“Yeah. We got this.” Those enraged green eyes never moved from the men. “Get her out of here.”
In one strong move, Curtis swung Tessa easily in to his arms and carried her out of the main room. She had her face buried in his chest and she was breathing too fast.
“Hey, sweetheart. Deep breaths for me, yeah?” He kicked open the door of the staff room. “I’ve got you. You’re OK now.”
She shuddered and held on tighter. “I – I know.”
Curtis gently set her down on the sofa and knelt in front of her. “Look at me.”
She did, those incredible eyes full of bewildered pain and tears and he reached out to touch her.
“Talk to me, OK?” He stroked her cheek with his thumb. “You hurt?”
“My head.”
“Let’s see.” He moved to sit next to her, gently parted her thick hair to feel the back of her head for bumps, looking for blood. Her golden curls were soft under his rough hands and smelled of something sweet and flowery. He inhaled deeply, loving her scent, wishing that he was clutching her hair while buried inside her, making her moan his name as she came for him.
He looked up to see Kenleigh enter the room, her lips set.
“Fucking asshole,” she said. “Tessa… you alright, hon?”
Tessa nodded. “I think so.”
“A bad bump.” Curtis caressed the nape of her neck and Tessa closed her eyes at that tender touch. “You got ice?”
“Yep. I came prepared.” Kenleigh held up an ice pack wrapped in a towel. “I think you need to get back out there, Curtis. It’s going to explode any second and –”
That was when the sound a glass breaking began and Curtis shot to his feet. “You two stay in here, now. Tessa, lie down with that ice pack on your head.”
“I’ve got her,” Kenleigh said. “Go. The guys need you.”
He dashed out of the staff room, closed the door behind him. He heard the lock turn and silently thanked Kenleigh for her usual cool head at times like this. The woman never freaked out and good damn thing, because he needed to go crack some skulls and had to be sure that Tessa was in good hands while he did that.
When he reached the bar area, it was mostly over – with the notable exceptions of the dickhead who’d grabbed Tessa and one of his friends. The other two were down on the floor, one with King’s knee firmly planted in his back, the other with his arms twisted in Alex’s brutal grip. But Curtis only had eyes for one man.
Mistake, fucker. You shouldn’t touch any woman like that – and most especially not that one.
He launched himself at the guy, knocking Jax with his shoulder. Jax took one look at Curtis’ face and stood aside without a word; the man understood about wanting to throttle a guy who’d hurt the woman you care about. Curtis advanced slowly, watched the coward take a few steps back, his eyes widening when he took in Curtis’ size.
“Where you going?” he muttered. “You want to throw a punch at me and actually make contact this time? Or do you just hit women who have their backs turned?”
“Fuck you,” the guy said thickly through a bloody nose. “Come on, then.”
He picked up a beer glass from the table next to him and flung it at Curtis, who avoided it easily and without a second of thought: years of military training had given him lightning-quick reflexes. He turned to see where the glass ended up, though, and that’s when he saw Gabi.
She was standing against the wall, standing well back. The beer glass was headed straight for her face and she looked frozen in shock.
“Shit!” He lunged towards her, knowing he wasn’t going to get there in time.
Fuck, Gabi… duck!
Out of nowhere came a huge body. It flung itself between Gabi and the glass, took the hit directly between the shoulder blades. The man grunted and covered Gabi’s body with his own. He turned his head and Curtis was almost taken aback at the blaze of fury in those golden eyes.
“Get him,” Aidan growled.
**
Gabi didn’t understand what the hell was going on. One second she was watching a heavy glass come at her, the next she was crushed between the bar wall and a wall of pure muscle. Large forearms were on either side of her, bracketing her tightly in place and large hands were on her head, covering it. The man’s body was between her and the chaos in the room and she’d honestly never felt so utterly protected in the whole of life.
Without any conscious thought, she lowered her face to his chest. Her fingers found his shirt front and held on to it. She both felt and heard his heartbeat and she closed her eyes to focus on its steady rhythm.
“Gabriela?” Warm breath in her ear. “You OK?”
Aidan?
She raised her face to his. He was staring down at her with such intensity, it was like a physical touch. He stared at her, through her, right in to her and she felt her breath hitch. His gorgeous body was so solid, so strong. He was close to her and it felt so damn good; she lowered her gaze to his lips, dying to kiss him. Needing to be closer, as close as she could be.
Aidan was wondering just how the hell he had ended up here: pressed up on Gabriela’s hot little body, her hands clutching him. Her amazing breasts were soft and round against his hardness, and the scent of her hair and skin was all around them. His cock was pushed in to her curvy thigh and her dark eyes were full of unspoken desire. The sight of that lust shocked him, exhilarated him.
Fuck, she wants me too… I’m not alone in this.
When her eyes went to his mouth, he almost groaned aloud. God, what he’d do to kiss her right now. But not here, not in front of all these people. Their first kiss wasn’t going to be the only one and it wasn’t going to stop there – no goddamn way – and he’d better not turn around to display a massive hard-on when this whole thing was over. So instead of doing what he really wanted to, he satisfied himself with just holding her close and stroking her hair.
“You OK?” he repeated.
“Yes.” Her voice was a soft breath. “Thank you.”
“No problem. I’ll take a beer glass to the back for you anytime, darlin’.”
Shock and worry flashed over her face. “Oh, God, Aidan. Are you cut?”
“Dunno.” He was though, he knew. He’d felt the glass cut him deep and the blood was trickling down his back in a pretty steady flow now.
“Let me see.”
She tried to move to the side and out of his arms and he gripped her harder.
“You stay right here until that asshole is face-down under Curtis’ boot. You hear me, Gabriela? Don’t you move until it’s all over.”
She nodded. She couldn’t see what was happening behind Aidan but she heard fists making contact with flesh and bone. She shut her eyes again, trying to concentrate on being close to Aidan. She’d never be here again, she was sure, so she’d better enjoy it while it lasted.
Just – just let him hold you. God, it feels so good to feel safe.
**
Curtis found that the guy was easy enough to overpower, making him yet another fucker who wouldn’t think twice about assaulting a woman but couldn’t even begin to take the same thing from another man. Christ, Curtis hated guys like this – sniveling little jerks who intimidated and hurt people weaker than them, just to feel like a big man.
Not so fucking tough now, are you?
The guy was a mess, panting and cursing on the floor and Curtis backed up now, massaging his knuckles. No sense hurting the guy too badly, he figured. He nodded at Jax who came over and hauled the idiot up by his shirt. He sighed and threw him unceremoniously in to a chair. The guy's friend was already slumped in one himself, looking dazed from Mac’s punches to his gut.
“You OK?” Jax asked Curtis. “Your hands?”
“Sore. I’ll get some ice on them later. You?”
Jax waved his hands. “No problem. How’s Tessa?”
/> “Bad bump on her head.”
Mac looked up, concerned. “How bad?”
“I don’t know. Come and take a look at her, doc?”
“Yeah, absolutely.”
Jax switched his attention over to Aidan and Gabi who were still standing over by the wall. “Guys? OK?”
Gabi shook her head. “Aidan’s bleeding. That beer glass cut him.”
“Goddammit.” Jax looked around the bar. “OK, folks. Me and my staff need to do some clean-up. You all need to move out of this section and if you want a drink, King’ll get it for you.”
King grinned. “I love when I get to tend the bar. The tips are just so good, you know?”
“Yeah, I know. Have fun, man.”
King sauntered off to the bar and immediately a long line of women followed him, eager to flirt with him over a shot or two. Jax shook his head and smiled. He knew that King was with Naomi one hundred percent, but it seemed that the women who frequented Curves hadn’t gotten the memo yet.
“OK,” Jax said, back in control. “Alex, you watch these assholes until the cops get here. Aidan, sit your ass down until the ambulance guys arrive to check you over. Gabi, you OK to help me out?”
“Yes.” She looked a bit pale, but she was steady. “What do you need me to do?”
“Help me clean up a bit?”
She looked at all the broken glass everywhere. “Sure thing. Let me go to my room and get my running shoes, OK?”
Jax glanced down at Kenleigh’s sexy-as-fuck high-heeled boots that she was wearing. “Yeah, sure.”
Behind her, Don and Lizard exchanged glances. They withdrew a bit, moved away from Jax and Aidan.
“You heard that?” Lizard whispered. “She has a room here?”
“Yeah. I’ll follow her, see which one is hers.”
Lizard nodded, watched Don head off to the bathroom, walk right on past it. He looked around the bar, a bit stunned that within two minutes everything had just gone back to normal, as if the fight hadn’t just happened. The music was back on, the games at the pool tables had resumed, the booze was flowing, laughter was echoing around the room. He supposed that at Curves, shit like this happened often enough that nobody was all that fazed by it.
My kind of place, for damn sure.
He sat in the booth again, picked up his whisky. He was running low and he decided to get one more before they left to go report in to Trigger.
Don returned now, looking smug. He sat across from Lizard, threw back his drink. “We’ve got her.”
“Fuck, yeah.” Lizard leaned forward. “Which room?”
“Two. She used a key and I got a good look in before she shut the door. Clothes and makeup and shit everywhere. She’s definitely moved in here.”
“Goddamn.” An ugly grin split his face in two. “Trigger’s gonna owe us so damn big for this.”
“Sure is.”
They fell silent as Gabi came back now, carrying a broom and dust pan. She started to sweep up the glass carefully, really focused on getting every little piece. The blond guy holding a towel to his back watched her every move, looked at her like the sun rose and set on her. His possessive demeanor was evident – and that made him an unexpected complication.
“You think they’re together?” Don said under his breath.
“Maybe. He did throw himself in front of a glass for her.”
“Yeah.” Don contemplated that. “Maybe they’re staying here together?”
“Let’s hang out a bit longer, see if we can find anything else out.”
“Sure.”
Gabi saw them now and she gave them a smile. “Exciting evening at Curves, huh?”
“Sure is,” Don drawled. “Is it always like this?”
“Oh, not always. Sometimes it’s very, very quiet.”
“I doubt that,” Lizard said. “This is where all the action is, for damn sure.”
“So can I get you guys anything else?”
“You don’t mind? You look busy.” Lizard was going for charming and failing, but fuck. The bitch was offering to bring him a drink, so he’d play along.
“No, it’s fine. Whisky?”
“Yep.” Don’s smile didn’t reach his eyes. “We’re celebrating, you see.”
“Oh, yeah? Celebrating what?”
Don looked up at her. “A job well done.”
**
Kenleigh jumped to her feet when Curtis unlocked the staff room door. “Mac. Oh, thank God. I think she’s hurt more badly than we thought at first.”
Curtis’ gut clenched. “What do you mean?”
“She keeps saying she’s tired and it’s getting harder and harder to keep her awake.”
“Tessa?” Mac sat next to her, lifted her eyelids. “Tessa?”
“Can I go to sleep now?” she slurred.
“You sleepy?”
“Mmmmmm.”
“Listen up, sweet thing,” Mac said. “You can’t go to sleep, OK?”
“But…” Her eyelids drooped again.
“Honey.” Mac shook her a bit. “If you have a concussion, you can’t sleep. Fight it off for me… Tessa?”
She forced her eyes open again. “I – I’ll try.”
“I know you will.”
“What do I do?” Curtis asked him, feeling powerless and angry. “Tell me.”
“Try to keep her awake, though that may be impossible. I’m going to call the hospital and arrange a few tests and scans. I’ll have them lined up and ready to go when she arrives.” Mac left the room, pulling out his cell as he went.
Kenleigh and Curtis looked at each other.
“Thank God the man’s a world-class neurologist, huh?” Kenleigh said. “Comes in awfully handy around here sometimes.”
“No kidding.”
“So you OK to stay with her?” she said. “I think I should get out there and help with cleaning up.”
“Yeah, go on. Thanks, hon.”
“Sure. You take care of her now.”
“I will.”
She shut the door behind her and there they were: Curtis was staring down at the sexiest, sweetest woman he’d ever known and she was hurting and afraid. She was struggling to stay awake, he could see it, but she was losing the battle fast and hard.
“Tessa,” he said. “Stay with me, OK?”
“I’m tired,” she whispered. “I want to close my eyes…”
“I know. But you can’t.”
“Uuummm-hmmmm.” Those green eyes fluttered shut again.
“Hey.” Curtis touched her hand. “Hey, Tessa.”
She didn’t answer this time and he felt the worry moving across his chest. “Tessa?”
She sighed deeply and that helpless sound was what did him in; it’s what made him break his self-imposed determination to not touch her the way that he so desperately wanted to.
Fuck it. Just for a few minutes.
Curtis lay down next to her on the sofa and took her in his arms. Gently, he tucked her head under his chin, his hand on the nape of her neck again. He closed his eyes and just let himself feel her curves and closeness.
“Tessa?” he whispered. “Can you hear me?”
A small sound of assent.
“Open those gorgeous eyes. Look at me.”
With a huge effort, she did. Their eyes met and locked and she suddenly looked more alert.
“Curtis?”
“It’s me. Stay here, yeah?”
“My eyes are so heavy… why am I so tired?”
“You’re hurt but I’ve got you now. You’ll go to the hospital with Mac and you’ll be fine. OK?”
“Hmmmm.” She was drifting away again and he took her chin in his fingers.
“Hey. Come on… stay awake, baby.”
She was out now, though,
out completely and Curtis held her closer. He knew she wasn’t his girlfriend, that this astounding body wasn’t his to touch like this, but screw it. She needed the comfort and he needed to give it to her. The ambulance would be taking her away any minute now and then the sweetness of these few moments would just be a memory. Yeah, he was a selfish prick for wanting that sweetness – but he was going to take it anyway. He needed to take it.
**
“So she’s definitely at Curves, huh?” Trigger said.
“Yep, for sure.” Don grinned and did another shot. “Room Two.”
“Good.” Trigger stared around the clubhouse conference room, thinking hard. “Getting in to her ain’t a big problem, but getting that bitch out of Curves will be. Any bright ideas?”
“The crash rooms have windows, but they’re secured from the inside,” Lizard offered. “If someone can get through the door and open them from inside, it’d be easy enough to shove her through the window. She’s small enough to fit, no problem and so is Don. Me, not so much.”
“Yeah?” Trigger looked pleased. “You checked?”
“Uh-huh. I went to the other rooms and checked ‘em out. The windows are all the same, so I’m guessing the one in her room is too. And the best part? Her window faces away from the parking lot and main road – it faces the area behind the kitchen where the dumpster is. No foot traffic, no cars.”
“Fucking perfect,” Ace breathed.
“Right?” Lizard smirked. “Easy as hell.”
“OK, so.” Trigger was all business now and they gave him their undivided attention. “I need you two to go get her for me.”
Don and Lizard nodded. Kidnapping wasn’t really their bag, but if it gave them an in with Trigger MacGee, the Fallen Angels and Kirk Jensen, they’d do it, no fucking hesitation. They’d even get rid of Gabriela Torres if that’s what Trigger wanted – they knew they’d have rock-solid alibis for the time of her ‘disappearance’.
“I figure we need three people to pull this off,” Trigger said. “One to break in to the room and wait for the bitch and knock her out, one to be outside the window with a car and one to be outside in the hallway on look-out. Clean, simple, fast.”
“So who’s the third man?” Ace said.
Killer Curves (Dangerous Curves Book 3) Page 5
