1001 Dark Nights: Bundle Fourteen

by Kristen Ashley

  “Let me cook the noodles first,” I told her. “Then you can stir in the cheese packet.”

  Callie pouted, but she stepped to the side, giving me room to work. Hannah was back among the living, although she still looked like shit. She’d been getting these headaches her whole life, but I knew damned well that stress made them worse, and she’d had more than her fair share of that lately.

  Worrying about me and my disappearing act last night probably hadn’t helped.

  At least the girls had been okay. I was still a little freaked out about what’d happened, especially Shade’s “touched what was mine” comment about Rebel. The more I thought about it, the less comfortable I felt about the situation. Hopefully I wouldn’t see the big Reaper tonight—I wanted to process and figure out my next step.

  I should also get my ass in gear and get ready for work.

  I’d need extra time to walk down because I’d left my bicycle there the night before. I’d also have to apologize to Bone for leaving him high and dry at work. Hopefully he wouldn’t fire me before I found something else, which could take a while. Violetta wasn’t exactly crawling with job opportunities. In the long run, I wanted to avoid bikers, but in the short term we needed the money.

  I dumped the macaroni in the strainer, tossed it to get the water out and then poured it back in the pan. Callie dragged over a chair and climbed up to stir as I added the milk, the cheese packet and a glob of butter. Macaroni and cheese might not be the healthiest, but it tasted good and the kids loved it.

  Hell, I loved it too.

  Dishing up five bowls, I had Callie carry them to the table while I cut up a couple of apples for us to share. Then I joined Hannah and the girls at the table.

  “It’s gonna take a lot of makeup to cover that,” Hannah said, nodding toward my face. I’d told her everything that’d happened already—we never kept secrets from each other.

  “I know,” I told her. “But it’s not like I can stop working until it heals up. The bills won’t pay themselves.”

  Hannah sighed. “They aren’t your bills. You don’t have to do this, you know. I hate feeling like I’m dragging you down with me.”

  I set down my spoon to look at my sister and her children. The twins were babbling at each other in the special little language that only they could understand, and Callie was very carefully sliding individual macaronis onto each of her fork tines.

  Sometimes I loved them so much it hurt.

  “We’re a family. You and me, Hannah. We have to stick together because at the end of the day, we’re the only ones we can count on.”

  They were Mom’s words, repeated to us a thousand times during our childhood. Hannah smiled at me, then reached across the table to catch my hand, giving it a squeeze. It was true. She’d always been there for me. I’d stay here with her and the girls as long as they needed me.

  We’d finished eating and I was dabbing my thickest concealer on my bruised face when I heard the sound of a motorcycle coming down the street. Make that motorcycles. They sounded like they were getting closer, too. You’re just being paranoid, I told myself. Finish getting ready for work.

  Then Hannah said, “Oh, shit” loudly from the living room. My hand stilled because Hannah didn’t cuss in front of the kids. Ever. Outside the roar grew, coming to a stop in front of our house. I left the bathroom to join her at the window.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked, even though I had a pretty good idea. Sure enough, there were at least six bikers in the graveled street, all wearing the same matching colors. Reapers. Shade and his brothers were back.

  Hannah and I shared a look.

  “Girls, go play in your bedroom,” she said quickly.

  “Why?” Callie asked, holding a Barbie in one hand and a brush in the other. The twins stilled in the corner, where they’d been building with blocks.

  Get them out of here! I mouthed at my sister. Hannah walked over to the freezer and pulled out a container of vanilla ice cream. Grabbing three spoons, she handed them to the children, then held the carton out to Callie.

  “You can eat as much as you like so long as you stay in your bedroom,” she said firmly. The little girl snatched the container out of her hand and disappeared before her mother could change her mind, the twins right behind her. Hannah turned back to me, all business. “Should I call the cops?”

  “No,” I said quickly. “I don’t know why they’re here, but I don’t think we need to be afraid of them.”

  Probably.

  “What do you want me to do?” Hannah asked.

  “I’ll go out and talk to them,” I said, running a hand through my hair nervously. “You wait inside and make sure the girls stay out of it. And remember—the Reapers aren’t the ones who threw me into the truck. They might be scary but they didn’t actually do anything to hurt me.”

  “If I ever see Rebel again, I’m shooting him. For the record.”

  I snorted. “If Rebel’s smart, he’s headed for the hills. And knowing your luck, you’d shoot yourself in the foot if you had a gun.”

  “That’s why I don’t have one,” Hannah admitted, peeking through the window again. “He’s off his bike and headed for the door. Go see what he wants. I’ll watch from in here and call the cops if they pull anything. Sound like a good plan?”

  “Not really. You know I hate cops.”

  “Okay, then. I’ll call your fairy godmother and ask her to rescue you.”

  I rolled my eyes, flipping her off as I stepped out the door.

  Chapter Eight

  I stepped out onto the old wooden porch, shutting the door behind me. Shade was almost across the lawn, although his fellow bikers were staying put. I guessed that was one small mercy.

  “Why are you here?” I asked bluntly.

  “Figured you’d need a ride to work,” he replied. “Seeing as you had to leave your car at the bar last night.”

  “I don’t actually have a car,” I admitted. “I usually ride my bike to work.”

  Shade raised a brow. “You ride? I only ever saw you with Rebel. Don’t tell me you gave up—”

  “No!” I said, rolling my eyes. “Not a motorcycle. A bicycle. You know, the kind with pedals? That’s how I get to work.”

  Shade’s face turned serious. “You ride a bicycle home at two in the morning from the Pit?”

  “Only on the busiest weekends,” I said, shrugging. “We’re usually closed by ten or eleven during the week. And what do you think’s going to happen in Violetta anyway? Worst case, I get attacked by a deer.”

  He opened his mouth for a second, then closed it again, staring at me like I was some kind of exotic beast in a zoo. I frowned.

  “I had a car,” I told him. “But it was a piece of shit and I needed cash to move here, so I sold it. I’ll get a new one at some point. Right now I’m focused on helping my sister, and it’s only a couple miles to the Pit. No big deal.”

  “This isn’t some city with bus lines and taxis,” he said. “You can’t just not have a car.”

  “And yet I don’t,” I said lightly. “So far, the car fairies haven’t delivered one. Maybe they will tomorrow, but for today I’ll go ahead and ride my bike.”

  Shade gave a low growl, which I decided to ignore.

  “You told me your sister has kids—what does she do when they need to see the doctor?”

  I looked away because it was a problem I’d been more than a little worried about. We needed to get the van up and running again, and soon. But we also needed to pay the power bill and buy food.

  “There’s always the ambulance,” I said, smiling weakly. Shade shook his head slowly. “Her ex’s parents have a car. I suppose we could borrow that if we really needed to.”

  “You gotta get this worked out, babe,” he told me, his voice serious. “Violetta’s a great little town, but there’s not enough here for you to live without a vehicle.”

  No shit.

  “Gee, thanks for pointing that out,” I snapped, feeling defensive
. “I guess I didn’t understand until now that we were in a tough situation.”

  “Mandy, I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to—”

  “No,” I said, holding up a hand. “You don’t get to come in here and judge us. Hannah’s doing everything she can to give her kids a good life. She stayed in Violetta because her ex is a bastard but his parents aren’t. They own the trailer and they let us live here for free, which is huge. Not only that, they’re the girls’ grandparents and they adore them. We move away from here, we move away from the only family they’ve got, and as someone who doesn’t have much family myself, I know what a big deal that is. We’ll get the car fixed and we’ll get things figured out, but the last thing I want is some man in here trying to tell me what to do. Men cause problems—they don’t solve them.”

  I took a deep breath, crossing my arms defiantly, waiting for him to argue.

  “Okay,” Shade said, nodding slowly.

  “All right,” I replied, feeling off balance. “I’m going back inside to get ready for work.”

  “Great, you can introduce me to your sister.”

  “What part of ‘go away’ are you not getting?” I asked, genuinely confused. “Have I done anything to encourage you? I don’t want a man. I’ve had men and they cause nothing but trouble. The last one I had tried to trade me for a motorcycle, remember? The one before that got me—never mind. Let’s just say he made Rebel look good.”

  “Glad to know the bar is set low,” he said. “Makes it easier for me. You got a ride to work tonight?”

  “No.”

  “So you’re going to walk.”

  “Yes.”

  “Wouldn’t it be less work to catch a ride, seeing as I’m right here and it’s because of me that you don’t have your bicycle? Not that I’m accepting blame—that’s on Rebel—but it’s not your fault you got caught up in any of this. Your situation is tough—you admit that. Why turn down someone offering you help just because he happens to have a dick?”

  I opened my mouth to argue, then closed it because what he’d said made sense. Not only that, a ride would be nice.

  “You promise you don’t have any ulterior motives here?” I asked, and Shade laughed, shaking his head.

  “Baby, you know damned well I have ulterior motives. I want to fuck you—think I’ve been clear on that point. But the fact is, you need a ride, I’m right here and either way the evening’s gonna end the same. You’ll spend the night serving drinks, I’ll order a few, at some point I’ll probably drag you into the back room and make out with you for a while, and then I’ll leave you the tip you should’ve gotten last night.”

  My face flushed. What he said should’ve pissed me off, but I kept thinking about how it’d felt to wake up wrapped in his arms. Guys are bad, I reminded myself. Didn’t you learn anything from Rebel? McBride women can’t afford to let men into their lives, not even for fun.

  Still, the bar was nearly three miles away and I’d be on my feet all night… Shade wrapped his hands around my waist, pulling my hips toward his. A thin tendril of traitorous desire twisted through me, spiraling up my spine and warming my stomach.

  “Ask yourself this, Mandy. Last night I could’ve done anything I wanted to you. I’m the fucking president of the Reapers and we were on my territory. By the rules of the club I had every right to take you, and what did I do? I slept next to you like a fucking monk. You really think I’m gonna pull over on the side of the road and rip all your clothes off between here and the Pit? I’m not Rebel. I don’t fuck around and I don’t play games.”

  The words were blunt, matter of fact and they also happened to be true. Last night had been the recipe for rape, but it hadn’t happened. Yeah, but he still accepted you in trade for a bike, Wonder Woman prodded.

  Only part of a bike, and he thought I was okay with it, I reminded her.

  “A ride to work would be nice,” I said slowly. Shade’s eyes flared with triumph, and his hands tightened on my hips. Then one slid up my back to my head, cradling it as his mouth slanted down over mine. His tongue slipped between my lips, invading so fast my head spun. It was a surprise attack—that was my only excuse for giving in so easily. I felt his other hand catch my ass, squeezing and pulling it into his body in a way that left no doubt that he was happy to see me.

  Felt good. Way too good.

  The blip of a police siren filled the air and we froze. Then Shade lifted his head, releasing me from his tight embrace while still keeping one arm firmly around my shoulders. Across the road, a county sheriff’s car had pulled to a stop. The door opened to reveal a tall, lean man in a deputy’s uniform who took in the scene, eyes flickering to my face.

  I felt myself tense, the same way I did every time I saw a cop, and my heart sped up.

  “You must be Mandy McBride,” he said, surprising me.

  “Um, yeah. I’m Mandy,” I answered, wondering how he knew my name. Shade’s arm tightened around my shoulder and the deputy’s eyes narrowed.

  “I’m Heath Andrews. I know your sister, Hannah. You look a lot like her. She works for my folks at the grocery store.” His eyes flickered toward Shade. “Don’t usually see the Reapers down here on the flat. Thought I’d stop by and make sure everything’s okay.”

  Shit. Hannah must’ve called him. Probably panicked when Shade started kissing me…except there hadn’t been enough time for that, had there?

  Shade’s club brothers had gone from being relaxed to something else. Alert. Focused. There was a tension in the air, and I knew in that instant that whatever rumors I might’ve heard about the local law enforcement being in bed with the Reapers, Heath Andrews wasn’t part of it.

  Interesting.

  One of the bikers cracked his knuckles as Andrews took a step forward. The man was outnumbered, I realized. Outnumbered by a lot, but it didn’t seem to faze him. He walked right up to me and Shade, eyes taking in the situation in a way that left me with no doubt that he saw everything.

  “I’d like to speak with you and your sister inside, Ms. McBride,” he said, the words casual but the tone firm. Shade’s fingers tightened on my shoulder and I had a sudden, horrible realization.

  Of course there hadn’t been enough time for Hannah to call Andrews. Either this was a total coincidence, or he’d been planning to come here all along. Holy shit, they really did kill Rebel and now he’s come to question me!

  I felt my body start to tremble, a rush of fear and adrenaline filling me. I remembered the cops pulling up next to me in Missoula. I hadn’t even been smart enough to realize I was in trouble. Nope, I’d been too busy Facebooking on my phone, for God’s sake.

  I’d waved hello to them.

  Then I’d spent three nights in the county jail before a friend managed to bail me out, and I was still on probation. Sure, it was unsupervised probation—the prosecutor had thrown me a bone, seeing as I’d been clueless about the whole thing—but my record wasn’t exactly clean.

  Shit shit shit!

  “I have to get ready for work,” I told Andrews, the words coming out in a rush. “I have a shift down at the Pit and I can’t be late. Can we talk another time?”

  His eyes narrowed and a new tension filled the air.

  “Ms. McBride, this won’t take very long, but it’s important that we talk. Would you mind stepping into the trailer?”

  “You got a warrant?” Shade asked, his voice deceptively casual. Andrews shook his head slowly. Shade let me go, taking a step forward. “No warrant, no probable cause. Sounds to me like you got no reason to be here at all.”

  “Heath?”

  My sister’s voice was strained. I spun around to find her standing on the porch, halfway through the door.

  “Ms. McBride,” the deputy said, nodding his head to her. “I’d like to speak to you and your sister, if you don’t mind.”

  “Of course—come right in,” she said, flustered. I stepped away from Shade and moved toward my sister. I wasn’t sure what was going on here, but I did know one thing.
No way in hell I’d leave her alone with that cop if he’d come here because of me. This was my mess to clean up. Not hers.

  Andrews started toward the steps, somehow never quite turning his back on the bikers. He didn’t seem afraid or uncomfortable in the slightest, despite the fact that he was totally outnumbered.

  “Would you be willing to join us?” he asked me again, polite but pointed.

  “I’ll come with you,” Shade said.

  “I need to speak with Ms. McBride alone,” Andrews replied, and while his tone remained even, there was something in his voice that made it clear this wasn’t a negotiation. Shade stiffened. We were about to have a badass showdown if I didn’t do something.

  “I’m happy to talk to you,” I said, ducking out from under Shade’s arm. He glanced down at me and I widened my eyes, willing him to go along with it. He didn’t like the idea, but thankfully he decided not to force the issue in front of the deputy.

  Heath waved me into the trailer, following me inside. Hannah closed the door behind us.

  “Can I get you anything to drink?” she asked him, looking nervous. Not nervous in a I-did-something-wrong-and-the-cops-are-here kind of way. I knew all about that from my time with Trevor. No, this was cute-boy-is-talking-to-me-in-the-cafeteria-at-school nervous.

  Oh. My. God.

  Was my sister into the sheriff’s deputy?

  Andrews smiled. “Nothing to drink. I appreciate the offer, but I just wanted to be sure you ladies were all right. I don’t usually see the Reapers around here. Figured I should check up on you.”

  “That’s very nice,” Hannah replied awkwardly, and any doubts I might’ve had disappeared. She liked him. How did I not know this already? I’d told her everything about Rebel, and the whole story about Shade, too. We always spilled—always. How had this gotten by me?

  Except she knew how uncomfortable I felt around cops. She’d probably been scared to talk to me. Andrews turned to look in my direction.

  “You’ve got some bruising on your face,” he said quietly. “Do you feel safe with those men outside?”