“She helped you? It doesn’t make any sense.” Aimee’s emotions shift between hostility and shock and back again after I tell her what Suzie had done for me.
“I know she hasn’t exactly been friend of the year.” I try for a joke just to alleviate some of the tension that’s radiating off of Aimee in waves, but it’s clearly not the right way to go.
“This is funny to you?” Aimee looks like she wants to hit me over the head with something heavy.
“Funny? No. None of this is funny. What Ryan did to you—not funny. What the Angels are trying to do to me—not funny. All I’m saying is that maybe Suzie is trying to do the right thing. She’s not an evil person. She helped me and god only knows what she did for those men to give me time to slip away.” I shake my head at the memory of what I’d heard her say.
“She’s tricked us… twice. How can we trust her?” Aimee asks, looking down at her hands, and I’m at a loss. I don’t have an answer for her.
“We have to trust someone. We can’t do all of this on our own.” I take hold of Aimee’s hands in mine, cradling her small soft fingers in mine, wishing that I could take her far away from all of this and give her everything that she deserves. One day, I say to myself. One day.
“We’re not on our own anymore.” Aimee looks up at me, biting her lip in the way that just makes me crazy.
“What are you talking about?” I suspect that I know, but I don’t want to hold out too much hope. We’ve been disappointed too many times.
“The Feds—they were at the diner tonight, when you were holding up the place.” She shakes her head like she is still in disbelief. I feel the same way.
“Jesus,” I breathe out, letting the information process. “They saw it happen?”
“They saw it all. They’re giving me a wire so that we can get the Angels on record. We just need to find a way in. We need someone on the inside.” She gets that faraway look in her eyes that I know means she’s coming up with a plan. She sits as still as a statue and I get the urge to touch her gently on the shoulder, just to make sure that she’s real.
“Well, not to state the obvious, but… I’m someone on the inside,” I point out, thinking about the tattoo that’s still burning my shoulder and the feel of those dirty bills in my hand when I left the diner. “I’m initiated. I’m patched.” I know that Aimee has seen the tattoo, but she hasn’t said anything. She doesn’t need to—what she thinks is written all over her face.
I know how hard it is for Aimee to hear those words, but we both knew this was what was going to happen. When I walked out with the Angels there was no possibility that I wasn’t going to become one of them—in name at least.
“You’re not like them.” Aimee’s voice is strong as she cradles my head in her hands. It’s as if she knew exactly what I was thinking. “Besides, any information that we got from you would be tainted because of your relationship with me. Think about it—any prosecutor worth his salt would go straight for the jugular and suggest that the only reason you’re providing testimony against the Angels is because we sleep together.”
I’m taken aback by her dismissive, blunt tone. “Because we sleep together?”
“You know that’s not all it is,” Aimee concedes, moving in to plant a soft kiss on me with her swollen lips. “But that’s how an outsider would see it. The Angels have no intention of letting themselves be taken down, so they’re going to say whatever needs to be said to get off. Besides, you’ve only just been patched. We need to get to someone that has a serious amount of information—someone that’s been involved, someone that has access that you just don’t have yet.”
In my head I know that she’s right, but it’s hard not to feel useless. Then an idea comes to mind. I know that Aimee’s not going to like it, but it’s more important that the plan works than if she likes it. “What about Suzie?” The look that Aimee gives me would freeze the Pacific. “Hear me out. She’s been involved with the Angels for a while now. She knows all of them, she could testify to the drug allegations because they got her hooked on whatever the hell it is she’s shooting herself full of. If she’s been keeping her eyes open all this time, then she has more information than they realize.” As I speak I warm to the idea—it really does make sense.
“No way, uh-uh. Not going to happen. She tricked us… twice. Did we not cover this already?” Aimee swings her legs out of the bed and stands up like she needs to let off some steam.
“Yes, we covered it. But that doesn’t change the fact that she’s the only chance we have right now. That is, unless you’ve found an Angel that’s willing to rat out his entire MC?” I cross my arms, but the ridiculousness of the two of us here, naked, arguing with each other isn’t lost on me.
“Just because she helped you sneak out of the compound tonight, it doesn’t mean that she’s our friend. It doesn’t mean that she can be trusted. She may have been doing it for any reason—we have no idea. We don’t know her anymore.” Aimee’s getting more and more worked up and I think I’ve only just now realized how much Suzie’s betrayal hurt her. Aimee’s dad died, then her mom went bat-shit crazy and essentially abandoned her. Suzie and me, we were the only friends that she trusted, the only people she felt she could turn to during those dark days. To find out that Suzie would do something to hurt her so badly, and not only once, but twice… it’s scarred Aimee somewhere deep down inside.
I walk over to her and grab hold of her, pulling her towards me and ignoring the half-hearted resistance that she puts up. “Hey, I’m here. Talk to me.” I breathe in the smell of her hair and realize how much I missed her scent.
I feel her relax in my arms. “You’re right. I know you’re right. She’s the best chance that we have. But it kills me. I can’t help feeling like we’re complete jackasses to put our trust in her again. It’s like we enjoy the punishment!” She laughs, but it’s a hollow sound and I can see the hurt hiding behind her eyes.
“We don’t have to decide right now. Think about it, sleep on it, see you how you feel in the morning. I don’t want the short amount of time together that we have taken up with arguing. Tonight is just about you and me—nobody else.” I take Aimee’s head between my hands in a way that is uniquely our own and kiss her with all the feeling I can transmit through my lips. I think I’ve hit a home run, as her eyes remain closed for a few seconds after I’ve pulled back. “Better?” I ask, trying not to look as pleased with myself as I feel.
“Better.” She smiles and it lights up the room.
I lead Aimee back to the bed and lay her down next to me, bringing her into the crook of my shoulder in our familiar sleeping position. There’s something about the normality of being like this, in the bed that we’re used to sharing, that gives me a feeling of peace. It’s completely clear for me: anywhere that Aimee is, , that’s where home is.
As we lay in bed I tell Aimee about my first day with the Angels.
“Did it hurt?” She gently strokes the new ink on my shoulder.
“Not as much as I thought it would. Listening to Ryan yammer on and on about how the design of the Bleeding Angels patch came about was way more painful.” Aimee moves closer to me and I can hear her laugh softly against my neck. It can’t feel this good to make anyone else in the world laugh.
I tell her about my conversation with Scar and how he’d surprised me.
“In what way?” she asks as she absently traces a pattern on my chest with her delicate fingers.
I know Aimee’s feelings about Scar—he’s the man that killed her father, so I’m careful about what I say. “He’s charismatic, there’s no denying that. He has this magnetism about him that really draws you in. He can make you feel like you’re the most important person in the room.”
“You sound like you admire him.” Her voice is small but there’s no judgment in it.
“Not ‘admire.’ That’s not the right word. I guess I can see how he became the leader of the Angels. It’s easy to understand why the men follow him.” My voice trails off as I think back on the conversation. “He said something strange to me.”
“Oh? What?” She seems nervous, but maybe I’m just hyper-aware of not hurting her by talking about the man that ruined her family.
“He said that I was important. That one day the Angels would be mine if I wanted them, and that Ryan is too much of a loose cannon to lead them.” I know I shouldn’t feel proud about it, but I can’t help feeling good that someone believes in me.
“Did he say why?” Aimee asks. It sounds like she’s fishing for something.
“No, he doesn’t seem to be big into details,” I joke, and I’m rewarded with Aimee’s reassuring, tinkling laughter. “He just made some speech about needing to take control. He mentioned my mom and dad, saying they try to control me. He talked about you too.” I trap one of Aimee’s nipples in between my thumb and forefinger and tug gently, watching how her chest rises and falls as her breathing quickens.
“Yeah, well, I’m not expecting a Christmas card from him this year,” Aimee breathes out as she squirms a little next to me.
“I know it may seem a little lame, but it’s nice for someone to think I’m worth something other than as a mechanic.” I laugh lightly as if it were a joke, but I know that I’m not fooling Aimee.
“That’s not why we all think you’re worth something, Jake.” Aimee reaches down between us and starts stroking my shaft. My member stands to attention instantly under her touch. Being this turned on by someone would be embarrassing if it weren’t Aimee. It’s like our bodies are completely in tune and we know exactly what to do to push each other’s buttons. “Just promise me you’ll be careful with Scar. He’s dangerous, and not just because he knows how to use a knife. Don’t let him pull you in.” There’s a warning in her words, but I can’t shake the feeling that there’s something she’s leaving unsaid.
‘What if he’s right?” I smile at her as she tugs me in exactly the way that I taught her. “Do you want to control me?” She looks up at me with those green eyes that beg you to dive into them, and it strikes me again how lucky I am to be with this girl—this woman. “She’s the whole package, Summers.” Those are the words that my dad had said years ago. I think he’d known how I felt about Aimee before anyone else, even my mom. “When you find the one, nothing else will even come close.” I remember sitting out on the swing seat with him as he said the words. He was speaking from experience, he’d told me, because that’s what happened when he met my mom.
“There’s only one part of you that I want to control, Summers.” Aimee smiles up at me and the feisty look in her eyes drives me crazy.
“Well, control away, Winters. I won’t put up a fight.” I hold my hands up as if I’m surrendering.
“I was hoping you’d say that,” she giggles as I shift her underneath me and start feathering kisses along her jaw-line.
Without meaning to, I catch sight of the time on the alarm clock and Aimee must see something in my expression change.
“Do you have to go?” There’s no judgment in her voice, no annoyance. She knows as well as I do that I’m not choosing to leave her—we’re between a rock and a hard place now. If we want to nail the Angels then we have to keep the status quo. It’s the only way to make sure that they don’t suspect they’re being investigated.
“Not yet.” I notice the relief flood through her face as I say the words and I try not to think about how hard it’s going to be to leave her in only a few short hours.
“Good, then let’s not waste any time.” She pulls me down on top of her and I make sure to imprint every detail about her onto my brain. From the way she smells, to the way she tastes, to the way her silky hair feels as it runs through my fingers. I savor the little whines she makes as she gets excited, and the way her breathing comes in short gasps. I try to hold onto the feeling of her fingers as they slide down my back, of her soft, swollen lips against mine and of her touch on my cock as she squeezes and pumps the shaft so perfectly.
When I enter her, I make sure to take in the way that she looks, the way that the light hits her smooth, white skin and the way that she arches her back and pushes her hips up to take me in as deeply as she can. I bury myself into her, filling her up, not leaving an inch of empty space between us.
We come together, like we have ever since that first time, and I wish that I could bottle that feeling of being completely together with someone. I’ve never felt closer to anyone and I wish that I could keep that feeling forever, to take it back with me to the Angel’s compound to keep me company.
When we’re both exhausted with pleasure, I stay inside of her, wanting to feel her around me until the very last moment. There’s less than an hour left before I have to leave and I haven’t slept in two days. But I don’t care. I stroke Aimee’s smooth back until her breathing evens out, signaling that she’s fallen asleep. But I don’t want to close my eyes. I don’t want to miss even one second of being with her, because I know that as soon as I sleep, I’ll be missing something. I’ll miss the way that her chest rises and falls in its own special rhythm. I’ll miss the little moans she makes as she dreams.
When it’s time for me to go, I don’t wake her. I know that she’ll probably be mad with me for sneaking out, for not giving her the chance to say goodbye. It’s selfish, but I do it anyway. I want to keep this image of her in my head, looking as calm and at peace as she does now, asleep and as if she doesn’t have a care in the world. I kiss her softly on her lips and I try to stop myself from thinking that it feels like the last time.