by Erin Trejo
I finish off my breakfast before heading out into the main room. When I don’t see anyone else, I go into my office and lean back in my chair. A smile crosses my face as I think about my life. It hasn’t all been bad. In fact, most of it was good. The only time that I wished I could erase was my time in Afghanistan. Those are the things that I’ll never forget.
Chapter 4
Leesa
“This is the stupidest thing I’ve ever done,” I mumble under my breath. She laughs. Of course she laughs.
“No it isn’t. You’re doing good. Just keep your back straight,” she says trying to encourage me.
I suck at surfing. I don’t know why I’m out here trying. It’s useless. I am a land dweller. “I can’t even stand up, Saylor!” I squeal before crashing into the water once more.
Scot thought it would be a good idea to get my ass out of the club and into the sun for a while. I don’t think it was too smart. I don’t brown, I burn. Add to that fact that I suck at surfing and that’s about all there is to do in Florida. Once I resurface, Saylor is laughing. Again. She’s been giving me lessons off and on for almost three months now. I’ve met her a couple times outside of surfing, too. She said that her boyfriend was part of the club next door to my work. I thought about asking her about the hot guy but I don’t.
“You almost got it.”
I swipe my hair away from my face as I stalk out of the water. Flipping her off over my shoulder she only laughs harder. I stomp through the sand, grabbing my towel off the ground before attempting to dry my hair.
“You look pretty damn sexy without trash stickin’ to you.”
That voice sends a chill down my spine. I spin to look at him and come face to face with the hot guy that saved me.
“So you are stalking me?” I raise an eyebrow.
“Hey, Neo! What are you doing here?” Saylor calls out as she jogs up the beach. When she’s standing next to me, I look over at her.
“You know the stalker?”
She looks over at me. “Stalker?”
“Yeah. He was stalking me behind the club,” I tell her.
“I wasn’t stalkin’ you.”
“The one you told me about?” she asks me and ignoring him.
“Yeah.”
“I wasn’t stalkin’ you,” he repeats but Saylor’s eyes widen as she thinks about it.
“Oh my God. Oh. My. God!” She squeals looking back toward the guy now. “You! She kicked your ass?” She nearly doubles over laughing as he looks between us. I just shrug, because in my book, I won that fight.
“Kicked my ass?” he asks, looking between the two of us.
“That’s why you iced your balls!” Saylor yells louder making me giggle a little.
“You had to ice them?” I ask, cocking my head to the side. Now that amuses me a little more than it should. He eyes me, keeping his face schooled and unreadable.
“You think it’s funny?” He asks, stepping a little closer to me.
“Not at all. In fact, I can’t even imagine the pain you must have felt.” I tuck my lips between my teeth to keep the smile off my face. The man inches closer and I have to tilt my head back to look up at him.
“You wanna laugh, sweetheart?”
“Leave her alone, Neo. That shit was funny,” Saylor says but Neo ignores her. His hard body is nearly pressed against mine as he stares down into my eyes.
“What’s wrong, darlin’?” My chest rises and falls rapidly at the closeness of him. He keeps inching his way closer to me.
“Neo! Stop!” Saylor laughs harder.
“Yeah, Neo. You should stop before I do something else you might regret,” I tell him. His lips slowly curl into a smile that could take my breath away if I let it. Which I don’t.
“What more do you think you could to me? I’m ready this time, darlin’,” he taunts me. When he gets even closer, I press my hand to his chest. Slowly letting it run down his hard abs, he watches me intently. When I reach his cock, he groans but I don’t stop. I latch on and squeeze until his eyes bug out of his head. He moves quickly, this time pulling my hand free before shoving me back a step.
“You might get some sort of sick fuckin’ thrill doin’ that shit, but you are gonna learn very quickly not to fuck with me!” His roar causes me to jolt but it’s the look in his eyes that says he isn’t playing. Saylor moves in next to me, her laughter long since stopped.
“Calm down, Neo.”
His gaze slowly moves from me to her and back again. He moves to step closer but Saylor moves to stand in between us. I don’t know what I did. I don’t know what I caused to snap in him, but I pissed him off pretty well. I guess that’s what he gets for getting in my space. Neo nods his head slowly before raising his hand and pointing at me.
“This ain’t over,” he says before turning and walking away.
Saylor blows out a breath before looking at me. “I get why you did it the first time but he isn’t one to mess with, Leesa. None of them are.”
I shrug as if I don’t care. I can’t care. I have to take care of myself even if it is against men like him.
“I didn’t do anything. He was in my space, Saylor. I don’t let any man that close to me.”
“I get it, Leesa. I really do, but if you don’t push them, they won’t push you. Just steer clear of him.”
I nod my head and grab the rest of my things before walking up the beach toward my car. Tossing my bags into the trunk, I start to move around the side when my body is slammed against the hot car. It burns but not hotter than the person behind me. My mouth is covered with one hand, another resting around my waist. His warm breath dances near my ear.
“You like pissin’ me off?” His dances across my ear. I breathe heavily through my nose thinking of what to do. I have to think. I move my leg, testing how much room I have but he just chuckles and locks my leg with his. “You won’t touch me again. Not unless you are beggin’ to.” I nearly choke on a laugh when he moves his hand.
“You’re insane,” I tell him. His lips slowly move over my skin and I nearly faint upon his touch.
“We’ll see who is slappin’ who soon.” His warmth moves away quickly as I spin to face him but he’s already gone.
Heat races through me just from that slightest touch of his lips. A man like him is dangerous. A man like him isn’t safe. I keep reminding myself of that fact even though my heart is racing inside of my chest. I raise my hand and rest it over the thumping, trying to regain some control of myself when I hear the motorcycle coming closer. When I look over, he nods his head at me before taking off. I blow out a breath and climb in the car. Grabbing my phone from the glovebox, I dial Maria.
“Done so early?”
“Shut up. The hot guy was here,” I tell her.
“Mr. Carne himself?”
I roll my eyes.
“Yes, him. God, he freaked me out, Maria.”
“In a good way?” she asks and I roll my eyes once more.
“No. Not in a good way. In a creepy yet sexy way. I need a drink. Or five.”
“Come on over, sweetie. I got you covered.”
Chapter 5
Neo
“What is this shit?” I ask, waving my gun at the guy tied to the chair.
“That’s Rick,” Ransom says, nodding his head at the punk.
“And? Should I know Rick?” I ask, looking back over at Ransom as he chuckles.
“I dunno. Triton said bring him here and I did.”
“So, where the fuck is Triton then?” I ask clearly missing something here. The kid in the chair looks to be around nineteen, maybe twenty. He doesn’t look like the typical little shits we deal with and judging by the way he’s fidgeting in his seat, he isn’t. I’m confused as hell until Triton walks in with Piper.
“What the hell, Triton!” She shrieks and runs toward the kid. Dropping to her knees, she pulls the gag from his mouth before talking in a hushed tone. I follow Triton with my eyes until he’s standing next to me.
&
nbsp; “This yours?” I ask him. He grins and nods.
“Yeah. Found out P has a little boyfriend.”
“And?”
“And I don’t like the little fucker. He’s got a rap sheet longer than mine,” he adds.
“He does not!” Piper yells, moving behind him to untie his arms.
“Leave them.” Piper’s head snaps up and her eyes lock with mine. She starts to move back to what she was doing when I raise my eyebrow at her. She huffs but stands to her feet and crosses her arms over her chest.
“This is bullshit! What do you think you’re doing?” she asks, eyeing all of us. Ransom just leans against the wall of the warehouse looking bored, which I’m starting to agree with.
“Yeah, what are we doin’?” I ask, my gaze sliding over to Triton as he eyes the kid.
“I don’t like the little fucker and I want to know what he thinks he’s doin’ with my sister.”
This whole brotherly thing that Triton and Piper have going on is kind of sweet. I like seeing Piper grow into her own person, but I also love seeing her trying her brother’s patience. She is growing up and making her own decisions and he hasn’t adjusted to that yet. But at the same time, she’s still a kid who needs to be looked out for, and if Triton doesn’t like him, then we will figure out why.
“We aren’t doing anything, Triton. We went out a few times,” Piper adds glaring at him. It’s almost amusing to watch the showdown between the two.
“And he’s a criminal,” Triton adds.
“So are you,” the dumb kid in the chair responds.
Ransom lets out a slow whistle and I chuckle. Triton moves toward him as we all watch. Piper whines, but when Triton grabs the kid by the front of his shirt, I nearly laugh out loud.
“Stealin’, drug charges. I think I even saw a domestic assault on there. You ever think about layin’ a hand on my sister?” Triton asks with his face nearly touching the kids. I raise an eyebrow and look over at Ransom as he smiles and shakes his head.
“Leave him alone. Neo, come on. Help me out here!” Piper cries but I just shrug.
“I didn’t touch Piper. I don’t want to touch her!” I laugh this time. I can’t keep it held in.
“Why? My sister not good enough for you?”
“Are you fucking kidding me right now?” Piper screams.
“Okay. Let’s just calm this down. Triton what the hell are we doin’ here, brother?” I ask, walking up next to him now. His fun and games are getting a little boring now. I don’t mind fucking with this kid if he’s messing with Piper but he clearly isn’t.
“I caught him sneakin’ out of P’s room at the clubhouse.”
“Well maybe if you didn’t act like a big asshole, he could have walked out the front door!”
Triton moves to stand in Piper’s face and that’s when I know this shit has gone too far. Ransom moves to stand next to Triton while I move myself in between them.
“I get it, brother. She’s your family but she’s also growin’ up. You’re just pushin’ her away, Triton. She’s gonna date, man,” I tell him.
“Not a prick like that she ain’t!”
“He isn’t a prick! God, Triton. You are not Dad! You can’t keep doing this to me,” Piper cries.
Tears stream down her cheeks and that’s enough to rip any man apart. Her little boyfriend shifts in his chair before he whispers, “It’s okay, Piper. Come here.”
I don’t know if Triton heard it but I did. No matter what kind of past the kid has, he clearly cares about her. I move around behind him and cut the ties. He moves quickly, pulling Piper into his arms as she cries against his chest. I shake my head, grab a cigarette out of my pocket, and light up as I head toward the door.
“Where are you goin’?” Triton hollers over his shoulder.
I flip him off and head out the door. Blowing smoke into the air, I glance around the old warehouse. The ocean waves crash against the shore. The sun beats down on me.
“You okay?”
“Yeah. Just thinkin’, that’s all.”
“What’s goin’ on, Neo?” Ransom asks.
“Nothin’ brother. Just life, yeah? The business is runnin’ smooth, the club is fairly settled. Everything seems to be fallin’ into place.”
“Except?”
“I don’t know, Ransom. Just feels like somethin’ is missin’.” Ransom nods his head as if he understands what I mean. Hell, maybe he does.
“You remember back in our war days. Some days felt like we’d never come home. I used to think that there was no point in comin’ back anyway. What the fuck were we comin’ back for? I didn’t have anyone waitin’ on me. Henley now, I’d die and come back a thousand times for her. That’s what you’re missin’, Neo. You’re missin’ somethin’ worth comin’ back to, brother.”
Nodding my head, I agree he might be right, but I haven’t found anyone who does it for me. Of course, club girls are a dime a dozen and there’s always someone willing to suck my cock, but that doesn’t exactly equal a happy ending in my book. Running my hand over my face, I sigh.
“Just don’t know what to do, man. These girls that come runnin’ around the club aren’t somethin’ I would want forever. The right girl isn’t gonna just fall in my lap.” He nods his head before slapping a hand on my shoulder.
“Just give it some time. She’ll come.”
I watch him walk toward the bikes before following along behind him. It only takes a few more minutes before the rest of them follow suit. Triton looks downright pissed, which makes me laugh, but it’s the look in Piper’s eyes that softens the blow. She looks absolutely content in that kid’s arms.
Chapter 6
Leesa
“Jesus,” Maria hisses as she looks at me. I can’t stop laughing but I can’t stop dancing either.
“What? Didn’t think I knew how to twerk?” I ask, popping my back and hips to the beat. Maria just shakes her head and moves back around the bar.
“You’re going to throw your back out and then you will be crying for a week,” she warns pointing her long pink nail at me.
“She’s right. Get back to work. You aren’t here to dance,” Scot’s voice booms from next to me. I stop my dancing quickly and spin to face him.
“Someone in a bad mood?” Scot doesn’t look at me, just brushes past making sure to bump my shoulder on his way past. Asshole. “What’s his problem?” I ask Maria as I round the bar and start to get my shit ready.
“I heard that the club is losing money with that new one opening up down the block. Scot is taking a huge hit.”
“Really?” She nods. “We’re going to be jobless. Well, shit,” I huff.
“Not yet. Scot has his ways of sabotaging others. Remember that little bar a few blocks over?”
“What the hell did that bar have to do with Scot?” I ask, shifting from one foot to the other.
“Nothing that I know of but Scot thought drink sales would fall so he took care of it,” she says with a shrug.
My mouth hangs open but I have no words for that. I knew Scot was shady as hell but I never pegged him for that type of man.
“What did he do?”
“I don’t know. Just took care of it.”
The doors open and people start filtering in. I stand at the bar and watch and wait. I love watching people. They come from all walks of life here, and when they get together and just have a good time? Well, that seems to make the world right. The first of the drinkers comes up to the bar but the one that holds my attention is the guy down at the end. He has short blonde hair that’s slicked back and some of the bluest eyes I’ve ever seen. Maria bumps me with her hip when she finds me staring. I move down the bar and lean on the counter.
“What can I get you?” His eyes move to mine and his lips slowly part before curling into a smile. Damn that smile could melt ice.
“I’d say you but I see you’re not on the menu.”
I want to roll my eyes but I can’t. That was one of the lamest pick-up lines
I’ve heard, and I’ve heard a ton! Nevertheless, I smile politely.
“Not tonight I’m not,” I tell him as my phone vibrates in my back pocket.
“Beer,” he says. I nod and turn to grab his beer but my phone keeps going. I slide it out and see an emergency text. I immediately know who it is. My heart starts beating faster as I slide the screen to life.
“Maria! I have to go!” I yell at her. I don’t wait for a response; I grab my purse and run. I’m out the door and into the parking lot in no time. This means more than my job. My heart beats frantically in my chest as I climb in the car and take off. I’ve never sped in my life, never wanted to have to pay for that ticket, but I am hauling ass tonight.
In less than fifteen minutes I pull into the driveway and slam the car into park. I’m out and running in the front door in no time to see her lying on the floor in tears.
“Mrs. Garcia! Oh my God. Are you okay? Why didn’t you call for help?” I ask as I drop to my knees next to her. She looks up at me and shakes her head.
“I called you.”
“I meant an ambulance. You know that,” I tell her as I reach for her cheek, wiping her tears as she looks up at me. “Are you hurting anywhere?”
“My wrist.”
“Come on. Let’s get you up.” I stand and move to help her off the floor. Mrs. Garcia has been my neighbor since I moved here five years ago. She’s the sweetest woman I’ve ever met, and if I knew what having a mother was like, I’d like to think it would be like her. I know she has a son but I’ve never met him nor have I ever seen him over here. It makes me wonder if they even talk but I don’t ask questions. I don’t want to upset her. Once I have her on the sofa, I reach from my phone and call for an ambulance, much to her disliking. I can’t risk her falling again.
“You didn’t have to do that,” she says, wiping her eyes with her good arm.
“I think we should probably call your son and let him know what’s happening, don’t you think?” She looks over at me and nods slowly. I grab her phone off the floor and pass it to her so that she can make the call but she looks hesitant.