by Carly White
She looked even less sure of her decision when he told her to get on. “Let me guess, you have never rode on one before.”
Namadi shook her head. “There are statistics that make it one of the most dangerous forms of travel.”
Andre just shook his head. “Come on now, it’s not so bad. It’s either this or on foot and there is another couple of miles until I can get to another place to get something else.”
He looked at her with aggravation. There was a moment that he debated just leaving her where she was. There was more to do and he needed to get away from the police. She was not helping the situation, but holding them both up.
When she didn’t answer, he got on and started it up. “You either get on or stay here and go back. I have to go Namadi.”
Andre wasn’t sure if he actually would have left her, but he didn’t have to find out. She sighed loudly and gingerly got on the back of the bike. Her arms closed around him in a vise grip and he moved her down so that he could breathe. “You on?”
She clenched him as he laughed a little, Namadi had more courage than he had given her credit for. Taking off, the hands around him hugged tighter, while the girl behind him said a prayer.
Namadi was sure that she was going to fall off and die. Her eyes were shut for several moments as she felt the uneven ground underneath them change to a smooth ride. She finally looked over his shoulder at the road ahead. They were leaving Waterton a few minutes later as the green sign declared they were finally out of the town. Another several minutes had passed and though she was starting to enjoy the ride and the feel of the hard man in front of her, there was no way that she could look beside her at the ground rushing underneath them.
One thing that she hadn’t anticipated was how fast he was going. It was clear that he was at home on the machine and it was also clear that she was not. Namadi was careful not to move much, afraid that she would tip them over. She wasn’t sure how it all worked, but she hoped that the ride wouldn’t be that long.
When she finally felt the bike start to slow down, she sighed to herself. It was the best feeling in the world and when he stopped, she got off before he could say anything. The ground made her feel a little wobbly, but she wanted nothing more than to kiss it.
Andre watched her for a moment, giving her a shoulder to grab onto when her legs didn’t want to cooperate. “It gets better when you ride more. You did pretty good for your first time. It was your first time, wasn’t it?”
She nodded, but wouldn’t meet his gaze. Namadi was starting to feel the chill from not having him no longer next to her. She wanted to feel him against her again. There were so many things that she had never done. There were so many things that she desperately wanted to do and when Andre looked down at her like that, Namadi decided that she didn’t want to go on without doing one of them.
As she had done before, she leaned in. He was already touching her arm gently as he had tried to steady her and neither one had found it necessary to break the contact. Now the grip on his shoulder turned him to face her and she waited for him to make a move. When he didn’t, she leaned in the last few inches to have him the rest of the way. Groaning against her as their lips met, Andre pulled her in roughly against his solid chest.
Only when she could no longer think of nothing else but him, did Namadi finally feel him move away. Her eyes were still closed. Her lips still felt the wet heat of his lips on hers, long after they were gone. As her dark eyes met his blue ones, there was something new in them. When he moved back in for a kiss, she was more than happy to oblige him. There was something about the way he felt, the way his kiss was so soft, yet had such a powerful effect on her senses.
Namadi melted into his arms and it was only when she felt the hands moving down her back and cupping her backside that she realized what they were doing. It was too much, too fast for her and her senses balked. “Sorry Namadi. You just had this look in your eyes like you needed another kiss.”
She did, but to want something and to be able to handle it once you got it was two very different things. “It’s okay.” She wanted to say more, but it was the look in his eyes that made it impossible. She moved back so that there was some space in between them. “Where are we?”
“A little town I know where we can lie low. I want to see what they are saying on the news, if anything has been found out.”
“You really don’t know what all of this is about, do you?”
He shook his head and Namadi almost laughed. All of it had been done to get information and it would seem that he was as out of the loop as everyone else was. She didn’t ask any more about it, just followed him towards the small cabin in the middle of an open field. It was picturesque if they weren’t on the run. If she wasn’t saddled to a man that knew less than she did about what they were doing there.
Andre found a key where he left it and though the place hadn’t been used in some time, he knew that he would find everything that he needed there. It was a place that the gang used when heat got to be too much on any one member. It was also the place his father had retreated with his young son when his mother died. There was a mix of emotions as he heard the familiar sound of the key turning in the lock. Andre didn’t know if he was happy to be back or not, but it was nice to have somewhere to call home while he figured out what was going on.
Setting down his jacket after he pulled it off, he showed Namadi where the bathroom was after she asked to go. Andre grabbed a beer from the fridge and took a long drink. He had known that all of it was a bad idea, but he hadn’t seen it turning out so poorly without any results. He had never even seen the man that he was protesting and he didn’t even know why he was doing it, but his father had asked it of him and that was enough. With him at the hideout and his father more than likely in prison, it didn’t feel like the choices made were the right ones after all.
Chapter 6
“Things took a turn for the worse in the Waterton saga as my own daughter, Namadi was taken as a hostage before the gun fight that cost five members of the police force, as well as twenty-two bikers from various gangs their lives. While no one is for certain how it all started, one thing is for sure, the leaders promise of peace was not maintained.
The former leader of the gang, Maxwell Grindle was taken into custody without any problems, but there is no word on his son who is suspected to have the hostage. As a mother, I beg you to please let her go. She doesn’t have anything to do with this. Take me instead.”
Andre shut off the television in disgust. The last thing he had thought about was how Namadi’s disappearance would have been construed. He hadn’t thought about them thinking she was kidnapped and when he looked over, he could tell that she was just as surprised.
“Take me instead? Can you believe her?”
He was confused by her reaction. Her mother was in tears on the television and she looked towards the blank screen in disgust. “Out of everything going on, I bet all she is worried about is another exclusive.”
What Andre didn’t get was why there was nothing on the Sheriff. Everything that had happened that day had overshadowed the whole point of the demonstration to begin with. The number of people killed rattled off in his head and he couldn’t believe it. Andre had to know if it was any of his guys, but they weren’t releasing names. He didn’t know who was in, who was out or who he could trust at the moment and now he was stuck with a young girl that the country thought he had kidnapped for nefarious reasons surely.
“You shouldn’t talk about your mother like that.” He thought of his own and took back ever bad thing he said the short time he had with her.
Namadi noticed the change and didn’t say anything more about it. “Well I am sorry that everyone thinks you took me. This can all be fixed.”
He nodded, but he still wanted answers. Maxwell had not done this all for no reason. The man was too smart and if he knew his father, he knew that he had somehow thought about this. Andre wasn’t sure that Namadi was to have been involved though and he hoped tha
t there were some people out there, the right ones that would not be distracted by all of the talk of the shooting.
“It will be, but not tonight.”
“So what are our plans?”
He liked to hear it called that. Ours. For someone that didn’t like to have a woman around for more than what they were useful for, Andre found that he liked having Namadi around. She was so open with her feelings and emotions, it was like reliving everything for the first time. He remembered the look he had given her earlier that day and wondered now if she really was as innocent as he had first thought.
“I don’t know. I have to take a shower. You are welcome to anything in the fridge or cupboards. I don’t have any clothes your size, but I am sure you can find something to wear if you need to change.”
Andre left out the part that was on her mind. Where she was supposed to sleep? It had been a long day and the last thing that she wanted to do was stay up even later, but she was unsure. While the place seemed to be stocked well and had the latest technology, far from roughing it, the cabin was rather small. There was only one bed in one of the two rooms.
But he didn’t see her dilemma, his mind on other things. Andre went into the shower without another word and after a few minutes, she sat down on the bed and laid back. She had told herself that it was just going to be for a few minutes. She just needed to rest her eyes, the darkness helping the pounding in her head.
When Andre got out of the shower though, he found the woman lying on top of the covers on her side, fast asleep. He had thought of the main things he had wanted to do to her and the kiss between them had made him hope for something more, but his ideas of romanced were dashed when he saw her. She looked worn out, much like he felt as well. Getting an extra blanket from the closet, Andre covered her up and lay down next to her gently in the bed.
***
One night turned into several more. Maxwell had finally broken, telling his side of the story and what he had learned about the newly appointed Sheriff. David had been back in Waterton before all of the police tape was removed, back at the helm of his small little empire. It couldn’t have worked out better, though he hadn’t expected so many casualties. It didn’t matter though. All that mattered was that no matter what Maxwell said, they wouldn’t listen.
He was so sure of himself, that after a couple of quiet days back at home and at his new post, David had much of the product he had been selling back into the city. It wasn’t just drugs that he made money on, but guns as well and once Maxwell’s gang was off the streets, his area just grew by another town. It had been Maxwell keeping him from taking the town to begin with, but now that he was behind bars and would stay there for some time, all he had to worry about now was the son still lurking around. Andre would be found though, David was sure of that. He shouldn’t have taken the young daughter of the reporter. There was no way that he was going to get far.
David had slept well since being back in his home. He was sure that nothing was going to happen, the worst was over. Production and distribution had already begun. When he went to bed a week later and heard the doorbell at such a late hour, he didn’t think anything of it. He figured he was going to have to yell at someone, but as he swung the door wide, he wished he had put something more on than the robe barely covering his thick middle. There were several police officers at his door and they didn’t look like his own.
“Mr. Thompson, you are under arrest for the murder of Estelle Grindle.”
David looked at him with a slack jaw and tried to pretend that he didn’t know who he was talking about. “Just come with us Sir. You can give your story to your lawyer.”
David tried to close the door, still in half disbelief that it was happening. How could they have known when he had been so careful? His mind went to all of the stuff in his house and David knew then that even if they couldn’t prove that he had killed Maxwell’s wife, he was going away for a long time. Clamping his mouth shut, he was escorted out of his home like a common criminal. David blinked his eyes at the flashing lights in front of him.
Chapter 7
“Andre, get in here. You have to see this!” Namadi couldn’t believe what was on the screen. It was what they had been waiting to hear for a week and she couldn’t wait to see his face.
“If it is another special with your mother Namadi, I am really not in the mood.”
She saw his scowl and smiled. “You are going to want to see this one sourpuss.”
Another look, but then he saw footage of David being taken away. What Namadi didn’t realize was the name of his victim on the screen was actually his dead mothers. He sat down next to her and by the look on his face, Namadi realized that something was wrong. She had not expected him to look so devastated. “Andre?”
“My father knew all along.”
“Knew what?”
“That he killed my mother and he didn’t tell me.” Andre was stunned and though he couldn’t hear what the television was saying passed the pounding in his ears, he saw an old photo of his mother pass on the screen. It didn’t matter what was said. He was stuck on the fact that his father hadn’t told him. Why had he kept it a secret?
“I don’t understand. That woman is your mother?” She looked aghast and felt that way. “I am sorry Andre.” Her heart went out to him. The man looked devastated and no amount of muscles or tattoos could hide the look of pain in his face. He was just that young boy that had lost his mother and she found herself holding him. They had become close in the last week that they had stayed in the cabin. They had never been so close since that kiss, both holding off on physical contact.
It was sometime before he let go of her and she moved back. He wasn’t teary-eyed, but he had sighed deeply into her. There was a moment where his body had just sagged against her slightly and she hoped that he was feeling some relief. She opened her mouth to say something, but she stopped herself. It would have sounded contrite and scripted. There was nothing really to be said in that moment and she rubbed the top of his hand with her thumb.
It was distracting and he got up. “I got to make a couple of calls. I will be back.”
She looked after him and then sighed to herself once he was out of sight. It meant that she was going to go back home, something she could have done for the last week, but now there was no reason to stay. Everything had worked out, Andre and his father would have their justice and her life was going to go back to normal. It saddened her suddenly to think of going back to school and her old life. Her life before without Andre was not what made her happy. While she was thinking of ever after, Namadi had to remind herself of who he was. He was a gang member that did more than a few illegal activities. She didn’t even have to know what they were.
But when he came back in and smiled at her halfway, she knew it didn’t matter. He wasn’t thinking of forever, but maybe right then was enough. It was going to have to be enough, because tomorrow she would have to go back into reality.
“Are you okay?”
He nodded that he was and he seemed to be a little better, the shock running its course. “I’m sorry that you had to see that. I usually can hold it together better.”
Namadi was not amazed anymore. The man was so different than his gruff exterior would suggest. His tattoos were scary looking, but were memorials to fallen friends. The muscles that could snap her like a twig, had only ever held her close and kept her from harm. Everything about Andre pointed to him being one way, but in reality he was another way.
“It’s a lot to take in.” She walked towards him slowly, still not sure as she moved what she was going there for. “You don’t have to always pretend to be so strong.”
His eyes narrowed at the word pretend and he too wondered why she was suddenly so close. Andre had kept her at arms-length so as to not do what he wanted to do, but she wasn’t helping his cause. “Do you know what you do to me Namadi?”
She shook her head that she did. It was no secret and the way his blue eyes would darken as if a storm
was brewing, she only wondered why it had taken so long for him to realize it. “Then why haven’t you kissed me again?”
“Because if I start, I am not going to want to stop.”
Going to her tiptoes, she brushed her lips across his. “Who says you have to?”
Andre had learned some things about Namadi and the offer was not taken lightly. There were many things that he wanted to teach her, but he didn’t know if he could be what she needed. Namadi needed someone who would be gentle with her, take her slowly to give her time. He wouldn’t be able to slow himself down. There was no way if he got her underneath him, that he would be able to be the gentle and sweet lover that she needed.
“Don’t ask for things that you don’t understand Namadi.”
She rolled her eyes and it didn’t stop her from putting her arms around his thick neck. “I know that you will never hurt me Andre, but I also know that you don’t care for me the same way I do for you. That’s okay. If I only get tonight, it will have to be enough. I want you to be my first.” She wanted him to be her only, but she knew that a man like him was most likely not able to give himself to just one woman. It would have to be enough to be his only for just that once.
Andre was fighting his own demons, wanting nothing more than to give her exactly what she asked for. His hands went to hers, trying to untangle himself from her and she whimpered. “You don’t want me anymore Andre?”
How could she think that? He looked down into her dark eyes and saw the touch of uncertainty. She wasn’t messing with him, trying to fish for a compliment, but really didn’t know the inner struggle he had to not throw her on the bed and rip every last bit of her innocence away. “I do Namadi. I want you too much.”
Her lips moved up to his and she touched them softly with his. No matter how much Andre wanted to, all he thought of was hurting her and it not being all that she deserved. “I can’t.”
She was sick of listening to him and wasn’t going to take no for an answer. Her lips pressed once more against his and then her tongue slipped into his mouth as he groaned. Namadi melted against him and with everything going on and being alone with her for the last week, his defenses were weak and he couldn’t stop himself any longer. The truth was that he didn’t want to. He didn’t want her to stop feeling the way she did against him and her timid attempts to seduce him. She didn’t know how, but she was doing a good job of it anyways.