Page 26

LONDON

We’ve been on lockdown here at the clubhouse for a few days, and it doesn’t appear the guys are any closer to finding out who this Velasco character is.

The club feels that as long as he’s out in the streets of New Orleans, I’m not safe, which doesn’t exactly give me a warm, fuzzy feeling.

The guy already sent one of his goons to kidnap me, so who’s to say he won’t succeed the second time?

In a perfect world, I want to believe Amara came to the realization she wasn’t safe and got the hell out of town, but I know that’s not the case. She would have at least told Tony of her plans if that were true.

Being cooped up in the clubhouse day after day doesn’t help my wandering thoughts either.

Luckily, Promise and I were able to convince the guys to let us go to the office today.

We can only put off our clients for so long.

Promise and I have several court dates approaching, and there is no way I’m allowing my clients to suffer because my personal life is currently a shit show.

Returning to work, however, did come with stipulations.

One, we don’t go anywhere without Catcher.

He is now our shadow. And two, we don’t go anywhere but to the office.

That means no lunch date with friends and no visiting my mom.

That last condition had me up in arms until Riggs explained how visiting my mom might bring danger to her doorstep.

I had to admit he was right, but I felt like an idiot because I hadn’t thought of that.

Then I had a whole panic attack, questioning if Velasco already knew about my mom and if he’d do something to hurt her to get to me.

Riggs assured me he had someone watching my mom to ease my mind.

He gave me his word that nothing would harm her.

“Babe,” Kallum calls out, snapping me back to the present. I realize I’ve been spaced out in front of the mirror for several minutes in nothing but my bra and underwear. I hadn’t even realized he’d taken a shower.

“You say something?” I ask.

“I asked if you knew when you’d be done today.”

“I’m not sure. I have to play catch-up, so it's probably late. Why?”

Kallum comes up behind me and wraps an arm around my waist, pulling my back flush against his chest. He kisses my neck, sending shivers down my spine. “I was thinking I’d pick you up and take you to dinner.”

I tip my head back and meet his eyes. “I’d like that.”

Kallum steals a kiss, and his hand starts to creep into the waistband of my panties. “Oh no, you don’t,” I mumble into his mouth. “I have to leave in five minutes, and Promise is probably downstairs waiting on me.”

“She can wait.” Kallum nips at my bottom lip.

“I’m not doing that to her, it's rude.”

“Rude is makin’ me walk around all day with my dick hard.”

“You’ll live.” I shove him with my elbow. “Besides, my first meeting is in twenty minutes. We don’t have time.”

Kallum gives up his quest, but not without grumbling.

After putting on a dark gray pencil skirt and blouse, I sit down on the edge of the bed and slide on a pair of slingback heels. “I’ll make it up to you tonight.”

“Fuck yeah, you will.” Everest pulls his cut over his shoulders. “Tonight, you’re going to put that mouth to some other use besides pissin’ me off.”

“Hey, I make no promises. The day has just begun. There’s plenty of time to figure out how to make you mad.”

By lunchtime, Promise and I are rethinking whether the fuss we made was worth coming into the office.

When we first arrived at the office, Catcher perched himself outside the entrance before we made him sit in a corner in our small waiting room.

We learned quickly that a huge, broody biker standing guard in front of the building might not be good for business.

Promise’s first client of the day was Mrs. Dexter.

Catcher’s presence scared the hell out of her.

Mrs. Dexter is a sweet eighty-two-year-old woman whose husband passed away last year.

She had been married to the late Mr. Dexter for over forty-seven years.

They had two daughters together, and Mr. Dexter has a son from a previous relationship.

It turns out that his son didn’t take too kindly to his father, leaving his wife and two daughters with everything in his will.

The point is that his good-for-nothing son had robbed them blindly after he hooked up with some bad people when he was twenty-one and then left town.

Mrs. Dexter said he’d show up every few years with some sob story about losing his job or apartment.

They’d let him come home and try to help get him on a straight path, but then he’d just disappear in the middle of the night, taking anything of value with him.

They hadn’t seen or heard from him in close to ten years.

Then he heard about his father’s passing, and suddenly, he was back in town.

Let’s just say he was expecting to hit it big and was sorely disappointed when his stepmother and sisters got everything.

We’re talking two point two million dollars.

Poor Mrs. Dexter and her daughters have fought her stepson for eight months.

Luckily, they are due in court in a few weeks.

Promise has that case in the bag, though.

Mrs. Dexter will come out on top when it’s all said and done.

Exiting my office, I see Promise at the entrance, saying goodbye to Mrs. Dexter. “I don’t know about you all, but I’m starved.” I look at Catcher. “You good with pizza?”

“Pepperoni and sausage, no olives.” He grunts.

“Noted.” I turn to Zara, who is sitting at her desk. “What about you?”

“I’m not fussy. I’ll eat whatever you guys get.”

“Cool.” I pull out my cell, dial the pizza place down the block, and order delivery.

“Pizza will be here in twenty minutes,” I tell Promise once she’s done seeing Mrs. Dexter off.

“I’m going to call and check on my mom. Let me know when the food is here,” I call out over my shoulder on my way back to my office.

Sitting behind my desk, I use my laptop to pull up my bank account to ensure I have sufficient funds to make this month’s payment at Golden Hills. Once I ensure all is in order, I call the director, Mr. Briggs, who answers on the third ring.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Walker. This is Ms. Monroe.”

“Hello, Ms. Monroe. How are you?”

“I’m well. I’m just calling to see if I can settle my mother's bill over the phone and to ask how she is doing. Unfortunately, I can’t get there to see her today.”

“I looked in on Faye this morning, and she’s doing great. If you like, I can have her nurse call you later this afternoon with an update.”

“That would be great.”

“Oh, it’s no problem at all. Anything to help. As for the matter of your mother’s bill, it’s been settled.”

Confused, I ask, “Settled? What do you mean? I haven’t paid yet.”

“I’m sorry, Ms. Monroe, I thought you were aware.”

“No, I wasn’t. Can you tell me who paid it?” I ask, but I already have my suspicions.

“Sure, let me just pull up your mom’s file.

” I hear the shuffling of papers over the phone.

“Here it is. It says it was settled with Mr. Mercer. He is a really nice gentleman. He stopped by yesterday. He ordered all transactions associated with your mother’s stay to be drafted from his bank account indefinitely. ”

That asshole.

When I don't say anything, Mr. Walker says, “Ms. Monroe, are you there?”

“Yes, I’m here. Sorry about that. Thank you so much for your help.”

“You’re welcome, Ms. Monroe. And I’ll be sure to have your mother’s nurse call you soon.”

I end the call and immediately dial Kallum’s number.

He answers on the first ring. “Babe.”

I’m fuming by this point and barely allow him to get that one word out before I lay into him. “The next time you decide to take it upon yourself and butt into my life where my mom is concerned, you might want to consider asking me how I feel about it.”

“London, calm down.”

“I will not calm down. You had no right . And as soon as I’m able to, I’ll be going down to Golden Hills and fixing everything.”

“London,” Kallum growls, but I hang up before he can say another word. Two seconds later, he tries calling me back. I stare at his name flashing on the screen before declining the call and placing my cell on Do Not Disturb.

Promise pokes her head into my office. “Hey, pizza is here.”

I fix my face and smile. “Okay.”

Sensing something is wrong, she asks, “You good? Is it your mom?”

“No, Mom is good. Everything is fine. I’m just hungry.” I start to follow Promise down the hall when the sound of rumbling pipes stops me in my tracks. Shit!

Catcher stands from his corner on high alert as Kallum storms through the entrance, his eyes trained on me, and he not only looks mad, he’s fucking fuming.

“What’s going on?” Promise asks.

Instead of answering, Kallum storms past Promise and doesn’t stop as he grabs my arm and drags me back down the hall.

“What the hell?” I try pulling free of his hold.

Kallum kicks the door shut with his foot when we get to my office. “You want to explain what the hell that call was about?” he barks.

“I’m pretty sure I made myself clear when we spoke.”

“Correction, London. We didn’t do anything. That was all you. You didn’t shut your mouth long enough to let me get a word in edgewise.”

I cross my arms over my chest. “Are you seriously going to barge in here and get mad at me when it was you who overstepped?”

“It’s not overstepping when I see my woman struggling to keep her head above water, and I do what needs to be done to make sure she can breathe more easily.”

“Without discussing with me whether or not that’s what I wanted?” I counter. “I don’t need you stepping in like some knight in shining armor, Kallum. I’m perfectly capable of taking care of my mother on my own. I have a job that pays me enough to do so.”

“And I said no woman of mine was goin’ to be showin’ her tits for other men.” Kallum’s face turns red.

“Yeah, I heard you, Kallum, but I didn’t agree.”

Kallum takes a step forward, pinning me against my desk.

“I don’t need you to agree because that’s what it is.

I know we are getting to know each other, but let me help you out by being perfectly clear, I’m not the kind of man who sees his woman struggling and doesn’t move mountains to make her road less bumpy.

I’m the kind of man who, when his woman cries in his arms because she hasn’t been able to breathe easy in a long fuckin’ time, shelters some of her burdens so that she can sleep better at night.

” Kallum leans in close to my face, his chest heaving.

“And I’m damn sure not the kind of man who is okay with his woman showing parts of her body that are meant for me and me alone. ”

“I…umm,” I stammer. “That’s a lot to take in.”

“You’ll deal! Let that shit sink in, and then we’ll move on.

” Then his face turns soft as he grips the back of my neck.

“But I also know the kind of woman you are, and what I didn’t know, I’m learning.

I know you’re a woman who is strong and independent.

So, when someone challenges your independence, it makes you feel less than and throws you off-balance.

Just know that was not my intention. From now on, I’ll be mindful of that fact and come talk to you beforehand.

” He finishes with, "Especially when it comes to your mom,” which leaves me speechless. And surprisingly, a lot turned on.

Sensing the change, Kallum’s pupils dilate.

My breathing becomes labored when his palm slides from the back of my neck down the front of my blouse over my rapidly beating heart.

There is a beat of silence between us. The next thing I know, my shirt is ripped open, and my bra cups are shoved down.

I cry out when Kallum’s mouth latches onto one of my nipples while I expertly work at unbuttoning his jeans.

I’m just about to slip my hand down the front of his boxer briefs when suddenly, I’m spun around, face forward against my desk.

Cold air hits my backside as my skirt is shoved up around my hips.

My panties are tugged to the side and replaced with the tip of Kallum’s cock.

“Fuckin’ soaked,” he hisses as he teases my entrance.

“Stop teasing and fuck me already,” I snap.

There is no mistake about the glint in Kallum’s eyes when I peer back at him. “I’m going to like fightin’ with you,” he confesses just before slamming into me. “Your smart mouth is the sexiest thing about you.”

My breath catches in my throat as I fight like crazy, not to make a sound. Behind me, Kallum shows no mercy while he drills into me. “Don’t stop,” I beg.

Kallum’s fingers dig into my hips, and there is no doubt he will leave his mark. When I confessed he was the best I’ve ever had, I wasn’t lying. No man has ever come close to satisfying or filling me the way Kallum does.

He was made just for me.

“I’m close,” I pant the second my orgasm starts to build.

As soon as the words slip past my lips, Kallum lets go of my hips.

One arm curls around my belly, lifting me off the desk and flush against his chest while his hand wraps around the front of my neck.

The hand on my neck constricts as he growls into my ear.

“Be a good girl and come for me.” His command is my undoing.

On instinct, I seek out his mouth. Kallum wastes no time giving me what I crave, and I cry into his mouth as my orgasm crashes through me.