Page 57 of Asher

When nothing but our heavy breathing filled the room and the scent of iron in the air, I smiled.

Then I watched as I sat on my bike with my brothers and smoked a cigar after we had gone through his monstrosity of a home while piles of cocaine, heroin, and meth went up in flames.

Our saddlebags were loaded down with cash we found.

We would be cleaning it.

And then making anonymous donations to all the kids we had recovered that he had trafficked.

As the sun peaked over the horizon, it was a good start to the day.

The moment I walked into the clubhouse with my brothers at my back, Chloe’s dad stood up and met us.

He took us all in.

The blood on our shirts.

Our busted knuckles.

He held his hand up and offered it to me.

I shook it.

Then he clapped me on the back and said, “When you ask for her hand, I’ll say yes.”

He stepped to the side, and her mother was there.

She rose on her tiptoes and kissed my cheek, then she whispered, “Be mindful of her heart. And take my words to mind. Make sure no skeletons in your closet can hurt her. Because I promise you this: when she loves, she loves hard. And she won’t hesitate to go down with you.”

I took her words to heart.

I really did.

That was when I called Teague.

Teague was a member of Wrath MC, Texas chapter in Bradford Valley. He had connections that Charlie could only dream of having.

And I was done waiting.

Chloe

When Asher returned, he said I wouldn’t have to worry about Marco.

And I believed him.

Even more so when I caught sight of him pulling his shirt over his head and throwing it in the trash can.

I wasn’t going to comment on the view of that man shirtless.

Because if I did... well... I would need to be sprayed with a fire extinguisher.

He had muscles for days. And at his age, it was dang impressive.

And the tattoos. One’s that spread from his pecs to his shoulders and over to his shoulder blades and down his arms... I wanted to lick every single line...

Stop it, Chloe,I silently berated myself.

Jesus Christ.