by Hilliard, RB
Reyn slowly dropped to her knees. As Buck braced his hands against the shower wall, she took him into her mouth and gave him what he needed.
Thirty minutes later, they were in Buck’s bed. He was seconds away from entering her when someone banged on the door. No! She was supposed to get some, and then they were going to talk!
“Go away!” Buck shouted.
“Steele needs you now!” a voice called through the door. No! No Steele! Reyn thought.
“Fuuuuck,” Buck groaned, collapsing on top of her.
Desperate for release, she whispered, “We can make it quick.”
His head came up and his eyes collided with hers. Lips twitching, he muttered, “My girl needs to come,” and in one quick thrust, he glided in to the hilt. Reyn’s breath exploded from her lungs as he gave it to her. Hard and fast he powered in and out of her body. It was wild and primal and exactly what they both needed. Reyn came so hard she saw stars. Buck wasn’t far behind her.
Five minutes later, he was dressed and ready to go. Brushing his lips against hers, he said, “Stay here. I’ll come and get you once I know what’s up.” Then he was gone.
_______________
Ax was waiting for Buck in the hallway. “That didn’t take long,” he teased.
Buck gave him an eat-shit look. “If not for some dickhead pounding on my door, I would still be in there.
“Sorry. I’m just the messenger. Steele said to get you, so I’m getting you.”
At the bottom of the stairs they ran into Cupcake. Damn. Buck didn’t want to face him right now. Swallowing the urge to turn and walk the other way, he asked, “How are you holding up?” Cupcake shrugged. From his bloodshot eyes, he had obviously had a bad night. Buck understood the feeling all too well.
The front door opened, and Tiny appeared. “There you are,” he panted. “Steele wants you outside now. He’s down at the gate.”
The four of them took off out the front door. They were partway down the drive when they heard Steele shouting.
“Guns out,” Ax ordered. Buck already had his out. There was no way in hell he was walking blind into another ambush.
They arrived at the gate just in time to see Loco and Chopper carrying a body up the drive. Buck’s gut twisted.
“What happened?” Ax asked.
Steele’s eyes hit on the four of them and narrowed dangerously on Buck. Buck could see that he was angry. “Where in the fuck have you been? Grover’s been calling you. I’ve been calling you. Now is not the time to pull a fucking disappearing act.”
Shit, he’d forgotten to charge his phone when he got back to his room last night. It must’ve run out of juice. “Sorry, man. It won’t happen again,” Buck told him.
Steele bent forward and braced his hands on his thighs. A string of curses flew from his lips before he straightened back up, and said, “No, man, I’m the one who’s sorry. After last night, you deserve a minute.” Buck nodded, and they moved on. “A little over forty-five minutes ago, Grover saw our friends in the Ford Raptor driving up and down the main road.”
“Fuck. They were trying to find the entrance,” Ax swore.
Steele held up his hand. “They didn’t find it, but apparently they wanted to leave us a present. Brace for it, brothers. It’s not pretty.” The five of them walked over to where Chopper and Loco were standing. A female body covered in blood lay at their feet.
“She’s stiff. They probably got her the night she left here,” Loco announced on their arrival.
It took a minute for his words to register. Tara. Buck sucked in a sharp breath as he scanned the dead body, looking for something that would identify her. “Turn her over,” he said. Loco and Grover turned her onto her stomach, and there it was on the back of her thigh. The smiley tattoo Buck had given her endless shit about grinned up at him. Tara, however, would never smile again. This was on him.
Steele must have known what Buck was thinking because he said, “Don’t.”
Buck’s eyebrows flew up. “Don’t? I could’ve tried to talk to her. I could’ve handled it different.”
Steele nodded. “You could’ve, but that wouldn’t have changed the fact that she betrayed us. Even if you had talked to her, the outcome would have been exactly the same. Taking this on is pointless, and I need you focused right now.” Clapping him on the back, Steele said, “Go. We’ve got this. Check in with Grover and see what he’s found on our guy.” Buck took one last look at Tara before walking away.
Rage burned through him as he made the trek back to The Cave. When he found who had done this, he was going to break every bone in the motherfucker’s body before ending him.
Grover took one look at Buck and treaded lightly. This was good as Buck was in no mood to get bitched at. Last night’s cleanup crew discovered a wallet in the shooter’s back pocket. Grover had been running searches on the guy.
“His name is Edward Scott. So far, all I’ve got is a few misdemeanors,” he told Buck.
“Search family members. See if Dario’s name comes up anywhere. Also search employers. Maybe we’ll find something there. If we hit a dead end, we can tap into his bank account.” Buck could feel the old man’s eyes on him. Scowling, he asked, “What?”
“I’m sorry, son. Rider and Goose were good men. I’m glad we didn’t lose you, too.”
Buck swallowed back a wave of grief.
Grover waved his hand in the air. “Go on. I have work to do, and you have a pretty woman waiting for you. I’ll call you if I find something. This time, make sure to answer it.”
Buck thanked him and went to find Reyn.
Chapter Twenty-One
CRAZY, TWISTED EMOTIONS hounded him as Buck made his way to his room. The rage and pain from the night before had taken a back seat to his guilt. First Tom, then the grandmother and Vicky, next Rider and Goose, and now Tara. How many more people would have to die before this was over? Steele was right to chew him out. Buck’s focus was lacking. He felt torn; split between his woman and his club. His woman. Never in a million years did he think he would get to say those words. The irony wasn’t lost on him. Reyn was in his club and in his bed right now because those stupid fucks accidentally offed her boyfriend. He would have to make sure he thanked the dickhead who orchestrated it before killing the fucker. The memory of carrying Rider’s body to the truck slammed into him, and he closed his eyes. He couldn’t go there right now. He needed to get a grip. Taking a deep breath, he twisted the knob and entered his room.
He found Reyn in the bathroom brushing her gorgeous mane of hair. She’d blown it straight. He preferred it curly. When she picked up the makeup brush, Buck thought, she’s putting on her armor. Now that he knew her better, he understood that she was still that sweet girl, but she was also his Little Ninja; a soft heart with razor-sharp claws. If he wanted to be with her, he would have to accept both sides of her. He already had.
Reyn caught sight of him and exclaimed, “You’re back!” He took in her beautiful face as she smiled at his reflection in the mirror. Dramatically waving her hand through the air, she announced, “Lucy and Aimee let me borrow some things. Look! They even washed my leggings! Give me five minutes and I’ll be ready,” she told him. The desire to bend her over the sink and fuck her into next week blasted through him. “Food before sex,” she tartly stated. She was beginning to understand him as well.
Buck took half a step forward and gave her ass a gentle squeeze. “I’m gonna hold you to that.” Her face split into another beautiful smile and his chest constricted. No matter what, he had to keep her safe. The thought that he could lose this, lose her, was a constant weight on his mind. Steele was right. They had to fucking end this. Which reminded him, he needed to plug in his phone. Grover might be trying to reach him. With one last squeeze, he left her to it.
It took three minutes of charge for the messages to come through. Grover, then Steele, then Grover again. The last was a message from the client whose bike he was working on last night. He wanted to pick it up by
noon. Buck looked at his watch and cursed. That was less than an hour from now. His eyes lifted to Reyn as she exited the bathroom. He motioned her over to where he was sitting and pulled her between his legs.
A look of worry crossed her face as she stared down at him. “Is everything okay? You scared me last night.”
“I know, and I’m sorry. I hate to do this, but I have to go to the garage for a minute. I know you have questions, and I promise to answer them as soon as I return. Trust me, I wouldn’t be leaving you right now if I didn’t have to.”
“You promise we’ll talk?” she asked, her voice laced with doubt.
Buck squeezed her waist. “Swear it.”
Rolling her eyes, she gave him a huff, “Fine, I guess I can forage for food without you.”
“Watch out for Arse,” he warned, half kidding and smiled when she laughed.
_______________
As Buck pulled her onto his lap and kissed the breath from her, Reyn made the decision to stop questioning him. After her experience with Zeke, she vowed to never fall in love again. She was breaking that vow for Buck—or should she say, she’d already broken it. She just hoped she wasn’t making a mistake.
“I have to go,” he whispered against her lips.
She didn’t want him to go. She wanted him to stay and tell her about last night. She needed him to assure her that everything was going to be okay. He lifted her onto her feet, and she followed him to the door where he gave her one last kiss and told her to go eat. Then he was gone.
On her way to return Aimee’s stuff, Reyn passed by Rider’s room and noticed the door was open. She thought she heard crying coming from inside and was about to investigate when she spotted Aimee coming down the hall.
“I was just coming to return these,” she said, holding up the bottles. She waited for Aimee to drop them inside her room before walking with her down to the kitchen. Other than Shelly and Hannah, the kitchen was empty. Both girls looked rough, and Reyn thought it probably had something to do with what happened last night. Shelly spotted Reyn and curled her lip, but then saw Aimee watching and flipped it to a smile. Reyn tried not to roll her eyes. This was yet another thing that she needed to discuss with Buck. Ignoring the bitchy club girls, she poured herself a cup of coffee. Once she had her plate filled with food, she followed Aimee out to the picnic tables where several of the men were sitting.
Plastering a smile on her face, she scooted in beside a morose-looking Ax, who barely even acknowledged her. She wanted to ask if he was okay but wasn’t sure if she should. Damn club rules she thought, as she dug into her food. Three bites later, the kitchen door opened and out stormed Steele and a guy she’d seen a few times but had yet to meet. Buck said his name was Jake. Apparently, he was the vice president. Steele looked like the president of a motorcycle club. Jake, on the other hand, reminded her of a used car salesman.
Steele’s eyes hit on Reyn and her stomach dropped. She could tell from his expression that something was wrong. He motioned for her to come over, and she felt the eggs curdle in the pit of her stomach. Evidently, Ax had also been watching Steele because he stood at the same time Reyn did and then proceeded to follow her over to where Steele was standing.
Leveling his silver-gray eyes on her, he said, “Carver is at the gate. He’s demanding to see you.” Fear tripped through her.
“Why?” Ax asked.
Steele cut his eyes to Ax. “I don’t know, but he’s not taking no for an answer.” His gaze swung back to Reyn, whose mind was now racing ninety to nothing. What did Carver want with her?
An answer suddenly popped into her head. “Maybe they found who killed Tom.”
Jake snorted, and Steele shot him a scathing look before saying, “That could be the case.”
“But you doubt it,” she finished for him. Sighing, he pulled her in for a hug. “What does he want with me?” she murmured against his chest.
“I don’t know, but whatever happens, remember we have your back.” He gave her one last squeeze before loosening his grip.
Reyn turned to say something to Aimee and nearly swallowed her tongue when she caught sight of the mass of bikers surrounding them. Glenda’s words from the night before rolled through her head. Every last member of this club will protect me with their lives. That’s what they do. Whether Reyn liked it or not, she was going to have to face Carver. At least she was doing it with the club at her back. She nodded to Steele as they started walking.
Reyn spotted the flashing police lights well before she saw the two officers.
“The fucking pussy’s all show. He’s just trying to scare you,” Ax muttered, low enough for her ears only. She wished Buck was here.
Carver was waiting at the gate. The minute he saw her, he straightened his shoulders and in a loud voice, said, “Reynolds Walker, you are under arrest for the murder of Tom Timanis.” This had to be some kind of joke. She didn’t kill Tom!
Turning to Ax, she said, “I didn’t kill him. I swear. Those guys killed him. I—” Ax pulled her in for a bone-crushing hug, and the rest of the sentence died on her lips.
“Shhh, of course you didn’t. Steele’s got this,” he whispered into her hair.
“On what grounds?” she heard Steele ask.
Carver sniffed. “If you must know, a witness has come forward who claims he saw Miss Walker enter her house that night. No less than ten minutes later, he heard the gunshot and saw Miss Walker fleeing from the scene.” She stiffened at his words, and Ax shushed her again.
“Do you have a gun?” Steele clipped.
Carver’s eyes narrowed into slits. “Funny, I was going to ask you the same question.”
“Why would I have the gun? I didn’t kill the guy, and neither did she. What’s this really about, brother?” The deadly edge in Steele’s voice scared the shit out of her. Carver didn’t seem to be fazed by it. In fact, he smiled. She couldn’t believe the guy was related to Steele, much less his brother.
“As much as I would like for this to be about you, it’s not. However, if you choose not to release Miss Walker into our custody, I will be forced to get a warrant. Oh, wait,” he said, as he dipped his hand into his shirt pocket and pulled out a white envelope. “It seems I already have one. Do I need to use it?” Reyn knew what this meant. Shit would rain down on the club because of her. She couldn’t let this happen.
Breaking from Ax’s grasp, she turned to Carver, and said, “There’s no need for that. I’ll come with you.”
“Reyn, don’t,” Ax growled behind her, but it was too late. She was already crossing to the other side of the gate.
Steele stopped her before she reached Carver. “Darlin’, you don’t have to do this.” Her eyes welled with tears.
“You’ve risked too much already. Tell Buck where I am,” she said, as she continued on to Carver who promptly cuffed her.
“We’ll be coming for you!” Steele called after her. That’s what she was banking on. The officer opened the back door for her and helped her into the car. Tears streamed down her face as she stared at the men on the other side of the gate. Less than two days ago, she was fighting to leave. Now, she would give anything to stay.
As they sped down the road, Reyn could feel Carver eyeing her through the rearview mirror. “You surprise me, Miss Walker,” he finally said. Her lack of response failed to deter him and he continued talking. “Do you have any idea who those men are or what they’ve done?”
The cuffs were beginning to bite into her wrists. “No. Nor do I care, but I’m sure you’re going to tell me anyway,” she muttered. In an attempt to alleviate the pain, she turned sideways so she could rest her back on the driver side door.
“My brother is a murdering thug. His friends are murdering thugs.” He continued to drone on, but she tuned him out. They were stopped at a red light when she saw a familiar figure standing on the side of the road. Ponytail. Their eyes connected, and he smiled.
“Gun!” Reyn screamed, but it was too late. A shot rang out, and a
bullet slammed into the deputy’s neck. Right as he crumpled over, a second shot connected with Carver’s chest. Reyn screamed again when the back-passenger door flew open and Ponytail dropped into her field of vision.
“We meet at last,” he said. Just because she couldn’t use her hands didn’t mean that she couldn’t use her feet. As he reached for her legs, she quickly pulled them back into her chest. She waited for him to lean in before blasting Ponytail with a double front kick that shot him out of the car and onto his ass. He landed on the ground with a loud “Umph.”
She sat up and noticed a number of men piling out of a large SUV. Shit!
“Carver!” she screamed, hoping he would come to and help her. If she had her hands free, she might be able to get to one of their guns. The guys moved closer and she screamed, “Carver, get up!”
Recovered from his ass-plant, Ponytail reappeared in the open doorway. “Now that wasn’t very nice,” he scolded.
She’d been beaten, had bones broken, been fucking shot in the gut, for God’s sake, but never had she felt so terrified.
“Fuck you!” she shouted. She was so focused on Ponytail that she failed to see the man at the other door. That is, until he yanked it open and shoved his hand inside. She tried to dodge him, but the asshole latched onto her hair and dragged her out of the car.
She fought hard. She even managed to land a few more kicks, but in the end, they overpowered her. As they dragged her to the SUV, she screamed for Carver to help her. For Buck to rescue her. For her life.
The last thing she remembered was being shoved in the back of the SUV, one of them saying, “Night, night,” while feeling a needle as it pricked her neck, and then nothing.