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Orion chuckles lightly. “What’s a man without a beach house, huh?”
“I bought it for pennies,” Drake replies.
“He invested a lot in the renovation, though,” Orion says.
“Yeah, I can tell. It’s beautiful.” I sigh as we make our way across the warm sand, shoes already in hand while the ocean laps at the shore just fifty feet to our left. “And it’s prime real estate if I’m not mistaken.”
Drake nods in agreement. “This is a private beach. It was auctioned off in strips a few years back. It was seized from a drug lord, hence the stupidly low price,” he says. “I think I’m going to keep going to these police auctions once the whole mess with Colton dies down. They seized a couple of yachts not that long ago. Once the case is settled in court, the county will want to get rid of them.”
“And what’s a beach house without a yacht?” Kai quips.
We laugh as we go up the front steps, and Drake welcomes us in. The lights come on to reveal a splendid yet minimalistic design. The floor-to-ceiling windows are huge and equipped with monitored-level, SPF-coated tint that blacks out everything. The hardwood floor is a gorgeous ash brown, and the furniture is a dark mahogany, which contrasts beautifully with the cream-colored textiles.
It’s stunning, and it’s a safe haven for us. At least for tonight.
“I’ve got beer and champagne in the fridge,” Drake says while I slowly pace around the living room, registering every detail of the place in my mind’s eye.
“Is there any water or soda?” I ask.
He gives me a curious look but takes out a bottle of sparkling water and three beers. “I’d have stocked the kitchen if I had known ahead of time that we were coming over.”
“You didn’t know?” I ask.
Orion gives me a broad smile. “We didn’t really plan for this tonight, Nadia. We just realized we couldn’t go another day without seeing you.”
My eyes sting. My heart swells as I look at each of them, seeing my men in a different, softer kind of light. “I’ve missed you, too,” I whisper.
“How are you feeling?” Kai asks, slowly coming closer as his eyes carefully search my face. For a man so rough and so feared by everyone else, I always feel safe in his company. “Nadia, we were worried about you. You weren’t answering any of our texts.”
“I’m sorry,” I exhale sharply. “I had such a huge argument with my dad that I figured I’d just let a bit of time pass for everyone’s heels to cool off, especially after what happened at the clubhouse.”
“But how are you feeling?” he asks again.
I shrug in return, briefly lowering my gaze. “I’m okay. Clean bill of health.”
I’m also pregnant, but if there’s one thing my dad and I agreed on, it’s that this is the worst possible time to tell them about it. “Just tired of being under house arrest.”
“We don’t entirely disagree with that decision,” Orion replies with a sheepish smile. “Things are going to get worse, Nadia, and it’s imperative for you to be safe and as far away from the club as possible.”
“What’s this, then?” I chuckle, motioning around us.
Drake comes over and hands me a glass of sparkling water, then takes a long pull of his beer. “This is an exception because we missed you, baby,” he says.
Despite missing them, I’m not quite ready to be wooed just yet.
“How will it get worse?” I ask. “Aren’t the Feds involved, now?”
“Yeah, but our decision to work with them has caused the other clubs to distance themselves from us. We’re virtually pariahs in the biker world,” Orion sighs. “We knew the risk. We did it anyway because it’s the lesser of the evils to us.”
“What about Colton?”
Kai frowns at the mention of his name. We settle on the big, sectional sofa as they tell me about recent events. “They haven’t found him yet, and the Black Devils are keeping a low profile, too. Word on the street is that he’s planning an operation to take us out.”
“To take you out?”
“The Blackthorn Riders leadership,” he clarifies. “He can’t bring his whole biker army out anymore, not with the Feds building a RICO case against him. They’re watching every business that he’s known to operate. They’re watching the other clubs, too: every store, every stash house, every garage and bike shop. They’ve got eyes on everything.”
“Dale says they’re in the process of getting warrants for their phone lines and bank accounts, too, if there are any,” Orion adds.
