The moonlight was lit over her, casting half her body in shadows. I couldn’t see her face or her eyes. I needed to see her eyes.

  I began to move toward her, but she tightened her grip on the sheet in front of her and stepped forward. I saw her eyes.

  I wished I almost hadn’t.

  Those eyes were fierce.

  “You protected me for nine months?!”

  Yeah. She really wasn’t happy.

  9

  Kess

  Nine months!

  I’d been under threat for nine months, and from the little Chris said, I knew there was a whole ton more he wasn’t saying.

  There was a threat. He was young, so he’d been assigned to me. He watched me, and that was the gist of it. That was all he could tell me.

  I wanted to rip him a new one, but I didn’t want to harm him. Fillet him with my words, maybe, but not real filleting.

  Nine months and I had no idea.

  Its why Heckler came in the first place, and he’d been so vague when I asked why he was here.

  “Just tell me who it was from?”

  We were sitting in his living room. He was standing, leaning against the wall. I was on the edge of the couch, my elbows on my knees and my head in my hands.

  “I can’t. The rumors were higher up so we couldn’t risk it. That’s seriously all I can say.”

  I knew he couldn’t, but it was driving me crazy.

  In danger. Nine months. My mind couldn’t wrap around that.

  “That’s why you moved next door.”

  He hesitated but nodded. “I installed a security system in your house. I could monitor you if something happened.”

  “And school?”

  “Your crew wasn’t in your first and seventh periods.” He shrugged. “So I was.”

  He was right. They were in all my others. They were with me every other moment of the day, too. Lunch. After school. Except when I was home, and he was ‘monitoring’ me.

  “How?”

  He flinched at my tone. It was dull, grating.

  He smoothed his hand through his hair. “I’d rather not tell you.”

  “Christopher!”

  He flinched a second time.

  Wait. I narrowed my eyes. “What’s your club name?”

  His jaw clenched. “Wraith.”

  Wraith.

  I screwed a Wraith.

  I didn’t even want to know why he got that name.

  “Oh my God!” I shoved to my feet, starting to pace. I slept with him, and I wanted to do it again. Who was I? I didn’t even recognize myself with him. One meeting, our food unfinished, and we’d gone at it four times. Four. Times.

  I couldn’t. I just couldn’t.

  This was…this was ridiculous!

  Heckler. My own uncle. I growled, “I’m going to murder my uncle.”

  Christopher or Wraith jumped in front of me, his hands up. “You can’t. They can’t know I told you. I don’t—I might’ve gotten more time. I don’t know, but if you call him, then that’s all done for and I don’t know what they’ll want me to do next.”

  “Are you kidding me? You want more time?” I hissed.

  “Well.” He dropped his hands, frowning. “Yeah.”

  “Agh!” I screamed and shoved past him, going to his room and starting to dress.

  “Babe.”

  “Don’t!” I whipped back to him, one hand in the air and the other holding the sheet in front of me. “You are not my man or my boyfriend. You don’t get to ‘babe’ me.”

  I dropped the sheet.

  He groaned, raking his hand over his hair. “Fuck.”

  I grabbed my clothes, shoving my arms into my top and my legs into my jeans.

  I didn’t even remember where any of my stuff went

  My phone.

  My purse.

  I stomped back to the front door,;there were my sandals. I didn’t remember toeing them off, but I must’ve.

  “Come on, Kess. Please.”

  I was so not listening to him.

  Even if he was gorgeous…

  And had protected me all year long…

  Not happening.

  Hell to the no.

  But, oh man. How he felt in bed.

  How he kissed me.

  Slid inside of me.

  He’d made me shatter in his arms, and not once or twice. Four times.

  That was so not the norm.

  I wrenched open the door—

  His phone rang, peeling through the air.

  I hesitated.

  I hated that I hesitated.

  He glanced down, then hit accept. “Max.”

  I froze.

  On the other end of the phone was someone seriously powerful. It shouldn’t have the power to impress me, but I couldn’t help it. I was impressed, and I found myself waiting. I didn’t know why. So yeah, I should go.

  I was going.

  Now.

  Right now.

  I was so going.

  Damn. I was still here.

  And I heard Chris saying, “I might have a situation here.” A pause. “Okay. I’ll take her.”

  He hung up, and now I really needed to go.

  This time, I was going to do it. Go. Move forward.

  Then he said, “Your friend Johnny…”

  I frowned. “Yeah?”

  He finished, “He’s in trouble.”

  10

  Wraith

  We went on my bike, heading out of Roussou toward Callyspo.

  I didn’t really know these guys well. They were a local charter in Frisco, but they asked to meet in Callyspo. There’d been a new setup put in charge. Things got messy a bit ago, so some restructuring was needed. That was before my uncle began to move south. When we rode in, I didn’t stop and plan for Kess. Or for her reaction.

  She was off the bike and across the lot, heading toward Johnny in a flash. “You’re an asshole!”

  One of the guys caught her, an arm wrapped around her waist. She had enough momentum so she was lifted in the air as her feet kept pedaling. She didn’t care. She was seeing red.

  Sauce came over, his jaw hard. “Couldn’t leave your girl behind?”

  “She’s Heckler’s niece.”

  He turned back. His eyes were now hard. “And you brought her here?”

  Yeah. I knew.

  I sighed, nodding at her ex-crew member. “So, he knew the old group?”

  “Looks like. He approached us, said he had money and a party he could unload everything at four times the normal rate. Some rich kid in Fallen Crest.”

  “Is this relationship new?”

  “With us, yes. We’ve never worked with him before. I’m assuming his usual supplier was pinched or dried up.”

  He was a potential problem. I didn’t like potential problems.

  Sauce went back to watching the show.

  Johnny was trying to hide in the back of a cage, and Kess kept trying to get free from Rampant, her holder. Her nails were going into his arm, and I barked, “Kess! Hands off my guy.”

  Rampant shot me a grin as Kess lifted her hands away, but she went back to screaming at Johnny.

  “And why’d you bring her again?”

  I was asking myself the same thing. “What’s the plan with him?”

  “We were waiting for orders from your uncle. We’re too new. Things are too delicate right now. We don’t want to off someone, have it blow back on another charter, and we knew you were in town.”

  He was right. It could get back to me.

  I was his age, in his school and the authorities already knew I was here.

  Well. Damn.

  Sauce read my expression and grunted. “Pretty much.”

  “What’d my uncle say?”

  “He said to do what you decided.”

  I frowned. Why would he do that?

  I nodded, taking my phone out. “I gotta make a call.”

  That call didn’t help.

  “You clean it up how you want. Nothing can come back on us.” That’d been his response, and I didn’t like thinking I needed to be judge, executioner, and cleanup so early into my MC career. I thought I’d have a bit more time, but I was Maxwell Raith’s nephew.

  I was named Wraith for a reason too.

  Shit.

  Shit!

  I was eyeing Kess, who had quieted. Rampant wasn’t holding her anymore, but he and another were standing between her and Johnny.

  This was my problem.

  Johnny was her crew. That meant he’d had her back since they formed, and there was love there. Friendship love. Loyalty love. Family love. Love that was ride or die. But seeing him now, I knew he didn’t feel the same. He was a weasel, and he was on the product. My guess was that he’d been doing it for a while, and so the love that Kess felt for him, not only did he not return it, but he didn’t deserve it.

  But he didn’t have anything on us.

  I walked over to him. “Who’d you work with before?”

  He sneered at me. “Some pig.”

  Okay then. That helped with the decision.

  I glanced back at Sauce. “Rough him up. Put him in the hospital for an extended stay, and you,” I leaned down and got in his face, “if I get word you’re dealing in Roussou, Fallen Crest, Frisco, or Callyspo, they will end you. Got it? I don’t like you. You’re a piece of shit.”

  His face was getting redder and redder. He opened his mouth—I shut it, with a fist.

  He toppled out of the truck, and for good measure, he got a boot to the ribs. Then a second.

  He lay there, moaning, but my message wasn’t done.

  “You don’t seem to know what you are.” I squatted down, my arms resting over my knee. “You’re a future snitch.”

  He paled, his eyes then darting to the others.

  “And what’s worse, you’re a junkie future snitch. Those types only die, so if you want to stay in town, you clean up. If you don’t, these guys will relocate you, six feet under. Got it?”

  His eyes went to Kess.

  I growled, shifting to block his view. “And you really want to stay away from her. You go near her, you get me to deal with. You don’t want to deal with me.”

  He didn’t like it but he had no choice.

  The guys hauled him out, given orders to drop him off in front of a hospital.

  Kess went to wait by my bike, and I had another word with Sauce.

  Then it was time to go back. I still had a few hours and I needed to make them memorable.

  11

  Kess

  I was angry at Johnny, but I was more hurt.

  It wasn’t just him. I was hurt by our entire crew, because we weren’t a crew. We’d just been pretending to be. And I was angry at myself for not figuring that out earlier than now. They all left, and they had gone quickly. I was hugging the back of Chris, and we were going back to his place. I didn’t know when or even if I’d see him again. And yet, all of that aside, I felt like he was more crew than Johnny ever had been.

  I pressed my forehead to Chris’ back, tightening my arms.

  He reached down, his hand running over my leg and then stayed there.

  It felt nice. Right.

  I would be sadder about when we’d have to say goodbye than my crew. That told me everything.

  I was such a fool.

  When we pulled back into his house, he led me by the hand, and we went back to his room.

  We didn’t sleep the rest of the night.

  It was early. The clock said it was six in the morning when we’d collapsed after our last round.

  I was resting half on his chest, drawing a circle over his stomach.

  Both of us were sweaty and had no desire to move, not another inch. My body had no bones. I was a melting mess, and it was wonderful.

  But still. The clenching in the stomach. It was there because his uncle was supposed to call. He’d shared that part when I asked when he needed to go, though I’d been dreading even speaking the words.

  “Those guys are going to kill Johnny.”

  His body stiffened.

  I lifted my head up. I wanted him to see that I knew. “I heard what you said to him, about doing drugs. You’re right.” Another thing I was kicking myself for not seeing. “I actually think I flushed his drugs today.”

  He moved his arm from behind his head and took my hand in his. Sliding his fingers through mine, he cocked his head to the side. “Good.”

  That note. I grinned, remembering it.

  “What?”

  I shook my head. “Nothing. There was a stupid note on the door. It was kinda funny.” But thinking on it, “Johnny couldn’t stash drugs in the girls’ bathroom. Someone else must’ve done that.”

  Chris didn’t respond, not that my statement even warranted a reply. It was done.

  I sighed, laying my cheek back down on his chest. His free hand went through my hair, smoothing it down my back and up again. It was soothing and caressing at the same time.

  “So, your uncle is going to call you to join their group?”

  He tensed again.

  I learned he did that anytime the Red Demons were brought up.

  His voice was low. “Yeah. More than likely.”

  That meant I needed to deal with it, start getting over him.

  Was it sad that I needed to get over a guy with whom I only had one night? Or maybe that was a beautiful thing?

  I didn’t know. Beautiful things didn’t survive in my world.

  I looked up.

  That made sense too, because Chris was beautiful.

  He looked down, his hand coming to cup the side of my face. “What’s in your head?” His thumb ran over my cheek, so soft and tender. It matched his tone.

  I wasn’t going to tell him that, so I said something else, “Thank you for being here to protect me this year.” My heart skipped a beat. “That’s the nicest thing anyone’s done for me.”

  “Oh, baby.” He sat up, curling over me, and his mouth dropped to mine.

  But there were no words that could be said.

  He was going.

  I was staying.

  It was what it was.

  We had the morning still.

  Then his mouth was moving over mine, and before long, we’d shifted. I was straddling him, and his hands were on my hips.

  The sun was spreading through the room, inch by inch, but I wasn’t seeing it.

  I was just feeling, and in a way, I felt like I was feeling for the first time.

  12

  Christopher

  My phone rang.

  We’d both been waiting.

  It was almost noon, so my uncle gave us half of another day. I wondered if that was part of his gift to me for handling the problem last night.

  Taking my phone outside, I answered, “Hey.”

  “I have good and bad news. Which do you want?”

  I sighed.

  “The bad first.”

  Max chuckled low over the phone. “Pack up. I want your ass on your bike in thirty minutes. I’ll send you the coordinates where to go.”

  I gripped my phone tight, hating this, hating everything about this.

  “Okay.” I was forcing air out through my nose, trying to keep my teeth from grinding. “And the good news?”

  “Got a guy in the admissions office. Turns out, we need a college boy for our club. Guess where you’re going to school?”

  Wait.

  “What?” I started to turn around.

  Kess was sitting at the table, her knee pulled up. She was hugging her leg, and her head was cocked to the side. She was trying to figure out a puzzle in a magazine I had lying around. Jesus, she was stunning. A breeze was going through the room, and I was noticing every detail about how it was lifting some of her hair strands, making them wave in the air.

  Goddamn romantic crap here.

  My heartbeat was drumming thick in my ear.

  There’s no way I’d heard him right.

  He laughed, though. “You heard me. You’re coming here for three months, and then returning for your girl. Heckler told us where she’s going to college. I need a future college degree guy in the club.”

  I swallowed. “What degree?”

  “We’ll get into that later. Go and break the news to your girl, and then get down here. Heckler’s got something to say to you.”

  I was sure he did.

  My uncle said thirty minutes, but he was going to have to wait.

  I went and told Kess the news, and I didn’t leave on my bike until later in the day.

  Much, much later.

  * * *

  THE END

  * * *

  If you enjoyed Kess, please leave a review!

  They truly help so much.

  For more stories, go to: www.tijansbooks.com

  Acknowledgments

  I’d like to thank the Bookworm Box because through their first anthology, I created Kess!

  I also want to thank all the readers who love the Crew Series!

  Thank you to the readers in my reader group, Tijan’s Crew. Your constant support in there is so vital to me. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

  Also by Tijan

  Kess is written to be a short story, but if you’d like to read more about Taz and the Crew System from Roussou, check out:

  Crew Series

  Rich Prick (standalone)

  Frisco

  * * *

  Other works in the same universe:

  Fallen Crest/Roussou Universe

  Fallen Crest Series

  The Boy I Grew Up With (standalone)

  Nate

  A Kade Christmas (novella)

  * * *

  Mafia Standalones:

  Canary

  Cole

  Bennett Mafia

  Canary

  Jonah Bennett

  * * *

  Other series:

  Broken and Screwed Series (YA/NA)