Chapter 6

6

RIOT

Mississippi - 2 months ago

I stroke my cock, my head filled with thoughts of pie and my sweet, sweet Halo.

Of course, nothing's happened between us because I can never get the woman alone.

And even if I did, she's not like other girls.

She doesn't sleep around; something I find extremely hot. But it only made me salivate for her even more. Finding a chick like her is like a diamond in the rough.

She doesn't just sleep with anybody; she has to feel a connection. Like me. I'm exactly the same way. I also don't just kick a woman out of my room at the clubhouse when I'm done with her like some of the guys tend to do. They don't like to cuddle afterward, but that's where I'm different. I love to cuddle. Not that most of the sweet butts and chicks I've been with like doing that, either. I also don't let a woman fall asleep with me, but that's for other reasons to do with PTSD and my childhood trauma. That and if I did fall asleep, I wouldn't trust myself to not wake up screaming like I do sometimes. Imagining Halo seeing me like that makes me shudder.

"Fuck," I hiss. My hand squeezes my cock so hard and it feels good. I don't even need porn when it comes to imagining my kitten beneath me, or better yet, riding my dick. When I think about her tits in my face as I suck on her rosy peaks, I know I'm not gonna last.

I groan loudly and my cum spurts on my stomach as I still and milk myself, wishing she was here to clean me up.

I close my eyes momentarily, letting my ragged breathing settle.

She doesn't know that I haven't had sex since I saw her that night in the bar. For me, that's a record. As sexually charged as she makes me, I want her. Not some other chick. And I'm willing to wait for her. Until this is over. I've made it pretty clear what I want, and though I'm not trying to disrespect Star and her mission to get her sister back — heck, I'm all for that — I'd be lying if I said I wasn't here because I knew Halo would be coming.

I roll up from my position a few moments later, moving into the bathroom to clean myself up. I hop into the shower and wash myself clean. The last twenty-four hours have been hairy to say the least.

Now we're about to take down one of the city's biggest traffickers, and who we believe was responsible for Tilly's — as well as lots of other girls' — kidnapping in New Orleans. It's an intricate system, but we've put the pieces together with the help of the Ridgehaven Hellions MC, and now these assholes are gonna pay the price.

When I head out, I hit Nevada up outside before Star can overhear us.

"I don't know about the girls comin' tonight," I whisper. "This ain't a place for women, bro."

Nevada cocks a brow. "You think I'm gonna be able to stop Star from comin' tonight? That ain't happenin'."

He's got a point, and he hasn't claimed Star at the table, so technically she's not his ol' lady, but it's pretty obvious she's gonna be. I point at him. "I thought your job as a committee member, at the very least, is makin' sure your ol' lady listens to you?"

He snorts. "Again, we're talkin' about Star. I doubt she'd listen to Jesus Christ himself."

"Well, I know she enjoys kickin' your ass, and that part I'm completely down with." I lower my voice. "But Halo isn't as street smart as Star, and then there's Kyle ? —"

"They're gonna be a couple of blocks away in the safety of the van. They'll be okay and nowhere near the takedown." He grips my shoulder, giving it a squeeze. "You really like Halo, huh?"

I palm the back of my neck. "I don't know her."

"You had a jones for her ever since that night at Whiskey Straight."

"Says you who had a knife aimed at his balls by his new ol' lady."

He grins. "Ain't love grand?"

I shake my head. "So, she's it for you, brother?"

"Yep. She's it for me." It could be just me, but his chest puffs out a little farther.

"Another one bites the dust," I mutter.

"You never know when you might find your true love." He waggles his eyebrows. "Halo's a good girl, but watch out, Star's really protective of her, could be your balls in a vice next."

I wiggle my fingers at him. "I'm shakin' in my boots."

"You should be. The woman packs knives up her damn sleeves."

"I'm sure you're not complainin'."

"I am when they're aimed at my dick."

"So, what's the story? Is Star gonna be tryin' out for a prospect position?" I smirk.

Nevada chuckles. "While I like the idea, I doubt Star is gonna start takin' orders from any one of us."

"Jesus fuckin' Christ, have you even thought this through?"

"Thought what through? The minute I laid eyes on her, I knew she was the one."

I fold my arms across my chest. "The fuck boy finally grows up."

"Gotta settle down some time. Can't go on bein' a bachelor forever."

I shake my head. "Unbelievable. I don't think the club's given you enough shit yet about the fact she's older than you."

"It's six years, asswipe."

"Still. Never struck you for bein' into cougars."

"I wasn't until I met her."

Star opens the door and we snap our mouths shut. "Ready to go?" she asks.

"You packed those knives?" I smirk.

She pats herself down. "Everywhere I can hold a weapon, I did."

My eyebrows shoot up. "Not sure I wanna know."

"It'll be over soon," Nevada tells her. I've never seen him like this. So serious. Nevada is the life of the party, always quick with a dumb joke or a witty insult, but this side of him is something new. "I promise."

She nods. I can see the fear in her eyes, and I can't say I blame her. I've been in a situation where I've seen my own sister with a gunshot wound. Not knowing, like what Star's going through, I wouldn't be able to live with myself.

I see Brew and Haze stepping out from their room, ready to meet with the rest of the boys from NOLA Rebels who have come over to support the cause. We all want this to be over so we can go back to living a normal life again in New Orleans. Lately, we haven't had a whole lot of peace within the club.

I turn my head. "Let's head out."

Nothing like climbing onto the roof of an old shed, without knowing if the metal beneath me is structurally sound, to get the adrenaline pumping. As if the two MCs surrounding this old pig farm aren't enough of a rush already, the rifle slung over my shoulder reminds me that I'm very much alive and well.

I thought it would be weird being back here again; climbing a roof just like the good old days, but strangely, I feel calm. I mean, I was always pretty calm because nobody needs a sniper with a shaky finger, right? And this way I get to let out all the pent-up frustration on bad people who don't deserve jail time. The things these monsters do to these women, some of them children, is downright diabolical.

"I'm really gettin' too old for this shit," I mutter to myself as I shimmy across the roof, staying low.

I find the perfect place where I have a clear view of the meeting area, and if it changes, we've always got plenty of heavies on the ground that'll go into battle. I've been instructed by Bane Adler, the MC Prez for the Ridgehaven Hellions, that I'm to keep Monty Jefferson — the businessman and the leader of this diabolical syndicate — alive. That's no fun. It doesn't mean I can't take out some of Jefferson's heavies in the meantime, but it would be a pleasure to put a bullet in his brain.

I feel my phone ring in my back pocket as I lay down, ready to set up. It's Halo. I smile to myself as I answer.

"To what do I owe this pleasure?" My voice is low as I hold my phone to my shoulder so I can put everything together as I talk.

"Riot. I'm worried about you, all of you."

This is just like her. She's sweet as honey. "There's nothin' to be worried about." Granted, she doesn't know I'm up on a roof with a sniper rifle, and frankly I'd like to keep it that way. I don't want to scare the woman to death before we've even had our first date. "Just as long as you stay where you are and don't try to come over here. Promise me you won't."

"I won't," she whispers. I realize she's probably in the van with Kyle and it's likely she can't talk. "I don't like guns. Knives are one thing, but guns frighten me."

"You're brave," I tell her. "To even come here and support Star, knowin' this would be dangerous."

I can hear the surprise in her voice when she says, "I'm Star's best friend. She has no other family than Tilly. Me and Kyle are her family, and I guess now Nevada and the MC, too."

"That's right. We stick together, which is the main reason why we're here."

"We're very grateful. I know that Star may have a hard time showing it, but she is. She just wants her sister back."

I swallow hard. "What if that means Tilly isn't comin' back?"

A few moments pass, and I think maybe she hasn't heard me. Then she says, "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. The main thing is she needs closure, one way or the other. She can't live in limbo like this anymore."

"I agree, it needs to come to an end."

"What if…" There's silence on the end of the line.

"What if?"

"What if something happens to Star, to Nevada, to any of you?"

I don't want to scare her; she knows the risks already, but something tells me when she took the job of being Star's assistant in her PI firm that somehow didn't include staking out human trafficking rings in the middle of nowhere. She is brave, no matter what she says. I admire that kind of loyalty.

"Nothin' is gonna happen," I tell her.

"But it could."

"Life's a risk, babe," I say. "We all knew that it was risky when we agreed to comin' down here. We knew we were gonna be dealin' with the lowest of the low. Those are the pitfalls I guess of bein' the good guys."

"I like that," she sniffles. Wait, is she crying?

"Halo, are you okay?"

"Yes," she says a little too quickly. "I just want this to be over."

"You and me both, and it will be tonight."

"If Tilly isn't with the shipment, then what?"

She's asking questions I don't have answers to. I could just tell her the truth; that I don't know. But somehow, I don't think this is one of those times where absolute truth is completely necessary. Telling her that this could be the end of the line, and Tilly could be dead, isn't what anyone wants to hear. But that's the reality. "Then we keep searchin'. We don't give up. We go home and regroup until we get some answers."

She sniffs again. "Okay."

"Don't cry," I tell her. "Save those tears for when we're all back unscathed, got me?"

"I got you."

"Good girl."

I hear her breath hitch in her chest, then I hear a car door close. "Say that again."

"Did you just leave the car?"

"Just for a second."

"Get back in the car, Halo."

"Say it."

"You're not bein' a good girl when you don't listen," I grumble.

"I miss you," she whispers. "I think I would've missed you if we'd never even met."

My heart pounds so loudly in my chest, I'm sure that it's gonna give away my hiding spot. "You what?"

"You heard me. I want to explore you and me, when this is over."

"I want to explore you and me too, babe, with my tongue, hands and my cock."

"Holy shit." The phone muffles again, like she's covering up the receiver. "I actually meant get to know you, but that works too."

I snicker. "I forgot that you're a good girl."

"I'm not that good. I don't know where you got that impression from."

I smile, despite myself. "You were the one who told me you didn't sleep around, that sounds pretty good to me."

"I'm just… particular. I have to feel a connection before I just jump into bed with someone."

"And do you feel a connection with me, Halo?"

"Y–yes. I do. I just wish we didn't have to meet under these circumstances."

"I get that, but if we can get through this, I'm sure we can get through a date."

"Oh, so you plan on dating me first?"

"Before I use my tongue, hands and my cock, yeah. It's the polite thing to do."

"You're a very bad man," she giggles. Even when the situation is dire, I still like hearing her laugh. It soothes me. That cold, dark place inside that needs to be nurtured. It wants her. I want her. But if she ever knew what a monster I really was, how I enjoy this dark part of me — killing people — she'd run a mile. And I wouldn't blame her. It would be the right thing to do. I'm not good for her, but that doesn't seem to register right now.

"So I've been told."

"I like what you said… about my body." Her voice is a whisper now.

"I meant every word. If I ever hear you berate yourself or make fun of your ass, I'm gonna smack it really fuckin' hard."

"Holy shit."

"You like that idea, babe? You like the idea of your juicy, sexy ass sprawled over my lap while I spank your cheeks?"

"Oh."

I chuckle again. "Has anyone ever talked dirty to you?"

"N–no."

That figures. She's so easy to shock. "Good, that means nobody's probably ever spanked your ass then, right?"

"Never."

I adjust my dick, still pulling the parts of my rifle out of the canister. Talking like this while I set up my gun has my dick leaking.

"Would you let me spank it, Halo?"

"As long as it isn't too hard, I don't like pain." I love how honest she is.

"I'd never hurt you, and I'd do it soft, let you get used to it."

"So you'd spank me only if I'm a… a bad girl?"

"Yep, so that means you better be good for me."

"I want you, Riot." Her words shoot to my dick, causing me to almost ejaculate in my fuckin' underpants.

"Jesus."

"I'm very, uh, sexually attracted to you. I also like your brain and your pretty eyes."

I stifle a laugh. "You like my brain?"

"Yeah, I don't like dumb guys."

"Glad to hear I passed the test of not bein' dumb, phew for that." She thinks I have pretty eyes? I have been told a few times that my eyes are cool, mainly by the other women I've been with. I mean, they're blue, but they can be dark or light depending on my mood, and sometimes they're so blue, people think I wear contacts, which I don't.

"You pass with flying colors."

"I'm up on a roof right now, and I want to pull my pants down and pleasure myself while you talk to me."

"Holy— wait, you're on a roof? What are you doing on a roof?"

Shit. She isn't meant to know anything about this stuff. In fact, the less she knows the better.

"Never mind about that. The fact is, you've gotten me so hard and I should be concentratin'."

Like my good girl, she doesn't ask any more questions about what I'm doing, but I would think it's fairly obvious I'm not up to anything good.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to do that."

"Just to be clear, your body is mine, Halo. No other man is gonna touch you except me when we get outta here, got me?"

"So alpha," she jokes. "I like how your mind works."

"Good, because I'm a possessive son-of-a-bitch when I really want somethin'."

"So you just want me for my booty?"

"Not just that, but I love what I see, not gonna deny that. I told you, I love your body, but I also love the fact you don't sleep around, and how sweet you are to the people around you."

"Well, my friends back home know me as a mother hen. I've always been that way."

"Wait for me," I say. "After this is over, I'll take you on a date."

"Just know, I don't put out on the first date, you're gonna have to work for it."

Fuck. My dick is literally weeping. "Glad to hear it. A man should be workin' overtime to be with you, and if he's not, then he doesn't deserve it. Now get back in the car."

"So bossy."

"When it comes to your safety, yeah I am."

I hear her shuffle again, and the car door closes. "I'm back inside."

"With the door locked?"

"Yes, with the door locked."

"Good. I gotta go, babe, but we'll finish what we started when I see you next, okay?"

"Okay." Her voice drops again. "Be safe, Riot. Come back and finish what we started."

I grin, loving her words. Now I know how she feels, nothing's gonna stop us. "Oh, I intend to, babe. I'll see you soon."