by Carmen Faye
“You told me there was a truce.”
“There was, but it was a farce,” he said, his tone irritated. “Look, Bert screwed up, and I didn’t know it until we got here. But Bert’s about to get booted out of the role of leader, and I’m taking over. Nothing like this is going to happen again.”
Exasperated, Maya let all her emotion come out as she ranted. “It’s too late, Vance! There are two dead men in there! Two men died protecting you, protecting me! That’s not okay, and I can’t just stand here and be alright with all of it. That would be a betrayal of the lives that were lost, of all the men who got hurt. I sewed at least a dozen wounds, and I know there are plenty more, some less serious and some more serious that I can’t touch with my limited skills.
“And as if that wasn’t bad enough, it could have been you! Your body could be lying there with Cougar’s, or I could have been sewing you up! I don’t think I could handle that, Vance. I know you took lives, and I can live with that, since you did it in self-defense and in defense of your family. But I can’t live with the idea that next time, you might not make it out alive.”
“This isn’t my first rodeo, sweetheart,” he argued. “I’ve had guns pointed at me more than once, and I’ve rarely even gotten scratched. I’m a survivor, Maya, and I’m determined to protect what’s mine. That means my property, my club, my hometown, and especially the woman I’m falling for.”
His admission hit her hard, but it didn’t deter Maya from making her point. “I’m aware of the lengths you would go to just to keep me safe, to keep your club safe. And that’s part of my fear in all of this. The fact that you’ve been in this situation before just proves that it’s too dangerous, and by law of statistics and probability, you’re running out of sheer dumb luck. You can’t escape the eventuality that something is going to happen to you.”
He growled wordlessly, staring up at the ceiling. Then he shut his eyes, and she could hear his teeth grinding. When he finally looked at her, he asked, “What is it you want from me, Maya? You want me to leave this place and never come back? You want me to give up the only life I know so you feel safe? Let’s be honest. You wanted the adventure, and you got all of that and more. And even if I turned my back on the people who have been with me for nearly half my life, it doesn’t mean I’m safe. I can’t guarantee that if I came with you and lived in Houston like a normal guy that the Scorpions wouldn’t hunt me down anyway. I just shot the second-in-command, and with help, we took out a good fifty of the gang. That won’t be taken lightly.”
Maya’s eyes widened, and she swallowed hard against the nausea rising in her gut. That was a lot of dead bodies. “I didn’t know it was that many.”
“They came ready for battle, Maya. They were prepared to raze the building and take us all out.” He was still livid, obviously, but he brought his volume down and spoke in an exhausted voice. “We didn’t have a choice. And like you said, they took two of our men with them. You’re right, Cougar was a good man. Did you know Joker, the other Mojave Boy we lost, has been with the club for over thirty years? He was Tiny’s childhood best friend, and they haven’t been separated for more than a few days since they were kids. And Cougar was Donnie’s mentor. That means they were like father and son. I know what it’s like to lose that connection. As far as I’m concerned, they got what they deserved, and it’s still not enough to pay for that loss.”
Maya nodded, her heart sinking as she grew sicker. “So, you condone severe violence as a means of justice. Vance, you lost two men, and as much as I liked Cougar, how can you honestly believe that two men dead warrants killing dozens in cold blood?”
He crossed his arms, standing confidently in his decision. “That’s what they wanted to do to us. My single infraction, which really isn’t even an infraction, was good enough reason for them to come in with guns blazing to kill all of us.”
“And you hate them!” Maya threw back. “Why would you want to be like them?” He didn’t answer, and Maya knew she couldn’t stand here much longer. She threw the door open and flew past Dusty, heading for the bathroom. She heaved and hurled until her stomach was empty, and then the dry heaves came. Eventually, the muscle spasms stopped, and she sat back against the wall, exhausted to her core.
She looked up to find Vance standing in the doorway, watching her. She didn’t have a choice in this anymore. Her decision was made, and she pushed to her feet. Vance deserved to hear this face-to-face without having to crouch down to her level. “Vance, I can’t do this. I thought I could, but I can’t.”
She saw on his face that he knew what she meant, but he still asked, “Can’t do what, Maya?”
She gestured around them to include the entire situation. “I can’t stay here, with you. I can’t submit myself to the lifestyle, watching the violence, seeing people get hurt or killed on my behalf, worrying that you’re going to be next. As much as I want to be with you and have a life with you, it can’t be this one. And I know you can’t live outside of it. It’s not who you are, and I wouldn’t ask you to change if I could. I care about you, and I like you the way you are, Vance.”
He looked away, and she could see him struggling. She hated it. He’d just told her he was falling in love with her, and here she was, getting ready to run out on him. If the circumstances had been different, and if the extreme violence could have been avoided, Maya knew she could have stuck with this. She might have even given up her career for it. But seeing the dead men, right there in front of her, and having names to put with the faces, personalities behind the names, was too much.
Her mind wandered, and she saw Vance like that, cold and dead, and she shuddered. No, she didn’t belong here, and she had to cut her ties now, before something dreadful happened to the man she had begun to fall for. “I’m sorry, Vance.”
“So, you’re just going to give up?” he asked, and his tone broke Maya’s heart. Men like Vance didn’t cry, but he sounded like he was fighting tears with every breath.
“I’m turning away before I fall in headfirst and end up devastated and alone,” she corrected. “That’s what I have to do to protect both of us. I can’t have you putting yourself in harm’s way for me, and I can’t stay with you and worry that I’m going to lose you at any moment.” She touched his chest, leaning into him, and his arms automatically curled around her waist. They’d known each other such a short time; how was it that the comfort level was so perfect, the desire for each other so intense? It burned inside Maya, and the instinctual coming together like this made her yearn for more.
He turned his head sharply and locked gazes with her. “Stay the night,” he said, his voice demanding and pleading at the same time. “Give me one more night, and I’ll call a cab for you in the morning. I’ll have you out of here first thing, as soon as you can be ready, and I’ll even ship you anything you left at my house so you don’t have to take the time to go back and pack it, if that’s what you want.”
Maya didn’t think it was a good idea; she was emotionally overwrought, and the last thing she needed was the sentimentality of goodbye sex. At the same time, she didn’t think she could leave Vance without tasting him one more time, feeling his skin against hers. She couldn’t guarantee she would ever find anything this fulfilling again, and she at least wanted the fresh memory of what was good between them rather than the nightmare that was pushing her away.
“One night,” she agreed. “And I’m leaving in the morning.”
CHAPTER TWENTY TWO
Maya had nearly stripped Vance down to his skivvies before they’d managed to get the motel room door locked and closed. The desperation between them made their sexual desire thick, filling the air instantly. It was suffocating, and Maya latching onto Vance’s lips as if he was an oxygen tank.
He ripped her clothes from her, and Maya heard tears and threads popping, but she didn’t care. She could replace anything that was destroyed. What she couldn’t replace was this moment in time, the last chance to be with a man who excited her to the po
int of taking flight. She bit down hard on his jaw, and he grunted. She felt his groin tighten further, his erection grow harder and twitch at the attention, and it fueled her.
She pushed him back on the bed with violent force and crawled over him, letting her tongue and teeth do the work. She nibbled and bit and licked her way up his legs, stopping to minister to his shaft for several long minutes. She sucked and laved and watched him fight to maintain control, and then she continued up his body, tracing the lines of his abs and chest with her lips and tongue.
She kissed and suckled his neck and his ear, and finally she assaulted his mouth, bruising her own lips against his teeth as she delved so deep with her tongue she swore she could taste his groans. His hands were everywhere, exploring every inch of her body like some cartographer trying to memorize not only the area but altitude and texture of the land he would record for posterity.
Vance’s fervor matched her own, and though Maya had at first balked at the idea of this one last goodbye, she couldn’t imagine having turned it down now that she was in the middle of it. She drank in the feel of Vance’s touch, the smell of his skin as the sheen of sweat glistened on him, and the sensation of pure, raw sexual hunger. She had never felt so comfortable being herself, so uninhibited with anyone as she did with Vance, and she let everything go. She didn’t worry that he ridiculed her reactions as she gasped, moaned, and whimpered. In fact, he seemed to thrill to it.
She teased at his length, rubbing her moist center over him, and he hissed in a breath, his eyes rolling back in his head. Maya reveled in her ability to truly arouse him, and as she lifted her hips and impaled herself, she came instantly, pouring in response to his size and the throbbing pulse she felt building within him. She rode his cock hard and fast, screaming with her delight as she came, one wave of pleasure building on top of another until she couldn’t tell them apart. It was one long string of increasing ecstasy, and Vance lifted his hips, thrusting as she rode, grinding his pelvis against her to bury himself deeper in her core.
He shoved her down on him over and over, his fingertips digging into her waist with his tight grip, and she was wild with delight. When he spilled his seed, Maya convulsed with her own peak, and Vance jerked several times, his face a mask of pain and glory.
Drenched in sweat, Maya rolled to the side. She couldn’t stay on top of him, or she’d pass out from heat stroke. She sprawled and felt Vance’s leg against hers as he stretched out, too. She said nothing, just let the mood linger, the excitement dwindle until she was just relaxed and satisfied. The adrenaline rush had cooled, and her body began to do the same. Normally, she would have found sleep easily and almost immediately, but her mind spun with all the things that had happened today, in the last couple of weeks, and were to come starting tomorrow.
She knew Vance still stared at the ceiling, too, and she asked, “What happens in this meeting tomorrow?” When Vance didn’t answer, she said, “I heard Dusty mention a meeting tomorrow, and something about ousting Bert from the leader role. What’s that all about?”
“I told you, we’re due for a change of leadership. Bert got too involved with the enemy, and they coaxed me right into their trap. I should have seen it coming, granted, but I was removed from the situation, and Bert failed to tell me that Triple Threat was in the clubhouse every day, checking in. He kept vital information from me and ignored warnings from Dusty and some of the other guys that it could all be a setup. So, tomorrow morning, I’m challenging his claim to have the club’s best interest at heart.”
Maya had suspected as much. “I want you to be careful with that,” she told him. “I haven’t trusted Bert from the start. He feels creepy and vile to me. I know you’re old friends, and you’ve been brothers for a long time now, but don’t let that cloud your judgment. He’ll stab you in the back in a heartbeat.”
“I’ll watch my back, and I’ll have several others doing the same,” he assured her. “Does it really matter to you?”
Maya sighed. “I’m leaving because I care too much about you, Vance, not because I don’t care at all. Get that through your head, and maybe you’ll understand. It’s for the best.”
He said nothing, and Maya didn’t have the patience to try to reason with him any further. Instead, she got up and showered in cool water, rinsing off the horrid events of the day and the dust of Wheelie that had settled into her bones. When she came back, Vance was sleeping, and she lay down beside him, waiting for the same dark bliss to overtake her.
***
The cab was going to arrive any minute, and Vance was still trying to think of some way to convince Maya to stay with him. She was falling in love with him; she’d admitted it. But that was also her excuse for going. She didn’t want her love for him to cause her to worry, and she didn’t want his love for her to goad him into more dangerous situations.
In a way, he understood, but it still wasn’t okay with him. Together, they could fight and be exponentially stronger. At the same time, Maya was stubborn and strong, and he knew that he’d only end up looking pathetic if he begged. So, he prepared to say the hardest goodbye ever. It would be final, like death, and yet she would still be alive out there somewhere, making him wonder if she was with someone else, if she was happy, and if she missed him.
She touched his face and smiled. “I’m going to miss you, Vance. I hope you know that.”
He grunted. “I doubt it. You’ll be busy with your life, your photoshoots and events and other obligations. Just do me a favor and get an actual bodyguard, okay? I want to know you’re safe.”
Maya nodded. “I can do that. And you stay out of trouble. Lie low and let your club take care of you. And for the love of God, don’t get into a fight with Bert today. Say your piece and keep the peace.”
He smiled reluctantly. “I guess I can do that for you.” He kissed her, pouring all his longing into her in one last ditch effort. However, she returned the kiss with fervor but peppered with sweet sorrow, and he knew he was screwed. He heard the cab rolling in before he saw it, and it appeared over the horizon with a cloud of dust behind it. He hugged Maya tight against him one last time as it drew near, burying his face in her hair and whispering, “I love you, Maya.”
Her body stiffening slightly was the only sign she’d heard him, and Vance pulled away with a sense of rejection. She squeezed his hands and gave him one last smile while the cab drew to a stop. “I wish things could have been different.”
They still could, he wanted to scream, but he said nothing. Instead, he lifted the one bag she had with her and tossed it in the back of the cab. He held the door for her while she got in and then closed it behind her as she rolled down the window. Finally, he hedged, “Maybe fate will bring us back together one day, in some different place under different circumstances.”
“Maybe,” she said, and then she turned to the driver. “Kingman Transportation Services Company, please,” Vance heard her tell the cabbie, and he drove off. Maya’s hand came out the window and waved, and Vance waved back but refused to watch until the car disappeared. He wasn’t going to be that pathetic.
He went into the bar in search of his boys, ready for the meeting, and he found Dusty, Donnie, and Caleb kicked back at one of the tables. With the exception of the ever-present Joe behind the bar, the place was otherwise deserted. He joined them and scowled as they all smirked at him. “Great, am I the butt of every joke planned for the day because I got dumped?”
Donnie shook his head, still smiling. “No, actually, we’re all taking bets on how long it’ll be before you decide to chase after her.”
Vance rolled his eyes. “It’s not going to happen, boys. It’s not me; it’s the lifestyle. There’s nothing I can do to change that because I don’t know any other way of living.” As he said it, his phone buzzed in his pocket, and he saw it was a text from Maya. Had she changed her mind? Was she coming back? He could only hope it wasn’t just a final goodbye as he opened it.
He jumped to his feet as he saw the image that h
ad come through in the text…a text that definitely came from Maya’s phone. She stared at him with terrified eyes, tape over her mouth, and ropes tied around her chest and arms. She was in the back of that cab. And the thing that really pissed him off was that there was blood trickling out from under the tape on her mouth, which meant someone had hurt her, probably backhanded her when she’d fought.
“What is it?” the three boys chimed in unison, getting to their feet, but Vance held up a hand for them to wait. Another message came through, and he read, If you want to see her alive again, come alone, come unarmed, and come soon. I can keep her alive, but I don’t know that I can keep her unviolated.
And then a third text came through with an address. He had to get there soon. The idea of anyone putting their hands on Maya in any way turned him into a maniac, a remorseless killer, and every emotion he had other than rage disappeared. It was only further provoked with the next text, an image of the scorpion with devil eyes. A clear claim on the kidnapping.
He looked at all three of the guys around him, and he landed on Caleb, who had the fastest bike of the three. “I need your ride, and I need to leave. You can have mine when it gets here, if I’m not back by then.”
