Page 72 of Kaz
Maddox grumbled under his breath, then hobbled over to the couch and sat down next to Miles. He didn’t look like someone who’d just been shot. There was color in his cheeks and a smileon his face. If it wasn’t for the limping and bandage, one might never have suspected there was a bullet hole in his leg.
“Eh. I’ve had worse,” Maddox said, his lips pulling into a much too cheery smile.
Miles felt his brows lower. “Do I want to know?”
Maddox leaned back, putting one arm on the back of the couch while he placed his feet on the coffee table with a grunt.
“Probably not.”
“Didn’t think so,” Miles muttered.
They sat in silence for a moment, and Miles was about to get sucked back into his dark thoughts when Maddox shifted, his gaze finding Miles’s.
“They’ll be alright.”
He blinked at Maddox. Twice.
“You got shot last time.”
“Eh.” Maddox shrugged. “That was on me.”
“You’re not making it better,” Miles muttered.
“Aren’t I?”
He could hear the amusement clearly in Maddox’s voice and belatedly had to admit that, yes, he had made his anxiety and fear lessen just a bit by distracting him.
“How did you end up an outlaw biker?”
Maddox raised his brows at Miles.
He shrugged. If the man wanted to distract him, he might as well get some information out of him. They hadn’t talked much over the weeks he’d been here. All he really knew was that Maddox was close with Talon.
“Had a shitty childhood, joined the Navy to get away from it all, got back after two deployments and had trouble fitting into society,” Maddox said, a haunted look flashing through his eyes for a second before it was hidden behind a smile. “Found some people I could rely on and made a home for me and my sister. Talon and I met at boot camp and got deployed together. Thatman’s saved my ass more times than I can count. Being here with him and everyone else? It feels like the kind of family we had over there.”
The mention of Maddox’s sister had him digging his nails into his palms. It wasn’t really his place to say anything, but he hoped whatever happened between her and Wilder wouldn’t affect their relationship because he got the feeling Maddox needed the stability the club provided him.
“I’m glad you found a family here,” Miles said.
Maddix grinned. “Me, too. Speaking of?”
A rumble from outside had him on his feet and running for the door before Maddox could finish his sentence. He threw the door open just in time to see the first bike pull up. He’d know that motorcycle and rider anywhere.
Kaz dismounted and barely got his helmet off before Miles jumped into his arms. Kaz grunted at the impact but caught him easily, hands grabbing him under his ass as he met Miles’s mouth with the same eagerness, lips and tongues clashing in a desperate kiss.
He’d never been happier to see Kaz, to touch and hold him. He’d never been happier to know that Kaz was alright. Being in Kaz’s arms settled his raging pulse, even if it also sparked a different reason for his rapid heartbeat.
He pulled back just far enough to rest his forehead against Kaz’s, their panting breaths mingling.
“Everyone’s alright,” Kaz whispered, somehow knowing he needed that reassurance.
He knew Kaz would never let anything happen to Emma, but he couldn’t always be there to protect her. Neither could he. All he could do was trust that she could protect herself. Trust that the others would watch her back. It wasn’t an easy task, but he was sure it’d get easier with time.
Kaz put him back on his feet, and he took a second to just look at the man. That stubble-covered chin and cheeks, the black hair curling in the soft breeze, the gray eyes looking like the sky before a thunderstorm. The man had never been sexier.
“What am I? Chopped liver?”
Miles pulled back with a gasp, relief coursing through him as he took in the twinkle in Kian’s eyes. He reluctantly released Kaz to wrap his arms around Kian. He squeezed his eyes closed, trying not to think of what could have happened to the man.
