Balance (The Chicago Defiance MC Book 6) Read online

  She inhales deeply as her long lashes blink a few times, glancing at me longingly. “I think you explained it beautifully.” Her chest heaves in that fucking barely-there dress. I don’t know if it’s from what I’ve just said, but the atmosphere changes as she stares at me. Her eyes darken taking on a look I know so well—they’re hooded. She bites down on her bottom lip as her thighs rub together giving her away. She’s fucking turned on right now. I try to hold in my inner celebration as I lean in closer, my hand coming up swiping a curl from her shoulder then moves to her skin, running along her warm flesh. She shudders at my touch as I move my hand down her arm gently stroking her sensitive skin with my fingers. Her breathing hitches as our eyes lock, she stares at me intensely. That energy surges all around us.

  I feel the pull, I know she does too.

  Fuck it.

  My hand slides up her arm into her hair, my fingers thread through her silky black locks as I lean in pulling her face to mine. Her minty breath hits my senses and just before I’m about to make contact.

  “Neve, are you in there?”

  ACE

  Neve gasps, pulling away before our lips touch like she’s just realized what she’s doing. She scurries backward as if she’s been caught kissing the bad guy at school as some guy steps inside her trailer.

  “Neve?” he calls out. “Oh, there you are. I was… oh, right, you have company. Sorry, I’ll come back later.”

  Neve clears her throat as the smarmy looking guy with the oily brown hair stares directly at her tits. “No, it’s fine, Danny. We were just discussing… umm, ahh—”

  “Cindi, and how well she’s doing,” I step in to save her.

  She glances at me showing no emotion, then back to this Danny guy. “Yeah, that’s it. She’s doing… great.”

  He does a once-over on me scratching the back of his neck, then shrugs. “She’s doing all right, little too dramatic if you ask me. Anyway, I need to talk to you about how your character would react when she finds her sister’s body. Come see me when you’re free, okay?”

  Neve nods like she’s trying to appease him. It makes me wonder what the hell’s going on with her and him. Not in a romantic way, but maybe he has something over her or maybe he’s threatening her. Either way, something’s up because she’s being fucking weird around him.

  He turns walking out of her trailer. I spin my head fast to look at her while raising my brow. She puts her hand out peering at her nails pretending like that wasn’t fucking weird. Folding my arms over my chest, I inhale sharply nudging her side.

  She exhales dramatically dropping her hand then gazes up at me through her lashes. “What?” She doesn’t say it in a snide way, it’s more defeatist like she knows I know something’s up.

  “Who the fuck was that?”

  She slumps her body sliding backward, then places her feet up onto my lap. I smirk as she gestures for me to start rubbing them again, so I do. “That’s Danny Esposito, he’s the movie’s advisor.”

  It all clicks into place as unease washes over me. I was wondering when I was going to meet this asshole in the flesh. “How does he know so much about the Mafia? Where did they dig him up from?”

  Neve shrugs leaving me unassured by her answer and her apparent dislike for him. I thought she might have known if he was tied with anyone we need to be watchful of. But now that I’ve met the creepy bastard, I need to set some feelers into motion. I need to look into him when I get back to the clubhouse. He’s definitely not someone I recognize, so there may be nothing in it, but I get the feeling from the girls that they are not at all comfortable with Danny.

  “Be careful around him,” I advise.

  “I’m always careful,” she replies then lets out a small moan throwing her head back as I massage her arches.

  “Is it safe to come in, or is that moan a sign telling us to go away?” Cindi calls out from behind the door.

  “You shouldn’t engage in moan-worthy activities with your door open, just saying,” Noah states.

  I continue massaging Neve’s foot, and she stays where she is as I glance at the trailer door. “Come in, guys, it’s safe,” I call out.

  “Okay, but if any part of you is naked, brother, I won’t be happy,” Noah yells as Cindi steps inside.

  Cindi takes in the sight, her head jolting back in surprise. “Wow! You making yourself indispensable there, Ace?”

  “He has magic hands, Cindi. After being in these heels all day, I needed this,” Neve admits.

  Noah steps inside letting out a booming laugh. “Holy fucking shit! Stay right there, don’t move, I’m getting a picture of this for the boys.” He reaches into his pocket as Cindi slaps him across the back of his head while he snickers to himself.

  “Remember you’re trying to gain your patch, Noah. There’s no guarantee you’ll get it,” I challenge with a straight voice, no sarcasm or humor in my tone.

  He stops his cackling, but Cindi cracks up holding onto his shoulder as she bends over gripping her stomach.

  “That’s not even funny, Ace,” Noah huffs.

  I can’t help but pat myself on the back at putting the prospect into his place. Neve watches us with interest as Noah’s cell goes off. He peers down at his cell in his hand then tips his head at me. “Torque wants us back at the clubhouse.”

  Letting out a heavy exhale, I glance at Neve.

  We almost kissed.

  Then people got in our way.

  I hope we get another chance at this.

  She slowly pulls her legs away from mine letting hers fall to the floor. “Thank you for the massage. You’re a god with your hands.”

  I beam with pride that I was able to make her feel good if only for a moment. “Glad to help. But remember what I said about Danny.” I turn glancing at Cindi. “You, too, Cindi, keep your guard up around him.”

  They both nod as I stand glancing back at Neve. My stomach tightens at the thought of leaving her with that man. A man who’s obviously in a league of his own with known Mafia. Sure, we have links to them too, and we’re on a friendly basis now, but we weren’t always on good terms with the Andrettis. Just because Danny advises on Mafia, it doesn’t mean it’s the Andretti Mafia he’s in league with. It could be any number of mafiosos in the United States.

  Yes, I need to know who he’s linked to. If it’s the Andrettis, then all good, but if not, then we need to be on guard because Cindi could be in for a world of hurt if they figure out she’s part of the Chicago Defiance MC.

  “We need to leave, can’t keep the president waiting,” I claim.

  Noah leans in giving Cindi a quick kiss on the cheek. She smacks Noah on the ass as he jumps out of the trailer, and I cross my arms over my chest while observing Cindi.

  I turn to Neve, dipping my head. “Until next time, Starlet.”

  She giggles. “Until next time, Tarzan.”

  I wink at Cindi and turn heading for the door. I don’t want to leave. The idea of almost kissing Neve and now going without the satisfaction of tasting her seems fucked-up. I know I’ll be thinking about the moment until I see her again. Whenever that might be.

  Stepping down the stairs of the trailer, Noah’s watching me with a great big dirty grin on his face. I flip him the bird as we stride over to our rides. “Shut up, cockhead, I don’t want to hear it.”

  “Wasn’t gonna say a word, brother.”

  “Good, keep it that way.” I grab my helmet sliding it over my man bun—it’s always fucking uncomfortable, it’s why I like to ride without one—as I throw my leg over. I start my bike and prepare for the ride back to the clubhouse. As I glance over, I notice Neve standing at her trailer door watching me. I don’t wave. I don’t smile. I simply dip my head, then hammer down taking the lead as Noah pulls out behind me.

  I don’t know what the hell’s going on, but I know whatever it is, it’s confusing both of us.

  Heading into the chapel, I walk over to my desk to make sure to jot down Danny Esposito’s name. I want to look
into him as soon as fucking possible. The need to know who he is and what he’s part of is eating at me. I want to make sure the girls are safe working with him around. But before I can start digging into him or his history, I need a damn drink. So, I head back out to the clubroom to quench my thirst with a frosty beverage when I see Torque walking toward me.

  “Good, you’re here.” He glances around the room raising his voice. “Boys, church.”

  Guess my well-deserved beer is going to have to wait. Though the seriousness on Torque’s face tells me I might need a couple of beers by the time he’s done with church. I can’t help but wonder what the fuck’s going down. I stroll inside the chapel with my brothers following closely behind me. We all take up our positions around the table as Torque sits at the head.

  Once the door closes, he bangs his gavel. “Brothers, I have some news. It’s not of the good variety.”

  The anguish in his voice is clear. The tension in the room filters through the air like a toxic cloud waiting, lingering, smothering us all in anxiety. Something’s wrong, I just don’t know what or maybe who may be raining down on us.

  “Torque, what the hell’s going on?” Trax asks his blood brother.

  Torque sits back in his chair rubbing his chin. “It’s Gunner.”

  Gunner runs our gun range, he’s one of the original members of the club and one of the most respected. He’s been here as long as Surge. He has a family so he chose to run the gun range rather than be at the club where danger lurks. Being one of the older, more revered members, he’s like a grandfather to us. There’s no question Gunner has protected all of us at one time or another.

  “Torque!” Trax grunts trying to make him spit it out a bit quicker.

  Torque exhales. “Gunner’s had a major heart attack. He’s in the hospital with his family around him. Right now, he’s having surgery…” he pauses. and I know the prognosis is not great just by the look on Torque’s face, “… at this stage, the doctors aren’t sure if he’ll pull through.”

  My stomach twists as I inhale sharply. Frigid coldness sweeps over the room as we all remain silent. Gunner has so much life, I can’t imagine this club without him.

  “Shit,” I murmur under my breath.

  “Yeah, so as you can imagine, this came as a shock. Gunner’s always been in such good health. But, it also causes an issue at the gun range. I don’t think Gunner’s gonna be able to come back for a long time if he pulls through, and even when he’s fighting fit, he might be retiring after this.”

  Everyone knows the gun range is important for us. It’s not merely a source of income from the general public who use it, it’s also where we store everything. All our not-so-legal items before trading—the guns, the steroids, anything else we might dabble in from time to time.

  We need the gun range.

  Plain and simple.

  Gunner’s the man who makes it run smoothly. Without him, everything could fall apart.

  “So, what do we do from here, Torque? The range is fucking important,” I query.

  He tilts his head. “Exactly. The gun range is ideal for someone who wants to sit back a little, be away from the action, not be in the thick of it all as much.” Torque glances at Surge.

  Surge sits forward, places his hands on the giant wooden table linking them together. “I’ll do it. I’m getting on. If another fight came to our door, I’m not sure I’d be the right man to haul ass. I’m better suited for more sedate shit these days. Not that I won’t fight like hell if the need arises.”

  It feels like the end of an era.

  Surge has been here at the club, forever.

  Him leaving feels odd.

  But I guess he’s not leaving, just stepping it down a notch. Not having him around all the time will be fucking weird.

  Torque exhales.

  He’ll be feeling Surge’s departure the most.

  Surge is like his father.

  It’s not like he won’t be here, he still will be, just not all day every day. He’ll be working at the range now. This step down will be good for him.

  It’ll be safer for him.

  It’s time, we all know it.

  “You’ll be missed around the clubhouse during the day, but you can still keep up your Wise One duties at night if you wanna, Surge,” Torque states.

  “It would be my honor. This will be good for me. I’ll miss seeing your ugly mugs all day, but it’s time for me to step down. At least this way I’ll still be doing something for the club.”

  “Are we all in agreement?” Torque asks.

  A resounding “aye” signals through the room.

  “Then it’s done. Surge, you can head over there today and get settled. But for now, disperse.”

  The sound of the chairs scraping on the floor echo through the room as brothers start to filter out of the chapel.

  I follow, so I can finally grab a much-needed beer before I get my geek on and attempt to find out all I can on the fucker, Danny Esposito.

  NEVE

  One Week Later

  I can’t stop thinking about Ace but not in the way one might think. We almost shared a kiss, and it’s shaken me. I wanted to more than anything. The idea I could’ve felt his lips on mine has my body tingling in every possible place.

  Though, there is a but.

  The thoughts plaguing my mind in the week he’s been absent are all about how my career could be affected if I’m seen with a known biker. Even if he is one of the good ones. Julian’s already warning me of the repercussions. ‘Imagine Neve De Villa dating the scum of Chicago,’ being his exact words.

  I feel bad about how it would appear after getting to know Ace and seeing he’s absolutely nothing like that, but the media are unrelenting. They won’t see him like I do.

  I’m heading out of my trailer for an evening shoot at the water plant. I rush while fumbling with my cell, my lines, and a water bottle in my hands as I hurry down the steps, but in my haste, I drop my lines. Groaning to myself, I bend down to pick them up, the wind blowing one page toward the back of my trailer.

  I rush after it grumbling to myself about the ‘stupid piece of paper.’ When I stand, something catches my eye. I notice, off to the side in the shadows, Danny’s standing with the same man I saw him with last time. I move to the side of my trailer so they can’t see me, but I try to step closer so I can hear them.

  “Roman, you shouldn’t keep coming out here. I have it handled. When I have the time for Ossani, you’ll be the first one to know,” Danny grunts aggressively.

  Who the fuck is Ossani?

  And the time for what?

  “Once Neve’s in the right place, and it’s the right time then, and only then…” he pauses but doesn’t continue instead saying, “We have to play this smart, Roman.”

  “And that’s why you’re the advisor, Danny, ‘cause you keep everyone thinking straight.” The man, who I assume is Roman, slaps Danny on the shoulder then walks off.

  My heart leaps into my throat as I turn around rushing back toward my trailer wondering what the hell I just heard. I should tell my security team but tell them what exactly? I saw Danny talking with some guy called Roman. Yeah, that’s not a lot to go on. I have nothing to report to them as he didn’t finish his sentence. I step back inside my trailer wondering what the hell to do. I pace back and forth trying to figure out if I should call someone.

  Maybe Ace?

  Suddenly my door flies open, my eyes rushing to the commotion.

  “Saw you come rushing in here, you’re meant to be on set. Everything okay?” Cindi’s voice is laced with concern as I rush over to her pulling her inside, shutting the door behind her.

  Cindi seems confused as she tightens her hands in mine. “Neve, what the hell? You’re scaring me.”

  I let out a deep breath as I pull her to the sofa. “Cindi… I’m concerned.”

  She tilts her head. “Okay, talk to me.”

  Wracking my jaw, I exhale. “I just saw Danny talking to a man in
the shadows.”

  Cindi waves her hand dismissively. “Well, Danny talks to a lot of people. Just because they were in the shadows doesn’t mean—”

  “No, Cindi, listen, the man’s name was Roman, and they were talking about some guy called Ossani. They were talking about me!”

  She sits taller, her face more serious now. “What do you mean?”

  “He said something about once they have me in the right place, and it’s the right time then, and only then… but the sentence was unfinished or like they were talking about whatever that meant before I walked in on the conversation.” I take a deep breath. “Cindi, Danny is planning something. I just know it.”

  Cindi reaches into her pocket to pull out her cell. I tense up. “What are you doing?”

  She dials a number putting the cell to her ear. “Calling Ace.”

  Relief floods through me. I don’t want it to. I don’t want to rely on Ace, he’s bad for me, but I feel safe around him, and right now, I want him here more than anything.

  “Hey, yeah, I think we have a problem. Can you get here as soon as possible?” There’s a slight pause, obviously while Ace talks. “Yeah, we’re both fine. But we need you here, and Ace, bring some of your tech shit… and a gun.”

  My eyes widen while my head spins toward her in shock.

  She shrugs. “Will do. See you soon.” She ends the call.

  “Tech shit and a gun? Really?” I scoff.

  She giggles. “Yeah, I think we’re gonna need it. The gun maybe not, but it’s better to be protected… just in case… right?”

  My muscles clench as I think about what might be going on here. I can’t seem to work it out, so for now, having Ace around with some protection couldn’t hurt.

  The deep rumble of a Harley echoes outside instantly makes my adrenaline spike and my stomach tighten. The idea Ace and I could never make anything happen between us has been plaguing me for days, but the instant he’s near me, I feel it all wash away, and the urge for him to swoop me up into his arms takes hold.