Page 39 of High Velocity

“Yep.”Once he swallowed and licked his lips, he leaned down to kiss her.“But you taste better.”

“Mm, so do you.”Charli winked then took a bite for herself.“But don’t tell Konstance I said that.”

“Said what?”Konstance asked, causing Charli to whip around in surprise.Bradley stood by her side, grinning, as if he knew what they’d been talking about.

“That I taste b—” Roark started, but Charli quickly slapped a hand over his mouth.He still managed to laugh.

“Who’s ready to check out the bouncy house?”Charli said, carefully removing her hand and giving Roark a look that said,don’t you dare finish that sentence.The man winked.Charli turned to Konstance.“I think we should have a turn, don’t ya think?”

Konstance looked at Bradley with a curious stare, and he simply shrugged.Charli crammed the last of her cookie in her mouth, swallowed, and grabbed Konstance’s hand.

“Let’s do it!”And they took off running, giggling like little girls.They each kicked off their sandals and crawled inside where four others were jumping around wildly.The kids looked at them with confusion but didn’t stop playing.“I think there’s room for all of us!”

The kids cheered, and they all bounced together, laughing hysterically.

Throughout the afternoon, Charli had a marvelous time meeting the Club family, chatting more with Konstance, and of course, sitting in Roark’s arms once the bonfire was lit at dusk.The Club compound had a man-made lake they’d gathered near, and while the bonfire added ambience, a smaller pit fire was going for those who wanted toasted marshmallows.Most of the kids gathered around, holding their sticks over the fire and roasting the sugary, fluffy goodness to varying degrees.Kaydence and Kadon helped some of the smaller kids, clearly enjoying the activity.

As family came and others left, the activities settled down as night descended.Darnell had been in charge of the music most of the day, and soft rock now played over several speakers.Charli caught sight of Konstance and Bradley walking near the shore of the lake, holding hands.

“They look good together,” Charli said.“Did you know she’s a widow?”

“I did,” Roark said.“And, yeah, I think they’ll be good together.”

“Me too.I don’t know a lot of the details, only that she had the twins young and their father was killed in action.”

Charli felt Roark stiffen behind her.“That’s tough.”

She turned her head up to look at him.“Yeah.”She continued to stare, and Roark looked down at her with a questioning stare.

“What’s on your mind, Charli girl?”

“Just wondering about your time in service.What you did.What you thought of it.”When his face became stoic, she added, “I’ll understand if you don’t want to talk about it.I’m just being nosy.”

“No, you’re curious.I won’t talk about specifics, but I was a sniper.One of the best shooters my drill sergeant had seen.I went in wanting to do Special Forces, and I did.Wouldn’t settle for less.Had plenty of missions.Made good friends.Lost some friends.The Club needed me, so I came home.”

Charli knew there was plenty to fill the gaps, but she wouldn’t push for anything more than what Roark was willing to give.

“The Club got involved in intercepting human traffickers.”She sucked in her breath at that statement then moved to sit so she could face him.“Yeah.Sadly, it’s everywhere.There was an operation bringing people in illegally to work the farms, the ranches.Lots of places.Some of them just kids.We worked with the six surrounding county sheriffs to patrol the back roads.To stop them.”

He stopped to look down at his hands, and Charli could see, even with his beard, his jaw flexing.She reached to take his hands in hers, rubbing her thumb across the tops as she remained silent.

Roark looked into her eyes.“Most times, it went smoothly with people being saved and the coyotes—those who transported the illegals—being arrested and deported.Other times ...well, not so smoothly.Everything has a trickle effect, and those in charge of the trafficking got word about our involvement.About how we were disrupting their business.”He snorted with disgust.“The Club got targeted.”Charli’s hands tightened on his.“Thankfully, no casualties.Can’t say the same for those fuckers.”

“But you stopped them.”

“We stopped the majority of their operations.It’ll never completely end, but the government and their entities have a better handle on it.If needed, we’re here.”

“Always some shit to deal with,” Charli murmured.

“Yeah.”Roark chuckled but there was no humor in it.“Hey, enough about that.This is supposed to be a fun day.And I’m going to turn it into an even better night.”He winked at her.

“Oh?”She crawled onto his lap, and his hands circled her waist.“Any hints?”

He gently rocked his hips, and there was no mistaking his erection.“Any more questions?”

“Just one.When do we leave?”

Roark laughed.“Oh, we aren’t leaving, babe.I thought we’d stay at my cabin here.It’s closer.”