by Sam Crescent
Bear sat down and took a slice of pizza.
“This is club business, Robin. When Preacher’s ready for you to know, you’ll know. Don’t ask anyone about your mother. As far as anyone is concerned, she skipped town and never returned.”
The knot tightened in her stomach as she stared at her father. A part of her wanted to be horrified by what she knew he wasn’t saying, but another part, she knew, she got it. She accepted it. That wasn’t normal.
Gritting her teeth, she tried not to think about everything she didn’t know. “So … what you’re saying is, I can’t talk about it, not to anyone?” she asked.
“No.”
“That doesn’t exactly seem fair.”
“I know it’s not fair, but that’s just the way it is. There’s nothing we can do. You’re going to have to accept it.”
She nodded. “Have you heard from Preacher?” she asked, wanting to change the subject.
“Yes. He was the one who called me and I saw the message on my phone to come and pick you up.”
Silence fell between them.
She finished a second slice but now she’d lost her appetite and just wanted to go to bed, to do something other than sit with her father.
“I really need to have a shower. I’m kind of tired.”
“Robin,” Bear said. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine.”
“No, I need … I’m sorry,” he said again.
“I know. I’m going to go and have a shower.” She gripped his shoulder, trying to offer him comfort.
Leaving him alone, she headed up to her room, removing her clothes after she closed the door. The silence was peaceful.
Once she was naked, she walked into the bathroom and stared at her reflection. The ink on her body was another mystery. Turning to the side, she tried to look at the possessive ink across the base of her back. What did it mean?
Shaking her head, she tried to clear the fog from her mind, but no matter what she did, it didn’t work. There was nothing there. Her mind was a constant blank. Turning on the shower, she let out a little gasp as the cold seeped into her skin. She closed her eyes, tilting her head back and letting the water run across her body.
In the back of her mind, she felt another time. Another body. A man? He was larger than her.
His arms coming around her.
When she opened her eyes, the sensation was gone. There was no fear and she quickly closed them again, wanting the memory to stick.
The arms, they didn’t feel scary.
Were they Preacher’s?
She couldn’t see clearly. There were no distinguishing marks. Just the feeling.
She wasn’t afraid, but … content. Those arms, they didn’t do any harm. When his lips brushed across her neck, it felt right.
Pressing her palm against the tile, she opened her eyes. Her body was on fire with need, but the image in her head didn’t disappear. The man, whoever he was, he had to be real.
None of it made any sense to her. She was slowly and surely losing her mind.
Chapter Twelve
Her time with Reaper
Jealousy?
There was no way she could be jealous.
Robin took a bite of her pancake and stared across the table. All the men were gathered around several tables. Reaper was beside her, his large, muscular body imposing. She couldn’t not look at him. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched him, waiting for him to lose control or to do something that scared the crap out of her.
He lifted his coffee cup and took a large sip.
Not scary.
She finished off her pancakes and then drank her tea. The food settled heavy in her stomach and she didn’t want to think about what his words meant.
“Damn, you should have seen the way she was riding my cock. She was a pro. I wanted to keep her but let’s face it, bitches like that, they don’t exactly stick around for long,” one of the men said.
She hadn’t learned any of their names. Other than Reaper, she wasn’t allowed to stay near any of the men. They were always there, guarding, watching, but never getting too close.
“Enough,” Reaper said.
The men looked toward Reaper and she saw the tensions rising. No one spoke.
“Can I use the bathroom?” she asked.
“Yes.”
She pushed her chair away and went toward one of the bathrooms. She didn’t need to use it but there was no way she could sit around the table. Running the water, she splashed some on her face, trying to cool herself down.
“I’m not jealous.” She looked at her reflection and came to a stop when she saw the window over one of the toilets.
It couldn’t be that easy.
None of the men had gone to see the bathrooms. It was also a busy little diner. So many faces had come and gone in the short space of time she’d been eating. Would it be so hard to … escape?
Jealous.
No, she wasn’t jealous of Reaper. He had gotten it all wrong. The only reason she hadn’t tried to escape before was because of how pointless it was. There was nothing keeping her with Reaper.
She wanted to get home to Preacher. She loved him, missed him. She had a great many dreams about him, and he was the only person she cared about. The only person she wanted to be with.
After opening the stall, she put the lid down on the toilet and lifted herself up. She shimmied out of the window. The drop to the ground wasn’t too steep and before she could question herself, she dropped right out, wincing as her body hit the ground.
“Ouch! Bad move, Robin. Really bad move.” She would totally be feeling that all day long.
Getting to her feet, she didn’t know what the hell to do now. If she ran, it wouldn’t take Reaper long to realize she was gone. Without even thinking, she took off, heading in the direction they’d come. Reaper wouldn’t think to go back, would he?
She had no way of contacting Preacher. If she could find a phone and remember his number, or even the station’s number, it would all work, right?
What if O’Klaren was still there?
She didn’t stop to think. She kept on going. Running.
In the distance, she heard the bikes and freaked out, heading into the thick forest, knowing she couldn’t stay there.
Bears or coyotes could be lurking.
She heard a bike pass and she leaned up against a tree, closing her eyes as the bike came to a stop.
“Robin, I know you’re out there,” Reaper said. “I gave you just enough time to make a run for it, but you and I both know spending the night in the woods isn’t on your to-do list.”
She cringed as she heard a twig snap.
This was the first time she had run in so long. The last time, he’d hurt her badly.
Suddenly, running didn’t seem like such a good idea.
Tears filled her eyes, and she wanted the ground to open up and swallow her whole. This couldn’t be happening.
“I won’t hurt you,” Reaper said.
“You’re lying.” She slapped a hand over her mouth. Why did she have to talk? She had just given away her fucking position. She didn’t hear Reaper stepping forward though. “It’s what you do. You hurt me.”
“Is that what you want me to do? Hurt you?”
“I don’t like pain. I want to go home.”
“You’re not going home. It’s the one thing I won’t be giving you and you know that. You’ve got to learn to accept it.”
Silence.
She didn’t trust him.
“You will have to hurt me because of your men.”
“I’ve told them to carry on to our next stop. They don’t know you ran.”
“I went to the bathroom and didn’t come out.”
“You think I don’t know what you were going to try to do? I’d already spotted the open window in the bathroom.”
This made her frown. “How?”
“I check every stop we make. I always look for an escape route for you. After the other night
, you don’t think I knew you were going to try to run?” Reaper asked. “You’re quite predictable.”
She didn’t respond, resting her head against the tree. His voice gave away the fact he was getting closer and because of that, there was no point in running.
Opening her eyes, she watched as he rounded the tree. She didn’t know what she was expecting, maybe his anger or rage, but instead, she got a nice smile.
“Hello, beautiful,” he said.
“You’re not angry.”
“Why would I be angry? Oh, you think I’m pissed because you tried to run?”
“This wasn’t a try. I did run.”
“There was a pay phone across the street, Robin. You could have called for help.”
She hadn’t seen the pay phone. “I didn’t have any money.”
Reaper laughed. “You’re still going to keep on dodging the truth, I see. Okay, fine, I can handle it.”
“I don’t want to talk about this anymore,” she said. “Whatever you think is happening here, you’re mistaken.”
“We’ll see.” He reached out, taking a strand of her hair.
She held her breath as he circled the curl around his finger. He didn’t hurt her. There was no tugging or fighting. He twirled her hair around and then let it go. “I wonder what Preacher will think of our new ink.”
“You forced me. He won’t think anything of it.”
“You play the hard and tough woman, but we both know that’s not the case.”
“You seem to think entirely differently to everyone else,” she said. “There’s no way I will ever have feelings for you, Reaper. What you’re doing isn’t going to make me fall in love with you. You’re delusional. You think I’m just going to forget the way you’ve treated me?”
Why don’t you shut up before he hurts you? Do you want another black eye? Broken bones? Bruises?
“I want you to think about the woman last night.”
“Why?”
“I was the one who brought her to the club. I make sure all my men are taken care of. I approached her, asked her if she wanted a good time. I know I’m a pretty face and it didn’t take a lot to convince her to come back and play. Even while we were driving back, she was coming onto me. Wanting to suck my dick in the car.”
“Why are you telling me this?” she asked.
“The woman was like a bitch in heat. I could have asked her for anything. Her mouth, her ass, her pussy. She would’ve given it to me, but I didn’t touch her. I had no reason to. The men took one look at her and they wanted her.”
“But you didn’t.”
“Nope. Now tell me what it feels like to know there was a woman who wanted me. Who craved my touch more than anything.”
“I don’t want to do this.”
Reaper laughed. “You know, I used to think you were a strong woman, but now I see you’re weak.”
“I’m not weak. I’m still standing here, aren’t I? I tried to get away from you. I wanted to be free.”
“And you could have been, but you took the hard way out. Come on, Robin, admit it. You were jealous of the thought of me taking comfort in that woman. You like me and you hate yourself for it.”
“I don’t know what it is you think you know, but believe me, it has nothing to do with me.” She glared at him. “Do your worst.”
He sighed. “You still think I’m going to hit you.”
“Why not? You’ve done it before.” Part of her wanted him to hit her. If he raised his fist at her, she could be free of any possible feeling. He was merely a monster.
She stared at him, waiting.
He didn’t raise his fist.
Gritting her teeth, she waited.
His hand came up but there was no pain. He stroked her cheek with the back of his fingers and smiled at her.
“There’s nothing I would ever do to hurt you, Robin. I made my mistakes with you and I won’t make them again.” He leaned down and brushed his lips across hers. “I can’t tell you how sorry I am for being an asshole to you. I can only promise you from now and for the rest of my life that I will never hurt you.”
The tears she’d tried to keep at bay fell. “Why are you doing this to me?”
“I’m not doing anything.”
“You know you’re doing this on purpose. You’re making it hard for me to hate you.”
“I made a lot of mistakes.”
“This is all lies.” She sniffled.
Reaper pulled her into his arms and she squeezed her eyes closed, not wanting to believe him.
There was no way he cared about her. He’d taken her. No matter what words he said, they were lies. This was all part of his revenge plot, and she was merely a bargaining chip. There was nothing else she could do to make him see reason. She was his prisoner.
Reaper didn’t let her go. He held her until the tears subsided, and together they walked back to his bike. She didn’t talk to him. Words weren’t important to her right now. Nor would they ever be.
He’s a monster.
He took me against my will, forced me, hurt me, and even though he’s acting all changed, he’s not.
Remember the monster.
Don’t forget Preacher.
There is a life you want.
Never … ever … forget.
****
Present day
Preacher jerked awake at the sound of Robin’s gasp. He didn’t have time to stop her as she hurtled out of bed and ran.
He quickly followed her, not caring about his naked state. The pain in his ribs took a direct hit but he ignored it. The raid the other night with Dog didn’t go according to plan. The men at the docks were stealing from them, but they’d also been made aware of exactly what was going on. They were expecting them.
Rather than a nice quick capture and torture, it had ended in a gunfight, and a lot of punches were thrown. For his troubles, he got a nice direct hit to his ribs. Nothing was broken and according to Randall, he’d be feeling better in no time. So far, he called bullshit, but then it had only been a couple of days.
Reaper was the one responsible for the docks, he just knew it. The men who had taken his dope didn’t have a name for the man who paid them, but in his gut, he knew Reaper was close.
What he didn’t know was why his enemy was lurking in the background but refusing to come out and play. Instead, he was making bad deals. The kind to draw attention to himself, but why?
From his experience with Reaper, the man had a reason for everything. What Preacher needed to do was be one step ahead of the game. So far, he’d been too distracted by Robin. If he didn’t get inside Reaper’s head soon, he had a horrible feeling it was going to come and bite him in the ass.
Rushing downstairs, he found Robin, completely naked, trying to get out the door. Wrapping his arms around her waist, he tried to pull her back.
“Get off me. I have to go. I have … I have to … I’m needed … she needs me.”
“Who needs you?” he asked.
She didn’t answer. Her heart raced.
She pushed him away but he was by far stronger than her. Anything she tried to do to get away from him, he was easily able to stop.
She growled at him, begging for him to let her go.
He refused.
She didn’t like him holding her, and she kept mumbling about being needed. It was like she was caught up in a nightmare. One that only she could see.
Finally, when she gave up and collapsed to the ground, he still held her. She panted and sobbed but didn’t try to fight him.
“I’ve got you,” he said.
He’d repeat the words over and over until she realized she was safe. He was with her and he wasn’t going to let her go. Kissing her temple, he continued to hold her, not letting go.
“What is happening to me?” she asked.
“I don’t know. Do you know what set this off?”
“A dream. I think it was a dream, but it felt so real.”
“You kept mentioning she.
What she? Your mom? Someone you remember?”
“I don’t know.” She curled up in a ball. “Please, Preacher, hold me.”
He held her even tighter. “Don’t worry. I’ve got you. You’re safe now.”
“What if someone’s still out there? What if another woman was taken? Do you think that’s who I’m remembering?”
“I honestly don’t know.” He kissed the top of her head. “Talk to me. Tell me how you’re feeling.”
He needed to know what he was up against. Her past was a complete mystery to the both of them, and there was no getting away from it, no matter how much she tried to fight it. “Can we move?” she asked.
“Sure.” He lifted her off the floor and carried her through to the living room. After placing her on the sofa, he wrapped a blanket around her. “I’m going to go make us some hot chocolate.”
“Okay.”
“You’re fine if I leave you alone?”
“Yeah, I’ll be fine. I promise.”
She offered him a smile but he wasn’t convinced.
“I’ll be back.” Once he was in the kitchen, he heated up some milk. His hands were shaking. Nerves were getting to him.
He’d never seen her like this and it scared him. When the milk was hot, he added in the melted chocolate, which he’d poured out from a bag of chocolate chips. Giving them a stir, he added some sugar before pouring out the mugs.
Walking back into the living room, he found her huddled under the blanket.
“You’re naked.”
“So are you.” He handed her the chocolate and took the seat beside her. Sipping at the scolding liquid, he waited.
“I’m so sorry.”
“You don’t need to apologize. Honestly, I’m fine.”
“It’s late and I woke you up acting like a crazy person. I don’t even know what went wrong.” She sipped at her drink. “This is nice.”
“I’d rather be with you than have you suffer alone. Do you know what you were thinking? Feeling?”
“I … it’s like I’m missing something or someone. Like I’m needed. It’s important for me to remember. I … I wasn’t afraid. I wanted to go back.” She shook her head. “It makes absolutely no sense at all.”
He heard her sniffle. “What’s wrong?” he asked.