Zeke (Devil's Flame MC Book 2)

by Romi Hart

  Zeke grunted. “I don’t have anything to offer her. I’m not even looking to get involved, so she has every right to treat me like nothing more than a pity fuck and a way to get under that guy’s skin.”

  “That’s not true, and you know it,” Kira spat at him. “Now, stop this little pity party. You need to confront her and ask what’s going on. Most women won’t lie when you ask them directly. Give it a chance. For whatever reason, this is important to you, so do something about it.” With a pointed look, she walked away.

  Rafe chuckled. “She’s opinionated.”

  “That’s an understatement,” Zeke mumbled.

  Sobering, Rafe asked, “Is it the nurse?”

  “What was your first clue?”

  “Oh, maybe the fact that you’re dressed like a lawyer.”

  Zeke sighed. “Yeah. Are you going to ride my ass about this?”

  Holding his hands up in a gesture of surrender, Rafe grinned. “I have no room to talk, my friend. But if your emotions are involved, you have to be honest with her. And you need to tread lightly. I’m guessing your nurse isn’t as hardened as Kira and might get a little scared if you come on too strong.”

  Zeke met his friend’s gaze dead on. “It would be smarter to just walk away.”

  Rafe smirked. “Have you ever been accused of being a genius?”

  Hoisting himself to his feet, Zeke chuckled. “Not when it comes to women or social graces. Thanks, bro. And if Corey comes looking for me, tell him I’m really sorry, alright?”

  “Wait, what?” But Zeke didn’t stop walking. He needed to elevate his leg before it got too swollen. He didn’t want a setback, and he didn’t need Nancy yelling at him tomorrow. “Zeke, what did you do?” Rafe called after him.

  “It’s no big deal,” Zeke called back. “But you could also remind him for me that he is definitely not qualified to give advice about women.” He heard Rafe groan and smiled. It wasn’t the first time Corey had an altercation with one of them over a woman. From what Zeke had heard, Corey and Rafe had butted heads about how to deal with Kira while Zeke was laid up in the hospital.

  It was fascinating that Corey hadn’t learned to keep his mouth shut from that error in judgment.

  So, now what, he thought as he found his way to a bunk room and flopped onto the bed, dragging his leg up with him and propping his head on a pile of pillows. He had Leigh’s cell number. He could text her, or even call her. But she was working, and she’d had enough visitors during her shift. And if there was any chance he’d misread the situation, he didn’t want to push her for fear he’d lose what little chance he had with her to start with.

  But there was something he could do. He picked up his phone and dialed the PT department, waiting through six rings for someone to pick up. The man who did was clearly out of breath. Zeke cleared his throat. “This is Zeke Austin. I’m scheduled for a session tomorrow afternoon with Nancy, but I can’t make it and wanted to reschedule for earlier in the day. Around ten, if possible.”

  The guy was silent for a moment, and Zeke could here him clicking around on the computer. “Nancy isn’t available tomorrow morning, but there’s an opening with Donna at ten. Does that work for you?”

  Zeke hated the idea of working with someone new, someone who didn’t know him like Nancy did and wasn’t filled in on his progress. But he needed to do this, needed to see Leigh. And Nancy would at least be there, if there were any questions. “Sure, that’s great. Thanks.” He hung up and tossed his phone next to him on the bed, staring at the ceiling as the throbbing in his leg started to ease.

  It reminded him of Dylan, and he knew he’d have to apologize for his actions to the other club leader. Maybe, while he was doing that, he’d go ahead and ask what exactly Dylan had done to the men who ambushed him. Maybe Corey was right, and the details would give him a greater sense of satisfaction. He supposed he wasn’t so worthless, if Dylan had made a special case of his own men for what they’d done to Zeke, especially since the Diamond Kings had been bitter rivals of the Devil’s Flames for almost as long as Zeke had been with them.

  Rafe’s vendetta against their former president, and Kira’s brother, had only driven the nail deeper in that coffin.

  But Dylan was a good leader, and he was compliant and willing to compromise. And he was the reason Kira was alive, after all. As much as Zeke had trouble with change and wasn’t sure he was ready to let go of his hatred for the other crew, he actually respected Dylan.

  It was a good thing, too. He didn’t need to add more worries to his shoulders if he ever brought an old lady around. The fact that he even considered that possibility struck him hard in the chest, and he wondered where the idea came from. Was it possible he actually had feelings for Leigh? Beyond attraction?

  He groaned and massaged him temples against the oncoming headache as the possibility solidified in his mind. Everything that had happened since the moment Leigh Marks walked into his hospital room had seemed odd. He hated being told what to do, but he lived life to the letter of what Nancy told him to do in regards to therapy and recovery, desperate to get himself back to a hundred percent. Taking a woman for coffee, then bringing her home. Dressing up and buying flowers. Asking her out again. Staring a fight with his club leader. Even asking for advice from multiple people regarding a woman who never should have been more than a conquest.

  But it was time for brutal honesty. Leigh was definitely more than a conquest, and how much more terrified Zeke. He’d never had feelings for any woman, and now, he couldn’t stop thinking about Leigh. He even liked that derisive look she gave him when she disapproved of him in some way. And that was pure insanity.

  He supposed he would have to get past his doubts, about himself and about Leigh’s view of him. Maybe, if he could just be himself and show her that he was a good person now, a nice guy who cared for her, she might come around. And if she didn’t, he’d have to turn into a fatalist, telling himself it just wasn’t meant to be.

  Either way, there would be no more dressing up like something he wasn’t, and no more questioning his own motives and desires. He hadn’t done that for years, and he wasn’t going to slip back into the old habits that had led him astray and gotten him mixed up with the wrong crowd so many years ago. He’d come too far, and he wasn’t going to let a woman, even one he might be able to fall for, ruin his future.

  8

  “I can’t believe he showed up at the hospital,” Rory continued her rant as they sipped on a couple of margaritas. After the day she’d had, Leigh had torn into her workout like a crazed maniac, and then she had balked at the idea of going home. So, she’d asked her friend to have a drink, promising to explain. She’d spilled the entire story, and for the past five minutes, Rory had gone ballistic over Chris’s audacity.

  “It’s been almost two months, and you haven’t returned his phone calls in how long?” Rory asked.

  “Six weeks,” Leigh supplied.

  “The nerve!” she exploded. “And to stalk you like that, to start asking around after you and who you’re talking to and what you’re doing, especially with your coworkers! That’s so unacceptable.”

  “I agree. And that’s why I sort of threatened to have Zeke and his friends cut Chris’s balls off if he bothered me again.”

  Rory stared at her in disbelief and then burst out in hysterical laughter. “I can’t believe it! Finally, I’ve rubbed off on you! Or maybe it’s Zeke.” And that calmed her somewhat. “So, how much do you think he heard?”

  Leigh groaned and dropped her head in her hands. “I don’t know. That’s the problem. And whatever he heard, he had to have taken it out of context because he looked…broken. Like I’d stomped on his heart.”

  Looking distraught, Rory mused, “He’s so sexy. I can just imagine that look. Like you handed him a box of dead puppies.”

  “Thanks for the visual.”

  “I’m just saying, handsome, strong men with broken hearts are the saddest thing ever. What are you going to do abou
t it?”

  “I have no idea. What am I supposed to do? I don’t even know if he’ll talk to me. He looked and me and walked away, Rory. He didn’t stop to ask who Chris was, or what we were talking about. He didn’t ask if I was okay after the confrontation. He didn’t say anything.” This was all too much, and Leigh wanted to crawl in bed with the covers over her head and hide from the world.

  She’d had other boyfriends, but not any that were serious, except for Chris. So, she’d never hurt anyone. And like it or not, she’d somehow hurt Zeke with something she’d said to Chris. She wanted to take it away, like a mother kissing a wound for the psychosomatic effect of relieving the sting. But Zeke was a grown man, and she knew without a doubt that this wasn’t a superficial wound. It probably ran deeper than the slash on his side. How could she remedy that, especially without knowing exactly what she’d done to cause it?

  “Run back through what you said to Chris,” Rory prompted. “Maybe we can find something that struck him the wrong way, and then you’ll be able to figure out what you need to say or do to explain it.”

  That was part of the problem. Half of what she’d said to Chris had spilled out of her mouth in the heat of the moment, and she couldn’t remember everything. She knew she’d been cruel, and she remembered talking about Zeke. But what could have set him off? She honestly couldn’t recall. “I’m trying, but a lot of it is a blur.”

  But Rory wasn’t going to give up. “You have to try, Leigh. Whether you want to admit it or not, you’re hung up on this guy. And I see no fault in that. Biker or not, he dressed up and brought you flowers. The average Joe doesn’t typically do that, so you should grab on with both fists and ride this one out, see where it goes. He cares about you. I see it in the way he looks at you.”

  Leigh scoffed. “That’s lust.”

  “There is that, but it’s more,” Rory insisted. “I see his lust, and I see adoration. He worships the ground you walk on, and I don’t think he even knows it yet.”

  “You got all that in two minutes?” Leigh asked, doubtful.

  Rolling her eyes, Rory drained the last of her margarita. “Look, I’m still hunting for something specific that I haven’t found. I don’t have raw luck with men. What I have is a picky personality. And that has led me to being able to read people quickly. Zeke wears his heart on his sleeve. Usually, he’s got some sort of guard around it, you can tell. But when he’s looking at you, that heart is wide open and vulnerable. I think it already belongs to you, and you need to decide if you’re going to let him into your own heart.”

  That was a pretty large order, she thought. But once again, Rory was right, and she couldn’t just run away from the situation. In the morning, she would have to find out when Zeke’s PT appointment was, and she would have to take her break time to go down and talk to him, see if she could offer an apology and an explanation. “Okay, I’ll swallow my pride and talk to him tomorrow.”

  “You could text him,” Rory suggested.

  “No, this isn’t something to discuss in text or over the phone.”

  “So, ask him to meet you for a drink.”

  But again, she shook her head. “I’m too tired, and I’d screw it all up. I’m going home to sleep, and I’ll talk to him tomorrow, in person. It’s better that way.” Besides, she might end up in bed with him again, and on the heels of an apology, that didn’t feel right. She needed to assess her own position, her own feelings, so she could adequately analyze Zeke’s and find the right way to avoid any further damage.

  * * *

  The next morning at the hospital, Leigh walked in with feigned confidence and strode into the PT room. Nancy was nowhere in sight, but she spotted Zeke right away and froze. He wasn’t supposed to be there at this time, and she wasn’t ready to speak to him yet. To make matters worse, he was working with a young, cheeky blonde who looked far too cozy with him. Leigh didn’t know her, but she instantly disliked her.

  Taking a deep breath to calm herself, she debated walking out. But she may not have another chance to do this, and as luck would have it, Zeke turned around just then, his eyes locking with hers. Mesmerized by the silver orbs even at such a distance, she only hesitated briefly before walking toward him. His smile was nice, genuine, if not completely elated. “Hey, Leigh. Do you know Donna?”

  The blonde looked up at her, giving her a disdainful onceover, and Leigh just managed not to snarl as she batted fake eyelashes. “No, I don’t. It’s nice to meet you, Donna.” Turning her gaze to Zeke before she considered the merit of slashing her nails across Donna’s face, she asked, “Where’s Nancy?”

  He frowned. “I thought she’d be here with another client, but apparently, she’s at some certification program, teaching.” He pointed to Donna. “But Donna’s doing a really nice job. My knee was in bad shape this morning, but she’s got magic fingers.” He winked at Donna, and Leigh clenched her jaw.

  Giggling, Donna responded, “I might have heard that a time or two.” Her gaze clearly fell on his crotch, and Leigh purposely locked eyes with him, not wanting to see how aroused he was by this little blond whore’s touch.

  “Well, you enjoy the magic hands here. I’m going to take my magic hands upstairs and do a little healing myself,” she said, raising an eyebrow. “I guess I’ll text Nancy, let her know I came by.”

  “I’ll tell her if you want,” Donna offered, giving her a smirk of triumph. “She’ll be back after lunch, and I’ll still be here.”

  “No, thanks. I appreciate the offer, but it’s hard to trust anyone to get the message these days,” she said, still pinning Zeke with her gaze and hoping he felt her scorn.

  His face hardened into a mask, and he countered, “Trust may be an issue, but I think the messages are loud and clear.”

  Crossing her arms and trying to control her breathing as she heated with indignation, Leigh nodded. “Good. One more point for dismissing another cad.”

  “Maybe you could try just telling the guy he’s not up to par next time. You might never have an unexpected visit from the douchebag of the month again.”

  She laughed derisively. “It’s pretty sad when I don’t know which douchebag you’re referencing.” With that, she turned on her heel and walked away, holding her breath to avoid screaming. She got on the elevator and slammed the heel of her hand into the ‘eight’ button, grateful there were only two other people on board and she knew neither of them. Still, she held it together until she reached her floor, where she practically ran out and through the hall to the bathroom. She closed herself inside a stall and let go, tears running down her face and sobs making her chest and shoulders convulse. Why was she so upset? She’d never meant to get emotionally involved in this whole situation.

  But as she thought about Rory’s admonition, telling her that something had her hung up on Zeke, she considered her reactions to different scenarios. Her intense arousal had clouded her sense of reality, and now, as she let the overwhelming despair consume her, she could see more clearly.

  She’d been intrigued by Zeke, seen something beyond the outward appearance, and it had driven her decision to go home with him. And she’d been humbled by the way he’d dressed up for her, dug around to find out the best flowers to bring, and then made sure to come at a time she should be getting off work to give them to her. His disappointment after she’d been confronted by Chris made her heart hurt, and then when she’d seen Donna’s hands on him, she’d wanted to break the woman’s fingers.

  His accusations had torn her in two, and worse, she felt like she deserved it. But more importantly, it had opened her eyes, and she didn’t like what she saw. She actually cared about Zeke Austin, more than she wanted to. She hated bikers, but Zeke seemed like something more, and she wanted to get to know that part of him.

  And she’d just ruined her chances of ever doing so, for the second time. If she’d done what she meant to do, forgetting about Donna and having a heartfelt conversation with Zeke the way Rory had suggested, she might have saved this re
lationship. Of course, that was a generous word for whatever was going on between them anyway.

  Whatever they had was vague and undefined. They had slept together once, with an obvious mutual attraction that bred chemistry. But aside from Zeke having temporarily been her patient, what else was there? Could she even call him a friend, much less anything more? Not really. Yet, she felt more hurt than she had when she’d walked in on Chris, in their bed, drilling into Arianna with more passion than she’d ever felt from him. Her heart had stopped beating for a moment then, but today, it felt shattered.

  Taking a deep breath to try and clear her head, Leigh knew she was cutting it close being on time for work. She needed to clean herself up and fix her makeup. It was going to take a few minutes and a lot of cold water to cut back the redness and swelling on her face and around her eyes. In the process, she also had to get her emotions locked back in the box they’d been hiding in for two months. She couldn’t risk a breakdown while on the job.

  Still, she wished she knew where she stood with Zeke, if there was any hint of a chance she could rectify the situation. She at least didn’t want him thinking she was a total bitch. It might be how she was raised and where she came from, but it wasn’t who she wanted to be. She might be judgmental, but she had plenty of reason to take things for face value. Usually, if it walked like a duck and quacked like a duck, the identity was a given.

  Zeke had proven that there could be more to a person, and she still hadn’t verified how much more. All she knew was that she liked him. More than she wanted to.

  Standing over the sink, she splashed her face with cold water several times, until it didn’t feel hot or tight anymore. She grabbed several paper towels and dabbed it dry, groaning as she saw how she looked in the mirror. Her eyes were puffy and bloodshot, and there were lines around her mouth that made her look ten years older. It was going to take more than her touch up makeup bag to rectify this.