Page 30 of Johnny Gun

“Sometimes you’re too slow, dude,” Trent said. “I hate to tell you, but you gotta know, because the rest of us have noticed. Whenever Isolde is in the room, you drool like a dog, and your brain turns to mush. Every important detail flies right over your head.”

Fuck, Trent had hit the nail on the head. He lusted after the girl. A single moment didn’t go by when he didn’t fantasize about stripping her clothes off and banging the living crap out of her. Even now, his dick stiffened at the thought of plowing hard into her cunt.

“Am I so transparent?”

“You are,” Trent sighed. “Dude, you eat her up. She knows it. We all know it. Deacon’s the only one who hasn’t seen how you ogle her. And she is his daughter. Can’t believe he’s our prez. What a fucking fool. He deserves every disaster that comes to him.”

Gomez blinked. Trent’s tone held a level of contempt almost close to hatred he hadn’t picked up before today. “Hey, man. That’s harsh.”

His friend shrugged. “Don’t listen to me. I’m having a moment.”

“If you don’t respect the man, why not join another MC?”

“The thought has crossed my mind. For now, I’m staying put. I’ll admit, Deacon really gets on my nerves. Same as the jerkoff who left moments ago. He thinks he’s all that, and he’s competing against you.”

“Come again?”

“See what I mean? An important detail flew over your head. That man, Mr. Johnny Gun from Garden City, is after Isolde. But he’s cagey.” Trent shook his head. “He wasn’t expecting to see Isolde in the common room, so he left to avoid detection. He can’t fool me. I’m on to him. Last night, he showed his real colors. He melts when Isolde’s around.”

“What am I supposed to do?” Gomez whimpered, feeling miserable. Johnny Gun was a good-looking dude. He could attract Isolde’s attention. “I can snuff out his miserable ass.”

Trent laughed. “Not so fast. We still need him and his assholes friends to defend the club.”

“But once that’s handled…”

“All bets are off. Do what you want. I’ll even help you hide the body. In the meantime, we follow him around. But we move carefully. We don’t wanna reveal our hand too soon.”

“You better believe I’ll be on him.”

Trent slapped his shoulder. “I should hope not. Now let’s go get some breakfast. With some luck, Isolde might still be in the kitchen. You can fantasize all you want.”

“Fuck, yeah. I can’t wait to get my hands on her.”

“What happens after you do?” Trent tilted his head with a curious expression. “Once you get your dick wet, will you keep her or toss her out?”

Gomez paused to think. He hadn’t visualized that far into the future because he’d never really believed fucking Isolde was possible.

“I don’t know,” he said honestly. “I want her ass, but I don’t love her. Relationships aren’t my jam.”

“Okay, you don’t love her,” Trent said. “You still have time to decide. My stomach is grumbling. Let’s go eat.”

“Fuck, so is mine.” He took the lead. Trent’s heavy footsteps followed right behind.

Isolde went into the kitchen behind Sydney. As her friend headed for the fridge, she moved toward the drawers and took out placemats and cutlery, putting her trembling hands to work. Carefully, Isolde prepped the breakfast table for Gomez and Trent.

She didn’t want to spend another night like last night. After a lot of hesitation, she’d selected essential pieces to pack and the first stuffie she’d ever owned, the one she couldn’t live without. With that issue squared away, her anxiety took over. Through the endless hours, her active mind had roiled with disastrous what-ifs nonstop. Each outcome was worse than the previous one.

Johnny’s assessment that she’d lived a sheltered life had been on point. Although she’d grown up in the heart of an MC, her father had isolated her and Opal from the MC’s wild goings-on. She wasn’t prepared to deal with all this secretive planning, andher system was on edge. The most normal sound in her room made her jump.

Above everything else, she feared a moment of weakness with her father. He knew her well and might notice her tension. If he asked her, could she hide the truth? The only secret she’d kept these many months was her affection for Johnny. Then again, her father had been blind to her emotions.

The plan is for your safety.You’re the target, her mind had stepped in. As a much bigger picture opened before her, she grasped the full scope of the situation. This wasn’t about Opal, Sydney, her father, or even Johnny. Her life was in the balance. If she wanted to survive the threat, she had to fortify her attitude with conviction. The realization thatshe was doing the right thing gave her enough peace to sleep through what was left of the night.

Nerves returned in full force when she saw Johnny in the front room. Going deep into herself, she managed to shutter her expression, despite the boiling cauldron in her chest. The only outward sign was her shaking hands.

If she could hide them from Sydney long enough…

“I know what’s going on.” Sydney spoke behind her.

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