by Tia Siren
“I’m not going to let anything happen to you,” Luke said as if he knew what I was feeling. Maybe it showed on my face.
We went back to Luke’s place. He had taken the day off to make sure I was settled. He would have to go back to work tomorrow, but at least he was with me today.
When we got back to the apartment, Luke made coffee while I went to the bathroom to shower. I had meant to shower at my place, but that had proven to be impossible. Luke had packed my bathroom bag, too, and I had everything I needed right here.
Luke was a bad boy, an alpha male, rough around the edges, but lately he’d really been showing how much he cared. It was reassuring to know how involved he was, how attentive. It let me fall apart and know he would be there to help me pick up the pieces.
I looked in the mirror after I got out of the shower. My black eye was starting to turn greenish purple. There were no other signs of bruising on my body, but I was still sore when I moved now and then. My skin was pale and I had dark circles beneath my eyes.
And still, Luke made me feel special and beautiful. When we’d had sex last night, I hadn’t felt like anything less than I always was. He brought that out in me.
I got dressed and dried my hair as much as I could without hurting my head before I joined Luke in the kitchen. He handed me my cup of coffee.
“Thank you,” I said. “What are you going to do today?”
He shrugged.
“You can’t just sit around looking after me all day,” I said.
“It’s why I’ve taken the day off. I’ll get back to work and not watching you like a hawk tomorrow.”
I grinned. My phone rang. I didn’t recognize the number. My stomach tightened, but I answered it anyway. I couldn’t fear everything for the rest of my life.
“Is this Alexa Starr?” a deep voice asked on the other end of the line.
“It is,” I said. Luke leaned in and put his ear against the back of my phone to hear what was being said.
“You’re speaking to Jerry Buck. I’m the VP of the Samurai, and with Koby Mason in prison, I’m acting as president.”
My heart beat in my throat. I swallowed hard, trying to keep breathing.
“Why are you calling me?” I asked.
“I want to meet with you to talk, if you’re up for it,” Buck said. “We—”
Luke grabbed the phone before Buck could finish his sentence and pressed it against his ear.
“Listen here, asshole,” he said. “Don’t call this number ever again. This is your only warning.”
He hung up and glared at me.
“What the fuck was that?” I asked, immediately angry.
“Are you kidding me?” Luke asked. “That was the VP of the Samurai. Or are you going to fall right back into their hands? Have you learned nothing?”
“God, you’re a dick,” I said. “That was my phone and my call and you had no right to interfere. What if I wanted to talk to him?”
“Why don’t you just hand yourself over in handcuffs again? I’ll cable tie your wrists for you.”
“Shut up. You’re overreacting and you know it. He didn’t even get a chance to explain.”
“He didn’t need one,” Luke said.
I shook my head. It still ached, but I was angry and the pain seemed small in comparison. I grabbed my phone from the counter where Luke had set it down and stormed away. I left the apartment and walked into the road. My anger was greater than my fear, and I didn’t even look over my shoulder.
I dialed the number that was in my call log and waited for the calling tone. I willed Buck to answer.
“I’m sorry about that,” I said when he did. “My friends and family are all a little worried about me right now.”
“Understandable. So, Miss Starr—”
“Alexa.”
“Alexa. You’ve been through a lot, but that’s why we want to talk to you. It will be nothing more than a conversation.”
I didn’t know if I could trust this man. I had just been kidnapped by his people.
“Where?” I asked. I was curious about what he had to say.
“Would you be willing to come to the Rat & Parrot?” he asked.
I still didn’t know if I was making a mistake. I waited for that little voice in the back of my head telling me I was. I waited for the fear to creep in, the paranoia that something terrible would happen again.
None of that happened.
“Today?” I asked.
“If you can. At sunset.”
It sounded poetic. Was I going to be poetically killed?
“I’ll be there,” I said. I wanted to know what they had to say to me.
I hung up the phone and pocketed it.
“Alexa,” Luke said behind me. Great. He’d followed me. I was upset with him.
“What?” I said.
He raised his eyebrows at me. I wondered if he was going to tell me to watch my mouth the way he had in the private room at Blush, but this was hardly the place or the time. When we weren’t in the bedroom playing BDSM games, there was no way I was going to defer to him. Luke and I were equals.
“Are you going to stand out here all day?” he asked.
“If that’s what I want.”
He rolled his eyes. “Don’t be childish, Lex.”
I shook my head. “You don’t get to call the shots. If I want to do something, you’re not allowed to stop me.”
“I am if you’re putting yourself in danger.”
“Says who? I can do what I want, Luke. I know I’ve been through a lot and I’m grateful you saved me, but I’m not going to sit back and let you dictate my life.”
Luke was getting pissed off, too.
“So, what, you’re going to go?”
“I want to know what they have to say.”
Luke threw his hands up in the air. He was frustrated with me and struggling to control his temper.
“I want to know, Luke. I want to get to the bottom of this. This isn’t over for me. You know that. I want closure, or something.”
“And what if they hurt you?” he asked. “What if something happens to you?”
I shook my head. “Taking that risk is my own choice.”
Luke looked so angry. I was nervous he might lose control of that temper for a moment.
“You know what? Fine. Do you. Go where you need to go. If you want to put yourself in danger, then there’s nothing I can do about it, is there? I think you’re a fool for doing it, especially so soon after what happened to you, but if you want to go?” He flicked his hands toward me in a very “fuck you” gesture without actually flipping me off. “Just don’t come back once you’re done.”
I blinked at him. “Are you being serious? You’re kicking me out of your life because you don’t agree with a choice I’m making for myself as an adult?”
“You summarized that about right, sweetheart,” he said. God, I hated it when he was like this. He was so sarcastic, sneering at me, angry that I hadn’t given him his way. “I’m not going to be there to keep saving you if you insist on putting yourself in this position repeatedly. If you’re going to put yourself in danger, I’m just going to sit back and let you deal with it.”
“For a knight in shining armor, you sound a hell of a lot like an asshole,” I said. I turned around and marched back to his apartment.
“Where do you think you’re going?” he called after me.
“To get my stuff from your place so I can get out of your hair.”
I wasn’t going to listen to anything else he had to say. Unfortunately, he didn’t try, either. It was much harder to storm away from someone who didn’t care that I was leaving.
In the apartment, I pulled my few things together, and it took me no time at all. Luke wasn’t around. He stayed away until I was ready to leave. I waited only five minutes, and when he still didn’t show face, I left.
I wasn’t going to wait for him to tell me how much he didn’t want me.
I walked to my car and got in
. I wasn’t going to cry about it. Luke’s little temper fit to get his way wasn’t worth my tears. Somewhere deep down inside, I was terrified that Luke had meant it, that he really didn’t want me to come back if I was going to do this, but I had to do this. I had to find out what was happening.
There were more important things than Luke’s ego right now—like where I was going to stay when I couldn’t go home and what Buck wanted to say to me.
The latter was first and foremost on my mind. I was scared to go, but I was also curious about what was going on, and something told me that this wasn’t unsafe. Koby had never contacted me. He’d done everything underhand.
Buck was playing it differently. He’d contacted me directly and been up front about his intention. Could he still stab me in the back and could it all go south? Yes. Very much so. But I was willing to take that risk this time.
Chapter 31
Luke
I was so fucking angry. She was the most stubborn person I’d ever met. I’d known she would be a lot like Dalton used to be in some ways, but, God, this was not what I’d had in mind. This was ridiculous. Was I supposed to run after her and save her every time her dumb ideas got her in trouble?
It was because of Alexa wanting to meet with Sherry—and not telling me about it—that she’d gotten kidnapped in the first place. If she hadn’t made the appointment, or had kept me in the loop, at least, it might have gone down differently.
But no, just like her brother, Alexa had to go ahead and do her own thing. From where I stood, this was the fucking Starr curse. Thank God I hadn’t known their parents when they were young.
After Alexa left, I had the sudden fear that something would happen to her and I wouldn’t know where she was, again. If I hadn’t been an ass about it and I’d just listen to what the VP had to say to her, I might have known where she was going, but now she’d made the arrangements without me. Instead of asking where and when she was going, I’d kicked her out and now I wasn’t privy to anything happening in her life.
Smart move, King, I scolded myself.
I couldn’t just sit around and do nothing, so I got in my car and followed her. I had no idea where she’d gone when she’d left my place, but I knew she wouldn’t go home. She was too proud to go home. The only other option I could think of was Ariel’s place.
When I drove by the apartment, Alexa’s car was parked out front, and relief washed through me. At least I’d found her.
I had no idea what time or even what day she would see Buck, but if I knew her, it would be as soon as possible, which meant sometime today if she could help it.
So I waited for her. I looked like a stalker now for sure, with no life other than waiting for Alexa. It was pathetic, but I had to keep her safe. I couldn’t just drive away and tempt fate a second time.
It was late by the time Alexa appeared from the apartment. She looked around and spotted me. She knew I’d been following her, so I guess that was what she’d been looking for. She had known I’d be going after her today, too.
She didn’t confront me about it or anything, so I when she pulled out and headed toward the harbor, so did I.
She drove fast. If it was because she was trying to shake me, if she was scared, or if she was late, I didn’t know. All I knew was that I had to keep up with her.
Finally, I knew where she was going. There was only one place I knew of that belonged to the Samurai in this area. Sure enough, a moment later, she pulled into the parking lot at the Rat & Parrot, the Samurai club. And there were twice as many bikes in the parking lot as when I’d been here before. It had been intimidating then. Now it was just ridiculous.
Alexa parked her car and got out. A man wearing black leather pants and a white vest came out of the bar. His hair was long and pulled back in a ponytail, but he was young, maybe just a little older than I was. Not old like Mason had been.
He walked to Alexa. She looked nervous, hugging herself like she could physically keep herself together. Ponytail held out his hand and Alexa took it. It seemed a lot more professional than Mason had ever been. Alexa said something, jabbing a finger in my direction. Ponytail nodded and headed toward my car.
I rolled down a window.
“You’re tailing her?” he asked.
“I’m not letting her walk in there alone,” I said. “We’ve been fucked over by the Samurai before.”
“It’s okay. Easy now. You’re welcome to come in, but we want to talk to Alexa, so if you don’t interfere, you can stay.”
It was the best I was going to get, so I parked my car and got out.
Alexa acknowledged me when I joined the two of them, but she wasn’t happy with me. I didn’t doubt that it was thanks to her I was standing here. Maybe she understood what I’d been on about.
We walked into the bar. The place was full of bikers, all drinking beer at the bar or at tables. Smoke was thick in the air, but there was no music in the background, only the chatter of all the bikers laced with cursing or laughter depending on what they were talking about.
Turned out Ponytail was Jerry Buck, the VP. He walked to the other side of the room, taking Alexa with him. I hung back only because I’d promised I wouldn’t interfere. If something went wrong, I wouldn’t be able to do anything anyway. I was grossly outnumbered with more than forty bikers in the room. I was big and strong, but I couldn’t take them all even in a fit of rage.
“First of all,” Buck said, addressing his men, “this is Alexa Starr.”
They all nodded. Alexa looked small next to Buck. She looked nervous, too.
Buck turned to Alexa. “We asked you here today to clear up what happened. I’m aware that you were taken by Koby and his posse.”
Alexa swallowed and nodded. She didn’t like being reminded of it, and neither did I.
“We were told that Dalton took off, that he betrayed the club by dealing with a rival gang and that the deal had gone back. We were told they were the ones who had taken care of him.”
I frowned. Alexa looked confused, too.
“I don’t understand,” she said.
Buck nodded. “We have a very serious code of honor. We stick together no matter what. We’re a family and we have each other’s backs. When we heard that Dalton ran away, it was like he’d broken that code, like he’d turned his backs on us. To us, that’s a very serious form of betrayal.”
Which made sense as to why they didn’t go after him and keep him safe.
“But that’s not what happened,” Alexa said.
Buck nodded. “We realize that now. We don’t know the full story, of course.”
Alexa closed her eyes, and it looked like she was searching deep inside herself for something.
“Sherry told me what happened. I don’t know how true it is, but maybe it will help,” she said.
I felt for Alexa. It had been hard for her to hear the details of Dalton’s death and even harder when she’d told the police. By the time I’d heard the story, she was hysterical. To have to repeat it all now seemed downright cruel.
But she did it without breaking down in tears. She had her poker face on, her voice steady as she told Buck and the rest of the men what Sherry had told her, how Dalton had died.
It hurt me all over again, hearing it. I wished again that I had been able to save my friend. I watched the men as Alexa told her story, and they were horrified or outraged or both. Every one of them. There was no way they were making this up. They were telling the truth: they weren’t here to screw us over.
“I’m sorry that you had to go through that again,” Buck said. It was as if he understood what she was going through. It was strange to see bikers with so much emotion and compassion. After what Dalton had told me, I’d created a picture in my mind of a tough life, ruthless characters, and when I’d met Mason, it had been a confirmation of it. This was completely different than what I’d expected.
These people would never have hurt Alexa.
“We’re so sorry about what you and your family h
ave had to endure in our name,” Buck said. “We had no idea what was going on. I’m sad to say it, but it’s the truth. We weren’t in control. Koby ruled with fear, and if we kept ourselves in check, we were safe, so we didn’t ask questions. We should have.”
Alexa shook her head. “Don’t apologize,” she said.
“No, it’s only right,” Buck said. “If we’d known what Koby was up to, we would never have let him get away with any of that. He lied about a lot of things and backed it up with fear. That is not how we want to live our lives, and it will change from now on. Under my rule, something like this will never happen again. We’ve lost too many lives.”
It sounded genuine. It sounded like what we’d been saying about losing too many lives. It sounded like we were all on the same page. I had been worrying about it all in vain.
“We want to present you with a gift,” Buck said and handed Alexa an envelope. When she opened it, her eyes widened.
“I can’t accept this,” she said.
Buck shook his head. “Please, we want you to. It would have gone to Dalton and it’s only fair that you have it.”
“Where did it come from?” Alexa asked.
“For your safety, in case you’re ever asked, I’m not going to tell you. If you must declare it, declare it as a gift. That’s what it is, an apology for the pain we’ve caused you, unknowingly or not.”
Alexa nodded. Her face was serious, her eyes shimmering with tears that even I could see from across the room.
“Thank you,” Alexa said, “for clearing it up for me and for giving me this. It means a lot to me that Dalton isn’t someone you hated, and that you didn’t…you know.”
Buck nodded. “Dalton was one of our best. We were very upset when we thought he’d defected, and even more so when we learned that he’d been killed by one of our own.”
I believed him. We were surrounded by men who were easily twice my size, some of them, but they all felt so much more than I thought any of them capable of. For the first time, I could see why Dalton might have stayed with them, why he’d joined them in the first place. These people weren’t half bad, and even though I had no doubt that this life was still dangerous, I understood why he wouldn’t have left it.