Chapter Thirteen

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Callow

It was bad fucking news is what it was.

It was one thing for the club to have some new, shadowy threat. And for Daphne to have had some random unfortunate attack.

It was a complete other thing for the shit to be linked.

"Daph," I said, voice serious as I took the paper from Sabrina and turned it to face the kid again. "Are you sure? One-hundred percent sure?"

"Yes," she said, eyes wide. "You missed the tattoo on the side of his neck, though," she said, pointing toward the image where Croft had drawn something that looked like a scar on the guy's neck. "That's a tattoo."

"Croft said it was red," I said.

"It is red," she said, rolling her eyes at me. "But it's the edge of a dragon's tongue," she told us.

"Callow, what the hell?" Sabrina asked. "Who is that?"

"It's the guy who shot at us that day when Daph was with us," I told her. "One of my brothers saw him well enough to draw this."

"What does that mean?" Sabrina asked.

It meant… a lot of shit.

"It means I need to get the club girls out of here," I said, moving out of the kitchen and into the common room.

"Hey, don't yell at me. She offered to get us coffee," Sully said, not looking up from the cards in his hands.

"Sull. Fun's over," I said, watching as his head turned to me, his eyes boring into me, then giving me a nod as he put his cards down.

"Ladies," he said, tone apologetic. "I'm afraid we have to continue this some other time. We have some… business to handle," he added. The last part made the girls stop grumbling as they moved around, gathering their things and talking about who was driving who home as they headed out.

"What's going on?" Rune asked as he rose from the poker table.

"Daphne saw Croft's sketch," I told them. "And she said that's the fucker who attacked her in her apartment."

"What?" Sully asked, getting to his feet. "She's sure?"

"Yeah, sounds pretty fucking sure. She said, this mark on his neck isn't a scar or cut. It's part of a tattoo," I told Croft as he looked at the sketch. "The tip of a dragon's tongue," I clarified.

"Shit," Nave said, reaching for his phone to, I imagine, text Fallon and Brooks.

"We'll rally the troops," Sully said. "Go comfort some freaked-out-looking girls," he added, nodding toward the kitchen where Sabrina had an arm protectively around Daph.

"Right," I agreed, turning toward them, but leaving the picture on the poker table.

"What's going on, Callow?" Sabrina asked, back stiff. I'd give just about anything to have her all soft and melting into me again. But I had a feeling things were about to get tense as fuck again when I told her what I had to tell her now.

"I think we need to talk," I said. "All of us," I added, glancing at Daph.

"Okay," Sabrina said, giving me a nod.

"The place is about to get swarmed with bikers. Let's go somewhere more private for the time being," I said, leading the girls back down the hallway toward my room, since with Daph's bum arm, I couldn't bring them to the glass room which felt a little more appropriate than my bedroom. But we had limited common spaces in the clubhouse, so it would have to do.

I'd given some decent thought to my room thanks to living in the prospect room that I shared with a bunch of other dudes and, of course, all the years in the service where I also almost never had any privacy. I'd had years to plan the shit. And I was pretty proud of how it'd turned out.

The dark blue walls. The wooden slat accent wall above the headboard that kind of distracted everyone from the fact that the bedrooms in the clubhouse were windowless.

The bed frame was wooden, the bedding blue linen, and there were Edison lights hanging above both nightstands.

Suddenly, I was glad that I'd also managed to squeeze a chair into the space as the girls both sat off the edge of the bed, looking at me expectantly.

I lowered into the chair and let out a long breath.

"I think Daph was targeted because she was seen with us during that shootout," I said, cutting right to the chase.

"What? Why?" Sabrina asked.

"I wish I had the answer to that," I said. "We'll be working on that from now on. But there's no way it was a coincidence that the guy that Rune and Croft saw after they chased the fucks down is the same one that broke into your place."

"Jesus," Sabrina said, her gaze a million miles away.

I turned my attention to Daphne, finding her a little more pulled together than her mother right then. "You said there were two men," I said, hating having to dredge that shit up for her, but knowing that the more facts we had, the more successful we would be finding these assholes.

"Yeah," she agreed. "I think the one with the dragon tattoo was, like, the one in charge. The other one seemed to be hanging back more."

"That's good to know. Did you get a good look at the second guy?"

"Not as much as the other one," Daph admitted.

"Good enough to maybe tell Croft some details about him?" I asked.

"I think so," she agreed.

"Hey, wait, no," Sabrina said. "You don't have to do that," she said, reaching for Daphne's good hand. "If you don't want to bring it all back up, you don't have to."

"She's right," I agreed. On the one hand, as a biker, I wanted to nail this fucker. On the other hand, as someone who really cared about her mom and her, I didn't want to retraumatize her. "If you don't want to, you don't have to."

"It's fine," Daphne said, looking between both of us like we were fucking idiots. Which, damn, you had to appreciate the kid's spirit.

"Daphne…"

"I want them to find them," she said to her mother. "I'm the only one who saw the other guy. I don't know how good I'll be at describing him, though," she admitted. "I never understood how people describe their attackers for those artist cops or whatever."

"I dunno either," I admitted. "Might take a bit, to be honest. But Croft is a good artist. I'm sure he will figure it out."

"I'll give it a shot," Daph said, nodding.

"I really appreciate it."

"Do you want me to start now?" she asked, already getting to her feet. "Then you can… talk to Mom about everything," she added, none too subtly rushing toward the door. "I know who Croft is," she added as she went out into the hallway and closed the door.

"I'm so fucking sorry, babe," I said as Sabrina watched the door close.

To that, she sighed as she looked over at me.

"I don't think we can really say this is your fault," she said. "Daphne never should have been there. If she'd been at school like she was supposed to be, no one would have seen her and known to try to… track her down."

That might technically have been true, but it felt wrong to agree and, essentially, blame a teenager for being a target.

"It's just… bad luck, I guess," she added. "Do you think we have something to be worried about moving forward?"

"Honestly?" I said, sucking in a deep breath. "Yes."

"Oh," Sabrina said, looking taken aback. "Don't sugarcoat it or anything," she added, attempting a smile but it didn't reach her eyes.

"I don't want you to get a false sense of security about this. It's not a good sign that they sought out and found Daphne. Especially because, as of right now, we don't know who these guys are. Knowing about the tattoo and a possible other sketch might help now, but as it stands, we have no fucking idea what these fucks want or what they're capable of."

"Do you think they were trying to… kill Daphne?"

"I don't know. It could have been that. Or it could have been more of a kidnapping-type situation. I can't write off any possibility now that we know it's the same guys."

Sabrina was deceptively calm for a second there.

Then her head fell and a strobe-like breath escaped her, sounding dangerously close to crying again.

"Hey," I said, getting out of the chair and moving to sit down beside her, my arm snaking around her and curling her into me. "I'm not gonna let these fucks hurt her."

"I don't really know how you can stop them," she said, but she leaned her head into me, stealing some comfort I was happy to give her. Even if my own internal world was a fucking war zone right then.

There were a lot of ways the club protected their own.

First, of course, their homes being secure as fuck. There was more I could do for Sabrina's apartment. But it was an apartment building. There were too many blindspots. Too many places where one or both of them could be cornered and grabbed.

The logistics sucked.

The other option was round-the-clock guards.

The problem there being, obviously, that both girls had lives. Sabrina had work where a boss, no doubt, would not be cool with someone ghosting her around wherever she went. And schools would never let a random biker in either.

And I had no idea how Sabrina would even feel about me or one of the men in her space literally all the time.

Third, they could stay here in the clubhouse when they weren't at work or at school.

The selfish part of me wanted that.

I wanted Daphne safely settled in either the basement or one of the empty bedrooms. Then I wanted Sabrina in my bed with me.

Fourth, there was Hailstorm. The least likely of all the choices, I imagined, since the women likely had no idea what Hailstorm was, let alone what it would be like to live there temporarily. Even if Daphne did know some of the women who were from there, thanks to her couple of visits to the self-defense gym they ran.

"Look, this isn't the first time the club has dealt with a threat at us or those around us. We've always been able to keep everyone safe."

"How?"

"There are… options," I told her. "I can give them all to you. And then you can weigh them with Daph to see which one fits your wishes the most with as minimal life disruption as possible."

"Okay," she agreed.

"Do you want to hear them?"

"Not yet," she said, shifting closer. "For just five more minutes can we pretend all of this didn't just happen?" she asked. "Can you go back to kissing me?" she added, voice so small that I barely heard it.

But I did.

And a strange rumbling sound moved out of me in response as I reached for her chin, tipping her head up, and sealing my lips over hers.

A throaty sound escaped her as she angled her head further back, giving me more access.

I meant to just have it be soft and sweet. A kiss meant to comfort, not excite.

But, fuck, what choice was there when just the brush of our lips seemed to set off wildfires that ravaged through the both of us.

Her mouth was just as needy as mine, pressing harder, demanding more.

Within a moment or two, she was shifting up, twisting, and moving to straddle me.

The sweatpants did nothing to hide the way my cock was straining, aching for her. Not that it mattered. Because that was exactly what she was looking for as her hips dropped down onto my lap, rocking until she had my length against the juncture of her thighs.

A little whimper escaped her, muffled by my lips. Spurred on, my hands drifted down her back, sinking into her ass, and dragging her against me again. And again.

It didn't take much encouragement to get her to take what she needed from me. Her hips rocked, growing faster and harder as her whimpers became moans.

Not muffling her well enough with my lips, I grabbed her and pressed her face against the nape of my neck as she kept riding me, getting closer and closer until, with a hard shudder and a cry that was just barely quieted by my skin, she came.

I should have let it go at that.

But, fuck, it had been a long goddamn week of doing nothing but waking up hard with thoughts of her on my mind. I wasn't going to let this moment pass by without a little more to show for it.

Reaching down, I shifted her back enough to slide my hand between us, working her button and zipper free as she watched me with heavy-lidded eyes.

My hand slid into her jeans and under the waistband of her panties. Sabrina lifted up slightly, giving me more access. So as my hand slipped down, it met no resistance. My fingers traced down her pussy, finding her dripping fucking wet for me.

A shudder moved through her at the touch.

I couldn't seem to hold myself back from slipping a finger inside of her, feeling her tight walls close around me as a groan escaped her, her hips rocking against me automatically.

That rumbling sound escaped again as my finger slid out. Then as it went back in, it was joined with another. The stretch had a choked moan escaping her as her hips bore down on my hand, letting my palm press against her clit, engaging it as I started to fuck her slowly with my fingers.

It wasn't long before she was softly begging for more, for harder, for faster.

And who was I to deny her that?

"That's it," I said as her head fell back as she rocked herself against my hand as my fingers worked her. "Make yourself come for me," I demanded.

That got a whimper out of her as she rocked harder and faster before falling forward into me, just barely in time to press her lips to my shoulder to quiet her moans as her orgasm slammed through her. Her pussy spasmed around my fingers over and over as her body shook hard.

I worked her through it until she was slack against me.

But I just… wasn't quite done yet.

Not until I at least got a taste.

I'd been fucking dreaming about it for too long not to give into the urge.

Turning, I dropped her onto her back on the mattress, watching her look up at me with those dreamy hazel eyes as my fingers left her. But only long enough to yank at her jeans until they were off.

"Missed that before," I said, my fingers tracing down a tattoo that took up a good chunk of her thigh and seemed to cover a lot of her ass cheek as well.

She shivered at the touch, reminding me that there would be time for tattoo discussions later.

Right now, I was fucking starving for a taste.

Her panties came down with one quick tug, leaving her bare before me.

Reaching down, I spread her for me.

Then, on a groan, lowered down in front of her.

Her whole body was trembling.

Aftershocks?

Nerves?

Sensitivity?

I had no idea.

All I knew was she damn near shot off the bed at the sensation of my tongue sliding up her pussy toward her clit.

Her back still arching off of the mattress, her hand slapped down on the back of my head, holding me tightly against her. As if I had any intention of moving away until she was shaking and crying out, until her thighs were clamped to the side of my head, riding out her climax.

My fingers slid inside of her, needing to feel her pussy as my tongue worked her clit. Slowly at first, savoring the taste and feel and sounds of her. But her hips rocked restlessly. Little frustrated whimpers escaped her.

So I worked her faster, finding the pace she liked best, and fucking working her at it relentlessly until I had to reach up, slapping a hand over her mouth, silencing her desperate cries as she got closer and closer.

Then, with a hard shudder, she came, her thighs crushing my head, her legs shaking, her moans just barely contained by my hand.

I worked her through it until her body was spent, her legs falling open to release me.

I moved away, kissing down her thigh, back up, over her hips, then down her other thigh.

By the time I made it back to the triangle above her sex, her gaze was clear, those eyes piercing me.

"Up," she said, tone almost desperate as she folded up to sit. "Get up," she said, grabbing my shirt and pulling until I stood, confused, worried I'd fucked shit up somehow.

Until I was standing in front of her, and her thighs spread to welcome me between as her hands went to the waistband of my sweatpants and her hungry gaze held mine.

I knew I was supposed to tell her that she didn't have to.

But, fuck, she looked like she needed to taste me as badly as I'd needed to taste her. Who the fuck was I to deny her that?

She yanked my sweatpants down, finding me bare beneath.

She wasted no time wrapping her hand around my length, stroking me to the base, then leaning down to tease her tongue around the head, dragging a surprisingly loud groan out of me.

My hand slapped down on the back of her neck as she started to slide her lips around me, taking me deep, then starting to work me. Not slow or tentatively. She fucked me with her mouth, hard and fast, twisting, gripping me with one hand where she couldn't reach, the other hand sliding down to tease my balls as she worked me.

I swear to fuck, I'd never been driven to the edge so quickly before.

Hell, it was almost embarrassing how quickly she got me to the edge.

"I'm gonna—" I started to warn her.

But she just swallowed me deeper, letting me come down her throat.

I came so hard my fucking vision went white and my whole body trembled. While this fucking woman groaned around my cock like she couldn't get enough.

I felt all fucking trembly as she slowly slid back up my length before releasing me.

She even reached down to pull my pants back into place before tilting her head back to look up at me, a cocky look in her eyes that she'd sure as shit earned.

"Fuck," I said, getting a little giggle out of her.

"Yeah," she agreed, smiling as leaned down to grab her panties and jeans. "Took the word right out of my mouth," she added, lifting her feet as I slipped her legs into the holes of her panties.

She stood, letting me slide them into place.

My hands slid around her hips, sinking into her ass to pull her against me as my lips moved down to take her lips again. This time, it was soft and sweet and lingering.

Finally, we realized we had to break apart and start actually talking about the situation before we walked out there to talk to the club and her daughter.

"Seems like we got a little… distracted," she said, sitting back down on the bed once she was fully dressed.

"Yep," I agreed, sitting with her. "Can't seem to find a single fuck to give about that, though."

"Me either," she agreed, leaning into me. "But what do we do now?"