BLEED FOR HER

by Hilliard, RB

  “Do you happen to have her address?” Ax asked.

  “Uh, I’m not sure. The police just wanted her phone number.” The girl was not the brightest bulb, that was for sure.

  Ax winked at her and in his best Barry White voice, said, “Come on sweetheart, I bet it’s on her pay stub. Would you do us a big favor and see if you can find it for us?” Buck shook his head as she scrambled to do Ax’s bidding. “Works every time,” Ax muttered, once she was out of earshot. Two minutes later they had Vicky-slash-Bonnie’s address and were heading for the exit.

  As it turned out, they didn’t have to go far as she lived in a neighborhood close to the bar. Ax did a drive-by so Buck could scope out the house. Her car was there but no inside or outside lights were on. Buck wanted to chat with the bitch, but on the off chance that Carver was in the neighborhood, they would need a way out.

  “Any ideas?” Ax asked on their second loop around the block.

  “Park on the street behind her house. We’ll go in the back entrance. That way if shit goes down, we’ll have an out.” They ended up parking between two houses. All was quiet as Buck and Ax jumped their fence in order to get into Vicky’s backyard. Buck expected outdoor lights to come on. When they made it all the way to her back door without a single flicker, he shook his head. Luckily, she hadn’t learned to appreciate the merits of home security.

  “Alarm?” Ax asked.

  “If so, it’s not wired.” Buck tried the door and was surprised to find it unlocked. Something wasn’t right. Pulling out his gun, he motioned for Ax to push it the rest of the way open. The smell told them what they were going to find. Buck had a strong stomach, but this was bad. Ax gagged, and in a low tone, Buck warned, “Get outside, now. Do not fucking vomit in here.” Ax took off out the door while Buck pulled the neck of his shirt over his nose. With his gun in one hand and the light from his phone in the other, he continued to follow the stench. He found what was left of Vicky in her bedroom. Like her grandmother, she’d been shot in the head.

  Ax caught up with him, and after a few more gags, he finally managed to pull his shit together. Or so Buck thought. But then the dumbass started talking and Buck realized he was second’s away from going mental. “That is some nasty shit. I mean, look at her. She looks like a banana that’s been sitting out too long. I mean fuck, man. I had sex with that! That is some fucked up shit!”

  “Tone it down,” Buck growled.

  “Tone it down! You didn’t have sex with that!” Ax half-whispered, half-shouted. Buck gave himself a mental slap on the back for having dodged that bullet.

  While Ax continued to come unhinged, Buck used the light to scan the room. “Wait! What was that? Go back!” Ax exclaimed loudly.

  “Fucking lower your voice!” Buck growled, as he moved the light in the direction of Ax’s finger. On the floor, not even ten feet away from where Vicky lay, was a gun.

  “That’s my gun,” Ax whispered. Buck’s gaze jerked to Ax. “I’m serious. See the rosewood grip? Steele had that put on when I got my patch. What the fuck? The bitch stole it, so unless she shot herself with it, why is it here?” Ax asked. The words had barely left his mouth when they heard the sirens.

  “It’s a fucking setup, that’s why. Get the gun and let’s get the hell out of here, now!” Buck responded. Ax grabbed the gun and they took off in a sprint across the house. Buck wiped the doorknob clean while Ax hightailed it across the back yard and over the fence. Buck just made it over before the police descended upon the house.

  As they drove past Vicky’s street, Ax counted four cop cars. Someone sure wanted them to get caught. The question was, who and why?

  Chapter Eighteen

  IT WAS LATE by the time they got back to The Cave. Buck wanted to go straight to see Reyn, but first they needed to tell Steele about Vicky. Buck also had yet to tell him about Tara. He’d finally gotten around to telling Ax about it on the way back from Vicky’s. Ax pointed out something he hadn’t considered. If Tara knew about the hidden gate, then she probably wasn’t the only one. They agreed that her mistake was in telling Reyn. Reyn may have pulled the trigger, but Tara had given her the loaded gun. Buck still couldn’t believe she’d done it.

  “I need a drink,” Ax muttered. He was obviously still messed up about seeing Vicky. Maybe he would take the hint and learn to keep his dick in his pants. Buck doubted it. He knew all too well what it felt like to want something you couldn’t have. He’d wanted Reyn for years. He’d just chosen to handle it differently.

  On entry to The Cave they could hear people cheering. Ax gave Buck a questioning look and he shrugged. Something was happening. Whatever it was, it sounded like a good time. Buck couldn’t remember the last time they’d all partied at the club together. They followed the noise to the downstairs game room. Before Grizz took over as president, the game room was three separate rooms. One of the first things he did was break down walls in order to combine all three rooms into one. His plan was to have a large area that could accommodate the whole club. With the addition of a bar, two pool tables, a dart board, a few leather sofas, and several comfortable chairs, they had a space that everybody liked to hang out in.

  Cupcake greeted them at the door. He took one look at Buck, and said, “Your woman is fucking awesome.” Buck gave him a questioning look as the crowd cheered again. “Dartboard,” was all he heard Cupcake say, before he was moving in that direction. He heard Reyn before he saw her.

  “Who taught you to throw, your grandmother?” she shouted.

  “Jesus,” he muttered. The crowd broke and there she was. Darts grasped firmly in her hand; his woman was facing off against Arson. This explained what all the commotion was about. Arson was a master at darts. The crowd cheered as he threw and hit his mark. Someone passed Buck a beer. He took a drink and waited to see what Reyn would do.

  “Come on Arse,” she taunted, “surely you can do better than that!” Arson snarled like a wild animal. When he bared his teeth at her, Buck nearly shot a mouthful of beer everywhere. Smart girl. Calling him names was making him lose focus. He would remember that the next time Arson challenged him to a game of darts.

  “Drink,” Arson ordered. Reyn stuck her tongue out at him and the fucker smiled. As someone who used to make bombs for the US military, Arson was about as far from warm and cuddly as it got. Yet, there he stood, smiling at Buck’s woman as if they were best of friends. Suddenly pricked by a hot knife of jealousy, Buck scowled. It quickly shifted to irritation as Reyn turned to accept a shot from Glenda. Shit, even the ol’ ladies were in on it. In the two hours he’d been gone, she’d apparently befriended his entire club.

  Downing the shot, Reyn got into position. “Read it and weep,” she said, as she let her last dart fly. The room erupted into cheers as she landed a perfect bull’s eye. She threw her arms into the air and danced a victorious circle around Arson.

  “I am queen of the darts!” she shouted. When she started screaming about how she was also good at throwing knives, Buck knew that it was time to intervene.

  “Come on, drunk girl. It’s time for bed.”

  “Buck! Did you see it? I beat Arse at darts!” she shouted.

  Buck glanced over at Arson and mouthed, “Arse.” Arson flipped him off and he laughed.

  On the way up to his bedroom, he noticed that she’d traded his t-shirt and her ugly-ass leggings for a pair of tight jeans and an even tighter shirt—too tight, if you asked him. Her tits were practically spilling out the top of the damn thing. When he asked her about the clothes, she told him that one of the girls had given them to her. He made a mental note to stop by her place. It wasn’t until she collapsed onto his bed fully clothed that he realized how drunk she actually was. It took some coaxing, but he finally managed to get her out of the clothes and into one of his t-shirts.

  Buck tucked her in and kissed her forehead before he met Ax downstairs, where they intercepted Jake, Ink, and Loco coming through the front door. They found Steele in his office.

  “W
hat do you have for me?” Steele asked, once they were settled.

  Buck waited for Ax to respond. Ax gave him an expectant look and he took the floor. Starting with their visit to Angst, he told them about Vicky actually being Bonnie. He then recounted how they’d gone to her house and found her dead. Not able to help himself, Ax chimed in with the gory details as well as about finding his stolen gun on her floor. Buck finished it with the timely visit from Austin’s finest.

  Switching his attention to Jake and his crew, Steele said, “Hopefully, you had better luck.”

  “We wish,” Jake glumly replied before relaying that Dario was so strung out that he wouldn’t be able to find his own dick, much less orchestrate all the shit that had been going down. This left them back at square one. Everyone agreed that what happened at Vicky’s was clearly a setup, but they still didn’t know who was pulling the strings or to what end. Ax kept muttering about someone wanting to take him out. Buck hated to admit it, but he was beginning to think that Ax might be onto something.

  Buck told them about Tara. When he was done talking, Steele voiced the universal question, “Why the fuck would she do that?”

  Loco answered, “She’s always had a thing for Buck. Reyn wanted out and Tara wanted her to go.” As if it made all the sense in the world, he added, “It was a win-win for both of them.”

  “Maybe, but that doesn’t excuse what Tara did. She knows the score around here and Reyn doesn’t,” Jake argued.

  Surprised that Jake was backing him, Buck added, “What if something had happened to Reyn? It’s not like Tara drove her home and made sure she arrived there safely. She fucking found out a club secret and then told it, knowing full well that it could put Reyn in harm’s way.”

  “She was trying to get rid of her competition,” Ink chimed in.

  Dropping his elbows to his desk, Steele raked his hands through his hair. “Fuck, this shit needs to end. Buck get eyes on that back gate. I’ll deal with Tara.”

  With the help of Goose and Grover, it took Buck a little over an hour to wire the camera.

  It was knocking on three in the morning by the time he crawled into bed. Pulling Reyn in close, he pressed his front against her softly snoring back, and smiled. Even though they were standing in the middle of a shitstorm, there was no place on earth he would rather be.

  _______________

  Reyn woke the next morning to the feel of Buck’s warmth at her back. His tatted arm was draped over her side, his hand conspicuously cupping her right breast. Smiling, she thought, sneaky man. The rasp of his thumb over her nipple made her tummy dip. Desire pooled in the pit of her stomach, and she tilted her hips back just far enough for her ass to connect with his impressively hard erection. And it was impressive. So much so that she couldn’t stop thinking about it. Stockholm turned nympho, she mused.

  “You’re playing with fire,” he murmured in a sexy, low tone against her ear. Shivers of desire blazed through her. Yes, she was, and she couldn’t wait to get burned. “Off,” he said, pulling at her shirt. Smiling, she shifted forward so he could help her get it off. His hand returned to her nipple while the other moved down her stomach to the top edge of her panties.

  “You. Are. Mine,” he declared, right as he slid his fingers under the banded lace and straight into her slick center. Reyn gasped as heat exploded inside her. “Say it,” he ordered.

  She had to admit she kind of liked this caveman thing. She never had to wonder what the man was thinking because he came right out and said it. Or in this case, ordered it. Slowly, she twisted her head around to look at him. Eyes filled with lust stared back at her and she decided that she liked this Buck the best. With his dark hair all wild from sleep and his mountain man beard, he looked ruggedly sexy. If she was his, then he damn well better be hers. “Only if you’re mine,” she challenged.

  His mouth slammed on hers, and she was swept into a soul-searing kiss. Pulling back slightly, he whispered against her lips, “I’ve always been yours.”

  Just a few days ago she was worried she didn’t have a heart. It turned out she just needed the right man in order to make it beat.

  “Say it,” he repeated. She rolled her eyes, and he pinched down on her nipple.

  “I’m yours!” she gasped. “Now, please,” she urged, with a thrust of her hips.

  With a chuckle, he picked up right where he left off, with one hand continuing its assault on her clit and the other playing with her nipples. If that wasn’t orgasm-inducing enough, he began to whisper all of the things he wanted to do to her in her ear while at the same time grinding his erection into her ass.

  Her orgasm hit hard. Buck let her ride it out for all of two seconds before he shifted, and Reyn found herself flat on her back. Tingles ignited as his mouth turned up into a slow, sensual smile, the intensity of his electric gaze stealing her breath.

  She tensed as his eyes began to roam down her body. They stopped at her scar and shame washed through her. After two surgeries, the gunshot wound had been reduced to a raised area that was slightly pinker than the rest of her skin. Even though she knew it wasn’t that bad, she still hated it. She hated more what it represented; that it was a constant reminder of that monster, and what he’d done to her. Swallowing deeply, she said, “Pretty, isn’t it?”

  His eyes flicked to hers. “Everything about you is pretty, but this,” he ran his finger back and forth over the scar, “this is beautiful.”

  As he lowered his head and placed a gentle kiss on it, Reyn sucked in a breath. God, how she wished he could have been there to help her through that awful time in her life. He made her feel things she’d never felt—revered, dominated, owned—he made her feel claimed. He kissed his way down to her panties, and then slowly stripped them from her body. Like a bird of prey, he swooped in. Using his mouth, tongue, and teeth, he devastated her over and over. Two orgasms later, he rolled on a condom and took her to yet another level of ecstasy. After orgasm number four, Reyn declared him a sex god. He told her he was cool with that, and they both laughed.

  They hung out in bed for most of the morning. When they weren’t having sex, they were talking and discovering new things about each other. At Reyn’s request, Buck told her more about his mother’s illness. He also explained more about the club, such as why they all wore vests, how the guys got their road names, and what the Steel Raiders tattoo spanning across his back meant to him. At Buck’s request, Reyn shared about that dark time in her life. She explained how martial arts and learning how to defend herself had helped her to survive what Zeke had done to her. She told him about Camille, her house, and her job. Buck wanted her to take off work until the threat was over, but she explained that she was worried about losing it. They compromised with her agreeing to take one more week off, and then reevaluate it.

  They finally made it out of his room in time for lunch. Reyn hated that she was wearing Shelly’s clothes again. After last night they smelled like cigarette smoke. Buck seemed to hate it more because he promised to go by her place or have one of the prospects do it for him. Grabbing a bowl of Hannah’s famous chili, they made their way out to the yard where tables had been placed. Instead of cautious glances, Reyn was greeted by smiles. When Arson suddenly appeared out of nowhere to declare a rematch, she turned five shades of embarrassed.

  “You don’t have to,” Buck told her.

  “You want knives? We’ll do knives!” Arson all but shouted, and the place erupted into laughter.

  “No, darts is fine, but maybe with beer instead of liquor this time,” Reyn suggested.

  “What kind of beer do you like?” he asked. Buck let out a snort of humor, and she wanted to crawl into a hole.

  “Umm, I don’t know. I really like Hefeweizen,” then added, “but you have to drink it with lemons or else it’s not as good.”

  Arson’s brows drew together. “Hefewhat?” Buck broke into laughter, and she scowled at him.

  “Miller Lite works, too,” she said. Arson nodded, and after mumbling somethin
g that sounded a lot like “Cat piss,” he moved on.

  “Hefeweizen?” Buck teased through his laughter. Reyn elbowed him and told him to shut it.

  Later that afternoon, while Buck was busy doing club stuff, she decided to bake some cookies for everyone. She found Shelly and Hannah in the kitchen, and said, “Hi. I was wondering if it was okay if I bake some cookies? I have this amazing recipe that I think everyone will like.”

  “Sure, Hannah replied,” in a not too friendly tone. Reyn’s stomach dropped. Hannah normally had smiles for everyone.

  “Like you need our permission,” Shelly muttered under her breath.

  “Shel,” Hannah chastised.

  “What? Look at her all happy and shit. She got Tara kicked out, and for what? Because this place wasn’t good enough for her?” Her eyes flashed to Reyn. “Now that you’ve had Buck’s cock, it’s good enough, though, isn’t it?” Eyes blazing with anger, she leaned in and snarled, “Trust me, we all know just how good Buck’s cock is.”

  Reyn stood there with her mouth gaping open. Her heart sank as she watched Shelly storm from the room.

  “She was close to Tara. We all were,” Hannah stated, before following after her.

  As Reyn stared at the now empty kitchen, she thought, So much for making friends.

  Chapter Nineteen

  BUCK HATED TO bail on Reyn, but he’d been putting shit off for days now and needed to get back to it. When he wasn’t at The Cave helping Grover with the club’s surveillance, he spent time at the garage working with Rider, Sledge, and Ax. Ax and Rider primarily worked on cars while Buck and Sledge dealt with the bikes. Buck enjoyed the work, but dreaded dealing with the customers, especially when those customers took him away from what he’d rather be doing. Reyn. She was all he could think about. Her smile. Her touch. Her scent. If not for the douchebag calling and demanding his bike, Buck would be buried between her legs right now. His mind wandered to last night and Vicky. He had to admit that he was worried. The idea that someone was gunning for them, was possibly gunning for Reyn, put him on edge. They had two dead women and nothing else to go on. He didn’t have one fucking clue who it could be. If it wasn’t Dario, then who? He couldn’t shake the notion that somehow it was personal.