Rough & Raw (Notorious Devils Book 2) (24 page)

“My business with the club can’t be shared with anybody,” he states.

“What else will you keep secret?” I ask, biting on my bottom lip.

“What’s the real question here, babe?” he asks, standing and sliding his cut on over his arms and shoulders.

“Are you going to screw around and everybody just keeps it a big secret?” I blurt.

God I am so damn insecure; it’s pissing me off. I don’t know how Bates doesn’t slap the shit out of me for it. Maybe I’m pushing him on purpose. Maybe I’m trying to goad him, to push his buttons and test him. Maybe I want him to lose his shit, so I can prove that he’s just like Scotty, that he’ll beat the shit out of me and expect me to take it.

I am so fucked up
.

“This is the last time we’re having this conversation, Brentlee,” he announces before he grabs my hips and roughly pulls me close to his body. One of his hands slides up my spine and fists in my hair, yanking my head back. I let out a surprised cry, but stay quiet otherwise.

“For the last fuckin’ time—your name is branded on my fuckin’ throat. I’m yours and you’re mine. My dick only gets wet inside your sweet cunt, ass, or mouth. Nobody else, no matter where I am or what I’m doin’. I’m yours, baby. Every piece of me is yours. Shit goes down in the club and you can’t know anything. It’s for your protection as much as it’s for the club’s. I go to jail or some shit and you can’t testify against me because you don’t
know
anything. My main focus is the club—keeping my brothers safe and all that shit—but it’s also you, keeping you and Stella safe. You’ll always be taken care of because my names on your body,” he growls.

“What?” I breathe.

“Anything happens to me, this club will take care of you, baby. They’ll have your back, they’ll help you and Stella, no questions asked, because my name is right here on your hip.” He squeezes the Sniper tattoo for emphasis.

“Don’t you leave me,” I whimper.

“Never gonna leave my
tigritsa
willingly,” he murmurs before his lips slam down on mine and he takes me in a hard, swift kiss.

“Now, tell me you get what I’m sayin’, babe. Tell me you understand. I’m yours, my cock’s yours, and my heart, it’s always been yours,” he whispers before his teeth nip my earlobe.

“Yeah, baby, I understand,” I sigh. And I do.

I understand.

I finally understand.

He’s in this about as deeply as I am.

I only hope that he stays this way.

I don’t know if I’ll ever be one hundred percent comfortable with this relationship. I think because of my marriage to Scotty, I’ll always be sitting around
waiting
for the other shoe to drop. But for now, I’m going to try and push those thoughts out of my head and be happy. I have a man who loves me, who loves my daughter, who is willing to take care of us, no matter what. How can I possibly bitch about that?

Sniper

After relieving Tammy from kid duty, I leave my girls. Brent is exhausted and Stella is bursting with energy, ready to tell her all about her evening with Tammy and her cousins. I haven’t seen Stella this excited since our little Target shopping spree for Elsa sheets. A grin tugs on my lips as I make my way back to the clubhouse. As much as I’d like to curl up with my girls on the couch, I can’t. I have shit to prep for.

It’s my turn in rotation to make a run from here to Salt Lake City and then up to the Canadian border to do a hand off. It’s a hard run, but the payout is fuckin’ phenomenal. Working with the Cartel hasn’t been nearly as fucked up as working with the Aryan’s was. Those assholes were fuckin’ terrifying. I shiver just thinking about them.

“You ready for this run?” Fury asks as soon as I walk into his office. He looks about as exhausted as I do, and I wonder if LeeLee kept him up all night, too. I chuckle at the thought.

“What’s funny?” he grunts.

“I’m fuckin’ beat to shit, brother,” I admit. He sighs before he leans back in his chair.

“Christ, that woman is going to be the death of me. She’s too young. I can’t keep up, and if I admit that, she’ll laugh at my ass and call me old,” he grumbles.

“Bitches,” I grunt. He looks up at me before he grins.

“Bitch with the most fuckin’ addictive pussy I’ve ever had the pleasure of being inside of,” he chuckles. I nod in agreement.

“Fuck, yeah. And thank fuck for that, too,” I laugh.

“Canadian brothers are gonna stay here until you guys get back from SLC. We’re just gonna do the handoff here for this time around,” I narrow my eyes slightly.

“That why they’re here to begin with?” I ask.

“Some shit about one of their brothers losing his shit and getting locked up when he was visiting his Mama in Texas. They had to bail his ass outta jail,” Fury shrugs.

“Took the whole charter for that shit?” I ask in confusion.

“They had to make the fucker who caused the whole scene
fade
away
,” he says. I nod.

“Hey, thanks for helping Drifter with that issue the other day,” he murmurs.

“It was my issue anyway,” I shrug.

“It’s family, nobody’s single issue, Sniper. Now, go and get this shit done and over with. We’ll keep your girls safe.”

I nod and leave, wondering just what kind of cluster fuck they caused in Texas. The downfall with this life is that it’s a hard life. Sometimes people get caught up in shady shit and this situation is just that, real fuckin’ shady. I don’t say anything else, though; mainly because it ain’t my business. Plus, I don’t really give a fuck. Me not having to make the trip up to Canada just means I can be inside of my woman that much sooner.

Brentlee

I
roll over and reach for Bates, but find his side of the bed empty. I sigh. He’s gone. I knew he was leaving, so I don’t know why I’m surprised to find him actually gone. Maybe I thought if I pouted enough, he’d be able to stay. I feel badly for being bratty about him going. I’m scared, though. Things with Scotty have been way too quiet for way too long. Plus, he didn’t give me much time to prep for him leaving. He just announced it and then left.

Yesterday I received a call from my attorney, and he said that Scotty has agreed completely. He signed the paperwork granting the divorce, and he’s willing to sign over full custody of Stella to me. He wants nothing in return. He’s going to completely terminate his rights. This also means I won’t be getting child support, but who cares? I don’t want a dime from him. I want to believe that these are answered prayers, but in all honestly, it feels like a trap of some kind.

My phone rings and I pick it up, noticing that it’s Kentlee.

“Are you sure you want to go there?” she asks without even saying hello first.

“I need to talk to them. It’s been weeks,” I say.

“You make sure that you take protection. I would honestly prefer if Fury took you,” she says.

I roll my eyes. Yeah, taking Fury to talk with my parents would really go over well, or absolutely not.

He despises them for their treatment of Kentlee, and I don’t blame him one bit. They’re Kentlee’s past, and odds are, they will be mine as well after this little get together, but I need to talk to them. I need to explain things, for my own peace of mind, if nothing else.

“Johnny Williams is taking me,” I inform her. She giggles.

“Oh, mom and dad are going to just
love
Dirty Johnny. I kinda want to go just to see the look on their faces when he walks into their pristine house with a cigarette hanging from his lips,” she howls.

“It’ll be fine,” I grumble, knowing damn well it won’t be.

Johnny is on babysitting duty today, so he’s the one who is going to have to take me, and he’s the one who is going to have to hear my mother be a total bitch to him, with no regard to his feelings or anybody else’s.

“I’ll be over in about an hour to watch Stella,” she informs me before she hangs up.

I groan and hurry into the shower. Stella will be up any minute, and I want to at least be showered before she starts asking for breakfast and requires all of my attention.

Once I’m showered and dressed, I make breakfast and nervously wait for Kentlee and Johnny to arrive. I don’t know what my parents are going to say, how they’re going to react to not only my leaving Scotty, but also to my relationship with Bates. I’m not going to hide it from them. They’ll find out soon enough, if they don’t already know, and I want them to hear it from me.

I close my eyes for a moment and remember how they treated Kentlee, how horrible they were to her. They told her to abort her baby if she still wanted to be in their family. She was so brave, my sister, so much braver than I have ever been.

I hope that one day I can be half the woman she is.

Dirty Johnny

I’m not the kind of guy that does nice shit for anyone, but there’s something about Kentlee and Brentlee that makes me want to help them. Maybe it’s their perceived innocence, the way they look up at you and you just know they’re good girls. Sure, Brent used to be a little slutty back in the day, but her wide eyes and coy smiles always,
always
made my dick hard. Still do.

I don’t want her like that anymore. She’s a nice ride, but Sniper is in love with her and she him. I like her for my brother, they’re good together. I don’t think I’d ever seen the bastard smile before she came barreling through his life again.

I pull into the drive with my classic 1970 Chevy Chevelle and notice that Kentlee’s badass SUV is parked in the drive. I have to say, I miss seeing her blonde hair flying in her sweet Camaro, but the SUV is safer for her and the kids; plus, Fury had it tricked out so it’s fuckin’ tight. I get out of my car and walk up to the front door, knocking before I turn the knob and walk right in.

“Hey, Johnny,” Brent says, throwing her purse over her shoulder.

I give her a chin lift before I make a beeline for the only girl in this room that truly holds my heart. Ellie Duhart.

“You spoil her,” Kent says as she hands her over to me. I hold her close to my chest and just enjoy the way her head rests on my shoulder. She’s not a tiny baby anymore and it fuckin’ kills me, she grows every single time I see her.

“She deserves every second of it,” I murmur, trying not to wake her.

She’s gorgeous. Little Ellie. Never thought I wanted a family of my own until I held this sweet thing in my arms. Now, I want a whole fuckin’ litter. All girls. Don’t ask me why. There’s something about her, sweet and innocent. I want to protect her from everything bad in the world, and she ain’t even mine.

“You can’t keep her,” Brentlee says, standing right in front of me.

“I know,” I sigh as I place a kiss on her forehead and hand her back to her mama.

“You need to find a nice girl and make one of your own,” Kentlee says as she takes her daughter from me.

“Doubt that shit’ll ever happen, babe,” I grunt as I turn to walk toward the front door. I hear Kentlee hum behind me, but I ignore her.

These bitches, once they tie down a brother, they think we all want to be tied down. Sure, I’d love to have a family, a whole fuckin’ houseful of angel girls, but settling down completely?
I shiver
. I don’t know if my dick could handle one pussy for the rest of its life. It might retaliate, shrivel up, and hate me forever.

“I saw the way you looked at Ellie,” Brentlee says as she buckles her seatbelt across her lap.

“Yeah?” I grunt, putting the car in reverse.

“You want one. A baby, a family,” she announces.

I roll my eyes as I reach for a cigarette.
Fuck,
I should quit these things, but I don’t think I could. Raised on them. Been smokin’ since I was nine. “It’s okay to want those things, Johnny.”

“I do, but I don’t want all the shit that comes with it,” I say, shrugging my shoulders.

“Like?” She laughs softly and I let her sweet voice wash over me.

Sweet.

Haven’t had sweet since I had her ten years ago. Not that I harbor any feelings for Brent. I never did. I want sweet, though. Unfortunately, sweet chicks run from me. The tattoos, the hardened angry face I sport, the dirty way I fuck. Yeah, no sweet girl would willingly stay in my bed.

“Commitment, stability, fidelity,” I murmur as I drive toward her parent’s house.

“You never know what you’re willing to compromise for the right person,” Brent says, giving me a wide smile.

We ride the rest of the way to The Johnson’s in silence. I think about being tied down; it comes with restraints, but it could be good, too. It comes with an opportunity to have a family. I shake my head as I turn down the Johnson’s street.

I smirk over at Brentlee as I throw the car into park. I want to laugh. Don’t think I could compromise on any of that shit I mentioned. No, my dick likes to roam, and I let it. No sense in tying a noose around it. No way. I couldn’t have one pussy for life.

Brentlee

Johnny looks a little like he’s going to hyperventilate at the thought of settling down, but I saw the truth. I saw the way he held Ellie; the way he looked at her. He may not realize it, but he’s ready for more. I can’t wait until love knocks him on his ass. I’m going to replay this little conversation of ours for him and laugh.