Then he reached for me.
I went willingly, letting him pull me in and wrap me in his long arms. My arms were trapped between us, so I burrowed into him, pressing my nose against the henley shirt covering his chest and inhaling deeply. He smelled of leather and deodorant and laundry soap. The scruff on his chin tickled my temple and as the seconds ticked by, I realized that I was okay. I’d been so afraid that seeing even an image of him would bring it all crashing back after I’d work so hard to stuff it down, but it hadn’t. Instead, it felt like relief. Like the vice that had been squeezing my chest for the last year was suddenly released and I could breathe again.
“He’s never going to touch you again,” Mace whispered, his lips ruffling the hair above my ear and echoing the same promise he’d made me a year ago when I’d been freshly bruised and broken.
I nodded, pulling back enough to see his face. “I know.” Leaning in, I brushed my lips against his, then took a quick step back. His green eyes were locked on mine—surprise and pleasure written in the depths of them.
“What was that for?” he asked with a tilt of his head.
“Just to say thank you.”
“You don’t need to thank me.” He smiled and stepped forward, wrapping an arm around my shoulders and guiding us back toward the door. “Now, let’s go find you some food.”
Chapter Three
Mace
A fucking year. And it had taken all of that year, every favor I had, and offering a favor to Rick Morgan to find the bastard. Morgan, who was thrilled to help as soon as he named his terms, had been the reason I finally knew where the asshole was. Rick wasn’t what I’d call a friend, or a nice guy, but he was useful. Lex Campbell—Heretic Nomad, my former lover, and current boyfriend of Pax’s bestie, Arden—had worked for Rick for eight years after I’d trained him to be a sniper, and after Rick had helped us when Arden had been taken, I’d done some work for Rick, as well, to repay that debt.
Contract killing—that’s the work Rick dealt in, and he was excellent at finding people that didn’t want to be found because he had contacts all over the world. I’d pay my debt to him happily once I put this fucker to rest once and for all. I didn’t know his real name, but he used the alias Vector and he still wasn’t convinced yet, but he was drawing some of the last breaths he’d ever take.
Although, it seemed he was starting to get the idea.
"You haven’t got the balls," Vector sneered at me from where he was tied to a metal chair in the middle of what used to be a restaurant kitchen. Blood dripped from a cut above his eye and dark blond hair glistened with sweat. I wasn’t usually one to actually get my hands dirty when I set out to kill a man. I’d been a sniper in the Marines and typically preferred a quick, clean kill from behind the scope of my rifle. This guy though… I couldn’t see his face without remembering the bruises on Pax’s skin and the gashes covering his back. This guy deserved every hit I’d rained on his face and every second I made him sit in that chair knowing there was nothing he could do to change his fate.
Rick had finally helped me track him down to a small town just outside of Dallas. I'd followed him for a few days, and although he was careful, I’d managed to grab him the night before. It hadn't been easy, and I’d probably have bruises for days, but watching him wake up, trussed up and not knowing where he was had been worth it.
"I think the only balls on the line around here are yours," I answered, snapping open the leather strap from around the handle of my knife and pulling it out of its sheath. I gave him credit. Where I assumed most men would beg or bargain, he simply looked at me.
“You're not an up-close killer, Mace," he said, startling me when he used my name. "What? You think I don't know you? You think I don't know about your whole organization? I study my targets. I have to assume you're here because of the boy. He had the screams." He laughed, a dark, ugly sound full of twisted joy that turned my stomach. I stepped forward and leaned down, stopping only inches from his face and placed the tip of my knife directly over his heart.
"You're right," I said, staring him directly in his eyes. "This isn't my normal style. I'm much more comfortable behind the scope of my rifle, but I do know what you did to Pax, and I'm happy to make an exception this time."
"Well, faggot got some balls after all. Go ahead and do what you gotta do, but I promise you this, it won't be the end of his suffering."
"He'll take solace in the fact you’re ash in the ground. You were dead the moment you touched him." He opened his mouth to spit some other venom at me, but I'd heard enough. I slammed my knife forward.
A grateful smile pulled at my lips as I accepted the beer Lex was holding out to me. “Thanks, man.” It was good to be back home. Back in Heretic territory where I knew my brothers were watching my back and I could watch theirs.
Lex settled across the fire pit from me. We were at his cabin outside of Gnaw Bone, Missouri, a tiny little town with only a single four-way stop and a handful of businesses to its name. One of my favorite diners was among them, though. Lex and Arden spent their time here when Lex wasn’t out doing runs as part of the Nomad chapter in our club. While the Nomads had a Prez and a VP, they were more or less free agents, able to be called on by any Heretics chapter that needed an extra pair of hands or if they needed someone from the outside to come in and clean up a mess.
Which suited Lex perfectly. I knew he hated leaving Arden behind, but Arden took it all in stride. While Lex was away, he stayed in his apartment next to Spritz and worked at the club. Like Pax, Arden didn’t work the floor in the lounge anymore, but he still danced because he loved it and was absolutely beautiful on stage.
I’d sent Lex a message as soon as I’d gotten back in town, and he’d insisted I come out to the cabin for dinner. Since I’d moved to the city, I’d never thought of owning a place anywhere else, but sitting there with a crackling fire, a cold beer in my hand, and a full sky of stars starting to emerge overhead, I could see the appeal. It was a great place to unwind after a job.
Especially, it seemed, if you had someone to share it with.
I shook my head. These thoughts kept creeping into my brain. All my life, I’d known that locking myself down in a committed relationship wasn’t for me. Not after the shit I’d seen. But more and more, I found myself wondering what it’d be like to come home to someone every night. To know there was someone who actually knew me waiting to let me lose myself in them when I came off the kind of job I’d just been on. Looking at the peace etched into every line of Lex’s face, I’d say it was definitely working out alright for him.
My friend took a long pull of his own beer and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. He’d grown into a fucking gorgeous man. Tall and solidly built—he’d been trying to talk me into doing Crossfit with him since he’d moved back—with dark brown hair and eyes. He’d been sexy as a spitfire eighteen year old, but pushing thirty was a good look for him.
“What’s that smirk?” he asked, eyes narrowing in my direction while he scratched his beard.