by Brook Wilder
Chapter 18
Noah
I checked on Hunter for the fifth time since he went to sleep. It was a very warm evening and Hunter had been struggling to sleep. It had taken Liz going into Hunter’s bed and cuddling him to get him to fall asleep. She had left some time ago, but I couldn’t stop myself from checking on my son. He was lying on his bed with the duvet covers kicked to the foot of the bed, tangled around his legs. He looked haphazard but very peaceful, finally.
Liz had certainly done a very good job with him. Hunter was a joy. I was still getting used to the idea of being a father, but it wasn’t as difficult as I thought it would be. Hunter had taken to me very quickly. The boy was so trusting; sometimes I didn’t have the heart to discipline him.
As I went to the lounge, where I had left the TV going on the baseball game, I thought back to Liz’s begging to get out of the safe house for a while, just to be on her own. At first, I thought she was doing it to get away from me, but then I put more thought into it. She was a mother and she spent most of her waking hours with Hunter. Even when he was asleep, she didn’t get a break; she was always on call. Having time away stopped her from going insane.
I could understand that. I was the one who could come and go as I liked, even though I had effectively moved in with them. I got to have a few hours away. Liz didn’t.
Hopefully, that would have her smiling again. That smile she had given me earlier had made me realize that I had missed it. A lot. I wanted that smile back. It had been disappearing rapidly over the last couple of weeks and now I could see it was because Liz was feeling like a prisoner. She wasn’t the same person, shying away from me and throwing herself into cleaning the house.
Because that was practically all she could do.
I had been a fool. Keeping her there had been the wrong thing to do. I’d thought I was protecting her. Ruiz would go after her, I knew it. But Liz had been suffering as a result.
I wanted Liz happy. Having her smile like the way she had at lunch would be worth it.
The game went straight into commercials. I groaned as I flopped onto the settee and picked up the remote. Which I promptly dropped when I hear a loud moan from upstairs. It sounded close to a scream.
My heart stopped. Liz.
I jumped up off the couch and charged upstairs. The shriek tore straight through me as I came onto the upstairs landing. Charging into Liz’s room, I saw her writhing on the bed, her duvet kicked off her. She had her arms above her head as if she was being restrained and her legs were kicking wildly. The screams coming from her sounded like nothing I had heard from her before.
She was having a nightmare. And it was frightening me; I couldn’t begin to think how Liz was.
Jumping onto the bed, I straddled her waist and grabbed her wrists. That had Liz shrieking more and struggling more. I wanted to slap her out of it, but the thought of laying my hands on her like that turned my stomach. I dragged her wrists down and shook her.
“Liz! Liz, wake up! Liz!”
She did with such a jolt that when she sat up I nearly butted heads with her. I jerked back as she shot upright, her eyes wide as she let out a sudden gasp. Clambering off her and drawing back, I waited until I saw clarity come back into her eyes and she completely woke up. She was breathing heavily, and I could see the sweat trickling down her face, soaking her t-shirt. Then she was looking at me, taking a moment before she realized who it was.
“Noah!” She launched herself at me and hugged me tightly, burying her face into my neck. “Thank God!”
I didn’t know what to say. I had seen Liz distressed before but nothing like this. This was completely new. And it scared me.
I settled on the bed, lying on my side with Liz in my arms. I kissed her head and cradled her close.
“What happened? Did you have another nightmare?”
“Yes.” Liz whimpered. She sniffed and wiped her nose against her shirt. “I… I keep thinking about that night. You know, when I was auctioned.”
Auction? That had me freezing. I didn’t know anything about that. I eased her back and stared at her.
“What do you mean, you were auctioned?”
“I thought I told you.”
“No. I think I would have remembered you saying that.”
I saw Liz realize she had spoken out of turn. Her eyes widened, and she drew back, shaking her head as she attempted to get out of my arms. I tightened my hold on her.
“Talk to me, Liz. What are you talking about?”
“This was a long time ago.” Liz was still struggling against me. “Please, don’t make me talk about it again.”
“Liz…”
“Please, I don’t want to talk about it!” Liz was crying again. “I don’t want to relive it when I’m awake. It’s already in my dreams, I don’t want it when I’m conscious.”
Whatever had happened was clearly not a long time ago. I had never seen her having nightmares like this before. What had gone on while I was in prison? Had someone done something to her? I felt the anger building, but I fought it down; Liz didn’t need that right now.
“Yo should have said something, Liz.”
Liz turned away and sat up, pulling her knees up and hugging them to her chest.
“I didn’t want you to look at me differently,” she whispered. “Or anyone to look at me differently. It’s bad enough that I have to live with the memories without you looking at me, knowing that had happened.”
Was this part of the reason she hadn’t come to visit beyond the pregnancy? She was scared I would figure out what had happened? Had she been kidnapped? I didn’t want to contemplate the possibilities. I sat up and stroked her back.
“I’m so sorry, Liz.”
“What are you sorry about?”
“That I wasn’t there.”
Liz grunted.
“There wouldn’t have been anything you could’ve done.” She looked up at me, tears glimmering in her eyes. “Don’t leave me just yet, please? I’m too scared to go to sleep alone.”
She would have to pry me out of her bed with a crowbar. I hugged her close.
“I’m staying. I’m not going anywhere.”
Liz gave me a shaky smile and kissed my cheek. Then she hesitated, her eyes flickering to my mouth. Cupping her jaw, I kissed her, brushing my lips over hers. She sighed and leant into me, sliding into my arms. She whimpered and tugged herself closer to me, shifting so she was on her knees, her breasts pressed against my chest.
I hadn’t gone in there looking for sex, but my cock was thinking otherwise now.
I let Liz take the lead, nudging me to lie down while she straddled my waist. She rubbed her sex against my erection, breaking the kiss to throw her head back with a moan. She looked gorgeous aroused. I could look at her all day.
I slid my hands inside her shorts and cupped her backside. Squeezing her cheeks, I pressed her down on me. Liz sighed and rolled her hips, making me grit my teeth.
Then Liz was sliding down my body, shoving my t-shirt up and kissing my stomach. Her kisses were featherlight on my skin, sending shivers up my body. Then Liz was tugging at my jeans, undoing the buttons and lowering the zipper. I lifted my hips as she tugged them down, taking my boxers with them. My cock sprang free, knocking her against the chin. Liz grinned and slid her hand around the base of my shaft. Her hands were cool and made me gasp.
Her tongue snaked out and she started licking me, slathering her saliva across my cock. I moaned and thrust against her hand. Then her tongue swirled around the head and she lowered her mouth over my cock, her lips tightening around my flesh. This felt good. Far too good.
I should be leaving her to sleep. Neither of us came here for sex. But I had been waiting for Liz to set the pace and now she was. And I couldn’t have walked away now if I’d tried.
I could have laid there all night with Liz’s mouth around my cock. It felt amazing. But then Liz’s mouth was gone, and I opened my eyes to see her tugging off her shorts, tossing them aside. She
clambered onto my lap and grasped my cock in her hand, rubbing my head against her pussy. I had to fist my hands in the sheets. The tension was too much.
Then, just on the edge of my comprehension, I heard the doorbell. I ignored it, enjoying the moment before Liz took my cock inside her and rode me. But then the doorbell went again. Liz stopped and growled, climbing off me.
“Shit!”
I was very aroused. This was uncalled for. Whoever from the club was calling here was going to get a mouthful. I shuffled to the edge of the bed and stood, tugging my jeans up. It hurt like crazy to shove my hard erection back into the confines of my clothes, but I managed. Liz was grabbing at her shorts, tugging them on quickly. I leant over and kissed her.
“Stay here. I’ll get rid of them.”
I was going to get a ribbing for this, but I didn’t really care right now. As soon as whoever was at the door was gone, I was going to get Liz underneath me and screaming my name.
Stomping down the stairs, I reached under the hall table and brought out the handgun I had stuck there. If it wasn’t a member of the club, they were going to get a rude greeting. I looked through the spyhole and saw a familiar face, pacing around the porch.
What was going on?
I opened the door and stared at the visitor.
“Diesel? What the fuck are you doing here?”
“Hey, Noah.”
“It’s half past eight.”
“Oh?” Diesel gave me a pointed look, smirking as he saw my still unbuttoned jeans and how tight they were around my crotch. “Sleeping early tonight?”
“Fuck you.”
“Not interested.” Diesel chuckled. “Is Liz in?”
“Of course, she’s in.”
As if on cue, Liz appeared in the hall, shrugging on a baggy cardigan. She wrapped it around herself as she joined us at the door. She looked just as confused as I felt.
“Hey, Diesel. What’s going on?”
“Something’s happening at the annex.” Diesel’s smile was fading, and he was looking between the two of us. “Mason wants you there. And you, Liz. Both of you.”
“Me?” Liz squeaked. “What could I do? What’s happened?”
“Just passing the word along.”
That sounded very suspicious. Diesel was not normally this cagey. No one could ever hold a gun to his head. I drew Liz closer to me.
“Stop scaring us, Diesel. What’s going on?”
Diesel shrugged. “Mason called me and said he had something urgent that required both of you to be there. Now.”
I couldn’t argue with the boss. Mason was in charge. But this was very strange, and Diesel was acting oddly. I looked at Liz, who looked just as dubious.
“What about Hunter?” I asked. “We’ve only just got him to sleep.”
“I’ll stay here and keep an eye on him.”
Liz’s mouth fell open. “Do you know how to look after children, Diesel?”
Diesel shrugged. “He’s asleep. Even if he’s awake, how hard can it be?”
I caught Liz’s eye and she raised her eyebrows at me. He had no idea what he was getting himself into.
“Should we tell him?” I asked.
Liz shook her head. “No, let him find out for himself,” she sighed and headed towards the stairs. “Let me get dressed.”
“No problem.” Diesel winked at me. “Sorry for interrupting.”
“Bastard.” I muttered as I heard Liz shout something down the stairs. Whatever it was had Diesel laughing.
Chapter 19
Liz
I was very nervous. Diesel had been behaving very strange. I hadn’t seen him like that before. What was going on? And why did Mason want to see both of us? I had thought I was supposed to stay in the safe house for the most part. If Mason wanted to see the two of us, he could have come to the house himself.
Then again, the safest place I could think of beyond the safe house was the annex. Maybe whatever Mason had to say to us needed the protection of the annex. I didn’t know; everything was going over and over in my head.
It wouldn’t stop even as Noah drove us over to the annex on his bike, me clutching onto his waist for dear life. I could feel the tension in his body, whether it was from concern or from sexual frustration I wasn’t sure, but I knew he was just as confused as I was.
What was going on?
I still wasn’t settled as Noah pulled to a stop outside the annex. He climbed off first, tugging off his helmet. I stayed on the back, staring at the handlebars. Noah paused when he realized I wasn’t moving and nudged my thigh.
“Liz?”
“I don’t like this, Noah.”
“Neither do I.” Noah put an arm around my waist and lifted me off. “This feels like a trap.”
“You don’t think Diesel’s trying to throw us into something bad?”
“Diesel’s not like that. But it has to be urgent if he’s that eager to get us out the house.”
Noah took off my helmet and put both into the compartment inside the seat. I rubbed my arms. Even though I had a sweater and jeans on, I still felt cold. Colder still when I contemplated the worst.
“Is this about Hunter?”
Noah sighed and drew me into his arms, rubbing my back as he hugged me.
“Take it easy, Liz. This is not about Hunter. Mason wants us here and we have to jump as high as he wants.”
“So much for being your own person,” Liz snorted.
“You know Mason’s the boss. We’re family.”
“You say that, but someone in the family framed you for that drugs bust.” I looked up at him, seeing a shadow pass across his face. “Clearly they didn’t consider you family at the time.”
Noah’s jaw tightened. Then he roughly kissed my head and drew back.
“I’m working on that.”
“You mean you’re going to kill that guy once you get hold of him.”
“If I have no choice.”
I didn’t believe that for a moment. Noah was not one to make a threat unless he planned to follow through.
“Liar.” She accused. “You want to kill him.”
Noah advanced on me, his eyes practically glowing in the dark.
“Can you blame me?” he snapped. “I lost years in that prison. I lost the chance to support you while you were pregnant. I missed Hunter’s birth, his major milestones. Everything. You think that isn’t enough reason to want to kill someone?”
“You could end up back in prison again,” I protested. “This time for life.”
“Not this time.” Noah cupped my jaw, his expression softening a little. “If it means knowing you and Hunter are safe, I’ll do whatever it takes. Now, let’s go.”
I didn’t want to. I had a feeling something bad was going to happen. This all felt like a trap despite Noah’s assurances. But I slipped my hand into Noah’s and allowed him to take me into the annex.
It was practically filled to the brim with people, bikers I had not seen in a long time. It was as if there was a celebration going on with the buzz in the air.
Noah and I gave each other confused looks. He was just as startled as I was. Then he looked past me, making me turn around. Mason was coming towards us, holding a beer bottle in each hand.
“Mason?” Noah tugged me closer to him. “What’s going on?”
“It was Cassie’s idea, actually.” Mason passed Noah a beer before handing me the other one with a wink in my direction. “She thought we should throw you a welcome back party.”
“But…” Noah stuttered. “I was let out a month ago. Don’t you think it’s a bit late?”
There was a laugh at my elbow and Cassie appeared, looping her arm through mine as she sipped from a cocktail glass.
“That’s because these guys are slow at organizing something that’s not anything to do with motorcycles.”
“Hey, I tried.” Mason protested.
“Not hard enough,” Cassie giggled. “I literally had to kick him to get it moving.”
&n
bsp; Mason winced. Then he reached out to take Noah by the arm, drawing him away from me and into the throng of people. A few other bikers clapped Noah on the shoulder, one girl appearing and kissing Noah on the cheek. She gave me a smile and a wave before folding into the arms of her man, a big bruiser I recognized as Bobby Cummings. A few more girls appeared and greeted Noah warmly, but I didn’t feel anything. No jealousy.
It was as if I was comfortable with Noah being around them. That was strange; I had never felt anything but jealousy when Noah was around a lot of women. It was like I knew Noah would come straight back to me.