Possession (Club X #3)(45)
Author: K.M. Scott

“Don’t hold back ever,” I moaned as I wrapped my arms around his strong shoulders. “I want all of you, Kane.”

He came with a rush, filling me until I was sure I couldn’t take any more of him. His mouth plundered mine, nearly taking my breath away as the first strings of my orgasm wound through my body. He made love to me until the very last tremor subsided and all that was left was the two of us in each other’s arms.

“I love you, Abbi. You’re my everything,” he whispered against my cheek as he rolled off me and pulled me close.

Resting my head on his chest, I snuggled up against him and listened to his heart slowly return to its normal beat. “And you’re mine. Whatever happens, I want you to always remember that.”

Kane said nothing but squeezed me tighter against him. He didn’t know what I planned to do for him later that night, but I just prayed he’d understand when he found out.

I kissed Kane goodbye and slammed Gemma’s car door shut, wishing more than anything in the world I didn’t have to leave the man I loved to go work at some place run by a pig. As she drove away, she looked over at me and said, “I still think this is a mistake, Abbi.”

“Just drive. I have to do this.”

“I just think this has the potential to be really bad. That man already grabbed at you. What are you going to do if he does it again?”

I’d thought about that question hundreds of times since I’d agreed to this deal. The answer was simple. Nothing. I couldn’t do a thing if he grabbed me again because if I didn’t make Jethro happy, Kane would go to jail.

“I’ll be fine. You know me. I’m much tougher than I look.”

She gave me a sideways glance and a tiny smile. “By the way, I like this new look on you. Your hair looks cute.”

I instinctively tugged on the bottom of my hair but remembered how much Kane loved my look, even this one. “I got rid of the wig after Kane got blood in it the other night.”

“He really fucked that guy up, honey. If he finds out where you’re going on your nights off, he’s going to freak. I wouldn’t want to be that guy when he finds out.”

“Gemma, he can’t find out. If he does and something happens, they’ll make him go to jail. I can’t let that happen.”

“I have to wonder if there was another way, Abbi. I worry someone’s going to get hurt.”

I worried about that too, but I needed to do this. Kane deserved better than being punished because of who I was. Whatever made men want to hurt me, I had to take responsibility and protect the man I loved.

“Everything will be fine, Gemma. Just promise me that you won’t say a thing to Kane, no matter what he does. I need you to promise me that.”

She hesitated but finally said in a low voice, “I just don’t want you to get hurt, honey.”

“Please promise me you won’t tell Kane. He can’t find out because then he’ll go after Jethro again. Don’t worry, okay?”

Gemma and I rode along in silence for the rest of the drive to Jethro’s bar in Bradenton, she likely worrying about what she saw as my latest huge mistake and me praying to God that my new boss would be too afraid to do anything to me in fear that Kane would kill him the next time.

She stopped in front of a rundown building with peeling white paint and a boarded up window. Not a good sign. Since he had a councilman for a brother who got all that money Kane and his brothers paid him every month, I expected something better than a dive bar. Suddenly, my decision to work for Jethro seemed like a very bad idea. Dive bars didn’t get the kind of clientele places like Club X did, and they rarely had the kind of security Kane and his men provided either.

Gemma stared wide-eyed at the building and then turned to look at me in horror. “Abbi, you can’t do this! Look at this place! No, no, no—”

I reached out and grabbed her arm to stop her from flailing. “I don’t have a choice, so don’t make this worse, okay? Just be back for two. And don’t worry. I’ll be fine.”

“You have your phone, right? I want you to call me if anything happens. I’m not kidding, Abbi. If anything at all happens, you need to call me asap. I’ll be right near my phone all night.”

Leaning over, I held her to calm her nerves. “I’ll be fine, sweetie. Remember? I’m tougher than I look.”

Gemma hugged me tightly like she didn’t want to let me go. “Please be careful, Abbi. I have a bad feeling about this.”

“It’ll be fine. Really. See you at two.” I leaned back and saw the worry etched into her face. I was worried too, but I couldn’t let her know or she’d never let me out of that car. “It’s all good. Two o’clock, okay?”

Nodding, she knitted her brows, unable to pretend she was okay with any of this. “I’ll be here. Just remember you get out of there if anything happens.”

I lied and promised her I’d call her if I got into trouble, but I knew I couldn’t do that. No matter what Jethro did, I had to deal with it. Kane’s freedom depended on it.

The inside of Jethro’s bar, The Greyhound, looked pretty much like the outside. Dimly lit, it had a feeling like somewhere you knew you weren’t supposed to be. The old wooden bar that greeted customers as they walked through the front door looked like it had seen thousands of bar fights. Scratches, pock marks, and gouges marred the dark wood and made the bar look very much like a dive. The black paint on the walls did a poor job of hiding the years of neglect they’d seen, but at least it probably made the blood splatters harder to see.

I took a deep breath in and smelled the disgusting odor of stale nicotine, even though there wasn’t an ashtray anywhere in sight. Looking above my head, I saw the source of the stink, ceiling tiles stained a golden brown from all the cigarette smoke they’d absorbed over time.

God, this place was gross, just like its owner.

Only a few men sat on ripped vinyl barstools watching some football game on the small TV at the end of the bar, old guys drinking cheap beer on tap from dirty glasses. I didn’t see any women as I looked around, but as I studied my new workplace, I saw Mason come out of a back room.

Slightly less disgusting than his brother, he still fit in perfectly in The Greyhound. Unlike when I saw him sitting behind his desk in his councilman’s office in a nice suit and tie, now he wore jeans and a black button down shirt that looked much cheaper. I suspected this was who he really was, no matter what act he put on for the voters.