Maverick headed out onto the highway and I just clung on as he raced out of Sunset Cove, following the dark, quiet road for so long that I let my eyes fall closed while I enjoyed the ride.
We finally pulled up in another town which I was vaguely familiar with but couldn't name and he parked the bike up beneath a streetlamp on a deserted street.
I got off the bike so that he could grab the bags of food out then Rick directed me to sit backwards on the saddle, my ass practically on the handlebars as I faced him and he placed the bag of food on the seat between our thighs.
We were quiet while we started eating, though I could feel his gaze on me through every nacho and all of the onion rings too.
"What?" I asked as I prepared to start on my burger and he shrugged.
"You tell me. I've barely seen you since you left the Isle and now you seem more interested in your food than enlightening me on what's been going on."
"Bullshit. I need to eat because it's stupid late and you fucked my energy out of me. Besides, I don't even know what you want to know." I took a big bite of my veggie burger while I waited to hear him out because it was already getting cold and I wasn't leaving that shit for anything.
"All of it. But you might as well start at the beginning. Because for a girl who swore to me she wanted nothing more than vengeance against those pricks for abandoning you on that ferry, you sure were enjoying a taste of JJ's cock."
I sighed, accepting the fact that I had to stop eating to answer and dropped my half-eaten burger in my lap.
"Turns out that didn't go down the way I thought it did," I admitted. "It was actually only Chase who fucked me over. He planned the whole thing. I mean, he swears he had some plan which would have kept me out of prison, but yeah...he's an asshole and my vengeance is now squarely aimed his way. I'm making him help me get the keys and I already have his. The other two are more of an issue though."
"Well maybe you need to put some more pressure on," Maverick said in a low growl and I scowled at him.
"Is that what you tell yourself when you're fucking Mia's ass?" I shot back.
"You really wanna know?"
"No," I hissed. "And don't go thinking that I'm gonna have a three way with you and her just because you and JJ went all power team combo on my ass tonight."
"Oh, baby girl, if we go power team on your ass I think you'll know about it," he taunted and I freaking blushed. Fuck. I hadn't considered that. There were mechanics involved there which needed consideration, but I was definitely not opposed to figuring them out and I was pretty sure the way my nipples were pressing through the fabric of my dress was making that clear.
"So you aren't opposed to a repeat of-"
"Tell me why you have a Harlequin tattoo stamped on your thigh, beautiful," Maverick demanded and I swallowed a lump in my throat.
"Right...well, I didn't really get much choice in that. Luther figured out I was back and he actually made some demands of me that I'll need you to help me out with. Plus, I kinda tried to shoot Shawn while they were having this peace meeting thing and then everyone got all pissy and Fox tried to lock me up in the house and Luther was all 'if she's a Harlequin you can't tell her to do shit' and that sounded like a sweet deal. He even promised not to boss me about. I've got two tasks and so long as I achieve them both, I'm basically just a bitch with a tattoo, so it's all good."
"What tasks?"
"Err, I have to kill Shawn - so score for me because that was on my agenda anyway."
"And?"
"Umm...." I grabbed a handful of fries and stuffed them in my mouth while speaking as fast as I could, "I just have to get you to come home, make up with Fox and co and merge The Damned Men with the Harlequins forever."
Maverick stared at me while I chewed and my heart hammered as he took that in before he finally barked a humourless laugh.
"Luther Harlequin still seriously wants peace with me?" he asked, his eyes flaring with disbelief and I shrugged as I swallowed.
"If I'm honest, he seems a bit off his rocker, but he loves you, dude. He wants you home and I believe him. I've got no idea how I'm gonna get you and Fox to make up yet, but I figured I'd focus on killing Shawn and then see where I'm at."
"That man is fucking insane and he's full of shit too. I don't believe for one second that he wants to just welcome me back with open arms even if I did have the slightest inclination to go back - which I fucking don't."
"Don't shoot the messenger," I said, chomping down on more fries. "I'm just telling you what he said. And I agreed to make it happen because it was that or a bullet to my face and I’m pretty fond of my face.”
Maverick thought about that while I demolished the rest of my food then he finally seemed to come to some decision.
"That ink on your leg pisses me off, beautiful," he growled. "And I'm thinking that if Luther is so sure that The Damned Men are pretty much a part of his crew already, he wouldn't have an issue with you getting some ink to represent them too."
"You want me to get a Damned Men tattoo? Are you making me a part of your gang as well?"
"Why the fuck not?" he asked with a laugh and I huffed.
"Fine. But only in an honorary way. I'm not doing shit for you. Nada. Nothing. I'm not one of your men to boss about or-"
"I'm good dominating you when we fuck, baby girl. I don't need you playing gangster for me."
"Alright then. But Fox won't like it."
"Good thing I don't give a shit about that then, isn't it? Besides, you always did love riling him up. Don't tell me you aren't getting off on the idea of how pissed he'll be when he sees it."
I couldn't hold my smirk in and Maverick laughed. "Come on then. Shoot Luther a message telling him I'll come see him in a few hours when the sun comes up somewhere neutral to listen to his bullshit. I've got a guy who can give you your ink before then. Oh and I guess you'd better let Johnny James know he doesn't need to wait around in his car for you anymore either."
"Why do I get the feeling you only want me to do any of this because you enjoy getting me in trouble?" I asked as I took a drink of my shake and Maverick's smile darkened.
"Come on, beautiful, you know I've always lived for getting you in trouble. And you've always fucking loved it too."
Man had a damn good point there.
A pretty fucking interesting night had turned into what I expected to be a pretty fucking interesting morning. After Rogue had made arrangements with Luther, I’d taken her phone and switched it off, letting Foxy boy stew over where she was and smirking to myself every time I thought of him losing his shit.
We’d checked into a shitty motel for the remainder of the night and instead of the fuckfest I’d had in mind until dawn arrived, I’d gone to the bathroom for a piss and come back to find her passed out spread eagle in the double bed.
I’d slept for a few hours with her in my arms, the nightmares kept at bay by her presence and allowing me a rare bit of peace. When I woke, I bit her ear to try and stir her as the sunlight poured in through the window, but that did nothing, so I moved on top of her, tugged her panties aside and shoved my cock in her.
That did the trick.
“Rick!” she cried, then moaned loudly as I pinned her down and drove myself into her with the pent up fury of a man who’d been waiting on her to phone him for far too long. I was tired of being apart from her and even more tired of fucking my hand.
I locked my fingers around her throat and she instantly came on my dick, writhing and moaning beneath me as I pulled out and finished all over her stomach.
“Gotta stop fucking me without a condom,” she panted, her hair a bird’s nest and her lips all reddened by the sting of mine.
I smirked, getting up and lifting her into my arms as I carried her into the shower to clean up. “Nah, I’m good.”
She punched my arm. “It’s not funny, Rick.”
“I’m not laughing,” I sniggered, turning the water on as I placed her on her feet and watching as my cum was washed d
own her body.
We had about twenty minutes before we needed to leave to meet Luther, so I made sure I spent every one of them either licking her pussy or deep inside it while she cursed me out and clawed at my back for fucking her bare again. I knew I was an asshole, but so did she, and she couldn’t seem to resist my cock enough to actually tell me no. Besides, pulling out was like ninety nine percent effective, right?
We finally got ourselves dressed and I admired the little pink dress and sneakers she’d had on last night, squeezing her ass as I led her to the door. What I admired even more than that was the Damned Man tattoo she now had covering the back of her left thigh to counter the Harlequin one. Before we’d headed to this motel, I’d taken her to meet one of my men to get inked up in his mom’s trailer not far from here. She’d laid on the couch and watched Power Rangers while telling his mom stupid stories about us from our childhood. I’d liked listening to those, remembering a time when life had been easy, though I hadn’t liked the uncomfortable tugging in my stomach every time a story included Fox, Chase or JJ.
We got on my motorcycle and Rogue’s arms and thighs felt so good wrapped around me as I drove towards the park where we’d planned to meet Luther. Was I looking forward to seeing the asshole who’d adopted me? No. Not even a little bit.
I might have been slightly more enthused if I knew I was heading there to blow his brains out, but unfortunately I wasn’t going to get my wish on that today. I did need to figure out the lay of the land though, because if he’d made my girl commit to this foolish idea of reuniting me with Fox and his lapdogs, then I needed to make sure she had an out. Even if that out was simply getting her on my bike and driving ten states away from the motherfucker. But I hoped the answer would be more bloody than that.
A bullet in his skull, his son’s, JJ’s and Chase’s seemed like the simple solution to my problem. But that wasn’t exactly an easy feat considering I’d been trying to pull that off for years now. And as my mind hooked on JJ and the way Rogue had looked at him last night, I wondered how much she’d like me after I showed her the inside of his skull. Probably wasn’t the best way to win her over, but was that what I was trying to do anyway?
I’d made it clear what my intentions were towards those assholes, so she couldn’t exactly expect more from me than bloodshed when it came to them. Still…it was something I was going to need to consider if I wanted to keep her. But that wasn’t meant to be my plan. She was temporary. My pretty little obsession for a while. I couldn’t have her long term. I wasn’t sure there even was a long term for me. I certainly hadn’t planned on there being one. Now, well fuck, she made me think about things that I’d never thought about before. Like where I’d take her once I’d finished the Harlequins to start our new life. That shit needed to stop. Yesterday.
I parked up and we walked through a gate into the park, a large stretch of green running away from us with a stone path down the centre of it flanked by trees. I took Rogue’s hand as we walked along the path and felt her eyes on me with a question in them. But I didn’t have to explain myself. I wanted to hold onto her, so fucking what? It didn’t have shit to do with Luther.
We made it to a bench at the centre of the park which faced a large stone water fountain with mermaids leaping out of its depths, their tits covered with large seashells.
“I think I was a mermaid in another life,” Rogue mused, squeezing one of her own tits as if comparing its size to the ones in the fountain.
I snorted. “I think I was a seashell in another life then because I wanna be stuck on your tits all day.”
She laughed. “Nah, you would have been like a…hippo.”
“I’m not a fucking hippo, lost girl.”
She sized me up, cocking her head to one side. “You’re the most hippoish thing I’ve ever seen – apart from a hippo obvi.” She tugged her hand free of mine, trying to run away, but I caught her around the waist and dragged her back against me, hauling her towards the water fountain as if I was going to dump her in it.
“Rick!” she laughed then someone cleared their throat and I straightened, catching hold of her hand in mine again and holding on tight as the smile fell from my face and I glared at the motherfucker standing there.
Luther Harlequin was just as I remembered him. Tall with his dark blonde hair messy and ink covering as much of his skin as mine. He was watching us closely, his eyes skipping from Rogue to me with intrigue. What the fuck was he on? Did he really think making some deal with her would be enough to reforge the family he’d raised me in? I’d die before I walked back through the Harlequin House front door.
“Hey, Rick,” he said.
“Maverick,” I corrected sharply.
“It’s good to see you,” he said, taking a step closer and I scowled as he smiled at Rogue. The kind of smile that said she was now a part of his little inner circle, and when he got his hooks into you like that, you had to cut them out if you ever wanted to get free. That was something I’d learned the hard way.
“Not the words I’d use,” I said coldly. “So tell me, old man, what’s this bullshit I hear about you ordering Rogue to reunite me with Fox and his cunt friends?”
Luther folded his arms in that king of the world way of his that his son had inherited and surveyed me closely.
“Watch your mouth, kid,” he snarled like he was still anything of a father to me. “And listen closely to me. You’ve had your fun, thrown your tantrum and killed a bunch of my men while you’re at it. And don’t think I haven’t seen what you’ve been trying to do with those kills either. I get it. But we haven’t got time for games anymore. Shawn Mackenzie has become a substantial threat to our people.”
My fingers tightened on Rogue’s at his name. She’d told me all about the shit that asshole had been getting up to and I was inclined to hunt him down and bring him to her myself. She could strike the killing blow but not before I’d made him taste every colour of the agony rainbow.
“Barring Rogue, I think you mean your people,” I growled. “And by the way, if you’re just gonna ink up Rogue’s skin and say she’s yours, then I guess you have to accept she’s mine now too.” I flipped her around and she cursed as I held her still, showing him the fresh Damned Man tattoo of a grim reaper on the back of her left thigh exactly in line with the Harlequin jester on her right.
I smirked at Luther, but he just fucking smiled back like he was pleased and I let go of her so she could turn around again. What the fuck?
“Good. You’re making progress already, sweetheart,” Luther said to her and I sneered at him as she laughed at me.
Fucking asshole.
“As I was saying, Shawn has declared war on the Harlequins and Sunset Cove,” Luther said, rage spewing from his gaze.
“Uhuh, and?” I pressed in a bored tone.
“And it’s your hometown, the land you belong to, and don’t feed me some bullshit about you not caring about it because I know you do,” Luther pushed.
“The only thing I care about in Sunset Cove is right here beside me,” I said simply. “And maybe I fancy taking her off on an extended vacation today. If I’m lucky, when I get back Shawn will have laid you all out like bloody cuts of meat and me and my girl can finish him off together.”
Rogue yanked her hand out of my grip, moving a step away from me. “No,” she said before Luther could speak. “I’m not going anywhere. You might not care about the Cove anymore, but believe it or not, I do. And that asshole already took enough from me, I’m not letting him have the beach I first learned to surf on, or the streets I know like the back of my hand. It might not mean anything to you anymore, Rick, and maybe it shouldn’t to me, but that town is the one place in this world where I was ever happy. And I’m not going to let fucking Shawn have it.”
I wasn’t going to let it be known, but I was protective over Sunset Cove for those very same reasons. The only difference was, I was exiled from it and everything I’d ever loved there had been blackened and tainted. She was the o
nly thing left intact that I could still lay any kind of claim on.
“The long and short of it is, Rick, we need your help,” Luther said frankly. “The Damned Men can join forces with the Harlequins. We’ll fight this war together and when it’s done, I’m sure we’ll find a way to make peace with each other at last and let bygones be by-”
“Are you fucking loopy, old man?” I spat, rage coursing under my skin at him dismissing ten years of the venomous hatred I’d aimed toward him and his family. “I’m not your ally. I’m not fighting a war at your side. If you’re worried Shawn’s gonna come claim your turf and kill your men, that’s really not my fucking problem.”
“Come on, son,” Luther softened his tone and I stared at this headcase in confusion as he made a move toward me that looked suspiciously like he was angling for a hug.
I backed up, my fingers itching for a gun as I remembered Officer White and his men holding me down, beating me black and blue night after fucking night. I remembered them handing me to Krasinski then laughing when the door shut and he could get his meaty fucking hands on me.
I kept backing up as the world started to get smaller and Luther’s eyes seemed to belong to all of those monsters who’d battered and broken me. There was a ringing in my skull and cloying darkness pressing in on my chest that I couldn’t escape. His face represented all of the evil in my life. He was the man who’d ordered those Harlequins to try and force me into line. The man who’d allowed me to be endlessly abused in the hopes that I’d break. I’d rather cut my own throat than make a peace deal with him or his fucking prodigy.
“Get the fuck away from me,” I warned. “I may not have a gun, but I assure you I don’t need one to kill you.”
Luther halted in his tracks, his eyes twisting with some furious emotion. “I know I was harsh on you as a boy, but I never wanted to push you away.”
Dead Man's Isle (Harlequin Crew #2) Page 46