Goddamn my arm and the Iron Raider who hit me. Because of thatpendejo,I had a hairline fracture in my right radius. My arm was in a sling, which meant I couldn’t act as security when Indigo and Lennon went to The Goldfinch tonight. If I didn’t think it would break my arm, I’d go to the gym to beat on the heavy bag until the frustration simmering in my blood found a way to bleed out of me. I liked the ideaof them going anywhere near the bratva about as much as I liked Pyro’s fucking face right now.
There was only one thing currently helping me rein in my anger at the situation, and that was that Priest looked just as pissed off as I was that he couldn’t go either. Duke put his foot down and told his VP if he even tried to start some shit with the Petrovs when we have the Iron Raiders and the traitor to deal with, he’d lock him in the confessional. Against my will, my eyes gravitated to the corner of the clubhouse where Indi and Lennon were standing, talking to Thor and Tank. Indigo was talking, gesturing with her hands and making Lennon laugh with whatever she said. My heart lurched, trying to get to the girl who held it captive, but I refused to let myself get too close to her right now. If I could lock her in her room to keep her away from the threats circling us, I would.
Cricket and Bear agreed to escort the girls to meet the Petrovs, but I wouldn’t be able to relax until mygatitawalked back through our clubhouse doors. I trusted my brothers, but no one except Sticks would protect Lennon like I would. I’d been her friend since I was just a kid, and loved her for years but I could never,evermake her mine. Lennon deserved someone better than me, someone without demons haunting his steps and sins weighing down his soul.
When she and Ratched picked me up from the Rue County jail, she’d thrown herself into my arms, and in a moment of weakness, I’d allowed myself to pretend that I was her man. That moment had cost me, though, because when Lennon whispered those three little words into my ear in the back seat of the SUV, I’d been forced to pull away from her. Lennon confessed that she loved me, and instead of telling her I felt the same, I’d lied.
I thought that if I pushed her away, if I broke her heart and made her hate me, she’d move on with someone else and live her life safely and happily with a man who deserved her. She was hurt, angry, and so feisty when I pretended not to be completely in love with her, claws and all. No matter how many times I tried to distance myself from her, the push and pull of us, the tension that existed every time we were in the same room—it never waned, never ended.
Even now, a few days later, sparks still flew between us, no matter how hard I tried to ignore them or how hard she tried to hide them. Shemight tell herself that her feelings were one-sided, but deep down, she had to know that I was just as plagued by my love for her.
“This is bullshit,” Priest muttered under his breath, eyes glued to his own source of angst and desire.
“Maybe, but it’s happening whether we want it to or not. Cricket and Bear will keep them safe.” Bear was our most vicious fighter, and Cricket was surprisingly dark when the situation called for it. Priest grunted in acknowledgment but didn’t say anything else. We both looked like surly saps pouting across the clubhouse, a fact that didn’t go unnoticed by our brothers. Cricket winked at us as he ushered the girls out the door and over to Sheila. I followed like an invisible tether connected me to the woman climbing into the passenger seat of the van. She refused to look at me, but I knew she knew I was there. I’d always be here for her, even if it killed me.
Bones, 2 years ago, the night Ellis disappeared
I shoved past a group of Reid’s law buddies clogging the doorway, Ellis’s words still ringing in my ears as Priest towed her to her car. The party raged around me, but my focus was locked on finding Lennon. The bass-heavy music blaring from the speakers hardly registered, and when I finally found the girl who haunted my every thought, she was dancing on the patio. The wine-red scrap of fabric she wore hardly qualified as a dress, and it hugged her curves in the best, worst way. Lennon’s ass was pressed into some Chad, her long dark curls pulled over one shoulder. The cabrón behind her gestured to a friend from across Reid’s backyard, and he quickly came over to sandwichmygirl.
Stepping through the glass doors leading to the patio, I watched for a moment as Lennon threw her head back to laugh at some stupid shit the man behind her said. I felt my cock start to thicken in my jeans just thinking about the sound of Lennon’s laugh, low and sultry and so damn sexy. They didn’t deserve to hear it, and before I could stop myself, I was pushing across the patio and shoving Reid’s friends away from Lennon. Lennon, who knew I’d been watching her little show, let out a gasp of mock dismay, but the twinkle in her eye let me know she was getting the exact reaction she had hoped for in letting those two fuckboys touch her.
Scooping Lennon over my shoulder like a brute, I carried her into the party to the sound of shrill wolf whistles and jeers over the thrumming beat of dance music being pumped out of speakers. Lennon put up the most insincere act of resistance, not even hitting my back or kicking her legs very hard. As I was climbing the stairs, I swear to God I felt my little kitten grab my ass. I found an empty spare bedroom and kicked the door closed behind me before unceremoniously dumping Lennon onto the bed.
An undignified “oompf” escaped her lips as she hit the bed, and I had to close my eyes and count to ten to keep myself from pulling her over my knee and smacking her ass red.
“What the actual fuck do you think you were doing down there, huh, Lennon?” I gritted out, glaring at the girl who drove me absolutely crazy. She dug deep into her inner well of audacity, which never seemed to run dry, and innocently shrugged.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Santiago.”
I wanted to tell her that she should try to train her face to match the lies that were coming out of her pretty little mouth because she couldn’t look more pleased if she tried. I loved the sound of my name on her lips, something she only called me now when we were alone. In front of other people, we were Bones and Lennon, but when we were alone, she called me Santiago, and in the depths of my thoughts, I called her my kitten. So sweet and innocent, but with claws that were razor sharp.
Lennon had been the first person I’d connected with on a deeper level when I immigrated to the US, way back when I was ten. I’d come to the LC compound a fucked-up kid, and she’d seen that I needed someone sweet and kind to pull me back from the edge of my inner darkness. I’d been through stuff no kid should have to deal with, and I was unpreparedfor how to handle it. She’d been like a ray of sunshine in my life for so long, and I didn’t know how to reconcile how I felt about her then and how I was feeling about her now.
I’d always felt friendly toward Lennon. I didn’t know many people who could withstand the charm of my gatita, and I’d always felt protective of her. The rush of possessiveness that pushed itself forward when I saw those pendejos pawing her had caught me off guard, not to mention the unwelcome lust she now inspired. Lennon made me feel like I was losing my grip over my self control. Ever since that night all those years ago, when I lost control and killed for the first time, I’d worked to learn how to control my temper and master my emotions. Temper and reacting emotionally were what got me in trouble in the first place, and I never wanted to be trouble for Lennon.
Lying there, sprawled on the bed and brown eyes bright with excitement, Lennon nibbled her scarlet lower lip and looked up at me through dark lashes. I groaned inwardly, cursing my luck, the stars, and our holy mother for putting such temptation before me.
“Well,” Lennon purred, “you’ve got me all to yourself. What will you do?” I knew what I wanted to do, which was to cover as much of her body with my own and drive myself deep inside her. However, that was something I could absolutely never do. I’d taint her, and Lennon deserved far better than a man like me.
No. Lennon and I could never be, no matter how much we both wanted it. I needed to push her away and break her heart for her own good. She was smart, beautiful, and incredibly talented. She might think she wanted me now, but eventually, she’d move on from her crush and find some regular guy whose lifestyle and profession wouldn’t be a danger to her. Lennon needed to go out into the world and start her business with Ellis, marry some nice nine-to-five professional, and have generic babies in the boring suburbs. No bar fights, arms deals, and rival club assassinations—just a good, peaceful life.
I pushed off the door and walked over to the bed, where Lennon waited for me in anticipation. Her chest began to rise and fall rapidly, drawing my eye and causing a small groan to escape my lips. I needed to be strong, for both of us.
“I should spank your ass for coming out to a party like this one, but I have a feeling that wouldn’t be quite the punishment for you that I’d want it to be.” Lennon blushed and looked away from me, which caused more blood to rush south of my waistband. “Instead, I’m going to take you home to your dad and let him deal with you.” I grabbed Lennon’s wrist, tugging her to her feet. Her eyes were wide in surprise, like she couldn’t believe I wasn’t going to at least try to kiss her.
Lennon yanked her hand out of my grasp. “I’m twenty-one now, Santiago. My dad can’t tell me what to do. I’m an adult, and I can make my own choices.”
I scoffed. “I don’t care how grown up you think you are, you’re too good to be in a place like this.”
“Oh,” she snarked, her claws contracted, “I’m too good to be at this party, but it suits you just fine? Please, if you can be here, so can I. You don’t want me? Fine, I can find someone who does.” She flipped her dark curls over her shoulder and strutted to the door with an exaggerated sway to her hips. My hand shot out and grabbed her arm, pulling her away from the door and into my chest.
“Like hell you will,” I said darkly. My pulse strummed through the vein in my temple, and I wrestled with the feelings surging through me. There were too many to categorize completely, but all of them left me with one resounding thought.
Mine.
Lennon, my clever kitten, sensed the moment my resolve wavered and pushed herself forward on the tips of her toes. Before I knew what was happening, her lips were sealed to mine, and I completely lost myself to Lennon’s seductive taste. Our tongues dueled, neither of us willing to back down until I took both of us by surprise and grabbed Lennon by her round ass, dragging her hips into mine. She moaned into my mouth as her body went pliant against mine, and the sultry sound inspired a multitude of filthy thoughts to race through my mind, each one making my blood burn hotter and hotter. I had to stop this, now, before we did something Lennon would regret.
I pulled back from the girl I was certain I’d always love, and held her chin until her lust-drunk eyes met mine. She smiled shyly, completely contrasting how her mouth devoured mine moments ago. “It’s time foryou to go home, Lennon. You don’t belong here.” At my harsh tone, Lennon pulled her head back, confusion and hurt coloring her expression.
