When Dove Cries Read online

  “Shut up.”

  “Are we back in high school? Should I say make me?”

  “What do you want, Cade?”

  “I need to talk to you.”

  “I’m with Givon and North at their house.”

  “Then I’m coming over. I need to come clean with them.”

  “So, what, you trust them now? You’re convinced they’re not part of this evil trafficking plot?”

  Cade sighed. “Text me their address,” he ordered then hung up.

  About two minutes later, the address and directions came through and Cade walked over to his bike. He dug out his satchel and slipped it over his head before straddling his bike and turning it on. As he approached the gate, he gave a wave to the prospect unlucky enough to pull sentry duty during a party, and a moment later, he was revving away from the Wolves’ compound.

  He hadn’t lied when he’d told Dove about joining a motorcycle club. He’d been a prospect once, long ago, but he’d not been able to stomach all the lowdown, underhanded things the club had been into, so he’d turned nomad to get away from the shit. That had led him on a self-reflective journey that had made him realize that he believed in justice, just not vigilante justice. So he’d become a cop and began working his way up the ladder, finding his niche. At age twenty-five, he’d gone back to night school and eventually earned his Bachelor’s in criminology. He’d made detective, and when he’d turned thirty-five, he’d applied to the FBI.

  Because of his background with outlaw biker gangs, he’d been investigating organized motorcycle club crimes for the past seven years. Some were more notorious than others, and he’d helped close more than a few cases. But the Red Wolves weren’t like those other gangs. Falling for Dove was blurring the lines, and his feelings were starting to affect his job. He should have been investigating the seven days she’d been in the hospital instead of at her bedside, but one look in her vulnerable, dark eyes and he’d been compelled to protect her. But after what he’d just shared with her, after hearing about how torn she was, he knew he was going to have to come clean. He might even have to walk away from her, although that was a scenario he didn’t want to think about. But he knew that John Draven, despite being an outlaw biker, was a good man. Cade had done extensive background checks on all the Red Wolves, and yes, he and the rest had minor shit on their records, but nothing that would send them to jail. Well, other than the drug muling and the money laundering, but he’d already gotten them cleared on those charges once this trafficking ring went down.

  So if—when—he left Dove, he knew that John Draven would take good care of her.

  Cade pulled into the driveway of Givon, North and Allis’ house and stared in surprise. The home was huge, beautiful and picturesque, and the complete opposite of Draven’s house.

  He came to a halt and pushed out his kickstand. He took off his helmet as he dismounted and plopped it onto the seat. No need to worry about someone taking it this far off the beaten path. He walked up the front steps and across the porch. Before he could knock, the door opened to Draven’s unsmiling face.

  “I don’t think this is a good time,” he greeted.

  “Too fucking bad,” Cade shot back and edged his way inside.

  The smell of paint wafted through the air, and everything had a brand new look about it. Allis sat on a navy blue couch and coffee mugs were scattered about. She greeted him with a small smile.

  North and Givon watched him, eyebrows raised, and by the tension in both their shoulders, they still hadn’t received word from the judge about the warrant. The sound of a truck came from the driveway, and this time Allis rose and opened the door.

  “Company?” Cade asked Draven.

  “Friends also affected by the Devils,” he answered.

  Cade watched as a tall cowboy walked into the room holding the hand of a beautiful young woman. They were followed by a Native American man who pulled the door shut behind him.

  “Cade, this is Braden McClintock, his brother Leo Cloud Dancer, and their woman Merrie Walden,” Givon introduced. “This is Cade Vanaker.”

  Cade absently wondered if everyone in Destiny, Wyoming was living a polyamorous lifestyle as he nodded a greeting to the three people.

  “Thanks for calling us,” Braden murmured. “This is important to us.”

  “Of course, man,” North replied. “You’re part of this. However, I don’t understand what you’re doing here, Cade. This doesn’t affect you.”

  Cade didn’t answer. Instead, he shifted his attention to Givon. “I want to go with you tonight when you arrest Gray Dog.”

  “No,” Givon replied. “It’s a police matter.”

  Cade reached into his satchel and brought out the folder.

  “No, Cade,” Draven ordered.

  But Givon had already taken it from Cade, who also held up his badge. “I’m Special Agent Cadence Vanaker, FBI. I’ve been sent to find evidence to shut down the human trafficking ring operating in Destiny.”

  No one said anything.

  “Are you fucking kidding me?” North demanded. He turned on Draven. “You knew? You brought him into the club?”

  “Yes,” Draven answered, frowning.

  North hauled off and punched him in the stomach. Draven bent over with a painful ‘ugh’ and fell to one knee.

  “What the hell, Draven!” he snarled.

  “You’ve got a cop,” Draven grated, coughing a little as he got his breathing back under control, nodding toward Givon.

  “Not the same at all,” North growled. He leaned over, pulling his fist back for another punch.

  “Stop,” Cade said. “He did it to save the club.”

  A pin dropping could’ve been heard in the silence as North looked from Draven to him and back again, obviously confused.

  “They know,” Draven said as he pushed to his feet. “They know about Bryman Jay, about the shop—everything.”

  “In my satchel are papers exonerating the Red Wolves Motorcycle Club from all felony charges,” Cade told North. “Provided you walk away from Mr. Jay, of course.”

  “Who’s Bryman Jay?” Givon demanded. “What felony charges?”

  Cade’s eyes widened as he saw North wince.

  “Shit,” North muttered. “I’ll tell you when the Demon Devils issue is resolved. Okay?”

  “I have a feeling I’m going to be very pissed,” Givon grumbled as he glared at North. He looked at the folder and opened it, sifting through the various reports inside. “Brian Harmon called you?”

  “Yes,” Cade said as he put his badge back into his satchel. “Parts of my story were true. Technically, I am a nomad from an outlaw motorcycle club. I was patched in when I was nineteen, left when I was twenty and went into the police force when I was twenty-one. I was assigned to this case because of that previous experience as well as my connection to John.”

  Everyone’s attention swung to Draven.

  “He’s the fed who killed Tom,” Draven told them quietly.

  “Christ,” North muttered. “This is just getting better and better.” He glared at Cade. “I should kill you for that.”

  Cade narrowed his eyes and tensed, curling his hands into fists as he waited to see if North Tabion would try to carry out his threat.

  “Not in this house,” Allis declared. “The paint isn’t even dry.”

  It was enough to diffuse the situation and when North backed down, Cade relaxed.

  “Where’s Dove?” Draven asked quietly.

  “Sleeping. You and I have to talk when this is over.”

  “Yes,” he agreed.

  The phone rang and everyone turned to stare at it. After the second ring, Givon walked to it and picked it up. He listened, murmured, “Thanks,” then hung up. When he turned around, satisfaction blazed in his green eyes.

  “We got the warrants,” he said. “Let’s go.”

  All six men marched out of the house, leaving Allis and Merrie behind. Givon climbed into his work SUV, Leo and Braden piled int
o a truck, and North, Cade and Draven followed on their bikes. Although he hadn’t gotten Leo and Braden’s story, Cade got the impression they were just as invested in bringing down Gray Dog as the rest of them were.

  However, as they neared the Demon Devils’ bar, Cade could see that something wasn’t right. Charlie had beaten them there, and he stood with another deputy near an ambulance. The other two deputies had twenty bikers outside, systematically taking statements, and he knew he was going to have to call for backup if they hoped to arrest all of them.

  Cade parked farther away, as did Braden, Leo and North, but he felt no need to keep his distance and hurried over to Givon’s side as the sheriff made his way to the ambulance.

  “What the hell’s going on?” he demanded.

  The EMT lowered the zipper on the body bag, and Cade saw right away that it was Gray Dog. By the waxy paleness of the skin, he’d been dead a while.

  “It seems like a Mr. Lester Perry had a heart attack,” Charlie informed them. “He had an apartment on the second floor of the bar and was found by Gunner Smith, who called the ambulance.”

  “You’ve got to be kidding me,” Cade ground out.

  The EMT zipped the bag up.

  “We’re waiting for the coroner.” Charlie looked at him curiously. “Cynthia, Jack and George have managed to detain all the members of the Demon Devils except the before mentioned Gunner Smith.”

  “That’s one asshole we need to find quickly,” Givon told Cade. “He’s a soulless SOB.”

  “And why is he here?” Charlie asked Givon, nodding toward Cade.

  “He’s… Well, let’s just say he’s relevant.”

  Cade shot a benign smile at Charlie. “May I have some gloves, please?”

  Charlie narrowed his eyes. “You can’t go in there. Jack’s roped it off to collect evidence, so only authorized personnel inside.”

  Cade leaned in to whisper in his ear. “I’m FBI, and as of now, I’m taking over this crime scene.”

  Charlie blinked and took a step back. When he glanced at Givon, the sheriff gave a single nod, so he held up a box of latex gloves. “Well, that trumps me.”

  Cade smirked as he slipped on a pair of gloves, as did Givon, and the two entered the bar. Cade’s first impression was that it had gotten stuck somewhere in the eighties and hadn’t seen the light of day since.

  “Charming, isn’t it?” Givon stated dryly.

  “I must ask who does the decorating,” Cade replied deadpan.

  “This way,” Givon said, pointing up the stairs.

  Cade followed him, looking around. Upstairs were six rooms, and a uniformed officer stood at the last one on the right. Givon headed toward it and Cade followed, glancing in each of the open rooms. They were typical biker rooms, complete with beds and sheets he wouldn’t touch with a ten-foot pole.

  Gray Dog’s room wasn’t much better. The stench of old cigarettes, whiskey and unwashed bodies was almost overwhelming. He saw a few prescription bottles and picked them up.

  “Digoxin and nifedipine,” he read. “He did have a heart problem.”

  “Fuck,” Givon muttered, obviously frustrated. “The fucker ups and dies just when we get ready to arrest him. Seems awfully convenient.”

  “Well, look at it this way,” Cade said as he pulled off his latex gloves on his way out of the door. “He saved the taxpayers a lot of money on a trial. Excuse me, I have to call my superiors. You do realize we’ll be taking all the evidence you’ve collected?”

  “Yeah,” Givon replied sourly. “I know.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  When he walked outside, he saw North, Draven, Leo and Braden hovering at the edge of the roped-off area and made a beeline for them. It was over. Well, technically, he’d have to question Gray Dog’s men and follow up on the autopsy, but those were minor details. His work in Destiny was now at an end.

  That caused a pain to shoot through his heart. If his job were over, he’d leave. That meant leaving Dove. Just walking away as if he didn’t care about her. And maybe that would be the right thing to do because, after all, there was a twenty-two-year age gap between them and that was a helluva difference. She was really nothing more than a baby.

  But the thought of never seeing her again, never tasting her again, left him more than a little unsettled. In fact, it left him restless and angry and wanting to hit someone—preferably Draven. So while it might be the right thing to do, he didn’t think walking away was going to be so easy.

  “Is it true?” North demanded.

  He nodded. “Gray Dog is dead. I have to call my superiors for backup since we have to interrogate all of the Demon Devils. I don’t think Givon’s office is quite prepared for what’s going to happen now. This place is going to be overrun with FBI soon, so you have to make sure your men are prepared.”

  Braden let out a relieved sigh and hugged Leo.

  “Have you arrested Gunner?” Leo asked.

  “He’s the only one we can’t find,” Cade replied.

  “Shit,” Braden muttered. “We have to go.”

  “Why?” Cade demanded.

  “Merrie,” Leo said. “Gunner was the one who was driving her car when she was abducted. He didn’t kill her on Gray Dog’s orders.”

  “And now that Gray Dog is dead, you think he could be tying up loose ends,” Cade concluded. “Go. Call me if you need help.”

  Cade watched as they practically ran back to their truck.

  “Holy shit,” North stated. “They’re gone. The fucking Demon Devils are gone. We need to get back to the Wolves’ den and tell everyone the good news.”

  North punched Draven good-naturedly on the arm, all anger from earlier seemingly gone in the wake of knowing their turf war was over and Destiny had been returned to the Red Wolves. He headed toward his bike, leaving Cade and Draven alone and staring at each other.

  “You’re going to be busy,” Draven stated.

  “I am,” Cade replied.

  “It’s going to be days, probably. Maybe weeks. Can you give Dove a message for me?”

  “I suppose.”

  “The real message and not some fucked-up nonsense you’ll make up?”

  Draven sighed. “What is it?”

  “Tell her I will be back and I’ll talk to her then.”

  “Sure,” Draven replied and turned away.

  “And, John?”

  Draven stopped, annoyed. He didn’t turn around, but he looked to the side.

  “You and I need to talk too.”

  Draven didn’t say anything, and somehow that didn’t reassure him at all.

  Draven felt a weight slide off his shoulders, more than one, if he was honest. Although working with Cade hadn’t been the nightmare he’d imagined it would be. The man had actually helped the club out in ways he or North never could have done.

  As he followed North back to the compound, thoughts of the last moment he, Cade and Dove were together drifted through his mind. Yes, he knew there was something between them, something that seemed to click. He’d seen how it was between North, Givon and Allis, even Braden, Leo and Merrie. He really hadn’t understood the dynamics of a three-way relationship but then he had never thought he’d feel what he’d been feeling. It wasn’t a sexual attraction to Cade. Shit, he didn’t even know the man. Didn’t even like him. But when they’d had Dove between them, something sparked to life deep within his soul, and for the first time in his whole life, things hadn’t seemed so lonely. The only person he’d had after his parents had died had been Tom, and when he’d died, everything had become dark.

  He could relate to Dove’s depression because he’d had it for years. North had dragged it out of him and he owed the club everything. And now Cade had delivered the club the greatest gift ever—the end of the Demon Devils.

  Was he going to tell Dove the truth?

  He wished he could say he was the bigger man, but the truth was, he just wasn’t sure.

  * * * *

  Dove woke up to the best fee
ling in the world. She reached out, expecting to touch Cade, but the bed was empty. And by the coolness of the sheets, he’d been gone for some time. She sat up, her body feeling languid and just a little aroused, and for a second, she pouted. She wanted Cade back in bed with her. Then thoughts of Draven also came into her head, and she wouldn’t have minded them both being with her, turning her on, loving her. They would sandwich her between them, touching her, running their hands over her body and revving her desire higher and higher. She ached to be a part of them, to be filled with their heat and love.

  She ran her hands up her stomach to cup her breasts. She traced the circumference of her tits before rubbing lightly over her nipples, teasing them until they pebbled. She pinched them hard and moaned at the pleasure-pain feeling. She may have been a virgin, but that didn’t mean she hadn’t played with herself, and her nipples had always been extra sensitive.

  Her mind conjured up both Draven and Cade, and she let the fantasy play out in her imagination. One would press up against her front, his cock hard and heavy, as he’d rub the shaft along her pussy lips. The other would cage her into the tight sandwich from the back. She’d never in her life dreamed that she’d want to try anal sex but the idea of being possessed by both at the same time only ramped up her desire.

  She slid her hand from her breast downward, over her tight stomach to find the curls protecting her sex. She traced the outside of her pussy with one finger and slowly, gently, teased the slit. Oh, it felt so good. So wicked as she lay in this den of bikers and thought about her men. One would take over, sliding his fingers inside her soaking pussy, the sensation sending shock waves throughout her body. She’d buck her hips, trying to get his fingers deeper into her pussy, but the man behind her would grab her hips and keep her still.

  She felt the heat of her arousal pumping through her blood, and she moaned as she pictured Draven and Cade stroking her clit, swollen and sensitive, teasing her more and more. Her pussy had gotten so wet that her fingers went in and out easily, so she applied a little more pressure, going a little faster, a little deeper. She continued to rub and pinch her nipples, which kept her balancing on the precipice of orgasm.