CRASH: An Evil Dead MC Story (The Outlaw Series)

by James, Nicole

  “Got your bag, Princess,” Crash responded. “Thought you might want it.”

  She opened the door a crack and peeked out at him. He smiled and held the bag up.

  She reached a hand out, grabbed it, pulled it in and slammed the door shut. She heard his laughter and a “Your welcome, babe,” as he walked off.

  Crash was standing in the kitchen, his arms folded over his chest, leaning back against the counter listening to his brothers go on about their night last night. And the whole time all he could think about was the way Shannon had looked all spread out on his bed. She still hadn’t come out of the bathroom. He really should just get these fuckers out of here while she was in there. He was contemplating how to do it, short of just saying ‘get the fuck out’, which he knew would only make them determined to stay longer, when he finally heard the bathroom door open.

  “And then, Mary goes and dumps the whole plate of spaghetti on his head,” Wolf was telling the story. “No one knew what to do. Fortunately, I had the presence of mind to start the applause.”

  “Fuck you, Wolf,” Red Dog said.

  “What? Come on, man. You were sitting in a restaurant full of people with spaghetti all over you. I didn’t take one shot. Now that’s love.”

  Green chuckled.

  Just then, Shannon walked around the corner of the L-shaped kitchen, and Crash’s arms came unfolded as he took her in. She was dressed in a black off-the-shoulder top made of a soft whisper-thin material that draped loosely until it got to her waist, then it clung tightly, revealing her hips. It was paired with white leggings. She had a pair of high-heeled slides on her feet. Her blonde hair was up in a twist which showed off her beautifully bare shoulders. Classy gold hoop earrings dangled from her ears. She moved past him, ignoring them all and opened the refrigerator. That gave him, and unfortunately, his brothers, a nice shot of the back view. And what a view it was. The white leggings showed off her perfect ass. But it was the top that caught all their eyes. It was held together by a string across her shoulder blades, leaving the rest of her back bare and also revealing the fact that she was braless under that draping. Holy shit.

  She turned with the orange juice carton, and Crash immediately moved to get her a glass.

  “Good God Almighty.” This from Wolf, murmured low under his breath.

  “Um-um-um,” Green added.

  Crash took the carton from her shaking hand and filled the glass for her, grinning at her.

  “You gonna introduce us, brother?” Wolf asked.

  “Shannon,” he nodded toward them. “The trifecta of fuck-ups. Larry, Curly and Moe.” He watched a smile pull at her mouth as her tension eased with his joke.

  “Seriously, dude,” Wolf begged for mercy.

  He nodded again toward each. “Wolf, Green, and you probably remember Red Dog from yesterday.”

  Green leaned his folded arms on the bar, eyeing her up and down with a grin, and then he pulled the toothpick out of his mouth and pointed it at her with a smile. “I remember you, darlin’.”

  Shannon looked at him with a stricken look, and Crash’s eyes cut between them.

  Green’s eyes skated to Crash and back. “Gave your girl, here, her first ride. Didn’t I, sweetheart?”

  “Green, knock it the fuck off. Leave her be,” Crash snapped.

  “You remember me, don’t ya, babe?”

  Crash watched Shannon’s back straighten like someone had jammed a steel-rod in it, and her chin came up. Then she tore into Green like Crash had never seen a woman do before. “Yes, I remember you. I remember when you dropped me off at the gate of my father’s estate you told me that I better remember what I’d been told. That I’d better not say, how did you put it, ‘nuttin’ to nobody’? And then you’d looked at the gate and back at me and sneered how I wouldn’t be too hard to find. Yes, I remember you,” she snapped.

  Green straightened, the smile turning into a murderous expression, and Crash watched Shannon’s nerve falter as she took a tiny step back.

  He stepped between them, his back to Shannon. “Told you once, brother. Knock it the fuck off.”

  Green’s expression smoothed right out as he tore his eyes from her and looked at Crash and smiled. “It’s all good, man. Just playin’ with her. Little kitten’s got some claws, don’t she?” He looked back to Shannon. “Sorry, darlin’. I’m really not such a bad guy.”

  “Yeah, you’re a real sweetheart,” Wolf supplied. “In your own special psychotic way.”

  Dog, ever the peacemaker, asked, “How good’s your coffee, darlin’?”

  “My what?” she asked, looking at him, a little dazed by the switch in conversation.

  “Coffee. Make us some.”

  Crash watched as her gaze moved from Dog to him. He could tell she wasn’t sure how to take them. He smiled at her and nodded toward the coffeemaker. “We’ll be up on the roof, these guys want a smoke. Bring it up when it’s ready.” He loved putting her in her place in front of his brothers. High time the little rich girl earned her way. He made to move past her as she turned to look at the coffeemaker.

  “Where do you put the thingy?” she asked him frowning at the machine.

  “The what?”

  “I only have the coffeemaker where you drop in the little cup thingy, press a button, and voila! Coffee.”

  “Voila! Coffee?” he repeated. The guys burst into laughter behind him. “This ain’t that kind, babe.” He looked at the blank expression on her face. “You seriously don’t know how to make coffee?”

  She shook her head.

  “Do you even drink it?” he asked.

  “I drink it,” she insisted. “I’d kill for a cappuccino or a half-caff skinny vanilla latte right now.”

  “A what?” he frowned, laughing. Shaking his head, he replied, “Don’t know what the fuck you just said, but I drink my coffee black, baby.” Stepping behind her he ran through the steps for her, pointing out where the water, filter, and coffee went. “You got that or you need me to write it down?”

  There were more snickers from his brothers.

  “I’ve got it,” she bit back with a look that said she’d make him pay for that.

  He grinned and nodded for the guys to follow him out. He led them up on the roof.

  “Hope you don’t have any rat poison in there, cause brother, I think she’s probably pissed off enough to dose your coffee with it,” Red Dog teased.

  Crash and Dog sat in the chairs, Green turned the wooden crate on end and sat on it, and Wolf stood. Crash watched his brothers all light up. It was times like these that he missed smoking, but he mostly got through the day knowing he could have that one smoke tonight.

  “Know what today is?” Dog asked him.

  Crash’s eyes cut to him.

  Green filled in the answer. “Beat-down day.”

  Crash’s gaze swung to him. “Artie Asshole?”

  “Yup.”

  “You’re lookin’ forward to it,” Crash observed.

  Green grinned. “You know it, man.”

  “There’s always a chance he folded up shop,” Crash suggested.

  “Nope,” Wolf replied. “Swung by on our way here.”

  Crash nodded, “Well, hate I’m gonna miss that. Way he treats those girls, wouldn’t mind bloodying my fists on him.”

  “You ain’t gonna miss it,” Dog stated.

  Crash frowned at Dog. Cole knew he had Shannon. What the fuck?

  “Sorry. Hate to pull you away from this lovely, lovely job you lucked into, but Cole wants you there.”

  Crash’s eyebrows shot up as if to say ‘seriously’.

  Dog put his hands up. “Don’t ask me. Call him. Maybe he figures she’ll be safe at the Batcave,” he offered, grinning.

  “The fuck of it is, the guy’s probably gonna pay up, and it’ll be a wasted trip as far as getting the satisfaction of beating his face in,” Crash speculated.

  Dog grinned at him. “Chill out. You can always take your sexual frustration out on Gre
en on fight night.”

  Crash turned to Green. “You fightin’ next week?”

  “I threw my name in, yeah.”

  Crash nodded.

  Shannon walked up with the coffee. Wolf jumped to hold the door for her. “Ma’am.”

  She smiled up at him. “Thank you.”

  Of all his brothers, Wolf was the biggest flirt of all of them, which was partially how he got his name. The ladies stood about as much chance with him as Little Red Riding Hood had with the Big Bad Wolf. Crash suddenly felt like putting his fist through Wolf’s handsome face.

  She walked forward with four mugs of coffee on a silver tray, like she was serving the queen afternoon tea. “Sorry this took so long, boys.”

  “That’s all right, we still had forty-four bottles of beer on the wall,” Red Dog teased, flicking the ashes of his cigarette to the side.

  “Which one’s got the rat poison in it?” Wolf asked her, with a wink, peering down at the tray she held out to him.

  She smiled up at him. “All of them.”

  He looked crushed. “Darlin’, I didn’t do anything.”

  She winked at him. “Guilt by association, darlin’.”

  He clutched at his chest. “Ahh, stabbed through the fuckin’ heart.”

  She held the tray up to him and tilted her head to the side with a smile. He grinned and took one. She held the tray low, offering them each a mug. Dog, Green, and finally, she held the tray out with the last remaining mug to Crash. He frowned down at the tray in her hands. “Is that my pizza pan?”

  She shrugged. “Maybe.”

  Dog let out a snort. “Huh, ingenious little gal, ain’t she?” He took a sip of his coffee, grimaced, and then reached over and grabbed the mug out of Crash’s hands, switching with him. “Here, I think I got the one with the poison.”

  Shannon glared at him.

  “What? I’m kidding. It’s what we do,” he made a circle motion with his hand, including them all. “We make fun of ya, ‘till it gets old, and then we move on.”

  Green looked at Shannon, who was holding the empty tray behind her back, and then he looked back down at his own mug. “Wait a minute, how come you’re not having any?”

  She just gave him a sly grin, then turned and sashayed back inside.

  The four of them looked at each other a moment, and then, simultaneously, all four brothers turned their mugs upside down, pouring the contents out on the roof.

  A half hour later, the men trouped back in. Crash glanced over, finding Shannon in the bedroom unpacking her bag. He carried the four empty mugs to the kitchen and set them in the sink. Then he walked the guys to the elevator. “I’ll meet you at the club.”

  Green grinned, glancing from Crash to the bedroom. “You ain’t got enough time to smooth those ruffled feathers, son.”

  “Sure he does,” Wolf put in. “You just need to know how to handle women, which you don’t. But you can’t help it, can you, Green? It’s hard to control a woman that’s not inflatable.”

  Green made a grab for Wolf’s throat, but Red Dog pushed him off. “Calm the fuck down, Green. Shit, can’t anybody tease you anymore?”

  They loaded onto the elevator, and Crash slammed the gate behind them. He smiled through the bars at Dog and said, “Later, Tater.”

  Dog smiled and shook his head as the elevator descended. Crash could see Green shove Wolf, and then Wolf shove him back saying to Dog, “Can’t we put him to sleep?”

  “We tried,” Dog replied. “The vet wouldn’t take him.”

  Crash chuckled as he walked to the control panel and put in the code for the garage door to open.

  After the bikes rolled out, he went to get Shannon. It was time for her to make a phone call.

  He found her setting an armful of beauty and hair products down on the bathroom vanity. How the hell did all that stuff fit in that one bag? It’s like twenty clowns piling out of a clown car. He glanced around, her crap was now cluttered all over his bathroom.

  Jesus Christ.

  “You really need all this shit, babe?”

  She set down what must have been armful number two and turned to him. “Yes. My God, I’m living out of one bag. I’ve never done that in my life.”

  “Yeah, I bet there’s a lot of firsts you’re gonna experience stayin’ with me.” She rolled her eyes at him. He glanced down again at all the bottles. “You don’t need all this shit, babe.”

  “Yes. I do.”

  “No. You don’t. You think you do, but you don’t. You’re a beautiful woman, Shannon. Drop-dead gorgeous.”

  She looked up at him, her face softening at his sweet compliment. “Crash.”

  Ah, Christ. “Fine, whatever. Just don’t leave it all over my bathroom.”

  “Yes, sir,” she teased with a salute.

  He grinned. “I like that.”

  “What?”

  “You. Being all obedient for a change. ‘Yes, sir.’ That’s got a nice ring to it.”

  Her eyes narrowed. “Don’t get used to it.”

  He chuckled. “Come on,” he took her by the hand and led her out of the bathroom. “You’ve got a phone call to make.”

  She trailed behind him. “I do?”

  He led her to the kitchen and opened a drawer. It was filled with disposable phones. He pulled one out and popped a battery into it, activating it. Then he turned and held it out to her. “Call home. Let them know you’re all right.”

  “What?” She glanced from him to the phone in his hand. “No.”

  “Yes. Princess, your car and phone were abandoned at a mall yesterday. Your family is gonna think the worst. We don’t need the police involved in a missing persons report and your picture splashed all over the news.”

  “Crash…I can’t.”

  “Yes. You can. You have to.”

  She just stared at the phone.

  “Babe, seriously? Not even for your mother?” Her eyes looked up and met his. And he watched them glaze over. And then she took the phone.

  “What do I say?” she whispered.

  “Just tell them not to worry. Tell them you’re okay. That you just need some time away.”

  She took the phone and made the call.

  When she was through, Crash took the phone and pulled the battery out, tossing it into the drawer. Then he grabbed another phone, loaded a battery and typed a number into it. He handed it to her. “For emergencies. I have to go out for a while. If you need me, my number’s in there.”

  “You’re leaving me here alone?” She had a panicked look on her face that pulled at Crash’s heart.

  “Princess, you’ll be fine. I wouldn’t leave you, if I didn’t believe that. Nobody gets in downstairs without the code to that door. It’s made of steel, babe, and there are no windows on the first floor. Its solid brick all the way around. The only way up is the elevator, and only you can send it down. The fire escape has a retractable ladder. And most importantly, he doesn’t have a clue where you are.”

  “You’re sure?” she asked in a shaky voice.

  “Babe.” He took a step toward her and put his hands on her upper arms. “You did good. Dumping the car. Your phone. Taking a cab from the other side of the mall. Hell, going to Cole in the first place. You were smart. About all of it.” He dropped his head, looking into her eyes. “You’re safe here. I promise.”

  She stared up at him.

  “Shannon, you can trust me. I swear.”

  She nodded.

  The vulnerable look in her eyes as she gave her trust to him, something he could tell wasn’t easy for her, touched him. It had him wanting to pull her into his arms, but that would possibly lead to something else, and he didn’t have time right now. His hands rubbed up and down her upper arms and then dropped away. “Okay. Good.” Was that disappointment he saw flash for a moment in her eyes? Shit, he was probably only seeing what he hoped to see. He stepped back and moved to one of the barstools. Pulling his cut off the back, he slipped it on, then walked to the elevator. “I�
�ll arm the alarm from downstairs and send the elevator back up. When it comes up, you throw this red switch to the left, and it’s locked in place.” He pointed to something in the elevator.

  She nodded. “How long will you be?”

  “I don’t know. Not too long, I hope.” He slammed the gate closed. As the elevator began descending he smiled and said, “Figure something out for dinner.”

  Shannon watched the elevator descend. She shook her head, rolling her eyes and grumbled, “He says, from behind the safety of a metal gate.”

  “I heard that,” came the response up the elevator shaft. The gate clanked open, and then he sent it back up to her. She threw the switch, locking it on the second floor. A moment later she heard the steel door rolling up and his bike fire up. The door rolled down with a clank, and she could hear the bike roaring away in the distance. And then there was silence.

  Turning she took in the empty loft. She ran her hands up and down her arms. Was she really safe here? She wanted to believe him. The place seemed safe enough. It was locked up like a fortress, she’d give him that. But what if Nicklaus had had her followed? What if he knew about the cab? What if he’d bribed the driver for the location where he’d dropped off the ‘pretty blonde’? All kinds of crazy thoughts started running through her head. She knew she was being paranoid, but considering all she’d been through, she had good reason. Nicklaus was nothing, if not determined, and she didn’t think he’d give up so easily. Not until he found her.

  Her eyes fell on the tarp covered thing in the corner, and she wondered what it was. Well, Crash wasn’t around, so she’d might as well have a peek. She walked over and lifted a corner, looking under it. Frowning she pulled it back for a better look. What the…? She pulled the tarp completely off and stood staring, speechless. It was a beautiful metal sculpture. Now why would he buy it and then keep it covered? Why would anyone cover anything this beautiful?