Chapter 22

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

JJ

No sooner had Shep closed our bedroom door than I rounded on him. "I'm no wilting flower, Shepard Saint!"

His eyes widened. "I know."

"So don't say things like you did down there about Mason and me not going because it's a little dangerous. It was always dangerous—maybe more so before we had this information because we were going in blind…still kind of is. But Mason and I will decide if we can't do something."

"You're right. I'm sorry." Shep dropped his head forward. "I worry about you."

I took a step forward and lifted Shep's head up until he was looking at me. "You're not a superhero, you know. None of you guys are. A bullet kills you as easily as it does me."

"I'd like no bullets coming near either of us, JJ."

My anger washed away, replaced by worry and love. "I agree."

Shep wrapped his arms around me and squeezed me close. Resting my ear on his chest, I listened as his heartbeat calmed.

"Did we bite off more than we can chew?"

I looked up into his gorgeous eyes and smiled. "We often do. But we wanted to help people, and we took on some serious higher-ups once. What makes you think we can't do it again?"

"Babe, my brothers and me took them on over the course of years. We planned, we were careful."

I stepped away and sighed. "Yeah, and then Mason entered the picture, and you all were scrambling. If I remember correctly, you all sought asylum in his apartment for a time."

He rolled his eyes. "But we were in the thick of it already. We had names."

"Not all of them, and you needed help from the now-mayor there, to clear you all."

Shep scratched his beard and moved to his dresser, pulling out boxers. "Exactly, JJ. We don't have political help on this one. For all we know, this consortium does."

"And the bad guys had their own politicians in their pocket, but in the end we tore them apart."

He removed his shirt and tossed it into the hamper by the bathroom door. "I'm not saying we should give up. It would surely kill Four, but, JJ, if I have to choose between you two…" He lifted his brows, and I knew what he wasn't saying.

"I get it." I stepped up to him and ran my fingers along his delicious abs. "How about we take a shower together and tumble into bed?"

He released a breathy laugh. "Sounds like a perfect plan."

As soon as we were under the hot spray, Shep wrapped me in his arms once again and kissed me until my lungs burned. Each stroke of his tongue was like a rush of love being pushed from him to me. The desperate way he devoured my neck as he nibbled every inch was full of hunger and need.

By the time he got to my cock, I whimpered and almost cried out from the intensity of his ministrations.

His arm raised and he pushed on my chest, holding me against the wall as he swallowed me whole. I gripped his hair for dear life as my legs shook. When I thought I was about to fall, he lifted one of my legs over his shoulder, anchoring me in place. I was completely at his will and reveled in every second of it.

I came with shuddered relief. My emotions exploded along with my balls and I could have cried with how much love I had for Shep.

He looked up at me from the shower floor, smiling, his release washing away with the water.

"I love you," I whispered, not wanting to break this quiet moment.

"I love you, my vicious viper."

That night I fell asleep in his arms, his heartbeat the perfect soundtrack to my dreams. I silently prayed we'd have a million more memories like this one, and a whole hell of a lot less nightmares.

Nick and Noel were elbows deep in all the research while Angel was checking the security for the house. Mason and Gabe were on security duty for the day. We gave Max a burner phone so he could call his ex-wife and talk to her and his daughter, but it was all we could give him at this time.

I decided, since I had a few hours before Aziza was set to get to the house and Four was content watching television and just mentally escaping, I'd go with Shep to the shop.

We had a bit of a talk about anyone leaving, but the issue was that we couldn't abandon the shop. If we had to close it down, we'd give a little notice for patrons and the employees.

Shep and I entered through the back as we usually did only to be greeted by a very bubbly Darby.

"Morning, Bosses!" Her smile was wide and orange, and she wore a dress covered in mangoes and I thought…puppies? She was scrubbing the coffee machine as if she'd lose the game she was playing in her head if she didn't make it sparkle.

"Morning, Darby." Shep nodded. "Working hard."

"Yeah." She giggled. "We tossed a coin to see who would clean these. I lost." She shrugged but didn't seem too upset about it.

"Well, great job." I patted her on the shoulder as I made my way to the front.

Wes was washing the floors, and Lizzy was wiping the counters. It really was a well-oiled machine, and it settled a worry in my chest that if we couldn't be here for whatever reason, these three had it under control.

"Hey, guys." Lizzy dropped her cloth and came over. "You getting some stuff done before you have to leave?"

I gazed at Shep, wondering if he'd said something to them last night, but he appeared as confused as I was.

"Leave to go where?" Shep cocked his head.

She hooked her thumb in Wes's direction. "Talk to him, I figured you knew." She turned and continued with her cleaning.

Shep and I shared a look and moved to where Wes was.

"Careful, wet floor." He chuckled.

"Wes, why does Lizzy think we have somewhere else to be?" Shep asked.

His eyes widened. "Um…so, okay…" He rested the mop against the wall and sighed. "I was here early; Darby and Lizzy hadn't arrived yet. I can't get in without the key, so I sat on the bench outside, played some games on my phone. A guy came by, and I told him we weren't open yet. He sat on the bench…it was weird. He just stared at me."

"That's unsettling." I offered him a sympathetic smile.

"It was, and so I was like, can I help you? And he said he had a message for the Saint brothers. So I figured it was business and I opened my notes app and typed it in figuring I'd give it to you or one of the brothers when you got here." He reached into his pocket and handed us the phone.

Shep read it aloud. "Don't forget the meeting at nine at 33 Wallace Street in Howesville."

"So, when Lizzy and Darby arrived, I said you all were going to be gone for some meeting this morning."

Shep handed the phone to Wes, and I checked my watch. It was seven now.

"I'm going to call my brothers. We weren't aware of any meeting." Shep rushed to the back, and I stood there, thinking… Don't forget? As if we'd been told already? Or was that just a coincidence?

"You okay, JJ?" Wes's brows dipped.

"Of course, just confused as to how we forgot a meeting." I snorted. "I'll just go see what Shep wants to do."

I pushed the doors open and saw Shep was still on the phone.

"What's at that address, Nick?" I watched Shep's face, trying to gauge his reaction but I imagined each of us was wearing a "What the fuck?" expression.

"Do we go?" Shep asked. Nodded. "We have two hours. Get someone over there to check it out. JJ and I will be home soon."

He disconnected the call but he didn't say anything, so I nudged him.

"Speak, please."

"Nick said the address is a strip mall. 33 is a laundromat."

"That's odd."

He agreed and slipped his phone into his pocket. "We need to get to the house. There are enough goods here for the day. Let me just tell Lizzy, and we can go."

Once he was out of sight, I let myself take a moment to silently freak out because none of this was right.…In my gut it all felt wrong.