by Evie Nichole
Brent moved away from Sal. “The bikers from the diner we stopped at were Mad Dog MC.”
Tank turned into a fountain of information. “Yeah, two of the brothers recognized Rae and told Snake all about Stone Security being up their asses. That’s how we knew where to attack. They said that Rae was staying with Brent Stone.”
Brent roughly righted Sal’s chair and shoved it against the wall behind him. “Stay.”
We left to the sound of Sal yelling at Tank and Tank giving it back just as good as he got it. I followed them out of the hallway and back down to the safe room, with neither of them speaking to me.
When we got to the main room, Jack spun around on me and I could see the muscles in the sides of his face working double time. “You were supposed to stay here.”
“I can help! I just helped a lot, actually.” I crossed my arms over my chest and frowned at him. “I know I’m just a stripper, but I’m not completely useless, Jack. I want to help if I can.”
“You’re not a fucking stripper!”
“Whatever! Stripper or not, I can help. Let me.”
He pushed his hands through his hair and walked into the control room, leaving me alone with Brent.
Brent just shrugged. “You were badass in there. I get where he’s coming from, though. It’s a scary world out there, Raelyn. He just wants to keep you safe.”
I shook my head and followed Jack into the control room. “I know you want to make sure I’m safe. I want that, too. I just don’t want to be left in the dark. Or in this concrete ditch.”
“Well, you can’t come hunting Snake with me. It’s too dangerous, Red. You were perfectly fine with hiding from him until you found out about Carly. Carly being hurt doesn’t change the main goal, though. Which is to keep you safe. I know you’re feeling some vigilante shit right now, but you can’t chance your life with it. You came to me and gave me a job. I’m going to do it, even if it pisses you the fuck off.”
I turned my back to him and stared at the monitor that displayed the hallway to their offices. “Fine. But, what happens if something happens to you while you’re out hunting him?”
He grabbed my shoulder and spun me around to face him before kissing me. I knew it was wrong, but I didn’t let it stop me from kissing him back. Somehow, between the years of viewing him as my hero and the few days where he’d shown up as my actual hero, I’d grown to like him. Despite normally wanting to punch him. The idea of him going out and chasing Snake down scared me.
He slid his hands into my hair and held my head while he deepened the kiss. I drank in the warmth from his body, his smell mixed with sweat, and the taste of him. A part of me felt like it was drowning and the only way it was going to get air again was if Jack stayed right where he was.
I wrapped my arms around his neck and locked them in place, hoping to keep him there with me, out of harm’s way. It felt like Snake was going to know everything, as if he would know that I wanted Jack more than I’d ever wanted another man in my life. It would make him come after Jack with too much rage for one man to handle. I wanted to keep Jack locked away with me, safe from my reality.
He pulled away slightly and slid his fingers even deeper into my hair. “I can tell you’re thinking too much.”
I frowned. “I’m just scared. He’s too close. You heard what I said about his torture. He’s insane. I’m scared for everyone. I think… I think I regret coming here. I shouldn’t have gotten you, or Brent, involved. You’re not even getting paid for all of this. You could get hurt and there’s no compensation for it. Brent could get hurt. Brent… He’s already hurt. He didn’t say much, but there were pictures in his house that are probably destroyed now.
“I’ve caused this ripple of panic and pain, and I feel like I shouldn’t have. I should’ve just gone somewhere else. It was so selfish of me to come here, demanding your help, when I can’t afford it.”
Jack tightened his fingers and pulled me closer, until his breath mingled on my lips. “Are you done?”
I blinked. “What?”
“Are you done?” He brushed his lips over mine. “Just shut up, Red. None of this is your fault. I don’t want to argue with you about it right now, though. I have to leave in a few minutes and I’d like to spend my time in a pleasurable way. We can argue later. Hell, I’ll even wake up early tomorrow if you want to get a head start on it. But, for now, I just want to feel how soft you are against me and find out how far I can get in the few minutes we have left.”
I went lax against his body. God, when he talked like that, in his deep voice, I felt like I was going to melt straight to the floor. I liked his plan. Kiss until he had to leave.
My brain cleared up a bit at that word. Leave. He was leaving. Right as Jack tried to kiss me again, I pulled back. “Wait. You’re leaving?”
Jack sighed and moved away from me. He tapped a few buttons on the main console and then turned back to face me. “You’re enough to make me want to pull my hair out at times. I’m going with Brent and a team to find out if Snake is still at Mad Dog’s clubhouse. You’re going to stay here and do any of the many things you can do down here, including listening in on our frequency. You’ll be able to hear everything we do. It’ll be almost like you’re there.”
“I could just—”
“You’re not coming. I would never take any other client on a run like this. I’m not breaking the rules for you. In this regard… Don’t say anything through the line until I tell you it’s clear. Just try to stay calm here, Red. I’ll be back in a little while, hopefully with Snake in cuffs.”
He put a walkie-talkie down on the desk and then headed out of the room. Brent was already waiting at the door for him. It was all happening so fast.
“Wait… I…” I didn’t have anything else to say. I just didn’t want him to go.
He knew it, too. He pressed a kiss to the top of my head, and then he and Brent were gone.
I waited all of thirty seconds to try to open the door. When it didn’t open, I heard the walkie-talkie sound off from the control room.
“I changed the code, Red. You’re locked in until we get back, or until Mallory comes in for his shift in four hours.”
I grabbed the stupid thing and practically hissed into it. “Dammit, Jack. This is bullshit.”
He made a crackling sound. “Can’t hear you. Over.”
“I know that’s you. How can you joke at a time like this?”
“So, I don’t know how you’re going to take this, but I broke things off with Stacey. It’s a long story, but it was never what it was supposed to be.”
Nervous energy blossomed in my chest, and I got shivers all down my body. “And I’m supposed to care?”
He laughed. “Apparently, I’m not the only one who can make jokes at a time like this. I’ll talk to you in a few hours, Red. Try the first bedroom on the right.”
With that, I heard the radio click off. I stared at it like it’d just grown arms and legs and threatened me. Jack was hard enough to resist when he was taken and I was fighting the attraction as much as I was. I didn’t think it was a battle I could win if he started trying to get into my pants.
“Damn.”
Chapter 17
The first bedroom on the right had a king size bed that felt like heaven when I rested on it. The white duvet made it feel like I was in a fancy hotel and the pillows smelled lightly of Jack. There was a bathroom connected and it had a huge tub with jets and everything.
“This is their version of a safe room?”
I shook my head and went back to the control room. I pushed buttons I felt sure wouldn’t blow up the building, and then I went back to the room when I realized there was no way for me to spy on the men, except for my silent walkie-talkie.
I tried a few more codes on the door and finally gave up. I was trapped. I went to the bathroom and ran the tub full of scalding hot water, deciding to give in to trying the relaxing thing everyone kept talking about.
I’d been in the bath f
or a while when I heard their voices come over the line. Jack was obviously in charge as he barked quiet orders and led his men into the other MC’s clubhouse. I pulled my knees into my chest and listened as closely as I could.
I wanted Jack, Brent, and the rest of their men to be safe, and I wanted them to go ahead and capture Snake so it could all be over. My wants didn’t seem to be able to coincide with reality, though. Snake had made it clear that his plans weren’t going to keep them safe.
“Move in!” Jack’s urgent order was quickly followed by gunfire. Then, it went silent.
I clutched the walkie-talkie and prayed that they were okay. My heart was trying to escape from my throat, and I was so on edge that when an alarm blared from the control room, I jumped up and sloshed water over the side of the tub.
I rushed out of the bathroom while wrapping a towel around my still dripping body. I slid on the smooth floor, but it didn’t slow me down.
The control room was lighting up like freaking Christmas, and I screamed when I saw what was being projected on the largest screen. Snake was at the front door with a gang of guys. He was shooting a very large gun into the glass windows at the front of the building. I could see that the glass was staying strong, but I didn’t know if it would last.
I watched as Snake looked up at the camera and unknowingly made direct eye contact with me. His mouth moved, and I could tell by the sneer that it wasn’t good. I’d become familiar with that sneer very quickly during my stay with him, the second time around.
Jack was miles away, hunting for Snake, and Snake had shown up at his doorstep, hunting me. I paced back and forth in the room, trying to decide what I should do. Snake couldn’t get to me. He wouldn’t be able to find the safe room, much less get into it. That didn’t exactly soothe my nerves, though.
I couldn’t call Jack. I didn’t know what he was doing, and I was worried that I’d shout through the walkie-talkie at the wrong time and get him killed. I didn’t know if I could call the cops. I didn’t know if it would matter. The cops in Jackson weren’t a help. How was I to know if the cops in Memphis would be any different?
Snake kept yelling at the camera, so I pushed buttons until the sound from outside came in.
“—you! You’re pushing me too far, Rae. You really think I’m going to go through all of this and still treat you like the club princess? The easy life is done for you. Maybe I’ll let all the brothers use you up, and then maybe I won’t even want you anymore!” He put another round of bullets into the glass. “Maybe I’ll fucking rip your head off myself!”
I shivered and hit the button again. I did not want to hear that. I wasn’t interested. I sat down in front of the monitor and wrapped my arms around myself to try to keep away the chill that had entered me. I wanted to cover my body in layers and layers of clothes, but I was afraid if I left the monitor, he’d get in.
I didn’t know how long I’d been sitting there when the walkie-talkie crackled in my hand and scared the hell out of me. I jumped up and listened as Jack’s voice came through.
“Red, I’ll be back soon. There are some guys here I’d like to interrogate first.”
“He’s here, Jack. He’s outside. He’s shooting at the front windows and trying to come inside.” I hated the tears in my voice, but I was slightly stressed.
“Fuck!” I heard him screaming at his men and then he was back on the line. “You’re safe where you are, Red. He can’t get to you.”
“I know.”
He lowered his voice. “Red, baby, I swear to you that you’re okay. There’s no way he can get to you. I know you’re scared, but I’m coming, okay?”
I sat back down and leaned in on myself. “Okay. I—”
The front window finally gave away and then Snake was coming inside. Movement from another camera caught my eye and I watched as another one of his guys moved around the parking garage, closest to me.
I whimpered. “They’re in. He’s inside, Jack.”
Jack swore and then his voice went even lower. “You’re safe. I’ll be there in less than ten minutes. It’s impossible for him to get anywhere near you in that amount of time. I’m going to give you a job now. I need you to tell me exactly how many guys there are and where they are.”
I started immediately, grateful for the distraction. The guy in the parking garage got pissed when he couldn’t get the elevator to open for him. He took a gun from his pants and fired into the windshield of a car sitting in the lot. I watched as its lights starting flashing and imagined the alarm blaring.
“Are there people in the building?”
The line was silent for a moment, and then Jack sighed. “Don’t think about it, Red. I’ll take care of it when I get there.”
“Tell me how to make an announcement or something. If they don’t know what they’re walking into, they could get hurt.”
“They would’ve heard an alarm when the first bullets hit the window. They know the procedures. They’re probably all hiding.”
I stood up and moved from monitor to monitor. I watched as the men moved around the first floor, their guns held high as they waited for someone to shoot. I watched as Snake knocked things off desks and snarled at the camera every chance he got. I pushed the button for sound again and winced as his voice filled the room.
“We’re out of time. Shaw just called. Those fuckers just left the clubhouse.”
“Jack, they know you’re on your way. They’re leaving.”
I could hear the anger in his voice as he spoke, even though he kept his voice level. “We’ll get them one way or another.”
Snake looked into the camera and my fingers automatically tightened on the walkie, opening the line between Jack and me. “I know you’re listening, Rae. I can feel your eyes on me, too. You’ve probably got that little wrinkle between your eyebrows. You want to listen closely to this part, sweetheart. If it’s the last thing I do on this earth, I will get you. Back in the clubhouse, and back under me, where you belong.
“I said some mean things, but I’m just mad that you made me come all the way up to Memphis. I’ll forgive you, Rae. You know I can’t help it. You’re my old lady, and all I want to do is feel your tight little body squeezing me dry. Come home to daddy, Rae. I know you miss me.”
He moved to the front entryway and looked up at the camera there. “I’ve got to run for now, but I’ll be back for you. Don’t make me mad again, Rae. I want our reunion to be a sweet one.”
He and his men left quickly after that, not wanting to wait around and run into Jack. The building felt eerily silent after they left, leaving me in my tomb, feeling Snake’s words on my skin like a physical touch.
I sat down roughly and pulled the walkie to my mouth. “They’re gone, Jack.”
His deep voice sounded over the line, anger radiating through. “He’s a dead man. I’ll be there in a few minutes, Red. If anything changes, let me know.”
I didn’t reply. I just sat there with the worst feeling of dread crawling over my skin. It kept coming in waves with Snake. I’d be able to shake it for a while, but then he’d show up again and I’d remember that I was supposed to be suffering. I wasn’t supposed to be happy.
I watched the cameras and kept quiet as I waited for Jack to return. When I did see his truck pull into the garage, I didn’t relax until I heard the door to the safe room open and close.
“Red?” Jack called out a second before he spotted me in the control room. “Are you okay?”
I stood up and nodded. “All good here. I just need…to get dressed. I was in a bath when the alarms went off.”
Brent came into the room and looked between his brother and me. “You guys want to move this to another room? I’ve got work to do in here.”
I scowled at him. “Don’t be an ass.”
I left them standing there and made my way to the bedroom. I pulled on a pair of leggings and a T-shirt before knotting my hair into a bun at the top of my head.
Jack stepped into the room and pulled t
he door shut behind him. “How are you holding up?”
I shook my head. “Not great. None of this is good. I’ve never liked games of cat and mouse, yet here I am, in a life and death version of it.”
“I have guys searching the area right now. It could be over soon.”
“But you know it won’t be. I can hear it in your voice. You don’t think they’re going to find Snake and his guys any more than I do. It’s not over yet.”
He sighed and pulled his hands down his face. “I have an apartment in the city, sort of another safe room. We’ll go there and leave all of this shit behind for a couple of hours while we get some rest.”
I nodded. “Sure. Okay.”
He looked up at my hair and a ghost of a grin marked his mouth. “Cute.”
“Shut up.”
With an exaggerated eye roll, he grabbed my bag from me and led the way out to the main room. “We’re heading to the apartment, Brent. Call me with any updates. I’ll be back in a couple of hours.”
“You two be good. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”
I groaned. “You need to stop getting hit in the head so much. I’m a little worried about you.”
He stuck his head out of the control room and smirked. “You should be. See you later. Stay safe.”
I waved goodbye to him and then got on the elevator with Jack. My pulse skyrocketed and I stood closer to him than necessary. “I feel like they’re going to jump out at us as soon as the door opens.”
He wrapped his arm around me and shook his head. “The team is here. They’ve secured the area and there’s already a repair team coming in to fix the damage they did.”
“Was anyone hurt?”
“No. They heard the alarms and hid. They know how to stay safe.” The door to the elevator opened and we stepped through, out of the other side, and into the garage. “The men followed Snake’s tracks as far as they could, but he’s gone.”
“How do you know?”
He turned his head and showed me the tiny earbud in his ear. “Let’s get you away from here. Sound good?”
“You have no idea.”
