by A. M. Myers
I’ve managed to not go back over there since the night I surprised her with dinner but we’ve also been texting back and forth everyday. That first day I met her, the attraction was instant. I’d have loved nothing more than to pin her to the bed underneath me and sink into her again and again until I fucked her out of my system, but by the time I left after bandaging up her knee, it was different. Something about her got to me, and even if I don’t know what I’m doing, I can’t stay away. It’s almost like the moment we met, this string was tied between us, and no matter how far I try to run from the shit I’m feeling, the shit that I never expected to feel again, the harder she pulls me back. And I don’t know how long I’ll be able to keep resisting her. My phone buzzes, and I pull it out of my pocket.
Ali:
Not sure yet. Crazy day.
My smile transforms, and I scowl down at the phone, worry coursing through me. I want to know about anything that erases her beautiful smile and take it out so it never bothers her again. Jesus. What is happening to me? I haven’t felt like this in so long. And I was convinced that I never would again. But Ali knocked me flat on my ass.
“You all right?” Chance asks from the other side of the cab, and I nod.
“Yep. All good.”
Me:
You okay?
Tucking my phone away, I look up and scan the street again. Everything looks normal. A few cars are parked along the tree-lined street but they are all empty, and as far as we can tell, he doesn’t have eyes on her.
“What’s her name again?” Chance asks from the passenger seat of the truck.
“Jenny.”
He nods, doing another scan of the street. “And when are we supposed to get her?”
“Jesus, dude. Did you not read the sheet at all?”
“Just remind me.”
I sigh and look up at her front door. “She’ll text when she’s ready to go. Kodiak is at the boyfriend’s office, and he’ll let us know if he leaves.”
He nods and stares straight ahead as my phone buzzes in my pocket.
Ali:
How about I buy dinner this time?
I grin and shake my head, quickly typing out a message back to her.
Me:
That’s not happenin’.
Ali:
Why the hell not? This still isn’t about Bear, is it?
Me:
Naw, Sweetheart, it’s not about that.
Like it was ever really about Bear. He just serves as a perfect excuse to go over and see her. I wish she hadn’t gotten hurt but I can’t deny that I love the outcome.
Ali:
Why not?
Me:
Baby, this whole independent woman thing
you’re doing is really sexy but there is no way in hell
that I’m letting you pay for dinner.
“Dude, you got it bad,” Chance says, and when I look up at him, he’s smirking at me.
“What?”
He makes a circle around his face. “It’s all over your face. You’ve practically got hearts popping out of your eyes.”
“Shut up,” I snap. I’m not ready to talk about this yet. I need time to figure out what the hell is going on between us and to end the shit from my past that’s coming back to haunt me. I switch over to my texts with Streak and type out a quick message to him.
Me:
Need you to look into someone. Ian Blackwell.
Find everything.
“Who is she?” Chance asks, glancing away from the road to look at me. I almost tell him that she’s no one but I can’t even force the words out of my mouth. There’s no scenario where Ali is no one to me.
“My neighbor.”
He laughs and nods. “I would ask if it’s serious but I can tell by the expression on your face that it probably is.”
“Man, I don’t know what the fuck is going on,” I admit. I was born and raised here in Baton Rouge, and Chance moved here in the third grade. We’ve been best friends since the day we met. He’s been like a brother to me, staying by my side through all the dark shit I’ve been through and always having my back. So he already knows what I’m going through right now. He knows how hard I’m fighting this and how badly I’m losing that fight.
“Yeah, you do. It may have been awhile since you felt like this but you know what it is.”
I look up at the house that we’re guarding as I ignore his comment. It’s wrong to feel this way about someone else after everything I’ve done but I’m too goddamn selfish to leave her alone.
“Brother, I know better than anyone the way you’ve been torturing yourself for the past six years but it’s okay to like her. Hell, it’s even okay to love her. And don’t bother denying it. I can tell you’re crazy about this girl even if you won’t admit it.”
“I just met her,” I grumble, like that’s a good reason why everything he’s saying is complete shit.
“So what? Three weeks after you met Fi, you were begging her to move in with you. You’ve never half-assed anything in your life, why would you with love?”
“Stop saying that fucking word.”
“What?” He laughs. “Love?”
“Yes. I’m not fucking in love with her. Maybe, fucking, maybe I like her but that’s it.”
He laughs again and shakes his head. “Denial… it’s not just a river in Egypt.”
“Shut the fuck up, Brother,” I growl but he just shakes his head at me.
“Man, it’s okay to like her.”
I’m about to tell him to shut it again when my phone buzzes and instead, I pull it out and ignore him.
Unknown:
I’m ready.
I point to the house, indicating to Chance that it’s time. After yanking open the door, I slam it shut and stomp up the steps, ready to do what we came here to do. Stopping about halfway up, I look back just as Chance steps out of the truck.
“You coming or you want to stay here and talk about your feelings like a fucking girl?”
“I’m right behind you, asshole,” he shoots back with no venom in his voice. I push back everything he said, needing to focus on the task at hand. We scan the street, looking for anything out of order. This has to go perfectly, and we can’t afford to be caught up in other shit when our job is this important. When we reach the door, I knock softly and Chance keeps a watch behind me.
“Who is it?” a hesitant voice calls from the inside.
“Storm and Chance, Darlin’.”
The door flies open, and I bite out a curse at the fresh bruise under her eye. I slowly reach out so I don’t scare her and brush my thumb over it. “What happened?”
Her shaking hand comes up to her face, and she lightly touches her fingers over the bruise, shaking her head. “It was nothing.”
I nod. We’ve been doing this long enough that we know it will take some time for her to process all the shit he did to her. I spent a lot of time talking to Emma about her mental state after everything she went through so I could better understand what these women are thinking when we rescue them. It was a fucking difficult conversation to get through but now I’m glad that I did.
“You got a bag ready, Sweets?” Chance asks, offering her a kind smile that makes some of the tension leave her shoulders.
“Yeah. I’ll be right back.”
She bustles off into the house, leaving the door open a crack, and I glance around the neighborhood again. “What does the boyfriend drive?” I ask.
“Dark blue Lexus,” Chance says and rattles off the license plate number as I scan the road. It’s a quiet little street, and nothing seems out of place. We scoped the house out for the last three days, getting to know the area so we would recognize something out of the ordinary. My phone buzzes, and I pull it out while trying to keep an eye on the road.
Streak:
On it.
I tuck the phone back into my pocket with a sigh. I feel better knowing that I’m moving forward and doing something to end this. This fucker doesn’t
get to mess with my life anymore, and I’ll do whatever I have to do to keep him away from Ali.
“We’re good,” I say, turning back to the door just as Jenny comes back with her suitcase. She offers us a weak smile, and my stomach twists as I think about all she’s been through.
She came to us about a month ago after a particularly bad fight with her boyfriend. Most of her face was bruised along with several splotches down her arms. She walked to the clubhouse from the house she shares with him when he left for work and asked us for help. We tried to get her out shortly after that but when we showed up, she backed out. These women are terrified, and it happens a lot so we left a phone with her and told her to call us whenever she was ready.
“You ready to do this?” I ask her, and she nods, standing up a little taller and, as always, I’m amazed by the strength these women show. She steps out onto the porch and closes the door behind her, not bothering to lock it. Chance steps out in front of her, and I follow behind as we walk over to the truck. She glances around nervously in each direction again and again like her man is going to come storming the castle any second.
“We’ve got a guy watching him at his office, Darlin’,” I tell her, and she peeks back at me. “You’re safe.”
She lets out a long breath and nods. “Thank you.”
My phone buzzes, and I pull it out.
Kodiak:
He just left the office. Following.
I glance up, and Chance looks over his shoulder at me, letting me know he got the same message, and Jenny picks up on it immediately.
“What? What’s going on?” The pure terror in her voice nearly kills me but we won’t let anything happen to her.
“Jenny, focus for me, okay?” I ask, and she nods.
“Your old man just left his office but we’ve got a guy following him, and we’ll be long gone by the time he gets here if this is where he’s going,” I assure her, and she nods, her gaze nervously flicking from our faces to the road in front of us.
“All right, let’s get in the truck. We got places to be,” Chance says and helps her in the truck. She slides to the middle seat as I climb behind the wheel, and Chance climbs in on the other side. Just as I’m about to pull away, my phone buzzes again.
Kodiak:
He’s going to the house. 5 mins out.
I shove my phone back in my pocket and start the truck, pulling away from the curb and taking off down the street. I drive a little faster than usual, wanting to get as much distance between her and her man as I can. I look over, and she has tears streaming down her face as she rubs her stomach with her hand.
“Hey, whoa, are you okay?” I ask, and Chance rubs her shoulder. She sobs harder, and I contemplate pulling over for a second.
“Thank you,” she gasps just as I’m looking for a spot to stop, and I look over at her again. “You saved our lives.”
I look back to the road, my eyes burning, but I force it back down as I head toward Emma and Nix’s house. After everything Emma went through, she wanted to help us with what we do. Obviously, we couldn’t let her do any of the rescue part, and Nix would skin our hides if we even thought about it, but Blaze loved the idea of bringing girls there every so often while we found other accommodations for them. It’s safe, and they get to see a success story. It gives them hope and makes them strong enough to keep going when they feel like giving up and going back to the devil they know.
When we pull up to the house, Nix steps out, his arms crossed over his chest. Jenny looks over to us, a little nervous.
“That’s Nix, he’s Blaze’s son. His wife, Emma, was in the same situation as you not so long ago. You’re safe here. I promise,” I tell her, and she nods, looking back to the house just as Emma steps out. I climb out while Chance helps Jenny and brings her around to my side.
“Hey, little mama,” I say, and she smiles at me as she walks over and wraps her arms around my middle. “How are those babies doing?”
“Sleeping, finally.”
“Aren’t you supposed to nap when they do?”
She scoffs and rolls her eyes. “You know, I would if I didn’t have a constant rotation of bikers coming through here.”
“You want us to stop comin’?” I ask, already knowing the answer. Emma loves having all of us around even if she likes to give us a hard time.
“Don’t you dare.”
“Em, this is Jenny,” Chance says, and Jenny shakes like a leaf in front of her.
“Hey, Sweetie, I’m Emma. It’s really nice to meet you.”
Jenny just nods, quiet as she looks around at all of us. Emma steps up to her and places her hands on her arms. “You see the man over there?” Emma asks, pointing to Nix, and Jenny nods.
“That is the most amazing man on the planet, and you already know that these guys are pretty great, too. No one is going to hurt you ever again. You’re safe here. You hear me?” Emma asks, looking her right in the eye, and after a few silent moments, she nods and starts crying again.
“Hey, it’s gonna be okay,” Emma coos, hugging her tight for a moment before she grabs her shoulders and pushes her away a little. She looks her in the eye and smiles. “You’ve got this, Honey. You’re going to be okay. Say it with me.”
I watch in awe as it’s almost like Emma transfers some of her strength into Jenny. She stands up taller, and after a moment, nods.
“I’m going to be okay,” she whispers, her voice so weak that I almost don’t hear her, and Emma beams.
“Damn right, you are. Now, are you hungry?”
Jenny nods and Emma hooks an arm around her shoulder and takes her bag from her hand and sets it down in the grass next to Chance, winking at him. He laughs as she escorts Jenny into her house, and I turn to Nix.
“What the hell was that? Nix gets most amazing man on the planet and all I get is pretty great,” Chance protests, and we laugh.
“Perks of the job,” Nix says, watching his wife disappear into the house with a grin on his face before turning back to us.
“Her boyfriend was on his way to the house when we bailed so no doubt he already knows she’s gone. We’ll keep her here for a little bit until we can find a safe place to send her. Oh, and she’s pregnant, and I’m not sure that she’s seen a doctor yet.”
He nods. “I’ll let Emma know.”
“All right. I’m sure Blaze will call later to check in.”
After we say good-bye, Chance and I jump back in the truck and head for the clubhouse. I’m ready to drop his ass off and go see Ali again. My phone buzzes, and I grab it.
Ali:
I guess I’ll just have to think of a way to thank you ;)
I can’t fight back the smile as my cock twitches in my jeans. God, I’m dying to get that woman underneath me, and I’m not gonna last much longer. It probably doesn’t help that I jerk off to one of the pictures of her that Streak sent over.
“Oh, Dude, you’re so screwed,” Chance laughs, and I shake my head as I shove my phone back in my pocket. I shoot him a glare and pick up the speed, impatient to get to my girl.
Chapter Eleven
Alison
“Hi,” I say, grinning as I swing the door open. He grins back and holds up a fast food bag that makes me frown. “Hey, I was going to buy this time.”
“No, you weren’t.” He steps into the foyer with Bear on his heels, and I close the door behind them before turning to face him.
“Yes, I was. We talked about this.”
He grins and leans back against the wall, gazing down at me in amusement. “You talked about it, and I said no. Besides, this is a make-up dinner for the bag of food we stepped on.”
“Then what was the pizza?”
He shrugs. “My apology for Bear.”
“You seem to have a lot of excuses.”
He pushes off the wall and steps closer to me, one arm snaking around my waist as he pulls me into his body. “You could just stop fighting me.”
“You could just let me buy,” I whisper as
I savor the feeling of being pressed up against him. I love the way his arm wraps around my waist and the way he pulls me into him like I belong there. My eyes close, and I press my hand to his chest, just feeling him.
“No.”
My eyes pop open, and I glare up at him. “What do you mean, no?”
“It’s a pretty universal word, Sweetheart,” he says, his voice dropping lower as he leans in closer. My breath catches, and my eyes stay locked on his as he moves toward me. “It’s got two letters – N and O. It means over my dead fucking body.”
I let out a huff and push him away from me as he laughs.
“Fucking Neanderthal,” I grumble, and his laughter stops immediately. He sets the bag of food down on the entry table, and his eyes take on a predatory quality that has me taking a step back and holding up my hand.
“Oh, no,” I tell him, and he just grins in response, taking a deliberate step toward me, and I back up again. He lunges, and I scream as I take off running down the hallway. I turn the corner and sigh when I see the light from the kitchen at the end of the hallway. If I can make it there, I have many more options for escape.
His arms wrap around my waist, and I scream again as he hoists me in the air and spins me in his arms so I’m facing him before pinning me to the wall. His heavy breaths hit my face and I meet his eyes in the dark hallway, gasping at the desire that rushes over me from just one look.
“What was that you said, Baby?”
“Nothing,” I whisper, unable to pull my eyes away. His gray gaze hypnotizes me, and I’d do anything he told me to right now.
“Nothing?” he asks again, and I shake my head, biting down on my lip. His gaze drops to my mouth, and he reaches out, tugging my lip free with his thumb before he lightly brushes it over the spot where my teeth were. My whole body quivers in response, and I let out a soft moan.