I can’t do that.
I shove my fingers through my hair and suck in a deep breath before meeting her gaze and nodding. “Yeah,” I say gruffly. “I know, baby, but you’re gonna need to share your plan with me.” I fucking hate how desperate I feel, but Chelsea owns my heart like no one ever has; I refuse to lose her again.
Her eyes soften. She reads me better than anyone, so she knows the depth of my feelings. “I have a plan. I’m just waiting on some information to come through, and then I’ll share it. You just need to know that it’s enough to get my father to leave us alone.”
I look at the girl I’ve loved since we were kids and it hits me that while I’ve spent the last three months falling deeply into this relationship with her, I haven’t given her my complete trust. I realise there’s a part of me still holding back. That needs to end so we can move forward together.
Exhaling the breath I’ve been holding, I say, “Okay.”
“Okay as in you’re on board with me taking charge of this or okay as in you’re going to show up and try to bulldoze your way into getting what we want?”
I pull her to me and hold her tightly. “You know me too well, Mayfair.” I kiss her, taking my time because kissing Chelsea is never something to rush. When I finally let her lips go, I say, “We’ll try it your way, and if that doesn’t work, we’ll do it my way.” I’m almost certain this job will require force to get done, but I’ll give Chelsea the opportunity to try and get her father to see things her way. If he was a decent human being, he’d open his eyes to what his daughter wants, but Mark Novak is a piece of shit so I don’t see that happening.
“I love you,” she says, pulling my mouth back to hers.
I’ve got my hands all over her, ready to fuck her again, when my phone rings. “Fuck,” I grumble. “I need to get that in case it’s Scott.” My president gave me strict instructions this afternoon to ignore his calls at the risk of death. Apparently he’s heard rumblings of shit about to go down between the club and the cops. Fuck knows what for, but he seemed concerned, and if there’s one thing I know, it’s that Scott doesn’t worry over nothing.
Chelsea nods and I locate my phone. “Pres,” I answer the call when I see it is him. “What’s up?”
“I need you at the clubhouse ASAP. We’ve had three members arrested due to new legislation that’s just passed so we’ve got some shit to go over.”
“Fuck.”
“Yeah, that about fuckin’ covers it. Don’t take your time, Gunnar, and watch your fuckin’ back. These cops mean business.”
After the line goes dead, I look at Chelsea. “I have to go.”
She frowns. “Is everything okay?”
I pull on my clothes while my mind races, wondering what the hell is going on with the club. The last time I remember hearing Scott sound as concerned as he did on the phone was almost two years ago when all the shit went down with Rogue and Bourne. “No, but I don’t know why yet.” I grab my phone and keys before pulling her in for a kiss. “I’ll call you later.”
Chelsea follows me outside. I manage to keep my thoughts under control, but my gut is another story. It’s telling me shit is about to hit the fan in the worst possible way. And my gut is usually right.
It’s the flashing red and blue lights outside her house that tell me this time is no different. But it’s the sight of her father exiting his car that tells me this is more than just club business.
Two cops come my way and start spitting words at me. Words that signal my arrest, but that I have trouble focussing on because the only thing I can focus on is the smug smile plastered across Mark Novak’s face.
“Dad, what’s going on?” Chelsea demands, but I know from the fear in her eyes that she knows exactly what’s going on.
Her father knows about us and is going down a dangerous path in order to keep us apart.
The only thing I can fucking hope for now is that Chelsea doesn’t cave and give him what he wants.
“Dad! Tell me what you’ve done!” she begs as he stares at me like he’s won a fucking