Chapter Twenty-Three

A shot of whiskey sat on the bar. Bubbles rose up the sides of the glass of beer Blood had ordered as a chaser. He tipped up the shot, swallowing it down.

Cat watched all this as she walked up and sat on the stool next to him, having come back in from where she’d been chatting with Marla and waiting for Blood to finish with Undertaker.

Blood turned toward her, and their eyes met. He swiveled on his stool, his body angling toward hers, and his hand moved to the back of her barstool. Then he motioned with two fingers for the Prospect behind the bar to bring her a beer.

Once the beer was set before her, and he thanked the man, he got quiet, looking away, and she wondered what was wrong. But before she could ask, he slid a hand around the back of her neck, pulled her close, and kissed her. It wasn’t a soft sweet kiss. It was demanding, in the way she was finding out Blood was so good at. He took what he wanted, and now that they’d crossed that line, all bets were off. He was no longer keeping his distance or his hands to himself—or his dirty words to himself, either.

Then, almost as soon as she thought it, he threw her for a loop by acting the opposite. He dipped his head and nuzzled her neck in a tender, gentle way, almost as if to make up for the harsh kiss, pulling back and reining himself in as if it might be too much for her, as if he might be too much for her.

She felt her pulse quicken and her breath catch.

Just when she thought she had him figured out, he’d do what she least expected. She couldn’t keep up; one minute he was aggressive and controlling, the next tender and gentle. It was enough to make her head spin.

When he eased up on his hold of her, giving her a few inches of space, he turned his head, glancing around like he was trying to avoid smiling. She grinned and could see he wanted to grin in return, but he fought it, wanting to remain tough in front of the club. But the corner of his mouth pulled up, giving him away. It was just a fraction, but she caught it.

She pressed her forehead against his, nudging him with her nose, pulling back to smile into his face when she saw the corner of his mouth pull up even further. He couldn’t hold it back, no matter how hard he was trying. He was happy. And she saw it. She pressed her knuckles to the side of his mouth, and he leaned in, his eyes closing. And that was enough. That was all she needed.

In that moment they both knew—there was something there, something neither one of them could fight or wanted to fight anymore.

He leaned forward and kissed her again—a long slow kiss, soft this time.

The loud sound of a throat clearing broke the spell. Blood released her, and they both turned their heads to see who dared to interrupt them.

“Get a room!” one of the two men standing there said. He was grinning, his arms folded over his Evil Dead cut.

“Jesus Christ! Look what the cat dragged in.” Blood stood, a broad grin plastered on his face. He moved to hug each man, slapping backs and shouting, “Shades! Ghost! Good to see you boys.”

“Heard you needed some backup,” the second man said.

“Surprised you could break away from the little family, Shades.”

“He didn’t,” Ghost explained with a nod of his head. “We all piled in the van. Skylar’s outside showing Undertaker his grandchild.”

“That little baby big enough to travel?” Blood asked.

“She’s four weeks old. Fortunately she’s still in the mewling kitten phase where all she does is eat and sleep, so that makes it the perfect time to travel with her.” Shades’ eyes slid to Cat. “This the lady we heard so much about?”

“Depends. What the fuck did you hear?” Blood growled.

Ghost’s grin got bigger. “Just that some beautiful blonde nurse patched you up and needs our help.”

“Our? Thought you came down to help with the Death Heads situation?”

“We did, but as long as we’re here, might as well help out with getting her sister back, right?” He grinned at Blood. “Unless you’ve already handled that for her.”

“I’m working on it.”

“You gonna introduce us or what?”

“Cat, this smug asshole is Ghost. Pay him no mind.”

Cat grinned as the man took offense to Blood’s words. “Blood’s a grouch, if you haven’t figured that out already. Pleased to meet you, Cat.” He extended his hand, and she shook it.

“This other one with the baby puke on his shoulder is Shades.”

Shades glanced down at his cut. “Well, damn. She got me again.”

Cat reached across the bar and grabbed a napkin. “Here, let me.” She moved to wipe it off his leather vest, smiling up at him as she did. “I used to work in the pediatrics unit. I’m all too familiar with the sticky stuff.”

Shades grinned down at her as she cleaned him up. “Thanks, doll. You married?”

She shook her head, and he glanced at Blood. “Better snap her up quick, Blood. She ain’t afraid of cleaning up puke, and she’s managed to be around you longer than twenty-four hours without trying to kill you.”

“Says the man who had to threaten to throw his ol’ ladies suitcases in the lake to keep her from leaving his ass.”

“Ooo, good one, Bro,” Ghost joined in.

Blood turned on Ghost, not about to leave him out of the ribbing. “Cuff your ol’ lady to any beds lately?”

Ghost grinned. “Every Saturday night. Thanks for asking.”

***

Blood walked out of the clubhouse with Ghost and Shades. They moved around the side to where the bikes were parked. The club had just met to discuss the Death Head situation and catch the Alabama chapter up on what they knew. They’d spent about an hour in the chapel. It was dusk now, the last light fading from the sky.

Blood dipped his head to light up a cigarette, and as he blew the smoke out and shoved the lighter back in his pocket, his eyes sought out Cat where she sat with some of the girls at one of the picnic tables.

Shades looked over at him, followed his gaze, and grinned. “Wait a minute. Has somebody finally got to you?”

Ghost’s brows shot up. “No shit? The nurse? For real? You’re not just playin’?”

Blood took a hit off his cigarette. “Blow me.”

“Yep, somebody finally got to you. What does it feel like?” Shades pressed, not about to cut him any slack.

“Truth? It feels good.” Blood could admit it. Hell, he supposed it was obvious to anyone who gave a fuck enough to be observant. The signs were all there… The chin lift he gave and that she returned with one of her own, a small smile playing across her face, knowing they’d been intimate, like it was a precious secret they each shared and treasured, knowing they’d do it again.

Even now, as he watched her across the lot, he couldn’t take his eyes off her. His gaze followed her every move and everything around him fell away. That’s how drawn he was to her.

And he knew that later tonight, the moment they were alone, they’d look over at each other, and a second later they’d be across the space and in each other’s arms. Clutching, grabbing… They wouldn’t be able to get close enough. And even though it had only been hours, it would feel like forever since they’d been together.

They couldn’t deny the pull they felt, the closeness, the rightness that just being together brought them.

It was something neither of them may have felt before, and the newness of it, the surprise at feeling it for the first time in all these years wasn’t lost on him.

Blood’s phone went off, drawing him from his thoughts. He glanced at the incoming number.

Black Jack.

Finally.

“I need to take this.” He stepped away, moving out of earshot and put the phone to his ear. “Yeah.”

“Hello, Son.”

“See you got my text.”

“You got my attention, and you’re right. We should talk.”

“Name the time and place.”

“My compound, nine o’clock tomorrow night.”

“I’ll be there.”

“Not so fast. I have an offer I want you to think over in the meantime. There’s something I want more than that old ring.”

“There is always a catch with you. You’ve always got some ulterior motive or some agenda. What is it this time?”

“I just want you to come home, Son.”

“Oh, you have got to be kidding me.”

“I’m very serious.”

“You have wildly misjudged our relationship.”

“I don’t think so. Come back and work for me. You do, and I’ll let your pretty blonde girlfriend have her sister back.”

Goddamn it. He knew about Cat. Obviously he had intel. Hell, he’d probably had him followed or watched. “How’d you find that out?” Blood asked tersely. “Your crack detective squad?”

Black Jack chuckled. “You know my men are dedicated to their work.”

“Yeah? I also know you’re short a man.”

“Now that you mention it, one of my men has gone missing. Do you have him?”

“He’s fish food right about now.”

“Pity. He was a good man. It’s hard to find such loyalty.”

“Maybe not as loyal as you think.”

“Perhaps.”

“Funny thing about men who are about to die. They do a lot of talking.”

”Hmm, so I’ve heard.”

“Let’s cut the bullshit. What do you want?”

“It’s important to you to get the girl back, so I’ll make you a deal. And we’ll both get what we want.”

“Yeah? What kind of deal?”

“Simple. All you have to do is come home.”

Blood’s first reaction was to tell him to go fuck himself, but he took a breath. He couldn’t afford to blow this. “And?”

“Leave that club and come back to working for me.”

“I never worked for you.”

“You were in line for all of this. It’s your birthright.”

“I don’t want it.”

“Sure you do. Come home, Son. I’ll forgive everything you did. You can run my empire.”

“I will never run a fucking thing for you.”

“Well, I guess that depends on how badly you want this girl. She’s important to someone you care about. So the question is, just what are you willing to sacrifice?”

“You son of a bitch!” Blood hissed out.

“Bring one man with you to take the girl home. Because, Etienne, you won’t be leaving. Nine o’clock. Don’t be late. You know how I hate to be kept waiting. Oh, and Etienne, you try anything, I’ll have my men kill her.”

The line went dead, and Blood dropped his arm, a sick feeling settling in his stomach. The last thing he wanted to do was go back to his father—a man he’d hated since he was a boy. But he knew how much Cat needed her sister back, and he’d promised her. He’d promised he’d get her back. He owed her that much. Hell, he owed her his very life. It was more than just a debt now. It was way past that. He’d begun to have feelings for her, and he didn’t want to see her hurt. It would absolutely destroy her to lose her sister. Could he bear to see her go through that? She would be completely broken.

Blood looked back at the clubhouse he’d called home for all these years, and he considered Black Jack’s terms. Just how much was he willing to sacrifice to get Cat her sister back?