AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Ariana has been with us for over a month now.
It is taking longer than we originally anticipated but it is our fault entirely. We are getting too close to her, and we can’t help it. We can’t stop, and we can’t pull away. All we’re able to do is watch our backs as we spend our nights in her arms, buried deep inside her. Well, Kendric and me, anyway. Raylan is struggling, but we can tell it’s mutual. We know that Ariana has what it takes to become ours—someday. In the meantime, all we can do is wait.
But the main problem is still there to haunt us, to hold us back.
She’s Henry David’s daughter, and the authorities are still looking for her. We’ve averted three raids thus far, and we’ve got enough accurate intel to know when the sheriff and the Everton PD have cars assigned to watch over the clubhouse.
We still have friends in the system, and we intend to use every single rope they give us to our advantage. But there’s another key element at play here—we’ve yet to hear from certain allies, powerful people who also operate in the shadows and who might be able to help us turn the tide in our favor.
The Black Hand grows stronger with each passing week, but David’s increasingly erratic behavior is causing waves within the organization. It’s only a matter of time before they turn against him, or he turns against them. In the meantime, we’re taking advantage of the limbo. But it will expire soon. And we will have to make the next move, whether we like it or not.
“We should tell her the whole truth,” Kendric says, his voice low so as not to be overheard.
We’re seated at our usual corner booth in the clubhouse. It’s pretty busy tonight due to a big game playing on the TV, but our members are alert and ready for anything. They play the part of the host impressively well while the prospects take turns hanging out in the parking lot and distracting the surveillance detail that Everton PD sent our way. Ariana is upstairs, likely still sulking and wondering when this will end.
“She’s losing patience, and I can’t blame her,” I reply, absent-mindedly staring at my whiskey, about to down the whole thing. I chew on the melting ice, feeling its cold crunch between my teeth. “You’re right, Kendric. We should talk to her about this. About all of it.”
“Are you sure?” Raylan asks, unable to conceal his doubt. “She might not be ready.”
“Technically speaking, we won’t know if she’s ready unless we are completely honest with her,” I say. “She’s been around us for long enough, Ray. She knows us better than most people. She understands that we have no intention of harming her.”
“Isn’t that what we’re doing though?” Kendric scoffs, shaking his head slowly.
It’s the guilt talking. We’ve been over this before. “I think we just need to explain everything. At least then it won’t be so weird for her,” I reply. “Maybe she’s into it. She’s into Raylan, for sure.”
“We went about it the wrong way,” Raylan says.
“She was a virgin, for fuck’s sake. It wasn’t even supposed to happen the way it did,” I snap. “We lost control.”
“She lost control,” Kendric sighs.
“Are we going to mope about this until it blows up in our faces?” Raylan asks. “No, Sky’s right, man. We just need to clarify everything. Explain what we’re like. Explain how we live, how we see a relationship unfolding between us … that is if she still wants us once she knows the truth.”
“And if we’re still alive when it’s all over,” Kendric ruthlessly reminds us. “We’re swimming in shark-infested waters, fellas, and it isn’t looking good.”
“Speaking of,” I briefly check my phone for any new messages from one of our sources. “I hear the Black Hand is discussing a possible move to help David get Ariana back.”
“What does that suspect list of his look like these days because he hasn’t been able to get his people upstairs again,” Raylan replies.
I can’t help but smile as I lean back in my seat and let my gaze wander around the clubhouse for a few moments. It’s nice to see so many people enjoying themselves. They don’t have a clue about what goes on upstairs, about what goes on in the shadows of this city. They choose to look away and pretend it doesn’t exist. Why worry about conspiracies and cabals? We’re doing that for them.
“It’s narrowing down,” I say after a while. “And it’s not looking good for us since we’re still on it. Granted, David has an old bone to pick with us.”
“What about our lawyers?” Kendric asks. “How long before the injunctions expire?”
“We’ve got days, maybe. Tops.”
“We will have to move Ariana then,” Raylan concludes, his brow furrowed with concern. “She’ll have questions. She’ll fight us on it.”
“Then we’ll talk some sense into her if we have to,” I say.
“Did you not notice how hardheaded and proud she can be?” Raylan chuckles softly.
It’s what makes her so goddamn attractive in the first place. That sparkling pride will be the end of her when the three of us finally claim her as our woman. It’s a matter of when, not if, and I admit I’m looking forward to that moment. Unless something drastic happens first. The possibilities are there, each nastier than the other. We sure picked the wrong fucking time to fall for the woman.
“She also has a better understanding now of who her father is,” I say, “which is why I think it’s time for us to spill it all. We tell her everything, and then we move her.”
“Sounds like a plan, but don’t forget we’ve been known to fumble details along the way,” Kendric replies.
