We got ourselves some drinks from the convenience store attached to the gas station, and then standing in front of the truck, we confirmed our plans to divide and conquer. Brace was a different man on his bike. To be fair, we all were. His attentiveness would be at its peak, and he wouldn’t be able to feed off of Betina’s anxiety and kill us all in a crash. Plus, I still needed to apologize to her, and hopefully I could distract her from the invasive feeling that Fynn was creating inside of her with their bond.
It was decided that if we saw any suspicious vehicles tailing us, Brace would head them off and distract them, allowing me time to ditch out, hide Betina, fly back in my dragon form, and light some asses on fire. It was clear that Brace knew it was a good plan, but he still wasn’t exactly happy about it. He pulled Betina into a tight hug that lasted just long enough to sting my already aching heart. He then threw one leg over his bike and shouted “Take care of each other. I’ll see you both at our next stop.” Fuck, the two of us needed to talk soon too. This tension between us was getting to be too much.
When I got back into the cab of the truck with Betina, she reached over and grabbed my hand in hers. “Thank you,” she stated, though I wasn’t sure what for. Clearly reading the confusion on my face, she elaborated. “Thank you, both for hearing out my story earlier, and for taking charge just now to keep me safe. You owe me nothing, and I can’t tell you enough times how grateful I am that you’re choosing to help me anyway.” My heart fluttered a bit at her expression of gratitude.
“You don’t have to thank me. In fact, I really just need to apologize to you.” She looked as if she were about to object, so I continued quickly, not wanting to lose traction. Humility wasn’t exactly my thing, and if she stopped me mid-apology, she may have never heard the rest of it. “I shouldn’t have treated you the way I did. From the moment you arrived in town, I’ve been acting like a petulant child, and I never gave you a chance. Yet, through all of that, you’ve been so kind to me like I wasn’t being a complete asshole to you.” Even knowing she would be forgiving my apology didn’t make it any easier to swallow my pride and give it to her. I fucking hated admitting I was wrong.
“Look, I get it. It couldn’t have been easy watching some strange girl come into your territory and basically drool all over your man. I’ve noticed that what you two have going on is mostly under the radar, but that doesn’t change how you both feel about each other. I didn’t come into the picture to step on any toes, contrary to how it may look from your perspective. I do feel something when I’m around him, but I won’t come between the two of you, and I’m not even sad about it. I’m happy for the both of you. Neither of you can have your fated mates, and I think it’s beautiful that you’ve found each other. I only hope that I can find something like that with someone one day, and that my someone won’t care about Fynn’s supposed claim on me, or the scars he left as a reminder.”
My usually cold heart was warming to the sweet woman sitting beside me, pouring her heart out. I hated that she had lost the opportunity to find her true mate. Despite my initial feelings toward her when I felt like she was encroaching on my territory, it was clear that this woman deserved more than the shitty hand she’d been dealt so far in this life. If I could help it, she’d never again have to suffer at the hands of Fynn, or any other entitled mother fucker for that matter.
4
We were nearly ten hours from Kalamazoo, but it felt like I’d been riding in the truck for closer to twenty.
I felt terrible for the boys who both had to drive and stay alert the entire time. Bomber had been doing his part over the last few hours to introduce me to some of his road trip music and keep me distracted from the pull of the bond. For the most part, it was working, but the one time I nodded off again, I felt the pull even more intensely than the first time. It was as if Fynn was out there somewhere attempting to rip me through my subconsciousness and back over to him.
I woke up from that short nap with another piercing scream and drenched in sweat. With his sharp, animalistic senses, Brace heard my shouting over the sound of his bike, so we had to pull over in order for him to make sure I was okay. I was embarrassed by how vulnerable and weak I appeared to be, and even with both men going out of their way to assure me that I wasn’t a burden, those feelings only got stronger the longer we stayed on the road.
We’d just passed the second sign for Sioux City, Iowa, when Bomber flashed his brights twice, a signal to Brace that he needed to pull over. Brace noticed, immediately slowing down to get behind us. Bomber guided us a few miles off the highway to a small hotel. Brace parked his bike and was at the passenger side of the truck opening my door before Bomber even killed the ignition. I turned to Bomber before I got out and flashed him a supportive half-smile, which he did his best to return through the obvious look of hurt. At least we’d been able to talk on our ride so he knew I wasn’t looking to step on any toes.
We entered the lobby of the hotel, which smelled strongly of pine and cigarettes, but otherwise appeared welcoming and safe for a quick night’s sleep. “Hello! What can I do for you three tonight?” the chipper, red-headed hotel employee asked from behind the front desk.
“We’d like a room, preferably one with three beds. They don’t need to be full-size, a pullout couch will do fine.” Brace replied.
“I’m sorry, sir, but the closest we have is a room with two double beds. Our rooms are all pretty standard, and don’t have couches or extra sleepaway beds. I can get you hooked up with two separate rooms, or I can just set you all up in a room with two doubles and some extra linens in case someone would feel more comfortable making a bed on the floor. I’m so sorry for the inconvenience.”
Brace turned to look at Bomber and I, then back to the front desk associate. “That’s fine. We all would rather be in the same room, so we’ll figure the rest out on our own.” The clerk nodded, appearing grateful that we weren’t more pissed off about something she couldn’t control. She rang us up for a single room with two beds, had Brace fill out paperwork, and then she handed us each a swipe card that would grant us access to our room. My stomach was starting to feel uneasy at the idea of discussing sleeping arrangements, and with each step closer I came to our assigned room, the more anxious I felt about it.
When we reached our room, brace used his key card to open the door, and stepped out of the way, gesturing for me to walk in first. The smell of pine and cigarettes that still lingered in the hallway disappeared as I walked over the threshold of the room, and gave way to the scent of fresh linens and sweet mint. As promised, the room contained two double beds with a large nightstand between them, a small television with basic cable, a desk in the corner, and a tiny bathroom with a standing shower.
I walked awkwardly around the two beds and sat down at the desk in the corner. Bomber came in behind me and immediately belly-flopped onto the bed farthest from the door, tossing his duffle bag to the side, eliciting the first laugh I’d heard from Brace all day.
“How the fuck is it that you always get first pick for beds, and you always pick the one on the far side of the room, even though you know that’s the one I want too?” Brace questioned cheekily, tossing his wallet at Bomber’s head.
“Because, asshole, if anyone busts up into our room, they’re going to get you first, and by then, I’ll be up and ready to kick some ass. you’ll die first, which will buy me all the time I’ll need. That was my first time hearing the boys banter playfully since I’d arrived and I couldn’t help but smile. I didn’t want to ruin the moment, so I stayed quiet and watched as they continued back and forth with fake insults and thrown items. It was an adorable break from our stressful reality, but I suppose all good things have to come to an end sometime.
“All right, well we can’t just claim both beds without even consulting with our lady friend about sleeping arrangements.” I could feel my face getting hot already at the mention of trying to figure out where each of us could sleep without making things uncomfortable. They both
turned to look at me, which only caused the heat to radiate down my neck as well.
“That’s true,” Brace agreed. “Where would our find lady like to sleep tonight? Bomb and I will take turns sleeping in the bed you don’t want and keeping watch.”
“If I’m being honest, I’ve napped twice today, and both items, I could feel my connection with Fynn getting stronger. It’s almost like when I’m sleeping, my natural defenses are down, and he can infiltrate my deeper thoughts. I don’t want to sleep right now, so both of you can get some much needed rest while I keep watch.”
“I know it must suck to have that asshole in your thoughts, but you’ll still have to sleep sometime. We will be here to keep an eye on you, ya know?”
“Really, I know I’ll have to sleep eventually, but you both came back from a rescue mission and went straight out on the road to protect me. Not only have I not had to drive, but I’m also not the slightest bit tired, so please. I won’t sleep regardless, so you two might as well enjoy it.
“I guess that makes sense. Let’s do it, we can eat first and then Bomber and I will take the first shift sleeping. We’ll set alarms for every two hours to check on each other and make sure we don’t need to trade out. Bomb, why don’t you go ahead and order a pizza or something to the room so we can eat before we hit the hay. Choose to pay in cash and use the same fake name on the order form that we did when we checked in downstairs just to be safe. I’m going to step outside and call Knox and give him an update.” Brace nodded in our direction and walked out into the hallway to make his phone call.
“Pepperoni okay with you, B?” Bomber asked me. I laughed at the new nickname.
“Pepperoni is fine. You’re calling me B now? Both of your names start with B too, though.”
“Yep, and you’re one of us now, B, so I guess you better get used to it,” he said without hesitation, throwing a wink in my direction.
“I guess I will,” I replied with a grin, feeling myself warming up to Bomber almost as much as he appeared to be warming up to me. When I’d first arrived, I wasn’t sure how to read him, and I almost felt like I should feel afraid of him. Now, his softer side was starting to show, and I couldn’t help but gravitate toward him. It’s funny how much can change over the course of a road trip to nowhere.
When the door opened again, Brace’s face was more somber than before he’d walked out, which put Bomber on edge immediately.
“What’s going on back home? Is Chantal okay?” Bomber inquired worriedly.
“Yeah, everyone is okay, but they’ve heard from the council about Raven.” His grim expression was cause for immediate concern.
“If we need to head back early, I completely understand,” I offered, hoping secretly and silently that it wouldn’t come to that. My fear of my mate was becoming a more prominent issue than I cared to say out loud.
“No, we should have time to seek help from the witch before we have to head back. Plus if we don’t, and we take you back to the clubhouse, Flynn will find you there. Having Fynn and the council in one place wouldn’t bode well for any of us, if I had to bet on it. The council ever so pompously requested our presence in one week, and they have demanded that we surrender Raven and Charisma to them at that time.”
“Well, we’re not fucking doing that, so what’s the plan?” Bomber all but yelled.
“I don’t know yet. Knox wants us back ASAP to discuss our plans. He doesn’t want to talk about any of it on the phone. This means we will need to get a few good hours of sleep and hit the road first thing. We need to get out to _________ to meet the witch, and then get back to Michigan with a quickness.”
“Fuck, this is not going to be good, is it?” Bomb asked rhetorically.
“Nope. For now, let’s do what we can and focus on this trip. No more bullshit arguments. We work together for our common goal, and we continue to look out for one another, okay? We need to get back to our brothers in one piece, ready to do whatever needs to be done.” He didn’t wait for confirmation that Bomber understood because he didn’t have to. Bomb’s expression communicated nothing but the it,post respect for Brace, and reverence for the command that he gave. Brace had a way of commanding a room unlike any other supposed alpha male I’d ever met, and I lived with the council, the same council that claimed to be the top of the feline food chain, for most of my life. He was a natural-born leader, even if he didn’t have it all together yet.
I pretended not to notice the flirting between the men as they settled the men as they settled into theirs for some rest. I’m sure I appeared to only be busy drawing in the memo pad on the desk, courtesy of the hotel. While my hands were dedicated to my doodles, my attention was tuned into Brace and Bomber’s endearing interactions with one another. I’d yet to really experience this side of their relationship for myself, so I didn’t want to ruin it by letting on that I was paying that much attention. Truth be told, I’m not sure why I found it so cute because I also found myself feeling a bit jealous. I was not only starting to enjoy the presence of each man individually, but also the both of them as one unit. What the hell did that even mean for me? Surely there was nothing I could really do about my weird ass crush in a semi-already-established duo. And even if one of them did want me more than they wanted each other, I was far from being a desiring bachelorette when, at least in the foreseeable future, I’d have a man after me, looking to take me back, with or without my consent. No one wants to mate with someone that has already been claimed. Before long, they were asleep, and I was left alone to simmer in my thoughts.
5
Bomber glanced my way, both of us knowing what was going to have to happen. I could almost see him mentally playing rock, paper, scissors with me on who was going to ride out with Betina and who was going to have to take the solo trip to drag whoever was following us away from Betina. Cocking my head at Bomber, I let him know that the mental challenge points went to me. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust Bomber with Betina. If I was being honest with him, myself, or anyone else, I’d admit that I just wanted the time with her to myself. Yes, that made me selfish as fuck, but I didn’t care. The only thing that made me question if it was the right decision was that I couldn’t stand for anything to happen to Bomber either. We might not have had the most traditional of relationships amongst our kind, but he held a large portion of my heart.
Luckily for me, I’d been riding by his side for a few years and knew my man could handle his shit. Didn’t mean I’d be without worry. “We have this, B.” His voice slid over my nerves, making goosebumps bloom across my flesh. I simply nodded because any further reaction would mean that I’d take him in my arms and never let him go. Damn the consequences.
“Be careful,” I told him anyway.
“You know I will. Take care of her,” he ordered as Bomber tipped his head toward where Betina was waiting for us as we pushed the motorcycle off the back of the trailer. It was obvious that there was still some reluctance where Bomber and Betina were concerned, but that was something I thought would settle with time and them being around one another. It was my greatest wish that I could experience the best of both worlds with them. Bomber and I were one in the same when it came to our sexual preferences. It didn’t matter what gender the person was, we could love equally. The question now seemed to be if we could love more than one at a time. Not that I loved Betina, but there was such an undeniable chemistry there between the two of us that it made me wonder if she was my mate that had been stolen away.
“Fly fast and true,” I finally told Bomber before he rode off without us. Betina had been waiting in the truck for me. When I climbed in, the tension rolled off of her in waves.
“Do you think it’s them?”
“Could be, but we have no way of knowing. We’re not exactly in our own territory here, so there are too many variables. With us moving so quickly to get where we need to be, there was bound to be someone who picked up our scent, wondered who we were or where we were going.” I shrugged trying to be nonchalant. It
wasn’t a total lie. Knox had surely contacted a few people that he trusted to let them know we were rolling through their spaces, but it was being kept to a minimum since we were still uncertain how wide-spread the shifter trafficking was.
“I’m so sorry you were dragged into my mess.”
“None of this is your fault, Betina. I need you to keep reminding yourself of that. That fucker did the unthinkable and took a child as his mate, against her will. Nothing that comes from that will ever be your fault. No matter our personal relationship, we would still be here to help you if you had come to us because there is no way we wouldn’t wage war on those of our kind who enslave our females and our young.”
The B Team: A Dark Leopards MC Novella Page 3