by J. L. Drake
I nodded at him. I made sure he knew I appreciated and respected him for that comment.
“I know.” She rubbed her arms, but I knew the memory of what she thought she saw was burned permanently into her head. “I just needed a walk, and I wasn’t trying to be reckless. Ty had put a few things in perspective for me. I wanted somewhere quiet to clear my head, without all the craziness around me.”
She wrung her hands as she continued. “When you texted me, Brick, I wanted to answer and not make you worry, but I needed a minute to think first. I was almost ready to send you another text with what was happening, but that’s when Tiago showed up. I guess he was there, and I came up on him. I really don’t know. It wasn’t hard to figure out what he wanted to do. When he grabbed me, I fought him the best I could. When he was on me, I thought I would rather die.” She stopped to catch her breath. Rail handed her the bottle of whiskey and she poured some in a cup, spilling half of it.
“Here.” Rail used a napkin to wipe it up.
“Thanks,” she sniffed, and I could see she was nearly done in with the telling of it. She downed the glass and squeezed her eyes shut as the burn spread through her.
“When someone pulled Tiago off me and knocked him out, I had a moment of relief. I wanted to hug my hero. When he offered me a hand, I took it. But when I tried to get a look at his face…he, ah…” Her hands covered her mouth and her shoulders shook. Rail moved as I bent down in front of her and rested her head on my shoulder.
“I just wanted you,” she whispered through her tears. “I was so scared.”
Her words tore away another layer from the carefully built walls inside me. I felt Nolan inch closer inside my head, wanting me to let her pain in. Let myself feel it so I could experience what normal was. It was such a foreign thing for me to allow, but I tried.
I tried for her.
I peeled her hands away from her face and lifted her chin.
“I’m here, not going anywhere. But, Tess, I really need you to tell me everything.” Careful with my big hand, I wiped her cheek dry. “I can’t kill a faceless man.” I poured her another drink and placed it in her hand. I needed details.
She pursed her lips and blew out some air then visibly shook off her nerves and tried again. “He twisted my arm behind me and slammed me into the rock wall. His free hand touched me everywhere, all around my body and up under my dress. He stopped when he heard somebody coming. I tried to yell, but he hit the back of my legs, and I fell hard. I could barely breathe. He came down close to my ear and told me I was lucky, that this time it was only a warning.”
“Warning?” Brick interrupted. “Warning for what?”
“To honor the rest of the Serpents’ contract. To continue running the drugs or there will be consequences.”
“Such as?” Morgan chimed in.
Her cold hands fell onto mine.
“Such as me.”
The entire place went quiet, and all I could hear was my heart beating in my ears. My switch was about to flip.
Gus sighed heavily. “They know she is your weakness, Trigger.”
Yeah, she is. Our eyes met, and I knew she heard what I thought.
“Any idea who he was?” Brick asked.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t recognize his voice at all, not like that other guy. I can tell you he was wearing a cut with two green eyes on the front. I know because they glowed in the dark.” I glanced at Brick then at Gus. “But that’s not Serpents, right?”
“No.” I cracked my neck, but there was no relief in it. “That was a Stripe Back.”
Chapter Thirteen
Tess
The guys had a long meeting after I told them my story, and the whole time Trigger kept an eye on me through Jace, who was ordered to stay by my side. I couldn’t say I was opposed to the idea. I hated this mess happened during what was supposed to be their annual party.
Trouble always followed me, but this was the first time I’d ever allowed myself to fall for someone after the damage that had been done before. And now look what I had brought on him.
“You look like you could use this.” Minnie drew close and took a chair. She handed me a mug. “Baileys and coffee.”
“Thanks.” I wrapped my fingers around the warmth and sipped the brew. Yikes, it was strong.
She winked as she settled across from me and indicated the mug. “I don’t do singles. Triples are my specialty.”
“So I taste.”
“I can smell that from here.” Jace chuckled from the trailer step.
I pushed the chair next to me with my foot. “You don’t need to lurk out there in the dark, Jace. Come over here and join us.” After he sat, I said, “You know it’s not your fault what happened to Ty yesterday.”
He nodded, but I saw he was still struggling with it. “I know.” He tried to smile at me. “Just feel like a chump not going first.”
“He was reckless.” I sipped my liquor with its splash of coffee. “Ty’s now six feet under, and chump or not, you’re still standing. Consider yourself lucky.”
“I guess. I don’t know.” He dropped his head and closed his eyes.
Minnie was on her phone and had zero interest in making him feel better, but I liked Jace and knew what he was going through.
“Believe it or not, I’ve been where you are.” He looked over at me, his eyes tired and stressed. “You can’t know what’s going to happen. You might think you do, but you don’t know. You can’t predict shit.”
“But Trigger said it could have been laced with something.”
“I know, Jace, and when I said I’ve been there, I really meant it. We had a warning back then too, but still, one person had to step up and take one for the team. She did that, and so did Ty.” Tears slipped down my face as the memory of her beautiful smile came to me. “So…” My breath caught in my throat and I spoke harshly. “Now, as fucking hard as it is, we need to live.” I reached out and took his hand. “Move forward, take a few precautions, learn from your mistakes, and live.”
He sniffed before his shoulders slumped and he broke into tears.
“Come here.” I stood and pulled him into my arms. He was so sweet, like a little brother you wanted to protect. “It’s okay to feel glad it wasn’t you who died, Jace. That’s perfectly normal. The guilt hurts like a bitch, but that means you’re human.”
“You guys okay?” Brick mouthed.
“Yeah,” I rubbed my hand over Jace’s to soothe him. A few of the guys looked over, but none of them said anything. Not even Rail. He gave me a little nod as if he understood we all needed a moment to digest all the crap we had been through this weekend.
Jace pulled back and caught his breath. His eyes were bloodshot and his cheeks were puffy, but I smiled to show I could be strong for both of us.
“Thank you, Tess.” He closed his eyes. “Are they all staring at me?” I looked up and glared at everyone to make sure they turned away from Jace.
“Nope, but why don’t you go inside for a bit?”
“I can’t.”
“I know he told you to watch me, but I’ll go stand by Trigger until you get back.”
He hesitated. “Ahhh.”
“Go.”
“Thanks.” He rushed inside the trailer, and I walked over to stand next to Trigger, whose eyes were on me the minute he saw me get up. He took my hand and pulled me onto his lap.
“Where’d Jace go?”
“He needed a moment.” I kissed his lips. “Ty’s death is playing on him.”
“It playing on you too?” Trigger studied my face, and I looked away. “I asked you something, Tess.”
I guessed he did ask.
“A little, I guess. Just stirred up some old memories.”
“Which are?”
I lifted a brow. “Just because you ask, Trigger, doesn’t mean I will always answer.”
He shifted me so I faced him. “I shared a lot with you.”
His eyes were relentless, and I swallowed heavily. He was ri
ght; he had shared. “I lost someone kind of in the same way Ty died. I wanted Jace to know it’s okay to feel relieved to be the one left standing. Doesn’t mean the guilt doesn’t hurt like a bitch.”
“Mm,” he agreed. “I’m glad you weren’t the one too.”
My fingers ran through his beard. “You’re getting pretty good at this whole relationship thing.”
“Mm.”
I smiled and kissed him again. Man of few words.
“Anyone else still fucking thrown by this whole Trigger has a girlfriend thing?” Rail broke the silence around us and made the guys laugh. “I mean, really, most girls would have been dumped on their ass or barked at for saying shit.”
Trigger lifted me so I straddled him, making a point. I was happy to help out by placing his hands on my ass.
“You like that, Brick?”
“I will tie your nuts in a bow, Rail, if you don’t fuck off.” Brick groaned. “Tess, you’re such an ass.”
I pulled away and held up my phone. “Seems to me I have a video to prove this makes us even.”
“I’m sorry, come again?” Rail held up his hand, and I tossed my phone to him.
I ignored the fist fight that erupted as Trigger stood with me in his arms.
“You need to be under me,” he whispered harshly.
After convincing Trigger the bruises didn’t hurt, he finally let loose. Thankfully, I now knew how to flip his switch. A good feisty fight always set it off. I was sure I wouldn’t be able to walk for a week.
***
I woke alone, which was not unusual. The sun was blasting through the window. Unfamiliar voices found me, and I raced to the shower and into my clothes.
I found Trigger at the table outside with two cops from Santa Monica. What the hell?
Morgan shook his head at me as I came up behind Trigger, but I was way past worrying about hearing shit that wasn’t meant for my ears. I slipped my hands around his shoulders from behind and kissed his cheek. He tensed, but when he heard my voice, his muscles relaxed.
“Everything okay here, Trigger?”
His hands covered mine with a squeeze. “Seems one of the Serpents didn’t make it home last night. Someone claims he was shot while he was here in the desert.”
“Really?” I looked at Detective Aaron. “Aren’t you a little out of your district?”
“I am, but I got authority.”
“Umm…” Seemed a bit convenient, although the normal rules never seemed to apply when it came to the MC life, so I waited a beat before I went on. “Any idea who or where?”
“Well, ma’am, that’s why we’re here.”
“Ma’am?” I laughed. “I thought by now we were on a first name basis, Aaron.” He blushed slightly before he straightened his sunglasses. “I mean, you did come to my place to talk to me about club life. Surely you recall asking me to call you by your first name.”
Trigger cleared his throat, and I felt his muscle tighten under my hands again.
“Yes, that’s right. You are hard to forget, Tess.” He looked pointedly down at my chest. “I’m just here to follow up on a few leads.”
“Okay, well, ask away.”
He shook his head. “I need to figure out a few things first.”
“Like?” Trigger’s voice had changed. Yeah, he was pissed.
“Like the fact that Tiago had female blood on the clothes he had in his bag.” My stomach twisted, and I felt the blood drain from my face. Detective Aaron pulled his sunglasses down and eyed the scrape on my leg. “You get into some trouble?”
Trigger stood, but I pushed my body in front of his. “Minnie and I went for a hike. I took a fall, the result of too much champagne and stupidity.”
“I guess in,” he rolled his wrist and checked his watch, “five hours, we’ll find out just how smart you really are.”
I stood my ground, but Trigger hooked his arm around me to act as silent support.
“Now, if you don’t mind, I have some more people to speak to.” He nodded at his partner Detective Rich before he headed off.
Trigger didn’t move until I looked up and saw his jaw was locked in place. Yikes, that was bad.
I opened my mouth to speak, but he shook his head and took my hand and pulled me inside the trailer. He shut the windows and turned on the air conditioner.
He pulled me close and held my head in his hands. That was not what I was expecting.
“This might get messy before it gets better. Do you trust me?”
“Of course, I do.”
He leaned down and kissed me hard. I wanted more, but he pulled away.
“Why did the detectives come to your place?”
“After that time they came to the club, he came to my place to warn me that club life has no place for me. That I should pack up and go back to wherever it was I came from. People seem to have a false impression of who I am and where I come from.”
His eyes were on mine the whole time.
“What did you tell them?”
“That I knew what I was doing. That I loved the club.”
“Anything else?”
“He asked if I was dating you.”
“What did you say?”
I shrugged. “We weren’t then, so I said no, but they didn’t believe me.”
He leaned down so we were eye level. “I’m sorry for what happened with Tiago. I broke my promise, and I will never forgive myself for that. But you have my word that from now on I will do whatever it takes to protect you.”
“I never once blamed you for what happened the other night, Trigger. Please don’t take that on.”
“Tess,” he leaned his forehead to mine, his hands on my shoulders, “I’ve never apologized to anyone in my life. Please take it.”
“Okay.” I couldn’t help but feel a ping in my heart. I didn’t think I had ever heard such a comment before.
“For the next two days, stay away from the detectives. No questions, no small talk, nothing. Promise me?”
“I promise.” Wait. “How long are we staying?”
“Few more days than I planned.”
“Why?” I would think he’d want to get back to the clubhouse.
“Few reasons.”
“Can I know?”
“You will when I know.” He kissed my head then stopped and reached in his pocket for his phone. An unexpected expression broke out on his face. His moods were all over the place today.
“What?”
He shook his head once before he answered it. “Keith, how are you?”
“Wait.” I followed behind him, and everything else instantly faded away. “Trigger, is that Keith—as in Keith-Keith?”
He went to the fridge, and I tried to listen, but it was no use. Trigger was too tall for me to get close enough to the phone.
Rail came in and sat at the table nursing a beer just as Trigger stepped outside.
“Tess?”
“Mm?” My attention was not on him at the moment.
“Let’s talk?”
“Ah, sure.”
He motioned for me to join him on the other side of the table. I grabbed a water and did as he wanted.
“I never meant to throw you under the bus before. It was a fucked up call on my part. I want us to be good.”
“Okay.” I shrugged. “I could see how I would be the obvious choice. Just sucked that it happened.”
“Mmm,” he agreed before he downed his beer. “Lot of shit sucks right now.”
“You guys have any idea who the mole is?”
He rubbed the back of his messy hair then signed heavily. “You apparently know more than we do, since you heard his voice.”
“So, we know nothing.” I hated that I couldn’t place him. Fuck me, I felt like I was letting down the entire club.
“We’ll get him, somehow. Just doesn’t make the gut feel good.”
“Nope.”
We sat in silence for a while. I was happy we cleared the air, but the weight of the club still bo
thered me. Nobody knew what or who was next.
“You hungry?” Trigger asked from the doorway.
“I guess so.”
That night, we said goodbye to most of the crew, who would get an early start on the road tomorrow. I had to admit I enjoyed being out in the desert away from the city life. No traffic, noise, or that horrible smog smell. Just dust, dirt, and heat here. Although I did miss the ocean; I wouldn’t give that up.
When we were about to head in to bed sometime in the early morning hours, we had an unexpected visitor. Cray from the Arizona crew pulled up in front of our trailer, hopped off his bike, and raced over to the fire pit and waited.
All right…
“Go on inside. I’ll be right in.” Trigger kissed me quickly before he opened the door to the trailer and waited for me to step inside.
“Everything okay?”
“Not sure.”
I squeezed his hand then disappeared inside.
I tried to stay awake and listen to what they were saying, but Rail was passed out in the front of the trailer, and he was about to wake the dead with his sleep talking. The dude needed to lay off Games of Thrones. He had a serious obsession with Jon Snow that he might not want to have leaked.
The sun sat heavy on the mountains when I woke early the next morning. I was up before the guys and was happy to have the quiet to myself. I sipped my coffee and eased onto the bench sideways so I could feel the early morning sun directly on my face. The rays pricked my skin and drew the blood to the surface. It felt wonderful.
Sometimes it hit me how much I had been through in my life, and where I was now. Maybe I should get an author to write my story? Lord knew, there was enough twisted shit there to fill at least one novel.
Warm arms wrapped around my stomach, and his chin rested on my shoulder. “Morning.” His raspy voice made me wiggle closer. “I’ll take it Rail cleared the air with you?”
I leaned my head back to rest on his. “Yeah. It was good.”
“Good. Hey,” he kissed my neck to get my attention, “I need to go deal with something, and I need you to stay here with some of the guys.”
Something in his tone made me face him, straddling the seat again.
