by Cox, Paula
“Sorry,” she muttered.
“You’re not here so we can talk. That’s not what I paid for.”
She had felt like a lover in his arms. She felt valued when he killed for her. But at the end of the day or the beginning of this night, Lily reminded herself that there was truth to what he said. She was just his property, his to do with as he pleased. Maybe he would even unload her at the first chance if the price was right. The thought of falling into anyone else’s arms filled her with dread, and Lily curled back to the bed, clutching the pillow where his head had rested in despair. Even as she inhaled his faint scent, it felt like he was already gone, maybe never coming back. Lily closed her eyes and felt hot tears forming behind her eyelids when the bed shifted and she turned her head over her shoulder.
“Hey.”
His voice was as flat as his eyes when he spoke to her, but Michael pressed his fingers under her chin, and when a stray tear fell from her cheek, he moved quickly to wipe it away.
“Don’t do that,” he whispered. “Last thing I want is to see you cry.”
Choking back her sobs, Lily sat up straighter, and her eyes widened when Michael took his hand in hers. His finger curled around her wrist, his hold strangely soft as it grazed her flesh. Daring to meet his eyes, she relaxed as his stare softened.
“I want you to be mine,” he whispered. “All mine. And if… shit.”
He grabbed the back of her head and pulled her into a desperate kiss. Lily savored the taste of his lips around hers, and as his tongue twirled down her throat, she stretched forward to kiss him deeper, drowning in her addiction of feeling any part of him inside her.
“No…”
She moaned as their mouths parted, but Michael wrapped his arms around her bare shoulders and pressed his brow to hers.
“I’ll keep you safe,” he promised. “You just have to…”
Michael’s voice trailed off, and Lily took his hand in hers as she waited without breathing for him to finish his thought.
“You just have to trust me.”
She shouldn’t. How could she trust a man that had paid money to make her his? She was far from an unwilling captive, but it was the last thing that she would ever have chosen of her own free will.
But there was no free will when he stared at her hard and clutched her hand tighter.
“I… I do,” she whispered. “I trust you.”
Michael smiled and pulled her closer.
“That’s good,” he said. “Because you can. You always can.”
He kissed her again, and Lily’s hands moved down his side. She started to unzip his jeans when there was a loud rap on the door.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN “What—?”
“Stay here.”
Michael left Lily’s side, and he reached for his gun as he took step closer to the door and leaned against the frame. He looked ready to shoot at anything or anyone that dared to enter the shack, and Lily held her breath as pulled the sheet closer to her body.
“Open up, Michael.”
The sound of Ken’s voice from the other side of the door caused them both to heave a sigh of relief. Michael shot Lily a look that calmed her further, and he pushed his gun into his waist as he flung the door open.
“You dreaming the night away or… oh.”
As soon as he saw Lily’s body curled under the sheets, Ken smiled faintly and gave her a quick nod.
“Keeping him happy, honey?” Ken asked.
If it was one of the others, she might have gone back to doubting if she truly wanted this to be her fate. But Ken was sweet. And he took care of Sally. Lily lowered her head and smiled shyly.
“Trying to,” she confessed.
Ken smiled, but then his face went dark as he turned his gaze back to Michael.
“Sorry to spoil the party,” Ken started. “But we need to talk. Now.”
“What’s up?” Michael asked.
Lily inched towards the edge of the bed, wanting nothing more than to be let in on the secret. If Michael was in any kind of danger, Lily wanted to help him if she could.
What is he doing to me?
Ken appeared to catch sight of her out of the corner of his eye, but then he centered his stare back to Michael.
“Club business,” Ken said. “Put a shirt on and move front and center.”
Michael briefly looked back at Lily, and she saw the worry flashing across his eyes. If he didn’t want to see her sad, then the last thing that she wanted was to see him scared. The stance didn’t suit him. Lily started to drop the sheet and move her body from the bed when Michael waved her off and pulled his body into a tight tee.
“What’s happening?” Lily asked. “What—?”
“None of your concern,” Michael said. “We’re handling it.”
He was nearly out the door, his knuckles cracking together as he trailed after Ken when Michael suddenly stopped and turned back to face her. Stepping back to the bed, he grabbed her face and turned her cheeks around his fingers.
“Stay here,” he whispered. “I’ll be back soon.”
Lily’s mouth was ready to receive his kiss, but he denied her. Probably because Ken still lingered in the doorway. He simply tugged on a fallen lock of her hair and flashed her a smile.
“Hang tight,” he said. “Keep the bed warm.”
Slapping Ken’s back, he shut the door and was gone. Sighing into the sheets, Lily collapsed to the bed, her body still humming, and a part of her wanted to do nothing but honor his request. She could wait. She should wait. Her last attempt at moving through the camp with no cover under the mark of night had nearly meant her end. And it brought fresh blood to Michael’s hands. Holding herself closely, she took several deep breaths and told herself that she could do this. She had to.
What if…
Letting the sheet fall, her bare body shivered at the draft passing through the shuddered windows, and she reached what might be a fatal decision.
Leaping off the bed, she retrieved the faded paisley dress that had been a gift from Sophia’s hands. Slipping it over her head, ignoring the need for any bra or panties, she pushed her arms through a ratty sweater and stepped into a pair of faded sneakers. The whore costume, Michael’s first, strange gift to her still lingered in the corner, but the chill of the desert night required greater cover.
When he came back to her, maybe…
Lily pressed he ear to the door, and she heard the club slithering towards the big tent where they congregated to form their plans and take their meals. As the voices dulled behind the unseen fabric, Lily turned the handle and stepped out into night.
Moving softly, slowly, Lily‘s eyes darted in every direction. The parked bikes were as cold as the night air and the sand swirled around her ankles as she kept stepping forward. Sophia had to be sleeping. Same thing for Sally. She pictured her stirring and Ken kissing her back to the bed before he headed out. Truth be told, Sally was better suited to be what Sophia called an old lady . She did as she was told and kept her man happy. Maybe Lily fulfilled the latter part of the bill, but her curiosity would not keep her in his bed.
“What the fuck!”
Lily blanched as she neared the flowing flap of the tent, and she ducked in the shadows. Falling to her bare knees, she held her breath and cocked her ear closer to the flapping folds.
“Michael, I—”
“We buried the bastard deep,” Ken started. “But Trevor’s making trouble. Like you didn’t know that he would.”
Lily bit down on her lip as Michael spoke again.
“So let him bring it!” Michael said. “What? Think I can’t handle it?”
Her eyes found a small tear in the canvas, and Lily saw Michael fuming. Two Diesel Devils held him back, the big one known as Wesley and the kid that known to the club as Brendan. Michael struggled in their grasp, and Ken held his ground as he pressed his palm to the air.
“Didn’t say that,” Ken cautioned. “Why don’t you—?”
“Trevor was after your g
irl, too,” Michael challenged. “And what? You like the idea of them tying her down and slashing her open?”
Ken clenched his fist, and Lily gripped the edge of the tent as she watched him seethe. Smaller than Michael, Lily still had no doubt that Ken could take him if Michael pushed his luck.
“Not happening,” Ken said. “Not on my watch.”
He snapped his fingers, and Michael relaxed as his boys pressed him into a hard-backed chair. She could see Michael shaking with rage even as he bowed his head and tried to appear contrite.
“Sure,” Michael muttered. “No one’s touching your girl.”
He raised his eyes, and his lips curled into a strong smile.
“Or mine,” he said. “I’ll kill anyone that tries to touch her.”
From her hiding place, Lily’s body went limp as she absorbed his words. She shouldn’t need a man to keep her safe; her recent captivity aside, she could take care of herself. But she smiled at the idea that Michael would shoot first and ask questions late if he saw that she was in harm’s way. She was about to break the rule, push through the tent, and tell him that she had his back when Ken cracked opened a beer and spoke again before he sipped.
“Hear me out,” he started. “Total devil’s advocate shit.”
Michael clenched and unclenched his fists.
“I’m listening,” Michael said.
Ken took a deep drink and set the can aside. Turning a stray chair close to Michael, he sat heavily and ran his fingers through his silver hair.
“You could take off for a while,” Ken started. “Like go underground. Take your girl with you.”
Lily watched Michael’s face turn the color of slate as she allowed her mind to race around the possibility. She could almost picture herself on the back of his bike as she clung to his waist. Racing towards the unknown, Michael would find some quiet spot. For a time, they could live there. She would live within and around him a place where no one would ever find him. It didn’t seem like the worst fate, and she nearly moved forward to tell him that they could make it work together when Michael stomped the heel of his boot into the desert sand.
“I ain’t no fucking coward,” Michael said. “I stand tall. I fight hard.”
As Ken nodded, Lily hung her head. She would never have suspected anything less of him. Part of her wanted to see him ride out the storm and bask in what would have to be his moment of triumph.
“Duly noted,” Ken said. “But there are other problems.”
Michael shifted in his seat, and Lily crawled closer to the slit in the tent as she strained to hear whatever Ken would say next.
“It’s about Lily,” he said.
She cringed, and Michael stretched to the edge of his chair.
“What about her?” Michael challenged.
Ken sighed. Leader or not, Lily could sense Michael wanting to take Ken’s throat in his hands. Somehow, he held back and just listened.
So did Lily, he ears wide open.
“People are looking for her,” Ken said. “Guess it’s her family or whatever. We can only keep the locals off the scent for so long.”
As she watched Ken tense, Lily felt as if everything started and stopped all at once. The cavalry was on their way. Was Dan leading the charge? What would she do if she came face-to-face with him again? Before lying with Michael, she felt sure that she would have just held him and felt some sense of safety in the space of his arms.
But now?
“So we gotta be practical about this,” Ken continued. “If the heat’s on, it’s on us. And we can’t risk them finding—”
Michael was on his feet, and he finally grabbed Ken by his throat as he slammed him into the floor. Wesley and Brendan worked like mad to drag him from Ken’s side, but Michael’s grip was too hard to be ignored.
“I’m not giving her up!” Michael bellowed. “I need her. I—”
His words caught in his throat when Ken kicked him hard between his legs. Michael doubled back, and Lily pressed her hands to her mouth to suppress the scream bubbling in her throat.
“Son of a fucking…”
Michael was back on his feet in an instant, his fists ready for a fresh fight.
No. I can’t let him do this. Not to his own. Not because of me.
Lily was ready to press her way into the tent when Ken stunned her as he leapt to his feet. His size and his apparent age suggested that he’d be at least a little rattled by Michael’s assault in spite of his own low blow. But Ken hopped from foot to foot and raised his fists as he glared at Michael.
“Let’s get one thing straight right now, kid,” he said. “I’m in charge here. And if you say she’s yours, she’s yours. I’m not going challenge that.”
Lily heaved a sigh of relief that intensified when she saw Michael’s firm body sag. It might still be alright. It might—
“But when they find out where she is and who she’s with, it all goes south,” Ken promised.
Fear iced Lily’s heart. Her first thought was for Michael. For Sally and the others. And this was not their day of reckoning. It was hers.
“So they won’t find us,” Michael said. “We’ll keep them hidden.”
“Michael, we—”
“What happens to your sweet thing if it all comes out?” Michael challenged. “From what Lily tells me, her life was more nightmare than anything else. Like you’re just going to send her back to—”
Ken landed a square punch right in Michael’s jaw, sending him to the ground. Michael held his face as he glared back up.
“Cut right to the point, didn’t you?” Ken said. “I am never sending her back.”
Michael propped his body up of his elbows and spoke through the blood bubbling from his lips.
“And Lily?” Michael asked. “What about her?”
“Well I’ve been giving that some thought,” Ken said. “You might not like it, but—”
Pressing her hands to her ears, Lily couldn’t stand to listen to one more word. Michael had her back; he had every part of her. But for Ken, it came down to Sally and the club. And if Lily was in the way…
Leaving the shadows just beyond the tent, she ran across the shaking sands and pressed her sweater closer to her body. Here it was. Her people were getting close to finding her. Should she hang close to Michael and hope that he could protect her? She believed that he could. But maybe it would be better for all of them if she gave herself up and returned to her old life. She could spin the story. Lily could even tell the tale of the auction and never mention one Diesel Devil’s name. The thought of having to leave him nearly tore her apart, but this, whatever this was, there was no way that it was going to last. As much as she wanted it to.
“Michael…”
His name passed across her tongue, and Lily spied his shack in the distance, not realizing how far she had trekked through the sand. But it was there. So was his bed. She could go back there and let him take her one more time. Lily imagined the chance to truly hold him. But she would. Even if it was the last time. Come morning, she’d have to find her way out of camp and never see him again. Should she just run now despite whatever dangers lurked in the darkness?
No. I have to touch him… I have to feel him one more time.
Moving back to camp, Lily held her breath and shuddered at the sound of a chopper racing across the sands. Frozen in the headlights, she saw a burly form perched atop his bike. When the moonlight hit his eyes, she shuddered.
The bike suddenly whizzed past her. Lily nearly relaxed when she saw the snarling angel pressed into the leather crossing his back.
Mad Angel.
Lily trembled and broke into a wild run. As she kicked sand into the air, the Diesel Devils’ camp came closer into view, and Lily intensified her pace. She saw no one. The boys were still in the big tent. Her lips parted to call out Michael’s name when the strange bike spun to a stop before her, and she fell back on her heels, looking into a burly man’s face.
His head was shaggy, and his lip
s curled into a leer. The man looked like he could crush her with one harsh hold, and he kicked his bike aside as he stepped to the sand and moved towards her.
“No!” Lily screamed. “Don’t you—”
She started to turn and break into a fresh run when hard hands seized her shoulders. Lily squealed as the biker brought her close to his chest, ad she tried to call out again when a clammy hand clamped against her mouth, and she felt the tip of a knife pushing into her throat.
