The Lonely Road (Blue Lagoon Brotherhood MC)

by Miranda Banks

  He handed her his phone and unlocked the door. "Call her. I'll be in in a minute. Don't open the door for anyone. I have my key."

  ***

  Sarah didn't answer, but Charlie left a voicemail giving her only the barest of details. She didn't want to worry her friend. Or put her in danger. This investigation was turning out to be a lot more dangerous than she had planned. Flashes from the firefight flickered in the back of her mind, and Charlie shivered. She pushed the images down to deal with later, when she was in her own home. Jason still wasn't inside yet, so she decided to snoop around a bit, at least in the main rooms.

  From what she could tell, there was a living room connected to a kitchen and a hallway that led off to the right. It appeared that he was a bachelor. The entire apartment was sparsely decorated. There were not many personal items, except for the motorcycle memorabilia.

  In the living room, surrounded by his black leather furniture, was a motorcycle engine he had turned into a coffee table by placing a slab of glass over the motor. His calendar, decorative blankets, and tiny models all carried the motorcycle theme. Oddly enough, there were no pictures of friends or family. Absolutely nothing that gave her clues as to who Jason was.

  Perplexed, Charlie concluded, as cheerfully as possible, that this whole night had been a waste. Her car was abandoned in the desert, a gang of angry bikers not only knew who she was, but where she lived and worked, as well as her friend's details, and she missed a once in a lifetime opportunity to gather information. Now, she was stuck in a virtual stranger's home.

  Fear snaked its way down her spine, making her shiver, as she realized that despite coming to her rescue, he could be part of the biker gang. Jason had the rough and tumble look that she associated with bikers, and he didn't seem to panic at all when they were running from the shooting group. It was possible that those bikers realized who he was and that was why they stopped shooting. However, with no phone and no one looking for her, she was stuck. She could disappear and it would be at least a day before Kay would look for her.

  Panic rose in her chest, and her breath came out in short gasps. The lack of oxygen made her dizzy and she had to lean against the wall until the room stopped spinning. She thought, Get a grip! If he is working with them, I have to be strong and smart. I’ll figure a way out. Maybe tonight when he's sleeping.

  Now that a plan was in place, she felt a bit calmer about the situation. The front door clicked, and she jumped away from the wall. She stared at the first thing that caught her eye: his obnoxiously large flat screen TV that took up half the wall.

  His boots thudded against the hardwood floors, so she knew he was coming. She still jumped at the low rumble of his voice, as he said, "You can shower if you want.”

  She plastered a smile on her face and turned around, trying to act as normal as possible, despite her racing heart. "Thanks. That would be great. Where's―"

  "Bathroom is down the hall to the left, and the guest room slash office is right across the hall. Everything you need is in the bathroom closet."

  She gave him a grateful, more genuine smile and headed down the hallway. Then, she paused and turned around, mischief shimmering in her dark brown eyes. It’s time to mess with him, just a little. If I’m going to be uncomfortable, so is he. “What's with the big TV?” she asked.

  He shrugged, a blank look on his face. “I like to watch sports. Plus, when my Bro- friends come over, I wanted to make sure the screen is big enough for everyone to see.”

  Her eyes roved down his body for a second, taking in the oil-stained jeans and faded, black t-shirt. Her gaze stopped where the shirt ended and the jeans began. “Sure you're not overcompensating for anything?” Charlie smirked then spun and flounced down the hallway, happy to get the last word in.

  She could feel his hot gaze follow her down the dim hallway and tried not to preen, although the swing in her hips might have been a bit exaggerated.

  “Sure you don't want to find out for yourself?” Jason called out.

  Charlie had to stifle a laugh and force herself to not turn around and take him up on the offer. Sure, he looks good, like eating an entire German chocolate cake. It was something she'd only done once, and it had made her sick for days afterward. She knew that Jason would be just like that; delicious and tempting, but she'd regret it for a long time after.

  Determined to abstain, Charlie stripped and got in the shower, relaxing immediately under the warm spray.

  ***

  As soon as he heard the shower kick on, Jason hit the speed dial for the president of the club and tried to not think about the beautiful woman in his shower. Despite the late hour, Bones picked up. “Jason? How did it go? Is it them?”

  Jason hesitated, wondering how much he should reveal over the phone. “I think it would be wise if you came over here. There were some... complications.” And I'm now the babysitter of a possibly innocent woman, he thought, but didn't say out loud. Maybe Bones will be able to help me figure out what to do with her. Besides what my other head keeps telling me to do.

  A vision of her in his bed made it really hard to concentrate on the conversation, which irritated him. He only caught the tail end of Bones' sentence, but he did hear him as he said, “I'll be there in twenty minutes.”

  “Sounds good,” he managed to choke out. I have twenty minutes to get myself under control. Who am I kidding? Two days with her wouldn't be enough to sate me. Hopefully, she'll been gone soon.

  As if his thoughts conjured her, he could feel her presence behind him in the hallway. He immediately thought, How long has she been there? Did she hear anything? Jason kept his back to her and waited for her to say something, however, what popped out of her mouth surprised him.

  “Did you know your arm was bleeding?” she asked.

  Jason glanced down at his bloody t-shirt and hissed when he tried to roll up the sleeve. I vaguely remember something burning my arm, but have I really been shot? When he looked up, she was seated across from him at the kitchen table, and his arm throbbed. “No, I hadn't noticed.”

  There was something almost like awe in her eyes. She shook her head in disbelief. “If you tell me where the first aid kit is, I'll look at the wound and clean it up for you.”

  “It's in the bathroom closet.”

  “Be right back.” She gave him another dazzling smile before scurrying down the hall.

  While she was gone, Jason muttered a curse as he pulled his shirt off. His injured arm protested the movement. When Charlie walked back in, he did a double-take. In her own clothes, she was a knock-out; but, in the basketball shorts and white t-shirt he'd left on the bed for her, she was still stunning. Her damp hair curled down past her shoulders, leaving two damp, yet transparent, spots on the front of the shirt. He bit back a groan, as he glimpsed the outline of black lace underneath the shirt.

  She sat down next to him and put towels, the kit, and a bowl of hot water in front of them. When she put the latex gloves on, he wondered if she were a doctor or nurse. She didn't once ask him what to do, but just went to work cleaning up the wound. “You should really get this checked out at the hospital. I can patch it up, but they can give you pain meds and antibiotics.”

  He shrugged his other shoulder and looked down at the red gash that bisected his bicep and was still oozing blood. The smell of his soap on her skin as he inhaled almost drove him crazy. “It's just a flesh wound. I'll live.”

  Her dark gaze flitted to him for a second, and she looked like she was going to scold him. Instead, she rolled her eyes and said, “You've had other wounds like this?”

  Jason waited to answer until she went back to work, gritting his teeth as the peroxide burning his skin. The bullet wound probably did need stitches, but any doctor would know what it was as soon as they saw the wound. If the police started asking questions, they'd remember him and that would cause trouble for the club. If she couldn't stitch him up, Bones, or some other brother could.

  His attention was stolen again when he saw he
r bite her lip in the most enticing way, as she dried the wound with gauze. He fought the urge to kiss her and thought how it wasn't fair that he be the only one affected by their close proximity. Instead, he said, “Yeah, wanna see my other scars?” Then, he gave her a grin that he hoped would affect her the way she was affecting him.

  Jason couldn't help but be satisfied when he saw her eyes dilate and the tip of her tongue snake out to wet her perfectly kissable lips. Suddenly, that seemed like the best idea yet. He only wanted one taste― as thanks for saving her life. The more he thought about it, the more the idea made sense.

  His hand cupped her face, and he leaned close. Jason didn't remember moving. He stared at her, giving her the chance to back off, his mouth millimeters from hers. They were so close, he could almost taste the peppermint on her breath.

  “Am I interrupting something?”

  They sprung apart, faster than two teenagers caught making out under the bleachers and looking just as guilty.

  Jason bit back his irritation when he saw the amused look on the club president's face. He looked out of the corner of his eye and saw the beautiful brunette sizing Bones up. Only Jason knew that despite his huge size, tattoos, and long beard, Bones was one of the nicest, most loyal guys to have watching your back. Not to say the man was soft. You weren't the president of a motorcycle club because you were the nicest guy in the bunch.

  He stood up and motioned for Charlie to, as well. “Bones, this is Charlotte. She's my... new roommate.”

  Charlie stepped forward, hand outstretched and smiled. “You can call me Charlie. All of my friends do. And I'm not his roommate, this is just a temporary thing while my place is being fumigated.” She let out a dainty shudder. “I hate roaches.”

  Jason's eyes narrowed, as he heard her story. He had planned on telling Bones everything. Soon, both men would know she was lying, but he didn't like how easily she lied.

  Bones, however, looked amused by the brunette. Jason thought, Maybe I won’t call her out just yet.

  “So, you two know each other?” Bones asked.

  Jason was quick to answer and shot her a look that made her face pale. “Turns out we have a mutual friend that likes to hang out at the Blue Lagoon.” He watched with a grim sense of satisfaction, as she put two and two together. Her hand slipped out of Bone's large paw and she took a step back.