Jana looked thrilled by Marisol’s change, but I was as suspicious as I was surprised. She’d been a goddamn mute for the past few days and now she was offering to help? “We’re putting together some more leftovers but we’re being creative about it so grab an apron and a cutting board. There’s some dark meat over there with your name on it.”
Marisol looked over at me, brows arched as if to say, “See, I’m fine.” And even though I was still skeptical as hell, she seemed all right. Plus, I knew Jana would mother the hell out of her until she was fine for real. “See you later, ladies.”
“Be careful,” Marisol called out to me just before I left the kitchen, making me smile to hear signs of life from her. She’d been through a fuck ton of shit lately and I knew it would take some time before things—before she—got back to normal, but I couldn’t help but want to speed that shit up.
“Hey man.” I was so goddamn lost in thought that I didn’t see Gunnar until he was right in front of me.
“What’s up Gunnar?” He was the last fucking person I wanted to talk to, but he was my brother and that was the only reason I didn’t punch his fucking lights out.
“How’s it, uh, going?” Gunnar looked nervous, which I didn’t even think he could feel, but it didn’t make shit between us right.
“Fine. Did you want something?”
“Nothing, just…fuck man, I’m sorry about—”
I cut him off because I didn’t want to hear his goddamn excuses. “Don’t worry about it, Gunnar. We’ve got shit to take care of right now and honestly I don’t fucking believe you anyway.”
“Maybe I deserve that but it’s true. I am sorry and I know none of this shit is your fault.”
“Right,” I snorted and spotted Cross headed our way. “What’s up, Prez?”
“I just got a delivery. A fucking phone.” He held up the phone, obviously a burner and an old fucking one at that. “Come on.”
Gunnar and I followed him into Merry Mayhem where the rest of the club was already waiting. “Carlito?”
“That’s my guess,” Cross said as he flipped open the phone and played the voicemail. A heavily accent, slightly nasally voice sounded and it was a voice I knew all too well. Gunnar too. A voice neither of us was likely to forget.
“All right Mr. Cross, you have my attention. And now that you do, you might not want it. You have fucked with me and now I intend to fuck you back.”
The room fell silent as the gravity of Carlito’s words sank in.
The fight was on.
Chapter Thirty-One - Max
Waking up with Jana in my arms was the best damn part of my day and today that was especially true. Her curves, softer now since the birth of our babies, pressed up against me, teasing and tempting me awake. With a low groan as she stretched and smiled up at me, her green eyes opening with a sparkle. “Have a good sleep?”
I nodded because every night with her cuddled up beside me was a good one. Jana was my own personal dream chaser, unknowingly slaying the nightmares that sometimes still made sleep difficult. “Yeah.” It wasn’t the most satisfying sleep because today wasn’t going to be an easy day. Not by a fucking long shot. But, I was ready for it. Battle ready. “Better with you right here.”
Her skin flushed and she propped her head up on her hand. “I’m glad.”
Just those two words were all I needed to hear from my wife to settle my mind and focus on the day ahead. All of the whore houses were closed today aside from the private, invitation-only ones that no one knew about and those who did were too afraid of the consequences to talk. That didn’t change the fact that we had to make sure our girls were safe. All of them. They were under our protection but they also made up a big chunk of our income, so security was tight everywhere, from the weed shops to the brothels as well as all of our personal holdings. Carlito was a crazy motherfucker and we didn’t put anything past him. “How’d you sleep, babe?”
Jana’s smile brightened and I felt it all the way down to my bones. This woman, this petite little blonde who’d taken my life by storm and made me whole, was my rock.
She climbed on top of me, her knees bracketing my hips as she leaned forward to cup my face. “I love you Max. I love the hell out of you and I know you’re gonna come back to me because it took me too damn long to find you.” She smashed her lips to mine in a forceful kiss that stole my breath and got me hard in one second flat. She slipped her tongue inside my mouth and deepened the kiss until I was ready to plunge into her and forget that today might be the day I lost another one of my brothers.
Too damn soon, she pulled back with a kind smile. “Now go out there and kill those motherfuckers. Do it for Kat. Do it for Marisol. And do it because I’m telling you that it’s okay.” She cupped my face with an intense look on her face. “I’m telling you, Max, to unleash that part of you that you think you have to keep from me, from all of us. Let that guy out to rip these fuckers apart and make them regret they ever fucked with the Reckless Bastards.”
My smile was so damn big I was pretty sure my face was gonna split right there with my girl on top of me, gently grinding into me just in case I forgot what I had waiting for me back at home. “You’re so hot when you get bloodthirsty, babe.” Then I grabbed her ass and pulled her down against my cock and kissed the hell out of her, making sure she knew exactly how much she meant to me. How dedicated I was to making sure I wrapped her in my arms tonight.
After bringing my wife to a quick orgasm, I slipped from the bed and looked at her, splayed out and naked with a satisfied smile on her face. “I expect you right beside me tonight when I go to sleep.”
“Where else would I be?” Her laugh sounded behind me as I left the room to hug and kiss my kids before I went downstairs to the clubhouse. To strap up.
That was the thing about being a military man, no matter what branch you were in, the readiness never disappeared. It came right back, just like riding a bike.
I strapped a gun to each of my ankles, back up pieces to go along with the one at my side and tucked into a holster at the back of my jeans. I added a few knives for good measure because when I went to war, I did whatever I had to in order to survive. There were no rules of engagement, not when the enemy didn’t follow the same rules, and this wasn’t a sanctioned sport. I had to survive any way I could.