Temper

by Chantal Fernando

  “No, I’m going to head back to the clubhouse,” he says, glancing down at his own phone.

  “You have a clubhouse here and back in California?”

  “This is the Nevada chapter’s clubhouse,” he explains to me. “So not ours exactly, but we’re welcome there whenever we’re in town. We’re leaving first thing in the morning.”

  “Oh,” I whisper. “So, I’ll see you next year then?”

  Quite the depressing thought, but what did I expect? This date was an experience, and that’s all it’s ever going to be. I still don’t regret coming tonight. If anything, I regret not saying yes to him the very first time he asked me out.

  “Or you could come and visit me,” he says, narrowing his gaze slightly. “Or you could even come with me tomorrow.”

  My eyes widen. “Yeah, I can’t do that. Maybe I could come and visit sometime, but I can’t just leave tomorrow with no warning. I have to work. And my mom.”

  He nods slowly. “I understand. I’ll tell you what, give me your phone. I’m going to give you my number, and you message me, or call me.”

  “You chat on the phone?” I tease.

  “Not unless it’s an emergency,” he replies, lip twitching. “But for you I’ll make an exception. You call me if you ever need anything, you hear me? Anything. You need something, I got you.”

  Our eyes lock and connect.

  This is the moment.

  The acoustic version of “Power Over Me” by Dermot Kennedy plays, the powerful song setting the mood. He cups my cheek with his rough fingers, and my eyes flutter shut of their own accord, and I’m still, so still, just waiting. When his lips press against mine, I melt into him, tasting him gently at first, then I get a little bolder, exploring, my tongue brushing against his. I can feel my heart racing, the butterflies in my stomach out of control. This is the kiss.

  Our instincts take over and soon I’m sitting on his lap, straddling him, his fingers in my hair and mine resting on his hard chest.

  When we pull apart, our faces are still close together, scanning each other’s eyes. I lick my lips, still tasting him there, and feeling bold, I cup his stubbled cheek and press another soft kiss against his mouth.

  “You’re so beautiful,” he whispers. “Your eyes, I can’t look away from them.”

  I smile widely and rest my forehead against his. “Where have you been?”

  “Asking you out every year and getting rejected,” he murmurs, chuckling, and trails kisses down my neck. “I better get you home.”

  “Yeah, I guess so,” I reply, moving back when I feel how hard he is. Clearing my throat, I slide off him, my cheeks heating a little.

  He chuckles and says, “I might need a minute,” making me blush even further. Trying to keep myself busy, I tidy up the table and put my shoes back on. Then we head back down on the elevator, this time so different from the last, the air so thick with sexual tension I don’t even know where to look right now.

  Licking my lips, I stare at the numbers of the floors, watching us get closer to the ground all while I can feel his brown eyes pinned on me. He says nothing, and does nothing, but I’m finding it hard to breathe, hard to not push him against the wall and kiss him once more.

  I exhale as the door opens, and step out in front of him. He leaves the key card on the counter and walks out with me. Sliding the leather jacket back on, he hands me the helmet, staring at me. He opens his mouth to say something, but then closes it and stays quiet. I don’t know what he wants to say, but if he’s feeling the same as me—he doesn’t want tonight to end.

  It would be easy to walk away. I mean, we’ve only had this night together, but these butterflies in my stomach and the way he makes me feel is confusing me.

  No one has ever looked at me the way he looks at me.

  It’s both unnerving and all consuming.

  “Better get you home,” he mutters under his breath. “Where do you live?”

  “Just around the corner from Franks,” I say, and give the directions before hopping back on the bike behind him, and holding on to him once more. His phone rings before we ride off, and he says okay to whoever is on the line then hangs up.

  “We have to make a stop first, if you don’t mind,” he says as he turns his head back.

  “That’s fine,” I reply, kind of happy our night has been extended a little.

  He revs the engine and off we go. I can’t stop thinking about our kiss and how amazing it was. It wasn’t awkward at all, which is surprising, especially with my lack of experience. I’m imagining him kissing me again, only to be pulled out of my daydream when he comes to a stop in front of two men. Behind them is a warehouse. Is this the clubhouse he was referring to?

  Temper jumps off the bike and helps me down.

  “Look what we have here,” Renny calls out as he walks over to us, his brown eyes wide. “Hello, Abbie—how are you, sweetheart?”

  “I’m good. Good to see you again, Renny,” I say after my helmet comes off.

  He eyes the two of us, a wide grin on his face.

  “I’m going to kill you,” Temper says to him, then looks towards Saint, who appears next. I wouldn’t think I’d be on a first name basis with all these bikers, but after seeing them over the years, it’s hard not to be. They’re actually pretty friendly and seem like good guys. “What’s this emergency you needed me for? Looks like the two of you are standing around and talking shit.”

  Two other men appear from inside the warehouse, men that I’ve never seen before. They are wearing different colors on their cuts, which makes me guess that they are a part of a different club.

  “Stay here with her,” Temper says to Saint, before bringing his gaze back to me. “I’ll just be one second.”

  “Okay.”

  He walks toward the men, while I give my attention to Saint. “Never thought I’d see Temper taking a woman out on a date,” he says, lip twitching.

  “Never thought I’d be hanging out with bikers in my spare time,” I fire back, making him laugh out loud. He keeps his eyes on Temper, as if making sure everything is okay, watching his back.

  “Who are they?” I ask quietly.

  “Acquaintances, I guess you could say,” he replies, narrowing his blue eyes. “I didn’t realize Temper was still with you, or I wouldn’t have asked him to come here.”

  “We were just on our way home,” I say, then quickly correct myself. “I mean, he was dropping me back at my house. I don’t mind if he has to make a stop for...uh, work, or whatever.”

  Don’t need anyone to think that I was about to take him home.

  Saint chuckles under his breath. “Work. You’re cute, you know that? All innocent and shit.”

  “I’m not inno—”

  Yelling draws my attention back to Temper and the men he was speaking to, my eyes widening as four men appear from nowhere, dressed in all black, guns in their hands. What the hell? Panic starts to fill me—I have no idea how this is going to play out.

  Saint grabs me by the arm and quickly leads me to a car, opening the door and all but shoving me inside. “Stay in here and stay low.”

  He runs off just as I hear gunshots go off. Lifting my head, I can’t help but look through the window, my eyes darting around for Temper. He starts to chase the men, but Renny calls his name, so he stops and turns back. My eyes then move to Renny, who is standing there with a gun in his hand, one of the men on the ground by his feet.

  He isn’t moving.

  Renny’s gun is still pointed at his body.

  There’s blood, a lot of blood.

  Temper walks over to him, kneels down and checks the man’s pulse at his neck. My eyes go back to Renny, who is now looking at the gun in his hand, still as a statue.

  Oh my God.

  The man doesn’t move, and Temper looks up at Renny, shaking his head, and
he then brings his eyes to the car I’m in.

  To me.

  I duck my head back down, crouched on the floor, staying hidden.

  Holy crap. I just witnessed a murder.

  Wrapping my arms around myself, I wonder how the fuck tonight turned into this. I had the perfect date with Temper, and now a quick stop on the way home has turned into me witnessing something I never should have seen.

  As if reading my thoughts, Temper comes over to the car, opening the door and sitting next to me. “Fuck,” he whispers, clenching his teeth, and I sit properly on the seat, staring straight ahead.

  “Who were those men?” I ask, feeling numb at this point, and not knowing what to do or say. Maybe I’m going into shock, I don’t know.

  “I don’t know,” he admits, staring straight ahead. “We’ve never seen them before, but they obviously wanted us all dead. If Renny didn’t have that gun on him, we probably wouldn’t be here right now.”

  “Did Renny kill him?” I dare ask.

  Temper stays silent, and then whispers, “I should have taken you home first. I shouldn’t have stopped. I just didn’t think...” He trails off. “We’ve never had any problems here, with anyone.”

  “Temper—”

  He slams his fists against the back of the driver’s seat. “Fuck!”

  “Can you take me home now, please?” I say, swallowing hard. I just want this night to be over. In fact, I’m going to pretend anything after our date never happened.

  I could have died tonight.

  What if I was accidentally shot? If I was standing somewhere else when the guns went off? What if it was me lying there on the ground, in a pool of my own blood?

  “He hasn’t moved. He’s dead,” I announce, shaking my head. I stare at the man, whose light hair is covered in blood. “Oh my God, he’s dead.”

  Temper finally brings his gaze to me, studying me. I don’t like the look in his eyes—it’s a look I’ve never seen before from him, almost a detached look of concentration. He then glances outside, I’m assuming at Renny or Saint, and gives a slight nod.

  “Come on, I’ll take you home,” he says, sighing. “And for what it’s worth, Abbie. I’m sorry. I’m so fuckin’ sorry.”

  I follow him out of the car, toward his motorcycle.

  I thought he was saying sorry for what I had witnessed tonight, but when I’m grabbed from behind with a hand covering my mouth, I know that he was only apologizing for what’s to come.

  Chapter Five

  With my hands and feet tied in front of me, rope around my mouth like a gag, I stare out the window and wonder how the fuck I’m going to escape. I’m guessing it’s because I’m now a witness to a murder their MC committed. The thing is, though, I wouldn’t have said anything. I saw what happened, those men came at them with guns, so it wasn’t like they killed some innocent person, but that doesn’t excuse anything.

  Temper isn’t even in this car; he’s riding his motorcycle while I’m stuck with two men by the names of Chains and Crow. I’ve seen them in Franks, but only in the last year or so—they must be new. Crow is driving, while Chains is in the back, probably to make sure I don’t try anything.

  “I’ll take the rope off and give you some water. Just don’t scream, or I’m going to stop and put you in the trunk,” he warns me, his dark, menacing eyes telling me that he’s not bluffing.

  I nod once, and he removes the rope, watching me carefully. Chains brings a bottle of water to my lips and lets me have a few sips. “You want any more?” he asks.

  I shake my head. “Where are we going? I need to speak to Temper.”

  Maybe if I can just explain that I’m not going to say anything, maybe he will let me go. There’s no need for any of this. My mom and my sister will be so worried about me if I don’t come home. Even though I texted Ivy that everything was going great, if I’m not there when she wakes up she’s going to know that something is wrong. It’s not like me to not check in with her, especially when she knows who I was going on a date with.

  He points out the window at Temper on his bike. “He’s a little busy at the moment.”

  “Everything is going to be fine, Abbie,” Crow promises from the front. “We just need to sort out some shit, and we need to know that you aren’t going to go running to the cops in the meantime.”

  Finally, someone gives it to me straight, which I appreciate.

  “I’m not going to go to the cops, okay?” I tell them. “If Temper actually let me speak before he kidnapped me, I would have told him that.”

  “We can’t take that chance,” Chains comments from beside me. “You aren’t going to be hurt in any way, and when this is all done with, then you can go back home.”

  “All done with how? That man isn’t going to magically come back to life,” I snap, regretting my words as soon as they leave my lips. No point pointing out to them that there is no way out of this. What’s done is done, and yes, I saw what happened, and nothing is going to change that, but I meant what I said—I have no intention of getting myself involved in this in any way.

  “How do you know we didn’t take him to the hospital? He could be alive.” Chains smirks. “You don’t know what happened.”

  “It wasn’t looking good for him,” I mutter, shifting on the seat. “And if he’s fine, then why am I here?”

  “Maybe we just want to make sure that you’re safe. How do we know those men aren’t going to come after you next? They saw you. And they know what you saw. They know you saw what they looked like.”

  Exhaling deeply, I stretch my neck from side to side before replying, “I think you’re grasping at straws here, but whatever. Whether he’s alive or dead, I just want to mind my business and pretend all of this never happened. I wanted a little excitement in my life, but this is just a joke now.”

  Chains points to the sign to the left of us. “You’re leaving the state, I’m sure that’s exciting for you. Temper mentioned you haven’t really been anywhere.”

  “Well, how kind of you all to take me traveling,” I reply in a dry tone, scowling in his direction. “You’re a real asshole, you know that?”

  “He does,” Crow says from the front. “I told you that I should have sat with her. Your bedside manner needs some fuckin’ work.”

  “So you’re saying there’s a good way to kidnap a woman?” Chains fires back, crossing his arms over his chest. “I’m sorry, but this is the first time I’ve been in this situation.”

  Leaning my head back, I close my eyes. Think, Abbie, think.

  “I need to pee,” I announce.

  Maybe if I can get away from them, I can call Ivy to come pick me up, and Mom won’t even have to know anything that has happened. It will save me from her “I told you so” speech, which I’m not looking forward to. She told me to stay away from the bikers, and I didn’t listen, because Temper was too much of a temptation.

  “I’ll stop at the next gas station,” Crow says. He seems nicer than Chains, and definitely has a kinder disposition.

  “Thank you.”

  “Don’t even think of trying anything,” Chains says, watching me from the corner of his eye. “If you get away, Temper will actually fuckin’ kill me, and we don’t need another death happening today.”

  “So he did die,” I state, taking a deep breath. “I don’t know how I got dragged into this. My life was so simple before I went on this date with Temper.”

  And now I understand why he doesn’t date. Maybe this is his life and this shit just follows him around all the time. I feel a dash of sympathy for him, but he chose this life, and I guess this is the downside to it. Renny has only ever been polite and kind to me, and I had no idea he could be capable of what I saw today, which only shows how naïve I am. I know he was protecting himself and his brothers, but this whole incident has just made me regret ever looking in Temper’s directio
n. He’s not even here right now, making sure that I’m okay. Instead he’s on his bike, probably enjoying his life while I’m fucking tied up here with his men.

  This wasn’t how I ever pictured him tying me up would be. I was imagining a little more consent, and a lot more fun.

  Anger fills me. He’s the president, so he could have handled this situation any way he wanted, and this is his best option? He’s either a complete idiot or he just panicked and did what he could to temporarily fix the situation—at my expense, of course.

  Either way, I think it’s safe to say my dating life with any type of bikers is well and truly done with.

  “He’s a good man,” Crow says, sticking up for his leader. “Don’t judge him by what happened tonight. He’s doing the best he can in a fucked-up situation none of us saw coming.”

  “We didn’t see the date with you coming either,” Chains mutters, running his hand through his dark hair. “I don’t think he’s ever been on a date since I joined the MC.”

  “I think we have bigger problems right now,” I reply, scowling and lifting up my tied hands. “Well, at least I do.”

  Crow, the bastard, can’t help but laugh out loud. “I like you, Abbie.”

  “Wish the feeling was mutual,” I reply, gritting my teeth. “What are you guys going to do when my sister reports me missing and the cops come after you? Everyone saw me leaving with Temper, and I’m sure that your clubhouse isn’t that hard to find.”

  “What happens next is up to Temper,” Chains replies, checking a text message on his phone. “I’m sure he has a plan, or at least he will come up with one.”

  Just fucking great.

  And I’m sure they’re right. Temper didn’t become president by default; he was chosen because he’s obviously intelligent, crafty, and knows how to strategize and fix things when they go wrong.

  “We can stop here,” Crow says, pulling into a gas station. “But Abbie, if you try anything, it’s not going to end well.” He gives me a look that tells me he means business. When I nod, he says, “Chains, untie her.”