by A. J. Downey
“Yo, Captain!” Marlin called from just inside the door below decks.
“Yeah! We’re good, Brother,” I called back, “Give us a sec!”
Hope pushed off of my chest and sat up, I popped open a cabinet door and pulled down one of my tees for her and she arched a brow before taking it.
“Neon orange is so my color,” she remarked sardonically.
“Beggars can’t be choosers, Baby,” I teased, “Your clothes are out there with them.”
She rolled her eyes and pulled it over her head and I really liked her in my shirt. I slid to the end of the bed and stood up.
“Aw Christ, man! Put on some fucking clothes,” Pyro griped.
“My boat my rules, no one said you had to look,” I pulled on my pair of shorts from the night before and asked, “What time is it?”
“Just after eleven, you got somewhere you have to be?”
“After a fashion,” I went up my short, narrow hall, making a pit stop in my water closet before hitting the living room. Hope was leaning against the wood paneling by the water closet door when I came out, a slightly amused look on her face before she ducked in to use it herself. Pyro’s sour expression made me chuckle.
“Didn’t expect her to hand you your ass last night did you?” I asked.
“Nope,” he said plaintively.
“Going to be any bad blood, man?” I asked.
“Nope, she got me fair and square and hasn’t said a word about it, I’m good so long as she doesn’t make fun.”
“Afraid she’s going to bruise your ego more than your melon?” Marlin asked from the couch, booted foot propped next to my open but dark laptop.
“Boots off my table,” I said interrupting whatever Pyro was going to smart back. Hope appeared in the mouth of my narrow hall, long legs crossed at the ankle as she leaned, arms crossed, against the wall. Her face was impassive but I had her number now, she was waiting to see how things were going to play out.
“Leave it to you, Dude,” Pyro said, flopping down on the other end of the couch and looking Hope over appreciatively. She inclined her head in his direction but remained neutral. Nice to know she could take a dude checking her out as a compliment; but I still wanted to slap my buddy upside the head for doing it. That was my woman, and no, I didn’t even question the possessive jealousy swirling in my veins. Nor was I going to be a brutish cave-douche about it either. Hope told me to fuck off? Off is the general direction in which I would fuck. Still, the way her deep dark eyes swept over me spoke of two things, one, she wasn’t done with me yet and two, she was uncertain. Both could be addressed later.
Right now, Marlin was speaking to Hope, “You know we don’t take kindly to anybody pointing guns in one of our brother’s faces, we take even less kindly to you pointing one in the Captain’s face,” he said coolly, but the edge of hostility in his blue eyes was pretty fucking unmistakable. I wanted to step in front of Hope, protect her, but I locked that instinct right in its box. My girl could handle her own.
“Sorry about that,” she said but her tone said she was anything but. She was giving Marlin a solid calculating once over. Marlin was doing the same to her. I had to admit she looked good wearing just my shirt, with the wild freshly fucked look going on that I’d put on her. She had a pretty solid bruise at the corner of her mouth, blossoming in sickly brown and purple along her delicate jaw from where I’d clipped her the night before. I grimaced inwardly, I didn’t like that one bit but it couldn’t be avoided.
“Uh huh,” Marlin’s eyes traveled from Hope to me, “Only you can have a woman pointing a gun in your face one minute and screaming your name the next,” he said and it almost sounded like he was complaining. I grinned at my second in command.
“That’s just great,” Hope griped and her posture was markedly stiffer than it had been the moment before.
“Sorry, Sweetheart, you pointed a gun in our Captain’s face, the man don’t go nowhere without some kind of shadow otherwise what kind of club would we be?” Marlin arched his eyebrows but Hope kept him fixed with that neutral look of hers.
“Man, she don’t know shit else about how a club operates,” Pyro said with surprise.
“What was your first clue?” she asked.
“That dumb assed expression you got on your face,” Pyro growled back.
“Uh huh,” Hope raised one eyebrow and pushed off from the wall, she wandered over to my recliner and dropped into it, slouching, her gorgeous long legs stretched out in front of her but artfully splayed, knees together, none the less. I wanted to put Pyro’s eyes back in his skull backwards for the lingering look he gave them.
“Out,” I ordered my men, both of them looked up at me sharply.
“Captain?” Marlin queried.
“Seriously, Hope and I got some business with the SHMC up north, fill you boys in after, go back to The Plank.”
“Whoa, ain’t happening, Cap. We’ll be up on deck but fuck that! We aren’t leaving you alone with an unknown quantity.” Pyro shot Hope a dirty look. Hope stuck her tongue out at him.
“Yer an unknown quantity,” she said like a petulant child and Marlin and I both cracked a smile and slight laugh. It was cute as hell. Pyro even smiled, caught off guard.
“Look chick, no offense but you got some moves, and you used them against us,” Pyro said.
“None taken and I know, and I did, I was there… I got a little… upset,” she had the grace to look embarrassed.
“Yeah, about that, what’s the friggin’ deal?” Marlin asked.
“The Plank. Later. Go,” I demanded and the guys got up reluctantly.
“We’ll be on deck,” Marlin said, taking Pyro’s side, “Got some clothes coming for the minx,” he sniffed.
“Awesome,” Hope muttered but didn’t sound exactly happy about it.
“That Ruger the only thing you were packing? Best tell us now, Radar is going to find if you got anything else,” Marlin’s tone was dark.
“In case you hadn’t noticed, I don’t exactly need a gun to be dangerous,” she said and topped the statement off with a nonchalant shrug, “But yeah, that was the only weapon I had and I’d like it back at some point.”
“Maybe if you’re a good girl and we decide we can trust you,” Pyro said. Hope flipped him off and he laughed.
“She’s got spunk, good luck with that buddy,” my best friend told me. I arched a brow and remained silent but I’m sure my expression said it all, get the fuck out.
Marlin and Pyro went above deck and a second later we heard the drone of Marlin’s voice on his cell. Hope and I exchanged a look and she gave me another little shrug.
“Let’s make this call,” I stated dryly but couldn’t help but smile. She really wasn’t concerned, in fact she was as relaxed as could be. Tough as nails or had a death wish, this one.
She got to her feet and came to me and looked up the scant inch or two that separated us in height.
“Thanks,” she murmured and tipped her face up to mine for a kiss. I pulled her the rest of the way against me by her hips and kissed her slow and deep. She drew back and her expression was haunted, fearful, but not for herself. Her gaze was distant, her heart and mind wherever her missing sister was, dead or alive. I sighed silently.
“Come on, let’s see what kind of answers we can get you,” I murmured and she nodded, troubled. Sometimes it was better not knowing, but when you had to know… I knew that feeling too.
I dropped onto the center cushion of my brown leather couch and pulled her down between my knees, circling her waist with my arms. She settled into my lap and I brought up the laptop screen, signed in and put the Skype call through. It was a little early but the screen popped up immediately onto Dani and Thirteen. The small woman perched in her man’s lap, wide blue eyes filling up the screen as she leaned back, almost a mirror for me and Hope.
Thirteen’s eyes skated over Hope then me before he spoke, “Dragon said it was important. What’s up, Man?”
I sket
ched out what was what and Dani and Thirteen both went very quiet, Thirteen searching his girl’s face. She shifted uncomfortably in his lap and chewed her bottom lip, the wheels turning in her head.
“Please, anything, even if you don’t think it’s important it could mean the world… just whatever you can remember about her, about where she came from…” Hope was desperate and her desperation was showing in her pleading tone.
Dani sighed, “I don’t know what happened to Tonya, but I remember her. She was a social climber of the worst order. A total bottom feeder. She latched onto The Suicide Kings to run from some other bad situation. Thought they would protect her,” Dani snorted with derision, “She just leapt out of the fire into the frying pan, the Kings were a step up from whatever she was running from, but not by much.”
Hope was tense in my arms, “Do you know what she was running from?”
Dani shook her head, “Not what they were into, no… but I know they were Russian. Mob maybe? I don’t know, she let slip one name when she was drunk, Ivan something, I really can’t remember the last name. Said she’d like to see Ivan get through The Kings if he ever came looking.”
Dani looked off to the side, her eyes glazing and gaze distant, she was clearly trying, she finally shook her head as if waking from a particularly horrible dream and gave Hope a sympathetic look.
“Tonya was not good people, she was hooked on drugs, a scammer, selfish and cruel. She wouldn’t hesitate to throw one of the other girls up under the bus if it got her one step closer to whatever goal she had in mind. All I know is she came from New Orleans and she was running from some guy named Ivan because of something stupid she did to cross him. I wish I could be of more help, I really do.”
“Thank you, Dani. It’s something where there was nothing I guess,” Hope said but I could tell by the fine tremble in her hands she was having a tough time not breaking something. She was holding it together but I had a feeling something needed to give, and I was a shit for thinking it, but I was sort of half hoping it would be another wild and angry fuck.
We ended the call on an amicable note and Hope’s shoulders dropped, “Shit… another lead and probably another fucking dead end,” she sighed and I shook her a bit. She put her hands over mine.
“You don’t know that yet, Darlin’. Let’s go talk to the guys and see what we can come up with. I got shit to deal with in-house.”
“Tiny?” she asked.
“Sorry, Sweetheart, you don’t get to know that. That’s club business,” I told her. She nodded.
“Kick him in the balls at least once for me,” she said, “Guy is a prick,” she rose off my lap and stretched, “Where’re my clothes?” she asked.
“Right here,” Marlin ducked below deck and tossed a backpack at her feet, she stooped and picked it up looking inside.
“Thanks, I think,” she frowned, “You pick this?”
“No, Radar did, why?”
“Radar sucks at women’s fashion,” she stated dryly.
“Fuck you, Princess!” Radar called from above deck. Hope rolled her eyes and went for the water closet.
“I’m showering,” she said and I nodded.
“Go right ahead, Sweetheart; mi es tu castillo,” she ducked backwards out of the water closet and looked me over, apparently impressed that I’d said it right. Goddamn she was fine. She arched one dark eyebrow, blew me a kiss and shut the door behind her firing up the narrow shower.
“Above deck,” I said and followed Marlin up.
“Where is he?” I asked.
“In the Glades where we keep them kinds of things,” Radar said low and dark.
“Anything else we should know about Miss Thang down there?” Pyro asked.
Radar looked me over, and I looked right back, hard.
“Spill it man,” I demanded.
“She seems to be on the up and up, her sister went missing almost two years ago. She had a bunch of files back at her room, bitch travels light. What clothes she did have fit in a back pack and her purse along with the files. Went through her phone, took a minute to crack it but Atlas got it. She’s got a whole lot of law enforcement contacts…”
“Sort of have to, it’s part of the job,” her voice startled all three of us, she looked us all over in turn, “You want to know anything, all you’ve got to do is ask.” Jesus, she showered like a dude. Get in, get out; get on with it. I had to like that!
“You a cop?” Radar asked her point blank.
“Nope, all I do is teach them not to kill whoever they’re arresting. Army gave me a particular skillset, Junior. You can’t fault a girl for putting it to use. Plus, I figured it might help me find my sister somehow, someway, that’s about the extent of that.” Hope gave Radar a cool and appraising look. The gloves were off apparently, there wasn’t no lie in her face, her posture was guarded, but I think that was because with a rough lot like my boys she was expecting more violence.
“I just want to find Faith, I don’t give a fuck what you do or what you’re into… I just want to find my sister, or at least what happened to her,” she said. Radar nodded slowly.
“We ain’t bad guys,” Marlin said softly.
“Tell that to the bitch who last saw my sister,” she wasn’t going to give any quarter there and I didn’t blame her. Hell if it was a female close to me, like Li’l Bit or even Li’ler Bit, I would tear the Earth and sky apart right alongside their men to find them. I mean shit, what if it were Hoss? She’s got three kids counting on her…
I shook my head, “That wasn’t something any of us condoned, Sweetheart.”
“We’ll have to agree to disagree on that one, Baby Cakes. Your man that did it was walking around and doing just fine when I got here,” she leveled me with an accusing glare and I couldn’t argue with her logic, even if it was totally civilian. She didn’t understand our ways and the crash course in the MC life would have to come later, right now the rest of the boys were waiting. It seemed Radar thought now was the time though, he started in on her first lesson.
“You don’t get it, Princess. Good, bad, or indifferent, Tiny is a brother and we protect our own, even when they do extremely stupid shit,” Radar crossed his arms and stared her down. Hope gave him a bored look.
“Right, okay, I’m not going to pretend to get it, guess I just have to know one thing, am I supposed to be some kind of prisoner or something retarded like that because I know too much?” she asked, but she was asking me, her gaze fixed firmly on my face. I grinned wide.
“You going to the cops?” I asked.
“No.”
“Your word on that?”
“Yes.”
“Then for now, we’re straight,” I palmed the back of my neck and pulled on it trying to ease some of the tension there.
“Just like that?” she asked.
“Just like that,” I affirmed. She narrowed her eyes and I could see the questions dancing inside that pretty little skull of hers. She pulled her wet hair over her shoulder and braided it. She was dressed in what the boys had brought her, some flowery strapless dress that hung to her feet. It didn’t look like something she would wear and in fact looked like she had to safety pin it some.
“Where the hell did you get that thing?” I asked Radar, he shrugged.
“It’s my oldest kid’s,” he grated. His oldest kid was his 17 year old daughter. Dude was forty-three.
“Good to know, now where are my clothes?” Hope asked sweetly but her expression was sour as all get out.
“Moved your shit from The Nautilus to our safe house, it’ll all be there when you get there,” Pyro said. Hope’s expression darkened but then turned thoughtful.
“My, how heavy handed of you. I thought I wasn’t a prisoner.”
“You’re not, but as of now, I guess you’re our guest,” Marlin supplied.
“You touch my bike?” she asked.
“It’s at the safe house too, took it there myself. Nice little pasta rocket you got there,” Radar said. Hope l
ooked positively mutinous at that.
“Hey,” I said and she turned back to me. “What’d I tell you?” I meant last night and she knew it, she didn’t blush but the memory of it slid behind her eyes. She looked at me thoughtfully.
“You’ve told me a lot of things, but I guess I’m picking up what you’re putting down. So what happens now?” she shifted on her feet, nerves putting her into a bit of a fighter’s stance. I smiled at her.
“We take you to the safe house, and then I go deal with some shit,” I said. She searched my face and nodded slowly.
“It’s going to have to do for now. I need to come up with a game plan on what to do, where to go from here,” she said.
I felt like telling her she wasn’t going anywhere without me, but it wasn’t my place to say, not yet anyways. I’d remind her that I’d promised I was going to help her find her sister after I dealt with cleaning house.
“Right this way, Darlin’,” Pyro said and held out his arm, he and I traded a look and I gritted my teeth. Bastard was doing it just to get my damned goat. Hope looked from one to the other of us.
“I think I got it,” she said and leapt lightly to the dock, “Which one of you jokers has my phone?” she asked.
Nope. She wasn’t going to give any quarter and the emotional storm of last night was over as far as I could tell. I smiled on the inside, a self-indulgent little smile. The chase was still on, and the carefully considering look she was giving me said she wanted me to chase her. Game on, Sweetheart. Game fucking on.
Chapter 13
Hope
“You know this is kind of bullshit,” I was sulking, but only mildly. Cutter’s chuckle thrummed through his back and into my chest where I was pressed tight against him. He pulled up in front of a modern looking house, a real nice place that looked like it belonged on the front cover of Better Homes & Gardens.
“I won’t be too long, Sweetheart. You and I have some things to talk about.”
Wasn’t that the ever loving truth? He shut off the bike and I got off of it, hiking the bag made out of old fishing net higher onto my shoulder. It had my shorts and tank from last night in it. Cutter slipped my phone out of his vest’s inside pocket and handed it to me. I palmed it and looked over the driveway.