Chapter Two

Cameron

Jax came down the stairs, his feet bare and only a pair of low-slung jeans riding on his hips. I grimaced and screwed my nose up at him as I looked up from my computer. "Where's the rest of your clothes?"

He shot me a flat stare before passing me four twenty-dollar bills. I lifted a brow as I took the twenties. "Need you to go pick up the pizzas I called in," he told me.

"You could ask," I deadpanned, shooting him a glower. I gestured at my computer. "I am still working, you know."

He shot me a look that clearly said he wasn't in the mood for my shit. Tough—I wasn't in the mood to go grab pizzas for him when it was his night to cover dinner. And since Blakely was in a sub-low, she wasn't cooking. Jax had been holed up with her for the past two days.

It was still weird to see him being so… domestic. He was the wildest one out of all six of us. The one who didn't fit in with society. Who lacked the social norms that were needed to blend in with the rest of the world. He'd been a mere teenager when he got locked up, and his introduction to adulthood had been prison. Couldn't really blame him for his lack of "normalcy".

But when it came to Blakely, it was like coming face to face with a wholly different man. One I was still getting to know.

"Cameron…" he growled, a warning riding low in his voice. I sighed and closed my laptop before pushing back from the table. Without a word, I strode for the door, pulling my truck keys from my pocket.

"What crawled up his ass?" I heard Ace ask.

"You hungry hippos did," I retorted, looking over my shoulder at him. I had no idea where he'd come from, but he was now standing beside Jax. Ace was like that though—mouthy as fuck but he moved silently. A true snake in human skin.

He snorted. "Bet that's uncomfortable."

I rolled my eyes, but my lips twitched in amusement. Leave it to Ace.

I smiledat Robin as she handed me my change, and then I moved toward a booth to wait. The pizzas weren't quite all ready yet, which was fine with me. I could play a game on my phone to pass the time. I wasn't really in a rush to get back to the clubhouse to get any work done. I just liked giving Jax shit.

The bell above the door jingled, and I glanced over, doing a double take when I saw Abbie walk in. She was out of her uniform, and my mouth salivated, my cock plumping behind my zipper when I saw the leggings clinging to her thick thighs and plump ass. The woman had curves for days, and my fingers burned with the need to map those curves.

Fuck, why did she have to be a cop? Why did she have to have a hard-on for taking the club down and my brothers to fucking prison? Why did she have to be like every other judgmental person who assumed we were just low-life piece-of-shit bikers?

I waited until she ordered her food—Stromboli—and once she moved to a small table, I got up and made my way over to her. Sensing my presence, she looked up, a dark look passing through her eyes when she noticed it was me. I smiled at her—a smile full of sensual promise and a bit of danger.

"Buying me a donut was a dick move, Cameron."

I winked at her and braced my hands on the back of the chair across from her. "What? I thought it was sweet."

She rolled her eyes before leaning back in her seat and crossing her arms over her ample chest. My eyes dropped to the very generous area of her body for a moment before I locked my eyes back on hers. She narrowed her eyes at me, her lips screwed up in distaste. I chuckled. "What? I'm a man, sweetheart. And I'm not going to pretend I'm not a pig."

A small smile twitched at her lips before she smothered it. Rolling her shoulders, she pinned me with a disapproving stare. "What do you want, Cameron?"

"Your number," I told her bluntly. She rolled her eyes. "You haven't texted or called me."

She arched a brow, looking at me like I was nothing but a pile of shit she'd stepped in and ruined her day. "Did it ever occur to you that I don't want anything to do with you?"

I chuckled. "Abbie, every straight woman wants something to do with me."

She scoffed. "Bold of you to assume I'm straight."

I planted my hands on the table and leaned into her, flicking my tongue out over my bottom lip for a beat. Her breath hitched in her throat, and her pupils dilated. A deep, husky chuckle rumbled up from my chest. She could act all aloof all she wanted, but she couldn't hide the effect I had on her. It was impossible. "Little devil, if you're not straight, you're at least bi. Your body gives you away."

She scoffed and pressed a hand to my chest, pushing me back. I didn't resist and stood back up to my full height. She scowled at me for a moment before holding her hand out. "Give me your phone."

I handed her my phone, not worried about her seeing anything. That phone was squeaky clean—nothing but games and dumb-ass text messages between me and my brothers.

I watched as she put her digits in before she passed the phone back to me. "Now go away." She even waved her hand for emphasis.

I grinned and saluted her after I stuffed my phone into my pocket. "Yes, ma'am."

Her lips quirked with the beginnings of another smile. Robin called my name, waving me over, six pizzas sitting on the counter. As soon as I walked out the door of the pizza spot, the smile fell from my face.

Abbie had just stepped into a very dangerous world, and my web was slowly closing in around her without her even realizing it.

Abbie: Normal people are at work right now… you know, like me.

Cameron: I work my own hours, little devil. I can do whatever the hell I want.

Abbie: Yeah, well, I'm working, numnuts. Some of us hold regular jobs and have certain rules to follow.

Cameron: Then stop responding to me. That's what normal people do.

Abbie: Go find something to do until five o'clock, Cameron.

I snorted but left her be, looking up at Shaw as he headed toward the chapel. "Anatoly has news," he told me before disappearing into the room.

I left my phone on the table and got up, heading into the chapel. Jax and Ace followed in behind me. Arlo was already at the table, an energy drink resting in front of him. He had his glasses pushed up on the top of his head, and he was rubbing at his eyes.

"You good, brother?" I asked as I took my seat. Wasn't like Arlo to look so… exhausted.

He nodded. "Tired as fuck. This job is a pain in the ass."

I grimaced. "If you need an extra set of hands, let me know." I didn't mind the dirty work. Hell, it kept my mind occupied.

He nodded. "I'll keep it in mind."

Konrad, as usual, was the last to walk through the chapel doors. Used to be he was the first one in here right after Shaw, but since he'd come home from his last government job with Blu and Grey in tow, his priorities had changed. I couldn't really blame him. Blu and Grey needed someone like Konrad. They'd come from a toxic, abusive situation, and they had a lot of healing to still do. Konrad was one of the best people I knew, even if we clashed heads.

Even Ace, who usually just did whatever the fuck he wanted, trod carefully around them—like he wasn't entirely sure what to do with two human beings that seemed so fragile.

"We're all here," Shaw said. His burner phone was resting in front of him on the table. "What do you have for us?"

"I have a location and name for the man who is over the auction where Blu and Grey were sold," Anatoly began. A few weeks ago, one of Anatoly's men had recognized Grey as one of Huber's toys—Huber being the son of a bitch Konrad took out on his government trip. We weren't technically supposed to know anything about what Konrad did, but what he found out affected the club… and tied into the problem we were currently dealing with.

A goddamn sex trafficking ring.

Konrad took out Anatoly's man, and Anatoly promised to dig deep and work on cleaning house on his end as well. We were all trying to keep the peace—a peace that was wobbly at best. Especially after we found out one of Anatoly's men was a frequenter of this kind of shit. But as much as we didn't like it, we needed the Russian, and he needed us—especially since we were housing his daughter since she'd been snatched from right under his nose.

He owed Jax his life for saving his daughter.

"Well?" Konrad asked, growing impatient. I sighed and shot him a pointed look. I understood he wanted revenge, but we had to play this smart. We couldn't go in half-cocked. His boy and girl needed him. And if he got harmed even the slightest bit, Blu and Grey would be inconsolable. I didn't particularly want to deal with two sobbing, heartbroken people.

"The location is in Seattle. Auctions are held in the basement of the building he owns. The man's name is Richard Carney. He'll be there in three nights organizing the auction happening Sunday night. If you get there and eliminate him, the auction won't happen, and I can call in favors to get the victims sent to a hospital and reunited with their families."

"And if they don't have families?" Ace asked, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms over his chest. "What happens to them then?"

"Then I'll work with some of my contacts to get them integrated into society and on their feet again," Anatoly answered.

"Will the victims be there if we go Saturday night?" I asked.

"The victims seem to be held there," Anatoly informed us. I grimaced. That had to be shitty conditions. But it also meant we would be dealing with an ass of guards. Just great.

I looked at Konrad. "Your call. I'm with you whatever you decide, so long as you're not going alone."

Konrad looked at Shaw. Shaw nodded once. "We'll come up with a plan," he told Konrad. "All six of us will go." He looked at Jax. "You trust Blakely to protect Amaliya, Blu, and Grey?"

"Hey—my fucking—" Konrad growled.

Shaw narrowed his eyes at him. "I get that you're overprotective as fuck of them, but Agony knows his woman better than any of us sitting at this fucking table, Bender," he said, using our road names.

"I trust her," Jax said. "I've been working with her. She knows how to defend herself, and she knows the escape plan if someone comes."

Konrad pointed a stiff finger at Jax. "If one hair is harmed on their heads?—"

Jax leaned forward and steepled his fingers together on top of the table, his expression going flat and cold. Completely void of emotion. The cold-blooded killer—the man who couldn't blend into society—burst forward. It was… chilling to see his mask slip.

"If you threaten my woman, brother," Jax said flatly, his voice low, "you and I are about to have some fucking problems."

Konrad clenched his jaw, a storm brewing in his eyes, but Jax wasn't backing down. We could come at Jax over just about anything, but not Blakely. Never Blakely.

Shaw rested a hand on Konrad's shoulder, giving him a subtle shake of his head. I was tense, my teeth clenched, ready to intervene if needed. One look at Arlo told me he was on the edge of his seat, too.

Ace just watched them, waiting to see what would unfold. If anyone was similar to Jax, it was Ace. Trauma had fucked the kid up. If he went silent, wasn't being a brat… the kid was a fucking monster. A monster we loved, but a monster, nonetheless.

"Nothing can happen to them," Konrad finally said instead of giving in to the fight burning inside of him.

Jax nodded once and leaned back in his seat again, cool as a cucumber, his mask back in place. As if he hadn't been ready to potentially murder our brother mere moments ago. "They'll be safe."

I blew out a soft breath. Konrad rolled his jaw around before looking back at Shaw. "Any idea of how many guards we're looking at?" Konrad asked.

"I'll have those numbers in a few hours," Anatoly promised. "And you'll have me and some of my most trusted men to assist when you're ready to do this."

Konrad snorted, clearly not over the Visaly situation. "Your most trusted men? I think you forget that one of your most trusted men liked to indulge in the same kind of shit of the men we're taking out."

I drew in a deep breath. "Bender," I snapped. He swung his eyes to me. "Chill out, man."

He narrowed his eyes at me. "I get you don't know what it's like to give a fuck about anyone else but yourself?—"

A cruel laugh spilled past my lips. "Tread carefully, asshole," I warned him. "I'm sitting here just like the rest of you, trying to protect your boy and girl. Remember? I was the one who suggested we go after them together, even if it meant only us two were handling the situation. I might not be close to Blu and Grey, and I might hold them at arm's length, brother, but I do fucking care. It'll do you good to fucking remember that." I shoved back from the table and looked at Shaw. "I'm taking a fucking breather before I beat the shit out of your VP." I looked at Konrad. "You need to get your shit together, or your hot-headedness is going to get us all killed, including your precious boy and girl."

With that, I stormed out of the chapel, heading upstairs to my room to light a blunt. Konrad was volatile when it came to Blu and Grey. I understood it. But he had years of military training under his belt. Fucking hell, he was a goddamn undercover operative for the government still because he was so good at what he did. He was better than this hotheaded shit, and he knew it.

I knew Konrad was on edge when it came to Blu and Grey, but I knew I wasn't wrong. If he didn't chill, we were all going to goddamn die. I loved my brother, and I'd lay down my life for him and his partners in a heartbeat. I got where he was coming from. But lashing out at all of us when we were just trying to help wasn't going to resolve anything.

Blu poked her head out of their room, her startling blue eyes locking on me as I emerged at the top of the stairs. I paused for a moment before I resumed walking, stopping in front of her. "I heard arguing," she said softly.

I smiled at her and reached out to ruffle her hair. "All's good and well, girly." I winked at her. "Konrad's being a shithead."

"I am not," Konrad growled from behind me. I looked at him over my shoulder. His expression softened as he looked at Blu. "Go back in the room, jellybean. Let me talk to Cameron."

She looked between us for a moment before ducking back into the room, shutting the door with a quiet shnick. Konrad sighed and looked up at the ceiling for a moment before looking back at me. "I'm sorry," he quietly apologized. "Just… when it comes to those two, knowing I had a monster so close to them after promising they'd never be faced with one again… I can't see past the fucking red in my vision, Cam."

I clapped him on the shoulder. "Let your love for them be your strength, brother. Not your downfall, yeah? Learn to take some deep breaths and center yourself."

He smirked. "Is that what you do? Take some deep breaths?"

I shrugged. "Only when someone in this family is on the line." I winked at him as I backed toward my room. "Otherwise, all you fuckers are free game."

He barked out a laugh and shot me the middle finger before dipping into his room. I sighed and pushed open the door to my apartment before collapsing on the couch and grabbing the box that held my weed, grinder, and papers.

Konrad was right. I might not have my own woman or significant other. I might not understand the depths of his feelings. But I did understand the meaning of family.

They had no idea what kind of shit I'd pull to protect them.

…Like toying with a fucking cop.