Precarious

by Bella Jewel

  I jerk my head up. “Why the fuck do you think I’m such a princess?”

  He doesn’t answer, but his eyes are alight with humor. I get the feeling he’s having a dig at me. I unscrew the bottle to prove my point, and take a long pull. It burns, but it’s nothing I’ve never done before. Claire and I often go out drinking together, and shots are our thing.

  I rest the bottle between my legs and meet his gaze. He’s watching me, his eyes intense. He turns away and begins cleaning up any wounds he can get to while I continue to sip the alcohol. His fingers grazing over my skin have me breaking out into shivers. He’s sending me over the edge, and I don’t even know him.

  I bite my lip and turn away, crossing and uncrossing my ankles. “Stop fidgeting,” he mutters. “Shit, you’d think you’ve never had a man’s hands on you before.”

  I don’t look at him; I just keep my lip in my mouth and I turn my face away. His fingers run down my arm until he stops at the gash. “You ready for me to stitch this?”

  No.

  I take another long pull from the bottle before nodding sharply. I hear him rustling about, but I keep my eyes trained on the wall beside me. You can do this. It’s just a needle. You’ve got a tattoo, for Christ’s sake. It’s fine. It’s okay.

  I take another sip when I feel him wipe my skin with something that leaves a cool sensation behind. I pinch my eyes closed, panting softly. Fingers curl around my jaw and turn my head. My eyes pop open and I’m looking directly into his. I stop breathing.

  “If you tense up, it’ll hurt more,” he says, staring at my mouth. Why is he staring at my mouth?

  “Just do it,” I grind out.

  He lets my jaw go and reaches down to take a needle and some thread. I take a breath, another swallow, and turn away again. My head is swimming from the alcohol, but I still don’t think it’ll be enough.

  He doesn’t tell me when he’s going to start; I just feel the sharp, burning pain shoot up my arm. I cry out loudly, but I don’t flinch.

  “Sorry,” he murmurs.

  Then comes the next raging hot prick, I bite my lip, desperately trying to stop the whimper that’s threatening to escape. My entire arm feels like it’s on fire.

  Another pull of the needle and I give in to my cries. I make a strangled sound as he pops it out the other side.

  “Nearly there,” he says, his voice oddly calming. “I’ve seen men cry over this. You’re doin’ fuckin’ good, babe.”

  Tears leak out of the corners of my eyes as he pulls the last stitch through. My entire arm throbs after the invasion of needle and thread. He ties the final stitch and then leans back. “You’re done.”

  I turn and stare down at the three neat little stiches in my arm. “You . . . thank you,” I croak.

  He stands, nodding at me. He quickly cleans up and then turns and takes it all towards the door. Before he reaches it, he turns back to me. “I take it back.” His voice is low and husky. “You ain’t a princess at all.”

  My eyes widen at his words, but he doesn’t see it. He turns and exits the room, shutting and locking the door behind him.

  I guess that means we’re done here?

  ~*~*~*~

  I find myself dropping off to sleep on the double bed. I want to stay awake, but my eyes refuse to allow it. I’m exhausted and my body aches all over.

  I lie down to just take the pressure off my arm and am out in minutes, drifting away from the unpleasant situation I’m in—even just for a moment.

  “Hey.”

  I flutter my eyes open at the feeling of a hand on my arm.

  “Wake up.”

  Wake up? I blink a few times and when I can focus, I see Krypt standing at the edge of the bed, staring down at me.

  “Wha—”

  “We gotta go.”

  Go? Go where?

  I sit up slowly. My entire body aches. “Where do we have to go?”

  “The cops are goin’ mad. We can’t stay here. We gotta go further up. We have a cabin in the mountains. We’re goin’ there until Maddox can sort it out.”

  “Who is Maddox?” I croak.

  “The president.”

  Oh, so that’s his name.

  I process the information he’s giving me, and as sleep leaves my body panic takes its place. Hang on; he wants me to go and hide out in the woods? Alone? With him? Because the cops are after him for murder and kidnapping? I shake my head and scoot back on the bed.

  “I’m not going anywhere with you. It’s bad enough being here but you’re not taking me somewhere that you can end me as quickly as you met me.”

  He raises his brows. “Firstly, if I wanted to end you, I could do it right fuckin’ now, and secondly, you don’t get a fuckin’ choice.”

  “You’re a murderer,” I whisper. “You killed people that I’ve known for a long time. Those guys in the back of that truck were innocent, some of them were my friends.”

  “Your friends?” he snorts. “You have no idea what they were.”

  I narrow my eyes. “And you do?”

  “Abso-fuckin’-lutely.”

  I shift back further, but he reaches out and takes my arm, tugging me off the bed as if I weigh no more than a feather. I land on my feet and stumble forward. “I’ve already packed some clothes and shit for you, now let’s move.”

  “You can’t just take me,” I cry, struggling.

  “I can, and I fuckin’ will.”

  He pulls me out the door and leads me down the hall. We run into a group of bikers just outside the front door. I notice Maddox right away, because he’s so incredibly dominant. He turns and glares at me; I recoil behind Krypt. That dude scares the shit out of me.

  “We got a big fuckin’ problem, Krypt.”

  “What?”

  “Seems there’s more that are workin’ behind the fuckin’ scenes, Howard has another two boys we don’t know about.”

  Howard? Who’s Howard?

  “Fuckin’ who?” Krypt grates out.

  “One called Tristan, another called Luke.”

  “I already knew that,” Krypt grunts.

  My eyes widen. “What?”

  Maddox glares at me. “Anyone ask you to fuckin’ speak?”

  “You’ve killed my friends, you’ve kidnapped me, and now you’re talking about people I care about. I’m not giving you a choice; I’m fuckin’ speaking.”

  His eyes widen and he smirks.

  Yeah, you bastard. I have sass.

  “You know those boys, then?”

  “Of course I know them. I worked with them.”

  He narrows his eyes now, staring at me. “You know Howard?”

  “Who the fuck is Howard?”

  “She ain’t in on it, boss,” Krypt says. “I can tell you that right now.”

  “In on what?” I demand, trying to jerk my arm free from Krypt’s grasp.

  Maddox ignores me and keeps talking. “We need to take them two fuckers out. They’ll spill too much information.”

  “What?” I cry, thinking of Tristan. I saw some dodgy things going on, but that doesn’t mean I want him killed.

  Maddox storms forward, taking my arm in his. “Listen here, girl, and listen fuckin’ good. Your boys are fuckin’ bigger criminals than half the fuckin’ bastards there.”

  “Maybe so, but it’s not your right to hurt him. Regardless, he’s my friend.”

  “He is workin’ for a criminal; a fuckin’ deadly one. If he’s your friend, it’s all a damned act.”

  “You’re a liar,” I cry, losing my patience.

  I spin around and I twist my wrist so hard Krypt is forced to let it go. He steps towards me, but I divert him quickly with a swift punch to his stomach. He oomphs, and takes two steps back. Maddox grabs my arm and I spin around, lifting my knee and driving it right into his balls. With a bellow, he lets me go.

  I take a step back, glaring at all of them. “I don’t care who you are, or what fuckin’ club you come from. Some of those men are my friends, and you have ta
ken me from my life. I deserve to understand.”

  Maddox is panting, and shooting daggers in my direction. Krypt almost looks . . . impressed.

  “Don’t even start on me about your balls. It won’t hurt you not to reproduce, you jackass,” I bark at Maddox.

  He straightens and walks towards me, his eyes flaring with rage. He lunges at me, wrapping a hand around my arm and jerking me so close I can smell his breath. “I’ve warned you enough times. Now I’m fuckin’ pissed off.”

  “So do something about it,” I spit back at him. “Kill me. You’re going to anyway, aren’t you?”

  “Damn fuckin’ right I am.”

  “Consider this,” I growl. “You kill me, you’re giving up the chance at some seriously good information. I know Tristan and I know Luke. I saw what went on behind the walls at that prison. So go ahead and shoot me; I fuckin’ dare you.”

  Now he looks impressed.

  “I thought you were a fuckin’ pansy,” he grunts, letting me go, and shoving me back. “You give me information, I let you live. You kick me in the balls again, I’ll put a bullet right in your cunt, for revenge purposes.”

  I snort. “Fine. It’s a deal.”

  “Fuck me,” Krypt mutters from behind me.

  “Seems you might have found a decent one, for once.” Maddox smirks in the general direction that Krypt is standing.

  I know there’s something going down here, something even bigger than me. I need to know what that is. I need to understand because I’m curious. But I also need to keep myself safe.

  “Krypt, tell her everything she needs to know on the way. We’ll be around in the next few days; she can give us information then,” Maddox says, turning away from me.

  “Where are we going?” I ask Krypt.

  He points towards the mountains. “Up there.”

  “Up?” I mutter.

  “Up.”

  “On a . . . bike?”

  He chuckles. “No babe, on the transport God gave us.”

  My eyes widen. “You want me to climb a fucking mountain?”

  He grins at me. “It’s a day’s journey, if that, and yeah, I want you to climb a fuckin’ mountain.”

  I point to my ribs. “Mountain plus climbing equals a world of pain.”

  “You’ll be fine. It isn’t steep.”

  “It’s a mountain!”

  He snorts. “Quit your whinin’. If the cops check out here and you’re found, we’ll all go to shit.”

  “That’ll serve you right for kidnapping me, and shooting up a car full of guards.”

  He ignores me and reaches down to sling a bag over his shoulder. “Let’s go.”

  “I don’t have hiking shoes.”

  He snorts a laugh. “Fuck, you’re a weird chick.”

  He drops his pack from his shoulder and pulls out a pair of sneakers. He hands them to me, and I put them on without argument. They’re a size to big, but I’d rather take them then go without. He tosses a thick jacket at me. It’s thick and warm. I push my arms through the sleeves and then we’re off.

  I follow him as he walks out of the yard, all leather jacket and fine ass. Damn his fine ass. Damn it. He moves like a tiger, sleek and powerful.

  I hate that I’m going to be stuck with him in the mountains for a few days alone. It freaks me out. He’s the kind of man that is hard to turn away from—let alone be stuck in a cabin alone with.

  Fuck.

  We head out to a path that leads into the thick trees. It’s clear to me these guys have thought this out. They’ve picked a location for their cabin/clubhouse that is without a doubt in a tricky area. It’s not in a public place, it’s out and it’s hidden. For police to get down here without being noticed, they’d have to come on foot. You’d be able to hear anything with that gravelly dirt road.

  “Keep up,” Krypt barks, jerking me from my thoughts.

  Evening will fall in about three hours, and that’s a little concerning for me. I pick up my pace, staying close behind him. “What are we supposed to do when it gets dark?” I ask him.

  “We find somewhere and we sleep.”

  “Out here?” I say, eyes wide.

  “Yeah, out here.”

  “You said there are cats. Big ones . . . that eat people.”

  He nods, trekking forward. “There are.”

  “And you want to sleep here?”

  “Don’t have a fuckin’ choice. Besides, I got a gun.”

  “That makes me feel so much better,” I say, staring around, my eyes scanning the trees. Well shit, now I’m freaked out.

  My legs and ribs are aching by the time we’re an hour in, and I desperately want to stop. I’m sore all over and my arm is throbbing. Not to mention I have somewhat of a pounding head from the alcohol I consumed. “Do you have aspirin?” I ask.

  Krypt stops, turning around to stare at me. He’s got a fine layer of sweat coating his skin, and God, does he look good. “You hurtin’?”

  “Yeah.”

  He drops the pack and rummages through it, pulling out a couple of pills. He hands them to me with a bottle of water. I take them gratefully and swallow them down.

  “Sit. We’ll eat, and then we’ll keep walkin’ until we find somewhere to pull up.”

  I find a large rock and perch on it, watching as he pulls out a couple of granola bars. He hands one to me and I graciously accept it. I’m starving. We eat in silence, and nothing but the sounds of the wilderness can be heard for miles.

  “This cabin, is it like your escape house?” I ask him once I’m finished chewing.

  He nods, kneeling down and using the water bottle to wash his hands. “The only way in and out is to walk, so it ain’t easy for any cops to find. None have found it yet. Besides, I’d hear them well before they reached us. It’s in a good position.”

  “You want to tell me why we’re going there yet?”

  “You know why we’re goin’ there. The cops are all over my escape and your disappearance. They’ll raid that clubhouse as soon as they locate it. We can’t be there.”

  “That’s not what I meant,” I point out.

  He stands, shoving the water back in the bag. “I know what you meant, babe, but I ain’t ready to fuckin’ tell you about it. We got tracks to make, so let’s move.”

  With a sigh, I stand, and we begin walking again.

  This is going to be fun.

  ~*~*~*~

  We stop three hours later just as the sun is dropping over the mountaintops, and a cool breeze is trickling through the trees. Krypt finds a large overhanging rock that provides some great shelter. We both drop down underneath it, exhausted and panting. After a bottle of water each, we’re able to catch our breath.

  “I’ll make a fire,” he says. “But it has to be small. Don’t want no smoke givin’ us away.”

  I point further underneath the rock. “If you do it right back there, no one will see.”

  He stares at me, and my cheeks flush under his scrutiny. “You are smart, ain’t ya, Wildcard?”

  “Don’t call me Wildcard,” I mutter.

  “Why not?” he murmurs, opening the pack. “It suits you.”

  I watch him unload a folded blanket, a couple of tins of food, and a flashlight. He lays the blanket out on a softer patch of ground and points to it. “Sit on that. It’ll keep you warm.”

  I don’t hesitate. I slide over until I’m on the thick, fleecy material. He joins me, sitting beside me so our legs are touching. I bite my lip, trying to avoid showing how much him being so close affects me. I don’t understand this insta-attraction; I can only put it down to his looks and the fact that I haven’t been laid for a long while.

  “You hungry?” he asks.

  “Sure.”

  Like someone skilled with nature, he creates a small fire and prepares some food in a small dish he had in his pack. I tuck my knees up to my chest and watch him work, the expression on his face is one full of concentration.

  “So, are you going to tell me what
is going down?”

  He sighs, but keeps his eyes on the food. “We’ve got rivals, big ones, and they’re causin’ a problem for our club.”

  “Another MC?” I ask.

  He raises his brows at my term.

  “What? I know a little bit about clubs.”

  “Right,” he mutters. “So then you’ll know we take shit very seriously. This club is messin’ with things they shouldn’t be messin’ with. Firstly, they put me in prison.”

  “But you shot and killed those people.”

  “Wrong,” he says, his eyes hard. “I shot and killed Johan Reed, but it was all a big set-up.”

  “They set you up to kill someone?”

  He growls, low and throaty. “Let me fuckin’ finish.”

  I close my mouth.

  “I had every intention of shooting that fucker, but it was set-up that I’d end up in the same place as Johan. I got a call out to there sayin’ shit was goin’ down with another club. Took another one of the boys and went to check it out. When I arrived, I saw nothin’. I went inside the coffee shop to check things out further and he was there, that filthy, motherfucker. I’d been lookin’ for him for a long fuckin’ time, and there he was. I lost my shit, pullin’ out my gun and shovin’ it at him. People freaked out, screaming and causing shit. I told them all to get down and stare at the fuckin’ floor. I couldn’t deal with them. I was wavin’ my gun around like a mad man. It wasn’t my finest moment.”

  My mouth opens.

  “You need to understand I was blinded by rage. I didn’t care about the people around me. They were all face-down when I shot Johan in the head, doubtin’ anyone saw much—it’s why witnesses were sketchy.”

  Makes sense.

  “Screams broke out, Whiskey came in, and before I knew it shots were comin’ in through the doors. They killed the rest of his family. Cops showed up minutes later, arresting me. The witnesses missed most of it, but there was enough evidence to assume I killed them all—I was the one they saw wavin’ the gun around, so why wouldn’t it be me? I was arrested.”

  “What did he do to you that would make you so angry?” I whisper, eyes wide.

  “That ain’t any of your business. All you need to know is that I didn’t kill the rest of them. I’m sure if they did their fuckin’ research, they would see the bullets weren’t from my gun.” He snorts loudly. “Or maybe they were. Howard and his club are fuckin’ clever.”