by Jessie Cooke
He walked toward the cement wall, in the spot that he knew he’d be able to reach. He was about twelve feet away when he saw the dark figure. It was a small person, a woman or a kid, and ironically enough, the sight of her trying to scale the wall to jump to her death pissed him off.
“Hey!” He realized his mistake as soon as he made it. She looked back over her shoulder at the sound of his voice and the sight of him made her scramble harder and faster to get up the wall. Garrett cursed and began to run toward her. He was a few feet away when her hands gripped the top of the railing and she swung one of her legs up and over. She screamed when he grabbed her, and kicked at him with her other leg.
“What are you doing? Let go of me!” The sound of her screams was like nails on a chalkboard. Garrett considered letting her go so she could finish her task and end the almost unbearable noise. That thought only lasted half a second, though, and even with her foot repeatedly striking his neck, chest, and face, he pulled her down off the wall. As he carried her back toward the parking lot, she tried to bite him, she scratched him, she kicked and flailed around, she fought him like a wild tiger. But Garrett wasn’t called “Bear” by his brothers in the club and in the SEALS for nothing. She was a determined little thing, and freakishly strong for her size, but she was no match for the giant that he was.
When they got to the parking lot, Garrett lowered her down to the hood of the car. As soon as her butt hit it, she slid off it and tried to run. He grabbed her again and this time he used a little more force to sit her down on the car. He didn’t want to hurt her, but he wasn’t going to let her kill herself either. “Stop fighting me. I’m not going to let go of you until you calm down and promise not to run.”
She kicked him again, this time in the soft part of his gut, and he doubled over, but he kept his hold on her arms. “Who the hell are you? What do you want? I won’t let you rape me!” She was screaming the words out at the top of her lungs. When she said “rape” Garrett froze. She thought he was trying to rape her?
“I’m not a rapist. I’m trying to stop you from doing something stupid.”
“Why do you care?”
“I don’t know. It would be a hell of a lot more comfortable without your foot in my belly.”
She kicked him again. “Then let me go.” That was when the bear came out and Garrett used his strength to overpower her. He flipped her around so that he was holding her arms down tightly and he squeezed hard enough to make her go limp in his arms. He applied enough pressure to cause her to be unable to catch her breath, but not to kill her. He waited until she was quiet and completely still, before releasing the pressure, and then he lowered her to the hood of the car—sweating, and breathing hard, and a little embarrassed that this tiny slip of a thing could make him work so hard. He looked down and got his first good look at her face. Her dark hair was tousled around her reddened face and her long, dark lashes fanned out in a circular pattern across the top of her high cheekbones. Her lips were shaped like a heart, the kind of lips a man might want to kiss…under different circumstances. He sighed when it dawned on him that his own plans were ruined. He couldn’t go through with his plans now, or she’d wake up and go through with hers. Resigned to the fact that he’d be left babysitting, at least for the rest of the evening, he pulled on the door of the car she was lying on and breathed a sigh of relief when it opened, and he could see the keys in the ignition. Riding a bike through Vegas with an unconscious woman strapped to the back was likely to be frowned upon.
By the time Garrett got the girl to the clubhouse, his back and knees were aching. He was crammed into the late-model Toyota like a clown in a circus car. He pulled up in front of the big shop and turned off the ignition and lights. When he opened the door, he almost had to roll out onto the gravel driveway. It took him several long minutes to get the circulation back into his legs and pull open the passenger door. The woman was lying across the back seat and she was still unconscious. He reached in and picked her up. When she wasn’t fighting him, it was like carrying a life-sized doll; she was practically weightless. He placed her upon his shoulder gently and used his foot to kick the door closed behind him. He walked around behind the big garage and toward the clubhouse. He was almost there when a figure appeared out of the darkness.
“Bear? What the fuck are you doing?” a voice asked. Garrett squinted into the darkness and saw Munchkin, one of the Sin City brothers. Munchkin was aptly named for his short stature, but what he lacked in height, he made up in muscle. The guys all teased him about his “little man’s syndrome.” Munchkin’s temper was much bigger than he was. The small man’s eyes landed on the girl on Garrett’s shoulder and suddenly his face changed from confused to amused. He threw his head back and his blond hair fell across his leather kutte as he laughed. “Have to resort to getting them drunk and knocking them out now, do you?”
“Shut the fuck up, Munchkin, and get out of my way before I step on you,” Garrett growled.
“Let me get the door for you,” Munchkin said, still giggling, almost like a schoolgirl. “You need any help getting her up to the bed? I could give you some pointers…”
“Seriously, little man, get the fuck outta my way!” Munchkin laughed again. He held the door open and Garrett stepped through it. As he carried the woman inside, he was relieved that no one seemed to be up and around. He’d almost made it to the stairs that led up to the rooms when Claudia stepped out of the kitchen and called after him,
“Bear? Is everything okay?” Claudia was his president’s old lady. She was a nice lady and normally Garrett wouldn’t have a problem stopping to chat with her, but not today.
“Everything’s fine, Claudia.” He stepped onto the stairs. Claudia wasn’t going to be put off that easily, however.
“Garrett, what are you doing here at this time of morning and with a passed-out woman on your shoulder?” Garrett didn’t live at the clubhouse like a lot of the guys. He also rarely stayed there. He was only in Las Vegas a few months out of the year. The rest of the time was spent traveling around the U.S. on jobs or collaborations with other clubs. He understood why Claudia would question his presence even if he didn’t have the woman slung over her shoulder like a caveman.
He turned toward the pretty, although slightly rough-looking, middle-aged woman. “Everything is fine, Claudia, I promise. She was about to do something…stupid, and I couldn’t let her. She fought me like a wildcat when I tried to stop her and I just…helped her relax. I have a feeling she’s going to be mighty pissed when she wakes up, and maybe even a little loud about it. I didn’t want her setting off alarms at my apartment complex. I’ll talk to Monkey when he gets up and make sure it’s okay if I keep…I mean let her stay here a day or two until we get this figured out.”
Claudia folded her arms and smirked. “Since when are you the knight in shining armor?”
He sighed and rolled his eyes. “I’m no knight for sure. But he also knows I’d never do anything to hurt a woman or this club, right? Trust me. I promise to get Monkey’s okay.”
“I trust you, Bear. But you can’t talk to Monkey this morning. Him and some of the boys rode out last night, headed for Albuquerque. They’ve got that conference this weekend and they won’t be back until Tuesday morning.”
“Shit, I forgot about that. Did Speedy go too?” Speedy was the VP of the club.
“Yep, pretty much all the executives went with him, and a lot of the boys too.” Claudia wasn’t old enough to be a mother to most of the Flames, and a lot of them were older than she was, but she’d taken on the role of a surrogate parent anyways. She called them all boys and issued a lot of orders, most of which were followed without question or argument. They weren’t an easy bunch to manage, but she did an excellent job with what she had to work with.
“I’ll call Monkey in the morning then…”
She waved a palm at him. “Nah, don’t bother him. Like I said, I trust you. I’ll tell him I told you it was okay. Just make sure she don’t call th
e cops or something…or do whatever stupid thing she was planning, here.”
Garrett nodded. His shoulder was beginning to ache and he needed to put the woman down. “I promise,” he said. “Thanks, Claudia.” She nodded back at him. He turned back to go up the stairs and he could feel her watching him until he turned the corner. He stopped and opened the first door he came to, hoping that if someone was using it to party, they had locked the door. It opened, and he carried the woman over to the bed and let her drop. As soon as she hit the mattress, her eyes flew open. Garrett’s breath caught in his throat when he saw them. They were dark brown, but her irises had flecks of gold and green in them. He’d never seen eyes like hers. They were beautiful…even when she narrowed them at him and got ready to spit more venom.
4
Paige was looking at a mountain with shaggy dark hair, and a spray of dark stubble across his jaw. His eyes were big, and dark, and they looked lonely, or sad…Shit! She wasn’t about to get sucked in by a gorgeous face. Look where that got her sister. She opened her mouth and then closed it again when she saw the scratches along the side of his face. He was three times her size. She couldn’t believe that she’d fought him like she had. He could have…she almost laughed when she thought “killed me.” She was pissed at him for stopping her from killing herself, yet she was worried about him killing her. She’d lost her mind. “Where did you take me?”
“You’re at the Sin City Flames clubhouse just outside of Vegas…”
Paige jumped off the bed and stood up. “Oh, no fucking way! I don’t do bikers…not anymore, and I sure as hell am not going to do one that knocked me out and kidnapped me. What the fuck is wrong with you anyways? Are you a fucking caveman?” Her head was pounding, and it only got worse the more she yelled at him. She reached up and rubbed her temples. She’d been at this clubhouse, more than once. She dated a Flame for several months a few years back. He was young, his body was hard, and that face…so freaking hot. He had eyes that melted the panties off women and she should have known what a bad idea that was. They hadn’t talked about monogamy, but since he spent so much time with her and acted like he couldn’t get enough, she’d just assumed they were headed in that direction. She felt like a complete ass for “assuming” the moment she walked into the poolroom at the clubhouse and found him naked with a big-titted blonde in his lap, riding him like a stallion. She should have just quietly walked away, but an involuntary gasp had come out and attracted their attention in her direction. Paige hadn’t even noticed there were others in the room until “her” biker flashed his hottest smile at her and said, “Hey, baby, have one of the guys get you warmed up. I’ll be done here in a sec.” She looked around then and the men that weren’t getting fucked or sucked were all eyeing her like she was a piece of steak, on sale dirt cheap. Paige had done the walk of shame back to her car and she’d avoided anything since where the Flames might be congregated…and now this. Fuck.
“Do you want some aspirin?”
She looked back up at the man who had basically assaulted her and then kidnapped her and was now offering aspirin and a look of concern over her headache. Maybe she was still dreaming because that sounded crazy even in her head. “No, I don’t want your fucking aspirin. I want to go home.” She started to head for the door and the mountain moved into her path. She put out her hands and pushed against his massive chest. It was as hard as a rock and her push didn’t faze him.
“You want to go home?” he asked in a soft, un-kidnapper-like tone.
“Yes!”
“Or do you want to go and finish what you started this morning?”
“Either way, it’s none of your business. I don’t even know you.”
He put out his hand. It was as huge as the rest of him and it was calloused from either work, or riding his Harley. “Garrett Banks, and you are?”
“Leaving!” She stepped around him and thought he was going to let her go, but he moved fast for such a big guy. He was in between her and the door again before she made it there. “What the hell is your problem?”
“Can’t let you go kill yourself.”
“Why? Is it your fucking job to monitor suicides this week? Did you know that Las Vegas is the suicide capital of the free world? Obviously, you’re doing a shitty job.” He didn’t move, and he didn’t speak, and that only frustrated her more. “You’re insane, do you know that? You can’t watch me 24/7…” Suddenly it dawned on her—what was he doing out there himself at three a.m.? “Oh my God, you were there to do yourself in and you have the nerve to kidnap me, to stop my suicide?”
“What makes you think I was going to do myself in?”
“Why else would you be out there at three o’clock in the morning?”
“It was almost four.”
“Oh my God, you’re fucking exasperating! Who cares what time it was? It was still dark, and it was closed, so there was no reason for you to be there, unless you were there for the same reason I was.”
“Maybe I went there to save a life.”
“Okay, boy scout, job done. I’ll be going now…”
He put up his big hand and said, “Paige, wait…”
“How do you know my name?” Garrett looked over toward the purse he’d brought up out of her car. “Really? You went through my purse. Who do you think you are?”
In a calm voice that she could tell he was forcing he said, “Look, I know that I can’t keep you here, or follow you around and make sure you don’t kill yourself…but maybe we can compromise.”
“Compromise? I don’t want anything from you, so how could we compromise?”
“Talk to me. Tell me what is so bad in your life that makes you think you’d be better off dead. If I can’t help you find a solution, I’ll let you walk out of here and get on with your death.”
Paige folded her arms. She was about to tell him to go fuck himself, but who knew how long he’d keep her here if she didn’t give him what he wanted? Besides, she didn’t have to tell him shit; she just had to make him think she was telling him what he wanted to hear. “Fine. I’ll tell you my sad story, and you tell me yours.”
A shadow, or a cloud, passed through his dark eyes and he swallowed what looked like a lump in his throat and then he said, “Fine, but if neither of us are dying today, maybe we should get something to eat first. I’m hungry.” Paige almost smiled. She believed it took a hell of a lot of fuel to keep his tank of a body running.
“Fine. I could eat.”
“Claudia probably has breakfast ready downstairs by now…”
“Not here. If I wasn’t already suicidal, this place would make me want to kill myself.”
For the first time since she met him, Garrett smiled. It was more of a grin, really, a crooked one. It completely changed his face and made her feel things that she didn’t want to feel. “Alright. There’s a hamburger place up the road. They have some killer cheese fries.”
“I hate cheese fries.”
She was planning on being obstinate at every turn, but when he said, “Okay, we can go wherever you want,” the ice around her heart melted…just a little bit.
“The burger joint is fine. I’ll have the chicken strips, they’re not bad.” As she and Garrett made their way out to the car, Amanda’s voice popped into her head, “Always the bad boys, Paige. Why? What’s the attraction?” She started to argue with her sister’s disembodied voice, and tell her this was different. She didn’t choose this guy, he kidnapped her. She wasn’t dating him, or hanging out with him, or fucking him. She was having a meal, telling him a story and then she’d be on her way. There was one thing that she couldn’t deny, though…she did feel an attraction to him. It wasn’t like he’d ever know, or anything would ever come of it. As soon as she could get away from him, she planned on finishing what she’d gone out to the dam to start.
Garrett toyed with his cheeseburger and Paige picked at her food and neither of them spoke. It was Garrett who broke the silence at last and said, “Do you have family?”
Garrett popped a fry in his mouth for the express purpose of stalling and then he said, “My Pops is still around, and I have a daughter.”
Paige raised an eyebrow like she couldn’t imagine him as a father, and Garrett was slightly insulted but not surprised. “How old is your daughter?”
“She’s almost four.”
Paige smiled slightly. “That’s a fun age. I used to teach Sunday school at my church; the three- to five-year-olds were my favorites.”
Church…Garrett wondered if he could use her faith to talk her out of taking her life. “Yeah, it’s a great age. She soaks things up like a sponge. She’s so smart.”
“What about her mother?”
“What about her?”
“Is she in the picture, somewhere?”
“She’s my daughter’s mother, and she takes good care of her. She’s not in my life otherwise, if that’s what you’re asking.”
Paige cleared her throat. “I guess I’m just wondering why a man with a child would kill himself. I mean, won’t that be hard on your daughter to know you committed suicide?”
He nodded slowly. “I imagine it will be, but I think she’ll be better off in the long run. She’s got a great mother and stepfather. They’ll make sure she grows up okay.”
“Hmm.”
“Hmm, what?” Garrett was about to take a bite of his cheeseburger when she said:
“Seems kind of selfish to me.”
It was his turn to cock an eyebrow. He put the burger down and as he was wiping his hands he said, “What about you? I mean, did you think about how it would affect your parents to lose a child? Especially, in such a horrible way?”