by KB Winters
Now it all made sense. Why she was pissed but didn’t fight me hard on staying at the ranch. She was planning to blow the whistle and disappear anyway.
“It’s a newspaper, sweetheart.” My gaze turned to Holden whose eyes were full of apology and fear and disappointment.
“Where were you?”
He sighed. “Found the kid camping out on the property and I mean kid. He’s no more than fourteen.”
“Fuck” It was more than I could deal with now, but this was the job of the club President. “Where is he?”
“Your office. With Mitch.”
“Thanks. Anything else?” Holden shook his head and took a seat, shoulders sagging low. “Peaches said she had his file, somewhere else.”
“The truck?” Holden said just as the thought crossed my mind. “What about the supply shed on the western pasture? Does she even know about it?”
I stood to take Maisie upstairs to my bedroom. “I have to try to find Peaches, kiddo. Slayer will stay here with you until I get back. Okay?”
She nodded, blue eyes still full of tears even though her sniffles had slowed. “Can I have hot cocoa now?”
“Sure but you listen to Slayer. If he tells you to do something, you do it. Okay?”
“I will Gunny. Love you.”
“Love you too, Maisie. See you soon.”
After I settled her in her room, I took off with Holden and Cruz at my side since Wheeler and Saint were still at the club. We made it to the small shed in record time, stopping a quarter mile away just in case the bastard wasn’t alone.
“Don’t worry, we’ll find her,” Holden said to reassure me.
“You don’t know that, Holden.”
He couldn’t possibly know that. “Chances are this doesn’t end well tonight.” And I knew that because I had the feeling I had in my gut every time I’d lost someone. The men in my unit, my fallen Reckless Bastards brothers, and even my mother.
“If you believe that, what the fuck are we doing here?”
“I have to try, Holden. She put herself between death and Maisie. I owe her.”
“I’m sure your gratitude will overwhelm her heart,” Cruz snorted. Crouched low, he moved ahead of us quickly, checking the area for traps. And snipers.
I was glad the guys were so sure, but I couldn’t be. Every fucking time I closed my eyes, there Peaches was, lying on the ground, pale with lifeless eyes, asking why I came too late.
“They’re inside,” Cruz whispered and motioned us forward to the door. “Listen.”
A man yelled angrily. “You said it was here, goddammit!”
“No, I said it should be here. Clearly some kindhearted soul decided to clean and detail my piece of shit truck. Who knew?”
My lips curled up because that woman was pure trouble, talking back even when she was outgunned.
“Get me that fucking file.”
“Get it yourself.”
What the hell was she doing, goading the man into killing her?
“You think your boyfriend’s gonna swoop in and save you? That’s rich,” he laughed.
“I don’t need anyone to save me, Gerald. I’m bored. If you plan to kill me you better do it quick before the hunter becomes the hunted. Because you will. You know the rules.”
“Just get me the fucking files, and I won’t have to.”
She barked out a laugh. “Sure hang on, let me grab the flash drive from my ass so I can save you.”
“It’ll be worth killing you just so I don’t have to hear your fucking voice again.”
Peaches continued to laugh and that was when Cruz gave the signal to get closer to our breach points.
A shot rang out before I kicked the door in and my heart got stuck in my throat.
“Not so easy to shoot someone who’s awake, is it?”
She continued to taunt him. I could hear but I couldn’t see shit in the dark shed lined with shelves.
I heard the smack. The punch. The struggle. As I made my way inside, I realized it wasn’t a gunshot but tear gas. He knew we were here.
“It wasn’t supposed to go down this way. Bob fucking Slauson,” he yelled and another smack sounded.
“Not. My. Fucking. Problem.” Each word was labored like she couldn’t catch her breath even as she fought back.
I finally could see the outline of them in the back of the second room, boxes strewn everywhere and about five feet between them.
“Peaches!”
She looked at me the moment the shot rang out and sent her spinning before she fell to the floor in a dead heap.
“Oh. Shit.” The sight tore a hole in my gut.
Seconds later two more shots rang out and the man fell.
“Get your girl,” Cruz yelled and ran toward the fallen man, kicking his gun across the room.
“He’s gone,” Cruz shouted when he bent over to check on him.
“Good.” My feet finally joined the party, carrying me towards Peaches’ limp body on the ground. “Shit, you had to go and get yourself shot, didn’t you?”
Her breathing was shallow but a welcome sound anyway. “My foster mom always said my mouth would be the death of me. Guess she was right.”
Fuck no she wasn’t. I couldn’t hear that, not now. I shook my head. “Only you could joke like that right now. Don’t even fucking think about dying, or I swear to God I’ll bring you back and kill you myself.”
“Seems. Inefficient,” she tried to joke but her skin was pale and her breathing shallow.
“I love you, Peaches. I know this is the worst possible time to tell you, but it’s true, and since you couldn’t wait for our talk later, I’m telling you now.”
I held my breath and waited for her to say something. To smile or frown, to hit me. Something. Anything.
“I must be dying if you’re lying to me again.”
“I’m not and you’re not dying. I won’t let you. Because I love you.”
She rolled her eyes, but I didn’t miss the joyful smile on her face.
“This hurts like a motherfucker Gunnar, I won’t lie. I’m not dying.”
“I know that, dummy. I figured I’d press my luck because you might be fuzzy enough to say it back to me.”
I smiled, my heart full despite the way her blood oozed all over the floor, my hands and my jeans.
She smiled up at me, wincing from the pain despite the smile on her face.
“I must be feeling fuzzy then, because I love you too, Gunny.”
Her right arm lifted up to cup my cheek gently. “Fuck, this really hurts,” she said again and then passed out.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Peaches
I didn’t know where the hell I was, never mind how I’d got there. All I knew was that pain radiated throughout my entire body, but mostly the back of my head. And my left shoulder? Fuck, it hurt like hell.
“Oh, fuck me!” Trying to sit up caused more pain and I couldn’t even think about opening my eyes.
“Peaches you’re okay. You’re safe.”
A feminine voice whispered soothing words at my side, grabbing my hand in soft petite hands. “Don’t try to sit up.”
The voice was familiar but I couldn’t put a name to it, not while my mind raced trying to figure out how in the hell I’d gotten hurt. My eyes were shut tight as her voice continued to spout soothing nonsense words until I stopped struggling to sit up.
“I need you to relax, Peaches. You’re safe now. Open your eyes. I’ve dimmed the lights so you should be able to open them now.”
I tried to open them but a flash of memory came to me and they snapped shut. There was a guy with thick blond hair holding a gun on Maisie. Then on me. I sat up and let out a feral scream of pain as a thousand knives stabbed my shoulder.
“Why am I in so much pain?” I cried out.
“Open your eyes, Peaches. Now.” The feminine voice was firm and commanding and slowly my eyes opened, one at a time. She smiled. “There you go. Welcome back.”
The fi
rst time I saw her I thought she was mousy but there was an intellectual beauty about those kind honey brown eyes and her thick shoulder-length chocolate hair.
“Dr. Keyes. What are you doing here? How did I get here?”
Some shit must have gone down for my memory to have abandoned me. I wondered where Gunnar and the guys were, but I didn’t know if I was ready for that answer. Yet.
“You’re in one of the guest rooms on the ranch.”
I was on the ranch. “The ranch? Where’s Maisie, is she all right?”
I remembered that blond asshole with his gun trained on Maisie, like she was just a game piece. “Have you seen her?”
I know I sounded desperate, but I had to make sure she was all right, at least as much as possible after what happened last night. Was it even last night?
“I have, and she’s fine. She was pretty overwhelmed and shaken up but she’s sleeping now.”
She was safe. That was good. Whatever else had happened, I was grateful to hear that. “Good. Thanks. How soon do you think until I can get out of here?”
“You’ve been resting for the past day and a half, but your body needs time to heal. That bullet tore through your shoulder pretty badly, tearing a few ligaments but thankfully, it went straight through.”
I listened to her words with half an ear, wondering where in the hell Gunnar was, since he wasn’t here by my side, making sure I made it through the night. If Maisie was sleeping then he had to be around here somewhere.
“Why do I even give a damn?”
“Excuse me?” the doctor said.
“Nothing. What kind of drugs did you give me?”
“Painkillers and a sedative. Do you have any problems with addiction?”
“No, but I need my head clear. I’ve got to get out of here.”
I needed to be able to think. I didn’t know where the blond guy was or who might come after he was dealt with, which meant I needed to run while I could.
“No. You need to take a few days and let your body heal. This seems like a pretty great place to recuperate.”
Of course it did to her. She wasn’t abandoned by a guy who pretended to love her only when he thought she was dying.
“I just…never mind. So how long, in actual time, Doc?”
“Six weeks. That’s how long your arm will be immobile. After that will be a few months of physical therapy, but I can’t force you to do anything. However, I am recommending that you take a few weeks to do nothing but relax. No traveling, no working, no cooking, and no sex.”
I snorted. “Not a problem, Dr. Keyes.”
“Call me Annabelle.”
I smiled. “That’s it. Belle, you look like Belle from Beauty & the Beast. Tell me Belle, how did you end up here?”
She pursed her lips and took a step back. “That’s something you should talk to Gunnar about.”
I barely knew her but even I could tell she was being squirrely.
“I’m asking you. Tell me.”
“A bunch of suits swooped in and forced everyone to sign NDAs and a bunch of other paperwork while quietly muttering words like treason and life sentence. They took that little kid and left something for you as well.”
Annabelle handed me a thick envelope and I took it with a shaky hand.
“That doesn’t tell me how you got here, Annabelle.”
She smiled. “Gunnar and his friend Wheeler came to my house and begged me to come help you.”
“You shouldn’t have done that, Doc.” Inside the envelope was an apology for the CAD mission and Gerald Stranson, a non-disclosure agreement with my signature already in place, probably from the signature in my file. There was also a check, a really big fucking check. It didn’t make everything okay, but it sure as shit made me smile. Nothing would be okay after this, but the money would make everything easier.
“I guess that’s it then.”
“You sound disappointed.”
“Not disappointed. Shocked a little.”
It didn’t feel like it was over, which was kind of fucked up. It was too easy to adapt to the bullshit, to get used to it.
“Did you have any other patients here at the ranch?”
“Some scrapes and bruises from the guys but that’s it.”
Big brown eyes cut to the door and my gaze followed hers. I had to hold in a groan at the sight of Gunnar, disheveled and frowning, like he usually was.
“I’ll be right outside if you need anything.”
Annabelle, the traitor, left like someone had just set her ass on fire.
“What are you doing here?”
“What do you think? I came to make sure you’re all right.” He scraped a hand over his head and blew out a breath. “How do you feel?”
“Like shit. What happened?”
I listened as he told me what he knew and what Maisie told him about what happened that night, ending with me taking a bullet to the shoulder and the Feds showing up.
“Sounds like I missed all the excitement.”
He snorted and stepped inside the room, taking a seat on the edge of my bed. “You were the excitement, Peaches.”
“What happened to Stranson?” I had to know if I could relax completely or if would spend the rest of my life looking over my shoulder. It was an uneasy thing to think about, being on the run with a gunshot wound.
“Cruz put two in him after he shot you. He’s dead. I fucking froze, Peaches and I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine, Gunnar. At least Cruz is a better shot than Stranson. I’m still here. Still annoying the hell out of you, for a little while anyway.”
“So you’re still planning on leaving, huh?”
He sounded angry and maybe disappointed, but mostly angry.
“I can’t stay here.” Could I?
“Who says? What would you say if I asked you to stay?” Blue eyes were wide and full of hope, his full lips struggling not to smile.
“I don’t know, Gunnar, are you asking me to stay?”
I was done with mixed messages. If Stranson was dead that meant I was still alive and still had a long life ahead of me. If he wanted an answer, he would have to ask the damn question.
This time he didn’t fight the lip twitch. He let the smile spread until he was practically beaming. “Peaches, I want you to stay on Hardtail Ranch with me. And Maisie.”
“Why? If this is some attempt at keeping me safe again, I don’t need you to do all that.”
“You are one damn stubborn woman, aren’t you? I’m not asking you to stay to take care of you, but you can bet your sweet ass that I will protect you every damn day we’re together. I want you to stay because I love you, Peaches.”
He smiled at me, one of those sexy sweet smiles that hinted that maybe the boy next door might just rock your world.
“Somewhere along the way, I fell for you and your crazy. And I want you around all day. Everyday.”
Damn. How did a girl respond to a declaration like that?
“Gunnar.”
“Just think about it, Peaches. I know we didn’t have the best start because I was a grumpy asshole, had a blind spot where you were concerned, and I nearly missed out on knowing you. Now that I know you, I want to know more. I want to erase that sadness from your eyes and replace it with pleasure. With joy. With love.”
My eyes started to sting and no amount of blinking would relieve me. “You’re determined to make me cry, aren’t you?”
“No joking, Peaches. Not now.”
He was right. “Fine. All that sounds good, Gunnar, but are you sure? It wasn’t so long ago that you hated my guts and wanted me gone. Told me I was a good fuck but nothing more. You don’t even trust me, so how can any of this work?”
“Because it will. Because I’m willing to be open minded about this shit. Plus, did you hear the whole part about me being in love with you?”
How could I not hear that? “It’s the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me, Gunnar. But I need you to be sure.”
“I’
m dead fucking certain, Peaches. Sounds like you’re not though.”
He was right. Maybe. “I love you, Gunnar. Even though I’m terrified you’re going to wake up one day and remember how much you hate me, I love you. If I’m gonna try, then I need to know you’re sure. That you love me and not who you want me to be.”
“I love you, Peaches. All of you, from your dirty mouth to your big heart, the way you love Maisie. The way you’re willing to help anyone, even grumpy assholes.”
“Especially grumpy assholes,” I corrected him, feeling my eyelids growing heavy. “I’ll stay, but if you want me gone, just say the words. Okay?”
“I’m more likely to tie you to my bed than kick you off the ranch, but sure, I promise.”
“To tie me to the bed? Sounds kinky.” Even my words were starting to sound sleepy, and I reached up to stroke his chin, his jaw.
“Get better and I’ll give you all the kink you can handle.”
“The Barn Door? Off-hours? It’s a fantasy of mine.”
“Just say the word, and I’ll fuck you as hard or as soft as you want. Whatever you want.”
“I want you Gunnar. Just you.” My lips curled into a smile as I drifted off to sleep, but I heard the sweetest words before sleep claimed me.
“Good, because I’m yours, baby.”
Epilogue
Gunnar ~ 6 Months Later
“Are you sure this is what you want to do today? There’s still plenty of time to back out.” Peaches had one leg hitched up on my hip, her naked body warm as it pressed against mine, a sultry smile on her full lips.
I palmed her ass, loving the husky way she laughed when I surprised her, and pulled her close so she could see what she was doing to me. “Don’t try to wiggle out of it now. You’ve had six months to change your mind.”
She tried to pull away, but I held her firmly. “I’m not changing my mind. I’m just giving you one last chance to change yours. Because I am a good fucking person.”
“The best,” I told her sarcastically. “Change my mind about making you mine completely? Not in a million fucking years, babe.”
She smiled that sweet smile that was at such odds with her dangerous curves and sexy mouth, and the love I felt for Peaches swelled in my chest.