Bitter Virtue||Book Two

Distance

Reece

I step into the heavily populated club with a sigh. Jameson is flanking me so close that I can feel his breath on the back of my neck. This is not where I want to be and it's not where either of us should be, but this whole situation with the Irish has spun out of control. We caught the three Kelly's, killed one, and the other two got away. Now they are running but now, they have protection. Protection in the form of a MC that's been on Jameson and my ass for six weeks.

Six weeks.

Six long weeks of very short conversations with my wife and Kylen on burner phones we have to dispose of each time we use them.

"Focus, baby boy. Targets at two o'clock, on second floor in VIP." My eyes slowly lift to see one of the Kelly brothers. He's standing between two much larger men, his eyes looking out around the crowd. I drop my eyes and make a beeline for the stairs that lead up to our target.

"Easy, easy," Jameson says as he grabs my hand and turns us toward the bar. I go with him, but I'm confused. One of those Kelly assholes is right there! Why the fuck are we going to have a drink? Once we are seated at the bar, I yank away from Jameson. He gives me a stern look that just makes me roll my eyes.

"Why the fuck are we at the bar?"

"Because running up those stairs and opening fire on a made man doesn't pan out well for us, Reece. You do want to get back to Madison and Kylen don't you?" Jameson say close to my ear. I rear back and give him a look of pure annoyance.

"We were suppose to be back five fucking weeks ago!" I wince when I feel Jameson grip my thigh harshly.

"Mistakes were made, and now we are trying to make up for them. Would you like to just let it go? Huh?" The venom in Jameson's voice is thick. "Want to just head home to our loves, and by our time? Because you and I both know that although the Kelly's never saw our faces, they know we are fucking involved. They know we killed their youngest brother, or had something to do with it, and if we run back home, we put all of our lives, including our baby's on the line. Is that what you want?"

I swallow as I try to choke back the tears.

"What will you two be having!?" The chipper bartender says, interrupting the conversation. I don't even look up, while Jameson orders two scotches, neat. Pressing the palm of my hands into my eyes, I will myself not to cry.

"I love you. We are getting this shit done, and we are going home. Soon." Jameson's voice is so reassuring. I look up, give him a soft smile, and lean over to peck his lips. He stills in what I know is shock. It's been close to three weeks since I've let him touch me. I'm so damn upset that we are all the way in Florida now, and Madison is still in Washington. Our mistakes over the last several weeks have lead us to Miami, or better yet, the Kelly's have led us to Miami. Here they have way more power and control than they had in Houston. The Kelly brothers have MC's that will bleed for the two assholes. I'm not sure why but I don't honestly care. Both of them still have to die.

Speaking of die...

"You are gorgeous," This masculine voice comes from the opposite side of where I sit. The accent gives way to who is speaking in my ear. I tense and I can hear Jameson snarl beside me. "Such a shame your man isn't going to let you dance with me." I look up then and pair of fierce green eyes slam into me.

Erin Kelly.

The oldest of the Kelly brothers and he's looking at me like I'm a piece of meat.

Does he not notice who I am?

Yeah, I dyed my hair dark brown, and it's in a single braid that reaches close to the middle of my back. But, I still look like me...right?

"No, he isn't." I say as I stare the man down. He smirks and I sense that Erin didn't walk down those VIP steps alone. I turn to look at Jameson, who I find grinning like a maniac, which means he's prepared for this.

The music in the club is loud but the soft sound of a gun cocking, followed by loud screams drowns out everything. Cool medal presses to my temple and Jameson's eyes widen and the narrow in anger.

I never look away from him.

I can't—no I won't.

I want to look into the eyes of someone I know loves me, just in case...

Madison

I dry-heave one last time as Kylen hums, and rubs my back soothingly. It's two in the morning, and I just had the worst nightmare.

Reece was killed.

"Are you done, baby?" Kylen asks as he stands. I nod, letting him help me up. We walk over to the sink and I slowly lift my head. When I do, tears build in my eyes as I take myself in. It's been weeks of little to no eating, and throwing up. Kylen keeps me hooked up to liquids to keep me hydrated, as well as feeding me what little I can keep down. I know it's the stress of Jameson and Reece being gone for over a month now. We hear from them periodically, which is never long enough.

As I stare at myself in the mirror, I realize that I look like I'm dying, rather than bringing life into this world. I rinse my mouth out before hanging my head again.

"Don't look at yourself like that, Madison. You are fierce, and you are doing so well. This is a hard trimester. You will be sick most of it, it's normal."

"I had a dream Reece died." I croak. Kylen comes up behind me, rest his chin on my shoulder and sighs.

"You are not the only one who worries, beautiful woman. But they are fine. We have to keep believing that with every day that passes without a word, that our loves are fighting to come home to us. You believe this, yes?"

"Yes." I turn in Kylen's arms and he kisses me as soon as he is able. My mind short circuits like it always does when Kylen kisses me. We haven't been together sexually yet because neither of us feels like it's right when two people in our lives is dealing with so much.

"You know that you mean the world to me, right?" My voice comes out soft and I watch as Kylen stares at me with so much intensity that I have to fight not to look away from him. "This last month has given us the chance to get to know us, together and I love us. I'm excited about the beautiful life we are about to have together."

Kylen give me a heart stopping smile before swooping me up and carrying me back to bed. After what feels like hours of silence, Kylen's breathing evens out but I can't go back to sleep. Something is wrong, and I won't be able to rest until I know both of my men are alright.

Welcome back Family!!!

Get ready for a wild one!!