“Sorry. I was just thinking about Willow.”
Deacon chuckled. “You missing the rug rat already?”
“Maybe a little. I’m not used to being here at the compound without her.”
Nuzzling my neck, he flicked his tongue against my skin. “I’m sure I can think of something to get your mind off of her.”
I giggled. “I’m sure you could.”
Case poked his head out of the clubhouse meeting-room door. “You guys seen the latest invoices?”
Rolling her eyes at her husband, Kim groaned. “Babe, would you get your ass over here and relax, for once?”
“I would love to, but at the moment, I got shit to take care of before I can do that. That’s the reason I got fucking ‘president’ on my rocker.”
“You know it isn’t good for your blood pressure,” she countered.
“Hell, Case. It can wait till tomorrow, can’t it?” Deacon asked before taking a long swig of his beer.
With a grunt, Case replied, “The rest of the shit can wait, but I gotta double-check these cargo invoices. It ain’t adding up at the moment, and unless I can find an error on my part, our asses are gonna be between a rock and a hard place.”
Kim popped the top on another beer. “If you promise to be done in ten minutes, I’ll blow you out back.”
Case’s brows shot up. “You serious?”
Licking her tongue suggestively down the rim of the bottle, she replied, “Dead serious.”
“Fuck,” he grunted, as he stepped out of the meeting-room doorway. “Give me five minutes to go down to the house and check. As long as I know they’re there, I’ll let it go for the rest of the afternoon. Okay?”
Kim grinned. “Okay, baby.” Glancing over her shoulder at me, she winked. “Amazing what a man will do for head, eh?”
I laughed. “Doesn’t surprise me one bit.”
“Is that a fact?” Deacon questioned, his hand sliding up my stomach to graze the underside of my breast.
“Yeah, it is,” I replied breathlessly.
“You women think you have us pussy whipped,” Deacon mused.
Cocking her head, Kim said, “It ain’t all pussy whipping. We got your cocks whipped, too.” As Case walked passed her, he sent a stinging smack across her ass.
Deacon eased me out of his lap and onto my feet. “I’ll go with you, Prez. Once you have them, I’ll lock them up in the safe for the rest of night. Make sure you keep your word to unwind.”
“Thank you, D. I’m glad someone cares about my husband’s well-being.”
Winking at her, he replied, “I’m always going to go above and beyond to ensure one of my brothers gets some head.”
It was Kim’s turn to do the ass smacking as she popped Deacon. “Go on and get out of here before I change my mind and he has even more issues with blue balls.”
Deacon chuckled as he hustled to catch up with Case. Just as I was about to sit down, the jukebox changed over to some old-school tunes with Heart’s “What About Love?” Kim’s eyes rolled back in pleasure. “Oh my God, I love this song.”
“Me too.”
Crooking her finger at me, she began to sing along with the song. Never able to resist a chance at karaoke, I rose out of my chair and went over to her. Bishop groaned. “If I find out who paid for this one, I’ll kick his ass.”
“They’re not that bad,” Rev said over us.
“They’re not good, either,” Bishop replied, which earned him the bird from Kim.
In the middle of our belting out the big finish, a loud roar ripped through the room. Windows rattled as the ground and walls vibrated. Bottles fell off the bar and crashed to the floor. It seemed to go on forever, but in truth, it probably lasted only a few seconds. When it was over, we all stared at one another, our faces a mixture of confusion and fear.
“Oh, fuck,” Rev muttered at my side before turning to sprint out the back door. In one fluid motion, we all rushed forward after him. The moment I got outside, my heart felt like it shuddered to a stop. Smoke billowed out of Case’s house, where orange and red flames licked and danced over what was left of the frame.
My world momentarily stilled. While I was frozen, everyone around me seemed to race around at warp speed. Raiders came out of every direction of the compound. At my side, Archer frantically called 911, and at the far end of the street, Beth’s silver-headed form began hurrying to the fire.
As I tried to step forward to help, it seemed I was trudging through quicksand in the dreamlike world I found myself in. I shook my head, desperately hoping to shake myself out of the nightmare.
Deacon is in that house. Deacon is in that house. Deacon is in that house!
“CASE!” Kim screamed beside me before breaking into a run.
Although I willed my body to move, it remained rooted to that spot. Like the flick of a switch, I was transported back to the day I stood outside the mechanized ER doors. The grim-faced doctor had just delivered the news to me and my uncle Jimmy of my parents’ deaths. As the doctor stood beckoning me to follow him to where he could take me to my parents’ bodies, I froze. It was like if I took one step forward, then I was acknowledging what had really happened, but if I stayed still and in that spot, it wasn’t real.
Today was the exact same way. I watched with eyes wide with horror as the fire truck wailed past me, screeching to a stop at the front of Case’s house. Mac and Boone strained to hold Kim back. She fought hard against them, all the while screaming Case’s name at the top of her lungs. I said a silent prayer of thanks that none of Case and Kim’s five children were home. They had piled into the family van and left early this morning to spend the day at the mall and movies.
Beth stood beside Kim, head bent, hands steepled in prayer. Rev and Bishop stood on either side of her, blanketing her in their protection. The other club members milled around in the street, shaking their heads in disbelief, with ashen expressions on their faces.
Something scratched my legs, momentarily bringing me out of my trance. When I gazed down, Walter peered up at me, whining repeatedly. For a moment, I could only stare at him. It was like my arms ignored the message my brain was sending out. Finally, I managed to reach down and pick him up.
As I buried my face in his soft fur, my emotions finally thawed into a raw agony. Silent tears slipped from my eyes to dampen Walter’s back. My chest felt like a watch that had been wound too tight. I wanted desperately to let go of the consuming emotions, but no matter how hard I silently wept, I couldn’t find any relief. When my cries turned over to sobs, the pain raged through my chest so savagely, it felt like I was burning from the inside out.