Road to Desire (20 page)

“Stop,” I whispered, but I had to admit I was feeling better than before.

“What’s going on with Bullet?” Austin asked his sister.

Annie grinned. “Nothing he won’t learn from.”

“So it’s like that.”

“He just needs to miss me a little I think.” Annie cocked her head. “Something you’ll need to learn, Dani, is when these men get out of line, or start to take you for granted, you need to dish out some lady justice. Keep ’em on a tight leash.”

“Shut the fuck up, Annie,” Austin said with mock irritation.

I giggled. “If I run into issues with this one, I’ll call you.”

“You will not,” Austin said. “You will never have her phone number.”

“We’ll see,” Annie said. “Let’s get downstairs. I’m ready to get my drink on.”

“You’re comin’ home with us tonight, right?” Austin asked.

“If you don’t mind.”

“We don’t mind,” I said, quickly and climbed off Austin’s lap.

Annie and Austin stood and Austin grabbed my hand. “We’ll meet you down there, Annie.” She nodded and left the room and Austin pulled me into his arms. “You okay?”

I looped my hands around his neck and smiled. “I will be. I’m sorry I thought the worst.”

“I promise, I’ll never cheat, baby. If I fuck up so badly you stop loving me and giving me you, then we’ll break up, but I won’t ever cheat.”

“I love you.”

“Love you too, babe.” He leaned down and kissed me, and it quickly turned heated. Austin laid me down on the bed and, as was his go-to, he slipped his hand under my shirt and pulled down the cup of my bra. His fingers rolled my nipple and I whimpered as I deepened the kiss. I felt a buzzing from his pocket and he broke the kiss with a curse. Rolling onto his back, he answered his phone. “What? Yeah. Okay.” He hung up.

I sat up and fixed my bra and shirt.

“Sorry, baby. We’ll resume this later,” he said and slid off the mattress, pulling me with him.

“Everything okay?”

Austin nodded. “Bullet’s here.”

“Oh,” I said. “Drama?”

He chuckled. “One thing you’ll learn about Annie, there’s always drama. Come on, let’s go have some fun.”

I checked my appearance in the mirror and then followed him downstairs. A tiny body collided with my legs from behind and I glanced down to see Lily hugging me.

“Dani, Dani, Dani.”

I hunkered down beside her and grinned. “Well, hello pretty girl. How are you?”

“Daddy said I could stay up and have a cupcake.”

“Oh my goodness! That’s so exciting. May I join you for the cupcake?”

She nodded.

“But you have to eat your dinner first, right?”

She nodded again, but her little nose went up in a wrinkle.

I giggled. “Good girl.”

I stood again and she slipped her hand in mine as we continued into the great room. We walked in to find a standoff of sorts with Austin, Hawk, Mack, and a tall blond man who was having it out with Annie, however, I didn’t miss his devotion to her. He stayed connected to her, kept himself between her and the other men, and they may have been arguing, but I could see a spark of mischief in her expression, which made me think she was very happy to see her man.

“Daddy!” Lily called.

Hawk turned toward her, gave me a look of pleading, and then turned back to the group. I scooped Lily up in my arms and smiled. “Let’s go find those cupcakes, huh?”

We walked into the kitchen where Susie met us and waved me to a door at the back of the kitchen. I carried Lily through and saw that a few of the ladies and older kids were playing with the little ones in a well equipped play room. I set Lily down and she went straight for the kitchen set. With my shadow occupied, I left the playroom and headed back to the great room.

I noticed Austin’s body was stiff, his expression one of rage, and I wondered what happened between the time I dropped Lily off in the playroom and now. He and Hawk were in the middle of a stare down and Annie had her hands on each of their arms. Bullet stood close to the threesome, but gave his woman a little space.

“You are a fuckin’ piece of shit,” Austin hissed.

“I learned from the best,” Hawk retorted.

“What the hell is your problem, Booker?” Annie demanded.

He turned his head slowly. “Why are you so eager to forgive him?”

“For
what
?” she demanded.

“For nearly killing you.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“The doctor!” Austin spat out.

“The abortion?”

“Well, yeah.”

“You think Hawk forced me to do it?”

“He fuckin’ knocked you up, so yeah!”

“What?” Hawk snapped.

Annie removed her hands and burst out laughing.

“What the fuck, Annie?” Austin demanded.

“Booker. Hawk didn’t get me pregnant. Marvin Adams did.”

“What? The center for the Trojans?”

Annie nodded. “Yeah. He was worried about a possible basketball scholarship to Oregon State, so he gave me the money and it went bad. Hawk just happened to be home when I started to hemorrhage. Honey, he took care of me. He’s the reason I didn’t bleed to death.”

Austin glanced at Hawk. Both their bodies were considerably more relaxed.

“This is where all this hostility shit’s been coming from?” Hawk asked.

Austin rubbed his forehead. “And the fact you didn’t testify against your father… yeah.”

“I didn’t testify because I didn’t need to,” Hawk explained. “I signed an affidavit attached to a detailed account of everything I knew about in terms of what Annie told me, along with what I’d observed. You found the proof, so the attorneys figured pitting me against the bastard might do more harm than good. You know I have nothing to do with him. He’s fuckin’ dead to me.”

“Fuck,” Austin rasped.

This was when I moved. I closed the distance between us and wrapped my arms around his waist. Austin settled his hand at the back of my neck, thumbing my pulse.

“Brother, I’m sorry,” Austin said to Hawk.

“You’re a fuckin’ moron,” Hawk said, and then laughed. “Fuck me, if I’d known this was what got your panties in a wad, I’d have told you years ago.”

Austin cracked a semblance of a smile and then it was done. This feud they’d had for ten years was over. I shook my head. It must be pretty awesome to be a guy some days.

The rest of the night was somewhat uneventful. Food was eaten, booze was consumed, and I finally got to find out if the bed in Austin’s room was as comfortable as it seemed. It was.

Especially when I was kneeling between his legs and drawing his cock deep into my mouth, his hands gripping my head. I was quickly figuring out why Kim loved this so much. I gripped the base of him with my hand squeezing gently as I sucked a little harder. I knew I’d hit the mark when Austin began to fuck my mouth, his hips surging up faster and faster.

“Babe,” he rasped, and I smiled.

I moved my hand in time with my mouth and he groaned.

“I’m gonna come.”

I kept going.

“Babe, I’m gonna come.”

I raised my eyes. “Come,” I mumbled, his thickness still filling me.

He did.

“Fuck.”

I waited until he relaxed and then gave one more suck, kissing the tip of his cock before crawling up his body. “Ohmigod, that was so fun.”

“You lied when you said you’d never done it before.”

I giggled. “I totally didn’t, but I love you for saying it.”

He cupped my cheek. “Baby, I’m not kidding. Best blow job I’ve ever had.”

“You’re not just saying that?”

“I’m not just saying that.” He pulled me closer and kissed me.

“Beginner’s luck?”

“No. I think it’s us,” he said. “Never been in love before, so it’s probably just our perfection as a couple.”

I laughed. “And Annie doesn’t think you’re romantic.”

“I’m romantic because it’s you.”

I sat up and then straddled his hips. “Wanna get romantic again?”

He chuckled. “What did you have in mind?”

“My turn to romance you.”

“Romance away, baby.”

A more beautiful challenge had never been given, and I turned my beginner’s luck into pure unadulterated experience.

S
UNDAY AFTERNOON, I
was standing in Austin’s bathroom applying a little lipgloss when he walked into the room, his usual jeans and cut uniform nowhere to be seen. He still wore the jeans I loved a little too much, but he had on a long-sleeved, soft T-shirt a deep blue that matched his eyes.

I smiled and tilted my head. “You look unbelievably hot, if not rather conservative.”

“Meeting your parents, babe. Want to be respectful.”

I slid my hands to his neck. “Love you.”

“Love you too.” He grinned and kissed me quickly. “Ready?”

I nodded and followed him out of the bedroom and grabbed my purse. He took my hand as we headed to the garage and opened the truck door for me before climbing in himself. We stayed connected as we drove to my parents’ home and it helped calm my excited nerves.

My parents lived in the Felida, a place that used to be filled with farms and homes on large parcels of land. Now it was filled with mini mansions, newer custom homes jammed close together, and some of the higher earning executives in the Portland metro area chose to live here. My parents’ home overlooked the river just off Lakeshore. I had been born in this house, as had my brother and sister. But the sad reality was, that unless I got my money back, I’d never be able to afford to live in the exclusive area.

Austin pulled his truck into the driveway and parked. He jogged to my side of the truck and opened the door, pulling me close and kissing me once I stepped out.

“Nervous?” he asked.

“Excited,” I said. “You?”

He grinned. “Once I meet your family, it’s forever, so, yeah. Excited.”

I giggled. “Even if you weren’t meeting them, honey, you’re kind of stuck with me.”

He kissed me again. “I love that.”

He opened the back door of the truck cab and grabbed the flowers he’d brought for my mother, and the wine I chose for dinner, and then locked up his truck.

I took the wine and linked my fingers with him, tugging him to the door. My parents rarely locked the front door, so I pushed it open and giggled when I found my mom walking towards us. “Have you been watching from the window?”

She laughed. “I won’t answer that question.”

“Good idea,” I said, and pulled Austin forward. “Mom, this is Austin. Austin, this is my mom.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Harris.” He handed her the flowers.

“These are beautiful. Thank you.” My mom pulled him in for a hug. “You can call me Brenda. Come and meet the rest of our crazy crew.”

We followed my mom to the back of the house where the kitchen and great room were filled with my family. Elliot took over the introductions while I joined my sister and mother in the kitchen to help.

“Crap,” my mom said. “I’m one stick of butter short.”

“I’ll run next door and see if Missy can spare one,” I offered.

“Thanks, honey, that would be great.”

I smiled and made my way to where Austin had made himself comfortable on the sofa, my brother and brother-in-law in a full on debate about which football team was better, while Austin and my father sipped their beers and watched.

I leaned over him and kissed him. “I’m running next door to grab some butter.”

“I’ll come with you.”

“Honey, I’m quite capable to walking a few yards for butter. Stay here and relax.”

He smiled up at me and kissed me once more, and I grabbed my jacket and headed outside.

* * *

Dani had been gone for almost twenty minutes and Booker was getting anxious. “Dani’s been gone a while.”

Elliot chuckled. “Missy’s probably talking her ear off.”

Booker nodded, but it didn’t make him feel better. Five minutes later, he stood and grabbed his jacket. “Where’s this Missy person’s house?”

“I’ll come with you,” Elliot offered, and led Booker from the house.

They walked next door and knocked on the door. An older woman, probably in her sixties answered the door. “Well, hi there Elliot.”

“Hey, Missy. We’re just looking for Dani. Is she still here?”

“Still? She hasn’t been here at all, honey.”

“Shit,” Booker snapped, and pulled out his cell phone. Dani hadn’t taken her phone with her, so he didn’t have a trace on her. He called Buzz, but he didn’t answer, so he called Mack.

“Yo,” Mack said.

“Dani’s missing and I can’t find Buzz.”

“You track her?”

Booker rubbed his forehead. “Her cell phone, yeah, but she doesn’t have it with her.”

“We’ll find her, brother.”

Booker hung up at the same time Elliot did. “Got my team on it,” Elliot said.

“Mine too.”

Elliot nodded.

Booker’s phone rang and he saw Buzz’s name pop up. “Where the hell are you?”

“Saw her get pinched, brother. Two guys, black Escalade. They’re heading into Gresham.”

“I’m on my way. Call me when you have an address.”

Buzz hung up and Booker made a run for his truck… Elliot followed, jumping into the passenger seat just in time as Booker reversed out of the driveway. He sped toward Gresham, uncaring he was in his truck with a cop. He needed to find Dani.

Elliot was on his phone the entire time, either filling his father in on what was going on or talking to his partner. He’d also called in a buddy’s FBI team who worked out of Portland since they were familiar with Gresham and the scumbag sect that inhabited parts of it.

Buzz texted an address in a more rundown area of the city, and Booker arrived to find several of his brothers, some on their bikes, a couple in trucks, all armed and amped up to fight. He couldn’t worry about the fact that his club was about to collide with the law. Right now he’d do anything to make sure Dani was safe. He grabbed his gun from the glove box and climbed out of his truck.

A black SUV pulled in behind his truck and Dalton Moore exited, along with another man who Booker didn’t recognize.

“Booker,” Dalton said with a nod. “My partner, Brock.”

Booker gave him a chin lift. “Can’t touch the club, Dalton.”

“Not here to the bust the club, Booker. Macey likes your girl, so we’re here off the record.”

Booker nodded and joined Buzz. “Where?”

Buzz nodded toward a blacked out industrial building about a block down from where they were standing. “They went around the back.”

Booker nodded and started toward the building. “Follow me.”

* * *

I came awake with a start, mostly because my head felt like an ice-pick was jamming itself into my temple. I opened my eyes… well, kind of… one of them didn’t seem to want to work, and I looked around. I was in a tiny room, tied to a chair, and my memory flooded back to me.

I had just stepped out of the house and was halfway up my parents’ driveway when I was grabbed from behind. I fought as best I could, my self-defense training helping, but ultimately, there were two men and each of them outweighed me by at least a hundred pounds.

What I did manage to do was piss them off, and I remember pain in my ribs and face before I blacked out.

I swallowed and tried to figure out where I was. Austin would come. I knew he would. I didn’t know how I knew; I could just feel it in my gut. I took a deep breath, grimacing at the pain in my ribs. Breathing was probably not a good idea right now.

For the moment I was alone, but I didn’t know how long that would last. I heard male voices near the door, so I dropped my head and tried to go as limp as possible.

“What the hell do you mean the guy canceled the policy? Fuck you, Bobby. We took this bitch for no reason? There’s no reason to keep her alive then.”

I tried not to react even though my heart sank into my stomach.

“Yeah. Okay. Well, shit. A mil’s not even close to ten, dumbass. You don’t take a cut, I don’t tell where I got my information. Otherwise, everyone’s gonna know who the hell you are.” The man chuckled… a low, sardonic, and very creepy chuckle. “How about you fuck off and figure out how to make this right.”

I was in a weird enough position that even though I’d managed to open my good eye a sliver, I couldn’t see who was speaking.

“Bitch’s dad canceled the policy and Bobby forgot to tell us,” the man who’d been talking before complained.

“Shit, Ken, what does that mean?”

“Her family’s loaded, so Bobby thinks we’ll get at least a mil for her,” Ken said.

“Fuckin’ idiot.”

“Yeah, Sal, I’m with you.”

“How long we gonna give the parents?”

“Six hours,” Ken answered. “Then we kill her.”

“You think they can get that much together in six hours?”

“I don’t care. She saw us, so either way, she’s dead.”

They continued to talk, but their voices faded as they walked out of the room, closing the door behind them. I looked up again and tried not to panic. I needed to keep my wits about me and get the hell out of here.

I tested my bindings and discovered the more I moved, the more it hurt. I was tied with plastic zip ties that cut into my skin. Each of my ankles was zip tied to a chair leg and a rope around my waist had me pretty much stuck to the chair. My mouth with covered with what I assumed was probably duck tape, and it didn’t budge when I scrunched up my face.

I had no concept of how long I’d been in the room. There was no window, so I couldn’t tell how dark it was outside. It was still light when we’d gotten to my parents’ place, but the sun was starting to set.

I sighed. I wish I had my phone. I knew Austin had put a tracker on it, but didn’t think I’d need it if I was just stepping next door.

The deafening sound of gunfire had me squealing in fright, and then the door to the office flew open and I screamed behind my muzzle.

“Booker! In here,” Mack called.

I burst into tears as Mack rushed to my side and cut the bindings on my hands then my feet just as Austin arrived and knelt in front of me.

“Baby.” He gently peeled the tape from my mouth and I collapsed in his arms.

“I knew you’d come,” I cried.