“Think I can make it?” Penni leaned over the pool table, lining up her shot. Her tight jeans had more than one of the Predators sauntering over to watch the game taking place.

Jackal leaned on his pool cue, appreciating the sight of her ass bent over the table.

“Take your time,” Stump said appreciatively, sitting on a bar stool that he had pulled over to watch.

Jackal gave him a warning glare as she made her shot.

Penni gave a loud whoop, casting him a gloating smile. “You owe me a beer.”

After setting his pool cue on the table, he put an arm around her shoulders before leading her to the bar.

The brothers were gathered, making it hard for them to find a spot.

“You’ve eaten enough of those brownies she made. Move.” Jackal let Penni have the last stool at the end of the bar. He reached for the platter, seeing Buzzard maneuvering it toward him.

“That wasn’t nice,” Penni reprimanded him for making Buzzard move, giving her sweet smile to the meanest brother in the club. “You should be more polite, like Buzzard. See? He saved the brownies so you can have one.”

“Buzzard? Polite? Shit, how do you think he got his nickname?”

Penni reached out and took one of the brownies, breaking it in half. She gave him the other half. “Why?”

“Because he would eat the beak or the feet of a chicken if he was drunk enough.”

Buzzard nodded proudly, as if he were honored.

Penni’s eyes narrowed on Buzzard in interest. “I’ve wondered how they taste. I’ve seen them prepared on cooking shows, but I’ve never been brave enough to eat them myself.”

“They taste like fucking chicken.”

Jackal shoved himself in the spot between the two.

Penni gave him a baleful look. “You have no sense of humor.” She reached past him to take another brownie, giving the whole thing to him this time.

“Are you trying to get me high?”

“Will it put you in a better mood?”

“Babe, if you want to put me in a better mood, let’s go to my room.” Jackal gazed at the cleavage exposed by her blouse.

Penni lowered her lashes. “You don’t want a rematch?”

Jackal popped the brownie in his mouth. “Rave, give me that bottle of rum.” Taking the bottle in his hand, he spun Penni off the stool, steering her through the throng of brothers and bitches hanging around.

“Why do you want to go to your room so early? It’s only ten.”

“I’m not spending my whole night off with the brothers when I can spend it fucking you.”

Penni took a step backward after he closed the door.

He didn’t bother with the lamp; he could see her well enough from the light left on in his bathroom.

She loosened the ties at her throat, showing the lacy peach bra that had teased him throughout the night.

“Haven’t you had enough of me yet?” she teased him, taking off her top and letting it slip through her fingers.

In the two months they had been together, Jackal had discovered Penni wasn’t shy. She enjoyed sex as much he did. She could play shy, but then she turned into a vixen without blinking an eye. She could flirt one day then be standoffish the next day, making him work to get her in bed. She had crumbled any preconceived beliefs he’d had about women. When Penni had made her mind up that she wanted him, there had been no half-measures; she had given herself fully and expected the same from him. But his favorite act was what she was doing now: baiting him, showing the sexy attitude that could bring him to his knees.

She took her time wiggling out of her jeans before bending over to show her breasts that were almost spilling out of her bra.

“Not yet.” He huskily groaned when she walked to the new bed he had bought last month.

She had refused to sleep over until he had bought it, joking that his old one had cooties. Jackal hadn’t wanted her to be reminded of the other women he had been with when he was fucking her. Therefore, he had paid for the bed, but Penni had picked it out. It was fancy for his taste, but she had insisted, so he had given in.

Ice had laughingly said Penni had him by the balls, and he’d admitted she did, especially when she gave a performance the way she was now, gripping the metal post at the corner of the bed.

“Are you hard?”

“You want me to show you?”

“God, yes.” She licked her bottom lip.

Jackal set down the bottle of rum on his nightstand before turning on the lamp. Then, removing his clothes, he stepped over them, reaching for her.

The tsk-tsking sound had him clenching his hands to keep from jerking her to him. Penni crouched down by the bed, giving Jackal a view of the peach panties covering her pussy.

“Who gave you that move?” he asked.

“Sherri. You like it?”

“Yeah. She give you any other pointers?” Jackal’s hand went to his dick, rubbing his thumb over the head.

Penni pranced forward before dropping down in front of him. Brushing his hand out of the way, she circled the head of his cock with her mouth. As she twirled her tongue over him, unbelievable pleasure tore at his restraint.

She flicked her tongue down the length of his cock, gently taking each of the nine balls along his dick into her mouth before releasing it.

“Careful.”

“Don’t you trust me?” She laid the side of her face on his pelvis, her hand sliding up and down him.

Jackal jutted out his hips, silently demanding for her to take him into her mouth. “If I didn’t trust you, you wouldn’t be so close to my dick.”

She chuckled, her golden curls dancing in the light from the lamp. Jackal used the opportunity to twine his fingers through her hair, holding her steady.

“Babe, you’re driving me crazy.”

“It’s supposed to be sexy.”

“Who told you that?”

“I read it in a magazine.”

“Can I borrow it when you leave on Monday?” Jackal was already resenting the two weeks she would be gone when Mouth2Mouth left for Canada.

“I’m going to bring you a big stack of magazines. They’ll keep you busy while I’m gone. Besides, you might learn a thing or two.”

“Like what?”

“Like, there are hundreds of ways we can have sex besides the two you like.”

“Babe, I like what I like.”

Penni fell to the floor, laughing. “I love when you joke around with me.”

Jackal sat down on the floor, leaning back against his bed. He grabbed one of her feet, slowly dragging her closer to him. She stared at him, startled.

“If you want something different, I can do different.” He took her other foot in his hand, pulling the lower half of her body up to his.

After dropping her feet, he gripped the lace of her panties, ripping them apart. Then he lifted Penni by her hips and placed her over his jutting dick, positioning her pussy where he wanted it.

Penni stared into his eyes as she sank down on him, her head falling back and her tits turning as peach as her bra when all of his cock was buried in her.

Giving her a minute, he caressed her back until she began sliding up then down on him. He let her fuck him at her own speed. She was so tight he couldn’t believe she could move at all.

He put his hand on her pussy, rolling his thumb over the bud of her clitoris, and Penni squirmed on him, her wetness surrounding him and making it easier for her to move on him.

Braced between his hands, he held her, urging her to move faster while taking a nipple in his mouth. He almost bit her when her muscles clenched on his dick.

“Woman, you need to quit reading so much.” Jackal raised his hips as he thrust higher into her.

Penni’s pleasure-filled expression showed she was affected as he was. She arched her back, moving faster, and Jackal’s balls tightened.

Spreading his legs, he shifted, lowering her to the floor, and then he was over her, relentlessly pumping his aching cock into her pussy.

When she began screaming, she flung her hand out, grabbing his T-shirt and biting it to muffle her screams.

Jackal wiped the sweat out of his eyes, waiting for her spasms to stop before he flipped her onto her stomach and started fucking her again. She began clawing the carpet, grabbing the T-shirt she had slipped off of him to bite it, stifling the moans she couldn’t hold back.

“Any more positions you want to try?” Jackal goaded, trying to hold back his loud groans.

She shook her head, unable to answer.

He paced his thrusts, using the head of his dick to hit different spots along the walls of her slick channel. When he found the spot he wanted, he butted against it rhythmically until even his T-shirt couldn’t muffle her screams.

Jackal stiffened over her, unable to hold back the release he knew would send her over the edge with him.

“I guess we need to turn on the music next time,” Jackal muttered, dropping down beside her on the carpet.

“I’m not leaving this room until everyone is gone.” The only part of her body she could move was her head, and she only turned that so she could glare at him.

He slid his hand down to cup the prettiest ass he had ever seen. “Believe me, your screams are nothing to be embarrassed about. I can do what Stump does and turn on a porno. He said it gives him inspiration.” Jackal rolled his front toward the ceiling. “It’s a good way to slip a bitch in your bedroom that you don’t want the brothers to know you’re fucking.”

Jackal knew he had said the wrong thing when she raised up to sit on the floor. He laid his head on the curled up shirt.

“Like you do when you slip in Henry’s girls?” Her face turned serious, calling him out on the lies he had told her.

“Yes.”

“Are you—”

“I haven’t fucked any of them since Hennessy kidnapped you. I don’t plan to as long as you keep me happy.”

Air was pushed out of his lungs when she sprang up to sit on his waist.

“I don’t think that’s funny!”

Jackal raised a hand to the nape of her neck, pulling her down to his mouth. “Who can’t take a joke now?”

“I can’t stand the thought of you with another woman.”

He teased the corner of her mouth. “Me, neither. You’ve turned me against wanting other women.”

“Quit teasing me. It’s not funny anymore.”

Jackal tangled his fingers in her hair. “Babe, I’m deadly serious. Why would I want second place when I can have the best?”

“Aw, you may have dug yourself out of the dog house.”

Jackal gave her a hungry kiss, as if he hadn’t just fucked her. “You ready to get a shower?”

Penni pinned his shoulders down. “Keep going. You’re not finished digging.”

* * *

Jackal leaned through the rolled down window to kiss Penni’s pouting mouth.

“You sure you don’t want to take me out to breakfast?”

“I can’t,” he told her. “I’m meeting someone in thirty minutes.”

“Okay, we can do it tomorrow.”

Jackal watched her drive away before going to his bike where Max and Fade were waiting, already sitting on their bikes.

“Let’s get this show over with.” Max started his motor. “I have an hour.”

“Why are you working on a Saturday, anyway?” Jackal straddled his bike, starting his own motor.

“Brother, you know how many kids I have, and they all need new shoes.” He grinned, backing up.

Jackal turned around, maneuvering his bike to take the lead with Max and Fade riding behind. It was ten minutes to the house that sat on the corner of a street where the residents were afraid to go out after dark.

Fade cut his motor. “Son of a bitch has bars on his window.”

Jackal parked his bike next to theirs. “He’s expecting me. I don’t know how many of his friends are going to be in there. You cool going in?”

“Hell, brother, I woke up to give an ass whooping; the more, the merrier.” Max kept his voice low as they walked up the driveway.

Once Jackal knocked on the door, it took several minutes for it to open. A pimply punk answered.

“Jackal?”

“Reefer?”

The dumbass straightened his shoulders when Jackal addressed him. Then the wannabe stepped back, letting Max, Fade, and Jackal inside.

Jackal surveyed the living room, seeing a coffee table covered in dirty dishes, and the couch was so filthy Penni would recoil in horror.

A muscled dipshit stood up, crossing his arms over his chest, trying to give the impression he could deal with the trouble that threatened his friend.

Jackal pointed at the door to the side of the room. Max nodded, going to the doorway, but the dipshit tried to block his path.

“If you want to buy my shit,” Max said, “I’m going to make sure there aren’t some friends waiting to shake me down. If he doesn’t move, I’m out of here.”

“It’s cool. Move, Keg,” Reefer said.

Max walked into the other room. The men stayed silent as Max went through the other rooms before coming back to stand by the kitchen door.

“No one else is here besides them.”

“Can we speed this up? My mom’s coming by to clean my house.”

Jackal stared at the room in disdain. “Call her and tell her not to come for a couple of hours.”

“Why?” Reefer lost his punk-ass air, trying to take a step toward his backup.

Both froze when Fade pulled out his gun. The two pussies then tried to run, but Max blocked them, his arm knocking the bigger guy in the gut.

Keg fell to his knees, vomiting.

“Damn.” Max laughed. “He pissed himself.”

“Here, you can take my money!” Reefer tried to dig into his pockets, but Fade stopped him, twisting his hands behind his back.

“I don’t want your fucking money. I’m giving you another chance to call your mommy. If you screw it up, I’m gonna take you somewhere else, and your mommy will be burying your body instead of being here to drive you to the hospital. Give him his cell phone, Fade.”

Reefer almost dropped the cell phone. He was barely able to press the buttons as Fade watched him with the barrel of his gun held against Reefer’s temple.

They listened as Reefer followed his orders then gave the phone back to Fade, who crushed it under his boot.

“I’ve got to get to work,” Max reminded him.

“Just take my money and go. I don’t want trouble.” Reefer had gone from a punk-ass to a whiny bitch.

“Did it feel good when you killed those ducks?”

“Huh?” Reefer’s mouth dropped open. “I didn’t …”

Jackal punched him in his lying mouth. “Lie to me, and I’ll cut out your tongue.”

Fade pulled a long, vicious knife out of his boot. “You didn’t have a problem bragging about it during the pot parties you’ve been giving.”

“You’re going to hurt me over fucking ducks?” Reefer’s wide-eyed appearance showed disbelief, unable to comprehend that Jackal was threatening him over something as inconsequential as ducks.

“I like ducks, especially the ones my woman loves.”

“Hey, man, I didn’t know your bitch was—”

“Now you do.” Jackal punched him in his stomach.

Reefer took a punch better than his friend—at least he didn’t vomit.

Keg tried to get up to help his friend, but Max grabbed his shoulder.

“A smart man would stay down and let the punk-bitch take the beating that’s coming to him.”

Keg took Max’s advice, staying down.

Jackal kicked him in the ribs, and when he fell down, he planted his foot on Reefer’s chest. “How does it feel to have someone kick the shit out of you?”

“Please, stop …”

“That was only for the first one you killed. You killed five. I’m just getting started.”

* * *

Max waved to them as he turned his bike toward the street where he worked. Jackal and Fade were pulling into the parking lot as Ice got off his bike.

“How’d it go?” Ice asked as they went into the club together.

“He was crying for his mommy when we left him.” Fade snickered.

“He’s lucky I left enough of him for her to take to the hospital.” Jackal went inside to his bedroom then came back to the bar to pour himself a drink. “He’s learned a hard lesson about keeping his fucking mouth shut.”

Ice lifted a brow at his choice of drink. “Since when do you drink rum?”

“I’ve developed a taste for it.” Jackal was taking another sip when Ice’s cell phone rang. The expression that came over his face had Jackal ready to get the men out of their beds.

He was the first one heading toward the hallway when he heard Ice’s yell.

“Get out! Get out of the clubhouse!”

Jackal opened Stump’s door, seeing him in bed with Rave. They were already moving.

Jackal then ran down the hallway, slamming open doors and making sure the men and women were getting out. In the last room, Isla was trying to heave Buzzard out of bed.

“Get out! I’ll get him.” Jackal went to the bed, lifting Buzzard to his feet. “Brother, you picked the wrong time to get drunk off your ass.”

“It was the brownies. I ate most of the them.”

Ice ran to help them. They were going out the door when the explosion hit the club.

“Son of a bitch, run!” Ice roared.

The explosion sent a ball of fire chasing them, knocking them to the concrete. Jackal grabbed Buzzard’s arm, lifting him and half-dragging him across the pavement to the end of the parking lot.

Fade and Griffen were trying to pull the bikes back, but they gave up when another explosion shook the clubhouse. Consequently, the brothers simply stood back, watching their clubhouse disintegrate until the police and the two firetrucks’ sirens had them moving farther away.

Ice stonily stared at the fire that was destroying the clubhouse. “If Lucky hadn’t called, we would all be dead.”

Jackal hated himself at that moment. He had failed as an enforcer. If Lucky hadn’t given them the warning, each of them would be dead, burnt to the point that even their families wouldn’t have been able to identify them.

“Who did it?” Jackal already knew, but he wanted it confirmed before he set his wrath on the one deserving his vengeance.

“Raul, Fat’s Louise’s ex-brother-in-law. He escaped from the Mexican prison. They didn’t even know he was missing until this morning. Lucky was with the team that was extraditing Raul to the United States. He didn’t have time to warn Hennessy before the bomb he planted killed three of his men. If Lucky hadn’t called us, we would have been hit, too.”

Jackal wondered which of the hanger-on’s in the club last night had planted the bomb. Raul would be long gone, hiding out with someone who could protect him.

“I’m going to kill the bastard,” Jackal vowed.

Cars were lined up on the street to watch the fire. One car braked, and then Grace was running toward Ice, throwing herself into his arms.

“Oh, God! Are you okay?”

Ice pulled her close. “I’m fine. I told you I was okay when I called.”

Grace burst into tears. “I’ve never been so afraid in my whole life. I couldn’t bear to lose you and my mother—”

“I’m here, Grace. The bastard didn’t come close to taking us out,” Ice lied to keep Grace from knowing how close she had been to losing her husband.

Jackal recognized the car double-parking beside Grace’s. Penni’s terrified face had his stomach churning, but he braced himself for what he had to do.

When she threw herself into his arms, Jackal kept them to his sides, stepping back.

Her startled face stared back at him. “Are you okay? What happened? Why didn’t you call me? Grace called—”

“Go home.”

“I’m not leaving … Are you hurt?”

“No, I don’t have a mark on me.” Jackal ignored the burning pain on his back where the fire had scorched his T-shirt. The injury he felt from when he had dragged Buzzard across the pavement was hidden where she couldn’t see.

“Thank God you aren’t hurt.”

“It wasn’t God who saved us; it was Lucky.”

“Lucky? How did he save you? Is he here?” Penni looked at the faces in the crowd.

“No, he called Ice, warning us to get out. If hadn’t, we would be dead. I failed the club.” Self-loathing filled him, hurting him more than the blisters on his back.

“You blame yourself for this?”

“Who else is here to blame but me? I should have known the cartel wasn’t going to allow their men to be killed without repercussions.”

“Jackal—”

“Go, Penni.” Jackal reached into his pocket, taking out his keychain and sliding off the key for Penni’s condo, trying to give it to her.

She shook her head, tears brimming her eyes. “I don’t understand—”

“You were right; I’m never going to walk away from the Predators. If I hadn’t had my mind on fucking you, this wouldn’t have happened.”

“You’re blaming me?” Penni whispered.

“Aren’t you listening to me!” Jackal yelled. “I’m blaming myself. I didn’t do my job, and because of me, these men almost died!”

Penni took a step back at the anger he didn’t try to hide.

“Get out of here! I don’t want to see your face again.” Jackal shoved her key in her hand. “Go.”

Jackal would never forget how she looked when she turned to flee from his harsh words.

Grace caught her, going with her while giving him dirty looks as she helped Penni into her car.

“Brother, this is not your fault. Go after her before it’s too late,” Ice said, breaking through the agonizing pain of having his soul ripped out of him.

“It’s already too late.”