by Marla Monroe
River had no idea where she was going to end up staying or how she was going to get there, but until she actually had her discharge papers in her hand, she couldn’t make any plans toward setting anything up. She’d call for a taxi once she had a time.
Since she’d arrived with no form of identification or money, the second call she’d made after leaving a message for her parents had been to her assistant, Carey. The woman was a dynamo when it came to getting things done. Carey handled several people’s affairs from her home and was used to River going under the radar for long periods of time. To her surprise, the woman had been more than a little overjoyed to hear from her.
“You were supposed to call when you arrived back in the states so I could take the hold off of your accounts, but you didn’t call and someone kept trying to use your cards. Were they stolen?” the woman asked.
“Um, yes. You didn’t release them, did you?”
“No. You told me not to do that until I heard from you, so I trusted you didn’t have them in your possession,” Carey said. “Are you okay? Were you mugged?”
“I had a problem and lost my things. I’m fine though. Look. I need you to send me my package with all of my duplicate information in it. I’ll give you the address. Are you ready?” she asked.
“Hit me, boss lady.”
When she’d given her the address to the hospital, Carey had asked again if she was okay. After assuring her that she was and reminding her to have her phone cut off and reported as stolen, she’d disconnected. She hadn’t been surprised that someone had possession of her things and had tried to use her credit cards. It was why she had holds put on them while she was out of the US. She kept prepaid credit card accounts for that purpose in case of an emergency.
Now she had a complete set of all of her papers including a passport, social security card, and driver’s license. Her package included five hundred dollars in cash and a new set of cards with different numbers. She’d keep the hold on the other ones for a while longer before deciding to cancel them or not.
The knock on the door was familiar by now. It would be Merrick and or Cassius. They had a distinct rap. She smiled when they walked in.
“How are you two doing?” she asked.
“Good,” Cassius said. “We brought you some things in celebration of blowing this joint tomorrow.”
She frowned. “You’ve already done way more than enough for me. I can’t accept anything else.”
“Nonsense. You need something to leave in. I kind of doubt you would want to wear a gown out of here.” Merrick smirked.
“The nurses said they’d find me some scrubs to wear until I could get to a store.” She didn’t want to take anything else from them. They’d been more than kind to her.
“Well, we got something a little more comfortable. It’s going to be a little chilly out there tomorrow. Plus, you’ll need something warm to wear to go shopping in,” Cassius continued.
Merrick pulled a large bag from behind him and set it on her lap. She’d been sitting in the chair as much as possible to bolster her strength so she’d be ready to leave as soon as the doctor released her. River was almost afraid to look in the bag. It felt heavy on her lap. She glanced up at the two men waiting impatiently for her to see what they’d gotten.
With a sigh, she opened the bag and looked inside. She nearly gasped. There were several things in the bag which explained why it was so heavy. Her head jerked up and she narrowed her eyes at them.
“I can’t accept this. It’s too expensive. All I need is some pants and a T-shirt to get out of here.” She held out the bag. “Take it back.”
Merrick’s face turned granite hard. “Can’t take them back. They were on sale. You’re just going to have to deal with it.”
When she looked at his brother, the other man had crossed his arms and wore the same stoic expression. She wasn’t going to get anywhere with him either. Fine. She’d accept them for now, and then have them sent to them later.
“You’ll need them to ride on the back of the bike tomorrow when you get out of here,” Cassius added.
“I don’t remember asking you for a ride,” she said, glaring at the two men.
“Didn’t have to. We volunteered. The doctor said you were cleared for riding if he released you,” Merrick told her.
“I don’t believe this. Why are you doing this? You don’t know me. I just don’t get it. You’ve taken turns staying with me all week. I don’t want you to lose your jobs because you’re not going to work. I’m not helpless, and I don’t need handouts. I have money and can pay for my things. I appreciate all you’ve done for me, but I feel like you’ve adopted me, like some stray animal.” Her voice had risen and she knew she was probably overreacting, but it unnerved her to have them so attentive after not remembering what happened to at least two months of her life.
“We don’t see you as a stray we’re doing our civic duty by, River. We genuinely care about you and didn’t want you to feel completely alone in a strange place,” Cassius said. “I apologize if we insulted you. We didn’t mean to. We just wanted to help.”
She covered her face with her hands. She felt like a heel. She was so used to people expecting something from her when she asked for anything that she didn’t know how to accept good will. She should have known it wasn’t charity. If it had been charity, they wouldn’t have spent so much time with her.
“I’m sorry. I know I’m overreacting, but nothing has been normal for me in a long time now. Everything seems strange to me right now.” She couldn’t look at them. She was so ashamed of her behavior.
One of them squatted in front of her and two fingers lifted her chin until she had no choice but to look into Merrick’s beautiful blue eyes.
“It’s okay, River. Like you said, a lot has happened to you. Don’t try and figure it all out as if it has some hidden meaning. It’s just a sack of clothes to cover you and keep your warm. We aren’t going to lose our jobs because our club is our job, and if you were going to be anything, it wouldn’t be a stray dog, but a feisty kitten with teeth and claws.” He grinned at her. “Turns me on when you flash them at me.”
River couldn’t say anything to that. He’d effectively cut down all her defenses. She’d grown attached to the two men and she knew it. It was another reason she’d been so upset at seeing what was inside the bag. They’d brought her a pair of jeans, a warm long sleeved T-shirt and a leather jacket. At the bottom, she saw a pair of low top riding boots. It made her feel as if they were trying to keep her or something. It made her wish it were true when she knew it wasn’t.
“Okay, kitten?” he asked.
She nodded her head, feeling as if her entire world had just tilted. And then he kissed her.
* * * *
The sound of the door swinging open and popping against the wall made her jump and Merrick was instantly on his feet standing between her and the door. Cassius had backed up a step to complete the barrier between her and whoever had barged into the room.
“What the hell?” Cassius snapped. “Where’s the damn fire, Walker?”
“We’ve got a problem,” the rich voice from the other side of her human wall said.
“What is it?” Merrick asked, his hands tensing out beside him.
She heard the door close with a soft snap both Merrick and Cassius stepped aside. Cassius stood next to her while Merrick actually sat on one arm of the recliner. The man who’d barged in wasn’t one of the men she’d met off and on during the last week. His oddly colored hair stood out since it was mostly light brown but had streaks of lighter colors as well. It had a slight shagginess to it but only reached his collar. He wasn’t as tall as the brothers, maybe six two. What snagged her attention though was the fact that he was looking directly at her wearing a very worried frown.
“There are people asking around if anyone has seen a woman with brown hair and brown eyes that’s about her height. They’re her relatives and say she was in a bad accident and wasn’t quite right
in the head. She’d wandered off and they’re worried about her,” the man they called Walker said.
Cassius frowned and looked down at her. “I’m thinking they aren’t really your relatives, are they?” he said.
She shook her head. Why would someone be looking for her? They had to be crazy. Didn’t they realize that the police would get involved? She looked over at Merrick.
“If they’re looking for me, I must know something that’s important. Otherwise they would have just written me off as the one that got away from their little perverted games and cut their losses. They have to know that openly looking for me would draw attention to them when the police are probably involved by now.” She could see him thinking it over behind his eyes.
“They aren’t really doing it out in the open. They’re only approaching people they know they can trust to keep their mouths shut. No one is going to go back to the police and rat on them,” Walker said.
“Crap. That’s even worse,” Cassius snarled. “How did we find out?”
“Tussler, believe it or not. The description sounded too close to his sister so he wanted to make sure she was okay. Don’t get that asshole. He was fine with Ray abusing her but was worried when it might have been someone else.” Walker leaned against the door. “He found out from a Skull’s member. Seems they’ve gotten into the search-and-rescue business. Of course, they’ve always been into human trafficking anyway.”
“River. Think. Is there any reason you might have crossed paths with them? It could be they’re behind your kidnapping and had planned to sell you,” Merrick asked.
“More than likely, they’re just working for whoever had her in the first place,” Cassius said. “She was worked over, Merrick. Whoever had her was trying to get information out of her. Getting her ready for the skin trade wouldn’t have included that sort of beating. The rapes, yeah, but not that.”
River gasped. How had they known that she’d been raped? She’d never said anything to them. Surely the doctor hadn’t told them. He knew they were strangers to her.
Cassius squeezed her shoulder. “I’m sorry, River. I shouldn’t have blurted that out. It was callous of me and your secret, not mine.”
“H–how did you know?” she asked in a shaky voice.
“We could see the bruising when they were undressing you in the emergency room before we left,” Merrick explained, caressing her cheek. “It only matters because you were harmed. It wasn’t your fault, River.”
“I know.” She couldn’t look back up where Walker stood in front of the door. She didn’t know the man.
“She’s not safe here anymore,” Walker told them. “Dom is contacting the doctor to get him to release her now so you can get her somewhere safe until we figure out what is going on.”
“Does he know my doctor?” River asked, looking up at Cassius.
“Yeah, unfortunately, we’ve had a lot of dealings with the man,” he said with a weak grin.
“Come on. Time to get you dressed,” Merrick said, standing up again. He reached out for her with one hand and grabbed the bag they’d brought with the other.
“I’ve got the door out there,” Walker said opening it and stepping through.
“I’ve got it in here,” Cassius said. “Help her dress as fast as you can. We’re not waiting on the doctor.”
River didn’t have time to protest. Merrick all but dragged her into the bathroom and closed the door. He opened the bag and pulled out underwear first.
“Here. Put this on. I’m going to turn my back, but I want one hand somewhere on me at all times so you don’t fall. You don’t have a hand on me and I’m going to assume you’re about to fall and I’m turning around. Got it?” he asked.
She didn’t argue, just nodded her head and took the garments from his hand. When he’d turned his back, she placed one hand on his back while awkwardly pulling off the gown with the other. When it came time to pull on the panties, she realized it just wasn’t going to work.
“I can’t get them on without two hands, Merrick,” she hissed out.
“Turn your back to me and I’ll hold you steady from behind while you get dressed. This would be so much easier if you weren’t so shy, kitten.”
She growled at him but turned around. The second her hands left his back, he swung around and anchored his big hands on her very bare waist. They were warm, nearly hot against her skin. Their rough calluses rasped lightly over her as she moved around, trying to step into the underwear without losing her balance.
Once she had them settled at her waist, River looked for a bra. “Where’s the bra?”
“Didn’t get one. The ladies said you wouldn’t be able to stand having one on until your ribs had healed,” he said.
“Oh. I hadn’t thought of that, but they’re probably right.” She sighed and took the jeans he handed her over her shoulder. Once she’d dragged them on, a large, thick T-shirt with long sleeves followed.
“What does it say?” she asked as she tugged it on over her head. She winced at the pull to her ribcage.
“The Ghost Riders on the back and Property of The Ghost Riders on front,” he said.
She didn’t say anything. Instead, she grabbed the socks out of the tops of the boots and tried to walk over to the toilet to use it as a seat so she could get her socks on.
“Where are you going?” he asked.
“I need to sit down to put my socks on. Let go.”
“I’ll take care of the socks and boots. Hold on to them.” He surprised her by picking her up so that one arm cradled her back and the other held her under her knees. Merrick opened the door with one hand and eased sideways through it.
“Ready?” Cassius asked.
“Just about. Got to get her socks and boots on.” Merrick sat her on the hospital bed and grabbed the socks from her. He had them on her feet in mere seconds.
Cassius took one foot and his brother the other so that it only took another few seconds to get the boots on, laced, and tied.
“I feel like I’m a steer at a rodeo and you should jump up and put your hands in the air like you just broke the world’s record in hogtying,” she quipped.
“I like that you have a sense of humor, but don’t compare us to cowboys, darling,” Cassius chuckled.
Just as they were about to leave, the door opened and Walker let her very frazzled-looking doctor inside. He looked her up and down and shook his head.
“I suppose you aren’t going to be that much better in the morning than you are right now.” He held out a set of forms before putting another one on the bedside table. “Sign this one. The others tell you what to watch for and how to take care of yourself for the next four weeks while your ribs heal. They won’t be completely healed for at least six weeks. Make sure you take deep breaths and cough periodically to keep your lungs open and clear. Pneumonia is a common infection after rib fractures, especially considering how many you had. You were lucky to only have a mild case that is responding so well to the antibiotics we gave you.”
She quickly signed the form and handed it back to him. “Thanks for taking care of me and for going out of your way now to help me.”
“There are prescriptions for another seven days of antibiotics you need to take as well as pain medication. Do not tape up your ribs even if they hurt. It keeps you from taking deep breaths, which can lead to a relapse of your pneumonia and can cause your lung to collapse. If you have any problems while you’re in the area, call me. My number is on the forms.” He backed away and nodded at the two men. “Take care of her and make sure she gets plenty of rest. She’s not anywhere near healed enough to be on the run. Remember that.”
“We’ll make sure she’s well taken care of, Doc. Thanks,” Merrick said.
“We need to go,” Cassius said. “I don’t like this.”
The doctor stepped aside and Cassius opened the door, saying something to Walker who still stood guard outside. A few seconds later, he turned back and nodded at them.
“Let�
��s go. Stay between us and keep your head down,” Merrick said in a gruff voice.
River had been in enough dangerous situations to know not to argue in the middle of things. She could fuss at them when the danger was behind them. Besides, they knew their way around and she didn’t. She trusted them. That wasn’t something she did lightly, either. Normally she didn’t even trust the guides that led her into jungles and across deserts, but she trusted Cassius and Merrick. They’d more than proved their sincerity in caring about her. They’d have a serious talk later.
They made it all the way through the hospital without incident, but when they stepped outside Merrick cursed and all but threw her behind him. Cassius closed ranks so that they completely hid her behind their towering wide bodies. She could hear Walker talking to someone.
“Yeah, Ajax had us checking on Ginger. She’s doing the clinical part of her course here. What are you doing here?” he asked.
“Checking on a friend,” the thin voice said. “Gotta go.”
She heard footsteps on concrete then the sound of a bike starting up. Walker walked over to where they stood and added his body to theirs to keep her hidden as the bike drove by.
“That was too fucking close,” Merrick cursed. “We need to get her out of sight.”
They hurried over to where three large bikes were parked. Two of them were a stunning midnight blue while the other was silver with black accents. Walker motioned them over to his bike where he was unlocking one of the saddlebags.
“I borrowed one of the girl’s jackets. Switch out with me, River. We’ll trade back after we get you out of here,” he said, handing Cassius another leather jacket. This one had patches on it and The Ghost Rider’s patch and name on the back.
She let Merrick help her pull off the one she was wearing and Cassius eased the other one on her. It was slightly too large, but not by much. The look in Merrick’s eyes when she straightened up bothered her. The mixture of arousal and possession shouldn’t have been aimed at her. Before she could say anything, Walker had climbed on his bike and started it. The noise prevented her from saying anything without screaming it to the world. She kept her mouth closed—for now.