Screw (Hell's Handlers MC 8)

After taking their order, she returned to fill their coffee cups. Halfway back to the kitchen, Gumby intercepted her.

“Hey,” she said. “You on your way out?”

“Yeah. You got a prospect here, right?”

“Yep.” She nodded toward the end of the row of booths. “Monty is my babysitter extraordinaire. What did Copper want?”

Way to play it cool, Jazmine. She could have kicked herself for blurting that out, but she had to try. Wondering what the club had gotten Gumby into would eat at her all day.

He tilted his head, giving her a knowing look. “You know the game, Jazzy. It’s club—”

Oh, hell no.

“If you tell me it’s club business, I’m gonna lose my shit. This isn’t your club, buddy. I’m already worried about Screw because he’s the fu—” She glanced around at the curious eyes of a few customers on her and dropped her voice as she dragged Gumby to the side. “He’s the friggin’ enforcer and gonna be smack in the middle of this CDMC war. Now I’ve gotta worry about you, too? I’m gonna lose my fu-friggin’ mind over here. You gotta give me something if you expect me to be able to sleep at night.”

“Hey, hey…shh.” Gumby guided her to her office, calling out to Lindsey to cover her tables as they walked. He shut the door behind him before drawing her into his arms. “I had no idea you were this worried.”

Neither did she, to be honest. Not until she opened her mouth and her fears tumbled out in a nervous bout of verbal diarrhea. Christ, they were supposed to be fucking around and now she sounded like an anxious girlfriend.

With two boyfriends.

God…

Bottom line, as much as it would freak out both men, she cared about them. Cared about these two men who not only gave her more physical pleasure than she’d ever experienced, but who showed her such compassion and tenderness she’d been able to divulge her deepest darkest secret.

Yeah, she cared about them and liked them. A lot. Too much. If something were to happen to either one of them…well, she’d be destroyed.

“Sorry,” she said against Gumby’s firm chest. “It’s just…after the close call the other night, I know something’s coming. Something big that will put Screw in danger. And now you might be in danger too…”

She focused on the large hand stroking up and down her back in a pattern meant to be soothing. And it was, but it also reminded her of how his hands felt on her skin under her clothes, making her grow damp between her thighs.

“I don’t know what Copper wants from me. Yeah, I’m guessing it has something to do with whatever the Handlers have planned for the Disciples, but I’m as clueless as you are right now. That’s why I’m going to meet with him.”

“Hmm.” She inhaled the fresh scent of whatever shower soap he’d used. The one her guest bathroom always seemed to smell like now. “Will you help them?”

His hand trekked lower, cupping her ass before journeying up her spine again. “Of course.”

“No matter what he asks of you?”

“Yes, Jazzy, I’ll do whatever is needed of me.”

“Why? They aren’t your club. You barely know them.” She tipped her head back, gazing into his dark eyes framed by those sexy glasses.

“Pretty sure you know why,” he said, both hands now holding her bottom.

“Because of me?” She held her breath, afraid to hope he might feel a fraction of what she was coming to feel for him.

“Yeah, baby, because of you. You’re attached to them. You mean something to that club, and they mean something to you. I’d do anything to make sure you were safe and happy.”

“And Screw?” she whispered as she stared at his face, trying to decipher any reaction he might have. She shouldn’t push. It didn’t even matter. Gumby’s life was in Arizona no matter what answer he gave in that moment.

His lips pressed together before he nodded. “Sure, he’s becoming a good friend. If I can help make his job easier, I will. I’d do it for any friend.”

What a pat, PC answer. “He’s more than a regular friend, Gumby. It’s okay to admit that. No one outside the three of us knows what’s going on and no one has to. Screw and I understand you aren’t comfortable being out yet. We’d never betray your trust.”

He stiffened before reaching back and pulling her hands apart. With a gentle push, he stepped away from her. A mask of indifference had fallen over his face, but the rigidity in his shoulders and the cold look in his eyes let her know how her words affected him. Whatever his reasons for denying who he truly was, they ran deep.

Was it his club? She’d known the No Prisoners for years and couldn’t imagine them shunning him for being bisexual. Something or someone in his life had made him afraid to show the world who he truly was. Come to think of it, she knew little to nothing about Gumby’s background and childhood. Maybe his reluctance to come out stemmed from his upbringing. Had his parents been rigid? Overly religious? Unaccepting?