HITMAN’S SURPRISE BABY

by Kathryn Thomas

  “Ask some of the other guys out front. They might have seen her. I didn’t hang around long after we talked.”

  Bo nodded. “Thanks, brother.” He shut the door quietly and headed for the front lounge, where music still pulsed quietly. The sounds of Marty and Butch in the sanctuary reached him, their voices quiet murmurs.

  Bo headed for Jerry, who was passed out on the couch. He grabbed him by the neck of his shirt, shaking him awake. His bright blue eyes popped open, confusion knitting across his face. His curly brown hair was bordered on afro after his stint on the couch.

  “Hey. You seen Dakota?”

  Jerry blinked up at him, like he might not be sure if this was a dream. “Who?”

  “Dakota. The girl who did your tattoo yesterday.” He shook him, to jostle him out of his stupor. “You hung out here last night. Was she around?”

  “Bo, nothing happened, I swear. I don’t even remember—”

  Bo tightened his grip on his collar. “She’s gone. Did you see her last night?”

  Jerry relaxed a little, brow furrowing. “Uh…no. Not really. I was mostly hanging with the Angels last night. Doing shots n’ stuff.”

  “Who else was here?”

  Jerry sat up a little, gesturing to the girls on the couches across the room. “All of them. A few of the guys left. Turbo was here for a while, but not long.”

  Bo released him and stormed across the room, eyes on Nance. She’d carried a flame for him for too damn long, and if anyone kept an eye on Dakota, it would be her, though not for the right reasons. Bo had made the mistake of hooking up with her a few times last year, and she’d stuck like glue ever since.

  “Nance. Wake up.” He gently shook her shoulder. Her eyes fluttered open, clarity searing across her face. She sat up, clearing her throat.

  “Bo. What can I do for you?”

  “Where’s Dakota?”

  She deflated slightly, like maybe she’d been hoping for something a bit more intimate in the early morning hours. “How should I know?”

  “You were hanging out here all night.” He searched her face for an answer. “Did you see her?”

  “Yeah. She left around midnight I think.”

  Dread slunk through his insides. He hadn’t considered the fact that maybe she’d left on her own accord. “What? By herself?”

  “Yeah. She had a backpack and whatever. Didn’t say nothin’, just left.”

  Bo sat back onto his heels, the news rioting through him. “Nobody tried to stop her?”

  “Why would they try to stop her?” She bunched the pillow beneath her head. “After the scene you made yesterday.”

  He rubbed at his face. She was right. Nobody would have dared even blink in her direction after what happened with Jerry and his buddies.

  “Thanks. Go back to sleep.” He stood and headed for the kitchen, using the bright space and the hum of the fridge as a way to calm his careening mind. He sat tense at the table, wondering what to do next. Where would she go? What had driven her to leave in the first place?

  Bo tugged his phone out of his pocket, scrambling to dial Red’s number. It rang and rang and rang—and the finally she picked up, sounded sleepy.

  “Hello?”

  “Red. Have you seen Dakota?”

  There was a pause. “Bo, is this you?”

  “Yes, it’s me. Dakota’s gone. Have you seen her? I’m fucking worried sick.”

  Another pause. “Do you even know what time it is? I’ve been sleeping since ten last night, dude. I have no idea where she is. Did something happen?”

  Desperation cinched his insides, stole his breath. “No. I mean, I don’t think so. She disappeared while I was out on a mission. Some of the guys around here said they saw her leave. Alone.”

  “Bo, I’m sorry, but I have no idea. I’ll call her when I wake up. I’m sure she just went home or something. That clubhouse gets intense, you know how it is.”

  Her words did little to calm him. He rubbed at his eyes, trying to find even an ounce of her reassurance somewhere inside him. “Yeah. Call me the second you hear from her. I gotta know what happened to her.”

  “Sure, Bo. I wouldn’t worry. Just get some sleep.”

  They hung up and Bo propped his elbows on his knees, staring at the 70’s block pattern of the linoleum. Sleep wouldn’t come; not for a long while. His mind was way too hopped up to even consider going to bed.

  He had to find out what happened to Dakota…why she’d left. Why she’d changed her mind.

  Because the cavity in his chest threatened to crack into an abyss if he didn’t get those answers.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN Dakota awoke the next morning feeling like she’d chosen the wrong page of her Choose-Your-Own-Adventure book. The dull ceiling of Red’s spare bedroom unnerved her somehow, though she didn’t know how a regular, faded white ceiling could prompt such a reaction. The spare bed was plush and, unironically, completely outfitted in red. The woman was dedicated to her name, and her entire apartment reflected that.

  Dakota turned onto her side, snuggling into the plush pillow she’d clutched to her chest, a lame replacement for Bo. She missed him. It was the fucking truth. And it made no sense. She missed a murderer— a killer. This is how women ended up dating men long-term in prisons, because they fell for their sociopathic whiles long before they became incarcerated for life. Do you want to be Bo’s lifelong penpal in prison? Didn’t think so, chica.

  She sighed, rubbing a few errant tears against the pillow. Still, he didn’t feel like a sociopath. Maybe that’s how sociopaths did it.

  Even still, there was something about him that begged her to take a second look.

  But she couldn’t. She should have learned her lesson the last time around with the professor. There was no need to allow weird bullshit into her life anymore. Even if the bearer of the weird bullshit was a chiseled tattoo god like Bo.

  She stretched and yawned. Her dreams had been haunting, with strange masked people hunting her and more bullets firing. Maybe she’d screamed in her sleep. God, she hoped Bo had made it back okay from that mission. The only downside to not sticking around the clubhouse was the not knowing. If she couldn’t be with him…she still at least wanted him to be alive.

  Dakota pushed out of bed, rubbing her eyes on the way to the bathroom. After a quick piss and brushing her teeth, she went out into the kitchen, where Red was making breakfast.

  “Hey there doll. You’re up earlier than I expected.” She grinned like she had a secret, but really Dakota suspected she was grateful for the girl time after her hiatus from Ink Works. She and Red had gotten along well; maybe this was just the grounding turn of events she needed.

  “I guess I couldn’t sleep as much I wanted to.” She slid onto a bar stool in front of the kitchen island, eyes lighting up as she took in the spread. “Whatcha cookin’?”

  “A little bit of everything. Thought you staying here deserved the royal touch, you know?” Red winked, her bright red hair pulled back into a loose ponytail. “We’ve got hash browns, scrambled eggs, bacon, some sausage…hell, I’m about to make pancakes, too.”

  “Mmm.” She rubbed at her belly. After the meager Thai leftovers and the stressful night’s sleep, she was ready for a hearty meal. “Sounds great.”

  “You thinkin’ about coming to the studio today? I could get you some last-minute clients, no problem.”

  Dakota hesitated. Part of her was dying to get back to work, and make some money. Stop freeloading off of Bo and Red like they were her twisted adoptive parents. But on the other hand, that was where Bo would go first. And she wasn’t ready to see him. “I don’t know. I kind of want to lay low for a while. Things got…intense.”

  Red clucked her tongue. “You mean with Bo, right?”

  Dakota nodded, running a hand through her hair. “And I should have learned by now to stay away from intense guys.”

  “They’re so damn alluring. But not always the best idea, I guess.” Red sighed, pushing eggs around the skil
let. “So what happened? I didn’t want to pester you last night. Thought it would be best if we just went to bed.”

  Dakota pursed her lips, trying to find the best way to say it, so she didn’t sound like a heartbroken idiot. “Let’s just say I put myself in check. These guys…are not regular guys. Bo has a history, and I don’t know if I should be lining myself up with someone like him.”

  Red creased a brow, bacon sizzling in a pan on the stove. “Did he hurt you, babe?”

  “No. Nothing like that.” She picked at the cuticle of a nail. “He’s definitely jealous, though. I found that out in the week I lived with him.”

  “Yeah, they all are. It’s part of the lifestyle, or something.”

  Dakota laughed. “Are you dating one of them and I don’t know it?”

  Red paused, her face tightening. “I was, uh…I was kinda seeing Tony. He wasn’t a brother, but, you know…he might as well have been.”

  Dakota softened, reaching to touch her wrist across the island. “Oh, Red. I had no idea. I just thought he was, you know…a boss to you. I’m so sorry.”

  She shrugged, keeping her eyes on the skillet. “It’s okay. This sort of shit happens. Nothing we can do about it.”

  Dakota gnawed at the inside of her lip, Red’s words turning over and over again in her head. “But what’s the point of being with people who live like this? You know? That’s what I’m getting at. They bring pain, and drama, and strife. There’s no point to it.”

  Red nibbled on her bottom lip, tears welling in her eyes as she flipped the bacon. “Yeah, that sounds all well and good on paper. But you can’t control who you fall in love with, can you?”

  Dakota exhaled slowly, feeling like an ass. “You’re right. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to…”

  “It’s okay.” She waved her off, like dismissing it. She pushed the bacon around, snapping the burner off. “You didn’t know. And we never know who we’ll fall for, either. I think about this a lot, babe. Trust me. I used to feel the same way you did.”

  Dakota swallowed hard, feeling an uncomfortable truth coming on. It was so easy to disregard Bo when she reduced it to black and white. But feelings didn’t obey those clean-cut lines.

  “So how did you get over it?”

  Red sighed, grabbing some plates out of the cupboard. “I asked myself everyday…is this love worth it?”

  “Was it?”

  Red smiled sadly, tears shining in her eyes. “Of course. I wouldn’t be the woman I am now if I hadn’t loved my Tony. Our relationship was far from perfect…but damn, we had something special.”

  Dakota smiled, arranging the fork and knife beside her plate once Red handed them over. “Why weren’t you guys more out about it?”

  “Oh, a variety of reasons. Mostly me.” She laughed, wiping at her eyes, scooping generous portions of each food onto their plates. “I didn’t want it to look unprofessional for his business if he was dating his office manager. So I thought we could just keep it quiet, until…I don’t know. Until we got married or something.” She laughed again, but this time more tears slipped out.

  “I didn’t realize you’d been grieving.” Dakota winced, grabbing Red’s hand. She clasped it between her own, searching her face. “I’m so sorry.”

  Red nodded, sniffing hard. “Thanks, babe. I appreciate that. It’s good to have a friend now. I needed you, that’s for sure.”

  Dakota swallowed a knot in her throat. And she’d never have made it over here if she hadn’t found out about Bo killing the president of Demon Seed. Life had a funny way of serving up things like that. Whether they made sense or not.

  Red scooped the last bit of food onto her plate and settled onto the barstool beside her, grinning. “It’s time to eat.”

  “Breakfast does a body good,” Dakota said, lightly salting her eggs before she dove in. “Did you know Bo eats avocadoes like they’re candy?”

  Red lifted a brow, which made Dakota immediately regret saying anything. Why did she have to bring him up right away? Couldn’t she just eat her breakfast in peace without thinking about him?

  “He’s pure muscle. I figured the man had some healthy fat obsession.” Red laughed, ripping a piece of bacon with her teeth. “You know, he called me last night.”

  Dakota nearly dropped her fork. “He did?”

  Red nodded. “He’s worried about you. Asked me to tell him if I saw you.” She tutted. “Poor guy.”

  Dakota chewed her eggs, mind careening. Of course he’d call Red first thing. Because where else would she go? Her hiding out here was a dumb idea. If Bo caught wind that she’d fled here, and implicated Red in their tangled web of danger…shit, she didn’t even want to think about it.

  Maybe she should have just stayed at the clubhouse and broken up with Bo like all properly dysfunctional couples, with some shoving and shouting and a healthy dose of dramatics.

  “I don’t know what to do about him,” Dakota sighed, pushing sausage links around her plate. “I know I can’t avoid him forever. Maybe he’ll just forget about me if I avoid him long enough.”

  Red laughed. “Doubt that, sweet cakes.”

  “Why?”

  “I’ve never seen Bo come after someone like he’s been after you. Hell, I’ve never even seen the same girl in his bedroom twice. You took up residence for a whole week. That sounds to me like he’s in it for forever.”

  Dakota tried to fight a grin but couldn’t. “That’s ridiculous. We’re barely compatible. It’s just good sex.”

  Red lifted a brow, chewing on a piece of toast. “Are you trying to convince me, or yourself?”

  Dakota’s neck flushed and she shoved eggs into her mouth to avoid answering. She took her time chewing, letting the embarrassment subside. Hell yeah she was trying to convince herself. Bring it back to the neat logistics of black and white, where things made sense on paper. “Listen, Bo is…great. I mean, he is.” He’s fucking magnetic, and I can’t get enough of him. “I really…” She stilled, wondering what word felt better to use—love, or like, or something else? She changed directions altogether. “I wouldn’t give him more than a few months with me before he get bored and moves on. So doesn’t it just seem better to nip it in the bud now?”

  Red didn’t look convinced, smirking over her mug. “If you say so,” Red finally said, after an excruciatingly long time.

  “I think I’ll take a few days before I come back to the studio,” Dakota said. That, at least, felt like a happy compromise. Indulging in both worlds: fiscal responsibility, and avoiding Bo for just a little longer.

  “Sounds good, babe. And what should I tell Bo when he comes sniffing around?”

  “He won’t,” Dakota said, but immediately regretted saying it. Of course he would.

  Red seared her with a look that said exactly that. “So what should I tell him when he comes sniffing around?”

  “Don’t tell him I’m here.” Dakota bit into her toast, pleased by the crunch. “I just don’t want him to find out. Not until I feel…more stable. Ready to confront him. You know what I mean.”

  Red nodded, but Dakota could tell she didn’t entirely agree with the decision. “Okay, babe. I’m gonna head into the studio now. Make yourself at home, watch all the movies I’ve got, eat whatever you want to eat. You just call me if you need anything.”

  Dakota grinned at her. It was nice to be inside a home again. A place that felt cozy, comfortable, where she could be surrounded by her choice of laziness. “Thanks, Red. I have some sketchbooks and stuff too, so I think this will be a nice couple of spa days for me.”

  Red hugged her briefly before scooting out the door. Once the door swung shut, Dakota sat in the quiet of the apartment, listening to the sounds that reached her from afar: light footsteps from a neighbor upstairs; the whoosh of traffic beyond the front bay windows; maybe even some birds, unless that was a clock chiming that Red had somewhere.

  Dakota rubbed at her face. Ditching Bo like that hadn’t been a good idea…but it was the best one s
he had. And now all she had to do was ride it out for a while…and hope like hell Bo didn’t come around to find her.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN Bo awoke with a start. Sleep since Dakota left had been spotty and plagued with nightmares, most of which involved being lost in the creepiest mazes, with the vague sensation that Dakota was waiting for him at the end.

  He groaned, rolling onto his side, still wishing her warm body were next to his. She’d been gone for three days and his desperation only grew. He just wanted to hear from her—just to know that she was okay.

  She doesn’t want to be with you. You gotta accept that.

  But it was a damn bitter pill to swallow, and he kept retching it up no matter how hard he fought to keep the idea down. This wasn’t the end of their story. He knew it, somehow, like it was a secret burned into his bones. Dakota wasn’t out of his life. He just had no idea how to get back to her.