Thunder (Hell's Handlers MC 10)

“Mak, I need you to tell us what went down so we can get out of here. It’s not safe for us to linger.”

She lifted her head, meeting his gaze with her tearstained face. “What? No, I can’t leave. I have two hours left.” With her head shaking back and forth, she gave him a gentle shove. “You guys just leave, and I’ll call when I’m finished.”

“Fuck that,” Mav said at the same time Thunder scoffed. “Are you out of your mind?”

“It’s five hundred dollars,” Makenna whispered in a voice full of shame. “I-I need it.”

“I’ll give you five hundred dollars to leave with us right now.” If she didn’t get moving, he was gonna toss her over his shoulder and make a run for it, her wishes be damned.

“Smooth, brother,” Mav said with a roll of his eyes. He inched closer, pulling Makenna out of Thunder’s reach.

Had Mav been anyone but a brother who had an ol’ lady of his own, Thunder would have given him an up close and personal view of his knuckles.

“Look, sweetheart,” Mav said, all soothing and understanding in contrast to Thunder’s snarling. “The club, our club, will compensate you for the money you lost tonight. We gotta get moving. We’ve been standing here way too long, and they catch Thunder or me, they’ll take pleasure in making our lives hell.”

Mak sucked in a breath, her troubled gaze bouncing between the two of them.

Smart man, Mav was, making her concerned for their safety over her own. He had Mak’s number.

“Okay, I’ll tell you once we’re out of here,” she said, then glanced over her shoulder at the building. “My phone…”

“Forget it. We’ll get you a new one.” Thunder guided her toward the fence with a hand on her lower back.

“Wait,” she said, coming to a full stop. “How are we…” Her chin lifted as her gaze followed the fence up, up, up before she gaped at him. “Oh shit, you’re gonna make me climb that, aren’t you?”

“Hey.” He wrapped a hand around her upper arm, drew her close once again, allowing the softness of her skin to penetrate his palms. For some reason, he couldn’t get enough of her in his personal space. When he touched her, he could reassure himself of her safety. It was the only way to make his insides settle. “I’ll be right behind you. You got this.” He stroked the baby-smooth skin of her inner arm.

Her gaze shifted to the top of the fence then back to him. “I’m good,” she said.

“Let’s do it,” Mav said from beside them. “Faster we get up there, the faster I get home and can fuck my woman.”

He just laughed while Mak blinked at him, mouth hanging open.

“Sorry,” Mav said with a shrug and grin that belied his words. “You’ll get used to me.”

“Yeah, he’s a bit of an acquired taste.” Thunder pressed his palm to Mak’s lower back and nudged her to the fence.

“Hey! I’ll have you know I taste damn delicious.”

Mak’s fingers curled around the links of the fence. Oblivious to their banter, she stared up and took a breath. “Nothing I haven’t done before,” she muttered.

“What was that?” Thunder stared down at her.

She shook her head. “Nothing. I’m ready.”

He met Mav’s surprised stare, and when his brother shrugged, Thunder made a mental note to ask about that comment at a later date. Mak had a past, and learning it grew more vital to him the more time he spent with her. All he could hope was her story wouldn’t send him off on a murderous rage, searching for whoever hurt her, whoever forced her to become a mother to five children at such a young age.

Whoever had stolen her dreams.

“I’ll be right behind you,” Thunder said. “You don’t need to go crazy fast, but we need to get outta here sooner than later. Kay?”

“Got it,” Mak said as she reached up and hooked her fingers around fence wire. She blew out a breath. “Let’s do it.”

Then she was off, climbing at a sure, steady pace. Thunder ascended directly below her, heart pounding each time she wedged a small foot in the links and pushed up higher. Never in his life had it been a more inappropriate time to notice a woman’s ass, but fuck if he couldn’t help but enjoy the flex and pull of those tight jeans stretching across her ass every time she hiked a leg further up the fence.

The woman just did it for him, and the fact that she wasn’t even trying to capture his attention made her all the more potent. Any woman could hike up her tits, slather on makeup, speak in a sex kitten voice, and turn on the charm. But a woman who got him hard as hell in a pair of worn jeans and t-shirts with barely any face goop? That was one he wanted.