Bail Out

by Jade Chandler

  When Rebel opened the door to the bathroom, I snapped my jeans while I searched for my discarded top. The one I’d so hastily cut earlier tonight. This one day felt like a hundred and the sexy naked biker staring at me was a trusted ally. I didn’t understand how we’d come so far so fast, but it was true, at least for me.

  “Where you going, Blondie?”

  “You see my shirt?” We spoke at the same time.

  He pointed to a scrap of cloth tucked under the edge of the bed.

  “I was thinking...”

  His lips tilted in this sarcastic half smile.

  “... That when Stone moves, we won’t have a good vehicle to capture him. Your bike isn’t a good option and he knows my truck.”

  “You have been thinking.” He chuckled. “All I’d thought about was another round with you.”

  Damn that sounded perfect, but not worth losing two hundred grand.

  “So I was going to call a cab, since you need to monitor the app, and pick up an Escalade so we’re ready when he moves.” I grabbed my phone from the table, flipping through for the taxi number.

  Still in his birthday suit, the handsome hunk of manhood strolled across the room making me wish this wasn’t a work night or better that my father hadn’t turned into my enemy. He sat on the edge of the bed and nodded his agreement. “We need the transpo, if he moves before you’re back, I’ll follow and text you where we land.”

  So much more than a sex god, the man had great hunting instincts. “That’s a plan.” I placed the call and the taxi dispatcher said a car would be here in ten minutes.

  When I hung up, Rebel crooked a finger at me. “Come here, baby.”

  Despite knowing this was a bad idea, I moved to sit beside him, but he situated me on his lap, again. “Is this a biker thing?”

  He cocked his head at me in question.

  “The lap thing? I usually sit in my own seat.” It was a thought that had bugged me all night. I hadn’t been the only woman in a biker’s lap. In fact I don’t remember any of the women in their own chair.

  Throwing back his head, he laughed in that deep timbre of his. I loved his laugh. “I guess it is. We like our women real close.”

  “For protection?”

  “And pleasure.” He leaned forward and kissed my chin then sucked in my lower lip.

  I lost myself in our kiss, my body, remembering the pleasure, was on board for another round right now. My phone pinged—the taxi. I pulled away from his kiss despite wanting to stay all night and for many more nights until I was beyond sated. However, I had a feeling I’d never be done with his brand of lovemaking.

  “See you soon, lover boy.” I stepped away.

  “Stay safe. You need cash for the cab?” He moved to his jeans.

  “Nope, got it covered.” I hurried out the door before I never left again.

  After I paid the taxi, I stepped out in front of the darkened building of Jackson Bonds. A two—story building in downtown, it wasn’t a new building but it wasn’t as old as some. I punched in the code that let me inside and hurried to get the keys. I wanted to be back there as quick as possible.

  I drove into the lot of the Sleepy Time Motel in less than an hour from the time I left. Good time considering I’d stopped by my place for a few necessities—a bra, shirt and my gun. I’d hated to leave the Brotherhood shirt behind, but if I didn’t want to stop Stone with my boobs hanging out, I needed real clothes. My biker girl fantasy time was at an end, which sucked, however it’d always be my favorite undercover experience.

  Rebel opened the red door to room seven before I knocked. He’d put on his jeans but he was possibly sexier like this. A man with bare feet and chest that screamed sex and Rebel’s decibel level was off the charts.

  He spoke into his phone while he closed and locked the door behind me.

  “I don’t give a fuck what time it is. I own your asses. Get up and get down here, pronto. I’ll text the address. You got two hours.” He hung up, closing the distance between us. He kissed me and I forgot my name.

  Before I knew what was happening I was flat on my back on the bed. He leaned over me with a naughty smile tugging up his lips. “Why do you do this?”

  True my mind was muddled but I don’t think his question made sense anyway. “What?”

  “Strap down your sexy tits?”

  I laughed and swiped his chin. “So I don’t get a black eye,” I joked but it was true in its own way. “Running, let alone fighting, without this kind of support hurts like a motherfucker.”

  “Interesting. You fight a lot?” His finger traced my lips.

  “More than most of the other bail enforcers. Something about being a woman makes guys think they can take me out before I take them in.” It’s why I held a black belt in both hapkido and karate.

  “Your gun doesn’t convince them?”

  “Nope.” I sighed. “Besides shooting one of them is a real pain in the ass and can get my license revoked.”

  Rebel nodded with a serious demeanor that didn’t match the fact he was raising my shirt. He flitted his fingers across my breasts sending shockwaves through me. “No hooks?” He pulled me up to sitting and removed my shirt then tugged up my sports bar.

  He grinned. “Damn that’s better than a pop-up book.”

  I laughed at his asinine comparison. “You like pop-up books?”

  “I like surprises.” He purred in my ear.

  “We need to be ready for Stone.” My breathy voice didn’t inspire confidence.

  “My phone will sound and we can be out of here in minutes, but it’d be a shame to waste this time.” He trailed kisses down my throat.

  “Don’t want a nap?” I played with the hair on his chest. A Jericho Brotherhood tattoo covered his left chest where his heart was and another spread across his back but I hadn’t noticed any other tattoos. I wanted a tattoo in a bucket list kind of way but nothing had ever compelled me to mark my body.

  “I can sleep when I’m dead.” His mouth covered my breast.

  I lay back more than willing to spend more time in bed with him.

  He undressed me before he set another condom beside us. Once he discarded his jeans he lay down next to me. “Your turn to ride me.”

  “I can get behind that.” I straddled him and he tugged me down until he feasted on my breasts. I liked that a lot. I rocked against his erection, letting the intimate contact reignite the fire inside me. When I couldn’t wait another minute, I slid the condom in place before I showed him how this Texas cowgirl could ride her man.

  We lay panting on the bed after yet another round of play when his phone rang. He grabbed it from the bedside. “Not Stone,” he said before answering.

  “Good work, stay the fuck out with my bike until I’m ready to leave.”

  He listened as someone spoke on the other end.

  “If you’re cold get a damn room.” He hung up. “Damn whiners.” He tossed his phone back on the bedside table.

  I wasn’t sure about the boundaries of our friendship but my curiosity won out. “Who was that?”

  He turned on his side to look down at me. “Prospects. I’m not leaving my ride in this shitty neighborhood without protection.”

  I couldn’t believe what he said. “You just called guys in the middle of the night and they came to watch your bike?”

  “Yeah.” He didn’t volunteer more so I left it alone. The guys who’d fought Rebel had talked about prospects but I didn’t know what they meant either. “Now what were we doing?”

  “Again?” I’d never met a man who’d been interested in more than one round of sex, this would be our fourth.

  “All night, baby. We’re making memories.”

  That sounded like a well-used line. Cold raced down my spine. Memories, as in past tense.
He’d said it in every way that mattered—this was just about tonight. I shook free the disappointment that tried to plant itself inside me. I’d take every minute of my fantasy night and find someone who wanted a more regular kind of relationship. Because having awakened me to this kind of pleasure, I wasn’t going back to my mostly sexless existence.

  Rebel grinned down at me, his cock covered in another condom, when an alarm rang on his phone.

  “Fuck.” He growled and stood to grab his phone. “Time to go, Elle. He’s moving.”

  I shot off the bed dressing in under two minutes and still Rebel beat me. He held out his hand. “I’m driving.”

  I opened my mouth to argue.

  “Easier for you to jump him.” He pointed out a key fact.

  I wanted the first stab at Stone, needing to get some of my own back for the way he’d floored me yesterday. I handed over the keys.

  We rolled out of the lot in less than five minutes. He punched a key on his phone and growled into it. “Guard duty starts now.” He hung up and mounted his phone to the holder all of our vehicles were equipped with.

  We stayed back but we caught up and followed him with no problem. I needed to invest in some of those tracking things, they worked well.

  “Man, she must have a golden pussy,” Rebel grunted.

  “What the hell?”

  He nodded to the map on the phone. “He’s going back to the woman’s house where you clocked him yesterday.”

  “Really?” I studied the map. “Can you get there ahead of him?”

  “Yeah.” He sped up and took the next left. “What you thinking?”

  “Slow down so I can jump out, wait for him to pull in the drive and you back me up. He won’t expect the attack from the side.”

  “Solid plan. Have your gun out.” He whipped around the corner. “Looks like he’s still a few blocks away, we’ll be there in thirty seconds.”

  I nodded and pulled my gun out of my bag along with my brass knuckles. If a Taser didn’t take him down, I’d need all the extra power I could get. No way I’d end up under his knife a second time.

  “If we’re wrong, you need to haul ass to the vehicle so we don’t lose him.” He eyed me. “If you hear me whistle run for the SUV.”

  “Deal.” It wasn’t a great plan, but it was better than the one I’d had earlier. But then I’d seen Rebel in action, I had no doubt between us we’d have Stone down. I grabbed plastic cuffs from my bag and he pulled up in front of the same house. I jumped out. He sped off, whipping around in the street and parking close by, he shut down the headlights, I hid in the dark by the garage.

  City sounds were dampened at night, but in a city it was never silent. The sound of the bike put me on alert. Gun tucked into my waist, I placed the brass knuckles on my hand. The night suddenly got louder, brighter as the adrenaline kick-started all my survival instincts. The bike slowed and I got my first surprise in the early morning hours—he had the woman on the back of his bike. The bike stopped and the garage door shot up. I considered trying to hit him now, but I’d wait and follow him into the garage. After this morning a contained area would be an advantage. The bike rolled in and I ran in after it. The bike went silent.

  “Stone. Hands up, bail enforcement,” I shouted, gun pointing at his back. Hands up, he stepped off the bike. The sound of the garage door going down made me jerk.

  “Drop it, bitch, you’re in my sights, straight through you to him works for me.”

  “Do it, Stella,” Stone growled.

  Stella dropped the clicker then turned and fired a gun. I hit the concrete floor but felt the bullet graze the edge of my arm.

  Rebel rolled under the closing door and kicked the gun out of the woman’s hand before I found my way to my feet. Stone’s hands went low and I fired, the shot whizzed past his ear and his hands moved out. Apparently he wasn’t ready to risk death.

  Rebel pushed him into the wall. “Don’t move.”

  I quick stepped over to where the woman lay on the floor, unconscious. I handed the cuffs to Rebel. He secured Stone. “Don’t even think about fighting. She’s got the Glock centered on your back.”

  “I knew I’d seen you.” Stone spit out the words. He seethed with anger. “You turn on your own kind?”

  “I hunt bounties. You wouldn’t take a contract for the 200 large to end me?” Rebel glanced at me. “Grab the remote.”

  Stone looked over his shoulder to see me bend for the remote. I held the gun steady on him, my eyes not leaving him as I pushed the button to raise the door. “I won’t kill you, but prison will suck worse if you’re maimed.”

  He growled out a string of curse words but he stayed still. “My woman, she okay?”

  “She’s breathing, more than you were going leave her with.” His head pointed in my direction. “Move it.” Rebel didn’t let him out of his grasp as we walked to the SUV. He’d put up the glass partition we had in all our vehicles.

  He jerked Stone into the back and shut the door. Just like cop cars, the windows and door handles wouldn’t work from the inside. “I like your Escalade, it’s got cool toys.” He handed me the keys. “Drop me at the motel before you take him in.”

  “You aren’t coming?” I wasn’t ready for this to be the end of our association.

  “This is your contract.” He walked around to the passenger side and got inside.

  I started the Escalade. “I’ll need your license number and some other information.”

  “You still have my card?”

  I nodded.

  He pointed a thumb to the glass. “It’s not soundproof?”

  I shook my head.

  “Then call me tomorrow. We’ll work out the details.” He stared ahead and didn’t say another word.

  I knew he didn’t want Stone to have any information but the silence still stung and I didn’t know why. He’d done everything, even more, than he’d agreed to yet I felt the bitter ache of disappointment churn in my gut. Now my ulcers decided to act up.

  I dropped Rebel at the Sleepy Time lot, he didn’t even bother heading back into the room. He just threw his leg over his bike and started it up.

  I drove away.

  Pain I was used to ignoring, but the new emptiness hurt worse. One day, not even twenty-four hours and he’d carved out part of me and taken it with him. How long before the ache went away?

  Chapter Eleven

  Elle

  I’d turned over Stone to the Dallas PD before six and headed into the office to finish up paperwork. I stared at the card in my hand. A simple black card said Brotherhood Bonds with two numbers on it. They weren’t big on information but then in jail a phone number was the only thing that mattered.

  I called the first number and it went to voicemail, the office number apparently. He should have someone answering that line 24/7 but that wasn’t my business.

  I stared at the second number a long minute, remembering all that had happened in the last day. I picked up my mobile phone and punched in the number. It rang once and my apprehension grew. It rang a second time and I almost hung up. Why did I feel like a nervous teen calling a boy for the first time? A third ring and I waited for voice mail.

  “Yeah?” A sleepy-sounding Rebel answered the phone.

  My heart did this silly flip-flop before I cleared my throat and spoke. “It’s Elle, I wanted to wrap up this contract before I head home.”

  “Hey, baby.” His sleep-roughened voice made my stomach do mad somersaults.

  “Sorry to wake you, you want me to get the info later?” I hated the idea of getting off the phone with him. After this I’d have absolutely no reason to call him again. He wasn’t interested in more hot sex and we were competitors, so there was that.

  “Nah, I’m good.”

  I heard sheets rustling
and had to bite my tongue to stop from asking if he was naked.

  “You had breakfast?”

  “No, but I’m going to hit the sack soon.” I yawned, it’d been too long since I’d slept.

  “Don’t tease me.” He paused. “Come on, sexy, let’s have breakfast, we need to talk, but I wasn’t doing it in front of the asshole.”

  So that’s why he’d acted like I was no one, nothing to him. “Look if you want, just email me your contract information.” I was too tired to play this game with him.

  “You aren’t getting me. You and me are going to talk, now, in person.” He made it clear this wasn’t an option.

  Why was I fighting this? To protect your damn heart, stupid.

  I wasn’t that frightened girl anymore. “You want to talk, come to my place. I’ll have breakfast.”

  “Are you breakfast?” His sexy growl made my lady parts wake up.

  “Come and see.” Who was I and where had the Elle I knew gone? Up in smoke after one night with the bad boy biker.

  “Text me your address.”

  “Give me at least thirty minutes to get there,” I told him, already planning to stop and pick up breakfast at my favorite deli. I was too beat to cook and my cooking was marginal at best.

  “See you soon.” He hung up.

  He didn’t wait for me to say goodbye. Who did that? Apparently Rebel did. Shaking off my wandering thoughts, I texted my address before I called the deli ordering too much of everything because I had no idea how much he ate.

  I stood to go when my office door opened and Daddy strolled inside. He was the last person I wanted to see right now, or maybe ever. I headed for the door having no time for more of his bullshit.

  “Sugar dumpling,” he called and stopped me outside the door. “Good job bringing Stone in.”

  Maybe it was sleep deprivation or maybe it was my new attitude, but I turned and smiled. “Fuck you very much.” I had never said fuck in my daddy’s presence let alone aimed one his way.

  “That’s no way to treat your father,” he blustered, as surprised as me at my new sense of rebellion.

  I stalked back to him, inches separated us. “I’ll treat you like my father when you start acting like one again.”