by Hilliard, RB
On entrance to his room Buck moved towards the bed. Reyn opted for the familiar comfort of the chair, but before she made it there, he reached out and tagged her arm. Annoyingly, she found herself being dragged in the opposite direction.
“Buck—”
“Hush and listen,” he said as he dropped onto the bed and pulled her between his legs. “None of this is your fault.” Reyn was too busy looking behind him at the made-up bed to respond. Her eyes drifted to her duffel and the folded clothes sitting on top, before coming back to him.
“What?” he asked, confusion clouding his gorgeous blue eyes.
“Who cleaned your room?” She knew it wasn’t him because he had been with her the entire time.
“One of the girls, why?” It took her a moment to process this.
“Do they get paid?”
Lips twitching with humor, he replied, “In a sense they do.” Surely, he was joking.
“Please tell me you’re joking.” He shrugged, as if it was no big deal. “You pay them with sex? How is that a fair trade?” Dropping her voice three octaves, she mocked, “Here, babe, clean my room and I’ll let you blow me.”
Eyes narrowing, Buck responded, “They live here.” She gave him a “so what” look. “For free.” Her gaze didn’t waver. “On our dime,” he finished, as if that made their servitude okay. Scowling, he added, “How is it that in a matter of seconds you can go from crying to being pissed off ?”
Shit, she was judging again. “Sorry. You’re right. It’s not my place to judge. What were you saying again?”
“I was saying that none of this is your fault.”
Something between a snort and a huff shot from her lips. “We both know that’s not true.”
Buck gave her a look. “They were watching the police station. They must have seen you leave and followed us. I should have noticed, and because I didn’t, they got too close.”
Reyn shook her head. “This isn’t your fault.”
“It’s not yours either,” he shot back.
She didn’t want to talk about it anymore. They both knew it was her fault. She needed to get her phone and make some calls. To figure out an exit strategy. The faster she agreed with him, the quicker that would happen.
“Okay, Buck.” His eyes held hers and she wished, in her heart of hearts, that she’d chosen him all those years ago. If their earlier kiss was any indication of how it would have been, how it could have been, then she’d definitely lost out.
“Okay,” he quietly repeated. Smiling, he gave her hips a squeeze. “Will you be good here while I get some business done?”
“Can I have my phone? I need to call my parents and deal with work.” She also needed to call Piper.
He reached for his back pocket. “I’m glad you reminded me. They could be tracking your cell phone, so I got you a burner. My number is programmed in. You can call and receive texts, but it doesn’t have the ability to send photos.” Her heart dropped as he handed her the phone. She didn’t know Piper’s number by memory. “After what happened today, Steele will probably call for a lockdown. That means this place will fill up fast.”
“Fill up?” she questioned, having no clue what he was referring to.
“Whenever there’s a threat to the club, we go into lockdown. Ol’ ladies, family members, and club girls are at The Cave until the threat is resolved.” Shit. There went her plans for getting out of here. Then again, maybe not.
“Wow, that seems like a lot of people. How long does it take everyone to get here, and where do they all sleep?” With a lot of people hanging around, she may be able to get lost in the crowd.
Hands still on her hips, he moved her back a step and pushed onto his feet. “It depends on when Steele decides to call it. Normally we can get everyone here within a day. Don’t worry, you’ll be in here with me.” He dipped his head, making sure to catch her eye. “For now, I need you to stay here, okay?” She thought about arguing, but after the car chase and being shot at, and then crying like a baby all over Steele, she was kind of worn out. After a nap she could figure out a plan.
Buck’s head dipped lower and her pulse spiked. He was going to kiss her again. She knew she shouldn’t encourage it. She knew it was wrong to want it, but she did. Just one more kiss she told herself. His lips brushed against hers, soft and sweet. Not able to help herself, she opened, stroking her tongue against his. His loud, guttural groan echoed down her throat as he slid his hand up her back and into her hair, the sting of it making her gasp. Planting his other hand on her ass, Buck jerked her into his body. His extremely hard, extremely aroused body. She’d missed this: feeling wanted, needed, dominated. For all his faults—and there were too many to count—Zeke was an exceptional lover. If she was honest, that’s what kept her going back for more. Reyn could tell, just by his kiss, that Buck would be better. He was already better.
In the blink of an eye, the kiss went from zero to out of control. Buck ate at her mouth, his hand in her hair holding her captive, while she yanked at his shirt, desperate to feel his skin. They were moving toward the bed when they heard a knock at the door. Their mouths froze mid-kiss.
“Buck, you in there?” a voice called out. A discernibly female voice. As if scalded, Reyn took a step back. She felt raw, burned by the reminder of their reality. Their differences. The reasons they wouldn’t work. Yes, leaving was the right call. Her mother could get her Piper’s number.
“Let me get rid of her,” he said.
Heart in her throat, Reyn spoke soft enough so not to be heard through the door. “I’m sorry for getting you into this mess, and I appreciate you looking out for me.”
“Buuuuuck!” the voice whined. “You promised we’d hang out tonight.” Buck glared at the door.
“Go. You said you had things to take care of,” she urged.
His lips grazed across hers. “I’ll be back in a bit.”
She waited for him to leave before sinking into the chair and crying for what could have been.
Chapter Twelve
ON EXIT FROM his bedroom, Buck latched onto Tara’s arm and began dragging her down the hallway. He’d been seconds away from getting what he wanted, what he’d waited years for, and this fucking snatch thought what? That she had some sort of claim over him? They fucked. That was it. She’d never spent the night in his bed, had never seen his house, and sure as shit would never sit on the back of his bike. The worst part? She knew it. Ax and Ink were players. They got off on club drama. Not Buck. He fucking hated it.
“Buck—”
Fury ripped through him as he turned on her, and with his hand to her throat, he pinned her against the wall. Leaning in just far enough for her to see his rage, he asked, “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”
“I thought we could hang out,” she sputtered, her eyes wide with fear. Buck could tell it was fake. A girl like Tara wouldn’t know real fear if it smacked her upside the head. She got off on this shit. They all did. This is why they would never be ol’ lady material. They liked to play games. Just last week, Hannah pitted Ink against Steele. She wanted Steele to find the two of them together. Stupid self-important bitch. Steele didn’t give two shits who she fucked.
“That’s not what you said. You said I promised we would hang out tonight. Tell me, Tara, when have I ever promised you anything?”
“You haven’t—I didn’t mean anything by it. I just thought—”
“You thought what? That you could just knock on my door and I would come running. We aren’t that. You certainly aren’t that.” Hurt flashed in her eyes. Releasing her, Buck took a step back. Angry for letting her get to him, he said, “I thought you knew the score.”
“I did. I do.” She reached for him and he jerked away.
“You’re playing a dangerous game, girl.” He turned to leave.
“I’m sorry,” she called after him.
“Whatever,” he muttered, as he hit the stairs and broke into a light jog. The faster he figured this shit out, the soo
ner he would be able to get back to Reyn and finish what they started. Fuck, he’d almost had her—was seconds away from seeing that body and tasting that sweetness—seconds from sinking balls-deep into heaven.
Grover was sitting behind the bank of screens. He looked up, saw it was Buck, and frowned. “Nice windshield, what happened?”
“You just had to tip Steele off about it, didn’t ya,” Buck half-joked.
“You know me better than that. Jake was in here when you rolled in.” Buck wasn’t surprised. The girls weren’t the only ones who fed off the drama.
When Buck first arrived at the club, Grover was in the ICU. Having survived the attack that took out his brothers, he was in bad shape. As in, had-a-bullet-lodged-in-his-spine-and-would-never-walk-again, bad shape. Up to this point, Grover had been the club’s go-to-guy for any tech-related issues. Because Buck had a degree in computer science, he was asked to step in until Grover had recovered enough to get back into action. This wasn’t a hardship for Buck as Grover and his dad had been close. When Grover returned, Buck let him know that it was still his domain and that Buck was just there to help. Grover told him to shut the hell up and they’d been working together ever since.
Grover knew about the fire, the missing gun, and the attack on Sledge’s ol’ lady. Buck quickly filled him in on everything else. Silence followed as Buck waited for him to draw the same conclusion.
“Fuck. They’ve got someone on the inside.”
“There’s only one way to find out,” Buck replied. “It all started a month ago with the fire. The same night that Ax’s gun was stolen.”
Grover’s brow rose. “You think the fire was a smoke screen?”
“It got us all out of The Cave, didn’t it?”
An hour later, they had it. It, being a she. A fucking woman had infiltrated their club. Vicky was her name. Buck tried to recall the last time he’d seen her and couldn’t. He was right about the fire. That same night they found video evidence of her sneaking in and then brazenly walking out of Ax’s room with the gun in her hand. Over a week later they found her going in and out of Steele’s office. Buck thought he might have been mistaken about her stealing the picture, but then there she was, the fucking brass-balled bitch. She didn’t even look to see if anyone was watching. She just picked the fucking lock and walked right in. Just because they couldn’t see the picture in her hand when she left, didn’t mean she hadn’t taken it. There was no doubt in Buck’s mind that she had it. Why else would she be in his room? How else did they know where Reyn lived? Once they had all three videos geared up, Buck called in Steele.
Steele was surprised, to say the least. They agreed that Vicky was their mole, but why? Better yet, who was she working for? They watched the footage a few more times before Steele called in Jake. Of the four of them, Jake was the most surprised. Then again, he’d had Vicky in his bed and the others hadn’t. After further discussion, Ax, Ink, and Loco were brought in: Ax because he’d slept with her and she’d stolen his gun, Ink because he had the best relationship with all of the club girls and could probably get answers faster, and Loco because they valued his levelheadedness.
No one suspected a woman. The last one to actually lay eyes on the bitch was Ax, and that was over ten days ago. Someone was pulling her strings. They needed to find Vicky and make her talk. This meant they would need to question the girls. Once they were all in agreement, they left Grover and headed for Steele’s office.
Hannah was up first. She said she hadn’t seen Vicky in a few weeks, but that Tara was the one to ask, as they were closer. Buck didn’t want to see Tara, much less have to converse with her. He was, however, marginally satisfied with the terrified look on her face when she walked in and saw them all sitting there. Like Hannah, she didn’t know anything. This left them with Shelly and Treena. Shelly was also a dead end, but Treena remembered dropping Vicky by her grandmother’s house. After giving them the address and letting them know that dinner was almost ready, she exited the room.
A long moment passed before Loco spoke. “We don’t know who sent her but at least we now have a lead.”
“Whoever she’s working for ain’t messing around,” Ink stated.
“No shit. My fucking gun is still out there,” Ax clipped.
“That reminds me, the shooter in the truck today looked familiar. I can’t seem to place him, though,” Buck told them.
Jake sat back and sighed. “My guess is it’s another club wanting to home in on our territory.”
Buck shook his head. Something about this bothered him. “Why does it feel personal to me?”
“Because it is?” Jake responded in a half-laugh.
Ignoring him, Buck said, “Think about it. Why Ax’s gun? Why Sledge’s ol’ lady? Why steal the picture? How did she even know where to find it? Why Reyn’s house? It all seems too coincidental.”
“I know where you’re going with this and the answer is no. We didn’t leave anyone. I personally made sure of it,” Loco stated.
“No, but we left family members,” Steele responded.
“Why now?” Ax asked. “It’s been four years.” No one could answer him.
“We need to find out who Vicky really is and who sent her. In the meantime, I’m calling for lockdown. I want everyone here and accounted for until this is settled.” Turning to Ax, Steele said, “It’s too late to question the grandmother today. I want you and Buck on it first thing in the morning.”
“You got it,” Ax replied.
“Jake and I will monitor lockdown tomorrow while Loco and Ink gather intel on the existing family members. Stay vigilant. At this point it could be anyone.” That’s what Buck was worried about.
Four years ago, a group of jokers calling themselves Militant MC tried to take them down. In one night, they lost the heart of the club. Buck witnessed the aftermath. The club was crippled without Grizz, but Steele stepped up. He avenged his father. Buck helped his brothers exact that revenge. Loco was right. They took out every last member. Militant MC was no more, or was it? Had someone, possibly a friend or family member, been laying low and biding their time, waiting for the opportunity to retaliate? It was the only thing that made sense.
Buck found Reyn asleep in his chair, her head cocked at an awkward angle and a light snore rolling across her sweet lips. Lips that he couldn’t wait to kiss again. Lips that he wanted wrapped around his cock. Just the thought made him hard. Then again, everything about this woman made him hard. On that thought, he lifted her from the chair. As he lowered her onto the bed, she snuggled into his pillows, her contented sigh wrapping around his heart. Fuck, he was in deep. He knew this would happen. She deserved better than him. He’d tried to stay away. He was even willing to watch her make a life with that tool. Now, it was too late. She was his.
Dinner was quick. Steele had officially called lockdown and everyone had their roles to play. For Buck, it was helping Grover. Even though he wanted nothing more than to be upstairs in bed with Reyn, he knew additional cameras would need to be secured before that could happen. What happened earlier today was no coincidence. They were waiting for Reyn. They may not have followed them all the way back to The Cave, but they now knew the direction in which they were headed. The turn-off was hidden, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t find it. Buck wanted eyes on the road leading up to The Cave. He had work to do and not a lot of time in which to do it. Sadly, Reyn would have to wait.
_______________
The sound of a phone ringing pulled Reyn from a dead sleep. At first, she had no clue where she was. It took her a moment to gather her thoughts, to recognize that she was back in Buck’s bed. This invited a sleepy eye roll. Why did she have to be such a dead sleeper? It was when the phone rang again that it dawned on her that she was alone. Where was Buck? Her brain immediately went to last night and the woman at his door. Tara was her name. Talk about confusing. The chemistry she felt with Buck was more than she’d ever felt with any other man. The way he looked at her, as if he wanted to devour
her, made her heart pound and her pulse race. He wanted her. God knows she wanted him. Hell, she was seconds away from shucking off her clothes and screaming “Fuck me” last night when Tara interrupted them. Reyn sighed. She was tired of trying to decipher the look on his face. Was he irritated or confused? Maybe both. He wasn’t the only one. At least Tara wasn’t his almost-fiancé that was murdered moments before he dumped her.
Staring at the ceiling, she whispered, “How am I here?” The phone rang again. “And why does the phone keep ringing?” That’s when it hit her. The phone! Last night, after Buck took off, Reyn called Camille. She left a voicemail asking her to call her when she got in. Then she called her parents. She told them about Tom’s death, leaving out that he was murdered, of course. Her mom was worried about her. Her dad, not so much. He was sorry Tom was dead, but thrilled that they were no longer dating. Her father was overprotective and felt that no man was good enough for his baby girl. Buck is. Dismissing the thought, she jumped from the bed and raced across the room.
Snagging the phone from beneath the chair cushion, she hit the button, and answered, “Hello.”
“Bitch, where have you been?” Camille shrieked. So relieved to hear her best friend’s voice, Reyn immediately burst into tears. Then she told her everything, or at least a few of the broader details. She left out the part about feeling guilty, and her feelings for Buck, and how she wasn’t going to stay with her because it would probably get her killed, and that she was packing a bag and leaving for North Carolina because she knew people there who could protect her. She left all of this out because knowing Camille, she would romanticize it and then insist on going with her. Camille being Camille, wanted to storm the place, not because she was worried about her best friend, but because she wanted to see what a motorcycle club looked like. More like she wanted to see what the men looked like. She wouldn’t be disappointed.