Copper (Blackwings MC - Devils Springs Book 1)

by Teagan Brooks

  “I wouldn’t mind, but you won’t be able to see anything since it’s on the back of your leg. I can take a picture if you want,” he offered.

  “I’ll pass,” I muttered.

  He shrugged. “About your leg, for lack of a better description, you were gored by a wild boar. You told us you came across two wild boars while hiking, and they came after you. You said you ran and climbed on top of a large boulder to get away from them. According to your story, one of them got ahold of your leg while you were trying to climb. In my opinion, it looks like one of them got your calf with a lower canine which tore through your skin and some muscle.”

  As he spoke, the memories slowly came back to me. I remembered running from the boars. I remembered being stuck on top of that boulder for what seemed like hours. I remembered a man shooting the boars, then chasing after me. I looked up and narrowed my eyes. “You!” I spat, pointing an accusatory finger at the other man in the room.

  He smirked, “Guess you do remember.”

  I focused on Splint. “I want him out of here,” I demanded.

  “Sorry, Kayla. I’m technically his guest. I don’t have any right to kick him out,” Splint answered.

  Fine. If he wouldn’t leave, I would. I moved and attempted to get out of bed.

  “Whoa. What are you doing?” Splint asked.

  “If he won’t go, I will,” I spat.

  “No, you won’t,” Copper’s deep voice rumbled through the room. “You would be dead if it weren’t for me. The least you can do is sit your ass down and accept the care you’re being given for free.”

  “Fine, but then I’m out of here. And for the record, I don’t like you.” Childish? Yes, but it was all I could come up with. The truth was, I wouldn’t have been able to get very far on my own; however, there was no way I would admit it.

  “You aren’t the first, and you won’t be the last, Locks,” he said with unmistakable arrogance.

  “Locks?” I questioned.

  “Didn’t know your name and needed to call you something other than ‘woman.’ You reminded me of Goldie Locks, traipsing around in the woods and sneaking into places you don’t belong with that mess of blonde hair,” he casually explained.

  “I was not traipsing!” I screamed.

  “Enough,” Splint stated. “This isn’t good for her. She needs to rest and let her body heal. Getting her so worked up she’s trying to leave isn’t helping anything.”

  Copper pinned Splint with a fierce glare, “I’ll let you have that one, but don’t you speak to me like that again.”

  “Got it, Pre—Copper,” Splint mumbled before he directed his attention to me. “As for you, your leg is infected, severely. Copper found you basically unconscious in a tent in the woods and carried you back to the cabin. I’ve been giving you IV antibiotics and IV fluids while monitoring you closely. You need to stay put and let me give you the medicines to fight off the infection. If you leave before you’ve finished the antibiotics, the same thing will happen to you, only you’ll be in far worse shape than you are now. You’re at risk of losing your leg or dying. Understood?”

  I nodded my understanding, even though I was certain he was exaggerating the severity. “How long will I have to stay here?”

  “Probably a couple of days. You need several more doses of IV antibiotics before you can switch to pills. Once you switch to the pills, as long as you can change your dressing and promise to finish the antibiotics, you can leave,” Splint explained.

  I highly doubted I would be free to leave, if the menacing look on Copper’s face was anything to go by. I would have to fight that battle when I came to it. In the meantime, it seemed as if there was nothing else I could do except accept the care being provided for me.

  Instead of encouraging either one of the two to continue talking, I tilted my head back and closed my eyes. The medicine Splint had given me had taken the edge off the pain in my leg and was perhaps making me drowsy. Before long, I drifted off to sleep, blissfully unaware of my surroundings.

  ***

  For two days, I was waited on hand and foot by Splint. He brought me food, medicine, and assisted me to the bathroom. He didn’t talk to me about anything that wasn’t directly related to my health. At first, I was thankful for that, but by the end of the second day, I was beyond frustrated. Surely, they had questions for me. I certainly had come up with a list of my own questions for them.

  “Knock, knock,” Splint called, as he always did before he entered the room. “How are you feeling today?”

  “Better than yesterday,” I said, which is exactly how I answered him the previous two mornings.

  “Great. While you’re eating breakfast, I want to go over how to change your dressing. When you’re finished, I want to watch you do it to make sure you can handle it when I’m not around.”

  I nodded and proceeded to inhale my breakfast while he prattled on about clean hands and a sterile field. I wanted to roll my eyes. Seriously, gauze plus tape, not hard.

  “Kayla, you have to take this seriously. It’s not like putting a bandage on a scraped knee. You have a serious wound in your leg that is very susceptible to infection. You have to do this properly to prevent it from getting infected again,” Splint said, sounding irritated with me.

  “I am taking this seriously. I heard everything you said to me about thoroughly washing my hands and making sure to not contaminate the sterile field,” I said, a little irritated myself.

  “Okay, let’s see how you do,” he said.

  Apparently, I could not fumble my way through changing the dressing to his liking, buying me another day trapped in the cabin. At least I was able to move around by myself, and I even managed to take a shower. Unfortunately, that also meant I had to either put my dirty clothes back on or hand wash them in the sink. I opted to wash my underwear and shirt in the sink. I would tackle my jeans another time.

  “Knock, knock,” Splint called from the other side of the bathroom door.

  “You may not come in,” I blurted, wrapping the towel tighter around my body.

  “You’ve been in there a long time. I just wanted to make sure you were okay,” he said, and I could hear the concern in his tone.

  “I’m fine. I’m just waiting for my clothes to dry,” I explained.

  I heard a whispered curse followed by, “I’ll leave you to it.” I thought his reaction was odd, but in all honesty, the whole situation was odd at best.

  When I emerged from the bathroom hours later, wearing dry underwear, dirty jeans that were cut off below the knee on one side, and a slightly damp, albeit clean, shirt, I was utterly shocked to find several bags of clothing on my bed. On top of one of the bags was a note:

  Hope these fit.

  Sorry, we’re men.

  Clean clothes didn’t occur to us.

  It wasn’t signed, but I knew it had to be from Splint. Copper hadn’t said more than two words, if that, to me since he left the room after our heated discussion.

  I looked through the bags and pulled out a pair of yoga pants, a t-shirt, a pair of panties, and a tank top with a built-in shelf bra to wear. The shelf bra would do little to nothing to contain the monsters residing on my chest, but it was better than leaving the girls free to wobble to and fro while I washed and dried the only bra I owned.

  As I continued going through the bags, I was beyond delighted to discover one bag containing toiletries—girly toiletries. I was half-tempted to take another shower. Instead, I brushed my teeth, swiped on some deodorant, and drenched my face in moisturizer. When all was said and done, I felt like a new woman. I was also exhausted and decided a nap was in order.

  Chapter Five

  Copper

  Splint left to go back to Devil Springs shortly after he returned with numerous bags of clothes and toiletries for Locks. It hadn’t occurred to either one of us that she might need clean clothes or other necessities such as a toothbrush. I handed him a wad of cash and told him to go get whatever she needed. When he returne
d, he went over the instructions for her dressing change with me and informed me she could leave, as far as he was concerned, once she demonstrated changing it properly.

  Instead of going to her room and having her change the dressing for me, I was waiting for her to come find me. I knew she would because it was obvious she was anxious to leave. Little did she know, she wasn’t going anywhere until she answered all of my questions.

  I was outside on the deck drinking a beer when Badger called. “What’s up, brother?” I answered.

  “Madge, from the diner, called this morning to check in. Said there’d been a lot of activity on my side of the mountain. Everything okay up there?”

  I snorted. “Depends on your definition of okay,” I said and filled him in on what happened with Kayla since I’d last talked to him.

  “What’s this girl look like?” he asked.

  “She’s got long blonde hair that’s kinda wavy, blue eyes, average height, tight ass, nice tits, probably around twenty-five years old. Why?”

  He cleared his throat, and I suddenly had an uneasy feeling. “Madge said a woman matching that description was reported missing a few weeks ago by the woman who lives on the other side of the mountain, Evelyn Carmichael. Evelyn refused to give the woman’s name and only gave a vague description. It all sounded fishy, and the Sheriff didn’t know what to make of it. Evelyn was in the hospital when she made the report. Claimed she’d fallen down her front stairs and hit her head, but Sheriff Simmons said there was evidence of a struggle when he went to make sure her place was locked up. But no one ever saw hide nor hair of the woman.”

  “So, why don’t we call Evelyn and ask her if Kayla is the missing woman?”

  “I don’t know how to get in touch with her right now. Madge said she’d also broken her hip when she fell and was at some rehab place in the city until she healed,” he explained.

  “Fuck, you think Kayla did that to Evelyn?” I asked in surprise.

  “Not a clue, brother. Did you ask Spazz to check her out?”

  “Yeah, after I found out her name. He called yesterday and asked for a picture of her. I was able to get one after she fell asleep last night. Haven’t heard back from him yet.”

  “I’ll see if Madge knows how to get in touch with Evelyn. In the meantime, I’d keep an eye on that girl, and don’t let her go anywhere until we find out what in the hell is going on.”

  “Will do. Thanks, Badger.”

  I leaned back in the chair and sighed. The reason I came up to the cabin in the first place was to have a few days of peace and quiet to clear my head. Instead, those few days had been filled with chaos and drama. I was hoping to be able to send Locks on her way after one more night at the cabin so I could finally enjoy some time alone, but it seemed that was no longer in the cards for me.

  My phone rang again, and I answered without looking at the screen, assuming it was Badger. “Prez,” Spazz said, “Couldn’t find anything solid with the name, but I got a hit on the picture you sent, and I’m not comfortable with where the search is taking me.”

  After spending some time with Byte from the Croftridge chapter, Spazz rarely had issues hacking into anything. “Explain,” I ordered.

  “The facial recognition software hit on a federal site, the FBI to be exact. I don’t know if I could even get into their site, but just trying could bring a world of trouble to our doorstep.”

  “Okay, don’t go any further with the search. I’ll make some calls and see if I can get some answers through other channels. Thanks, Spazz.”

  “No prob, Prez.”

  Why in the hell would a picture of Locks hit on a site belonging to the FBI? I knew she was hiding something, but I never would have guessed it was anything worthy of federal attention.

  Sighing, I dialed my cousin. “Phoenix, I need your help with something.”

  “It’s about damn time. As much as you’ve helped me and mine over the last couple of years, I’ve been waiting on the opportunity to return some of the favors. Whatcha got, man?” Phoenix asked, sounding far too pleased with my request for assistance.

  I filled him in on Locks and explained the results of Spazz’s search. “Do you think Luke would help us out? I don’t want to be accused of aiding and abetting a fugitive if it turns out she is a wanted criminal.”

  “I’m sure he will. He’s still trying to get off of my shit list. Send me her name and the picture.”

  “Thanks, Phoenix.”

  “Yep. I’ll get back to you in a bit,” he said and ended the call.

  I went back inside after I finished my beer. In the kitchen, I found Locks rifling through the cabinets. “Looking for something?” I asked.

  She jumped and squealed at the sound of my voice. Whirling around, she tried to glare at me through the pained grimace on her face. “Food, asshole. I was looking for something to eat so I can take my medicine.”

  “Have a seat,” I said gruffly. “I’ll cook something. I’m hungry, too.”

  “No, thanks. I’ll just go back upstairs until you’re finished,” she huffed.

  “Kayla, sit,” I ordered.

  Her eyes widened in fear, and she quietly dropped her ass onto a barstool. A part of me, a small part, felt bad for scaring her. Another part of me thought she might be a criminal trying to get anything and everything she could from me.

  As I started preparing something for dinner, I decided it was well past time for the two of us to have a discussion. Splint mentioned trying a different approach to get her to talk since barking questions and demanding answers hadn’t been working. It couldn’t hurt to try his method. If it didn’t prove to be fruitful, I would revert back to barking and demanding.

  “After dinner, we’ll do your dressing change and make sure you can do it by yourself. I’m sure you’re anxious to get out of here,” I said casually.

  “Okay,” she replied.

  I waited a few beats to see if she would say something else. When she didn’t, I continued, “I have a phone if you want to make some calls. Your friends and family are probably worried about you.”

  “They knew I was going on a hiking trip and would be gone for a few days,” she replied.

  “Have you ever ridden on a motorcycle?” I asked.

  “What?” she asked, sounding surprised by my question.

  When I repeated myself, she shook her head and asked, “Why?”

  “You can’t hike out of here on your injured leg, so I’ll take you to wherever you need to go,” I explained.

  She looked at her lap and started fiddling with her hands. “Oh, um, that won’t be necessary. Besides, I need to look for the pack I dropped when the boars came after me.”

  “Hate to break it to you, but I already searched the surrounding area. No sign of your pack.”

  She huffed. “If it’s all the same to you, I would like to look for it myself.”

  I was getting irritated with her. She was clearly lying to me. I watched her go into the bunker with my own damn eyes. I knew for a fact she had been staying there for several weeks, based on the amount of resources that had been used. Since the food was done, I dropped the subject and sat down beside her to eat.

  She ate in silence, side-eyeing me through the entire meal. I wouldn’t have been able to keep the smirk off my face if my life depended on it. Never turning my head or my eyes in her direction, I asked, “See something you like?”

  She squeaked and flinched. “E-excuse me?”

  “You keep glancing at me. Why?” I asked, genuinely curious.

  “Sorry. I didn’t realize I was doing that,” she said softly.

  Sure she didn’t, but I let it go. The woman was a conundrum wrapped in a mystery. The reason behind her repeated glances was the least of my concerns.

  After dinner, we went up to the bedroom to change the dressing on her leg since that’s where Splint left an obnoxious amount of supplies. It was also because I planned to resume my quest for answers, and I could easily prevent her from escaping by
locking the door. While she was incoherent from the infection, I installed a deadbolt lock on the bedroom as well as locks requiring a key on the bedroom and bathroom windows. She wasn’t going to get away from me again.

  She went into the bathroom to change clothes, emerging in a tight black tank top and a pair of shorts that were damn near indecent. My cock twitched in my pants. He didn’t care about the potential disasters surrounding this woman. All he cared about were the creamy thighs and swells of large breasts on display.

  I cleared my throat, “Ready when you are.”

  She nodded and moved to the bed. “I’ve already washed my hands,” she informed me before silently going through the steps and changing her dressing without issue.

  “Good job,” I said flatly, causing her head to shoot up. “Now, I’m tired of your bullshit. I want some answers, and you aren’t leaving this place until I get them. Are we clear?”

  She audibly swallowed and nodded. “What do you want to know?”

  “First of all, I want the truth this time. I know you weren’t out hiking. I watched you climb out of the bathroom window, slide down a blanket, and walk straight to the bunker. Then, I watched you climb out with two bags, walk off into the forest, and set up a campsite about a mile from here. I also know someone has been staying in the bunker for what appears to be several weeks. I’m guessing that someone is you. So, tell me, Kayla, what the hell are you up to?”

  I was not prepared for her response. She blinked her big, blue eyes at me and burst into tears. Sobs and gasps wracked her body as she unleashed a torrent of emotions. Without thinking, I was by her side and wrapping my arms around her. I gently rocked her while smoothing her hair, hoping I was providing some semblance of comfort. Women and their fucking tears.

  “Hey, it’s going to be okay. You’re not in any trouble for being here. No one’s going to hurt you. We just want to know what’s going on,” I murmured.

  “We?” she choked out.

  “This is my friend’s cabin. He lets me stay here when I need a few days away. When I saw you go into the bunker, I thought maybe he forgot to tell me he had a guest. I called and asked, and he didn’t have a clue who you were,” I explained.