Clutch: Satan's Fury MC (13 page)

There was only one thing I could do: I had to end this thing with him before it was too late.

After we finished dinner, the kids went back to their rooms to get ready for bed while I put the laundry away. When I walked back into the kitchen, Clutch was standing at the sink washing the dishes. My heart sank as I stood there staring at him. I liked having him here, sharing the day with him, and I hated the thought of not having him around. I was going to miss him. The way he made me feel safe just by being close, and how easy it was to be with him not only when we were laughing and playing around with the kids, but also the quiet times when we were alone. Mostly I’d miss how alive I felt when he looked at me like I was the only person in the room. It was going to be hard to let go of all of that, but I had no choice. I couldn’t take the risk.

When he noticed me standing there, he asked, “You just gonna stand there staring at my ass or are you going to help me put these away?”

“We need to talk.”

Without turning around, he replied, “I don’t know about that. Sometimes, talking can be overrated. And from the sound of your voice, I figure the talk you want to have is very overrated.”

“Clutch,” I huffed. “I’m being serious.”

“I know. That’s the problem,” he laughed as he turned to face me. “I’ve just had a big meal. Not sure I can stomach some heavy conversation right now.”

Damn. Why did he have to be so damn good-looking? That sexy little smirk, and those gorgeous green eyes pulled at me, making me want to just forget everything I was about to say. Pulling all the strength I could muster, I finally managed to say, “You’re not making this any easier.”

“Then I’m doing something right,” he teased.

“Look … I’m just going to say it. There’s no sense in sugarcoating it. We can’t see each other anymore.”

His eyebrows furrowed as he studied me for a moment, then he shook his head and said, “I don’t know why you say that. I can see you perfectly fine. And I’m liking the shorts. You should wear those more often.” 

“Really? You’re bringing up my shorts right now?”

“You sound surprised. Have you not seen yourself in those shorts? I mean they are sexy as hell, Hazel. You can’t really blame me.”

I crossed my arms and said, “Let me try this again. Whatever this thing is between us … it’s gotta stop. It’s just too much. With everything I have going on, I just can’t get involved with someone right now.”

He took a step closer to me as he said, “Why don’t we start there? Why don’t you tell me exactly what you have going on,
Hazel
?
All of it
.”

And there it was. He was calling me out, and I had no idea how to respond. I stood there frozen as I watched him take another step towards me. His eyes were locked on mine with an intensity I hadn’t expected. He wasn’t going to let it go, so I did the only thing I knew to do: I lied. “I’m working full time and trying to get my brother and sister through school. I need to be focused on them. I don’t have time to be carrying on with some hot guy from next door.”

He was just inches from me and I could feel the heat of his breath. “And?”

“And what?”

“All of it.” He placed his hand under my chin, gently lifting my face towards his. His green eyes were filled with determination as he said, “I’m not going anywhere, Hazel. Since the minute I first saw you, there hasn’t been a day that has gone by that you haven’t been on my mind. This thing that you and I have … I don’t know where it’s going, but I plan to find out. I’m not letting go, so you might as well go on and tell me what the hell is going on with you and those kids.”

“I’m scared,” I whispered.

“You’re letting your fear keep you trapped in the past. Let me take on some of that fear so we can start moving towards the future.”

The intensity of his stare became too much to bear, so I turned away from him as I said, “I don’t even know where to start.”

Refusing to let me move, he reached for me, pulling me closer to him as he said, “Just start with your name. What’s your
real
name?”

It was clear to see that she was nervous. The tension practically rolled off of her as she stood there staring at me with clenched fists, making us both a little on edge. Doing what I could to comfort her, I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her closer to me as I said, “You can trust me. Deep down, you know that.”

“I do know that.” She rested her head on my chest and whispered, “My name is Olivia Turner. My brother’s name is Charlie and my sister’s name is Hadley.”

I continued to hold her as I said, “See, that wasn’t so bad. We’re getting there. Now tell me where you’re from.”

“Boston. We left there a … couple of months ago,” she stammered. Her body trembled in my arms. I didn’t push; I just waited patiently for her to continue. Finally, she said, “My parents were murdered. The police still aren’t sure who did it or why.”

When she started to cry, I hugged her tightly and whispered, “I’m sorry, baby. I’m really, really sorry you and those kids had to go through that.”

She wiped the tears from her cheek as she looked up at me and said, “There’s more. I think the people who killed my parents were trying to get to Charlie and Hadley. They were both in the house when my parents were killed. Charlie saw the men with guns walking down the hall and he freaked out. Before the men could get to them, he snuck Hadley out of the house.”

“Smart boy.”

“Yes, he was. If he hadn’t gotten them out of there …” She started to cry again. “I would’ve lost them … I would’ve lost them all.”

“But you didn’t. They’re right here with you. They survived. You all did.” I gave her a minute, and then I pushed a little further and said, “I need the rest of it, Olivia.”

“It was a few days after the funeral when we started to see a blue van. Someone was following us everywhere. Then, they broke into my apartment. I had no idea what they were looking for, but it scared me and the kids to death. The final straw was the day some strange man showed up at Hadley’s school. I think he was there to get her, but she ran to the office before he could get to her.”

“That’s when you decided to leave?”

“Yes. I packed us up and we just started driving. Ended up here a few months ago.”

“And you did this all by yourself?”

“Not exactly. There’s a detective back home. He helped me get the kids enrolled in school, and he’s been trying really hard to find the guys who killed my parents.”

“What’s this detective’s name?”

“Detective Brakeman. Why?”

Hating that I knew nothing about this guy, I asked, “Are you sure you can trust him?”

“I can’t see why not. He’s done everything he could to help us.”

I nodded and asked, “Is that all of it?”

She cut her eyes over to me and said, “I don’t know. Let’s see … just over three months ago, my parents were murdered. I don’t know who killed them or why. But whoever killed them decided to come after my brother and sister, so I packed them up and headed here. During all that, I changed our names, started working at the diner, and found this wonderful apartment. Oh … and there’s the fact that I’m scared to death. Since the day we left Boston, there hasn’t been a moment that’s gone by that I haven’t worried about something happening to those kids. So, yeah … I’d say that about sums it up.” She motioned for the door and said, “So, here’s your chance. Run while you can.”

I placed my hands on her hips, carefully lifting her up onto the kitchen counter, then stepped between her legs as I said, “I already told you,
Olivia
… I’m not going anywhere.”

“Clutch,” she whispered. “It’s all just too much. You’d have to be crazy to stick around.”

“No. The way I see it, I’d have to be crazy to let you go,” I told her as I brought my hands up to the sides of her face. With the flat of my thumb, I gently caressed her cheek, feeling her breath quicken as I leaned closer. “You have no idea how amazing you are.”

My thumb trailed across her lower lip. I could feel the heat of her breath against my finger when she softly exhaled. Unable to resist the temptation any longer, I gently pressed my mouth against hers, feeling my world rock beneath me. I wasn’t prepared for the simple touch of her lips to set me on fire, an intense heat surging throughout my body. Her soft, delectable lips called out to me, begging to be devoured. Our tongues met, and I became instantly addicted to her intoxicating taste—sweet warmth with a hint of mint. Feeling the same hunger, a light moan vibrated through her chest as her arms wrapped around my neck and her hands quickly began tangling in my hair as she pressed her breasts against my chest. My hands roamed down her back and over the curves of her ass as I thought about how unbelievably perfect she felt in my arms. Remembering we weren’t alone, I pulled back, but when I looked down at her lust-filled eyes, I couldn’t stop myself from leaning in for another. She opened her mouth with a low moan and I delved deeper, savoring the soft caress of her lips and the quickening of her breath. I was lost, unable to control the storm of desire that was brewing deep inside of me. I wanted her to know there was a promise hidden beneath that kiss—a promise that I intended to keep.

And so it began.

When I heard Charlie’s shower cut off, I took a step back, releasing Olivia from our embrace. “No way I’m going anywhere.
Damn,
woman.”

Her cheek flushed as she smiled. “You’re crazy. You know that, right?”

I winked and said, “You kiss me like that again, and you’ll see just how crazy I can be.” Seeing that sexy little smile only made me want to kiss her all over again, but knowing the kids were just in the next room, I fought the temptation. The longer I stood there looking at her, the harder it was to resist, so I decided I needed a distraction and said, “Now, are you going to help me do these dishes or what?”

She shook her head and laughed. “You expect me to do dishes after that? No, sir. I’m going to need a cold shower first.”

“Baby, I was just getting started. Save the cold shower for later. You’re gonna need it,” I teased as I walked back over to the sink.

“You’re sounding pretty confident over there,” she sassed.

“Only because I can back it up. Now get that sexy little ass of yours down from there and help me finish this up.”

“Bossy little thing, aren’t ya,” she teased. She hopped down off the counter and walked over to me. With a satisfied smile, she started drying the dishes I’d already washed and put them away.

It didn’t take us long to finish washing them all, and once we were done, I started for the door. Olivia placed her hands on my shoulders as she lifted up on her toes and kissed me on the cheek. She smiled and said, “Thank you for dinner.”

“I enjoyed it. The next one is on you. Now, get some sleep,” I told her, then kissed her softly on the lips. It was a brief but effective kiss. When I looked up at her, I saw the same longing in her eyes that I’d seen earlier. “Good night, Liv.”

“Good night, Clutch,” she replied as she watched me walk out the door.

I stood, staring at the closed door, and thought about everything Olivia had told me. It was almost inconceivable that something that fucked up could’ve happened to them. Not only had they managed to survive, but they’d left everything they knew behind and still ended up on their feet. I had no doubt that was because of Olivia’s strength and determination. All on her own, she’d protected those kids from god-knows-who and still managed to find a decent job and put a roof over their heads. Unbelievable.

As soon as I got into my apartment, I grabbed my burner and called Big Mike. Over the years, he’d become a real asset to the club. He had a way with computers and could hack into just about any account. I wanted him to look into Olivia’s case and see if he could find some leads. Not only did I want to know who killed their parents, I wanted to know who was after those kids. They meant something to me, and I’d be damned if I was going to let anything happen to them.

As soon as he answered the phone, Big Mike said, “You got Mike.”

“Hey there, brother. How’s it going over there without me?”

“Clutch? Damn, man. It’s been a while. How you doing?” Over the past couple of weeks, I’d been too busy to think about everyone back home, but hearing his voice made everything come rushing back.

“Doing good. Been keeping busy. I’ve been working my ass off in Gus’s garage, but it’s paying off. I’ll have them caught back up soon.”

“Good. It’s about time for you to get your ass back home,” he scoffed.

“Yeah, can’t disagree with you there. I’m ready to get back,” I told him. It wasn’t exactly a lie, but I wasn’t being completely truthful either. “I know it’s late, but I’ve got a favor. Need you to look into something for me.”

“Alright. Whatcha got?”

“Need you to work your magic. I need to know everything you can find on Olivia Turner. She’s around twenty-six or twenty-seven. She’s from Boston, Massachusetts. Her parents were killed just over three months ago. I need to know everything you can find out about the parents: who they worked with, who they’d recently pissed off … whatever you can find on them. Check the police files. I want to know what they’ve been able to uncover and see if they have any suspects. Give me everything they’ve got on file.”