"Okay," I muttered as I watched him buckle his belt.
Sensing something was wrong, he asked, "You okay?"
I couldn't tell him the truth without sounding completely pathetic, so I lied. "Yes. I'm good."
"Alex."
"I guess I'm just a little disappointed that you're leaving so soon."
He leaned down and placed his hands on the back of the sofa as he hovered over me. "Just to be clear, I wouldn't be leaving now if I had a choice in the matter. My brothers need me, and I've gotta go."
"Okay. I understand." When he cocked his eyebrow, I smiled and said, "Really, I do."
He kissed me once more, then stood up and said, "I tried to warn you about me."
"You did?" I teased.
"I did. You should've listened."
"Maybe so, but I'll take my chances."
Shadow
Even after a twenty-minute bike ride back to the clubhouse, I could still smell her on my skin, making it impossible not to remember how good she felt in my arms. I never dreamed anyone could get to me the way she did. I'd been void of feeling for so long, I didn't know I was even capable of letting someone in. I'd spent years guarding myself from all the pain and heartache that came from getting too close, but without even trying, this woman had torn down my walls and shown me a world I'd forgotten even existed. They were feelings I thought I didn't need-thought I didn't deserve-but now that I'd gotten a taste of just how incredibly good it could be, I only wanted more. As much as I hated to admit it, Alex had become an addiction, and I was already jonesing for another hit. I'd still be at her place satisfying that craving if I hadn't gotten the call from Blaze telling me that two more of our dealers had been found dead.
By the time I made it inside the clubhouse, all the guys were already gathered for church. I made my way over to my place at the table, and once everyone else was settled, Gus called us to attention. "B.W. and Michaels were taken out tonight. Killed in their own fucking homes before they even had a chance to get on the streets. I'm done with this shit. I want to know who the fuck is responsible, and I want their fucking head on a goddamn platter."
Riggs turned to him and said, "I was about to track down Jasper's cousin, Milton. Got his address and linked into his phone."
"Good. I want eyes on him tonight." He paused before continuing, "I don't want prospects on this. It's too fucking important. Blaze and Murphy take the first shift, then you and Shadow can take over in the morning."
"Understood. Once we have Jasper, maybe we can get it out of him who he's working with."
"Oh, we'll get it out of him. I'll make damn well sure of it," I assured him.
Moose leaned forward and added, "I have no doubt that you will, but in the meantime, we gotta do something more to protect our guys. The rotations clearly aren't enough. These motherfuckers are going into their homes … with their wives and children. That's fucking bullshit. We need to bring them in for a lockdown before anyone else ends up getting hurt."
"Agreed. We'll have them all come in, and they don't go anywhere without one of the brothers by their side."
Moose nodded. "I'll make the call and have them all here by morning."
Gus's face grew grim as he said, "As you all know, we're still trying to get a handle on everything that went down with the Culebras. Riggs has been busting his ass to find intel on them, but even with everything he's been able to uncover, there's still so much we just don't know yet."
"You think they may be behind this?" Blaze interrupted.
"Got no idea. The fact is, we cost those motherfuckers millions when we took out that warehouse. I don't know when or where, but there's going to be blowback from that. Keeping that in mind, I hate to think we have another war approaching, but with what's been going down, I've got no doubt that we do."
Murphy clenched his fist as he barked, "Then, we do what we've always done. We find these motherfuckers and shut them down."
"That's exactly what we're gonna do, but until we find these assholes, we've gotta be prepared. Keep your eyes and ears open, and never let your guard down for any reason."
Gus dismissed church, and using the information that Riggs had provided, he sent Murphy and Blaze to start their surveillance of Milton. While I was completely invested in bringing down the men who were threatening the club, that didn't mean I'd forgotten about my concerns over Alex's apartment. Her security was subpar at best, and it was only a matter of time before it became an issue. Knowing I couldn't live with that, I followed Riggs out into the hall. As the club's computer hacker and security guru, I hoped that he'd be able to help. He was caught by surprise when I said, "Hey, brother, I need a favor."
"Really? What kind of favor?"
"I got a place that needs an upgrade on security."
"Okay. What kind of upgrade are we talking about? Cameras? Locks? Lights?"
"Yes."
He chuckled. "Gonna need more than that, Shadow."
"It needs the works. I need to know she's safe."
Sounding fairly shocked, he asked, "She? Who are we talking about?"
"A friend, Riggs."
"Is this a special friend?" He smirked. "I need to know what I'm working with here."
"Can you update the security or not?"
"Yeah. I can do that. Just need the address. I'll get the guys to install it first thing in the morning. Will that suffice?"
"Morning will be fine. Her name is Alex. I'll text you the address."
When I turned to leave, he teased. "I'll take care of your girl for ya, brother, but that shit's gonna cost ya!"
"Never doubted that for a second," I grumbled as I headed back to my room. After a long, hot shower, I lay down on my bed, and it wasn't long before my mind started to drift back to Alex. A warm feeling crept over me as I thought about the soothing sound of her voice, the soft caress of her lips, and the incredible feeling of her hands on my body. She had me completely captivated, and as I closed my eyes, I wanted to remember every detail of our night together, hoping the memories would be enough to keep the nightmares at bay. Unfortunately, that didn't happen. As I finally started to doze off, that familiar uneasiness started to weigh down on me. I knew the dreams were coming. I had no idea where they planned to take me, but I knew it wouldn't be a pleasant memory. None of them ever were. Between my childhood and my time in Afghanistan, I had no good memories. I tried to fight my latest nightmare, but my exhaustion won out and in a matter of seconds, I was drifting into the past.
I was standing on the front porch of my fourth and final home with Ms. Haliburton by my side. It was a quaint, two-story brick home, and while it looked like a decent place, there was something about it that gave me an unsettled feeling, but then all the foster homes did. I was eleven years old when my family was taken from me. There was no one to take me in, no family or friends waiting with open arms to love me like their own, so I was placed in foster care and forced to live with complete strangers. I thought losing my parents and sister, the people who I loved most in the world, was the worst thing that could possibly happen to me, but I was wrong-very, very wrong. After Ms. Haliburton knocked on the door, she looked over to me with a reassuring smile. She had good intentions, but it didn't help the anxiety growing in the pit of my stomach. We'd only been waiting a few seconds when the door eased open, revealing an attractive blonde wearing a plaid button-down and a pair of dark denim jeans. A smile spread across her face as she said, "Well, hello there. You must be Mason. I'm Janice Ridley. It's so good to finally meet you. Mrs. Haliburton has told me so much about you."
Just as the words had come out of her mouth, a man stepped up behind Mrs. Ridley. His salt and pepper hair was brushed perfectly to the side, and he wore a navy suit. He forced a smile and said, "Mrs. Haliburton. Nice see you again."
"Hello, Cal. I know I'm a little early, but I was eager for you to meet Mason."
"And we are eager to meet him as well." He looked down at me and smiled. "Hi, Mason. I'm Cal Ridley."
It took me a moment to respond, but I finally managed to mumble, "Hello, Mrs. Ridley. Mr. Ridley."
She motioned us both inside. "Come on in, and I'll introduce you to the rest of the crew."
Mrs. Haliburton placed her hand on my back, nudging me forward, and my heart started to race as I walked inside the house. I took a quick glance around and was relieved to see that the inside was just as nice as the outside. It was far from fancy, but it was much better than the shabby apartment I was staying in just a few nights before. As we stepped into the living room, we were greeted by the Ridleys' other foster children. They were all sitting on the sofa, each of them silently staring at me as we approached. Mr. Ridley stood by his wife as she said, "Kids, this is Mason … the young man I've been telling you about."