by Marla Monroe
While he and Rage finished dressing, she pulled on an oversized T-shirt. When they walked back to the door to leave, she followed them, hanging back just enough that it told Terror she was beginning to feel unsure about their time together. He didn’t want her to walk that road, though.
“I’ll see you tonight, Mia.” He kissed her long and hard before Rage opened the door.
He glared at his brother again. Rage stared back but didn’t change his plans to leave without reassuring Mia that he hadn’t just used her and walked away. Terror was pissed off at him to the point of mixing it up as soon as they got back to the clubhouse.
“Lock up, Mia,” he said as he walked out the door.
He paused outside on the landing until he heard the clicks of the locks along with the slide of the chain. Then he turned and walked to the stairs to follow his asshole brother home. When he reached his bike, Rage was waiting on him with his helmet in his hand.
“Getting attached to her isn’t the right thing to do, Terror. I want her just as badly as you do, want her as our old lady, but we’re about to be in the middle of a war here and binding her to us will make her collateral damage. She’d be fair game to the Vipers and you know it. Think about it, T. Getting involved with her is as good as signing her death certificate. She isn’t cut out for this kind of life and wouldn’t be able to protect herself when we weren’t around to do it for her.”
Rage’s words only pissed him off more. It didn’t matter that his brother was right. Instead of saying anything he’d regret later, Terror just started his bike and pulled out of the lot without bothering to snap the strap on his helmet. He hated it, but Rage was right. As much as he knew having anything to do with Mia was dangerous for her, he wouldn’t pretend nothing had happened. That would hurt her more than he could handle.
She’d get over the one-night stand, but to ignore her and act as if they didn’t know her after they’d had sex and he’d whispered all the nasty things he planned to do with her was beyond cruel. Terror wasn’t a cruel lover. He would make sure she knew he hadn’t just used her. Somehow, he’d make it up to her, but Rage was right. If they continued to show an interest in her, the Vipers would pick up on it and use her against them.
By the time they’d reached the clubhouse, Terror had calmed down some, but not enough to forget the need to punch his brother. He didn’t even give Rage the opportunity to climb off the bike before he popped him in the jaw.
“What in the hell was that for?” Rage yelled.
“I get that we have to keep our distance from her, but giving her the cold shoulder right after you had your dick in her pussy is just plain wrong, man. She deserved some cuddling afterwards and you caught your breath and said goodnight. Piss poor, Rage. Piss poor.” Terror turned around and stomped up to the building.
By the time he’d made his way to the kitchen and grabbed a beer from the fridge, Rage had made it inside and was staring at him from the other side of the room. He could tell that he wanted to say something but hadn’t decided how to say it. Well, this time, Terror wasn’t helping him out with forming the words. His big brother would have to spit it out all on his own for once. Terror just drank his beer and watched Rage struggle with his thoughts.
“You’re right. I was an ass. It had all been too good, and it hit me that I wanted her forever. I was entirely serious about her, and that, brother, is dangerous.”
Chapter Ten
Thursday night was just as busy as Wednesday night had been. Hoss wasn’t working, so she felt fairly comfortable, and The Howling Death MC hadn’t shown up either. All in all, Mia had a good night. Even her knee wasn’t hurting as badly for a change.
Though she’d expected as much, it still hurt that Rage and Terror had left like they had and not even bothered to check in on her. She still couldn’t believe that she’d allowed them in her bed in the first place. It wasn’t like her to have sex with strangers, or even men she knew. Mia hadn’t had a sexual partner since the night she’d lost her husband and ended up with the scars she now carried.
If Rage and Terror said she was in danger by being associated with them, then she was better off not hearing from them. Though she’d never had a lot to do with bikers in the past, she did know the dangers of being around the wrong kind of people. She’d barely survived the last time that happened. She didn’t want to push her luck a second time.
A table with three men sitting around it signaled they wanted another round. She checked their empties to be sure she got the right order and walked back to the bar.
“Duke. Need two Buds and a Corona,” she called out when the bartender looked over at her.
He nodded, and less than ten seconds later she had the bottles on her tray. She eased her way through the crowd to the table waiting on their beer and exchanged their empties for fresh ones. The chunkiest of the three men paid her with a modest tip. She merely nodded and turned away to toss the empty bottles in the trash behind the bar.
A group of twenty-something-year-olds were discussing a ballgame so that she couldn’t immediately get through them to make it to the bar. Because of that, she was still standing close enough to the table she’d just served and could hear them talking.
“I agree with Ray. Best way to get rid of them is to burn the place down. Then when we get ready to build, it won’t take as much time to clear the land,” the chunky man said.
“Too showy, Ben. We don’t want any attention on us at all. I say we plant some stolen guns or drugs out there and tip off the sheriff about it and let the law solve our problem,” another man said.
“Well, Mr. Holder wants this done before the weekend is up. That doesn’t give us much time to finish it, guys. I say we go with setting them up,” the third voice said.
“We need something illegal to plant. Ray? Can you get your hands on something for us?” the second man asked.
“Not sure what, yet. I’ll have to check around with some of the guys I know. I’ll contact you when I have something lined up. What I’m worried about is getting inside their compound to hide it,” the one called Ray told them.
“We’ll worry about that later. First we need something to use against them. By the weekend, that land is as good as ours,” the biggest man said, a smile in his voice.
“Won’t be all ours. Mr. Holder will get his cut out of this, don’t forget. He’s the only reason we’re even in on it. Don’t even think about double-crossing him. He’s got connections in places we don’t want to know about,” the third guy said.
Then the crowd parted, and Mia allowed herself to become swallowed up in the shifting bands of people. Now that she thought back, she realized that two of the men were the same ones she’d overheard talking on Wednesday night. What in the hell was going on? They were talking about the MC’s businesses and clubhouse. That much was obvious. Why did they want their land?
I’ve got to warn them about this. Someone could get hurt or even killed if they set it on fire.
The idea that they might plant something illegal didn’t sit well with her either. She didn’t have a clue how to get in touch with them. Not really. She supposed she could go out there, but it would defeat the purpose of not having any connection to them for her safety.
The rest of the night, Mia tried to think of a way to get in touch with Rage or Terror while keeping a close watch on the three men she’d overheard. Though she tried to stick close so she could hear any other plans they might have been making, they spent the rest of the night talking about normal things like sports and who was getting some from whose wife. It all disgusted her that people were entertained by other’s misfortunes.
An hour before close, Scooby showed up and sat at the bar to order a beer. Mia figured it was her best bet to get a message back to Rage and Terror. When she dropped off her empties, she climbed on a stool next to Scooby and asked Duke for water while she took a quick break.
“Here you go, hon.” Duke set an unopened bottle of water in front of her.
; “Hey there, Mia. How are you doing? Is your knee holding up okay?” Scooby asked.
“Hi, Scooby. Yes it is. Only hurts a little if I’m on it a long time, but I’ll live. How are you doing?” she asked, sipping her water.
“Good. Just stopped in for a drink before I head back to the clubhouse.”
“Look. Can you give Rage or Terror a message for me?” she asked.
He frowned. “Sure. What is it?”
“Tell them to contact me somehow. I’ve overheard something that they might need to know about. It’s going to happen this weekend, so they need to be prepared.”
“Tell me. I’ll relay it to them,” Scooby said.
“I’d rather tell them myself, so I can tell them exactly as I heard it. I don’t want something to get lost because it got told out of sequence. I’d just feel better telling them myself.” Mia didn’t want Scooby to think she didn’t trust him. She did—pretty much.
“I understand. This is serious. I’ll tell them as soon as I finish my beer. You’re not in any kind of trouble, are you?” he asked, his brows forming a V in the middle of his forehead.
“No. I’m fine. I’m just worried about y’all,” she said.
“Don’t worry. I’ll tell them as soon as I get on my bike.” He emptied his bottle and nodded to her before leaving.
Mia finished up her water and turned back to the crowd to do her job. At ten-thirty she stretched her back after having swept and mopped the floor while Crystal finished the dishes. Duke had the paperwork done early for a change, so he offered to walk them out to their cars.
“Thanks, Duke,” she said. Crystal gave the big man a hug as they clocked out and waited by the back door.
“They need to make the bouncers stay and walk you girls out,” Duke said. “Ain’t safe here late at night.”
He wasn’t going to get an argument from her. Mia knew just how dangerous the world around them actually was. She doubted even Duke knew about all the monsters out there. She hoped he never did either.
He watched both of them climb in their cars and start them up. Only then did he get in his truck. He followed them out of the parking lot then turned right when both of them turned left. He was a great guy. She couldn’t help but wonder why she didn’t feel anything for him other than friendship. Why was she so attracted to two bikers who couldn’t off her anything but a lifetime of worry?
When she pulled up in front of her apartment building, Mia wished for once that she lived on the bottom floor. She was a little more exhausted than she’d first thought now that she had the anticipation of stairs to climb.
Once she finally made it to her floor, her apartment still seemed miles away, but she forced her legs to move until she stood in front of it with her key out and ready to unlock it. She knew as soon as she’d walked inside that something wasn’t right. She started to jerk the door back open and run, but someone wrapped an arm around her waist and covered her mouth with their hand.
“Easy, Mia. It’s just Terror and Rage. Scooby said you had something urgent to tell us.” Terror’s husky voice sent relief racing through her body while at the same time she wanted to slap him for scaring her half to death.
“Don’t ever do that to me again!” she said a little louder than she’d meant to.
“I’m sorry. We really didn’t mean to scare you but thought waiting outside for you to make it home wasn’t a good idea either,” Rage told her.
“Come on and have a seat. I’ll get you something to drink,” Terror said, leading her to the chair.
“I’m fine. I don’t need anything to drink.” She sank onto the chair and drew in a deep breath, holding it for a second before she let it out again. Her heart still pounded in her chest but was slowly returning to normal.
“What’s wrong?” Rage asked. “What has you so worried that you’d have Scooby nervous?”
She told them about the three men sitting in her section and about what they’d said. She added what she’d overheard before but hadn’t thought much about it until she’d recognized one of the men that night as having been one of the men from before.
“And you’re certain it was the same man?” Rage asked.
“Positive. I’d never forget any of them. They have distinctive features. Plus, the shorter one that’s kind of chubby gives me the creeps. Whatever they are planning to do, it’s going to happen this weekend. You’ve got to be very careful,” she said, looking from Rage to Terror and back again.
“We will, Mia,” Terror assured her. “Thanks for telling us what you heard. It will make it a lot easier to be prepared.”
“Think they’re part of the Vipers’ plans?” Rage asked Terror.
Terror shook his head. “As much as I hate to say it, I don’t. I think we’ve got two separate problems, which is all kinds of fucked up.”
“That’s pretty much what I was thinking, too.” Rage ran a hand over his head.
“What are you going to do?” Mia asked, almost afraid to hear the answer.
“We’ll keep watch and wait. It’s about all we can do,” Rage said.
“You need to find out why they want your land. It might give you an idea of who all is involved so you can stop them,” she suggested.
“I’ll get Loco working on that,” Terror said. “In the meantime, we’ll put more men on watch.”
“There are too many things happening that seem to not be connected. I don’t like coincidences. We need to try and connect the dots between the bastard’s death outside of town, these fucktards trying to take our land, and the Vipers. There has to be a connection.” Rage stopped pacing and stuffed his hands in the pockets of his leather riding pants.
“Is there anything I can do to help?” Mia asked.
“Yes,” Rage said at the same time Terror said, “No.”
They glared at each other.
Rage looked past his brother. “Just keep your ears and eyes open at work. Don’t do anything stupid like try and follow them or talk to them. That will tip them off and put your pretty little neck in a noose. If you see or hear anything odd, contact us.”
“How do I get in touch with you?” she asked.
Terror pulled a small phone from his jacket pocket and handed it to her. “That’s a pay-as-you-go-type phone with no ties to us or anyone. If you need to get in touch with us, call us on that, then erase the history so no one knows you’ve called. Here’s our numbers. Memorize them then flush them.”
“Okay. I can do that,” she said with a nod.
“If anyone asks about the phone, it’s your safe phone so you can call for help if you need it. I already programmed in the sheriff’s office, the hospital, and Doc Andy’s number in case you need them. It will help should anyone check your phone, as well.” Terror smiled down at her.
Mia stood up and tucked the phone into her purse before walking over to the tiny bar and setting it down. She wished things weren’t so complicated. She liked Rage and Terror—a lot—but knew there could never be anything remotely suggestive of a relationship between them. It didn’t stop her from wanting more of their touch and more of their time.
She stepped away from the bar with every intention of opening the door to allow them to leave. Somewhere between making that decision and seeing it through, Mia’s thought process went haywire and she wrapped her arms around Terror’s waist, resting her head against his chest. He hugged her close and rested his chin on top of her head with a soft sigh.
To her surprise, Rage stepped over and leaned against her back before she felt his lips at the base of her neck. He dropped soft kisses up to her ear then nipped the lobe before sucking it into his hot mouth. When he let go of it, she felt bereft of his presence.
“This thing between us is no good, Mia. We’re putting you in danger by even being here,” he said with a sigh. “You should be kicking us out right now and telling us to stay away.”
“I know. I just can’t do it. There’s something about you and Terror that I can’t resist,” she told him.
Terror tilted her chin up to stare into her eyes. She sensed the battle going on inside of him and saw the desire swirling in his eyes. He wanted her just as much as she wanted him. He lowered his head and sipped at her lips, teasing them with his tongue then plunging inside when she parted them.
His mouth devoured hers in an almost tender kiss, a contradiction to the bad boy biker that he was. His hands cupped her face as he poured his feelings into that kiss as if knowing it would be all they could ever have together. It slowly broke her heart.
Rage turned her away from his brother to give her what was missing in Terror’s kiss—the anger and the need that burned inside of him. He might not say it, but Rage desired her just as deeply as his brother and resented not being able to have her. It might not be something he wanted forever, but he wanted it for now and knew he couldn’t have it. She felt all of this in the way he kissed her and held her as if he couldn’t get enough of her, because when he let her go, it would be over.
He kissed her so that their teeth bruised their lips, and his tongue conquered her mouth like a pirate pillaging and taking everything he wanted. His hands held her upper arms in a tight grip that would leave marks long after he’d gone. Mia knew all of this and so much more, but didn’t care—didn’t regret any of it. All she cared was that she had them there with her now.
One hand left her arm to palm her breast through her blouse. He squeezed it to just this side of pain then pinched at the nipple that poked out as if searching for more of his touch. His nails raked over the hard tip, sending sparks straight to her pussy. He continued to hold it and squeeze it while he took and took from her mouth. Then he released it to grab her arm once more as he slowly softened the kiss, telling her he was leaving.
When he pulled away, the air left her lungs and the warmth faded to cool. The pressure of Terror at her back slowly left, and she knew they were going now. She didn’t look up as they strode to the door and slipped out, closing it behind them. A soft knock reminded her to lock up.