he twists, launching the grenade as hard as he can.
He turns and sprints, running as fast as he can back to us, and leaps over the trench from the desert to the property line. He scrambles back into it just as a loud explosion crackles through the air.
The top loft of the building blows, all windows breaking under it. I can feel the pulse of it, even from the distance I’m at, and the heat hits me next.
I’m the first to pull my trigger as Drex stays covered, keeping his head down so we don’t accidentally shoot it off.
Rapid fire hits the warehouse, punching holes in the metal, sending out telling pings. We fire for about two solid minutes before we realize no one is firing back.
Either that grenade killed them all, or the fuckers changed their location to a safer place that isn’t in the middle of no-damn-where.
Fuck.
Drex heaves himself out of the trench and comes to join us, a pissed off look on his face that tells me he’s reached the same conclusion.
“I want to know why we never heard about a move, and I want to know where he is!” he snaps.
“On it,” Dash says, turning his bike around as he revs the motor.
Drex gets back on his bike, and I glance back again, cursing at how easily we could have ended this if we’d just struck sooner. Then again, it was way too easy for all of us to get this close, even though we did approach from the desert instead of the road.
No doubt they had security protocols in place before they abandoned it.
Not to mention the backlash from the other charters had we hit first. Might have even caused a war. No matter what, we’ve drawn the short straw, and nothing seems to be working in our favor lately.
We ride back to Halo, everyone pissed and ready for a fight we can’t have yet.
Maya was too close to getting caught up in a war that isn’t hers. I have no fucking clue how I got her down and covered in time to avoid the gunfire, but I’m thankful I did, even if I did cut her up on the pavement in the process.
It happened too fast for me have really felt anything much, but I was definitely pissed. Still am.
I’m also still bleeding, haven’t changed out of my dirty clothes, and now we’re pulling up at the damn strip club.
I pull out my phone and text Maya, remembering the actual worry and dread in her eyes when she asked me to lie to her. Not sure anyone has ever been that worried about me before.
ME: Drums are played, but there was no audience to hear it. Another time.
MAYA: That took a long time! I’ve been freaking worried to death, and there wasn’t anyone there?
A slow smile curls my lips before I can stop it. This girl is definitely getting under my skin.
ME: Sorry you worried. We’re at the club now. Stick with Eve and Drake, or lock yourself in my room.
MAYA: Don’t get any lap dances. I shouldn’t have to remind you that I’m crazy.
Smirking, I put my phone away and head inside. The guys are already at our table, and a girl is already getting shoved out of Drex’s lap. Pretty sure he’s about to make her cry. Girls know the rules with him, but always break them.
Never had that fucking problem personally, so Maya has no reason to be crazy.
My feet slow when I see a Grim Angel approaching the table. I join the party, listening as Nicholas—the P—talks to Drex.
“Never saw a kid more loyal to his pop than you,” Nicholas is saying. “So I figure Herrin did something real bad to split up the club the way he did and end up on the opposite side as you. I heard the rumors, and only one makes sense, if you know what I’m saying.”
“It’s an in-house problem,” Drex says cautiously. If he tries to spread the rumor himself, people will question its authenticity—it’d be too forced. But I can tell Nicholas has already heard the right rumor we want to infect people with.
Nicholas smirks. “Understandable. Just wanted you to know that you have a friend with us if you find yourself needing allies. I’ll take loyalty over cowardly rat any day, and I’ve always known Herrin to have a streak of yellow.”
After an exchange of parting pleasantries, they clasps wrists, shaking once, and Nicholas gets up, leaving us behind.
The night dissolves into business talk after that. Dash ends up doing shots from a stripper’s breasts and Drex ends up smoking while lost in thought. I make a few calls, seeking out more work for our crew.
Putting in an appearance is showing everyone we’re not backing down or afraid of Herrin.
By two in the morning, I’m sick of putting on said show.
Liza, Sledge’s old lady, who runs the club for us, is talking to us about the messed up message Herrin sent, and the fact it cost Garren his life. It’s the same thing as normal, and usually I have no problem with it, but tonight, I’m just not interested in conversation.
“I’m ready to head out,” Drex says, standing up and leaping over the back of the seat.
Fucking finally.
Liza looks over at Sledge, and I try to dismiss what she says, but it has my blood simmering a little too close to the surface.
“That new girl you guys have at the clubhouse needs to go.” She’s deliberately saying it loud enough for me to overhear. Liza regularly oversteps her boundaries when we bring in new girls. “All this trouble started happening once she blew in. First the setup, and now this. She’s almost as much trouble as Eve, and I know Drex tends to overlook all that.”
“The setup was before her,” Sledge says, casting a glance at me before looking back at her and giving her a grin. “Don’t you worry about the girls laying those boys. They’re harmless.”
I snort derisively, and Sledge winks at me over Liza’s head when I turn to look at him. She doesn’t have a clue just how dangerous Maya is, but it’s safer for her if she doesn’t know. Drex is wishing Eve hadn’t been in there now, because he doesn’t even want her to know.
The ride home is boringly uneventful, and as soon as my bike is parked, I’m heading toward my room. I don’t even bother turning around when I hear Jude call my name, because I’m taking the stairs two at a time.
Not sure why I’m worried about her not being here, but for some reason, the feeling is there, and it’s gnawing away at me unexplainably. I unlock the door, walk in, and breathe out in relief when I see her sleeping on my side of the bed.
After shutting and locking the door, I strip out of my clothes and slide into bed on her side before pulling her to me and kissing my way down her neck.
I feel it the second she wakes up and her hands slide up my back, like she’s searching for my scars and making sure the right man is on her. That leaves an uneasy feeling in my stomach, but my mind returns to the right place when her lips search out mine and kiss me like she’s been waiting for me all night.
After tossing back the covers, I shift until I’m between her legs, and smile against her mouth when I realize she’s already completely naked.
Her legs move until her knees are pressed against my sides, and her nails dig into my back like she wants me closer. My cock glides between her legs, feeling her slick and ready for me. It slides right in without any guidance, and Maya’s breath hitches as I hold back any of my own sounds.
Sinking deep inside her, I feel encased, gripped, and too damn good. It’s the first time in my life I’ve had a girl waiting in my bed when I came home, and it’s the first time I can remember never wanting to give something up.