by Vivian Lux
"Let go of me," I spat.
His eyes snapped. They were a strange yellow color, more lizard-like than human. "Shut your fucking mouth and stop wiggling. I haven't even given you a reason to wiggle yet," he snarled, grabbing his crotch lasciviously with his other hand.
"Gomez, shut your fucking mouth, they're coming," the man at the door called out.
The only sound was the crunch of footfall on the snow and my heavy panicked breathing. The man holding Ingrid shifted her in front of him as he trained his gun on the doorway and rage boiled in my stomach.
When I heard Case's voice I had to bite my tongue to keep from screaming his name. "Where are your manners?" I heard him call.
Gomez laughed and nodded his head and the man at the door threw a switch. We were all blinded as the yellow fluorescent lights kicked on with a clunk and an ominous hum. Like the sound of a million angry bees.
I felt the cold metal press into my temple. "You stay with me,roja. Don't you move."
Case's eyes were fixed on me and I willed him to stop. I didn't want them to know we loved each other. I didn't want to give them that ammunition.
"You saw us drop the shit. One box is on the sidewalk, the rest is in the back of the truck."
"No one does anything yet," Gomez shouted. "Rico, grab their guns."
The man at the door darted out and patted Case down. He spread his legs grimly, watching the two guns trained on him. "Kinda seems a little unfair, dontcha think?"
"I don't give afuck,"Gomez spat, the spittle spraying my cheek.
"Three pieces," Rico called. "They're clean."
"Right. Go move the shit. They stay here."
Ingrid made a sobbing noise as the door swung open. "I want to go home," she moaned. "I want to go home." She was still in her pajamas, her white-blond hair caught back in a dirty old headband. Without her trademark eye makeup, her red-rimmed eyes looked lashless, like a frightened rabbit. She swayed slightly as she stared at the door fixedly. "I want to go home," she repeated
"It's almost over," I whispered. "Just hang on."
Case held up his hands and moved forward. "You got your shit. Just give them over," he said. His voice was cool and calm but I could hear the simmering rage underneath.
The door banged open. "Three boxes!" called Rico.
Gomez fixed his feline eyes on Case, whose fists were clenched tightly at his sides. "That's it?"
"That's it."
I felt the barrel of the gun press harder into my temple. "How do we know?"
Case stared at me, his jaw working. "Look, asshole. Go ask Bruce if you want. I'm sure he's dying for a visit right about now. But that's all he got us." He stepped forward, spreading his hands. "That's all we got. So just cut this macho bullshit and give over the girls."
Gomez made a low, disappointed noise and lowered the gun slightly. I let out the breath I had been holding for only a second until he lifted his hand to my head. "Such a pity, really," he said, twirling a finger in a lock of my hair. "Boss didn't even let us sample her pretty little fire-snatch." He twisted his fingers tightly and gave the lock a yank. I tried to stay stoic as tears came unbidden to my eyes.
Crash made a strangled noise and moved towards us. Rico shouted and trained his gun on him and Gomez and the still unnamed silent man holding Ingrid followed suit.
"Get back, you fucking idiot," J. grabbed Crash roughly by the shoulders.
Gomez's laugh rang out in the echoing stillness of the warehouse. "Holy shit, pelirroja, that your boyfriend?"
I swallowed and remained silent.
"You really should answer me what I talk to you." He turned my head, forcing me to face him, then pinched my cheeks painfully in with his fingers. I squeezed my eyes shut rather than look into his strange yellow eyes. "Hey!" he shouted. "Look at me!"
A cracking blow sent my head snapping back and I fell back to the floor. I flung out my still-bound hands, futilely trying to catch myself. My elbow hit the concrete first, sending a jolt of pins and needles up my arm. A sob tore its way free from my throat.
Crash bellowed like an enraged bear and suddenly everything was happening at once.
In all my nineteen years as the daughter of a cop, I never once heard a gun go off. I never knew it was so fucking loud.
I rolled onto my stomach and covered my head, daring to look up for only a moment to see Ingrid still standing frozen in fear. "Ingrid, get down!" I shrieked. She turned as if in a dream and reached her still bound hands to me. I summoned all my courage and made to move to her.
Out of the whirl of dust and debris I saw Case come shouting towards us. I scrambled to my feet and turned to rush to him when I caught a glimpse of the glinting knife in his hand. Gomez's gun clicked futilely and he frantically scrambled to reload.
But not before Case had him by the throat. With a strangled curse, he sank the knife into Gomez's belly right up to the hilt. He let him crumple to the floor.
Case's body hit mine as hard as a freight train. The wind was knocked from me as we both tumbled to the floor. I lay there gasping as the dust seared my eyes, clinging to him as tightly as I could.
I blinked as the shapes slowly swirled in to view. Rico lay slumped near the doorway, ash-white and clutching his side. The silent man was on his knees, crawling on the floor and swearing in Spanish.
From out of the dust, the figure of Crash materialized. He slowly took in how I clung to Case as he covered me with his body. I saw the shock register in Crash's eyes.
J. came sprinting forward. "We need to get the fuck out of here, like right now." He grabbed Ingrid, who shrieked reflexively before allowing herself to be led by him. "Pull your shirt up over your nose," he told her as she coughed and choked.
Case didn't say a word to me, only grabbed me up in his arms like I was a rag doll and ran for the exit.
"Call Teach right now," J. called to Crash. "Tell 'em to get the Storm Riders on this situation. We need cleanup and fucking fast."
Crash whipped out his cell phone, but all the while J. bundled Ingrid into the truck, his eyes were on Case and me.
Chapter 39
Case
"You're gonna be blowing black shit outta your nose for a good while, but other than that, you're fine." Doctor D. pulled the stethoscope back from Lexi's chest, and she shot him a wan smile.
Case ran his fingers through her hair again. He couldn't help himself. Ever since they had returned to the clubhouse, he had been touching her hair. It reassured him that she was alive and in one piece.
"You're going to be okay," he repeated, telling himself as much as he told her.
"I am okay," she said with finality. "You saved me."
Case felt a twinge at his heart. "You wouldn't have been in that at all if it weren't for me."
"Not true," she laughed darkly. "I was friends with Ingrid before we...met again."
He nodded slowly. That thought should have made him feel less guilty. Maybe in time it would. Instead now all he wanted to do was to make it up to her in the only way he knew how.
They were in the bunkhouse and there were people everywhere. When the call came up for backup, the Storm Riders had come down from everywhere and rained hellfire down on the warehouse. This wasn't over, not by a long shot, but it showed that the Sons of Steel had backup and clout that Fernando Lopez hadn't considered. He had vastly underestimated them, and paid for it with the lives of three of his men.
Those thoughts only sprinted through his mind before his desire chased them away. He ran his fingers through Lexi's hair again and tipped her chin up with his finger.
"You'll be okay?"
She looked at his face, her eyes darting back and forth like she was trying to read him. It never failed to disarm him when she did that. "I will be better," she sighed, "as soon as you kiss me."
He dove for her lips like a man possessed. She flung her arms up around his neck, pulling him to her, her tongue meeting and sparring with his as they reclaimed each other once again. He cupped hi
s hands around her buttocks, gripping and kneading them, lifting her to him so that he could taste her lips more easily. She wrapped her legs around his torso and the soft rise of her breasts made his cock stir to life. Her fingers were in his hair just as his were in hers, clutching and stroking.
He heard her gasp and he followed his instinct where it led him. Trailing his lips down her throat he found the junction of her neck and shoulders, that sweet, delicate patch of flesh that never failed to inflame him. She made another noise and he felt his own desire tear a growl from his throat.
Then there was another noise. A low hiss that came from neither one of them.
His face was still buried in Lexi's neck, so he didn't give a fuck until she whispered, "Crash."
He looked up and saw his brother framed in the doorway of the bunkhouse, his dark brows knitted together, his piercing blue eyes showing nothing but rage and betrayal.
"Finally fucking noticed me, huh?" he snarled.
Lexi slowly slid from Case's arms. "Crash," she ventured.
"You could have at least told me."
"There wasn't time..." she started.
"Lexi, no," Case slid in front of her. "Crash, man, I am sorry. This didn't just happen, I didn't steal your girl..."
"Shut the fuck up."Crash's bellowing shout rang through the garage and the milling bikers fell silent. A throbbing vein beat at Crash's temple, his face was a livid red. The sight of his rage, the depth of his feelings, took Case by surprise. "I see how it fucking is. I've seen it for a long fucking time, but I didn't want to admit it to myself, you know? I know my thoughts get messed up and shit, so I wanted to blame it on that. But this?" he pointed accusingly at the entwined couple, "well this proves it...."
"Proves what?" Lexi asked, her voice breaking.
He shook his head at her. "That I'm a fucking joke." He swung his hands wide, indicating all of the watching bikers. "To all of you. I'm just an idiot, here for you all to laugh at me. Who gives a fuck about what Crash wants?”
"And you," he pointed at Lexi, "I could have been good for you, you know that? I might be a bad guy, but I'm a good fucking man. I would have treated you right. But you never gave me that chance."
Lexi made a strained, gulping noise. Case couldn't stand it. "It's not like that, Crash. Lexi and me, we..."
"I don't want your fucking explanations,"Crash bellowed as his eyes bulged. He took several gasping breaths. "I'm gonna show you. I'm gonna show you you were wrong about me. Because what I want to do right now is tear your fucking head off, you understand? But I'm not gonna do that. I'm not going to fight you."
He lowered his arms. Slowly his cut slid down to the floor where it lay there in a heap. He turned on his heel and with a deliberate motion, he stepped firmly on it. With a little twist of his foot, he ground it into the floor, before stepping over it and walking through the silent crowd to the door.
Epilogue
Lexi
"He's here." I flicked the curtain aside as I watched the dull-gray Jeep pull in front of the house.
My mother tried to make it seem like she wasn't rushing to peek out the window, but failed miserably. "Are you positive he won't come in? I would love to see him again."
My lips twisted into a grin of their own accord. She was being polite, but I appreciated the gesture. "Soon, Mom. I promise."
She blinked at me as I kissed her cheek but when I turned to go, she held me fast by the wrist. Her gaze bore into me, just like it always had, but for some reason I didn't mind it. "Alexandra," she breathed, her words coming out in a sigh.
"Mom?"
She folded me into a hug. "You've grown into a remarkable young woman. I'm really proud that you're my daughter. I want you to know that."
"I do."
She pulled back. Her eyes were filling with tears and she turned away before they could spill over. My father entered the living room. "Don't keep him waiting, I'm sure he's nervous enough as it is."
"I can't imagine Case ever admitting to being nervous," I said.
"Well either way," my Dad leaned down and pecked my cheek. "He's been waiting for this for five years. Don't make him wait any longer."
I flung my arms around my Dad and hugged him as tightly as I could, hoping he could feel my gratitude. "Thank you, Daddy. Thank you for finding them."
"I can't say it was the easiest thing," he boasted. "But I still have quite a few friends in the department. Favors I could call in. Your old man's still good for something."
"Yes, you are Daddy."
"I always did want to be a detective," he mused.
I squeezed him tighter and kissed his cheek one more time. "I gotta go."
"Yes you do," he agreed, patting my shoulder. "Take pictures!" he called after me as I flew down the porch.
Though it was only February, the air had a softness that signaled the coming of spring. The air smelled different, like things were stirring under the surface.
I jumped into the passenger seat and Case's lips were immediately on mine. In a million years, I would never get used to the ferocity of his kisses. They surprised me every time. Just like the man who gave them.
I laughed as I pulled away. "You look...different," I teased.
He ran his hand ruefully over his newly trimmed beard. "Cut the shit out of my neck," he complained. "Shaving sucks."
"You didn't have to do that."
"Hunter and Jonah knew me clean shaven," he said, regarding himself in the rearview mirror. "I wanted to look as familiar as I could."
I looked him up and down, taking in the black button down shirt that hid his full-sleeve tattoos from view but couldn't hide the bulging muscles underneath. His faded jeans looked cleaner than I had ever seen and his boots were shining with polish. The normally floppy blonde hair was combed straight back from his head, but his natural part was already asserting itself. "You don't look familiar to me," I complained. "You look like an accountant."
He grimaced and slid his hand roughly up the skirt I wore for the occasion. "You ever been fucked in a Jeep by an accountant?"
The thought was appealing. But the meeting was at 3pm and traffic was always a wildcard. “Sweetheart, we have to go. They're waiting to see you."
He paused and some of the color drained from his face. "Jesus," he exhaled. "I can't fucking believe it."
"Let's go, so you can," I encouraged him. I slipped my hand into his and he held it tightly for the entire ride out to Norristown.
It was a normal suburban house. Split level, big yard, a minivan in the driveway. But when Case saw it, he slammed on the brakes so hard my head nearly hit the dash.
"What's wrong?" I gasped.
He didn't say anything, only raised his hand and then let it fall to his lap. "Look at it. Look at where they're growing up."
I stared at the house, trying to see it through his eyes. I took in the neatly trimmed hedges and the shoveled sidewalk. Squinting, I could see the frilly curtains in the window were opened wide enough to let us see inside the living room.
Right to the family picture hanging on the wall.
"You did this," he whispered, squeezing my hand. "You made this possible for them
He raised my hand and pressed it to his lips as the front door opened and two gangly blond teenagers peered across the lawn. They looked sloppy as only teenaged boys could look. But they also looked healthy and well cared for. They pummeled each other for a better vantage point and Case made a noise that could have been laughter. or could have been tears
"Go on," I urged him. "Go meet your brothers."
THE END
The Sons of Steel Motorcycle Club:
#1 Steel My Heart
#2 Steel Me Away
#3 Steel My Love
#4 (Coming Soon)
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