STRIKE: Storm Runners Motorcycle Club 2 (SRMC) (19 page)

You’d know
, Tom thought, but said nothing about it. There was no point and needling Ace didn’t hold the same allure it usually did. “I guess so.”

“Have you told her anything about Butch?”

Tom shook his head.

“Good. That’s good. If we play it right, there’s no need for her to ever know about it.” The thought didn’t sit well with Tom, who hoped to one day come clean about his intentions in the wake of the deception. He frowned and took three more strokes with the cue, ending the game in his favor. Ace groaned, but shook his hand hard and passed the cue to Jack.

“Maybe if we told her, she’d be able to get more information for us.” Everyone looked over at Crash when he spoke. “You all know I loathe the police as much as anyone, but Tom vouches for her and if she had Butch’s name, she’d have a whole new avenue open to her.”

“No,” said Tom. “She’d go after him through official channels.”

“And we’d lose our shot at putting a bullet in his brain.” Ace took a sip of his beer and nodded at a woman across the room who stared at him while she danced with a friend. “That’s unacceptable. Getting information on the trafficking has to be priority one, but there are other ways to go about that. If any of you see Butch, there’s no need to hesitate.”

“I want to be the one that ends him.” Tom clenched his fists tight and met Ace’s stare. “I need to.”

“We’ll see what we can do. I’m going upstairs for awhile.” He left his drink and walked over to the woman making doe eyes at him. A few words, and Ace, the woman and her friend were on their way upstairs.

“I think I’m going to take Carly home and then head over to our place with Anna,” Jack said. “Tom, you guys are staying here, right?”

“Yeah. She’s better protected here than at the bar.”

“Good. I’ll see you tomorrow and we can talk about our next moves. I’ll be here around lunch if you’re not working.”

“Any time is fine. I’m off hours right now until we clear away some of this shit.”

“Later.” Jack jerked his head to Crash and Tom, then headed over to the woman. Grabbing his wife’s hand, he pulled her out of the chair and Carly followed. All three bid goodnight to Grace before winding their way through the crowd and disappearing out the front door. Grace stood, slid her hands down her skirt to smooth it, and then headed over to Tom.

“Did you have fun?” He slid his arm around her and breathed in her sweet scent.

“They’re so nice.” Her smile was genuine and warmed him from the inside out. “But honestly, I’m exhausted.”

“With you there,” he said. “Night, Crash.” Grace echoed his farewell and followed him up the stairs.

The noise of the party quieted as they approached the second story, and faded even more when the door at the top of the stairs closed behind him.

“I thought I’d be hearing that music all night.”

“The whole place is set up to dampen sound,” Tom said. “The basement, main level and bedrooms are all cut off from each other so people can still sleep if shit is going on. My dad and some of the other guys who started the club were contractors and they put their time into building this place.” He nodded at the walls. “They were still adding onto it and some of the surrounding properties when I came along.”

“You really did grow up here.”

“Yeah. I don’t sleep here much anymore, though.” He pulled out a ring of keys and slid one into the lock of a door, then pushed it open. “This is my room.”

He tried to see it through her eyes. The queen sized bed with a black comforter and dark sheets. The pictures of his family, the club, building projects, cookouts. A shadowbox his mother made him for his sixteenth birthday had his first wrench on display and for a moment his heart contracted as he remembered her proud smile when she’d handed it to him.

“For you to remember what it was like when you were a kid,” she said, passing the shadowbox to him. “I made it myself in the garage. Your father helped.”

“Barely,” Max said with a wide grin. “Just gave a few pointers here and there.”

“Let me see it!” Tori reached out her arms and grabbed it away, turning it over. “Wow, Mom. This looks amazing.”

God, he missed his family. Maybe the reason he hadn’t come to sleep in his old room before was because it was saturated with memories of them.

“My mom gave me that when I turned 16,” he said to Grace, pulling her attention to the shadowbox. “It was her first woodworking project.”

“The first?” She smiled at him and his heart eased a little.

“She spent a lot of time with Dad’s tools after that. Frames and napkin holders at first, but eventually she made a bookshelf. It’s at my house.”

“I’d love to see it.”

“Once all this clears up, I’ll take you there.” He sighed and sank onto the bed, pulling her down with him and into his arms. “You scared me today, baby.”

“I was scared too.”

“You can’t leave the clubhouse until I’ve dealt with whoever is sending people out after you.”
Butch. It has to be Butch
. The man had taught him how to roll a joint and make a steak, how to lay out a line of cocaine and talk to women. None of that mattered though. For Max and now for Grace, he had to die.

“Tom…” Grace sighed and leaned against him, her weight soft and warm. “I’m a police officer. I’ll stay here for a couple days while Chief looks into what happened, but it’s not a long term arrangement.”

“I don’t want you to leave the property.”

“Then it’s too bad that I’m police officer and not some other woman. Tomorrow I’m going to use my login to access the case files and try to come at this from a new perspective. I’ll stay here until I’ve had a chance to get my head on straight, but it can’t be long term. I have to get back out there.”

“Why?”

“I promised Chief I’d be back at work by Friday.”

“Why would you make that promise?”

“Because I have no intention of letting some pieces of shit run me out of my life. I’m going to go to work and strip. I’m going to sleep in my own apartment. I’m going to get my nails done. I can’t live the rest of my life scared. A year has passed with almost no leads. How long do you expect me to stay here?”

“As long as it takes.”

She pressed a hard kiss on Tom’s lips, then pulled up short and spun around, planting herself on his lap. “Thank you for wanting to protect me.” She kissed him, deep and long.

Her blood swam faster, urging her to press his body harder against his. The muscular leanness of his form aroused her so quickly that Grace wanted to pull off her shirt and rub her aching breasts against his strong chest. When Tom’s hands raised up and covered her, she moaned and rocked back and forth on his lap.

Like she was the one driving him crazy, he groaned and lowered his mouth to her neck. The firm pressure made her rock harder on the swollen shaft forcing his taut jeans against her barely-there silk panties.

“Take those off,” Tom growled and Grace braced her arms on his shoulders.

“Take them off for me.”

He slid one hand down her torso, hooked his fingers through the crotch of her panties and ripped them off in one quick motion. The sound of silk tearing was lost in the sound of their breaths.

“Fuck, you’re soaked for me.” His fingers worked through her wetness and all she wanted was for him to fill her with his thick cock. It twitched and throbbed under her and she knew she was soaking his jeans, but she was so hungry for him.

Grace reached down and unsnapped his jeans, dragging down the zipper slowly, her hands shaking with anticipation.

“I want to make this good for you,” Tom said. “I want to fill you until you scream and beg me to give you more of me.” He wasn’t wearing anything under the jeans. His cock was so hard—he was so ready—and the precum that slipped from the head made her mouth water.

“No,” Grace said. “I can’t wait.”

Then she shoved her skirt up, spread her knees wide over him and pulled his cock against her opening.

“Fuck,” he groaned, ripping her shirt over her head so he could learn forward and suckle on the hard buds that drove him out of his mind.

“I need you in me now.” She circled her hips, teasing his heat with her wetness, urging him to give up his need to make this take time.

Time was something she didn’t have.

Not with the way her body craved him.

“Fuck, Grace. Do it now.” The words bit out on a groan and despite the wild arousal ripping through her body, she smiled as she sank down on him.

Her weight sent her down his shaft until he was embedded to the hilt. He kissed her, holding her face between his hands while she gripped his shoulders and felt him, thick and ready inside her. With every stir of his hips, Tom pushed her a little closer to the edge.

“Let me.” She used her hands to lever herself up and down, dragging moans from his lips every time she sank onto him.

“Faster,” he said. His fingers bit into her hips and helped her increase the pace.

“It’s so good.”

“Take more,” he said, and stood. The sudden change had her legs wrapping around him; she clung to him as he crossed the room to the wall and pressed he back against it.

A quick motion and she was sliding down on him again. He jerked his hips as he slammed into her.

She lost her mind.

Screams erupted from her mouth and she didn’t give a fuck who might have heard. All that mattered was the man inside her, driving her crazy, pushing her closer to the edge with each thrust. One of his hands shoved between them while the wall took her weight. He circled the rough digit just where she needed it most.

“Tom…”

“Come for me, Grace. I love making you come.”

She rolled her hips, forcing more of his thick length inside her. “Please.”

“Here, baby.” He pulled her knees back, pinning her to the wall and going so deep that it all slammed together inside her and then blew out at once.

She cried out, feeling herself clamp down on his cock, so deep inside her, squeezing it hard. Her head lolled back as her body shook and Tom shoved inside her harder, harder, extending her orgasm. Everything was heat and light and her body felt like his hands were everywhere at once.

Too hot. Only the cool, slick wall against her back offered relief.

She never wanted it to end.

Then he went in deep, sliding against her and she looked right into his eyes as he yelled out, shooting his seed deep into her. Gathering her body against his, even as Tom shuddered with the aftershocks of his pleasure, he carried her to his bed and wrapped his body around hers, pushing back her hair and kissing her.

Love was a warm, deep well and she didn’t care what that meant for the rest of her life. Only that she was here with him now. The quiet pressure of his lips on hers in the dim room.

_____

She snuggled closer to him, and sighed when his arms tightened. “You’re wonderful,” she said, dropping a kiss on his chest. “I’m so happy to be with you, even with everything that’s happened.”

“I love you, Grace,” Tom said.

“What?”

“I love you.” It had welled up in him outside the police station, but it took all night to force the words out. He didn’t deserve her, but that didn’t matter. She was his.

His.

No matter what.

Not only did she give him the first sex of his life that was something more than a hard fuck and a farewell, but he wanted more. To know what was in her head. To work through the layers that made her the woman he couldn’t live without.

“I love you, too.” She met his eyes and hers were shiny with tears. “I wish I hadn’t started our relationship with deception. Even then, I regretted lying to you so much.”

“You did what you had to do.”

“Once I trusted you, I should have been honest. I should have known that talking to you and being with you—really being with you—could only make me stronger.” She took a deep breath and raised her hands to his face. “I will never lie to you again.”

“Grace…”

“Never, Tom. The only way we can be together is if we’re honest, right? That’s what you said the night you found out the truth.”

“I know.”

“So I promise. I’ll never lie to you again. I want to be with you.” They relaxed against the pillows and her breathing stilled, going deep and even. For hours after she fell asleep, he lay awake thinking about her words and hating himself, because he knew he wasn’t going to wake her and tell her the truth, despite them.

CHAPTER 22

T
om was gone when she woke up, but light streamed through the blinds and the coffee he’d left on the nightstand was hot enough that steam still curled up from the top of the cup. Grace held the cup between her hands and stretched, deliciously sore. The backpack she’d left slung over the back of the bike was sitting on the chair by the wide oak desk.

She stood and stretched again, then walked into the connected bathroom. Stripping down to nothing, she hopped into the shower and took a quick one. She kept one eye on the opposite door while she scrubbed the suds into her scalp, wondering who occupied the connecting room.

When she was done, she wrapped herself in a towel and went back into his room. By the time Tom knocked and pushed open the door, she was dressed in a t-shirt and jeans, scrolling through the news on her phone.

“You look amazing in the morning, baby.” He bent down to kiss her and she sighed at the fresh scent of his cologne.

“Same goes.” She grinned up at him, then stood. “Thank you for letting me stay last night. I love you. What are your plans for today?”

“You can stay for the rest of your life if you want,” he said, and she cocked her head to the side. “I’m going to meet with Jack for an hour or two, then we can spend the rest of the day together. Anything you want to do.”

“Can I borrow a laptop? I want to go over some case files and see if I can come at things from a different angle.” A wide smile on his face made it clear that he was ready to pick up the investigation again. Maybe together they’d be able to cut through some of the crap and get real answers.

“Of course.” Tom crossed to his desk and slid out the top drawer, pulling out a thin, silver laptop. He powered it on. “The password is chicago1903, no caps or spaces.”

“What’s Chicago 1903?”

“That’s when Arthur Harley and William Davidson built their first motorcycle in a garage. Chicago was where they first found a dealer for their machines.”

“When things slow down, you’ll have to teach me more.”

“Anything you want.” He pressed a kiss to her lips. “I’ll come find you when I’m done, but I’m not leaving the clubhouse. Don’t worry.”

“I won’t.” Contrary to what she assumed, she felt safe there.

Tom opened the door and stepped into the hall, then turned back to her. “Grace, I…” He took a deep breath. “I love you.”

“I know.” She smiled. “Take your time with Jack. I’m in no rush.”

He nodded and left the room.

Settling into his desk chair, Grace logged into her work account and gained access to case files. Deciding to start at the beginning, she moved back to the first abduction they’d tagged as part of the trafficking ring that was currently threatening their city. There were no witness reports on that one—just a report that a woman was missing. She’d been found dead a year later in a foreign city.

Taking a sip of the coffee that was just warm enough to be worth it, she stretched. It was going to be a long morning.

So many missing women and too many of those dead, Grace thought as she combed through the files. An hour passed and she felt like she was making absolutely no headway. When she arrived at the paperwork from the night two dozen women were rescued from a house in Detroit, she smiled. At least that one had a happy ending.

She scanned through the paperwork—witness statements, debriefs, crime scene reports—and arrived at the medical admission forms for the woman who’d been rescued from the traffickers.

Carly—but the paperwork was signed by a woman named Anna.

What the fuck
?

She took a sip of her cold coffee stared at the cursor blinking on the documents. “Carly. Anna.” She said it quietly, the words whispering away from her in the darkened room. “What the fuck?” She’d met them last night—there was no way it could be a coincidence, though she hadn’t gotten their last names.

But that didn’t mean that Tom knew anything. Jack, though—he might be an untapped resource.

The feeling that she’d heard their names before ate at her, though—that she was missing something. Her head propped in her hands, Grace let her mind churn as she tried desperately to pinpoint what was tickling her brain.

Then she remembered sitting next to Tom the first night he’d made love to her. The night she realized that she was hopelessly in love him.

“That’s the thing that outsiders don’t understand—the club is family. We’re a unit. When one of the guys marries, the woman is part of the family, too.”

“But not part of the club.”

“No. We don’t have any female members. But they’re protected and we treat them with respect. My brother Jack married Anna a few months ago, and she’s around all the time now.”

“Is that hard to get used to?”

“Nah. Lots of women going in and out anyway. We have parties and girls pour in like beer from a keg. But she matters to him, so she matters to us. It’s that kind of family. Even her friend Carly lives on the property now.”

“Her friend counts as family too?”

“We took her out of a bad situation.”

Her face fell, remembering the words.

A bad situation.

A bad situation

No.

She was kidding herself. There was no way Tom didn’t know, even if he wasn’t one of the men in the house that night. If Anna and Jack were involved, so was Tom. He knew about the trafficking ring before he ever met her, and still pretended ignorance every time they’d discussed it for weeks. Every night she’d turned her back to him in a dimly lit slum, trusting that he would protect her.

Tom lied to her.

Tom withheld information while she trusted him. Gave him everything, even though she knew better than to share details of a case with someone who wasn’t on the force.

Pushing back her chair with a loud screech, she logged off the system and cleared her browser. More files with more useless information no longer held any allure for her. Rage was a hot fist gripping her throat and the target had promised he wouldn’t leave the clubhouse.