Chapter 14

Reb

AUGUST 5

Reb surveyed the crew standing around his porch. The whole executive board had assembled to go over their plans for striking back at those fucking Tramps. It’d taken a hell of a lot of patience on his part, but two weeks after they tore his house to hell, he was finally gonna get his revenge. Reb patted the cigar waiting in his vest pocket. He couldn’t wait to light it up to celebrate.

“I think we should have at least one more guy watching the crossroad.” Zag scratched absently at his long sideburns. “That intersection is wide open for any fucking tourist to wander in.”

“It’s Hot August Nights,” Axle retorted. He leaned back against the house in a seemingly disinterested sprawl, but his eyes glinted in the evening light. “Any tourists in town will be gawking at the classic cars or whatever bullshit show the city’s got going tonight. That’s what makes tonight the perfect night to pull this off.”

“Plus the fucking pigs will be downtown and not out in the sticks,” Bumper threw in.

“I think three guys watching the crossroad is plenty.” Reb pushed away from the porch railing and sent a hard look Zag’s way. “As long as none of them are prospects. This isn’t a job for the untested boys.”

Zag’s jaw flexed as he swallowed whatever he really wanted to say. He nodded tightly and kept his mouth shut.

Reb had to hide his grin. His buddy was so fucking easy to needle. “So we good? Any other concerns?” Reb paused, but no one spoke up. “Okay. Then we have our plan in place. And remind everyone to ditch their burner phones tomorrow. We don’t need anything to link us to cellphone towers or whatever other fucking CSI shit they can trace to us. New numbers, new phones tomorrow.”

The guys all nodded. They knew the drill, but that never stopped Reb from reminding them.

“All right. We’ll meet back at the clubhouse after. Everyone get to their posts. We’re gonna fry us some Tramp property tonight. For Digs and Oiler!”

The boys grunted their approval. It’d been three years since the battle that had taken the lives of Digs and Oiler, but no one forgot a fallen Brother. After a few backslaps, the revving of bikes shook Reb’s house. He stood on his front porch steps and watched his crew race into the night. They were on their way to stake out the Tramps’ stash house. He’d follow in a few hours, once it got dark enough, and Tucker was safe asleep.

An hour later Emily arrived and Reb spent the next few hours cuddling with her and Tucker on the couch as they watched a fucking horrible movie—something about trolls and talking trees? Reb couldn’t concentrate on the complex plot. He kept glancing over at the newly replaced bay window and his freshly painted walls. His blood boiled at the reminder of what those fucks had done to his house, the place where his kid deserved to feel safe. He’d make sure those bastards felt his wrath.

It was all he could do to hold it together as they went through the usual nightly rituals of dessert, bedtime whining, and teeth brushing. But soon enough, Tucker was fast asleep in bed and Reb had Emily all to himself.

He was itching to leave, and it didn’t help that she was looking at him with her trademark sweet but tentative expression. He’d like nothing more than to rumple her until she had that just-fucked glow. Mmmm, maybe later. Who was he kidding? Definitely later.

He led the way down the hall and back into the living room. They needed to get as far away from horizontal surfaces as possible if Reb stood a chance of leaving the house tonight. Emily moved toward the new couches again, and he groaned. If he wasn’t careful she’d be naked and screaming his name in two minutes. Reb grabbed her by the hand and tugged until he had her body flush against his. The television murmured in the background, but he still wasn’t paying attention. He buried a hand in her long blond hair, then used his hold to tip her head back to meet his eyes. “I need you to stay tonight. I gotta ride out with the boys in a few and I want you to watch Tucker.”

“But…” Emily’s brow wrinkled in confusion. “I thought we were going to—”

Reb growled and brushed his lips against her forehead. Fuck me. She wasn’t making this any easier. “We will. Later. First I gotta take care of some business.”

“Is that smart?” Emily shook her head slightly. “I mean, with the custody case and everything? You could jeopardize your chances of getting Tucker.”

All the gentleness left Reb. He stared down at her with hard eyes. “Do. Not. Question. My. Business.”

Emily shrank away from him and a small whimper spilled from her lips. She moved to step back, so Reb dropped his hold on her.

He held his hands out, palms up. “I’m sorry, baby. I didn’t mean to scare you. I just—” Reb scrubbed a hand over his buzzed head. “Fuck. There’s a line. And you have no part of club business. You don’t get a vote. Your opinion doesn’t matter there. That’s what this life with me is. You need to get that. There’s no discussion.”

Emily looked warily up at him from her stance five feet away. She’d put the distance between them the second he’d let her go. It burned that she thought she needed it to feel safer with him—that she needed to be away from him. And then she put it into words. “I think I should go home. You can get someone else to watch Tucker for you.”

“Fine. I don’t have time for this bullshit right now. I’ll call Brittany.” Reb crossed the room, opened the front door, and yelled into the night, “Tank! Get in here.”

Emily looked between him and the open door. “Wait, you had someone just waiting outside?”

“There’s always someone watching the house.”

A second later Tank loomed in the open doorway, his muscular frame dominating the space. Emily’s gaze darted from Reb to the silent hulking figure in the doorway. Reb could read the indecision all over her face, but he didn’t want to be the one to tip her one way or the other. If she wanted to stay, it had to be her decision. She had to accept all that being with him demanded.

After a beat she shook her head no, and Reb’s heart stuttered in his chest. Shit. Then she spoke.

“I’ll stay.”

Reb wanted to pound his chest in triumph. She fucking chose him. Damn, he felt good. Like he could slay dragons single-handedly. A shit-eating grin spread across his lips. He’d love to be able to make her feel just as fucking good for choosing him, but he didn’t have time. He needed to be across town ten minutes ago.

She must’ve seen his elation or something, because she shook her head again. “I’m staying for Tucker. We will finish this discussion later.”

The discussion was over, but Reb decided to play it smart and not bait her with that information. Because no matter how much she protested, this was one subject he would never budge on. There was nothing to discuss when it came to club business.

Instead he waved her over and waited patiently until she got close enough for him to grab. And he did. Pulling her into him, he wrapped both his arms around her waist and ignored the tension radiating through her body. He dropped his head and looked deep into her wary eyes. “Thank you, baby.”

Then he kissed her, softly at first. His lips moved gently over hers, asking for permission. And when she relaxed into his kiss, he pushed past her barriers and took control. Only when they were both breathless did he finally, regretfully, pull away.

Emily moaned softly against him.

He damn near lost it right then. Fuck the Tramps. But Tank cleared his throat awkwardly, reminding Reb of their audience. And of the time. Fuck, he had to go.

Reb brushed a kiss over her forehead, then stepped back. “Give me your phone, baby.”

“What? Why?”

All the mellowness he’d established with his kiss evaporated. Emily was back to glaring at him. He really didn’t have time for this shit. “Because I want to add a phone number to it. If that pleases Her Highness.”

Her eyes went positively icy. But she still crossed the room to get her phone from her purse, then came back and tossed it at his head.

Reb cursed under his breath as he caught it. “Shit, baby. If you’re mad, use your words.”

“I don’t think I know enough four-letter words to accurately portray what I’m thinking right now.”

He scowled as Tank laughed, then tried to cover it with a cough. Grinding his teeth, he bit back the urge to tell her what he was thinking. Instead he thumbed through her contacts, then added a new one under the name “Protection.” He turned to Tank. “What’s your burner number again?”

Tank’s laughter was evident in his voice as he rattled his phone number off, and Reb added it to her contacts. He handed her phone back, then used the exchange to tug her closer one more time. He brushed another kiss across her lips. “You need anything, you call that number and Tank will be inside before you can blink. You got nothing to worry about.”

Emily raised her eyebrows. “Doesn’t mean we’re done talking about this.”

“Sure thing, baby.” Reb chuckled. “Just as soon as I’m back later tonight.”

“I mean it, Reb. I’m gonna stay up waiting for you. You better come home tonight.”

“With you in my bed, sunshine, there’s no place I’d rather be.”

Emily glared up at him, and one more quick peck did nothing to lighten her expression. Still, Reb laughed lightly as he crossed the room to Tank. Standing at the door, he looked back over his shoulder. “Lock this behind me.”

“What’s the point if I have Tank the security guard out front?”

“Lock. It.”

Emily rolled her eyes before nodding with an insolent salute. “Fine. I mean, yes, sir. I will do as commanded.”

“It’s smart talking like that that’ll get you over my knee again, sunshine.”

“Reb!” Emily turned bright red as her eyes flew to Tank’s silently shaking shoulders.

She was so fucking cute—it was impossible to resist the tease. Reb traded a smug-ass look with Tank, then turned back to Emily. “Lock the door behind me.”

“I will. Now get out of here!” Emily crossed the room and put her hand on the open door. “And come back safe, because I’ll be awake and waiting.”

“Just the way I like my woman.” Reb gave her one more smacking kiss and got a surprising shove on his shoulder in return from Emily. She was finally coming out of her shell. He just had to drag her, sometimes kicking and cursing.

Still, he waited on the other side of the closed door until he heard the telltale clicks of the many locks behind him, then he turned to Tank. “I know you’d rather be riding with us, but there’s no one else I’d trust to stay back tonight with my family more than you.”

Tank crossed his huge arms across his chest. “I got ya, boss.”

“I want you sober and alert until I get back. If something happens, one of the Brothers will relieve you.” He wasn’t superstitious. Tonight might not go well, and he’d planned for every contingency he could think of. Tucker and Emily would be taken care of, he’d made sure of it.

“Aye aye, Captain.” Tank’s teeth gleamed in the dark with his huge grin. “I like her, by the way. She’s a sweet change from your ex.”

“That’s like comparing a fluffy bunny to a rabid raccoon.”

“You said it, boss. They’re two different species.” Tank’s laugh rumbled softly. “Try not to forget it.”

Reb pulled his keys from his pocket as he walked to his bike in the driveway. “It’s not exactly hard to forget. I think Rhonda scarred me for life.”

“I wasn’t talking about Rhonda.”

Reb turned back to where Tank had stopped on the porch steps. What the hell did he mean by that? Reb shook his head, then got on his bike. He didn’t have time to shoot the shit with Tank.

He had some Tramps to light up.