Page 22 of Love Me Back (Diamond Creek #2)

Grayson

“Get me out of here, Carl.” Again, my yelling meant nothing, as Carl quickly pulled the tailgate open and grabbed my chair.

He didn’t bother letting me try on my own.

He grabbed me from behind, under my arms, and dragged me out of the truck bed.

Addie was there to maneuver the chair under me.

As soon as he let me go, I reached for the wheels, but they were already turning.

Carl moved me to the middle of the yard and walked back, dragging Addie with him.

“You okay, Jessie?”

“No.” Her voice trembled.

“Wait until Ellie hears what you did today.”

“She’ll kill me.” A small chuckle bubbled out of her, and I knew she would be okay.

“Hey, boy.” Thunder nickered at my voice and spun his head around. “You saved my girl, Thunder.” I rolled slowly across the yard, trying to get closer. He didn’t like my chair, but he had learned to tolerate it.

“Grayson?”

“Yeah, baby?”

“I want to get off. I don’t think I like this ride much.”

I couldn’t stop the laugh as it slipped out. “I know, baby. Give me a minute to talk him down.”

“Don’t have a minute. My adrenaline is dropping fast.”

“Think you can slide off? No one can get close enough to pull you down.”

“Thunder, you’re a big baby,” Jessie scolded. “Put me down.”

The horse snorted as if he were offended by her words. My brothers didn’t believe me, but I knew he understood what I said to him. Thunder understood more than people realized, and that was proven when he bent his front legs and kneeled.

Jessie slid off his back and lay on the ground. “Go back to the barn, big guy. There should be food waiting for you.” She twisted her head to look at me. “There is food waiting for him, right?”

“There is.” I smiled at her. She was terrified of what she had just gone through, but she was still worried about my horse eating.

Someone had left the paddock door open, and Thunder made his way through the opening, as Carl shut the gate behind him.

The sound of thunder could be heard in the distance, and when I scanned the horizon, a cloud of dust headed straight for us. The men on horseback had finally made it home.

I rolled closer to Jessie and held out my hand. “Come here, baby.”

She scrambled up and into my lap, wrapping her arms around me. She buried her face in my neck. “I was so fucking scared.”

“You were so fucking brave. What the hell happened?”

“Someone was shooting at us.”

“Did you see them?” She shook her head against me. Her breathing was ragged, with a stutter every few breaths that told me she had been sobbing.

“You’re safe now.” I rubbed my hands up and down her back as I held her. Seeing her on the back of the horse after hearing gunshots made my heart race with fear. I never wanted to feel that shit again.

“ Yessica .”

Jessie’s head snapped up and hit my chin. “Fuck,” I groaned in pain.

“Wh-what are you doing here?” she asked the man I assumed was Armando Garcia.

“I have come to see mi sobrina and to buy some horses.”

Jessie launched herself off my lap and looked behind Garcia. “Father? Jamie?”

“Jessie, what the fuck is going on?” She turned and looked at me, an expression of guilt spreading over her face.

“Armando Garcia is my uncle,” she muttered. “I know I should have told you.”

“Yes, you should have fucking told us!” Tyson shouted. I hadn’t realized he was there. He stood beside Jessie’s father with three of his brothers.

Hudson and Emerson walked over after handing their horses off to the hands. It wasn’t something we normally did. We always took care of our own horses, and I would need to brush Thunder down before much longer, but this required them to be present.

“Tyson, shut up,” Emerson shouted. “She doesn’t have to tell us shit.”

“Her uncle is the head of the fucking cartel.”

I watched Jessie. Her head was down as if she were... ashamed? No, that wasn’t it. Submitting to her uncle? I couldn’t see Jessie submitting to anyone. Something was going on here.

“So fucking what? You’re in a motorcycle club. And should I remind you about Dan—”

“EMERSON!” I roared.

“Sorry, Gray.” He stalked off, shoulder-checking Tyson as he walked by.

“Maybe we should move this inside,” I offered as I reached for Jessie’s hand and squeezed. When she turned to me, I whispered, “I love you. This doesn’t change anything.”

“It does.”

“Jessie.”

“Let’s go inside.” She grabbed the handles of the chair and pushed me toward the house. Tyson, Hudson, and Addie followed.

“Carl?” I called back.

“I’ll make sure he’s alright.”

“Thanks, Carl.”

We made it to my office, and Jessie deposited me behind my desk. I knew what she was doing. Trying to establish some power against her uncle. She tried to walk away, but I grabbed her wrist. “You belong right here with me. I’m not letting you run.”

I expected her to argue. Instead, she sighed and leaned against my chair. As the others filtered in, I noticed that Garcia had left his guards outside. Only the three of them, himself, Jessie’s father, and her brother entered the room.

“Mr. Garcia, let me remind you that when we spoke, I told you I do not sell my horses to just anyone. You, sir, have not made the best first impression. I will assume you knew your niece was here and chose not to mention it on the phone.”

Jessie’s brother put a hand over his mouth, trying to hide his grin. Hudson and Tyson stood on either side of Jessie and me in a show of support and strength.

“I apologize if you feel my actions were deceptive. I assure you; they were not. I did not tell you I knew Yessica , because I knew she had not told you herself.”

He fiddled with the cuff on his sleeve. It surprised me to see the head of the Mexican cartel in a pair of worn jeans and a button-down shirt.

I’d expected a suit. What I had learned about the men and women of the underworld, aside from the bikers, was that they wanted to be seen a certain way.

They believed that a sharp suit made them look powerful.

I thought it made them look arrogant.

“I had assumed you would tell her who was coming and she would confess herself. I see that did not happen,” he explained as he regarded Jessie. “I know my niece is ashamed of her heritage—”

“That is not true, and you know it!” she hissed.

“Jessica.”

“No, Father. He knows why I left, and he knows why I don’t tell anyone who you are.”

I studied Garcia as Jessie argued with her father. The twitch at the corner of his mouth told me he wasn’t angry at her words. Respect emanated from his eyes.

The door opened, and Addie wheeled in a beverage cart filled with mugs, coffee, and tea. “Would anyone like anything to drink?”

“I would love a cup of coffee, my dear,” Garcia said.

“Cream and sugar?”

“Black, please.”

He was polite; I would give him that. He might have shown up here in jeans, but he was still an arrogant son of a bitch.

“Yes, Yessica , I know why you left. I understand why you use your mother’s name instead of ours. But the truth remains. You are ashamed of being connected to this family.” He held up his hand. Cutting off her rebuttal.

I stole a glance at my brothers and was surprised to see Tyson looking as angry as Hudson at the way Garcia spoke to Jessie. His hands were clenched at his sides.

“Does Danny know?” I asked Jessie.

“Of course he knows,” she said flippantly.

“Dante? Ellie?”

Jessie’s shoulders slumped as she looked down at me. “I don’t know if Dante knows. I don’t know how much Danny told him. Ellie only knows that I walked away from my family and that they run illegal businesses.”

“And King?” I glanced quickly at Tyson, then back to Jessie.

“I don’t know. He hasn’t said anything to me, if he does. But I don’t think so. If I had to guess, he would assume Danny ran a background check on me when we became friends.”

I nodded. I would talk to King later and find out what he knew and why he didn’t tell me.

“As I said, we don’t sell horses to just anyone. Being related to Jessie also will not guarantee a sale. We have cabins for you all to stay in for the weekend. Hudson can show you where they are, and we will have dinner in a few hours. It will be something light. We’ve had a long day.”

I took a deep breath. My nervous system was at full tilt between watching Thunder race by with Jessie on his back and finding out my woman’s family ran the cartel.

“Tomorrow morning I will show you the horses. And in the afternoon, we have a cookout planned. The Silver Shadows will be joining us. Do you have any objections to that?”

“I do not. I have heard good things about your president.” Garcia directed his answer to Tyson, who only scoffed. It was well recognized that bikers weren’t known for their manners, despite me knowing that Tyson had them before he joined.

“Sunday afternoon, we will have a family dinner where we will discuss any business we may or may not engage in. Now, if you will excuse me, my woman has had a rough day and needs some space to decompress.”

“Gentlemen, please follow me.”

Hudson led them out, and Jessie’s brother stopped at the door. He looked over his shoulder at Jessie and said, “It’s good to see you, little sister.” He winked and walked out before Jessie could respond.

“Gray—” Tyson started.

“I’m gonna stop you there, baby brother. This is not the time.”

“But, Gray—”

“Get the fuck out of my office,” I growled.

“Come on, Ty.” Addie grabbed his hand and dragged him from the room. She winked at me and reached behind the door to lock it as she pulled it closed. She was too fucking smart for her own good, and whomever she ended up with had better understand what he was getting.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you.”

“Jessie, come here.” I rolled my chair back and pulled her between me and the desk. I reached for the snap of her jeans and popped it open before quickly stripping them down her legs.

“Grayson, what are you doing?” She looked over her shoulder at the door, and I smiled.

I didn’t answer her question. I lifted her from the floor and sat her on the edge of my desk as I lifted one leg and unlaced her boot, removing it and setting it on the floor, before doing the same with the second one.

I pulled her jeans and panties off the rest of the way and dropped them on the floor beside my chair.

My hand rested between her breasts as I pushed her back until she was lying down.

Then I lifted each foot, putting them on the arms of my chair.

She balanced on her elbows and looked at me between her bent knees.

“As I told your uncle”—I kissed the inside of her right thigh— “and father”—turning my head to kiss the inside of her left thigh—“and brother, my woman had a rough day and needs to decompress. An orgasm or two is the best way I know to help you relieve the tension that is coiled up inside you.”

I leaned in and swiped my tongue up her center, marveling at the taste and texture of her perfect pussy. I licked at her moisture as she fell back and moaned. If my family thought she was loud a few nights ago, they hadn’t heard anything yet.