Little does he know, he really didn’t need to give that order. I’m already halfway there. I’m so sated by our lovemaking I don’t want to move a muscle.
Just as I’m about to slip into the comforting darkness of sleep, I hear him mutter the strangest thing.
“At least I’m not jealous of my fuckin’ couch anymore.”
Chapter
15
~Hammer~
Desirae is in the kitchen, making breakfast. Now that we have crossed into new territory, I can appreciate her ass walking around my home in those short-ass shorts.
Needing to be apprised of any new leads on her situation, I make the call to Screech who is at the Regulators’ office inside of Alibi.
“Anything new?” I question as soon as he answers.
Screech replies, “Ricca has gone ghost.”
“Up the ladder?” I ask, knowing he understands what I’m asking.
“Ricca was small time. We still can’t figure out which goons handled the hit for him on Suzie. Wellington is the top rung, but there are steps between the two. Hellions don’t have the reach, so they are relying on us but are willing to front manpower to secure our package.”
My stomach churns from the knowledge that the package he is referring to is the woman who warms my bed and soothes my soul.
Desirae comes over with a plate of food for me and smiles as she sits down to eat.
“Any broken windows?” I ask, trying to find a way into the Chicago organization. “Leaks?”
Screech comes back with the one reply I didn’t see coming. “Lucas Young has a tie to Wellington.”
Lucas Young is a former Green Beret team member I served with and a lone wolf. He got out of the Army shortly before I did and found his way onto a black ops team under Commander Jaxon Wall. The man fell off the radar until his team needed to go undercover with the Regulators. It was nice having him and his team around for a bit. Like everything else in our world, connections get lost until they are needed again.
I almost forgot how much I liked the fucker until I saw his face again. We didn’t gossip like ol’ biddies or anything, so I have no idea what the hell he’s been up to all these years beyond his new team, but there are some things you don’t need to say to know.
There was a look in his eyes that hadn’t been there before, a look that not even a war in the desert had put there, but something even more tragic. My gut told me he was probably a loner now more than ever, and that worried me as much as this news from Screech. After all, a man who is prone to going off halfcocked on missions by himself could get into a world of trouble. It seems as though perhaps he may have found trouble in Ricca.
“Survey the situation and get back to me.” I end the call, not wanting Desirae to have questions. I don’t want to lie to her, but my world is one I can’t share with her.
I pick up my fork and begin to eat, waiting for her to ask questions. When she doesn’t, I can’t hide my surprise.
“What?” She doesn’t hold back. “Why do you look like you wanna devour me, or are waiting for me to tell you your puppy died? I’m not sure which.”
I laugh. “You’re different.”
She raises an eyebrow at me, her curly hair wild around her face, making me want to devour her.
“How am I different? I have tits, ass, and a hole for you to sink into. I think that makes me like every other woman.”
Reaching out, I trace her jawline. “Far from it, sweetheart. Any other woman would have asked who was on the phone, what that was about—that kind of shit.”
She smiles big. “Why, so you can lie to me and tell me you’re in the construction business and remodeling a home?” She sets her fork down. “Look, Ethan, the way I see it, if I don’t ask, you don’t have to lie. What you do is your business.”
Something about this burns in a way it never has before.
“Des, I don’t want it to be like this. I don’t want you to think I’m lying or keeping things from you.”
She puts her hands up to stop me. “I’ve lived with the Hellions long enough to know anything kept from me is for my own protection. I don’t need to know about your club life. You do what you gotta do, and if that means Home Depot is the new code word for a meeting, then so be it. I don’t need to know.”
Damn, they don’t make them better than her.
Never in a million years did I think I would come across a broad who would fit into my life the way it is now. Sure, Ice found a woman like that in Morgan, but he had to teach her the ins and outs of our world along the way. It seems, with Des, I don’t even need to do that. It’s like she’s a fucking mythological, motorcycle club, rainbow-colored unicorn, something men talk about having in their wildest dreams yet never expect to achieve in reality. However, here sits my wildest dream, right next to me. It almost feels too good to be true, which worries me. Nothing this good could ever come along without something bad happening somewhere after. That’s life’s checks and balances system. Here, have a present. Now watch me take your present away from you.