He yanked the door open and squinted into the light from the hall. Moving out next to Blade, he shaded his eyes. “What’s going on?”
“Sheriff called. He’s on his way out to see us.”
It was ten after two in the morning by the clock on the wall over Blade’s shoulder. A chill slid down his spine. No cop showed up at that hour when it wasn’t bad news. “Did he say what it was about?”
“Some information he has for us that he thinks we could handle better than his office.”
The claws clutching his heart loosened slightly. “I’ll be down in five.” He needed to get dressed and decide if waking Krista was worth it. If he didn’t and it was bad news, she’d never forgive him. If he did and it turned out to be a wild-goose chase, it would lift her hopes and potentially crush them.
He slipped out of the room, found clothes, and quickly changed. By the time he slid his cut on, he’d made his decision, and moved to sit on the bed by her hip. Gently, he shook her shoulder. “Krista. Wake up, pipsqueak.”
She grumbled and then sat up fast enough to give herself whiplash. “What’s wrong?”
Viper cupped her face to make her look at him. “Nothing, I hope. The sheriff is coming out with what Blade passed along to be some information he thinks the club can handle better than his deputies. I don’t know more than that and won’t until he gets here. It could be nothing or it could well be something. I thought you’d want to be in on this.” He only hoped he wasn’t making a huge mistake. “Get dressed and meet me downstairs.”
She grabbed his arm when he would have pulled away. “Viper?”
“I will be right there with you for whatever happens,” he promised. Leaning in, he pressed a kiss to her cheek. “Get dressed. He’ll be here soon.”
He forced himself to move and leave her to get ready. Heading down the stairs, he noticed the members were all there in a various states. Some looked like they hadn’t even found their beds yet. All were drinking coffee and attempting to wake up or sober up. The club pussy was nowhere to be seen. A good thing, that; they were not to ever be privy to club business. They had one role in the club.
Viper accepted the cup a prospect handed him and went to fill it from a coffee carafe sitting on a table near Stone and Clutch. Taking the seat between them, he sipped while watching the stairs. His body knew she was coming before he saw her. At the top of the stairs, Krista paused while taking in the scene below.
He waited to see if she’d come down or turn around and return to his room. He’d told her she could be there, but it was up to her to make the choice. Finally, she began padding down the stairs. She moved cautiously, clearly trying to not appear nervous at the curious looks the other members were shooting her. Only when she reached the bottom did he hold out a hand to her.
She looked at it like it was a life preserver in choppy, uncertain waters. Locking his fingers with hers, he tugged her onto his knee and slipped his arm around her waist. He offered up his cup to her. “No creamer, sorry.”
“I’ll make do,” she murmured. Krista kept her eyes downcast while she took a sip and handed it back to him.
Spreading his fingers over her belly, he pulled her up his thigh and in close to his body. He took another gulp from the mug before giving it back to her and resting his cheek to her shoulder. He had no idea how long they’d have to wait for James to arrive, but whatever it was, it was too long. Tension was high in the club, none more so than in Krista. She was practically vibrating in his lap with nerves.
Finally, the front doors opened to reveal the exhausted-looking sheriff. He paused when the room turned as one to look his way. With a nod to them, he accepted a mug and came over to sit across from Viper.
“What’s the news?” Clutch asked after the sheriff had filled the cup and taken a couple long sips from it.
“Nothing definitive yet, but I think we might be onto something. Bad news is it looks to be linked to Porter and another club you’ve had dealings with in the past.”
Viper frowned. No club the Scoundrels had ever dealt with would hook up with Porter. They all knew what that asshole had done to their club. Unless James meant a club they were not on good terms with. “Who?” he demanded. Krista flinched at the coldness in his voice. He hugged her closer and rubbed a thumb up and down her belly to ease her and let her know it wasn’t directed her way.
James tore off a sheet from his notebook and held it out. “You didn’t get this from me, and I don’t want to know nothing about what you’re going to do with it. Crystal Creek stays clear and we can continue our happy little relationship.”
Viper took the paper. “Always, Sheriff. The Scoundrels would never do anything to endanger the good folks of Crystal Creek, and we definitely would not do anything that might damage our relationship with the town’s police department.”
“Glad we understand one another.” Finishing his coffee, James stood up. “Thanks for the brew. It’s going to be a long night and I definitely needed it. Sorry to disturb you folks so late. Have a good night.”
Viper waited until the sheriff left before he flipped the paper over to read it. ‘Devil’s Blood’ was written in slashing lines on the page. A MC whose mother charter was in Louisiana but had recently set up a charter outside Carrizozo, New Mexico. The Scoundrels had indeed had a run in with them, and not a good one. They’d mutually decided to keep to their own territory, which wasn’t difficult given the distance between their turfs. For a Devil’s Blood to come all the way to Crystal Creek, though, that was an act of all-out war.
He looked up to Bones, who had moved in closer when James had torn out that sheet. “We need to find out if this is rumor or if there’s truth here,” Viper said. “Duke will kick all our asses if we go off half-cocked after them, especially after working on that truce to mutually ignore one another.”
“Oh, I think he’ll be kicking your ass anyway, boy.” The older man had an amused expression on his face before turning serious. “I have a couple old war buddies that live around Carrizozo. I’ll see if they’ve heard anything through the pipeline, and if the news warrants it, we’ll get a few boys to head up that way.”
Bones took the sheet, folded it, and stuck it in a pocket. “All right, folks, everyone hit their respective racks. We have things to do come dawn. You all need to be sober and rested.”
Viper lifted Krista off his lap, stood, and tugged her back to the stairs. He knew she had to be burning with questions to pepper him with. That she hadn’t yet meant she knew better than to voice them around the group. Whether it was a good thing she was staying quiet or merely waiting to get him alone to go off the deep end, he would soon find out.
Chapter Nine
Krista waited until they were back in his room even though she was itching to throw questions at him. She knew better than to question something decided by the club in front of the others. Behind closed doors was entirely different. Or that was what her mother had always told her.
She moved to sit on the bed and crossed her legs while he locked the door. Shrugging from his cut, he moved to her side and settled down on his back. “The suspense is killing me,” he said finally.
Krista hid her smile and shifted around to face him. “You didn’t think I would actually start popping off questions in front of the others, did you?”
“No, I knew you wouldn’t. But we’re alone now, and I know you have questions. I felt your little twitches. Dead giveaway, that.”
Huh, I hadn’t realized I’d twitched. “Who are the Devil’s Blood? I mean, I get they’re another MC and you’ve obviously had contact with them in the past, but are they a concern?”
She watched him and knew he was running scenarios through his head—what to tell her, and what her probable reaction would be. Finally, he drew his legs up to rest his arms on his knees. “They are a concern. We have had contact in the past. It didn’t end well. Their mother chapter is in Louisiana but recently expanded to include another chapter about two miles outside Carrizozo. We
naturally got word they were setting up, but with the distance between us we let them be. They didn’t have the same respect and came to Crystal Creek to check us out without a head’s up. We ended up kicking their asses out of the county and put in a call to the mother chapter. Apologies were rendered, but the trust has been lost.”
“Do you really believe they had anything to do with my parents being taken?” She couldn’t stop the quiver in her voice. He reached out and tangled his fingers with hers, the touch instantly steadying her.
“You heard the sheriff. Porter killed our last president and swore vengeance against the club. If he has been in talks with the Devils, then it’s completely plausible they’re helping him. First step would be to chip at our charter. Going for the new president would a big part of that.”
Krista did not like the sound of that. Whimpering, she pressed a hand to her mouth to hold back everything else attempting to break loose. She should have known Viper wouldn’t react like she’d assumed. The guy didn’t seem to have issues with her tears like some men did. He moved until she was between his legs and his arms were holding her tight. Burying her face in his arm, she let go. All the worry and stress from the last couple days started pouring out.
When she had nothing left and her face felt tight from the crying jag, she lifted her head. Viper hadn’t said anything during her cry. He’d stroked her hair and back, rocking her through it, but hadn’t said a word. She’d never met a man who hadn’t at least once begged a woman to stop the tears. Not him, though. It figured he’d be different.
“Sorry,” she whispered. She kept her head down and wiped at her cheeks. He definitely did not need to see the mess her face had become. Scooting to the edge of the bed, she stood and headed for the bathroom. But he caught her before she’d gotten too far. She tried to shake him off to no avail. The bugger held tight. “Viper, let go.”
He didn’t listen. With a tug, he had her in his lap, a hand cupping her cheek before the squeal she let loose fully formed. For a few heartbeats, he stared at her and then slid his calloused thumb over her cheek. “Be quick in there,” he told her. The husky voice had her thighs clenching, but she gave him a nod. When he let her go, Krista took off fast for the bathroom and shut herself inside.
Her first look at her reflection had her cringing. Her eyes were puffy, and her cheeks were blotchy and streaked with leftover mascara. Fucking hell, she was one hot mama. Groaning, she turned the water on cold and went to work to fix the damage crying had left. By the time she’d finished, her eyes were still a bit puffy, but at least she didn’t look like a complete fucking train wreck any longer.
She ran her fingers through her hair, paused, and then started hunting for the hair tie she’d used the last couple nights. She’d forgotten, yet again, to tie it back earlier. Since she’d thought about it, Krista figured better late than tangled rat’s nest. Once she had it in hand, Krista grabbed her brush. Then, and only then, did she return to join Viper. He sat up from the lounge he’d been in and shifted on the bedding. Patting the bed between his legs, he held a hand out for the brush.
Krista hesitated before crawling onto the bed and settling before him with her knees drawn up. She wrapped her arms around them while he began brushing her hair slowly. It was soothing to have someone else do it. When she’d been a little girl, her mother had done it each night before Krista had crawled into bed.
She didn’t know how long he brushed, but eventually she felt a familiar tugging. He was braiding her hair for her. Hiding a grin against her knee, she held up the tie when she knew he was close to the ends. When he finished, he flipped the tail over her shoulder. Viper wrapped his arms around her and tugged her back into his heat.
“I didn’t know you knew how to do that,” she said. Krista let her head fall back to rest on his shoulder and then let her eyelids drift down.
“I am a man of many talents,” he said into her ear.
“That you are.” The man could build a bike from scratch, had an uncanny ability to ferret out the truth, and could remain calm under fire. Krista also knew he could cook like a five-star chef but rarely did so. Her mother had managed to get him to cook for their weekly dinner once. Krista still didn’t know how her mom had done it, but she was ninety-nine percent sure there’d been some blackmail involved. Nadine had known Viper a long time.
Sadly, Krista had been in school and missed that meal. Which had her shifting to look up at him. “What would it take to convince you to cook for me?”
She felt him still. Like a predator figuring the odds in regards to its prey. “What are you talking about?”
“Come on, Viper. We both know you can cook better than my mother could ever hope to even with the all the classes she’s taken. So what’s it going to take to get a meal?”
“For you?” At her enthusiastic nod, he blew out a noisy breath. “You’re going to completely trash my hard-ass reputation.”
“Viper.”
“Damn you, woman. Fine, I’ll cook you something one day soon. Not at the clubhouse, though. I need to attempt to keep the others from finding out I can cook. We’ll do it at my place when it’s safe again.”
“Pinky swear, Viper.” Krista held up the finger in question and nearly burst out laughing at his disgusted expression when she gave it a wiggle. She used to make all the guys pinky swear with her back in the day. Viper had been the only one who’d resisted and told her flat out that if he gave his word that was all she needed.
“You are twenty-six fucking years old, Krista. How the hell have you not outgrown that idiocy?”
“Don’t be a hater biker-boy, babe. I know you think you are too mature for such things at the ripe old age of thirty-eight, but I don’t give two shits. You wrap your digit around mine and swear like your life depends on it. If you don’t, I promise to tell the club about the time I saw you steal Mrs. O’Shane’s nightie to cover yourself after diving outta Joanne Leonard’s place when her husband came home early.” That memory still stung, but she was a big girl and would deal. She was also not above using that particular information for all out blackmail when the need called for it. And she had some serious dirt on one particular biker, that incident only one of a great many. It had help when, until recently, he’d never seemed to notice she was around.
“You wouldn’t.”
Amused by the absolute horror he portrayed, she wiggled her finger again and plastered on a smirk. “You have my terms.”
“Does your father know you’re this evil?”
“I can’t believe you asked that. Have you even met the woman who gave me life and nurtured me to what I am today? Puh-lease.”
“Valid point. I do this under protest.” Viper then gave her the most grudging pinky swear she’d ever born witness to. It was damned pathetic, really.
“Noted, and personally, I don’t care. I have your word and our bond through the sacred act that you’ll cook for me. My life is now one step closer to being complete.” If she could get him to admit he loved her, she’d be a happy, happy woman.
Chapter Ten
“Why the fuck are we sitting on our thumbs, man?”
“You know the rules. We don’t budge until the prez or in this case acting prez says we do.”
“But they have our president and his old lady. This shit can’t stand.”
“And it won’t.” Both prospects jerked around to stare at him. “We’ll move, but not until we have all the intel. If we go in there guns blazing, we could get them or ourselves killed. Neither option is acceptable to me, and it fucking wouldn’t be acceptable to Duke either. Now, I know for a fact you both have tasks to attend to. Get on them before I kick your asses.”
Viper waited until they took off for different areas and turned to look at the others in the clubhouse. Shoving a hand through his hair, he headed for the meeting room. The members needed to sit down, go over the intel they had¸ and figure out their next move. Because, despite what he’d told the prospects, the club would be moving. Sooner than
later.
He shut the door behind him, moved to his seat, and practically fell into it. “Someone tell me again why we need prospects around here?”
“They do all the shit we’re too lazy to do. It’s fun to boss them around and see how far we can push them. And eventually some of us will kick the bucket, which leaves empty seats at the table,” Dino answered him, ticking off the answers on his fingers.
“Right, sure,” Viper muttered.
Bones chuckled and then leaned forward in his seat. “Blade, Stone why don’t you share what you’ve dug up with the group?”
Blade waved Stone to go ahead first. “Porter is still down in Texas. According to our friends down there, he’s been a busy little shit. Picked up a dozen burners, has been in and out of the bank, and has had several visitors while he’s supposedly sitting at his mother’s bedside. The club sent in a couple prospects, casual-like, to get a gander. He’s been having meetings down in the cafeteria there. They couldn’t get close enough to hear anything, but they did get some video and several photos. A couple looked familiar to our friends, so they sent me everything and I sent it along to the sheriff to see if he could dig anything up on them. No hits yet, but he’s only gotten through three or four, last I talked to him.”
“Keep communication open with our friends. We need to know every move that weasel makes,” Bones said. Then he tipped his chin up at Blade. “What’ve you got?”
“Me and Bender took a ride out to Carrizozo and did some digging around incognito. The Devil’s Blood has not been making friends in town, I can tell you that much. Basically, they’re being dicks, throwing their weight around, and acting like schoolyard bullies. We caught a show while we were there. Fuckers were harassing a couple young girls. If not for Bones telling us to keep our heads down, we’d have busted theirs in. Fuckers give us outlaw MCs a bad fucking name with that shit.”
“Put it on their bill,” Viper said. “We’ll be sure to collect for it in the future.”
Viper (Scoundrels MC #1) Page 5
