Page 27

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN: CHROME

“Yes. I want to honor Frodo and The Family’s wishes by not going to the police. I could go to the police and make up a lie about how I found the photo, but I’d rather keep them out of it. There is no guarantee they’ll help in any case. The asshole in charge of the case doesn’t seem interested in helping the women or solving the case.”

“Did you show the photo to Frodo? See if he knows the woman?”

“No. Frodo saw her in the hospital and didn’t recognize her. Maybe he could recognize one of the other women in the photo, but I'll be stuck if he doesn’t and tells me to keep quiet about recognizing her. I can’t go against The Family.”

“You think they’d hurt you?” I ask her, concerned.

“Of course not. But I’d feel guilty because I wouldn’t have honored their request.”

“The Family might not like our getting involved,” I say. “But you’re right. The woman needs her family. Maybe identifying her will help them discover who attacked both women. We can offer our help. Give me the photo, and I’ll take care of it. Stay here. I’ll be right back.”

Jogging down the stairs to locate Byte, I take a minute to glance around the clubhouse and the raging party. Seeing Cicely surrounded by club members fucking kutte bunnies infuriated me. She shouldn’t have been exposed to the raunchy chaos. Although I must admit she didn’t seem shocked by it all.

Spotting Mode sitting with his fellow tech geek, Byte, and the Nomads, I join them.

“Saw you with Cicely. Thought you were in for the night,” Eagle says.

“I am, but she asked me for a favor.” I push the framed photo across the table to where Byte and Mode sit. Pointing at the woman with the distinctive lavender hair, I explain her request.

“Yeah, we can run her ID. See if we can tag her. Cicely thinks this is one of the Jane Does she’s caring for?” Byte asks.

“Yeah. They identified the other one. She’s the aunt of her brother’s friend—the guy who helped us rescue the women today. They went to her house and found she’d been robbed.”

“You think whoever beat the shit out of her also stole from her?” Mode asks.

I nod. “That makes sense.”

“You plan on telling The Family when we identify her?” Byte asks.

“Cicely doesn’t want them to know she went behind their back. However, I’m going to talk her into telling them. We can work with The Family to track these bastards down. I don’t like the idea of some assholes beating up old women in our city.”

“We’ll identify her,” Mode says, standing and picking up the frame.

“Want some help?” Byte asks.

“Nah, I’ll just get the image loaded and the search started. I’ll be right back.”

When Mode leaves, Scorch sits down in his spot.

“Saw you with Cicely. Thought the two of you were done.”

“She had a favor to ask.”

“So she left? She should have stayed for the party,” Scorch smirks. “Might do her some good to loosen up a bit.” He glances around the room. “But I don’t think this is her scene. Probably a shock seeing everyone having sex out in the open.”

I frown at his comment and glance around the room again.

“I don’t know. She didn’t seem shocked when I saw her,” Byte says with a chuckle. “I think I was more surprised than she was. Haven’t seen an orgy like this in a while. Not since the guys back home started hooking up with Old Ladies.”

Scorch looks at Byte in surprise. “Seriously? You guys stopped fucking because of the Old Ladies?”

Byte shakes his head. “No, we just don’t fuck out in the open like we used to. We fuck in our rooms in the clubhouse instead of the common room.”

“Why?”

“It doesn’t feel right fucking in front of the Old Ladies.”

“The clubs in Vegas and NOLA are the same way,” Eagle chimes in. “Hex is building a second clubhouse for visiting clubs to use and fuck in if they want. They’re a smaller chapter. Half the guys are already hooked up. Hell, one Old Lady is his mother. No guy wants to fuck in front of his mother. Then you have the Vegas chapter and all those kids. Puma likes the idea of the clubhouse being family-friendly. Puma and Hex aren’t like the old Presidents.”

Scorch snorts. “You can say that again. Puma has two bitches as members. Can’t see the old guys accepting female members. Why the fuck did Dante allow it?”

Byte straightens at the insult to his President.

“Dante lets the other club Presidents run things their way. He doesn’t want anyone involved in the skin trade, but other than that, he could care less what the fuck the other Presidents do inside their clubhouse.”

“Besides, have you seen Chill in action? Dante has,” Padre adds. “She can give lessons on torture. She’s a cold-blooded bitch when she wants to be.”

“But she’s still just a bitch,” Scorch sneers. “Our fathers would roll over in their graves if we patched in a woman. Fuck, they’d be taking back the man card on those who let the Old Ladies call the shots in the clubhouses.”

“Fuck man, you’re living in the past. No wonder you’re single,” Eagle says with a laugh.

I stare at Scorch while the Nomads razz him. I knew he was an asshole, but his attitude toward women and the other club Presidents is a surprise. If he’s the traitor, is this the reason why? It doesn’t seem possible since none of what the other clubs are doing affects us. We don’t have women wanting to join or Old Ladies wanting to change things. But then I think about Cicely. Would I change the clubhouse to accommodate her? Glancing around at the naked asses of my brothers and the kutte bunnies intermixed with dicks and breasts, I can’t hold back the wince of distaste to have her exposed to this regularly. What if we stay together and have kids? Do I want my kids to see all this shit? I was raised seeing men and women copulate wherever and whenever. But wouldn’t I want to protect my kids from this shit? Yeah. Yeah, I would.

“I’m heading back upstairs. Make sure everyone clears out of the clubhouse by morning,” I tell Scorch.

“Why?”

“We’re having company in the morning. Just get it done and make sure you stick around. Think you might like to meet our guests.”

Returning to my room, I open the door to see Cicely tucked into bed. The sight shifts something inside me. I’ve entered this room thousands of times, and it's never felt like this. Complete. It’s as if the room and my life have been missing a vital piece. The few nights I’ve slept here without Cicely have been lonely and incomplete. It’s why I went to her place on the pretense of watching over her. My body and mind knew what I refused to admit. Cicely is someone I can no longer do without.

Undressing, I slide under the covers and pull her into my arms. She hums as she settles her head on my shoulder before pressing her face into my neck. I fall asleep with her floral scent surrounding me.

I wake up aroused. Cicely is no longer plastered against my side. Instead, I feel her hot mouth wrapped around my cock. What a fucking great way to wake up. My hips jerk when she swallows me deep. My balls tighten under her expert fingers. I reach under the covers to entangle my fingers in her silky hair. Gathering her locks, I tug softly. Not to make her relinquish her hold on me, but to give her a bite of pain that has her moaning. That moan shoots straight into my cock and through my system.

I pull back the sheet so I can watch her. Seeing her mouth stretched wide to accommodate my girth is as sexy as seeing the saliva dripping down my shaft and onto my balls. She has her gorgeous eyes closed, and while I want to make her open them, I don’t want to dislodge the glow of pleasure shining on her features. She’s so fucking beautiful, my heart hurts. Electricity flashes through my nervous system when she opens her eyes to watch me watching her.

“I’m going to cum,” I warn her.

Her eyes crinkle in a grin that her mouth can’t emulate because it’s stuffed full of my cock. Instead, she sucks in a deep breath before taking my cock deep into her throat and swallowing. She adds a humming growl that shatters my control. Ropes of hot cum shoot down her throat. I jerk through the aftershocks as she watches me with a self-satisfied expression. She gives me a few more shocks as she lifts her head and sucks the moisture off my cock.

“Damn, woman,” I moan when she crawls up to me to lay her chin on my chest.

“Before you push me away again, I must warn you that I won’t leave. You surprised me the other day, so I didn’t fight you. But now I know you want me in your bed, and since your bed is where I want to be, I’ll be staying.”

I smirk at her. “Oh, yeah?”

She nods with a jerk of her head. “Yes. I get that you’re worried about the traitor. I’m worried, too. But I’ll worry more if we’re apart. Besides, I can’t imagine identifying the traitor will take you much longer.”

I brush my fingers through her hair. “You’re right. Between my worry for Mode and you, I haven’t been able to concentrate on flushing out the rat. Besides, I think I know who it is or who to question. I’ll figure it out.”

She places her palm against my cheek. “I know you will.”

We’re interrupted by a knock on the door. Cicely pulls the sheet up to cover her nakedness while I pull on a pair of jeans. Opening the door, I find Mode on the other side.

“Got your identification. Her name is Valorie Parsons. Her granddaughter filed a missing person report when she arrived for a visit and found her grandmother missing, along with her jewelry and several paintings.”