by Joanna Wylde
Settling into his arms, I sighed. “I don’t like your world very much.”
“Tinker, look at me.”
Tilting my head, I caught his gaze.
“That’s not my world,” he said firmly. “There are bikers who beat their women, no question. I’m not one of them, and we don’t tolerate that shit at our clubhouse, either. If a woman wants to pull a train, fine. Some of the guys are into that. I don’t much care for sloppy seconds, but whatever. We don’t rape and beat little girls, though. There’s a reason I came to town, and it was because Marsh and his men were out of control. The only Nighthawks left are the ones who weren’t there that night, got me?”
A weight lifted off my chest.
“She told me Talia and Marsh are planning some kind of revenge,” I told him. Gage snorted.
“No surprise there,” he said. I frowned.
“No, she sounded really worried. You need to be careful.”
“Babe, look at me.” I did, meeting his gaze head on. “Marsh is in jail and he’s not going to be getting out for a long time. Probably years. Neither will the men who were with him. Talia can scream and rage all she wants, but my whole club is in town, and they’re watching for her. If she shows her face, we’ll get her. If she’s smart, she left already. I gave her some money last night. With luck, she’s already used it. Either way, we’ll deal with her.”
“You promise?” I asked.
“Yes,” he said firmly. “Now give me a kiss.”
I did, leaning into him, letting myself enjoy the full body contact. He nipped and sucked at my lips, then his hands were down and around my butt, gripping it as he pulled me into his erection.
We spent a couple minutes making out, until my legs started shifting restlessly from need. It was a good thing, this breaking of the dry spell. Gage started walking me back into the pantry-slash-mudroom, kicking the kitchen door shut behind him, leaving us alone in the tiny room. Then his arms gripped my upper legs firmly, lifting me up until they wrapped around his waist.
“This is a bad idea,” I whispered as he started kissing my neck, working his way down. “That door doesn’t even lock.”
“Who cares?”
He rocked into me, rubbing my most sensitive place, and I decided if he didn’t care, I didn’t, either. It wasn’t like Dad thought I was a virgin, that was for damned sure. Then Gage jerked up my shirt and pulled down my bra to suck in a nipple, and all thought ceased. My handyman was dry humping me against the wall of my pantry and it was outstanding. All I wanted was him inside me, the sooner the better.
“Fuck,” he groaned, pulling away. He set me down, ripping open my shorts and shoving them down around my ankles. Then he turned me around, pushing me forward as my hands hit the wall. I heard the sound of his zipper and the tear of foil. His cock found my opening and he filled me with one thrust, bottoming out almost painfully.
“God, that’s good,” I muttered as his hands tightened around my waist, bracing me for his hammering hips. It was good—really good. Different than what we’d done before, yet exactly what I needed. Desire flooded me, spiraling up fast and hard like a wildfire, and then I flashed over, the orgasm hitting me suddenly and without warning. I spasmed around him, moaning. Gage’s fingers dug into my flesh so deep I knew he’d leave marks, but I didn’t care.
I didn’t care about anything.
He came a second later, grunting with satisfaction. We stayed like that for long seconds, panting, and then he leaned down over my back, rubbing my stomach gently. That’s when his phone rang, and he gave an unsteady laugh.
“Not a bad way to start the day,” he said.
“I’ll second that,” I whispered. It’d all happened so fast that if it weren’t for the shorts around my knees I’d have wondered if I’d imagined it. His phone rang again.
“Should probably answer that,” he said. “Waiting on a call—all our plans are fucked up because of the fires.”
He didn’t move to answer, though. Instead he started kneading my breasts, and I sighed happily. We were in our own little world, and whoever was out there could just stay the hell away.
Maybe we could just live in here.
Then his phone started ringing again. Gage pulled away. I heard a rustle as he zipped up his pants before answering. Pulling up my shorts, I hopped awkwardly as I fastened them, trying not to listen but totally curious at the same time.
“Who is this?” Gage asked. I heard a woman’s voice but couldn’t make out what she was saying. For an instant I felt jealous, then realized how stupid that was. It could be anyone. “I’m hanging up.”
Her voice grew louder, talking fast. It sounded familiar.
“Talia, you need to let it go. It’s over. All of it. Move away and start over before we have to take action. That’s the best you can hope for.”
A screech rose from the small speaker, and he glanced at me and jerked his head toward the door in a silent request for privacy.
I’d never wanted to listen in on a phone call more than that one, but I managed to do the polite thing and go back into the kitchen. The TV was still going, this time displaying a satellite map showing smoke plumes that covered half of Washington, northern Idaho, and reached up into Alberta. It looked like the whole region was on fire. Then Dad wandered in, and I was all too aware that my hair was messy and my shirt was still twisted partially around my body. Heat rose high in my cheeks. Thankfully, he didn’t seem to notice.
“What’s up with all the smoke?” he asked. “Someone burning brush outside?”
“There’s wildfires, Dad,” I reminded him, wondering how he could be so clear sometimes and so fogged at others. “We’ve got an evacuation warning.”
He frowned. “That’s no good. Is there gas in the truck?”
“We don’t have a truck anymore, Daddy,” I said. “We sold it, remember?”
“Oh, I must’ve forgotten,” he said absently. “Well, that’s okay. We can use your mother’s car.”
No, Mom’s car got totaled in the accident.
“Mine’s got gas,” I said instead, glancing toward the pantry. Then I heard the back door slamming shut, and looked out the window to see Gage striding across the yard, his face grim.
What the hell was that all about?
My phone rang. Carrie.
“Hey, what’s up?”
“You heard about Chelan, right?” she asked.
“Yeah. Bad scene.”
“I know. The Hallies Falls volunteer firefighters are headed south of town—there’s a new flare-up and the forest service doesn’t have anyone left to respond. Darren went with them. I just got a call from my aunt. They’ve just moved her to level two, which means it’s time to pack her up and get her out. I’m going to go pick her up and bring her back to our place, but I’m worried about the girls. They’re at school. I hate to pull them out if there’s no reason, but I’m not comfortable leaving town with him gone, too. Not today.”
“I’m on it,” I said. “Call and tell them I’ll pick them up this afternoon. I’ve given up on working today. Randi’s busy helping out her family and can’t stay with Dad anyway. Those Seattle lawyers will just have to wait for their chocolate.”
“Thanks, babe,” she said, and I could hear her relief. “Keep them safe for me. I’m know I’m just paranoid, but—”
“Go get your aunt. It’ll be okay, Carrie. I promise.”
GAGE
“If the Reapers want to avoid a war for our pipeline out of Canada, you’ll need to go through me,” Talia said as Tinker shut the kitchen door behind me, letting me take the call in private. God, I couldn’t believe how good that woman felt wrapped tight around me. She might be having her doubts, but I wasn’t—we’d make this thing work one way or another. I was determined.
“You and your brother have both been making threats, but now I’m supposed to believe we can do business together? How stupid do you think I am?” I asked, wishing she’d just take the money and get out while she could. Ot
herwise she’d get herself killed. “You don’t get it, do you? It’s over. We’re onto you and we’re not interested in your games. You and your brother have both threatened us.”
“It’s finally hit me,” she said bluntly. “I’m fucked. Marsh is gone and you’ve taken over the club. That part of my life is over and I need to move on. But five hundred bucks isn’t enough. You want the Canadian connection and I have it. All I want is a finder’s fee for putting you in touch with them. You let me smooth the way.”
“We don’t need you to smooth anything.”
“They know me,” she insisted. “They want to make peace with the Reapers. They know our old operation is over and they don’t want you shutting them out of whatever comes next. They just don’t know how to make it happen.”
“Let me guess, you’ll get a finder’s fee from them, too?”
“That’s my business¸ not yours. All you have to do is work with me to set it up. Then I’ll take my cash and leave. I know when I’ve lost.”
“Not interested.”
“Yes, you are,” she insisted. “I can make this happen today. Otherwise it could take months, and that’s a lot of time and energy wasted. We both know I need money, and this the last card I have to play.”
She was right.
Fuck.
“Come to the clubhouse in two hours and we’ll talk to you.”
“How stupid do you think I am? You want me dead.”
“No, I want you gone. Big difference—one is a lot less work for all of us.”
“No fucking way. If this happens, it happens in a neutral place where the Canadians can protect me during the meet,” she said. “It’s not an ambush. Bring as many of your brothers as you want—nobody wants to fight.”
“I’ll talk to the club. We’ll see.”
“Call me back soon, okay? It has to be today. They’ve got product sitting on the U.S. side of the border and nobody to move it.”
“Once again, not my problem.”
“Just tell them about it, okay?”
“We’ll consider it.”
Hanging up the phone, I glanced toward the kitchen. I could hear Tinker talking to someone in there. Probably her dad. I’d text her later, once I had a better sense of what the day looked like.
The air outside was thick and heavy. Nasty. Everything looked sort of yellowed and aged, like an old picture. Pulling out a bandanna, I tied it around my nose and mouth, then swung my leg over my bike. As I rode down the street, the prospect assigned to watch over Tinker that day passed me slowly, and I raised one hand in salute.
There were only a few bikes out at the clubhouse when I pulled up, and no one outside. Given the air quality, I couldn’t blame them. Nobody should be outside in this shit. I parked, then walked inside to find Picnic, Hunter, and Taz.
“I sent the rest of the Coeur d’Alene brothers home,” Pic said when he saw me. “Cord and his men went to join the firefighters—they’re calling for volunteers, and I guess things are getting real damned ugly south of town. Horse and Ruger decided to go with them, too. What’s your plan for the day? I don’t like the look of things outside. London says the smoke’s reached all the way to Coeur d’Alene.”
“I just got off the phone with Talia Jackson,” I told them.
“The bitch who attacked your girl last night?” Taz asked, raising a brow. “I thought you chased her off.”
“She says she’s got the Canadians waiting to meet with us,” I replied.
“Yeah, and I have magic fairies in my wallet,” Hunter said. “Who gives a fuck?”
“What does she want?” Pic asked, frowning at Hunter.
“She told me they’ve got product stashed south of the border that they want to move, but they’re scared to do anything with it now that Marsh is gone. They want to make peace with the Reapers.”
“They should be afraid,” Taz muttered. “They’ve been breaking the rules, and now they’re going to pay. Shitty to be them.”
“What’s her angle?” Pic asked.
“Money,” I said. “Tinker tells me she’s been making threats—this isn’t exactly news—but Talia told me she wants funds to move away. That’s probably true, but odds are still good that she’s lying. Could be an ambush.”
“I agree,” Pic said thoughtfully. “Too bad we don’t have more men here to deal with it. Say we figured out a way to do a meet—you think you could ID the ones you met up in Penticton, right? Might be worth the risk, assuming we can control the contact.”
“Yeah, I’d know them,” I said. “But it’s a big risk. Although she told me we could bring as many men as we wanted, so if it’s an ambush, it’s not a traditional one. She’s not afraid of us showing up in force.”
Hunter and Taz shared a look, and I wondered what they were thinking. I didn’t know the Devil’s Jacks that well. We were allies now, but a few BBQs together weren’t enough to seal a relationship.
“Call her back,” Hunter suggested. “Put her on speaker so we can all hear.”
Glancing at Pic for confirmation, I hit the callback number, setting the phone down in the center of the table. It rang twice, then Talia answered, her voice husky.
“You there?”
“We’re all here,” I said. “You have one minute. Talk.”
“Give it to me,” a man said, his voice muffled in the background. “Is Picnic Hayes there?”
“That would be me,” my president said. “What do you want?”
“We want to make amends,” the man replied. “We know Marsh Jackson is out of the picture. We don’t want to end up like him. Tell us how we can make this right.”
“You disrupted our alliances and went behind our backs,” Pic said. “Once a snake, always a snake. I don’t think we can help you.”
“Wait,” he said quickly. “Things are changing north of the border. You want us on your side, because if we go under, the southern cartels will take over and then you’ll be fighting a war on two fronts. That’s bad for all of us. All we want is to talk. Truce.”
Pic and Hunter shared a look, and Hunter nodded slowly.
“Okay, we’ll talk, but you’ll be coming to us, not the other way around. It’ll be completely on our terms. Where are you right now?”
There was silence on the other side.
“We’re in Crownover,” he finally said, naming a small town about thirty miles north of Hallies Falls. “There’s really only one place to meet, though. Bar called Jay’s Place.”
“Okay, stand by. We’ll call with instructions,” Pic said, then leaned over and turned off the phone.
“Fuckwits,” I muttered. “There’s maybe two hundred people in that town. That means they’ve got least a hundred sets of eyes on them right now, wondering what they’re doing there.”
Hunter pulled out his phone, searching for something.
“Looks like there’s a county dump station about ten miles north of Hallies Falls. We could ride up, position ourselves, then have them come down to meet us. We hang back in the woods near the road. Too many show up or things don’t look right, we bail. We could send Taz up a tree with a rifle—he was a sniper, you know.”
“Fuck you,” Taz replied. “No more trees. Setting up a lookout with a rifle makes sense, though.”
“All in favor?” Pic asked. We all four raised our hands, then I pulled out my phone and shot Tinker a quick text.
ME: Got an errand to run. See you later today. Stay safe.
Seconds later the phone buzzed back.
TINKER: You too. I’ll be at the house all day. Want to keep close to dad. Also canceling our appointment in Seattle tomorrow. FYI—just because we had crazy monkey sex in the pantry doesn’t mean you’re my boyfriend.
I grinned, then looked up to find the others smirking at me.
“You all suck.”
“Not me,” Taz pointed out. “You guys might be pussy-whipped, but I’m not. Live free or die.”
“Enough,” Pic said. “Let’s go and get this done.�
�
“Give me a sec,” I told them, grabbing my phone. “I want to message BB, make sure he stays close to Tinker. Just in case Talia’s playing some fucked up game, you know? I want full coverage.”
“You sure a prospect’s good enough?” Hunter asked. “Can he be trusted?”
“Yes, he can,” Pic replied. “Only reason BB hasn’t patched in yet is that he needed a medical leave—family stuff. It’s just a formality at this point. I’d trust him to keep Em or London safe.”
Hitting send on the message, we stood and left the building, locking the door behind us.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
TINKER
The level-two evacuation warning came through just after noon.
First there was an emergency alert on my phone, followed seconds later by Carrie’s phone call.
“Did you see that Hallies Falls is now level two?” she asked, then continued without waiting for an answer. “Can you go pick up the girls at the high school? I’m freaking out here and they’re shutting down the highway.”
“On my way,” I said, grabbing my keys. “Dad! We have to go to the high school. Carrie’s kids need to get picked up.”
Dad nodded, although there wasn’t much urgency in his face. Damn, he was really checked out today. I opened the door to find Mrs. Webbly standing on the porch, a suitcase clutched tight in one of her hands.
“I saw the evacuation notice,” she announced serenely. “Either I’m sticking with you or I need a ride to the police station. I’d prefer to stay with you.”
“You’ll stay with us,” I told her. “We aren’t leaving town just yet, but I need to pick up Carrie’s girls at the high school. Not sure how we’ll all fit in the Mustang, but it’s not a good idea to leave you here without a car.”
“I appreciate that,” she said, patting my hand. “And don’t worry, honey. I know this is stressful, but Hallies Falls has been evacuated because of fires four times in my lifetime. The town has never burned, or even come close. I’m not worried, just cautious.”
