All In: ALL IN KNIGHTS OF MAYHEM (25 page)

“Sit down Avery you are making a scene.
” My father chastises as he scoots his chair under the table, ‘so Leo exactly what angle are we taking with this?” Leo cuts his eyes to me and then back to my father, ‘she is going to have to know eventually so we might as well let her in on it now. She is like her mother that way. She acts all pretty and oblivious but she knows.”

Actually my Dad had always played my unintelligence off by saying I was like my mother, I wasn’t like her in anyway. She was elegant and graceful
, I am clunky and have zero common sense, obviously.

I sit gingerly looking back and forth to my father than to
Leo Both of their faces were set in stone and all business but trained on me, ‘what?’ I ask as I lean back and take my tea with me. Could I really be so dense I don’t understand what is going on or is it so covert I have been left behind days ago?

My Dad nods to Leo as he turns to me, “your Dad is here for more reasons than you getting
attacked,’ he pauses as I sit up to say something, ‘let me finish.”

“Okay.” I lean back and wait.

“You getting hurt is the main reason I’m here.” My Dad interjects and sends a stern glance over at Leo.

“That goes without having to be said Kent,’ Leo really looks at me, ‘remember I told you I was going to make this right Avery?”

“Uh yeah.” The haze of confusion is thick around my head.

“I was the one
who called your Dad and I told him everything.” Leo’s stern face is stoic giving nothing away.

Fidgeting in my seat I twist around enough to face Leo full on, ‘everything, meaning?”

Leaning up and taking my hand, ‘Your father and I are working together to get Cain and his men, and trying to successfully shut down the drug ring poisoning our town.”

Turning to my father, ‘when did you un-retire?”

Both men laugh, ‘I didn’t un-retire sweetie, I never retired. Leo needs my help and I have the resources to do it.”

Stunned into an uneasy silence I look between the two men, swallowing an
d realizing I am no longer hungry, ‘but Dad.” I start and then think better about giving away secrets that do not belong to me.

“Yes Avery, what is it?” My Dad takes a bite of his lunch, the waitress, after drooling all over Leo has placed an order for him.

“You came here to tell me what a bad man Leo is and now you are telling me you are working with him in criminal activities?”

Wiping his hands on his napkin, ‘no Avery
, I came here to warn you about your safety,’ he nods over at Leo, ‘and you told me yourself he is trying to be a good guy, are you taking it back now?”

Confusion is wracking my brain, I don’t know what is up or if the sky is blue, ‘no, no I am not but Dad
his dealings with Cain, the criminal, is what got us in this position in the first place.”

Leo leans up taking my hand and placing a light kiss on the back of it, ‘thank you honey for throwing me under the bus.” He leans back as the waitress reappears with his food.

I insistently regret my words to my father, but to his credit he eases my pain, ‘Avery he attempted to be a criminal but wasn’t very good at it.”

“I am sitting right here.” Leo barks.

“Yes Leo, we know you are.” Dad dead pans as he shoves the last bite of his sandwich into his mouth.

Shaking his head in disbelief, ‘anyway Avery,’
Leo looks over at my father, ‘the reason we have decided to work together in this is because my actions have put you in the cross hairs of some very bad people. Who will do anything to get at me and with your Dad’s law enforcement connections, I think we can get a hold on the situation.”

Holy shit, did I just hear what ca
me out of Leo’s mouth correctly? He and my father are working together to bring down a drug cartel? I must have hit my head harder than I had originally thought. The two are chatting like they have known each other for years and I am sitting here in the twilight zone. Beeker has come over and joined our table with his own lunch, I haven’t taken one bite of my salad and can’t fathom eating anything.

Leo noticing I am not eating pushes the salad back in front of me, ‘you need to eat Avery.”

I put my hand on my rolling stomach hoping to ebb the urge of wanting to vomit, ‘no, I don’t think I can.”

Dad had been long finished, ‘why not?”

I sit up, ‘I am sorry if I don’t feel much like eating since my father and my boyfriend dropped a bomb on me like you two just did.” I am yelling by the time I get all the words out.

Wiping his mouth with a napkin Leo leans over to me, ‘Avery baby listen it is not a big deal.”

“For you maybe, not for me,’ I lean back and press my hand to my forehead, ‘holy shit guys.” I stop and eye Beeker across the table from me, ‘did you know about this?”

The young man’s eyes dart from my father
to Leo then they land on me, ‘this sandwich is really good, I have been wanting to eat here for a while now.” He shoves another big bite into his mouth and chews with his eyes down cast.

“No Avery he didn’t.” Leo
pats my leg trying to reassure me not every person in my life has been keeping important shit from me.

I sit up and shove a fork full of salad into my mouth as the
men continue their conversation. I tune them out so I can organize my thoughts and feelings about this whole fiasco that is now my life.

The men finish up around one thirty
, Leo settles up the bill and walks me back to the SUV, ‘babe don’t over think this.” He leans in a gives me a toe curling kiss right in front of my father. Giving my ass his signature pat before he steps back so my father can tell me bye.

My Dad steps around giving him an eat shit look, ‘now that you are done mauling my daughter in public
Leo, do you think you can get me all the information you have on Cain and his associates?” Directing his attention to me he kisses my cheek, ‘love you honey and I will see you soon.”

“Love you to Dad, maybe we can have dinner at the house one day this week.”

“Sounds good,’ he squeezes my shoulder, ‘I do miss your cooking.” My heart tugs at his comment, he had been all alone in our big house. Without me and more importantly without my mother. Before I can resist the urge I leap at him and wrap my arms around his neck burying my face, ‘I love you Daddy.”

He encircles me with his arms, ‘I know baby girl, I love you too.” We stand embracing each other for another minute or two before we release at the same time.

Leo opens my door and takes my hand helping me in, leaning in for one more kiss, ‘I will see you tonight.”

“Okay.” Is all I say before he closes the door shaking
Beeker's hand before he enters the vehicle. We pull out of the parking lot leaving my Dad and Leo standing still talking beside his bike.

****

I wake up warm and wrapped up in Leo. His breathing steady and his chest is gloriously bare. I take my hand and stroke down pushing the sheet out of the way to my destination and I am richly rewarded, I take him in my hand and begin to stroke up and down barely able to wrap my fingers around him.

This garners a groan from deep in his throat, ‘Avery.” He rolls to take me in his arms, ‘baby you are to
o much.”

“
You like it.” I nibble at his ear, this gets me another moan.

I continue the movements up and down, ‘um Leo
nardo Giovanni I have so missed this big bed of yours.”

“P
lease don’t call me that, Leo is fine.” He growls at the sound of his given name.

I giggle, ‘I like
to say it, it sounds so regal. Where did it come from because it really doesn’t go with Tucker.”

“
It is the name I was born with and my adoptive mother loved it so much she kept it. I was the one who shortened it to Leo when I was a teenager.”

“I take it you don’t like it.” I stop my hand and look up at him. His eyes are closed,

“No I don’t, it reminds of the piece of shit who gave birth to me and she isn’t worth the thought.” His black eyes are trained on me, ‘did I say you could stop Avery?”

I continue to coax him up as he knees between my legs, ‘no one can hear us and I intend on making you scream.” He whispers into my ear blowing his hot breath down my neck.

My back arches up into him, ‘sounds like a plan.”

****

An hour later I am sitting on the edge of the bed watching my toe draw circles on the carpet, Leo is in the shower getting ready for work. He walks through the door from the bathroom and startles me.

“
What ya thinking about so hard baby?” He crosses over to his dresser, I smile as his back is to me and the sight is mouth watering. The towel around his waist has pooled on the floor around his feet, ‘Don’t look at me like that Avery we don’t have time I am late as it is.”

I flop back on the bed and stare at the ceiling, ‘okay I guess I
can give you a rain check.” I roll to my side and prop my head up in my hand. “I guess today I will go and see if the hospital is hiring.”

“Yeah?” He is in his closet rummaging through his jeans.

“Yeah but a girl could get use to this lying around all day, reading.” I give him a sneaky smile. Jumping up to my feet I run over to him and wrap my arms around his waist, ‘hey can we talk about something before you go?”

“
If you make it quick I guess.” He turns with a worried look in his eyes.

“
Listen I have been spending a lot of time with Beeker and I really like the kid.”

“
Me too, where is this going Avery?” He tugs his shirt over his head. I remove my arms so that he can finish dressing.

“
Well I have noticed him and Kayla ya know?”

“
No I don’t know explain it to me.”

“
Beeker is in love with her and I think he is afraid it will hurt his chances at becoming a member if he acts on it.” I didn’t tell the whole story so I am not actually going back on my promise.

“So he put you up to asking
me if he can date.” His eyebrows furrow together.

“
Oh no I am doing this on my own. I just hoped you could talk to him and say it is okay, please?” I beg as I rub him through his jeans.

He steps back, ‘
this is unfair coercion Avery, but I will talk to him just for you.”

Leo leans in to kiss me and then turns to leave but not before he swats my ass,
‘have Beeker drive you today if you go anywhere.” He starts to walk down the hall.

“What’s new?” I yell after him.

****

The strange days turn into even weirder weeks. My Dad and Leo had been spending way too much time together at the house, going over Max’s history with the club and the dealings Leo had with him. I had gotten a part-time job at the hospital and what seemed to becoming a permanent thing, I was still living with Leo. Most of my things had been brought from the apartment, to make me more comfortable, Leo had said.

For a guy like
Leo, he seemed strangely comfortable with me living there. It has turned into the relationship he told me not to expect in the beginning. When I don’t pull the late shift, I have dinner on the table when he gets home, on the nights he comes home at a reasonable hour.

The other nights
he does his rounds at the strip joint he owns. I am feeling more and more jealous on those nights. I lie in bed and wonder what he is doing and who he is doing it with.

Tonig
ht had been one of those nights. He had come home smelling of cigarette smoke and whiskey. I felt the need to question him but he promptly dismissed me for another drink before he had passed out. So here I lay next to him staring at the ceiling contemplating the future.

I roll to get out of the bed, ‘where are you going?” His guff sleepy voice isn’t a turn on to me tonight.

“To the bathroom, is it okay or do you prefer I relieve myself right here in the carpet?” I whisper as I find my panties and tee shirt. I pull them on as I stumble around to the door. I do my business and peek back out and find him sound asleep again. I slip out the door and down the hall as I round the bottom of the stairs and revel in the fact the house is so quiet. Which in stark contrast to its normal state of being bursting at the seams with club members.

The mo
on is full and the silver light beaming through the large windows on the front of the house illuminates everything. I walk to the kitchen and get me a glass of water, I stand leaning up against the counter. Rolling the drink around in my mouth I ponder the events of the past couple of weeks. Thankfully there have been no more threats or attempts on me so I am thinking of asking Leo to have Beeker back off a little.

Meeting Leo, then the
attack right after my father showing up to assist Leo in bringing down Maxwell Cain and his group of men, I still feel there is something Leo and my father haven’t told me. I have also noticed the club members seem strangely at ease with my father’s presence.