“If you’d had more time, maybe you could have seduced more information out of him.”
She sprang to her feet. “Fuck you.”
He rubbed his temples. “That’s what it looked like, babe.”
“Nothing was going on,” she said, averting her gaze.
“He called you Lacy. Was he part of your cover?”
She sighed, which surprised him. Had the guy’s attitude been more than just posturing? That couldn’t be. Alyssa was an SQ police officer. She couldn’t associate with a biker any more than she could associate with—
Bile burned the back of his throat. “Fuck, Alyssa. How involved were you two?”
“We were together for three months.”
He sucked in a breath. “You slept with him? A Vipers assassin?”
Hands fisted, she whirled on him. “Don’t you dare judge me. Have you ever gone under? You have to be your cover. If I didn’t have sex with him, I’d be dead.”
“He forced you?”
“He saved me from a gang rape.”
Shock on his face, Rémi rose. “Tell me what happened,” he said. He tried to take her in his arms, but Alyssa didn’t want him to touch her, not now, not with all her emotions rioting. Needing some distance, she sat on the bed and wrapped her arms around her waist.
She’d avoided thinking about her proof of loyalty to the Vipers for so long, she wasn’t even sure she could talk about it. Her thoughts returned to the horrific day that had started out so well. Revenge for Andy’s death had been at her fingertips.
She opened the dresser and rummaged through the pile of socks and underwear, feeling around for a false bottom or something taped to the walls of the drawer. Last night, Nitro had invited her back to the Vipers clubhouse; after three months, she’d found her in. Excitement bubbled in her stomach and she felt almost giddy. It was just a matter of time before she gathered up enough evidence to put all these drug-dealing bastards away.
A floorboard outside Nitro’s room creaked. She closed the drawer and launched herself onto the bed where she pretended to be asleep. Nitro slipped inside. The mattress shifted under his weight as he sat beside her, his fingers trailing down her arm. “Wake up, babe. Lalonde wants to see you.”
She sat up and rubbed her eyes. “What? Why?”
He pushed to his feet and crossed the room to the window that looked out over the rural neighborhood. “He likes to talk with all the new girls.”
A shiver curled around her spine. She scrambled off the bed and tugged on the hem of her very short and very tight black dress. Jesus, she looked like a whore.
As if reading her mind, he said, “After this, we’ll need to get you some new clothes.”
She smiled her thanks. At least one thing was going right; he wanted to keep her.
Nitro led her through the sprawling fortress to Lalonde’s “office.” Her feet slowed as she stepped into the room. Conversation stopped. Five men, all full-patch chapter members, watched in silence as Nitro led her to a seat facing a semicircle of six chairs. Behind her, a table had been pushed against the bare wall. The room reeked of cigarettes, beer, and sweat.
When Lalonde nodded, the men took their seats across from her. Nitro squeezed her shoulder before dropping onto a chair at the end of the crescent. She crossed her legs and swung her foot in a confident and carefree manner. No need to let them see how freaked out she was. Wiggling her fingers, she gave a little wave. “Hi, Mr. Lalonde. Nitro said you wanted to see me.”
“That’s one way of putting it.” His wide grin showed off a mouthful of crooked teeth. The men hooted. Their faces flushed and they shifted in their seats as if eager for something to start. She shot Nitro a glance, but he seemed very interested in the shine of his boots. Tension coiled in her gut.
“Well, Lucky Lacy, it seems I have a little problem.”
Adrenaline spiked, making her heart slam against her chest. Had they made her? Until she knew for sure, it was best to keep her mouth shut. Swallowing her shock, she reacted like Lucky Lacy. She threw her hair over her shoulder and curved her lips into a suggestive smile. “Oh?”
He smiled and licked his lips, the lecherous prick. “No problem there, honey. But you wouldn’t know that, would you? See, the thing is, we all remember you hanging around the Snake Pit the last few months. And most of the boys remember taking you home. But not one of us remembers ever having sex with you. Makes me wonder what’s going on.”
Holy shit! If Lalonde had figured out she’d been drugging her “partners,” he’d kill her on the spot. Her eyes flicked to Nitro. He was watching her, a wary expression on his face. She’d have to brave her way through this if she had any hope of surviving. Frowning, she pulled her lips into a pout. “I never realized I was so forgettable.”
“Well, darling. Here’s the deal. You have thirty minutes to give the six of us something we’ll never forget.”
Sweat slid down her back, and her stomach revolted. What was he saying? She swallowed to clear her throat and mouth of the bitter taste of acid. “Do…” Her voice cracked and she had to start over. “Do you mean like a striptease?”
The harsh sound of his laughter turned her blood to ice. She blinked against the dizziness that made the room spin. Lalonde began unzipping his pants. “I think we need something a little more hands-on, don’t we, boys?”
Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck. How the hell was she going to get out of this? She searched the room for some means of escape. She couldn’t fight all of them, but—shit. Fear grabbed hold of her, spinning into panic.
Nitro shifted in his chair, making the wood screech in protest. She knew exactly how it felt—she wanted to do the same. His eyes drilled into hers. “Lacy’s mine.”
Her mind raced as she held his gaze. Why was he lying for her? She’d slipped him a sleeping pill like she had all the others.
Fists clenched, his mouth twisted into a sneer, Lalonde rounded on Nitro. “Care to prove it?”
Nitro shrugged. “Sure, whatever you want.”
“Fuck her.”
“What?”
“Right here, right now. If she’s yours, fuck her right there on the table.”
She gasped as the reality of her situation crashed down on her. To save her ass, she was going to have to have sex with a Viper. “In front of everyone?”
Lalonde arched his brows. “Got a problem with that?”
Better just Nitro than all six of them. At least the man looked clean. She filled her lungs and pasted on a seductive smile. If she didn’t get a handle on her nerves, she’d puke. Rising from her chair, she held her hand out to Nitro. He rose swiftly, thrusting his fingers into her hair and gripping the back of her head. His mouth came down on hers in kiss that looked hard and possessive. But wasn’t.
Nitro gently stroked the inside of her mouth with the tip of his tongue as he pressed her hips against his. As the kiss dragged on, and given the nearness of his body, it was clear to her that he wasn’t into exhibitionism, at all.
It apparently was evident to Lalonde as well. “Need some help?” he taunted.
Nitro released her mouth and pressed his face into her hair. His lips against her ear, he whispered, “Unless you want to blow every man in this room, I suggest you get on your knees.”
What’s it going to be, Alyssa? Do or die. Maintaining that damn smile, she shimmied down his body and knelt on the floor. She unzipped his jeans, using her hair to shield his lack of arousal. She had to get him hard. Right now. Her lips closed around his soft cock. Letting her lids drift down, she blocked out the room and their perverted audience. She imagined herself in Nitro’s room, soft music playing on the radio, candlelight illuminating his ripped body. She licked his cock, sucking him deep into her mouth until, finally, he started to harden. To encourage him, she squeezed his ass, moaning in the back of her throat.
His hands gripped her shoulders and pulled her up. When she got to her feet, he handed her a condom. As soon as she finished rolling it down his length, he gripped her thighs and lifte
d her onto the table.
“This isn’t working for me,” Lalonde said, pushing up from his chair. He pulled a switchblade and flicked it open as he approached. The overhead light reflected on the long sharp edge, freezing Alyssa’s heart.
Nitro’s hand shot out, slamming his boss in the chest. Lalonde’s icy eyes stared at Nitro’s hand before rising to his face. “Move your goddamn hand or the bitch loses hers.”
When Nitro dropped his hand, Lalonde stepped closer, trailing the point of the blade along her face. Nitro tensed. She prayed he wouldn’t do anything to get them both killed. Looking up at Lalonde, she licked her bottom lip. “Nitro’s not used to sharing, that’s all.”
“Let’s teach him a little lesson, then, eh?”
Before she could blink, he pushed her down onto the table and poked the point of the blade through her dress at her navel. With a jerk of his hand, he sliced the material, finishing with the blade at her throat.
Not daring to breathe, she stared motionless at Lalonde’s face until he lowered the knife. He yanked the edges of her dress apart and rested the blade against her exposed belly. Her muscles quivered and she clenched her hands to keep from fighting him. Nitro’s fingers dug into her thighs.
The blade scratched along her skin as Lalonde drew it higher and higher. When it hit her bra, he cut through the narrow strip of lace. Her breasts spilled out. “Much better,” he said, smiling. His glazed eyes met hers as he palmed his crotch. “Make it good, sugar.”
Her stomach heaved and her gaze flew to Nitro’s pale face. Oh, God. If he lost his erection, it was game over. She winked at him and hooked her feet around his legs, drawing him closer. “Let’s give them a show, honey.”
He nodded and leaned forward to take one of her nipples between his lips. She lifted her head and caught him glowering at the men. The death in his eyes left no doubt as to why he was the Vipers’ top assassin. So why was he so bothered by this? Any one of those men would have gladly switched places with him, audience or no.
Reaching between their bodies, she took Nitro’s semi-hard cock in her hand and gave it several quick pumps. He inched her panties to the side and leaned forward, kissing a path from her breasts to her throat. His voice low and miserable, he muttered, “I can’t do this to you.”
She turned her head to lick the rim of his ear. “You have to. They’ll kill us both.”
He brought his mouth to hers and breathed “I know” against her lips. Pulling her legs up, he positioned the tip of his cock at her entrance, and she crossed her ankles behind his back. Lalonde might see her breasts, but she’d be damned if he’d see the most private part of her.
With short strokes, Nitro pushed himself into her dry body. Moaning, she gripped the edges of the table and prayed for a speedy finish. What the fuck had she gotten herself into? She’d strayed so far from protocol, her badge was a distant memory. Was revenge worth this level of personal humiliation? And now she’d dragged Nitro into the shitstorm with her. The poor man looked as horrified as she felt.
Grabbing him by the neck, she brought his face down to hers. “When you’re about to come, squeeze my hip.”
“Christ, Lacy. What if I can’t?”
“You can. Shut your eyes and ignore them. It’s just us.” She dragged her nails along his scalp and bucked her hips against his. He groaned and plunged into her, making her gasp. Ignoring the sickening noises of what had to be the men jacking off, she trained her gaze on Nitro. She writhed on the table, moaning as though on the precipice of ecstasy. She’d seen a few porn flicks, enough to know what men thought was real.
The muscles on his arms bulged as he drove deep inside her. Over and over. She closed her eyes, forcing her body to relax. Nitro was a big man, and she was as dry as a desert. To distract herself from the pain and to add to the show, she banged her hands on the table. “Yes, yes. Oh, God. Yes.”
Finally, his hand squeezed her hip. Contracting her inner muscles, she cupped her breasts and arched her back off the table. A scream escaped her lips as she pretended to be in the throes of a powerful orgasm.
Nitro collapsed on top of her. “I’m so fucking sorry,” he whispered.
She hugged him tightly and stroked his shoulders. There was no going back. She’d get revenge for Andy’s death. And for what Lalonde had just put them through. The man was a demented animal and she was going to put him down. Even at the cost of her career, the cost of her sanity.
CHAPTER 20
Worry churned Rémi’s gut as Alyssa mentally relived her past. She seemed so vulnerable hunched over on the bed and hugging herself. A single tear slid down her cheek and caught on her upper lip. Shit.
“Alyssa. Sweetheart, it’s okay,” he said, sitting beside her. He tucked her against his chest and rubbed her back. “We don’t have to talk about it.”
“No. I want to tell you.” She wiped her cheeks, then took his hand in hers. “I’d been undercover, hanging out at the Snake Pit.” She glanced at him. “That’s a strip bar where the Vipers hang out. I talked with the guys, flirted, and if a party was going on at the Vipers’ Clubhouse, I went home with them.”
He forced himself not to react, even when everything inside him was shouting what the fuck? Had the SQ really expected her to sleep with all of them? Get information no matter the cost?
Some of his outrage must have shown through. She squeezed his hand. “Don’t look so shocked. If things progressed beyond the bar, I gave them sleeping pills and searched their rooms. But it wasn’t enough. I needed full access to the clubhouse. I needed to live there. And the only way to do that was to become someone’s girlfriend. Three months in, I’d gotten pretty cozy with most of the senior leadership, but still none of them wanted to be exclusive. That’s when I met Nitro. We hit it off and he took me home. I knew he was my big chance. If he liked me enough to keep me, I’d get to move in.” She stared out the window, her eyes blank. Unseeing.
He rubbed his thumb along her knuckles. “So what happened?”
As though moving through molasses, she slowly brought her gaze back to him and shrugged. “The next day, he claimed me. I lived with the Vipers for three months. Got my evidence. And now Lalonde’s in prison.”
“By lived with the Vipers, you mean lived with Nitro.”
She nodded. Rémi stood up and began pacing. Okay, he knew she’d had other lovers before. He was no simpering virgin himself. But Nitro obviously wasn’t a one-night stand or even a casual boyfriend; she’d lived with him for three months. Certainly explained the guy’s attitude.
But what exactly had gone on in that house? Had she been abused? He’d heard stories about how some of these guys treated women. Crouching in front of her, he touched her knees. “How did he save you from a gang rape?” he asked softly.
She twisted the hem of her T-shirt between her fingers. “The first day I was there, Lalonde requested that I… uh… prove my loyalty.” Her mouth pursed as though she’d bitten into a rotten squash.
Something didn’t add up. “Isn’t that when they ask a prospective member to commit a crime?”
“That’s for the men. For the women, it’s a little more”—she hesitated, as though searching for the right word—“interactive.”
He rocked back on his heels, almost losing his balance. “They wanted to pass you around.”
She pushed her shoulders back and looked him in the eye. “Yeah.”
“And Nitro stopped them?” Maybe the blond asshole wasn’t such an asshole after all.
Her chin jutted out. “Yes.”
“How?”
“He claimed me.”
“You mentioned that before. What exactly does it mean?”
“We had to prove we were together. That I’d do anything for him. With him.”
Whatever she’d done, it was obviously a big fucking deal. He rubbed the outside of her legs and pushed to his feet, taking a few steps back. “Alyssa, if you don’t want to tell me, that’s okay.”
She heaved out a huge sigh. �
�We had sex.”
His stomach flipped with relief and he smiled. “Sweetheart, I was pretty sure you hadn’t been holding hands with him the entire three months you were living together.”
A whimper escaped her lips. His relief evaporated when she shook her head. “No Rémi. We did it on a table, in front of the entire Vipers leadership.”
Fuck. His heart seized, pushing the air out of his lungs. He braced his hand on the wall and forced himself to breathe. Guys might not care about having an audience, but women? Alyssa wasn’t nearly sanguine enough to not be deeply affected. “Why…” His voice cracked. He coughed. “Why did you go through with it?”
“I had no fucking choice.” Anger darkened her face and her hands clenched at her sides as she got to her feet.
He raked his fingers through his hair. “Nitro should have—”
“Should have what? Huh, Rémi?”
“I don’t know. Fought them? I would never have put you through that. I would have died first.”
Her anger seemed to disappear as she stepped into him and clasped his face between her hands. “Because you love me. But Nitro didn’t even know me then. He risked his life for a stranger. Lalonde would have killed me if he’d figured out I was a cop.”
“So why’d Nitro help you? Hitmen from outlaw biker gangs aren’t known for their do-gooder sensibilities.”
Alyssa shrugged. “I don’t know. But I’m glad he did.”
“Come on. He kept you until you left. Now he’s back. Sounds like he’s serious about you.” Serious enough to seek her out, despite knowing she was a cop and despite the armed SQ constable guarding her door. “He’s obviously in love with you.”
She gripped his shirt and leaned her forehead against his chest. “I know it looks bad. But it was just work.”
“You must be a really good actress.”
Her head shot up and she frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You had sex with him, not only once to save your life, but for three fucking months. You lived with him, pretended to be his girlfriend, got a snake tattoo matching his—one you still have, I might add—all with the sole intent of collecting evidence against the Vipers.”
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