“Besides.” JoAnn walked up the steps. “I’m not putting off my hunts. He sees me shifting to eagle, I won’t hold the truth back.”
Tag silently cursed his stubborn friend, because he knew she was right. If Haden was going to be a part of their world, he needed to know exactly what that world contained.
***
Chapter 8
“So you stay in that cabin?” Haden pointed to the log house behind JoAnn’s. “Looks like I’ll be your roommate.”
Brodie smiled wide, and Haden thought the guy was cute. He was sinewy and lean like Haden, with a mischievous smile and gray eyes.
“You’re moving in, huh?” Brodie stripped off his t-shirt as they walked to the cabin. Sweat made it cling to his chest, and now those damp muscles gleamed under a golden sun.
“Well, only for two nights a week.” Haden followed him through the front door.
The kitchen was smaller than in JoAnn’s place, as was the rest of the cabin. They had a tv, laptop with wifi, and a PlayStation, but Brodie warned Haden not to play it unless you were done with your work. “JoAnn will kick your ass if she catches you slacking.”
Brodie led Haden into a bedroom. “This is mine.” He turned, flashed a sexy grin, then grabbed his crotch through his tight jeans. “You ever get lonely, you can sleep with me.”
The cute blond strutted close and looped an arm over Haden’s shoulder. Haden glanced at Brodie’s bulge. The noticeable size gave away his erection, and Haden felt his cock twitch and harden in his pants.
But he thought about Tag, and wondered would sex with Brodie be cheating? He and Tag weren’t exactly together, were they? They were just fucking. That was all.
Haden’s gave a lopsided smile. “I’m kinda seeing someone right now.” Though Tag hadn’t said they were exclusive, Haden just didn’t feel right about taking Brodie’s offer. “But thanks.”
Disappointment flickered through Brodie’s gaze, but his sexy grin never faltered. He reached down and squeezed Haden’s cock. “Well, if you ever change your mind…”
Heat crept into Haden’s cheeks. He made some distance between him and the hot blond before he could weaken and fuck Brodie right then. Brodie backed off and led Haden to the bedroom he’d be staying in.
***
Tag got Haden up at 4 am the next day to head to the farm. Haden felt like the floor of a taxi as they drove to JoAnn’s. He’d barely gotten any sleep, since Tag had agreed to indulge him in some more BDSM last night. His butt still stung from the kiss of the riding crop Tag used on him. But the sex, and the play, had been amazing. Haden hoped to convince Tag to give him another session tonight. The tiredness he fought off today was well worth it.
They worked from 5 am until 5 pm in the fields. Tag showed Haden how to check the irrigation system for blockages or any defects in the lines. JoAnn went over plant care with him, showing him the schedule for when they gave the crops special nutrients and guano, but that came closer to harvesting time.
Haden loved the smell out here. A mixture of earth, green, and dead autumn leaves, with a skunky undercurrent. Those who didn’t imbibe in weed usually hated the smell, but as a casual user, he enjoyed inhaling deeply of the lofty green marijuana. Haden couldn’t believe the size of the buds, either. Most were as thick as two of his fingers put together, and twice as long. In this field alone, there had to be a hundred kilos of the stuff.
He knew THC, plus other parts of the plant, were great for helping glaucoma, and doctors were even using it to treat some patients with epilepsy. Research was ongoing into how cannabinoids could help fight cancer. Haden’s sister even had a prescription for it to treat her anxiety, but she only smoked it outside at night, just before she went to bed. Never around little Colton. It helped her sleep and relax.
“Okay, kid.” Tag dripped with sweat as he patted Haden on the back. “Let’s go grab a bite of supper and head home.”
5pm came quicker than he’d expected. Haden had really enjoyed this first day, making the time pass easily. His eyes molded to the way Tag’s white tank top clung to his sculpted torso. Haden was practically drooling, but not just because he was starving for food. His body craved more than just sustenance, but he’d have to wait until tonight to satisfy his other desires.
After JoAnn fed them and the other workers, Tag and Haden climbed into the old Ford and headed home. Haden was already getting sore from the day’s work, but it was a good kind of pain. The kind that left him feeling satisfied and accomplished, which brought to mind another kind of pleasurable pain he looked forward to.
They hit the main highway when Tag looked up into the rearview and said, “Sonofabitch.”
Haden glanced up to see what had pissed him off. His stomach tightened and soured as four Harleys rode up behind them, with more lingering farther back on the highway.
“Nighthawks,” he said, as his gaze glued to an angry Tag.
“Yeah. Didn’t think they’d be back looking for retribution so fast.” The big biker’s full lips pressed into a thin, white line. “There’s a gun in there, kid.” He nodded toward the glove compartment. “Grab it.”
With a slight tremor in his hands, Haden did as Tag told him. He pulled a semi-automatic pistol out.
“Check the magazine is full,” Tag said, then his eyes darted up to the rearview mirror to check how much ground the Nighthawks had gained.
Haden knew this was a bad spot to be tailed in. They were still in a very rural area of Chilliwack, mostly occupied by farmland, and traffic would be low.
Haden pulled out the magazine and checked how many cartridges were left. “Only been fired twice,” he told Tag, which earned him a grim smile from the man.
“Good. You know how to shoot, I’m hoping.”
“Course I do.” Haden swallowed down his fear and kept calm. The riders in the front were getting way too close for his liking.
“When I tell you to, I want you to shoot out the tires on that lead bike.” Tag nodded at the mirror. “Got it?”
“You bet.” Haden used the old fashioned handle to roll down his window. The highway was deserted, except for the convoy of bikes.
Before Tag could give the command, one of the bikers aimed and squeezed off a shot. The back windshield in the old Ford shattered, and Tag and Haden had to duck and cover their heads to protect their eyes from glass. Tag managed to keep one hand on the wheel, but he swerved as shards rained down on them.
After a quick glance in the rearview, Tag looked at Haden and shouted, “Now! And keep down!”
Haden didn’t hesitate. He kept his head low as he poked it out the open window. After racking the slide, he aimed his pistol quickly and pulled the trigger. His first shot missed the lead biker, but it hit the tire of the guy just behind him, sending the rider wild. His bike squealed as he lost control. Soon he skidded across the pavement and fell, taking out two other bikers with him.
“You missed.” Tag yanked the steering wheel left and took a corner.
“I knocked three down! I’ll get the leader next time.”
“See that you do.”
The motorcycles took the corner too and reappeared in their rearview. A couple cars joined them on the highway now, pulling in from an intersection just past the corner Tag had just took. This gave him and Haden some time to breathe, but only briefly. Soon the remaining five bikers wove around the cars and pulled in close behind them.
Tag put the pedal to the floor and put scant distance between them. Another shot pinged off the driver side mirror, and Tag pulled another pistol from beneath his seat. Cracks spider-webbed across his window, made by a chunk of glass that had flown out of the side mirror and slammed hard into the pane. He rolled it down and prepared to aim with Haden.
Haden waited for Tag’s command.
“Now!”
Keeping low again, Haden poked his head out in time with Tag. The truck swerved as Tag took his focus off the road, but Haden managed to still his arm and aim. His shot hit its intended target this
time, and the lead biker’s motorcycle squealed as its tire blew. This driver swerved to the side, away from his fellow gang members. He tumbled into the ditch, taking his bike with him.
Tag took out the one to the leader’s left. Haden saw the biker flinch as a bullet drove deep into his neck. He pitched forward and sagged over the front of his hog. Blood spilled onto the concrete.
Trying not to think of the damage and the lives lost, he pulled himself back inside the cab and looked to Tag for instructions. There would be time for guilt later. Right now, survival was all that mattered. And he had to quiet his conscience if they were going to survive.
The remaining bikers fell back farther, giving Tag time to get a ways ahead of them. More traffic joined them on the road, and soon the bikers grew tiny in the passenger side mirror and rearview.
“Fuck, yeah!” Haden hooted. “I think we’re losing them.”
Tag’s face remained tense and grim. “Don’t get too confident yet, kid.”
Tag took another sharp turn into a busy intersection, narrowly missing a woman and her kids in a minivan. The woman slammed on her brakes and stuck her arm out her open window to give Tag the finger.
Now they weaved in and out of a steady stream of traffic, keeping the pursuing Nighthawks a safe distance behind them. But a red light put an end to their lead. A man in a jacked up Chevy stopped for the traffic signal, and Tag noticed almost too late. He slammed on the brakes before he crashed into the bed of the truck. The guy and Tag exchanged heated curses and the Nighthawks gained on them.
Another shot rang out, which made the guy in the monster truck put the pedal to the floor, just as he screamed, “Oh fuck!” This bullet skimmed the side of Tag’s Ford, but thankfully didn’t hit the windshield or tires.
“Good thing those assholes have terrible aim,” Tag muttered as he swerved in front of the jacked up Chevy, then took a right on to a suburban street lined with cookie cutter houses.
The Nighthawks weren’t far behind.
“Kid, do you see that moving van pulling out of that driveway?”
Haden snapped his head up in time to see a white U-HAUL-IT pulling away from a house just behind them. “Yeah.”
“When I say, I want you to shoot its tires out. Got it?”
“Got it.”
Haden kept low again and positioned himself out the window. The Nighthawks drew closer to the moving van as it backed up. It still wasn’t on the road yet, and trees and some other vehicles partially obscured the van to anyone coming up behind it.
As the van pulled out onto the road, the Nighthawks were still behind it. Haden could see the front rider preparing to swerve around it when Tag gave the command, “Shoot!”
Haden didn’t hesitate, though more guilt flickered through his mind. He thought of the innocent folks in that van, who he was putting in jeopardy, as he pulled the trigger once, then twice. Both shots hit home, taking out the back and front tire on the van. Haden said a silent prayer to whatever gods that might exist. Please, he thought, let the folks in the van be all right.
The van’s driver struggled to keep the vehicle under control. He accidentally sped up and the van toppled to its side, screeching metal and sending up sparks. The crash cut off access to this suburban street and effectively trapped the Nighthawks behind it.
Haden didn’t hoot in victory this time. His thoughts drowned in darkness. How many lives had he just ended? It was all too much. He sat somber and silent.
“Don’t got there, kid.” Tag reached over and squeezed his leg, as if sensing Haden’s thoughts. “We did what we had to do.”
“Yeah.” Haden’s voice was raspy, and the word hitched in his chest as he fought back a sob. “I guess so.”
Tag sped away from the scene as fast as the old Ford would go. When they neared the turn off that would take them to Tag’s cabin, he veered right, down another dirt road that met up with the highway.
“Where we going?” Haden asked.
“To see Old Man Bear. He needs to know the Nighthawks are back in town.”
***
Chapter 9
Forty minutes later, Tag pulled up in front of an old A frame house. This was Old Man Bear’s getaway, and the Rebels & Rogues used the place when they needed to lay low. Located near the outskirts of Chilliwack, it was tucked deep in the forest, off a winding rural route few knew about. Tag knew he and Haden would be safe here until the Nighthawks lost their scent.
Tag called Old Man Bear and told him the news. The president of Rebels & Rogues promised he’d send out the VP, Sniper Jones, and some other guys to intercept the Nighthawks and get them out of Chilliwack. Like Parker Ridge, this wasn’t their territory. They were trespassing.
“Didn’t think they’d be back for retribution so soon.” Old Man Bear’s deep voice grumbled through the phone.
“Yeah, I know.” Tag let out a ragged sigh and scratched his stubbled chin. “Figured it would take them and Condemned Sons a while to recover. Maybe they brought in new allies.”
“Could be. You get a good look at the guys following you?”
“Not really. Some were definitely Nighthawks. I know that much. I didn’t let them get close enough to check out their cuts.”
Old Man Bear grunted approval. “Me and Tessa will be there soon. Probably best you spend the night at the shack.” This was his nickname for his hidden home.
“That’s what I’m thinking. I’ll take the kid back to my place tomorrow, after we clear the Nighthawks out.”
“Good plan.”
Old Man Bear hung up and Tag went to check on Haden.
He found the kid in the rustic living room, sitting on the old, lumpy couch. Haden stared off into space. His eyes shone wet, and Tag knew the young biker was letting the death toll get to him. The kid couldn’t wallow in grief and misery. Being weak wasn’t a part of this life Haden wanted. You had to make peace with what you’d done and move on.
Tag sat beside him and put an arm around Haden’s shoulders. “Old Man Bear’ll be here soon. We’ll spend the night at this place. Rebels & Rogues will deal with the Nighthawks, and then we’ll head home tomorrow.”
Haden pushed the heels of his palms into his eyes. He rubbed furiously before looking at Tag. “Sounds good.” The kid’s voice was reed thin and distant.
Tag rubbed the tense muscles in Haden’s neck. “Kid, don’t let it get to you.”
Haden’s bottom lip trembled. “I’ve killed more people in a week—”
“How many people do you think I’ve killed in my lifetime?” Tag’s voice roughened, but his touch remained tender. “If you can’t hack this, you can’t join the MC. No matter how legit we go, there’s always gonna be some violence. You gotta make peace with that or walk away.”
Haden sniffed loudly and turned to face him. He nodded and let out a long, shaky sigh.
His face was so soft and fragile. It tugged at Tag’s heart. Haden didn’t have the hard lines and scars yet, and Tag’s need to protect him grew. It made him uneasy, this bond developing between himself and the kid, but he had to take his own advice. He couldn’t dwell on it, couldn’t overanalyze it. Instead, he took the boy into his arms and hugged him hard.
“Let it out if you gotta. Flush it outta your system, and then put it behind you.”
With Tag’s permission, Haden let go. He shook in Tag’s arms as the sobs poured out of him. Tag held on tight and let the boy drain his sorrows. He kissed Haden’s temple, smoothed a hand over his hair. After awhile, Haden’s misery subsided, and he went limp in Tag’s embrace. Once the emotional pain left him, he relaxed and breathed deeply.
He pulled out of Tag’s arms, swiped at his wet cheeks, and then glanced sheepishly at Tag. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome, kid.” Tag wiped some tears from the boy’s chin. “Don’t be ashamed of crying. It’s just you and me. Sometimes you gotta get it out in private.”
“Bet you’ve never cried.”
“I’ve shed my share of tears. Trust me.�
�
Leaning close, Haden brushed a kiss over Tag’s lips. “I appreciate what you’ve done for me.”
Tag’s heart warmed. Damn the little twink for getting to him like this. “I know, kid.” He pulled him close again and pressed a long kiss to the top of Haden’s head.
A short time later, Old Man Bear and Tessa arrived. Bear, as most in the MC called him, made Tag look short. He had to stoop to get through the doorway. When his gaze fell on Haden, Tag assessed the kid’s reaction. His wide eyes and parted lips suggested he was awestruck. Tag had to stifle a chuckle.
Bear lived up to his name. At fifty-five, he was still well muscled and tough as nails. His broad back and shoulders made it easier to enter the house sideways. White hair trailed to his shoulders, but it had receded on top, leaving him with a shiny, bald dome. A thick beard curled beneath his chin. Tattoos circled his wrists and crawled up his neck, poking out the top of his black t-shirt.
“So you’re Danny’s kid.” When Bear smiled, Haden visibly relaxed. Bear held out a hand. “’Bout time I met you.”
Haden’s long, slender hand disappeared in the president’s beefy paw.
Tessa came in and moved around her towering husband. “How’s that shoulder feeling, Haden?” She walked closer to check out his sling.
He moved it around to show her it was healing. “A lot better. Aches a bit, but my mobility’s coming back.”
“Good.” She patted him on his good arm and shook her head. “I swear you’ve got horseshoes stuck up your ass.”
Haden laughed. “It’s not just luck. Good people are watching out for me.”
She swept a hand over his cheek. “That’s what we do for family.”
“Enough of the sappy crap,” Bear grumbled. “Let’s get down to business.” He motioned to the table and took a seat.
Tessa rolled her eyes at him. “Don’t let him fool you,” she whispered to Haden, before they joined Tag and Bear. “Old bastard cries at soap operas.”
Bear raised an eyebrow at his wife. “You telling secrets over there?”
Bad Boys of BDSM Omnibus No. 1 Page 27