by Jayne Blue
“I’m here to keep you safe, remember?”
“No, no you’re not. You’re here for something else… to take me somewhere else.” And I saw her struggle to put it together. She really did hit her head hard enough to fuck up her memory of the minutes before the crash. It wasn’t uncommon. I’d seen it before. It was scary, but she’d put it back together. She’d rest tonight, and her mind would clear, but by the morning I’d figure out how to get her on my bike back to Flat Rock.
For now, I’d make sure nothing happened to her.
“I’ll sit on my couch. You’ll see I’m okay, and you can get going out of here.”
“Let’s just get you on that couch.” I put my hands out to help her stand. She ignored them and walked to the couch. It was a few steps, and she held her head.
“You dizzy?”
“I’m fine,” she said defiantly and then sat down. I decided to make myself comfortable on this kitchen chair. I stretched my legs out. She eyed me but got the message. I wasn’t going anywhere. With a concussion, you weren’t supposed to play video games or watch tv or really tax yourself mentally. I could see my continued presence was probably taxing, but that was too bad. The rest? Well, she didn’t have a tv or an Xbox, so I supposed we were in the clear.
“Rest,” I said, and she sank into her couch. She really had no choice. I felt bad that I couldn’t reassure her that everything was okay because it wasn’t okay. She had let a fucking snake into her house. A snake that was supposed to deliver her back to the damn devil.
I felt worse and worse about that. The more I watched her, was close to her, and helped her, the more I wanted to keep helping her. The more I wanted to truly earn her trust.
It didn’t take much time before her eyes got heavy. She drifted off.
I used the crocheted blanket from the back of the couch to cover her up. She didn’t stir. She really was asleep.
I watched her. I looked for anything that could show me she was in danger from hitting her head. She was mostly peaceful. I was not. I was a fucking dick who’d scared her into smashing her car into a tree. What kind of fucking mission had I agreed to? I hated the idea that I was going to have to make her do something she didn’t want to.
I watched over her and I studied her face. I couldn’t help it.
She was so fucking beautiful in a way that didn’t need to scream for attention. She was natural, soft in all the right places. She’s come up to my shoulder, if that when she’d tried to square off with me. I’d think it was adorably cute if I could forget that she was probably no match for Rex Lynch either.
A few hours later, it was time to rouse her a little. I hated to disturb her, but it was time to be sure she could wake up.
“Daniella?”
She moved her head but didn’t wake up. I tried again, but her sleep was deep.
I needed to get her to wake. I put my hand on her shoulder and lightly rubbed it.
She opened her pretty green eyes. Slowly, she focused on me.
“Do you know where you are?”
“Petoskey.”
“Do you remember my name?”
“Hammer. And you’re here to take me back to Rex Lynch. And Rex Lynch is going to hurt me. So maybe let me sleep right now until tomorrow when my life turns to complete shit.”
It was a groggy string of statements. But they cut me to the core. I knew. I fucking knew that she was probably right. Rex Lynch was a fucking scumbag. And I was going to deliver her to him.
“Shh. No one is going to hurt you,” I said. Her eyes had closed already. She was asleep again. Daniella snuggled back down into the couch. Instead of going back to my perch on the chair, I stayed. I sank down and sat on the floor next to the couch.
The chair a few feet away seemed like an ocean between us.
I had the strong desire to shelter her, to be less than a hair’s breadth away.
I hadn’t called Steel yet. I hadn’t updated the M.C. on my mission.
And I wouldn’t just yet. Right now, tonight, I’d sit here and make sure I hadn’t hurt her too badly in that crash. The thought warred with the fact that I’d have to turn her over and wouldn’t have a say in it if The Devil’s Hawks wanted to hurt her.
Ten
DANIELLA
I had the sense I was safe. Why? There was no logical reason for it. But I had, like an idiot, curled as close as I could to the shoulders of the man sitting at the side of my couch.
Each time Hammer woke me, I was more me and fell back asleep like a stone sinking to the deep of peaceful lake. Maybe I was more concussed than I’d estimated? Or maybe some part of me felt like Hammer was okay. Since I’d run away from Flat Rock, I had barely closed an eye – at work, at the store, or in this little dump. And last night I was totally out. Even with this man, who was surely going to send me back to the lion’s den, sitting next to me.
When I woke up in the morning to a clear head, I also had an empty apartment. Where had he gone? I stood up. I felt fine, so I inched my way to my front door. It was slightly open. And the mystery of where Hammer had disappeared to was solved.
He was on his cell, talking to someone. I strained to listen.
“Yep, I talked to her granddad. He’s pretty out of it. Not a great source of info. But I’m following whatever breadcrumbs I can.”
He’d seen my granddad? Shit. That was exactly how he’d found me. I was sure of it. Dammit. I was so stupid. I had told him exactly where I was. He was so confused most of the time, I’d never even considered that he was able to tell anyone anything.
I’d screwed myself. I felt like an idiot.
“Yeah, I’m driving up the east side of the state for now. I’ve got a lead with one of her co-workers.”
Hammer was straight-up lying. We were on the west side of the state. Hammer had my exact location: he’d sat in my section of the restaurant. There was no guesswork for him. He had pinpointed me and tracked me easily. Thanks to my granddad. But whoever Steel was, he was getting a bullshit story from Hammer.
“I’ll find her soon; fucking Lynch can relax. Yep, you be careful too.”
I backed up from the door.
Hammer walked back in.
“You’re awake? How you feeling? Any headache?”
“No, I’m good. Fine.”
“You hungry?”
“I, uh, yeah.”
“Okay, how about we go get some breakfast? And talk.”
I thought about my options.
“You’re not going to just get out, let me be, tell Lynch I’m good?”
“No, I’m not.”
“Fine, I have a night shift. Let me take a shower now, and I’ll get to work after we eat.”
“Work? Why would I let you go to work?”
“You don’t know me. I’m going to go in, do my job, and tell them I’m quitting. I’m not going to leave them short. That’s a dick move.” I reasoned with myself, if I worked, if I got him to let me go in and quit, I’d find a way to run again, or someone to help me. I was adamant and, somehow, Hammer agreed to let me go into the restaurant.
Hammer let me alone. I washed off the car crash, the strange night, all of it sluiced down the drain. In the shower, I realized if I were going to try to go to work, I would fucking need transportation. I’d forgotten when I woke up that I didn’t have a car right now. I’d have to figure out how to get to a bus stop. If I could get rid of Hammer, that is.
I ran through what I’d need to have with me at all times so I could make a break for it. I’d stuffed my giant purse with a change of clothes, underwear, a few toiletries, my cell charger, and cash. I wished I’d had a few more night shifts at the restaurant before I was cornered like this. I wished I’d been more careful with my car. I wished I had lied to Granddad. I wished I had never trusted Rex Lynch. I wished a lot of things right now. But there weren’t going to get me out of this mess.
I’d let Hammer buy me a meal. I’d work him, hard, with whatever charm I had. And maybe then I could figure so
mething out. I trusted him now, a little. I knew he had been sent to drag me back, but he was at least a decent enough man to give me a minute to catch my breath. He was at least decent enough to help me through the concussion. Even though it was his fault. I needed to be smart now. I wound my wet hair into a knot on the top of my head.
I walked into the little living room, still in my towel. If I was going to run, I needed clothes in my bag, and different clothes on. I had to keep thinking. Of course, he was there. This apartment was too small for his wide frame, he almost didn’t fit inside it. His jaw dropped.
“Wow.”
“What?”
“You’re so damn pretty.” I swallowed hard. I remembered his hand on my shoulder last night and the gentle way he’d fixed my head. His actions when I was in need were in total contradiction to his tough looks, and his stated mission to send me back to Lynch.
“Uh, thank you.” When I spoke, it shook him from the stare he was giving me, and he snapped his mouth shut.
The crazy part about being this close to Hammer was that it felt like we had a connection. It felt like, maybe, I was more than a job to him all of a sudden? Ugh, get it together, Danny Girl. That was the exact type of thinking that had me running from my last bad relationship decision. This man was nothing to me except trouble. I had to keep reminding myself that. He wasn’t there to save me, though he had after my crash. Hammer was there to force me to go back to Rex.
“Let me get some clothes.” I walked by him. He stepped back.
“I’ll be outside.” He turned away from me and walked out my apartment door. Fine, good, a few more seconds to get all my shit together. I hadn’t brought much here, so it was easy.
I looked at the afghan on my couch. Crap, that was a good one. But it would be tough to explain why I had packed a couch blanket in the middle of May if I was just heading for breakfast with this guy. Screw it, I’d make another one. I did grab my set of crochet needles and jammed them into my bag. I slid into a pair of jeans and a blouse and took one last look around my place. Well, at least I hadn’t gotten attached to it.
I knew there was a bus stop near The Side Door Saloon. I didn’t know how I’d get free of Hammer and get there, but at least it was something.
I locked my apartment and found Hammer already sitting on his bike. He gave me a look to get on. I used his shoulder to steady myself, and in a second, I was back in the same spot as last night.
“Dizzy or anything?”
“No.”
“Where to?”
“How about The Side Door Saloon? They have great turkey pretzel sandwich.”
“Sounds good, point the way.”
We set out. I held on to Hammer, but this time, I was a lot more self-conscious than I was yesterday in the throws of a concussion, or whatever. I didn’t lean my body into his back. I just held tight to his jacket.
I had wanted to try to lead him on, but it wasn’t in me to do. I wasn’t that person. I’d been able to smile and make nice, but that was it. I was going to run as fast as I could when I had a chance. That was all I could really do. I couldn’t try to screw with his head or screw him just to save myself. There was something good about this man, something inside him that was trying to help me. I just needed to make him look the other way, somewhere during our meal, and I’d help myself to an escape route.
We got to The Side Door Saloon. There were stuffed animals everywhere, and not the cute kind you got at fair. They were taxidermy animals as décor. It was so Pure Michigan that it made me smile. It had the same effect on Hammer. He leaned down and whispered, “I hope we get a table near that raccoon with the Miller Lite in his claws.”
I laughed out loud despite myself.
“Oh, darn, our luck looks like we’re going to be seated near this bobcat? It is a bobcat, right?” I asked Hammer. He shrugged his shoulders to indicate it could be a bobcat or a cougar or a mountain lion for all he knew.
We sat across from each other and perused the menus.
We ordered, but I was the opposite of hungry. My stomach felt like it was doing somersaults in my body. I needed to run. Maybe since he was so big, Hammer wasn’t fast. That was a small hope, but I was going to cling to it.
“So, you met my granddad. How did he seem?” I tried like hell to come up with something to talk about. Maybe it would help knowing more about Hammer, or the club he was from the Great Wolves? Keep him talking and maybe he’d forget that running was my aim yesterday.
“He was pretty good, thought I was a relative but was very coherent when we watched Family Feud.”
“That’s him.” I looked down. I tried not to cry thinking that this next leg, running away, now would take me out of state. And the way he’d shared information with Hammer also let me know, I’d never be able to really tell Granddad where I was or what I was doing. As much as I wanted to turn on the charm, keep it light, fool this man, thoughts of my granddad had me nearly panicked. Who would visit him?
“Hey, it’s okay, he was pretty good,” Hammer said, and he looked genuinely worried that I was near tears.
“Cool, thanks.”
“I have to ask you. How did you get involved with Rex Lynch? You seem like a nice girl?”
“I am a nice stupid girl,” I replied.
“You’re not stupid.”
“Well, not stupid enough to stay with him.”
“Did he hurt you?”
“No, never lifted a finger against me.” I was being honest because Hammer made me feel safe. Shit, this was bad. But maybe being honest with Hammer would get him on my side? Unless he was getting good money to find me. Was there a bounty on my head?
“Good, that’s good.” I could see him processing something in his head. Maybe I should have told him that Rex was going to kill me. Maybe I should pretend the guy beat me within an inch of my life. Maybe that was the smarter play. My mind was racing with the possible ways this all was going down. How did I get free of Hammer and Rex and the whole mess of it?
Our food came and interrupted the conversation. Hammer was trying to get information from me, so I tried to turn the tables again and get something from him.
“What did he tell you again? Why does he want me back?”
“Because you’re in danger from some of his contacts.”
“Oh.” I didn’t know if it was true, maybe it was. What I knew for a fact was that Lynch wanted to get me back so he could possess me so he could cage me up. But maybe the other part was true too. I thought back to my time with him and there were people, names, dates, deals, that he’d done right in front of me or near enough for me to see and hear.
“And you, you’re not a Devil’s Hawk. What’s a Great Wolf?”
“An M.C. also, nationwide, but not like The Hawks.”
“No?”
“We run legitimate businesses, not the bullshit your boyfriend’s into.”
This time it was my jaw that clenched. I was pissed at that comment. But I had no defense. I had let Lynch be that; I’d been his girlfriend. I didn’t say anything and decided a bite of my sandwich was a better option than explaining my poor judgment.
“So why are you running Rex Lynch’s errands?” I said it harshly. I was still irrationally stung by being referred to as Rex’s girl.
“I’m on loan,” Hammer said. I ventured a good look at him again. He was so fucking handsome, sexy, and quietly powerful. And I didn’t know him at all. He might be more dangerous to me than Rex Lynch. Our eyes locked on one another.
I was attracted to this man, which was exactly the worst emotion I could have. It was exactly the same as falling for Lynch, but more.
I needed to stop this merry-go-round with Hammer and run, now.
“I need to hit the ladies’ room.” It was my only play.
Hammer nodded.
I slung my giant purse over my shoulder. On my way to the bathroom, I stopped our waiter.
“Hi, yes, can you go over to our table and take a dessert order. I want the pecan pie,
but please list all the other desserts for him. He loves sweets but needs to have the full range options before he decides.”
“Sure thing!” the waiter said. I turned the corner and watched the waiter. He stood exactly in the line of sight between Hammer and me. Instead of walking to the bathroom, I walked into the kitchen, through the kitchen, and out the back. If there was one thing I knew, it was that every kitchen had a back way.
I opened the door and ran. I had a limited grasp on the lay of the land and an even smaller window of time, so I ran. I did know that, behind the restaurant, if I could just get there, was a wooded area. I’d make a break for the trees first and lose Hammer that way. Then, slowly, I’d figure out how to hitch a ride to the bus station.
I pumped my legs as fast as I could and, dammit, I made it to the cover of the trees. It was something. The thing about Northern Michigan was that trees were everywhere. The towns up north were carved out of trees, woods, and lakes. I hoped that this meant I could hide. I hoped that Hammer would give up or I’d get far enough away that he wouldn’t know where to look.
For five minutes, I ran straight into the woods, with no regard for direction. And then, when it seemed like Hammer wasn’t behind me. I stopped. I got out my cheap phone and tried to determine a direction to go next. If I veered right, maybe I’d swing back out to the state route, and I’d be able to hitch. I started to make progress again, running, but slower, to try to be sure I didn’t get lost.
I heard my name Damn it! He was here, in the woods, and he was right in front of me, not behind me. He’d anticipated my route. He was on foot, and he was fast. When was I ever going to catch a break?
“Daniella, stop.”
“NO!” I took a few steps back. If I went the way I’d come, I’d be back at the restaurant. And Hammer would catch me there.
“I am not going to hurt you. You know that.” He was closing the distance between us. And I was paralyzed with indecision. What the hell was I going to do now? I was frustrated, panicked, scared, and right now, it felt like I was out of options.
I made a few more steps backward but it was futile. Hammer was there, in front of me, only a few feet away. If he lunged, he’d be able to tackle me.
