Vicious Heart (Desert Kings MC #2)

17. Riley

seventeen

Riley

Cam wasn’t alone when I pulled into the driveway. Puck and Merc were there as well, and they all sat around the table beneath the carport. It was like Cam was holding court.

Having not seen the other two since last night, panic climbed up the back of my throat. I wasn’t in that frat house anymore, Kenna was safe, and yet... I closed my eyes, took a breath, and climbed from the car.

I’d have to face them all at some point.

“Hey guys.” I gave a short wave as I rounded the corner, beelined for Cam, and bent to kiss his lips.

Like he could read the nervous energy bouncing off me, he caught the back of my head, and held my mouth to his, kissing me low and slow. When he let go, his blue gaze was bright despite his eyes being bloodshot, and he searched my face. I knew what he was looking for.

He’d felt my fear and thought he was the cause.

He was wrong. Giving his hand a squeeze, I willed him to understand I was a part of this now. His. And the ride over had given me a clear goal, a path for what I wanted for the rest of my life to be.

“How was she?” Puck asked from behind me.

“Honestly, really good. I was surprised.” I turned to him, perching, for a moment, on Cam’s right knee.

His arm slid around me, pulling me back against his lap. The little tingle of pleasure when he did was something I’d never get used to.

Puck seemed relieved, relaxing visibly.

“She was getting her stuff ready to be at your house in the morning, to babysit or something.”

He straightened. “The fuck? No.” Then he plucked his phone out and dialed. His knuckles were busted and scabbed, like he’d been in a fight. Because he had. “Kenna, what the hell?” He growled into the phone and stood, pacing under the carport while talking softly.

The sheer size of Puck was intimidating, but I’d seen him cradle Kenna like she was the most precious thing in the world. Maybe he was the best of them. Or would be, were it not for Cam. I patted his arm. “I think I’m going to look through some more of Archer’s stuff and chill for a while.”

He kissed my hair and slid a hand across my thigh. “Cool. I won’t be long.”

With that, I went inside.

I had so many things I wanted to tell him, needed to tell him. But not until we were alone. Was this what falling in love felt like? Rushing head long into lust, then coming to an abrupt halt because suddenly the feelings were too big to hurdle?

To busy myself, I went through Archer’s books. I picked some out that looked particularly well loved. I was beginning to think he spent as much time reading as he did riding.

The guys’ lowered voices and occasional laughter put me at ease. That lonely, dark place in my chest that had grown when Mom got sick was gone now. Whatever I’d searched for, I’d found here with Cam and the Kings.

They were my family now. If he’d have me. And I’d protect them all with the fierceness surging through me at the thought of losing any of this.

With a heave, I lifted one box of political thrillers and carried it to the kitchen table, stopping long enough to peek out the window at Cam and the guys. There was an easiness, almost an innocence, here that had been missing last night. Two halves of the same coin. Flip it and find the violence, the danger.

But for now, the beast that was the Desert Kings MC slept. Was it like this for my father? I could almost picture it. Him in the leather cut, charging in with the entire MC at his back. Then kicked back in the well-loved recliner, cowboy novel in hand.

In the kitchen, I ran my fingers across the cracked spines. One in particular caught my attention: The Walking Drum . I plucked it from the box, padded back to the living room, and curled into that recliner with the book.

I wasn’t sure what I was looking for, maybe a way to feel close to Archer, to thank him for what he’d left behind for me. The money had brought me here, but that wasn’t what I’d needed the most. Cam was.

When I opened the book, a plastic keycard emblazoned with the logo of a storage facility and the numbers three-three-two fell out and into my lap.

The logo was familiar. I’d seen it before.

“What are you reading?” Cam asked from the kitchen, his voice almost swallowed up by the roar of the two Harleys pulling from the driveway.

I palmed the keycard and shrugged. “One of his books. Looks like he’d read it more than once.”

“Probably. He read a lot.” He scratched the back of his neck and twitched a little, like maybe he was nervous.

I’d noticed him do that a few times. It was cute.

“What’s up?” I closed the book, letting the keycard slip back inside like a bookmark.

“Outside, you looked like there was something you needed to say.”

And there were…so many things.

I stood and went to him, placing the book on the coffee table as I did. “You’re afraid I’m going to run, aren’t you?”

He nuzzled against my hands as I cradled his face. His cheeks were rough, like he needed to shave, but he smelled clean and wild, in a way that made me want to crawl all over him.

“Maybe,” he whispered, as if afraid to hear it.

“Never.” I kissed him, sliding my tongue against his until my entire body warmed, and I pressed against him, dropping my hands to his shoulders.

He pulled away after a minute. “Don’t say that.”

His eyes were serious, sad even.

“I mean it. I’ve been thinking and…I belong here, Cam. With you. I think he knew that.”

I wasn’t prepared for the way he jerked away from me, laughing without humor as he turned around. “I killed them, you know that, right?”

“No. You were with me.”

He snorted and turned. “Doesn’t matter, because I would have. I have . Want me to tell you what we did to them? Spell it out for you? Think my mom’s asshole boyfriend is the only one? No, baby, he was the first.”

I steadied myself, his anger stinging more than his words. I knew who he was. I’d already damned myself right along with him. I loved him. This was who we were.

“Last night you were with me.” I didn’t go to him, even though I wanted to. I didn’t address the rest of what he said, because it didn’t matter. “And that’s what you’ll tell anyone who asks. That’s all I’ll hear you say from here on out. Whatever happened to protect people you care about. It was deserved and it’s over. Finished .” There was a sternness in my tone I hadn’t used in months, hadn’t needed to.

“You are…” He stared at me with what I could only describe as a touch of awe.

“Archer’s daughter. And right now, Cam, I really need to go for a ride.”

“Yeah.” He rustled in his pocket, pulled out one set of keys, rolled them around in his hand, and shoved them back in, before pulling out his. “It’s cool. I’m going to grab you a hoodie.”

“I have some—”

His grin was pure sex. “Yeah, but I like you in mine.”

***

Wrapped around Cam, speeding through the desert, was when I felt the most alive.

He turned off the highway toward the mountains that bordered Dry Valley. The late evening sun had turned the buttes and hills gorgeous shades of purple and red. Cam shifted seamlessly through his gears until we were flying through those mountains.

These roads were two-lane, with big sweeping curves that seemed to stretch out forever. I’d been warm at first, but as we climbed, I became thankful for his Desert Kings hoodie.

Beneath his cut, Cam wore one that matched.

As we descended, he made a left, brought us around the foot of the mountain, and pointed us back toward Dry Valley just as darkness settled over the desert. The ride lasted most of the evening, as if he knew exactly what I’d needed.

Maybe he’d needed it too.

When we stopped for gas, I bumped into a young woman coming from inside the store. She was beautiful, though her hair was pulled back from her face and she wore no makeup.

“I’m sorry.” Her voice held a slight accent, familiar but not something I could place.

Then her smile brightened when she saw Cam walk up behind me. I glanced back as he winked at her. But she continued on, sauntering out toward a dark sedan.

“I’ve seen her before,” I said, shoving my hands in the hoodie pocket and contemplating the candy aisle.

“At the club, one of Val’s girls, remember?” He picked out a pack of Skittles.

I did, I’d seen her that night at the club, in the parking lot after ... “You know her well?”

His laugh was sharp and full. “You jealous, darlin’?”

Dead pan, I smacked the candy from his hand. “Do I look it?”

“A little.”

He wasn’t wrong, which was the annoying part. As he stood from picking the package off the floor, he whispered in my ear. “I’ve never paid for it, baby. And she ain’t got shit on you.”

When I chose my candy, he took both to the counter and paid for them. Not revisiting the subject until we were halfway back to the bike and he was shaking candy from the pack into his mouth. It was like he had to think about it, decide if it was information he needed to give me. That he did that was damn frustrating.

“She’s the one Archer messed around with.” He spoke after he’d chewed and swallowed.

Of all the things I’d heard about my father, that was the least surprising. On the way home, I clung tight to Cam. As we roared past The Black Cat, I thought about that night. Not just the fight with Cam but also seeing the escort in the parking lot.

She hadn’t touched Cam’s vest or his hand. No, she’d touched the patch…the one that read Vice President. And the look on her face had been melancholy. How well had she known Archer?

A brightly lit storage facility, with a now familiar logo, screamed at me from the darkness. Three-three-two . Now I knew where the keycard came from. But what did I tell Cam? Now it was my turn to keep secrets, to decide what he needed to know. The Desert Kings were hanging from a thin rope…I didn’t want to be the one to break it. Whatever was at the storage facility just might, though.