by Jenika Snow
“Lately? What the fuck are you talking about? We just picked her up last night.” Malice knew he sounded defensive as hell.
Rock braced his arms on his thighs and stared at Malice. Rock lifted his hands in surrender. “Hey, not trying to bust your balls, man.”
Malice didn’t want to talk about it, because he was already feeling testy as it was because of Adrianna. “There is no word on her. I’m going to take her to the bank to get her money, and she’ll be on her way.” There was this awkward moment of silence, and he shook his head and shoved his hands in his pockets. “If you two have something to say, spit it the fuck out.” He knew they had more on their mind by the way they looked at him, and then at each other.
“Nothing,” Ruin said. “No, that’s a damn lie.” Ruin chuckled, but it was this deep sound that didn’t hold any amusement. “I mean, you got pretty fucking territorial when Marx suggested she give it up to a john.”
The sound that came from Malice had Ruin and Rock both knitting their brows. “I wasn’t acting like anything. I was just pissed because it was suggested she do that shit after what had happened to her.”
Rock nodded. “Yeah, that wouldn’t have been my suggestion, but this is Marx’s place, and we also need to remember that, Malice.”
“Yeah, I didn’t forget, but that doesn’t mean I’m not going to stand up for a woman that was clearly hurt,” Malice gritted out.
“Whoa, man, there is no need for this testy shit.” Ruin held up a hand, and all amusement fled his expression.
“Besides, we both know Marx wouldn’t have followed through with actually asking her if she wanted to sell her body. He may have a sick and fucked-up sense of humor, but he wouldn’t further hurt a woman. He takes care of his girls just as well as we take care of ours,” Rock said. “I mean he asked us to take them back to River Run so they will be safe.”
Malice knew as much, but that wouldn’t have changed how he acted anyway. The need to say something when that had been brought up had been fierce and strong, and if he had it to do over all over again he would have done it the exact same way. “The conversation regarding Adrianna is over.”
Rock cocked a brow and lifted his hands in surrender. “Consider it ended.”
They all stood there for a few moments, and although there was this heavy silence among them, it was all on Malice’s end. The door beside him opened, and he looked over to see Adrianna walking out. The only thing that looked different about her was that she had put her long dark hair in a ponytail. His fingers itched as if they had a mind of their own to push away the stray piece of her bangs that blew across her forehead. She stopped, not seeing him right away, and the scent of her filled his nose. It was that same light floral aroma that had his pulse increasing, his cock hardening, and a slew of filthy fucking things slamming into his head.
“Ready?” she asked in a low voice.
Malice nodded and pushed off the wall. His t-shirt was untucked, so at least he had that going for him to hide his semi-hard cock. “Yeah, come on.” He walked over to Ruin. “Let me have the van keys. I don’t want her riding on the back of my bike injured like she is.”
Ruin grabbed the keys out of his front pocket and handed them over.
Malice turned and gestured for Adrianna to follow him. They walked to the van, and he opened the door for her. He didn’t miss the wince that covered her face, and so he wrapped his hands around her waist and gently lifted her into the seat.
“Thank you.” The way she looked at him sideways, the lower half of her face partially shielded by her shoulder, made her look innocent and alluring all in the same breath.
He didn’t respond, but nodded and shut the door. Making his way around the front of the van he climbed in, started the engine, and told him that leaving her like she wanted was the best thing to do … wasn’t it?
Chapter Seven
They sat in silence as Malice drove them back into the square of town. Adrianna didn’t bother trying to strike up a conversation, because her mind was focused on what her next step would be once Malice was gone and she was alone. She did think about his offer for a job, but how smart was it to go with a man she knew nothing about, was in a motorcycle club, and had told her that he would be delivering some kind of retribution to Phillip, if she hadn’t already killed him? She was a wreck mentally, was emotionally unstable, and didn’t think just leaving with him would solve any of the problems she currently had. But it wasn’t just that. She had a lot of shit that he surely didn’t need dropped in his lap. She already had enough worries and drama in her life, and getting involved in something else, even if he had been nothing but kind to her, was probably not a step in the right direction.
They finally got into town fifteen minutes later, and Malice pulled the van to a stop at the curb in front of the bank. For a moment she didn’t know what to say. Did she tell him goodbye? It seemed so ungrateful to just leave this way, but it wasn’t like she had a relationship with him or his club. She had known him less than twenty-four hours. Surely he had a life to get back to, maybe even had a wife or girlfriend and children? Turning so she was partially facing him, she licked her lips and saw the way he had a tight hold on the steering wheel. “Thank you so much for the ride, and for everything else.” Looking away from him and out the passenger side window she saw a few people walk into the bank. “Please tell everyone else I said thank you, and if not for you and them I would probably be dead right now.” She heard him grind his teeth and glanced at him again. “I tried finding the other guys to tell them thank you as well, but the inside of the club was deserted.”
He was watching her, but still had that white knuckle grip on the steering wheel. “No problem. I’ll let them know.” He smiled, but it looked a little forced. “You sure this is what you want?”
She nodded. “I don’t know if it is what I want, but it seems like the smartest thing to do right now.”
He nodded. “You take care of yourself.” He shifted so he could grab something out of the inside of his leather vest. It looked like a small piece of paper. He grabbed a pen from the center console and wrote something down on it before handing it over.
Adrianna held the small slip of paper in her hand and looked down at the phone number written in a masculine scrawl on it. “Your phone number.” She didn’t state it like a question. He would never know how much those ten digits would mean to her.
“You need anything at all just call.” He nodded once more and faced the front once more.
“Thank you again.” She reached out and placed her hand on his bare forearm, felt the hard muscles clench under her touch, and felt the tendrils of desire fill her. She quickly took her hand back because her desires were unwarranted and totally inappropriate given the situation. She grabbed the door handle, about to leave all of this behind her, when a sight from across the street had her stilling. Coming out of the convenience store was Phillip. He had a stark white bandage wrapped around the side of his neck, but other than that he seemed fine. Had she totally thought she hurt him far worse than she actually had? She must have, because compared to her he looked in fit condition. Her hand not holding onto the door shook slightly, but it wasn’t because she was afraid of Phillip, not really. Her nerves were already shot, and seeing him walking around and laughing with the woman he was with was kind of a relief. She had worried she had killed him, and despite all the things he had done to her, and how she had fought to stay alive, having someone’s death on her hands was still a heavy burden.
It seemed like the world might have stopped and gone in slow motion for as long as she stared at Phillip and the half-dressed woman he was with. But then everything came rushing back when strong fingers pressed into her jaw and she was forced to look at Malice. He wore this very concerned expression on his face. She saw his mouth moving, but there was this buzzing in her ears and she couldn’t hear anything aside from that. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Phillip start to walk toward them. Although he was across the street and
wouldn’t be able to tell that she was in the passenger’s side, or at least she hoped not, this fear that he would still be able to sense her like he was some kind of rabid animal filled her.
“Adrianna? Christ, what in the hell is the matter?”
Malice’s deep voice finally came through the buzzing in her head, and she blinked rapidly. Not telling him that Phillip was right across the street was at the forefront of her mind, but she knew that was foolish. Malice deserved to know why she was acting like a freak. But when she looked over at the prick that was acting like she hadn’t affected him in the horrifying way he had changed her, the tears from her anger burned hot in the corner of her eyes. She glanced at Malice again to answer, but she saw that his focus was on Phillip. He obviously wouldn’t know who he was just by looking, but she could see how clenched his jaw was, heard the sound of his rapid, harsh breathing, and saw that he kept clenching and unclenching his hand. He knew. “Malice?” She said his name softly, and after a few seconds he finally turned her way.
“That’s him,” he said between clenched teeth, but she didn’t need to nod or verbally tell him that it was Phillip because she could see in his grey eyes that the knowledge was already there.
Adrianna didn’t know what she expected him to do, but reaching into his cut and getting his phone out wasn’t one of them. He dialed a number and put the phone to his ear. After a moment he told someone to meet them at the bank. She looked over at Phillip again and saw him going into the one and only bar in Fairview. It was barely nine in the morning, but he had always been thirsty no matter the time of day.
“Stay in the van, Adrianna,” Malice said in a hard, cold voice. He looked at her again, and she swallowed roughly.
She thought he was going to climb out of the vehicle and go after Phillip, but he didn’t move. “What are you going to do?”
He shook his head and focused on the bar across the street. “Nothing that doesn’t need to be done.”
His cryptic words had her stomach tightening. But Adrianna didn’t move, and she sure as hell didn’t try to get out of the van. She felt safe with Malice, and the thought of leaving that feeling and his side, especially with Phillip just across the street, was not a step she was going to take. By the time the sound of a motorcycle pierced her thoughts it had been almost twenty minutes later. The time had seemed to stand still as she sat beside Malice in this very uncomfortable silence. The man she had heard Malice call Rock pulled his bike to the curb right in front of the van. He took off his helmet, and his shaggy blond hair stood up around his hair. He had dark sunglasses on, and when he turned she could see ink coming up from under the collar of his shirt and leather vest.
“I’ll be right back.” Malice was out before she could even respond.
Adrianna watched him walk over to Rock, who was dismounting off his bike. They spoke too softly for her to hear what was being said even though the windows were open, but even if she hadn’t seen Rock look over at the bar she knew they were speaking about Phillip. After a few minutes it wasn’t Malice that came back to the van and sat in the driver’s side, but Rock. She looked at him for a minute, wondering what was going on and if she should even ask. But right when she opened her mouth Rock started the engine and put the van in reverse.
“Malice has some business to take care of but will meet us back at the clubhouse.”
“But my money, Phillip, and will Malice be okay—”
Rock shook his head. “Don’t worry about any of that right now. I was just told to take you back to the club, and I’m not about to argue with Malice.”
She was so stunned that she didn’t even argue. She looked at Malice and saw that he was watching her. But he didn’t stare at her long. He turned and walked across the street and right into the bar that Phillip had gone in.
****
Leaving Adrianna like that without a word on what he was doing hadn’t been the classiest move, but then again Malice wasn’t a classy type of guy. He acted first and thought about the repercussions later. Right now he wanted to beat the shit out of that fucking little prick that had hurt Adrianna. She might not have come out and told him that it was him across the street, but her body’s reaction, and the way she looked like a deer caught in the headlights told him his answer. So, without thinking and just calling Rock over to take Adrianna back to the clubhouse, Malice had made his way to the bar.
He pulled the door open and stepped inside the dark smoky room. Some sappy country song played overhead, and although it was only a little after nine in the morning there were a few guys already at the bar with beers in front of them. Malice waited for his vision to clear, and then scanned the bar until he saw the motherfucker that was currently whispering in some skank’s ear. Malice lowered his head but kept his gaze locked on the man that would soon see what it felt like to be at the mercy of someone bigger than him. Blood pumped hard and fast through him, and the testosterone and endorphins that moved through his veins made his muscles swell with the need for violence. Malice took a step forward, but when the action caused a floorboard to creak under his weight it had the patrons in the bar to stop what they were doing and stare at him as if they had just realized his presence. Just as quickly as they looked at him they turned back to their drinks. But the one person that he had all of his attention on hadn’t even so much as blinked in Malice’s direction.
Malice moved further into the room, and kept going until he was only a foot away from Phillip. Malice stood there for several seconds as the girl on Phillip’s lap giggled and ran her fingers over the collar of his jacket. But Malice didn’t move, didn’t even breathe as he waited for this bastard to realize he wasn’t alone. His knuckles ached from clenching his hands so tightly, and when Phillip finally looked over at him, Malice let a sadistic smile cover his face. All the things he wanted to do to this bastard played through his mind.
“What the fuck you want?” There was an almost disgusted tone in Phillip’s voice, and Malice knew this guy thought he was some kind of big shit in this town. And maybe he was, but Malice didn’t give a fuck either way. He didn’t know Malice, but he would know soon enough what he was capable of.
Malice could have said a bunch of shit in response, but he didn’t bother. This little prick would know plenty once Malice was finished with him.
Phillip pushed the woman off of his lap and slowly stood. “Is there something on your mind, asshole?”
Malice looked at the bandage that was wrapped around the side of Phillip’s neck, and his already turbulent emotions went even higher. He wanted blood, wanted to break this fucker’s bones, and wanted to do it all because he had dared to hurt Adrianna. “Looks like you ran into some bad luck.” He didn’t phrase it like a question, and when his gaze locked with Phillip’s it was to see the little asshole was grinning.
“This?” He pointed to his neck, and then shrugged. “The cause of this problem will be dealt with very soon.”
They stared at each other in silence for several seconds, and Malice could feel the other man’s anger as if it was his own. Good, he wanted this motherfucker to be pissed, because there was no satisfaction in a fight that wasn’t two-sided.
“So, unless you got something else to say instead of trying to sweet-talk me and delving into my business, I suggest you move the hell along.”
Malice forced himself to relax his hands and turn around and go to the bar. He’d wait this prick out, and when he did confront him they wouldn’t have an audience. The pain he delivered to Phillip would be a pleasure that rivaled all others. He rested his forearms on the scarred counter of the bar and ordered a glass of water. The mirror right in front of him reflected the numerous bottles of liquor, but also gave him an unobstructed view of Phillip. He went back to necking with the bleached blonde woman, but after a shot of whiskey and a beer to chase it down, Phillip stood and all but pulled the blonde out with him. He did glance at Malice before he left, and that had Malice’s blood pumping harder and faster as his heart rate increased. Norm
ally he just fucked someone up that needed a good ass kicking. He didn’t wait and didn’t care about people watching it, but this wasn’t his town, and he needed to watch his step, especially with all the crap happening with the protesters and prostitutes. Pushing away from the counter and heading out, he saw Phillip get into a newer Suburban. He went over to Rock’s bike, and once he had his helmet on and the engine started he pulled onto the road and followed Phillip’s SUV. He didn’t even care if the douche saw him following him. In fact, Phillip would have to be a fucking moron because Malice wasn’t making it a secret that he was keeping on the ass of his SUV.
It didn’t matter where this asshole was going, because Malice would follow him. He needed to see this guy hurt, needed to picture all the pain Adrianna had gone through in his head as he slammed his fist into Phillip’s face. He continued to follow him for another five minutes. He dropped the blonde off at some broken down trailer in one of the older neighborhoods in town, and continued to drive for another ten minutes. The road became more country, and finally Phillip pulled the SUV onto the shoulder. The way he pulled the vehicle off the side of the road had the tires kicking up dust and debris. Malice pulled up behind him, cut the engine, and climbed off his bike just as Phillip opened the car door and slammed it shut.
“You fucking get up in my damn face at the bar for no apparent reason, and now you’re following me?” Phillip breathed hard, and his chest rose up and down harshly. He wasn’t a small guy, but compared to Malice’s six-foot-three height and beefy frame he looked like an annoying gnat.
“You and I have some unfinished business that needs to be taken care of.”
Phillip looked confused for a moment and then shook his head. “I don’t even know who the hell you are, so you and me have no fucking unfinished business.” Phillip wiped his nose, and Malice could see the guy was tweaking. His eyes were glossy, his nose red from probably doing some bumps of coke in the car, and he was twitching off and on.
