Arsen

by Kathryn Thomas

  With a final convulsive thrust, Stacy threw her off, and began to scramble back on her hands and knees, racked with coughs. Quinn began to charge her, intent on finishing what she’d started, but before she could attack, Arsen stepped up and grabbed Stacy by the arm. He was covered in blood from the waist down, but didn’t appear to be injured. He hauled Stacy to her feet and drove his knife into her side without pause.

  She screamed in pain, hunching over to the side as her blood flowed. He drove the blade in again, then jacked her head back and slit her throat with a single vicious slice. He held her a moment then let her fall. She wasn’t dead yet, but she would be within moments.

  He stared at Stacy as her blood stained the desert floor, the rain washing the blood from her body until her heart beat its last, then looked at Quinn. “You okay?” he panted.

  Quinn stared at the dead woman as she began to shake. Her eyes flicked to him, watching him, knife still in his hand as his chest heaved, the rain washing the blood from him. He dropped the knife as she ran to him, throwing herself into his arm as she began to weep.

  He held her tight, one arm around her waist, the other on her head. “I thought I was going to lose you,” he murmured. They stood in their embrace for many long moments. “We have to go before someone sees us,” he whispered.

  She nodded and struggled to stop her tears. “I was so afraid,” she whispered, her face still buried in his chest.

  “I know. So was I.”

  She sniffed and stepped back. “Is it over?”

  “I don’t know. I hope so.” He bent and picked up his knife and checked to make sure he still had his weapon, wanting to leave no evidence behind. “Come on,” he said softly, taking her arm and steering her back toward the interstate and his car. “Let’s get the fuck out of here.”

  Chapter 43

  “What are we going to do?” Quinn asked as they struggled up the embankment then looked behind them. She could see the truck, but not the bodies.

  “Pray this bastard starts and will run,” Arsen replied. “Where’s your phone?” he asked. He’d already tried to use his phone but after rolling around in the muck, it wasn’t working anymore.

  “In the car, in my purse.”

  He nodded as he dropped into the driver’s and mentally crossed his fingers as he gave the key a twist. The engine turned over sluggishly, but clattered to life. The car wasn’t going to run long, but maybe it would run long enough to get them away from here.

  A Christmas tree of warning lights illuminated on the dash. Arsen flipped on the car’s hazard lights and he crept along the shoulder at barely more than idle as the car labored. He gritted his teeth, slowly feeding it more gas just to keep the car running as the knock became progressively worse, but it kept moving until they crept off the interstate at Wilcox. He could see a Holiday Inn Express sign farther up the road, but pulled the car into the Travel Center truck stop and switched it off.

  He could hear something frying under the hood, and on a hunch, tried the key. The car grunted but didn’t turn over. He gave the dash a pat, silently thanking the car for giving its life to get them away. “Let’s go.”

  He took the duffle from the trunk and pocketed the keyring. There was no point in locking the car with the shattered side window, but his key ring held his house, clubhouse and cabin keys as well.

  They trudged through the rain to the Holiday Inn, squeegeeing the water off themselves before stepping inside. “We need a room,” Arsen said as he approached the counter. The woman stared at them a moment. “Car broke down,” Arsen added to get her moving.

  The woman shook herself. “Yes, I’m sorry. Two? For how long.”

  “One night.”

  The typed on her computer a moment. “I need to see your driver’s license and credit card.”

  “I left my wallet in the car.” The woman paused. “Look, Lady,” Arsen said, his voice firm but nonthreatening. “We’ve had a really bad day. The car broke down on the interstate and I had to crawl under it in the rain to fix it enough to get to the next exit. We just want a room to get cleaned up and wait until someone can come get us. Is that asking too much? Are you really going to make me walk all the way back to the interstate, in the rain, to get my wallet?”

  The woman softened. “What’s your name?”

  “Yuggers. Todd and Stacy Yuggers, Phoenix, Arizona.”

  “Address?”

  He made up an address on the spot as the woman typed. “That’ll be $109 for one night.”

  “Thank you,” Arsen said as he reached into his pocket and pulled out his cash and peeled off twenties. He handed them across then signed the register as Todd Yuggers.

  “Room 101, right around the corner.”

  He nodded then took Quinn by the shoulder and escorted her out.

  In the room, while Quinn showered, he used her phone to call Phil.

  “Phil, we have a situation,” Arsen said as soon as his Sergeant at Arms answered.

  “What’s up?”

  “I need you to send someone to Tucson right now and rent a roll back, then get their ass to Wilcox as soon as they can.”

  “What happened?”

  “We had a run in with the Horsemen. There are two dead bodies in the desert and I want to get as far as from here as I can, as soon as I can.”

  “Are you alright? Where’s your bike?”

  “Quinn and I are fine. I’m in my car, but it’s shot all to hell and won’t run anymore.”

  “Christ! Okay, I’m on it. It’s going to take some time though. How the hell did they find you?”

  Arsen shrugged even though Phil couldn’t see him. “They probably picked us up at the clubhouse and followed us. The car is at the truck stop and we’re in the Holiday Inn Express. Both in Wilcox. Call me when you get here. Make it fast, Phil. My dick is really hanging out here.”

  “We’re rolling. Just hang tight.”

  He hung up the phone then called Zane.

  “Zane! Keep your eyes open. Quinn and I were jumped by the Horsemen.”

  “Holy shit! Are you okay?”

  “Wet and muddy, and my car is fucked, but we’re fine. I killed Stacy and Todd.”

  “Fuck!”

  “Yeah. They hit us after the exchange. They probably waited so I would have the cash, so keep your eyes open.”

  “We’ll keep an eye out. Thanks for the heads up.”

  “Stay safe, brother.” He’s just hung up when Quinn stepped out of the shower wrapped in a towel. She was pale and stared at him with wide eyes. “You okay?” he asked.

  “I think so,” she said softly.

  “Come here,” he said quietly as he got to his feet. She came and melted into his chest.

  “I keep seeing her face,” she said softly.

  “Shhhh…” He held her tight.

  “What are we going to do?”

  “We’re going to wait until somebody with the club shows up to get us out of here.”

  “How long is that going to take?”

  “I don’t know. Three or four hours, probably.”

  “I want to go home.”

  “I know, baby. So do I.”

  “Can’t you just call a tow truck?”

  “I don’t want to have to explain why there are bullet holes in the car.”

  She nodded, then began to shake again. “I thought you were going to die,” she whimpered, then began to weep again. “I was so afraid!”

  “Shhhh,” he murmured again, stroking her hair. “It’s over now.”

  “Is it?”

  “For now. Maybe forever. Without Stacy and Todd jacking everyone up, maybe we can put a stop to this.”

  “I hope you’re right.”

  “Me too,” he said softly. “At least you don’t have to worry about those two anymore.”

  She nodded into his chest, sniffing and trying to dry her tears. She looked up at him and offered her lips, wanting, needing, to feel the caresses of his lips, to remind her he wasn’t the heartless
killer she’d seen in the rain.

  As she stood in the shower, all she could see was the coldness on his face as he drove his knife into Stacy’s side, the shocked expression on her face as the knife plunged deep, and her scream of pain. He’d shown no remorse as he drove the knife in again, then cut her throat, allowing her to fall in a heap at his feet. That wasn’t who he was, and she knew it, but she needed the gentle caress of his lips to drive home he was the same gentle, caring, man she was falling for.

  He took her lips in a slow kiss. He’d done what he had to, and would kill a thousand more without regret to protect her. He only wished she hadn’t seen it.

  She pulled back from the kiss and stared into his eyes. The coldness was gone, replaced by the same warmth and tenderness she’d seen so many times before. She smiled softly, realizing there was nothing he wouldn’t do, no length he wouldn’t go, to protect her. He was her paladin, her knight and guardian, and so long as he was in her life, she knew she had nothing to fear.

  He watched as her face softened, her gaze touching him as she searched his eyes.

  “I love you,” she whispered.

  There was no hesitation, no prevarication, a simple statement that warmed him. “I love you,” he smiled, repeating her words.

  She smiled, his words driving away the doubts. He would never hurt her, never. His face was still ghosted with mud, but she’d never seen a more handsome or sexy man. She turned, then pulled him down to the bed with her, dropping her towel as she did. If they had three or four hours to kill, she knew how she wanted to spend them.

  He followed her to the bed, lying lightly across her as he caressed her face with a thumb, staring into her eyes. He’d always knew she was strong, and today she’d proven it. He’d ended her fight with Stacy, but she already had the larger woman back on her heels. He would always be there for her, but he knew now she could take care of herself.

  She watched his eyes as he stared into her face, his thumb on his cheek such a tender gesture she never wanted it to stop. “What?” she whispered.

  “Nothing,” he murmured before lowering his lips to her. Her arms went around his neck, pulling him into the kiss, her flaring passions igniting his own. He kissed down her body, smiling as the tasted the dirt left behind by his clothes. He rose to his knees and pulled his shirt over his head, struggling because of its wetness, then tossed the soggy garment away. She pulled him down into another torrid kiss, thrusting her hips to roll him over.

  She pushed him off of her and quickly went to work on his pants, jerking the wet denim off and throwing it away. She was burning with desire, his actions making her want him like never before. The moment his pants left her hands, she threw herself on him, kissing him furiously. She didn’t understand what had come over her but she need to feel him inside.

  She held him erect then lowered herself over him, taking him inside before kissing him again, her tongue forcing its way into his mouth to do battle with his. She slid lower to take him deep, then began to thrust, hard and fast, battering him with her hips. He pulled her up into the kiss, her heat washing over him and making him burn with desire.

  She levered out the kiss, his hands going to her head as he forced her up and back, propping her on his forearms, as he drew his feet up and pounded into her furiously. It was what she wanted, what she needed, her orgasm crashing into her and sweeping her away. She mewled, then wailed, as he pounded into with tender violence. She was alive with pleasure, alive with life! He had saved her, both physically and emotionally, and she was alive!

  She slumped and he stilled his battering hips, allowing her to fall to his chest as he panted. She shuddered as he held her, then sobbed.

  “Quinn, what’s wrong?” he murmured, upset she was crying. “Did I hurt you?”

  She shook her head but didn’t answer, sobbing again as she held him tight.

  He tried to pull her head up so he could see her face, but he held her head to his chest. “Tell me what’s wrong. Quinn?”

  “Love you,” she whimpered. “I was so afraid I was going to lose you today, but you save me. I…” she paused as she sobbed again, her grip tightening down even more. “I can never repay what you’ve done for me.”

  “Shhh,” he hissed softly as he stroked her head. “It’s okay. Shhh…”

  She sobbed once more, then became quiet, sniffing as she clung him. She looked up at him, her eyes red and puffy, but still the most beautiful woman in the universe.

  “Please don’t leave me,” she said softly, her face twisting in anguish.

  He rolled over, dumping her to the bed and wrapping her up, his arms tight at her side as he held her head. “I’m not going anywhere. Do you understand what I’m telling you? I’ll always be here for you.”

  She nodded as tears began to stream down her cheeks again. “I believe you. Please, make love to me.”

  He kissed her, slow and easy. She was obviously still damaged, and vulnerable, and the events of today hadn’t helped, but she would heal, and he would be there with her every step of the way. He smiled down at her, watching as she smiled back at him through the tears.

  “Make love to me,” she whispered again as she caressed his face, wiping at the blush of mud on his forehead.

  He entered her, a slow and easy insertion that made her gasp in pleasure. He kissed her again, assuring her through simple touch he would always be there to protect her, then kissed away the tracks of her tears. No face so lovely should ever be tear stained.

  They made love, slow and easy, no words spoken, promises being made with their actions, their gasps and sighs of pleasure the only sounds as they gave of themselves and their souls became one. Finally, long after they started, they slept, wrapped in each other’s arms, a soft smile on their faces, as they slept deep and peaceably, confident in the future and their love.

  Chapter 44

  Arsen sauntered into the clubhouse and tossed a magazine into Quinn’s lap. “Nice picture,” he drawled.

  On the cover of the Tucson Business Monthly, Quinn was standing in front of the clubhouse, dressed in a suit, with the words The new face of beauty in bold letters underneath.

  She looked at the magazine then opened it. “Did you read it?” she asked.

  “Yeah. You’d think reading that you ran the whole operation by yourself.”

  She giggled in delight and carefully read the article. In the eighteen weeks since they started packaging their product in the new containers, B3 had almost doubled its sales. They were still a small fish, and she had a long way to go before B3 was a profitable as the Blades’ other business, but they were growing fast enough somebody had noticed and wanted to do an article for the local business magazine.

  By unanimous vote the club decided Quinn would become the face of B3. She had protested mightily, but everyone agreed it would look better if everyone thought the company was run by a woman since it sold beauty products, and it was her ideas and hard work that had caused the sudden uptick in business. With Michelle at her side, they’d given the magazine a tour of the facility and explained their philosophy of great products at fair prices. They hadn’t exactly hidden that B3 was run by the Blacktop Blades, but nobody was wearing their colors that day and apparently nobody at the magazine questioned the lavish clubhouse as their offices.

  “Not bad,” she said as she closed the magazine. She was playing it cool, but inside her stomach was doing cartwheels.

  Arsen rolled his eyes. “Not bad, she says! If you were on the cover of Forbes, what would you say? Pretty good?”

  She rose from her chair with a giggle, sat her computer aside, and sauntered into his arms to give him a long, slow kiss. “Was that pretty good?”

  “Not bad,” he said, but then chuckled. Quinn had been fragile for a few days after the events in the desert, but she seemed well past it now. The dead bodies were found the next day, and made the news, but other than the initial report, nothing else was heard. When, after four weeks, the police hadn’t stormed the Blades
compound, they knew they had gotten away clean.

  Over the next twelve weeks, the Blades had killed eight more Horsemen, then given up the search when their sources went dry. Word was the remaining Horsemen were gone. Without Stacy and Todd whipping the members in a frenzy of blood lust, those who remained had dropped out of sight. The members might still be in Phoenix, but the Chrome Horsemen, as a club, was dead.

  “Just all right?” she purred. “Maybe I can do better.” She pulled him into another kiss, then pulled him backwards until he pinned her to the wall, her leg coming up behind his to hold his hips to hers.