“I’m sorry,” I murmur as I bury my face in my woman’s hair and let her essence calm me, but I don’t think I will ever be able to make up for what she has just gone through.
DAKOTA 18
It has been a week since Jason attacked me, and still the men are all treating me as if I nearly died. Even after the doctor’s diagnosis that I had a concussion and minor bruising, they continue to coddle me as if I’m made of glass. Hunter is the worst of all. He won’t let me do anything and insists that I rest for most of the day. Well, after a week, I have reached my limit of relaxing, and I don’t care—come hell or high water, I am going outside today.
Since the abduction, Hunter has apologised over and over again, and no matter how many times I tell him that it wasn’t his fault, he insists that it is, because as my mate, he has a responsibility to keep me safe, and he didn’t do that. No matter what I say, he still feels responsible. Well, today it ends because I’m going to take my life back. I’m feeling much better, and tomorrow, I think I will venture into work. Throwing back the covers, I sit up in bed. My head is feeling much better. Sometimes I feel a slight twinge, but nothing to be worried about.
Turning, I slide my legs out of bed and then slowly stand. The times that I have tried to stand, my head has started to spin, but I have noticed that each time, it gets better. When my head has stopped spinning and I am able to walk, I move towards the bathroom. It’s time to start doing things for myself.
Half an hour later, I am showered and dressed and ready to fight all the men if they insist on keeping me in bed. Opening the door, I make my way downstairs. I can hear voices floating up from the direction of the kitchen. Looks like it’s lunchtime. I am halfway down when Fang and Dixon walk out of the kitchen and stop to look up at me.
“What are you doing? You are supposed to be in bed,” Fang says worriedly as he rushes up towards me.
“I’m fine, and I’m tired of being in that room.”
“You shouldn’t be walking down the stairs by yourself. What if you got dizzy and fell?” Dixon says as he, too, comes to stand at the bottom of the stairs.
“I’m not going to fall, and I’m feeling fine. It’s really nice of you two to worry, but I’m not going to stay in that room any longer.”
“I’m going to call Hunter,” Dixon mutters as he pulls out his phone, which has me rolling my eyes in exasperation. I take another step down and feel Fang’s arm around my waist, trying to support me.
“Fang, I can do this by myself.” There is a worried frown on his face as he looks down at me. It is amazing how dangerous these men can be, but give them a sick female, and they don’t know how to act.
“Get to the stairs. Your woman is here,” I hear Dixon say before he once again slides his phone into his jeans pocket.
“You’re such a tattletale,” I mutter, knowing that Hunter will be wanting to drag me back upstairs. Just then, Hunter and Hawk approach. From the helmets in their hands, they either just arrived or were just about to leave.
“What the hell, babe?” On his way up the stairs, he shoves his helmet into Dixon’s hands. “You can’t be coming down the stairs by yourself. You still get dizzy. What if you fell?” Fang steps back as Hunter takes his place, but instead of placing his arm behind me, he scoops me up against his chest.
“We told her,” Dixon states, which has me glaring at him.
“I’m not an invalid. Put me down,” I mutter, but he doesn’t listen and turns to climb up the stairs again. “I swear if you take me back to that room, I will jump out that window.”
He stops, a shocked look on his face. “You don’t mean that,” he says, concern in his voice.
“Hunter, I’m fine, and I’m not going to stay in that room any longer. It’s driving me crazy.”
“Okay, where do you want to be?” he asks.
“Well, first of all, I want you to put me down.” He starts to shake his head. “Hunter, put me down.”
“When we’re downstairs,” he mutters. Climbing down the stairs, he stops and looks down at me. I can feel the reluctance on his part to put me down by the way his arms tighten before he slowly lowers me to my feet.
“She shouldn’t be walking around yet,” Hawk says, which earns him a glare from me.
“Look, guys, I really appreciate your concern, but I’m fine. Now please go about your business. I didn’t mean to disturb anyone.” I can see the reluctance on their faces as they look at me, but then they all leave except for Hunter.
“Where do you want to go, babe?” he asks as he slides his arm around my waist, but I step away.
“Hunter, leave,” I state, but he shakes his head and then crosses his arms over his chest. His biceps bulging in reaction, the tattoos there calling to be touched.
“No, I will walk with you to where you want to go, and then when you’re comfortable, I will go.” I cross my arms at his comment, but he shakes his head. “I will make sure that you are okay. I’m not leaving, Dakota.” I sigh in defeat, but in reality, I’m pleased that he is giving in and considering leaving me alone. I turn and start making my way down the corridor and to the entrance. I haven’t been outside since everything happened. I need fresh air and to be around nature.
When I step outside, I take in a deep breath and smile. There are bikes parked in front, which tells me that most of the guys are still here. Turning to my left, I walk towards the two wooden chairs that have been placed on the deck that looks to the side of the property and away from the hustle of their day to day.
“You want to sit out here, babe?” Hunter asks.
“I want some fresh air after being cooped up for days in that room.” Hunter takes my hand and lifts it to his lips.
“Do you want me to get you anything?” I look over at him and see his eyes are on the surrounding area. By his tense body, I can tell that me being out here is not what he would have liked, but he’s not stopping me.
“Am I in danger out here?” His eyes snap to me, the frown on his forehead smoothing.
“No, we have boosted the security around here, but after what happened, I’m just apprehensive about you being outside.” I stretch out my hand to stroke his cheek. His stubble is the perfect length for him to scrape up and down my neck. The thought has my stomach fluttering when I think of this man kissing and touching me just the way he does. Since everything that happened, we haven’t made love, and I think that should change and soon.
“I will be fine, but you know what would make it better?” I quip, and see his frown appear again. “You kissing me would make everything better.”
His eyes darken with passion, and then his lips kick up in a smile. “A kiss is it?” He raises his hand. Placing it on my hip, he pulls me towards him until I am flush against his body. “Well, don’t let it be said that I didn’t do everything in my power to make you feel better.” And with those words, he lowers his head and takes my lips with his. The minute our lips touch, I close my eyes in pleasure. Heat courses through my body as he deepens the kiss, his hand at my hip moving around my waist and pulling me even closer. His hardness driving my own passion, I raise my arms until my one hand is at the nape of his neck, my nails scraping lightly up his shaved head.
Hunter groans against my lips, his heat engulfing my senses.
“Careful, you might just swallow her.” Frost’s comment has Hunter’s head rising and a growl escaping his throat.
“Come on, lover boy, we need to go, or are you staying?” Hawk asks. I don’t turn, as I can just imagine a bunch of men standing there looking at the two of us making out. My cheeks warm with embarrassment. I had completely forgotten where I was and would have let Hunter take me right here if he had wanted to.
“I’m coming,” he mutters.
“You wish you were,” Fang quips. Hunter raises his hand and shows him the finger, which has me laughing.
“You find this funny, do you?” Hunter asks with a raised brow as he adjusts himself, grunting in discomfort.
“Poor
baby,” I quip.
“Oh, you are asking for it. Just you wait until I get back,” he says with a dramatic scowl, which has me smiling. “I have to go. Be good. Gunner will be around. If you need anything, just let him know.” He tweaks my nose and then kisses my forehead before he turns and walks towards the men. I walk the couple steps to the chair and then sit down. The sound of motorbikes a few minutes later tells me that the men are leaving.
I don’t know how long I’ve been sitting here, for when I feel eyes on me, looking around, I see a woman against the railing, looking at me. She’s not the same woman I saw last time, Cherry, I think Hunter called her, but I’ve also seen this one around, just haven’t been introduced to her before.
“Hi,” I greet, and she raises her brow and then looks around before nodding.
“Hi. I’m not supposed to be speaking to you.”
I frown. “Why not?”
She shrugs and looks around again. “We were told not to bother you or else.”
“What’s your name?” This has her taking a step closer and then stopping.
“I’m Samantha, but everyone calls me Sam.” She lifts her hand and strokes her fingers through her shoulder-length brown hair.
“Nice to meet you, Sam. I’m Dakota.”
“I know,” she says, and takes another step closer. “You are lucky you have Hunter. He will take care of you.” I have seen Sam around, but like the other two I have seen, they always seem to keep away from me, and now I know why.
“Would you like to sit next to me?” I ask, and she looks behind her again.
“I shouldn’t,” she says with a frown.
“Don’t worry, it will be fine.”
“They might send me away. I shouldn’t be talking to one of the old ladies.”
I frown. How rude. “I’m not old. I’ve just turned twenty-four.”
She looks surprised and then starts to laugh. “No, old lady is the term bikers use for when they take a woman permanently. Don’t you know anything about bikers?” She walks towards the empty chair and sits down. “You are Hunter’s old lady, but don’t worry, for them, it’s a term of respect.”
“I’m not sure I like being referred to as an old lady.”
Sam shakes her head as she leans back against the chair. “We all want to be someone’s old lady. It’s a privilege, and you’re lucky, because Hunter is a Wolverine MC biker. Trust me, I’ve been around bikers, and these guys are some of the good ones.”
“How old are you, Sam?” She doesn’t look older than twenty, but she says that she’s been around bikers, which leads me to believe that she’s older.
“I’m twenty-two,” she says with a shrug.
“How long have you been with these guys?”
“Oh, here I’ve only been eight months. I like it here; I was with a different club before, and some of the guys used to like it rough.”
I tense. “Who are you with here?”
“Who?” She raises one shoulder and pouts her lips in thought. “I hang out with Dash quite a lot, but Fang is also cool.”
It’s not my place to judge anyone, but Sam is a pretty girl. Why would she be willing to be these men’s toy?
“Sam.” She jumps up in fright and snaps around to face Gunner.
“We were just chatting,” she says.
“It’s okay, Gunner. I called Sam. She was just keeping me company.”
Gunner frowns. He inclines his head inside, and Sam hurriedly makes her way there.
“Why have they been told not to talk to me?” I ask, and Gunner tenses.
“We thought you wouldn’t want to talk to them,” he states as he turns to leave.
“Gunner.” He stops and turns his head towards me. “Why wouldn’t I want to talk to them?”
He frowns. “Because they’re Blossoms.”
“What does that mean?”
“You know what it means.” He turns and leaves.
Well, they may not have wanted me to talk to these women, but I’m not going to let that stop me. It doesn’t seem like Sam slept with Hunter; the thought has knots tightening my stomach in anger. Dakota, that was in the past. It’s the future that counts, I tell myself. I’ve always heard keep your friends close and your enemies closer. They might not be my enemies, but it will be easier for me to know these women and to make sure that they keep away from my man. Standing, I make my way around the house and into the trees. From the room, there is such a beautiful patch of flowers just past the cropping of trees. I will pick some and make three arrangements to give to these women, as I’m sure it’s something they don’t get much of.
HUNTER 19
“This doesn’t feel right,” Dash says from where he’s standing behind a tree. At the party, the Hades MC men had come to agree on a meeting between King and their leader. We are all wary of this meeting, because we know that something is wrong. The Hades MC don’t want peace; they have never wanted peace. Every one of their men goes out of their way to create havoc. Something else is up, and none of us can tell what.
“They are sitting ducks down there,” I mutter as I look down through the trees at where King and Fang are standing next to their bikes. Our men are scattered around the area. We have made sure that there are no men around who could shoot at King and Fang, but still, something doesn’t feel right.
“They’re late,” Dash mutters just as we see King getting his phone from his pocket. A second later, he is on his bike and hellbent out of there, Fang right behind him.
“What the hell?” I mutter as I run towards where we parked our bikes. “This isn’t good.” We start our bikes and are on the road when King and Fang come flying past. From where they were, they had to ride up the winding road to where we were parked higher up. We follow King and Fang, not quite knowing where we are going until we realize that we are headed back to the club. My heart starts to race and my stomach knots.
What the hell happened? Why would we be riding back to the club as if all hell had broken loose if nothing had happened? I open my senses to my woman and instantly am attacked with a torrent of emotions, primarily fear. Shit, what the fuck happened to frighten her? I closed myself off from her to be able to concentrate on what was going on. Shit, I would have known something was wrong if I hadn’t.
The minute we ride up to the club, we can see something is wrong, as one of the prospects is lying on the ground in a pool of his own blood. I am off the motorcycle and running inside before it has fully stopped. “Dakota,” I yell, but there is no reply. I know she’s close, as I can sense her.
“Dakota,” I yell again, but there is no answer. “Motherfuckers, Da . . . ko . . . ta!”
“Hunter, she’s here,” Goliath calls from outside, which has me running down the stairs and out the back door to see Goliath carrying Dakota. I don’t stop until my arms are around my woman and she is safely in my arms.
“I thought you were back,” she says, “but then I heard the men talking and I didn’t know any of the voices, so I hid. They took the other women, Hunter; I couldn’t stop them.” There are tears streaking down her cheeks as she recounts what she saw.
“Did you see who they were?” Goliath asks.
“No, I’ve never seen them, but they had the words Hades MC on the back of their kuttes.”
“That’s why they tried to get us all out of here, and they managed it.”
“Where’s Gunner?” I ask. Gunner was supposed to be here, but since arriving, I haven’t heard or seen him.
“I didn’t see him, but there was shooting.” I can feel her agitation, and it kills me that she had to go through this again after just being taken by her psycho ex. I still regret not having killed the fucker after what he did to her, but instead of bringing him back here like we wanted to, we had to hand him over to the police, as someone at the motel phoned them after hearing the commotion of the fight.
Entering the house, Goliath, who is a few steps before me, stops. Looking around his tense body, I see Dash hurrying towards us,
blood coating his hands, and the light T-shirt he is wearing is streaked with blood. “It isn’t good. Gunner, man, Gunner is shot,” Dash states as he stops. “We have called the Doctor, but King asked for Dakota.”
Looking down at Dakota in my arms, I see her shocked face. After everything she has gone through, and not to mention that she’s still not one hundred percent no matter how much she wants to make us believe that she is, I can’t ask her to do this. “Dakota isn’t okay to help him, brother,” I say, but immediately feel her pushing at my chest.
“No, no, I’m fine. Hunter, please let me go and see if I can help him.” Her face is tense. I can still feel slight tremors coursing through her body because of what she saw, but still, she’s willing to go help Gunner.
“Are you sure, babe?”
“Yes, now hurry. Put me down so I can go see to him.” I sigh, not sure if it’s relief that she will try to help Gunner, or that my woman is as bull-headed as all of us here.
“Where is he?” I ask.
“Bar.” That means that he was in the club area. Maybe those assholes didn’t make it to the back where we have our comms room. I tighten my arms around Dakota as she starts to try to lower herself to the floor, and hurry after Goliath, who is already rushing there.
“Oh, fuck,” I mutter when I enter the bar and find Gunner lying in a puddle of his own blood. King is leaning over him, trying to stop the bleeding from one of his wounds on his chest. I wish I didn’t have to bring my woman to this, but she might be the only one who can help him at the moment. As soon as I let her down, she is next to Gunner, her hands moving over his body, looking for injuries.
My mate might not be a doctor, but she has learnt well from her past. “He’s losing too much blood,” she mutters as she looks at another gunshot that he sustained to his stomach.
Bound (Wolverine MC Book 1) Page 14