From The Ashes (The Knights of Mayhem Book 3) (16 page)

“Okay, ladies, load up in Emily and Avery’s SUV’s. You’re all going to stay at our house until we see where all this lands.”

“Oh shit, Leo.”  Avery smacks the counter with the dish towel she’d been using. 

“No arguments, Avery, from you or any else.”  He points at each of them.  “This is how it is woman, I don’t want to hear it.” He turns and walks out with a steaming Avery close on his heels.

“Don’t you walk away from me.”  She huffs waddleing out the kitchen door.

Piper shakes her head.  “When is the man ever going to learn?  All he has to do is ask?” She turns to Hollis.  “I’m not fucking happy about being shacked up in a house with you.  Let’s go see if we can keep her from blowing a gasket or a baby.”  She follows them out the door leaving us with the uncomfortable silence and stares of everyone in the kitchen.

Hollis shrugs her shoulders and sighs.  “At least she is talking to me.”  She looks back at me and smiles.  “It’s progress.”

I massage her shoulders.  “She’ll come around babe, just give her time.” 

~~~~~~

An hour later we have the women settled at Leo’s house and are on our way to the location.  I sit up front with Leo in his Suburban.

I glance over at him.  “What do you think?”

“I think we are getting ready to have our asses handed to us.”  He never takes his eyes off the road ahead of us.

“Yeah me too.”  I take a deep breath.  “So why don’t we wait, sit on the house for a few days.  Let them think we didn’t take the information seriously.”

“I think us waiting would be the smartest thing to do.  This shit is too shady and a little bit to convenient.”  Cowboy interjects form the second row seat of Leos SUV.  “I talked to Beeker, he told me everything is quiet back at the house Leo.”  He sits back on the bench seat. 

Leo looks back in the rearview mirror at him.  “I know but shit we are so close to the end, I can actually taste it.”

“What is it going to hurt to sit on it for a few days then?”  Dalton asks.

Leo takes out his phone tapping a few things with his thumb then raises it to his ear.  “Hey so how many have you rolled out for this one?”  He shakes his head as he listens.  “Yeah we do.”  He waits a minute then shakes his head no.  “No contact just a gut feeling.  We should set up surveillance for a few days see what kind of traffic is moving around the house.”  He falls silent again and I take the opportunity to glance back seats at the others, their faces unreadable.  “Sounds like a plan, see you there.”  He ends the call.  “Kent is pulling it, and is going to meet us at the club house to share what he has with us there.”  Leo makes a U-turn and heads us back in the direction of home.

We walk into the table room to a very pissed off Kent.  I take my seat holding up my hands in surrender.  “Just wait and let us tell you why okay?”

He taps his finger hard on the table.  “Do you know what I had to do to get that much fire power there to back us?  You dipshits have fucked up everything, I will never get you that kind of support again.”

I stand up to look at him.  “Are you done?”  He and everyone else looks at me with shocked horror on their faces, and my bold insubordination.  “If you would let me explain.”

He interrupted me again, and I was never one with a tempter but this man could bring one out in me faster than anyone I have ever.  “That would be great if you fucking explained.”

“Then shut the hell up so I can.”  I square off with him face to face.  And much to my surprise he backs away and sits down into what is usually Leo’s chair.

We fill Kent in on all the things Hollis had told us earlier in the day.  Needless to say he is shocked.

“And she is certain this location belongs to Markus?”  Kent has lost all his anger and replaced it with thought.

“We all are.”  Leo makes a circling motion.

“So in other words it was a trap to get us to show our hand?”  Kent is starting to show his age, but he hasn’t lost an ounce of his edge.  His dark hair had begun to turn white at the temples but his size was impressive for is age.

“Not other words, those are the words.”  I tap the table with my finger.

~~~~~~

I sit alone at the table, everyone else had followed Kent out.  I needed to think.  About me, about Hollis, and the situation she had unintentionally put us in, again.  Her actions, though well intended, have set the cross hairs back on all of us.  Markus will not care who he hurts as long as he gets to hurt one or all of us.  This was not going to end well, not that I ever expected it would when I dug a grave for his sister.

The door being jerked open startles me.  “Hey man you gonna come out here and have a drink with us or what?”  Eno holds open the door letting the light from the hall drift in bathing the wood paneled room in a soft orange glow.

“Yeah I’ll be out in a minute.”  I can’t help but let the thought of Markus using the raid as a way to get a definite location on Hollis bounce around in my cluttered head.  I can’t believe I have room in my head to have a coherent thought. 

I stand crossing to the door and walk side beside him to the bar.  Where Dalton already has me a shot poured.  I eye it skeptically before taking it up and throwing it back.  I look around and Kent is nowhere to be found.

“That was some shit brother, you talking to Kent like you did.”  Leo rolls the bourbon around in his tumbler.

“I needed him to be done so I could explain.  The man loves the sound of his own voice way too much.”

“Kinda like you brother.”  Eno interjects as he settles beside of the big man elbowing Leo as he did.

“I’m not sure what is coming, but it is going to be big.”  I take the second shot Dalton pours for me.  “And be sure he is going to bring hell with him.”  I salute them all with the shot glass I was holding, throwing the liquid back.  I slam the glass down on the bar and wipe my mouth with the back of my hand.  We sit in silence for a while none of us needing to say anything, we are all aware of the grimness of the situation we find ourselves in yet again. 

It’s not long before we shut everything at the clubhouse down and lock it up for the night then head back to the women.  I listen as the guys banter back and forth but I stay silent.  I’m worried, I won’t lie. Out of all the assholes we have dealt with, Markus is by far the most dangerous sinister bastard of them all. 

I wish I could take Hollis somewhere and hide her away from the world until we find this fucker.  I don’t like being exposed, out in the open, not knowing. 

“Hey man what are you chewing on over there, you haven’t said a word since we left the clubhouse.”  I glance over at Leo and then back to the dark road ahead of us. 

“He is going to blindside us again, like he did with Emily.  And this time I’m afraid he may finish the job.”  My words have caught the attention of the men in the back effectively shutting them up. 

Chapter Fourteen

Hollis

I’m sitting on the couch and thinking of how the day has taken its toll on me.  I can feel my eyes slip shut and the dark engulf me.  I surrender into the comfort of a set of arms reaching from the dark surrounding me.  The dreams that hold me are the things of horror movies.

I raise the hand, bringing it to my lips and brushing it across the knuckles, sharing the warmth they hold and that’s when I see it—the cobra tattoo between the thumb and the finger.  I tense as the realization overcomes me.  They tighten like a snake around me as I try to get loose, causing me to thrash back and forth, but the arms are too strong and refuse to let me go.

“Did you think you could run from me, Hollis?”  His sickly sweet breath floods my nose, making me wince and try again to get away.

“No!  Let me go!”  I paw at his arms and hands, struggling to be free of his toxic presence.

“Hollis!  Hollis!”

“No.”  Finally I free a hand and I feel my fist make contact with flesh.  The audible pop jerks me from the dark.  I look around like a trapped animal to find Piper and Emily bent over Avery who’s sitting on the floor beside the couch, holding her nose.  “Oh shit!”  I jump to my feet and run for the kitchen, grabbing the first towel I find and rush back into the living room.  “I am so so sorry. I was having a dream.”

Piper cuts her eyes up at me.  “Yeah, we heard.”  She goes back to tending to Avery.  “Leo’s going to kick your ass when he sees what you’ve done.”

Avery lifts her hand.  “And I felt it.”  Emily tilts her head back to assess the damage. 

Emily whistles.  “Damn, Hollis gave you a solid shot to the face. I think it might be broken.” 

“Here, let me.”  Avery reaches up, putting pressure on the bridge and winces at the pain.  “It’s tender, but not broken. I’ll have a nice shiner tomorrow though.”  They all turn to me.  “What were you dreaming about, Hollis?”  I look up, biting my lip between my teeth.

“I don’t really remember.”  I lie. The dream is all too familiar to me, but it’s the first time I’ve had it since I’ve been back with Roman. 

“Are you sure?”  Piper stands, crossing her arms over her chest.  “Because that was some sick shit, Hollis, the way you were going at whoever the fuck you were dreaming about.”  And for the first time there is no hate lacing her words. She seems generally concerned.

“Honest, I’ve never had it before.”  I kneel beside Avery and brace her under the arm.  “Oh, Avery … I am so sorry. Your nose is already turning blue.”

She waves her hands in the air as Emily and I help her up.  “It’s just a little busted nose, I’ll be fine.”  She goes to the smoky mirror hanging over an antique wash bin sitting in the corner of the living room.  She tilts her head back, pushing up the tip.  “See? It’s already stopped bleeding.”

Piper turns back to me with her eyes raised so high, they’re almost touching her hairline.  “Leo’s going to trip balls.”

Avery scoffs.  “Leo trips balls if I stub a toe.”  She stops as she walks for the kitchen.  “He’ll get over it.”  Emily laughs as we both watch Avery waddle into the kitchen.  “Shut it about my ass, bitches.”

The door to the garage being flung open grabs our attention.   Leo’s the first through and sees Avery.  “What the fuck happened?”  His booming voice puts the others on alert.  They engulf the room, weapons drawn with impressive speed and precision.  Each tactically setting up at all exits, eyes darting around frantically.

“Good lord, Leo, nothing happened. Put your damn gun away,”  Avery scolds the big man while holding a wet towel to her bloody nose.

Leo gives the orders to stand down as he tends to Avery the rest of the men take up with their women except for Roman.  I stand in the shadows of the living room as he watches the events unfold in front of him at the kitchen sink.  The small port window in the separation wall between the room I’m in and the kitchen gives me a clear view of what he’s staring at.  I’m so stupid. I’ll never be Avery.

I feel all the air is being sucked out of my lungs and my ears begin to ring so loud I don’t hear myself gasp, giving my position away.  Roman jerks his head around, squinting into the dark before finally seeing me.  He looks between us both a few more times before exiting the front door.

I turn and lean against the wall with my hand on my chest, trying my best to catch my breath and fight the tears.  What I’d just witnessed is what he’s been comparing me to this whole time.  A twinge of jealously hits me for Avery, but it isn’t her fault.  I can’t hate her. Why does she have to be so fucking sweet all the time?  Why can’t she be a raging bitch that nobody likes instead of the perfect mother hen they all adore?

I hear the front door open again and the soft footfalls that come to a stop in front of me in the dark.  “It’s time to go, Hollis.” 

I open my eyes to a big black mass standing over me.  I feel him touch my hip and instinctively I jerk away.  I hear him sigh,  “Don’t do this … you have no right.”  His hand makes a thud as it falls back to his side.  “I’m leaving.”  He turns and walks away again.  I follow him because I don’t know what else to do. I have nowhere to go but with him, so I bid them all a good night and apologize again to Avery and get a stern look from Leo.

I silently climb into the still cab with only the sounds of Roman’s breathing.  I duck my head and keep quiet. Roman hates my need to fill the uncomfortable silence with chatter, so I’ll let him work through it in his head because he’ll eventually let it spill over onto me. 

“You wanna tell me what happened to Avery’s nose?”

“I was having a bad dream.”  I look out the window as the black is perfect to the point it’s almost purple.  I’m fighting back the tears of the utter disappointment I feel in my soul when I realize I will never be free of Markus, even if I did get my revenge.  He would always live in my crazy head.

He snorts his impatience.  “And what was the dream about?”

I glance over at him, his features illuminated by the glow of the dashboard.  “The kind that makes you punch a friend in the nose when she’s trying to wake you.”  I’m totally ashamed. I can’t fight my own demons, but need his nearness to keep the dark pushed back around the corners of my mind.

“Do you have them often?”  His voice is smooth, flowing over my skin and easing my fears away. 

“I did.” 

I feel as his hand finds mine, pulling me over into his lap.  He adjusts his seat back to accommodate my body between him and the steering wheel.  I nestle down, laying my head on his shoulder as he continues to drive us home.  “Better?”  He kisses my cheek and I sigh as the warmth of his body engulfs me.  I could stay this way forever, wrapped up around him.  “Better?”  He asks again.

I nuzzle my nose in his neck, smelling him.  I gently kiss his skin and let my lips linger, then I lick them when I’m done. His taste is even better.  “Most definitely.  I’m in heaven.” 

I lay on him until we get back to his house. I don’t dare sleep. I don’t want to miss one minute of being in his arms.  Not out of fear the dream would return, but that I would wake up from this fantasy I’m floating through.

I feel him cup my ass cheeks in his big hands, pulling me into him.  He breathes me in deep as I do the same to him.  “You didn’t go through with the raid tonight, did you?”

“No. We thought it best to wait, sit on the house and see what information we can get from surveillance.”  I feel his breath move my hair.

“May I ask why?” 

“It just felt wrong.”  I nod against his chest.

“Going with that gut again, are we?”  I try to make light of the dire situation I’ve put everyone in. 

“It’s never been wrong before.”  He kisses me again.  “I’ll keep you safe, Hollis. I give you my word that I’ll do everything I can to protect you, even if it kills me.”  I tighten my arms around him and he does the same.  I feel the dark creep in and the fear strikes me in the chest.  It may all come down to one of our deaths. Markus would settle for nothing less.  “We should go in, babe. My legs are starting to go numb sitting like this.”  I lean up, resting my back against the steering wheel, smiling at him.  “Not the spring chicken I used to be.”

I giggle, reaching to open the door.  “Me either. My legs are killing me and I haven’t felt my toes in a while, but I didn’t want to move.”  I lean in, taking his face in my hands and pressing my lips onto his.  “I love you, Roman Andrew Jefferys … I always have.  I hope someday you can find it in your heart to return my love again.  I’ll make you happy if it kills me, I promise.”

He puckers his lips up at me and furrows his brow before he smiles.  “So now that we’ve both promised our lives to each other, can we get out of this fucking truck before I have to crawl into the house?”

We stand outside the truck, shaking our legs out and I can’t help but smile.  We’d spent many nights like this in his truck just holding each other.  I’d learned early on that Roman was a lover, not a fighter, and when he had joined the Marines with his brothers, it had shocked me.  But he had found his place as the healer, and he had excelled at it.

“Hollis, one more thing.”  He stops on the top step before entering.

“Yes?”

“I got to looking at Avery tonight.”

“I noticed.”

He jerks his eyes up to me.  “Stop it, now.”

I look away, ashamed at my immediate jump to jealousy over him and her.  “Okay?”

“She’s pregnant.”

I look at him confused.  “Thank you, captain obvious. Yes, she is.”  He shifts from one foot to another.  “Just spit it out, Roman.”  He looks at me again through his lashes and it clicks.  “Oh, birth control.  Are you afraid I’m trying to trap you, or is it that I want to give you a nasty disease?”  I clap my hands together, eager to hear.  “Oh, do tell me what you have cooked up in that overactive imagination of yours?”

“I haven’t used a condom once.”

I cross my arms over my chest and lean back against the front fender well of his truck. “Number one, thank you for thinking I’m a nasty whore.  I appreciate that one, ass hat.  Number two.”  I hold up my fingers in his face,  “Fucking suck it, dick weed.  You’re a fucking asshole, turning this whole thing back on me.  You could’ve stopped at anytime and wrapped your shit up. 
Motherfuckin’, son-of-a-bitch
.”  I push him away from the door.  “Get the hell out of my fucking way.”

“Did you just tell me to fucking suck it?”  He follows me into the house.

I storm through the door and into the foyer, kicking off Piper’s shoes and debate on whether to throw one at him as he follows me in.  “Yes, I did because you’re acting like a little bitch right now.”

“Damn it, Hollis, why do you have to take everything the wrong way?”

“The wrong way? How else is there to take it?”  I fling my arms out to either side of me as I slightly bend at the middle.

He pinches the bridge of his nose in frustration.  “I’m not sure there’s any other way to, but you have to understand my side.”

I nod my head a few times.  “Oh, I understand … I understand just fine.  Hollis the whore, right?  That’s what you’re insinuating, correct?”  I rest my hands on my hips, waiting for him to answer.  He holds his hands out to his sides.  “Let me stop you right there.  I’ve been with four men in my lifetime—
four
.  We just left two of them and I’m standing in the room with the third one.  Are you smart enough to put two and two together, or do you need me to add it up for you?”

“Hollis, I’m sorry.” 

I look away, not ready to give in. He started this and I’m going to finish it.  “Too late to backpedal now, Roman. You’ve done stepped in it.”  I would never admit to him my feelings were crushed knowing he, of all people, believed the rumors.  I had turned down one overeager football player, bruising his ego so bad he felt the need to spread around the school that I was doing them all.  Leo and Dalton, yes, and Roman later, but not all of them. “I know how people saw me and how they see me now, but in my defense, I didn’t deserve it because of how my mother was, Roman.  I thought you were the person who knew that most of all.”  I turn away from him and start for my room.  “Just leave me alone, please. You’ve made it quite clear how you feel about me.”  I slam the bedroom door behind me and fight the urge to throw myself on the bed and cry ‘til I’m a sniveling mess.

The house falls silent as I wait for Roman to react, and he will,  he just doesn’t react the way I thought he would.  A loud crack jerks me around from where I’m sitting on the bed.

“Damn it, woman, you make me fucking crazy.”  He walks through the door he just kicked in and stops right behind me. “Hollis, I knew the rumors weren’t true, and if you remember, that fucker walked around sporting a pair of black eyes for a week.”

“You kicked in the fucking door.”  I turn to look at the carnage behind him.

“I had to, you locked it.”  He rests his hands on his hips, looking back at the splintered door.  He narrows his eyes at me and I realize I haven’t answered his question.

  “You defended me?”

“I did, but the damage had been done and you had embraced the stereotype baby. There wasn’t much I could do about that.”  He grabs my ass and picks me up, holding me to him.  I wrap my legs around him.  “I never once thought of you as a whore, so don’t ever accuse me of it again.”  His fingers dig into my ass, bringing me in closer to him.  He turns and presses my back against the wall, crushing my mouth with his and his tongue pushes past my lips.  I taste him and whiskey.  He pulls away, biting my bottom lip, tugging it with him as he goes.