Blood & Bones: Rook (Blood Fury MC 7)

She planted both palms on his smooth, warm chest and leaned forward. Her eyes held his serious dark brown ones. “I mean… kidnapping, rape, assault, child abuse, underage brides, drugs, illegal stills, guns and who knows what else… And you just want me to ignore all of that? If I went to Max with the little you told me, but kept your name out of it, he’d have to do something about it and your club’s problem would be solved. Did you ever consider that?”

“Solved by Manning Grove PD? Doubt it,” he scoffed. “You would need to call in the big guns to clean up that mountain.”

“Well, yes, it could be a joint task force. Our department and the state. Maybe even the feds, if needed. We could charge the key players—“

“Right. I know the game, Jet. They’d get arrested, then they’d all get out on bail while waitin’ for their hearings or trials. While they’re out, they’d continue to be a threat to the Fury. No fuckin’ thanks. We’re doin’ what we gotta do so they’re never a threat again. To us or anyone else.”

Her blood turned to frozen sludge. “And that means…?” She knew what that meant. She wished she didn’t.

“Means we’re doin’ what we gotta do to keep our family safe.”

She stared down at him. “I don’t like what you’re inferring.” In fact, it was causing a searing burn to radiate through her chest.

“Don’t gotta like it, darlin’. You’d protect your family no matter what you had to do, right?”

“You already know that answer.”

“Right. We’re doin’ the same thing.”

“You’re talking about murder, Rook.”

“Talkin’ about what we gotta do to protect our own. You think they haven’t tried to kill any of us?”

“Have they? Besides shooting at Trip?”

“Yes, darlin’, they have. If you haven’t figured it out, they were gonna kill me after those… females were done with me. After they got what they wanted.”

“Your sperm.”

What he gave to Jet willingly. Even though the result wouldn’t be the same in the end. The Shirley women wanted babies. At this point in her life, Jet did not.

He grimaced. “And what they did to Red…”

“Red?”

“Autumn.”

“You guys call her Red because of her hair?”

“Yeah. In the beginnin’, Sig didn’t know her name. She didn’t say much. Red was fucked up for a long time ‘cause of those redneck motherfuckers. Still is.”

“Is she getting any help?”

He huffed a shot of air out of his nose. “No.”

“She should.”

“She’s got Sig.”

“Who’s also messed up in the head from what I’ve heard. How is that helping Autumn?”

“That’s between them, darlin’.”

She sighed, recognizing when the man was done talking about a certain subject. “Okay, let’s take out the possible manslaughter or murder charges, even if they’re done in self-defense. How many of you are on probation or parole? It won’t take as much for you to get thrown back into custody as it would someone catching a fresh charge.”

“Nobody’s gonna catch a charge.”

He said that with too much confidence. He was fooling himself. “You can’t guarantee that.”

“Long as the pigs keep their snouts outta it, nobody’s gonna catch any charges.”

“You can’t be that naive. In fact, I know you’re not.” She traced his lips with her fingertips and he nipped playfully at them. She wasn’t feeling so playful right now. Not with the risk the man in her bed was about to take. “You have six months left on your parole, Rook. Do you really want to go back inside? Possibly for life?”

When she had stripped him of his clothes earlier, only feet inside her door, she had noticed he’d recently shaved everything on his body. The dark blond hair on his head was shaved clean on the sides and trimmed super short on the top, his pits were totally bare, the little path of hair that ran from his navel down to his cock was gone. So was the wiry nest around his crotch. Even his legs were smooth. She had to assume he had a PO appointment recently or one coming up soon. Maybe he didn’t realize that if they wanted to, they’d find a hair follicle somewhere on his body that would still give him a positive drug test. She doubted he shaved around his asshole.

With as regularly as he smoked marijuana, even his urine could test hot for thirty days. She was sure he’d smoked more than once in the last month. The more he smoked, the longer it stayed in his system.

Did she agree with weed being illegal? No. But Rook had to follow the conditions of his parole with no exceptions. That meant no drugs, no weapons and definitely not killing a bunch of hillbillies. Even to protect his club and family.

She sighed.

Being involved with him felt like she was about to put her foot in a bear trap. And once it snapped shut, she’d have no way to free herself.