Nolan by Lane Hart, D.B. West

Chapter Nineteen

Nolan

One night and day with Rita doesn’t even begin to make up for the five years we were apart, even if we did fuck so much my dick is nearly raw. It was worth the pain.

But all too soon, the sun comes up, and there’s a knock on the bedroom door.

“Reece is here with the documents,” Abel says through the wood.

“I’ll be right out,” I reply. I quickly roll out of bed and start getting dressed, grabbing my tee to pull it over my head in a hurry. I’ve only met the IT genius a few times before, but I do know you don’t ever keep one of the original Savage Kings waiting.

“Who is here?” Rita asks as she wakes up, stretching her arms above her head, drawing my eye to the sheets sliding down the front of her body, revealing her pale breasts, hickeys the size of her nipples all over both of them.

Fucking hell. Will I ever be able to look at the woman and not want her so bad it hurts?

“Ah, Reece put together your new identity,” I explain while zipping my jeans at the same time I shove my feet into my boots without socks. “I’ll be right back.”

“Okay, good,” she says, rolling to her side, her hands curled around her pillow, looking like an angel with her strawberry blonde strands draped over her bare shoulder.

“You want me to bring you something to eat?” I ask as I slip my arms through my leather cut.

“No. I just want you,” she says with a smile that I return.

“Same, baby,” I tell her, leaning over the bed to give her a swift kiss on the lips. “Keep that sweet Cherry Pie of yours warm so I can feast on it some more when I get back.”

“Nolan!” she exclaims, her face turning a bright shade of red before I force my feet to walk away.

A moment later, I’m downstairs, coming face to face with not just Reece, the former military man looking ready for war, but also, Torin, the tall, commanding presence demanding respect since he’s the original club’s president, and his brother Chase, the VP, nearly the same size as his older brother with his reddish-brown beard longer than ever.

“Damn. The Fury brothers are making house calls now? To what do I owe this honor?” I blurt out before I can help myself, making Hugo cover up his snicker with a cough from where he’s standing off to the side of the living room with Abel and the prospects behind them. The prospects have stars in their eyes, like they’re meeting superheroes.

“We’re in town for a few days to make sure there’s no fallout with the Rebel Henchmen. Roman put us up in one of the beach houses,” Torin says with a grin as he holds out his palm for me to shake it, followed by Chase, and then Reece, who squeezes my hand like it’s a test and a threat all at the same time.

Shit. Roman thinks we need the original Kings for backup? Either the man is being paranoid, or I’ve gravely underestimated the danger.

“Here’s the driver’s license, birth certificate, and social security card the woman will need if she plans to leave town,” Reece says, holding out a large, sealed envelope to me. “But since you reek of sex, maybe she’s going to stay?”

“Oh, well, ah, I’m not sure yet,” I admit to him.

“That detail will mean the difference in telling the Henchmen we don’t know where she is and to fuck off or killing them all,” Reece says.

Fuck.I haven’t had time to think this all through. If Rita stays around here, Leroy and his crew will just keep coming back looking for her.

“Didn’t think about that, did you?” Reece asks.

“It’s just…I didn’t think there would be more than one option.”

“Figure it out and let us know,” Torin says, as if the difference in killing a group of men or not is no different than deciding what to have for dinner.

“I will,” I assure them. “Sorry about the mess and the confusion.”

“Shit happens,” Torin says with a slap of his hand to my shoulder. “We’ve all taken risks for the women we love. Just don’t take too long to figure everything out.”

“Okay,” I agree.

“Roman knows how to reach us,” Chase says with a nod of his chin goodbye. “Stay safe.”

“Thanks,” I tell them again as they head out the door. The guys and I follow them to the porch, watching as they mount their Harleys and ride off.

“They are so fucking cool,” Jake says.

“Cool?” Hugo huffs. “Those men are stone cold killers, boy. And you better believe they’ll take you out without batting an eye if there’s ever even a hint of disloyalty. You hear me, prospects?”

“Yes, sir,” Lucas and Jake both say in understanding.

Roman runs a tight ship and all, but it’s a good reminder for the prospects to see the Kings responsible for holding the entire MC across twenty different chapters together. It takes a specific balance of brutality and brains to pull that shit off.

And I never thought for a second that those men would take time out of their lives to come down and help me protect the naked woman in the bed upstairs.

Now, I have to leave an enormous decision up to her. I won’t make the same mistake as before by assuming anything. I’ll lay out the choice and the consequences for her, then stand by whatever decision she makes, even if I wish I could convince her to stay.

* * *

Rita

“I’ve goteverything you need for your new identity,” Nolan says when he comes back into the bedroom, his eyes lowering to the items in an envelope. “Renee Barton. Easy enough.”

“Renee?” I repeat. “That’s not too bad.”

Nolan finally looks over to me, noticing my wet hair pulled up in a tight bun from the quick shower I took while he was downstairs. There are still a few droplets of water on my shoulders, and that’s the only thing on me as I lay stretched out on the bed.

“Damn, baby,” Nolan says. “You’re making this really fucking hard.”

“What do you mean?” I ask, frowning at his serious tone.

“This,” he says, holding up the envelope without his eyes ever leaving my body. “You’ve got a decision to make. Either leave with the new ID and shit or…stay.”

“Stay?” I repeat. “I didn’t know that was an option.”

“I didn’t think you would want to,” he says when he tosses the envelope on the nightstand beside the bed to crawl up on the mattress, covering me from head to toe with his much larger body. His knees are braced on either side of my legs, his palms beside my head to hold his weight off of me. I smile up at him since he’s still fully clothed, shoes and all while I’m naked.

His lips crash down on mine, kissing me deeply and warming up my body with the need for him again before he pulls away with a curse.

“If you leave, Leroy won’t be able to find you with the new name,” Nolan tells me. “But if you stay…”

“He won’t leave you or the MC alone?” I finish for him.

“They’ll all have to die,” he says simply.

“Die?” I repeat, the earlier warmth disappearing as the chill in the air makes me shiver.

“That’s the only long-term solution,” Nolan explains. “I could lie to you, sugarcoat it, but I don’t want to have any more secrets between us.”

“I don’t either,” I agree. I consider these two options for a moment, then ask, “If I leave…

“Yeah?” Nolan asks through clenched teeth.

“You can’t come with me?”

“No. I wish I could, but…I can’t ask the MC to fight my battles when I’m not around. Besides, I’m still on probation. If I go a week without talking to the PO, I’ll be a wanted man.”

“You’re still on probation?” I say in surprise.

“Yeah.”

“Nothing is ever easy, is it?” I ask with a sigh.

“No, I guess not.”

If I leave, no one will die, but I won’t be able to be with Nolan. If I stay, lots of men die, which could come back on Nolan and his friends. One of them could even be hurt or killed. Almost as bad, Nolan might get thrown back in prison for good…

“I’ll go,” I tell him softly, biting my bottom lip to keep from begging him to come with me. He said he can’t. And I won’t let him make any more sacrifices for me.

Nolan just stares down at me for a long silent moment before he nods and sits back on his heels, rubbing his hands roughly over his head. “I figured as much.”

“Please don’t be upset with me,” I beg him as moisture blurs my vision of him.

“I’m not,” he replies, but I know it’s a lie when he climbs off of me and the bed to stand up. “I’ll find a car and have one of the prospects bring it over. There will be cash locked in the glove compartment. Where’s your phone?” he asks.

I point to my purse on the dresser, unable to speak because I know he’s about to leave and not come back. I may never see him again. Which isn’t fair after losing five years that we could’ve been together if not for my selfish brother. Cory may have only been sixteen back then, but he was old enough to take responsibility for his own actions. Instead, he kept it all a secret, even knowing it would hurt me and Nolan.

“I’m putting my number in your phone. Call it if you need anything,” he says with his back to me.

“What if I need you?” I blurt out.

He glances over his shoulder and flashes me a smile without answering before his eyes drop to the device as his finger moves over the keys.

Right, because if I want him, I’ll be shit out of luck.

“There,” he says.

“Nolan, don’t go just yet,” I beg him. I climb out of bed and go to him, knowing it’s unfair to use my nakedness to tempt him into staying, but not below using it to my advantage.

As I had hoped, the biker lowers his mouth to mine, kissing me unlike before. This kiss isn’t hurried. It’s slow and sweet before he eventually pulls away.

Then, Nolan says the last thing I expected. “Forgive your brother. He may be a selfish idiot, but you’re family, and all you have left is each other. I wish I had that.”

I blink in surprise since I thought he would’ve liked the chance to kick Cory’s ass for not telling me the truth after all this time.

“You’re a good man, Nolan. One of the best I’ve ever met,” I tell him as I run my palms down the front of his leather cut. “I’m really glad I got to see you again.”

“Me too, Cherry Pie,” he says with a short-lived grin before he walks out the door, out of my life for the second time.

And just like before, I’m almost certain that losing him will be one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do.