“Like what you see?”
Sidney did, she really did, but she didn’t like him at all, “No,” she crossed her arms over her chest, “I just came to get my phone out of Red’s room.”
“Ah, Red’s room. So you’re his old lady huh?”
“I’m only 26 thank you very much.”
Demon raised one eyebrow in a look that was much the same as the look Red so often gave her, “Um, ok, whatever.” He walked around her and into Red’s room.
“Hey, why are you going in there? That’s Red’s room,” she followed him in.
“I know.”
“Well get out.”
“I’m just going to borrow some of his clothes, no need to get all huffy, I’m not going to steal his,” he looked around the room, “Poster collection.”
“Red’s clothes won’t fit you,” Sidney pointed out, suspecting he had ulterior motives for being in the room.
“Oh I think they’ll do just fine for today,” he grinned at her, his white teeth flashing in a devastating grin. “I’m only bigger in certain areas,” he looked pointedly down at the hand that held his towel up right below his waist.
Blood rushed to Sidney’s face, flustered, she grabbed her phone off the bed, “Whatever, I’ll be sure to tell Red you were in here when he gets back.”
“You do that, sweetness,” he drawled in the most obnoxious manner possible, grin still firmly in place.
Sidney didn’t know how to react to him, she really felt like he might benefit greatly from a kick to the crotch.
“You staying for the show?” he made the motion like he was going to remove the towel, shocking her out of her silent wish to do him bodily harm.
She huffed and turned around, leaving his stupid grinning face behind her, as she fumed out of the room. He was probably the most infuriating person she’d ever met. She was pretty sure she hated him on some instinctive gut level… but she wouldn’t have minded seeing what was under that towel.
Bad Sidney she rebuked herself. Red. She’d forgotten to ask him about Red and when everyone else would be back.
She returned to the kitchen and sat down at the table again, sliding her finger across the screen of her phone. The least she could do was call in an order for pizza, Three River’s didn’t have a chain pizza place that delivered, but maybe she could talk that lady at the place Red took her to into bringing them out some food. Now if she could only remember what the name of the restaurant was she could google it and call. She drummed her fingers against the table looking at the Google app icon, mind completely blank. How could she not remember? It had only been last night?
“Mario’s Famous Pizza,” Demon said from the door, fully clothed in form fitting black shirt she was almost positive wasn’t Red’s, and a pair of dark jeans. She looked up at him sharply, “If you’re going to try to call in an order somewhere, that’s the only place that will deliver.”
Was he a mind reader now too, on top of being a giant asshole? Her eyes turned into slits, she didn’t trust this guy at all. “Where’s Red? Did they find everyone, were they ok?”
“Yes, we found everyone, and everyone is ok.” He went to the refrigerator and examined the inventory therein, “They really should get some better food. Everything is prepackaged, no fresh food at all. Such a shame.”
“Will Red and the others be back soon?”
He shrugged, “Soon enough I guess. I didn’t stick around and get a detailed itinerary for his day. Look in that cabinet over there and see if you can find any other pasta, I’d hate to think you ruined the last of it.”
She stayed where she was.
“Fine, I’ll look myself. But if you’re just going to sit there and not call in an order, someone is going to have to make some food.”
She opened her mouth to respond, damn it, she’d tried to make some food, but before she could say anything he amended his statement.
“Edible food, I mean.”
She closed her mouth and folded her arms. He bustled around the kitchen pulling meat out of the freezer, and an assortment of things out of the cabinets and refrigerator, dishtowel slung over his shoulder as he sampled the foods as he opened them.
“Umm, that’s pretty good,” he said as he tasted whatever concoction he was stirring. He looked back at her, she was still watching him, lips closed in a firm line. “You know, cooking isn’t really that hard, I bet even you could do it if you tried.”
“Of course I could, I’m just not interested.”
His eyebrow went up again, “Well, it’s a useful skill to have. You know, in survival situations or when you’re expecting a pack of wolves back, hungry from a fight.”
He waited for a response she wasn’t going to give him.
“Come here, we’ll start simple. I’ll show you how to mince this garlic,” he beckoned her over with the knife he was holding.
“I thought you guys and garlic were… incompatible.”
“Silly girl, don’t get your fairytales twisted, come here,” he beckoned again.
Sidney wasn’t sure she wanted to take cooking lessons from this guy. Surely he was just luring her in so he could say something else horrible to her, but she rose and joined him at the counter anyway.
“First you take the clove like this, and you press it with your hands,” he locked one hand over the other, crushing the garlic under his palm, while muscles rippled across his arm under the tight shirt. Sidney swallowed. “Then you get rid of this stuff, and you take your knife and you rock it back and forth. See easy. Now you try it.” He handed her a new clove and the knife and she copied his movements exactly. It wasn’t that hard. “Good good, now you keep going back and forth over it, you can also crush it a little with the flat part of the knife, and I’ll grill up this chicken.”
Sidney followed directions, but soon she lost interest in the repetitive motion and watched him as he cut the chicken into cubes, seasoned it, and placed it in the cast iron skillet. His hands worked so quickly, they obviously had done this many times before, but the long fingers and dexterous movements spoke of artistry beyond cooking. Maybe he was a painter. His face was more delicately defined than Red’s too, strong jawline and check bones, but with the hint of something hidden beneath the surface. It wasn’t an open friendly face but it was… compelling, darkly handsome with his eyes hidden behind the soft fall of black hair as he concentrated on his work.
“Hey, pay attention, you’re going to cut yourself,” Demon dropped tongs he’d been cooking with and before she realized what he was saying he was standing over her, his hand covering hers, stopping the rocking motion of her knife.
An electric bolt raced between them, it started at their hands where he’d touched her and spread throughout her body. The hair on the back of her neck stood up, her throat went dry, and every inch of her skin tingled with awareness. What was happening? She saw he was having the same reaction she was as they stood their motionless, staring into each other’s eyes.
“Sidney…” he whispered, not moving. She sucked in a breath, she was drowning and there was nothing to grasp on to.
“Sidney,” Red said her name from the door and the spell was broken, leaving her hollow inside. She tore her gaze from Demon’s and looked at Red, she was still in shock and couldn’t quite figure out what to do.
She looked back at Demon but he had turned his face away from her, and she remembered that she’d been waiting for Red. Who had been out fighting to save his daughters life. She pulled away ran to him, as much to escape from Demon as in celebration of his return. Arms thrown around him and head buried in his neck, she was glad he couldn’t see her face, because all she felt was loss. The moment she’d been torn from had been so intense, so full of everything that she couldn’t even digest it, and it was gone.
“What’s going on?” Red asked.
She stepped back from him, “I was cooking and he was… helping,” she finished lamely.
Demon gave her a look that told her what he thought about that co
mment, “Yes, I was… helping.”
Red looked between the two of them, he must have felt the energy that was flowing between her and Demon, the whole town of Three Rivers must have felt it. She felt so guilty. She’d just slept with him last night and here she was having a moment with another man today. A man she didn’t even really like.
“Did you find your daughter?” she asked him, wanting to put whatever it was she’d felt in those few seconds behind her.
“Yes, she’s fine, that’s what I was actually coming to find you about. Do you think you can look at her and make sure she’s ok.”
“I’m a vet Red, not a pediatrician.”
“You’ve got more medical training than anyone else around here.”
“You probably want to take her to the hospital, they could give her better care than I could.”
“Oh that will be lovely,” Demon chimed in, “Let’s just explain to them that she was kidnapped by a rival gang and we really can’t get the police involved because we’ve left a trail of corpses all over Al’s Mini-Storage parking lot.”
Sidney and Red looked at Demon, who was now intent on his food preparation again, and then back at each other.
“I’ll go have a look at her,” she followed Red as he led her out the door and to meet his daughter, but not before taking one last glance at Demon. He turned, and his eyes caught hers in the brief second before the door closed and they left him alone.
The little girl was beautiful, in a tragic way. Though her tangled blonde curls bounced with every movement, her skin was pale with cheeks and lips flushed. Sidney was scared she might have a fever. She clung to her little stuffed doll, eyes never leaving Red, while Sidney examined her and asked her question.
“So?” Red asked, anxious.
“She seems fine really. I don’t think they hurt her at all. Just scared the poor thing half to death. She’s a little warm but that could be from anything. It probably got cold in that storage unit last night and her body is just adjusting to being in a warmer place, or she’s getting the sniffles,” Sidney shrugged, there wasn’t much else she could do.
“It scared me half to death too.”
Sidney’s heart hurt for him, she couldn’t imagine having to go through something like that. Knowing your child was out there and at the mercy of the worst kind of men. “Are her grandparent’s ok?”
“Yeah, I had some guys go check on them last night. They were tied up in their kitchen but they hadn’t been hurt.”
“That’s a relief,” people who were capable of stealing children to sell into slavery were capable of anything. “So you’re taking her back home?”
Red looked over at Morgan, his heart in his eyes and shook his head, “No, she’ll stay with me from now on. I’ve got to protect her.”
The love shining plainly from him was almost hard to see. No father had felt that level of dedication to her, “You thought you were protecting her before, you can’t keep beating yourself up about this.”
“I’m not, but I’m also not going to let it happen again.”
Sidney nodded, “I know, but you can’t keep her here,” she waved her hand around the common room. Pool tables and beers and cigarettes, and thought of his room. Not exactly the best place to stow a kid.
Red nodded too, “I know that. I’ve got to get my shit together, but in the meantime I need to ask you a big favor.”
Oh no, she couldn’t keep a kid. She couldn’t even make spaghetti without scorching the sauce. She didn’t have the first clue about how to take care of a child, even one who was as adorable as Morgan was.
“Red I…”
“Sidney, you’ve saved my life once already, and I owe you everything for that, and I know I have no right to ask but… you’re the most decent person I know. Please.”
His golden eyes begged her, full of hope and fear that she’d say no, “Okay,” she agreed, “But I can’t promise I’ll be good at it. She’ll probably eat McDonald’s every night and have funky hair.”
Red picked up her hands and brought them to his lips. “Thank you, thank you.” His warm lips touched her hands and tingles traveled up her arm to her spine. This was ridiculous. She’d never had so many physical reactions to touch before in such a short span of time, from two different men no less.
“Hold on to the thank yous until we see how she is at the end of the week.”
No matter what Sidney said, he had complete confidence in her, and it was a huge relief to know that he had a place for Morgan to go while he got everything settled in the club.
Morgan was his first priority, making sure she was safe and taken care of, but Club business was a close second. Until he knew what was up with Big Dog he couldn’t count on anyone in his life being safe.
“Hey, has anyone heard from Big Dog or the others yet?” Red asked. The group of men who had been standing around rehashing the specifics of the fight all looked around at each other.
“No man, I ain’t heard from nobody.”
“Me neither.”
The rest shook their heads, so far no one he’d asked had heard a word.
The Clubhouse was mostly silent, which wasn’t unusual mid Saturday afternoon since everyone who stayed there was normally still in bed or just getting up and the nighttime crowd hadn’t rolled in yet. He didn’t know if he was going to miss it or not. Sure, it was exciting way to live for someone just getting going, Squint and Squirt were probably having the time of their lives. Being away from their parents for the first time, the drinking and the laughter, and the women. There were always lots and lots of women hanging around. Not his girls, he tried to keep his girls separate from the Club, something that didn’t always work out, but he tried. A lot of the women who hung around just wanted a taste of danger that the men there represented, Red knew that. Which is probably why he had never found an old lady among the biker flies they seemed to collect. They didn’t want him as a person, they wanted to be associated with the Club and his cock. In that order. He was positive that being in the Club was actually a drawback with Sidney, he smirked, she probably wanted some guy who worked for UPS or in an accounting office. Just the events of the past few days were going to be hard to get over with her and she hadn’t even found out about his job yet. That was a conversation he was not looking forward to having with her. It was just one of those things she was going to have to learn how to live with, because he wasn’t giving her up. He just had to get all the crap untangled and then he could focus on bringing her around to understanding that they were going to work out, regardless of how rough their start had been.
“Tinker,” Red addressed the large man who was handcuffed to a chair in the commons. “What are we going to do with you?”
“My fate was sealed last night, any extra time I’ve had is just more time for me to reflect on how bad I’ve fucked up.”
Red could understand that, before the fight all he’d had were regrets about not becoming the man, the father, he’d wanted to be. Maybe he could give Tinker the same chance to start over that he felt like he was given.
“You know that we’ve killed almost all of the Hellhounds.”
Tinker nodded, “Yes, it’s kinda hard not to hear all the talk around here.”
“What would you do if I were to let you go?”
The man’s face went blank, as if it was something he hadn’t even considered. Red waited for him to collect his thoughts, “I don’t know, I don’t have any family. The Hellhounds were my family.”
“Your family that put you in a fight to the death.”
He turned his face away from Red’s, “Yes. They did that. But you have to admit that it was a long shot that you would win. Without that…”
“Screeching,” Red provided the word for him.
“Without that you would have been the one with your throat ripped out.” The angry red marks were still clearly visible on his neck, even with their ability to heal so quickly.
“That may be true, but that’s not how it went dow
n.”
“But what was it?”
“I have no idea, even the guys who hadn’t shifted were affected by it.”
“But you weren’t,” there was an accusation in the words.
“I was, but it just doesn’t seem like I was as affected as you were. But that’s neither here nor there, what’s done is done. If I let you go what would you do, where would you go?”
“I don’t know man. I really don’t. My home is with the pack.”
Red nodded, “And if we offered you a place with us, would you be able to be loyal? Follow the rules? We don’t allow druggies and we don’t sell people as sex slaves or Russian brides or whatever bullshit you guys were doing.”
“Why would you even offer me that? After everything?”
Red shrugged, “I believe a man can change. And it might not happen, we’d have to vote on it and I can’t say for sure that everyone would go for it.”
Tinker nodded, “Yes, I can be loyal to The Dogs, hell I never did any drugs anyway and taking those girls off the street… it never set right with me either.”
“Good,” Red patted the big man on the leg, “As soon as we get all this settled down we’ll take a vote. Until then I guess the handcuffs have to stay.”
“No problem man, I’ll take handcuffed over dead any day.”
“So you say you have no idea about why the Hellhounds decided to grab the people they did?” Red had already questioned him but it never hurt to ask a second time.
“Nah, like I said, I’m just the muscle. I wasn’t in on making the plans. That was all Lynard. I know he’d been having some secret meetings with people lately but that’s nothing new. Who wants to meet in public when you’re looking for an Asian girl without a passport to be your ‘housekeeper’?”
“Yeah, I can see that. Well if you think of anything else that might help, let me know. It’d probably go a long way towards getting you patched in,” Red lied. If Big Dog was in on it and thought this guy had information there was no way he’d still be alive much less welcomed into the Club with open arms.
Wounded (Dogs of War MC Book One) Page 11
