by Lilly Atlas
Zach cupped her injured face and pressed his lips to hers. He’d come so close to losing her. To losing the fragile connection they shared but had yet to define. That was going to change. Once this was over, he was locking that shit down. No more running. No more games. She was going to be his if he had to handcuff her to her bed and make her come until she was too exhausted to fight anymore.
“Z, we need to roll, brother. Mav ain’t good.” Copper stood behind him. “Your truck is closest. I’ll ride with you, and we’ll bring him to the hospital in Townsend.”
Zach nodded. “You okay to walk, Toni? We have flashlights.”
“Yes, I can walk it,” she said.
“Where’d you get that gun, baby?”
Toni gasped and grabbed his arm. “Oh, Zach!” Her eyes flooded. “It was Special K’s. He was k—I mean they sho—” She shook her head and pressed a fist to her mouth. “I can’t even say it.”
Zach felt it like a sucker punch to the gut.
Copper nodded, his face impassive.
“I’m so sorry,” Toni said, tears falling freely now. She shook her head and a sob broke free. “I tried to stop the bleeding. And I didn’t want to leave him, but they found me.”
“Not your fault, babe,” Zach said, rubbing a hand over her back. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”
Copper just turned and started through the woods. “Get movin’, you two. We need to catch up.”
“It’s okay, babe,” Zach said as he caught Toni’s stricken look. “He doesn’t blame you for a thing. He blames himself.”
She nodded and took a deep breath, straightening her shoulders. “Let’s go.”
They made their way back to the truck at a rapid clip. Toni shielded her eyes from the blood spot on the ground where Special K’s body had been. His brothers must have moved him to one of the trucks farther out.
Her eyes were solemn as she climbed into the pickup. With Copper and Rocket’s help, they were able to maneuver Maverick into the back seat with her. He lay across the bench with his head in Toni’s lap.
Copper drove like there was no such thing as a speed limit. The car was quiet but for Toni’s occasional whispered words of comfort to Mav. She stroked her fingers through Mav’s hair as she spoke, telling him they all loved him and they’d take care of him. That with a little time, he’d be good as new. He didn’t move and his breath whistled in and out of his lungs.
She’d just been injured, watched one man die, killed another, and was probably out of her mind with stress, yet her only concern was for Maverick’s comfort. If he hadn’t fallen for her before, seeing her care so much for Zach’s brother would have done it.
She was a gift he sure as hell didn’t deserve but was selfish enough to keep.
They made it back to Townsend and to the small hospital in record time. Copper ran in through the Emergency Department entrance while Jig and Rocket darted over from their SUV to assist in getting Mav out of the vehicle.
Zach helped Toni out of the truck. “I want you to get those scratches checked,” he said, gently running a hand over her arm.
Toni shook her head. “No. It’s just scrapes. All I want is to go home.”
Zach considered her. A few of the gashes were angry and ragged, but she was right. They were just scratches. Some soapy water and Neosporin and she’d be just fine. “Okay, but you can’t go home. I’ll have Jig take you to the clubhouse and show you to my room. You can hang out there. Shell and Beth should be there.”
She rubbed her arms as though cold, so Zach shrugged out of his black hoodie and draped it over her shoulders. “You’re not coming?”
“I’ll be there as soon as I know Maverick is stable.”
“Okay.” She stepped close and stared up at him. “Zach, I—”
He placed his hand over her lips. “Shh. We’ll talk later. Everything is going to work out, baby, I promise.”
She nodded then raised up on her tiptoes, parting her lips. Despite all the shit of the past few hours, happiness filled Zach. Toni was hurt, scared, feeling guilt, and trying to hide it all. And she was turning to him for comfort, reassurance, care.
He pressed his lips to hers, planning on a chaste kiss, but she gripped his T-shirt and held him close. He deepened the kiss and tasted her until she moaned. A throat cleared nearby making Toni jump and pull back.
“I needed that,” she whispered, then turned and disappeared into the SUV with Jig.
Once inside the hospital, he quickly found Copper and Rocket looking like giants in flimsy plastic waiting room chairs. The six or so other people waiting around all stared like his brothers were leather-clad chimps at the zoo.
“Outside,” Copper said when he saw Zach. He and Rocket followed Zach back out the way he came in.
“What are they saying about Mav?” Zach asked.
Copper pulled out a cigarette and shoved it between his lips. “Not a fucking word,” he said, throwing Zach a pissed off glare. “They took him for a bunch of scans. We’ll know when they know or some shit like that.” He inhaled and flew a long stream of smoke into the sky. “Fuck. Fuck!”
An elderly woman being wheeled in to the hospital in a chair shot Copper a disapproving glare.
“Gimme one of those fuckers.” Zach held his hand out to Copper. “We got guys on clean up?”
Copper handed him a cigarette and his lighter. “Yeah, guys are gonna torch the place. Mav said something about a girl being held prisoner, so we’re gonna search for her first.”
Zach couldn’t have been more shocked if Mav came walking out the door dancing a jig. “Seriously? Think he was delirious?”
Copper shrugged. “Fuck if I know. While the nurses were moving him to a bed he kept mumbling some shit about someone named Stephanie. Then he grabbed my hand, looked me straight in the eye, and begged me to save her. Last thing we need is some kidnapped teenager all up in our business, but I can’t let the girl burn to death either, can I?”
Rocket shook his head. “Shit,” was all he said.
They headed back inside and an hour later were told Mav was asking for them. Copper’s phone rang just as a nurse in hot pink scrubs came to retrieve them. Rocket had gone off in search of caffeination, so Zach made his way in by himself.
“Hey, brother,” he said when he reached the bed.
Mav turned and grabbed Zach’s arm with his left hand. The right one was bandaged from wrist to elbow where Shark burned off the Handlers’ brand. “You find her? The girl?”
“Shit, Mav, you look like hell. What did the docs say?”
Mav shook his head and squeezed Zach’s arm with a surprising amount of strength. “The girl.”
“All right, man, calm down. Cop is sending men to look for her. We’ll get her.”
Sagging against the pillow, Mav licked his chapped lips and nodded. “She’ll need help.”
“We’re on it, brother. Just worry about doing what you gotta do to get sprung from this joint. Now what’d the doc say?”
“Broken ribs, bruised all to fuck, infection in my arm.” He lifted his bandaged arm and grimaced. “It’s fucking gone, Z.”
“Don’t worry about that now, Mav. We’ll work it out.”
“How’s LJ?”
“Fucked up. He’s home now, though. I’m sure he’ll be in tomorrow.”
Zach stayed with Maverick until Copper and Rocket joined, then took off to meet Toni back at the clubhouse.
As he drove the truck back to the clubhouse he couldn’t help but replay the night’s events over and over.
And with each passing mile the part that stuck in his brain the most was Toni selflessly offering herself up to Shark in exchange for Mav.
By the time he reached the clubhouse he’d gone from irked, to mad, to fucking furious.
Chapter Twenty-Six
“Well, I think that’s the last of ’em,” Shell said as she capped the tube of antibiotic ointment and sank to the bed next to Toni. “Looks like you went three rounds with an angry cat and
lost, but I don’t think any of them need stitches.”
“I feel like I should be making a pussy joke right now, but I got nothing.”
Shell giggled. “I’ll excuse you just this once since it’s late, you had a traumatic night, and you’re scratched to shit, but you owe me one pussy joke.”
“Got it. Hey, thanks for doing this, hon.” Toni rotated her arm back and forth. They’d decided to only put bandages on the deepest of the cuts, so she had about three or four on each arm and one on her neck. The few lines on her face were unattractive, but superficial and already scabbing over.
“No problem.” Shell had been in the rec room of the clubhouse when Toni returned, watching infomercials and drinking coffee, unable to sleep. She hadn’t said it was because she was waiting up for Copper specifically, but she didn’t have to. It was written all over her face. “So how are you really?”
Toni sighed and flopped back on the bed, her feet still on the floor. “I’m not sure. Kinda feel numb right now. I’ll probably lose my shit at some point. Wanna place a bet on when it will happen?”
Squeezing Toni’s hand, Shell shook her head. “You feel free to break down whenever you need to. If that man of yours isn’t around to catch your fall, you can always cry on my shoulders. They may be small, but trust me, they can hold a lot of weight.”
Her man. Reminding Shell that Zach wasn’t her man would be fruitless. “I may take you up on that.”
Shell laid back on the bed next to Toni. “God, I hope Mav’s okay. Shark may be dead, but Copper’s not gonna stop until the whole gang is six feet under.”
A chill skittered down Toni’s spine. Shell stared at the ceiling. She grew up in the club, would know much better than Toni how things worked, so she didn’t doubt Shell’s statement for one minute. Copper’s expression had been murderous. Shit was about to get real.
With a groan, Shell pushed up onto her elbows. “Well, I’d better get back. Beth is sleeping in one of the spare rooms.” She sat up straight and peered down at Toni, who didn’t have the energy to see her friend out. “I’m so sorry for what you went through tonight. But I’m so grateful to you for what you did for Mav and the rest of my family. So, thank you. Regardless of what happens between you and Zach, you have a sister for life.”
“Thanks, Shell.”
“Feel free to raid the kitchen or rec room. Make yourself at home.” She winked. “And I’m sure Zach wouldn’t complain if he came back to find you sleeping in his bed.”
After dropping a kiss on Toni’s forehead, Shell was gone and closing the door softly behind her. Copper had a damn good woman waiting for him when he finally got his head out of his ass.
Quiet filled the room. Used to living alone, Toni usually adored the silent peace of being solo. Not tonight. Tonight, the lack of noise and companionship just allowed her to replay the past day like a film loop in her head.
Everything about that day, from waking in Zach’s arms, to receiving the video file, to spilling her guts about the past filtered through her brain. Especially the part where she murdered a man.
Fuck. She’d killed someone.
Killed someone.
Killed…
Granted, the man she killed would have raped her for sure and probably tortured her before possibly killing her, but still... She’d taken a life. Ended it. There was a person who would no longer get to live on earth thanks to her.
It was a lot to process.
Too much.
Toni toed off her shoes and climbed under the brown comforter in Zach’s very utilitarian bedroom. No pictures, no color, not much of anything besides a bed, bookcase, and big screen TV.
Boring.
But it smelled of Zach, which was comforting, and she had high hopes she would just pass out and begin the process of putting the events of the day behind her.
An hour later, she’d counted to three hundred and twenty-four, rearranged her closet in her mind, and planned her outfit for the next day. Oh, and she’d obsessed.
Suddenly, the bedding was smothering her, shrinking down around her and cutting off her air. She threw back the covers and climbed out of bed. Maybe some kind of snack would settle her nerves.
The clubhouse was easy to navigate, with the kitchen being at the bottom of the stairs and to the right. It was deadly quiet, almost creepy. No one was partying. Most of the men were probably dealing with the fallout of her killing Shark, while the rest waited for news of Mav. A few were left there to guard the clubhouse, but they were on post outside.
Just as she reached for the freezer in hopes of finding some ice cream, footsteps sounded behind her. Toni gasped and spun, her back hitting the refrigerator and her hand flying up to her racing heart.
“Zach,” she breathed. “How’s Maverick?” One of the things she’d been obsessing about.
“Fucking beat to shit. Infected arm. But he’s getting good care. He’ll be okay.”
She nodded. “Good. That’s good.”
Zach didn’t say anything else and apprehension crawled through Toni. He looked exhausted, hair mussed, circles under his eyes, clothes a mess. But there was a tension about him that had her uncertain how to proceed. Holding himself rigid, he clenched his jaw and the blue eyes she loved so much had darkened with what she could only assume was displeasure.
“Um, do—”
“What the fuck, Toni?” he suddenly roared, making her jerk and smack her head on the freezer.
“Zach?”
He stormed toward her, stopping only when his palms slapped against the freezer on either side of her head.
“I swear to Christ, woman, if you ever do that again, if you ever offer yourself up to some fucking psycho, I’ll take you over my knee and tan your ass until it’s redder than your pussy.”
Toni’s eyes widened and she gasped. But not in fear or horror. Was it sick if her core clenched and the cheeks of her ass tingled in anticipation? Because if it was, she’d never tell a soul, but if not…
“I had to,” she whispered. “I saw Maverick and just…had to.”
Zach groaned and dropped his head into the curve of Toni’s neck. When he sighed, his warm breath ticked her collar bone. “I get it, baby. I do. But shit, when I saw you walking toward him and Rocket held me back…” He rolled his forehead back and forth across her shoulder. “Fuck.”
Toni threaded her fingers through Zach’s hair. “I’m okay,” she said. “And Maverick will be okay. And no one else got hurt. Except Ken. God, I’m so sorry about Ken.”
“Shhh.” His tongue licked out and trailed up the side of her neck, making her tremble with need. When he reached her ear, he nipped the lobe and Toni’s eyes fluttered closed. The tiny bite of his teeth on her sensitive flesh did crazy things to her. “I don’t think you’re ready to hear how much I fucking care about you, Toni. Promise me you won’t ever put yourself in danger like that again. Please, baby. Just say it.”
There was anguish in his voice, as though he was in real pain. Protecting the club was everything to him, but this seemed so much more. His hands dropped to her hips and he kneaded her flesh. This was more than his responsibility as the enforcer. It was intimate, it was deep, and it reached inside and wrapped itself around her soul.
So dangerous.
But in that moment, she didn’t care. All she could think of was soothing him. Finding a way to show him how much she cared for him as well without having to bare her soul and say the words.
And she knew exactly how to do it. Without a word, she reached for Zach’s belt and had it unbuckled in seconds flat. The zipper of his worn jeans was next, followed by a push of the denim and his boxer briefs over his hips. She worked fast and was on her knees before his jeans hit the ground.
“Toni, what are you—oh, fuck.”
She wrapped her hand around the base of his cock and licked up the slit, capturing a drop of precum with her tongue. He may have been pissed at her for endangering herself, but that hadn’t put a damper on his desire. He’d been st
eel-hard before she even touched him.
“Shit, babe, you don’t need to do this. You should be resting.”
Clearly, she needed to up her game if he was still able to think about her scratches. Flattening her tongue, she ran it from the base of his dick, straight to the head and followed it up with a slow swirl around the tip. Then she opened wide and sucked him in.
“Shit. Fuck. Okay, babe, you win. You do need to do this. Every fucking day.”
Pride flared in Toni as she giggled around his shaft. The vibrations must have been working for him because he cursed again and dropped one of his hands to her head. He gathered her hair away from her face and gazed down at her.
Still full of him, she raised her eyes and stared up at his face.
“So fucking beautiful,” he said, stroking over her cheek before bracing himself on the freezer once again.
Toni grabbed ahold of the backs of Zach’s thighs and drew her lips back until just the tip remained. She sucked hard then took him deep again. His fingers tightened in her hair, holding her steady, but not stealing her control. Sometime that would be fine, him taking over, but tonight she wanted and needed to be in the driver’s seat.
Taking him to the back of her throat, Toni breathed through her nose and fought the clench of her gag reflex. She swallowed and was rewarded by the jerk of Zach’s hips and low growl.
As she worked her mouth over him again and again, Toni completely lost herself in the act. His manly scent, salty flavor, the feel of his hardness against her tongue, his grunts and hisses of pleasure, the sting of her hair pulling against his hold. It all worked to drive her nearly as insane as she was making him.
She was torn between the desire to see this to completion and the need for him to fuck her. She desperately wanted to feel him inside her. It was the only thing that would end her spiraling thoughts.
Then suddenly, as she cupped his balls and gave the gentlest of tugs, the decision was ripped from her.
~ ~ ~ ~
Zach’s entire body was on fire with the need to climax. Locking his teeth together, he battled coming too soon as Toni sucked like he’d never had.