by Carina Adams
I didn’t have the energy to offer a greeting or assure her I was fine. Instead, I walked straight into her open arms, dropped my head onto her shoulder, and let her wrap her warm, comforting arms around me.
“I’ve been so worried about you,” my friend whispered against my ear, holding me tight. “Both of you.” She released me almost apprehensively and reached for her brother. “Matt’s called every hour, all day long. I’m supposed to let him know the minute you’re back.”
Rob only grunted a wordless response as he lifted his sister in a bear hug. As soon as her feet were back on the linoleum, he turned to me and lifted a menacing finger. “Stay put. I’ll be right back.”
All afternoon he’d barked commands at me as if I was a dog. Each time, I’d bitten my tongue, grateful to know that I’d gotten my way and would be going home. Now, I’d reached the end of my rope. As soon as he turned around, I rolled my eyes and lifted two middle fingers at his retreating back. The quicker he left for Boston, the better off we’d all be.
“Things have gone well, then?” Kate quipped, tipping her head as she stepped closer to me.
All humor left her eyes as she got her first good look. As her eyes roved over my face, I saw the pain in them. I knew what she was seeing—the now black teeth marks above a swollen lip that looked like a collagen injection gone bad. The thin splits where my own teeth had torn the skin in my bottom lip. The angry bright red circle on the apple of my cheek; the one that was no doubt the cause for the black eye I was now sporting. It had puffed up, but not enough for my eye to swell shut, thankfully.
I was the punch line to a bad joke. What’s black and red and purple and swollen all over? My face after I’d made one stupid decision after another.
“Jesus,” she gasped, covering her mouth with one hand. With a sad shake of her head, she let loose a long breath. “Who did this, Crissy? Who hurt you?”
I swallowed against the lump in my throat, my shoulders falling, completely defeated. I’d been able to put on a brave face around Rob. It was easy to forget what had happened when I was distracted by him. It was much harder when I knew the person looking at me truly cared.
When I didn’t answer, she offered a sympathetic smile. “We’ll talk later, then.” She glanced over her shoulder at the phone. “I should call Matty. He wouldn’t say much about what happened, other than you had some trouble and Robby had to take you home. But when you weren’t here and we both were so worried...” She trailed off, turning her attention back to me.
“Later,” I rushed to assure her. “I promise I’ll tell you everything later.”
“I’d ask if you were okay, just because I don’t know what else to say, but that seems like such a pathetic question.” Katie wrung her hands. “What can I do? How can I help?”
I didn’t want to sit down, not after the miserably long ride in the cold and damp from Liam’s to my apartment, but I fell into a chair anyway. Kate stood near, ready to wait on me. As much as I hated her hovering, I didn’t have the heart to tell her to leave me alone.
“I’m fine, really.” I reached out and squeezed her hand. “I need a hot shower and my own bed, that’s it.” And to hope the last few days had been a nightmare that would all disappear when I woke.
She clutched my hand tightly, as if she never wanted to let go. “Your brother is going to lose his mind when he sees you.”
Releasing her hand, I closed my fingers around the edges of the sleeves on my borrowed sweatshirt and tugged gently. My ego and face weren’t the only things bruised. I’d noticed the little black smudges around my wrists and found the finger-shaped bruises peppering my arms earlier. Feigning a chill, I’d grabbed a long-sleeved zip-up sweatshirt from the closet, just in case Rob hadn’t seen them. I’d do whatever I could to hide them from Katie as well.
The phone rang just as Rob emerged from the back of the apartment. I hoped it wasn’t my brother. I’d talk to him later, answer all his questions, tell him the things I needed to. But right then, I didn’t want to think about what had happened or deal with the news of Dale’s release. I just wanted a few minutes of quiet.
Kate lifted the receiver, answering in a hushed tone. Her face pinched into a frown as she listened to whomever was on the other end. “Yeah. Hold on just a second.”
I held up a hand, numerous excuses ready to avoid talking to Matt, yet she held out the handset to Rob. “It’s for you.”
There was no surprise on his face or in his movements as he reached for it. In fact, he seemed like he’d been expecting the call.
“What’d you find?” he demanded instantly. Pleasantries apparently too far beneath him.
“Is that Matt?” I hissed to Kate as she took the seat next to me.
“No. I don’t know who it is,” she admitted, her eyes also glued to her brother’s movements.
Before I could comment about the fact that strangers were calling our unlisted and unpublished number, Rob’s voice stopped me.
“It’s clear.” He pursed his lips, his eyes burning a hole in me, as he listened intently to the person on the other end of the line. “No, that’s good. I don’t know how long I’ll be gone.” Silence. “Both of them. Yeah.” Then he hung up, without as much as a good-bye, and glowered at me. “Shower. Supper. Bed.”
Neither Katie nor I moved. I was too tired to react, yet his sister’s face scrunched in confusion. “Is that a list of things you need? Because I was going to order pizza. You can shower before it gets here and then crash on the couch for the night.”
I chuckled at my friend’s sincere answer.
Rob shook his head as his eyes darted to her. “You spend too much time with your smartass roommate,” he informed her haughtily. His eyes fell on me again as if expecting me to hop up and do what he’d demanded. “Get a move on.”
I yawned, not to be a hag, but because I was actually tired. Rob’s scowl deepened as he watched, waiting for me to jump up and run for the shower. I attempted to ignore him. An uneasy tension filled the air.
“Okay,” Katie dragged out the word as her eyes darted from her brother to me. She closed her textbook and slowly started piling her supplies onto it. “Are you going to tell me why you’re getting calls at my apartment? Or fill me in on anything at all? Because I’ve been worried sick about my best friend for the last twenty-four hours and then you two show up here looking like” —her hand motioned to my face—“a matching set.”
Rob’s mouth quirked, but he fought the smile. I tried not to be offended by her off-handed remark. I did not look anything like her loser of a brother. His face looked like a bar room brawl gone horribly wrong. I looked like… I bit the inside of my cheek. Kate was right. Rob and I were practically twins.
“I’ve gotta go home,” Rob informed us with a small shrug. “I don’t know how long I’ll be. When I get back, the three of us are going to sit down and have a chat.” He pointed at each of us in turn. “Until then, all you need to know is that sisters of Bean Nighe prospects do not show up at the clubhouse. Ever. Cris found that out the hard way.”
The things in Katie’s hands fell to the table with a clunk as her head snapped toward me, mouth open. She’d said Matt had told her I’d had trouble and I’d assumed he’d told her what kind. Apparently, he’d left that part out.
“That happened at the clubhouse?” Her eyes were wide, horrified, as she fought for breath. Before I could answer, she spun around toward her brother. “Your friends did that to her?”
I heard the accusation, even if she hadn’t said the words. She blamed him. I shook my head, opening my mouth to defend him, to explain what had happened.
“I told you it wasn’t safe,” Rob snapped, “that the brothers are unpredictable. I told you they weren’t like me.” His angry gaze slid to mine. “I can’t keep you safe if you won’t fucking listen to me.”
Hands flew to her hips. “Are you blaming Cris?” Katie hissed, her tone full of disbelief. “Are you seriously saying that the girl who was beaten black and bl
ue is somehow responsible for what those monsters did?” Before he could answer, she moved around the table, toward him, her hands curled into fists at her side. “Who are you?” she cried. “What happened to my brother?” She flung an arm in my direction. “Is that what you’d say, how you’d justify it, if that was me who looked like that? We blame the victim now, huh? She was asking for it, right?” She spit the words. “Is that what you’re saying?”
Rob’s eyes flashed in anger, his nostrils flared, and I knew whatever shit he was going to accidentally spew would be said on pure instinct alone, and not something he actually meant. Before he could utter another word, I lunged around my friend and planted myself between them. I didn’t want either of them saying things they would never be able to take back, especially when Rob was the one who’d put himself on the line to get me out of a situation I’d created.
“No, no, no,” I told my best friend, holding up my hands. “He’s not saying that.”
Kate snapped her attention to me and snarled, so angry at the world that she wasn’t really seeing me. Taken completely off guard by her reaction, I jerked away from her and straight into a wall of muscle. I teetered, almost losing my balance, but a large arm wrapped around me, keeping me on my feet, before it pulled me into Rob’s side. He positioned my body almost behind him, as if he was sheltering me from his sister.
My calm and level-headed friend, the one who believed there was no reason to waste energy being angry, looked ready to lose control, her face bright red with rage. I could feel the anger radiating out of the man holding me. I knew I needed to shut down their argument or none of us would make it out unscathed. I slipped from Rob’s grasp, shouldering my way in front of him once more.
“No,” I said again, my voice hard and cold, something I barely recognized. “You’re wrong. That’s not what he’s saying. At all.” I turned my head slightly, finding his eyes. “He saved me.”
Rob’s forehead creased, not quite a frown but more like he was perplexed by my actions. I could see the weariness, the suspicion, as if he was trying to figure out what my agenda was. I hated that he still looked at me like I wasn’t worth trusting, especially after all I’d admitted the day before.
With a sigh, I faced Katie again. “Rob’s the hero in this story. I don’t know what I would’ve done without him.” I never thought I’d ever, under any situation, utter those words. As soon as they were out, though, I realized how true they were.
I braced myself mentally, ready to explain what had really happened, how badly I’d fucked up, when a loud knock interrupted. I forced a half-smile onto my face. “Guess that pizza’s here.”
Katie blinked a few times and then, as if coming out of a trance and just realizing what had happened, her eyes grew wide and her mouth fell open slightly. She snapped it shut with a sharp click of her teeth and took a deep breath. “I didn’t order it yet.”
With a quick squeeze to my shoulders, Rob moved to the door. I instantly missed the warmth of him behind me. I hadn’t realized I’d been standing that close to him or that he’d been touching me. I’d wager my every cent in my savings account that he hadn’t noticed he was holding on to me.
Katie eyed the door as if the devil himself was on the other side, but her brother didn’t even check the peephole before he yanked it open and announced, “Jesus, you’re slow in your old age.”
“That’s what happens when men like me stop chasing little assholes like you around. We sit and drink beer and think about the glory days.”
Wide, leather-covered shoulders blocked my view, so I couldn’t see the man on the other side of the door, but there was nothing but warmth in the greeting. Rob moved aside, making room for the stranger in our small kitchen. As soon as the man was through the door, he tugged the Red Sox hat from his head.
The older, salt-and-pepper-haired, slightly overweight man was not at all what I’d expected when I’d heard his voice. He was tall, an inch or two higher than Rob, but much stockier. His wide shoulders and large arms told me that he’d been a powerhouse in his prime.
He glanced around the room, finding Kate first. He smiled at her and offered a dip of his chin in greeting. When his eyes slid to me, they widened in surprise. He covered it quickly, hiding all emotion, and grinned before turning to Rob and slapping his shoulder in a familiar greeting.
Rob shut the door and stepped into the room between the stranger and us. Motioning back to the man, he grinned. “This son of a bitch was tasked with keeping me in line. Mr. McDavitt, meet my sister Katie,” he pointed to Kate, “And Cris, Matty’s sister.”
I didn’t recognize the name, and even though I felt like I’d seen him before, I had no idea who the stranger was. I offered him a small smile anyway.
“As you can see,” the older man drawled, “I didn’t do a very good job. I was nearing retirement when this one walked into my prison, so I may have gone too easy on him.”
Rob laughed, the sound so foreign that he stole all my attention. His face was split into a giant, genuine smile that made my heart hurt. He was handsome when he let his guard down for a split second. Which, if he was around me, was never. I wanted to see more of that side of him and the knowledge shocked me.
“Easy?” Rob argued playfully. “I barely made it out of there alive.”
From the look of confusion on Kate’s face, she was just as lost as I was. Neither of us said anything as we watched them rib each other. I was too enthralled in the interaction, in how Rob was a completely different person around Mr. McDavitt, to care what they were talking about or how they knew each other.
After a few minutes, the older man glanced at his watch. “You should get on the road.”
Rob nodded, his attention moving back to my side of the room. He cleared his throat. “Mac will give you his number. He’s going to keep an eye on things while I’m gone. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
“What do you mean ‘keep an eye on things?’” I snapped, breaking out of whatever spell I’d been under a few moments before.
“I mean,” Rob dragged out the word, “that Mac is going to make sure you stay out of trouble while I’m gone.”
“I don’t need a keeper!”
“Looks it.” Rob’s eyes narrowed on my face. “Try to make his job easy, not harder. Yeah?”
Before I could grumble a snarky reply, he pushed his lips onto Kate’s forehead. “I’ll call you later.”
He was all the way to the door before he gave me one last glance. “I mean it, brat. Be good.”
I glared at the door, fuming. Fuck him. I wasn’t a child he had to secure a babysitter for. I didn’t answer to him.
Just when I’d started to think that maybe there was more to him, the jackass reminded me there wasn’t. I tried to convince myself that it was a good thing. I didn’t want him to like me. And I certainly didn’t want anything to do with his brand of asshole.
15
Rocker
The rain had started to come down not long after I’d left the girls’ apartment, and by the time I pulled my Harley into the clubhouse lot, I was drenched to the bone. The ride back to Boston took almost two hours longer than normal. Torrential downpours had caused the other drivers to slow to speeds just above a crawl and made visibility, especially on the bike, almost non-existent.
Slasher had summoned me back to the clubhouse by morning. In my world, a message like that didn’t mean that I could stroll into the club first thing the next day. No, those words meant I had a few hours, at best, to get my ass home. And if I didn’t make it, whatever shit I was already wading through, would get a hell of a lot deeper.
There was no way to ignore his message. I either went when he called or paid the consequences later. There might be a day when I didn’t care, but this time, there were things he could do, people he could hurt, to punish me. So, I’d made sure the girls were being watched by someone I trusted and headed out.
When I pulled open the doors to the clubhouse, music, laughter, and thick smoke gree
ted me. I’d half expected the entire place to quiet, for everyone to stop what they were doing and stare. I’d committed treason. I’d pushed the barrel of my weapon into my VP’s temple and contemplated pulling the trigger. There was no reason I should be welcomed back there, let alone have no one notice my arrival. Yet not one of the lazy fucks batted an eye, too busy being lost in their alcohol and drugs, business as usual.
I moved around the outside of the room, hugging the wall, headed toward the back office. No one had seen me and I was determined to keep it that way. I wasn’t looking for trouble. God knew I’d enough of it already.
Zip was standing guard outside Slasher’s door, his arms crossed over his chest, feet plated wide, a menacing look plastered on his face. He only cocked an eyebrow when his eyes landed on me, as if I was more of an annoyance than anything.
“Wait here,” was all he said before he disappeared into the office.
His lack of reaction irked me. If the roles were reversed, I’d have beat his ass for the way he’d treated his VP. It didn’t matter that Shooter was a pathetic piece of shit. They wore the same fucking patch on their back, they’d sworn the same goddamn oath, and that was supposed to mean something.
When I’d seen Zip, I’d half hoped he’d mouth off. I was itching to find a reason to hit him. He’d kept Cris and Katie in the clubhouse, refused to let them leave. Even worse than that, he was the prick who’d had his hands on Cris Friday night. He was lucky I hadn’t ripped him to shreds already.
The door opened almost as quickly as it had closed. Zip held it wide, ushering me inside. As soon as I stepped into the dimly-lit room, he left, the door closing behind him with a loud click.
It was sketchy as hell.
Slash was seated behind his desk as Tiny stood watch next to him, and Tank reclined in one of the chairs in front of the giant piece of oak. My steps hesitated as I surveyed the otherwise empty room. There were too few people. I should have been facing down the entire court.