Jagger had the decency to wait until the next morning to approach Travis about running the facial recognition. If he were being completely honest, he was nervous. He hadn't meant to attack Travis that way, it was the last thing he had wanted to do. Purposely, he had stayed away until late morning. When he entered the clubhouse, he spotted Tyler."You know where Travis is?"Tyler grimaced. "He and his much shorter hair are in the cave.""Shorter hair?""Yeah, dude. It was kinda short to begin with, but they had to buzz him to put some staples in his head where you busted it wide open. I'm not sure you're the person he wants to see today, if you get what I mean."Now Jagger felt really bad. His temper had gotten the better of him—that and the shock. "Has Liam said anything?" Things like that could have more than one potential consequence. It normally was not kosher to fight in the clubhouse."Nah, I think he gets it. Hell, we all get it, but the rest of us are far enough away
"How do you know him?" Travis asked as he started to pull up all the pertinent information that he needed. Some of it was in his original report on the man, but now that he had the facial recognition, it looked like he went by at least two other aliases as well.The laugh that came was dry and hollow. "He approached me as a teenager, tried to get into my pants.""What?"He hated telling other people about this. Even though he knew that it wasn't his fault, he still felt shame. He knew that he shouldn't, but even after months of talking to Doc Jones about it, it still gave him a little anxiety. "Yeah, he was an elder and a pastor in the sector of our church. He got a young girl pregnant, and then he tried to get into my pants. It's what made me turn my back on religion. I didn't know him as Clinton Herrington though, so obviously he used one of those aliases with us."Travis pushed a few more keys. "So we've got a guy with a serial pattern, who liked to prey on young kids?""E
It hadn't been easy getting behind the electrified barbed wire fence that surrounded the property, but they had managed it. Took them over an hour, and they knew at this point they had no time to lose. It was a struggle they hadn't counted on."You sure you know how to work this stuff?" Liam asked Travis as he laid everything out and began putting batteries in the pieces that needed it."I'm not a dumbass. I set up your phone and everything having to deal with that. Might I also add, I make sure every single one of our houses is safe. I know what I'm doing, I just need to make sure I do it right. These batteries don't last forever, and we need a little juice to figure out what works best."Jagger kept watch towards the main house, watching through a pair of binoculars for anything that could be taken as a threat from the man who lived there. "Everything's quiet up this way. Just do what you need to. I'll let ya know if we've got to book it."Liam wished he could be of some help
"You saw it?" Christine asked Travis as she made her way into the room the two of them called their own. "You saw the graveyard?"He nodded. "That was something of the freakiest shit I have ever seen in my life. The fact that someone could kill for what seemed like sport, to me, is insane. Granted, we've done some things as an MC that I think people might look down upon, but we've never done it for the fun of it.""I think I know why he did it," she told him, swallowing roughly."I don't know if I want to hear," he admitted. Walking over to where she stood, he put his arms around her neck and pulled to him.She held on for dear life, wrapping her arms around his waist. "I think he saw them as a sacrifice, you know, to God, and that since he was doubly sacrificing, then he would be more heavily favored. I know it sounds weird, but if you could hear him sometimes," she covered her ears. "He would chant, and those chants had to do with offerings, and it was always after that anoth
Meredith could feel Tyler's gaze on her back as she met with one of her former co-workers and the field agent of the FBI in charge of the Bowling Green area. She could tell just by the way she felt that he was twitchy, that he didn't like her being around all this law enforcement, but she knew that Clinton was much bigger fish than Heaven Hill had ever been for them. Religious zealots were a dime a dozen, but the Feds always looked good in the public eye when they could bring a group of them down. Waco being the perfect example. They would gladly tout the America experience and get patriotic, and then they would look like the best people in the world. For a few days, even the conspiracy theorists would put their trust in the government. She knew that as soon as she called her contact with this information, they would call in for a full-scale operation. She smiled slightly at her husband as she walked over to where he stood. "They're about to give us some bulletproof vests, and it's
It felt good being back in his cave. Travis took a deep breath, focusing on all of his video cameras. This was where he felt at peace, where he hadn't felt like he'd been able to come for so long. It was a bad place to be in, not being comfortable in the one place that you felt like you needed to be. He was doing a clean sweep of everything when he heard someone knock on the doorframe. Glancing up, he saw Jagger there. Shit."Can I come in?""If you promise you ain't gonna bust my head wide open again. I'm finally getting over the motherfuckin' headaches."Jagger had a seat and stretched his legs out in front of him. "I really wish I could say I was sorry that I did that to you, but I'm not. In fact, I'm still kinda pissed that you kept that from me. I missed all that time with her.""It wouldn't have been good time, Jagger. Trust me when I tell you this. When I first met her, she was not who she is today. She was closed off from everyone and everything. You think this woman is
Christine rubbed her hands against the denim of her jeans and took a deep breath. "You sure you want to do this?" Jagger asked. He stood behind her, Steele at her side, Bianca at his."If you do, I do. I think we need to. This is the one thing that's been holding me back; I need to make peace with it."She felt Jagger's hand on her shoulder as she ascended the old porch steps. It had been a long two months of counseling that she'd undergone. Sometimes Travis would come and sit in with her, sometimes Jagger would. Every time, she and Doc Jones would work on some part of her childhood or adulthood that had caused her anxiety. At her last session, Jagger had been there, and Doc Jones suggested that the two of them go back to their childhood home, together. She thought that it would go a long way in making them feel better about the way things had gone down. It would give them a sense of closure that neither one of them ever had."I do," he told her. "If you two don't mind," sh
Christine lay that night in Travis' arms, her head resting against his chest, listening to his heart beat strongly. This had quickly become her favorite place in the world. She loved that he would take off his shirt, open his arms, and expect her to snuggle up next to him. That heartbeat was what got her through the hard days, and the smile that he gave her was what made the other ones so easy. He had been there through everything, and she knew that she gotten lucky. She hadn't ever known another man who had loved her as unconditionally as he did. He might not have said the words, but he proved it to her every day in everything thing he did."Are you okay?" he asked, running his hands up and down her back. "I know that couldn't have been easy for you."When they had gotten back to the clubhouse, Liam had called a meeting and set run schedules for the next few weeks, and he hadn't had a chance to talk to her. Things were getting back to normal now, and he wanted to make sure that sh
The temperature in the cab of the truck was downright frigid as Remy drove to Tyler's house to drop off Addie first. Tatum refused to meet his gaze and that flat out pissed him off. If she was going to give herself to another man and then have the balls to sit in front of him like this, she should at least have the decency to meet his eyes when he looked at her."Am I going to have to explain to Tyler why I'm dropping you off at one in the fucking morning?" Remy glanced in the review mirror of the truck, looking back to where Addie sat in the extended cab."No," she shook her head, looking about as tired and unhappy as he felt. "He's at the clubhouse. He and Mom had planned to stay and they took Caelin with them."Well, thank God for small favors, because the one person besides Liam he didn't want to face off with tonight, was Tyler."You're lucky I don't call him and tell him where the hell you've been. How could you let her go up there with him?" he questioned her, the irrita
Tatum's heart beat through her chest as she followed Gavin upstairs to a much quieter part of the house. Her mouth was dry – the result of her nerves, or the alcohol she'd consumed – she wasn't sure which. Her hand gripped Gavin's tightly, but she knew it wasn't because she was excited, it was because she wanted to yank on it, and stop him from leading her into the empty bedroom. Part of her wanted to put a stop to it, the other part wanted to go through with this so she could throw it in Remy's face. Those stubborn traits she'd inherited from her dad were alive and well tonight.She glanced over her shoulder, spotting Addie pulling out her phone and making a call. The worried look on her friend's face told her all she needed to know. Addie was probably calling in reinforcements and her time had suddenly become very limited."You feelin' good?" his deep voice questioned in her ear, causing her hair to stand up and goosebumps to appear on her arms. This time it was different than wh
Remy was in a piss-poor mood, had been since the night of the Christmas party and everything that had gone down with Tatum. He bit off the head of anyone foolish enough to ask if he was okay. He'd been eating lunch by himself, and overall had been a miserable fucking loner. Even right now, while everyone else was partying their asses off, his big date was being in the gym and beating the ever-loving shit out of a heavy bag. It was the only thing that seemed to calm him the last few days.Hearing his fists connect with the bag felt good, even if it was muted by the gloves he wore. His arms burned, his shoulders and back ached, his chest heaved, and sweat poured down his forehead and into his eyes; making them sting. The sting felt good though, because it distracted him from the guilt he felt for the way he'd treated Tatum. And that guilt was pressing down on him like he was trapped under a thousand-pound boulder.He'd felt every emotion on the spectrum since she'd walked out on him
Tatum's blue eyes took in the party-goers around her. In different parts of the room, she could see members of her graduating class, some kids that were now seniors, and a few college kids. God, this had never been her thing, she'd never found high school or college parties worth anything to her. She could see everything that went on at them and more, at the club parties. Plus, this was a mob mentality – everyone here went along with everyone else, and it was so boring. Nobody had any individuality. Normally, she'd have tossed the invitation in the trash can and not even thought twice about it. She would have spent the night at the club's New Year's party and have an actual good time with her friends and family.Tonight though, she was on a mission."Do you see anybody?" Addie asked as they surveyed the room.Tatum took a drink from the bottle of Strawberry Boone's Farm she carried in her hand. It was the bottom shelf stuff, guaranteed to get you loaded in the least amount of tim
Tatum had never felt anything like the all-consuming lust that blasted through her as soon as Remy grabbed her hip and pulled her deep into his body. She'd thought she had but damn, she was wrong. Her fingers grasped at his shirt, trying to ground herself in the feelings, when she felt his bare palms slip up under the hem of her dress. The sharp intake of breath, and the way he nipped at her lip indicated he'd discovered she'd worn a thong."Fuck, Tate," he moaned as he pulled his lips from hers.She almost cried as he abandoned her lips and smeared his mouth down her neck. She felt the sharp nip of his teeth down to the core of her body. It caused her nipples to tighten further against the lace of strapless bra, and before she knew what she was doing, she was rubbing up against him."Please, Rem," she gasped out when she felt one of his hands on her ass venture back over her hip, and closer to the wetness and heat she felt between her thighs."Has anybody touched you?" he grow
He knew the second she walked in, just like he'd known when she'd entered the bakery. Even seven shots of Pappy in, he could feel her, he knew she was there by the way the hair on the back of his neck stood up, the goosebumps he got on his arms and the way his dick stirred to attention. He wasn't sure what kind of hold Tatum Walker held over him, but it was strong, maybe dangerously so, like some sort of Jedi Mind Trick he'd never be able to resist. And dammit if his hand didn't shake as he took his next shot."Too much for you?" Drew asked as he noticed the slight tremble of the other man's hand.How did he tell the man sitting beside him, he was hard up for his little sister? Easy. He didn't."Nah, I'm good, but I gotta hit the head. Be back."Plan number two when plan number one didn't work? Run and hope she wouldn't follow. As much alcohol as he had consumed, he wasn't sure he could push her away this time. After all, he was only a man and he wasn't immune to the way she lo
He should have brought a date. Those were the first words Remy thought when he walked through the door of the clubhouse. It hit him like a ton of bricks, and all he wanted to do was turn around and head back to Cash and Harper's. Normally, he lived at the clubhouse, but he'd had dinner at their place tonight. He could relieve the babysitter watching Maddy, and he wouldn't have to worry about keeping his guard up.Couples were paired off, which meant anyone without a plus one would be inevitably thrown together. Looking up, he saw mistletoe was hung randomly around the room. Shit. Since he was the youngest, he seemed to be one of the few without a woman on his arm. Sure as the world turned, he'd find himself thrown toward someone tonight.Gazing around the room, he didn't see Tatum and for that he was extremely thankful. He'd been able to avoid her since the day at Harper's bakery, but it'd hadn't been easy. Not that she'd gone out of her way to be around him but they were in the sa
Remy told himself to slow down as he grasped her neck, hauling Tatum closer to him. He cautioned his lust-drunk body not to make a fool of itself. He warned his libido not to let this go too far. They were in the middle of the bakery, in the middle of downtown. Anyone could walk through that door from some dumbass off the street, to her brother, to her dad. But he couldn't stop, couldn't force his hand not to trail down her body and grasp her tight ass in his fingers. He wanted desperately to pull her lower half into his, wanted to shove his thigh between her legs and feel the heat he knew would be there. His tongue was forceful as it made its way into her mouth, testing how far she'd let him go.Turned out she'd let him go as far as he wanted to.His brain tried to warn him that this was progressing too quickly. It was getting too out of control, too fast. If he didn't watch it, he'd be picking her up and putting her ass first against the nearest wall. He was losing his mind, losi
Son of a bitch. Something in the way Tatum's gaze met his made him think he'd said those words loud enough she could hear them. But fuck, she looked amazing. Even more than she usually did. Tatum had been gorgeous for a long time, but with her hair in this new cut, she looked sexy, and almost… sophisticated. But this was Tatum. She'd never fully be a lady, not really. She didn't do dresses unless she had to, she didn't do caked on makeup, and she could hang with the guys – no matter how raunchy it got."Do you like it?" She asked again, this time looking much more unsure than when she'd started out. Very slowly, she ran her fingers through her hair, giving it a tousle.Remy cleared his throat, not sure how honest he wanted to be, but at the same time knowing he couldn't help but be honest. If he lied to her, she would know, and it would do nothing to help the situation they seemed to always find themselves in. The two of them always seemed to be either pushing or pulling at each ot