by K E Osborn
One of the men is fucking big—all muscle and brawn. The other is more athletic in build with thick black hair on top, thinner on the sides, and a five o’clock shadow, giving him the appearance of being a little rough around the edges. He has a nose ring and that bad-boy edge which, for some reason, I’m instantly drawn to.
He’s attractive.
Really fucking attractive.
I don’t know why, but I wasn’t expecting these men to be so good-looking. Being around the Heathens all the time, I’m used to bikers being butt-ugly assholes who abuse and sexualize women for their own perversions and self-gratification. But the way this guy is smiling, it lights up the room, completely knocking me off my feet.
Jesus! I need to pull my shit together.
The two Defiance brothers order coffee.
Now is the time to move.
Keeping my actions light and jittery, constantly glancing over my shoulder to play the part, I move into the room, stepping up beside the hot one. I feel like a fucking asshole, but I have to do this to prove to Rage I can.
As I make a point of pulling the sleeve down on my jacket covering the giant bruise on my arm from Rage’s manhandling, they both spot me, eyeing me up and down.
The hot biker turns to the larger one, obviously seeking permission. The larger one nods, and then the hot one spins back to me. “Hey miss, you all right?” His voice is deep and so fucking smooth I want to tell him everything—admit Rage is my brother, that he treats me badly, and more importantly, that his club needs to get ready for an imminent attack.
But I’ll lose everything.
Probably my life if Rage ever found out.
I’m nothing but an asshole.
My eyes widen in fear that this is actually happening. The fear is coming at me now from two different angles. For one, Rage’s threats, and two, from trying to infiltrate a club to get information I know will hurt them. Am I out of my goddamn mind?
My mouth goes dry, so I lick my lips and stumble a little on the spot making it look like I am hurt worse than I am. “I… I mean, yeah.”
“You sure? You look a little… lost?”
With a quick glance over my shoulder, I try to show that I am skittish, then I gnaw down on my bottom lip. “I-I just don’t want him to find me.”
The two bikers look at me with their eyebrows draw tightly. “Who?”
Bring it home, Billie!
“There was this guy outside, he was following me. He assaulted me and tried to pull me down an alley, but I kicked him in the balls and ran in here… I’ve kind of been wandering the halls of the hospital for a while now... I’m too scared to leave.”
Hot biker steps forward, his eyes darting around. “What did he look like?”
“Umm, I’m not even really sure. It happened so fast. I dropped my bag on the ground and ran.”
Hot guy reaches out, placing his hand on my arm, my eyes meeting his. Something passes between us—a moment, a flash, some kind of connection—which causes a tingle to ignite inside of me intensely, which in turn makes me feel lightheaded.
“Don’t worry, my brother here and I will protect you.”
I shake my head—more out of amazement this is happening so easily.
My green hair flows over my shoulders, and I flick at it, attempting to play the victim. “Oh, no. You don’t have to do th—”
“I want to, please… let me help you.”
My head shifts as I peer over my shoulder again, needing to play the act dumb card right now. “Okay… but I don’t want to go to the police.”
The big one narrows his eyes on me.
Shit, I have to be careful around him, watch what I say.
The hot one dips his chin in answer, then says, “That works out better for us, too… what’s your name?”
This is where it can all go to hell, so I hesitate. If they run a trace on me, figure out who I really am, they could easily kill me. Infiltrating a biker club is high on the list of punishable offenses where they will deal with it in-house, and no one will ever find my body. So, I take a deep, steadying breath, hoping like hell Rage has come through. My eyes move to the hot biker, and I exhale before uttering, “Billie.”
He nods, his soft lips stretch up, but it doesn’t quite reach his eyes. This biker seems genuine with just the right amount of edge. He comes across as mischievous, and it causes an unexpected rush to run through me.
“I’m Phantom, this here is, Texas.”
My lips finally turn up into a semi-smile. I like his name, it suits him. It makes him more mysterious, sexier, if that’s possible. But right now, I still need to play dumb, though. “Those like your nicknames, codenames or something?”
Phantom smirks. “Or something.”
I eye Phantom up and down, then pick at his cut. “You guys going to a Sons of Anarchy dress-up party or?” Letting my words stop right there, I raise my brow in question.
Jesus, I sound like a fucking idiot!
Phantom tilts his head. “Or… we’re from the local Defiance MC.”
Pretending to be in awe, my mouth drops open slightly, and my head tips back. “Right, now I know why the no cops.”
“And why we can protect you. I need to check with my president for the all-clear and we’ll need to run a background check, but we should be able to help you out.”
I exhale loudly. It sounds like relief when I really wish they had made this more difficult or gave me a reason not to go through with this idiotic plan Rage has cooked up for me. “Okay, sounds good. God knows I have nothing else going for me, but I won’t be one of those women who, you know… service the club members… that’s not me.” I add in that last part for my own protection more than anything.
They both laugh, even as Phantom looks me up and down. “You’re definitely not club girl material, Billie.”
Thank fuck for that!
“Glad that’s settled… so what does this protection entail, exactly?” I ask, trying to see where this might be headed so I can steer it further if I need to.
Phantom puffs out his chest. “We’ll guard you, make sure you’re safe, make sure this guy was just a one-off. But we’ll need to know details. If there is anyone out there who could be targeting you, we will need to know. We need you to be honest with us.”
I nod hesitantly. “Will I be able to go home?”
Phantom glances at Texas, but Texas gives nothing away. “It’s probably best to keep your distance right now. If this was a targeted attack, your home might not be safe.”
I slump my shoulders. “Shit… I don’t know what I would have done if I didn’t bump into you guys.”
Gotten myself killed by my brother, most likely.
Phantom takes my hand in his, his eyes lighting up. “Maybe it’s fate?”
Surprising myself, I can’t help but let out a small giggle. “Yeah… maybe it is.”
What I didn’t expect was that the Defiance brothers would be so caring, nice, and considerate—they’re the total opposite of the Heathens who I have grown up alongside.
However, I have to stick to the plan.
Maybe Phantom is my way inside the Defiance club, even though there’s something about him that has me completely captivated. Still, I know this is not going to be easy. To get inside the actual club might be harder than I think. They don’t just let anyone inside their compound and clubhouse.
Texas lets out a small grunt. “You wanna show us where this incident took place? Maybe this attacker is still hanging around?”
I snap my head to Texas and weakly nod.
There is no damn attacker.
No scene of the crime outside the hospital.
I’m going to have to wing this to make it look plausible.
“Okay, as long as you protect me. I don’t want to go back out there if he’s gonna come after me again. That’s why I chose the safety of the hospital to stay for a while.”
Phantom turns to me. “No one’s gonna get to you, Billie. Not on my watch.”<
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My lips turn up, the split in my top lip hurting like a bitch and splitting open again. I swipe at it with the back of my hand wiping away the trickle of blood.
Phantom spins to the woman who’s frantically making coffee. “Hold those coffees for us, will you? We’ll be back in a bit.” He pulls out his wallet, slides a couple of hundred-dollar bills along the cashier’s desk, and the woman widens her eyes not really knowing what to do.
The three of us turn and walk toward the exit.
“So where did this happen, exactly?” Texas shifts right to the point. Holy Shit, Rage could’ve warned me about this guy! There’s no messing about with him, and it makes me realize I will to have to come up with something more than just being attacked. I need to sell this whole scenario.
“In the side alley. I came up the back way, thinking it would be a shortcut, and as I walked through, there was a man who jumped out at me, tried to grab my bag, then attacked me when I put up a fight.” I scratch at my head, making it look like I am confused by my own behavior.
“There have been strange things happening in my life. Stuff like coming home and the door lock has looked tampered with, but everything is fine inside my home. Having the feeling that someone is following me all the damn time. Sometimes I hear noises at night, and when I look out the window, there is this person on the street with a hoodie, but then I think perhaps he is a neighbor, and he has a right to be there.” I let out a loud sigh, and Phantom touches my arm comfortingly.
“The problem is I haven’t been to the police because there is nothing substantial for me to tell them. I can’t just say… ‘Hey, I am being stalked, do something about it,’ without any evidence, you know? Something to back up my claim.”
“Right! Sounds like you have a problem. Let’s head back out there, see if we can find anything,” Phantom states.
We make our way out of the hospital and around the corner.
My pulse rapid fires the whole time.
There’s going to be nothing there, and I know it.
No bag.
No sign of struggle.
I don’t know what to tell them.
At least I was smart enough to know there would be no cameras for them to check. I have that base covered, and the cameras on the street will confirm I came out of the alley in a rush.
Texas pulls a gun out from behind his back, and I tense a little as he stalks down the alleyway. “All clear.” His foot kicks something on the ground, and a lip gloss rolls away from him.
Phantom bends down, picking it up, and I widen my eyes.
This one little lip gloss might just be the saving grace I need.
“This yours?” Phantom asks.
“It must have fallen out of my bag when the asshole took it.”
Phantom hands it to me. “Guess it wasn’t his color.”
Smirking, I slide the stick down my bra, even though the thought of having some random’s lip gloss down my cleavage is off-putting, I have to keep up the pretense. “I can’t see anything else of mine, though. He must have taken my bag with him.”
Phantom reaches out, placing his hand on my shoulder. “I’m sorry this happened to you, Billie. We’ll get our club doctor to check you over and make sure your injuries aren’t problematic. Get you cleaned up.”
Texas shoves his gun into position behind his back. “I agree. Chills needs to check you over. Make sure you’re okay. The asshole has her bag, which means he has her keys and identity. We need to run this past Zero before we commit to anything…” he warns. “You know that, Phantom.”
Maybe this won’t be so easy.
I thought I did great, but nothing seems to get past Texas.
Fuck! I thought I had sold it well.
Phantom dips his chin, then we make our way back inside the hospital.
“I want to thank you guys for looking out for me. Honestly, I wasn’t sure what to do after everything went down.”
“You could have talked to someone at reception. I am sure they would have helped you,” Texas questions.
Shit.
“I think I was just so shocked by what had happened that I wasn’t thinking straight. I went into hide mode as all the weird things that have been happening to me surfaced in my mind.”
Phantom’s eyes soften. “Understandable.”
Texas is still watching me like he’s unconvinced as we make our way through the hospital.
Bikers line the halls when we get to a ward, all their eyes shifting to me. Their brows raise in what appears to be curiosity. These boys are nothing like the Heathens. They’re all so, well, good-looking. Not the disheveled, unkempt mess the Heathens are.
“You bringing in strays now, Texas?” one of them jokes.
“Something like that, Kevlar. Where’s the pres? We have a situation.”
The biker I now know named Kevlar sizes me up, then tilts his head to a room. “Want me to grab him?”
“Yeah.”
Kevlar slides inside the room as the weight of everyone’s eyes staring at me makes me feel so fucking hot that I want to rip off my leather jacket. But even more so, I want to spin around and hightail it out of here before I get into this any fucking deeper.
A tall, muscular man with a beard, man bun, and tattoos everywhere steps out of the room. His eyes focus in on me instantly like the interloper I am.
“Kevlar says we have a problem?” He grunts out the question with his gravelly, deep voice.
“Yeah, Pres. This here is Billie. We ran into her in the cafeteria. She was mugged outside, and Phantom told her we could offer up some help,” Texas states like he’s not even one bit happy with the situation as it has unfolded.
Zero, the president, turns to face Phantom. “He did, did he?”
Phantom steps forward. “Sounds to me like she has a stalker. Shit’s been happening around her that’s weird. She’s too frightened to go to the cops.”
Zero stands there, his eyes tell me nothing, but his body language tells me everything. He’s not buying this at all.
Phantom continues, “I’ll be her detail, Pres. Get this settled. You won’t even know she’s with us.”
Zero steps up to me, his hand coming out gripping my chin. The pain in my swollen face makes me grimace as he studies my bruises, his eyes wandering all over me. “You know the man who hurt you?”
I shake my head infinitesimally in his grasp. “I didn’t get a good look, but weird stuff has been happening around me.”
“You got baggage? People after you we should know about?”
“I don’t think so… I mean I’m not a criminal or anything if that’s what you’re asking. But I do have these strange feelings like I am being stalked, but there’s no proof.”
Zero lets my chin go and stands back, folding his arms over his chest. “Why should we take you in?”
Rolling my shoulders, somehow, I need to sell this. “I don’t have much. I don’t have anyone out there who can protect me. This guy, this asshole who attacked me, he has my damn bag. Which has my purse, my driver’s license with my address, and I don’t know what his end game is. Whether it’s simply a mugging, or whether it is a targeted attack. All I know is, I don’t feel safe and haven’t for a while now… and I don’t have anyone who can help me.”
Zero rubs his beard, cracking his neck to the side. “This some ex coming after you?”
“To be honest, I have no idea. I haven’t been with anyone for a while, so I am pretty sure it’s not an ex, but who knows. What I do know is I am shit scared right now.”
“Hmm…” Zero grunts out. The silence is deafening as he thinks about the request, and I know in my heart this is not going to work.
“I promise I will be no trouble to you. If you can figure out what’s happening, I will be grateful.”
“Hmm…” he says it again but then continues with, “Phantom, seeing you’re so eager to take this on, she’s your responsibility and yours alone. This is not a club issue, got it!”
Phantom
places his hand on my lower back. The gesture sends a shiver right through me, making me feel more alive than I have felt in my entire life. “Got it.”
“You got a last name, Billie?”
Tensing, I know I need to sell this. “Bradshaw.”
Zero glances over at one of his brothers, who types something into his cell. “All right. Let’s leave Wraith and Prinie to have some time together. We’re heading back to the clubhouse to celebrate Christmas… seems we have a house guest for dinner.”
In thanks, I dip my head at Zero.
Phantom starts to edge me toward the exit. “You ever ridden on the back of a bike?”
I try to hide my smirk. “Once or twice.”
Phantom beams and the smile he’s showing me now lights his eyes. “But you’ve never ridden on the back of a Defiance Harley. You better hold on tight because you’re in for one hell of a ride. Then, when we get you back to the club, I’m gonna get Chills, she’s our doctor, to check you over.”
“We could have a doctor here check me out?” I state, trying to deflect and make this sound a little more legitimate.
“Nope. I wanna make sure you’re all good and not left here at the hospital in case the attacker returns.”
Excitement bubbles inside me, not because I’m actually pulling this off, but because Phantom is being so fucking nice to me, and this might actually be fun.
Living with them may be easier than what I thought it was going to be.
Turns out—betraying them might be the hard part.
PHANTOM
When I first saw Billie, the way her face was all bloody and broken, something hit me deep inside. But it’s when she started talking to me, I knew there was a fighter inside her. I have no clue what she has been through in her life or what she was doing to end up in front of me today, but I know a battler when I see one.
I know because I see me in her.
Someone who has been through shit and come out the other side.
Lord knows I’ve had my ups and downs.
My choice to take her in was simple.
She was attacked, that was evident.
