Chapter 9

9

ECHO

O nce we realized that the person in charge of the con ring was a woman, Wizard had a fuck of a lot more to work with. So he told us to give him twenty-four hours to put together everything he could find with all the information he’d already gathered.

We had eyes on the two women in the middle of a scheme and on Jeff, who hadn’t initiated his next job yet. If necessary, we’d interfere to keep the marks from being taken advantage of before we could take down Jean and her lackeys.

After Violet and I had our little romp in her recording studio—followed by her bed, the floor, and finally, the shower—I made her dinner. Then we relaxed on the couch with a movie while we ate.

She’d seemed delighted that I’d cooked for her, but it was nothing compared to how elated I was when she pulled a chocolate melting cake from the oven. By the time we’d finished the whole thing, she had a new appreciation for the gooey center since I’d eaten most of it on her pussy.

I asked King to keep Ink on Jeff so I could have some uninterrupted time with my woman while we waited on Wizard and Ace to find our smoking gun.

Not having to worry about surveillance meant I could focus solely on Violet. The result was that she was gonna be sore as hell after I fucked her relentlessly. I couldn’t get enough of her…or fucking her bare. I knew we should have talked about it, but the feeling of her tight pussy wrapped around my naked cock was pure heaven. And it didn’t completely slip my mind that every time I came inside her, it was one more shot at knocking her up.

“Damn,” I grunted the following morning as we lay sprawled out in the bed, both of us spent from our last round of sexual acrobatics.

“Uh-huh,” Violet panted, her body draped over mine with my semi-hard cock still sheathed in her hot center.

She shifted, and her inner muscles clenched, making me groan and grab her hips to keep her still. “You gotta stop that, baby,” I warned. “Or you won’t be able to walk tomorrow.”

Violet giggled and turned her face into my chest, placing a soft kiss on my nipple ring, then laying her cheek on my pec. “If anyone had said that to me a few days ago, I would have thought they were crazy.”

“And now?” I pressed, grinning down at her.

She shrugged and turned her head to look up at me, resting her chin on my torso. “It doesn’t sound all that unappealing.”

“Motherfucker,” I rasped, silently shouting at my cock to stand down.

It didn’t give a shit what my brain wanted. A burst of energy filled me, and I flipped us over, put Violet’s legs on my shoulders, and pounded in and out of her vise-like pussy. When her cries escalated, I pressed a hand over her mouth to muffle her screams.

When this shit was over, the first thing I was gonna do was find us a house that was isolated enough that she could shout the walls down, and no one would hear her.

After we both found fulfillment, we collapsed again and fell into an exhausted sleep. We only slept for a little over an hour, then we snuggled in bed and talked for a while. When she fell silent for a little too long, I put two fingers under her chin and raised her head so I could clearly see her face.

“What’s on your mind, baby?”

She watched me hesitantly for a moment before speaking. “I know you can’t tell me everything, but…can you share anything? Did you accomplish what you needed to yesterday?”

I sighed and leaned back on my pillow, studying the ceiling as I contemplated how much to share. “We found Jeff’s boss. Just going to take a little time to put things into place so we can take the group down completely.”

“Oh.”

She sounded so dejected that I rolled us over so I could study her expression when I asked, “What’s that tone for?”

Violet licked her lips and glanced away.

“Look at me, Violet,” I ordered.

Her purple gaze returned to my face, and we locked eyes.

“So you don’t need my apartment anymore?” she queried softly. “Since you don’t need Jeff to lead you to the guy in charge?”

I immediately understood her change in demeanor, and smug satisfaction bloomed in my chest. “You think we’re done because I found another lead to follow?”

She nodded, and her violet pools glistened with tears, even though she was blinking rapidly to hold them back.

“Think again, baby,” I growled. “This”—I pointed back and forth between us—“will never be done.”

Hope sparked in her beautiful eyes, and her chest froze as if she was holding her breath.

“I meant it when I said you were mine, baby. There’s no going back now.”

Her mouth widened into a brilliant smile, and she sighed happily. “That’s not all that unappealing either.”

I raised an eyebrow and narrowed my eyes. “Just not unappealing? Clearly, I haven’t been doing my job.”

By the time I let her out of bed, she agreed that being mine was the best idea ever as she wobbled to the bathroom on unsteady legs.

We spent the day together, working on our shit between christening every room and piece of sturdy furniture in her apartment.

She let me listen while she recorded the first chapter of her newest project, and I completely understood why she was so sought after. I’d been caught up in the story, transported there by her voice and the way she weaved her words. It was magic.

When we went to bed that night, we were both so damn tired that we slept like the dead. I’d just plated our breakfast and placed it in front of Violet at the bar when my phone rang from the bedroom.

“Be right back, baby,” I told her, giving her a quick kiss before stalking to the other room.

It was Blaze calling so I quickly answered. “Yeah?”

“Hope I’m not interrupting,” he chortled.

“Wouldn’t have answered the damn phone, asshole,” I grumbled.

“Fair enough. Wizard’s got something, get your ass to the clubhouse.”

“Violet’s eating breakfast. As soon as she’s done, we’ll head over.”

“Fine. Also, I ordered the vest. Should be here next week.”

“Thanks.”

“Don’t mention it.”

I ended the call as I returned to the kitchen and put my arms around my woman, burying my face in the crook of her neck. Damn, she smelled amazing.

“Gotta go to the clubhouse for some business,” I told her. “I want you to come with me.”

She twisted her neck, and I raised my head to gauge her expression. She looked stunned but pleased, making me grin. “You want to take me to the Hounds of Hellfire clubhouse?”

I nodded. “You’ll be safest there. And I want you with me.”

“But isn’t that like…secret or something?”

Laughing, I kissed her nose and shook my head. “It’s not exactly secret. More like…exclusive.”

“But I thought only club bunnies and old ladies got to be in the clubhouse.”

I rolled my eyes and scooped her into my arms. “You’ve been reading too many of those novels, baby. First, there are no ‘club bunnies’ around our MC. Not since several years before King took over as our prez. And Stella would kick all our asses if someone even tried to suggest it.”

Violet giggled as I bounced her a little while strolling back to the bedroom and into the master bath. She didn’t bring up the second half of her statement again, and without a property patch to give her, I left that subject alone for the moment.

We showered and dressed, then scarfed down our now cold breakfast before hopping on my bike and riding to the compound.

Blaze stood by the hallway that led to the offices when we walked inside, talking quietly with Ace and Ink. He stopped when he spotted me and jerked his chin, a silent order to follow him.

I nodded, then turned to Violet and walked her over to one of the couches in the lounge. “Got club business to deal with. You want me to take you to my room so you can lie down or read?”

She smiled and shook her head, dropping onto the couch. “Nope. I’m good here.” She put her feet up and fished her e-reader out of her purse, then shot me a content smile. “Take your time.”

The sincerity in her voice astonished me. How had I met the perfect fucking woman for me? I didn’t deserve Violet, that was for sure. But nothing would stop me from keeping her.

It was on the tip of my tongue to tell her I loved her, but it was definitely not the right time. Instead, I stalked over to her and gave her a hard, hot kiss before heading to King’s office.

King, Blaze, Wizard, Ace, Ink, Shadow, Kevlar, and Cross were all at the conference table to the right of the door. I grabbed one of the other chairs and sat, halting their hushed conversation.

“Wizard?” King prompted.

Wizard pushed a folder in each of our directions, then leaned back in his chair and tapped the keyboard of his laptop, which was perched on the table in front of him. “That’s pretty much everything we know about this group. There’s also a chart for the hierarchy and an info sheet on each of the key players.”

He continued to share what he’d learned, with Ace jumping in from time to time. Idea after idea on how to finish things swirled around in my head, and from the thoughtful expressions on everyone’s faces, I had a feeling they were similarly occupied.

Finally, Wizard ran out of steam, and the questions started. We tossed out suggestions, analyzed some of the data more thoroughly, and worked the problem from every angle to find a solution.

“Hold up,” Shadow murmured, staring at one of the sheets of paper in his hand. “Jean has been married six times?”

Wizard nodded. “Younger men. No prenup.”

“She was already filthy rich when she started this shit?” Kevlar blurted, tossing his folder on the table with a disgusted huff.

“Yup.”

“She does it for the thrill, then,” Shadow surmised.

“Fair assumption,” King agreed, his gaze locked on Shadow. “You think it would work?”

“Would what work?” Ink asked, his eyes darting back and forth between the two of them.

“Maybe,” I grunted, catching on to their train of thought once I digested Shadow’s words. “Only if there is a compelling reason for her to get back in the game.”

“The fuck are you three not talking about?” snapped Blaze.

Shadow scratched his chin, then set down his folder and tapped his finger on it. “If we want to take down the entire organization, we have to get Jean. Not just the underlings because she’ll just hire new ones.”

“We need to catch her in a con,” I added.

“Exactly.”

King folded his arms over his chest and leaned back against his chair. “How do we get her back in the game?”

“Bait,” Cross tossed out. “A fish so big and illusive that she can’t help herself.”

I sat back and propped an ankle on the opposite knee. “Appeal to her ego and her love of the thrill,” I mused.

Ace rapped his knuckles on the table twice, then snatched Wizard’s laptop.

“What the hell?!” Wizard bellowed, his face a mask of outrage.

The rest of us stared at Ace, absolutely dumbfounded. Taking Wizard’s computer was the fastest way to change your address to the nearest cemetery.

“Chill the fuck out, man,” Ace said distractedly as he quickly typed. “Not like I stole your kidney or something.”

Wizard’s face turned purple as he seethed, glaring daggers at Ace while curling his hands into fists so tight his knuckles cracked.

I shot a look at King, wondering if he’d step in, but he was watching the two of them with amusement, something we rarely saw from the prez unless he was with his old lady or son.

“You gonna save his ass?” I asked Blaze quietly, who was sitting next to me.

“Nah. Fifty says Ace ends up in the hospital tonight.”

There were several murmured agreements, making King chuckle.

“You have a death wish, Ace?” Cross murmured, watching Wizard warily from the treasurer’s left side.

He grunted and tapped hard on one key, then slid the laptop back over in front of Wizard.

Taking a deep breath, Wizard tore his eyes from his prey to scan the computer screen. “This is good,” he admitted grudgingly. “Not gonna save you from being stabbed in your sleep when you’re least expecting it, though.”

Ace rolled his eyes. “It will if you want my help with the financial shit.”

Wizard ground his teeth, but he didn’t say anything else.

“You two done?” King grunted, his face back in its usual scowl.

Ace gestured to the computer and explained, “Wizard and I have the beginnings of several aliases set up for cases when we need to get someone gone fast. One of them is for a high roller. Someone who wants to disappear with their fortune and can afford to pay us to do it since it takes a fuck ton of work.”

Wizard nodded. “Won’t take much work to get this up and running. The back end is as solid as they get. Breaking this identity would take years for the best of the best. Once it’s live, we filter word of the new man through the grapevine, and as long as we’re reading her right, she’ll bite.”

“Volunteers?” Ace asked with a smirk.

I sighed. “It’s my op, I’ll do it.”

Blaze and King shared a look, then they both grinned and King suggested, “Bring Violet in here to tell her.”

“Why?” I questioned, my eyes narrowed in suspicion.

“Protection,” Blaze drawled.

I scowled. “Why would Violet need protection?”

“Not Violet, Echo,” King muttered as he stood and walked around his desk to take a seat behind it. “You.”

“What?”

Blaze swept his hand around the table and grunted. “Out.”

They all protested but shut up and left when King growled. “Now!”

Ace was the last to reach the door. “I’ll send in your woman,” he told me before leaving.

I was pacing in front of King’s desk, much to Blaze’s amusement, when Violet stepped into the room.

“Hi,” she said softly, giving the prez and VP respectful nods. Then she came directly to my side, and I curled my arm around her waist before giving her a soft kiss.

“Hey, baby.”

“Is everything okay?”

“Yeah. King gave me permission to bring you further into the loop on some of this shit with the con organization.”

“Oh?” Her eyebrows shot up into her hair, and her mouth formed a cute little O.

“Let’s sit,” I prompted, guiding her over to the couch. Once I settled, I tugged her onto my lap. “You know Jeff is a low-level conman. And I told you we were going after the big fish.”

“Yes,” she agreed with a nod.

“Well, we discovered the other day—when I had to leave for a few hours—that the boss is actually a woman.”

“No way!” Violet gasped. “Seriously?”

I went on to explain more about her and our plan to take her down. When I got to the bait part, her expression fell, then darkened as I continued, and by the time I finished, she looked absolutely livid.

“Are you kidding me, Brodie Fauks?” she shouted, jumping to her feet.

I heard a deep chuckle and tossed a glare at Blaze, who was grinning behind Violet’s back.

“Shouldn’t take long,” I assured her. “I’ll play the part of the mark, give her what she wants until we catch her trying to steal the money from the dummy account we set up. You’ll stay here in the clubhouse where you’re protected.”

“You’re going to give her what she wants?” Violet asked in an emotionless tone.

“You are so fucked, brother,” King muttered as he shook his head.

“For shit’s sake,” I barked. “It’s not like I’ll actually be dating the woman!”

Violet inhaled slowly and crossed her arms under her breasts, pushing them up and distracting me with thoughts of how they tasted and what they’d feel like wrapped around my?—

“Focus, Brodie!” Violet stomped her foot and growled, forcing me to mash my lips together so I wouldn’t smile at how damn cute she was.

I locked my eyes with her gorgeous purple orbs and tried not to think about how fucking bad I needed to be inside her.

“Let’s look at this from another perspective, shall we?” she asked in an overly sweet tone that put me on edge. The smirks on King’s and Blaze’s faces didn’t help either.

“Let’s say that the mastermind of this group was an older man. A man who had a preference for much younger women. Particularly curvy girls with brown hair who were of average height.”

“Don’t forget violet eyes,” Blaze piped up. “He likes those, too.”

I glared at my VP for a moment before turning my attention back to my woman.

“And let’s assume that in order to put this man in jail, someone needs to pretend to date him. Oh, for the sake of ease, let’s say me. I’m the bait, so I have to let him think he has rights to me, to let him take me out, show me off, give me jewels and dresses, and tell me what to wear. Possibly even try to steal a kiss?—”

“No!” I bellowed, jumping to my feet. “Not a fucking chance in hell, Violet!”

“Exactly,” she huffed, a triumphant smile curling her lips.

“Walked right into that one,” King rumbled.

“Fine,” I gritted out through clenched teeth. “Get one of the other guys to do it.”

Blaze snickered until I turned my lethal gaze on him. “Think Courtney would let you be the one? I’ll go tell her you volunteered.”

That shut him up real fucking quick.

“Brodie, don’t be mean,” Violet chastised, her voice back to its normal sweet and sultry tone.

I held out my hand. “Let’s go,” I rasped, desperate to be alone with her.

“Is this Violet?” an excited female voice squealed. “I’ve been so excited to meet you!”

Knowing King would put a bullet in my head if I looked at Stella with anything less than a pleasant expression, I schooled my face and turned to greet her.

“Hey, Stella. This is my Violet.”

Some of the frenzy inside me began to settle when my girl looked up at me with a bright smile and pink cheeks, her dimples on full display. Damn, she was beautiful.

“Come on, we’re dying to get to know you,” Stella uttered as she grabbed Violet’s hand and dragged her from the room.

“I’m gonna give her a tour first,” I said loudly as I caught up to them. “We’ll meet you back in the lounge in an hour.”

Stella pouted, but King gave me a knowing look as he slipped his arm around his wife and guided her away. “I’m sure she’ll want to meet Cadell, baby. Let's see if he’s up from his nap.”

Before anything else could get in my way, I tossed Violet over my shoulder and practically ran to my room.