Shadow's Surrender: Insurgents Motorcycle Club (Insurgents MC Romance Book 14)

by Chiah Wilder

  “I bet your dad had a field day with that.”

  “He never mentioned it. I just went back to my university and life went on. It changed me, though. It made me realize that I’m not a survivor. It was a somber experience.”

  Shadow grabbed her to him and nestled her head on his shoulder while he stroked her arm. “We’re all survivors when we have to be. Staying in Rome wasn’t your life or death moment. When that comes, you’ll meet it head on. You’re a lot stronger than you give yourself credit for.”

  “I don’t know. I’m still living at home in a 1950s bubble.”

  “You’re used to the pampered life, but if you want something bad enough, you’ll do it even if you’re scared.”

  Scarlett licked her lips and burrowed deeper into him. “I am scared,” she whispered.

  “Fear is good—without it, we get too fuckin’ cocky and that’s when life kicks us in the ass. The thing you gotta do is feel the fear, but do it anyway. Like you were looking at apartments today, but that doesn’t mean shit until you take the first step—sign a lease.”

  “I know, but I don’t even have a damn job.”

  “Your dad wouldn’t go for you having your own place?”

  “Nope—two sets of rules in my house—one for my brothers and one for me. I’m to get married and have babies and continue with my charity work—which I love doing, by the way.”

  “Then get a job. Hell, I could use some help at the warehouse. You wanna work for me?”

  He laughed.

  She looked up at him. “Warehouse? I thought you worked for Smokey.”

  “I’m just helping him out. I own several storage rentals and have an online business where I sell shit. I started the online business a year ago and it’s really picking up now. I could use someone to help keep track of the inventory. I got a few guys working for me who pack the shelves, and prepare the stuff I sell for shipping, but I do all the books and shit myself too. I’m just saying …”

  “That’s so cool that you have your own business and own some property. I’ll think about the offer, but I’d really like to work in marketing or public relations—that’s what I studied in college.”

  “Then go for it. You must know a ton of people—ask around and make a case for yourself. Shit, baby, if you don’t fight for you”—he lightly tapped his finger on her upper arm—“then no one’s gonna do it.”

  Scarlett squeezed him and kissed his neck. “It sounds like you know this from experience.”

  “Damn straight,” he said in a low voice.

  A comfortable silence stretched between them as they lay intertwined on the blanket for a long while. The sounds of nature swirled around them, and Scarlett thought the soft rustling of branches sounded like trees whispering to each other.

  “Let’s take a dip in the lake,” Shadow said, breaking the quietness. “I’ll get another blanket from the saddle bag.” He gently untangled her from him, then stood up.

  Scarlett turned her head so she could watch the muscles in his delicious ass flex as he walked away. His butt was so nice and perfectly rounded that she wanted to chase after him, tackle him to the ground, and alternately squeeze and bite those muscular cheeks. Yeah … a dip in the lake is definitely what I need to cool me down. The truth was that she simply couldn’t get enough of him. She just wanted to be in his presence: they didn’t always need to have sex, or even talk, just as long as he was around her. That thought scared the hell out of Scarlett because she didn’t want to give her heart to him only to have it broken. I couldn’t handle that.

  “Ready, baby?” His voice cut into her thoughts, and when she looked up at his grinning face, her insides melted.

  Nodding, she ambled over to him.

  The water was refreshingly cool and a wonderful juxtaposition to his hot kisses. After a half hour of fooling around, splashing each other, and laughing like a couple of demented hyenas, Shadow wrapped her in a large blanket, then led her back to where their clothes laid crumpled in a heap.

  Scarlett slipped on her bra and panties, then tugged the sundress over her head. Shadow quickly dressed, then sank down.

  “Come here,” he said patting the empty space beside him.

  She plopped down and he yanked her into his arms.

  “You smell good,” he said. “When do you gotta get back?”

  “Not for a while. I thought we were just going to talk and not have sex. At least that’s what you implied. You said you needed a friend.”

  He put a finger under her chin, tipped her head back, and kissed her. “Are you complaining?”

  Twisting away, Scarlett sat in front of him. “Not at all. Do you do this with all your friends?” When the lines deepened on his forehead, she regretted asking the question.

  Leaning back against the tree, he splayed his hands across his denim-clad thighs. “First of all, I can’t keep my hands off of you. But second, I also wanted to share this place with you. You’re the only chick I’ve ever brought here. I needed to be with you, that’s all.”

  “I shouldn’t have asked. I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be, and you have every right to ask. We got something going here, babe. I don’t know what the fuck it is, but I do want you to know you’re the only woman I’m fucking.”

  “That’s good to know … and so romantic.” She laughed dryly. “I’m sure you have your pick of women.”

  “Easy pussy? For sure.”

  “Speaking of that, we didn’t use protection. I was so caught up in the moment that I lost my head. Uh … are you clean?”

  “Yeah. I test a lot and I’m good. I’m guessing you’re on birth control.”

  She nodded. “So you have a lot of women throwing themselves at you.”

  “It happens quite a bit, but I like what we have.” Shadow winked at her.

  “What do we have? A friends-with-benefits thing?”

  “Not really. A couple of my buddies got something like that going, and both them and the women they’re banging are fucking other people too.” He quirked his lips and stared at her. “You fucking anyone else? What about that dude at Eli’s party?”

  “Warren?” She shook her head. “He’s the one my parents, especially my dad, are chomping at the bit for me to marry.”

  “So are you still with him?”

  “Would you be upset if I were?” she asked.

  His nostrils flared as he breathed in and out noisily.

  “I’m not. I was until I met you.” She glanced down. “I know it sounds silly, because I didn’t think I’d ever see you again, but after we hooked up, I felt so alive and … daring.” She looked up at him, surprised by the way his face had morphed from anger to gentleness so quickly. “The truth is that I haven’t slept with Warren since then, but I haven’t officially told him to fuck off.”

  “Hasn’t he caught on that you don’t want him?”

  “Yes and no. He’s persistent. I need to tell him it’s over.”

  “Why haven’t you? Are you playing both of us?” His words hit her in the gut.

  “No! I’m just avoiding a lot of drama with my parents.”

  Shadow sighed loudly. “Babe, you gotta grow up sometime. Your parents aren’t living your life, you are. Don’t undersell it.”

  “You’re right. I’ll break it off with Warren for good. I just wasn’t sure if you had someone in your life.”

  “Only you. And so you know—I don’t share. You’re with me or you’re not.”

  “I’m with you,” she whispered. “And you should know that I don’t like sharing either.”

  “Then we don’t have a problem, babe.” Shadow reached into the pocket of his jeans and took out a joint and a lighter and then leaned forward to light it. He inhaled, and as he exhaled, he handed the joint to her.

  After looking at it, Scarlett took a few short, quick puffs, then exhaled a plume of smoke and handed it back to Shadow. She pulled up her legs and rested her elbows on her knees as she watched him inhale deeply. When he stretche
d out his arm toward her, she shook her head, begging off another hit. Soon, he stamped the spent joint out on the ground.

  “Are you an only child?” she asked.

  A small pause, then, “Yeah.”

  “Do your parents live here?”

  A longer pause. “They’re dead.”

  Okay … I wasn’t expecting that. “I’m sorry,” she said. “It must be hard.”

  Shadow’s face tightened, the carved planes hard and closed. “It’s whatever.” Something told her not to pursue the conversation any further. “So, are you gonna take the apartment?” he asked, changing the subject.

  “I wasn’t sure, but after all we’ve talked about, I’m going to do it. I have some money socked away.” Scarlett didn’t want to tell him that she had a very nice trust fund her paternal grandparents had left her. She never took from it, preferring to let it grow for the future.

  “The one at the Belvedere?”

  “I don’t think so. The one I really liked was at Lanai Towers, but you told me you wouldn’t come see me there. Do you want to talk about that?”

  “No.”

  She caught the haunted look that flashed in his eyes. “Okay, but when you want to, I’m here. I’m a really good listener.”

  A smile ghosted his lips. “I’ll remember that.”

  “The second contender is on Greenwood Boulevard. There’s a top floor condo that has the most amazing view.”

  “Sounds great.”

  “It is. My friend Kiara absolutely loves it. I think you will too.”

  “Good to know since I’ll be spending time with you at your place.” He winked at her and she pushed forward and collapsed against him, peppering his throat, jaw, cheeks, and forehead with kisses. He laughed. “What the fuck did I say, baby?”

  Then he caught her face between his hands and kissed her, fierce and deep, his tongue pushing inside, twining with hers. They clung to each other so tightly that two heartbeats became one as the rest of the world faded away, if only for a moment.

  Her ringing phone brought Scarlett abruptly back to reality, and grumbling under her breath, she pulled away and dug it out of her pocket. Warren’s name blinked across the screen, and she threw her phone across the blanket.

  Shadow chuckled, then rose to his feet. “You ready to go?”

  “Not really, but I guess we can’t stay here forever.” She took his hand and he helped her up.

  They walked back, hand in hand, to the motorcycle—both of them lost in their thoughts.

  As Scarlett held Shadow tightly over the bumpy roads, she leaned her face against his back. I’m so falling for him. He wants us to be exclusive. If he only wanted to have sex, he wouldn’t care, would he? Stop it. Just enjoy the moment. Stop analyzing every damn thing.

  When they got to the old highway, she relaxed a bit and enjoyed the landscape as it blurred past them.

  By the time they returned to Pinewood Springs, the sky was a burnished copper, tinted with rose and dusky purple.

  “Do you wanna go out to dinner on Friday?” he asked as he held open her car door.

  “I’d love to.”

  “Have you been to Steelers?”

  “No.”

  “Burgers are good—nachos are kickass.”

  “Sounds great. I can meet you there.”

  Shadow leaned against her. “No fuckin’ way, baby. This is a date and I’m picking you up.”

  Scarlett swallowed hard, then nodded. “Okay. What time?”

  “Does seven work?”

  The image of her family’s faces as she rode away on the back of a motorcycle while clinging to one of the workers flashed through her mind.

  “That’s perfect,” she said.

  He stepped back to let her slip inside the car, then bent down and kissed her hard and wet.

  “I’ll see you tomorrow at your house.”

  “I’m sure you’ll need a lemonade break.” She giggled.

  “Fuck yeah—that’s what I’m looking forward to, baby.”

  He closed the car door and she switched on the ignition and pulled away from the curb. Scarlett kept looking in her rearview mirror until she turned the corner and he disappeared from sight.

  He asked me on a date! Excitement coursed through her, pushing away the fear that kept buzzing in her head like a pesky fly.

  “It’s about time I started living my life,” she said out loud.

  Switching on the CD player, she cranked up the volume and sang along with “We’re Not Gonna Take It.” The Twisted Sister song had suddenly become her new anthem, and Scarlett played it over and over until she pulled into the family’s garage, switched off the engine, and went into the house.

  Chapter Twelve

  The three hikers huddled together, lines of fear etched on their faces. Detective McCue tipped his head in their direction as he plodded through the wooded area, cursing under his breath as numerous burs stuck to the bottom of his brown pants.

  Ahead, yellow crime scene tape cordoned off a large area, and he saw his partner, Detective Ibuado, watching from the side as the crime techs did their job. The medical examiner stood by the body, head bent as McCue approached, only looking up when the detective stood next to him.

  “What do we have here?”

  Conrad Gaines, medical examiner for the past ten years, raked a hand over his face. “A woman in her late forties … maybe early fifties. Multiple stab wounds—at least forty or fifty, with a cluster of them in the right chest area. Some of the wounds passed completely through the victim’s body. I could see the tendons on the arms, that’s how deep they went.”

  A low whistle escaped through McCue’s teeth. “Fuck. Sounds like it was personal.”

  “Yep—rage and deep-seated hatred would be my guess,” Ibuado said as he walked up to the two men.

  “Any ID on the victim?” McCue asked.

  “Nope,” his partner replied.

  “Any signs of sexual assault?” he asked the ME.

  “Her pants and underwear were pulled down, so maybe. I’ll know when I do the autopsy.” Gaines shook his head. “She died a horrific death. A blood-soaked rock was found near the body and the back of her head was bashed in, so I’d guess that’s what dazed her, although there were a lot of defensive wounds. Our victim put up quite a struggle.”

  “But she lost. Fuck.” McCue took out his pad and jotted down some notes. He was old-fashioned in that he still liked to hold a pen and write his thoughts and observations on paper. “Maybe she died of blunt trauma?”

  Gaines shrugged. “It’s hard to say. Any number of the wounds could’ve caused her death. I’ll let you know as soon as I’m done with the examination.” He slipped his hands into the front pockets of his pants. “I’m done here. I’ll call you.” He lifted his chin at McCue and Ibuado and walked away.

  “Anything distinctive on her like a tattoo or some weird piercings that could help us ID her?” McCue asked.

  Ibuado folded his arms across his chest. “Not that I could tell. Conrad will be able to give us more info once the body’s cleaned up. She did have a lot of bracelets on both arms.”

  “Okay … I’m not too sure if that’ll be helpful,” McCue said as he wrote down that fact.

  “I’m talking twenty or more thin ones on each arm. Not many women wear that many. Maybe we can release that fact to the press to help identify our Jane Doe.”

  McCue nodded and scratched the tip of his chin—a nervous habit he’d had ever since he could remember. “That may help. I’d think a woman who wears that many bracelets would do it most of the time, but then again, I’m not into women’s fashions or what the hell they do with their accessories.”

  Ibuado chuckled. “With four daughters, a wife, and three sisters, I can tell you, a woman tends to dress a certain way, so I’d say our Jane Doe probably wore a lot of those things on her arms most, if not all, the time she went out. And when are you going to call Alma? She’s been asking me that every day.”

  “I told
you not to fix me up. One bad marriage is enough for a lifetime.” McCue snapped the notebook shut.

  “That was years ago, and Corinne was a nutcase. You can’t like being alone all the time, dude. A man needs a family.”

  “I’m doing just fine on my own, and I’m too damn old to change diapers. I’m good, really. Tell Alma she can do a lot better than me.”

  “My cousin’s not gonna give up that easily,” Ibuado said.

  “I told you not to play fucking Cupid. Now you have to deal with it,” McCue said as he and his partner trekked back toward the hikers.

  “Maybe she’d like Jarvis. He’s kind of shy, but he seems solid. What do you think?”

  “Go for it. Did you get a chance to talk to them?” He pointed toward the trio, who stood staring at the crime scene.

  Ibuado shook his head. “Not yet. Brady said that they discovered the body, and he didn’t get any vibe that they were involved in the murder.”

  “Okay—let’s do this. I’ll take the guy, you take the blonde woman, and”—he motioned to an officer to come over—“White can interview the redhead.”

  McCue’s steps were heavy as he trudged over to the male witness, his mind still on the victim who’d been left like a piece of trash in the woods. The young man’s face was pale and his body trembled slightly.

  “I’ve never seen a dead body before.” He folded his arms over his chest. “It was horrible … just awful.” The witness unfolded his arms and rubbed a hand over his face.

  “I know it’s quite a shock,” McCue said as he took the notebook and pen out of his inside jacket pocket.

  “I bet you’re used to it … I mean, you’ve seen a lot of bad stuff, huh?” Again, he folded his arms.

  “You never get used to it.” McCue held out his hand. “I’m Detective McCue, and I’m going to ask you some questions …”

  Chapter Thirteen

  “Don’t you smell good?” Helm said when Shadow passed by. “Whatcha got going?”