Breathing His Air

by Debra Kayn

  “I get that, but it doesn’t have anything to do with me,” she said.

  “Damn it.” He hooked his finger under her chin and lifted her gaze. “Nothing goes down in Pitnam that we don’t know about. We … everyone in Bantorus makes sure of that. If there’s trouble, we take care of it ourselves. In return, it’s our base.”

  “Who are the Lagsturns?”

  “Bad news.” He leaned closer. “They deal.”

  “Deal what?”

  “Everything. Drugs, women, imports, stolen goods. Anything they can get their hands on, and they’re not afraid to try and take what is ours.” He clamped his teeth together and forced himself to go on and tell her the truth. “That includes my woman, who they’ve already tried to pick up. And because I saved your ass, took you as mine so they’d leave you alone, that means you’re my woman and a bargaining chip in their war, to get to me.”

  “But I’m not yours. This is just … archaic.” She shook her head. “I’ll just leave. I wasn’t planning on staying in Pitnam after my lease expired. I travel all over. It’s what I do.”

  “I can’t let you, because I don’t trust them not to follow you.” He lifted his chin and sniffed the air. “What’s that smell?”

  She shook her head. “What?”

  He walked to the open window and peered outside. A billow of smoke floated into view around the corner of the building. “Shit.”

  She jumped out of his way. “What’s wrong?”

  “Go tell Gladys we’ve got a fire behind the bar and to call 911,” he said, running down the hall. “Then stay inside.”

  He pushed through the door. The sight before him stopped him instantly. “Jesus … ”

  Flames rolled out the blown windows in Cabin B and licked the roof. He ran to the outside faucet at his cabin next door and quickly turned the water on and stretched out the hose. Heat from the fire formed a curtain around the cabin as he unsuccessfully fought the flames.

  In the distance, the sound of sirens grew louder. He turned his face away and spotted Torque and the others moving bikes out of the way. Knowing the cabin was a total loss, he jogged over and wet down the roof of his cabin. Thankfully, Cabin B was the end of the line of small houses, and he only had to worry about the fire spreading to his place.

  Several minutes later, he shut the water off, dropped the hose, and moved out of the way for the Pitnam fire crew. He planted his hands on his waist and surveyed the damage. They’d be lucky if the studs of the walls remained standing.

  A hand clamped down on his shoulder. He flinched and found Jedman. “Make sure Tori remains inside.”

  “Already done. Bruce is watching her. Ronny’s called everyone together, and they’re meeting at your house at four o’clock.” Jedman ran his hand across the bottom of his nose. “Ronny called in and mentioned three Lagsturns heading to I-5 an hour before you noticed the fire. We figured they had to have doubled back on the overpass.

  “Doesn’t make sense. One of us should’ve seen or heard something,” he said.

  “Hate to say this, but while this was going down, Officer Russ Swanson delayed Slade over on Dike road. Slade totally missed the other riders returning to town.”

  He frowned. “Swanson?”

  The patrol officer for the state of Washington was a royal pain in the ass. Some said he looked the other way and had a hard time toeing the line. Rumors, but Rain wouldn’t put it past the Lagsturns to have enough reach to intimidate the blue shirts.

  “Give me an hour and then get Chief Jordan on the phone.” Rain brushed the front of his shirt off.

  Jedman frowned. “Pitnam’s Chief?”

  “Yeah.” He inhaled sharply through his nose and held his breath, then let it out. Confident the fire wasn’t an accident, he wanted it reported and investigated.

  “Man … ”

  “Do it.” He stalked back to the bar and entered through the rear door.

  He ran his gaze to Tori, sitting at the bar nursing a lemonade. He caught Bruce’s eye and pointed behind him at his office. He slipped his hand underneath the leather of his vest and rubbed his chest. The tightness grew.

  Bruce led Tori to the room. “Here’s Tori, boss.”

  “Thanks.” He tipped his chin to Bruce. “Shut the door on your way out.”

  Giving himself a few seconds to calm down, he moved over and sat on the couch. He watched Tori. She glanced everywhere but at him, and he waited. When he spoke, he wanted all her attention.

  “Did they get the fire out?” She glanced at him, moved over to the far wall, and fingered the framed business certificate.

  He clamped his teeth together. She didn’t deserve to be thrust into his trouble. Dressed in her skimpy shorts and a shirt, she had no idea her world was about to change. His anger grew over the situation, realizing those were now the only damn clothes she owned. He hated that the bad news happened on Bantorus land, and he was responsible.

  He coughed, clearing the remains of smoke from his lungs. “Yeah. It’s out.”

  “That’s good,” she said.

  “Babe?”

  “Hm?” She dropped her hand from the frame, but refused to turn around.

  He could add stubbornness to her list of faults. “Look at me.”

  Her shoulders sagged and she pivoted. “What?”

  “You’re pissed.”

  “Uh, duh.” She lifted her arms and let her hands come down and slap the top of her bare thighs. “You have no right to hold me hostage here. Don’t think I wasn’t in there plotting how to make Bruce and all the guys ambush you so I could leave.”

  “But you didn’t.”

  She scoffed. “It’s summertime. I know a fire is dangerous when the grass is dry.”

  “You cared … ” he said.

  “About the bar.”

  He chuckled. She wasn’t fooling him. “Are you done?”

  “No.” She cocked her hip in the same direction her head tilted. “I’m leaving. All I have to do is go pick up my luggage out of the cabin, and I’ll be on the interstate out of here. If I never see you again, I’ll be overjoyed.”

  He dragged his feet closer and leaned forward. “You — ”

  “I can.” She swiveled and opened the door.

  He let her have a three-second head start, and then he stood and followed her out the backdoor. He found her standing in the lot, staring at the burnt cabin. The embers still smoked, even though the fire was out.

  He stood behind her, close enough her hair brushed his chest. She leaned against him, and he slipped his arms around her and held her to his front. “It’ll be okay. You’ll stay with me.”

  “My things?” she whispered.

  “I’ll get you new clothes.”

  “You don’t understand.” She stiffened, but he wouldn’t let her walk away.

  “Sh.” He turned her without letting go. “Let’s go inside. You can tell me what I’m missing.”

  She walked woodenly beside him. He kept his hand on her, afraid she’d run. He expected hysterics, fear, or maybe a little bit of anger. Instead, she’d turned cold.

  Chapter Ten

  Clustered in Rain’s office with Torque, Slade, Taylor, and Rain, Tori clutched the glass of ice water in her hands. She stared at them all from her position on the couch. What they were saying went right over her head.

  “With Tori at the house, you can lock everything down with me, Torque, and Renny out on the River Road. She’ll be safer out of town. It’d be damn hard to sneak up on us.” Rain leaned against the windowsill beside her.

  She took advantage of the lapse in conversation. “What house?”

  “My house.” Rain ran his hand down the back of her head.

  “You’ll like it out there.” Taylor smiled beside her on the couch.
/>   “I thought he lived in the cabin,” she said.

  Torque laughed. Slade whistled and looked at Rain. Taylor shook her head. Tori frowned and turned to Rain. “I just want to hit the interstate and go somewhere else. I don’t need to stay at your house. If I knew stopping here would piss someone off, I never would’ve pulled off the highway.”

  He squatted, putting himself at eye level with her. “I don’t trust Sanchez — that’s the leader of the Lagsturns — not to follow you wherever you go. Burning the cabin down was a direct threat to you. You’re going to have to trust me that I know who we’re dealing with and wait.”

  “I can’t close my coffee shack. That’s my only source of income.”

  He nodded. “We’ll work something out so you can keep working.”

  “I don’t understand all this.” She leaned over and set her glass on the small end table. “Can you please tell me why someone would want to burn down the cabin I was staying in? I thought when you ran outside it was because of a brush fire, or someone lit the Dumpster on fire.”

  His face went hard as granite. “I wish I knew.”

  “You’re not sure it is the Lagsturns, are you?”

  “No, but I’ll keep you safe.” He squeezed her nape. “We all will.”

  She stood. “None of you have ever given it a thought that this problem is yours? That they burned down my cabin and ruined everything I owned because I have … had the end cabin and the easiest one to set on fire without getting caught? This might not have anything to do with me, but you. In that case, there’s no reason for me to stay.”

  “I’d believe that if the Lagsturns played by the rules, but they don’t.” Rain stepped around the desk, opened the top drawer, and removed a set of keys. “Last year, it got personal. They used a woman to get to me, and it ended badly. I won’t let that happen with you.”

  She stared at him. Tall, strong, rough, and unforgiving, he wasn’t talking about just an argument with another man. They were bikers. If she’d learned one thing since staying here it was you mess with one of them, they all were involved.

  She’d stepped into the middle of a war.

  Rain tossed the keys to Torque. “Pick up my car. It’s at Shift’s for an oil change. When you get back, I’ll take Tori home and get her settled. Make sure you talk to Bruce and Gladys later and fill them in on what’s happening. Someone will have to pick up my hours here. I’ll let you know when we’re situated enough to start coming in every day.”

  “Got it, boss.” Torque turned to Tori. “Rain will take care of you.”

  She sighed without answering. She’d be a lot more convinced of that if the Bantorus were a group of policemen or lawyers. No one could convince her hanging around was in her best interest.

  “Do you want me to take her shopping tomorrow?” Taylor grinned. “You can trust me with your credit card, boss.”

  Tori shook her head. “I’ll buy my own clothes, thank you very much.”

  “Don’t blow a good thing, girlfriend. Rain’s loaded. Take him up on the offer.” Taylor rubbed her hands together, unashamed for her greediness.

  “Loaded?” she whispered.

  “He owns Cactus Cove, the Cozy Inn and Lounge, Shift’s Garage, that beautiful house in the woods. He practically owns all of — ”

  “Enough, Taylor.” Rain shot her a stern look. “None of that’s important.”

  “I think it is,” Tori said quietly. Before she could take the words back, she powered through. “That makes everything different.”

  “Why?”

  She chewed on her lip. He couldn’t be that dense. She owned a two-thousand-dollar truck, and she’d invested four thousand dollars into an old travel trailer to recreate it into a mobile coffee service. Most of that money came from working waitress jobs over the years while living in a low-income, pay-by-the-day, residential center or in her truck in store parking lots. It took everything she had to save up enough money to make her independent from anyone else. She would not depend on someone else for her livelihood.

  Rain motioned for Taylor and Slade to leave. She watched them go, wondering what it was about this hard, compelling man that demanded authority and had everyone jumping to do whatever he said.

  “Tori.” He put his hands on her shoulders and turned her toward him. “You’re safe with me.”

  She wasn’t so sure. He represented everything she’d always tried to stay far away from. She also knew she didn’t have much choice, since she was standing in the only clothes she now owned, and there was no way she could hook up her shack to her truck and disappear without one of his buddies ratting her out.

  “I have no choice but to trust you.” She inhaled deeply. “What do I do now?”

  “When Torque returns with my car, I’ll take you home.” Rain kissed her forehead. “I’ll make it up to you.”

  She frowned. “From what you’re telling me, it isn’t your fault … not really.”

  “Doesn’t matter. You’re my responsibility, and I don’t take this lightly.” He grabbed his jacket from the chair. “I will put a stop to it, though.”

  The idea that he could get hurt or more deeply involved in his feud with the Lagsturns seemed counterproductive. “Why don’t you let the police handle it?” she asked.

  He grimaced. “Right.”

  “What?” She stopped him from moving. “What do you have against asking for help and letting those who are supposed to keep peace do their job?”

  “Nothing, except they have to follow the rules.” He flipped his jacket over his shoulder. “I don’t.”

  His confession wasn’t what she wanted to hear. It was what she feared.

  He led her out of the office and out the back door. Her gaze went straight to the smoldering mess where her cabin had once stood. He gave her shoulder a squeeze, and she looked to him. She hoped he was right, and she would be safe. If she let herself dwell on someone out there wanting to harm her, she’d fall apart.

  “Here comes Torque,” he said.

  She swiveled around. No way.

  A cherry red, old-style Corvette convertible, top down, sun reflecting on the chrome, purred into the parking lot. Aware of her jaw hanging loose, Tori closed her mouth. She thought she’d found out all of Rain’s secrets. Apparently not.

  Afraid knowing anything more would freak her out, she decided to ignore the fact that he was richer than a normal man had a right to be and concentrate on what she could do next. In too deep and too traumatized over the fire to come up with a solution, she’d give herself until tomorrow to have a plan solidified.

  Torque stepped out of the car and whistled. “Always a pleasure, man.”

  Rain grinned and opened the passenger door. “Hop in, babe. Let’s go home.”

  She slid into the white leather seat. As she checked the car out, he leaned in front of her, grabbed the seatbelt, and latched it around her.

  “I could’ve done that myself.” She pressed her head against the seat.

  “Yeah.” He chuckled, closing the door. “But why should you when I’m here to do it for you?”

  She leaned against the headrest and refused to watch him walk in front of the car and get in beside her. Out of her element, she pushed away the rising panic. One more day, and she’d be on the road by herself in her beat-up old truck, the window down, the radio cranked, and on the lookout for a new place to set up shop.

  Somewhere with no bikers and no bar.

  Maybe a town that was famous for their casinos and nightlife. She glanced over at Rain. And no sexy man who hid his wealth behind a beat-up old leather jacket and tattoos, who tried to take care of her with the aggressiveness of a pit bull.

  “Tori!” Taylor closed the back door and ran toward the car with a sack in her arms. When Taylor reached the Corvette, she put the sack behind Tor
i’s seat. “The girls and I went through our stuff we have in the back room. Nothing big, just some odds and ends. Lotion, makeup, hairbrush, girly products … seeing how Rain probably won’t have any of those lying around his house.”

  “Thanks.” She held out her arms and hugged Taylor. “I appreciate all you’ve done. I just can’t believe this is happening. I don’t even know what I’ll need.”

  Taylor nodded. “Rain will get you set up tomorrow. Tonight, don’t worry about anything. We’re all here to help. You’ll get back on your feet in no time.”

  She blew Taylor a kiss, too choked up to say any more. The girls in the bar were one highlight of stopping in Pitnam. They accepted her, no questions asked.

  Rain turned the car on. Taylor stood on the sidewalk and waved. Tori wiggled her fingers goodbye, not sure exactly where Rain’s house was located or where he was taking her. The only thing she could do was trust him, and common sense told her she needed to protect herself.

  “Hey!” Taylor grinned before Rain could shift into first gear. “We threw a couple condoms in there too, just in case.”

  “Oh, my God.” She was mortified.

  Rain laughed, drove the car through the parking lot and out onto the street. She slunk down in her seat. She knew exactly what was going through Rain’s head, because it was going through hers too. She was going to kill Taylor tomorrow.

  Chapter Eleven

  Tori could handle losing her belongings in the fire. She could handle hearing Lagsturns had come after her because Rain claimed her as his own. She could even understand the reasoning behind the decision to have her hang around Pitnam longer because of Rain’s concerns. What she couldn’t handle was finding out that Rain lived in a freaking mansion overlooking the Lewis River in a house the likes of which she’d never seen before.

  Talk about pegging him wrong. The Corvette she understood. He rode a motorcycle. It made complete sense that he’d socked all his money into a classic car. But the house? She had a feeling he was only letting her see the surface of the man named Rain.