Copper (Blackwings MC - Devils Springs Book 1)

by Teagan Brooks

  “Okay, whatever you think is best,” she agreed, far easier than I expected.

  We made small talk until Leigh returned from visiting the girls. As I assumed, Leigh offered her house up to anyone who needed a place to stay. I assured her it would be just the two of us for the time being. She gave me an odd look, but thankfully didn’t question why I was staying as well.

  Chapter Ten

  Layla

  Crap. I didn’t want to like these people. I mean, Copper was one hot man, and any heterosexual female would have to agree, but he had been quite a dick to me on more than one occasion.

  Leigh, on the other hand, seemed like the older sister I always wished for and never had. She gave me a makeover! No one, not even my own mother, had ever given me a makeover. In Mom’s defense, it was probably because she was too busy working her tail off trying to provide a decent life for us.

  It would be easier to get away if I didn’t like the people. Leigh made me want to stay. And if I was being completely honest, Copper made me want to stay as well, for an entirely different reason.

  I knew I couldn’t stay. If I did, I could potentially be putting them in danger. I could also be putting myself in danger. I knew there were likely three angry men looking for me, and I had no idea where they were and what connections they had. I couldn’t chance being spotted and sent back to one of my previous hells. So, even though I didn’t want to leave, I would, but I could stay for a few more days as long as I kept a low profile.

  With that decided, I changed into a tank top and some shorts, took care of my dressing, and climbed into bed. It felt like hours before I fell asleep. My mind wouldn’t stop running in overdrive.

  I woke with a start, my eyes instantly opening and searching for the cause. “It’s just me. Didn’t mean to scare you,” was whispered from behind me.

  In. The. Bed.

  A warm hand snaked across my waist and pulled me back against a firm chest. “Go back to sleep.”

  Okay, sure. There’s an unexpected man in my bed, but I’ll just go back to sleep. I don’t think so. “What are you doing in here?” I asked, my voice hoarse from sleep.

  “Trying to get some sleep,” Copper grumbled.

  “Well, do it in your own bed,” I squeaked.

  “Sleep, Locks. Just sleep,” he mumbled.

  Before I could protest any further, his body relaxed and I heard his breathing grow deeper and even out. How in the hell had he fallen asleep that fast?

  Much to my chagrin, I found myself snuggling back against him and falling asleep in record time.

  When I woke that morning, Copper was plastered to my back, one leg wedged between both of mine, and his hand was cupping my bare breast underneath my tank top. Despite my best efforts to will my body to behave, my traitorous nipples pointed out their delight at the situation.

  I took in a slow, deep breath before I tried to extricate myself from Copper’s grasp. Unfortunately, I didn’t get very far. I had moved maybe an inch when his arm tightened, and by extent, his hand. I involuntarily rolled my hips back, eliciting a low groan from him.

  He rocked forward, pressing closer to me and nuzzling my neck, his warm breath causing goosebumps to erupt on my skin. His hand moved down, and he caught my nipple between his thumb and forefinger, pinching lightly. It was my turn to moan. And it might as well have been the equivalent to a bucket of ice water.

  Copper was suddenly off the bed and across the room breathing heavily. “This,” he barked, pointing an accusatory finger at the bed, “cannot happen.” With that, he bolted from the room like his pants were on fire. The bastard even slammed the door on his way out.

  To say I was mortified would have been an understatement. Furthermore, I hadn’t initiated any of it. He was the one who crawled into bed with me. He was the one who put his hand under my shirt. I tried to spare us both embarrassment by getting out of bed. But HE wouldn’t let me.

  Well, I was getting out of bed, and I was going to find President Shithead and let him know exactly what I thought about his declaration of what could not happen. Only, I didn’t get the chance. Before I could get the door open, I heard a bike fire up and race away from the house. Not only had I driven him from my bed, but I had also driven him from the house as well.

  What a wonderful way to start the day. On the bright side, feeling rejected and humiliated would make it easier to leave. On that note, I decided to focus on figuring out how to get to my friend’s place. I hated asking people for handouts, but I didn’t even have one damn penny to my name, and I refused to compromise my morals for a little bit of money because that would make me just as bad as them.

  The thought almost had me bursting into tears, until my pity party was interrupted by a knock on the door. Leigh poked her head in and surveyed the room. “I heard Copper roar out of here a few minutes ago. Is everything okay?”

  I shrugged, “As far as I know. He didn’t say anything to me.”

  She gave me a once over and pursed her lips. “I see. Well, I was about to start breakfast. You hungry?”

  No, I wasn’t, but I knew better than to pass up a free meal. My future wouldn’t likely hold many full and free meals. I gave her a fake smile, “I am. I just need a few minutes to freshen up.”

  I let myself have five minutes and no more to silently freak out and break down in the bathroom before I pushed it all to the back of my mind and made my way to the kitchen. Whatever Leigh was making smelled divine.

  “Have a seat. It’s almost ready,” Leigh called over her shoulder.

  Minutes later, she placed a loaded plate in front of me, followed by two more full plates, before she sat down with one for herself. Before I could ask, a door opened, and Judge entered the room with another man at his side. A big man. A big, scary man. I briefly wondered if I was to be his snack instead of the food on the table.

  Both men took a seat at the table while I continued to stare, frozen in shock. Leigh cleared her throat, “Kayla, I’m not sure if you were formally introduced yesterday. This is my son, Judge. And this big beast might as well be my son. He goes by Batta. Boys, this is Kayla, Copper’s friend.”

  Judge nodded in my direction, “Morning, Kayla.”

  Batta, who was sitting beside me, held out his hand, “Nice to meet you, Kayla.” When my only response was to swallow audibly, he chuckled. “I’m really not that scary, am I?” he asked with feigned surprise.

  A laugh burst from my lips before I could stop it, followed by verbal diarrhea. “Hell, yes, you are. You’re freaking huge. I mean, really, I didn’t know humans came in that size. Were you the size of a toddler when you were born? Oh, your poor mother. Did she survive the birth? Let me see your hand. I bet it’s at least half the size of my arm. Oh my gosh, are you like one of those guys on TV that can squat cars and stuff? I can’t remember what—”

  Batta interrupted me, “Slow down, Speedy, and let me answer one question before you ask another.”

  I instantly felt my cheeks flame with embarrassment. “I’m so sorry. Sometimes I ramble when I’m nervous. If you’ll excuse me, I’ll just head upstairs and leave you to finish your breakfast.”

  His giant hand gently landed on my forearm. “It’s fine, sweetheart. Sit and finish your meal. I will say, I’ve gotten a variety of responses when meeting new people over the years, but yours was by far the best,” he said with a twinkle in his eye and laughter in his voice.

  I picked up my fork and started eating my breakfast, at a loss for words after my outburst.

  Batta, however, was not at a loss for words. “To answer your questions: No, I was not the size of a toddler when I was born. Believe it or not, I was born premature, weighing only three pounds. My mother did survive childbirth and even my teenage years. No, I cannot squat a car, though I can lift the front end of one. And, I believe you were referring to the strongest man competitions. No, I’m not one of those guys,” he said, with a cheeky grin.

  “You can pick up a car?” I asked incredulously.
<
br />   “The front end of a car, not a car,” he corrected.

  “Still, that’s impressive. Did you use steroids to get so big?”

  He threw his head back and guffawed. “Shit, she’s making my eyes water. Leigh, how long is she staying?”

  “I don’t know, dear. Copper didn’t specify when he asked,” she replied.

  Batta turned his attention back to me, “No steroids. I have a naturally large frame, and I work out regularly. So, how long are you going to be hanging around?”

  I tried to mask my panic when I answered, “I’m not sure. I guess until Copper says I can go home.”

  Batta studied my face and asked, “Why does Copper have any say in when you can go home?”

  I dropped my eyes to the plate of food in front of me. “It’s a long story, but the short version is, he’s helping me with something.”

  Batta nodded, “I see. Anything I can do to help?”

  And just like that, another person had me wanting to stay when I knew I couldn’t. I smiled softly, “Thank you for the offer, but unless you can speed up time, there’s nothing you can do.” His eyebrows crinkled in confusion, so I continued, “I was injured while hiking, and Copper found me. He helped me get the medical attention I needed and has been helping me take care of my leg while it’s healing.”

  “Sounds like Copper,” he chuckled. “What happened to your leg?”

  “Uh, like I said, I was hiking, and I stumbled upon two wild boars. They charged. I ran. One got the back of my calf before I could get away.”

  “No shit,” he said and gave a low whistle. “That had to hurt.”

  “Actually, I didn’t notice it until after Copper found me. I climbed on top of a large boulder to get away. I figured the boars would eventually get bored and leave, allowing me to get away. Wrong. I was stuck on that rock for a long time before Copper happened to come along. He shot the boars and helped me down. I didn’t feel anything until Copper pointed out the blood.”

  He raised his eyebrows, “Adrenaline can do some crazy things. I hope this doesn’t offend you, but can I see it, the wound that is?”

  I scrunched my nose, “Yeah, but fair warning, it’s nasty.” I scooted my chair away from the table and rolled up the leg of my yoga pants to reveal the covered wound. “It’s time for me to change the bandage anyway,” I said before removing the dressing.

  “That little fucker got you good. How many stitches you got in there?”

  I shrugged, “I have no idea. I was out when it was sewn up and never bothered to ask.”

  He nodded, “It looks like it’s healing well. How long has it been since it happened?”

  I wasn’t entirely sure of the answer since I lost a few days with the fever and infection. “About a week, I think. I started running a high fever, so a couple of days are kind of a blur.”

  “It’s looking good now, and you’ve got one hell of a story to tell,” Batta said with an almost envious tone.

  “So, what do you boys have on the agenda today?” Leigh asked as she began clearing the dishes from the table.

  “The fire marshal gave us the okay to get started on repairing the clubhouse, so Copper wants all hands on deck. I’m guessing we’ll be there all day,” Judge answered.

  “Is there anything I can do to help?” Leigh asked.

  Judge nodded. “Can you pick up the girls and Bronze from the hospital in a couple of hours?”

  “Yes, I can do that, but what are you not telling me?” Leigh asked, quirking a brow.

  “Bronze and the girls need a place to stay until we can sort something else out,” Judge said quickly.

  Leigh sucked in a sharp breath, straightened her spine, and placed her balled fists on her hips, “I don’t know what you think you have sorted now, but it damn well better not be my house. I’ll be happy to pick them up and drop them off somewhere. My house has always been open to the members and their families, not to the club whores. If Bronze wants to crash here, that’s fine. As far as I’m concerned, the girls can stay at Copper’s place or he can put them up in a hotel, but they will not stay in my house.”

  There were so many things in her little rant that warranted further discussion. First, club whores? Second, Copper’s place? Copper had his own place, and he was going to have whores staying there for the foreseeable future? I felt a pang of jealousy at the thought, but I put forth my best effort to ignore it.

  I had no claim on Copper. Yes, he was attractive, extremely so, but I was planning on leaving in a few days. He could do whatever he wanted with whomever he wanted, especially since he made it clear he didn’t want to do whatever with me.

  I stood quickly and carried my plate to the sink where I began to wash the dishes while Leigh argued with her son. I made quick work of the dishes and went back to my room before being noticed.

  I plopped down on the bed, my shoulders sagging in despair. How had my life turned into such a mess? I was a good person. I followed the law and tried to help others when I could. I didn’t use drugs or torture animals. Still, the universe saw fit to take a huge dump on my life starting with my mother’s untimely death.

  Once the first tear fell, there was no stopping the others. The floodgates opened, and for the first time since the snowball started rolling, I let it all out. I ended up going into the bathroom and turning on the shower to mask my choking sobs. Right there, on Leigh’s guest bathroom floor, I cried until I couldn’t cry any more.

  Chapter Eleven

  Copper

  My chest tightened when I saw Leigh’s name flashing on my cell phone’s screen. “Hey, Leigh. Is everything okay?”

  “No, Copper, everything is not okay. For the record, I’m talking to you as the little boy who used to run around with my son and get into trouble, not as the President of the Blackwings MC. Having said that, you know good and damn well I wouldn’t allow the club whores to stay in my house. That has never been and never will be acceptable. Bronze is more than welcome to stay with the stipulation that he will not bring whores into my home. I’m willing to pick them up from the hospital, but I need you to tell me where to drop them off. Let me know what you decide. Next up, I want to know what in the hell you did to that girl this morning. She ran upstairs after breakfast and locked herself in the guest bathroom. I’ve had to listen to her cry, and I mean really cry, for over an hour now. Given the way you tore out of here this morning, after sleeping in her bed, it wasn’t hard to figure out where to place the blame. On second thought, I don’t want to know what you did; just get your ass over here and fix whatever you screwed up.”

  I waited for more. When nothing came, I pulled the phone from my ear and looked at the screen. She hung up on me. She chewed me a new one and hung up on me. Leigh had never laid into me like that, not even when me, Judge, and Bronze stole her car and wrecked it when we were in high school.

  I was still staring dumbly at the phone in my hand when my phone came to life again. This time, Luke’s name was on the screen.

  “I managed to clear my day, and I’m in Devil Springs. Where do you want to meet me with Layla?” he asked.

  “Do you know where Leigh Jackson lives?”

  “Yes. Is that where Layla is?”

  “Yes.”

  “I’ll meet you there,” he said and disconnected.

  Fuck! It was barely ten o’clock in the morning, and my day had already gone to shit. Unfortunately, I had a strong feeling it was about to get much worse.

  Thankfully, I arrived at Leigh’s place before Luke. I needed to give Leigh a brief explanation of what was about to happen in case Kayla/Layla didn’t handle things well, which I suspected she wouldn’t.

  Leigh stepped out onto the front porch when she heard me pull into the driveway. Before she could say anything, I started, “I don’t have much time, but there’s something you need to know. There’s more to the story about how I came across Kayla, and I don’t have time to explain it. What I can tell you is while I was trying to help her, I was also trying
to figure out who she was. Spazz ran her picture through some facial recognition software, and he got a hit on an FBI site. Phoenix asked his friend who’s an agent to check into it. Long story short, he’s on his way here now to question her. He did say she was a victim they wanted to question, not a criminal they were actively trying to apprehend.”

  Her mouth dropped open and closed. She did that two more times before snapping it shut and glaring at me. She then whirled around and went back inside the house without saying a single word to me. Leigh was a remarkable woman, but a pissed off Leigh was downright terrifying.

  Luke pulled into the driveway a few minutes later. He stepped out of the car, looking every bit the part of a stereotypical federal agent. He approached me with his hand extended, “Copper, good to see you.”

  I shook his hand. “Good to see you, too. Got anything for me before I go get Kayla?”

  “No. I need to talk to her first; then I can talk to you,” he replied curtly.

  “Excuse me?” I asked, taken aback by his words.

  “I need to question her first, or I won’t be able to tell you much more than her name because she’s the only one with the answers,” he explained.

  Oh, I guess that made sense. I assumed he already knew a good bit about her. “Okay. Follow me. It might take a few minutes for me to get her to come downstairs. Leigh mentioned she was upset this morning and has been holed up in her room since breakfast.”

  “That’s fine. I have all day,” he replied, taking a seat in the living room.

  I forced myself up the stairs and to her door. I knocked and was not surprised when there was no answer. After two more rounds of knocking, I announced, “Kayla, if you don’t open this door, I will open it myself.” Nothing.

  I set to work popping the flimsy lock on the door and let myself into the bedroom. She was nowhere to be found. My eyes immediately went to the window, and I sighed in relief when I checked it and found it was still locked. Then, I noticed the bathroom door was closed, and the light was on. Was she legitimately using the facilities or was she trying to hide in the bathroom? I knocked on the door. Again, nothing. I issued my warning once more and was still met with silence. Irritated at that point, I popped the lock on the bathroom door and entered.