Glasses clinked, and dull, mindless chatter filled the air around Jonathan and Elijah. Jonathan pushed his salmon around on his plate, but everything he ate seemed to taste like ash.
“So you have no idea where she is?” Elijah asked, sawing into his chicken.
“No, but I told her to run. For her sake, and for Melanie’s. And it’s Alexa. I don’t think she knows much, otherwise she would’ve gone to the police, and we don’t have any proof she’s done that.”
“I’ll have our guys inside the LAPD keep digging, find out if anything more happened when she filed the break-and-enter report.”
Jonathan nodded and sipped his water. “I think she knew something, though,” he said, thinking out loud. “Why else would she snoop? Why else would she hire a bodyguard and lie about it?”
Elijah took a long, deep breath and then shook his head. “I don’t know. I wish I knew what to tell you. Sucks that it’s your daughter we’re talking about, or this would be a hell of a lot simpler.”
Jonathan nodded and set down his knife and fork. His chest hurt, and he’d lost his appetite. He’d barely slept the night before, his mind churning with scenario after scenario, none of them good. He rubbed a hand over the back of his neck, trying to ease some of the tension there. His temples throbbed.
He took another sip of his water, and as he set his glass down, he noticed a commotion near the front of the restaurant. Several men in navy blue jackets with bright-yellow letters spelling out “FBI” were headed straight for his table. He pushed to his feet as they approached, but they were focused entirely on Elijah, who’d gone pale. He adjusted his glasses and set his knife and fork down with a clatter.
“Elijah Todd, you’re under arrest for the attempted murder of Christopher Crosby, acting as accessory to the murder of Jeff Astor, extortion, accessory to fraud, blackmail, accessory to drug trafficking, political corruption, money laundering, coercion, and nineteen counts of assault.” The lead agent reached behind him for a pair of handcuffs and, with one hand on Elijah’s shoulder, turned him around before slapping them on his wrists. All the other agents surrounded the table with their hands on their holsters.
Jonathan watched, helpless, as Elijah was read his rights, and a desperate anger pushed up through him, making him want to scream, to smash things. But he didn’t. He stood completely still and made a list in his head of all the people he needed to call. Lawyers, and politicians, and cops.
Another agent stepped toward him, a stern expression on his craggy face. “Mr. Fairfax, I’d caution you not to leave town at this time.”
“Am I under investigation?” he asked, his lip curling.
“If you leave town, you will be.”
“Is that a threat?”
“Advice.” He turned and followed the rest of the team out, Elijah almost invisible in the middle of the group. All eyes in the restaurant were on Jonathan, and he sank back down into his chair. He rubbed his neck again and swallowed. For a brief second, he imagined an invisible noose tightening around his neck, cutting off his air. Cutting off everything he and his father and his grandfather had built.
Acid burned his chest, and he tossed his napkin down on the table. He threw money down and walked out of the restaurant.
The Brotherhood was bleeding, and he needed to find a way to stop it.
* * *
Zack stared down at the series of text messages from Jamie on his burner phone, not sure what to feel. What to think.
Everything he’d worked for was just sitting there, waiting for him, and he couldn’t act on it because of the messed-up situation he’d gotten himself into with Alexa and her father. And while it sucked to have to put his life on hold, he didn’t regret the choices he’d made, the ones that had brought him here, because nothing meant anything without Alexa, and right here with her was where he was supposed to be. Waking up beside her every morning. Curling up on the couch with her, watching TV or a movie. Cooking together. Making her come, over and over again, until she couldn’t even keep her eyes open. Talking into the small hours of the night, about anything and everything.
Zack reclined in the mesh-backed patio chair and tipped his head back, staring up at the darkening sky, stars sparkling against the dusky purple. A particularly bright one shone directly overhead, and he wondered what star it was. Hundreds of thousands of tiny lights, hanging in the sky, millions of miles away. Entire galaxies reduced to dusty, twinkling specks. Zack studied them, centering himself and inhaling a deep breath.
The sliding glass door opened, and Alexa poked her head out. “Hey. Getting some air?” she asked, stepping out onto the patio. She’d done as Morales had asked and avoided the backyard for the most part. But the neighboring houses were dark and quiet, so it was safe right now.
“Yeah. Come here.” He extended his hand to her and pulled her into his lap, breathing in the coconut scent of her hair, the sweet warmth of her skin, fighting back the disappointment welling up in him. For several moments he just held her against him, and the longer he held her under those hundreds of thousands of stars, the less the fight contract seemed to matter. She was what mattered, this beautiful, sweet, brave woman in his arms.
“Are you okay?” she asked, her breath warm against his neck.
“I had a text from Jamie. The UFC offered me a three-fight contract. Hopefully it’s still waiting for me when this is all over.”
She hugged him tighter. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s not your fault. And it’s not the end. It just means putting things on hold.”
“I know, but you’ve worked so hard for this, and now to have it happen when you can’t do anything about it…I know what this means to you, and I’m sorry. I’m grateful you’re here with me, but I hate that you have to put your own dreams on hold because of everything.”
“It’s disappointing, but I’m okay. This is where I need to be.”
She played with his hair, and his scalp tingled. “Natalie thinks this will be over soon. I hope she’s right. Apparently the FBI arrested my father’s right-hand man today.”
“They’re closing in.”
“Yeah, sounds like. Hopefully soon they’ll arrest him and shut down the Brotherhood, and then we can come out of hiding. It’ll be safe then. And then you can take that contract and pursue your dream.”
He took another deep breath. “I need to talk to you about that.”
She pulled back slightly and met his eyes in the darkness. “About fighting?”
“Yeah, and about us. About the future.”
She frowned. “Okay. What about us?”
He took one of her hands and threaded his fingers through hers, holding their joined hands against his chest. “Fighting’s not an easy career. I’ll probably have to leave LA to train at a higher level. There are good gyms around the country, places like Florida and New Mexico. I’d understand if that isn’t the life you want,” he said, his heart beating painfully in his chest.
But she smiled and kissed him sweetly, and his heart settled back into place. “You, Zack De Luca, are the life I want. I don’t really know what my future holds—I don’t have a job or a family, really, anymore—but I have you. So you do what you need to do, and I’ll be right here beside you, cheering you on, no matter where you go. Deal?”
“Fuck yeah, princess.” He kissed her again, relief filtering through him. He’d felt it was only fair to warn her about what she might be getting into. After several seconds he broke the kiss and tucked her against his chest. Together they gazed up at the stars as the sky darkened from deep purple to soft black. “What do you want to do when this is over?” he asked quietly.
She shrugged, her slender shoulders moving against him. “No idea. I’m just taking everything a day at a time. I know I don’t want to act anymore.” She sat up a little. “Hey, maybe I’ll go to college. I’ve always wanted to.”
He smiled, stroking her hair. “What would you study?”
“I’m not sure. I think I’d maybe like to do something in the nonprofit sector. Public health? Economics? Something to do with international development? I like the idea of helping people.” She paused and tilted her head back, looking up at the sky. “Maybe if I do some good, I can atone for some of the bad my father’s done. Maybe I can try to make it right.”
He kissed her forehead. “You don’t need to make up for your father’s crimes, Alexa.”
“I know I don’t have to. I want to. I can’t change what he’s done, but I can try to make the world a better place. That matters to me.”
He traced his thumb over her knuckles. “So I’ll fight, and you’ll save the world. I like this plan. What else do you want?”
“It’s probably way, way too soon to say this, but our situation isn’t exactly normal, and…although we’ve only been together a short time, I feel so close to you. Like I’ve known you forever.”
“I get that. Lay it on me. What else do you want?”
“I really, really want kids. At least two, maybe more. I hated being an only child.”
The sudden image of Alexa pregnant with his baby flashed through his mind, and he kissed her again. Hell yes. “Honestly, I’ve never thought much about kids or a family, I guess because I’ve been so focused on fighting. But yeah. Kids with you sounds pretty damn amazing.”
“Zack,” she whispered, and kissed him, slowly and tenderly, her tongue caressing his. His arms tightened around her, and his cock stiffened, heat throbbing through him. Heat, and the need to keep her safe, to make sure she had the future she wanted. The future she deserved.
She ran her hands over his chest, tracing the contours of his muscles. He wove his hands into her hair, tilting her head back slightly and deepening the kiss. She rocked gently against him and moaned softly, and he broke the kiss, nipping at her lips with his teeth. “Let’s go upstairs. I need to be inside you.”
She made the soft, whimpering noise that always drove him crazy, and she kissed him again, a playful sweep of her tongue across his. She wiggled off of his lap and grabbed his hand, tugging him eagerly into the house. The first time they’d had sex, the night before his fight, there’d been a shyness there. An uncertainty. That shyness was slowly disappearing, and he loved that she felt comfortable enough with him to open up and be vulnerable.
Mac sat at the kitchen table, nursing a cup of tea, watching the laptop that served as the main monitor for the house’s security system. He smiled at them, but it was small and sad, and he returned his attention to the computer screen without a word.
They reached their bedroom, and the door had barely latched behind them before Alexa’s hands were under his shirt, pushing it up. He reached behind him and tugged it up over his head, then tossed it to the floor. She slid her hands up his stomach and over his chest.
“You are so gorgeous. I can’t believe you’re mine,” she said, and kissed a path across his chest, her lips soft and warm over his heart.
Mine. He closed his eyes, savoring the word. So much contained in four little letters, because he was hers. Fully and completely. Had been for a long time.
He pulled her shirt up over her head and cupped her breasts, his thumbs playing over her nipples through her bra. “I’m yours, and you’re mine.” He unhooked her bra and let it fall to the floor and pulled her against him, needing to feel her skin against his. He kissed her and backed her toward the bed, needing to get inside her. He tumbled her down to the bed, and her legs came up around his hips. Breaking the kiss, she stilled and took one of his hands, guiding it to her heart. It beat steadily against his palm, and she placed her own palm over his heart. Several heartbeats elapsed before she spoke.
“Ours. Us.”
His throat thickened, and he kissed her. He’d never believed he could have something like this, especially not with someone like her. He felt so damn alive, as though his eyes were open for the first time in his life. He’d spent so much time fighting, but now he knew what it felt like to have something worth fighting for.
He slipped a hand between them and into her yoga pants, dipping into her panties while he kissed a path from her mouth down to her breasts. As he sucked a nipple into his mouth, he slipped a finger inside her. She was hot and wet around him, and he groaned as she clenched around his finger. He added a second finger and fucked her slowly as she moaned under him. When he pulled his hand away, his fingers were slick, and she shoved her yoga pants down, then began fumbling with the button on his jeans. He rose just enough to ditch his jeans and boxer briefs. He fell back down on top of her, and she took his cock in her hand, stroking him.
Bracing one hand above her head, he lined his cock up and pushed into her, going slow, not because he was afraid of hurting her but because he needed to savor every second of this. She wrapped her legs around his waist, urging him deeper, and he gave in, sliding in to the hilt. Her back arched up off the bed, and she moaned out his name. She slipped her arms around his shoulders, pulling him closer.
“When will it be enough?” she asked, her eyes shining and full even in the semidarkness.
“Never, Alexa.” He slowly pulled out and then just as slowly pushed all the way back in. She was so deliciously wet and tight around him, but he wanted this to last. Nothing was ever enough with her.
She reached up and stroked his cheek. “Mine,” she sighed out as he thrust in and out of her again, and he pressed his forehead to hers as he established a slow, steady, deep rhythm.
“Always, princess.”
He reached up and took one of her hands, lacing their fingers together and pressing her arm into the mattress, her hand above her head. Bracing his weight on his other arm, he bent his head and kissed her as he moved in and out of her. Her nails scraped lightly down his back, and he started to move faster. He rolled his hips in the way he knew she liked, and when she pulsed around him, he did it again and again and again until she started to shake and he felt her pussy clench around his cock as she came.
“God, Zack, yes!” she cried out, so loud that the entire house probably heard her, but he didn’t care. Throbbing heat flared through him, radiating outward from the base of his spine, and although he didn’t want it to be over, he knew he couldn’t hang on much longer. She felt too damn good. He fucked her harder, losing himself in the intense pleasure of her body around his, and he pressed his face into her neck as he came, emptying himself inside her. Giving her everything.
He collapsed down on her, his entire body heavy with release, with how fucking good she made him feel.
With happiness and hope.