Deceptive (The Houston Defiance MC Series Book 6) Read online

  I fake a smile, peeking down at my stomach. “Yes… I believe a shower is in order.”

  Fuck! I need to cool down.

  Because I sure as hell am in some hot-as-hell water right now.

  PHANTOM

  The Next Day

  My mind should be on this ride and on this job I’ve been sent to carry out with Koda, but instead, all I think about are my hands all over Billie’s body. The way my cock felt inside of her. The way she sounded when she came. It’s all I can do to keep focused. Everything about her coils my insides. She’s turning me into a different guy, a guy who’s desperately needing to protect her with every facet of my being.

  I’ve known her for a little over a month, hardly long at all. But in that time, we’ve connected, and I can’t tell you why, but there’s something about her that’s pulling me in. I can’t tell if this is something real yet or not, but fuck, do I want to find out.

  Koda turns the corner heading toward Mont Belvieu, and I almost miss the turnoff. Dramatically, I pull my bike for the turn, shaking my head from my thoughts, bringing myself into the present.

  I need to be here in the moment.

  Focused on the job at hand.

  I’ll deal with my thoughts about Billie later.

  Right now, I have a job to do. I’m the lead on this. Zero has given me the responsibility, so I better start manning the fuck up and wear the patch like I’m supposed to.

  Revving my engine, I pull out in front of Koda, a large grin forming on his face as he keeps pace with me. Along with Blake, we’re the youngest at the club, so sometimes, we like to push the boundaries a little. I smirk back at Koda with a quick bob of my head.

  It’s on!

  He takes off, zooming through the cars at lightning speed while I snicker to myself and race off after him. If Zero finds out we’re racing in the streets of Houston, he will have a fucking coronary, but I’m not going tell him, and Koda sure as hell won’t either.

  I ride up on the inside of a cab, Koda goes on the outside, and we both head for the red light. We narrow our eyes on each other and hammer down, both zooming straight through the intersection, burning rubber as we go. Cars honk, one skidding and sliding sideways to miss Koda. He laughs as we take the on-ramp. We both drop our gears moving in beside each other, and I raise my chin at him in approval.

  His riding skills are getting much better.

  Out of the corner of my eye, a black van approaches. I tilt my head to Koda, but it’s too late. The side door opens to a man dressed in black, who’s hanging out the door with a machine gun.

  “Koda!” I call out.

  He turns to me rather than to the van when they open fire.

  Not knowing which direction to take, I watch the bullets hurtle toward Koda. He ducks out of the way, bullets slamming into his chassis sending sparks off in all directions. He swerves, darting toward me as we race off trying to outrun these fuckers.

  But they’re gaining, and fast.

  The bullets ricochet, when one sideswipes my ear, making the top burn. I let out a loud groan. “Fuck!”

  I check back over my shoulder at Koda as a bullet slams into his thigh. His bike wobbles a little, and I tense.

  Is he going to go down?

  No.

  Thank God he corrects himself in time while I reach around the back of my jeans for my gun. We don’t like to have an all-out gunfight in public, but these fuckers are leaving us no damn choice.

  Koda copies my actions as I slow down my bike, trying to swerve from the barrage of bullets coming my way. I ride in and out of cars trying to make them cop the brunt of the spray instead of us. We are open season, but at least the cars have some protection.

  Windows smash and cars swerve, turning and colliding with each other. A plume of smoke billows up from a crashed car’s hood, and that’s when I take the opportunity to slow my ride and move in behind the van while Koda stays in front for distraction.

  I ride up behind the van. The shooter spots me, takes aim, the gun going off the same time as I shoot, my bullet landing in their rear tire. The van spins to the side, the shooter catapults out the back and over the edge of the ramp falling to his death.

  The van topples onto its side, colliding with another car, the engine immediately going up in smoke. The driver jumps out with a gun. I take off, riding up to Koda, where he covers me the same time the driver shoots, the bullet grazing my bicep, the burn igniting my skin as we take off like two showers of shit before the heat shows up.

  We’ve left one hell of a fucking scene back there, and no fucking clue who the hell it was who tried to hit us, but they might just come back for a second go. We ride like hell down the off-ramp and onto a side street, then pull over. Quickly hopping off my bike, I rush over to Koda, whose leg is bleeding more than I would like.

  He’s gritting his teeth when he yells, “The fuck was that?”

  Pulling my belt from around my waist, I move quickly to his leg and slide it around his thigh. He makes no movements to stop me, obviously knowing what I’m doing. “That was a targeted attack. We can’t go to the Baroness. We have to get back to the clubhouse. Fucking now.”

  Koda grimaces when I pull the belt tight around his thigh. “You think we should call this in?”

  “We need to get back… you okay to ride?”

  Koda cranes his neck to the side. “I’m fine. You good?”

  There’s blood oozing from my arm, but I can’t worry about that right now. “Let’s get back home.”

  Koda nods, then I walk back over to my ride, glancing over my shoulder to make sure we’re not being followed.

  The coast is clear from what I can see.

  As far as I can tell, we’re not.

  So, I start my ride and take off with Koda on my flank. We ride side by side the entire way back to the clubhouse. We ride fast, we ride strong, and we don’t stop for anything.

  As the gates open, Zero and Wraith walk toward us, furrowing their brows. They know we’re not due back yet. We were meant to call them once we left the Baroness’ home and tell him the delivery was a success.

  We didn’t.

  And it wasn’t.

  They’re going to know something is up.

  Zero storms over to Koda. Taking one look at his leg, his eyes widen, and his head snaps to me. “What the fuck happened?”

  “Men in black balaclavas with machine guns fucking happened,” I reply.

  Zero runs his hand through his long hair, letting out a groan. “You think it’s the same fuckers who attacked the Slavers?”

  “I’d say so. There was nothing distinguishing about them. They were covered in black disguises. The van was an everyday high-powered vehicle, nothing that would suggest any one group or organization. Sorry, Pres, I got nothing, just a couple of nicks and scratches for my efforts. The only thing I now know is that our idea that the hit on the Slavers being the Baroness might be flawed. This second hit tried to take us out on the way to her place to offer her incentives. She would have appreciated that shit, not shot them down, and taken down our alliance in the process. Whoever the fuck this is attacking us, Pres…” my breathing is labored from the pain in my arm, “… it’s not coming from Connie.”

  Zero scrubs at his face. “Dammit! That leaves the possibility that this is probably the Militia, and Hawke is playing some kind of game with us. Perhaps, we need to play one back?”

  “I don’t like the sound of that, Zero,” Wraith states.

  “We don’t have much of an option. This is the second time our plans have been attacked. We must figure out how this information is getting out. We need to find out who this is… Neon,” he calls over to him.

  Neon strides up, taking one look at Koda and me and grunts. “The fuck happened to you two?”

  “We’ll get to that, but right now, I need you to send a drone into Militia territory. Snoop, try to get intel and see what they’re doing.”

  Neon cracks his neck to the side like he’s not sure if Zero�
��s being serious. “You sure?”

  A slow grin forms on Zero’s face. “Sure as I’ll ever fucking be. Let’s see what these bastards are up to.”

  Neon exhales. He’s skeptical but turns, walking for the clubhouse anyway.

  “Zero, if Hawke figures out we’re spying on him…”

  “We need to know what’s happening on their side of the border to figure out if it’s them who are targeting us. If not, then we’ll search other avenues. Either way, we need to know whether to prepare ourselves for a war with the Militia. The last one was horrific, and I don’t want another repeat of that shit. If they’re gunning for us, toying with us before an imminent attack, I want to know, so I can move in and try to talk this out with Hawke. Cut him a deal regarding the product.”

  “You think he would go for a deal after all this undercutting?” I ask.

  Zero turns to me. “I’d rather try than go straight to an all-out fucking war. It didn’t end well last time, and it’s my head that’ll be on the chopping block. Then Hawke will go after those involved with the distribution… that’s Cherry and Neon. I can’t have my Old Lady and best friend caught in the mess I’ve created for the club.”

  “Don’t worry, Pres. We’ll figure this shit out,” Wraith tells him, then turns, walking off.

  Zero spins around to Koda. “You! Go see Chills right-fucking-now, I don’t like the amount of blood you’re losing.”

  “Yes, Pres,” Koda states. He limps off inside, leaving me alone with Zero.

  He rubs the back of his neck like he’s trying to ease the tension building inside his muscles. “How close was it? Really?”

  “Close! There was a guy hanging out the side of the van with a machine gun. He came at us on the freeway ramp. We had a damn shootout in the street. Bullets were flying everywhere. There were civilian casualties, Pres.”

  Zero spins away from me, both hands rushing to the back of his head in frustration, grumbling some shit under his breath. “Fuck, Phantom…” He spins back to face me, the vein in his neck ticking in obvious anger. “Any civies killed?”

  “I didn’t stop to check. Didn’t have time. But cars were wrecking all over the damn place. Bullets were flying. There’s at least got to be some injuries if not a fatality.”

  “Chief Dalton is gonna come at us for this. You know that, right?”

  Hanging my head, I exhale. “We tried to get out of there as fast as we could to minimize the damage, but they just kept coming.”

  “Okay… get yourself checked out, and we will deal with Dalton when he rocks up. Don’t say shit, leave it to me.”

  “Got it! I fucked this one up, Pres.”

  He grips my shoulder. “You didn’t fuck this up. You turned around and came home. Gotta thank you for bringing my kid brother back to me mostly in one piece. You’ve earned that patch you’re wearing, brother.” He slaps my name badge and goes to walk off.

  I figure if he’s feeling amiable toward me right now, maybe I can push my luck. “Pres?” He stops, turning back to me. “This is probably not the best time to ask, but Billie is getting restless. We don’t have any leads, so it’s more than likely she was in the wrong place at the wrong ti—”

  “There a point to this, Phantom?”

  “We’re heading off to Daytona soon for bike week. I’m hoping Billie’s able to join us?”

  Zero rolls his shoulders, then shrugs. “Yeah, she’s been good. She can come. You can loosen the reins on her too. If you wanna take her out of the clubhouse, you can, but don’t go too far. Give it a couple of days to let everything settle down. She’s gotta be going stir crazy surrounded by these four walls.”

  Relief hits me like a tidal wave. “You have no idea.”

  “Phantom…”

  “Yeah?”

  “Keep your guard up. Shit’s still fucking intense around here, the bullet wound on your arm right now proves that fact.”

  “Got it! If I go out, I’ll take others for backup.”

  “See, Phantom, thinking like a real brother. You’re gonna make it far in this club.” A slow smile crosses my face. “On a side note, you’ve found someone who makes you happy. Seeing you pining over my sister was fucking depressing.” He slaps my back, then walks off.

  Bastard.

  Chuckling, I follow behind and then make my way over to where Koda is being sutured by Chills. Thayleah is by his side, worried as all hell. “His artery’s okay, he’s not going to bleed out, right?” she asks, making Chills chuckle.

  “Rebel, if it nicked my artery, I would have bled out by now,” Koda placates his woman.

  “Okay, but he’s still lost a lot of blood, yeah?” Thayleah ignores Koda and continues her questioning of Chills.

  “Babe, I’m fine!” Koda answers again for Chills as she works away.

  “Yeah, but—”

  “Thayleah, Koda’s gonna make a full recovery. I promise,” Chills states categorically.

  Thayleah’s entire body slumps like she’s relieved, flopping into the chair beside Koda. “Why didn’t you lead with that?”

  “Couldn’t get a word in,” Koda mumbles under his breath.

  Thayleah glares at him, but the smirk on her face shows me she thinks what he said is funny.

  Striding over, I pull out a seat next to Thayleah.

  “Thanks for keeping Koda safe.”

  “I don’t think I did anything to help the situation, we both just rode like hell to get out of there.”

  “The tourniquet on his leg tells me something different.” Thayleah’s lips turn up.

  Chills hands me back my belt, and I exhale. “Just helping a brother… it’s what we do.”

  “Appreciate it, man.”

  “Don’t mention it.”

  “Is that your blood on your arm, Phantom? Am I checking you over next?” Chills asks while she finishes suturing up Koda’s leg.

  Rolling up my sleeve, it’s nothing more than a flesh wound. “It’s not bad. Doubt it even needs to be checked.”

  “Is it an open wound?” Chills asks.

  “I guess?”

  “Can open wounds get an infection?”

  “Yeah?”

  She lowers her chin, her eyes looking up at me through her lashes in a look that could kill. “Then it needs to be looked at, doesn’t it?”

  Snorting out a groan, I state, “You don’t let us get away with anything, do you?”

  “I wouldn’t be a very good doctor if I did.” She tilts her head at Koda, and he shuffles along. “You! Sit!”

  With a groan, I move to where Koda was just sitting, and she gets to work at the same time Billie walks down the stairs.

  Her eyes widen as she rushes over. “What the hell happened?” she almost squeals out in fear, kneeling down next to me, her hands moving all over while checking every inch of me.

  My chest floods with warmth at how worried she is. Having someone I care about so concerned actually feels fucking great. “I’m fine, woman. Just a nick on my arm and ear. I’m all good.”

  She falls back onto her ass on the floor, staring up at me. “Jesus, Phantom. Scare me half to death. How… I mean who… who did this?”

  “No idea. We were targeted while Koda and I were out on a ride transporting. It’s like somehow, whoever this was, knew exactly where and when we would be there.”

  Her eyes widen like she’s shocked by what I have just said. The reaction is a little strange, but I guess she’s new to all this. “And you don’t know who came after you?”

  “No idea.”

  “Did you hurt any of them?” she asks.

  I narrow my eyes on her. Random.

  “One of the guys fell out the van. It’s safe to say he’s nicely spread across the East Freeway.”

  She grimaces. It’s apparent she’s not used to this shit. “Sorry, I shouldn’t talk like that. You’re not used to gruesome—”

  “It’s fine. I’m just glad you’re okay. I don’t know what I would do if you got hurt.”

 
“I’m fine. I promise.” With my free arm, I reach out and grab her hand.

  She squeezes my fingers, letting out a long exhale like the weight of the world is hanging on her shoulders. “I’m gonna grab a coffee. You want one?”

  “Beer?”

  She stands, then walks off toward the bar. Watching her go, I can’t help but wonder if she is cut out for this life.

  “She’s stronger than you’re giving her credit for right now, Phantom,” Thayleah offers.

  “Sorry?” I turn my head toward her.

  “Billie… she comes across broken, but I see a fighter inside her. She reminds me of me. Someone who has been through a heap of shit and is hiding their emotions… you just have to be there for her when it all comes to the surface, and those walls are broken down.”

  Chills finishes patching me up and slaps my arm for good measure. I jerk my head back to her as she laughs. “You need to cut the girl some slack. She’s obviously been through some shit in her past. I see that clear as day. Something is holding her back from being her true self here. She trusts you, Phantom, and only you. Don’t go questioning your relationship with her because she got a little iffy on the gory details. There might be a reason for it. You just need to dig deeper, not dismiss her.”

  Chills packs up her shit, then walks off, leaving me with Koda and Thayleah.

  “Zero said I could take Billie out of the club, get some fresh air. It might be a good idea, but I need a couple of bodies with me. Koda, you’re a good wingman. You and Thayleah wanna come out for a ride with us?”

  Thayleah’s eyes widen. “Is it safe to head out right after you’ve both been shot at?”

  Koda and I chuckle. “Never stopped us before, but we will give it a couple of days… wasn’t meaning right now.”

  “I wanna take Billie on a ride somewhere nice. Somewhere we can all hang out and relax for a bit.”

  Koda waggles his brows. “I know just the place. The cabin out near Sam Houston National Forrest. The ride is fucking epic, and the cabin is a place the Walkers go sometimes to unwind. I’ve been wanting to take Rebel up there anyway. This will be an opportunity for her to see it.”

  “Aww, babe, that’s sweet.”