Not Acceptable Red Eyes MC Romance Series - Book #3)

by Blair Grey

  Jason raised an eyebrow at me. “You really care about this girl, huh?” he asked speculatively.

  “You don’t know the half of it,” Braxton said before I could think of how to respond. He shrugged at me and then shook his head. “Come on, I’ve never seen you go after someone with such single-minded focus before. Especially not when you knew we were in the middle of such a dangerous mission.”

  “You just told me to stay away from her because we weren’t going to be in Florida forever,” I reminded him. God, he was acting like he had known this was going to happen, that the Mambas were going to go after her.

  I guessed I probably should have expected they might if I had bothered to think about it. That fact just made me even angrier—with myself this time. He was right, I should never have dragged her into this. I just hoped it wasn’t too late to save her. But no, it couldn’t be.

  “There!” Braxton said suddenly. “Three guys, walking up the street.”

  We watched them enter the pharmacy. “Let’s go,” I said grimly, already worried that we’d given them too much of a lead.

  When we got inside the three guys were trying to get behind the counter where Anne was standing, looking pale as a sheet. Donald, to my surprise, was there with a baseball bat, but he looked like he wasn’t sure whether he really wanted to use it or if he wanted to retreat to the back room again.

  Jesus, just hand the bat to Anne, I thought wildly. She, at least, would have no qualms about using the thing out of self-defense.

  As soon as Donald saw us enter, though, he hightailed it into the back room, taking the baseball bat with him. Fat lot of good that would do us. Fortunately, we shouldn’t need a baseball bat. Braxton and I immediately jumped into action, automatically picking our targets, fists flying.

  I had to admit; it felt kind of good to get this done, to get a little action after so much uncertainty and waiting here in Sarasota. When the third guy fell after a sickening crack to the head dealt by one of Braxton’s fists, I turned to look at my twin. His grin was even wider than mine.

  “Well, that felt good,” he said, shaking out his knuckles as he surveyed the three goons.

  I kicked one of them to make sure that he was still out cold, and then I bent down and grabbed his wallet. Quite a bit of cash, plus identification. They all seemed to be carrying the same. I tsked and shook my head. “Shouldn’t be carrying so much money when you’re on a job,” I muttered.

  “Right?” Braxton asked.

  Finally, I straightened up, already wondering what to do with these three. But that was when I realized there was another problem that I needed to contend with. Anne was still there behind the counter, watching us. She was pale, but she didn’t look like they had gotten to her at all.

  In her eyes, though, I could see clear betrayal. She had asked, after all, if I was in trouble. And I had promised her that I wasn’t. Now, I knew that she could see through the lie, and she wasn’t happy about it.

  30

  Anne

  As I watched Landon and Braxton loot the three guys’ pockets, my mind was furiously trying to piece together what had happened and what I was feeling. To be honest, I hadn’t been totally surprised that the three guys had come back again. I had a feeling that they had left unfinished business when they had departed the previous day. And what’s more, I had a feeling they knew that I was lying.

  It was why I had tried so hard to get Landon to tell me what was going on. When he had denied being in any trouble, I had wanted to let myself believe him. I had wanted to pretend that everything was okay and that he was telling me the truth. That he was totally clueless and that these three guys were just trying to stir up some sort of trouble.

  But in my heart, I had known that that wasn’t the case. And here was Landon, just proving me right. He was involved in this mess, somehow. I knew that for a fact now. How else would he have known to show up right after those three?

  They had burst into the shop and immediately strode toward me, looking menacing. “You lied to us,” the leader said, his eyes narrowing at me. “You know exactly who Landon Stevens is.”

  I had swallowed hard, wondering how to respond to that. But before I could, one of the other guys continued, “We had to wonder why you had lied to us. But I suppose the fact that he spent the night with you gives us our answer. You’re in love with him. And you wanted to protect him.”

  “I’m not in love with him,” I’d said weakly, as though that made any difference. But that lie, I knew they could read off my face. I might still be afraid to even admit it to myself, but I definitely had feelings for Landon. And they knew it.

  The question was, what were they going to do about it.

  They had tried to bust through the door to get behind the counter. That was when Donald had appeared, a baseball bat in his hands. But when he saw that there were three of them and only one of him, Donald had frozen, and what little hope I’d had that we might get out of this all right had died.

  The worst part of it all was that I had forgotten my phone next to my bed this morning, in my haste to get out of there before things became awkward between Landon and me. Before I said something that I wasn’t supposed to say. And the guys were closer to the store phone than I was. There was no way to call the police.

  It turned out that I hadn’t needed to call the police, though. Because there was Landon and Braxton, saving the day by punching out the three guys, easily taking them on. Just like they knew what they were doing. Like they had been trained for this.

  And I realized with a sinking feeling that there was more to Landon than he had told me. A darker side to him, just like Lina had said.

  Landon somehow vaulted over the counter, coming toward me, a serious look in his eyes. He held out a hand entreatingly. But I was still trembling, and I backed away from him, not wanting him to come any closer to me until he told me what was going on.

  “Anne,” Landon said in a breath, looking hurt. As though he had any right to be upset about this. He, at least, seemed to know what he was getting into. All of this was his fault. “It’s going to be okay,” he murmured.

  “What the hell is going on?” I asked, wishing my voice didn’t quake so noticeably. “Who were these guys? How do you know that everything is going to be okay?”

  There were so many other questions that I wanted to ask, but I needed answers to those ones first. I needed to start piecing together the truth.

  Landon ran a hand back through his hair. “I’m really sorry that I’ve involved you in this. I didn’t realize that they would come after you. But you’re in danger.”

  “You think I don’t know that?” I asked, a hint of hysteria in my voice. I didn’t want to be one of those scared females who couldn’t protect themselves, but I also knew that I was no match for three big, brawny dudes like that, even if I had been armed with pepper spray or been able to call the police.

  “I’m going to figure this out,” Landon assured me, using tones that I knew were meant to soothe me. “But for right now, you need to leave. You can’t be here. It’s not safe.”

  I found myself nodding. “What about Donald?” I asked. Then, I immediately shook my head. I couldn’t leave him here by himself. We’d have to close up shop. I mechanically set about doing that, just like I had done a hundred times before. When I went into the back room, I saw that Donald had headed out the other entrance, leaving the door wide open. I closed that up and locked it as well, making a mental note to call him and explain. Once I had an explanation of my own.

  “Should we call the police?” I asked as we went back into the main room. I looked down at the three guys who were still sprawled out on the floor. A couple of their faces were already starting to purple, and I tried not to feel weirdly proud at Landon’s ability to protect me.

  “Who are you?” I asked Landon, looking down at the guys. But Braxton and another guy, who I didn’t know, were already dealing with the three, dragging them out the door.

  Landon pull
ed me off to the side and turned me so that I wasn’t watching the bodies get moved. I knew the guys weren’t dead, and I also knew that they had deserved what they got for coming after me like that. But at the same time, I was glad not to have to watch the boys dispose of them.

  “I’m part of a motorcycle club,” Landon finally told me. “We operate out of Las Cruces, New Mexico, and I’m just here on business, helping another chapter of the same MC.” He paused. “There’s another gang looking to hurt me by getting to you.”

  I stared at him for a long moment. I had to admit that it all made sense. His whole demeanor, the way he wanted to remain just friends. He was just here to do some business, and then he’d be right back to his “family” in New Mexico. Because I wasn’t stupid enough to think that that family he had told me about before was real, or at least not in the way that he had talked about them. It was his MC, I was sure.

  God, how could I have been so blindly trusting of him? He even looked the part of a biker. Of course he was involved in some sort of shady MC business.

  “What the hell were you thinking, getting involved with me?” I asked in a low voice. I couldn’t help it; I was pissed at him for dragging me into this.

  Landon reached for me, but again, I took a step back. This time, it wasn’t out of fear. “Anne, please,” he said.

  I shook my head. “No,” I told him, barely controlling my temper. “I can’t believe you got me tangled up in all of this. You’re ruining my business, but what’s worse, I could have gotten seriously hurt!”

  “I’m going to make it up to you,” Landon promised. “I’m never going to let those guys hurt you. I swear. Or anyone else, for that matter.”

  It was close enough to a declaration of feelings for me that it made my eyes sting with tears. But I wasn’t going to let him see me cry. I tried to cling to the anger.

  “No,” I repeated, even more firmly this time. “I’m not going to give you a chance to make it up to me or to prove that you don’t want me to get hurt. I don’t want anything to do with you. Or your MC. Not after this.”

  “But, Anne,” Landon said, a pleading look in his eyes. “I meant it when I said that you were in danger. You can’t stay here. We don’t know how many of these guys there are. There could be more of them after you. No matter where you go, they might be after you.”

  I gave a harsh laugh. “I’m not going to stay here, but I’m not going anywhere with you either,” I told him. I had to get out of there; it felt like the place was suffocating me. I had never expected things to work out between us, but I had never expected something like this either. I had been naive. I had been an idiot.

  I practically ran out the door, ignoring the fact that Landon was still in there and that I hadn’t gotten it locked up. I might never be able to work there again if things continued along this vein. And I hated Landon for taking that away from me.

  I felt betrayed, and that was the worst part of it. He had had so many chances to tell me that he was involved in this stuff, but he hadn’t. And what’s more, he had gotten me caught up in it, too, against my will. It was worse than just a breakup. This had the potential to totally ruin my life.

  Did he really care about me at all? How the hell had I ever felt safe with him?

  I got in my car, ignoring the way he came after me and pleaded with me. I couldn’t listen, because I knew as soon as I listened to him, I was going to forgive him. It might be a silly thing to do, but I could still remember how safe I had felt that morning. How perfect it had been waking up next to him. And when I really thought about it, I knew that Landon wouldn’t let anyone hurt me. There was a reason he had been there in the nick of time to deal with these thugs. If I let him, he would keep protecting me.

  But there was someone else out there who was meant to protect me. Someone who wasn’t just a thug from some MC in New Mexico. I put the car in drive and headed straight for the police station.

  They brought me in with a detective nearly straightaway. Guess there wasn’t much bad stuff happening there in Sarasota. The thought almost made me laugh. Why was it that everyone else seemed to lead perfectly ordinary lives? I didn’t want to pity myself, but it seemed like all the bad stuff always happened to me.

  The detective sat down across from me, flipping open a notepad. “What can I do for you today?” he asked.

  I opened my mouth, but the words didn’t come out. In order to tell the police about the three thugs at the pharmacy, I was going to need to tell them that they were after Landon. And that Landon and his brother had shown up at the pharmacy just in time to beat them up before they could hurt me.

  Then, the police would start investigating Landon. He hadn’t told me much, just that he was part of a motorcycle club, but I had seen enough TV dramas to know what that meant. The sorts of work that he was involved in, whatever it was, would be quasi-legal at best. Harassing local businesses, maybe, or possibly dealing drugs. Whatever it was, turning Landon over to the police was a sure way to get him arrested and at least investigated. And I knew the police wouldn’t be too kind to him.

  I wanted to believe that Landon deserved that. After all, he had screwed up my life and livelihood. But there was still so much of me that wanted him. I had feelings for him, gang member or not. And I couldn’t just turn him over to the police.

  I stood up, shaking my head. “I’m sorry,” I said to the detective, who looked confused. “This was a mistake.”

  I headed out of there, ignoring the detective’s sharp response. Whether he was mad that I was wasting his time or that I was obstructing justice, I didn’t know. I just knew that I couldn’t go through with this. I wanted justice. I wanted to be able to go back to work and to know that I was safe. But turning Landon into the police wasn’t the way to go about it.

  Not least of which because if Landon was behind bars, there was no one left to protect me against the other thugs that Landon seemed sure were out there. I swallowed hard, just considering that. I should never have left Landon’s side that morning, no matter how angry I was with him for not telling me the truth right from the start. But it was too late for that now, and I was too stubborn to go crawling back to him.

  If I couldn’t turn to him and I couldn’t turn to the police, I just didn’t know what to do.

  31

  Landon

  I was upset with the way that things had gone with Anne, and I was worried that she was off somewhere on her own now. Surely, she wasn’t going to go someplace where she’d be easy for the rest of the Mambas to find? She was smarter than that, I was sure. And now that she knew at least part of the situation, I had to trust that she would do everything in her power to keep herself safe. That she would expect them to come after her again.

  But I couldn’t spend time dwelling on her, and I couldn’t go after her. There was a job that needed to be done. The reason that Braxton and I had come to Sarasota to begin with. I hadn’t meant to get Anne mixed up in all of this, and it would kill me if anything happened to her. But I couldn’t let Braxton or the MC down either. There was a bigger picture here that I needed to focus on.

  We left two of the Mambas guys unconscious and tied up in an alleyway. “Split the three of them up, and maybe they lose their power?” Braxton muttered.

  “Aren’t we worried about what’s going to happen when someone finds them like this?” Jason asked, frowning down at the two guys who were propped up against the wall. He glanced over at me. “I’m a big fan of showing them no mercy, but we don’t want to bring the sheriff down on our heads.”

  “These guys aren’t going to be stupid enough to tell the sheriff that we were the ones to beat them up,” I said, shaking my head. “Because then they would have to explain why we beat them up. And as soon as we got Anne to testify that this was all in self-defense, they’d be screwed.” I paused. “Besides, we have their wallets. It’ll just look like some standard pickpocketing. Just like they did to me.”

  Braxton grinned. “Maybe I should wake them up and
show them a special thank you for the idea,” he said maliciously.

  But instead, we dragged the other Mamba back to the clubhouse. I watched as Braxton tied him up to a chair. The guy was starting to wake up now, and Braxton gave him a nice, resounding slap across the face so that he would realize what a bad spot he was in. As though the bruising and the ropes around his wrists and ankles weren’t clues enough.

  Neil came in and frowned at the man. “What’s going on?” he asked. “Who is this?”

  “One of the Mambas,” I growled. “They went after Anne, the girl that I’ve been sleeping with here in Sarasota. Fortunately, we figured out their plan in time and were able to intercept them.”

  Neil whistled, a long and low note. “And where is Anne now?” he asked.

  I grimaced, my hands automatically clenching into fists. “I don’t know,” I told him in clipped tones, hoping he would drop the issue.

  Fortunately, Braxton took over from me. “We’re going to get whatever information we can out of this guy, and hopefully it’ll help us get the rest of the Mamba scum cleared out of here.”

  Neil nodded his head. There was a flash of disappointment in his gaze. “I just wish it hadn’t come to such violence,” he said. “I hope your Anne is okay.”

  I needed him to stop talking about her or else I was going to do something drastic, like case the town until I found her. Or punch the wall hard enough to break my fist. Or kill this fucking guy and go back for his two buddies that we had dumped in the alleyway.

  I tried to take a deep breath to remain calm, but from the surprised and slightly awed way that Braxton was looking at me, I could tell that I wasn’t doing a very good job of controlling my anger. He had probably never seen me mad like this before. I wasn’t sure that I had ever been mad like this before. Violence was one thing, but this was a whole different level for me.