“Now you’re exaggerating.”
They were distracted by the sounds of the motorcycles entering the parking lot.
Lily jumped up from the swing, and both of them moved to stand by the porch rail as the men approached the clubhouse.
“Do you mind?” Lily excitedly stepped toward the steps.
“Go for it.” Penni juggled John into a more comfortable position on her hip as Lily took off to meet Shade.
“Get used to it, John. Your mama is crazy over your papa.” It never failed to bring a lump to her throat when she saw her brother and sister-in-law together. It was as if they only existed when they were apart, becoming whole when they came together.
John tugged on her necklace, and she gently untangled it from his grip, tucking in the front of her shirt.
Shade had given it to her when she had graduated from high school. The delicate, gold chain was whisper thin with a gold charm in the shape of a compass. The back was engraved with the words: “Never lose your way.” She never took it off.
Penni gasped when she saw his face. Shade’s nose was swollen, and he had two black eyes. Lily was inspecting his injuries, moving aside to let the men walking behind him pass.
As she searched for Train to make sure he wasn’t in the same shape, it took a couple of seconds to become aware of the man with a distinctive mark on his cheek. It looked worse than Shade.
She stomped down the steps, swiftly walking toward Jackal.
“Why is he here? I told you not to hurt him!” Penni moved closer to look at Jackal’s poor face. “Are you okay?”
Penni ignored her brother’s raised brow as she gingerly reached out to touch his bruised cheek.
“Yeah. It looked worse before,” Jackal told her.
“It looks pretty damn bad. Do you want me to get you an ice bag?”
“No, most of the swelling has gone down.”
“It looked worse before?”
“Yeah.”
“You …” Penni was so furious she wanted to pound her big brother.
Jackal had made sure she hadn’t gotten hurt when Hennessy had kidnapped her, and how had she returned the favor? By letting her big brother beat him up!
“You do realize my son can hear every word you’re saying?”
“What?” She hadn’t realized she had been talking out loud.
Shade took his son out her arms. “Is your crazy auntie upsetting you?”
Penni snorted as John shoved his clenched fist in his mouth. Her nephew wasn’t in the least upset. The baby only had one thing on his mind, and that was to grab handfuls of his daddy’s hair.
“I’ll show you crazy if you hurt Jackal again.”
“I don’t need you to take up for me,” Jackal said defensively.
“Isn’t this the man you threatened to cut the dick off of for kidnapping you?” Shade quipped.
“I think I’ll go inside and make some breakfast.” Lily took John from Shade, hurrying inside her house and away from the confrontation.
“He deserved it then, but not this time.”
“Jackal’s right; he can take care of himself.”
If he were the one responsible for Shade’s black eyes, Penni had to agree.
“Why is he here, anyway?”
Shade’s face became remote. “That’s none of your business. Jackal is going to stay here until Ice comes to have a talk with Viper.”
From their closed expressions, Penni wouldn’t find out until they were ready to tell. She knew whom she was going to have to talk to in order to make sure Jackal or any of the Predators didn’t face any repercussions for trying to help her.
“I can’t understand why The Last Riders are angry when all they tried to do was help.”
“They could have saved their asses if they had just called me when they found out you were missing.”
“Because Hennessy used to be a Predator, they probably figured you would kill him. They were being loyal, and I know damn well how much that means to you.”
“How about loyalty to King? They promised him they would watch out for you.”
“I’ve told you I can take care of myself. You and King didn’t need to ask the Predators to watch over me. Besides, I let you put that tracking device on my phone.”
Jackal began laughing, reaching inside his pocket to take out her phone and giving it back to her. “So that’s how you found her.”
Penni bounced on the balls on her feet, staring at her brother proudly. “I call him every Friday night. I knew, when I missed calling him, he would track my phone.”
“I don’t leave anything to chance when I care about someone,” Shade warned Jackal.
“I thought you didn’t love me.”
“I don’t.”
Penni smiled, knowing he was lying. Shade believed admitting to love someone made him weak. However, he had proved he could love when he had fallen in love the first time he had met Lily. As crazy as Penni made him, she knew he loved her, too.
“You’re both fucking nuts.” Jackal looked back and forth between them at Shade’s words.
“It runs in the family.” Penni intertwined her arm with Shade’s. “Come on; I can’t cook worth shit, so I can’t help Lily, but I’ll make you some toast.”
“You’ll burn it, and I won’t be able to choke it down like I usually do. I think Jackal loosened one of my front teeth.”
Penni glared at Jackal over her shoulder.
“Shade, the manager of the hotel called. He said he found your dick in the lost and found.”
Penni almost tripped when Shade spun toward Jackal. The two were going at it before she could regain her footing.
“Viper! Train! Knox!” Penni screamed, knowing better than to try to break the two men apart.
The men ran outside the back of the clubhouse, quickly breaking the men apart.
“Motherfucker, who started it this time!”
Knox put Shade in a head lock as Jackal tore away from Train’s restraining hold. Before Jackal could strike out, though, Penni took a stance in front of him.
“Don’t you dare hit him!”
Jackal, whose eyes were on Shade, turned to Penni, who had moved to protect Train. Varied expressions crossed his face, which she couldn’t understand, but thankfully, he stopped fighting, giving The Last Riders time to diffuse the situation.
“Go home,” Viper barked his order out to Shade before he grabbed the back of Jackal’s T-shirt, tossing him in the direction of the clubhouse. “Go inside.”
Left with no choice since Train and Knox were escorting him, he shared steely glances, letting them all know the fight wasn’t over.
“Brother, you’ve got a problem with Jackal; I’ve got that. But I can’t give Jackal back to Ice dead.”
“He called me a pussy,” Shade managed to speak from between clenched teeth.
Penni hoped Lily’s dentist was on speed dial.
“I don’t care if he calls you a douchebag; ignore it. Got me?”
Shade reluctantly nodded his head.
Viper took a deep breath, turning toward her. “Winter is dying to see you to make sure you’re all right. I’ll tell her to come over after Shade eats his breakfast. Maybe that’ll put him in a better mood.”
“I wouldn’t count on it, but Lily will be there, so he’ll behave.”
Penni followed behind Shade as he walked to his house, deciding to keep quiet so that he could retain his temper before going inside to Lily.
Shade stopped on his front porch.
“He was just being a jackass.” Penni couldn’t believe she was trying to make amends for Jackal.
“Stay away from him and Hennessy while they’re here.”
“Hennessy’s here, too?” Her mouth dropped open. “But why?”
“Hennessy was hurt at the shootout. Viper brought him here so he could recuperate instead of getting arrested. The Unjust Soldiers would had killed him before he could have made it out of ER.”
“That was nice of
Viper,” Penni said suspiciously.
“Yes, it was. Don’t repay him by putting your nose where it doesn’t belong. Jackal and Hennessy both have to make amends before they leave. Viper won’t tolerate you butting in, even though you’re my sister.”
“I understand.”
“I hope you do, Penni,” Shade answered grimly. “Don’t expect me to get in a fight between you and The Last Riders. You’ll lose.”
19
The backyard was filled with The Last Riders. Jackal sat on the picnic table, drinking the beer Rider had handed him before sitting down beside him.
“How in the fuck did Shade manage to catch her?” Jackal tipped his beer toward Lily who was sitting at a patio table with Shade, Penni, and Train.
Rider chuckled. “He paid for a personality transplant.”
“His doctor should be sued for malpractice.”
“You should have known him before he married Lily.”
“Bad?”
“More like painful. He had to wait a long time before she noticed him.”
“His sister is following in his example.” Jackal watched Penni flirt with Train. As they talked, Penni used any reason to reach out and touch Train.
Jackal wanted to walk across the yard, steal her away, carry her to his room, and spank her ass until she couldn’t sit for a week.
Two problems stopped him: One, he was forced to share a room with Rider. Two, Rider would enjoy it as much he would.
Rider cast him a sidelong look. “Train thinks of Penni as a little sister.”
“You should tell her. She’s making a fool of herself.”
“If you spent any time with Penni, you’d know telling her anything she doesn’t want to hear goes in one ear and out the other.”
“You sure he isn’t interested?”
Rider tilted his head. “I’m sure. Believe me; Penni isn’t the type of woman he goes for.”
“What kind of woman does he go for?” Curious, he turned to look at Rider. If he stared at Penni and Train much longer, he would toss him off the hill the clubhouse was built on.
“Look around. Take your pick.”
Jackal understood what he meant. The Last Riders didn’t lack for female companionship. One or two of the woman had reminded him of how long it had been since he had been laid. When they returned to Queen City, he was going to tell Ice they needed more women, or he was going to become a Last Rider.
A provocative laugh had him changing his mind.
It didn’t matter how many women Ice found to fill his bed. None of them would be her, and Jackal was determined to have her.
She had become an obsession. None of the women in that yard had her bottom lip that seemed to beg to suck his dick. He imagined her kneeling in front of him as he thrust his cock in her wet mouth …
Jackal jerked upright, throwing his empty bottle away in the trash can. “I need another beer.”
“Help yourself.” Rider tugged a sultry woman to him as she passed while Jackal sauntered to the ice chest, taking his time to grab a beer.
“Lily rented the entire series of My Boyfriend is a Zombie. Knox and Diamond are going to come over to watch and so are Rider and Crash. Why don’t you come, and I’ll make a pitcher of Bourbon Sours?”
“Zombie movies give me nightmares.” Train smiled indulgently at Penni’s disappointed expression.
“You’re not afraid of zombie—”
“It’s not the zombies that bother me; it’s Diamond thinking they’re going to take over the world. Knox is a brave man to go home after the nights he works the late shift. He said she’s turned the house into Fort Knox.”
Jackal wanted to vomit when she laughed at Train’s joke. He wondered how fucking funny Penni would find it when he threw him off the hill.
He took a cold beer then leaned against a nearby tree where he was able to listen to their conservation.
He ignored Shade’s occasional stare, becoming more and more irritated as the afternoon slowly progressed.
“Viper said the charcoals are ready. Help me carry the meat out?” Lily stood, reaching out to take Shade’s hand and giving him no choice but to go with her.
So Lily was trying to play matchmaker?
Her attempt was made in vain, though, as Train stood. “I’ll help Viper. I like my steaks rare. If I don’t do it myself, he’ll burn it to a crisp.”
He wanted to shake Penni at her meek reply. “Oh … okay.” Since when had she become meek?
Jackal took another beer out of the ice chest then took the seat Shade had vacated, placing the beer on the table in front of her.
“You’re never going to get him to notice you by kissing his ass.”
“Shut up,” she hissed. “You don’t know what the hell you’re talking about!”
“Really? It’s pretty obvious. You licked your lips so often I bet Train couldn’t make up his mind if you were thirsty or about to lick him next.”
Penni started to stand up. “You don’t know me, Train, or women.”
He leaned forward in his chair. “You told me a week ago I had all the women in Henry’s club.”
She paused. “You said that you hadn’t.”
“I lied.” He had never lied to her until now.
“I told Shade you were a jackass. I was wrong; you’re a—”
He lowered his voice when he saw Viper and Train look at them. “Be cool. Do you want Train to see you lose your temper?” He could practically see steam pour out of her. “You’re smart enough to see he likes passive women.”
“That’s bullshit. I haven’t seen that at all.”
“Well, he does; take it from me. I slept in the room next to his.”
Penni’s expression went pale as she sat back down in her seat. “He’s made love to women since I’ve been here?”
Jackal gripped his beer bottle to keep himself from shaking her. “Baby, what I heard coming from his bedroom wasn’t making love, but yes, he has fucked a different one each night I’ve been here.”
He watched as she lifted her beer, drinking it until it was almost empty.
“If you take my advice—”
“Just shut up, please.”
“I’m not trying to be mean.” Well, he was, but it was for her own good, which wasn’t strictly true, either. He had told her for his own good, wanting to further his own chances in getting her in bed. “I can tell you how to have Train eating out of your hand.”
Penni arched an eyebrow. “How?”
“Make him jealous. Men like him eat that shit up.”
Jackal saw the wheels turning behind her eyes. He knew he had hit pay dirt when she began surveying the men around the yard, trying to decide whom she could use to make Train jealous. He put a stop to that thought before it could get started.
“It can’t be another Last Rider.”
She glanced back to him. “Why not?”
“The men are used to sharing women in the club. It doesn’t cause fights.”
Her cheeks were flushed, but she didn’t look away.
His dick went hard. Train couldn’t handle a woman like Penni.
Once she was in his bed, he would use his body to fulfill any fantasy she could dream up. He had a few of his own that nearly had him scooting his chair forward so no one could see the hard ridge of his cock under his jeans.
He wanted to kick Colton’s ass for talking him into getting his dick pierced. He was so hard he felt like spikes had been driven into his dick.
“Who, then? I could pretend I have a boyfriend back in Queen City.”
“That’s not going to make him jealous. He has to have it under his nose. Use me.”
“You?” She burst out laughing.
“What’s wrong me?” Jackal asked.
“Well, let’s see. To make Train believe it, Shade will have to believe it, too. That’s not going to happen. My brother knows I hate you.”
“Convince him. Tell him we realized we were attracted to each other when I tried to get you
away from Hennessy. It’ll work. We spent a week together. Tell him that you wanted to tell him when we got back to Queen City, and I didn’t want to wait. That I wanted to face his anger while I was here.”
“He’ll kill you.”
“Not if you convince him not to.”
He could tell she was tempted. Her eyes went to Train who was talking to a vivacious woman called Raci. Rider had introduced him when she had pounced on Jackal while he lay sleeping in his bedroom, believing it to be Rider.
“What’s in it for you?” Suspiciously, she looked at him over the rim of her beer.
“Other than making your dreams of true love come true?”
“Please … There’s no such thing as true love.”
“You don’t believe in true love?”
“No, I don’t.”
“Your parents didn’t have a good marriage?”
“Their second one. Their first ones ended up in divorce.”
“So, if they have a good marriage—”
“You asked me if I believe in true love, and I don’t. True love doesn’t exist, just like there isn’t Superman and no Santa Claus. True love is a fable made of make believe dreams about someone who doesn’t exist. I want a man made of blood and flesh who loves me as much as I love him. The universe only gives us one soul. I don’t want to remember what it felt like before him, and I don’t ever want to know what it would feel like without him.”
“You believe Train is your soul mate?” Jackal saw the uncertainly in her eyes, giving him hope his plan would work. He needed more time to make Penni realize he was the man for her.
“I think so …”
“You’re not sure? Not that I believe in soul mates, but wouldn’t you know?”
“Not necessarily. I’ll know when I make love to him.”
Over his dead body. Not his own—Train’s.
“We going to do this?” Jackal asked as he watched Shade and Lily make their plates. Then he diverted his attention to where Train was carrying two plates before setting them down on the picnic table as Raci brought their drinks.
“You never told me what’s in it for you.” Penni pointed her empty beer bottle at him.
“I need your help with Viper. If you can convince Viper not to kill Hennessy, we’ll call it even.”