Tamar

I force myself to focus on the matter at hand, which is damn hard to do when I can still feel Kage’s hands on my body… can still feel the delicious soreness from him fucking me… can still taste him in my mouth. And yet, it’s not enough. I want more—need more—my body demanding it, impatiently aching for more with an insatiable hunger that’s going to take more than one night to feed, though I don’t know that I’ll ever feel satiated.

The way he looks at me… and I don’t mean just when it’s the two of us, alone and naked. I’m talking about moments like this, in a room full of people we know, people who matter. It’s like he’s claiming me as his, no holds barred, for all the world to see. There’s no beating around the bush or playing coy. No keeping it from family and friends, or keeping it under wraps until things are more serious. There’s none of that. And it doesn’t matter that we’ve been together mere days.

He’s marked me as his, claimed me as his own, and he’s dead serious. Which is a damn good thing, since he’s taken hold of my very soul. I can’t shake him, nor do I want to.

For the first time in as long as I can remember, I feel whole, despite the world we still live in. And somehow, being with Kage has given me hope. Hope for a future, instead of simply living day to day. Hope for a life where I’m not constantly looking over my shoulder, or worried about losing the people I love.

But any chance of making it through this nightmare means we need to get to work. “Cashwell, what do you need to get the electrical grid back up and running? Where do we need to take you?”

“Huntington had me working on it right at the power plant, though I knew better than to give him more power than he already had. But I did have to make some progress to keep him from killing me.” Cashwell practically shudders at the thought, and I have no doubt that Huntington’s given him more than enough reason to. I don’t know what Cashwell’s been through, but I can’t imagine Huntington would risk his reputation as a sadistic fucker. “That means we have two options. We take the power plant away from Huntington so I can continue the work that I’ve already started, or we start over at a different plant. Obviously, it’d be quicker if I just picked up where I left off, but Huntington won’t ever let us get close.”

Kage steps to my side, his muscular body brushing against mine, though he’s addressing the group. “Then we kill Huntington and his men. It’s been at the top of my list for too fucking long. I want the matter dealt with, and if we can save the world while we’re at it, then all the better.”

“That’s insane. You know that, right?” I shake my head at him, anger bubbling inside my chest. “You’re going to get yourself killed. Huntington isn’t the kind of guy you fuck with, Kage. It might take us longer to get the job done if we start at a different plant, but it’s better than all of us ending up dead. ‘Cause if that happens, then no one’s saving the fucking world.”

“We’ll need backup, but killing Huntington is the only way to make him go away. If not, we’ll constantly be looking over our shoulders. Eventually he’ll catch up with us when we’re least expecting him, and that’s when we’ll end up dead.” He knots his fingers with mine, his blue eyes kind but determined as he looks at me. “We need to strike first, Tamar, while he’s not expecting us. The element of surprise is our biggest advantage. And if we get the rest of our club together—maybe pull in a few favors with other charters—we’ll have more than enough people to take on Huntington and his crew.”

I don’t like this. But our options were few, and we can’t afford to drag our feet. If Kage thinks we can pull this off, then I trust his judgment and know he’ll do all he can to keep us safe. I turn to look at Dessa and Virgil in question since this involves them too. But when they nod in response to my unspoken question, I know I have their support. “If you’re sure we can pull this off, then that’s what we’ll do. But we go into this having a plan, and we don’t take stupid chances.”

When Kage speaks, it’s to me, even if the decision isn’t mine alone. And when he looks at me with those intense blue eyes, I swear it’s like he sees right to my soul, and I know I’m going to have one hell of a hard time denying him anything he wants. “We’ll have a plan, and we’ll have the manpower to make this happen. You have my word, Tamar. I’m not saying it won’t be dangerous, but we’ll do all we can to minimize the risks going into this.”

I nod, trusting him to do all he can. “I guess that means we’re heading to your club then.”

“We’re a day or two out, so we best get going.” Kage tilts his head toward his brothers, and everyone starts to move, gathering our supplies so we can head out. But as Kage and I head upstairs to the bedroom to grab our things, he grabs my hand and pulls me to him, holding me in his strong arms, my heart racing with both anticipation and worry. “I swear, I’ll keep you safe, Tamar. Even if you’re capable of taking care of yourself.”

“Just don’t get yourself killed. Cause that’ll really fucking piss me off.” I hate that I’m already so attached to him. The last thing I need is someone else to worry about. But I already know it’s too late. I care about him, which is one hell of a feat given that we’ve been together for an impossibly short amount of time, though I’ll blame it on circumstances, or the fact that I’ve been alone for too long. Yeah, I’ve got my sister, but it’s not enough.

“You won’t be getting rid of me that easily, kitten.” He tightens his hold on me, and my body softens against him even as it comes alive. And when he kisses me with a sweet intensity, I can’t help but fist his t-shirt, desperate for more. Something about all of this feels like a runaway train, and like a crash is inevitable, yet there’s little I can do to hit the brakes. And frankly, I don’t want to. At least not when it comes to Kage.

By the time we break from our kiss, I’m riding a wave of emotions. But Kage just holds me close and kisses the top of my head, before grabbing our things, and leading the way, my hand held tightly in his.

By some small mercy, Virgil and Ramon take Cashwell with them, which is a good thing since his nervous energy puts me on edge. I know he’s the key to this whole scheme, and the poor guy’s been through a lot, but the man needs to take a deep breath and chill the fuck out.

We hit the road, taking care to ensure we’re not being followed. I’m glad we have a tentative plan, but I need more details. I can’t just walk into this sort of a dangerous situation without knowing how it’s all going to go down. “Tell me about the club. What can I expect? And I need to know what plans you’re thinking of when it comes to going after Huntington.”

He shoots me a sideways glance as a crooked smile slips onto his lips. “I fucking love that you don’t leave things to chance. Smart girl.”

“The plan, Sherlock.” Unable to resist him, I lean in and bite his neck, loving how he groans in response and revs the engine.

“The plan will depend on what other charters are willing to join us, and how many brothers we can round up. We’ll need to add to our stash of weapons too, but we’ve got a half decent arsenal.” He drapes his arm over my shoulder as I nestle against his side. “If we can track down most of my brothers, that’ll give us a good twenty to thirty men, and there are at least two other charters that will likely want in on taking that fucker down. Huntington doesn’t have a whole lot of friends, and more than a few enemies.”

“We’ll need to surveil Huntington’s area before going in. See how many men he’s got, and what sort of weapons. Cashwell should be able to give us information on that. Maybe draw out a map for us.” My mind’s racing from one scenario to another, trying to figure out how this will play out, and what will be our best tactic for taking out Huntington while minimizing our casualties.

“We’re not going to go into this blind, since I refuse to take more risks than necessary. This is already going to be dangerous enough without us being stupid and ill-prepared. I’m just glad Benji’s no longer in the mix because I have no doubt he’d have found a way to fuck things up and get us all killed.” He lets out a ragged breath and tightens his hold on me. “I’m sorry he had to go, kitten. But there was no way he could stay.”

“I know.” I just wasn’t sure that would be the last of him.