“Don’t look at me like that. He called me. He’d already heard,” Trev said.

  “I was going to fill Levi in, just not tonight,” I explained to Blaise.

  “He’s my brother. Fuck the chain-of-command shit,” Trev drawled.

  Blaise studied me for a moment while he lit up a cigarette. “You put a gun to a Red King’s head,” he said, taking a pull from the cigarette. “That shit gets back to me fast.”

  “You what?!” Trev exclaimed, grinning, then slapped me on the chest. “Fucking hell, man! Why can’t you do this shit when I’m around so I can see it?”

  “Trev,” Blaise said with an annoyed look on his face.

  Trev shrugged. “Oh, come on. You can’t tell me you didn’t get one ounce of joy from hearing Sax had pulled his Glock on someone.”

  Blaise ignored him and kept his eyes locked on me. “Red Kings are fucking bottom-feeders. They’re mostly young thugs.” He took another pull from the cigarette.

  “He—” I started but was cut off.

  “I know what he said. Taser, their leader, got in contact with me. Hike is currently being dealt with for pissing off one of my men. They’re not interested in making us an enemy. Taser gets his shit from someone under my control. He knows it can be shut off with one call from me.”

  I ran a hand through my hair and sighed in relief. Fuck, my chest felt somewhat lighter.

  “You love her,” he said simply.

  “Yeah,” I admitted without pause. I did.

  “Then, this changes things,” he replied, taking another drag from the cigarette in his hand.

  “You want me to call off the police protection on their trailer?” Trev asked him.

  Blaise shook his head. “No. I’ve already spoken to Horn, their leader. They’re looking for a reason to lock up Taser. Red Kings have been sloppy. If they are funneling coke into the schools, I’ll shut them down myself.”

  “If Silver is getting her fix from them, then their hands are in something other than coke. She wasn’t messed up on an upper,” I told him.

  Blaise nodded. “Probably oxy.” He let out some smoke. “If you’re keeping her and your kid, then we have to change some things. Starting with AJ. I’ll need to go visit him, and you’ll be going with me. Let’s get through the holidays and the wedding shit. Then, we will head out.”

  I rubbed the back of my neck. “How’s this going to affect Haisley?” She was my only concern.

  Levi could get the fuck over it. I knew he was going to be pissed that we’d made any contact with AJ.

  “I don’t know yet. That depends on AJ,” Blaise replied. “But she’ll have to choose a side. It’ll come down to her brother or us.”

  I wanted to believe she’d choose me—or us. But she’d dropped me before. She could shut me out again. Take our baby with her. I nodded, unable to say anything else.

  “Expect to leave a few days after Christmas,” he told me. “Let’s go,” he said, turning to Trev and heading back to the vehicle.

  “You good?” Trev asked me. He could read me too well.

  “Yeah.”

  “Liar.”

  I shrugged. “I don’t know who she’ll choose. Not sure I can survive her leaving me this time.”

  “If you’re laying on the Saxon charm, like I told you to, then she’s sunk, or she will be before it’s time for that.”

  I hoped he was right.

  “You have more faith in that than I do.”

  Trev smirked. “I’ve seen it in action too much not to know its power.”

  I rolled my eyes, and Trev squeezed my shoulder.

  “Sorry I brought him. I had no choice. If you want to talk tomorrow without the boss up in our business, let me know.”

  I understood. Truthfully, talking to Blaise had eased some of my concerns. I knew Haisley’s family was safe.

  “I’ll see you tomorrow night at the party.”

  I didn’t watch them leave. I went back inside to Haisley. I didn’t want her waking up to find me not there.

  Tonight had started out great, but it had come to a crashing end. Leaving her siblings behind had been hard on her, and I’d been so fucking torn. I wanted to grab her and run away from all that shit that made her unhappy. Knowing it was because she loved them, that she cared, made me feel guilty for wanting to be selfish with her. I didn’t want to share her. I wanted her smiling and happy. Her family seemed to do the opposite to her.

  The bedroom door opened as I moved the last chocolate chip pancake from the griddle to a plate. I looked up from the breakfast I’d gotten up early to start on to see Haisley standing there in my hoodie that I’d left hanging over the sofa in my bedroom. A sleepy smile touched her lips as she made her way over to the bar.

  “You’re making pancakes,” she said.

  I turned off the griddle and walked around the bar. I needed to touch her. “They’re not just any pancakes. They’re Christmas Eve chocolate chip pancakes. I also made bacon and sliced up strawberries.” I grabbed her by the waist and tugged her against my bare chest.

  She tilted her head back to look up at me. “I’ve never had Christmas Eve chocolate chip pancakes, and I’ve never had a hot, shirtless guy cook for me.”

  I leaned down and pressed a kiss to her cheek. “Good. If another one does, I’ll have to kill him.”

  She laughed and turned her head so that our lips met. I let go of her waist to cup her face in my hands. Having her lean into me and grab my biceps, like she couldn’t get close enough, gave me some reassurance that she felt something beyond our situation. I sucked on her bottom lip before tasting her again. When she broke the kiss and dropped her forehead to my chest, she sighed.

  “I’m sorry about last night. You went to all that trouble to make it special.”

  I ran my hands down her arms. “Please don’t apologize. None of that was your fault. I’m just sad it was ruined for you and the others.”

  She took a deep breath and looked up at me. “I’m going to enjoy today. I am going to call later and check on things. I want to catch Mom at home if I can. I’d like to talk to her about Silver. Not that it will do much good.”

  I was going to do all I could to make sure her Christmas Eve was special. “We’ll get her help. I promise.”

  So many emotions flashed in her lavender eyes. I wanted to dissect them all and understand what she was thinking.

  “This isn’t your problem. I got pregnant, and since finding out, you have done more than I would have ever asked for. The baby is your only responsibility. You don’t have to take on all my other baggage.”

  This kind of talk had to stop. She was keeping a wall up, and I wanted every fucking wall burned to the ground. No barriers between us. I wanted all of her.

  “Haisley, let me make myself clear. This isn’t about responsibility. This is about my wanting you happy. I love seeing you smile. I love hearing you laugh. This past year, my life changed, and until you, I had very little that gave me any kind of peace or joy. My head was all fucked up, and my chest felt twisted all the time. But when I’m with you, it makes all of that shit okay. You center me. Remind me about the good in life. So, when I do things for you, it’s because I have an overpowering need to take care of you. I need to.”

  That was as close as I was going to get to telling her I loved her. At least for now. But damn if that wasn’t the definition, then I didn’t know what was.

  “Saxon?”

  “Yes?”

  “You are very good with words.” A small smile touched her lips. “I don’t know what to say to that.”

  I leaned down and pressed a kiss to the tip of her nose. “Say, Sounds good. You can fix all my problems. Then, let’s eat breakfast.”

  She laughed then, and that lightness I craved spread through me.

  “You center me too,” she whispered.

  That was good. That was real fucking good.

  I reached around, grabbed her panty-covered ass, and gave it a squeeze. “Sit down. Let me feed you.”

  More laughter. God, I really did love that sound.

  I reached for the remote and turned Christmas music on, then picked up the fireplace remote and turned it on even though it was seventy degrees today.

  “What color and setting for our Christmas Eve lights?” I asked her.

  She chewed her bottom lip for a moment in thought, then let it pop free. “Colored and dancing.”

  I set it for her, then went to fill her plate. I would be damned if something was going to ruin this day. I wanted it to be perfect for her. The thought that I’d kill to make it happen crossed my mind, and I paused. That kind of thing had been coming to me more and more lately. Was it because I’d seen enough death now that it was making me numb to it? Or was it all about Haisley? Until her, there hadn’t been anyone I was willing to kill for.

  Twenty-Five

  Haisley

  Curled up against Saxon, watching The Holiday, put all my other concerns at rest for a while. As the credits rolled, he threaded his fingers through mine.

  “I bought all the supplies for us to do some baking, but right now, you feel and smell too damn good. I don’t want to move.”

  Grinning, I ran my free hand up his chest and let it rest against his pec. “You bought baking supplies?” I asked, wanting to laugh.

  “Is that funny to you?” His hand squeezed mine.

  “It’s cute.”

  “I was going for sweet,” he replied, then flipped me onto my back and hovered over me. “But now, you’ve called me cute, and my masculinity has taken a hit.”

  I licked my lips, staring up into his brown eyes. “I wouldn’t think your masculinity was so fragile.”

  His hand pushed the shirt of his I was wearing up until my stomach was bare, and then he lowered his head and pressed a kiss to it. I squirmed as he left a trail down to the edge of my panties. He ran his hand between my legs, and a moan escaped me.

  “Fuck, you smell good,” he groaned, then tugged them down my legs and dropped them on the floor.

  I was panting, watching him. He took my right leg and kissed the inside of my calf before placing it over his shoulder. Then, he did the exact same with my left leg. His eyes lifted to meet mine as he moved down until I could feel his warm breath just before his tongue licked against my clit.

  I cried out, my hands going to the back of his head.

  He let out a low growl as he began to feast on me like he was starving for it.

  “So good. Oh—oh,” I stuttered out as my climax began to build.

  Saxon thrust a finger inside of me while he ran his tongue against my lips. “Fuck.” His voice was thick and raspy. “Such a needy little pussy.”

  I began to tremble as he continued to pump his finger inside of me. My hands fisted in his hair.

  “SAXON!” I screamed his name as my orgasm broke free.

  I was still shaking as he dropped my legs, standing up to shove his sweatpants down. I watched as his thick, swollen erection was freed. Then, he was between my legs, and the tip was already pushing inside me.

  “GAH!” he shouted as he thrust inside me. “You drive me fucking crazy. I was just gonna eat that sweet pussy.” He grabbed my waist as he began to drive inside of me. His eyes locked on where we were connected. “Never”—he slammed into me again—“has anything felt this incredible.”

  His words and the way his face looked, fierce and obsessed, while he filled me over and over again had me close to another peak. He let go of my waist and dropped down, holding himself above me. His arms flexed as his body moved. He was so beautiful that it hurt.

  “Come with me, baby,” he begged, grabbing my hair with one hand and pulling.

  The crest I was approaching burst free, causing me to clamp around his cock. He grunted, and his breath caught as his eyes locked on mine. I could feel the hot splash of his release inside me as he jerked with each pump of it. I’d never seen anything so sexy in my life.

  “OH GOD,” I screamed as my body spiraled into another euphoria.

  Saxon pulled tighter on my hair as he drove into me harder. “Fuuuck, baby!”

  We were both gasping for air as we stared at each other. Sweat rolled down the side of his face, and I started to smile.

  “Wow,” I whispered.

  He chuckled as he leaned down to press a kiss to my lips. “Are you okay?”

  I laughed. “I would say I am better than okay.”

  He ran his hand through where he had been previously pulling my hair. “I got rough.”

  I nodded. “Yes, and it was hot.”

  “You make me lose it,” he admitted. “Once I get inside you, I can’t get enough.”

  “Mmm,” I moaned. “If you keep talking about it while you’re still buried inside me, we are going to need to go another round.”

  Saxon leaned up and looked down at me. “Why don’t we move it to the shower?”

  “For another round?”

  He ran his thumb over my lips. “Yeah.”

  Wrapped in a towel, I walked over to pick up my phone. Still no response from Jamaica or Silver. I sat down on the edge of the bed and pressed Jamaica’s number. Saxon was still in the bathroom, shaving.

  After he fucked me against the wall of the shower, talking dirty to me, making me come again, I had felt like I was on cloud nine. But walking into the room and seeing my phone reminded me about other things.

  It rang three times before Jamaica answered.

  “Hey,” she said.

  I could hear the boys shouting in the background. It was typical.

  “Hey. How are things?”

  She sighed. “Same, I guess. Except Silver is angry because Hike has ghosted her. She’s not heard from him since last night.”

  “He’s bad news. Do you feel safe there?”

  Vulcan yelled at someone to, “Fuck off,” and I rolled my eyes. Probably DJ or Vinn.

  “Yes. A cop car drives by often. Real slow.”

  My chest tightened. I knew Saxon was behind that. “I don’t think Silver will ever hear from Hike again.”

  “Why? They didn’t kill him, did they?” Jamaica whispered.

  “No. Saxon just said that he would handle it.”

  “He’s in the Mafia. They kill people. That’s how they handle things.”

  My hand tightened on the phone. “They didn’t kill AJ,” I reminded her.

  “No, but he’s gone. We haven’t seen him. He could be dead for all we know.”

  Saxon wouldn’t lie to me about that.

  “He’s not. He’s in Orlando.”

  “You’ve seen him?” she asked hopefully.

  “No. But I trust Saxon and the others. He’s not dead.”

  I could hear DJ tell one of the others not to touch his brownie. It gave me a little joy to know they had all those treats to eat today.

  “Is Mom home?” I asked, doubting it.

  If she was, I’d have heard her yell at the boys to shut up by now.

  “No. She came home at seven, slept for four hours, then left to go clean a house. Walmart is closed tonight, so she doesn’t work until tomorrow night.”

  “Where is Silver?” I could have looked at the app on my phone, but I kept forgetting it was there.

  “She’s at Shay’s house.”

  She’d been friends with Shay since fourth grade. Maybe they were doing family stuff. Shay’s parents were normal. I liked Silver being around her. I’d wait until I saw she was home before I tried texting or calling her.

  “I’ll try calling her later, and I’ll call back tonight or in the morning to talk to Mom.”

  “Okay,” Jamaica replied. “Thanks for coming last night. I miss you.”

  “I miss you too. But call me whenever you need to or want to.”

  “I will.”

  Emotion clogged my throat as we said our goodbyes, and I ended the call. I set the phone back on the bedside table and stood up. When I turned around, Saxon was still in the bathroom. I heard the sink water running. I headed for my room to get dressed.

  We were going ice skating at an indoor rink I hadn’t even known existed. I’d never been ice skating, but he’d promised me he’d teach me.

  When I walked into my room, I paused as my eyes took in the items on the bed. Going over to it, I touched the floor-length crimson satin dress I’d tried on in the store last week, which I had thought made me look like a princess, but Saxon had said no to. There were sparkly silver heels that were toeless and had a bow on the ankle. Rhinestone teardrop earrings and a silver bangle bracelet with a few rhinestones in it lay on the other side of the dress with a silver clutch.

  I shifted my attention to the second dress. I recognized it too. It was my favorite out of the green dresses I’d tried on. The feathered fringe skirt was what I loved most about it. Like the other dress, there was a pair of heels. These were a shimmery cream color with a thin strap that would go over my foot and around my ankle. A pair of pearl earrings and a clutch that matched the shoes lay beside it.

  “Do you like everything? I had the saleslady pick the shoes and accessories. If you want to exchange any of it, I can take you there before we go ice skating,” Saxon said behind me.

  I spun around to see him watching me as he leaned against the doorframe.

  Was he serious? What would I not like?

  “They’re gorgeous. All of it. Is it for the party tonight and the wedding tomorrow?”

  He nodded.

  “I thought I would just be wearing the silver dress again tomorrow. I wasn’t sure about tonight’s dress code,” I said, looking back at the stuff he’d bought me. “But this is too much. I know how much those dresses cost and—”

  Saxon’s hands touched my hips as his chest brushed against my back. “The fact that you planned on wearing the same dress again makes me want to lock you in this house and keep you away from this world.”