Amber

I don’t know how long I slept for, but it felt like a lifetime. I dragged myself out of bed. I wasn’t even mildly surprised to not see Jax here. I think I had slept most of the day away and I couldn’t even check the time because my phone was downstairs.

Last night. The memories hit me hard and fast. It was unexplainable. I didn’t expect Jax to keep one word he said last night.

I pulled on my sports crop top and shorts. Yep, no way he would be thinking the same today. I walked out of the bedroom with my headphones.

I jogged down the stairs.

“And what do you know, she is awake,” Adam greeted me at the bottom of the stairs and then frowned at me. “Are you about to do exercise?”

“Yeah, morning run, it’s my routine.” I walked around him and headed for the couch.

“It’s after four in the afternoon,” Adam said, and I shrugged; so much for a morning run. Well, an afternoon run was just as good.

“That thing hasn’t shut up,” Cole pointed to my phone like it had been annoying him.

“You could have turned it off or woken me.”

He scoffed. “Not according to the King.”

“What’s that meant to mean?” I looked between them.

“Jax wanted to make sure you slept. He also wanted me to tell you he had to leave but will be back.” Adam rolled his eyes. “He acted like it was life or death that you knew where he was.”

“More like our lives depended on her getting his message,” Cole snapped. “Guessing you two are back together?”

“I’m not answering that, but I am going for a run.” I backed out of the room.

“It’s the middle of the afternoon and it is hot out there.”

“I can take the heat.” I gave them a firm smile. “Now I’m going for that run.”

“You used to be allergic to exercise.” Cole crossed his arms. “What changed?”

“Tae got me into it. It’s meant to help with my temper,” I explained, and lit up my phone; numerous missed calls from Tae. He was the only one that had my new number.

“I’ll message you my new number,” I said to Cole and Adam, but was more focused on Tae’s messages. He needed me. “Maybe that run will have to wait,” I mumbled. I was being summoned.

“So, who are you with? Tae or Jax?” Adam asked, sounding hopeful for the latter.

Why had he always supported Jax and I?

“I don’t know.” After last night, I didn’t know if Jax had been serious, or if he had just missed me enough to make all those promises; like repeating he loved me and each time he did, it knocked down one of my walls.

It made something start beating again, that I had thought was dead - my heart, but if he was the one to help me get my heart back, he would also have the power to destroy it again.

Leave me like this again. A barely functioning, autopilot machine, but last night I hadn’t been on autopilot; no, he brought out a side to me I thought was dead.

He gave me faith again.

“I thought you were going for a run?” Adam asked as I headed for the stairs.

“Can’t. Tae needs me.” I walked up the stairs and then paused. “Can you pass on my new number to everyone?” I gave a pointed look to Cole. “Including Jax.”

“What is with you, taking him back?” Cole barked at me and walked to the bottom of the stairs. “He isn’t faithful. He will never love you and you can do better!”

I knew all these things. I didn’t need him reminding me of them.

“I know all those facts.” I walked up the stairs and Cole decided he would follow me.

“He will always put the club first.” Cole wasn’t going to give up. “You will always come second. No sister of mine is a man’s second thought! You need to come first Amber.” He followed me into the bedroom, his arm wrapping my upper arm. “Don’t go back to him.”

Didn’t he get it? Didn’t anyone get it? I didn’t get a choice! I don’t know why. I couldn’t explain it if I wanted to, but Jax pulled me in. Everything about him. He had me. I used to think Blake was the love of my life. Well I learned I was wrong.

Jax was the love of my life. He was the only man that ever made me feel like this. He broke my heart to pieces; to the point I still wasn’t sure if I had a beating heart.

But here I was, up and willing to fix what I had left with him.

“I need to get changed. I have to go see Tae,” I said, opening my suitcase. I had left most of my things in England because there was one fact I had left out with Jax. Tae wanted me.

He had groomed me to take over here, but I think his feelings of respect and admiration grew into something more.

“Tae seems like a good guy, why not pick him? Or any man apart from Jax?” Cole said, not giving up.

“Tae is a good guy but if you really knew him, you wouldn’t be pushing me to him.”

Cole crossed his arms. “Is he dangerous?”

“Yes.” That was putting it mildly. “I think more dangerous than Jax.”

“How can a software designer be more dangerous than the King of the underworld?” Adam asked, walking into the bedroom and then sitting on my bed.

I groaned. Looks like they both weren’t going to give up.

“It’s a front. Look I have to change.” I ran a hand through my hair. “Come on guys. I need to go. Do you have a car I can borrow?”

Cole didn’t look like he was giving in. “When you get back, will you explain what you mean about Tae being dangerous?”

“I literally can’t.”

“Why?”

“Because he could have me killed. That’s the type of serious it is Cole. I would get a hit on my head if I shared one detail about him.”

“Like we would let that happen.” Adam said getting up. “We can protect you from everything.”

“This, no-one can protect me from. You can’t protect me from the walking dead.” The walking dead is what we called silent killers. I was part of the walking dead. Tae had trained me to be part of his silent killers.

I knew what I was a part of so I knew they couldn’t protect me from Tae if he wanted me dead.

So I couldn’t tell them who Tae really was and I could never tell them what I was involved in.

My phone started ringing and I cursed. “Seriously, he is going to be pissed off.” I mumbled and put it to my ear. “Sorry Tae, I took a sleeping pill and was knocked out. I’m up and coming.”

“Ten minutes Amber,” he said, buying my excuse, and hung up.

“I have ten minutes and if you don’t want to be going to my funeral, you will let me change,” I said firmly, planting a hand on my hip.

Adam sighed and left. Cole on the other hand, lingered.

“I want your new number,” he said firmly.

“I told you I’d give it to you and I need you to pass it on to everyone else.” I unlocked my phone and, knowing his number by heart, I sent him a message. “And when I say everyone, I mean Jax as well.”

He nodded his head. “Fine.”

“Thank you.” I waited for him to close my door and then I started to change. Time to face Tae. I knew he would be upset that I didn’t go to his house last night and canceled our dinner plans. I had told him my brothers wanted to spend time with me.

I wasn’t sure what excuse I could come up with today to leave him.

Then I knew I shouldn’t be pulling away from him just because I’d spent one night with Jax. Tae and what he wants should still be coming first and I should be at his house. I shouldn’t be living on the high of what Jax had promised last night.

I needed to come back to earth and I had a feeling I would hit earth hard as soon as I saw Jax again and he went back to being cold.

Last night he was just overcome with seeing me again. Yep. That had to be it. It was the only way to explain his behavior. He would have changed his mind by this morning.

***

“I don’t like trusting them.”

Tae was behind a desk, blowing out a mouthful of smoke. “Bikers can never be trusted.”

“Last night went smoothly.” I inhaled on my cigarette. It was the only thing Tae and I always did when we had a discussion - we smoked and drank whiskey, although this afternoon it was vodka. He said it was all that was in the house.

He nodded his head. “Smoothly enough for me to consider something.”

“That being?”

“You come back to England with me.”

My eyes widened. I knew we were going to get to this topic. “You have been grooming me to take over here. Why would you need me in the same country as you? You are more than capable of handling things in England.”

“You’re strong, Amber,” he complimented me, his eyes holding mine. “Strong enough to lead beside me, not under me.”

I gulped. Right, we were going to do this. “I don’t do relationships.”

I had told him that line every time we talked about the lack of men in my life. The fact that I’d never slept with or showed interest in men.

“Lead beside me Amber.” He rose and walked around the desk. “I know you say you don’t have a heart. I respect that. It makes you great at what you do.” He came to a stop in front of me. “I wouldn’t just pick anyone to lead with me.”

I had to make a logical decision but first, I had to get facts. “So, what are you offering me?”

“A partnership.”

“You actually want to share your empire with me?” I didn’t believe him. Tae didn’t share. He took everything and held it close; with a death grip.

“I want to grow it and you can help me do that.” He kneeled down in front of me. His eyes locked with mine. “A partnership.” The corners of his lips twitched up. “If we cross the line into sex, I’ll be happy, but we can just keep it at business.”

Business. No emotion. That was perfect for me. “And you want me in England?”

“I want you with me. Yes, but if we are doing strictly business, we should think about what benefits you would have by staying here.” His hand ran up my leg. “Like this deal the bikers are offering, is it worth our time? You being permanently here to oversee it?”

He looked torn, like the last thing he wanted was me in a different country than him.

I smiled. “Tae, you are making me think you enjoyed me annoying you for the past month.”

He smiled. “Here I was thinking I could keep that fact to myself.”

“You like me being around,” I grinned. “You like my annoying questions. You like it when I miss my target practice on purpose.”

His eyes narrowed. “I’m not saying I liked you wasting my time.”

“You’re going to miss our Friday nights, aren’t you?” I couldn’t stop the grin.

“No.”

“Yes you are. You are going to miss me raiding your liquor!”

“I will not miss the empty bottles. Only you would think it was acceptable to empty a bottle and leave it.”

“And you will miss me.”

He sighed. “Anyway, I know this is a big decision for you.” He got back on the topic I had taken us off. “Which is why I’m willing for you to discuss it with your brothers.”

My face was in disbelief. “In order for that to happen, I’d have to tell them who you really are.”

“I’m giving you permission to do so,” he nodded.

“Really?”

“You mean a lot to me, Amber. I trust you, which means I trust your family. So yes, you can tell them who I am and you can tell them what I am offering.”

I was stunned. Literally, could not form words; stunned. Tae was secretive. Hell, he kept such a low profile, his main man couldn’t even pick Tae in a line up. He did that on purpose and the only reason I knew who he was, was because he broke his silence to recruit me.

He wanted me that bad. He blew his cover and, right now, as he stared at me watching me think, he was willing to blow his cover again - for me.

Tae had never broken my heart because I’d told him I didn’t have one for him to break to begin with, but Tae had given me this endless amount of trust.

He trusted me.

“Ok.” I said. “I’ll umm, talk to Troy about it,” I found myself saying.

Troy. He would be the one to go to. Cole wasn’t level-headed enough. Tyler was too carefree. Adam would be too concerned.

And Jax wasn’t my brother, so he didn’t make the cut.

“Good. And I’ve been thinking of a way to mark our partnership and a way to prove to you I’m serious about you leading beside me.”

He wanted me to lead beside me. That still just blew my mind. I was never considered equal. I was always under someone. Never in charge.

“Amber?”

My eyes snapped to him. “Yeah?”

“I have an idea on a way to mark our partnership.”

“Ok?” I staggered out, trying to think straight. He was offering me an opportunity anyone in the underworld would kill for. “What?”

“We take out The Pythons.”

My mouth dropped open. “But you don’t do wars.”

“I said we take them out. I have no plan of starting a war; just wiping them out of the country.” He stood up. “I’ve done the numbers. We are more than capable to do this.”

“You would let me use your men to take out my enemy?”

“Our men,” he corrected me. “And yes.”

“Wipe them out,” I muttered. I wouldn’t just be doing something I’ve wanted to do since they’d marked me, ruining my body, but I would also be doing my brothers and Jax a favor; they were still at war with them.

I started to think of the facts. This was too good to be true.

“So, if I say yes, I get to take them out?” I asked, trying to see how sweet the deal was. He was tempting me just to say yes now. Wiping out The Pythons was something I really wanted to do.

“I thought we could move on it tomorrow.” He shrugged and smiled. “Take marking our partnership early as my good faith in you.”

“You’re serious?”

“Their Mother Charter is having their family BBQ tomorrow. Most charters are coming in for it. So, we should be able to wipe most of them out quickly.”

This was Tae, always thinking ahead. He didn’t want a bloody, long, drawn out war. He wanted to do what he always did - set target, and kill and then move on to the next.

“I watched you get that mark tattooed Amber so I know you want this.” Tae lit up another cigarette and then handed it to me. “So, even if we wipe them out and you decide to turn me down on my offer, no hard feelings.”

I took the cigarette. “No hard feelings,” I repeated his words, with emptiness and shock.

“Talk to your brother and then get back to me about whether you want to make a move on The Pythons or not.”

I shook my head. “I don’t need to talk to Troy for this decision. The answer is yes. You have me completely on board for wiping them out.”

He smirked. “Good, cause I was counting on your aim to take those headshots you are famous for.”

I smiled, and nodded my head. He had me on board for this. I didn’t know about the partnership; I needed advice on that, and not a lawyer’s advice, but advice from someone else that had been offered a permanent role in the underworld and taken it.

Troy.

Because I couldn’t turn to Jax on this one.