“You should let the police deal with it, honey. You don’t want to get in trouble.”
He cupped my face. “Well, this brings me to the question part of this conversation.”
“What?”
“Do you want me to stay here, or deal with Fred at the club?”
“I want you to let the authorities handle it,” I rasped.
“That’s not an option, Posey, so you need to choose what’s behind door number one or door number two.”
I blinked back tears. “What happens if you go to jail?”
“I won’t.”
“Promise?”
“Cross my heart, baby.”
I dropped my head to his chest. “I want you to stay here.”
He gave me a squeeze. “Okay.”
“But I know you need to be there.” I met his eyes again. “So, you should go. But I need you to come back here, and soon, okay?”
He stroked the apple of my cheek. “As soon as I can.”
I nodded. “I love you, Nolan Grant. Keep that fact in your heart and your brain and don’t do anything stupid.”
Shadow smiled slightly. “Love you, too, Chernobyl.”
He kissed me, then walked out the door, locking up behind him.
* * *
Shadow
I pulled up to the barn and immediately headed around the back to the basement entrance. Punching in the code next to the door, it buzzed open and I stepped inside. I could hear Alamo and Doc arguing as I made my way to them.
“We gotta call Dalton in,” Alamo said.
“He’s in Scotland, brother.”
“Fuck.”
I saw Doom standing close-by with his arms crossed, but saying nothing.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
“That depends on you,” Doom said.
I sighed. “Is the asshole in there?” I nodded to the soundproof room we used to have ‘conversations’ with folks that needed a little discipline.
Doom nodded.
“But you gotta be smart about this, brother,” Doc warned. “We’ve got your back, you know that, but this asshole murdered his mother and her body’s still in his house. The cops are gonna be in this whether we like it or not. It’d be prudent to get in front of this.”
“I can call Dalt and see if he can put in a word with his office,” Doom said.
“I need ten minutes with him first,” I said.
Doom nodded. “I’ll call while you have your time.”
I stepped inside the room and closed the door.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Posey
MOM WOULDN’T STOP hovering and by the time the sun went down, I was ready to scream with frustration. I just wanted to be alone. No. I wanted to be alone with Shadow. Jane tried her best to wrangle the helicopter that was my parent, but in the end, I’d had to lie and say I was exhausted, just so I could escape to my room.
Even Sharon had tapped out and headed back to Otter and Shiloh’s to rest. I hadn’t heard from Shadow in three hours and the worry was gnawing at my insides. I was also sore from head to toe, and desperately wanted to soak in a bath.
If only my place had one.
I compromised and took a long, hot shower, then crawled into bed. I hadn’t realized how tired I actually was, and didn’t wake up until I felt Shadow’s arms wrap gently around me from behind.
“Hi,” I said, rolling to face him.
“Sorry, baby, didn’t mean to wake you.”
I laid my hand on his cheek. “Are you okay? Are you hurt? What happened?”
“I’m fine, no I’m not hurt, Fred was delivered into the hands of the authorities about an hour ago, but not until after I had a few minutes alone with him.”
“Meaning?”
“Meaning, that’s the end of story time,” he said, kissing me gently. “I sent your mom home, and she invited Jane to go with her so you could rest. Go back to sleep.”
“Promise you didn’t do anything illegal?”
“Go back to sleep.”
“That means you did something illegal,” I cried, sitting up.
He sighed, leaning up on his arms. “It means, you need to sleep and not worry because it’s fucking done.”
“Nolan—”
“Posey, I’m fuckin’ wrecked. Can I just hold my woman and sleep for a few hours?” he begged, flopping back onto the pillows, and holding his hand out to me. “We can fight about this in the morning.”
I wrinkled my nose and studied him for a few seconds, before stretching out beside him. He wrapped his arm around me and carefully pulled me to him, gentle with my bruises.
“Promise me you’re not in trouble,” I whispered.
“I’m not in trouble, honey.” He gave me a squeeze. “Sleep.”
“Did you beat Freddie into oblivion.”
He sighed. “You’re not gonna sleep, are you?”
“Please tell me you at least broke his nose.”
“I’m not telling you anything until tomorrow.”
“You broke his nose,” I said, and smiled.
“You have a violent imagination.”
“Maybe so,” I admitted and snuggled closer. “I’m gonna sleep now.”
“Good idea,” he said, kissing me gently.
I closed my eyes and let sleep take me, safe in the arms of my savior.
* * *
I awakened and rolled over to find the bed empty. I sat up and called out, “Shadow?”
“Kitchen,” he returned.
I threw the covers back and slid off the mattress, my legs sore at the movement. “Are we alone?”
“Yeah, baby. I closed the drapes, too.”
I padded out to the kitchen and smiled. Shadow was standing at the stove wearing a pair of running shorts and a black T-shirt, frying up bacon. It appeared he’d also started a pot of coffee. I made my way to him and slid my arms around him from behind, kissing his back. “Hi.”
“How’d you sleep?”
“Good. You?”
“Good.” I gave him a squeeze. “Are you going to answer my questions now?”
He sighed. “Was hoping you’d forget.”
“Oh, I know you were,” I said, pulling away and grabbing coffee mugs from the cabinet. “How badly did you hurt him?” I poured a cup of coffee. “And Carl?”
He sighed, turning off the stove, draining the bacon fat, then facing me. “I’m gonna give you what I’m gonna give you and that’s it, Posey. Understand?”
I nodded.
“I worked Carl over pretty good, Doc says he’s probably got a busted jaw, but considering the fact he’d violated his restraining order, I doubt he’s going to say anything, wired jaw or not.”
I frowned. “What restraining order?”
“The one Rabbit backdated and slid into the county records.”
“Oh my god,” I breathed out, my stomach roiling. I didn’t know how I felt about someone having that much power to bring another person down. I tried to remind myself that Carl had stalked me, put a tracker on my phone, and threatened me multiple times, but I still felt the law should deal with him.
“I don’t think he would have ever hurt me,” I said.
“He put a goddamn tracker on your car, Posey. That’s not the action of a sane person.”
“But to go so far as to backdate a restraining order?”
“This is why I didn’t want to tell you.”
“We shouldn’t have that kind of power,” I said. “I would never want someone to go after another just because they hurt my feelings or something.”
“Jesus,” he hissed. “Carl didn’t hurt your feelings, Posey. He stalked you. That’s illegal. And quite frankly, we should have filed a real restraining order the second we found the tracker.”
“We didn’t have time.”
“Exactly.” He settled his hands on my arms. “I promise you that none of us will ever fuck with someone to this level if they hurt your feelings. This is bigger than that. Understand?”
I blinked back
tears. “Yes, I think so. What about Freddie?”
“Freddie was dropped off at his home, wasted and passed out, right before the cops were called. He killed his mother, so his wounds look like defensive ones. He will most likely be on the hook for your studio fire as well.”
“When did he kill his mother?”
“The same day he took you.”
“Where did it happen?” I asked.
“Upstairs.”
“She was in the house?” I squeaked.
“Yeah, baby, she was.”
I rushed for the sink, unable to stop myself from dry heaving into it.
“That’s enough,” he growled, settling his hand on my back. “Story time is over.”
I took deep, gulping breaths. “Yes. That’s enough.”
“Do you need a Sprite or something?”
“He was going to kill me,” I whispered.
“No, there was no way in hell that going to happen.” He pulled me against him. “Come here, baby. I had you. The second you hit that panic button, we were on the way.”
“What if I couldn’t get my hands free?”
“Rabbit was working on reverse pinging your necklace. I would have found you.”
“What if you hadn’t?”
“I did, Posey.” He gave me a squeeze. “He can’t and won’t hurt you ever again.”
“You found me.”
“I did.”
“He’s going to jail.”
“Prison, honey. He’s gonna go to prison.”
“You could get in trouble—”
“Nope. It’s all good. Trust me.”
“What do I say if the police want to talk to me?”
“Nothing. You say nothing. You don’t know anything, so you can’t really give them much.”
“I can tell them that Freddie kidnapped me, tied me up, and hit me. I can tell them you rescued—”
“He hit you?”
“A couple of times. Those are the bruises on my thigh.”
“Jesus,” he breathed out.
“I think he wanted to do more, but I convinced him that Jane would never take him back if he hurt me.”
He cupped my face gently. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t there sooner.”
“If you’d been any earlier, he might have been there and killed me just to piss you off, so I think I was actually safer with you getting there when you did.”
He kissed my forehead, then my nose, moving to my mouth, and I slipped my tongue between the seam of his lips as I fisted my hands in his shirt.
He broke the kiss and wrapped his arms around me. “We need to wait.”
“Until when?”
“You’re all healed.”
“Fuck that,” I snapped.
“Baby—”
“No. You’ll be gentle, and I need to feel you inside of me.” I grabbed his hand and tugged him toward the bedroom, pulling off my cami once inside.
“Posey, are you sure?”
“Yes. Do you need me to beg?” I teased.
He slid his hands to my neck and kissed me gently. “If you even have a twinge, we’re stoppin’.”
“I already have a twinge… in my pants.” I slid my panties down my hips and kicked them to where I dropped my cami, then tugged on his shorts. “And I’d like to create one in yours.”
He chuckled, reaching behind his back, and pulling his shirt over his head, as I pushed his shorts down his legs. He was already hard and as much as I wanted to taste him, my mouth was far too sore to manage his size.
“On your back, spread those beautiful legs for me. I’m not gonna touch them, so spread wide.”
I nodded and stretched out on my back, drawing my knees up, and spreading my legs. Shadow knelt between them, running his tongue through my folds before sucking gently on my clit. I settled a foot on his shoulder, giving me the leverage to arch into him.
“Careful,” he warned, hovering over me.
“I’m fine,” I assured him and reached a hand to his jaw. “You gonna fuck me now?”
His hand went to my pussy, his fingers pressing gently inside of me, and he smiled. “Yeah, baby, I’m totally gonna fuck you now.”
He guided his dick to my entrance, pushing in slowly and I wrapped my legs around his waist as he settled his hands on either side of me.
“I love you,” I breathed out as he began to move.
“Love you too, baby.” He kissed me, running his nose against mine, and rocking into me slowly.
I whimpered with need and he finally started to move faster. Slamming into me, harder and harder, before slipping a hand between us and fingering my clit. I cried out as I went over the edge, and orgasm rolling through me with delicious sweetness.
Shadow wasn’t far behind me, his cock pulsing inside of me as he let out a quiet grunt. He kissed me again and smiled. “I’m gonna go clean up. Don’t move.”
“Couldn’t if I tried,” I retorted.
He returned with a warm washcloth, cleaning me up, then we went about our day.
* * *
We had about two days of peace before Jane was pulled into drama in the form of her soon-to-be ex-husband.
“I’m being called into the station,” she said, rushing around my house, dragging shit out of her suitcase.
“What do you mean you’re being called into the station?” I asked. “Why?”
She stopped her frantic movement and fisted her hands at her side. “Frederick has accused me of being an accomplice. They are treating me as a person of interest.”
“Oh, my god, what?”
She burst into tears. “They gave me the ‘courtesy’ of coming in and talking with them, but if I don’t show up by three today, they will issue a warrant for my arrest.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
I heard the key in the front door and turned to see Shadow walk in. “Hey.”
“Hi.”
He stalled. “What’s wrong?”
“Jane’s being called down to the station. Frederick’s basically saying she’s his accomplice.”
“Bullshit,” Shadow growled.
Jane threw her hands in the air. “I don’t know what to do. I’ve never even had a speeding ticket.”
Shadow pulled his phone out. “I’m calling Lyric.”
“Who’s Lyric?” Jane asked.
“She’s the club lawyer,” I said as Shadow stepped out the back door with his phone to his ear.
Jane faced me. “Do you think she can help?”
“She can help,” Shadow said, walking back inside. “She’s gonna meet you at the station in one hour.”
Jane checked her watch. “Seriously?”
“Yeah.”
She burst into tears again and I pulled her in for a hug. “We’re going to figure this out.”
“What if they believe him?”
“They’re not going to believe him, honey. You have alibis for everything. You were never alone, remember? Dylan… or me and Shadow have pretty much been by your side for the last two weeks.”
“And your mom,” she rasped.
“Exactly.” I smiled. “You got this.”
She slapped the tears away and nodded. “I got this.”
“Dylan’s comin’ by to take you,” Shadow said.
“He doesn’t need to do that,” Jane countered.
“Yeah, he does,” Shadow said.
“He does?”
“Yeah, he’s got dues to pay in the form of slave labor,” Shadow explained. “Today, you’re the job.”
“Bikers are weird.” Jane let out a quiet snort and smiled. “But I like it.”
“I’ll go with you,” I said.
“No, you won’t,” Shadow countered. “You need to let Lyric deal with it.”
“What about moral support.”
Shadow took my hand and tugged me into the bedroom, closing the door behind us. “You are not in this, Posey. You need to let Lyric deal with it. The last thing you need is for some cop to start asking you questions,
too.” He cupped my face gently. “Remember, you know more than she does. Keep it that way.”
I frowned, but I could see the logic in what he was saying. I sighed. “Okay.”
“Thank you,” he said, kissing me gently.
“You promise Lyric’s going to get her out of this?”
“One-hundred percent.”
I nodded, and we walked back out to the living room just as Jane answered the door. Dylan guided her to his truck, and they took off. I had no choice but to be patient and wait for her to come home.
If she came home.
* * *
I don’t know how many hours later, I got a text from Jane letting me know she was on her way home. The buzz of my phone had woken me, but the fact she was coming home had me unable to go back to sleep.
“Where ya goin’?” Shadow grumbled, reaching for me when I threw the covers off.
“Jane’s on her way home.”
He groaned, dragging his hands down his face. “I’ll get the tequila.”
“It’s two o’clock in the morning.”
“So?” he challenged. “You’re gonna need something to help you go back to sleep.”
“You may have a point,” I said, pulling on a pair of yoga pants and a T-shirt.
Shadow pulled on a pair of shorts and a tank top, then I followed him out to the kitchen where he grabbed a bottle of tequila and three glasses.
Jane walked in about ten minutes later. Shadow went to pow-wow with Dylan, and I pulled Jane onto the sofa. “So?”
“Lyric was amazing,” she breathed out, biting back a yawn. “She stayed with me through the entire interview.”
“Why did you still have to be in there if you lawyered up?”
“I kind of wanted to be. I wanted them to have as much rope to hang Frederick with as they could. Lyric helped to keep everything on track and made sure I didn’t say something that might seem incriminating. I’m in the clear.”
“You are?”
She bobbed her head. “Yes. It’s all done.”
I hugged. “I’m so glad, honey.”
“I just want to go to sleep for a day or two.”
“Well, don’t let us stop you. We’ll be as quiet as church mice.”
“Thanks, Posey. Seriously. I couldn’t have dealt with any of this without you and Shadow.”
I smiled. “Love you, Brainy.”
“Love you too, Mosey.” She stood and took off her hoodie. “I’m going to clean up, then crash.”
Fanning the Biker's Flame (Dogs of Fire: Savannah Chapter Book 8) Page 16