KING
The sun streaming in through the window woke me up. I hadn't realized we'd fallen asleep – let alone, slept through the night. I looked down at Abbie's naked body and smiled. It was something I was sure I'd never get tired of seeing. It was crazy. Even with all of the shit going on with the Incas and all the madness associated with it, I still managed to find some peace with Abbie. The world could be falling apart all around us, but whenever I was with her, I somehow found a sense of calm.
I didn't know how she did it, but Abbie managed to keep me grounded. Centered. Balanced. There was just something about her that, regardless of the storms raging around us, kept my feet firmly rooted to the ground. I ran my fingers across her back and even though she slept soundly, she murmured and smiled. Her skin was so smooth, her hair so silky, and she had the faint aroma of citrus upon her body. She was intoxicating. If I could, I'd stay there, on that couch with her, forever. I'd capture that moment and hold onto it for as long as I could.
But that moment, unfortunately, had to come to an end. I had some business to handle, and part of that business was making sure Abbie was kept safe.
Slipping out from underneath her, I pulled a blanket that had been on the back of the couch over her and tucked her in. As quietly as I could, I walked across the apartment and into her bathroom, closing the door behind me quietly. Leaning over the sink, I looked at myself in the mirror – and didn't particularly like what I saw. I was looking a little rough. I needed a shave and, given the heavy bags beneath my eyes, some sleep.
I sighed and splashed some cold water on my face, trying to wake myself up. I needed to get my head on straight. I needed to focus. After drying off, I picked up my phone and punched in a number. Holding the phone to my ear, I listened to it ringing.
“You realize how early it is?” came the groggy sounding voice on the other end of the line. “This better be damn important.”
“Get your ass out of bed and grab some coffee,” I said. “I need you, Duke, and El to meet me.”
“Now? Seriously?”
“I'm at Abbie's,” I said. “Meet me down in the parking lot in half an hour.”
“Dude, I'm hungover as hell and – ”
“Half an hour, Drew,” I said. “I'm not screwing around. Get your shit together. This is serious. Club business, man.”
There was a momentary pause on the line, as if he was suddenly realizing I was serious. Drew was one of the guys I knew I could count on. Somebody I knew would always have my back in a pinch. We were friends and had a good relationship, but when it came down to club business, he was every bit as serious as I was.
“Be there in thirty,” he said and disconnected the call.
I set the phone down on the counter and climbed into the shower. I felt groggy. Tired. My eyes were burning and though I'd apparently gotten a decent night's sleep last night, I still felt like I wanted to do nothing more than crawl back into bed and sleep for a while longer. Or maybe have my way with Abbie again before going back to sleep.
As my thoughts turned to Abbie, I started to think about what I needed to do today – and the fact that she wasn't going to like it. But I had to deal with this whole shitstorm brewing with the Incas, while simultaneously needing to keep her safe. It was a tricky line to walk, but I needed to find a way to do it. I couldn't take care of my club if I was stopping to worry about her – and I desperately needed to take care of my club.
El Segador, leader of the Incas, had sent us a very clear message – the hands of one of my men in a box. Only, it hadn't been sent to us – it had been sent to the fucking cops. And we'd spent the better part of a day dealing with the fallout from all of that as Detective Mahoney, a man who hated me beyond all measure, had a small army of his men combing through our clubhouse.
It made me really regret the decision to climb into bed with this prick to begin with. We'd had a deal in place that would have made us all a ton of money. But it was a one-off. We were supposed to do the deal and everybody went their own ways. But El Segador didn't see it that way. He wanted more and more from me and my guys – and I wasn't about to give in to his demands.
There was no way in hell I was going to expose my guys to the risk of running black tar heroin for the Incas.
My refusal to do his bidding was something that had obviously not set very well with him because he'd been making our lives hell ever since – including not paying us for the original deal. I wanted my money – money I'd been planning on using as a means of getting out of this life – but I wasn't about to risk igniting a war between our clubs. I was trying to find a way out of this mess and still get the money we were owed, but, thus far, I was coming up empty.
What had freaked me out more than the hands, though – and those had freaked me out plenty, believe me – was that in the package sent to the cops, El Segador had included some pictures of Abbie. Pictures she'd obviously been unaware were being taken of her.
It was a second message that was perfectly clear – do what I want or she's going to get hurt.
Hence, my freak out and why I couldn't tell Abbie about it. I just had to make sure I kept her safe until this all cleared up and blew over – and I had to hope like hell it did.
I finished up my shower, dried off, and put my clothes back on. When I walked back into the living room, Abbie was still sound asleep on the couch where I'd left her. I took a moment to stop and stare at her. She looked so peaceful, so angelic, as she slept. The thought of anything happening to her churned my guts and inspired a rage inside of me that I hadn't unleashed in quite some time – a rage I really never wanted to come out again. It was a monster that had been difficult to put into a cage in the first place. If anything happened to Abbie, I wasn't sure I'd be able to cage it a second time.
I sighed softly and walked out of her apartment, locking the door behind me, and went down to the parking lot to meet my guys.