by London Casey
“You think we should bring the Irish in this now?” Jasper asked.
Trev turned and rubbed his chin.
Shit was getting deeper.
“Definitely Irish?” Prez asked, looking at me.
“Prez, the guy that did the talking…he could stand at the end of a fucking rainbow with a pot of gold.”
“Prez, what’s the call here?” Cash asked.
“I’ll get on the line with Garvan,” he said. “We might need to push this up higher to the O’Nuall family. See what kicks back at us. If this is the Irish making some kind of fucking statement, shit is going to get wild.”
“You better heal that leg fast, brother,” Jasper said.
Everyone looked to me again.
I dropped the crutches to the ground and tried to take a few steps. I wanted to prove to my brothers that I was fucking fine.
But I wasn’t fucking fine at all.
Two steps in, my left leg popped, twisted, and I fell right into Cash’s arms.
He helped me back to my feet. “I got you, brother.”
“Fuck off,” I said as I pushed him away.
I stumbled back and fell into the table, taking a seat.
I gritted my teeth as the pain swirled through my body.
Right then, for the first time ever, I knew I was going to lose my leather cut.
9
CORA
I sat at my desk and was all but hiding. When I heard the sound of a man’s voice booming through the halls, I regretted not actually locking the door.
Hudson wasn’t going to go down without a fight.
I’d cancelled his appointment, but he’d shown up anyway. So I told Leslie to tell him I was sick.
His voice carried right to my door.
He wasn’t having it.
I shouldn’t have asked him to walk me to my car. I shouldn’t have let him carry my bag. I shouldn’t have smiled at his dumb joke of seatbelting the bag into the seat. And I sure as hell shouldn’t have let him kiss me. As if the situation couldn’t have gotten worse, I’d kissed him right back. I’d let him kiss me, and I’d kissed him back.
The worst part was why.
Him showing interest in Derrick. Showing interest in me. The way he looked at me, like he wanted to call me out on something. But even more so, it was his fight. The desire to get back on his feet and ride again. The fact that he could have hidden in a pill bottle to kill the pain, but he didn’t want that. All he wanted was to get on his motorcycle and ride. That meant something to me, even if he was an outlaw.
He was big, strong, and bold, a real fighter.
I was suddenly greedy for his protection, yet I didn’t know what kind of protection he could possibly provide for me.
I heard his voice right outside me door, and before I could stand up, the door swung open. Hudson came into the room, using his crutches. Leslie trailed him, her face red.
“It’s okay,” I said to her.
Hudson shut the door and looked right at me. “Sick?”
“Hudson…”
He threw his crutches down and stood there.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
He took a few stuttering steps. When he put weight on his left leg, he winced in pain. But he kept his stare at me.
“You’re going to hurt yourself!” I yelled.
I hurried around my desk.
“You’re moving awfully fine for being sick,” he said. He got to my desk and leaned against it.
“No, Hudson, you don’t…”
“I told you not to lie to me,” he said. “You cancel my appointment and then lie about being sick? I need your help, Cora.”
“I told you before to go to someone else,” I said, trying to be bold.
“You’re so full of it, sweetheart. You’re pissed at me because I kissed you. Fine. Be pissed.”
“It’s not…”
Before I knew what was happening, Hudson grabbed me and kissed me again.
Again!
This time I was smarter, though. I shook my head and broke the kiss. I wanted to push him, but I was afraid he would fall. So I stepped back and pointed to the door.
“Get out.”
“What? I was just taking it back,” he said. “There. We’re even. I gave you a kiss. And now I took it back. But you know what I think? You’re mad at yourself for kissing me back. For asking me for help. That’s not your style, is it? You’re used to taking care of everything and everyone. But you liked having my help.”
“I said get out, Hudson. Don’t make me call the police.”
“I have a scheduled appointment with you,” he said.
“That I cancelled.”
“Fuck that,” he growled. He gritted his teeth and let out a breath. “Cora, if you don’t help me…” He stared down at the desk, leaning against it in obvious pain. “Look, I’m in the same boat as you. I’m not used to asking for help. I’m used to just going out and doing my own thing. Whatever you’ve been doing to my leg, it’s been working. I’m getting there. I just need to keep going. As much as possible. Pain or not.”
“I have rules to follow, Hudson,” I said. “I can’t…”
“Then we figure something else out. Off the clock. I’ll pay you.”
“For extra therapy?” I asked. “Do you realize how insane that sounds?”
“Trust me, sweetheart, you don’t know insane,” he said.
He turned his head and looked at me. I was awestruck, captivated by him. This injured outlaw, begging me for my time.
“What happened the last time…and just now…”
“You’re worried about a fucking kiss?”
“I don’t kiss patients,” I said. “I don’t kiss random guys either.”
“Worried what Derrick might think?”
“You’re jealous of Derrick?”
Hudson grinned. Then he shuddered, stepped back, and plopped down into a chair. He stretched his leg out and took a few deep breaths.
“Sweetheart, I’m not jealous of anything,” he said. “I’m just trying to figure you out. And I told you not to lie to me again.”
“You don’t get to tell me what to do,” I said. “I’m the one in control here.” I felt a surge of power race through my body. I walked to my desk and leaned against it. I was taller than Hudson. I had what he wanted. “You don’t get to kiss me ever again. Understand?”
“I understand,” he said.
“Promise me.”
“I don’t do promises.”
I rolled my eyes. “I can only do what’s allowed here. No exceptions. I’m not going to lose my job because of you.”
“I can deal with that,” Hudson said. “Avoid your lips and avoid ruining your illustrious career.”
“Are you making fun of me?”
“No, sweetheart, I’m not.” Hudson leaned forward, wincing in pain, and grabbed my hand. I should have pulled away, but I couldn’t. I never had someone like him show me attention before. “You’re the one who’s going to save my ass. That’s a pretty big deal. Because if I can’t…” He shook his head.
I tore my hand away and pushed from my desk, putting distance between us. I sat behind my desk and folded my hands and tried to look as presentable as I could.
“Then we start over,” I said. “Right now. I want to know what happened to you, Hudson. Why does this matter so much?”
“Do you ask all your patients this?”
“Actually, I do. I try to find out where their mind’s at. What happened. How I can help. What their goals are.”
Hudson put his hands to the desk and stood up. I stared up at him, not liking that he was back to being taller than me. I swore his shoulders were a mile wide and perfectly rounded. Muscles everywhere, even if they were hidden by his leather cut.
“I got hit by a fucking SUV,” he said. “It shattered my leg. I almost lost the damn thing. I like to ride my motorcycle. It’s how I get around. It’s how I survive. If I can’t ride, I won’t be happy. So that’
s why I’m here, Cora.”
“Don’t be a jerk to me,” I said. “Why did the SUV hit you?”
“The driver thought I was a deer and he was looking for free meat.”
“That’s really funny. Well, at least we know if your leg doesn’t heal, you have a career in stand-up comedy.”
Hudson’s face dropped. “This isn’t a joke, Cora.”
With that, he struggled to get his crutches, then left my office.
For a few seconds, I sat there, thinking I’d won the battle. With any luck he would leave and never come back. I thought about it a little, then popped up from my desk. It wasn’t my style to do that to someone. Just because he was some rough and tough outlaw type. That shouldn’t matter. It didn’t matter how he got hit by that SUV. He got hit, and he needed rehab, full stop.
I tore open my office door and crashed right into Hudson’s rock-hard chest as he stood there. I let out a yelp and tumbled back, but one of his hands shot out and slid behind my back. He had the crutches resting against the wall.
“Whoa,” he said. “Where are you running off to?”
I looked at him again. Those dark, brooding eyes. The scruff on his face, desperate for a razor. His steel-cut jaw showing through that scruff.
“We better get your leg stretched out. See where you’re at.”
Hudson grinned.
Why did he have to look so damn sexy? And protective? And comforting?
“That’s what I was hoping you’d say,” Hudson whispered.
Then he came at me again. Except he listened to what I said. He didn’t kiss my lips. Nope. He brushed his lips to my cheek and paused at my ear.
“Sweetheart, this time…make it rough.”
I had him on his back. His knee completely bent, I was driving his leg back to his torso. I was leaning against him, and it almost looked like he was going to lift his leg and play that airplane game parents play with their kids. I hated to admit it, but having his leg against my body was driving me crazy. His shin was right between my breasts. My left hand gently touching the floor. My right hand was still at his hips, my thumb way too close to resting between his legs.
But this was all with medical purpose.
I leaned harder against him, pressing, letting out a groan as I did so.
I didn’t mean to groan.
My face instantly turned red.
Hudson had his head turned to the right, but he looked straight at me when I made the noise. There was a half-smirk on his face for a second.
“You okay?” he asked.
“Are you? How does this feel?”
“Feels great, sweetheart,” he said.
I quickly backed off. I didn’t need the temptation to get out of hand.
“You know what I’m asking,” I said.
“I’m telling you the truth. It hurts like fuck, but I can survive.”
“That stretch right there. You need to do that on your own. Move your leg as much as you can at this point, okay? Go for walks.”
“I don’t do walks, Cora.”
“Then walk around your house or your apartment.”
He let out a laugh.
I just shook my head.
We were the only two left in the building, just like last time. I looked at the clock and realized it was thirty minutes past when the appointment should have ended.
“Let’s do that again,” Hudson said. “One more good stretch before I walk you to your car.”
“You don’t need to walk me to my car,” I said. “Sorry I asked the first time.”
“It’s okay to be afraid of the dark,” Hudson said. “I was too, once…when I was four.”
I grabbed his leg and twisted.
He grunted, and his eyes opened wide.
“Whoops,” I said innocently. Now it was my turn to grin.
I bent his leg and leaned forward again, stretching out all the muscles. The truth was that his leg was healing perfectly. He just needed to use it. Move it, twist it, break up the scar tissue, and hope for no lingering damage.
As I started to push his leg to the outside, wanting to really stretch at him, Hudson then made a cheap move. He kicked his left leg forward, unbending his knee. I collapsed down onto him, but at the last second, he put his hands out and grabbed my waist. I was left between his legs, gasping, in a really compromising position.
“You okay?” he whispered to me, his breath close enough to brush against my face.
I realized that my left hand was on his shoulder, my right hand on the squishy mat he was laying on.
“Hudson…”
“You don’t have to hide from me, Cora,” he said. “The more you tell me, the more I’ll tell you. Seems like we can use each other.”
“No,” I said. I quickly got up to my knees.
I tried hard not to look down at him, but it was impossible. The white t-shirt hugged his body in all the right ways. The bottom of the shirt was pulled up enough to show hard skin. He was wearing basketball-type shorts, thick fabric, and that meant his arousal for me was pretty obvious. It wasn’t just a bulge, more like a slightly coiled-up snake.
Hudson propped up his knees and had a look of confidence on his face that was unfair. Fuck him for thinking he could just get hard and it make me want him.
I inched back more, then stood up.
I turned around to hide my face and collect myself. I couldn’t admit to him that I was more than slightly turned on. The heat raging through my body was pretty intense. A comforting sensation eased between my thighs, making my legs feel a little rubbery.
Shutting my eyes, I took a deep breath and counted to four.
Then I smelled something.
I looked over my shoulder, and Hudson was smoking.
Shorts, t-shirt, looking deadly sexy, a lit cigarette between his lips.
“You can’t do that here,” I said.
Hudson took a drag and smiled. “That was great, sweetheart. I always have a smoke after a good workout.”
I was speechless. He was terrifying in that moment. Not just because of his size and who he was, but because of how he made me feel.
I needed a distraction, and fast.
Lucky for me, that came just a few breaths later.
I saw Hudson’s eyes go wide as he tried to hurry and get to his feet. He screamed my name just as I looked forward to see a set of headlights barreling toward the window.
I think I screamed…but all I heard was glass shattering.
10
HUDSON
It sounded like a crack of thunder mix with a wicked earthquake. Fuck my leg that I couldn’t get to my feet sooner, but when I did, I jumped right at Cora. I thought the vehicle was going to keep coming at us, plow her over, and kill her. You’d think a guy like me who had just been hit by a SUV would run from a fast-moving vehicle. Part of me wanted to do just that. But there I was, wrapping my arms around Cora, twisting my body—twisting my leg—and basically throwing her out of the way. She was off her feet for a few seconds before she crashed onto the comfy mat with a yell.
The vehicle that smashed through the glass quickly started to back up.
I looked at the driver and knew exactly who it was.
The asshole that tried to kill me once before.
I reached back for my gun and realized I was in shorts. My jeans were balled-up, along with my leather cut, halfway across the floor.
About five feet from me, there was a counter that looked like a bar. Only this place didn’t serve up stiff drinks and cold beers. It was for people to drink water, get some fruit, and have smoothies. But on the counter was a set of keys.
I moved as quick as I could, hobbling, pain shooting up and down my leg.
I grabbed the keys and stuffed them into my pocket.
“Cora,” I said. “My gun is in my jeans. Use it if you need to.”
“What’s happening?” she cried out.
The SUV that smashed through the window was gone from the building. The headlights spun as the d
river cut the wheel. I wondered if he was going to try and come through the window again.
But instead, he took off.
I wasn’t going to let this shit go without a fight.
“Are you out front?” I yelled to Cora.
“Yes,” she said.
I knew she was afraid of the dark…or something. She parked her damn car out front.
I worked my way through the shattered glass and part of the building. I got to Cora’s car, climbed inside, and started it. I knew there was little to no chance of catching up to this asshole, but I had to try. I at least kept my cell phone on me at all times.
As I backed up and cut the wheel, the tires squealing, I called Jasper.
I sped out of the lot and went after the SUV.
“Hudson,” Jasper said.
“VP. They attacked me again.”
“What? Where?”
“The rehab center,” I said. “He just barreled through the fucking building. Almost killed Cora.”
“Who the hell is Cora?”
“Physical therapist. I’m in her car, chasing them down. They’re moving north, toward the hills. Brother, how soon can we get someone out here?”
“Fuck,” Jasper said. “Listen to me. Are you armed?”
“No. I’m in fucking shorts, man.”
“You go back,” Jasper said. “Don’t leave her to herself. If the cops show up… you get me?”
“Yeah.”
“I don’t need you shot. You can’t defend yourself. I’ll get some guys and prospects out there. We’ll find this guy, Hudson. Are you okay, bro?”
“I’m alive. He missed me this time.”
“Swing around and go back. Tell the police that some drunk guy hit the building and took off. Give a description opposite of what happened.”
“I know how this goes, VP.”
“Good. I’ll catch up with you later.”
The call went dead.
I slowed the car and watched as the SUV sped out of my sight. I gripped the steering wheel tight and cursed. I looked at my leg. Anything that felt good back there with Cora was gone. She was a fucking fantasy to me and nothing more. A few minutes of flirting and laughing. The reality of it all was out there, waiting, whoever that asshole was in the SUV. The one bold enough to kill one of his own. And all the club could do was wait and see what Irish kicked back in terms of intel.
