CLAIMED BY THE BAD BOY: A Dark Bad Boy Romance (Bloody Saints MC)

by Zoey Parker

  “You know, I don’t mind doing this work for Vlad. He certainly pays well. But I always hold on to everything for a couple of days after the auction for just this reason, you know. I’d hate for you guys to need something right after I burn it up. I must say, though, this is the first time anyone has come looking for anything.”

  He kept walking while he talked until he reached a door with what looked like a storage room behind it. I could see boxes stacked on shelves through the window in the door. He grabbed the handle on the door and opened it, revealing three trash bags sitting just inside the room. Two were black, the other white.

  “I’ve asked the organizers of the auctions to color code the bags for me. Black is for personal effects. White is for paperwork. Knock yourself out,” he said as he reached for the first bag to drag it out. “Do you need any help?” he asked me.

  “Nope. I’m fine. If there’s anything else you need to do, I might be here for a little while,” I answered.

  “No problem. Take your time. Just come find me when you’re finished,” he said.

  I sat down with the three bags in front of me. I had no idea what I was looking for. I started with the paperwork, searching to see if there were any clues to the identities of the men who had turned Maggie and Anthea over. I already knew Axel was probably behind both of them. He was behind Anthea for sure, but I wasn’t so sure about Maggie. I also needed to see if there were any other loose ends in their cases.

  When the paperwork didn’t turn up any new leads, I started into the black bags. I was looking for anything the girls could have had on them – purses, wallets, phones, anything at all. I found IDs for a few of the other girls, but there was absolutely zilch in the bags that belonged to either of my girls.

  I essentially had two girls who could not be positively identified, who had both been dropped off at the auction pretty much at random. One had been dropped off by a man simply identifying himself as her brother. The other had absolutely no paperwork showing she’d even been there. The situation looked worse and worse the more I dug into it.

  I groaned as I placed the bags back into the storage room and went to find Mr. Merrick again. I thanked him for his time and told him I hadn’t found anything. He apologized and told me he’d go ahead and burn the evidence. We shook hands and I walked back out to the bike.

  It was time to move Maggie somewhere safe while I went after Axel directly.

  Chapter 17

  Maggie

  “You’re going to do what with me?” I asked as I recoiled from Blade’s words.

  “I already told you I felt like you might need to go somewhere safe for a little while. We have safehouses where you can hide out. No one will find you there,” he explained again.

  “I know that, but why do I need to go to a safehouse? Why aren’t I safe under your watch?” I challenged him.

  “Because I can’t be here all the time, Maggie, and you’re not anyone’s responsibility here except mine, so I’m going to put you somewhere where our people can keep an eye on you.” He talked slowly, patiently.

  “I don’t like it. Where did you go this afternoon?” I asked him. “What’s going on? How did I end up at that auction? Who sent me there? I’ve been thinking about it, Blade, and it just doesn’t seem like the guys who run that show would be out looking for random chicks to toss up on that auction block, you know?” I paced the room as the words flew out of my mouth.

  “Maggie,” he said sharply as he grabbed my arm and stopped me in front of him. “Listen, I’m trying to help you. I’m trying to get answers. It was no accident that you ended up there last night, just like it was no accident that the other girl ended up there. I’m sure your ex is behind it, and I’ve got to find him. I’ve got to figure out what game he’s playing. In order to do that, I need you to be somewhere safe, so I don’t have to worry about you, too. Okay?” His mouth carefully formed every word, as if he were trying to keep his cool and not say the wrong thing.

  “Okay, I got it.” I pulled my wrist back. It still didn’t make any sense to me that I couldn’t stay at the clubhouse while he was doing this. It felt like he was kicking me out and making excuses.

  I didn’t argue anymore. I didn’t say anything else about it. I dropped it and went with him when it was time to go. I felt strange walking back downstairs with him, with nothing in my hands, nothing that I owned at all with me. Even my clothes had come from the MC.

  Was this my new life? Getting shuffled from place to place? At least I wasn’t going back to the alley to sleep on the asphalt under a cardboard box and crusty old blanket. I had that going for me, right? No one noticed me as we left the MC. They probably all assumed I was going somewhere with Blade.

  Outside, the sun was already setting. Night had fallen and the city lights were on, though the sky still had the last little bit of orange and pink around the horizon. I put my arms around myself against the chill in the air and hurried behind Blade as we walked to the car.

  Once inside, he cranked it up and got the heat going.

  “The safehouse will be able to provide you with warmer clothes, toiletries, all that stuff. If you were staying with me at the clubhouse, we still could have gone by to pick up some things. But I really think you’ll be safer there,” he told me as we pulled away from the clubhouse.

  I didn’t respond. I was content to ride in silence and stare out at the night closing in around us. Even with the heat on in the car, the cool night air crept in through the windows. The glass seemed to be more of an ally for the cold air outside than the warm air billowing from the vents. I wanted a strong pair of arms to wrap around me and make me feel safe again, but I felt like I was being tossed back out into the world I came from.

  We pulled up to an old two-story house at the edge of downtown. There were lights on in several of the windows, and I could see a shadow sitting on the steps leading up to the porch, a glowing red cherry at the end of a cigarette in their hand. The cherry grew brighter as they took a drag.

  Blade parked along the curb. “We’re here,” he said. “Before we go inside, I want to tell you how this works. You can come and go as you please. You don’t have to answer to anyone. But the place is staffed with the Marauders MC and some of our old ladies, so you’re with my people, just like you would be if you stayed at the clubhouse. They’ll take care of you.”

  I forced a smile. “You don’t have to keep explaining it to me, Blade. I get it. I know what a safehouse is. I’ve stayed at one before.”

  “You have?”

  I opened the door to the car and looked back to wink at him as I got out. “There’s a lot you don’t know about me,” I teased.

  “Let me walk you in so they don’t think you’re just walking in off the street,” he said, catching up with me and putting a hand behind my back.

  I instinctively moved closer to him, trying to get some of his warmth. He wrapped his arm around my shoulders and pulled me to him. I leaned my head against his side while we walked, letting his warmth envelop me.

  He didn’t speak to the young lady wrapped in a blanket on the steps as we passed. I figured he didn’t know her. We reached the porch, and he opened the door to the house. As we crossed the threshold onto the wooden floor, a homey warmth embraced me.

  “Hey, Blade, what’s up, brother?” A wide man covered in tattoos with a long thick beard embraced Blade briefly.

  “Nothing much, just bringing this lost soul in from the cold,” he said. Then, he stepped aside to introduce us. “Maggie, this is Lights. He’s the head of this house.”

  “I’m also what Santa brings you if you’ve been naughty,” this new guy said, looking me up and down.

  Blade nudged him. “Keep your eyes in your head, kid,” he said.

  He looked at Blade and then back at me. “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize.” He threw his hands up to signify he was backing away.

  “I didn’t either,” I chimed in. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Lights,” I said, offering him my
hand.

  “The pleasure is all mine, Maggie.”

  “All right, you two. Look, Maggie needs a place to stay for a few days. I’ve got to handle some business for her to make sure she’s not in danger. She’s got an abusive ex who’s trying to start some trouble for her now that she’s gone,” Blade explained.

  “And, of course, unable to resist a pretty face, Sir Blade of the Roundtable is going to come to this damsel’s rescue,” Lights mocked him.

  My face flushed as I laughed at the two of them. It brought a warmth to my cheeks and my heart to see Blade react to Lights flirting with me the way he did.

  “Yeah, we got it,” Lights said, clapping his brother on the back. “Now, Maggie,” he said as he turned to me, “do you have any clothes other than what you’re wearing? Any personal effects?”

  I shook my head. “I’ve got nothing. This is it.”

  “Well, tell your lover boy here goodbye. You’ll see him again soon enough. Let’s go and get you set up with a bed.”

  I blushed again as I turned to Blade to tell him bye. He took me in his arms and hugged me, picking me up off the ground as he did. He didn’t say anything until he put me back down.

  “I’ll be back soon,” he said. “I’m going to handle this for you and make sure you’re safe.”

  “I know,” I told him as he let me go and walked back out the door. Even though I knew he was trying to do what he thought was right and what he thought would keep me safe from Axel and whatever kind of bullshit he’d gotten me into, it still hurt to watch him leave. It still felt like he was abandoning me with more strangers.

  “All right, then. Let’s get you set up,” Lights said, interrupting me as I stood there staring at the door.

  “Sorry, yeah. Let’s do that. Thank you, by the way,” I said as I tried to keep up with him.

  “No problem. It’s what we do. Not every MC is into crime and violence. Some of us try to give back to the community when we can. Hell, we wouldn’t be here if not for someone looking out for us. You ask any biker how he ended up in his MC, and the story will probably sound pretty much the same,” Lights said as we mounted the stairs.

  “And how is that?” I asked, just a few steps behind.

  “We were each lost in some way, and a biker found us. Some guys are already riding when they come in. Some find the love for it when they get here, but we were all looking for some kind of purpose, some place to belong. Those are the basic elements of damn near every biker’s story,” he explained. “Kind of like how you wound up here, you know? Nowhere else to go, so some guy with muscles and tattoos reached out to you and pulled you in.”

  I nodded, as if he could see me. “You’re right.”

  “Hell, I know I am,” he said gruffly, and suddenly he sounded ages older than he looked.

  I followed him up to the second floor and down the hallway to a wooden door with the number ten on it. He gripped the doorknob and gave it a turn.

  “Each of our rooms has been converted into something similar to a hotel room,” he said as he opened the door. “You have a full-size bed and a set of dresser drawers. We can bring you some clothes up from downstairs. Each room has a bathroom, so you can handle your business privately. There’s a closet and a fully stocked linen closet. Laundry is in the basement, and there is a stocked kitchen downstairs.”

  “Thank you. Is there anything I need to do?” I asked. Getting all of this as part of a free ride just didn’t seem real.

  “Nope. You’re fine. You can come and go as you please, and here is the key to your room. The door downstairs is always open, and there is always someone watching it. Welcome aboard, Maggie. If there’s anything you need, just let us know down in the front room.”

  “Thanks,” I said as he handed me the key and marched off down the hallway. “Oh, hey, clothes,” I called after him.

  “I’ll bring some up,” he said.

  A little while later, he knocked on the door with a few shirts, a jacket, a couple of changes of jeans, a couple of bras, and some panties. He blushed as I grabbed the underwear from his hands.

  “I had one of the ladies handle the underwear for you,” he said nervously. “But there you go. Have a good night, Maggie.” He backed out of the door way and closed it, not looking at me.

  I laughed as I put up the clothes and went to lie on the bed. I wondered if Blade would keep his word and come back once everything was settled, or if he was going to be like every other man and betray me. I tried to shake it off, telling myself there was nothing to worry about. Blade was good people, just like Lights and Bre, even if she was a bit neurotic and overly eager.

  I lay on top of the covers and stared at the ceiling. I had a TV in my room, and I fully intended to turn it on for some background noise, but I drifted off to sleep before I ever found the remote.

  Chapter 18

  Blade

  The night passed with no leads on Axel and no sleep for me. I was up all night worrying about Maggie. I knew she was safe, but I felt personally responsible for her safety, and it was killing me not to be able to keep an eye on her. On top of that, I had constructed a very complicated lie surrounding the situation I found myself in. I felt guilty for dumping her off at the safehouse and for lying to my prez about what was going on, but I had to handle it on my own. After all, it seemed like I was the one being targeted.

  Morning turned into afternoon. I had reached out to my eyes and ears on the street to see if anyone had spotted Axel, but he was keeping a low profile. Rightfully so. By bringing the auction into his little scheme, he probably had a few guys under Vlad looking for him, too. He wasn’t in a good position.

  As the afternoon wore on, I got a call from Vlad. My heart stopped when his name came up on my phone. My breath caught in my throat, and my lungs squeezed in the vacuum left behind in my chest.

  “Blade, hey, I have a job for you.” He was talking as soon as I answered.

  “What’s up, Vlad?” I asked, my voice choked by my clenched throat.

  “We are holding a special auction, and I need you to work it for me.” He spoke like there was no option of declining.

  “When is it?” I asked. I failed to mention that I was reluctant to accept his job because I was still cleaning up from the last auction.

  “It will be soon. Alexander will get you all the details, as he usually does. But we have a very special guest who will be in attendance,” he said, baiting me with partial information.

  I waited a moment, just to see if he was planning on telling me who the special guest was without my having to ask. But he didn’t offer up anything else.

  “All right, who is it?” I asked with a sigh.

  He laughed. It struck me as a particularly Russian laugh. “Yuri Ivanov.”

  “Wait, you mean the Yuri Ivanov? I thought you guys were rivals, Vlad,” I said, bewildered. Yuri was the only person who could even be considered a rival of Vlad’s. He was the powerful head of a gang from upstate. He controlled cities in other states, too.

  “Well, apparently, he caught wind of our auctions down here, and he wants to take part in them. He wants to buy one of my girls, Blade, so instead of making him wait until the end of January for our next auction, I’ve decided to schedule a special auction just for him,” Vlad explained, taking the time to brag. Hell, he’d earned it.

  “I’m floored,” I admitted. “I thought Yuri Ivanov was just a legend. You know, a lot of people think he’s just a name his gang invented to give them a more menacing identity, and to give them a way to tie their cities together.”

  “No, he’s real, and he’s coming. Like I said, Alexander will give you the details when the time comes,” he said. “I want to thank you for all you’ve done for me, Blade. You’ve been a real comrade.”

  “Thank you, Vlad. That means a lot.” I still felt like I owed him so much, so to hear him express any gratitude was pretty fucking huge in my book.

  “I understand there have been some troubles with the last auction,�
� he continued.

  “Yes, sir, but I’m cleaning it up. I’m tracking down the person who caused the trouble. I know who it is, so now I just have to find him. It won’t be long now. I’m on his trail.” I was lying to everyone, it seemed. I did know who Axel Walker was, but I wasn’t hot on his trail. I was basically waiting for a tip.

  I wondered if Vlad had found out about the trouble from Alexander or if anyone else had reached out to tell him when Titus Bard started calling around about his underage girl. Either way, he knew I was working on cleaning it up. He knew I had it under control. What he probably didn’t know was that I took one of the girls home with me. He also probably didn’t know the underage girl was staying in one of the Marauders’ safehouses. He didn’t need to know the details.