by Ali Parker
Warren stammered. “A-a girl. He said he had a score to settle with a girl.”
Chapter 24
Evelyn
Derek’s kitchen was designed for convenience. His coffee maker was a fancy espresso machine that took me ages to figure out. All I wanted was a simple black coffee. After about eight minutes of trying to make sense of all the chrome pieces and flush buttons, I figured out how to make it work. The beans were already inside, and it was good to go. As it started to heat up, I opened the cupboard above the coffee maker to find his display of all matching mugs. They were all dark blue, simple, and trimmed in silver. I shook my head at his expensive tastes and grabbed one of them. I slid it under the spout and picked up my phone from where it sat on the counter to call Penny.
Her alarm would have just gone off two minutes ago, and she’d be walking out of her room to hit the shower in about five minutes. I didn’t want her to walk into the living room to find me gone and panic, but I also hadn’t wanted to wake her. She was a light sleeper, and once she was awake, it took her forever to fall back asleep.
She answered on the second ring with a sluggish voice. “Evie? Hi. Why are you calling me? Where are you?”
“Morning, sunshine.” The coffee started dripping slowly into the bottom of my mug, letting loose the rich aroma of coffee. I inhaled deeply, savoring it, and sighed. “I wanted to let you know I’m not at home. I spent the night somewhere else.”
I could hear Penny moving around in bed. Her blankets rustled as she sat up. “Somewhere else as in Derek’s place?”
I giggled. “Yep.”
If Penny was annoyed, she did a good job of hiding it. There was only a moment of hesitation where I thought she might get upset with me again for being reckless, but it passed quickly. Instead, she said, “What’s his place like? I’m curious.”
So she’d heard me loud and clear when I’d told her I could take care of myself and I wanted her to trust me. That warmed my heart. I wouldn’t have to defend myself anymore. “It’s really modern. And Penny, he has a lot of money, like, a lot. I didn’t expect his place to be so … chic.”
“Chic?” Penny snorted. “The man looks like a lumberjack. How could he possibly be chic?”
“Want to video call me, and I’ll show you around?”
“Heck yes, I do. Just let me put some clothes on. I’m naked.”
“Okay. Call me when you’re done.”
Penny was apparently taking her time getting dressed this morning because by the time she called me back, my whole coffee had poured, and I was sipping it gingerly from the edge of the mug. When my phone opened, I was greeted with my best friend’s morning face. Her hair was a mess, and her eyes were puffy. “You look gorgeous,” she said.
Apparently, I had the same wild look going for me. I fluffed my hair. “You like it?”
Penny snickered. “Come on, show me his kitchen. You know I’m a sucker for kitchens.”
I switched the camera around so Penny could get a look at his kitchen. It was all black and white with stainless steel appliances. Everything was minimal. His coffee machine was the only thing on any surface. I moved from the kitchen to the living room and then to the bedroom.
Penny gave my walk-through live commentary the whole time, and when I showed her the master bedroom, she gasped. “It’s absolutely gorgeous. I can only imagine waking up there. And going to sleep there, if you know what I mean.”
“Oh, I know exactly what you mean.”
“How was it?” Penny asked.
I dropped down on his bed and turned the camera back to myself as I fell on my back. “It was amazing. He surprised me at work and took me out on a date. He brought me to this little Mexican restaurant, and we sat outside on the patio for almost four hours sipping margaritas and eating tacos. It was like …” I paused and draped my arm over my forehead.
“A damn movie,” Penny finished for me.
“Yeah. Exactly like that. I kept feeling like everything was too good to be true, and I was waiting for the other shoe to drop. But it never did. After dinner, he took me here, and he spoiled me even more. Like, in bed kind of spoiled me.”
“I’m following, Evie. My goodness. I don’t need a detailed walk-through.”
“Oh. Sorry.”
“But I do want to know what he was like in bed.”
“Penny!”
“What?” she asked innocently, cocking her head to the side. “Neither of us have ever fucked a guy like that. I want to live vicariously through you. Was he rough? Does he have a big dick? Come on, don’t be a prude. If you’re ready to date a guy in a motorcycle club, you should be ready to talk about these things.” She gave me a cocky look that said, “I’m right and you’re wrong, and you know it.”
I sighed. “He’s amazing in bed. I’ve never, you know, had an orgasm during sex before. I came at least four times last night.”
“Good for him.” Penny nodded approvingly.
“And yes, it is big. Really big.”
Penny giggled. “Well, I’m glad he takes care of you. You deserve it.”
“Thanks, Penny. I do, don’t I?”
She snorted and shook her head at me. Her heels thudded on the floor, and she put her phone down on the kitchen counter, giving me a view of the ceiling as she rummaged through her fridge and started whipping up breakfast. I could hear her voice calling across the kitchen to her phone. “You know, maybe this whole biker thing isn’t as big a deal as I thought it was.”
I didn’t like where this comment was leading. I held my breath and waited for her to continue.
“Do you think he has any single friends? You know, preferably someone who’s as ruggedly good-looking as he is with a killer body and lots of expensive things?”
I chuckled. She was so predictable. “I don’t think that’s how it works, Penny.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, I don’t think I could ask him if any of the other members want to date my best friend. They don’t strike me as the kind of men who would be up for a blind date. You know?”
“Then, you should plan something and invite all of them so I can meet them. I’ll pretend it’s speed dating. They don’t have to know I’m scouting them for relationship material.”
I groaned. “Penny, you’re about as subtle as a bull in a china shop. They’d figure it out in minutes.”
“I can be charming. Maybe they’d like me?”
I laughed, and her face appeared, hovering over her phone. She peered down at me with all her double chins on display. I shook my head. “How about we table this for now and wait until Derek and I are a little more advanced in our relationship?”
Penny arched an eyebrow. “Relationship, hmm?”
“Oh, shut up,” I huffed.
“You walked right into that one, girl. I didn’t even have to try. But I’m going to hold you to it. Once you guys have more time under your belts, I want to meet these sexy bikers. At least one of them has to be into blond bank tellers, right?”
“I’m sure there’d be more than one.”
Penny shrugged. “Well. Thanks for calling me, Evie. But I gotta go get ready for work. You know. Living the dream. Are you going to be home tonight, or are you staying at Romeo’s?”
I blushed. “I don’t know yet. I’ll know when he gets back, and I’ll text you.”
“Okay, babe. Don’t have too much fun, okay?” Penny winked, and I blew her a kiss before we ended the call.
As soon as I dropped my phone in my pocket, I heard a noise at the front door. It was a soft thud, not like a knock, really, but more like someone had leaned heavily on the door. I opened my mouth to call hello to Derek, but something tugging at my gut stopped me. I clamped my mouth shut and stood perfectly still.
The sound came again and was followed by a soft creaking sound.
The front door was open.
I waited, praying that Derek would call out to me. If it was him, he’d let me know he was home. He wouldn’t just s
neak in, not with everything going on. He’d know I’d be easily put on edge.
Something glass smashed at the front door. I remembered seeing a picture frame on a small table on the other side of the door to the garage when we came in last night. It must have been knocked over.
I raced out of the kitchen, through the living room, and down the hall to the bedroom. I looked around wildly for a place to hide. There was someone in Derek’s house who was not supposed to be there, and I had a feeling I’d be in big trouble if they happened upon me.
I didn’t have time to put anything on besides the T-shirt of Derek’s I’d found in his dresser. I had my panties on, too, but that was it.
I rushed from each side of his room, desperately trying to find somewhere I could hide that wasn’t obvious. There was nowhere to go but under the bed.
The most predictable fucking hiding spot on the planet.
I heard footsteps down the hall.
I didn’t have a choice. I dropped to all floors, went flat to my stomach, and shimmied under the bed. I fit easily with a good couple of inches above me. I faced the foot of the bed so I could watch the open doorway to the bedroom.
I had seconds before whoever was in the house came in. I took as many slow deep breaths as I could to get my breathing under control.
Then, two black boots appeared at the door.
I evened out my breathing and took tiny, shallow breaths to avoid being overheard. And I waited. There was nothing else I could do.
Whoever the man was at the door was waiting too. He was completely motionless. Was he listening?
Panic spread across my chest, threatening to push a scream from my throat.
I wanted to reach for my phone, but I didn’t dare. He might see the flash of light from the screen, hear my nail click on the case, or hear the vibration when I sent a message. I couldn’t risk it, no matter how badly I wanted to send Derek a message.
Help me.
The man walked into the room. I held my breath and waited as he came to stand at the foot of the bed. All I could hear was my pounding heart and the rush of blood in my ears. I’d never been so frightened. I wished I was anywhere but here, under this man’s nose.
He went to his knees.
No.
A wicked smile greeted me. It was him.
“Why hello there, sugar. I thought I smelled that perfume of yours.”
Chapter 25
Derek
I slammed Warren against the back of the bench and struck him across the jaw. He yelped and clutched at his already reddening face as I wound back to hit him again. Rhys caught my arm and yanked it down.
I spun on him, far past furious and ready to strike out at anything that got in my way.
“Derek!” Rhys yelled at me. “Leave me with him. I’ll take care of it. Go get your girl. You can’t leave her with him.”
His words cut through my fury and forced me to see reason. I pointed a finger at him. “Don’t think your convenient appearance is going to make me trust you again. I know you’re playing a game. I know you fucking want something.”
“Now is not the time to talk about it.”
I took a menacing step toward him. Rhys didn’t back down. I jabbed him in the chest. “Don’t let him go. I’m coming back for his ass.”
“All right. Now, get the hell out of here,” Rhys said, tipping his head toward the parking lot.
I went. I went as fast as I could, legs pumping as I dashed across the park to my truck. I leaped inside and started it up to reverse out of my stall with squealing tires.
How could I have let this happen? What part of my brain had thought this was a good idea? I was set up. Plain and simple. The big bastard knew exactly what strings to pull to get the better of me, and he’d done it expertly. This was why people feared him. He always came out on top.
Not this fucking time. He’d fucked with the wrong guy.
My place was a fifteen-minute drive on a good day. I was halfway there in four minutes. My knuckles were white as I gripped the steering wheel and jerked from right to left between traffic. I had to get to her.
I fumbled to get my phone out of my pocket and called Caleb, praying he would answer. He did, and his voice brought me a flickering moment of relief. Just a flicker. “Caleb! Fuck. I need you to meet me at my place. Call everyone. He’s at my fucking house. And so is Evelyn.”
“Wait. Hold on. He as in—” Caleb asked.
“The Hand. Yeah. And in case I don’t make it out, I have his name. Isaac Reed.”
“How did you get that information?”
“It’s a long story, but it’s reliable enough. I wanted to pass it to you just in case.”
“Where are you right now?” Caleb asked. His voice was as tight as my heart felt. I could hear his boots striking the floor. He was either at home or the shop. I couldn’t be sure. I heard keys jingling.
“I’m on my way back to my place now. Five minutes away, tops.”
Caleb paused. “I’m not going to ask you not to go in because you have to help her, but you have to be careful, man.”
“You think I don’t fucking know that?” I growled, taking a right turn and driving over the curb. A few pedestrians shouted at me.
“You know what I meant. I’m leaving my place now. I’m at least fifteen minutes away, Derek. I’ll call the others, but you might be on your own for awhile. See if you can get her the fuck out of the house. Stay alive. That’s priority number one.” I didn’t say anything. I just listened to him start up his car. “I’m on my way. Watch your fucking back, Derek.”
I hung up the phone.
The following five-minute drive was the most excruciating five minutes of my life. All I could think about was how Evelyn had looked in my bed when I’d left her. Sleepy and happy and far too good for me. Too good for this fucking life. She was innocent and pure, and I’d tainted her with my body and brought her into this dirty, messy, violent life. I was like a ship anchor.
Now, she was at his mercy.
If he had any mercy in his blood.
This was why I never got attached to women. It was why I let them go after one night, never to see them again. It was to protect them and my heart. It was self-preservation, plain and simple.
My thoughts turned darker than they’d ever been. There was only one way I was going to get to her in time, and that was if he was taking his time. I hated myself for wishing it, but I did. I prayed that whatever he was doing, she was alive and that I would be able to get there in time for her. Thinking it sickened me.
A middle-aged man in a silver luxury sedan cut me off. I didn’t slow down for him. I drove right into his backend, crumpling his bumper, and jerked my steering wheel to rush by him in the oncoming traffic lane. He rolled his window down and screamed bloody murder at me. I didn’t even waste time giving him the finger. I kept going, pulling back in front of him. He could take my license down, and I’d pay him later.
If I was lucky enough to have a later. Maybe I’d be dead, and he’d have to pay it on his own. Served him right.
My phone rang, and I answered the call through my truck. It was Ryder. “Caleb just called me. I’m on my way to your place right now. Dani is bringing her team. Derek, if you go in there alone—”
“I know what might happen,” I said. My whole body was tense. I was not in the right state of mind to have this conversation. Nothing was going to keep me out of that house.
“I’m worried he might already be gone,” Ryder said. His voice was thin. He knew the weight of what he’d just said to me, what he’d just inferred.
He was warning me that I might be walking in to find Evelyn’s corpse.
“It’s not going to happen,” I said, more to convince myself than him.
Ryder didn’t say anything. I could hear the roar of the engine of his car as he wove through traffic like I’d been. He was dead set on getting to me as quickly as possible. I knew all the boys would be. But I’d beat them all there, and I’d be the one who
had to go in.
“We’ll get him,” Ryder finally said.
“Yeah.”
“Are you there yet?”
I turned into my driveway and raced up it. My front door was wide open. My heart caught in my throat, and my stomach twisted itself into a thousand tiny knots. “Yeah. So is he. I’m going in. I’ll see you when you get here, Ryder.”
“Don’t do anything stupid,” he said.
But I was already out my truck and racing to the door. Each step felt too short and not fast enough. When I burst through it, my boots crunched over broken glass of a picture frame of when the MC opened our first bike shop. Hyde was in the middle, smiling like a high school kid who’d just had his first beer.
I ran into the kitchen and living room. Nothing was disturbed there. It was exactly how I left it. There was the faint smell of coffee in the air. Evelyn had gotten up at some point and made herself a cup. Then where did she go? Had she left? Maybe The Hand—Isaac—had already come and gone, and she was safe back at Penny’s house.
I wasn’t dumb enough to believe the lie my brain was desperately trying to weave. She was here, and so was he.
My ears pricked to the sound of running water from my bathroom. Lots of it.
I sprinted down the hall, ducked into my bedroom, and rushed to the bathroom where I caught myself in the doorway.
Rage unlike anything I’d ever felt surged through my veins. My vision went dark and tunneled in on the man who was holding Evelyn beneath the surface of the water in my filled bathtub.
She was thrashing around wildly trying to get free of him. There was no telling how long he’d had her under and how much longer she would last. Water was spilling over the side as it overflowed over the edge. Evelyn’s limbs pushed more of it out in sloshing waves as she panicked and fought for her life.
Isaac hadn’t even heard me come in. He was staring down into the tub. His arms were in the water up to his elbows. He must have been pinning her down by her shoulders. There was a smile curling his lips, and I was filled with a single purpose, to beat that smile off his face.
