HAMMER (Forsaken Riders MC Romance Book 16)

by Samantha Leal

  She knew he was watching her, and if she were braver, she would have opened her eyes and looked at him too. But she kept them tightly sealed and they sat in silence until noise from the rest of the house started to fill the hallways and cars began to arrive outside.

  9.

  “How the hell did it happen?” Shelby’s father boomed throughout the kitchen.

  He was so loud and angry it even made her jump, and she was more than used to seeing him like this.

  “We don’t know,” Hammer said sternly. “But we were out of there within minutes. Your daughter was never in any danger.”

  “Dogs ripping men to pieces, gun shots, my art collection trashed. It sounds like things got pretty wild over there to me!” He slammed his fist down on the table and all the empty cans and glasses jumped and scattered.

  “Dad, it was the middle of the night,” Shelby spoke up. “It was all a blur. Hammer did everything he could to get me out of there as quickly as possible.”

  “Yes,” her father snorted. “And he brought you here, to a goddam bikers club house. Jesus, I could smell the whores the moment I opened the door!”

  Shelby crunched up her face and winced, and Hammer stood tall and cricked his neck.

  “This place is safer than your own home. She should have been here all along,” Hammer said angrily and Shelby looked at him with wide eyes and a rush of gratitude.

  She had never heard anyone talk back to her father before and it was making her heart race. Hammer really was brave and strong, and he didn’t give a fuck. He was true to himself and he wasn’t going to be spoken to like that. He would stand up for himself and for Shelby. She felt her heart swell.

  Her father bit his tongue and rubbed his head. Outside, she could see a selection of his blacked-out cars and his goons waiting beside them.

  “She’s not going back to the estate,” Hammer said. “I know you employed me, but to do my job properly, you’re going to have to listen to what I have to say. She isn’t safe there. They knew she was in the house and they were looking for her. They were going to bait you with her and do god knows what else.”

  Shelby felt the tears welling again.

  She really was fucked.

  She had a gangster for a father, an outlaw biker as her bodyguard, and now, she had the Russian mob after her to use as bloody revenge.

  She got to her feet and went to walk toward the door and Hammer instinctively went after her.

  “Don’t,” she said as she held back the tears. “I just want to be alone…”

  He hung back reluctantly and she marched out of the kitchen and back up the stairs and went straight back into Hammer’s room and slammed the door.

  Being in the quiet and the dark didn’t last long; below, she could hear them slamming things around and shouting. Hammer was insisting he knew where she would be safest, and her father was saying he wanted her back home on the Petrov Estate.

  The truth was, if Shelby could have chosen herself, she would have stayed with Hammer in Slate Springs. Since she had gone back to the house something hadn’t felt right and now that she had experienced someone breaking in and ransacking the place, she knew she would never feel safe there again.

  The Forsaken Riders club house was old and grimy, but she was surrounded by outlaws and she had Hammer to protect her. She could lock herself away in his room for a few days until things blew over. Surely, if the Russians were going to do any immediate retaliation, it would be within the next twenty-four hours and they would do it in Iron Hill, not Slate Springs.

  Shelby composed herself and quietly left the room and walked back down the stairs. There were men milling around that she didn’t know; other big, muscular men covered in tattoos and the same kind of skull rings Hammer had been wearing. They eyed her suspiciously but they let her through and into the kitchen.

  Hammer looked up at her with relief and gave her a secret, affectionate smile.

  “I’m not going back to that house, dad,” she said. “Surely, you must be able to see that these people wouldn’t look for me here? They’d think I was somewhere in Iron Hill, with an Iron Rider, if anything. Not hidden over here in Slate Springs at The Forsaken Riders club house, I mean, come on! You guys have all been at each other’s throats for years and years.”

  Her dad raised his eyebrows at both his daughter’s knowledge of the situation and for her clever deductions.

  He sighed and rubbed his forehead.

  “Ever since we lost your mother I have vowed to do everything in my power to keep you safe,” he said before he paused for breath. “But maybe, this time, I was wrong.”

  Shelby looked at him with hope in her eyes. She was terrified and all she knew was that wouldn’t feel safe unless Hammer was with her. He had saved her so many times already, without even realizing, and she knew if she needed him to, he would certainly save her again.

  “If you stay here,” he said as he raised a finger and pointed at Hammer. “He never leaves your side. Do you hear me?”

  Shelby nodded and she looked up at Hammer who looked stern and had his massive arms crossed over his chest.

  “You have my word,” Hammer said with a nod.

  “And there will be extra men here,” Shelby’s father continued. “In disguise as your own. For my own peace of mind.”

  Hammer looked to the other bikers in the room who didn’t seem thrilled with the idea, but she could already tell they were going to agree.

  “You’ve been a great ally to us, Petrov,” one of them spoke up from the back. “You have our dedication to keeping your daughter safe, you don’t have to fear about that.”

  “Whatever you need,” Hammer reiterated. “The extra men, a different safe house. We can provide anything.”

  “She’ll be safest here,” another Forsaken Rider stepped forward. “They won’t come looking here, of that, I know for sure.”

  Shelby’s father nodded in agreement and sighed before he rose to his feet. He crossed the room and held out his arms and pulled Shelby into a hug.

  “I’m sorry, Shelby,” he said. “This is all my fault. Everything has always been my fault.”

  She couldn’t tell him it wasn’t, so instead, she stayed silent.

  “I’ll be safe here, I know it,” she told him. “Hammer has been incredible, you really have no idea.”

  The way she said the words were almost too full of adoration and her father looked over her shoulder and shot Hammer a cold and warning-filled look.

  “I’ll be leaving town,” her father said. “I’m going back to Iron Hill to see the state of things and then I’ll be laying low until I figure out what their next move is going to be.”

  Shelby nodded.

  “I’ll be in touch as soon as I can,” he said.

  Shelby reached out for him and gave him another hug. She didn’t want him to leave but she knew he had to go, they were more at risk together than they were if they were apart, and her dad would be fine back at the estate or in one of his own safe houses. They didn’t want to harm him, they wanted to get him on their side. They wanted to convince him or trap him into working alongside them, and so far, he was outmaneuvering them expertly in every way.

  “Goodbye, dad,” Shelby said as he left the room and went toward the front door of the rickety old house.

  “Look after her,” he said as he glared back at Hammer. “If anything happens to her again, I’ll have your head.”

  The bikers surged forward and Shelby gasped as Hammer pulled her back and out of the crowd.

  “All right,” her dad raised his hands. “No need to all surge.”

  Hammer smirked. For all of Mr. Petrov’s bravado, he still knew when he had gone too far.

  They waited and watched as he climbed into his long, gleaming, blacked out car and was driven away into the desert. Shelby looked up at Hammer and realized his arm was still wrapped tightly around her, even though she wasn’t in any danger. But she liked the way it felt. It felt right, as if she always should h
ave been there.

  When he realized and pulled it away, she felt a sag of disappointment but she brushed it off and pretended like she hadn’t even noticed.

  “Come on then,” he said to her as he motioned toward the stairs. “We better get you some kind of setup going on.”

  Shelby smiled and nodded, following behind him. As they climbed the stairs and went back up toward his bedroom, she could hear the hushed conversations of the other Forsaken Riders, all of them speculating as to what was happening or what was going to happen next.

  They can feel it too, Shelby thought with a wry little smile. They can see it between us and they’ll be scared to death, just like we are.

  Hammer pushed opened the door and stood back and waited for her to follow him in. As she passed him, she felt a rush of want but she closed her eyes and willed it away.

  Being trapped in this room with him is going to be torture, she thought. So wrong, but oh so right…

  10.

  They cleared his bed from all of his old blankets and put them on the floor by the doorway.

  “I’ll sleep here,” he said. “If you still don’t want me to leave?”

  “I don’t want you to leave,” Shelby confirmed.

  She never wanted him to leave her again.

  Hammer smiled and walked back across the room, he looked out the window and Shelby watched as his eyes made tracks around the entire landscape. He was always on high alert, constantly checking and scoping out his surroundings. He had both a hunter’s and a protector’s eye. He was clearly a man of many talents.

  He turned back and looked at her and Shelby felt as if she must look like a rabbit caught in the headlights. She wanted to speak but she didn’t know what to say, her hands were fidgeting nervously by her side and she couldn’t break his gaze. Ever since they had really started speaking, she couldn’t get him out of her head. And now, they were going to have to spend twenty-four hours a day together, hidden away in a room in his club house… It was going to be hell.

  She wanted him so badly, but she couldn’t…

  It was a line both of them clearly knew they shouldn’t cross.

  She could see the way he looked at her too. He touched her protectively and then pulled away the moment he realized what he was doing. He had gradually gotten closer to her, he’d let his own barriers down and, she hoped, had changed his opinion of her. After spending time together, he had even told her she wasn’t the spoiled little rich girl he had assumed her to be, and she had realized he wasn’t so arrogant, after all.

  They still hadn’t torn their eyes away from each other and Shelby’s heart rate was picking up by the second. He looked so goddam good. His tanned muscles were heaving, his tattoos were dark and menacing, his furrowed brow was brooding and sexy, and his incredible eyes were so penetrating and engulfing that they were on the verge of driving her insane.

  He took a step toward her and her heart leapt. She could see the look in his eye too. She knew he wanted her. She could feel it from across the room.

  He took another step forward and as he came closer and she could feel his energy and heat, her whole body trembled. Hammer reached out and took hold of her hand and held it in his. The contrast between them was so stark it was incredible. Shelby’s hand was so small and delicate wrapped up in his, and Hammer’s was so big and brutish, so well-worn and masculine, it felt right that they should be held by one another.

  “Hammer,” she whispered as she looked into his eyes.

  He stared down at her and she actually felt intimidated by him. This man was a beast and she had felt his power and seen what he could do. He was dangerous and untamed. He was a criminal, an outlaw, and no doubt, he had killed… And yet, she was drawn to him in ways she couldn’t explain.

  The heat between them was rising and she took another step closer so that their bodies were almost touching. She wanted to wrap her arms around his neck, for him to lift her up and hold her close to him, for their lips to touch and for him to throw her back on the bed and to do things to her she barely dared to even imagine.

  But she looked away and dropped his hand.

  She stepped back and he took another step forward and she shook her head.

  “You’re right,” she whispered. “This isn’t a good idea…”

  She didn’t dare look back up to him, but she could feel him staring at her. She knew that if she looked back up, she would never be able to tear herself away.

  “I’ve been hired to protect you, Shelby,” Hammer finally broke the silence. “I have to put that before everything else. Even if…” he faltered and then sighed and turned around.

  Shelby sat down on the bed and watched him begin to pace from left to right. He was so big he seemed to take up the majority of the room, and his footsteps sent shockwaves through the entire house.

  “Even if what?” she asked him bravely.

  He stopped and looked up at her with the softest expression she had ever seen from him.

  “Even if I was completely wrong about you,” he said finally. “I know I’ve told you before, about how much you’ve surprised me… But I feel like I need to say it again. Spending time with you this past week… It’s changed me.”

  Shelby’s heart felt like it was going to explode with love and she opened her mouth to speak but she couldn’t find the words.

  “You’ve changed me too,” she finally managed as she blinked back a tear.

  It wasn’t just that he had been there for her and looked after her, he had awoken something in her that she didn’t even know was there. She had always felt as if a part of her was missing, but since Hammer had come into her life, that feeling had slowly but surely disappeared.

  He smiled and so did she, and then the silence between them didn’t feel as intimidating anymore.

  Hammer turned and broke the moment by continuing to pull fresh blankets out of a cupboard in the corner and pass them to Shelby who in turn started to put them on the bed.

  She could feel the change between them. The bond that was growing. It had always been there, even when she couldn’t stand the sight of him, but now, it was strong and important, and evolving with each passing second. They had barely been apart, and yet, this was truly going to be the first real time they were going to spend together.

  And Shelby was both nervous and excited.

  The day passed by in a blur, almost too fast for it to be real. Hammer had taken her down into the club house and introduced her to some of the bikers that were milling around and working there and it was interesting to see their dynamics.

  She could tell they were looking at her in the same way he had originally. She could see the suspicion in their eyes, the way they almost didn’t take her seriously. They eyeballed her and smirked to each other, it was clear they were intrigued by the legendary Petrov’s daughter, but they also assumed they knew it all.

  Spoiled little rich girl needing protection.

  A cliché, if ever they had seen one.

  But she didn’t care about impressing them. The only person she cared about, when it came to their opinion, was Hammer. And she knew she had proven herself to be so much more.

  They all sat in a room toward the back of the house and the bikers were smoking and drinking beer. Hammer did neither, he was on constant alert and protection mode as always, even though he tried to hide it. It was strange for Shelby to be in such a charged environment, even after witnessing her father, his goons and his business associates over the years and even seeing some of the Iron Riders. Being there in the midst of the Forsaken Riders’ club house was a completely different game.

  They were all so fierce and wild, and they had such interesting edges to them that it was apparent, immediately, which roles they all filled. King and Bull, two of the biggest in the room were also the heads of the club. Shelby could tell the moment Hammer introduced her to them and saw how they commanded the room. They were on good terms with each other, but she could tell that running beneath the surface there w
as clearly some unresolved issues when it came to questions of power and control, and it was interesting to see how they tried to hide their disagreements.

  Hammer brought Shelby a glass of water and she curled up on a chair in the corner of the room, sipping it slowly. She barely dared speak even though sitting silently was torture. There were so many questions swimming around in her head and she desperately wanted to know the ins and outs of life as a biker, but she was a guest there and she had to respect that. They were doing her a favor by keeping her safe, and now she had return that favor by respecting their privacy.

  “So, your old man’s been a pretty good ally to the bikers over the years,” one of them finally spoke to her. He was slightly shorter than the others but still just as intimidating, rugged and good looking.

  “So I’ve heard,” Shelby replied.

  Hammer half-laughed and walked around and sat on the other side of Shelby.

  “She’s got a smart mouth,” Hammer told him. “I wouldn’t try and outwit her too much.”

  Shelby smiled smugly and the other biker snorted.

  “Don’t worry, I wouldn’t dare try,” he winked.

  “This is Ranger,” Hammer offered. “Another brother from another mother.”

  Shelby reached out and shook his hand.

  “It’s a pleasure,” Ranger smiled.

  Shelby smiled with half embarrassment. She didn’t know what to say or whether it would be better for her just to stay completely silent.

  “How long is she here with us for?” Ranger spoke across Shelby and directly to Hammer.

  Hammer shrugged and opened his arms wide.

  Shelby couldn’t help but stare at him and his incredible physique. With it being displayed like that right in front of her, it was making her hot and bothered.

  “As long as she needs to be,” Hammer finally replied.

  Shelby felt a flicker of lust sparking right in the depths of her soul.

  “I’m tired,” she said, breaking their conversation, suddenly unable to take it anymore.