NOMADS The Box Set

by Erin Trejo

“Someone ordered a hit on you?” She asks a little confused I suppose. I nod my head rapidly before taking a drink of the beer that was set in front of me.

  “Yep. No clue who it was either. I’m not dead though!” I laugh. Angel nods her head trying to follow along. Suzi is rambling on about keeping my mouth shut but I ignore her.

  “I’ll be right back,” Angel says standing from her stool and walking toward another man. She says something and nods her head toward me. I watch and smile, give a little wave which she returns before I go back to my drinks. Why haven’t I gotten this drunk before? I feel like I could fly if I wanted to.

  “That’s none of your goddamn business!” I jolt when I hear Remi roaring from somewhere in the building. Looking over, I see a door fly open and Remi storm out with Angel right behind him.

  “Oh, it is my goddamn business, Remi! That’s your fucking job!”

  “Clear the fuckin’ room!” The man I know as Kred growls loudly. Everyone jumps into action and starts to leave. I slide off my stool to do the same but fall flat on my ass.

  “Not you, princess. You stick around,” Kred says looking at me on the floor. I hiccup a laugh and nod my head. Remi looks completely frustrated, tugging at his hair as he runs his hand through it.

  “What the fuck is this?” Kred asks looking between them.

  “There’s a hit on the girl,” Angel tells him. He doesn’t look surprised at all.

  “I know that, Angel. What the fuck is your point?” Her face reddens as her hands ball into fists at her sides.

  “You knew that? You knew that and you didn’t say shit to me? What the hell is going on Kred? Your son brings a girl home and she has a fucking hit out on her! Who is the contract?” Angel yells just as Remi’s phone rings. They all share a glance before Kred nods toward him to answer it. Remi slides it out and answers as we all watch him.

  “Yeah. Got it,” Remi says into the phone. He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath before looking at me. His eyes lock with mine; a fear I’ve never seen in him before now sets in.

  “What the hell is goin’ on Remi?” Kred asks him.

  “I’m the contract as of now,” he says almost pained. I have no idea what the hell they are talking about but I giggle anyway. They all three turn to look at me where I still sit on the floor in my drunken state.

  “Fuck!” Kred roars.

  “Shit. I’m sorry, Remi,” Angel rests her hand on his arm and anger rushes me. That’s his mom but I don’t like seeing people touch him. No, women touch him.

  “He’s mine you know!” I state from my place on the grimy floor. Kred laughs as Remi shakes his head.

  “You got her drunk huh?” Angel shrugs and walks away. My eyes stay on Remi as he walks toward me and kneels in front of me.

  “What are you doin’ my little drunken girl?” he asks as I smile.

  “Take some time and rest. I’m makin’ some calls.” I hear Kred say. Remi stays in front of me, a small smile on his face.

  “Am I really?”

  “Really what?”

  “Your girl,” I say softly the alcohol rushing through my system. Remi reaches for me, pulling me to my feet with him.

  “Is that what you want?”

  “Yes,” I answer without hesitation.

  “Things are gonna get worse, Giselle. Suzi isn’t gonna like what I do any more than you will.” I love how he warns me like he’s going to scare me away.

  “What is it you do?” I ask slurring my words together.

  “I kill. I’m a contract killer.” He’s a what? Oh my God. That’s what they were just talking about! Way to sober a person up in the matter of seconds. I take a step back, the room suddenly spinning.

  “You said the new contract was you. What did that mean?” I ask looking him in the eye. He doesn’t answer right away.

  “What did you mean, Remi?” he swallows hard before he lowers his head for a second. When he looks back up at me, my stomach wants to fall to my feet.

  “It means the first person that was supposed to kill you didn’t.”

  “And? Why didn’t they?”

  “He’s a friend of mine.”

  “And now?”

  “And now the contract is mine. I’m supposed to kill you, Giselle.”

  17

  Remi

  I should be thankful she passed the fuck out. Right after I told her that, she freaked. Suzi came at me full force, hitting and kicking. I thought I was going to have to tie that bitch to the bed to calm her down but the alcohol took hold and knocked her ass out first. I locked her in my room here at the clubhouse while I try to figure shit out. I have guys looking into it, Kred has guys looking into it. Nothing is coming up which pisses me off a little more. My nerves are on edge.

  “Wanna ease that stress?” I turn toward the voice next to me to see one of the club whores licking her lips. That’s the last thing I need right now and God help me if Giselle sees her anywhere near me, Suzi will lose her shit and I’m not in the mood for a chase.

  “Do you know who the fuck I am?” I growl as I walk closer to her. She stares up at me with those big brown eyes clueless as to what I can do to her.

  “I know who you are, Remi,” she purrs running her hand up my chest to my neck. I swallow hard trying to reign in the anger that flows through m y veins.

  “Then you know not to fuck with me, don’t you? Keep your fuckin’ hands off me and when my girl is out here, you don’t look her way. Got me?” Her fingers linger on my neck, slowly stroking my skin. My fucking skin crawls when I reach up and grab her wrist and with the flick of mine, she screams. I heard the bone crunch. I know I broke it but with so many thoughts racing through my head I can’t handle much more.

  “You’re sick!” She screams louder as tears fall down her cheeks. She cradles her arm to her chest as a shit ton of guys come racing toward us.

  “What the hell is goin’ on?” Kred shoves his way to the front of the crowd taking in the scene before him.

  “He broke my wrist!” The whore screams. Kred raises an eyebrow and looks between the two of us. He can tell with just one glance that my head isn’t in a stable place.

  “You probably didn’t listen to him, did you?” he directs his glare at her now. “Get the fuck outta here, whore!” When he snaps, she jolts and hurries from the room still holding her broken wrist. Kred cuts his eyes at the others and they quickly disperse as well.

  “What’s goin’ on, Remi?” he asks coming to stand next to me.

  “Told her not to fuckin’ touch me.”

  “Not that. What’s in your head?”

  “I can’t figure this shit out, Kred. I don’t fuckin’ like it and I have no fuckin’ answers. Do you know how fucked that is? How the hell do I protect her if I don’t know what I’m protectin’ her from?” Kred stares at me silently for a long minute before he shifts his stance and says, “You really do care about that girl, yeah?” Nodding my head, I don’t think I need to answer that out loud. I brought her here, that in itself should have answered him.

  “We fake her death.” My eyes jerk to his when those words leave his mouth.

  “We don’t know who wants her dead,” I remind him.

  “Doesn’t matter. We fake it. Make the girl dead. Keep her under lockdown here until you get that second call. We pull some of the tech guys in, hell I’ll even call Mystic over at Soulless Bastards in on this. If anyone can crack that fuckin’ block it’s him. We maker her dead, Remi.” The idea is solid. No one would question it. Typically, my word is all the proof people need because once I’m hired that person is never heard from again. I let the idea sit idle for a second, thinking it over. We could send a picture of her. That could work.

  “Yeah, okay. We make her dead,” I repeat the words that Kred just said to me. Agreeing to making her look dead is going to be pretty easy. Kred slaps a hand on my shoulder and nods.

  “Go talk to your girl. I’m gonna make some calls and get the guys up and ready. We need to do this soon so t
hat when they call you back, you got that proof.” Kred turns to walk away when I call out to him.

  “Hey, Kred!” He looks at me over his shoulder.

  “Thanks for helpin’ me, brother.” A small grin crosses his face.

  “That’s what family does, son. We help each other in times of need. Get in there,” he says nodding toward the door. I nod back and pull my keys from my pocket slipping it into the lock. As soon as I turn that knob and step inside, Giselle is on me.

  “What the hell are you thinking locking us in this room?” Okay, so it’s not Giselle.

  “I needed her to be safe, Suzi.”

  “I thought we were safe here in this clubhouse thing of yours!” She snaps louder throwing her hands around wildly. I walk past her and sit on the edge of the bed while she stomps her foot and glares at me.

  “You are. I needed to get my head right, Suzi, okay? I don’t wanna hurt her either, you know.”

  “Oh, so you are saying that you might hurt her?” God does Suzi ever just shut up and listen? If my head is any indication of what Giselle feels, I don’t know how she handles it. This whiplash between the two of them is hell.

  “Sit down, Suzi,” I tell her as I lower my head into my hands. I rest my elbows on my knees and blow out a frustrated breath.

  “I will not! We want to leave.”

  “You’re not leavin’. Sit down,” I tell her once more. My head is on the verge of exploding.

  “No, Remi! We’re leaving!” She yells louder and that’s the end of my sanity. I stand quickly making it to her in seconds. Grabbing her around the waist, I lift her and just as quickly drop her on the bed before climbing on over her. I knee her legs apart so that I fit in between before I press myself against her.

  “Oh, you are going to regret that!” Suzi snaps but I can’t stop myself now. I grind against her, just needing to feel her and know that she, Giselle understands that I’m trying to do this to save her. Why can’t Suzi fucking see that too? Why does this have to be so damn hard for her? The harder I grind, the less she fights and when I lean down and kiss her neck, she moans. I let my hand slip down her left side, lifting her leg around my hip.

  “Remi,” she moans softly and I know I have Giselle back. I can tell by the way she says my name. Where Suzi spits it with venom, Giselle says it so fucking sexy.

  “I just need to be with you before we talk, Gis,” I whisper in her ear.

  “I need you too,” she says her hands wrapping around my neck and pulling me in closer. I break away from her long enough to strip us both and roll a condom on before I’m right back in position. As I slide into her, I close my eyes.

  “Look at me, Remi,” she purrs softly. I open my eyes and look down at her, so goddamn beautiful.

  “I know you’re doing everything you can for me.” Nodding my head, I don’t know what to say in response, so I say nothing. I let my body speak to her in ways that words can’t possibly. Rolling my hips, I watch her mouth fall open as I push deeper inside of her. Why does this feel so right to me? The more I thrust, the more I feel it. She’s mine. I don’t give a fuck about what she wants in life. I want her in mine. I lean down and capture her lips with my own, forcing her mouth to open for me. Groaning as she shoves her tongue into my mouth, torturing me in the most delicious fucking way, I thrust harder. Pulling my lips from hers, I lean next to her ear.

  “I’m keepin’ you, Giselle. I’m fuckin’ keepin’ you,” I growl as my release washes over me.

  18

  Giselle

  “So, I’m going to play dead? Like a rodent?” I ask with a giggle before Remi pulls me back into his arms.

  “A rodent, babe?” He chuckles.

  “Like road kill,” I giggle some more.

  “What am I gonna do with you?”

  “Fuck me?” I tease him.

  “Been doin’ that for hours. Really, we need to get ready and do this. I don’t want to waste any time when they call back,” he admits and my stomach knots a little.

  “Can I ask you something?” I say snuggling into the bed next to him and laying my head on his chest.

  “Anything.”

  “Do you like what you do?” I take a deep breath and blow it out knowing that this question was one that has been running through my head for a while now.

  “Yes and no. It pays well. I don’t mind killin’ people if that’s what you’re askin’. It sort of just comes naturally to me.”

  “Do you know why you have to kill them?”

  “Sometimes. Most times it’s just a phone call to tell me who and where I can find them. Others tell me why they want them dead.”

  “And it doesn’t bother you if you have to… you know… kill a woman?” It’s an honest question that I have been wondering about.

  “No.” I squirm a little from his answer before he starts running his hand up and down my back.

  “Does it bother you that I kill people?” Shit, he’s turning the tables on me now and I have to be honest here.

  “I thought it would. Even when I saw you do it, it didn’t really bother me. It was more Suzi than anything. She kept saying that if you could shoot someone like that that you could do it to us.”

  “Do you believe that?”

  “No,” I say quickly. Maybe a little too quickly since I’m essentially sleeping with a killer.

  “Why?”

  “Because I trust you, Remi. You make me feel safe and wanted and all the things I’ve never felt before and if you can make me feel that, there is no way you would hurt me.” Remi slides his arm from under me and rolls so that he’s now hovering over me.

  “I need to ask you somethin’, Giselle and I need you to be honest with me.” The look in his eyes just tugs at my heart. Remi is such a sweet guy but his way of life is scary. It’s hard to read him most times and one of those times is now. He reaches up and brushes my hair away from my face.

  “Lupita told me that I needed to ask you what you wanted in life. She said that maybe our wants were the same. I didn’t see it at the time. I didn’t want to maybe. I don’t know but I’m askin’ you now, Giselle. What do you want out of life? What would make you happy?” His eyes hold so many secrets but he’s slowly letting his heart shine through with his words. My chest clenches as I reach up and run my fingers down his cheek.

  “I don’t want to be locked in one place. I want to go everywhere and see everything. I want to be free. I want to have someone love me so much that they would do anything for me. I wouldn’t care where we were as long as we were together. I’ve never had a lot of love in my life after my mom died. I was always just in the way or another nuisance. I was pushed off on other so my dad didn’t have to be bothered. I don’t want that again.” My chest clenches as tears fill my eyes. Remi watches me closely before leaning down and kissing away my tears. His lips hover just above mine, his nose grazing mine.

  “I can’t promise you that I will stop killin’, because I can’t. It’s my job, my life. I never stay in one place though. I travel all over the country. Sometimes I get into shit that I have to fight my way out of. I can promise you that I’d always be with you. That I’ll always come back to you. I can give you love but it’s hard for me.” I don’t let him say anything further. I lift my head and kiss him. His soft lips move slowly over mine, taking all I have to give. When I pull back, I let my fingers glide of the scruff on his chin again.

  “I just want you, Remi. I don’t care about your job. I’m just worried that you won’t be able to handle Suzi.” Admitting that isn’t as hard as you would think. I know Suzi is a handful. She only wants what’s best for us even if she takes it too far sometimes.

  “I think me and Suzi can come to some sort of agreement. She’s not all that bad. She has some really nice tits,” he teases me, grabbing one in his hand. I laugh a laugh that I haven’t heard in so long. It’s true happiness. That’s been something that has been missing in my life for a very long time and Remi is bringing it back.

  “Remi?
”

  “Yeah, babe?”

  “I think I’m starting to love you.”

  “Only startin’ to? Thought you loved me the minute you laid eyes on me,” he teases before kissing me quickly. I laugh again at this side of Remi.

  “Yeah, all hitman with your gun and blood. I mean it though.”

  “I know you do because I can feel it too.” The smile on my face brightens as he looks down at me.

  “That doesn’t scare you?” he asks.

  “Should it?” I’m confused.

  “I just said that I love you too. A killer, a monster. I can’t leave you alone, Giselle, even if my brain said it’s a good idea to walk away. I’m fuckin’ obsessed with you.” My chest squeezes. I throw my arms around his neck and pull him into me.

  “I love you too, Remi. Now come on. We need to make me dead,” I giggle. His lips press into my neck making me shiver.

  “I can think of better ways to kill you.”

  19

  Remi

  The guys are all geared up in the backyard of the clubhouse. I’m still on edge wondering how this is going to play out. I don’t like the thought of her playing dead which is way I came back inside while they stage it.

  “You got a thing for that one, yeah?” Gisser, one of the brothers ask as he sits next to me at the bar. I take down my shot and nod my head.

  “Yeah. She’s my girl. This situation is just fucked.”

  “Heard that. I don’t know that I could look at my woman pretendin’ to be dead either. That shit just hits home,” he says with honesty. I watch him shove off the stool and head back towards the rooms as I let that sink in. It does bring shit a little too close to home. Since I’ve met Giselle, I’ve only wanted to protect her. I knock back another shot and head out back to see the final product. I should have been prepared for this. I shouldn’t be this weak when it comes to her but as soon as I step foot out the back door and see the fake scene, my heart drops. My breath catches in my throat and my feet stop working. Seeing her lying there in a fake puddle of blood sends my brain into overdrive. This could have happened. This could have been real if anyone aside from me and Logan got the fucking call. That perfectly undone girl lying there could be dead at this moment. Her light could have been snuffed out and for what? I close my eyes before I feel a hand on my shoulder.