“Yeah, maybe it takes the fun out of it by planning.”

  Bull clears his throat, “I hate to change the subject, but are you going to tell me about your brother?”

  25

  What you allow is what will continue

  ~Unknown

  Bull

  The second I ask her about her brother, Alexa furrows her brows and looks confused as hell. “I know you call everyone in your club brothers, but I don’t have a relationship like that with anyone.”

  What she says doesn’t make any sense to me. Not unless she didn’t know about his existence. “Alexa, I’m talking about your little brother. You share the same father.”

  She cocks a brow at this point, “You’re serious?”

  Jury’s out. She never knew about him. “Yeah. He was working with the Bears too. Looks like the apple didn’t fall too far from the tree. You really didn’t know?”

  “Wow. I saw online there were rumors that he re-married a woman while he was in the slammer and she got pregnant but nothing was confirmed.” Seems to me like her father was a real tool. Not only did he commit all those murders but divorced his wife and married some new chick while they were locked up. Guess Alexa’s mother got the shit end of the deal.

  “You work for the FBI and you never thought to look into it?”

  Alexa shakes her head, “No, I didn’t care about what he did. Whether it was divorcing my mother while they were both serving time or if they both dropped dead. Why would I waste my time on them?”

  She does have a point. “Okay, so your younger half-brother was the man who married Ashley. The one who beat her so badly she drove back home with broken ribs, a swollen face and ultimately ended up losing the child she was carrying.”

  Sadness washes across her. “Blackjack mentioned a little about what she had gone through to me. I’m so sorry. It must’ve been a horrific experience. Why did he do that to her? Not that he needed a reason. Evil flows through the bloodline of the family I was born into.”

  “He was working for the Bears. We didn’t know it at the time, not until later. Hell, we didn’t even know he was Fynn Jr. until Agent Williams told Fist, Blackjack and Hawk. He was operating under the name Harry. Ironic he changed his name too, right?”

  “I’d imagine no one would want to be anywhere near a Müller. It’s a unique surname. Everyone would believe he was a relation and I bet he wanted to make sure no one figured it out.”

  Damn, she is a smart woman. “I’d have to agree with you there.”

  Alexa tilts her neck to the side, “There’s a reason you’re telling me all of this. Are you going to cut to the chase and spit it out?” Sometimes I think she’s too smart for her own good.

  “Your father worked for Grizzly who abducted you as a way to get your father to come out of hiding. That’s what we all believe anyway. What Grizzly didn’t realize is your father didn’t give a rat’s ass if he killed you. He’d much rather do it himself given the opportunity. Or at least, it’s what he spread around the jail when he was in the slammer. He bragged to the other inmates about how he’d love to punish you for betraying him. Grizzly is in the wind and I promise you we’ll get him for everything he’s done to you. None of us will let him get away with it, but I don’t think that fuckin’ coward is our problem right now.”

  Alexa abruptly rises and walks over to the kitchen sink, plants her hands on both sides of it and takes in a deep breath. “Please don’t say it. Please.”

  I stand up and approach her, placing one hand on her neck forcing her head to turn to look at me while the other rests on her hip. “Alexa, nothin’ is going to happen to you. Trust me. I will protect you with my life.”

  She shakes her head from side to side, shutting her eye as she attempts to cover her face. “No, no! You don’t understand what he’s capable of. You haven’t seen it firsthand, but I have. I’ve seen the torturous ways he hurts people. How he drugs them with something that won’t allow them to move but does allow them to feel everything. I’ve heard the screams after being thrown down the stairs. Hell, I’ve heard the saws he used to chop them apart limb by limb breaking through their bones. Tormented screams were like a lullaby to me as a child. Bull, I have no doubt you are capable of defending yourself in any given situation. However, I highly doubt you’ve ever faced a man as sadistic as my father. No one on this earth compares to him. Not even Satan himself.”

  I force her hands away from her face and bring my lips against her own, sliding my hand up into her long, platinum blonde hair and hold it tightly as I hiss my words. I need to make this abundantly clear to her. “Alexa. Trust me. I won’t allow any harm to come your way. Your past was hell but your fuckin’ future is gonna be heaven. I’ve told you time and time again I’m not the type of man who gives up easily, so accept it. Your father has made it his last wish to come after you and he won’t be able to get within a hundred feet of your pretty goldilocks’ hair. Baby, you’re a fuckin’ Reaper now. You’re one of us which means you have an army at your disposal.”

  Pressing my lips against Alexa’s I kiss the ever lovin’ daylights out of this woman. I don’t know what she needs to feel safe but I’m startin’ to feel like a cock inside her might be it. It’s the one time I don’t see her overthinking or wanting to stay stuck in this house of hers.

  I pull away for a split second and keep my eyes trained on hers. “Little lamb, do you trust me?”

  “I’m s-scared, Bull.” She chokes out, emotion coursing through her.

  “Answer me.”

  “I don’t know.” Alexa mutters, opening her eye she looks into my own.

  “You need to start, ‘cause I’m your fuckin’ shepherd. It’s my job to protect you and the herd. I’m an enforcer, baby. This is what I do.”

  26

  “The real power of man is in the size of the woman sitting next to him

  ~Sumcoco.com

  Bull

  Three days have passed without one freakin’ peep from anyone, and I mean anyone. The club has been quiet, and Alexa hasn’t really wanted to leave the house. I’m really starting to believe she’s one of those introverted types. The kind who would rather stay home versus going out to drink with friends. Kinda makes sense how she managed to enjoy a job where she could work from home.

  I see her typing away on her laptop on the chaise couch downstairs and peer over to her, “What’re you typing so relentlessly on?”

  She chuckles for a few moments but stops, “You’re going to think I’ve lost my mind. I just know it.”

  “Alright, now you have to tell me.” She’s definitely piqued my interest.

  “I may or may not be writing about my experiences growing up with two parents who were serial killers and got away with it for years until I turned them in to the Feds.”

  “Shit. You serious?”

  Alexa taps something on her laptop and closes it, placing it on the small coffee table in front of her. “Yeah, I kept debating it in my head but I think this is the right thing to do. Imagine other kids who are in situations like mine right now, if not worse. Think about how one day they could pick up this book and realize they’re not alone. That there are others in this world just like them. Not only that but I think it would be good for me to get all my feelings out on paper, talk about how my life experiences helped grow and shape me as an individual. How they inspired me to work as a psychological profiler. Maybe I’ll even talk about how I was kidnapped and how this man came in and rescued me. My knight in shining leather, or whatever. Actually, he’s not that important. Maybe I won’t bring him up at all.” She adds a wink on the end as she goes from serious to playful.

  “Not important, huh? Coming from the girl who has the hots and is totally falling for my arrogant ass.”

  Alexa’s face flushes with beet red color. It’s adorable seeing her blush. I was joking, but now I realize what I’ve said is true. The woman is falling for me. Fuck, it’s about damn time. Now if she can actually trust me we’d be set. We haven’t known one another for long but I need her to see I’m not the enemy. I’ll do anything for her, and damn how much I mean that. She’s starting to like me more and more every day and I believe with that comes trust. We’ll get there. It’ll just take time.

  My phone starts to ring from the coffee table next to where her laptop is and she picks it up, answering for me. “Hello,” Her expression turns quickly. “Bull, you need to come get this.”

  I walk over to her, take the cell phone out of her hands and press it to my ear. “Yo.”

  “Hey.” It’s Hawk. Shit, I haven’t heard from him in a hot minute.

  Taking a few steps away from Alexa I walk over to the other side of the basement. “What’s going on? You sound a little worse for wear.”

  “Yeah, we’re taking shifts right now so I’m fuckin’ exhausted man. Even though we’re rotating taking them I feel like I can’t get any good sleep. Not with what’s going on down here.” We haven’t gotten an update of how our Vegas charter has been doing over the last couple weeks.

  “What’s goin’ on? We’ve had some shit happen up here too.” I say.

  “We got intel last week Onyx has been two-timing the club. She’s started working for this new gang that just rolled into town. Fuck, the chick has showed us her true colors that’s for damn sure. Damon and Amara don’t want to act on it yet, though. To make matters worse she’s gotten increasingly close to Cobra and they haven’t told him what she’s done yet.” Hawk tells me.

  “What? Why the fuck wouldn’t they tell him?”

  “They’re afraid he’ll act out of anger, not on what the club needs. Right now Damon and Amara need information. They need the bitch alive, so once they don’t need her anymore I’m sure she’ll be sleeping with the fishes.”

  “As she should. How’d you guys find out?” Whenever we find out someone has fucked us over, it usually comes from a reliable source. Although, we don’t have too many connections quite yet down south.

  “Ironically enough, her girls turned on her. They told Damon this is the safest they’ve ever been and they don’t want her to fuck it up for them. She played us like a fool, actin’ like she cared about her girls being hooked on dope. Turns out she didn’t give a fuck and knew we were the winning side when it came to that snake gang. Now another one has moved in.”

  “Shit, there’s always someone who wants to stir up trouble. Bet they thought after the Demons fell that they could just roll right in and no one would claim the territory.” I state.

  “Yep, I agree. People are fuckin’ stupid these days. Oh guess what else is goin’ on. Drama related. Not anything to do with the club.” Hawk goes on to say.

  “Gimme some dirt. I need somethin’ good to distract me from our mess up here.”

  “Raven had this fling thing with her best friend when they were in high school. Her fucking best friend is a weather woman down here in Vegas. She saw her on the news the other day and nearly had a heart attack. Started crying in front of the television and all that shit. I thought she might’ve been pregnant with the way she started freaking out.”

  “Babies are in the air.” I laugh, fucking with him.

  “Not for us. Not when we have her little sisters now. There are enough kids in my house, brother. Your turn, fill me in on what’s going on up in Billings. I heard a rumor you claimed a woman.”

  I smile widely, “It’s no rumor, Hawk. I did, and she’s a fine one at that. Can’t wait for you to meet her.”

  “Fuck, I never thought I’d see the day where you’d settle down with a woman! Not . . .” I know what he’s gonna say. Not after Arizona.

  “She needed me . . . and somethin’ sparked a fire in me, brother. I knew I had to put my cut over this woman. I can’t express how much I knew I needed to protect her. It was deep in my damn bones.”

  “I’m happy for you, man. You always need to trust your gut. How’s Fist doin’ these days?” Hawk asks. When he left Fist was in a horrible state of mind.

  “He’s doing a little better but I highly doubt he’s out of the woods. He has good days and bad ones. I’m crossin’ my fingers we get our old Prez back, though.” I admit.

  “Why, you don’t think Zane is cut out for it?”

  “No, that’s not what I meant at all. Just miss Fist doin’ what he does best.”

  Hawk chuckles on the other end, “Yeah, I’d have to agree with you there. Fuck, I gotta get goin’. Tell the others about Onyx so it’s not a shock when we do cap her. I have a feelin’ it’ll happen sooner rather than later. Especially with the way shit’s goin’ down here. We have kids now so we’re not playing when it comes to that.

  “You got it. I’ll spread the message. Stay safe, brother.”

  “Right back at ya.” Hawk ends the call with a click and I slide my cell into the back of my pants and head over to the couch. I need to know everything there is about Alexa’s book. There’s no doubt in my fuckin’ mind she’ll hit some sort of bestseller list. My girl, fuck, she’ll succeed no matter what she does in life. Of that I’m certain.

  27

  “I crave the simplest of love with you. A cold night, warm sheets, and your skin against my own. Certainly, that is all I could ever ask for.”

  ~Daniel Walsh

  Alexa/Lola

  Morning comes quickly and I slip out of bed, careful so Bull doesn’t hear me and wake up. He’s typically the one who gets up early, but we both stayed up until almost two in the morning talking about my outline for my novel. For some reason he’s so supportive of this venture of mine.

  I shut the door quietly and walk over to the kitchen, reach into the cabinet and grab a coffee filter and some coffee grounds. Almost as if I’m on autopilot I start the coffee maker and then go to the side of the counter and light the hot chocolate scented candle. The closet in the hallway is filled with these things on the top shelf. I bet I have about fifteen of them, constantly needing this to fill my home. They just smell so good.

  While the coffee brews I’ve already eaten a bowl of cereal and grabbed a mug out of the cupboard. I make my coffee just the way I like and turn on my small radio. Living Proof by Camila Cabello comes out of the speakers. I listen as she sings a serenade about an intense love. I can’t help but to relate to her words, especially the part about sharing demons. Fuck, I don’t want to admit this . . . but throughout the song the one person I’m thinking of is Bull. That’s crazy, right? We haven’t known each other for too long and here I am smitten over him. I mean, he’s arrogant as hell. I shouldn’t like him. But I do.

  The coffee maker beeping as it notifies me it’s finished brings me out of my thought induced haze. I proceed to make my coffee exactly the way I like it and head into the living room. In the mornings I prefer to take my time and wake up. To slowly sip on coffee until I feel motivated for the day.

  I barely sit down when a knock comes to my door. Furrowing my brows, I set my cup down on the coffee table in front of me and head to the door. I’m not expecting anyone, so I’ll be sure to peek through the curtain and see whoever it is on the other side.

  Much to my surprise I see Kristie, standing in a jacket which is entirely too light for Montana winters. “You’d better get your ass in here before you freeze to death. Has Utah not taught you enough about always overdressing instead of under?” I tease. She’s always told me how she missed Cincinnati because she could count on having four actual seasons of the year. Utah though, well, it taught her to have at least two jackets in her car.

  “The weather app said it would be forty today, not my fault it’s maybe seventeen out here.” She grumbles, walking inside. I shut the door behind her and go back over to where my coffee cup is.

  “If you want some coffee, I just made a fresh pot,” I tell her.

  Kristie proceeds to go into the kitchen, opening various cabinets until she finds the mugs. She pours her cup of coffee black, just like her damn soul and comes into the living room, taking a seat beside me.

  “If you were a decent friend you would’ve called me to tell me you were okay. Instead I had to track you down myself.” Ah, here’s the Kristie I know. The over dramatic bitch.

  “I needed time to get used to my new reality. I went through a lot and had a lot to process.” She may not understand it, but I really did need time. So much shit had happened, so calling her and telling her everything wouldn’t have made any sense. She’s the type to ask me what I think or how I’m feeling. At the time I couldn’t give her any of the answers she’d want. There was far too much running through my head.

  “If you were a field agent I would’ve reamed your ass for this.”

  “But I’m not.” I gently remind her. I’m a profiler, not someone out in the field protecting our great country.

  Kristie rolls her eyes, “Yeah, I know. I refuse to sit here and act like I’m not upset with you for not letting me know you were okay. When you went off the grid completely it worried me. Your cell hadn’t moved from this location for over a week. I came out here because I thought you were dead. Instead you were missing. I used every available resource I had and couldn’t find you, so I enlisted the only help I could. The type that doesn’t play by the rules, who create their own and do what they need to.”

  “Thank you for figuring out something was wrong. Well, I have to thank you for contacting the Reapers and Amanda for it as well I suppose.”

  “Amanda? Please tell me you’re not talking about that fucking bitch of a woman. Williams?”

  “That would be the one.” I confirm.

  “Ugh!” Kristie rises, throwing her hands up in the air from pure frustration. “Have I told you how much I loathe her? She’s constantly stepping on other people’s toes. Pfft, she didn’t offer her assistance for no reason. What did she want?”

  “She played it off like she wanted me in a way, that’s what Bull said . . . but I think she wanted Grizzly for the arson against Fist’s property and the murder of Saffron.”