But before we did, we had to lockdown our families.
Holly stepped outside, turned, and locked her door. I'd been leaning against her trunk and now I straightened, letting her come to me. Our gazes clung in the few feet separating us. I couldn't stop my eyes from drifting down her body in a lazy sweep, appreciating the way her nipples beaded against the soft material of her shirt. The enticing space between her legs was nice, too. I didn't try to disguise my body's reaction to her. It wasn't anything she wasn't used to seeing anyway.
It was going to be hell having her at the clubhouse again, the distraction something I didn't need right now. I wanted to stay away from her, but she was my weakness, my drug of choice, and we had too much fucking history. I'd known the very first second that our eyes had met that she was the one for me. Years later, I still felt that way.
"Let's go," I snapped, showing my frustration. Holly just glared back at me, but climbed inside her car. She could push my buttons so easily, but she seemed to be holding back. I walked to the driver's side window and looked down at her. "Not expecting any trouble, but if we run into any you get your ass to the clubhouse as fast as you can."
"I will."
I could tell that she wanted to ask what was going on, but she no longer had that right. We didn't talk about club business with anyone, but when a brother had an old lady, some information was bound to be shared between them. I knew that Demon and Cole shared shit with their old ladies because once in a while they'd let it slip.
I started to walk away when she called me back. "Sax?"
I halted and looked over my shoulder and waited.
"Be careful."
I acknowledged her with a chin lift and continued to where my bike was parked in front of her car. Climbing on, I slipped my helmet over my head, and flipped on the Bluetooth. "Cole?"
"Here, Brother."
"Leaving Holly's now. Be at the club in a few."
"What's taking you so long?"
I could hear the smirk in his voice. "None of your fucking business," I grinned. His laughter came over, and then there was silence.
I started my bike and waited to hear for Holly to start the car, and then we both pulled out onto the road and made a u-turn to head in the other direction. I didn't like the location of Holly’s house. It was too far outside the city limits, and if she had any trouble it would take emergency personnel a while to reach her. The road she lived on was too quiet, houses too far apart and hidden by the native Nevada vegetation that grew wild throughout the state.
She was vulnerable and an easy target.
I was going to have to do something about that.
I remained alert for signs of trouble, kept my speed down so Holly could keep up. There were too many places that would have been ideal for an ambush, and the Knights had made it clear that they wanted to run us out of Nevada. There was bad blood between our clubs that had begun a few years ago. We'd killed some of Stretch's brothers and taken his blood brother, Freak, hostage after they'd tried to take Demon out. Stretch had been forced to meet our demands in order to get Freak back alive. That kind of shit always brought the possibility of retribution, even after years had passed.
Had to wonder, too, if the Knights had targeted Vegas Watchdogs simply because they were associated with us.
Shit. We were coming up on a wide corner, and I could make out a white van coming our way, the kind of utility van used in commercial business. No windows, except for the driver and passenger sides, and they were tinted darkly. There were no logos on it to indicate that it belonged to any business, and it looked fairly new. I instinctively reached for my revolver at my back and slipped if free, keeping it down at my side and out of sight.
A white or light-colored van had been seen leaving Trip's garage the night that it had been set on fire, and I wasn't taking any chances, not with Holly. I checked my rearview mirror. She was about sixty-feet behind me. I sped up, wanting to put more distance between us in case the people in the van made a move. As the vehicle reached us, I kept my eyes on it until it was well past, and then I followed its progress in my mirror to make sure that it kept going.
Satisfied, I tucked my gun away. No sooner had I let down my guard when a voice came over my Bluetooth.
"Brother, where are you?"
It was Cole, and something was wrong. I could hear it in his voice. "'Bout five miles from the clubhouse. What's up?"
"We're heading out as soon as you get here. Just got word Stretch has a meet set up somewhere at Copeland."
Copeland was an industrial park that had been built in the seventies or eighties and was far enough away from residential areas that nosey civilians wouldn't cause any problems. There were a lot of empty warehouses on the property, big, empty concrete buildings ideal for the kind of illegal activity MCs were into.
"What kind of meet?"
"With Toledo."
Fuck. That said it all. Toledo was a gun runner from Mexico, an evil bastard, loyal to no one, and he often worked both sides. The only reason he was still alive was that no one wanted to eliminate a good resource for weapons. He managed to get his fucking hands on anything you needed--guns, explosives, flame throwers, mortars, you name it, and he could get it. Desert Rebels had done business with him a long time ago, before we'd decided to go legit. If Stretch had made a deal with him, that could mean big trouble for every MC in Nevada.
I doubted the Knights could afford the big-ticket items that Toledo dealt in, but a few assault rifles and grenades would give them deadlier leverage. The meet was a new development, and the warehouse was a prime location for a fight that would probably lead to a shootout.
I exhaled loudly.
Looked like war was going to come earlier than planned.
Chapter 14
Holly
I couldn't wait to get Ava in my arms again. As soon as we pulled through the gates of the clubhouse grounds, I parked my car and rushed toward the door with every intention of snatching her from Lulu's arms, but Sax had other ideas. I'd barely noticed him getting off his bike, and was taken aback when he reached out and grasped my arm, halting my progress.
Our eyes clashed and I waited, sensing that he had something to say. "Some serious shit is going down right now, Babe. You and Ava stay here until it's safe to leave."
I knew that. I'd been around the club long enough to know that lockdown wasn't done without a good reason. Why did Sax feel that he had to warn me now? Was this his way of showing me that he still cared about me? And he'd called me "babe", had that been a slip up?
"I will," I said. He unclasped his hand, and I went inside the clubhouse. My eyes instantly locked on where Ava was playing on a blanket on the floor in front of the TV. Lulu was sitting with her, watching over Ava and several other children as they watched a Disney movie.
Ava looked up, and a big smile lit up her face when she saw me. I rushed over to her and scooped her up into my arms. "Oh, baby, mommy missed you!" I gushed, raining kisses all over her squealing face. Her tiny hands lost themselves in my hair as she hugged me to her. I looked down at Lulu. "Was she good?"
She nodded enthusiastically. "Very good. She's an angel." She got to her feet.
"You must be tired."