Bruiser's Caress (Warpath MC Book 2)

by Raven Scott

  “Right . . . we’re gonna talk about this later. I don’t wanna make more trouble on my mom’s birthday. Although, I do appreciate you stopping by with a gift, Nicole. It’s very nice of you.” She sorta hiccupped in reply as Spyder shifted his attention, and I nodded as I sat back in the chair. He shot her a smirk, barely visible under his beard, and she managed a rattling breath. “I wonder if it can top my gift for once.”

  “Th-thank you for having me.” Sniffling harshly, Nicole rubbed her palms together before picking up the canvas to hold it out, face down. “I hope she likes it.”

  Spyder smiled before taking the canvas to the present table, and I tilted my head to stare at Nicole intently. Gradually, her tears stopped, and her breathing evened out as she sunk deep into the uncomfortable, hard chair. She lifted her can to her lips before realizing it was empty, and I arched a brow quizzically when she met my gaze. Her eyes flooded with turmoil, but it wasn’t violent anymore, and she groaned as she covered her face with her palm.

  “Why’d I even do this? How awful, coming to someone’s birthday I don’t even know and that happening, and my car . . . I should’ve just mailed it or something. This is what I get for wanting to see you.” I couldn’t help but smile at her grumbling, and Nicole peeked at me through slender fingers. “You were right. You come up to Provo from now on.”

  “Yeah. You wanna try to eat somethin’? Or another drink?” Indecision warred on her face, and I squeezed Nicole’s hand reassuringly. “You can’t leave in that car anyway. Chances are that dirt bike fucked your chassis up. Spyder’s gonna tow it back to his shop and fix it up for you, and I’ll drive you back home and stay with you a few days until it’s ready. Sound good?”

  “If you’ve got something stronger . . .” Nicole wagged her empty can, distaste washing her expression. “I don’t like sweet stuff.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  Nicole

  “Thank you.” Taking the crisp beer Bruiser offered me. I offered a shaky smile as he sat next to me again. The backyard was large, but there were no children anywhere, and the cold from the bottle slithered up my arms. Taking a swig, I closed my eyes to savor the tingling sensation at the back of my throat.

  Bruiser fighting flashed behind my eyes, and my heart ached as my ribs crowded around it. He’d obviously been in scraps a lot, and I licked my lips heavily before opening my eyes to glance at his hands. Noticing me staring, he held out his free palm to flex his fingers as an almost resigned sigh escaped him.

  “They come every year and make a ruckus. This is the first time anyone’s gotten hurt badly from it, though. Saint George Hellraisers . . . they really live up the to the name, and not in a good way.” Disgust thickened in his tone, and I sunk into my chair as Bruiser clenched his hand into a fist. “Spyder’s gonna fix up your car like it never happened.”

  “The cops really aren’t gonna get involved?” Bruiser shook his head mutely at my probing, and relief slumped my shoulders as I raked my hand through my hair. “Okay . . . you didn’t have to go after them like that.”

  “They fucked with you. I don’t appreciate people that fuck with my stuff.” Grumbling huskily, Bruiser’s eyes blazed with fury as he stared into his beer bottle, turning it over and over in his palm. “Things have been getting hotter with them, anyway, but involving people like you is . . . there’s no reason for it. They terrorize everyone in this neighborhood, and yeah, that means they can do whatever they want, but . . .”

  “But the flipside is no one’s gonna help them . . . like the police? Why didn’t they call an ambulance for that guy?” My throat tightened just mentioning that man I’d run over ‘accidentally’. Bruiser nodded firmly. “He’s gonna be okay, right?”

  “Depends. He landed under that dirt bike and then made the stupid decision to try to pull himself out. Everyone knows you shouldn’t do that. If he’s not alright, it’s his own damned fault.” Bruiser bristled as he took a deep swig of his beer, and I arched a brow in dark curiosity when he scratched his jaw and neck roughly. “It’s like when you get stabbed. You’re not supposed to pull the knife out because you’ll bleed out. The way I saw it, I wouldn’t be surprised if the guy’s arteries were shredded, but who really knows? For that matter, who gives a fuck? Not me. You shouldn’t, either. They’ll blame us, not you. The good thing about having an archenemy is no other enemies exist, and everything bad that happens to you can be placed somehow on our shoulders.”

  “It’s a good thing you got really broad, strong shoulders, I guess.” He snorted lightly, the dense atmosphere breaking up as I smiled dully. I inhaled a deep, cleansing breath and held it. I sighed leisurely as my ribs finally unfurled from around my lungs. “Does stuff like this happen a lot?”

  Stupid my question seemed, I had to ask, and Bruiser frowned under tightly knit brows as he mulled over his answer. Gradually, he shook his head, but I could tell his life wasn’t so simple that things like this didn’t happen at all. He drained his beer, setting it on the ground under his chair to lean back and spread his legs.

  “I don’t blame you for walking away, Nicole . . . if that’s what you want to do. I won’t stop you. But I would appreciate it if you told me to my face.” My lips parted in surprise, but Bruiser stood up before I could make a sound to saunter over to Spyder’s mom. My cheek twitched at the tightness in his back, clearly visible beyond his cut, and I squeezed my beer bottle between my palms.

  Should I walk away? If Bruiser came to Provo, it’d solve the problem. That’s what he suggested in the first place! But no-o. I wanted to meet him on his turf, where he was most comfortable. I thought, maybe, I’d see another side of him, and boy did I. Regret clawed at the back of my throat, but this was a good thing, right? Now, I knew about his ‘salacious’ business or the tip of the iceberg, at least.

  “Hey.” Blinking hard, I glanced up at a gorgeous brunette, and she smiled blindingly bright as she took up the chair Bruiser had abandoned. “You okay?”

  “Um, depends on your definition. Thank you for earlier.” Her smile was infectious, and she held out a well-manicured hand for a shake. “Oh, I’m Nicole.”

  “Hailey. I gotta say, you got the worst luck. What’s the craziest thing to ever happen to you on a delivery?” Surprise rose my brows, and my mouth dried as Hailey stared at me with big, expectant eyes. She leaned in, lips thinning in concentration, and I licked my own nervously as I sat back. “I bet you have some crazy stories about people answering the door in their underpants and stuff?”

  “Erm . . . no . . . I don’t do a lot of deliveries myself. I usually ship it, but I . . . I don’t really know if I lucked out or not today with everything lining up the way it did.” Faltering slightly, I gulped down the dense lump in my throat as memories battered my eyes. I could barely wrap my head around what had happened, my poor car. My gaze slid to Spyder, and I gnawed on my inner cheek absently; was he even qualified to work on my car? “Is Spyder a mechanic?”

  “He can fix your car, no problem. He’s not a mechanic, but he owns a junkyard and, well, you know what they say. You have to know your enemy to defeat it.” Swinging to Hailey, my eyes widened when she threw back her head and laughed at her own joke. “He hates cars. Always has, since we were kids. Good thing about that, though, is that in order to best destroy them, he’s gotta know how they work. That’s what he says, anyway. I think he secretly likes being called and asked to work on a car. He practically built his girlfriend’s car with his own hands, and if he doesn’t know how to do something, he asks someone that does know.”

  Relief slumped my shoulders as fondness shone in Hailey’s tone, and she sat back to grab my hand and just hold it. Electricity slithered up my arm, but I didn’t pull back. She seemed like the kind of person that just loved life and everyone and everything in it, and even the incident earlier couldn’t shake her brightness. And God knows I need a little light right now.

  “What about you, Nicole? How’d you and Bruiser meet?” I opened my mouth only to be cut off by a
shrill ping, and I released Hailey’s palm to snatch my phone from my lap. Jackie’s face flashed on the screen, and I stood up to walk toward the house and away from everyone. My gut tightened as I swiped the green button upward, and I almost winced before even touching my phone to my ear.

  “Before you start yelling at me, I just need you to not, Jackie. Can you come pick me up?” Circumventing my sister, stunned silence rang on my line at my wobbly tone, and I glanced over my shoulder nervously. “Please. I had . . . I got into an accident and my car—”

  “I’m on my way. Where are you? Are you okay? Do you need a hospital? Sam! Sam, get your ass in the car!” Flinching at Jackie’s piercing shriek, I sniffled a little under her flurry of questions, and keys jangled over the line. “What happened? Are you okay? Is it your fault? Did you not look left, right, left again?”

  “Um, no. Some crazy people shattered my back window and knocked off my mirror while I was on a delivery. I don’t know. I know I’ve b—”

  “Who cares about that! Text me the address. I’m on my way! I’ll kick some people’s asses! I’ll—” I jumped when rough fingertips touched my shoulders, and I twisted before exhaling a shaky breath. Jackie just continued shouting angrily through the phone, and Bruiser leaned against the house to cross his arms over his chest. Staring at me levelly, his jaw ticked, and the tattoos up his arms writhed. My sister’s anxious babbling droned into static, and I tightened my grip on my phone when he reached to grab my arm and pull me to him.

  He was warm, his muscles firm as he wrapped me in security, and I closed my eyes to savor Bruiser’s embrace. Burying a big hand in my hair, he scratched my scalp tenderly, and my knees weakened.

  The silence was thick, clinging to the roof of my mouth as the thin space between my brain and skull flooded with Bruiser’s musky smell. The faint tickle of leather curled my nose hairs as I buried my face in his hard chest. Cupping the back of my head, he shuffled to lean against the siding flat, and colorful spots dotted the edges of my vision.

  Bruiser massaged my scalp and tugged on my hair almost lovingly as if he was trying to relish this sensation. As if he wouldn’t have the opportunity again. Goosebumps swept up my arm and across my chest, and I shivered against him in bliss.

  “You’re so sweet, baby.” Tears pricked my eyes at Bruiser’s mumble against my crown, and his chest rumbled in a deep, comforting hum. Gripping his cut with trembling, white-knuckle fists, I couldn’t beat back the sting beating against my eye sockets or the fiery lump in my throat.

  Chapter Twenty

  Bruiser

  Flexing my hands by my sides, I fought a scowl as Nicole’s sister’s fierce, red car pulled off and disappeared beyond a stop sign. Jackie was probably on par with Hailey with how irritating she was, but at least I didn’t have to deal with her curb-stomping my ass. That bitch automatically assumed that I’d done something wrong, and maybe, I had

  Maybe, I should’ve never asked Nicole to meet me at the bank in Provo. Maybe, I could’ve been a bit more forceful about keeping her out of Saint George. Nicole was a soft soul, and here I was, knowingly tainting it.

  Grasping at my shirt where her tears glued the fabric to my skin, I rasped a sigh and shook my head viciously. “She got me bad.”

  “I’d say.” Turning as Cole scuffed his heel against the driveway, I rubbed the back of my head with my free hand awkwardly. “That was nice of her. Too bad she won’t be here for Mam’s reaction.”

  It took Jackie forty-five minutes to get here from Provo, which was as impressive as it was telling of her character. I nodded, and Cole caught my gaze as his own flared with interest. Arching a brow, he stuffed his hands in his pockets as my own smoothed my shirt and cut.

  “What, Cole?” Irritation sharpened my tone, and he rocked back on his heels to shrug carelessly. His reaction only served to frustrate me, and my lip curled in a snarl. “I don’t need you starin’ at me like I’m a dumbass. I know I am.”

  “You’re gonna do exactly what Spyder did and let her get away?” Shaking my head mutely at the jibe, I started toward the side of the house, and Cole fell into step next to me. I could almost smell his interest seeping from his pores, and it was bitter. “Spyder told me to let you know he’s gonna try to convince his parents to move to Margot. What’re you gonna do about your ol’ lady?”

  “I’ll give it a week. She’s that kinda person. If I hound her, she’ll get overwhelmed and hide.” With that, I forced thoughts of Nicole to the back of my mind, and Cole grunted in acknowledgment as we rounded the side of Spyder’s mother’s house. “I’m guessing Mam ain’t gonna be that easily convinced, huh?”

  “I don’t know. Hellraisers went too far this time. It’s one thing to be dicks. It’s another to try to get someone killed.” I glanced over my shoulder at the road. The guy Nicole had run over was gone, but his blood and skid marks still remained. The street disappeared, and I blustered a sigh as I tried to figure out how the fuck this all happened. “What do you think prompted them to do that? Nicole was literally a delivery person, and they could’ve seriously hurt her, Bruiser.”

  “I didn’t see that troll Mathew out there today. I wonder if he knew about it. . . or knows how bad it got.” My comment earned me a frosty silence, and I frowned as shadows played on Cole’s face. “You need to redirect that anger at someone that deserves it, Cole. I know he knocked up your sister, but the one good thing about the guy is, he decisively doesn’t care about Camden and doesn’t play par for the course. He’s a total piece of shit in every other way, but at least he’s not using a kid as a weapon.”

  “I know. I believed him when he told me it was a one-night stand. He wouldn’t lie with a gun to his temple. It’s just . . .” Trailing off roughly, Cole exhaled a sharp breath and shook his head roughly as we entered the backyard. Spyder’s mother was gobbling down cake, and I stuffed my hands into my pockets as I scanned the noticeably muted party. “Forget that. The problem right now is that Hellraisers started shit, and we’re gonna have to finish it. Spyder wants me to take the kid to Vegas. How was he last weekend?”

  “I think he’s better. He’s just toughin’ it out. It’s gonna take time to get over what happened to him. If you take him to Mick and Mack, don’t bet on him, though. He’s scrappy but really can’t hold himself in a fight.” My gaze landed on Rook, lookin’ mighty uncomfortable as he tossed a bean bag between his palms and squatted against the house. He kept away, and I knew he wanted to wallow, but he was gonna have to grow up. Fast. “Make it a point when you’re down there to beat him down if you gotta.”

  “Yeah, I will. What about you?” I inhaled a deep, calming breath and held it as I contemplated that question. What about me? What was I gonna do next? Really, Spyder’s the one with the heat on him right now. That’s what he gets for being the Prez. Decision-making wasn’t really my forte, anyway. Shrugging lightly as Cole and I reached the cake, I picked up a small paper plate and grabbed a fork to glance over at my best friend.

  “I’m gonna do whatever I have to. You know what happens when you kill someone, Cole?” My question caught him off guard, and I arched a brow when Cole paused, his hand on the edge of the plate. Slowly shaking his head, his eyes flashed when they met mine. “They shit themselves. There’s no sound. There’s no feeling. There’s just the taste of shit, piss and blood stuck to the roof of your mouth and a hole in your chest. Killing chickens and people is basically the same.”

  “What happened?” I shook my head, reaching to clap Cole on the shoulder before walking toward my little cousin. Rook scowled at me, but it seemed less mean, for lack of a better word. Hiking himself up to his feet, he dropped the sack to take the piece of vanilla cake from me.

  “Thanks.” Gruff and abrupt, Rook’s gaze flickered to mine briefly, and I leaned against the house to watch him. “What?”

  “We haven’t talked about that shit.” His eyes darkened, and Rook grunted lowly as I crouched to clasp my hands between my knees. “What happened in Canada, Rook? Y
ou gave an overview, but what happened between you and your ex?”

  Maybe, he expected me to dig into him; the scowl I expected wasn’t twisting his face when I rested my head back against the siding. Spyder’s mother’s birthday was turning out to be the shittiest one yet. The atmosphere was muted, and now that Nicole wasn’t here, no one tried to pick up the mood. Even Hailey was keeping her mouth shut for once and not trying to force things along.

  I shook my head and inhaled a sharp breath, clearing my thoughts as I turned to Rook expectantly. He swallowed his thick mouthful heavily, a noise of disgust bursting from his lips as he slumped against the house.

  “She looked at me with . . . like she hated me.” He clutched his chest over his t-shirt, a pained expression twisting Rook’s features as he sucked in a sharp breath through his teeth. “Like I was a dog she got tired of needing to give attention to. Like she stepped in a piece of shit and had only just realized it a kilometer later. I took her out to a place she loved and said I wanted to move in together, and she looked at me like she couldn’t believe it . . . and then she laughed at me.”

  My heart ached for Rook as his voice roughened, and he sniffled hard as his emotions threatened to crack him like an egg. His shoulders curled, and he rubbed his face with his hand before threading his hand through his hair. Curling up into a ball, he fell quiet as he carefully gathered himself, and I didn’t do him the disservice of looking away.

  “I tried. I tried to make my case, but she never was gonna hear me out. She said her father would never allow it, that she’s not ready to take that leap. If that was all . . . I could’a accepted it. But then, she said the joke had gone too far. I don’t think I was supposed to hear that part. Suddenly, all those secret feelings she had come pouring out, and I—” His voice wobbled noticeably, and Rook bit his lips hard as he took a stabilizing breath. “When I told her just put feelers out, that maybe her dad would be open to it, I think that’s when she realized things went too far.”