Bang…

Bang…

I sat up straight in the bed as the hotel room door flew open, slamming back against the wall. Four or five men rushed into the room like fucking trained operatives, but even with the haze of sleep affecting my brain I recognized them instantly.

Ham didn’t even have time to get out of his chair. I saw him reach for his gun, but just as his fingers brushed over it, the barrel of an assault rifle was pointed directly at his temple.

“Don’t fucking move, asshole,” Texas demanded, causing Ham to freeze, his eyes the only thing moving, searching for me.

I knew what he was thinking… how could he get to me?

Romeo leaped up so fast that he flipped the small breakfast table over, the drink he was pouring crashing to the floor and spraying everywhere.

I should have been scared.

I wasn’t.

I was fucking pissed off.

“Hey now,” Romeo called, his hands in the air but his eyes narrowed on the last man who stepped through the door.

My fucking father, of course.

“What the fuck is going on here? I called you. I told you we’d be in tow—”

Huntsman leveled his gun at Romeo, a dark look in his eyes. “Shut the fuck up.”

Skins and Levi had gone out to get food. It was just Romeo, Ham, and us girls—Dakota was still sleeping off the drugs and hadn’t even moved a fucking muscle with all the noise.

Huntsman nodded to me. “Ripley, get her. Diddit, get Dakota.”

Ripley moved toward me, tucking his gun into the back of his jeans and before I could tell him where the hell to go, Ham was out of his chair and heading toward me. “Don’t you fucking—” He flew forward onto his knees as Texas hammered him in the back of his head with the butt of the rifle.

“Ham,” I screamed, leaping up from the bed as Ripley grabbed me around the waist and began hauling me toward the door.

Ham was relentless, fighting hard but struggling to get to his feet, his eyes focused on me as Ripley forced me toward my father. He was almost at his feet, only to have Texas rear his foot back and drive it into Ham’s ribs and send him sprawling onto his side, clutching his stomach.

“Stop,” Romeo roared, his voice followed by a sharp crack and smash as he was thrown against the wall, the picture that was hanging there, now in broken pieces on the hotel room floor.

I had to stop this. I had to make them listen. Or Ham and Romeo were going to be killed before Huntsman even bothered to hear what I had to say. He was on destroy mode. I could see it in his face.

I dug my feet into the ground, stopping Ripley for just a brief second, enough time for me to twist my body and reach for his gun. It slipped free into my hand, and I stumbled back, instantly feeling its weight pull me down. It was heavier and bigger than I was used to, but it didn’t fucking matter to me.

The room seemed to freeze. No one was fucking listening. Everyone was on this mission to seek and destroy, to try and protect me without getting their facts straight first.

All eyes moved to me as I took the gun and walked straight toward Huntsman.

If he was surprised by my move, he didn’t show it, but I was sure as hell about to get some kind of reaction out of him. I wasn’t sure quite what yet, but I didn’t care, as long as the people I cared about were safe.

I stopped a few feet from him, far enough, so I wasn’t right in his space, but close enough so he knew I was fucking serious. Then I lifted the gun, it was heavy, and I was going to have to make this point fast before my arm fell off with holding its weight. I pointed it high, right at his chest. He didn’t flinch, his body not moving a single muscle, but I could see the way his eyes changed.

This was a betrayal. This was the ultimate kick in the guts.

“Tell Texas to stand down,” I ordered, fighting to keep my hand from shaking. I didn’t want him to see any weakness. Part of me wondered if this should have been a harder decision.

Huntsman was my father. He was my blood. My DNA. He was the reason I existed, and up until now, while he was kind of shut down and cut off, refusing to let me in, I still had respect for him. And with the way he’d come in here, thinking he was protecting me, or saving me, or whatever it was that they thought was going on, it proved there was a part of him which genuinely cared about keeping me safe.

I respected him. I cared about him. I was glad I’d found him. But he wasn’t home.

“Tex,” Huntsman finally growled, his eyes never leaving mine.

“Hunt—” Texas tried to argue, but Huntsman was quick to shut him down.

“Stand down,” he ordered sharply.

I didn’t take my eyes off my father, but I saw the movement out of the corner of my eye, and Texas soon appeared just to Huntsman’s side. “There something you want to tell me, Meyah?” He tried to hide it, but the hurt was there.

At this point, he would be second-guessing whether I was really his daughter. He would be wondering whether someone put me up to this. Whether I was a rat, and he was probably even considering what he would do about that if it were true.

“Yes, there is. But you’re gonna tell your boys to wait outside, and we’re gonna sit and talk about it like adults,” I declared. Not missing the way his hands scrunched into fists, like the idea of sitting and talking right now was the last thing on his list when all he felt like doing was killing someone. “I know you’re wondering whether I betrayed you. The answer is… no, I didn’t. And as your daughter, I’m asking you to stop and listen to what I have to say.” That was all I could ask for.

“Motherfucker,” Romeo cursed from the other side of the room.

My eyes were welling up with tears. And just when I felt like I could break down, and that all of this would have been a fucking joke, I felt Ham move up behind me, his hand resting on my hip, not saying a single word, but letting me know that he had my back.

Even with the truth bomb I’d just dropped.

Even though he knew now I’d kept something huge from him.

He was still going to stand with me.

Because that was what you did. You stood as a strong force together in the face of hell. Later, behind a closed door, we’d talk. He’d probably yell. I’d probably cry and yell back. But right now, he knew how much I needed him. And when I did, he was always there.

There was complete silence through the room, a pause that felt like it lasted forever before Huntsman finally stepped to the side, opening up the exit. “Ripley, you stay. The rest of you, wait downstairs.”

There was no questioning him, and with a sigh of relief, I slowly lowered the gun.

All the men but Ripley stepped outside. Each one of them tearing a layer off my heart as they looked at me and shook their heads.

Yeah, it hurt.

Ripley came around to stand beside our father, his eyes burning through me, just when I’d managed to soften them and earn his trust—I’d ruined it all.

I took a deep breath and held out his gun. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know how else to make a point.”

He stared at it a moment before he reached over and snatched it back.

Ham and I moved back, trying to put a little bit of space between us and ease some of the tension in the room. Romeo moved over to Dakota, who was starting to toss and turn restlessly. He crouched down beside the bed, whispering softly until she started to calm again, then moved toward the mess he’d made.

“The great and mighty Romeo, don’t tell me you’ve lost your dark side and have just decided to become the pussy whisperer,” Ripley joked, but his words were meant to be hard and strike hot.

Romeo who was picking up the spilled bottle of whiskey froze with it in his hands.

The mask I’d seen a brief couple times, and that I didn’t ever think I’d get used to fell across his face. “I’d watch that smart mouth if I were you, Rip. You might wake up one morning and find your tongue missing.”

Ripley lunged at him, but Huntsman was quicker, grabbing the collar of his cut and pulling him backward. My big brother was fuming, the fire of betrayal burning hot in his eyes as he turned his anger on me. “We invited you into the club like fucking family.”

“I am your family.”

He laughed, the kind of laugh that I wasn’t expecting from him. The kind where you could hear the hurt. “Then what’s this? Who is this guy? I don’t know if you know how this shit works, Meyah, but moving between two clubs is a punishable offense. It’s not fucking done.”

“No one is going to be fucking punishing her for anything,” Ham growled, pulling me back against him.

“And who the fuck are you?” Ripley threw back, taking a step forward again, practically itching for a fight.

Huntsman slammed his arm across Ripley’s chest, before looking up and over my head at Ham. “What’s your claim to her?” Huntsman asked seriously.

“She’s my Old Lady,” Ham replied without a second of delay.

Huntsman ground his teeth together and rolled his neck. I heard it crack, the sound instantly making me stand a little taller as if preparing for a fight. “You won’t be an Old Lady in another club, Meyah.”

“That’s not up to you. That’s my choice. One I will make on my own and one I will stand by,” I argued, refusing to let him think he could tell me who I was allowed to love.

“There’s no way. In. Fucking. Hell. You are my daughter—”

“I’ve only been your daughter for a few weeks. The fact that you introduced me to your family, told the club about me, and made a spare room for me to sleep in next door to yours does not give you the right to have a say in my life.”

This was a make it or break it moment. I was letting it out. I was about to lay my shit down, and this was the point where he was going to either accept me, and the fact I wouldn’t be controlled by him, or he was going to walk away. Go back to the life he had before he knew I existed, and forget there was another human being out there who shared his DNA.

Either were totally possible.

And while one would hurt a little more than the other, I would be okay, because nothing would ever come between Ham and me.

“This guy right here,” I pointed at Ham who continued to stand stoically at my back. He wasn’t trying to force his way in, to protect me or pretend like I wasn’t strong enough to do this on my own. No. He knew I could. He was just there to catch me if things went wrong. “This guy has fought for me. He’s protected me. He loved me when I was at a point in my life where I felt worthless and when I was weak and scared. He loved me when I was broken down, teased, tormented, and didn’t have a voice of my own. He saw beauty in a person I would have struggled to even call just okay.” The emotion was making my voice crack, and I damn-well hated that. I hated that it made my message sound less strong. I hated that it made me feel weak again.

“He is it,” I finally managed to croak. “I respect you. I respect the club. And I respect the laws that are in place to keep people safe. Trust me. I know them pretty fucking well. But there is a point where I need you to ask yourself what’s more important. Having a relationship with me and being a part of my life, or your club rules… rules that you can change.”

There was still no response.

I wasn’t sure if it was because he was so damn angry that formulating words was just not something he could do right now, or if it was because he was actually considering what I was telling him.

After a few moments of silence, he nodded to the door. “Ripley, let’s go.”

I sucked in a deep breath through my nose, trying to not let myself be overwhelmed as I watched my father and brother move toward the door.

“What about your wife,” I called, the both of them freezing on the spot. “You can’t force people into a box they don’t fit in. And you can’t blame me for following my heart, for having a say in my own life, because you know what? I won’t let myself be broken down. And I won’t let someone else make choices for me. Or I’ll turn out just like her.”

Ripley gave me one last look, the anger gone, replaced by something different that I just couldn’t figure out before he made for the door and slipped out.

“You really gonna end this shit because you have a daughter who just proved how fucking deep her loyalties ran?” Romeo challenged as Huntsman turned toward the door. “You gonna walk out of here because the girl has bigger balls than all of your fucking men combined, and you’re gonna sulk about it ‘cause you weren’t the one responsible for making her that strong?”

“I would stay the fuck out of this if I were you, Romeo,” Huntsman warned over his shoulder before he stepped out the door, his heavy boots echoing down the hallway.

The three of us all stood there for a few seconds, allowing the adrenaline to calm and the reality to set in.

Romeo lifted the whiskey bottle, throwing back whatever was left inside that hadn’t ended up all over the carpet. He finished its contents and then wiped his mouth with the back of his hand before looking over to Ham and me. “So I guess we have some shit to talk about huh?”

Damn it.

“You should have told me…”

I ran my fingers through my hair, pulling it back from my face. Ham had booked us another room so we could have some privacy, much to Romeo’s annoyance as he was pretty eager to know what the hell was going on.

Ham sat on the edge of the bed, looking up at me as I paced back and forth in front of him.

“I know, I just…” I stopped and took a deep breath, turning to look at him. There was no judgment. He was just upset, and I could understand why. “It doesn’t matter anyway. He’s not going to trust me now.”

He stood and came forward. “Do you have any idea who he is?”

I swallowed the lump in my throat. “Yes.”

“Meyah, Huntsman’s the most dangerous man in the fucking state… bar my fucking little brother and the asshole whose club you stumbled into tonight.” His hand threaded through my hair at the side of my face. “Are you going for three’s a charm or something fucking stupid?”

I blinked back the tears which were burning my eyes. “I just wanted to know him. Who he was. What he was like.”

I couldn’t say it didn’t hurt to see him walk out of the room without a fucking goodbye. I barely knew the man, but I wanted to know him. And Ripley. And Drake. And now, that chance felt like it had gone up in smoke. They wouldn’t want to know me.

They felt like I’d betrayed them.

And the real kicker was that I regretted nothing at all.

Ham was my one.

He was it.

I wouldn’t second guess standing by the man who’d always had my back. They could give me ultimatums, but I would always choose Ham. “It doesn’t matter. It’s done. It’s not even a fucking issue anymore,” I snapped, pulling away. He grabbed my hand and pulled me back to him, refusing to let me go. Just staring deep into my eyes, letting me know he wasn’t happy with the situation, but if I needed to talk, he was there to listen. I shook my head and took a deep breath. “He couldn’t even look at me.”

His lips brushed softly across mine, barely a flutter but enough to calm my breathing and settle the tension in my body. “Then fuck him,” he murmured against my mouth. “Screw him. Screw all of them. They have no idea they’re missing out on the most amazing, kind-hearted, loyal, and beautiful fucking soul. And call me fucking selfish, but I’m okay with not having to share her.”

And that was why I stood by my man because it was us against the world and fuck everyone else.

I pressed my lips hard against his, wrapping my arms around his neck and pulling him as close to my body as possible. His hands went to my thighs, and he squeezed them tightly, lifting me off the ground as he devoured my kisses like they were his last meal. My legs circled his waist, and he carried me toward the bed.

“Twice today… twice within a couple hours actually… I thought I was going to lose you,” he murmured in my ear as he lowered me down onto the bed, bracing his hands on the bed and holding himself over me. “Do you have any fucking idea what that’s done to my damn heart?”

He was right, it had been a rollercoaster ride, and right now, all I wanted was him to remind me that nothing else mattered and take away that ache I was feeling within my chest. It was like I’d been running on adrenaline since Skins and Levi rescued us from the nightclub.

Just one thing after another.

“I’m right here,” I told him, hooking my hands around his neck, my nails scratching through his hair at the back of his neck.

A growl rumbled in his chest, and he sat back, reaching for the bottom of my little black dress and pulling it up and over my head, leaving me in matching black lace underwear. He took one long look before dropping his mouth to my stomach and peppering kisses down over my hip bones.

I took a deep shaky breath, unable to control the way my body wiggled and writhed in anticipation as he hooked his fingers in the sides of my lace panties and pulled. It was slow and torturous, and he watched my eyes the entire time.

“No more secrets,” he demanded as he tossed my panties over his shoulder and dipped his head again, light, feathered kisses placed on my thighs. “You’re my Old Lady. I don’t demand to know every fucking thing you do, but when it comes to this shit, Meyah, you need to damn-well tell me.”

His mouth brushed against the top of my pussy, and I sucked in a sharp breath. “I know. I’m sorry.”

He crawled over me, his mouth moving up my body and leaving me disappointed, which from the silent smirk on his face was his plan—it was like a damn punishment, and he was enjoying every fucking minute of it.

By the time his lips finally reached my mouth again—after a short stop at my breasts which left my nipples hard and aching for more attention through my lace bra—I was breathing heavy and ready to beg and plead for him just to touch me.

I wanted him.

I needed the way he always made me feel alive. How he made me feel loved and special and fucking wanted because the rejection I’d felt today was a kick in the guts.

He sat back and climbed off the bed, leaving me almost completely naked and breathing heavily as I watched him grab the collar of his shirt at the back and pull it over his head, then reach for the buckle of his jeans.

“Touch yourself,” he ordered sharply, his eyes on fire as I lay there practically giving myself to him.

I pulled my bottom lip in between my teeth, my hand nervously sliding down the front of my body until it reached my pussy. I sucked in a deep breath as I slipped a finger between my folds, and at the same time, Ham’s jeans hit the floor with a thud.

“Good girl.”

I groaned, my finger flicking over my clit. Those words instantly lighting my body up, and he knew it too, with the way he smirked and pulled his hard cock into his hand, tugging it as he watched me swirl my finger around my wet pussy.

He kneeled on the bed, taking my fingers and lifting them to his mouth as he moved over the top of me. I inhaled sharply as he pulled my fingers into his mouth, sucking them clean while he lined his cock up with my pussy.

“No more hiding shit, right?” he asked, bracing his body over mine, the head of his cock brushing against my clit, teasing me.

“No more hiding shit,” I promised, reaching up and pulling his mouth to mine, our lips touching as he thrust his hips forward, his cock slamming right inside of me and stealing the breath from my lungs. I gasped. “Oh shit!”

My back bowed off the bed, Ham taking advantage of it and kissing down my chest, biting my nipple through my lacey bra. He pulled back slowly, making his way up my chest and neck, kissing and sucking until his lips reached my ear.

“Does that feel good?” he whispered as he forced himself back inside again.

“Yes…” I threw my head back, my fingernails dragging down his back as I hooked my legs around his waist.

“Scared me half to death today, Meyah,” he growled in my ear, one of his hands reaching up and twisting in my hair. I looked up at him as he pounded away inside me.

I could see the fear and just how honest his words were.

I guess I wasn’t the only one of us who needed this. Needed to feel the other up close. Needed reminding they were still there and that everything was going to be okay.

It seemed like he was feeling the same.

I reached up and grabbed his face in my hands. “I’m sorry for scaring you,” I admitted breathlessly, my thumbs stroking gently at his cheeks. “But I’m right here. I’m okay. We’re going to be okay.”

His cock went deeper and deeper. I could feel my body start to flush, and with each hit, I came closer and closer to the edge.

He pressed his forehead to mine, the both of us struggling to breathe. It felt like our bodies were covered in static electricity. With each movement I felt like I was sparking, I felt like I was alight and buzzing.

He pressed his hips hard inside me, and with one thrust, I cried out in pleasure, my entire body tingling as I gasped for air. “Hamlet,” I moaned, pulling his face closer, desperately seeking his mouth.

“I’m sick of being apart from you,” he hissed, twisting his hips, each thrust harder and faster than before. “Sick of not having you in my bed at night. Sick of wasting time being without you.”

“Then don’t,” I murmured, those words spurring him on. “Oh God, I’m gonna come.”

“Good,” he demanded, his mouth covering mine, his tongue slipping between my lips, swallowing every moan and groan of pleasure until my body finally hit its limit.

The shudder started at my pussy, radiating outward, hitting every nerve and lighting up all my senses. I grabbed hold of Ham tightly, shaking as I fell over the edge of fucking ecstasy, leaving me a mixture of satisfied and wanting more.

His face slipped down to my neck, his teeth pulling at the skin as he pounded two hard times inside me and then his body stiffened as he came.

The two of us fought to breathe.

Not moving.

Not in a hurry to give up this moment.

“I mean it, Meyah,” Ham murmured, pulling back just enough to look me in the eye.

I reached up and pushed the hair back as it flopped in his face, his skin hot and tingling under my touch.

“Why the fuck are we wasting all this fucking time apart? I thought I could handle it, but I almost lost you today, and I would have wasted days and fucking weeks.”

He was right.

We could do long distance.

We could survive. There was no question about it. But why were we doing it?

There had to be something else.

Another option.

If they weren’t here today, we might not have walked out of that nightclub.

“I don’t want to be apart,” I told him seriously. “If I have to give up school, I will.”

He shook his head, lowering his lips to mine and kissing me hard before pulling back. “We will make it work, okay? I’ll figure something out.”

“Whatever it is, I’m all in.”

He grinned. “I know, fury fists, I know.”