by April Lust
“I did it,” her voice came from behind me a few minutes later. I turned around and saw her standing in the open doorway. She managed to smile when I looked at her, even though in her eyes, I could see she wasn’t thrilled about having talked to him.
“Did you two decide on a time to meet up and everything?” I took a long drink from my bottle.
“We did,” she said and nodded.
I pushed the rest of my bottle away and got up to discuss the details with her in the office.
Chapter Nineteen
Nora
“You look… good,” Ryan said, as if it surprised him to see me. His eyes shifted side to side at the door to his hotel room, checking to make sure no one had come with me.
Ozzy had followed me, volunteering to be my additional security detail, but he stayed out of sight. There was also a watch that had been placed on the hotel. Ryan hadn’t spotted that guy yet, so there was a pretty good chance he was going to miss him again by only glancing outside his door.
“Thanks,” I said. “You mind if I come in or do you want to talk out here in the open?”
“Yeah, come in. You’re not wearing a wire or anything, are you?” he asked as he stepped aside, giving me an awkward little laugh.
“Do you want to check?”
He looked me over for a moment and I could see his thoughts fighting in his face. He was torn between not wanting to disrespect another man’s woman and thinking about how nice it would have been to see my body again. Finally, I saw the resolve in his face as his thoughts settled.
“Nah, I’ll take your word for it,” he said with a cunning look in his eyes. He wasn’t stupid.
“Good, because I didn’t come here for that,” I said, turning around to face him again.
“What did you come here for, then?”
“Can we sit down?” I asked, taking a seat on the bed. I knew I was playing with fire, living dangerously, by teasing him like this.
“Go ahead,” he said, gesturing to the bed after I was already seated. He joined me on the bed and asked again, “What is it?”
“I’ve missed you, is all,” I said.
“Mark must be pretty lousy,” he laughed.
“He’s not that bad,” I said. “It’s just different, you know? I miss the way things used to be, and I know I won’t be able to get that from him,” I lied. I didn’t miss things with Ryan, and it was hard to tell him I did with a straight face, but I had to do it for Mark and the Reapers.
“You know, those bikers really treat their women like property,” he added.
I nodded, going along with what he was saying. “I know that now.”
Even when Mark was treating me like a piece of property, he treated me better than Ryan ever did. Mark valued his property. Ryan merely took advantage of having me around.
I had to keep from focusing on it too much, though, because if I continued to think about how much wrong Ryan had done me, I would have blown my cover.
“So, we haven’t seen each other in a while,” I said, scooting over closer to him. “How’s work been? I know when we parted things seemed to be hectic. It looks like it’s getting even more complicated out there now.”
He cut his eyes toward me. “I’m doing the same old thing I always do, just sticking to my routine. I’m not getting mixed up in all the drama between the different organizations out there,” he said.
The air in the room changed. Suddenly, it was much cooler than before, and it wasn’t because of the temperature. He was on to me. He knew what I was trying to do, the topic I was trying to broach with him.
“You know, I got the feeling that there are some tensions growing between Shadow Reapers and a rival group. Sometimes Mark brings that stuff home with him, but he won’t tell me what’s going on. He doesn’t let me in on anything, so I was wondering if you knew of anything that might be upsetting him,” I said, trying to make it sound like I was asking out of my own personal curiosity instead of because I’d been sent to probe.
“I don’t know about all that. I keep my nose out of turf wars. I run a business, and all I handle is my business,” he said.
I looked down and away. I hadn’t been completely certain that I was going to be able to get him to talk, but I was disappointed that he was trying to shut me down with his answer. I also felt like he knew something and wasn’t telling me.
“If you have questions about that sort of thing, you really should talk to Mark about it,” he added, his voice as cold and unwelcoming as the rest of the room.
He started to get up from the bed, but I grabbed his arm and stopped him. He turned to look down at me, but there was no emotion in his eyes. I wondered if he knew all along that the only reason I wanted to come see him was to try to get information out of him.``
“Sit with me a little longer,” I begged him. “I’ve been lonely, and it’s nice to feel something familiar. This new situation is still so foreign to me,” I said.
“How many months has it been?”
“I don’t know, three or so?” I looked at his hand as I held it in mine. I didn’t want to reveal any secrets by looking into his eyes and thinking about the baby. I still hadn’t started showing, but it wasn’t long before I would.
He looked down at me like he was thinking about the time we’d been apart, or maybe something else. He was contemplating something. Finally, he nodded.
“You should be used to it by now,” he said as he pulled his hand away from mine.
I had blown it. He was turning to walk away from me. I was starting to get up to follow him or stop him. I knew that if I was going to get anything out of him, I needed to step up my game and persuade him. He must have been testing me, I figured, trying to see how far I would go for information.
He walked away from me after lingering for a moment, as if he’d been waiting on me to say or do something else. He went to the small refrigerator tucked in a corner near the bathroom.
“Want a beer?” he asked me.
“No thanks, but if you have some water, that would be great,” I told him.
“You don’t drink anymore?” he asked.
Shit. He knew. He had to know. “Not much,” I said. “It’s one of Mark’s things, you know?”
He nodded as he grabbed a beer and popped the cap off.
Just then a knock came at the door. My heart stopped. Whoever it was knocked hard, like they were trying to get our attention. I got up and practically sprinted to the door. Somehow I already knew it was one of the guys from the Reapers. I had to check through the peephole before Ryan had a chance to see who it was.
“Who the hell could that be?” he snapped behind me, and I could hear him drawing his weapon already.
“It’s just one of the hotel staff,” I told him. I cracked the door.
“What do they want?” he barked behind me as I poked my head through the door.
It was Ozzy, and he already had his gun in hand as well.
“What the hell do you want?” I hissed.
“Just checking to see if everything’s okay,” he whispered.
“Yes, now go the hell on before you fuck everything up,” I told him, but it was too late.
“Hotel staff, my ass. You set me up, bitch,” Ryan said, putting an arm across my shoulders and pulling me back. He put the gun to my head as Ozzy shoved the door open, breaking the chain lock on it.
“Let her go, Ryan,” Ozzy growled.
“Not a chance.” Then, to me, he said, “This was the whole reason you wanted to meet, wasn’t it? What makes you think I know anything about what’s going on with your new boyfriend and his rivals? What makes you think I give a fuck?” he barked in my ear, holding me tight with the gun pointed right at my face.
Ozzy fired his gun into the room. The gunshot rang out in the tiny space, deafening me. I instinctively ducked, pulling myself away from Ryan’s startled grip. His arm pulled away from my chest and shoulders. The gun fell away for a split second. He recoiled from the noise just as I tried
to duck from it.
“Nora, get out of here,” Ozzy yelled at me. I saw him standing in front of me, his gun aimed at Ryan stumbling behind me in shock. “I’ll handle Ryan. You run.”
And I ran. I darted through the door and headed to the nearest stairwell, running down to the parking lot. I hurried around the corner to where the bikes were parked. Ozzy’s bike sat between two other members of the MC — a couple of hardened looking bikers I hadn’t met.
They were covered in tattoos with long hair pulled back from their faces. They wore their vests and long sleeve shirts, but I could see the ink almost crawling down across their hands from their arms. Their bikes sat in silence.
“Where’s Ozzy?” one of them asked in a low tone. His voice hummed deep in his chest when he spoke. I was thankful we were on the same side here.
“At the hotel still,” I panted. I leaned forward and rested my hands above my knees on my legs.
“Sit on his bike and wait for him,” the other said.
The fact that they knew who I was spoke volumes to me about how tight the MC was in spite of all the trouble they’d had with other clubs and gangs, and despite Mark’s worries that he was losing his grip.
“Thanks,” I said as I straddled his cruiser. My heart pounded in my chest, and I could feel a weight in my stomach, reminding me of the precious cargo I carried with me everywhere now. I tried to slow my breath, but the excitement and anxiety rushing through my body wouldn’t let me calm down.
The guys shifted on either side of me when they saw Ozzy coming. They reached for their guns and started to climb off their bikes. I looked up and saw what had startled them. Ozzy’s hands and shirt were bloody.
“Don’t worry,” he said with a smile on his face. “It’s not mine.”
“What did you do?” I asked.
“I had a little talk with Ryan. You’re not going to have to worry about him anymore. But the bad news, I guess, is that he really doesn’t seem to know anything about what’s going on. At least, most people would have said something after a talk like that,” he continued. I could see he was pleased with himself for handling it.
“I could have gotten something out of him,” I told him.
He shook his head. “That wasn’t happening,” he said confidently. “He wasn’t going to tell you anything. He was going to try to get you back in. But like I said, I don’t think he knew any more than he’d already told us.”
“So what now?” I asked.
“We go back to the clubhouse and let Mark know what happened,” Ozzy said.
He climbed on the bike in front of me.
“Guys, I need you to go back to your posts and keep an eye on the hotel,” he added before cranking up his bike and roaring off down the road with my arms around his waist.
Chapter Twenty
Mark
“It’s not Ryan,” a bloody Ozzy said. He stood in front of me with bloody knuckles and a little blood spattered on his shirt, still panting from the adrenaline of whatever the hell he’d done to that poor mule.
Nora sat in the chair across from my desk, sulking. Her arms were crossed and she scowled down toward the floor. I couldn’t imagine a legitimate reason for her to be pissed off about anything. I wanted to talk to Ozzy first, before talking to her to see what the hell was going on with her.
“Are you sure he’s not leaking information or working for someone else?” I asked. I found it hard to believe that he’d had much opportunity to talk, judging by the looks of Ozzy.
“Don’t worry. We did our fair share of talking, too,” he assured me. “If he does know something or is in on anything, he will never admit it. But to be honest with you, anybody would have spilled information under those circumstances,” he boasted.
I wanted to laugh but the operation wasn’t supposed to go down like that. There wasn’t supposed to be violence. I looked back and forth between them. Ozzy looked at me like he was proud of what he’d done. Nora looked up at me with that same anger in her face, but there was a defiance there as well, as if she were telling me she didn’t care what I thought about what happened.
I sighed and rubbed my temples. “Okay. Ozzy, go get cleaned up.” When I spoke, my voice came out pissed and tired. I was not impressed.
“Hey, all I wanted to do was scare him,” he defended himself. “He’s the one who pulled a gun and took it to the next level.”
“He pulled a fucking gun?” I asked. “That doesn’t seem like the action of an innocent man.”
“No, but you should see him. He had plenty of opportunities to come clean, but he didn’t say a peep. I really believe he’s just doing his job. If he knew anything, he already told us.”
“Yeah, I got it,” I said, waving toward the door.
“Alright. I’ll be at the bar if you need me.” Ozzy walked out and closed the door behind himself to leave me in there alone with Nora.
I walked around and sat on the corner of my desk. I put a hand on her shoulder. She uncrossed her arms and put one of her hands on top of mine. She didn’t look up. She kept glaring at the floor.
“So, what happened?” I asked.
“Your boy stormed the room and started shooting the place up,” she snarled. “That’s what happened. Reckless bastard almost got me shot.”
“Wait, are you telling me Ryan drew a gun on you?” I asked. “That motherfucker,” I snapped. I started to reach for my gun.
“What are you doing?” she asked, looking up at me with those angry eyes.
“I’m going to handle this situation. He doesn’t get to point a gun at you and walk away with his life,” I growled.
She grabbed my arm. “Leave it. I’m sure he’s in bad enough shape. Ozzy certainly seems proud enough of himself to have beat his ass.”
The disgust in her voice was thick and palpable. I really started to wonder why she was so upset about how things had gone down. I wondered what was going on in her head, what she was thinking. I was starting to doubt her again.
“Are you upset that he beat Ryan’s ass, or what? I don’t get you,” I said.
“I don’t give a shit about Ryan,” she swore to me, recoiling. “How dare you even think that?” She got up from the chair and took a step back from me.
“Then what is it?” I asked. “What’s bothering you so much? You come in here with this sour expression on your face like you’re upset that your ex got his ass beat, and now you’re pissed at me because I said something about it? What else am I supposed to think?”
“Well, you go on thinking what you want,” she said, holding a finger up to me. “But remember that I’m carrying your child.”
“How could I forget?” I asked before she could say anything else.
“And yet you’re okay with putting me in danger?” Her face reddened and tears came to her eyes.
“You were fine. I’m sure Ozzy had it all under control,” I said in an effort to assure her. “I trust Ozzy. He’s a solid guy.” I reached for her to take her in my arms and try to comfort her, but she backed away again.
“It sure didn’t feel like he was in control. He blew my cover and got a gun shoved in my face. What the hell was he doing, coming up and knocking on the door? And then he kicked the door the rest of the way open when Ryan grabbed me. Was he trying to get me killed? He compromised the whole thing and put me in unnecessary danger. He put our child in danger!”
“I mean, you’re with an MC now. You’re with Shadow Reapers. As long as you’re by my side, there is going to be danger. I thought you understood that,” I said to her. “And furthermore, you were more than willing to go after him and get revenge for selling you like a piece of property. You got your revenge. Or are you upset that Ozzy got your revenge for you?”
“I’m upset because you obviously didn’t brief him on what we were doing before sending him to protect me. He did anything but protect me,” she continued to argue.
“If you can’t hang, go home,” I told her. My head was starting to split. I put my finge
rs back up to my temples to hold off the headache, but it was no good.
“You’re going to run me off?” she asked, hurt mixing in with the anger in her voice. “Because I can’t accept that my life was in danger?”
I looked her right in the eye, hardening my stare. I set my jaw and scowled. If I had realized that sending her out to talk to Ryan would have caused so much trouble, I wouldn’t have done it. I knew better for next time. I shouldn’t have sent her to do the job in the first place. It was obvious I should have sent someone else.