KIWI

“We need another round,” I tell Loni. None of us want to be here tonight, but Rooster’s given us no choice. I wanted to ask why they weren’t doing this at the clubhouse, but I bit my tongue and let it go. Iron Wings is one of the Angels’ biggest money makers in Roswell. Shutting it down for a night so these guys can drink themselves stupid isn’t exactly the smartest business decision.

Either that or I’m just pissed because I have to serve the asshole responsible for killing my brother, mother and father. I clocked him the moment he walked in the door. Don’t ask me how I knew, I just did. Immediately after him was the other guy, Gunnar, and my blood boiled when I saw him.

I’ve also gathered from the other members that Rooster and Gunnar are not their favorite people. They respect them, sure, it’s who they are, but that’s where it stops and I take comfort in that. Rooster has run this charter into the ground and I get the impression no one is gonna care when he’s dead.

“Here you go,” Loni says softly. Her eyes are red from crying. Losing a member takes a toll on everyone and this one hits me harder than I expected. I didn’t know Rack well, but I knew enough to know he was good people. Hell, I wound him up tighter than a drum last night and he took me home without a second thought and never made a move to further our evening. I had mad respect for him after knowing him only a short time.

I grab my tray off the bar and walk toward the pushed together tables in the middle of the bar. Nearly everyone is here. Pyro got here a few minutes ago and his eyes keep landing on me. I don’t understand it. I don’t get what his obsession with me is. It’s not like he’s made a move on me. The one time I thought he was, he told me he didn’t want me. That still stings.

I pass drinks around the table. The guys are animated despite the circumstances and they’re telling stories about Rack. Apparently, he was a prospect longer than most, so he was hanging around the club a long time. Everyone seems to have a story to tell about him.

The door to the bar opens and my heart stops in my chest as Loki strolls in. As he walks closer to me, my heart kicks up in double time. He wraps his arm around my waist and pulls me into his side. The next thing I know, his lips are pressing into mine and there is a chorus of hooting and hollering from the men in the room.

I blush and pull back. “Nice to see you too, slugger.”

He squeezes me again and lets me go, finding a seat next to Pyro, who is glaring at him with daggers shooting from his eyes.

About an hour later, the old ladies show up wearing their colors. I’ve never seen most of them, but they quickly slide in beside their men and settle in. New drinks are served by me and one of the other girls, Kat. Loni has joined Cowboy, her old man, at the tables.

My heart clenches when I see Loki looking at me. He cocks his head and I try to hide my jealousy of what Loni and Cowboy have but Loki sees it and offers me a sad smile.

No one else shows up. No whores, no free pussy, just the men and their old ladies. Kat and I serve them throughout the night. Eventually the evening turns rowdy as the amount of alcohol they consume goes up, but they’re not dicks, just angry, hurt biker dudes cutting loose.

When the party dies down and everyone but Cowboy, Loni, Kat and myself are left, we clean up the bar, putting the tables back and getting ready for tomorrow’s crowd. The members didn’t pay a dime for their drink fest, which means Kat and I made nothing for the night, which is okay by me until Loni comes over and hands us both envelopes. “For tonight,” she says sadly. “I couldn’t have done this without the two of you.” Her eyes well with tears again and her man, Cowboy, comes over and wraps his arm around her.

We take that as our cue to leave. Kat and I walk out together.

“You alright?” she asks me.

“Yeah, you?”

She nods. “I liked Rack. He was always sweet, and a great tipper when he wasn’t working the door.” She winks.

I smile at her as we both climb into our cars. As I’m sitting in the seat, I see something, though I don’t quite know what because when I turn back, it’s gone, but I swear Kellen was just watching me outside the bar.

I shake my head and shake it off as I drive away.

My phone chimes.

I look at it when I come to a light.

From Loki:

Want to see you tonight.

To Loki:

I’m exhausted.

From Loki:

Please.

To Loki:

Be right there.

The light changes and I drive through town. I keep checking my rearview. I don’t know why, but I feel like I’m being followed. It’s two in the morning and Roswell is a ghost town. I’m being paranoid.

I drive past my house, it’s all dark inside. I don’t want to wake Em, so I don’t text her. I don’t plan on staying at Loki’s long.

I pull into the driveway next to his bike and kill the engine. My eyes are on his bike and a shiver slides through me. I don’t know why, but tonight, I can’t keep Kellen out of my mind.

Loki meets me at the door. He’s only wearing jeans. No socks, no shirt and no cut. My mouth waters.

“You alright?” I ask him.

He nods softly. “You?” he asks.

“I think so. I didn’t know him well, but he…he was a good kid.”

He chuckles, “He was older than you are, sweet cheeks.”

I narrow my eyes at him. “So?”

He shrugs. “Just sayin’.”

He closes the door behind me and I take a moment to look around his house. I’ve been in here three times and all three times I’ve had sex on the brain and no lights to show me around.

It’s simple, a little dirty, but that’s to be expected. A few plates scatter the coffee table in front of the couch, there’s some papers on the dining room table, shit like that, but all in all, it’s what I expected of a bachelor pad. The big flat screen sort of gives it away, too. It’s half as big as the wall and you’d have to be in China to see it all.

“Like it?” he asks.

I smile at him. “It’s definitely you,” I tell him. He smirks and wraps his arms around me. “Thanks, by the way.”

“For?”

“Outing me tonight.”

He looks at me with narrowed eyes. “Oh, the kiss.” He smirks. “Jealousy looks good on you,” he adds.

I glare at him. “I’m not jealous.”

He snorts a laugh and spins me around, holding me to him. His hard cock presses against my stomach and I hold back a groan as I remember feeling him inside me last night. “I saw the look on your face when the old ladies showed up.”

I shrug nonchalantly. “What about it?”

“Since you were ten, huh?”

I soften at his tone. “I was old enough to understand that old ladies rock and…” I stop.

He gives me a little shake. “And?”

“And I was old enough to realize I was in love.”

His eyes narrow. “With who?”

I look him square in the eyes and answer, “Robert Pattinson.”

“Oh really? You like that dead, vampire shit?”

I shrug, smirking. “Maybe a little.”

“I’m crushed,” he teases.

“Why ever for?” I mock him back.

He leans down, his lips a mere inch from mine. “Because it wasn’t me,” he breathes and then he claims my lips. My mind goes blank at his words and his touch, but I find it somewhere in there and kiss him back. Our tongues start dancing, my body humming, racing and igniting with the desire to have him between my legs again.

When my breathing grows shallow and ragged, he pulls back, his eyes locked on mine. “I never said it wasn’t you,” I share.

The truth is it was him.

He smirks again.

“I have to get home,” I tell him and his smile falls.

“I want to come with you.”

I pull back a little and he lets me go. “I don’t know, Loki.”

“Why not?”

I fold my arms over my chest. “You know why,” I tell him.

“She’s my daughter.”

“You know that, now, but she doesn’t. Well, I don’t think she’s put two and two together yet.”

“What’s that mean?” He’s getting angry and I don’t like it.

“It means that she’s seen pictures of you, but they’re old, Loki.” I put my hand on the side of his face, my fingers brushing through his beard. “No beard, shorter hair. She’s only five.”

“I want to meet my daughter,” he growls.

Tears well in my eyes. If I’d known he’d react like this, I’d have driven down here while I was pregnant.

“What did I say now?” he snaps.

“Nothing, it’s just…”

“Just what?” His voice is still harsh.

“I stayed away because of you. I was petrified of what you’d say. What you’d do, what you’d make me do if you knew I was pregnant.”

“Back then, I can’t honestly tell you what I’d have done because I didn’t know. But now…” he trails off.

“Now?” I prompt.

“Everything’s changed,” he breathes.

“Give me a couple days, okay?” I ask him.

“Two, tops,” he agrees. “Now, as much as this is killing me,” he brushes a finger from my temple and down my jaw before pinching my chin between his fingers, “Go home.” He presses his forehead against mine. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

I give him a small smile and his lips brush mine. I wrap my hands in his hair and pull him to me, kissing him like my life depends on it.

After a few heartbeats he pulls back. “Not helping, Kiwi,” he grumbles.

“Oops,” I smirk.

“Go home,” he says in a tone that’s not to be argued with. I turn toward the door and he smacks my ass. I squeak. “See you tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow,” I tell him and I’m out the door, down the steps and at to my car. My eyes land straight ahead and it’s there again, the sense of being watched, having eyes on me. The street lamp flickers and I see it again, a face watching me. I shiver as Kellen comes back to my mind.

I climb in my car and back out. I’m back home in less than a minute and no one followed me. I hurry inside and to my room.

I hit the shower and grab Loki’s t-shirt from six years ago and wrap up in it as I snuggle into bed.

Like the other night, the dreams come at a rapid fire pace.

Loki, Piper, Colorado, Sticks, Big Daddy, Rooster…I’m tossing and turning.

The faces start changing, morphing from one person to another until they land on Pyro. He’s the only one to speak to me in my dream.

I’m staring at him, scrutinizing him when he opens his mouth. “Lily,” he says and I bolt upright in bed.

“It’s not possible,” I breathe.

Suddenly it hits me like a freight train- the cameras at the house, the videos. He stored them on an online storage site. I fling the covers off my bed and go for my laptop on the dresser before bringing it back to my bed and sitting cross-legged, laptop in my lap as it warms up.

I log in and type the website address in and wait for it to load.

I wrack my brain, trying to remember the login.

After a minute, it comes to me and I sign in and put the password in and it loads.

PYRO

My phone chimes.

I pull it from my pocket.

It’s a text, I open it.

From Unknown:

Login attempt successful.

You’re receiving this message because you requested notification when…

I drop the phone and dive for my clothes on the floor of my room.

“She knows,” I breathe.