Page 50 of Tempt Me

Caveman looks at Indigo and shakes his head. “No.”

“Don’t tell him shit,” Zoot snarls at Caveman. “He’s patched in our chapter, not yours. Just fuck off.”

“I said what I said,” Caveman mutters, sitting forward and seeming ready to rush at Zoot. “Indigo needs to stay in Banta City. He isn’t a man built for traveling.”

Noble senses the men are about to come to blows and steps between them. “No one should be leaving. Tack and Hunter are a couple. She’s a friend of the O’Malley family. Her mom has used her influence to keep the state cops off our back.”

“That’s not enough,” Zoot growls at his brother. “Hunter will get our people killed.

“What makes you think the asshole won’t send mercs to the farm anyway? Tack is on video riding off with Hunter. Anyone stalking Hunter knows she’s friends with Siobhan and Carys. It’s obvious she’s probably here. The only way to prove otherwise is to prove she’s somewhere else. How the fuck would we do that even if we sent her away?”

“We leak some shit to our people in the media about Hunter traveling overseas to heal with her mom.”

“We can do that anyway.”

Zoot pushes Noble who fights the urge to escalate the fight. As the brothers face off, my president mutters, “We’re going to lose people.”

“Stop being a pussy,” Caveman says, throwing gasoline on the fire. “Your boy has a woman in trouble. If you can’t handle that shit, have them come stay up in the hills. We’ll keep them safe. Won’t we, boys?”

As soon as the Hills Chapter members murmur their approval, Zoot dives for Caveman. The two large men end up on the floor. Noble doesn’t waste time trying to break up the wrestling match. He snaps at me and points to the door.

I obey since he’s on my side with Hunter. If Zoot snapped, I would flip him off. My temper isn’t usually an issue, but few people matter to me as much as Hunter does. I can’t see the big picture. I only see my woman.

“No one’s going anywhere,” Noble tells me as the wrestling match knocks over chairs and sends club guys darting out of the way. “Are you okay?”

“No.”

“Well, the good thing about the feds sniffing around is everyone’s acting like fucking choir boys right now.”

“Tell him about staying off the roads!” Zoot yells from his battle with Caveman.

Noble rolls his eyes. “Your president orders you to remain off the roads for the time being. You don’t ride until Zoot says otherwise.”

“Why exactly?”

“The media is talking about you as Hunter’s boyfriend. If this guy wants someone to blame for keeping Hunter from him, he’ll put a target on you. Zoot is worried a sniper shot will end you. So, stay home for now.”

“Okay. If the feds are investigating, should we tell them about our suspect list?”

“Yes, but it needs to come from Hunter. They’ll be out here today. Our lawyers will be back. We told Suzanne to send her own, meaning she’ll probably have the entire law firm out here. Anyway, the feds are coming at this like an abduction for ransom crime. They’re putting time and money behind bringing someone to bear for what happened. Every rich person in America expects this shit to be handled and the responsible person to be ruined. So maybe we can let Uncle Sam handle our problem while Hunter and you hold up here.”

Exhaling deeply, I feel exhausted. “I don’t want to leave.”

“You aren’t going anywhere.”

“Zoot, though.”

“He’s just freaked out after seeing the videos. There’s one where you go down from the stomach shot. The video flashes away from you and it seems like you’re a goner. It fucked him up. He can’t think straight, but we’ve got this thing handled. Just take care of Hunter and rest up. There’s always new bullshit on the horizon.”

“Do you ever wish you weren’t in charge?”

My question startles Noble. He stares at me blankly and then frowns. “No, I’d rather have an ulcer than get my ass spanked by a tyrant.”

I glance at where Caveman and Zoot have finished pounding on each other. My president glares at the other man, never willing to let anything go. Caveman chuckles with his sister, always happy to ruin someone’s day.

I leave behind the men in charge and go looking for Hunter. I’m trying to imagine us together after all this chaos. Can we build a life with a home and kids like normal people?

As I enter Carys’s house to find Hunter cuddled with a sleepy Hector, I feel her mind focused on babies. She offers me a smile filled with promises.

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