Page 15 of Devil's Own: Roughneck

“Wasted time, Gee?”

“I don’t want you mad at me.”

“Baby, best tell me now.”

“It’s about—”

Her answer gets cut off by my phone ringing. At this hour, I answer it. Cut. “We’re mobilizing, heading for Thornbriar.”

“Thornbriar?” Thornbriar is the home of our friends who were once our mortal enemies, the Brimstone Lords MC. “Talk to me.”

“Couple of their men were attacked outside of a strip club. Drive-by.”

“Dammit!” I shout.

“What?” Gee asks and I shake my head once to let her know not now.

“The women?” I ask Cut.

“Heading up to the compound for tonight. Guards for work tomorrow. I got to get Aj and Freya up there now.”

“Meet you there.”

He disconnects. “Baby, I have to get you up to the club.”

“What? Why?”

“Our friends, the Brimstone Lords, a couple of their brothers caught bullets in a drive-by. They’re a legit club now. Shit like that doesn’t happen to them anymore.”

“Then maybe I should—”

“Sit your ass at the club with the other women so I don’t have to worry about you.”

“What am I supposed to do there?” she asks in protest.

“I got a room. Sleep. Talk. Play pool. I don’t care, so long as I know you’re safe so I can keep my mind on what I gotta keep my mind on.”

She lets out a slow breath. “Okay.” Then she gets out of bed and starts pulling on a clean pair of panties from her bag. “Let’s do this.”

She’s dressed and ready to go before I am. Once we’re on my bike, I take off toward Bentley. This hit wasn’t a coincidence. And who was hit? We got friends, not just because the clubs are friends, but individual men I’d go into a firefight for. My guess it’s not one of them because they all got old ladies, so they don’t frequent strip clubs often. But the Lords own a strip club, so they could’ve been leaving work.

Shit.

I jam the accelerator flat and we jut forward faster than I’ve ridden so far with Gee on my bike with me. She squeezes my waist tighter.

“Rough,” she calls.Fuck.She’s scared. I slow down again. Getting her to the compound safely means more than getting us there fast.

At the clubhouse, I walk her back to my room, opening the door for her to enter. “I’ve got to meet the brothers. There’s a full kitchen and bar. Make yourself at home, baby.” Then I press a quick, hard kiss to her lips and turn to leave.

“Rough?” she says, stopping me in my tracks, and I turn to look at her.

“Yeah?”

“Please be safe.”

Even though I don’t have the time to, I walk back over to her, pulling her into my arms to kiss her good and proper. Her body melts against mine and it’s probably the first time I regret this life because I have to leave her rather than spend the night holding her in my arms.

It’s Gee who pulls back. “Go,” she whispers. I nod and turn to jog out of the room.

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