She couldn’t stop the laugh from escaping, derision dripping from it. ‘Pathetic doesn’t even begin to describe you,’ she hissed, her eyes boring into his. ‘You don’t scare me, Lennie. It’s all words, just words. Empty threats, that’s all they are. So you keep acting like the biker freak you are, because you don’t scare me.’
His expression stayed fixed for a beat or two, before his mouth twisted into an ugly, terrifying smirk. ‘Yeah, well…’ He stood up, staring down at her. ‘Maybe that’s your first mistake.’
She watched him walk out, slamming the door behind him, and as soon as it closed she pushed herself up, ignoring the pain in her wrist as she ran over to lock it, making sure he couldn’t get back in. Her stomach was heaving but she swallowed hard, breathing deep to keep the fear, and the nausea, at bay.
Crouching down she picked her phone up from the floor, turning it over and over in her hands. What exactly could he do to her if she told anyone he was here? Nobody was going to let anything happen to her. They’d keep her safe, they’d told her that.
She turned the phone over again, staring down at her list of contacts, her finger hovering over Coby’s number; Charlie’s number. What exactly could Lennie do if she told anyone?
Sliding her phone back into her pocket she stood up, making her way over to the mirror in the hallway. Staring at her reflection she felt nothing but numb. She knew exactly what Lennie Rose was capable of. She knew exactly what he could do if she told anyone. And he’d know. If she did tell.
Closing her eyes for the briefest of seconds she took another deep breath before calmly walking into the kitchen. She had groceries to unpack.
Fifteen
Shane smiled at the pretty waitress as she leaned back against the counter, her more-then-ample breasts spilling out of a way-too-low-cut, over-tight Tee, giving her a small salute as she smiled widely back. He recognized her from a party at the clubhouse a couple of weeks ago; a wannabe biker babe with her eyes fixed firmly on her own Lone Rider. And, from what he could remember, she’d seemed to have no real boundaries when it came to her own way of snaring one. Whether she’d had any success or not he had yet to find out. But he couldn’t remember her ever being back since.
Scanning the dimly-lit bar, he made his way over to an empty booth at the back and sat down, looking up as Miss Big-Tits approached the table. A vague memory of Luca – or had it been Cain? It was still too much of a blur – sucking on those puppies filled his head, and he smiled again, not hiding the fact he was staring at them. They were pretty hard to miss.
‘Something you want?’ she asked, licking her pale pink lips in a more than lascivious manner, her eyes immediately dropping to his V.P. rocker. Oh, this one wanted to go straight to the top. Or as close as she could realistically go, because Mr. President was out-of-bounds. Now Lexi was back, Coby wasn’t going anywhere. Those two were solid together, a real biker king and queen.
Shane sat back, lifting his eyes from her what he now realized were surgically-enhanced tits. He needed a drink, and his order was the only thing this mama was going to get from him tonight.
‘Bourbon. Straight up. No ice.’
‘That all?’ she asked, her eyes trying desperately to lock with his, but he wasn’t in the mood to play any more.
‘Just get my drink, darlin’,’
He watched as she turned to go, making sure her hips had just the right amount of movement in them as she walked away. Jesus! She was relentless.
‘Nice arse!’
Shane looked up at the man who’d sat down opposite him. ‘I’d give that one a miss, brother. She ain’t worth the trouble.’
‘You don’t think trouble is something I’m used to?’
Shane leaned forward, clasping his hands together on the table in front of him. ‘And you don’t need no more of it. You got enough.’
Lennie sat back, staying silent as he flicked a book of matches back and forth between his fingers.
‘I need to know you’re still on board here, Lennie.’ Shane’s eyes darted nervously around the busy bar. It wasn’t one the Lone Riders frequented, which was why he’d chosen it as a meeting place. It was outside of Paradise, but only just. And Shane knew how dangerous the tiniest lapse in concentration could be. The consequences it could bring. ‘My telling you where Mia was, that didn’t come without conditions, remember?’
Lennie’s dark eyes fixed on Shane’s. ‘Yeah. I know that.’
The pretty waitress with the too-big-tits arrived with Shane’s bourbon and, probably realizing that he was a lost cause as far as her flirting was concerned, she immediately turned her attention to Lennie. ‘Can I get you anything, sugar?’
Lennie smirked, placing his hand on her bottom and squeezing it gently. ‘You can get me plenty, sweetheart.’
‘Oh, you’re English!’ she gasped. ‘I just love your accent!’
Lennie’s grin broadened as he gave her bottom another squeeze. ‘You ever been to north-east England, darlin’?’
‘I ain’t ever left America.’
‘Then you don’t know what you’re missing.’
She leaned over the table, pushing her now-heaving breasts right in Lennie’s face. ‘Neither do you, honey.’
Lennie laughed quietly, his hand brushing quickly over what she probably thought were her best assets. ‘You wanna help me fix that?’
‘I’m done here in an hour. We can go back to my place and show each other the sights. That sound like a plan, sugar?’
‘You bet your beautiful arse it does, darlin’.’ He gently smacked her bottom as she stood back up, her low-down dirty giggle letting him know he was nowhere near crossing any lines with her. ‘Now, be a good girl and go get me a whisky – scotch. None of this bourbon shit. Straight. No ice.’
He watched her leave, absent-mindedly rubbing his hand over his bulging crotch as she sashayed across the floor.
‘You’re unbelievable,’ Shane sighed, taking a sip of his drink.
‘Hey, brother, I’ve gotta get my kicks somewhere, ‘cause that bitch-whore of a wife of mine isn’t giving me any. Not with her permission, anyway.’
Shane stared at him. ‘Christ, Lennie, you haven’t…?’
‘Oh, chill the fuck out, Shane. She was having none of it. Kicked me right in the balls when I tried.’
‘For fuck’s sake…’ Shane leaned forward again, his eyes boring into Lennie’s. ‘You’re supposed to be keeping this low key, until everything else is sorted.’
‘This thing with Coby…’
‘This “thing”? Jesus, Lennie, what we’re doing here, this isn’t some crappy kind of revenge because he…’
‘Retribution. Is that it?’
Shane continued to stare at him, saying nothing for a good few beats. ‘I loved her, Lennie. Everything I did, I did it for Lexi, not him. Never for him. And maybe I should have said no, to it all, to everything they asked me to do. But I was blinded by her, so fucking obsessed I only wanted to do what was best. For her. Because I knew when I left, when they kicked me out of Paradise, I knew she’d be coming with me. I knew I’d finally have a chance to win her over, to make her mine… And it worked, for a while, you know?’
‘I know, brother. You guys, you were good together.’
Shane looked down into his drink, twisting the tumbler round and round on the spot. ‘She’d never really loved me, she told me that, when I came back here. She’d never really loved me. She’d always loved him. But I can’t help thinking… I can’t help…’ He took another drink, draining his glass before slamming it back down on the table. ‘If he hadn’t come over, to Newcastle… If he’d just… He took her from me, Lennie. I could have made it work, we just needed time. We just needed time…’
‘You’re really gonna do this? Just because you still got a hard-on for Lexi?’
Shane glared at him. ‘The life I wanted, he’s got. The woman I loved for longer than she’ll ever know, he’s sleeping with her…’
‘And you never felt
like this when she was with Jesse?’ Lennie questioned, pulling a match from the book and sticking it between his teeth.
Shane ran both hands over his hair, sighing quietly. ‘I don’t… No. I don’t know. I mean, maybe there’s always been something there, but… when she got it together with Coby…’
‘You got something against the guy? More than just the fact he’s fucking Lexi, I mean.’
‘It’s his fault my life turned to shit. His fault I had to leave a place I’d finally settled in. If he’d kept that Scottish dick in his pants and left her alone…’
‘There was no guarantee she’d have turned to you, brother. She was Jesse’s old lady.’
Shane fixed Lennie with a determined look, his eyes cold and serious. ‘You’re here because you’re willing to do anything, and I mean anything, to claim back the woman you love, am I right?’
Lennie chuckled quietly, chewing slowly on the match. ‘Yeah. You’re right.’
‘And that’s all I’m doing too.’
‘You really want to do this?’
Shane’s expression remained cold, his voice carrying an almost chilling edge to it. ‘You have no idea how much, brother.’
Sixteen
‘Something wrong?’ Ben asked, wrapping his arms around Mia from behind, circling her waist and pulling her back against him. But she seemed to stiffen the second his hands touched her.
‘You keep asking me that, Ben, and I keep giving you the same answer I’ve been giving you for days. I’m fine. I just think everything’s catching up with me, that’s all.’
He let go of her, leaning back against the counter, digging his hands into his pockets as he watched her flit around the kitchen, putting plates and dishes away – mundane things that didn’t really need doing right now – keeping her back to him as much as she could.
‘You know, if you’re not gonna talk to me then I don’t see the point in me being here.’ He started to make his way out of the kitchen, tired of the sudden atmosphere that had seemed to grow between them lately. He didn’t understand it, and he certainly didn’t need it.
‘Ben, please… Baby, I’m sorry, I really am. I’m sorry.’
There was an almost desperate tone to her voice and he turned around, throwing back his head and sighing heavily. ‘I get it, you know? I get that you’re tired, and that’s understandable. Given everything you’ve been through. Everything you’ve had to get used to. It stands to reason that it was all gonna catch up with you at some point. Just – don’t push me away, Mia. If something’s wrong…’
‘Nothing’s wrong.’ She pulled him into her arms, running her thumb lightly over his cheek. ‘I really am just tired.’
He smiled, gently rubbing the small of her back. ‘Then maybe we need to get a bit more sleep, huh?’
She leaned forward, kissing him quickly before resting her forehead against his, her fingers stroking the back of his neck. ‘Move in with me, Ben.’
That had come from out of nowhere. Was she kidding him? They’d only been together a few weeks, and even though everyone knew about them now, meaning their relationship had finally become public knowledge, he still hadn’t realized it had gotten anywhere close to being that serious. As far as he’d understood it, she wasn’t looking for that, not after everything that had happened. So where was this coming from?
‘Mia, I…’
‘Not a good idea, huh?’
He took her hand, bringing it to his mouth and kissing it quickly. ‘I thought you wanted to take things slowly.’
She raised an eyebrow, and he couldn’t help but smile. ‘You think that’s what we’ve been doing, huh? Taking it slow?’
He pulled her closer, kissing her lightly. ‘Maybe not as far as the sex has been concerned, no. That kinda got going before we did.’
She cupped his cheek in her hand, tilting her head slightly as she looked into his eyes. ‘But we’re going somewhere, aren’t we?’
He took her hand again, squeezing it gently. ‘Baby, I don’t know…’
‘You don’t know?’ She let go of him, stepping back, her arms immediately folding against herself in a manner that Ben could only describe as defensive. ‘I thought… Jesus, Ben, am I being an idiot here?’
‘No. Mia, no. Of course not. But, moving in together? I mean, do you need that right now?’
She stared at him, and there was a look in her eyes that Ben couldn’t quite read, but he knew something wasn’t right. He could feel it.
‘You don’t know what I need.’ Her voice was almost monotone in its delivery, leaving Ben even more confused.
‘Look, I don’t want to fight, Mia. I really don’t. But I think… Maybe you just need some space, okay? A bit of time to think about whatever it is you got going on right now.’
She threw her head back and laughed, a sound verging on manic. ‘You’re telling me what I fucking need again.’
He held up his hands in surrender, grabbing his jacket from the back of the chair. ‘I’m outta here.’
‘Where are you going?’
He swung around to look at her. He wasn’t even sure how this situation had arose. Half an hour ago they’d been fucking each other’s brains out in the shower, and now she was pissing him off, big time. But this was the way things had been for days now. One minute she was up, the next she was down so far he didn’t know what the hell to do with her.
‘I’m going to the clubhouse.’
Another manic laugh spilled out of her, and he shook his head, shrugging on his jacket.
‘I’m taking the bike.’ His new pride and joy – a Harley Sportster Seventy-Two. His accident now nothing but a distant memory, his love of riding had been renewed with a passion he hadn’t thought possible. And the timing couldn’t have been better, because those days when Mia was fucking with his head he’d just climb on the bike and ride, away from all the crap and the shit he didn’t need. He was rediscovering that adrenaline rush he’d denied himself all these years; rediscovering a freedom he hadn’t thought he’d wanted again. Hadn’t thought he’d needed. But he knew, deep down, that he’d never really stopped wanting it. He’d just been too weak – too scared? – to claim it back. Until now.
‘It’s your fucking bike. You can take it where the hell you like.’
‘Jesus, Mia, come on. It doesn’t have to be like this.’ He pushed a hand through his hair, a heavy sigh racking his body. ‘Look, baby, if something’s wrong…’
‘I already told you, Ben, there’s nothing fucking wrong!’
He held up his hands again, backing away towards the door. ‘Hey, okay. Okay. I hear you. You know where I’ll be if you need me.’ He looked at her, her arms still folded defensively across her chest, her face stoic. Expressionless. ‘Don’t shut me out, Mia. Please. If this is gonna work, then you really can’t keep doing that.’
And, leaving her with a small smile that he hoped would let her know he was only doing this because he cared about her, he left her alone.
***
Mia slumped to the floor, leaning back against the cupboards, pushing both hands through her hair. She hadn’t seen or heard from Lennie since his visit to the house; had no sign that he was still around, but she knew he was. Of course he was. Lennie Rose didn’t play stupid games. He played deadly serious ones. And she knew that if he was here for her, then he was going to make damn sure he got her. She just didn’t know how, and she didn’t know when. Because that’s also what Lennie Rose did – he messed with her head in the worst possible way. Played mind games like nobody else.
She’d almost cracked, of course she had. The pressure of knowing what she was hiding was building every day, and she couldn’t count the amount of times she’d almost given in and told someone what was happening – that Lennie was here, that she was in danger; that others could be in danger, too. Almost every day she held her phone in her hand with every intention of calling Charlie. Every time she set foot inside the clubhouse she came to within seconds of letting Coby or Lexi know what w
as happening. But she’d always pulled back, stopped herself at the last minute because she knew – she knew what Lennie Rose was capable of.
But what was killing her the most was the distance it had created between her and Ben. She couldn’t talk to him, couldn’t open up to him, but asking him to move in with her – yes, that had been a completely spur-of-the-moment thing, borne out of panic; panic that she was losing him, that that distance was slowly becoming too great. But, thinking about it now, was it not something also borne out of – albeit subconsciously, at the time – a need to feel protected? All that crap about not needing anyone’s help, she knew she needed it now. More than she’d ever needed anything before. She couldn’t do this alone. How much longer was it going to be before Lennie made his next move? She had no idea when he’d turn up again, or what he was going to do when he did. And how much longer she could keep this all to herself was something else she didn’t know. But one thing she was sure of was that she didn’t want to leave here, didn’t want to give up the new life she’d only just started to live, before Lennie had turned up and shot all that to shit.
Mia Rose didn’t want to leave Paradise. And she didn’t want to lose Ben.
***
Coby took a long draw on his cigarette as he watched Ben pull up outside the clubhouse. ‘Business, or pleasure?’
Ben climbed off his bike and walked over to Coby, his hands deep in the pockets of his dark, slightly worn jeans.
‘Only, you been spending a lot of time here, without the work uniform,’ Coby continued, his stare fixed firmly on Ben.
‘You got a problem with that?’ Ben asked, eyeing the imposing Scotsman slightly warily, because, despite having known him for a good few years now, Ben still wasn’t entirely sure, at times, how to take Coby Walker.
Coby chuckled quietly, throwing his cigarette down on to the ground, grinding it into the concrete with the heel of his heavy boot. ‘No problem, no. As long as you keep those work/play boundaries separate. This is a pretty gray area we’re talking about here, son. I mean, you’re the guy who sorts out all our – shit, shall we say. And now you’re hanging around here like you’re one of us, and like I said, I’ve got no problem with that, but, what if you over hear something you shouldn’t, huh? Because I’m not sure how I feel about that, you being so friendly with our favorite sheriff and everything.’
Retribution (The Lone Riders MC Series Book 2) Page 11