CHAPTER ELEVEN

Loki

Haven's thumping footsteps up the stairs force a smile on my face. Clearly, she's annoyed at having to stop enjoying her lunch as she stomps through the Chapel doors behind Montana, who strides in without complaint.

A stark contrast between the two.

I guess that's the difference between being a newly patched member and the First Lady of the club. One has to be on their best behavior at all times, and the other can do whatever the hell they want without any repercussions. In fact, Haven pretty much runs this joint, and she knows it.

Montana takes his place at the end of the table while Haven throws her hands in the air, making an entrance. "My fricking cheeseburger will go cold, Alpha. You know how I get when I don't eat a full meal. It makes me hangry, and you know what that means for you?"

He smirks, waggling his brows. "Oh, I am fully aware, Little Lamb."

She stalks over to Alpha, sliding his seat back, then sits herself on his lap, her fingers threading through his hair and tugging. "You want Blu Jay to come out and play tonight, don't you, you bad boy…" Then she leans in, kissing Alpha passionately.

I side-eye Montana, and he smirks at me as I clear my throat to remind them they have company in the Chapel. Haven waves her arm at us but continues to kiss Alpha, so I let out a small laugh, moving to my chair to take a seat and simply wait it out.

With a soft moan coming from Haven, I shake my head while she slowly pulls back from him, wipes her lip gloss from his bottom lip, and then smirks. "Oh yeah… we're definitely getting naughty tonight," she whispers to Alpha, though Montana and I can clearly hear her.

Then, as if nothing has just happened, she jumps up from Alpha's lap. He grins wide and slaps her ass. She giggles and slides down into the seat beside him. Alpha clears his throat, swiping his hand through his hair to fix the mess Haven left behind. He shifts back under the table, focusing his attention on us. "Okay… where were we?"

"I was eating my lunch," Montana quips.

Alpha lets out a small sigh, rolling his shoulders. "And it's only going to get more disappointing from here on out, Montana."

He glances across at me, and I nod in agreement.

His mischievous glint drops, and a swift panic crosses his face. "My mom… has something happened to my mom?"

Alpha tilts his head so that I can take the lead on this one. I exhale, placing my closed fists on the table. "Have you spoken to her recently? Has she said if anything is going down inside? Or has anything changed in the hierarchy?"

Montana furrows his brows, sitting back in his chair like he's thinking it through. "Last time we spoke, she said the gangs inside were growing restless because Atlas has been MIA. She thinks it's only a matter of time before there's chaos in the prison. She said something's happening, but she didn't know what because she's keeping out of the gang shit. She doesn't know what the fuss is all about. But there's definitely something going down in there."

Flaring my nostrils, I crane my neck to the side. "I think I might know what that something could be. That day you saw Bea at the prison, she was signing up inmates to the health and wellness app—"

His face scrunches in annoyance. "And now those inmate's information has been breached, including my mother's?" Montana asks.

I simply nod in agreement, and Montana grumbles under his breath. "Motherfucker!"

Haven sits forward, a look of intrigue in her eyes. "Babe, you know the warden, right?"

"I do. But … where are you going with this?"

She snaps her head to face me this time, full of excitement. "Loki… send me in. I can handle myself in there and can figure out what's going on. I'll infiltrate to see where their minds are. Get the gossip from the inmates themselves."

Alpha lets out a booming laugh, frantically shaking his head. "No," he says deadpan.

Haven glares at him. "Alpha, you know I can protect myself better than even you can. And if something is happening in the women's prison that has to do with Bea's app, the best way to find out is from the inside."

Montana and I both look at each other and shrug. "She's right, Pres. And to be honest, I would really love having Haven in there watching my mom's back right now," Montana states.

"It's settled then," Haven chimes, smiling wide.

Alpha groans, his head falling into his hands, knowing he's not going to win this round with his Old Lady. "Fine… I'll make some calls. But I need you to check in as often as you can."

Haven smirks. "You know me, I'm gonna play my role. In there, I'll need to be Blue Jay. I'll have to be tough, Alpha. But I will gather as much intel as I can, all while keeping a protective detail on your mother, Montana."

"Thanks, Haven. I really appreciate this," Montana replies.

Haven moves to stand, but Alpha turns to me. "Loki, can you give her something so we can watch her? I'll tell the warden to inform the guards so she can keep it on her."

Nodding, I stand and slide my chair out. "I know just the thing. I'll go get it prepped right now."

Alpha rises from his seat to meet the rest of us. "Okay, we have a plan. I'm going to call the warden and see if we can get this moving. In the meantime, Loki, you do your tech thing, and Montana, no word to your mom until we get Haven situated in there. We don't want anything to slip that we have an informant going inside."

"Got it," Montana replies while I head for the stairs, leaving the three of them to it.

I have enough to keep me busy, the sooner I get back to work, the better.

Trudging down the stairs with what feels like the weight of the world on my shoulders, I glance out into the dining room to see if Bea is still there eating her lunch. I can't find her anywhere. I figure she's gone back to my bedroom to get some more rest.

Lord knows she probably needs it.

Stepping up to my den, I push open the door but instantly jerk my head back when I spot Bea sitting on my desk, her long legs crossed over each other as they dangle down. Her feet tapping away, her eyes closed as she bounces away, doing some kind of dance, listening to something on her headphones.

Inhaling sharply at the sight of her so happy and carefree, my stomach knots that she honestly has no recollection of the moments we shared last night.

And all it does is send aggravation through me that is hard to control.

Huffing as I step inside my den, I close my door with a hefty bang.

Her eyes shoot open as her entire body jumps on top of my desk with fright, a small giggle erupting from her lips. Striding past her to move to my seat, I don't say anything.

She pulls on her headphones, yanking them from her ears, and drops them to the desk beside her. "Man, I swear "Bye Bye Bye" by NSYNC is the perfect song to get your mood up, am I right? I mean, just check out the opening scene to Deadpool and Wolverine . Fucking epic!" she chimes happily.

My annoyance shifts just marginally at how cute she looks right now. The way her smile is so fucking bright, it's like the sun is fucking radiating in here. She lets out a small giggle, shifting a little closer to me along the desk. "So, anyway… I was thinking," she states, and I roll my eyes, turning from her toward my keyboard and start getting on with work because that sentence never ends well. "Hey, Loki, stop. Just hear me out."

Exhaling, I turn to face her, raising my brow and still not saying a single word to her. "Okay, so… how about… and just go with me on this… you, me, and Theo…" She pauses for dramatic effect, though all it does is make me feel fucking impatient to get back to work. "Go to a karaoke bar? Sing the night away. Just like old times?"

"You want to go to a karaoke bar?" I snort out an obnoxious laugh staring straight at her like she's gone fucking crazy.

"Yeah, you, me, and Theo. The three of us. We used to be thick as thieves back in the day."

Huffing, I spin back to face my computer and begin typing, anxiety ripping through me. "Bea, this isn't like the old days. You can't just come back into my life after so fucking long and think that karaoke with your brother is going to make everything okay." My breathing is fast as I try to focus on work, but it's hard when little Miss Sunshine behind me has suddenly stopped radiating.

She sighs, the weight of the moment crashes down around me, and I finally turn to face her. The smile wiped from her face as she gnaws on her bottom lip. "Are we really not going to talk about it?" she asks with a slight smile.

Groaning, I shrug, completely exasperated. "What do you want to talk about, Beatrice?" I snap.

She widens her eyes, letting out a small laugh. "Full naming me? You must be pissed!"

Growling beneath my breath, I spin back to my computer to keep working, but she keeps persisting.

"You know… they say that a man who is grumpy all the time is lacking in other areas of his life."

Inhaling deeply, I try to immerse myself to ignore her, but she continues, "Is that what's wrong with you, Loki? You know I have a health and wellness app that can help you with some relaxation and meditation techniques," she quips.

Slowly turning to her, I raise my brow. "And have all my information stolen too?" I jab.

She slaps her hand to her chest, her mouth dropping open as if she is pretending to be shocked. "Oh, that's hurtful."

Snorting out a huff, I turn back to my computer. "Not wrong though, am I, Sparkle?"

Bea lets out a small laugh. "Jesus… I haven't heard that nickname in…" she pauses, and my chest tightens as I continue to work, but I decide to finish her sentence for her.

"Thirteen years," I murmur under my breath.

She exhales but keeps prodding. "You really could do with some better lighting in here. I get the whole green fluorescent Loki thing, but it can't be good for your eyesight. You have to take better care of yourself, Alex."

"Loki," I snap back at her.

"You know, you could paint a mural on the wall over there. Get a full Marvel wall art going. You could really spruce this place up a bit—"

"It's fine the way it is!" I return fire.

She huffs and jumps down from the desk, slumping into the seat beside me, then begins swinging from side to side in the most annoying way. The chair squeaks with every turn she makes. "You know what I think you need?" she asks.

Clenching my eyes tight, I rub my temple in frustration. "No, but I'm sure you're going to tell—"

"You need a vacation. Have you even been away from the club since you joined? What you do is really stressful—"

"No kidding."

"And I think you're wearing yourself too thin here, Loki."

"Maybe if people would let me get on with my damn work—"

"I'm going to book you a trip somewhere. Maybe Fiji? As your friend, I think I should tell you when you're working yourself too hard—"

"That's it!" I growl, spinning in my chair, and then I stand, towering over her. Her eyes widen as I step up to her chair, my hands on either side of her as I lean down, right into her face. Her breathing hitches when our eyes connect, and an instant fire ignites between us, her chest rising and falling in quick succession, my mouth inches from hers.

She smells so fucking good it's taking all of my strength not to slam my lips to hers.

But she doesn't remember last night.

Nothing!

So I can't.

The air around us swirls, her fingers clenching tightly into the armrests of her chair, and her eyes lock with mine.

It's intense.

Alluring.

And so fucking intoxicating.

"If you're going to be in here while I'm working, the only time you are to have that mouth of yours open is if I put something in it. Do you understand me?"

Her eyes widen in shock, and a slight crimson flashes across her cheeks. "Mm-hmm."

My nostrils flair while I try to gain control of my cock from straining against the seam of my jeans. Seeing the look on her face is everything I thought it would be. Mischievous with that hint of sparkle—the reason I gave her that nickname in the first place.

But I can't think about that right now, or I'm going to end up kissing her right here, right now.

With my heart racing in my chest, I slowly pull back from Bea, her eyes staying focused on me the entire time. Her chest is rising and falling so fast that she might hyperventilate if she doesn't control her breathing soon. Her thighs clench tightly together, inwardly making me smile as I turn toward my top drawer, sliding it open and pulling out a box of Mike and Ike sour candies.

Ripping open the packet, I pop out a couple into my palm and face Bea again. She's smiling now as I tilt my head at her. "Now. Open," I demand.

She raises her brow at me like she's surprised. "This is what you want to put in my mouth?"

Shrugging, I furrow my brows. "What else would I put in your mouth, Bea?" I ask, a slow grin forming across my face.

Her eyes drop to my crotch, only for the briefest second, and then back up to my face. My chest squeezes, knowing I have her thinking about my cock.

Maybe another moment like last night isn't off the table.

She giggles cheekily, then opens her mouth, making sure to poke her tongue out for good measure. Leaning forward, I slide the sour candy onto her tongue, and she rolls it back into her mouth, sucking on it, then lets out a guttural moan. "Mmm… sooo good!" she states, her face scrunching in that way I love as the sour tang hits, knowing exactly what she's doing.

She's getting me back, the little bitch.

Chuckling, I slide the box of candy in front of her on the desk as she writhes about in her chair, pretending to be overcome by the taste of the candy. She always could give as good as she got. Her hands rub up and down her body as she moans and groans. "Oh, so good. Yes! So salty and sour. I could suck on this all damn day," she mewls, her entire body writhing in the chair. My cock is now hard as a damn rock while I hold myself back from lifting her and fucking her right here, right now, on my damn desk.

Huffing out my frustration, I turn and head back for my chair, then pull my headphones on over my ears to block out her moans behind me.

Flicking on my music, Taylor Swift's "Love Story" instantly starts playing, and I jump from the shock, then sit for a moment before I can't fight back a booming laugh.

Bea hacked my playlist.

Slowly turning around to look at her, she's sitting normally now, grinning at me with the biggest, most beautiful smile.

She's breathtaking.

Nothing is said between us, but she slowly pulls on her headphones, then picks up the box of candy, sinking down into her chair beside me, getting comfortable. She pops a couple more sour candies into her mouth, winks at me, then rests her head back on the headrest and closes her eyes, enjoying her music.

I sit for a moment, listening to Taylor-fucking-Swift singing about first love while staring at mine, sitting in the place I come to hide away from the world to escape my overwhelming emotions.

Those emotions all stem back to her.

To Bea.

I never thought for a single second she would be here.

I never for a single day stopped caring about her.

Yet here she is.

My sparkling ray of sunshine, back in my life.

And maybe, somehow, through all of this chaos we've both put ourselves through, perhaps there's a glimmer of hope. A spark of the people we used to be.

I can't tell for sure, but with her reaction just now, I don't think last night was because she was drunk.

She's still attracted to me.

Like I am to her.

I just have to figure out if this is something worth pursuing or if I just need to let this go.

Let her go.

Once and for all.