“And, Axel seems like he’s more than willing to take on the role as your protector,” Ettie added, grinning.
Sophie blushed profusely.
“You like him,” I commented quietly.
She scoffed delicately. “He’s terrifying. Yet handsome,” she allowed.
“Handsome? Axel is smoldering hot with a capital H,” Connie amended.
“That, too,” Sophie agreed with a shy smile.
“Another round?” I asked, wanting to take the attention off Sophie. She seemed ready to crawl in a hole and hide away.
I got nods from all the ladies and headed back to the bar to get another round.
An hour later, Sophie looked ready to put her head down on the table and fall asleep. Between taking the red-eye, being introduced to the world of the Knights, and whatever had forced her here to begin with, I was sure she was at the far end of her rope.
I was just about to tell Sal we needed to take her home when Axel stalked over. “I’ll take you home, come on,” he told Sophie gruffly.
She looked up at him in surprise before looking to me for guidance. I nodded. “You look ready to crawl under the table and fall asleep, honey,” I said as I smiled. “Axel’s got it covered.”
Sal leaned on his pool cue watching intently as Sophie stood and gathered her purse. She turned to wave goodnight to her brother and he gave her a chin lift, watching as Axel guided her out of the bar.
I looked over at him with a slight grin and a shrug as though to say those two might be inevitable. If Axel was anything like Cole and Sal, if he wanted her, he’d figure out a way to have her. But, maybe he only felt protective of her. She had that effect on me as well. I wanted to wrap her up and hug her until she looked less overwhelmed by life in general.
I walked over to my man, wrapping my arms around him. “You about ready to head out?” I asked, tilting my head back to look up at his gorgeous face.
“Yeah, babe,” he said with a nod, giving me a quick squeeze. His eyes were still gazing at the door his sister had left through.
“She’ll be okay,” I reassured him.
“I hope so,” he muttered, clearly troubled.
“Let’s go, you look tired,” I commented softly.
His demeanor changed as I raked my fingers through his hair.
“You gonna help me fall asleep, baby?” he asked, his tone low as his lips swept my ear.
A shiver ran down my spine as he pulled me closer. “I think I can do that,” I replied with a slow smile.
Chapter 18
“Babe, wake up,” Sal’s voice came abruptly through the dream I’d been having about swimming in the ocean.
“Hmmm?” I mumbled. It felt like we’d just fallen asleep.
“Somethin’s up. I need you to get up and come with me,” he ordered, and his tone left no room for messing around.
I sat up immediately. “What happened?” I asked, my voice thick with sleep.
“Need you to get dressed. We gotta get to the club.”
“Okay,” I answered, suddenly wide-awake as I moved to throw on my clothes in the dim light of what had to be early dawn. Sal had never woken me up like this and his tone was not to be questioned. I got ready as quickly as I could, asking no further questions, and climbed dutifully on his bike. We shot off from the curb as the sun crested the sky.
We pulled in behind Wes and Connie, and I saw many of the other members had already arrived. I cringed at the significance of everyone gathering at this hour.
Cal stood with feet braced apart in the great room, arms clasped behind his back with Cole seething at his side. I was surprised to see Henry, the president of The Sinners, flanking Cole. The Sinners was Scarlet’s dad’s club when he’d been alive. Now Henry ran things and he’d helped the Knights out in the past. His presence here did not bode well.
“Ettie was taken last night,” Cal announced, and I heard the collective gasp and a few cries of shock reverberate around the room. My gaze immediately sought out Mack and I found him sitting in a folded chair on the far side of the room, his head bent, his fingers tearing through his hair. Sal’s arm came around me, pulling me into his body as though he had to assure himself I was still there.
“Allen Parker has stolen from us,” Cal began in a tone I’d never heard before. His blue eyes were like ice as he regarded his club, his family. “He has disrespected us; he has spilt the blood of those we love. He will pay in blood,” Cal assured the agitated crowd. “But, for now, our priority is getting our girl back. We’ve called in our brothers, the Sinners. We’ll find her,” he assured the crowd, though his head had turned to Mack.
My gaze landed on Mack and my heart lurched as I observed his utter torment. I knew I had to do anything and everything I could to get Ettie back and an idea quickly began to form.
I turned to Sal, gripping his T-shirt in my fists. “My ma,” I said simply.
Sal’s dark eyes narrowed, his anger so evident I could feel it, but he nodded once and pulled me from the room.
After a brief meeting with Cal, Cole, and Sal, I dialed the number in my call log praying it still worked as Sal paced the concrete.
“Yeah?” her voice rasped.
I felt equal parts of relief and dread that I’d been able to reach her. “Ma?”
“What the hell do you want?” she demanded roughly. Clearly, I’d woken her up, which wasn’t surprising since it wasn’t even 8 AM.
“I have some money for you,” I lied, going along with the plan I’d confirmed with the guys. If her deadbeat boyfriend had crossed paths with Parker, chances were he could do it again. A potential payday would at least get us in the door.
I heard her sit up. “Oh yeah?” she replied, her tone far more lucid.
“Yeah, sorry it took me a little while to pull something together,” I apologized as my eyes shot to Sal’s. He nodded, giving me the silent support I needed to continue.
“You’re lucky I’m still breathing,” she retorted, and I wanted to scoff at the insinuation that anything to do with her and luck went hand in hand.
“Sorry about that,” I said as I swallowed the bile which wanted to rise at having to apologize to her for anything. “I can probably come to you depending on where you are.”
She cackled out a laugh that made me wince. “Same zip code as the last thirty years, I think you’d remember it.”
Oh, shit. I wanted to faint at the thought of having to go back there. Of having Sal go there.
“Same park?” I asked, referring to the trailer park from my youth. I squeezed my eyes shut, wanting to vomit.
“Yep, when can you get here?”
“By tonight,” I answered simply, turning my back to Sal to avoid his eyes.
“How much you got?” she wanted to know. Of course, that was all she cared about.
“Enough,” I snapped before hanging up.
“I want to go alone,” I said immediately and desperately when I hung up and turned to face Sal. I knew I was being completely irrational, but I couldn’t seem to stop myself.
He stalked over to me, his eyes assessing my expression. “Babe,” he began.
“I want to go alone,” I pleaded. “Please, Sal. Nothing will happen there,” I demanded desperately. “It’s just a bunch of white trash druggies. You can help everyone else. Look for Ettie here. I’ll be back before you know it,” I rambled as he gripped my upper arms, peering down at me.
“Birdie, what the fuck?”
I shook my head in an attempt to clear the roar in my ears at the sheer terror of having him see where I’d grown up.
Cal and Cole made themselves scarce as tears pooled in my eyes. “Please, Sal, I’m begging you,” I whimpered, my voice hoarse.
“You’re killin’ me, baby. What is it?” he asked, pulling me into his chest, his chin resting on my head.
“I promised myself I’d never go back there,” I whispered as he held me tight. “And I will, in a heartbeat for Ettie. But the thought of you coming too, of y
ou seeing how I grew up. I don’t know if I can…” I stammered.
He pulled back slightly, holding me at arm’s length to look down at me. “Part of why I love you is knowing what you came from, you get that?” he asked.
I bit my lip and nodded.
“Well, then we got no problems.” He shrugged as though it was as simple as a trip to the grocery store. “We’ll be in and out, baby. You might have lived there a long time, but it’s not who you are. It never was,” he decreed, stooping slightly to meet me at eye level.
I pressed my forehead to his and nodded.
“Right,” I muttered.
We rode all day toward the outskirts of Eugene. We left the sun and sand and headed into the forested canopy and perpetual rain of my hometown. It felt as though the cloudy, desolate sky was sucking me in, making it hard to breathe as we drew closer to my childhood home.
My memories were filled with days and days of rain. I would never forget what that was like. It was either be trapped in the trailer with my drugged out parents or head out into the muck. When I was younger, I would pretend it was an adventure to slosh through the mud the rains brought cascading through our trailer park. As I got older, I simply found other places to hide, like the public library, a coffee shop. I would go anywhere within walking distance where I could dry out for a few hours before regretfully having to make my way home.
It was probably why Nevada called to me so strongly when I’d left home. The sun shown brilliantly most of the year.
My ass was sore as hell, but in a way, it worked. because by the time we pulled into the trailer park, part of me was relieved to get off the bike for a bit.
It was exactly as I remembered; the decrepit trailers standing on top of torn up cement that, in many cases, had simply turned to mud. It was all shrouded by trees so thick in some places you couldn’t see the sky. I looked up at those trees as we rode deeper through the park.
They’d always scared me for some reason, especially at night when they cast shadows no matter how far you ventured. Their limbs seemed to bend and stretch too close for comfort, as though they were determined to be a part of you.
Broken down trucks sat alongside many of the lots, serving as storage or extra bedrooms. Or, in some cases, playrooms depending on the circumstances.
That was one saving grace of childhood. Imagination was a beautiful thing. I would play with the other kids around the park for hours around some rusted out pickup, pretending we ruled the world. Our little hearts were so full of hopes and dreams.
The Harley rumbled up to the all too familiar white trailer, now rusted on all sides and sitting slightly sideways. My heart had picked up as soon as we’d crossed the state line, more so when we entered the park and was now in overdrive as the engine cut in front of my childhood home. Sal reached back and grabbed my thigh in a reassuring squeeze I desperately needed.
I swung off the bike, unclasping my helmet, and stood regarding the place as the sun dipped low in the sky. The rusted door swung open with a groan, and my mother stood there with a scowl.
Just remember Ettie, I coached myself.
“Hey, Ma,” I greeted. “You remember Sal,” I gestured to my beautiful man who had now divested himself of his helmet and came to stand at my side.
She scowled deeper as a balding man with a huge gray beard peered out from behind her. He had beady eyes and an accusatory stare.
What a winner, but really, was I surprised?
“This is Stu,” she responded, simply gesturing with a thumb.
“Brought some Jack, some smokes if you want to sit for a few. Been a long drive,” Sal spoke up gruffly. I’d told him how much my mother loved brown liquor. First, he’d play nice guy, if that didn’t work, and quickly, then things would deteriorate until something gave.
He threw his leg easily over the picnic bench nearby as though he’d lived there his entire life and took a slug of whiskey. I took a deep breath, which I hoped didn’t sound too shaky and sat alongside him.
I was determined to not make this about me. This wasn’t about my old demons. This was about getting Ettie home. I focused on Sal’s warm grip on my thigh and the crickets that sang as night approached.
An hour later, we had them pretty toasted. Stu and Sal were talking like old friends while my mother was content to smoke in silence. Stu was talking up a storm about how he’d lived in Nevada for years before moving out to Eugene. He wanted to hear all about Sal’s club because he’d been in one himself years before. Sal obliged him, in gesture at least, without giving anything away.
“Where’s the money?” my mother finally demanded as though she’d been holding the question in all night, which she probably had.
“Word is that Parker’s callin’ a hit on you both,” Sal lied calmly as my mother sucked in her breath. “But he’s got somethin’ our club wants. We’ve got a lot of muscle after him. If you know where he is, we can take the mark off your head,” he said as he shrugged, as though it were no big thing to him.
“So, you don’t have anything for us,” my mother deduced, and I rolled my eyes at her greedy, one-track mind.
Sal’s eyes grew fierce as he leaned in to draw his point home. “Did you not fuckin’ hear me, woman? If I don’t find Parker, you’re dead. You won’t need money when you’re six feet under.”
Stu sighed wearily. “I have a number from way back when, not sure if it’s still good, and a few places I know he hangs out, or used to anyway.”
My heart soared with hope at this news.
“Good,” Sal nodded. “Get the number,” he ordered. “Almost outta here, babe,” he murmured low in my ear.
I nodded, clasping my hands in my lap and beyond ready to have this over with.
My mother narrowed her eyes at me as she blew a stream of smoke through her nostrils. “You’re just itchin’ to get outta here. It’s just like old times,” she snorted.
“Pretty much,” I retorted as Stu returned with a piece of paper.
“Don’t know if it’ll help, but that’s all I got,” he shrugged.
Sal nodded, taking the paper wordlessly, and rising from the table. He extended his hand to me and I took it gratefully. “Wish I could say it’s been a pleasure,” Sal grunted and I bit back a smile. He winked at me and squeezed my hand.
Moments later, we were back on Sal’s bike, shooting through the trailer park and out from the dense canopy of trees. I took my first real breath since we’d arrived and closed my eyes, welcoming the wind to clear it all away.
Sal pulled us into a motel and I shuddered at the thought of having to stay in this town a second longer. But, I knew he couldn’t possibly drive back without some rest and frankly, my ass needed a break.
“We’ll get outta here at first light, Birdie,” he assured me as soon as we’d checked into our sparse motel room.
I nodded, feeling completely wasted. It had been harder than I thought to spend time with my ma, harder still to do it in the place I’d never wanted to return to, ever.
“I gotta call this information into the guys. I also wanna check on Soph. You wanna shower?” he offered, his dark eyes assessing me carefully.
I nodded and moved woodenly to the small bag I’d packed.
“Babe, first light. Promise,” he said again.
“Yeah, okay,” I agreed, quietly heading to the shower and shutting the door with a resounding click.
I took a long, hot shower, trying to wash away the day. I tried to focus on the silver lining. We’d gotten the information we’d come for.
I just hoped like hell that it was good.
I stood there thinking about Ettie and what kind of nightmare she was probably in right that very moment. I felt so helpless, the feeling made more so by memories of my childhood swirling in my head.
The first sob escaped, reverberating off the mint green shower walls. I was too tired to hold it in, too overwhelmed. I rested my forehead against the tile and let the despondency take me.
And then he
was there.
His strong arms turned me gently so my cheek rested on his firm chest. He wrapped his arms around me, securing me as close to his body as he could get me, and rocked us slowly as the warm water fell over us.
We didn’t speak; words weren’t needed as our bodies said it all. We stood there until the water started to turn cold. He turned off the shower and toweled me off while guiding me to the bed. We crawled in naked, and I immediately pulled him over me.
“Sal, I need you,” my voice rasped.
In that moment, I felt like I’d never needed anything more in my life.
“I’m right here, Birdie,” he murmured, his large body braced above mine. His eyes were warm as they looked down at me. “You sure?” he asked, concerned.
I nodded. “You’re the only thing I’m sure of,” I told him with sincerity. Sal had now officially seen it all, including the parts I never wanted anyone to see. And he was still here. I’d never felt closer to anyone in my life. And now that I’d shared it all, I needed him to make me forget, for a little while.
He leaned down, taking my lips, coaxing them open until his tongue met mine in a mind-numbing caress. His tongue stroked mine, lighting a fire in my belly. Then his teeth joined the fray, licking and biting in gentle tandem until my body was a pile of passionate mush beneath him.
His hips sat between my legs and I felt his erection nudge against my core, earning a groan and a flex of the hips from me.
“Slow, baby, there’s no rush,” his deep voice assured me as he moved down my body, biting and sucking as he went. His large hands pinned mine to the bed as he found his way to my core.
“You have the most beautiful body,” he said reverently, his lips against my inner thigh. Then he turned his attention to my core, working his mouth until I was calling his name desperately. I was close, I could feel it building, and when he began sucking greedily, it hurdled me over the edge with an intensity so fierce I forgot my own name.
Sal (The Ride Series) Page 17