Trigger's Light : Infernal Sons MC #4

by Carol Dawn

  What the mother fucking fuck?

  Multiple shocked eyes dart in my direction.

  Join the club, brothers. You can’t be more shocked than me.

  “Oh, Uhm, you don’t have to. I can look when I get home.”

  “Like hell, you will,” I argue. “Do you even know what you’re looking for? This person said he’s been watching you and for you not to tell anyone. If he’s watching you as closely as it seems, he’s going to know you came here. He’s going to know you’re looking for help. You need someone to stay with you until we get things figured out.”

  Her eyes grow wide with fear.

  Fuck! I didn’t want to scare her. I just wanted her to understand her situation. She may think that it’s this Marco fucker trying to scare her, but I have a feeling it’s something much worse.

  “Well, hell,” Ink says. “I didn’t even know you knew that many words, Trig.”

  “Shut the fuck up, Ink,” I growl without looking away from Thea.

  “Those are the words that I know you do know. You say them enough. All of you say them enough,” he complains.

  “But you never actually take the advice,” Brick says.

  Instinctively, I gently grip the back of Thea’s neck. Her scared eyes instantly turn soft and relaxed.

  Interesting.

  “Say your goodbyes, little one,” I tell her as softly as I’m able. “We’re leaving.”

  “Who the fuck are you?” Brick asks. “Hey, while you're gone, I might need to borrow your bed. Mine’s being switched out for a waterbed.”

  “Go near my room and I’ll break your face,” I say.

  “There he is,” Brick laughs.

  Thea turns to give Bella a hug.

  “Call me as soon as you get settled in,” Bella says. “I know Trigger will make sure you stay safe.”

  “Trigger?” Thea says, glancing back in my direction. I want to give her a reassuring smile, but the feeling is unnatural. I nod my head instead.

  Thea talks to Bella and Chains for a few minutes before turning and walking toward me.

  I don’t move a muscle. I want her to come to me completely. I don’t want to force a single decision.

  She stops right in front of me and strains her head up to look at my face.

  Good girl.

  “I’m ready,” she says, quietly.

  I scare her. I scare everyone, but some part of me is deeply upset that I scare her, too.

  Without thought, I wrap my large hand around the back of her neck again and watch in awe as her body relaxes into submission.

  I’m fucked!

  “Let’s go, little one,” I say, guiding her out of the room. “I need to check your home and secure everything before it gets too late.”

  Chapter Six

  Thea

  I stop in my tracks.

  “There is no way in heck I’m getting on that thing,” I say, looking at the metal death trap.

  Trigger’s lip twitches. What kind of name is Trigger anyway?

  Stupid Trigger. Stupid lip twitch. Stupid sexy face.

  “No way in heck?” he teases.

  “Yes, no way in heck,” I repeat. “Let’s just ignore the fact that I’m forty percent more likely to die in a motorcycle accident than in a regular car and focus on the fact that I’m wearing a dress. Someone who looks like me,” I slide my hands down my large curves. “And someone wearing something like this,” I point to my bright yellow dress decorated with sunflowers. “Doesn’t belong on the back of one of those.”

  Trigger doesn’t say anything as he gazes into my eyes.

  What does he see? Fear? Longing? Lust?

  No, definitely not lust.

  “Look,” he says, sighing. “I don’t give a fuck what you look like, what you wear, or if you belong on the back of someone’s bike. I just want to take you home, secure everything, and go home and sleep. Can you just not fight me and get on the fucking bike?”

  He thrusts a helmet in my arms and straddles his bike.

  The feeling of being punched in the gut brings tears to my eyes. I thought there was a connection between us. I thought that maybe my romantic heart finally found someone to fight for.

  I guess I was wrong.

  I knew from the moment of his first glare that he didn’t like the way I looked. I’m too big for someone like him. He’s so sexy. So perfect. He needs a woman who suits him.

  And that woman is definitely not me.

  I slide on the helmet, cover my head, and manage to straddle behind him on his bike without my dress showing off my pink panties. My purse is around my shoulder, and I slide it to sit between my legs. Hopefully, that will block enough of my private area. I scoot up until I’m pressed against his back and wrap my arms tightly around his waist.

  I only hold him tight so I don’t fall off. It has nothing to do with wanting to get my fill of his hard muscles while I have the chance.

  “Tighter,” he says.

  Don’t mind if I do, big guy.

  I squeeze a bit tighter, and he takes off.

  He flies down the street, and I have never felt so free. I want to throw my hands out and shout, but that would mean removing them from around his waist. And that doesn’t sound appealing at all.

  I do, however, lean my head back and laugh. The only thing that would make this experience better is if I didn’t have the helmet on and could feel the wind blowing through my hair.

  The ride comes to an end much sooner than I wanted. As he pulls into the driveway of my small house, I commit to memory every second of the ride home. The feeling of flying. The feeling of falling when we went around curves but knowing I was completely safe. The feeling of Trigger’s body against mine.

  “Give me your key,” Tigger demands, interrupting my moment.

  I manage to get off the bike without making a huge fool of myself. I remove the helmet and hand it to Trigger.

  Walking over to my garden, I grab the fake rock and remove the key from the hidden center.

  “Here you go,” I say, handing the key to Trigger.

  “You have got to be fucking kidding me,” he grumbles. “You keep your key in a rock?”

  I’m surprised at his anger and lower my head.

  “I have a really bad habit of forgetting things,” I admit. “I was always losing my key or forgetting it inside and locking myself out. This seemed like the best option.”

  With a shake of his head, Trigger walks to my door and unlocks it.

  “You don’t have a deadbolt,” he says.

  “Uhm, no,” I agree. “My landlady said that I couldn’t put a hole in the door to add one. She also didn’t think there was a need to have someone come and do it for me because there’s never any crime around here.”

  “There’s plenty of crime, little one. It simply gets stopped before it reaches the authorities' ears.”

  “Oh,” I say. Because what else do I say to that?

  Trigger opens the door and takes a look around the immediate area.

  “Come inside and stand by the door,” he says, walking inside. I follow him, and he shuts the door behind us. “Don’t move from this spot until I return.”

  He walks away, turning on lights as he goes.

  Well, okay then.

  I stand by the door, like he demanded, and wait. It doesn’t take him long to search my house. It has two bedrooms, a living room, a bathroom, and a kitchen. The perfect size for me and little Brendon.

  Trigger makes my house feel smaller than it is. Not just because of his size but because his presence takes up enough room to drown out everything else.

  I don’t hate it. In fact, I’ve always craved a man like that. Someone who can take charge and make decisions when I can’t seem to.

  Which seems like all the time these days.

  “The house is clear,” he says, gently shoving me aside so he can reach the door. “I’m going to check outside.”

  He’s out the door before my next blink.

  I d
on’t know what to make of this man. I feel like I should be aggravated. He’s insulted me, knowingly or not, he’s dismissed me, and I feel like I’m being a huge burden to him.

  I should hate him, right?

  But I don’t.

  For some crazy reason, I feel safe for the first time since I was a child.

  Adulthood sucks. I can barely adult myself, and here I am, fighting for custody of a newborn baby. I don’t feel like I would be a good mom because I can barely take care of myself.

  But I know my sister would not want her son to be raised by that man. And she would haunt me if I allowed Brendon to become a child of the system.

  Embracing adulthood is my only option. I would do absolutely anything for that little baby.

  “It’s all good,” he says, walking back inside. “You really need to get a deadbolt on this door. And stop hiding your key in the fucking garden.”

  “I’m telling you,” I say. “If I carry it with me, I will lose it.”

  With a shake of his head, he walks out the door.

  “Shut the door, lock that pathetic lock and get some sleep,” he demands, walking to his bike. “Looks like you could use it.”

  He starts his bike and drives off.

  See? Insulted. He insulted me. He made demands of me. He was gruff and rude.

  I close the door, lock my pathetic lock, and get ready for bed.

  And I do it all with a skip to my step and smile on my face.

  Chapter Seven

  Trigger

  I am so fucked.

  Leaving was the last thing I wanted to do. Thea looked so vulnerable standing by her door while I searched her house. I was a bastard toward her. I wanted to push her away. She’s too pure, too fucking perfect for someone like me.

  She needs a man to protect her and give her a normal life.

  While I can protect her, better than anyone else ever could, I could never give her a normal life. I smile when blood splatters on me. My heart skips a beat when I pull the trigger of my gun. I’m a fucking monster. I’m darkness.

  Thea’s all light. My darkness would destroy her light.

  And I can’t; I won’t, let that happen.

  I drive a few minutes down the road before pulling my bike out of sight in an alley and walking back to Thea’s house. No way in fucking hell am I leaving her alone after the note she received. She may not think it’s a big deal, but my gut tells me otherwise.

  And trusting my gut has saved my life more times than I can count. Not trusting my gut got my sister dead.

  Thea has multiple neighbors on both sides of her house. A street full of houses. If she screamed, I know someone would hear her. But people are stupid. They hear a scream, and the only thing they do is look out the window to see what’s going on.

  I plop my ass down on the sidewalk across from Thea’s house and settle in for a long night. I don’t bother trying to hide. If someone even thinks about breaking in and hurting that little woman, they will answer to me.

  The thought alone makes me want to smile.

  Whoever the fuck is after my girl, I mean, Thea, is going to die a slow and painful death.

  And I can’t fucking wait.

  ◆◆◆

  The night was uneventful, but my gut is screaming at me that this isn’t something to take lightly. Just as dawn breaks, a red car pulls into her driveway. I tense, ready for a fight.

  Moments later, Thea walks out of her house.

  She’s perfect. Her smile holds so much joy for the person inside that car.

  I want to kill the fucker.

  An older man exits the car and pulls Thea into his arms.

  Killing him slowly sounds real good right now.

  “Thank you for coming to pick me up this morning, Ted,” she tells the man.

  Ted. Her boss. The man she called last night to come and pick her up.

  He can live. For now.

  They both enter the car and drive off without glancing in my direction.

  Good. It’s better if she didn’t know I was here. I walk back to my bike and head home to take a nap. I’m exhausted. And starving.

  And hard as fuck. A nice hot shower while stroking my cock to thoughts of a small blonde, blue green-eyed beauty sounds really nice.

  Chapter Eight

  Thea

  “Do you want me to stay with you today?” Ted asks.

  “No, thank you,” I tell him. “I’m truly fine.”

  We eat our breakfast, bagels from a drive-through before we open the store, and Ted leaves to work on the furniture he should have already been finished with.

  Not even five minutes later, Bella walks in with one of those biker men.

  “Hey girl,” she says. “I hope you don’t mind, but I’m staying with you today.”

  I hug my friend.

  “Of course, I don’t mind, but it’s really not necessary.”

  “Nonsense,” she says. “This is Ink, by the way.”

  I nod my head and smile.

  Fricking shyness is going to kill me one day.

  “I got roped into babysitting duty,” he grumbles. “Not that you’re not worth babysitting, Bella, but I’d rather be out finding my own woman to play with for the day.”

  “Hey, I told you to ditch me as soon as you got me here safely,” she says.

  “I like life,” he whines. “If I did that, my life would be forfeit. Chains would kill me, bring me back to life just to kill me again. I ain’t stupid, woman.”

  “Uhm, there’s coffee and extra bagels in the office if you guys want some.”

  Ink smiles wide and searches for my office.

  Bella laughs.

  “Men and their food,” she grins. “So, put me to work.”

  I hug her again. “Thank you for being here,” I tell her. “There’s not much work to do. I just make sure the books are on shelves, make sure everything stays clean, and always make sure there’s fresh coffee. Some people like to sit down in those corner chairs and read.”

  “Sounds simple enough,” she says. “Let’s make sure everything is in order and just have a nice relaxing girl’s day at work.”

  “I love girl days,” Ink says, returning with a mouth full of food. “Ladies are so much more fun to hang with then those grumpy ass men I call brothers.”

  “Oh, you love them,” Bella says, bumping Ink’s side.

  “Unfortunately.”

  The day is uneventful. But it was a really fun day. Bella and I danced to music while organizing and shelving yesterday’s delivery. Ink ate all of my bagels and ordered us subs for lunch.

  I haven’t laughed so much in years. Ink is always cracking jokes about something. And his smile doesn’t help matters any. He’s a handsome man.

  Unfortunately, he isn’t the one my mind keeps wandering to.

  “Are you sure you don’t want us to follow you home?” Bella asks.

  “Absolutely,” I repeat for the third time. “I don’t live very far away. Maybe ten minutes.”

  “Well, text me the very second you’re locked safely inside,” she says, before hugging me and following Ink out the door.

  I close and lock the door behind her. Once I switch the open sign to closed, I start my night routine.

  I count the register drawer and log today’s earnings. I sweep the floor, dust the shelves, and straighten any crooked books. After everything is finished, I just sit down and relax.

  I know I’ve been telling everyone that I’m fine. That I’m not worried. But some part of me is completely terrified. Even if it is Marco who sent the letter, I know that he’s capable of a lot more than he lets people think.

  If he wanted to harm me to keep me from getting custody of Brendon, he would do it without blinking an eye.

  If it’s not Marco, then that’s a whole other story.

  I lean back in the chair and close my eyes. The store is closed on Fridays, so I have tomorrow, Saturday, and Sunday to do as Trigger suggested and have another talk with my landlady ab
out getting a deadbolt on the front door.

  I can also start on the new books I picked out from yesterday’s delivery.

  Maybe, start that tomato garden I’ve been wanting to start. Or mow the yard that I’m sure needs a good trimming. Of course, clean my house. It’s not dirty, but it could use a good dusting.

  There are so many things I can do.

  So, why am I so reluctant to go home?

  Knowing that I can’t sit here all night, I grab my purse and lock up.

  Turning toward my car, I curse myself. My car is in the same place I parked it yesterday morning.

  Before I got the weird letter.

  It’s snug right in the corner of the parking lot where the streetlight doesn’t reach.

  I could always call Ted. But the thought it only fleeting. He’s been under stress about finishing a table that was ordered weeks ago.

  I pull my big girl panties up, square my shoulders, and walk to my car.

  Half-way there, I hear a noise behind me. A noise that I would normally ignore. Maybe someone is taking their trash out. Maybe someone is taking a walk.

  But as I quicken my steps, the heavy footfalls quicken, also.

  I do the only thing that makes sense.

  I run.

  Reaching my car, I pull at the handle only to discover that it’s locked. Cursing myself, I dig through my purse, trying to find the keys. The moment my hand wraps around the bundle, I’m grabbed from behind with a hand slamming against my mouth.

  “Naughty girl, being out here in the dark all alone.”

  Oh, god, I’m going to die.

  I don’t know how I manage through the fear pouring from my body, but I take in every detail I can. If there’s a chance I can get away, I want to take every memory with me in the hopes of catching this person.

  The voice is distinctively male. Deep, gruff. Accented. New York, maybe? The body my back in pressed against feels large. Muscular. He smells like cigarettes and strong cologne. The hand over my mouth feels rough. Used.

  “I warned you not to tell anyone,” the man says. “You were warned and chose to ignore me.”

  I wriggle, trying to fight my way lose. Only to cause the man to chuckle. His laughter causes me to fight more. Thinking to use my extra weight against him, I lift both feet off the ground in the hopes of him dropping me. He simply tightens his arm around my waist, causing me to just hang there.