Her Double Mountain Outlaws: Blackthorn Mountain Men, book 8, page 12
“No offense meant,” Stone finally muttered, nodding his chin at me as he stuck a hand out.
“No apologies needed, man,” I shook his hand before turning and doing the same with Axe, smoothing the temporary flare-up over. Landon did the same.
“Look, we never thought this shit would follow us here. Not in a million years. The money…” I shook my head.
“It was never Harry’s anyways, and we gave it to the widow of a guy we were on the job with who didn’t make it,” Landon finished. “But, Harry’s not exactly a seeing logic kind of guy. We did not mean to bring this to your front doors though.”
I turned, my eyes piercing through the dimness of the garage and locking on to Kennedy.
“We’ll leave.”
The words left my mouth before I could even think about them. And they fucking stung. I turned to Landon, but I could see the same grim reality on his face too. Leaving pulled the danger away from the families of Blackthorn. It pulled it away from Kennedy too.
“You’ll leave? What, Blackthorn?”
I nodded at Stone. “This isn’t your bullshit, man. We’ll leave, and we’ll deal with it elsewhere, away from you all and your families.”
Ryker’s jaw tightened as his eyes darted between Landon and I. Slowly, he turned to his two friends, grunting.
“Fuck that.”
My brow went up. “What?”
“I said fuck that.” The big, bearded, tattooed ex motorcycle gang president stood from his chair, unfolding his huge muscled frame. “You’re not leaving because of this. Blackthorn is your home. You’ve set up a business here.”
“It’s just brick and mortar, Ryker,” Landon growled. “It can be started up again somewhere—”
“And you’ve got family here.”
Ryker’s voice was grim and edged as his eyes burned into us. “You live here, you’re one of us. And up here, we protect our own. Shit, one of the first things you did here was help us protect one of our own.” He cleared his throat. “So, fuck Harry. Fuck his crew.”
Landon shook his head. “Look, we appreciate it, brother. But this is our shit from our old lives.”
“And we’re all going to deal with it, together,” Ryker growled. The man wasn’t in charge or anything, but there was definitely a way he carried himself with authority and wisdom that kind of had a way of getting shit done. Probably had something to do with him having been an MC president years before.
“Fuck it,” Axe spat. “I don’t know who this Harry shit-head is, but he’s about to learn what happens when you fuck with Blackthorn.”
I raked my fingers over my jaw.
“His crew… these guys aren’t going to be fucking around, guys.”
“Oh, trust me,” Stone muttered, cracking his knuckles. “Neither are we.”
Ryker grinned, nodding his head. “Good. Let’s get on this. I’ll talk to Braun, Vlad, Austin, and Dallas. We’ll get some watches or cameras set up on roads up here and get some buzz going around town to see if people have been spotting anyone who they don’t recognize.”
He was about to say something else, when he glanced past me towards the office. I turned to see Addison waving to get his attention before she stuck her head out of the office door.
“Someone’s outside the bay doors.”
The five of us bristled, Stone turning and immediately grabbing a sawed-off shotgun from some hidden holster under the mechanic’s bench, before Addison waved her hands.
“Whoa, easy, cowboys, Jesus.” She rolled her eyes. “It’s a cop. Sooo…” she eyed Stone and then turned to glare at her husband. “Maybe we put the guns away, boys?”
The Stone nodded, slipping the gun back into its holster. But the five us eyed each other warily. There were a few shops, like ours, or Kennedy’s clinic, in what was kind of the “downtown” area at the base of Blackthorn. But Blackthorn Mountain wasn’t a town or anything, and for that reason, there really wasn’t any sort of police force up here.
Yes, the cops from Loggersville were available for any real emergencies. As were the State Troopers stationed about an hour away. But the folks that lived on the mountain basically had a system of keeping an eye on each other and doing a pretty good job of policing themselves.
…Which begged the question: what the fuck was a cop doing outside the garage of three former MC outlaws, and two former odd-job-pulling, mafia-employed, equally-as-checkered-past outlaws like Landon and me?
“No one act like an asshole, alright?” Ryker growled, moving to the garage door switch and flicking it. The big metal bay door rattled and whined as it started to roll up, and as the late morning light poured in, the five us stepped forward.
The guy was fucking big. I mean, shit, I’ll give him that. Big, clean-cut, blond and blue-eyed, with a strong, chiseled jaw, and broad shoulders. The guy looked more like one of those guys that rows crew at fancy colleges, or like one of those pretty-boy pro quarterbacks. I gave him a once over and frowned slightly. The only thing that even said “cop” about the guy was the fact that he was leaning against a Loggersville patrol car. He wasn’t in uniform either, just jeans and button-up plaid shirt.
The gun holstered at his hip said cop alright, though.
“Mornin’,” Axe growled as we all stepped out. “Something I can help you with, officer?”
The big blond guy eyed us, an almost half-smirk on his face. But those eyes were sizing each of us up. Shit, I could tell that from fifteen feet away from the guy.
“You must be Axe.”
Axe’s brow deepened. “Don’t think we’ve been introduced, officer…”
The blond guy cleared his throat, standing from his lean against the squad car.
“Turner. Rowan Turner.” He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a badge. “Oh, and it’s not officer.”
He smiled thinly.
“It’s Special Agent.”
The five us went a little quiet, and I threw a quick side-glance to Landon, who’s jaw clenched. Shit. The fuck was a Fed doing up here? I mean, hell, with the line-up of the five of us, and all the shit we’d collectively survived in our lives before Blackthorn? It honestly could have been anything, and you could tell that all five of us were bristling at the thought.
Agent Turner just grinned though. “Fellas, I know who most of you are, and I don’t actually give a shit, just so we can get that out of the way. But, seems your little community here might have a problem that’s bigger than you might be able to handle.”
Ryker stepped forward, crossing his arms over his chest.
“Not sure I follow what you’re talking about, agent.”
Agent Turner sighed, raking his fingers over his jaw before shoving them through his blond hair.
“You know, Ryker, if we could cut through the bullshit, we might just be able to help each other.”
“Need some work done on your car? That it?” Stone muttered, cracking his knuckles.
Agent Turner chuckled. “Man, they told me Blackthorn was its own little world up here. Look, you’re protecting your place up here, and your people. I get that, and I can respect it. But you’re in over your head here.”
“Think we’re doing just fine,” Landon muttered.
Agent Turner swiveled his gaze to the both of us.
“Doing fine? You two in the business of getting your shop and your home shot to shit by multiple automatic weapons firing hollow points? That a typical Tuesday night for you gents?”
My jaw tensed.
“Harry Shaunessy isn’t some wannabe gangster trying to give you a scare,” Turner growled, his smiling tone suddenly gone as his eyes flashed. “But then, you two already know that. Why you’re not taking this more seriously is beyond me, considering I’ve been told there was a lady friend of yours in the apartment when—”
“Trust me,” I hissed, my anger flashing as stepped right up to Rowan. “We’re taking it pretty fucking seriously.” The words snarled from my lips, my hands closing to fists before I felt Landon’s hand on my shoulder.
Rowan smiled.
“Good. Good. Get mad. Like I said, we’re on the same team here.”
“You after this Harry asshole too, huh?” Ryker growled, crossing his arms over his chest.
Rowan shook his head. “No. Officially, I’m up here in the Blackthorn area for something else, actually. But when I got wind of the shooting last night and figured out who happened to be missing from Vegas and recently spotted around here, well, now I am. Unofficially.”
Axe growled lowly, shaking his head as he pushed his long hair out of his face. “So, what… you’re here to tell us that you and your Feds ‘have it handled’ and we should just stay out of your way? Just sit back and hope the bullets don’t come for our families next?”
The smugness faded from Rowan’s face, and slowly, he shook his head.
“Actually, I was going to ask you what your plans were and if you needed some extra gun hands.”
Axe frowned, turning to glance at Ryker and Stone.
Stone snorted. “The fuck is this, your version of entrapment?”
Rowan slowly shook his head before he turned back to us. “Back in Vegas, you two were involved in a robbery for Harry, right?”
My jaw clenched, and I could hear the blood roaring through my ears.
“It’s not a question, I know you were. Harry had you go into that teamster’s office and rip off the mob. Told you it was his money, right?”
I didn’t blink. Didn’t move. Didn’t say a damn word. All I could think about was Kennedy, and how fuckin’ mad I’d be if this was when our past finally caught up with us, just when we’d found her.
“There was a man with you on the job. Mario James.”
Rowan’s look hardened, his mouth going thin.
“Mario James was an undercover agent working deep cover. And he was my partner.”
I broke my freeze, turning and glancing at Landon.
“You both went above and beyond to help out his wife and kids, and for that, I’m both grateful and willing to forget everything I know about your involvement with certain shit down there in Nevada.”
He took a deep breath, taking his badge out again and flipping it in his hands as he turned to look at all of us.
“So, to answer your question, no. This isn’t entrapment. This isn’t an agency job at all.” He turned and tossed the badge through the open window of the squad car.
“I’m not here officially. And I’m not here to read anyone their rights or tell them they’ve got the right to remain silent.”
His jaw clenched.
“I’m here to help put a fuckin’ bullet in the asshole who got my partner killed. So, whatever you’re planning?” He nodded solemnly at each of us. “I want in.”
There was silence for a minute, like no one even know what the fuck to say to anything he’d just said. Slowly, Ryker turned to glance at Landon and I, arching his brow. I looked at my friend, and when he started to nod, so did I. And slowly, a thin, wry smile began to creep over my face as I turned back to Rowan.
“Alright. You want in? You’re in. But we don’t know shit about where Harry might be holed up or how many men he’s got with him. Or even what the fuck he’s planning. You still want in?”
The FBI agent nodded grimly.
“Hell yeah.”
Ryker chuckled, nodding his head. “Well, Agent Turner?” He grinned. “Welcome to Blackthorn Mountain.”
16
Landon
Kennedy snorted, wincing as she turned to look at us.
“It’s, uh… I mean…” She sighed. “It seemed bigger without all of us in here.”
I just grinned, my eyes moving past her and back to her bed. Her bed that I’m sure was fine when it was just her in there. And hell, if it was her and one of us, it’d be fine too. Cozy, but fine.
But with three of us? Yeah, it was downright intimate. Kennedy looked embarrassed. But me? Well, the idea of having to spend the whole night with her squeezed tight between us just to avoid falling out of bed wasn’t exactly a negative mental image. Turning to Caleb and seeing the hungry grin on his face told me he was thinking the same thing.
“I can call Lucy and see if she’s got an air mattress or something tucked away in her closet—”
“Angel,” I said quietly, stepping into her bedroom and pulling her into my arms. “Do you seriously think either of us is put off by the idea of having to cram into a tiny bed with you all night?”
She bit her lip, pink flushing through her cheeks as her eyes danced over mine.
“Okay, when you put it that way…” she grinned. “It really does seem like a bigger bed normally.”
“We’re big guys,” Caleb purred, moving behind her and sliding his hand over her hips as his lips found her neck.
“Lucky me,” she gasped quietly, panting as my lips found the other side of her neck. She sagged between us, murmuring softly, her hands sliding over both of us as we rocked her between us.
And it was perfect. It’d been a long fucking twenty-four hours. After the meeting with Axe, Ryker, Stone, and that FBI guy Rowan, we’d gone back to the shop to assess how bad it was. Luckily—as weird as it is to say luckily in this instance—the assholes had been aiming for us, which means most of their bullets had been aiming for the second floor. The shop’s front windows on the first floor were shattered out, and a few wild shots had made some mayhem of the back shelves. But for the most part, the parlor was okay.
Caleb and I had patched up the windows with plywood and then headed up to our place. The upstairs was a fucking shitshow though. We’d paused in the middle of the floor, both of us just fucking silent as we’d taken it all in. Hell, I wasn’t even sure how any of us had made it out of there alive.
Kennedy had stayed with Larkin, Addison, and her sister Jackie back at the garage while we boarded up our place and packed some of our shit. Afterwards, we’d sat down with Rowan, who had some contacts back at the Bureau who were going to help him find Harry Shaunessy, off the record. But still, even with his resources and our knowledge of Blackthorn, it was going to take some time to figure out where the hell Harry was holed up.
Some of the other guys from the mountain—Vlad, Braun, and the Texas twins—were going to do some recon too, but for now, it was going to be a waiting game. And when you’re out for blood after someone tries to hurt what you love, the waiting game fucking sucks.
Eventually, after some takeout from the diner downtown, Kennedy had told us to just come crash at her place until we could fix up our apartment.
“Besides,” she’d shrugged. “Lucy’s gone for a few nights.”
I’d chuckled. “Embarrassed about us, angel?”
“No,” she’d shaken her head, her lip catching between her teeth as her eyes blazed fire. “Lucy’s a light sleeper.”
Caleb and I had both grinned hungrily.
So, that’s where we were—at Kennedy’s small house, in her small bedroom, looking at her small bed.
And damn, was it perfect.
My lips trailed over her skin, my hands tightening on her as they slid over her body. I tried not to think about it, but the fact that we could have lost her the night before had a rage burning inside of me. One errant bullet. One step in the wrong direction on her part. A tea kettle on the stove that might’ve ricocheted a bullet.
Fuck, there were a hundred different nightmare scenarios of the previous night having turned horrible. Because the thought of losing her, or of her getting hurt was horrible. But I pushed that aside as I tasted her skin. We were here, we were safe, and we were whole. That’s all that mattered.
Kennedy moaned as my kisses became more insistent, my lips sucking harder at her skin as my hands moved to find the edges of her clothes. I tugged at her shirt, and she shivered as I pushed it up over her belly, bunching it higher towards her breasts. Behind her, Caleb groaned, helping to tug the shirt over her chest and head, slipping her hair free of it before tossing it away.
A dull heat thundered inside of me—the scent of her, and the feel of her soft skin, and the sound of her moans taking the embrace from soothing to wanting in seconds. I could feel my blood roaring through my veins, my cock thickening quickly between my thighs as my balls tingled and filled with cum.
My hands found the front clasp of her bra, and when I plucked it open and let the little lacy thing fall from her arms, she moaned as she pressed into me. Her hard nipples dragged over my muscled chest, and when I felt her fingers sliding under my shirt, I groaned. She pushed my shirt up, letting her bare skin rub against mine, her nipples like little points. My shirt was tossed away just as I saw Caleb doing the same behind her. And this time, when we came together, my big hand cupped her jaw as I crushed my lips to hers.
Kennedy moaned into my mouth as Caleb’s hand slid around to cup her bare breasts. His fingers teased her nipples to hard points, her fingers raking over my chest as she moaned for both of us. I could hear the sound of Caleb’s belt buckle, and when he started to lower and kiss his way down her spine, she gasped into my kiss.
“Oh, fuck,” she whimpered, her tongue aggressively finding mine as Caleb moved lower. His hands slid around, deftly undoing her jeans and peeling them down over her hips and the soft curve of her ass. My hand slid down between her legs, and when I stroked my fingers across the front of her lacy thong panties, I growled at the feel of her slick, sticky wet heat.
I stroked her slit through her panties, making her shiver as Caleb’s mouth kissed, sucked, and nibbled its way over her ass. I felt him tug her panties to the side, and I moved my hand to give him room. His fingers pushed wetly into her hot, eager cunt from behind, making her cry out into my lips as he started to stroke them in and out. He kissed his way down her ass even further, spreading her open with one hand and pressing his tongue deep between her legs.
