Rogue (Sons of Sangue Book 4) (31 page)

Worry filled her blue gaze. “Why you?”

“Because he’s going to think Rosalee’s demise started with me dumping her.” He leaned in and lightly kissed her lips. “No worries,
mia bella
. I’ll be careful. The son of a bitch won’t catch me unaware.”

“I can’t lose you.”

“You won’t. We can’t allow him to rule our lives either.”

Her eyes filled with moisture. “I don’t want to be too paranoid. I’ll be smelling him everywhere, if I do.”

“Don’t let your guard down,
mia bella
.” Kane palmed her cheek. “I can’t lose you to a mad vamp. If it isn’t me he wants, then he might go after you to get back at me. I’ll get a hold of Vlad tomorrow, see if he’s had any luck finding his brother.”

Cara leaned into his palm, then turned and placed a tender kiss in the center of it. Kane growled. Threading his hands through her silky hair, he leaned down and took her lips again. Cara drew his lower lip between hers and suckled it. His dick hardened and he was done waiting. His fangs elongated. Kane wrapped one arm around her back and the other beneath her legs, picking her up with ease.

“How about I get a proper homecoming?”

Cara nipped his chin with her fangs. “You’re the one who wanted to talk.”

Kane pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I’m done talking.”

Every part of him ached, from the top of his head to the tip of his toes. Anton was soaking wet, having gotten caught in a short storm that had rolled in off the coast. He was chilled to the bone and could definitely use communion. Having left the night before for Santa Barbara to extricate Tamera, being spotted by Grayson at the worst time, and having Kaleb chew his ass out…

Yeah, he was pretty fucking tired of the whole ordeal.

Not to mention he hadn’t slept in over two days. Anton had done a lot of soul searching in the last twelve hours. He was no longer sure all he chanced to lose was worth getting Kane his revenge. Hell, it could be another few years before he managed to get an audience with Raúl Trevino Caballero.

If ever.

The sun peaked over the horizon. Tank expected him and Bobby to accompany Draven to the pickup point tomorrow. Once he got the specifics, he and Bobby would retrieve Draven and head for the specified drop off.

The heroin best show the fuck up.

Anton was done.

He would hand the shit over to the feds and walk away. Time to hang up his undercover work. If he ever stepped foot back in Santa Barbara again it would be too soon. The loss of his previous year had never really bothered him until now. Once Kimber came crashing back into his screwed up life, everything changed. Anton realized what he was missing. His life was far too lonely without her in it.

Vampire.

Fuck!

How the hell did he broach the subject of the monster living just beneath his surface? Hypnotizing her the rest of her natural born life wasn’t an option. Anton needed a plan — one that didn’t result in her freaking out. If she couldn’t handle the truth, he’d be left with wiping her mind of all knowledge of vampires from her and walking out of her life forever.

There would be no going back.

His heart felt as if an elephant sat on his sternum at the thought of losing her to his dark secret. She might despise the fact he was in a motorcycle club, but it would suddenly be preferable over the fact he had sported fangs and fed off the blood of humans. He was pretty sure that conversation wasn’t going to go well.

Double fuck!

Kimber deserved better, but Anton was far too selfish to let her go unless he had exhausted all options. For once he was looking after his own needs. The sound of her parting sobs when he had left for Santa Barbara to rescue Tamera had just about killed him. He had a lot to make up for.

Bobby came to mind as he closed in on his farmhouse. A lone light glowed in the kitchen window. He assumed the man sat at the kitchen table, a cup of steaming java in his hand as he had every morning. Anton had gotten to know the ex-preacher pretty well over the past year. Bobby was an early riser, said he loved the solitude. The man was the only Devil he had come to trust and the only one he liked. If he were to be honest, Anton was going to miss him when he walked away.

He took in a deep breath and blew it out. Anton needed to keep Bobby from the fallout. He didn’t deserve prison. Bobby had been against the selling of heroin in the schools just as much as Anton had. Tank had ordered Bobby into commission with Anton. Bobby had done nothing more than follow the president’s directive without question.

Anton needed to talk to Cara soon. She might not be happy with his decision, but he had given her so much of his past year. He wanted out, but he also needed to protect Draven’s ass. Even if the Devils didn’t know there was a connection between him and the barkeep. Draven couldn’t be left behind to work with the cartel without Anton to watch over his scrawny ass. He meant to tell Cara it was time to cut their losses.

After a year, other than Tank’s say so, he had no evidence linking the La Paz cartel to the heroin. A sting this big would require more than another year of undercover work, and Anton wasn’t willing to give more time. The DEA could arrest the major players within the Devils MC, specifically Tank and Spider, with the evidence Anton had on them. Kane’s revenge against Raúl would have to wait for another day. Anton would gladly help the past P out, but he was done with the DEA.

Regardless, everything would have to wait until he spoke with Kimber, his number one priority at the moment. He slowed his bike as he came to her drive. Pulling in, Diesel’s ears perked when he lifted his head and spotted Anton. He came trotting toward Anton as he slowed his bike to a stop and cut the engine. Lights illuminated the windows of the lower level of her house, telling Anton that Kimber was also an early riser.

Taking off his helmet, he stepped over the bike and set it upon the seat. Diesel stood on his hind legs, his front paws landing on his abdomen, his barks echoing in the early dawn. Anton scratched the dog’s ears, leaning down and speaking to him, when the porch light went on. Kimber stepped onto the porch, the screen door slapping the wood frame behind her. Her gaze spoke of her annoyance and displeasure of finding him making friends with her dog.

“Too bad Diesel doesn’t know the word attack.” Kimber perched her fists on her hips. “What are you doing here, Anton? Tam tired of you already?”

“You going to enter a verdict of guilty without hearing my case?” Anton stopped petting the dog and headed in her direction. “Not fair,
tesoro
. I may have been an ass, but I should at least be given the chance to explain myself.”

“Come on, Diesel,” Kimber called to the dog and held open the screen door.

The dog trotted into the house without a backward glance.
Traitor.
Kimber accompanied the dog, not bothering to invite him in. No matter, she hadn’t shut and locked the house door either. He’d take that as an invitation. Taking to the steps, Anton then crossed the porch, his boot heels striking the wood.

The door creaked as he opened it and stepped into the living area. Kimber sat in a straight-back chair, shoulders a stiff line, her lips turned down. Diesel lay at her feet. Pissed didn’t begin to describe the look on her face. And yet, Anton thought she hadn’t looked more beautiful. Just being near her again, his heart swelled. He hated he was the reason for her frown. One of her bare feet tapped the wooden floor, either out of nervousness or agitation. Which he wasn’t sure.

“Well?” One brow arched.

Anton’s gaze went from her sexy bare feet, with her adorable pink-painted toenails, up her stiff exterior, and landed back to her face. “Well what?”

She rolled her chocolate-colored eyes. “You wanted the chance to explain.”

Anton approached her chair and sank to his knees. He encompassed her cold fingers gently within his much larger hands. “I’m sorry I made you cry,
tesoro
.”

“You said I belonged to you.” Her voice wavered. “You made me feel special. Like I mattered.”

“You do.” He squeezed her fingers. “Christ, Kimber, I can’t begin to make up for all I’ve done.”

Her gaze rose from their joined fingers to his eyes. The mistrust he saw in her warm eyes cut him straight to the heart. Anton had run off to help another woman without so much as an explanation. He deserved her doubt and anger.

“How can I trust you, Anton? I know nothing about you.”

“I adore you.” He brought her knuckles to his lips and kissed them. “I don’t want another woman. What more do you want to know?”

“For starters? Tell me the truth about the woman you were so anxious to leave me for.”

Anton dropped his hold on her fingers and framed her thighs with his hands. “You remember Tamera?”

She nodded, her expression unreadable. “The woman wearing nothing but a towel at your house over a year ago. Not easy to forget. She had been quite rude, if I recall.”

“She was very rude to you and I’m sorry about that. I allowed it and I shouldn’t have. Tamera and Gypsy are” — okay, he couldn’t say mated — “they live together. They have a child.”

“Why didn’t she call Gypsy then?”

“It’s complicated.”

Kimber briefly glanced at her wrist watch. “I have a few hours before I’m needed. I’m all ears.”

“
Tesoro,
I promise I’ll come clean after tomorrow. I need you to trust me one more day.”

Her gaze narrowed, accusing him of being the bastard he was. “I can’t live with the secrets and lies any longer, Anton. Otherwise, you can walk right out that door and not come back.”

Anton sat back on the wooden floor, jamming a hand through his short hair. “I can’t,
tesoro.
I might be putting you in danger and I’m not willing to do that.”

“And yet you don’t worry about putting Tamera in danger.”

“Tamera can take care of herself. Besides, she has Gypsy.”

“And yet, it was you who went to her rescue.” She sighed. “What aren’t you telling me, Anton? Something is going on with this MC of yours. I get that. The motorcycle clubs are always into something illegal.”

“Not always. But the Devils more so than most.”

“Why ride with the Devils? Honestly, Anton, I’m not sure I can be with you as long as you continue to be a part of their gang.”

“Club.”

“Cut the crap, Anton. You and I both know their club is just a front for organized crime.”

He had to know. “Do you feel the same about the Sons of Sangue?”

Kimber leaned forward and placed a hand on his knee. “If you want the truth, I really don’t know. I’ve always known of their existence in Oregon but until you, I never really met any of them. I only know what I’ve read about these motorcycle gangs that hide behind their toy runs and charities.”

“The Sons aren’t at all like the Devils.” Christ, he wanted to come clean. “Give me one day,
tesoro
. That’s all I ask.”

“No more secrets?”

Only one
. And damn if he knew how to reveal the vampire side of him. “We’ll talk.”

“Anton…”

He stood and pulled Kimber to her feet. Uncertainty swam in her gaze. Before she could protest, he leaned down and sealed his lips to hers. Not a tender kiss. No, he wanted to possess her, show her how much he craved to be inside her. His erection plagued him, begged for appeasement. Even though he knew the right thing to do would be to come clean before making love to her again, he couldn’t wait. He had already waited too damn long.

Kimber broke the kiss, stepped back, and placed a palm on his wet shirt. “You aren’t getting away with everything that easy, mister. You hurt me. I still haven’t forgiven you for leaving me to rescue another woman.”

Anton growled. “I—”

She placed her fingers on his lips and stilled his words. “You will answer for that. If you want this — us — then no more friends with benefits. No more running off to other women.”

Anton grinned. “I’m all yours,
tesoro.
”

“Promise?”

Anton crossed his chest with his forefinger before capturing her lips again and sealing out any more protests. His tongue swept the inside of her mouth, tasting her, savoring every second. He knew damn well this could be their last time. After today, he would no longer hypnotize her into forgetting. She would know him for who he was. All of him. If she ran from his vampire form, then he’d be forced to make her forget him forever.

For now, he wanted far less clothes between them.

Kimber slid her arms up his chest and threaded her fingers into the short hair at his nape. Giving in to mutual desire, she kissed him back. The scent of her hunger rose between them. There was certainly no doubt, his Kimber wanted him.

His damp shirt became increasingly uncomfortable. Breaking the kiss, he stepped back and stripped the shirt over his head. Her gaze dropped, lingering over his bare flesh before lowering to the bulge in the front of his jeans.

Kimber ran her fingers down his skin, her nails lightly scoring the flesh before reaching for the closure of his jeans. “Your pants? They look pretty wet too.”