Текст книги "Reaper's Legacy"

Автор книги: Joanna Wylde

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Текущая страница: 11 (всего у книги 20 страниц)

“That’s because you belonged to me,” Ruger said, satisfaction filling his eyes. “We fucked around, wasted time, and you’ll never know how sorry I am about Zach. But I’m done now. You’re mine, Soph, and it’s about time we figured that out. I’ll let the club know and we’ll be finished with this bullshit.”

“Are you asking me to be your girlfriend?” I asked. “Because I don’t think anything’s changed. We can’t afford to get involved and then have it go sour. Noah deserves better than that.”

“I’m not askin’ you anything,” he said, deliberately grinding his hips against mine. I groaned out loud. What the hell was it about this man that tied me up in knots? Maybe I had some sort of primitive hardwiring running the show, attracting me to a man strong enough to care for my child …

“I’m tellin’ you,” he continued. “You’re my property, babe. I’ll take damned good care of you and Noah. You’ll take care of me. But only one cock goes into that pussy of yours—mine—and that’s the end of it. Got me?”

I blinked at him, confused.

“I thought you weren’t looking to settle down?”

“I’m lookin’ to take care of you and Noah,” he said. “Neither of us wants to fuck up Noah’s life. But you know what? I’m good for Noah. It’s a fact. Boys need men in their lives and I love the crap out of him. We’ve been all twisted up in each other forever and now it’s all out in the open anyway.”

“I won’t be your whore,” I muttered. Ruger grunted, a touch of humor entering his eyes.

“Trust me, I don’t put this much time and effort into whores,” he said, his voice rueful. “Whores are nothing. You’ll be my old lady, my property. I know this is all new to you, but it’s a big fuckin’ deal in my world.”

I turned that over in my head, which was difficult, because he leaned down and started kissing my neck, boosting me higher so he could reach. Not his usual hard and brutal invasion … No, this was slow and seductive, and then he started sucking gently and I wanted to cry, it felt so good. I squirmed against him, my hips desperate for more stimulation, but he wouldn’t give it to me. Instead he nibbled along my chin before finding new places on my neck to suck and nip.

I heard the music from the party in the background, the sounds of people laughing and talking, but here in the cool darkness of the shop it felt like our own separate world. Ruger surrounded me with his smell and strength and the sheer, vibrant energy that defined him as a man overwhelming my senses.

No one got to me like he did.

He pulled me away from the van, carrying me across the shop without pausing in his attentions to my neck. I found myself laid back on the counter behind the panel truck, Ruger’s body covering my own. My hands clutching his head as he kissed down my throat, pausing every few seconds to suck, his fingers reaching between my legs to rub slowly up and down along the inside of my thigh.

I’d worn a black T-shirt with a V-neck, which proved no barrier to him at all. Ruger tugged the shirt up and flicked open the front clasp on my bra with disturbing speed. Then his mouth sucked in my nipple—the hard metal ball in his tongue almost painful—and my back arched up off the counter.

The hand between my legs unzipped my fly, and he lifted my hips just enough to slide off my cutoffs and panties. I felt the cool metal of the counter on my bare ass as Ruger’s roughened fingers rubbed up and down along my clit.

“Holy shit, that feels good,” I muttered, trying to wrap my brain around everything he’d said. This wasn’t the plan, not even a little bit. For one, I hadn’t planned on unpacking and sharing all that old baggage about Zach. Not now, not ever. The girls had told me to confront Ruger directly, set out my requirements and then stand up for myself.

Instead he gave the orders and I melted like a damned puddle all over a dirty bench in a shop.

What if someone walked in on us?

I’d opened my mouth to protest when Ruger pulled away from my breast, shoving his fingers into me hard at the same time. He dropped to his knees, lips finding my clit, and my brain shorted out completely.

His tongue flicked over my most sensitive spot, teasing me with the unholy combination of his soft tongue and that hard metal ball. Throw in the steady suction of his mouth and it was nearly enough to send me over the edge. Then his finger pressed deep, finding that perfect spot on my inside wall, sending shudders racking through my body. He kept up a steady pressure, rubbing back and forth as his tongue drove me slowly insane.

Then Ruger pulled away long enough to say, “Play with your tits.”

It didn’t occur to me to argue.

I moaned and reached up, taking my nipples and rolling them between my fingers, pinching and tugging like he’d done the morning before. I’d held out against him then—I’d put Noah first, because any relationship between me and Ruger would be a disaster, and the fallout could leave us homeless again.

This time I wasn’t strong enough to say no.

There’s only so much self-control any woman can call upon before she melts. Mine was officially used up. Those fingers of his, rubbing across my G-spot, placing a strange, terrible pressure on me from within … That flicking tongue with its hard little knob … The strength of his shoulders as they supported my draped knees …

I wanted to squirm and kick and push against him. Instead, Ruger took his free hand and held it down across my stomach, controlling me. He drew me to the brink three times, utterly sadistic, and I hated him when he pulled away to catch his breath. Then I heard voices in the distance and reality broke through my haze.

There were people around—lots of people.

People who could walk into this shop at any minute. It didn’t even have a door. I opened my mouth to tell Ruger we needed to stop, but he chose that exact instant to suck me in again, hard, plunging his fingers deep. Instead of protesting, I felt my back arch as I exploded in a deep climax, trying my hardest not to scream, with mixed results.

Ruger stood up slowly between my legs, running his hands along my body, from my breasts to my thighs, eyes full of dark satisfaction. I lay there, almost dizzy as he leaned over and caught my hands. He pulled them tightly over my head, whipping out his belt and wrapping it quickly around my wrists, securing them to something behind me.

The whole process took about thirty seconds—Ruger was a little too proficient at tying someone up for my comfort. I tugged my wrists, realizing it wasn’t just for show. He had me. Completely. My eyes widened. Ruger gave me a hard, feral smile as he unzipped his fly.

“Yeah, you’re mine now,” he muttered. “Don’t come until I say you can.”

I heard more voices, turning my head to look for them. Were they in the shop? I opened my mouth to protest, but Ruger reached up and put a finger over my mouth.

“Don’t start with me, Soph,” he said, his voice low and merciless. His hands reached down between us and then I felt the head of his cock rubbing up and down along my clit, slow and deadly. Holy shit. Kimber hadn’t been lying—there was definitely something metal down there and it felt fucking fantastic.

Given that I’d already come, you’d think Ruger would be in rougher shape than me. Instead I found myself super-sensitized. If I’d thought his fingers felt good, they had nothing on his cock sliding along my clit. He teased me until I hovered right at the edge again, eyes fixed on the hoist hanging from the ceiling. Then he leaned down, sucking my nipple in so hard it almost hurt, and sensation burst through me. I tried to wiggle my sex against his cock, but he held me pinned and immobile.

“You don’t come until I say,” he repeated, letting my nipple slide free, giving it a quick lick. “We clear?”

I nodded.

“Look at me,” Ruger demanded. I did, finding his face full of grim satisfaction. He slid his cock up and down my clit again, one, two, three times. I grew wetter with every pass and for the life of me I couldn’t remember why I’d been against this.

Then he centered his cock on my opening and pushed it in.

CHAPTER TEN

RUGER

He slid his cock into Sophie’s sweet pussy as slowly as possible, savoring every inch. She was fuckin’ tight, like a clamp around his dick, the tug at his barbell making things just that much better. He could actually feel her heartbeat. If he didn’t know for a fact she’d given birth to a child, he’d think she was a goddamned virgin—hot and swollen and perfect.

Maybe he should’ve felt guilty, taking her like this.

She was all worked up emotionally, and vulnerable as hell. Understandable. Her little confession about Zach had floored him. He still couldn’t believe he’d been so blind, but he’d already decided one thing.

Next time he saw his stepbrother, he’d kill him.

As for Sophie … He’d fucked up by not keeping a closer eye on her and Zach, and fucked up even worse by letting the law step in to fix the problem. He hadn’t been ready to admit Sophie was his responsibility four years ago, despite what’d happened between them at Noah’s birth. He’d spent too long playing the good uncle, ignoring what he felt because he knew it wasn’t the best thing for her. She deserved to be free, and who was he to take that away from her?

Well, fuck that.

He was a jealous asshole, and the thought of some other man’s cock in her juicy little cunt … Picnic was right—he needed to claim her or let her go, and that sure as fuck wouldn’t be happening. Ever. Sophie might not be ready for a property patch, but that didn’t matter. He’d patched her a different way, with a ring of slowly purpling marks around her neck. His very own collar, branding her and declaring to the world that she had a man who owned her.

God, he loved the sight of her laid out on the bench, hands tied with his belt, tank and bra pushed high, boobs shaking every time he slammed home. Better than he’d ever imagined, and fuck, he’d spent a lot of time imagining her just like this. He tried to be careful, but when she started whimpering and convulsing around him it was too much. Ruger drove deep, loving the little scream she gave, blowing his self-control. Something primal and powerful broke free.

He grabbed her hips, digging his fingers into her ass. One hand slid closer to her rear and he thought, what the hell, sliding in his finger. She stiffened and shrieked, interior muscles convulsing around him so hard he had to stop and hold steady, trying not to explode on the spot.

That hadn’t been a shriek of pain, thank fuck.

Sophie stared at him with wide eyes, panting so hard her tits practically danced. It was fucking hot. He’d remember this moment as long as he lived. Ruger started moving again, savoring the clench of her muscles with every stroke, wondering if it was possible to die from pleasure.

Seemed pretty likely, all things considered.

He used his finger deep inside, and his hand on her hip, to control her position. He knew from her gasp that he’d hit exactly right. Now every stroke ground the rounded head of his barbell against her G-spot. Making a girl come while playing with her clit was fine, but he fuckin’ loved the way it felt if he got them off from the inside.

He wanted that from Sophie—total convulsion, total submission. She stiffened and moaned. Fucking close.

“Okay, baby,” he said, watching her face. She’d closed her eyes, head turned to the side, back arching as she strained toward him. He should’ve patched her years ago. What the fuck had he been thinking, missing out on this? “Blow around me, show me what that sweet pussy of yours can do.”

In the background, Ruger heard voices, and knew some of the brothers had come into the shed. The thought of them seeing him like this, watching him brand Sophie, almost sent him over the edge. This wasn’t just about fucking her—although fucking her definitely kicked ass. No, this was about claiming her once and for all, and the more people who saw it, the better.

Ruger slammed into her harder, loving the little grunting noises she made with every thrust. He knew she was close, damned close, so he pulled out just enough to center his cock head on her G-spot and started a series of hard, short, unrelenting strokes. She came with a scream, hips jerking and tits shaking. Her pussy felt like a damned vise, and that did it for him. Ruger pulled out at the last second, spraying his come across her stomach.

Perfect.

She’d never been more beautiful—at his mercy, covered in his seed, and marked so that any man who saw her would know she was fucking owned. He wanted to tattoo his name across her ass and keep her tied up like this all day, ready and waiting for his cock.

Somehow, he doubted she’d be on board with that. Ruger bit back a grin. Sophie opened her eyes and looked up at him, dazed.

“Wow,” she whispered.

“No shit,” Ruger replied, wondering if any man in history had ever felt half as satisfied as he did in that moment. Probably not. He dropped a hand down to her stomach, rubbing his come slowly up her body toward her nipples.

Yup, he was a pretty sick fuck, because even that turned him on.

Having an old lady wasn’t half bad, he decided. Not half bad at all.

SOPHIE

Holy shit on a stick. That was … unprecedented.

Ruger had asked how many men I’d been with and I’d told him three. But compared to him? I wasn’t sure the others even qualified. I’d never felt anything quite as good as what he’d just done to me. Not even close. Now he gazed down at me with lazy, hooded eyes, smug as all hell.

He deserved to be.

I grinned right back at him. Maybe this wasn’t such a huge mistake.

“Damn, she squealed like a fuckin’ pig,” a man’s voice said off to the right. I went from afterglow to pure horror in less than a second. Not only was I splayed on the counter, totally exposed, but my hands were tied up, too. I thrashed, trying to get free, hoping to hell they’d just heard me, rather than watched the whole show.

Ruger laughed, which was not an acceptable response. Not even a little.

“Fuck off,” he said, turning toward the three men who’d come up next to the van. He didn’t sound pissed, though. He sounded pretty damn pleased with himself. “This one’s mine. Go screw your own girl.”

The men laughed and wandered over to the far side of the shed to look at the motorcycles, as if they hadn’t just seen me getting publicly plowed.

Oh. My. God.

“Ruger, pull down my shirt and let me go,” I hissed. “Now.”

He reached down and straightened my bra and T-shirt, then tucked his cock back into his pants. This wasn’t cutting it—I wanted my arms free and my shorts on. Now. Instead, he leaned down over me, standing between my legs, elbows braced on either side of my body.

“Okay, we got things clear now?” he asked. I glared up at him.

“What the hell are you doing?” I hissed. “Jesus, Ruger, let me go. I need to get on my clothes. I can’t believe they saw me like that.”

“Like you’ve got anything they haven’t seen before?” he asked, smirking. “You worry too much, Soph. These are bikers, they’ve seen people fucking. And it’s a damned good thing they saw, too.”

“How do you figure?”

“Because now they know you belong to me,” he said. “I was so fuckin’ worried about Noah, I didn’t figure it out until today.”

“Figure what out?”

“That this thing between us is already out there and it’s already real. We can’t make it go away. We’re together and we’ll make it work. Or we won’t. Sex is the least of it, though. This goes way past sex.”

Sudden hope hit me, then I shook my head, reminding myself not to be stupid. This was Ruger. I might love him, but I wasn’t blind …

“Are you saying you care about me?” I asked skeptically. “Like, really care?”

“Well, yeah,” he said, wrinkling his forehead. “I’ve always cared about you, Soph, no secret there. I mean, I fuckin’ held you on the side of the road while you pushed out a baby. Don’t wanna sound like a dick here, but the fact is not every guy would do that. Somethin’ happened that night. We pretended it didn’t for a long time. Now we’re done pretending.”

“You’re a giant slut,” I said flatly, hating the words even though they needed to be said. “I won’t be with a guy who sleeps around, yet here we are at a party where some random couple fucking in a shed doesn’t even hit the radar. You plan to keep it in your pants?”

His eyes were dark and cool, and I knew my answer before he even opened his mouth.

“I won’t bring anyone home,” he said. “Right now I can’t imagine wanting to fuck anyone but you. But this life, it’s about freedom. I became a Reaper so I could make my own rules. Not looking to put my dick on a chain and hand it off to some woman like it’s a damned puppy or something.”

Pain ripped through me, and I thought about what Maggs had told me.

Lay it out for him. Either he’s on board or he’s not.

Clearly, Ruger wasn’t on board, which meant this was one big, fat dead end. My missing sense of self-preservation finally kicked back in. God, I was such an idiot.

“You gonna untie that belt or what?” I asked, forcing myself to detach. Ruger and Zach might be very different men, but they had one thing in common. They both saw me as a thing to own, a possession. Ruger narrowed his eyes.

“Don’t get all pissy,” he said. “I’m not saying I plan to sleep around, but I don’t think—”

“Let me up, Ruger,” I said, my voice soft. “I need to put on my clothes and get cleaned up. Then I want to go visit with my friends and pretend this didn’t happen.”

“This happened.”

“Let me up.”

He scowled at me, but he reached over and loosened the belt. The instant my hands came free I sat up, pushing at his big, stupid chest to get him out of my way. I hopped off the counter and grabbed my panties and shorts, sliding them on. Then I started walking away. I needed to find a bathroom, clean myself up. He hadn’t even worn a fucking condom.

Shit. SHIT.

How stupid could I be? At least I was on the pill … No little brothers or sisters for Noah, thank God. Still, I’d need to get tested. Idiot. Thankfully, I knew he usually wore condoms—I’d certainly found enough of them around his house.

I’d talk to him about that later.

“Stop.”

I ignored him.

“Sophie, I said to fuckin’ stop,” he said, his voice harder. One of the men across the shed glanced up, speculation in his eyes. Great. I guess giving the locals the first show wasn’t enough. We were still on Ruger’s turf, though, so I’d follow his rules. For now.

“What?”

“We’re together now, you get that, right?” he asked. “I’m serious, Soph. You’re my property.”

“I’m my own property,” I said slowly and clearly. Time to make a break before things got even worse. “I didn’t plan for this to happen, but I have to give you credit. You’re pretty good at getting a girl off. I enjoyed every second of it. And I think you’re right about Noah, too. He needs a man in his life. But us actually screwing doesn’t really change anything—we’re not working out. That doesn’t mean he needs to suffer. You guys keep doing your thing together. I won’t get in your way.”

“The situation is finally working for the first damned time.”

I shook my head, resolute.

“Let me tell you what’s going to happen in the next few days,” I said. “I’m going to find a job, and then I’m going to find a cheap place to live. Get out of your hair.”

“That’s fuckin’ bullshit.”

“No,” I replied. “That’s reality. You want the freedom to sleep around. I’m not willing to give you that—I want more. Sounds like we have a fundamental difference of opinion here, and I’m not going to try to change you. But I’ll tell you one thing, Ruger—I deserve to be with someone who gives a shit about me, as a person. Someone who values me enough not to fuck other women. I’d rather be alone the rest of my life than settle for what you’re offering. Consider yourself a hell of a booty call, but that’s it. We clear?”

With that I walked away from him, hoping I didn’t look too much like I’d just gotten my brains screwed out.

Not that it really mattered.

As much as I hated to admit it, I probably wasn’t going to be seeing any of these people again anyway. So far as I could tell, women were only part of the club when they were attached to a man, and I considered myself officially detached. I’d be collecting my purse and my keys from the food table and then I’d be getting the hell away from the Reapers MC for good.

Too bad about the girls. I really liked them a lot.

“Holy shit, what happened to you?” Maggs demanded. She looked me over and burst out laughing. “Ladies, check this one out.”

I blushed, wishing I could disappear. So much for nobody guessing what I’d been up to.

“I see you and Ruger had your little discussion,” Dancer said, peering closely at me. “What the hell is he, a damned vampire?”

“What do you mean?”

“You have hickies all over your neck,” Em said, smirking. “Big ones. He did it on purpose—no way a person could do that by accident.”

Fucking asshole.

“He is such a dick,” I muttered.

“And this is news?” Marie asked. “They’re all dicks. It’s sort of a defining characteristic of men, babe. You know, that dangly thing between their legs?”

“I’m going home,” I said. “I can’t take this.”

Maggs stopped laughing and put her hands on her hips.

“You are so not going home,” she said. “Absolutely not. Wasn’t this the plan? To figure out what he really wanted from you? Looks like he stepped up. Doesn’t mean you can’t stick around and have fun with your girls.”

“Oh, I know what he wants from me,” I muttered, feeling miserable. “He wants me to be his property.”

The women all squealed, and Marie tried to give me a hug.

“That kicks ass!” Em said. I shook my head, and they sobered, confused.

“He told me that if I sleep with another guy he’ll cut off his dick and feed it to him,” I said. “And then he told me he wouldn’t make any promises about not sleeping around himself. He did say he wouldn’t bring anyone home, so I guess I’m supposed to feel good about that? Um, no.”

“Ouch,” Marie muttered. “That’s not gonna work.”

“Nope,” Maggs replied. “Although I see where he gets it. Some of these guys, they fuck anything that moves. They have their old ladies at home, ass on the side, and everyone just pretends it’s not happening.”

“Why would anyone think that’s okay?” I asked. “I don’t get it.”

“I don’t get it, either,” Marie said. “But it’s not really my business, telling other people how to live. I know what I’d do to Horse, though. He’d be praying for death by the time I finished with him.”

“He would be,” Em added grimly. “Marie’s real good with a gun.”

“Yup, I’d shoot his dick right off, one inch at a time,” she confirmed. “And trust me, he knows it.”

“Well I don’t care how other people live,” I said. “If they want to let their men sleep around, that’s their business. But I’ll be damned if I’ll put up with it. Not good enough for me, and no way I want Noah growing up thinking that’s how you treat a woman. Ruger can take his offer, stick it on a fork, and shove it up his ass. Now I need to find a job and somewhere to live, because I’m sure as hell not living with him any longer.”

Maggs nodded, reaching into her back pocket and pulling out a tiny flask.

“It’s medicinal,” she said gravely. I twisted off the lid and took a quick sniff, which led to a sneezing fit.

“What the hell is that?”

“My own special mix,” she said, waggling her eyebrows. “Trust me, it won’t solve a thing, but you know what it will do?”

“What?”

“Distract you,” she said. “You’ll be too busy trying to put out the fire in your throat. Bottoms up!”

I took a swig. Damned if she wasn’t right.

Four hours later, my throat still burned from Maggs’ special medicine. I’d decided not to leave—the girls convinced me that I shouldn’t let him win by running away.

Making sure Ruger didn’t win was extremely high on my list of priorities.

The party was surprisingly fun. Maggs and I stuck together, seeing as both of us were man-free. She wore Bolt’s property patch so guys left her alone. I wore a ring of hickies that darkened and grew nastier as the night progressed, which may or may not have served the same purpose. It would’ve been totally humiliating, except I’d already decided I didn’t give a flying fuck about any of the Reapers or their sluts.

And there were a lot of sluts floating around, including Blondie from the kitchen. She gave me a nasty little one-finger wave. More showed up every minute, multiplying like rabbits. To be fair, most of them seemed like pretty nice people, but I was heavily invested in hating them.

I kept wondering which ones Ruger had fucked.

The old ladies—there were about ten total—were a different group entirely. I liked them a lot and was sorry I wouldn’t be getting to know them better. Maggs and Marie must’ve spread the word about my situation, because nobody asked me any nosy questions. The girls kept me so busy I hardly had time to think about my humiliation.

I did learn a few interesting things, though.

For one, Maggs shared why Bolt was in jail. It was an ugly story. Apparently he’d been convicted of raping a girl who worked at The Line. We were sitting in a couple of camp chairs over by the playground, watching over the kids, when Maggs started talking about it so matter-of-factly that I thought I hadn’t heard her right at first.

“Um …” I said, desperately searching for some kind of response. What do you say when someone tells you her man’s in jail for rape?

“He didn’t do it,” she said, shrugging. “He got set up.”

I looked away, wondering how a woman who seemed so smart could be so stupid. Who stays with a rapist? If he’d gone to prison, odds were good he’d done the crime.

“No,” she said, taking my hand and squeezing it. “I can see what you’re thinking. It’s not like that. I was with him when it happened, hon.”

“Didn’t you tell the cops?” I asked, eyes wide.

“Of course,” she replied. “But the girl ID’d him and there was another witness who said they got into a car together. They never tested the DNA, although we’ve got a lawyer working on that. He says it’s just a matter of time before we get him out. It’s not Bolt’s DNA, but the state lab is so far behind it takes a fucking miracle to get them to lift a finger. The cops said I was lying to cover for him. Made me look like a criminal and a whore on the stand.”

“Damn,” I said. “That’s horrible, Maggs.”

“Tell me about it,” she said, her face sober. “I love him so damned much. Bolt is a wonderful man. He’s done some crazy-ass shit, but he’s not a fucking rapist, you know? But being a biker’s old lady? To the cops, that means you’re nothing more than a club puppet. My testimony meant jack shit by the time they finished with me. He’s up for parole in a year anyway, but I want his name cleared.”

“Why haven’t they processed the DNA?”

“Good question,” she said. “New excuse every day. Fucking prosecutors.”

Huh …

I didn’t know where to put that, so I fell quiet. What I didn’t do was get up or look away, because while I’d only met Maggs recently, I believed her. She wasn’t stupid and she wasn’t weak.

Scary to think the system could be so corrupt.

“They definitely screwed Bolt,” Marie said, plopping down next to us. “But the local prosecutors aren’t all bad. I got off on self-defense last year, after things went down with my brother.”

I glanced over at her, curious, but she seemed lost in thought. That story could wait for another day, I decided. If we had another day. The girls were being supportive, but whether they’d be friends long-term was iffy. I got the impression that once you left the club, you were out … and I was out before I’d even gotten in.

We settled in to talk about other, happier things as the sky darkened. By nine, the kids were all gone and things started getting wilder. The music went up and women’s shirts started coming off, none of which fazed my new friends. Then the guys started a big bonfire and broke out a fresh keg. Couples started disappearing into the darkness. I tried not to look too closely, afraid Ruger had already found someone new to screw. He was free to do whatever the hell he wanted. Didn’t mean I needed to watch.

That seemed like my cue to leave, except I still hadn’t talked to Buck about a job. The more I thought about working at The Line, the less realistic it seemed. Maybe I should just let it go … I mentioned this as I helped Marie, Maggs, and Em clean up the food tables. Dancer had taken her boys to her mom’s house a while ago and hadn’t gotten back yet.

“Why don’t you talk to Buck and decide after that?” Maggs suggested, piling half-eaten bags of chips into a cardboard box. “I’ll help you find him. Let’s get this finished first, though. All this shit needs to go into the kitchen.”

“Here, give me the box,” Marie said, reaching for it. “Sophie, can you grab that other one?”

“Sure,” I said, picking it up. Marie was really sweet—she’d spent half the night talking about her wedding, which was just three weeks away. She’d made it very clear that she wanted me to come, no matter what was up with Ruger.

Now I followed her into the Armory through a back door, leading past a set of bathrooms into the large kitchen area. It wasn’t anything special—not a professional kitchen. Still big, though, like you’d find in a church. Three fridges, lots of counter space, and a big, round garbage can that had overflowed onto the floor.

We both stopped, staring at it.

“Jesus, I cannot believe what pigs these boys can be,” she muttered. “Take the fucking garbage out when it’s full. Doesn’t take a genius.”

“You think we can handle it?” I asked, considering the can. It was packed hard and looked heavy.

“Only one way to find out,” she replied. We set down the food, stuffed in as much of the spilled garbage as possible, and then each grabbed a side. It wasn’t easy, but we wrestled it out through the kitchen and into the main lounge of the Armory, which I hadn’t seen yet.

“Holy shit,” I said to Marie, eyes wide. The place was full of men drinking and women walking around all but naked. There was a bar with a naked chick giving body shots. My eyes skittered away only to land on another girl whose head bobbed up and down over a man’s lap. He sat on a ratty couch, leaning back with his eyes closed, one hand wrapped tight in her hair.