Page 30

Coast

I never panicked.

I prided myself on calm in the chaos.

I found peace in the moments most would be freaking out.

But the second I heard Zoe’s voice on that phone—frantic, borderline hysterical—I fucking lost my shit.

I was snapping the guys into action, running through the house to grab the club keys, before I even knew all the details.

Somewhat used to this sort of thing, we were all strapped and on the move as soon as we had the details we needed.

Behind the wheel, I could feel Zoe’s panic, her terror, as the other fucking car rammed her, as she worried about how to handle a car at high speeds.

Her cry—and Lil’ Bit’s wails—fucking gutted me, made me feel completely useless as I did all I could—drove toward them.

It was the longest ten minutes of my entire goddamn life.

But then I saw her headlights—and the sparks of her rims on the road—and I knew the worst part was almost over. The part where I felt powerless, where my girls were on their own without me.

The next part?

Well, that was the fun shit.

My stomach was in knots seeing Zoe so shattered as I fished her phone out of the car, knowing the details for that last drop were on there. And that the men in that car wouldn’t live long enough to tell me where their boss was.

But I knew Sass was just behind us.

She and Lainey were going to be just fine.

And it was my job to make sure that continued to be the case, to end this shit once and for all.

Did ending it risk her leaving?

Sure.

But I didn’t want her just because she was afraid of not having me to protect her.

I wanted her to want me, case closed.

Was there still some part of me that believed she and Lil’ Bit deserved better? Hell yeah. But if I was what she wanted, I was going to take whatever she offered to me.

The fact that I hadn’t been able to get her out of my mind since I met her was all the proof I needed that shit was different with her.

The way that I didn’t even entertain the idea of another woman, when I would normally have had half a dozen (or more) in the timespan I’d known Zoe, was also evidence that it wasn’t just about sex.

It was about her.

And Lainey.

And the little unit we made.

Even if that scared the shit out of me.

I heard the pop-pop-pop as someone—likely Alaric—shot out the tires on the car that had been trailing Zoe, ramming her bumper, making both the girls cry.

Anger was gasoline in my veins.

Seeing the damage to their grill was the match strike.

Rage burned through me as I approached that car.

Then shot through the driver’s window.

Once.

Twice.

Ten times.

I wasn’t taking any chances.

“Let’s not alert the cops, man,” Huck said, landing a hand on my shoulder.

I lowered my arm and stepped back.

“I’m not done.”

“I know,” he said. “But you know the drill. You can’t drive the car to the house. Not without changing the plates first. Seeley is on his way.”

I didn’t bother to ask how Seeley always managed to get exactly what we needed when we needed it.

So I wasn’t exactly surprised when fifteen minutes later, the son of a bitch rolled up with a car transport truck. The kind you drove a car up into, so no one could really see it—save for a few small cutouts on the side.

Seeley hopped out and rolled out the ramp before making his way toward us, gloved hands holding up a stack of plates.

“Car or bike?” he asked.

“Trade you?” I asked Huck, gesturing back to the club SUV.

“Sure. But if you scratch it, I’m gonna be fucking pissed. Who is going with Coast to finish this?”

York, Velle, Kylo, Caymen, and Dixon stepped forward.

“I need Levee and Cato,” Seeley said. “To deal with this mess,” he said, nodding toward the car as the other two men dragged the driver into the backseat so they could drive the car up the ramp.

“You got it,” Huck agreed. “You need more men?” he asked me.

“I don’t think I need more than me.”

“Tough shit,” Huck said, making my lips curve up.

“Three then. Don’t need everyone putting their ass on the line.”

“In that case, Velle and Kylo, you two handle Zoe’s car. Here,” Huck said, passing me his gun and extra magazines.

There was a low purr of an engine, making us turn to see Eddie’s car pulling up beside us. He popped his tiny trunk and moved to the back of his car, gesturing toward the helmets.

“Figure you might need to cover your faces,” he said. “So I lifted these from work. No one’s gonna give a shit that you only wear a full helmet on a crotch rocket.”

“You’re a genius, Eddie,” Huck said, clapping him hard on the shoulder. “Keep them on the whole time. Flip the visors if you need to, but we have no idea what kind of cameras might be around.”

With that, York, Dixon, and Caymen got to work taking off the real plates and putting on the spares, giving the others to Eddie for safekeeping.

Seeley pulled off.

Then Velle and Kylo headed out to figure out Zoe’s car situation.

“Phones?” Huck asked, holding a hand out. “What about Zoe’s?” he asked.

“It’s a burner. I’ll toss it after I figure out the address from the app.”

“Any other smart devices? Watches? Anything?”

As soon as Huck was sure we were as untraceable as possible, he and the others were off.

And the rest of us climbed on our bikes, heading back across town toward the last place Zoe’s app said she needed to deliver to.

It was a real trial-by-fire kind of night.

Caymen and Dixon had never been tested in the “field” before. And it was risky as fuck to trust them without the whole club backing us. I figured Huck trusted York’s cool leadership vibes and my crazy to make sure the job went off without a hitch.

I gestured for us to cut the engines a few doors down from our actual destination, and we rolled them along the tall hedges that protected the property from the street.

Then, helmets still on our heads, we just pushed through the greenery to move onto the front lawn of the estate.

Even from halfway down the driveway, I could see the bag of food Zoe must have dropped when she realized it was a trap.

That sight was enough to get the fire burning once again.

Whoever those fuckers were, they were idiots.

Because in their haste to chase Zoe, they’d left the fucking garage door open.

We walked in like we had an invitation.

The inside was quiet, save for the sound of a TV coming from the living room, the light from the game lighting up half of the lower floor.

“Answer your fucking phones !” a voice roared.

I knew panic when I heard it.

Which made me think that whoever this guy was, his crew was small.

If Zoe had incapacitated one of his men, it seemed like I’d just offed his remaining soldiers.

And he was freaking the fuck out.

Good.

He deserved that after what he’d put Zoe and Lil’ Bit through.

I gestured for York and Dixon to fan out, to check for anyone else around.

Then I moved forward.

I did flip my visor.

Not for visibility.

But so the bastard could make out the last words he would hear loud and clear.

I saw the fear, heard the hitch in his breath.

“You should have just left her alone,” I said, watching the dread play across his face.

I didn’t let him make promises I wouldn’t believe. Or even beg for his life.

I raised my arm.

Aimed.

Fired.

Once.

Twice.

Head.

Heart.

He was dead before his body crashed through the coffee table.

I flipped the visor back down before turning around.

Dixon and York moved back, shaking their heads.

It was done.

All that fear and anxiety for Zoe. And it was all over within a few minutes.

We made our way through the yard at a run. But went ahead and turned our bikes over right there in front of the house, peeling off quickly enough that no one’s door cameras would catch anything but blurry outlines if the cops came looking for footage.

I drove us around, wanting to make sure there were no cops looking for us, then pulled up out front of a tattoo shop.

“I gotta get a few more tallies,” I told them. “You can head back and fill in Huck.”

Just like that, we parted ways. I had a needle stuck into my skin a few thousand times, finding something cathartic and calming in the pain.

Finished with that, I found out where Seeley, Cato, and Levee were. Then went and helped them deal with the bodies, detail and strip the car, then drop that at a junkyard for crushing.

Once the entire mess was done, the sun was streaking across the sky and I was strolling into the clubhouse in nothing but a beach towel after handing off my clothes to Che to burn next door and cleaning off with the hose.

I made my way upstairs, careful to be quiet when I heard no sound from my room.

I took a shower, making sure to scrub any trace evidence off of me.

Then I went back to my room, checking on Lainey, then climbing into bed with Zoe, gently waking her up because Jade told me she promised Zoe I would do just that.

“It’s over,” I told her as soon as her eyes opened.

Then I leaned down, pressing my lips to hers.

There was nothing delicate about it. It was rough and deliberate. Her moan muffled against my lips as my lips slanted over hers again—deeper, harder.

The second her lips opened for me, I was there—tongue stroking, teeth grazing, setting us both on fire.

Zoe’s hands slid down my back, sinking into my ass, dragging me against her, then rocking herself against my cock.

There was no time for slow or sweet.

We were both on fire. Wild, raging.

Her hands dragged down my pants.

I lifted up, rolling her onto her belly, then pulled her hips up until her ass was up, her head down, then slid her shorts and panties down her legs.

My hand massaged her ass as I reached for a condom, slid it on, then moved in behind her.

My hand went to the back of her neck, keeping her against the mattress to muffle her cry as I slammed deep inside her, taking every perfect inch of her in one thrust.

Her pussy tightened around me, welcoming me in. Her hips wiggled, begging for more.

And I was too happy to give it to her.

My hands slid to her hips, using them to drag her back against me as I slammed forward—fucking her hard and fast, the bed creaking, the headboard knocking, her moans getting loud enough that not even the mattress could quiet her.

Then her walls were clenching around my cock as she came, gasping, crying, calling out my name.

I fucked her through it, then came hard and deep, my whole fucking body shuddering with the intensity of it.

“Fuck,” I groaned, falling back against the mattress afterward. Zoe was still face down, panting for breath, little aftershocks racking her body.

I reached over, giving her ass a small slap that had a little giggle escaping her.

That was a good fucking sound after such an intense night.

She pushed up and moved closer to me, watching me with more serious eyes.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah. Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Well, judging by those tallies,” she said, reaching for my chin, turning my head so she could inspect them better. “You did something really crazy last night.”

“I did what I needed to do to get you and Lil’ Bit safe. Nothing crazy about it. Gotta protect what’s mine.”

It was out before I could think of a better way to phrase it.

“Yours?” she asked, and I couldn’t tell if it was surprise or panic on her face, in her voice.

“That’s the way I’d have it if the choice were mine,” I admitted. “But it ain’t.”

“You want me to be yours?” she asked. It was clear then. The tentative hope, the little glimmer of excitement.

“No,” I said, watching the light leave her eye for a second. “I want you both to be mine.”

“Oh,” she said.

Then her eyes were flooding and overflowing.

“Shit. Didn’t mean to bring on the waterworks,” I said, getting a shaky laugh out of her as I reached out to wipe the wetness from her cheeks.

“You’re sure? You said once that you didn’t want kids. Didn’t want any kind of attachments.”

“Yeah, well, I guess that shit was just—as Velle would probably say—my trauma talking. Turns out, when it’s right, it’s not about giving something up. It’s about getting something different. Better.”

“You,” Zoe said, reaching out to frame my face, leaning down to press her forehead to mine. “You crazy, chaotic, amazing, generous, kind man.” Her lips lightly brushed mine. “Of course I want to be yours.”

She kissed me long and deep then.

Until Lil’ Bit realized it was morning.

And had some feelings about her wet diaper and empty stomach.

“I’ll get her,” I said, climbing out of the bed to yank up my pants. “You get the coffee.”

“Hey, Coast,” she called from the doorway.

“Yeah?”

“I, uh, I think I love you,” she said, but was gone before I could respond.

My heart was too fucking big for my chest as I looked down at Lainey.

“Ooh,” she hooted, like she was agreeing with her mom.

“Yeah,” I agreed, tapping her nose with my fingertip. “Love you two too.”