by Lilly Atlas
“I’ll close him up, and this will be as clean as possible considering the circumstances, but in no way sterile. My kit has a few antibiotic pills, but not an adequate supply for the long haul. I can’t believe I’m about to suggest this, but I see no other way. Gumby, you come back to the ER on Tuesday when I’m working to have your hand assessed for possible infection. I’ll make sure I’m the only one to look at it, and I’ll write you a script for antibiotics and pain meds. You can give them to Kenny here and we won’t have to worry about his insides rotting from my warehouse surgery. Sound good?”
Striker and the others stared at her. He couldn’t see the looks on their faces, but he imagined their expressions matched the admiration and pride on his. “Shit, Doc, looks like you just might be hiding some outlaw under that white coat.”
Lila smirked at him before her face turned serious. “Let’s get this over with. You three.” She pointed at three men standing around the couch. “Help me hold him down. I don’t care how much alcohol he has in him, this is going to hurt like a son of a bitch.”
The three did as she ordered, and Lila went to work. Striker watched a look of concentration come over her face as she morphed into doctor mode. Rock had been appointed her assistant, and every so often she asked him to hand her something from that insane box she called a first aid kit.
Lila’s steady hands worked at a rapid pace, her experience evident in the even stitching and confident way she issued orders. Kenny howled, and struggled against the three men holding him down as she drove the needle through his raw skin over and over. Toward the end he passed out, most likely from the combination of the booze and the pain.
Striker was impressed by Lila. He had no right to feel this way, but he felt extremely proud of her. From the way she calmly handled the situation, he would have thought this was an everyday occurrence for her. Part of it was—maintaining her cool in the face of a medical emergency—but illegal activities in the dead of night wasn’t. Or at least he didn’t think she was used to it; he really didn’t know her at all.
Striker wondered if she would freak out on the way back home once the gravity of the situation kicked in. He’d straight up told her they didn’t want this on any police records, and she went to work as though it wasn’t a big deal.
On a side note, Lila also looked like a walking wet dream, bent over Kenny with her ass-hugging jeans and form fitting sweater, which did nothing to disguise the fact she wasn’t wearing a bra. Fuck, had it only been a few days since he’d gotten laid? Felt like months, based on the way his dick reacted every time she was nearby.
After a few more minutes, Lila pulled off her gloves, and glanced around. “What should I do with these? I’m guessing you don’t want his blood, and I sure don’t want my prints hanging around this place when we leave.”
“Just leave them on the table. Two prospects are on clean up, and will wipe the place down. There won’t be a trace of you or any of this here.”
“Any of what where?” She smirked at him.
“Good girl. Okay, boys I’m going to take the doc home. Get Kenny back to the clubhouse so he can rest, and I’ll meet you there as soon as I’m done.”
Striker walked Lila out of the warehouse and back to his bike.
“All good?” Jester asked from his guard post, his focus on the road leading to the warehouse.
“Yeah, it’s done. Go help them get Kenny into the van. I’m going to take Lila home.”
Jester nodded and left them alone with the bikes.
“Remember, Lila, not a fucking word,” Striker cautioned, purposefully hardening his voice.
She huffed out a breath. “Striker, I know, believe me. I’d be in just as much trouble as any of you if I ran my mouth.”
“No, you wouldn’t, babe. You’re a doctor, well respected in the community. All you’d have to do is bat those gorgeous eyes, and tell them how we forced you out of your house in the middle of the night. You’d have the cops eating out of your palm in seconds.”
She jammed her hands on her hips and rolled her eyes at him. “I’m not going to do that.”
“Good.” He nodded. He believed her. He stepped in close enough to see her pupils dilate at his nearness. “You okay with all this shit? I gotta say, babe, you surprised me in there.”
Lila shrugged. “I think I surprised myself, but yeah, I’m fine.”
They stared at each other for a moment, and she shivered. He attributed it to the rapidly dropping temperature and the adrenaline dump. Despite the scorching heat of the day, nights in the desert could be bitter cold, and she was only wearing a thin sweater.
Striker broke their connection to pull a sweatshirt out of his saddlebag. He tossed it to Lila, and she drew it over her head with muffled thank you. He climbed on the bike and glanced at her just as she grabbed a handful of the sweatshirt fabric and inhaled with her eyes closed. Her eyes drifted open, and he met her gaze as a red blush crept across her gorgeous face.
With a groan, Striker motioned for her to climb on behind him. “I do like knowing I’m leaving my scent on you, babe, but knowing you like it too is going to make for one uncomfortable ride home, if you catch my drift.”
Lila’s eyes widened for just a second, and then she shocked him more than she had all night. “I like it too. I just wish I didn’t have anything between your shirt and my skin.”
And with that bomb, Lila pulled her helmet on, climbed behind him, and wrapped her arms around him. His cock hardened even further, and he shifted in an attempt to keep from strangling it against the bike.
What the hell was she thinking? Did she really tell him she wished his sweatshirt was against her naked skin? Lila couldn’t believe she had flirted with him so blatantly.
Actually she couldn’t believe how she acted the entire night, starting with opening the door to her house in her underwear. None of this seemed real, almost as though she was watching a movie of herself instead of participating in her life.
The potential repercussions of the evening were staggering. She could be suspended from the hospital, or even lose her medical license, and she could be sued for everything she was worth if Kenny died of an infection. She almost laughed at the thought of the school board’s reaction if they were to find out.
At the moment she allowed her attraction to Striker to distract her from the real issue, that she’d conducted an illegal medical procedure in a warehouse, in the dead of night, for an outlaw biker gang.
She needed to watch her mouth. Striker was obviously way out of her league when it came to playing games with the opposite sex. True, she was wildly attracted to him; he was smoking hot, after all. That did not mean she could handle him. Striker was one hundred percent alpha male, dominant and demanding, and he’d probably eat her alive.
A warm feeling had traveled through her when he called her babe. Ridiculous. He used the endearment on just about anything with breasts, but still, it felt more intimate than Doc or Stitch, or even her name.
Striker rode slower than he had on the way out, and Lila was able to appreciate the trip. She tried to ignore the way the muscles of his back rippled under her breasts, and the heat from where her sex was molded to his backside, but it was fruitless.
Without city lights to provide a glow, the desert night was ink black. They were cocooned by the stars and blanket of darkness that surrounded them. She couldn’t tell where the sky ended and land began. The result was an impression of limitless oblivion.
Riding a Harley through the desert after dark was something she could imagine herself becoming addicted to, leaving the stress of the day far behind, and reveling in the peace of the quiet night. Of course, she would require the hard male body between her legs to top off the experience. She frowned as she realized her thoughts had done a complete three-sixty, leading her right back to her attraction to Striker.
Before she knew it they turned onto her sleepy street, and coasted to a stop in her driveway. Disappointment surged through her at the realization t
hat she may never have this opportunity again.
Lila tugged her helmet off, shook out her hair, and clambered down from the bike as Striker killed the engine. He made no move beyond removing his own helmet, so she reached down to pull his sweatshirt over her head. Striker stopped her with a hand on her arm, and hauled her toward his big body. With his legs still straddling the bike, his torso was angled toward her, and he pressed his mouth up to her ear.
“Thanks for saving my prospect tonight, Doc. You amaze me every time I watch you work.” He skimmed his lips over her ear and she shivered in response.
“I’m glad I could help.”
Striker rubbed one large hand up and down the center of her back, directly over her spine, and Lila wanted to purr like a contented cat. Her back was a little sore from hunching over the couch to close Kenny’s wound.
“I don’t want you to go inside and stress about this all night. There isn’t a soul who knows, beyond the guys who were there, and they would die before ratting. I wouldn’t have involved you if I couldn’t protect you. Your reputation is too important.”
His lips still brushed the sensitive skin of her ear with every movement, but the words themselves touched something deeper.
“Keep the sweatshirt. Wear it to bed. I want to go to sleep tonight knowing your skin smells like me.”
Just like that, Lila’s panties grew damp. She’d never had such a strong physical reaction to a man. But Striker was no ordinary man; he was sex and sin personified, and apparently that did it for her. She turned her head so their lips were just a breath away. “I’ll be sure to get rid of the extra layers then.”
Striker growled, literally growled, and clamped a hand around the back of her head holding her in place for his lips to claim hers. Desire shot through her as the taste of him flooded her senses. She tasted smoke, a hint of the whisky he snagged from Kenny, and danger. It was a powerful combination she was helpless to resist.
When she opened her mouth to him, a moan escaped, and his tongue tangled with hers. His kiss made her dizzy, and she gripped the leather of his cut with both hands to ground herself as they devoured each other. After a quick nip to her lower lip, he pulled back with a curse. Her head spun as she pulled in air.
“You need to get inside before someone sees us, and I need to get back to the clubhouse to deal with all this,” Striker said, his hand never leaving her back.
Lila blew out a breath and nodded, not trusting herself to speak at the moment. After he fired up his bike, he turned, winked at her, and roared down the street, probably waking half the neighborhood.
Lila rolled her eyes as she made her way up the driveway. She couldn’t help the grin that broke across her face as she mouthed holy fuck. She had no idea what had happened, but she wanted to know when it could happen again, because one taste of Striker was definitely not enough.
Just as she reached her door Lila heard her phone chime. Excitement shot through her at the thought it might be Striker. Shaking her head, she dug it out of her bag. She needed to give herself a firm talking to before she crashed into major disappointment.
A text message notification lit up the phone, the number unfamiliar to her. Lila swiped it open to read it, and a chill ran up her spine. She quickly scanned her surroundings to see if anyone was lurking on the street. Her block was dark and soundless, illuminated only by the floodlights outside a neighbor’s home.
Feeling exposed and vulnerable, Lila darted into the house and threw the lock on the door almost before it closed. After taking a few cleansing breaths, she glanced back down to reread the text.
Really Doctor? Spending your free time with the No Prisoners?
Chapter Six
“I’d like to conclude with a quick story about why this is such an important topic.” Lila clicked a button on the remote control and a picture of a smiling high school boy appeared on the projection screen. “This is Kyle. Before I continue, I’ll let you know I have written permission from Kyle’s parents to share his story with you.”
Lila looked up at the crowd, pleased that those in attendance had their eyes riveted to the screen. “Kyle was a high school senior. A straight A student, popular with the girls, and captain of his football team. After graduation, he planned to attend Notre Dame on a football scholarship. They offered him a full ride. He was going to major in computer engineering. Typical kid who had the world at his feet, and endless possibilities.”
Her eyes drifted to the clock. Eight twenty-five. She’d timed it perfectly.
“Kyle took a nasty hit during the school’s homecoming game. He told his coach he remained conscious, but had a quick flash of black when he hit the ground. They called a time out while Kyle was attended to. He had a mild headache, but otherwise seemed completely normal to his coach and teammates, so they put him back in play. He made it through the rest of the game and his headache got worse. But he wanted to be there for his team, or so he told his girlfriend later, so he toughed it out and didn’t speak up.”
Lila took a deep breath before she continued. This story always had the power to bring her to tears. Such useless waste of a promising young life. “That night, after the homecoming dance, he was driving his girlfriend home. They were on the highway, going about sixty, when, according to her, he yelled out that his vision was spotty and he couldn’t see. The car veered across the yellow line and he was killed on impact. His girlfriend survived, but she’ll require the use of a wheelchair for the rest of her life.
“This tragedy was born of a lack of education by the coaches, parents, and students themselves. I aim to change that by providing the proper safety information to ensure something like this doesn’t happen here in Crystal Rock. I want to educate coaches on the correct way to assess for a concussion, and provide them with an algorithm for action. Thank you so much for giving me your time this evening. I’ll stick around for a while, should anyone have any questions.”
The people in attendance, mostly parents and teachers, stood and clapped. She felt the weight of this task float off her shoulders the moment the applause began. Lila walked down the steps of the pop-up stage, and John Heath, the school board president, took the place she had vacated at the podium.
“I’d like to thank Dr. Emerson for the time and effort she put into this presentation. Typically, we meet and deliberate before we take a formal vote, but in this case it’s not necessary. Each member of the board is eager and excited to move forward with this project as soon as possible. So, it is with great pleasure I officially tell you your project has been approved, doctor. We look forward to working with you to ensure the safety of our younger generations.”
Triumph surged at his words, and an enormous smile broke out across her face. This was why she’d moved away from home, this opportunity to own her life. To create something and nurture it from its inception without always wondering if it only succeeded because of her family’s name or deep pockets.
The board president descended the steps, and walked straight toward Lila with his hand held out. “Congratulations, Dr. Emerson. Yours was one of the best proposals we’ve had in many years.”
She accepted his handshake with a smile. “Thank you, Mr. Heath. I’m very passionate about this project and can’t wait to begin.”
“We have a small budget to award you, but you’ll probably need to do some fundraising as well to increase your spendable capital.”
She had to bite her lip to distract herself from the desire to jump up and down with giddy delight. No sense in sabotaging the project before it began by acting unprofessional. “I’m going to assemble a committee of people from the community, and begin working as soon as possible.
“Excellent,” he said and he held his hand out again. “Will you stay and join us for coffee?”
She shook his hand again. “Thank you for the offer, Mr. Heath, but I didn’t get much sleep last night and I have to be at the hospital by six tomorrow, so I need to take a pass on this one.”
“Well then, you have
a wonderful night.”
“Thank you, you as well.” Lila bent down and gathered her purse off the floor before she turned to leave the high school gymnasium. A number of people, some she’d met before at the hospital, shook her hand and complimented her as she passed by. After another fifteen minutes of small talk, she walked out into the cool night air.
The sun had set, and the parking lot was cast in shadows. Lila glanced around as a prickle of unease worked its way up her spine. This presentation had taken so much of her mental energy that she’d shoved the worry over the unnerving text message into the back recesses of her mind. Now she stood alone and vulnerable in a darkened parking lot. Maybe she should have taken it a bit more seriously.
The chirp of a car being unlocked sounded through the quiet night, and Lila jumped with a gasp. “Shit,” she muttered as her keys fell from her hands. Damn whoever sent that text. By the time she reached her car, she was furious over the fact that someone had scared her. She prided herself on having taken control of her life; she wasn’t going to allow some punk make her fearful of every bump in the night.
For a moment last night, she had wondered if she should tell Striker, and now the idea flashed through her mind again. She let it marinate for a moment, then dismissed it. It was probably just someone messing with her; no point in making a big deal about it until it became one.
Striker rubbed a hand across the back of his neck, trying to relieve the tension in the muscles. It didn’t work, and he rested the palm of his hand on his gun as the door to Black’s opened and three Grimm Brothers walked into the bar. Each man held their arms out for Jester to pat them down. They knew the drill, and had left any weapons outside.
Striker turned and caught the eye of the bartender. He gave the man a nod. With a quick glance at the three men who made their way to Striker’s table, the bartender headed into an office at the back of the room and closed the door with an audible thud. They’d given the man a grand to shut the bar down for one hour. More than enough to compensate for any lost business.
