RIDING DIRTY (Steel Titans MC Book 4) by Franca Storm (ebook voice reader .txt) 📕

words came pouring out, “I just finished up getting Powell’s men positioned at our borders, securing the hell out of Warlow.”

I frowned. “And that’s got you majorly on edge?”

“No. I got a call while I was taking care of it.” He blew out a breath. “Our ruse is over and done with. Freeman hit one of Nolan’s businesses and it had Nolan reaching out, calling him, and telling him that he didn’t have Willa, that it was us, all a ploy to extract her and buy some time. It also means he now knows you’re alive, so we don’t even have the element of surprise going for us anymore.”

“Shit.”

“Yeah. It won’t be long now before he heads straight for us.” He scrubbed his hand over his face. “I mean, the borders are secured, but an attack right in the open on our own territory is going to draw the very attention from the law that we’re trying hard to avoid right now.”

“Then we contain him before he reaches us.”

Liam cocked an eyebrow.

“The Strikers MC compound. He’ll pass by that area on his way to us. We don’t let him get any further.”

“To do that with the army he’s got at his back, we’ll have to use Powell’s guys. I don’t want to risk pulling protection from our borders.”

“Liam, sometimes you gotta take a risk to win. Playing it safe has got us nowhere so far.”

“I get that, but some risks are unacceptable no matter what.”

He might’ve upped his game in a lot of ways, but he still had a lot to learn. Unfortunately, that took time and experience. We didn’t have any of that right now.

“Van’s watching him, so at least we’ll know when he’s on the move.” He pulled away, telling me, “I’m gonna give Mason a heads up about all this.”

Before he could even take a step, Willa’s cry sounded from my phone. I jerked my head back to the screen to see her pumping her fist in the air and spinning around to tell Mason, “I’ve got it. Will Decker. That’s the commander’s name. Now we just need to track him down.”

Liam stilled as he heard it, hope sparking in his eyes.

He took off without another word, his boots thumping rapidly on the hardwood as he went deeper into the club, headed for the surveillance room.

I couldn’t let this happen. He was being way too cautious. If we didn’t cut Freeman to the quick, he’d expose the club, bringing the law down on us. He was in an untouchable position. Well, as close as anybody could really get to that. He weren’t tied to nobody or nothing, meaning he could disappear at any time to escape the wrath of the law. Steel Titans couldn’t. My boys couldn’t. If Freeman launched an attack right on club territory, it weren’t only the physical damage of it that was a concern, it was the fact that the law would come down on them hard, so hard that the club might not survive it. I’d worked relentlessly for years to keep things on track, to protect them all from that and any enemies that came our way. The club was prospering. I wouldn’t let all of that be put at risk. I wouldn’t let everything I’d ever done be for nothing.

I knew what I had to do to protect Willa and the club in one shot.

It just weren’t gonna go down well.

Sometimes you had to be the asshole to get shit done though.

Jesus, this was something else.

I chugged the rest of my whiskey, then leaned my elbow on the bar top, holding my face in my hands.

I’d come so close to the freedom and peace I’d wanted for too long now. We’d come so close to it.

But now it felt like Willa and I were further away from it than when we’d started.

How much longer could I possibly hold on?

It weren’t infinitely, I knew that much.

I was already right on the fucking edge.

32

~Willa~

 

THE DOOR FLEW OPEN.

I jerked back from my duffel bag and spun around to see Slade storming into my room.

To say he looked pissed didn’t really cut it.

My first thought was that he’d finally had enough of me keeping to myself and putting space between us. I’d actually moved out of his room and into the spare room downstairs so that I could get my head around the recent… development. It was just my process. But it had filled me with a lot of guilt. I didn’t want to hurt Slade. It was the last thing I ever wanted to do.

He stomped up to me, stopping just shy of my personal space and barked, “You ain’t going after that commander! You ain’t leaving this compound until all this is over!”

Okay, so that was what it was all about then.

“Slade, I—”

“No!” he snapped. “I ain’t hearing it, woman! I almost lost you already. No way you’re doing that. I’ll cuff you to your goddamn bed if I have to! Don’t be fucking stupid here!”

“Well, that’s a hell of a loving and gentle way to talk to the woman who’s going to bear your child.”

“Bear my child? You mean that?”

“I… uh… well…” I blew out a frustrated sigh, hating that I was feeling like this. Flustered and definitely a far cry from my usual non-nonsense, hardass persona.

“Wait,” he said, shaking his head at me. “Don’t. Don’t say nothing.” He reached out and took my hands. “Let me.”

I gave a nod, then we settled at the foot of the bed, facing one another.

He took a moment, then locked eyes with me as he said, “You know my history, yeah?”

“Yeah, I do.”

“Right, then you know that this thing you and me have got going on don’t come along for the likes of me.” He took my hands in his. “This, what we got together, is a gift to me, Willa. Never thought I’d have it, but now I do, I ain’t gonna give it up. I ain’t gonna let you go.