"We have plenty of ways to pass the time.Afterrest up."
She murmurs sleepy ascent and minutes later, her breathing evens out. I'm not far behind her, sliding into sleep, despite our location. Sleeping in the beast’s belly turns out to be easier than one might think.
* * *
I half-expect Calamity Gardel to cross us, revoking his promise come morning. But after kicking me awake after the third time I'd fucked Cleo, he shows us to the door, reminding us with grim finality that we owe him a debt.
The thought of owing him anything makes me queasy. He could call upon me to do many reprehensible acts. What if he wants Cruz dead? What if he wants me to betray my friends?
I decide that I'll deal with whatever it is when the time comes. It was the only way to save Cleo.
I'm especially cautious returning to my home. I'm expecting Trent to be waiting for us, thugs still at hand. But the only vehicle I see in the drive besides my car is Cruz's silver Eagle. I belatedly realize that we've left Bryan in their care for two straight days. I lost my phone in the chase through King territory, so they didn't have a way to contact us. They must be frantic.
I've just secured my bike when the front door of my house bangs open and Holly comes flying out in a tangle of long, pale limbs. She's practically tripping down the stairs to get to us. She's rumpled and panicked, but even I can admit she's beautiful. Not my type, but perfect for Cruz, who always liked his women a little less curvy than mine.
I'm not sure what we look like to her, but she stops dead in her tracks, staring at us. Cruz stands in the doorway, cradling a squalling Bryan in his arms. He looks pissed. I can't say I blame him.
"What happened to you?" Holly demands. "You look like you've been tackled by a bear."
"Not a bear. Trent McNeil. And then later by Calamity Gardel."
Her eyes bug and even Cruz goes pale beneath the ever-present gold cast to his skin. His eyes dart around the lawn, as if we might already be under attack. I scan the terrain, but as I suspected earlier, it's empty.
"Get inside," Cruz orders. "We'll talk about it there. I don't want this happening out in the open."
I wait for Cleo to clamber off the bike. She's limping, and I can't tell if it’s from her injury or the vigorous sex we had the night before. When I dismount I'm already at her side, drawing her beneath my shoulder and keeping her facing away from the road. If anyone's going to be hit, it'll be me.
I don't relax until the door clicks shut behind us. Cruz hands Bryan off to Holly, who soothes the fussing baby with a soft, crooning lullaby. His dark eyes bore holes in mine.
"Now explain everything."
15
Cleo
Idon't stop shaking until Holly leads me to the couch and pushes a glass of whiskey into my hand. It's not my preferred drink, but right now anything that takes the edge off the clawing panic is good enough. I tip back the glass and swallow most of its contents in one pull. It looks like Bryan will have to make do with formula for at least one night.
"What happened?" Holly echoes Cruz's statement, and even her voice shakes a little. I know things are bad when Cruz and Holly look worried. I've never seen a more stubborn and brave pair in my life.
"Trent set up an ambush for Cleo when she tried to get to court yesterday morning. At least ten men, Trent and Brenda, and all of them were armed and set to kill. I was following at a distance, just in case and I broke their line just long enough to get her on my bike."
"And where does Calamity Gardel come into this?" Cruz sounds furious and I can't blame him one bit. There's only two ways we could have tangled with Gardel. Either he crossed the line into Spade territory, or we'd crossed into theirs, in which case Gardel had every right to come after all members of our MC, not just the interlopers.
"It was the only way," Ryker says. "The only way that I could keep them away from Cleo and Bryan."
"Fuck, Ryker!" Cruz shoves two hands into his dark, tousled hair and looks as though he's ready to pull it out by the roots. "What the hell were you thinking, crossing into King territory? You've made the situation a thousand times worse. We didn't need this on top of everything else!"
"Everything else?" I ask, fearing the answer. "You mean there's still worse news?"
Cruz heaves a sigh and sits, stiff-backed in one of Ryker's armchairs, facing us. There's a resigned set to his shoulders, and a weary sadness in his eyes.
"Yes. Much, much worse."
Cruz takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly. "The Spades are on the verge of civil war. There's a faction of men following Trent that want the rules to change. They want to demand percentages from the working girls, and use violence if they don't fall into line. And they want to make more than the casino and our various establishments allow."
"You mean they want to bring drugs into our territory," Ryker finishes grimly. "I can't imagine Holly or Penny will take that lying down."
I wince. Cruz's sister Penny was addicted to Oxy for a while after she'd torn her ACL. Holly's history with drugs is even worse. Born to a heroin addict and an alcoholic, she's pretty much devoted her life to helping those who want to get sober.
