MIKE
Defenders MC
Book 5
Amanda Anderson
Copyright © 2015 by Amanda Anderson
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This book is a work of fiction and any similarities to persons living or dead, places, incidents are completely coincidental and not intended by the author. The characters and events are productions of the author’s imagination and are used fictitiously.
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Printed in the United States of America
Other Works by this Author
Full length Novels
Christina’s Chance
Mystery Lover
A Beautifully Normal Life
In Love With The Wrong Cowboy
Reclaiming Life
Too Much Trouble
Life, Love, and Second Chances
The Tiger Series
The Tiger Within (Book 1)
Highland Tigress (Book 2)
Captive Tigress (Book 3)
Stripes (Anthology Containing Books 1-3)
Freeing the Tiger’s Soul (Book 4)
Big Sky Series
Books 1-3
Defenders MC Series
Shadow
Lawless
Rider
Ace
Mike
Novellas
Samantha’s Choice
Redemption of a Soiled Dove
Taming a Montana Maverick
One Good Cowboy
Vengeance
**********
One
Mike quietly made his way along the darkened path that led to back of the little that sat near the street. His heart hammered as he looked around to make sure there was no one around. He took a deep breath as his mind ran through his options again. He shook his head. He had no choice in this. He was taking a huge risk in coming here and if he was caught everything would turn to shit, but he had to make sure Marty understood what was going on. He had been neck deep in the Devils’ club for two weeks and he knew he was risking his life. He’d be damned if he’d die without letting Marty know how he felt. He knew she wouldn’t be thrilled to see him, but he didn’t give a shit right now. Right now he needed to see her and he needed to make sure she was alright. He couldn’t get her out of his head tonight and he had taken the risk with far less thought than he normally would. She needed to know that he would die to protect her. With the way things were going he might not get another chance.
Making sure to stay out of the circle of light cast by the streetlight he stepped up onto the air-conditioning unit that sat outside her window and slid into the opening. She lay in the darkness, but he wasn’t fool enough to think she slept. She was ready to pounce.
He straightened and spoke in a low whisper so he didn’t wake anyone else.
“We need to talk Marty.”
He saw her stiffen as she realized who had just entered her room. It made Mike wonder who else had been climbing in that particular window and the thought pissed him off.
“I think all you need to do is get out of here before I call Ace in here to kick your ass.”
Mike snorted. “Yeah I don’t think so.” Mike knew Ace was too sick to kick ass. The man could barely walk across the damned floor, but he wouldn’t say it out of respect. Ace was a brother and his illness was eating away at all of them.
He barely dodged the pillow when she flung it at his head. He held up his hands in a sort of surrender.
“I just want to talk to you.”
He heard her sniffle. “I don’t really feel like talking to you right now Mike. Just let it ride until morning. Or nest week or maybe even never, yeah I like that, never would be just peachy.”
She was crying and it tugged at something deep inside of Mike. He hated female tears. They made him feel powerless because he was usually the cause of them, but not this time.
He took off the cut with the Devils patch on the back and tossed it to the floor. He didn’t respect that scrap of leather enough to take care of it, but he couldn’t stand for her to see him wearing it.
“Is it Ace?”
He saw her shake her head and then nod. Well if that wasn’t confusing he didn’t know what was. He slowly made his way to her bed and sat beside her.
“Look Marty, I know I’m not your favorite person, but I’ve got a lot of practice at listening. Lacey gave me plenty of practice when Shad was figuring out his shit. I’ll listen. I won’t even make a comment if you don’t want me to.”
For the first time since he’d met her Marty looked at him without the wall she kept up to protect herself. Mike recognized it, he had his own walls. Tonight though, sitting there with the moon light shining on her face, she was just a girl who seemed to have too much hurt to keep it all inside.
“You promise to just turn off that asshole shit for a little while?”
“Yeah Marty, I promise.”
She seemed to study Mike for what seemed forever, but time seemed to stand still somehow. Mike tilted his head and offered a smile that he hoped was sympathetic. That gesture seemed to break through the last of her resistance. She leaned into him and Mike wrapped his arms around her. He propped his chin on her head and just held on as her body shook.
She finally let him pull her up the bed so he could settle against the headboard and she curled against his side. She hadn’t said a word or even made a sound while she had cried her eyes out. Somehow that made it harder for Mike to take.
“Talk to me Marty. Just talk.”
“You will think I’m stupid.”
“I don’t have the right to judge you. I won’t think anything. I’ll just hang onto you. I’ve got you so you can just let it all go.”
She stated talking and at first Mike found it hard to follow, but as she went he understood that she was telling him about her life. It was pretty shitty, but still better than most. She talked about Ace, her father that she had only gotten to know the last few months and who she would soon lose to cancer. Then she talked about a man that made Mike’s blood boil. Tommy Rich was a prospect and it had been clear that he and Marty had gotten cozy over the last few weeks. Apparently the man had climbed into that window, but he wanted more than a conversation.
Mike knew the man and he had always liked him, but he was the type that thought the world owed him something. He felt entitled and that wasn’t something Mike couldn’t respect. The man was a long way from earning his cut with that attitude.
Tommy hadn’t forced the issue, but he hadn’t left on a good note. Mike could about imagine. Marty didn’t know how lucky she was though.
Mike remembered his fury the day Marty had ridden to town with
Jack and Tommy. Tommy had gotten the hell out of dodge and Jack had taken all of Mike’s anger. He didn’t get his hands on Tommy until later that night. That was probably a good thing, Mike would have killed Tommy if there hadn’t been brothers around to pull them apart. Mike had seen Tommy manhandle too many women and he didn’t trust him around Marty and he knew he had made an ass of himself, but he had made his point too. He’d seen how pissed Ace had been too and even if the man wasn’t especially fond of Mike either, Mike hoped that Ace at least knew he wouldn’t hurt his kid.
Marty had stopped crying, but she still did that little snuffling thing that women did.
“You know that guy is full of shit right?”
She just gave a little shrug.
“Shit Marty. He just wants to fuck you.” He leaned a little so he could look at her face. “He doesn’t deserve your tears.”
“He was just such an asshole.”
“What about that Devil you were supposed to talk to? I heard you are sorta cozy with him.”
She gave a little hiccupping laugh. “Oh yeah. That would be just the thing. I can see that happening. Nobody would kill us both for that.”
“Do you like him though?”
She shrugged. “He’s nice to me.”
Mike got the feeling that most people weren’t nice to her and he felt like and ass for being one of them.
“I’m sorry Marty.”
“What for?”
“For not being very nice to you.” He had whispered the words not knowing how to say them aloud.
She sat up and wiped her nose on the back of her hand. Mike found that very childlike and wanted to laugh.
“They make tissues for that…”
She smiled. “I could wipe it on your shirt.”
“I could break your hand if you try.”
She smacked his chest. “I see my respite from you being an asshole is over.”
“Only mostly.”
“Thank you Mike. I know this wasn’t what you came here for…” she faced him then. Suspicion was plain on her face. She looked him over noticing the new haircut and the ear full of metal. “Why did you come here?”
“I just needed to make things right between us. Preach has me on a job that is proving to be harder than I thought, I didn’t want to leave things way they are between us.”
Marty looked at him like he was making a joke. He saw the distrust and he hated it. If she didn’t trust him then he might not be able to save her when the time came. He took her face in his hands and pulled her close until his lips were just a breath away.
“I need you to trust me.”
“Why?”
Her breath tasted like mint and he wanted to kiss her more than her wanted his heart to beat.
“I can’t tell you that right now.”
“You’re scaring me Mike.”
He wrapped his arms around her. “I’ve got you Marty. You don’t ever have to be afraid when you’re in my arms.”
Her lips were so close. He could almost taste her. If he only lowered his head…Then he kissed her. It was like nothing he had ever experienced in his life. He wanted this damned girl until he hurt. She was so soft and innocent…innocent…fuck. He remembered what Spec had said. She was an innocent.
He took a deep breath.
“You still look damned good in that outfit.” He ran his finger under the strap of her tank. “I still mean to get that bike wash.”
“Yeah you just hold your breath on that.”
Her words held no venom though and she settled against his chest. Mike wasn’t sure what to do. Usually he just fucked the women he wanted. He had never spent the night with a woman, it was too much trouble, but he wanted something more for Marty. Shit he hated this. Hated that he was being forced to help put her in danger. Ace didn’t trust him and he was pretty sure the rest of the brothers didn’t either where this girl was concerned. Law had already explained a few things the way only Law could explain them. Bastard thought of Marty as a little sister or some shit which made shit a lot harder for Mike. Law was a scary son of a bitch on a normal day.
He tightened his arms around Marty and kissed her head.
“What’s going on Mike?”
Her voice was sleepy and he inhaled her sweet scent.
“Too much shit Marty, too much shit.”
“Should I be worried?”
“Not tonight sweetheart. I’ve got you.”
She sighed and it wasn’t long before her breathing evened out and Mike knew she slept. He didn’t know what he would have to do to keep her safe, but he knew he would do it even if it killed him.
Two
Marty pressed her hands against her lower back and stretched. She was tired and it seemed like her shift would never end. She hadn’t seen Mike again after the night he’d climbed into her window, but she had thought of him. He was the strangest man. One minute he was staring daggers through her and the next her was holding her while she cried.
She had asked Spec about him, but Spec had acted like it wasn’t something he could talk about.
“Club business,” was all he would say and that didn’t ease Marty’s mind.
It was an hour until the diner closed and Marty was pretty sure she could curl up in a booth and sleep until morning, but the bell above the door jingled and she turned pasting on her most welcoming smile. She looked around frantically when three big men walked through the door. They all wore cuts and Marty shivered when she recognized their patches. They were Devils and she was all alone. The Devil’s Own MC was the worst of them all as far as Marty had heard. She had heard her mother talk about them. They were to be feared. They were rivals of the Defenders and they would gut her like a fish if they knew her father wore Defenders colors.
She stepped behind the counter and reached for the button that would alert the police, better safe than sorry where these guys were concerned, but one of them met her eye and shook his head just enough to let her know he knew her plan.
She almost fainted when she looked into those blue eyes. What the hell was Mike doing with the Devils? She remembered his change in appearance and his strange attitude the night he had visited her and it all started making sense.
Club business.
He was somehow undercover with the Devils. How was that even possible?
Her heart fluttered. He was in more danger than she had thought. If they even got a suspicion that he wasn’t who he pretended to be they would kill him.
He had come to make his peace with her. Did that mean he didn’t expect to survive?
A shiver ran up her spine when she realized that was exactly what it had all been about. She wanted to run to him and beg him to stay with her. She wanted to call the brothers out and make them protect him, but she couldn’t. All she could do was serve these men and try to act normal.
She dug deep and found the mask she had worn for so many years. The one that hid all of her hurt. The one that was a sassy bitch. She could play that part well. It was better than feeling like a lost little girl. It was like pulling on armor. She walked over to the table.
“What can I get you?” She kept her voice brisk and her attitude prickly. She looked up when no one spoke.
“We’re waitin’ on somebody. You can come back when he gets here.”
“That’s fine with me. We will be shuttin’ down the grill in thirty minutes. Want something to drink while you wait?” She kept her cool, but she was beginning to shake inside. Spec had been very detailed in his description of how ruthless these men were and it was all she could do to keep from shaking like a leaf.
“Stupid bitch, I said come back when our brother gets here.”
Marty gritted her teeth to keep back the smart retort. Nothing good would come from pissing these men off. She walked to the counter and poured herself a soda to try to settle her nerves. She glanced into the kitchen and saw Tommy talking to one of the waitresses that had gotten off an hour ago. Apparently he had found someone who was less worthless than
she was.
Tommy caught her watching them and sent her a half grin. She wanted to throw something at him. He wasn’t paying attention.
“We’ve got customers out here. You may need to keep the grill hot for a while.”
“Yeah whatever. I get off in an hour. If the grill ain’t clean then you can fucking clean it. You ain’t fucking this up.” He gestured to the waitress and she sent Marty a catty look under her lashes.
Stupid son of a bitch.
“Where’s the dish washer?” Spec was posing as the dishwasher when the real one went home.
“Had some personal shit to handle. Not like we need him here anyway. Wormy fucker wouldn’t do much good unless a computer was involved.” He laughed and the girl did too.
Shit, shit, shit. She was all but alone with these guys. She knew Mike would try to protect her if he could, but he was outnumbered.
The door jingled again and Marty sighed when Harper walked in. She knew he wouldn’t let anyone hurt her and between Harper and Mike there wouldn’t be anything to worry about. She relaxed. She could get through this. She looked at the clock that hung over the front door. Forty-five more minutes and she could close up.
She walked over to the table and offered Harper a smile.
“Now then, what will it be?”
“Well fuck. Harper got a smile. Now I don’t think that’s fair. She was as cold as ice when we came in. No wonder you been sniffin’ around here Harp, she’s pretty damned fuckable.”
“Shut up Deek.” Harper frowned at the man with a skull tattooed on his arm.
“I’ll have a double cheeseburger, fries and chocolate milkshake.”
It was Mike that spoke up. It eased Marty’s tension a little and she wrote his order down.
“No cherry.”
“No cherry? I fucking love cherries.” It was the other man that spoke now. He was bald and had a red pitchfork tattoo on his neck. The thing looked like it was stabbing into the man’s throat. It was creepy. “I bet our little waitress has a nice one.”
MIKE: Defenders MC Page 1