Angel's Halo: Atonement (Angel's Halo MC Book 5)

by Terri Anne Browning

  His fingers latched on to my ankle, and I couldn’t control my scream of fright as he tugged me toward him with a strength that shouldn’t have been possible with just one hand.

  I kicked out at him with my free foot, but when I came into contact with nothingness, I realized that the guy had been jerked away from me. In the blink of an eye, he was there one second and gone the next.

  Swallowing the next scream that had been about to leave my throat, I lifted my head and met the green gaze of a man far more dangerous than the one who had just tried to snatch me. Only this one held my stupid heart in his huge hands.

  Chapter 16

  Raider

  I wasn’t in the mood to babysit a bunch of strippers tonight, but Bash had given the order, and I had no choice but to accept it. But first, I had a stop to make.

  The entire club was on alert for Fontana. Bash had upped the security on everything, especially our females. The most obvious target would have been Raven and Flick, since Raven was the MC president’s wife and Flick was Ciro Donati’s cousin, though not many people knew that outside of our immediate family. But while everyone was rushing to make sure that all the other females were safe, I couldn’t stop worrying about Quinn.

  I figured Colt had her covered, but I couldn’t accept that he was the one to protect my female.

  While the others went on ahead to Paradise City, I drove by Quinn’s house.

  As I had expected, Colt’s hog was parked in the driveway. I stopped a few yards away and just sat there, watching the house for a long while. There was only one light on, in the living room I suspected. I hoped to catch a glimpse of her, but there was no movement that I could see from within.

  Cursing myself for being ten kinds of a fool, and a pussy, I started my hog and headed over to Paradise City.

  It wasn’t surprising to see a decent crowd at the strip club, but the parking lot was overflowing with cars from people from every walk of life. There were beat up old clunkers, flashy Mercedes, and everything in between. No wonder Spider and Bash had wanted more security.

  As I headed into the club, I saw a new bouncer standing at the door. He stopped me when I started to go in without speaking to him.

  “I gotta pat you down, man,” the short but beefy man told me.

  I pointed to my cut. “Boss sent me over to help with security. You don’t have to do shit.”

  He shook his head. “Sorry, man. MC gets in for free, but Topaz says I pat down everyone.” When I just stood there, glaring menacingly at him, he sighed. “Look, the other five brothers didn’t give me any grief. I’m just trying to do my job here, man.”

  Gritting my teeth, I didn’t argue with him. I let him do what he was expected to do. When he felt my gun in the holster under my cut, he started to take it away from me.

  I caught his wrist. “Touch it, and you’ll see exactly what kind of a hole it can leave in a man’s belly.”

  The bouncer grimaced but backed up a step and finally let me through.

  Straightening my cut, I walked into the club and headed toward the bar where the other five brothers were already drinking a beer and chatting up a few of the girls. As I moved toward them, I caught a familiar scent and stopped dead in my tracks.

  Fuck, now the smell of Quinn’s skin was starting to haunt me. The room seemed to be full of the honeysuckle and sunshine fragrance, making me dizzy with the thought of how good it had tasted on my tongue, how good she had felt in my arms.

  Closing my eyes for only a few seconds, I breathed in deeply, savoring the scent. Then I forced myself to move forward again.

  Creed saw me first and picked up a fresh beer from the bar top. “There you are. Thought you got lost or something, man.”

  “Had something to do,” was all I told him as I took the beer and swallowed half of it.

  “Fuck, what is that smell? I think I’m in love with whoever is wearing it.” Warden turned toward the crowd that was watching the girl now on stage.

  Creed sniffed the air. “Smells like something Quinn always wears. Hey, we need to go by the diner tomorrow. I haven’t seen that girl in forever.”

  Creed was taller than me by a few inches, probably wider than me, too. I liked him, respected him, but there were times I wanted to punch him in his too handsome face. Right now was one of those times.

  Had he always been into Quinn?

  I tipped my beer back, swallowing the rest in a few gulps, before slamming the glass bottle on bar top.

  I signaled the bartender for another and got a nod in response.

  Determined not to punch my club brother in the face and make it not nearly as handsome as so many females thought it was, I turned to watch the girl who was still on stage. It took me a second for my eyes to adjust to the lighting over her, but when I did, I felt an instant pull that I hadn’t felt in weeks.

  My dick came to life, making me wonder if I had been right in the first place to think I couldn’t stay faithful to one woman. If that was the case, then I was in trouble, because I had been looking forward to having a chance with Quinn. However, if I couldn’t be faithful to her, then I couldn’t—wouldn’t—break her heart.

  I tried to look away, tried to think about the female who had latched on to my heart, but the harder I resisted, the more entranced I became with the girl dancing.

  My eyes skimmed over every inch of her I could see, and right then, there was very little I couldn’t. She was topless, in nothing but a pair of fuck me boots and her leather shorts that left nothing to the imagination.

  Her jet-black hair fell over her shoulders and down her back, curled to perfection in a way that made me think it wasn’t really all her hair, if any of it was. I knew that some of the girls wore wigs, sometimes more than one throughout the night, to go with each outfit they wore. I wondered what color her hair really was, if it went with her perfect porcelain skin …

  That damned honeysuckles and sunshine scent hit my senses again, pulling me back from eye-fucking the chick on the stage. That scent, coupled with how gorgeous this chick was, made me think of Quinn, and that only made my already aching body harder.

  I shifted, and my eyes went back to the lacey mask she was wearing. I couldn’t help imagining what she looked like, and without realizing I was doing it, I pictured Quinn’s face on this little sexpot.

  I couldn’t see her eyes, but I imagined her gaze was locked on to mine, just as mine were on her, and my body began to throb.

  She continued to dance, while I let the rest of the room fade. It was just me and her. She was giving me my own private little show, and with every sway of that incredible body of hers, I grew hungrier and hungrier.

  Maybe it was a good thing I had pussied out and hadn’t knocked on Quinn’s door …

  One of the college guys moved up to the stage, breaking the spell the sexy, little goddess had weaved over me. My jaw tensed with each passing moment as he lingered. When she stopped dancing and glared down at the guy, I realized he was doing more than just lingering for a better look. He was touching her.

  He was fucking touching her.

  I saw another new bouncer sitting beside the stage. As the girl stepped back, trying to put distance between her and the college preppy, the bouncer started to move. He was closer, but I was faster.

  I had almost reached them when the girl fell, the thunk echoing even over her loud music. Inches from him, I heard her scream, and my already building rage hit a boiling point.

  I grabbed the preppy by the back of his shirt and jerked him away from her. Taking hold on his hair in one hand, I swung him around and planted my fist in his face, enjoying the satisfying feel and crunch of bone and cartilage under my knuckles.

  The guy screamed, bringing his hands to his nose as blood gushed forward like a geyser. “What—” he started to yell in surprise, causing blood to spray everywhere, when I punched him again, knocking his pervy ass out.

  The bouncer had finally reached the girl and was about to help her up, but I dropped the
hold I still had on the preppy and pushed the bouncer out of my way. Bending, I grasped the girl by the waist and helped her stand. She trembled and fell against me, making my body shudder at her touch.

  Fuck, I needed to fuck this female. Needed to touch her and taste her …

  That familiar scent flooded my nose, and my entire body went still when I heard her small gasp.

  No.

  There was no way, I told myself. No way she would do something like this.

  Quinn was a good girl. She wouldn’t …

  I wrapped my arm around her waist, anchoring her to me as I lifted my hand and pulled her mask up before she could guess at what I was going to do.

  I didn’t have to move farther than her lips to know I had been wrong, that Quinn would in fact do something like take a job where she would show off her body for the world to see.

  I tightened my hold on her and forced myself to finish taking the mask the rest of the way off, needing to look into her eyes.

  Her lashes lowered as I exposed the rest of her face to my hungry gaze, hiding what she was thinking. I reached for her hair next and pulled the stupid black wig off. I couldn’t believe I had actually liked this damn thing only a few minutes before.

  Her beautiful blonde hair was pull into a tight knot on top of her head and pinned in place so the wig had set into place.

  Slowly, as if she was afraid of me, she lifted her lashes and met my gaze. For a moment, I saw vulnerability shining in those blue depths, but then her eyes hardened and she lifted a brow at me boldly.

  “Hello, Raider.”

  Fuck, her voice was enough to make me nut off in my jeans.

  I dropped her wig and wrapped my other arm around her, pressing her front into my chest so no one else could see her perfect tits. Rage like I had never known flooded through me. I suddenly wanted to blow the damn club up, wanted to eviscerate every fucking man in the building who had dared to look at my female’s body.

  I glanced over her head, mentally summing up how many men were in the room. At least two hundred. There was no way I could take them all on, but fuck, I would die trying.

  Quinn’s nails bit into my sides. “You’re hurting me,” she muttered, trying to pull away from me.

  I only tightened my hold, knowing good and well that I wasn’t hurting her even a little. She was just trying to get away.

  “Don’t even fucking think about it,” I growled. “You don’t have a top on. They’ve had enough of a show, baby. No one is ever going to get to see these gorgeous tits again but me.”

  Both brows lifted toward the ceiling, a skeptical look filling her beautiful face. “Says who?”

  “Says me.” I lowered my hands until I was gripping her ass in both palms, pressing her against my lower body so she couldn’t be in any doubt exactly how affected I was by her. The first time with her wasn’t nearly enough for me. I needed more. Craved more. Demanded more. “What the fucking hell are you doing here?”

  She shrugged, making her pretty tits shift against my chest. My breath hissed out between my teeth as I tried to contain my reaction to her.

  “This is my second job,” she told me with a tilt of her head that was ten times sassier than she had ever been with me in the past. She had grown some claws while I had been away, and I reluctantly admitted to myself that I liked it.

  A lot.

  Sweet, slightly feisty Quinn had been an enigma to me. This firecracker of a kitten was so much hotter that I was having a hard time keeping my dick in my pants. It was threatening to burst through my zipper, no doubt crippling me in the process. If it meant I got to put it in her wet tightness, then I wouldn’t have cared. If all I had was one more go with my cock, as long as it was with her, I wouldn’t even hesitate to use it.

  Around us, the other guys in the crowd were getting rowdy, wanting Quinn to continue to dance.

  “Why does he get to touch her?” I heard one of the many motherfuckers close to the stage whine like he was a petulantly five-year-old.

  “Go fuck yourself, you little bitch,” I snarled in his direction before shooting another a cold glare over the top of her head before giving her my full attention again.

  “Why do you need a second job?” I gritted out.

  Another shrug of her shoulders. “Everyone needs a little extra money every now and then, Raider.”

  Her sassy mouth and snippy words were pissing me off and turning me on that much more. I tightened my fingers on her ass. Sassy she might be, sassy I might even like, but even I could tell she wasn’t telling me the full truth.

  “You got money problems, sweetheart?” I lowered my head, letting the day-old scruff on my chin carefully scrape across her soft cheek as I pressed my lips to her ear. “Just say the word and I’ll hand over whatever you need. I’ll take care of you, Quinn.”

  She couldn’t hide her tremble, or the way her eyes dilated as I let my chin brush against her skin when I pulled back. Goddamn, but I loved the way her blue eyes sparkled with need for me.

  Mentally, I called myself a hundred different kinds of fool all over again. All those fucking years I had wasted, all because I had stupidly thought I couldn’t stay faithful to her.

  Now I knew the truth. Tonight had only confirmed it more. Quinn was my one. She would be my only.

  Then, right before my eyes, the sparkle of need in her eyes turned to a cold fire before she tried to pull back from me again, this time with more force.

  “I don’t want, nor do I need you to take care of me. Take your own advice, Raider, and go fuck yourself.”

  I didn’t release her, but I didn’t tighten my hold, either, not wanting her to think that I was holding her prisoner or anything. I just didn’t want anyone else to see her tits. It would only sign these men’s death warrants if they did.

  I heard heels click against the floor of the stage and half turned my head to find Topaz and Kelli walking toward us. I shot the older woman a hard look before turning the full-force of my rage on the fake redhead. “My brother know about this shit?”

  She tilted her head up much the same way Quinn just had. “Do I look stupid to you?”

  “You look dead to me,” I snarled at her. “This is a line you should never have crossed.”

  “Leave her alone,” Quinn snapped at me, pushing against my chest now, since pulling away had gotten her nowhere. “I’m an adult, for fuck’s sake. I can do whatever the hell I want without needing anyone’s permission. Least of all yours or your brothers.”

  Topaz moved around me and pulled off the blazer she normally wore during business hours, wrapping it around Quinn’s shoulders. I waited until my female had put her arms through it and pulled it closed before daring to release her. Then I reluctantly eased my hold on her, and she broke away from me like she couldn’t get away fast enough.

  Even though she was covered up now, her ass was still basically on full display with those shorts that didn’t cover anything. My hands itched to pull her back against me, to claim her as mine in this dickfest of a club, and roar to the world that Quinn Wilder was my female.

  She shot me an even colder look than she had only a moment before, as if she could read my mind and was telling me to back the fuck up. “Not gonna happen,” I told her with a smirk.

  Her face closed up, and she turned away from me. “I’m going home,” she murmured to Topaz. “I’ll see you tomorrow night, okay?”

  “Whoa there, sunshine.” I walked after her and the other two females. “There’s no way in hell you are stepping back in this place. No fucking way, you hear me?”

  She kept walking, pretending that I wasn’t right behind her, practically breathing down her neck. “Maybe add another bouncer to help out Porter, will you? That guy freaked me out a little.”

  Topaz nodded. “Of course. Whatever you need, Luna. Anything for my number one.”

  They reached the back door, where another bouncer was already waiting, making sure no one but the girls got back. This one I knew, and when Quinn moved
to go back into the dressing room, I followed without being stopped for a fucking pat down or whatever else Topaz would require of her muscle.

  Fifteen females stopped what they were doing as I walked into the room, all of them in some form of undress. I barely saw them, other than to walk around them so I could chase after Quinn and Kelli. I probably should have called Colt in for backup with this, but I didn’t want him butting in with Quinn. I had this. She was mine to take care of, and mine to keep out of danger. Mine and only mine to deal with when she did something crazy, like strip for money.

  What the ever-loving hell was going on?

  I didn’t understand why she needed extra money. Quinn had always been a good girl, and that even meant when it came to money. She went into debt responsibly, never getting in too deep that she could end up sinking under it. Therefore, I knew it wasn’t because she had to pay something off in a hurry.

  “Quinn, we’re not done talking about this,” I growled as I stopped behind her, where she started gathering her things off a vanity table.

  “I disagree.” She was doing a little growling of her own now.

  After tossing everything she needed into an opened gym bag, she turned to face me. Her face was still closed up, and her beautiful eyes had gone blank.

  I found myself getting chilled by that blankness. I had known this female all her life. I knew every expression that had ever crossed her face, but this … It was new, and I didn’t like it. I could feel her closing up, pulling away from me mentally, if not physically.

  It caused made my heart to turn icy. I wanted to reach out, take her hand, and press it to my chest so she could melt the growing chill that was spreading outward.

  “What I do is none of your damn business, Raider.” She stepped closer, though I could picture her already walking away. “Nothing I do is. Go away. Pretend you never saw me tonight. You’re really good at doing that, anyway.”