Autumn Lake (11 page)

“I’m here.” She slowly walked into the center of the recreational room, inching toward her dad. She didn’t put her hands where he could see them and she didn’t seem to notice that eight or nine men had their automatic weapons trained on her. “What’s this about, Dad?”

“Well, now, little girl, I guess you have some explaining to do.”

“No, Daddy. I don’t.” She kept walking closer to her father.

“What the fuck is going on out here?” Devon left church, also known as the clubhouse meeting room, in a drunken stupor. He stumbled into the clubhouse, took a minute to note what was going on and went for his gun, tucked in his boot. Before he could make a move, Cav fired a shot. By some miracle, Devon dodged the bullet and it never so much as grazed his skin.

Still, the fired gun initiated total chaos. Threats were exchanged. Full patch members rushed the recreational room, unarmed but quickly changing their status as Scott tossed weapons over the bar. One by one, the MC lined up next to Logan, their guns in hand, their expressions signifying their level of determination.

“Stop right there!” Autumn’s voice resounded.

All eyes were then on her. Somehow, during the commotion, she grabbed her father’s weapon, dragged him to a nearby chair, and pushed him to his seat. She aimed his weapon at his head.

“That’s not your best bet,
little
,” Cav said.

“Oh no?” She laughed. “I think it’s my best play yet. You knew better than to walk in here like this.”

“Let me go, girl,” her father said. “Do you really think my men will let you get by with this? You may kill me but they’ll never let you walk out of here alive.”

“Then we’ll leave this earth together. Maybe in the afterlife you can make up for lost time and try to be a better parent there. God knows you’ve been pathetic here.”

“I provided a good life for you and your brother and what thanks do I get?”

Cav said, “I can take the shot, Morris.”

Her father turned his head to the side and smirked. “Did you hear that,
daughter
? Your bodyguard can take the shot. We both know he’s accurate.”

She cocked her gun and glared straight ahead, now focused on Cav. “Don’t do it, Cav. I’ll kill him and still be able to fire a couple of rounds into you. Don’t test me on that.”

Cav laughed. “You’re a gal with many talents. Aren’t you?” He swung his gaze to Jake who had kept his gun on Cav since he’d entered the main hall.

Logan asked, “Why don’t we all put down our weapons and talk this out?”

“Says the cop who is trying to bring down the MC,” Morris Lake drawled.

“I’m not a cop,” Logan said, swinging his gun at Morris then too.

“It’s not looking too good for you now, Morris,” Devon said, apparently too drunk to notice four of the men there had their weapons aimed in his direction.

“Let’s all go our separate ways,” Logan said, apparently thinking he was a good enough negotiator to talk his way out of this mess.

Sirens were heard in the distance. It sounded like a mix of ambulances and police cruisers racing their way.

“The cops will be here any minute,” Scott said, still hiding behind the bar.

Scott really crawled under Jake’s skin. He drank their booze, fucked their sheep, and when it came time to fight? He was the fellow tossing out the weapons and ammo. He claimed he was a black belt in karate but the only thing Scott kicked up was his own feet.

The sirens kept blaring. The sound of screeching tires and slamming doors proved the cops had finally arrived.

“Your turn, old man,” Logan said, his gaze shifting all over the place. “We can all walk away from this alive today or we can go out in body bags.”

“You’ll be the first to go, Marcs,” Cav said, nodding his head at one of his guys.

Before anyone fired from the other side, gunfire ricocheted all over the place. Marcs fired first. Jake pumped two into Cav. The rest of the club took out Morris Lake’s men.

Cops were screaming outside the clubhouse, telling everyone to come out with their hands up. Jake rushed Autumn. Unable to see what was happening on the other side of the room, he screamed, “Check the fallen. Make sure they’re dead!” He ran across the recreational area. “Autumn!”

Collapsed on the floor next to her father, she cradled his head in her lap. “I had to do it.” Tears streamed down her cheeks. “I didn’t have a choice.”

“We all have choices, Autumn,” Jake said, his heart breaking in a million pieces. “Today, you made the choice to live. When your father came here, he should’ve known what he faced. This club was armed with his guns, his ammunition. He knew we were prepared. He supplied us with the very weapons we used against him.”

“He thought you’d give me up,” she whispered, using her fingers to close his set eyes. “He thought you’d hand me over.”

“We weren’t handing you over to a monster.” Devon stumbled over to check on everyone. “We protect our own.” He was slurred enough to prove he wouldn’t remember much of this tomorrow. “And as long as Jake wants you around, we’ll have your back.”

Jake knelt beside her. He stroked her silken hair away from her face and whispered, “And I want you around, baby.”

“Even now?”

“Especially now,” he said quietly. “Now, you’re free to live without this monster looking over your shoulder. You’re free to be with me or anyone else you choose.”

“I choose you,” she said, reaching for him. “I choose only you.”

Chapter Eighteen

Two days later, Autumn paced the length of her kitchen, biting her thumbnail. “This is a bad idea.”

“It’s the perfect meeting space,” Malory told her.

“I don’t get it. Why do we have to tell him now?”

“Why wouldn’t we tell him now?” Malory seemed suspicious of everything she said.

Autumn stopped walking and took a seat on the sofa. She needed to pull herself together. She was a federal agent. She’d been hired to do a job and right now that job entailed positioning herself inside the club while handling the other agents already in place.

It might help if she could remember
that.

About the time, a heavy thud landed on the door.

“He’s here.” She rubbed her palms down her jeans and quickly stood. She didn’t rush the door, however. Instead, she faced that damn door as if she were facing an enemy.

“Are you going to answer it or leave him standing outside?”

She smoothed her hands across her belly, thinking this was probably the most nerve-wracking day of her career. What if Jake felt betrayed? What if he didn’t want to date a fellow agent, much less one who would be assigned to his bed now that she’d been embraced by the club? Even Devon seemed to like her and the women had taken to her, too, after they realized what she’d done in order to keep everyone at the club safe.

“Get the damn door, Agent Lake!” Malory stood.

Autumn swung open the only thing separating her from Jake and moved out of his way without muttering a word. Jake leaned over and kissed her. “Hey bab—”

Malory stepped into view. Jake looked as if he’d seen a ghost. His gaze zipped from the chief to Autumn and back to the chief.

“This was all an act?” Jake looked pained by the thought.

Autumn grabbed his arm. “No. You gotta listen to me. I never knew it was you.”

Jake yanked free of her grip and marched inside her apartment. “You set this up?” He scowled at Malory.

“Yes.”

“And is she telling the truth?”

“Yes. She didn’t know who you were.”

He dragged his hand down his face, glanced at the dining room table—a table that would always hold special memories for her and hopefully for him as well—and he studied her intently. “Who are you?”

“That seems to be the question every placed agent wants to know,” Malory said.

“I didn’t ask you, Malory,” Jake said out of the corner of his mouth.

Autumn could see the hurt in his eyes and her heart was seconds away from breaking until she thought of something. “I could ask you the same thing. Did you know who I was?”

“Hell no.” He frowned.

“Are you sure? Maybe you suspected? Maybe you had me pegged as your new handler from the first moment you met me.”

“My handler?”

“Yes,” Malory said, smiling. “All things considered, I think she’s up for the task. From what I’ve seen so far, she seems to handle you better than most.”

Jake’s expression changed then. He glanced at the table and his heavily hooded eyes brought back lust-driven memories, all of which scrambled through her mind’s eye.

“I didn’t know, Jake. I swear it.”

“You didn’t know I was an agent?”

“No.”

“She’s telling the truth.”

“Why would you send someone in here as a handler and place them in the club, too?”

“We needed her in the club to draw out her father. We never dreamed he would show his face as quickly as he did. He was there to tell the club who Autumn was. What he didn’t count on was us. Our people had been nipping at his heels from the time he boarded the plane in Arizona. We knew when he touched down here and we were confident of his plans after he ransacked Autumn’s apartment.”

“So it
was
my father,” she muttered.

“Yes,” Malory said. “We couldn’t tell you because you would’ve been too alarmed to finish your job.”

“And what was my job exactly?” She closed her eyes and processed. Shaking her head, she said, “You always knew I’d be the one to pull the trigger.”

“I didn’t know that, Autumn,” Malory said regrettably. “And I’m sorry you had to be the one. No one wishes that kind of anguish on a fellow agent.”

“You failed her,” Jake said, becoming aggressive. “And you failed this team. There are so many accusations flying around between clubs that there’s no way you’ll be able to get your agents out of this assignment alive.”

Malory went to his briefcase, pulled out a manila folder and placed it on the coffee table. “Everything you need is in there. If your covers are blown or you have reason to believe they will be, your passports, new identities, driver’s licenses, credit cards, and other documents are all there.”

“What about Marcs and Pain?”

“That depends on you, Agent Covington.”

“Me?” He seemed perplexed. “Why?”

“Sampson was convinced Marcs and Pain had gone rogue. What do you think?”

He and Autumn exchanged glances. Finally, he said, “I’ve lived under the same roof with Marcs for over five years now. After what happened with Autumn’s father, I’m sure of his loyalty to the MC but not in the way you think.”

“I don’t understand.”

“He will stand with the MC every chance he gets, but for one greater cause. Marcs is hungry. He’s eager. And when the time comes to bust this case wide open, he’ll be the first one to flash his badge and take the stand. He wants this shit behind him, but he wants to do it the right way. And I have a feeling he won’t let anyone or anything stand in his way.”

“He wants the glory,” Autumn said, crossing her arms.

“Maybe,” Jake said, shrugging. “Then again, maybe he wants to know that his personal sacrifice hasn’t been for nothing.”

“And is that what you want, Covington?” Malory asked.

“I want to bring down the MC. Do I feel like I’ve sacrificed? Not yet.” He averted his gaze and studied Autumn. “But I have a feeling my opinion could soon change.”

****

An hour later, Malory left them alone. As far as Jake was concerned, he should’ve left sixty minutes sooner.

He stalked her then like he was a predator ready to pounce on his prey. His cock twitched like mad in his jeans. He was eager and hungry. All he wanted was to lay down his woman and love on her for a while.

“You’re not mad?”

“No,” he said, unbuttoning his shirt as quickly as he could.

“Are you sure?” She backed away from him, but the distance she placed between them didn’t matter. He needed her and by damned he’d have her.

“I have no reason to be upset.” He moistened his lips, grabbed onto the dining room chair, and used the support long enough to kick off his boots. “In fact, it’s a turn-on.”

“A turn-on?”

“Damn right.”

She blushed and her nipples pressed against the thin cotton shirt she wore. “Why?”

“Take off your clothes and I’ll tell you.” He unhooked his belt, tore down his zipper, and stepped out of his underwear and denim.

Her gaze immediately fell to his cock. “You got a thing for agents. Do you?”

“I’ve got a thing for being able to have you without conditions, without worrying over what might happen when all this crap comes crashing down.” He grabbed hold of her and mashed his erection against her leg, assaulting her lips with a bruising kiss.

He thrust his tongue inside her mouth, kissing her as if he were kissing her for the first time. This woman was his. She was his to have and to hold. She was his without stipulations or restrictions.

Cupping her breast, he raked his thumb across her nipple and bit playfully at her lips. “You’re mine.”

“I am one hundred percent yours,” she agreed, pushing her fingers through his hair.

“Get naked.” His voice was guttural in every way and he could tell she just ate it right up.

Her shirt, shorts, and undergarments went flying across the room. “Better be careful about making demands, Covington.”

“You don’t seem to mind.”

“Yes, but in case you haven’t heard, I’m your new handler. That means I have rank on you for this job.”

“Uh-huh.” He eyed that full luscious rack. “Then I have an idea.” He backed his hips against her dining room table and crooked his finger back and forth. “Why don’t you come on over here and handle me for a while.”

“I plan on handling you for more than a little while, Agent Covington.”

“What are we talking here?” he asked playfully.

She studied him thoughtfully before she said, “Thirty years to life sounds about right.”

“Then we’d better get on with it,” he said, closing the difference between them. “There’s a lot of good loving to be had between now and then.”