by Carmen Faye
Annie
“I see what you were saying now,” I said, getting off the back of Tarek’s bike. “This building alone is intimidating.”
We had driven across the city again, and this time, we were in front of a warehouse in the Meatpacking District. Unlike most of the others, it had been painted black on all sides. A variety of motorcycles, SUVs, sports cars, and large trucks were outside. Whereas other warehouses seemed to have workers at different doors loading and unloading a variety of goods, this one was closed off. There were maybe two people outside who mostly seemed to be keeping tabs on what was going on outside the building.
“You haven’t seen anything yet,” Tarek replied, looking at me cautiously.
One of the men nodded in Tarek’s direction as we climbed off his bike. The other guy simply stared me down.
“I thought this was where your motorcycle guys got together,” I asked, hesitantly.
“No, this is the Underground,” he replied, starting to walk forward.
I followed behind him closely. His body language showed that even he was a little cautious about the place we were entering. Part of me wanted to hold his hand and cling to him for safety, but I knew that probably wouldn’t be helpful, especially if anything did actually happen.
“No guests,” the man who had been staring me down said once we reached the doors.
“She’s with me,” Tarek replied.
“Should that make a difference?” the same man replied, looking snarly.
“Relax, boys,” said the friendlier of the two. “Tarek, you know we really aren’t supposed to let outsiders in. We don’t even allow the flunkies underneath the MC leaders and suits to come in. I can promise to watch her out here.”
Tarek shook his head without hesitation.
“I need to get in there, and she is coming with me,” he replied firmly.
The surly doorman stood more upright and pressed his chest out, attempting to intimidate Tarek, but he didn’t even flinch. Tarek’s unwavering determination was another attractive trait I was seeing beyond the bad boy I initially perceived.
“We have the permission to physically remove anyone necessary, including you guys who come back and forth thinking you matter. You work for the suits same as the rest of us,” the man said, continuing his attempt to provoke Tarek.
“Gibbs, just shut up,” the man who offered to keep an eye on me snapped.
Then he returned his attention to Tarek and me. He looked me over and seemed to decide I wasn’t much of a threat.
“Fine, but be careful. These high rise guys all seem on edge, and you know rodents and reptiles are at their worst when they’re afraid,” the man continued. “I heard about last night. I don’t think they even knew what was coming. Something is up. They are into something big this time.”
“Thanks for the heads up,” Tarek replied.
He and the man he had been speaking with shook hands and bumped fists as we entered, but the other, Gibbs, continued to scowl at all of us. He stepped away to have a cigarette. As I looked at the three of them one last time I noticed they all had similar patches, but their colors were slightly different.
“Remember, stay close to me in here and try not to talk,” Tarek said, looking back at me and giving my arm a small squeeze as the door closed behind us.
I nodded and placed a hand on his for a moment. I looked around and saw a fairly open area. There were a few more expensive vehicles inside and a few men in suits and leather. There were women. Some looked like sexy secretaries with hints of lingerie revealed strategically in pencil skirts and buttoned blouses, while others were traipsing about in basically bikinis, and a few had on leather bras, leather panties, and leather chaps.
A heavy guitar cover of classical music was playing over a sound system, filling the room. Some men appeared to be working, and others were relaxing, but they all were enjoying the women around them.
I tried not to stare. Tarek seemed to be so focused on the task at hand or so desensitized that he barely glanced at the scene around us. Instead, he made his way to a cage elevator at the back of the room. Instead of going up, he went below into a series of offices in a basement area.
We passed several offices. Some had the doors open, and others were closed. All the closed doors had angry voices coming from them; the people with their doors open seemed to fall silent as they caught sight of me. Tarek’s presence seemed to go unnoticed, while mine was surprising. Some seemed shocked while others appeared beyond angry.
Suddenly, Tarek grabbed the handle of a closed door and entered without knocking or announcing himself.
“Tarek, what the hell?” a man at the head of a conference table asked, rising from his chair to stand.
“What the hell? Are you serious? Last night I was nearly killed when the TRU Body Gala was attacked. You guys call me when one of you needs protection at these things or to clean up and silence one of your little messes, but last night was something you should have sent one of your teams to handle. That should have been shut down before it ever got started. Not to mention whatever the fuck you all have gotten into has somehow got people coming to the penthouse now. I don’t owe anybody enough for what has gone on since last night,” Tarek said, ending his rant.
The other men in the conference room all looked calmly at the man who had stood up when Tarek entered.
The man adjusted his suit and glanced at me before speaking. “First, who is this?” he asked.
“She’s one of yours I picked up downstairs. I thought I might seek a little relief while I was here,” Tarek replied.
I shifted my stance to accentuate my assets and tried to act like the women I had seen downstairs. I waved my fingers as a hello and puckered an air kiss toward the men. One or two smiled back and shifted a little in their seats. I felt a shiver up my spine, feeling scared and thrilled all at the same time.
The suited man looked me over from head to toe. Deciding I fit the bill, he sighed and sat down.
“I suppose it is really no consequence now. We were here doing damage control from last night, but if they know about the penthouse.” The man turned his attention to the conference room as he continued, “Someone on the inside is working for both sides. That means all bets are off gentlemen. The project has been compromised, and I would recommend shelving it for the time being.”
“But there has been so much invested,” one of the men at the table said.
“I would rather keep the money I have and my life than continue pushing on something that we still have no evidence is effective in human trials,” said another.
“Well, gentlemen,” said the man at the head of the table, “we could always transfer the research and relocate the project. There is a lot of money at stake here, and the setbacks we could each face are not to be taken lightly.”
At this point, Tarek seemed truly angry. He grabbed the pitcher of water near the man at the head of the conference table and threw it into a wall, sending sparkling shards flying. Most of the room flinched even though it was unlikely they would be hurt.
“What the fuck? I almost died last night, and I come to you all to find out why and what can be done and you just want to sit around and talk about whether to continue some project? Debating whether it’s worth it to keep trying to get richer by screwing the rest of the world over or keep your lives?” he yelled. “Just make arrangements for the girl and me to lay low safely until whatever you all are dealing with blows over.”
“Tarek, none of us can help any of last night’s events, and it’s not our fault that you seem to have been tailed back to one of the big boss’s safe holds,” the man said. “Furthermore, we can’t help you this time. You are on your own.”
“I can go straight to the top floor. I could go to his office today,” Tarek said, hoping to intimidate the man he was speaking with.
“Then you would have to admit that you are the reason the penthouse is compromised,” the man replied calmly. “Just leave, for now, Tarek. We wil
l be in touch when there is something we can do for you.”
“You mean when there is something you need me to do,” Tarek replied.
With that, Tarek turned and headed for the exit. I followed close behind him, as we passed the same places and people going out as we saw coming in.
***
Tarek
I hadn’t really said much since we left the Underground. I climbed on Sheba, Annie climbed on behind me, and we drove. We rode around for nearly an hour so I could think. Still, I was having trouble coming to any firm conclusion or solution to my problems and the situation as a whole.
Finally, just because there was really nothing better I could do at that moment, I took us to the Tribeca Loft. We didn’t encounter any staff like we had at the penthouse, which was a relief.
“Feel free to look around and make yourself comfortable. I have a few things on my mind and need to make a call so I don’t need to be disturbed for a little while, but you will be safe,” I said to Annie.
I continued making my way inside assuming she was right behind me.
“You don’t want to say anything about our newest digs, or does this place suit me a bit better?” I teased, looking around behind me.
Annie was standing in the doorway. She hadn’t even crossed the threshold.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, making my way back to her.
She shook her head and took a step back. “I shouldn’t be here. I shouldn’t have stayed with you this long,” she said.
“What?” I asked, a little surprised at her shift in attitude. “What’s wrong?”
“You seem to have a lot going on, and my being with you at that warehouse seemed to only raise eyebrows and tempers. One of the guys outside seemed to begrudge an outsider getting in, and those men in the meeting were only okay as long as I was one of the sluts from the ground floor,” she replied. “I saved you, you saved me, and I think we are beyond even. I should never have gotten on your bike last night.”
“If you hadn’t, I might have been killed this morning,” I replied, taking her hand.
She snatched it away and continued, “Or, you might have actually gone home and been safe.”
“Maybe, maybe not, but then we wouldn’t have had out fun together in between all that.”
“That probably shouldn’t have happened either. Maybe our interruption was fate telling us that,” she countered.
“I said I would keep you safe. I meant it. Things would have gone bad today with or without you. This just means, for once, I have good company when the chips are down,” I replied.
She stepped over the threshold, but still didn’t seem to agree. Something larger seemed to be weighing on her mind.
“I feel like I’m holding you back. If you didn’t feel a need to take care of me, you could probably just go off on your own and lie low for a while. I feel like you are sticking around and hiding out the way you are for my sake. I don’t want you to resent me if things get worse,” she said, beginning to cry.
“What’s all this?” I asked, feeling more concerned for her. “Why would I resent you? You have no part in this other than being seen with me the night of the gala during the aftermath.”
“My mom left because she resented not having her freedom once she had a child to take care of,” Annie wailed, really beginning to unravel. “My dad spent his life, even once he was sick, taking care of me. He never got to live for himself because he was too busy living for me. Then when he was dying, he couldn’t have comfort and peace because he was worried about my future, and what would happen to me.”
“Any parent who leaves a child should be horsewhipped, and I would go after your mother myself for leaving you,” I replied, stepping close to Annie and taking her by the arms so she faced me. “And, as for your dad, he did exactly what he should have done. You were the most important thing to him. You were his life. As long as he was caring for you and with you, he had the only comfort and peace he needed. Maybe he worried about you until the end, but I imagine he wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.”
She stared at me, her eyes shining with tears. Her skin was a little flushed from all the emotions that were surging through her. I felt flushed as well, a sea of emotions and energy churning in me like the coming of a storm.
“Be that as it may, I don’t want to hold you back. Everything is so crazy, but you still seem to have your wits about you. I don’t want to be an inconvenience that has to be protected everywhere you go. I don’t want you slowed down or hurt trying to protect me,” she said, shaking her head and wriggling out of my grip. “Thanks for bringing me this far with you and taking care of me, but after a little rest, I am going to make my way out of this place. If we don’t see each other before then, I hope everything works out for you.”
“That sounds like an ‘it’s not you, it’s me’ break up speech if I ever heard one,” I replied. “By now you should have figured out that I don’t do clichés or assumptions.”
Annie looked away. I closed the distance between us again, but this time, I didn’t touch her. I just stared at her. She continued turning her head, looking at the floor and around the room.
“Annie,” I said.
She shook her head.
“Annie,” I said again.
This time, she just sighed and looked down at the space between us. “I can’t have you risk your life any more than necessary trying to save mine. Even if there was nothing wrong before, I have a worse feeling now just from the looks I was given at the Underground today. That one guy outside looked like he wanted to fight you from the moment you walked up and that I was his excuse to get to do it,” she said loudly, truly opening up about our current situation.
“I can take Gibbs. Besides, we may not be the same colors, but I’m still an MC leader. Outside Underground business, he can’t touch me,” I replied, making my way to the kitchen.
The loft was restocked more frequently than the penthouse, so it had a wider range of offerings. I started with pretzels and beer while I looked for something that could pass for dinner. When I opened the fridge, Annie came in and began looking through the kitchen as well.
“I’m not much of a cook,” I admitted.
“I’ll take care of the food. What are you going to do about everything else? Gibbs is the least of your problems,” she said, checking the date on the milk and eggs. “There are a lot of things from last night that are unclear and today only gave me new questions. Who or what is the Underground? How did you expect them to help and why can’t they help now? And the man in charge of that meeting is apparently not in charge of everything. Who is his boss? How are you tied into all this? How are business men and bikers connected?”
“I can’t tell you all that!” I yelled.
“Well, if it is all so cryptic, why parade me around today? Why not have let me go somewhere away from all this?” she yelled back.
“I don’t know!”
Everything seemed to stop. We were standing in the kitchen of the loft, breathing heavy and staring at each other with the makings of a macaroni dinner laid on the island near us.
“I don’t know,” I repeated quietly as I closed the distance between us and kissed her.
She wrapped her arms around me and returned my kiss feverishly. After a moment, Annie clutched me tighter. Without making anything to eat or drink, we left everything where it was, and I carried her to the bedroom.
Chapter 6
Annie
“This place only has one bedroom anyway,” Tarek said, breaking our kiss as we entered the bedroom he was referring to. “I was hoping we’d both end up in it.”
He chuckled as he came to a stop a few feet from the bed and released me to stand on my own again.
“We did have some unfinished matters of another nature to attend to,” I agreed.
He began undressing me, this time unbuttoning my shirt instead of snapping the buttons as he had with the one I had borrowed. While he managed that and kissed along my neck, I made qui
ck work of removing his belt. Immediately afterward, I stepped back away and grabbed the tail of his shirt to lift it over his head. He helped, pulling his arms inward and then flinging the garment away. I tossed my own shirt next to his.
He grunted and reached a paw-like hand to me, wrapping it around my waist and pulling me close again.
“I have never felt anything so soft,” he murmured, rubbing his hands on the small of my back, arms, and breasts.
“Now, I’m sure you have gotten to rub on lots of women,” I replied, enjoying his touch.
“Never said I didn’t. What I said,” Tarek declared, pressing his forehead to my own to keep my attention, “was that your skin is softer than even the highest quality, smooth leather.”
I smiled up at him. “I bet a man like you may not know a lot about soft, but you definitely know leather.”