They watched as the twins reluctantly walked upstairs. Once they were gone, Liam turned to face her.
“Again. Going somewhere?”
He helped her get up from the floor, brushing glass away from her. She didn’t have shoes on, so he carried her over to a chair in the corner.
“It’s really none of your business if I am,” she said flippantly.
“Oh, that’s where I beg to differ, sweetheart. Where’s your broom?”
She pointed towards the kitchen and watched as he came back with the broom and dustpan. Without even asking, he began sweeping, still talking.
“I’ve put my protection on you. In the grand scheme of the club we may as well be married. The Vojnik have seen you with me too, so we need to get you and the kids out of here. That’s probably what this business is about,” he gestured at the dustpan.
It didn’t sit well with her that all her decisions were being made for her. “We’re not leaving our home.”
“The hell you’re not, you were planning on leaving anyway. Why not leave with me?”
“Should I really count the reasons? I don’t know you, I don’t trust you, and I’m not even sure I like you.”
Finished sweeping up the glass, he leaned over and grabbed the brick that had come through the window. Rolling it over in his hands, he held it out to her.
“This is another reason you should want to be with me. I can protect you from this.”
“You’re the reason for this,” she argued. Taking the brick from him, she flipped it over in her hands. Foreign words were written on it, and she didn’t know how to make heads or tails of what it said.
“What is this?”
“A threat from the Vojnik. They saw you with me, and they’ll assume you’re an easy way to get to me. Your only choice is to come with me.”
This was a hard pill to swallow. Before he’d showed up, she’d had a plan. A plan she felt good about. A way to get out of this mess. That was now all gone. Feeling defeated, she nodded. Getting up, she called for the kids, telling them to pack some bags as she did the same. Who would have thought covering a simple shift at work would have ever led to all of this.
“Can you tell your sister that the next time she needs me to cover her shift – she’s shit out of luck?”
For the first time, she heard him laugh, and a genuine smile transformed his face. She knew with everything in her that she did need protection but of a different kind than he was offering. She needed protection from him.
Chapter Eight
Meredith sat in the same chair she had been sitting in for hours. Overnight and into early morning, she had watched Denise all but move out. Liam Walker and a few other members of Heaven Hill were loading suitcases into Denise’s car and standing around looking menacing. Tyler Blackfoot, the best friend and handsome Native American, had stalked like a shadow watching over the group. What had happened? Was Denise an old lady now? It was obvious that Liam had offered protection of some sort, otherwise the club wouldn’t have had a show of force like that. Did the window the men had boarded up figure into any of this?
“What am I missing?” she questioned herself, biting the nail of her index finger.
She wanted to expose the illegal activities of the club. That kind of story would do amazing things for her career. And it would get part of the criminal element out of Bowling Green. The last thing she wanted to do was ruin what had become a friendship with Denise. However, in her heart she knew that Denise was the key to breaking them. Meredith didn’t want to use her, but realized she would if she had to. That didn’t sit well with her; never in her career had she used someone she was close with. She could almost taste the praise that her boss would give her, and she craved that approval. It just didn’t feel as victorious as she had assumed it would.
The last motorcycle and Denise’s car had left roughly forty-five minutes before. Maybe she could go look around, see if they had left any clues. She put on her running shoes and grabbed her iPhone before walking out the door. She stopped in her driveway to stretch like she normally did before a run and then casually jogged down the street. As she got to Denise’s house, she walked up the front porch and tried the door.
“Son of a bitch, they left it unlocked,” she breathed, glancing around to make sure no one was watching.
Once inside, she let her eyes adjust to the darkness before scanning the room. It was obvious that they had left in a hurry but care had also been used to pack certain things. She made her way to the room where the window had been boarded up. On the dresser in the corner she found a brick with Bosnian writing on it.
“Bingo.”
She couldn’t read Bosnian but knew a few people who could. Using her iPhone, she took pictures of it from different angles as well as a picture of the window that it had obviously come through.
“I don’t think so.” The voice was deep and authoritative with a slight southern accent that caused her skin to prickle with awareness.
It belonged to Tyler Blackfoot. He wasn’t supposed to be here, there were no bikes outside. She turned around, hand on her hip. “What are you doing here?”
“I could ask you the same question. Give me the phone,” he motioned with his hand. The man was larger than life and beautiful really, but right now he was annoying her.
“I live in the neighborhood, I was worried.”
He smirked, white teeth showing against his tan skin. “But you don’t live in this house do you? Give me the phone,” he said again.
“It’s my property.”
“And you are trespassing. Do you know how much I’d love to call the cops on you and then take your picture as you come out of jail?”
Her eyes widened. “You wouldn’t. The door was unlocked.”
“Try me. Anyway, just because it was unlocked doesn’t mean you should be coming in here uninvited.”
Sighing, she handed over the phone to him. “I could give you a tip about the Vojnik,” she smiled seductively.
“I’m listening,” he muttered as he ran back through the pictures that she had taken.
Putting her hand on her hip, she stuck it out and focused on him. When she noticed that his eyes were on her, she pushed her chest out slightly. “I heard they’re planning to intercept your drug shipment next week.”
He laughed. “You’re cute, but if you wanna seduce me, you’re gonna have to do a little more than stick your tits out. About the other thing, which shipment?”
That pissed her off. She was cute. People told her she was cute all the time, yet he acted like she was begging him to throw her on the ground and take her. His question confused her as well. “There’s more than one shipment? How many of these do you guys do every week?” she asked, her brain working overtime.
He shrugged, the leather he wore over his shoulders creaking with the movement. “I dunno, Ms. Rager. You tell me. How many are there in any given week?”
It was then she realized he was playing her. Taking the information she was giving but not giving her anything in return. Heat reddened her cheeks, and she held her hand out for her phone.
“You got what you wanted, give me my phone back.”
He pressed a few buttons and smiled at her before placing it back in the palm of her hand. “I like you, so I’m gonna be nice. You’re stickin’ your nose into things you don’t understand here. Your curiosity is goin’ to get someone killed. Do you want someone’s blood on your hands? Because it’s goin’ to be there if you don’t back off. Don’t make me warn you again. Next time I won’t be so nice.”
Turning her around by the shoulders, he pushed her out of the front door and locked it as she stumbled out onto the front porch. He knew without a doubt that she would be back, but he hoped that next time she was a little bit smarter.
Fuming, Meredith made her way back down to her duplex.
“Ugh. That man.”
Grabbing her phone out of her pocket, she tried to make a phone call only for it to tell her that her passco
de was incorrect. Again she tried, knowing that she had input the correct one. Realization dawned after the fourth try. Seething, she marched back over to the house and beat on the door until it opened.
“Can I help you?” he asked, laughing as he saw the look on her face.
“Change it back.”
“I’m not sure I know what you mean?”
“You, Tyler Blackfoot, are a bastard. Change my damn passcode back. You’ve put me in my place, and I get it.”
He grabbed the phone from her hand and did as she asked. “Games aren’t that fun to play are they? Remember that when dealing with the club, Ms. Rager.”
“Damnit.” Liam shouted as he threw his phone down on the bed that they had just made up with fresh sheets for Mandy at his house.
“What?” Denise asked, looking up at him in alarm.
His heart ached as he looked at her. It had been a long twenty-four hours, and it showed on her face. A large bruise marred her cheekbone, her nose was still red and swollen, her eyes had blackened, and you could still see bits of dried blood on her scalp.
“Club business,” he answered, his voice clipped.
“Is that all I’m allowed to know?” she asked, folding her arms over her chest. She wasn’t sure how well this would work for her. Being by yourself meant you were never kept in the dark – having someone else calling the shots would take some getting used to.
“That’s all you get to know. I gotta go, but I’ll be back in a little while. Make yourselves at home. There’s plenty of food.”
As he reached the bedroom door, he turned abruptly and came back to stand in front of her. Looking up at him, she was afraid to move. Tenderly, he cupped her cheek with the palm of his hand and swept his large thumb over the bruise that had appeared.
“Get some sleep. Things will look way different when you wake up. Roni will make sure that the kids are taken care of. Just rest,” he whispered. More than anything, he wanted to comfort her. To explain that this wasn’t how things always went. Maybe lean in and give her a gentle kiss on the lips, show her another side of himself, but he knew this wasn’t the time.
The moment was too intimate for her, too soon after everything that had happened. She stepped out of his personal space and shook her head slightly as if to clear it.
“I can’t, I have to work tonight.”
His eyes hardened. “Not anymore. I’m gonna take care of you for a while. Roni already called and told them you quit.”
She flushed angrily. She had never even had to consult with anyone about her decisions before, and now others were making decisions for her that she didn’t even agree with.
“Think about what you say before you speak,” he warned her.
Was it really worth it to go to war with him? She questioned. Deciding she was just too tired to put up a fight, she answered. “Just go do what you have to. I’ll be here when you get back, hopefully with a few hours sleep under my belt. Maybe then we can talk about this like mature adults.”
He nodded in agreement. Before leaving, he gave into his desire. He leaned down and brushed a soft kiss against the bruise on her cheek. “I really am sorry that happened. I should have stopped it before it started.”
“I know.” And she really did. “Go do what you have to do.”
She walked him to the front door of the house. Her eyes followed him as he got on his bike and started it up. As he revved the engine, he looked back at her and raised his hand in a wave. Denise could see the smirk on his face and her heart sped up just a little bit.
This was dangerous in so many ways. She was in so deep, she didn’t even know if there would ever be a way out, didn’t know now if she even wanted a way out. That’s what scared her the most. How quickly she seemed to have accepted this. Only the future would tell her if she had made the right decision or not.
Chapter Nine
“Anybody know what this is about?” Tyler asked, putting his arms out and laying his head on them. It had been a long couple of nights for everyone.
The officers sat around the main table in the clubhouse, waiting to see what they had all been summoned back for.
Liam shook his head, answering Tyler’s yawn with one of his own. “There’s no telling.” He sat up a little straighter, stretching to keep himself awake.
The group looked up as they heard another person come through the door. William Walker strutted down the aisle, gazing at each of them before taking the seat at the head of the table. With the power of a president, he watched the group of men that had assembled, daring them to speak before he did. When it became evident they wouldn’t, he started talking with the booming voice he used when he knew he had a great idea.
“Tomorrow night, the Vojnik are supposed to intercept our drug shipment. We’re going to let them.”
Mummers went up around the table as they all started to protest.
“That shipment is one of two going out, and the boxes all have tracking devices inside the cardboard. We’re gonna let them get it and watch where they take it. Then we’re gonna let them know that the reporter squealed like a pig.”
Tyler winced. He knew the Vojnik, and they would not appreciate that she had shared information. His conscience prickled a little, but he couldn’t let that show. That was a weakness he didn’t want William to know about right now. “Good, she’s been a pain in our ass for months.” That should keep William from knowing what he was thinking.
William nodded. “This way we kill two birds with one stone. Maybe we can get her off our asses for a while and figure out where they’re headquartering out of. Since their clubhouse got raided a few months ago, we have absolutely no idea what they’re doing.”
After hashing out a plan, the group broke up, each going their separate ways. Liam walked with Tyler to their bikes.
“I saw your face in there, brother. Does it bother you we’re taking the reporter’s tip?” Liam asked, covering another yawn with the back of his hand.
“It’s not that really,” Tyler answered, rolling his head on his shoulders. “I just have a bad feelin’ about it.”
It was a well-known fact in the club that when Tyler had a feeling, they better watch themselves. Everyone believed it had to do with his Native American heritage.
“For us or her?”
“Not sure. I can’t seem to get a bead on it. We’ll get a lot of information out of this, but we’ll also put a target on our backs. I’m not sure knowing where the Vojnik are headquartered will be worth the risk. I mean, yeah, we’ll be able to keep an eye on them and possibly stop their part of the drug trade, but at what cost? That’s something your father doesn’t seem to weigh very well,” Tyler grinned.
That was the truth. As a leader William Walker had one glaring weakness, he never weighed the end result with the risk. It sometimes led to bloodshed and turf wars. At the very least, the consequences of this raid would be almost instant. They were potentially messing with the livelihood of another club. There would be retaliation.
“Are you gonna warn her?”
“I feel like I should. At this point we’ve got our hands full with the Vojnik. Trying to figure out where they’re going with their operation and what they’ve got going on. I don’t want to have to worry about her too, but I feel like the target we put on our back will be just as much on hers too.”
Liam nodded. “You know what this feels like to me? A setup. It may not be, but it just feels too convenient. They tell her, and she tells us.”
Those thoughts were what would make Liam a good leader when the time came. He wouldn’t dare question William, but they very well could have just put themselves in a bad situation.
“Maybe it’s not really a setup for us, maybe it’s a setup for her,” Tyler theorized.
‘Good point. Either way, I’m gonna go get some sleep. We have a lot to get accomplished tomorrow. We need to be fresh for it. I gotta put some time in at the shop too, we’re behind. As usual.”
The two clapped hands and half hu
gged before parting ways and getting on their own bikes.
Denise sat in the kitchen of Liam’s home nursing a cup of decaf coffee. She contemplated the events of the last few days as she swirled the black liquid around. It had been a whirlwind to say the least. Out of all the ways the events could have played out, this was the most surprising ending of them all. She had never expected to move in with Liam Walker.
Getting up, she began walking around the home that she would be calling her own for the foreseeable future. It was funny, she’d had definite ideas when she had thought of how and where Liam lived. The picture in her head had been vastly different from what greeted her now. In her mind she had imagined a run-down trailer with a state of the art garage for his bike located within shouting distance of the clubhouse.
Reality was much different. A two-story house sat on a hill about two miles from the clubhouse. The driveway and landscaping looked like something she would have done to her own home. A large porch wrapped all the way around the house with the back section screened-in. She marveled at the work that had been done there. It had full electricity, ceiling fans, a couch, a table, and a chaise over to the side. She could foresee many afternoons and nights of reading out there if given the chance.
The inside of the house was a huge surprise as well. It didn’t look like a bachelor lived in the space at all. It was warm with the feelings of hearth and home. Pictures of family members were up everywhere as well as some that she recognized as members of the club. The walls were all painted neutral tones and everything seemed to match. The bathrooms had large showers and bathtubs. The two rooms that her kids occupied in were good sized and looked like they had been specifically built for children.
It was interesting to her that this seemed to be a home built for a family.
Denise heard the low hum of a motorcycle coming up the driveway. Feeling uncomfortable in her new surroundings, she got up and went to the window, wanting to make sure it was Liam.
She watched, covered by the darkness of the room he had indicated was hers, as he parked and took off the helmet he wore. His shoulder length dark hair was disheveled, and her fingers itched to run through it. As if he felt her eyes on him, he glanced up to the second story window where she stood. It was so dark, she was sure he didn’t see her, but just in case she dropped the curtain and scampered away from the window.
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