“Sure.” She went over to the counter and picked up the loaf of bread, bringing it over to the table where Jake had sat down with the meat, cheese, and some mayonnaise. She sat and he took the bread and opened it up. A few seconds later, she had a sandwich in her hand.
“Take a bite, Eva. Promise it’ll taste good.”
She did as he said. Somehow, she ate the whole thing, not even aware that she’d done so until she looked up and it was gone.
“Here, have another.”
“I can’t,” she began. But Jake pushed the sandwich on her anyway.
“They’re small, and you’re in shock. Eat.”
She finished the second sandwich while he fixed his. “I’ve never shot anyone before,” she said after a few moments of silence.
He smiled. “I know. But you did good.”
She blinked. “What do you mean I did good? I didn’t kill him, and I really wanted to.”
“Considering the way he startled you, and how scared you already were, it’s pretty amazing you hit him at all. Trust me, you did good.”
“You’d have killed him if you’d shot him.”
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you?”
He looked grim for a second. “Those were not my orders. Besides, getting you out of there alive was more important.”
She scrubbed her hands up and down her arms. “Wow, I just can’t believe it. Everything I worked for—everything I wanted—it’s gone. Over. I’m no longer inside the compound and Brandon Cox is still alive—and free.”
Jake reached over and took her hand. She tried not to let his touch affect her, but that was a hopeless endeavor. He definitely affected her.
“The MacKenzies are still working on tracking Snake. But Eva…Judge Mason died tonight. Your testimony is going to be key in putting Brandon behind bars.”
A cold feeling of dread washed through her. “What if it’s not enough? What if he gets away with it? He always gets away with it.” She felt a hot tear escape and she reached up to dash it away angrily.
“Every winning streak has to come to an end. It’s time for his to be over—and I’m sure it will be with you, and the power of the MacKenzies, to make it happen.”
She sucked in a breath and forced her racing heart to calm. “You trust these MacKenzies, huh? How long have you worked with them?”
His smile was unexpected. “Yeah, I trust them. But I’ve only worked with them a few days. This isn’t my real job.”
“It isn’t?”
“No. I’m a soldier, Eva. I didn’t leave the military, but my skills are what the MacKenzies needed on this job. That and the fact I was once a Brother. I presumably had the best chance of getting inside and getting to you. Didn’t know I actually knew you though.”
“As if. We had classes together once. You brought my sister home a few times. We didn’t know each other.”
“No, not in any real way. But I know what I remember about you.”
She pushed back from the table and stood, crossing her arms self-defensively. “None of that applies anymore. I’m not Evelyn Collier. She died sometime after Heather, but she died all the same.”
“You made yourself over solely to catch Brandon Cox.”
“I studied him. Studied them.” She shrugged. “It wasn’t difficult. Just time consuming.” She held out her arms. “These take time. Honing my art took time. Getting their attention and respect took time. I didn’t just walk in there with my machines and set up shop.”
“Weren’t you scared?”
She swallowed. “Hell yeah, I was scared. I went to work in a tattoo shop near The Island—you know the bar they frequent, right?” At his nod she continued. “A couple of them came over, looked at my portfolio, and took a chance. It was just a matter of time after that.”
“And somehow you got them to respect your wishes not to touch you. Amazing.”
“I think it amused Brandon. I knew it would wear off eventually and he’d come for me, but I hoped to take them down before it happened.” She shivered as she thought of Brandon Cox in her shop earlier, demanding that she spread her legs for him.
“Some might consider using your body as simply another facet of the plan.”
Her throat tightened. “I couldn’t let him touch me. That was a bridge I wasn’t willing to cross.”
“It’s okay, Eva. I wasn’t suggesting you should. I’m glad you didn’t. Not that it’s wrong if that’s your thing. But for you it means you have at least a scrap of humanity left inside you. You would do anything to take down Heather’s killer—but not that. That was your line in the sand, and it’s perfectly okay to have one.”
“Do you?”
He rocked back on the chair and studied her. He was so much more than a Brother, wasn’t he? This man was one of the good guys. She was more glad for that than she could say. And not just because her life was in his hands.
“Maybe so. Haven’t found it yet, though.”
There was a noise in the distance that made her pivot. Harleys? She listened hard, then spun back to Jake for a reaction. He hadn’t moved an inch.
“Traffic on the road. It’s not them, don’t worry. If they get close, I’ll know it.”
She swallowed against the knot in her throat and the butterflies in her belly. “How?”
“There’s an alarm system. If anyone trips it, I’ll know. We’ll have a two-minute warning.”
“Is that enough?”
He grinned. “With me? Yeah, plenty.”
Jake stayed awake long after he convinced Eva to go to bed. There was only one room in this tiny house, but he didn’t need to lie in a bed to rest. He’d stretch out on the couch, and he’d listen for the early warning system to go off. He didn’t think the Brothers would find them here, but you couldn’t ever know how things would go down.
Sometimes the bad guys got intel and they found you. Sometimes they chased themselves in circles until you found them. Except this wasn’t a normal operation and he wasn’t looking for the Brothers the way he’d stalk terrorists.
He scrubbed a hand over his face, still processing everything that had happened. Jesus, Judge Mason was dead. That wasn’t the outcome he’d hoped for, and it pissed him off more than he’d expected. Made him more determined.
He picked up his phone and dialed a number. Cade “Saint” Rodgers, the leader of HOT’s Echo Squad, answered on the first ring.
“Harley, been wondering about you, man. How’s it going out there?”
His team had been informed about his mission, though not all the particulars of it. Though Colonel Mendez hadn’t formally authorized it, they’d told him they were only a phone call away if he needed them.
“It’s dicey. Need you to get Hacker researching some stuff.” Hacker was Sky Kelley, their computer whiz who hadn’t ever met a network he couldn’t crack. Jake knew that the MacKenzies were on the job too, but it never hurt to have a little backup.
“What do you need?”
Jake gave him a list of stuff, starting with Brandon Cox and Heather Collier and ending with Snake and the Masons.
“You need us there?” Saint asked, and Jake grinned.
“Nope, I got it. But I appreciate it. Gonna need you when I bring her in though. Pretty sure Cox and the boys will try to get at her. They may seem like a bunch of good old boy redneck bikers, but they’ve got ties to some bad shit. Organized crime, drug dealers, and sex traffickers. They won’t let this go and quietly await their fate.”
“You got it, man. See you soon.”
“Yep.” Jake ended the call and settled back on the couch with his hands behind his head as he stared up at the ceiling. He had a computer, weapons, and the keys to a Mustang that sat behind the house. The first sign of trouble and he was grabbing Eva and bugging out.
But until then, he could lie here and dream about those blue eyes and the way that sexy body had felt pressed against his during the long ride to get here.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Eva co
uldn’t sleep. She kept thinking about that moment when Brandon had meant to rape her and her skin crawled. She’d never been touched by a man. Not like that anyway. Being in the business she was in, she’d certainly been fondled. She’d even been grabbed a time or two, but she’d always dealt with it swiftly and brutally. A kick to the balls did wonders.
Oh, she’d sometimes thought she was going to die for being so difficult. The kind of men she’d spent the last few years around were definitely not the kind to piss off, but she’d done it and she’d survived. Somehow.
She lay in the dark and stared at the ceiling. She’d often wondered if something was wrong with her. She’d never felt desire, not really. She’d never really been on a date or let herself have any sexual feelings toward a man. She’d been too focused on her goals, and no one had interested her.
But then Jake Ryan had crashed back into her life, and her body responded. In spite of her belief that she was dead inside, that desire and love weren’t possible, her reaction to him was quite the opposite. She wasn’t dead inside. Her body could feel desire. It was a shock and a mystery. It was also alarming.
Who was Jake Ryan? He wasn’t a Brother anymore, that was for certain. But he wasn’t the kind of guy she’d spent the last few years dreaming about either. She’d thought that once she took down the Brothers, once she made Brandon pay for what he’d done, she’d find a nice man and settle down. An accountant. A lawyer. A real estate broker, or even a postman. She didn’t care, so long as his life was drama free and she could rely on him not to turn into an adrenaline junkie asshole criminal.
Not that Jake was a criminal. No, he definitely wasn’t that. But he was a badass and he thrived on danger. That was not what she wanted. Heather had been attracted to badasses and look what that had gotten her.
Eva threw off the covers and sat up. She needed a drink of water. She’d seen bottles in the fridge, so she decided to go and get one. The living room was silent and dark. She padded across the room and opened the refrigerator to snag a bottle. When she turned and started back, a noise from the couch made her squeak in surprise.
Well, where else would he be? This place was only one-bedroom—not that she’d been thinking about that when she went to the kitchen.
“Nice view,” Jake said, his voice a throaty growl that made her tingle deep inside.
“I thought you were asleep.” She wished he was because she hadn’t put her jeans back on. She was standing there in a T-shirt that didn’t cover her ass and a pair of sensible cotton panties. They weren’t exciting, but they were still panties.
“I was until you walked past.”
“I didn’t make any noise. I was careful.”
“I’m trained to hear a mouse squeak a mile away, Eva.”
It was a silly thought, but also a comforting one. “Well, I’m sorry.”
He pushed upright. “It’s okay. I wasn’t sleeping well. You doing all right?”
She hugged herself, as if she could hide her naked legs and the thin panties barely covering her butt as she did so. “Can’t sleep.”
“I can fix that for you. If you let me.”
His voice was so deep and sensual that her nipples beaded tight. “How?” As if she didn’t know.
“A good orgasm does wonders.”
Her body flushed with heat. “Does it?”
He cocked his head to the side, and she cursed herself for sounding so prissy. Dammit, she might be a virgin, but did she have to sound like one?
“If you don’t know, then you haven’t been getting any good ones. Or maybe it’s been a long time. Has it?”
“You know I didn’t let any of the Brothers touch me. So, yeah, it’s been a long time. Unless you count the ones I give myself, and then it hasn’t been that long.”
Oh hell, she was babbling. She swallowed and told herself to zip it.
“You like giving them to yourself?”
“It’s the only ones I’m getting, so yeah, I do.”
“That’s a shame. Let me know if you want to change that. I’m right here.”
Her heart pounded. Her skin flushed. A reckless part of her wanted to take him up on it—and yet she couldn’t. She had no experience. No ability. She’d embarrass herself if she tried.
He dropped his head into his hands. “Jesus, I’m sorry. Forget I said anything. You just look so damn sexy standing there in your underwear, and it’s been a while for me too. But I’m over the line—and after what you’ve been through, that’s unforgivable. You’re safe with me, Eva. I’m not like Brandon or any of those assholes.”
Her heart thumped. Hard. “What? No, I’m not worried about that. Jake, you’ve been nothing but decent and kind—” She sucked in a breath as he looked up at her, his gorgeous eyes melting into hers. “It’s just, well, I don’t know what to do. I don’t have the first clue, and that’s the truth.”
“It’s okay, Eva. It’s too much too soon. I shouldn’t have said anything.”
He hadn’t understood her. He’d thought she meant she didn’t know what decision to make when she literally meant she didn’t know what to do.
“No—I mean I don’t know. I’ve never…”
He was frowning. “Never? Never what?”
“Sex. I’ve never done it.”
Jake almost couldn’t believe what he was hearing out of this gorgeous, kickass woman’s mouth. His dick was rock hard, even though he was busy berating himself for it. She didn’t need him to come on to her after the night she’d had—and, whoa, she damn sure didn’t need it now.
“You’re a virgin?”
She shifted on her feet, clearly uncomfortable. “Well…yes. I know that’s hard to believe.”
It was hard to believe—and yet he didn’t doubt she was telling him the truth. “I believe you… But why, Eva? Why didn’t you ever find anyone you could be with?”
She sighed. “Do you mind if I put some pants on. I can’t very well stand here and talk to you this way.”
He stood and handed her the blanket he’d been using. “Wrap this around you.”
She reached for it and then stepped back as if he might bite, wrapping it around her tightly. “Thanks,” she said before opening her water bottle and taking a drink.
“You’re welcome.”
She sighed. “I don’t think it was on purpose, really. It’s just…” She seemed to be thinking about her answer. “After Heather died, my mother got sick. It wasn’t a sickness that should have killed her, but I think she lost the will to live. Just stayed in bed and wouldn’t get out of it except to go to the restroom. She lay there for months, barely eating, refusing to go out. And then one morning she was gone. Just like that. I went to check on her, and she was dead. Her heart gave out.”
“I’m sorry, Eva.” He didn’t know what it was like to lose a parent. He knew what it was not to have any parents in the first place, to be shuttled through the foster care system until you just didn’t care about anything anymore. He understood she’d been grief-stricken. He didn’t understand how that felt.
“After that, I was alone. Well, my aunt and uncle were still around, but I was eighteen. I kept seeing Brandon Cox and the Brothers ride through town, kept thinking how Mama and Heather would still be alive if not for them—and I made a plan. I decided to turn myself into the kind of woman who could get close to them—and not just close, but someone they would value in their own way. Someone they wouldn’t view as a complete outsider. Maybe fucking my way in would have been easier—but I couldn’t do it. Every time I thought about it, my skin crawled and I thought I would puke.”
“And you were so focused on what you needed to do to get inside that you didn’t spend any time having fun or being yourself.”
She nodded. “Yep, that’s true. There was no time for dating or men. What was I supposed to do? Date some guy and then disappear when it was time to make my move on the club? That wasn’t going to happen. Besides, it takes time to get good at tattooing. I spent years studying with some of t
he best. I came back to town six months ago and I’ve been working since.”
Jake could only admire her. She stunned him. Eva Gray had the mindset it took to be a Special Ops warrior. Give her some training and focus, and he had no doubt she’d conquer the challenge. That was the kind of single-minded purpose you wanted in an operator. Someone who kept her eyes on the goal and didn’t let anything get between her and it.
“Damn, Eva. Who knew all that grit was lurking under those glasses and shy smile of Evelyn’s, huh?”
She laughed. “No one, apparently. Not even me. Sometimes I thought it was impossible. But I kept going anyway.”
“You said you wanted to be an interior designer at one time. Do you still want to do that?”
She shrugged. “Sure. Maybe. But I like tattooing. I didn’t know I would when I started, but I really do. I love doing a tattoo for someone and then they’re so stoked to wear it. They go away with my art on their bodies. I love that.” She sighed and he heard the sadness in it. “I’ve lost my portfolio and machines. I can replace the machines and ink—but all the pictures of what I’ve done, the sketches. I can’t replace those.”
It wasn’t an important thing when lives were at stake—and yet he understood what she must be feeling to lose something valuable to her. “It’s not over yet, honey. Don’t give up hope.”
“It’s silly, right? They’re just pictures, and this is so much more important. But I feel like my life is in there, like it’s the story of me. I guess that doesn’t make a lot of sense.”
“It makes sense.” Because the story of him was told in the missions he’d been on, in the camaraderie with his team, and in the knowledge that he made a difference in this world.
“Thanks for understanding.” She unwrapped the blanket from her body and handed it to him. He tried not to look down at her legs, at the dark vee of pubic hair behind her white panties, or the curves of her waist and high mounds of her breasts. Now was not the time for this.
But his dick ached and his gut churned and he wanted so much to reach out and touch her. He wouldn’t, but he wanted to.
Hot Witness: A MacKenzie Family Novella Page 5
