“She didn’t tell you to come in here and get back with me, you pig!” Daisy yelled at him with her arms crossed over her chest. “You wanna apologize, you wanna make it up to me? Well, you sure as hell can try, but I doubt it’s going to work. But I am not some damsel who’s going to fall back into your arms just because you burst through those doors again after leaving us all high and dry. I’m too damn strong for that.”

  “Can the two of you give me just five minutes?” I asked, and they nodded. The only way this was going to get solved is by putting my head together with someone who had a higher emotional intelligence than myself, especially when it came to women.

  “Siren,” I whispered, leaning down to her ear and kissing her forehead a few times. “I know it’s early, but Daisy and Kyle need our help.” I watched as the goddess that had somehow become my Ol’ Lady stretched her naked body out on my bed and smiled up at me. It didn’t matter if she had bed head or someone’s blood on her or if she was wearing the most expensive damn lingerie money could buy, she was the sexiest woman I had ever been allowed to lay my hands on. I felt damn lucky every time she let me look in those eyes of hers and touch the most intimate parts of her.

  “Can’t we just go back to bed?” she teased with her signature pout. I always got mad at her for that because it killed me and made my dick wiggle to life every fuckin’ time. She knew just how to drive me nuts.

  “No, I’m sorry, babe. It’s bad this time.” She sat up with concern and went into action, slipping on jeans and a tee-shirt before brushing her beautiful long hair that made her look so much like a siren rather than an average human woman.

  “I’ll take Kyle into my office, alright? I think you and Daisy have some things to talk about, and then maybe we can come up with a solution for this. They woke me up with their fight this morning.” Elena nodded, look determined as we went back to Daisy’s room.

  “Morning, Irish.” Kyle apparently couldn’t help himself, and one of these days it was going to get him shot. Elena gracefully ignored it, though, and went to sit on the bed next to Daisy as I pulled my brother into my office. I needed to get to the bottom of this.

  “Kyle, I don’t wanna play games anymore. Daisy is an important part of the Skulls, and I can’t have you messing with her head all the time. It’s time, to be honest about why you’re here.” I laid it to him straight. I didn’t have the patience for it anymore.

  “I came back for two reasons, brother. The first was to check on the responsibility that I just dropped on you. I wanted to make sure no one was suffering because of that decision. Regardless of how I left or why I did care about some of the people here.” I tried to take what he said in stride without automatically reacting in frustration. It was hard to believe that he cared for people he just walked out on like that.

  “What’s the second reason?” I asked him, point blank.

  “I came to get Daisy back.”

  ***

  Elena

  “Dais, what’s going on with Kyle? I asked him to fix things with you so he could stay here, but I’m worried about the both you at this point. Reed and I both are,” I said softly, placing my hand on her shoulder.

  “Oh, Elena, I was so sure all of it was in the past, and I would never have to talk about it again. But here he is, showing his sorry face around here like he’s gonna win me back. It’s makes all those memories come back to me. I just wanna punch him for thinkin’ it’s that simple. I don’t think my heart can be won back after everything that went down here.”

  I shook my head and gave her a quick embrace. “Dais, it must be hard to talk about, but maybe if you tell me what happened, other than him leaving, then I could help you out here. You know I’ve been through some tough shit too. I mean, I just shot my father dead less than three weeks ago. You can tell me anything.”

  “Oh, I believe you, Elena. If Reed trusts you, I trust you. It’s just hard to talk about when I’ve tried to put it in the past. You see, things were bad once Kyle took over. He and his old man got into a lot of arguments over how to handle the MC, and we were hemorrhaging money like crazy. Once his old man left, all we had left was Kyle. Reed wasn’t around. He wasn’t that interested in this kinda life. So, Kyle was runnin’ us into the ground. I tried to keep him sane. I loved that man so, but he got in with a nasty loan shark he couldn’t pay back. The best way the loan shark saw fit to get back at him was to take someone he loved…”

  Daisy trailed off and put her head in her hands. It was the second time I had seen her cry since I’d met her. This tough chick really had been through hell and back. I could only imagine how closely her tale, after that point, matched up with some of the things the girls I had just brought home with me, had been through. Loan sharks were nasty business. You didn’t fuck with ‘em unless you could walk the walk, and Kyle didn’t strike me as the type who could.

  “They took you, didn’t they?” I asked her, rubbing her back as a mother might. Kyle really left her to that?

  Daisy nodded. “Yeah, and they did things to me,” she admitted. She didn’t need to clarify. “They had me for a good month before Reed came for me with the news that Kyle had just up and fuckin left me and the MC. So, he got me kidnapped and tortured and just ran off, leaving me for dead. They only let me go because Reed promised them the money and because Kyle clearly didn’t care about me enough anymore to make it worth it for them.”

  By the end of her story, I was fuming. I don’t know how in the world I was ever going to be able to look Kyle in the eyes again. I had known he was a self-righteous ass, but this was more than that. “I want you to take the day off. I’ll see if Michelle can handle the bar for you today, okay? You go and pamper yourself, and we’ll deal with Kyle.”

  Daisy nodded and went to get dressed while I went to see what that heart-to-heart looked like between Reed and Kyle because I was damn well expecting it to turn into a fist-to-fist situation. But when I knocked on the door of Reed’s office and walked in, I found a very different scene from what I thought I would. Kyle had the hint of tears in his eyes and instantly stormed out when I came into the room. “What the hell?” I asked, pointing in the direction he went. Reed patted his lap, and I sat on it. He gave me a sweet peck on the cheek.

  “I really hate to say this, but I think my brother has better intentions of begin here than I thought. Though, he did make mention of a few pieces of business we’re doing that he doesn’t like. I made sure to give him the what for on that,” Reed told me, pretending to look tough. It made me laugh.

  “Reed, you know what happened to Daisy because of him, right?” I asked softly, running my fingers against his scratchy facial hair.

  “So, she told you then?” I nodded. “I knew she would at some point. I’m one of the only people here who knows. She was in an awful state; I know that. But he’s explained some things to me, and you’re just going to have to trust me on this one for now.”

  “Just please don’t let him keep coming around here and making her hurt,” I begged.

  “We came to an understanding. He’s gonna be around but only as a legitimate member, under my direction, and he is to leave Daisy alone unless she approaches him first. I got this.” I smiled and kissed his cheek.

  “My man always has things handled.”

  Chapter 14

  Elena

  “Hello, is this Miriam Lauten?” I asked into the receiver. I had made it my mission for the past few days to figure out where Kimberley’s family was. She had told me she was from Denver, and so that’s where I had started my research. There had to be a family out there searching for their missing daughter and a missing person’s case to go along with it in both Cabo and Denver. I had been right about that, and once I had identified myself, the officers on the case were thrilled to give me the name and number of her mother and let me take it from there.

  “Yes, this is she,” the woman said. Her tone was polite, but I could hear her exhaustion and sadness clear as day. The woman was trying to care fo
r a first grader while her teenage daughter was missing, and she had no answers and no hope. I was so happy to be able to give her great news. “May I ask who is speaking?”

  “My name is Elena, and I’d like you to hear me out because I have a crazy story to tell you about your daughter, Kimberley.”

  “Kimberley! You know where Kimberley is?” The woman sounded like she might faint from shock. I could hear her calling her family members to the phone in the background. “We’re all here, listening. Please, tell us if our sweet Kimberley is okay,” she begged through tears.

  “I’m not going to lie, Kimberley has had a rough time of it, but we were able to actually buy her from one of the men that took her in Mexico. She’s in Tennessee right now with us. We’ve been feeding her and getting her some clothes. She’s really shaken, but she’s alive and asking me to find you guys. So, I’m glad I was able to do that for her. Is there any way that one of you can come and get her? I don’t think she should be sent on a plane or bus alone right now.” Kimberley was going to need a lot of help. She cried herself to sleep at night and often woke up with blood-curdling screams from horrible nightmares, but she was healthier and happier knowing that she was safe. I hoped that seeing her family would put another spark back into her that I could barely see a hint of right now.

  As I revealed the news to her family, I could hear all arrays of reactions; cheering, clapping, howling with tears of joy…I was so happy that at least one of these girls was going to have a real family to go back to. I was beginning to understand why Reed was so forgiving with Kyle. Not a whole lot of people on Earth could replace your actual family.

  Miriam was obviously overwhelmed, and a male picked up the phone. “This is Kimberley’s father. We’re going to try and catch a flight tonight. Thank you so much for getting our Kimberley back.”

  As soon as I got off the phone, I went straight for Jenna’s room and knocked on the door. I found Kimberley on her belly in the bed, reading a book Jenna had bought for her about overcoming abuse. She didn’t smile when I came into the room, but she did sit up and acknowledge my presence. It had been hard to explain to her that they were a motorcycle club that bought her from the cartel and yet they were good people. She only trusted Jenna, and just really didn’t understand their motive. I guessed that she had lost her faith in most people during the abuse she suffered at the hands of Juan and his cohorts.

  “I have some good news for you,” I told her with a smile. I was careful not to touch her because she was still very sensitive about that.

  “You found my parents?” she asked, cocking her head to the side.

  “I did. And I just got off the phone with them. Your mother and father will be on a plane tonight to come and get you. They sounded so happy.” Kimberley reached out and hugged Jenna with a happy squeal and then she hugged me.

  “Thank you for saving me.”

  ***

  The bar was pumping with loud, lively music, and everyone was in party mode. Kimberley’s parents picked her up, things were going well with the Vipers MC, and things were beginning to run smoothly. I had gotten a report that Dmitri had gotten a small group together to make a film and that one of the members was able to get a grower’s silence for weed in Colorado. He would run it out of a house the MC bought for him along with a couple of other members. Things felt so good; I almost forgot I was on an assignment and not just living life.

  I went up to Daisy with a smile on my face. She had come back from a spa day looking beautiful and refreshed, and I could see that Kyle was keeping his distance. She and Michelle were taking it upon themselves to take Maria, the 19-year-old we’d bought from the cartel, under their wings and teach her how to cook and serve. She was doing a pretty decent job, and it gave me an idea.

  “You know, Daisy, this is a real nice bar,” I told her. “But don’t you think it could be even better?”

  “Oh no, Elena, I know that look. You’ve got some idea in that big brain of yours. Where do they all come from anyway?” she teased, sounding more like her playful self. “So, what did ya have in mind?”

  I tapped my nails against the counter thoughtfully. I had idly been thinking on it for a while. The women that decided to stay with us after we rescued them would need an occupation of some kind. It would be best for them to earn their keep and have something to occupy their mind after all the trauma they had been through. Seeing how well Maria was doing as a server just made me think the answer was in the bar, right in front of me. “Well, let’s face it, these women will need somewhere to work. What if we just expanded the bar a little more? We could have a real dance floor and a mechanical bull. We could serve some real food, maybe even a full menu some nights like sports bars do. I mean, it’s a small town. People could use a more fun place to come to after work.”

  I felt a pair of hands go around my waist and knew that Reed was behind me. He leaned down and gave me a scrumptious kiss on my neck that made me feel like I was melting inside. “What’s going on over here, ladies?” he asked.

  “You better watch out, Reed. Your Ol’ Lady is talking about doin’ stuff to your bar,” Daisy told him with a teasing smile.

  Reed spun me around in his arms to face him. “What’s this about?” he asked in amusement as he slid his hands up and down my lower thighs. He was driving me wild right there in front of everybody. It was pure torture; his specialty.

  “I thought it would be a good idea to make this more like a real sports bar and restaurant. Give the girls a place to work when we bring them here and make a bigger impact on the community here.” I tried to keep my cool as his hands traveled higher up. I could feel the warmth growing in both my cheeks and my groin.

  “I think this is something better talked about in private,” he said with his eyebrows raised.

  I went with him like a loyal puppy dog as he dragged me up to the bedroom that was over the bar. There were whoops and clapping from some of the rest of the MC members. They knew the private conversation we were about to have would involve few words.

  Reed led me back into the bedroom and slammed the door shut, locking it before turning on me with a glint in his eye. “I’m so hungry for you right now,” he growled at me, looking like a lion coming for a gazelle. But it just served to excite me, and I was going to meet him right there.

  I stripped down to nothing in fifteen seconds flat, raising my eyebrow at him. I loved being feisty with Reed. “Do I look appetizing to you?” I asked, turning in circles before strutting up to him and licking his lips seductively. A groan came from the back of his throat like an animal, but I took control this time before he had the chance; taking off his clothes just as quickly as I had mine. This time, things were going to go my way.

  I pressed my body up against his, pulling his lip into my mouth with a sucking motion. He moaned into my mouth before I backed him onto the bed, straddling his body with mine. Reed’s hands slid up my skin, giving me the best bout of goosebumps I’d ever had.

  I lowered myself onto his rock-hard shaft, taking things slow only long enough to get my body settled. It was nice to be in control for a change and do things the way I wanted them to be.

  “Mmmm,” I moaned at the feel of his cock moving inside me as I began to rock my hips back and forth. He reached around and grabbed the tops of my ass cheeks, squeezing them between his rough fingers. I squealed at the sudden sensation before bouncing up and down on his cock a little harder, letting my hair swing behind me and my ass slap down onto his hips.

  I began to moan as his cock slipped deeper inside of me, pleasurably impaling my body. I grabbed his hands and put them on my hips, letting him rock me to completion like I was nothing but a rag doll until we both reached completion together.

  With a happy sigh, I slid off him and rolled to his side, placing my head on his chest. My heart was still beating fast, and my breathing was labored as he began to play with my long, red locks.

  “So, what was this proposal you had at the bar?” he asked, and I could f
eel the grin he had across his face. I poked him in his side, biting away a smile before explaining to him what I was thinking. “I think it sounds perfect, Siren.”

  Chapter 15

  Elena

  Reed was out dealing with club business, so I locked the bedroom door and decided it was high time to start giving the FBI what they wanted. We had gotten three girls from Juan, and all three were doing better than I had even imagined. Kimberley had been able to go home with her parents and was in counseling. Her parents called me occasionally to keep me updated as a thank you. I appreciated it since this little sweetheart had the same name as my mother. It made things feel like they were coming full circle.

  The other two women had become involved with the MCs and were thriving in their new positions. It was a small victory, and I hoped before this all came crashing down we would be able to get some more. I had already asked Reed to set himself up for another meeting with Juan and ask for five girls this time. I wanted to get as many as possible out of this terrible life that I could.

  “Hello?” Kristie’s voice came through the line. I hadn’t heard her voice in a while now, and I was glad it sounded happier than the last time we had spoken. Technically, I should have turned the information I had right over to John, but I didn’t like dealing with him. He gave me the creeps. Besides, Kristie was still my handler and my best friend.