by A. J. Downey
“Why the change of heart, Cutter?” I asked softly.
“I’m not a bad guy Hope, and I meant it about wanting to get to know you,” he said, voice low and heated in all the right ways to send my body into a fit of wanting. Damn he was good.
“See you tonight,” he murmured into the phone with that smooth velvet undertone and he hung up. I stood with my phone to my ear for several moments after he’d severed the call, my mind working overtime.
Too many games. Too many feints and jabs. That too-familiar sinking feeling took up residence beneath my breastbone again but Cutter sounded so damned sincere, I wanted to believe him. I really did. Either way I didn’t have a choice. I would go. I would see what was what and I would do what I’d been doing for the last, shit; almost two years. I would hang onto the hope I would see my sister again, and I wouldn’t lose faith. Either one of them.
I slid my phone into the pocket for it in my purse and stared at the white leather and rhinestones, picturing the very black revolver in its depths. Dusk was only a couple of hours off and I would hopefully have some kind of an answer. Something to go on… I chewed my bottom lip.
I got the genuine feeling that Cutter wanted to help me. I also got the feeling he was hiding things from me. I didn’t like either, I wanted answers and I was going to get them. I snatched my purse off the bed and slung it over my shoulder. The bag rode high under my arm and the weight to it was a comforting thing. I went out the front and started walking. I needed something to eat, to fuel my body and mind and to kill the fading buzz from the beers at the bowling alley.
I slipped into a beach front fish bar and had some fish and chips, watching the smiling, laughing tourists walk by in the fading sunlight. I washed down my food with water and a squeeze of lemon, letting my mind blank for a bit. I didn’t want to think. The same thoughts just kept chasing each other in circles and drove me nuts anyways.
Finally, the sun hanging low in the sky, painting the sand in fire and blood, I rose, and with my mood darkening with the skies, I made my way towards the beach. I slipped off my flip flops and tucked them into my purse before looking left and then right. To the right, in the distance, towards Cutter’s marina where his boat was moored, a pyramid of wood smoked, light glimmering between the pieces as it caught fire. There were several people already gathered and I made my way down the beach, trudging through the soft, dry sand in their direction.
“Hey, Hope! Glad you could make it!” Hossler called out and I gave her a thin smile.
“Always, Chica,” I said but didn’t miss the wary looks from some of the men.
“Back again, Cap’ain’s cock must be made outta gold or something,” Tiny muttered. I eyed him speculatively. He was three sheets to the wind already and raised a flask to his lips taking a generous swig. I ignored him. Whatever his damage was, it wasn’t related to me and I wasn’t going to rise to the bait.
“Hey, Sweetheart…” I turned and eyed Cutter speculatively.
“Hey,” I answered and he held out his hand to me. Tiny snorted and I frowned. I took Cutter’s hand and he tucked mine in the crook of his arm and led me around the fire. He sat with his back to a fallen log and I sat beside him.
“I like this,” he said and trailed a finger over the silk of my tank.
“Thanks, but I have to admit, I’m getting kind of tired of dancing around the elephant in the room,” I said. He nodded and Tiny who had moved inside earshot barked a laugh.
“He ain’t gonna tell you what you want to hear, Girl.”
“Tiny…” the warning in Cutter’s voice was clear and my patience frayed that much more. I got to my feet and Cutter muttered a curse under his breath.
“Look, I don’t give two shits what any of you are into. That’s your fucking business, I just want to find Tonya, so how about we cut the bullshit and get down to business. Is it money you want?” I demanded and stared Cutter down.
He looked resigned, his expression holding an undertone of sorrow. Tiny started laughing like it was the funniest goddamn thing he’d ever heard and I frowned. The conversations around us had died and the atmosphere grew tense. I looked back and forth between Tiny and Cutter and realized there was some inner turmoil going on, something removed from me but connected to me all the same. Problem was I didn’t give two fucks, I just wanted to find Tonya and by default my sister.
“Look, we met the girl you’re looking for last year, we was asked to bring her back to Tallahassee, I told my boys to take care of her...”
“We took care of her alright,” Tiny said with a leer and gave Cutter a half assed drunken salute. The look Cutter was giving Tiny was one of pure fury and he was getting a lot of unfriendly looks from the rest of The Kraken too.
That sinking feeling returned and my mouth went dry. I wasn’t stupid. The women that had been around the fire started drifting back, edging outside the firelight.
“Tiny, shut your fucking hole, Man!” Atlas, the club’s Secretary looked murderous, his arms held out from his sides loose, feet shoulder width apart in a brawler’s stance. So far everyone’s attention was on Cutter and Tiny.
“I ain’t gotta shut nothin’! Fuck you fucking fucks, Man!” Tiny swayed on his feet and I met his eyes with mine. One of my commanding officers back in the day had once told me something that surfaced now. He’d said, “Don’t ever forget what someone says to you while they’re drunk, because drunk words are sober thoughts…”
Tiny’s mouth thinned down into a malicious smile and he spilled my worst fear across the sand at me…
“Bitch you’re looking for is dead, Cunt. Captain ordered me to do it, too.”
“Tiny, you fucking son of a bitch,” Marlin, the Vice President of The Kraken was suddenly there, roughing Tiny up, shoving him, male voices clamored, shouting obscenities and about betrayal and I didn’t care about any of it.
Tonya was dead. My last hope of finding Faith, the final lead, after hundreds of exhausted bullshit leads… I felt tears well, hot and immediate as my frustration and anger crested. No one but Cutter was paying attention to me and even he looked at me with a pained expression.
“So it’s true…” I said hollowly.
“It’s not like he says, Sweetheart,” I let my purse slip from my shoulder, the bag falling to the ground, the Ruger clutched in my hand. I leveled it right between Cutter’s eyes.
“I think you’d better start talking. No more bullshit, I’m done playing nice,” I said. Shouts, indistinct, the men around us went still, Cutter raised his hands in surrender and stood stalk still.
“Easy, Darlin’,” he soothed.
“Nope, I tried it that way, you decided to dick me around, so now we’re doing this my way. Start talking. Now!” my voice only moderately shook and the first twin sets of angry tears spilled scalding down my cheeks. Faith… I felt my sister slip away with Tiny’s admission.
“We agreed to take the girl back to Tallahassee, I told Tiny and one of the prospects to fucking take care of her, meaning take her home…” Cutter took a step forward.
“You know, you don’t really need to cock these like you see in the movies,” I pulled back the hammer on the gun with a satisfying click, “Can’t argue with the dramatic effect though, can you?” I asked. Cutter’s eyes narrowed but he stopped advancing.
“Right,” he studied my face and I caught motion out of the corner of my eye.
“One more step and I will fucking shoot him,” I intoned dispassionately.
“Easy, Sweetheart, Tiny’s right, Tonya is dead but she was living with a crew up north, The Suicide Kings, now that club is no more but one of their girls is living with a crew that we happen to be friendly with. Put that down, let’s talk, I want to help you Baby, and that’s the God’s honest truth… look me in the eye and see if I’m lyin’.”
I met his gaze and saw the truth in his eyes but something Hossler said earlier came back to me. Cutter didn’t lie but he didn’t tell the truth either. He inclined his chin and I realized
too late one of his men was coming up on me. I whirled, Cutter lunged and damned if he didn’t disarm me with my own fucking maneuver.
Oh hell no!
But it was on, and there were more of them than there was of me. I needed to concentrate. I sidestepped and the man who’d lunged for me, passed me by.
“You don’t want to do this,” I said.
“You’re right, Sweetheart, I don’t but you didn’t leave me or my men much choice now did you?” Cutter asked ominously.
No, I guess I hadn’t. I’d started this, and now it was time to finish it. Wouldn’t be my first time out numbered and it probably wouldn’t be my last. I shifted my balance and put the fire at my back. I was as ready as I was ever going to be.
Chapter 10
Cutter
“Don’t hurt her, just subdue her,” I ordered and I could tell by the fire and steel in her eyes she didn’t like the sound of that one bit.
“Can’t do this just you and me?” she taunted.
“Oh, we’re going to be one on one soon enough,” I told her with a grin. Damn but she had a fire inside.
“We going to stand here talking about this all night or are you going to bring it, boys?”
Pyro lunged and Hope laid his ass out face down in the sand, her long limbs delivering a punishing kick to the balls that had him bending forward and cupping his junk. Balanced to perfection she delivered a kick to the back of my best buddy’s head and he went down for the count. She was a force of nature, and I didn’t want any more of my boys hurt. Atlas and Nothing were tied up with keeping Tiny subdued and I jerked my chin at Marlin, glancing at our former SAA and Pyro.
“You sure, Captain?” he asked, amusement tinging his tone.
“Just do as you’re told on this one, please?” I shot back. Marlin nodded and put a hand on top of the bandana covering his shaggy blonde head.
I didn’t want to hurt her but if she wanted to throw down like a dude, then me and my boys would treat her like one. We didn’t tend to hit women. It was one thing to belt one in the mouth if she got mouthy but that was as far as that fucking went.
Hope was sizing me up, determination seeding and taking root in her dark and lovely eyes. I feinted and went in. She threw a kick to my ribs but I blocked it. Still, she jarred my shoulder a good one, girl wasn’t playing and neither could I. I needed to get her on the ground. I’d have the upper hand if I had her on the ground. I’d watched all of her videos, had an idea of what I was up against and was counting on the fact that she didn’t know me. Still, she had some skills hidden in her back pocket and so she landed a blow or two that fucking counted, one of them opening up a small cut above my eye.
We went at it solid for who knew how long until both of us were squared off, chests heaving. Sweat glimmered on her chest and darkened the silk of her tank at her back. She twisted and I lunged and got my arms around her and with a lightning quick speed she was off the ground, those long legs of hers going around my head and neck. I got my arm up and between them just in time to keep her from choking me off, her dark eyes flared venomous but it was too late.
I had the upper hand and by upper hand I meant the strength and wherewithal to end this shit and end it now. I was glad we were in the sand for what I knew I had to do next. I slammed her bodily down onto it, fucking hard too. I had to, to knock the wind clean out of her, which I did. Hope making a satisfying woosh, at least to me, as the air left her body in a rush. She tensed in my arms and I flipped her onto her stomach as she tried to drag air into her lungs but her body wasn’t having any of it, not yet.
“Easy, Sweetheart,” I grated and whipped my belt out of its loops. I bound her arms above the elbows and reefed back on them, binding them tight.
“Marlin!” I called when she kicked out. Her heel connected with my back where I sat on the backs of her thighs. It fuckin’ hurt but not bad enough to make me let go. Not by a long shot. Girl was fucking dangerous. I liked that. I liked that a lot.
Marlin bound her ankles for me and I got off her ordering him, “Get her up,” he lifted her and she spat at me, struggling in his grip, glaring at me murderously.
“C’mon Baby, lets you and me have a talk,” I said and put my shoulder to her midriff and hauled her up like a sack of grain. Hope squawked her protest and I slapped her on her ass. She was fucking turning me on.
“Marlin, Radar, take care of Tiny, Hope and I will be on my boat if you need us.”
“The hell we will you son of a bitch! Put me down!”
“Cool it, Sweetheart, we’re going to have ourselves a little talk.” I marched in the direction of my boat, Hope wiggling and struggling the whole way, cussing my ass out with some pretty inventive shit.
“Such a dirty mouth,” I said grinning. I could feel the aches starting to set in and wasn’t too happy about that, but as rough as I was going to feel come morning I was betting Hope would be feeling it too. Now that I did feel bad about. I really did.
I walked up the length of my dock and set her on her feet, she promptly spit in my face. I closed my eyes and wiped it away, counting slowly inside my head. I tolerated a lot of shit, disrespect pissed me the fuck off though.
“Untie me you son of a bitch,” she seethed.
“Not until we talk; now, if I undo your feet you gonna climb aboard yourself?”
“Fuck you!”
“Okay, have it your way, Beautiful,” I ducked and put her back up over my shoulder and leapt up onto my deck, it was awkward as fuck but it hurt her more than it hurt me, my shoulder digging into the soft of her belly. Wouldn’t be surprised if she were bruised all to hell from the ride. I took her below deck and set her down on the couch. She gasped and let out a breath.
“You okay?”
“No,” she glowered at me and I fixed her with a look. She searched my face, the fire of her anger dying down, transforming into concern.
“What happens now?” she demanded.
“You calm the fuck down, I look after you some, and we talk,” I told her and tucked her bangs back behind her ear. She was a mess. A spot of blood decorating the corner of her mouth, a bruise starting to flower along her jaw. I didn’t even remember hitting her there.
“Stay here,” I murmured and she snorted indelicately. I got up and went to the galley sink and wet a clean dish rag and brought it back.
“You gonna let me do this?” I asked and she nodded cautiously. I dabbed at the corner of her mouth and she flinched at first before leaning into the cool cloth signifying I should go ahead. I cleaned her up and she calmed down some.
“What happens now?” she repeated, softer than before.
“You going to fight me if I untie you?” I asked.
“Maybe,” she shot back.
“Then we talk like this.” I stood up and tossed the rag back into the sink. Hope’s gaze burning a hole right through me where I stood. God, after a good fight with her trussed up like that…
“Keep looking at me that way, Darlin’, I’m going to bend you over and fuck you.” She gasped and her brow crushed down into a frown but not before I caught the desire in her eyes. My cock throbbed in my shorts.
“Tell me about your sister,” I demanded.
“Why?” she demanded right back.
“Because I meant it, Sweetheart, I’m going to help you.”
Hope looked up at me and we stared each other down, I waited her out, my patience dwindling while she decided for herself how this was going to go.
“Why?” she asked again, her voice much less certain, her vulnerability peeking through. Fuck. I got that much harder in my shorts. I was such a fucking sucker for a damsel in distress and Hope was quickly adding it to her alluring mix of beauty, brains and strength.
“Good question,” I said and leaned forward, putting my lips against hers. She froze, hardening up beneath me, body stiff and unyielding. Maybe I had been wrong, maybe she wasn’t as attracted as I was, just when I was about to pull back she opened to me, her tongue tentatively flicki
ng against my lower lip. I drew back just a touch, speaking against her mouth,
“We going to do this?” I growled.
“Yeah,” she answered breathlessly.
“And then?”
“Then you’re going to do what you said, you’re going to help me,” she said. Good. She believed me, even better, she was calm now and it seemed, like me, desire was simmering in her veins too.
“You try to hurt me, Hope…” she looked at me expectantly, keen intelligence sparkling in her eyes, “I’m going to hurt you back, and worse, you get me?”
She inhaled sharply and nodded slowly, I leaned forward and kissed her gently and she kissed me back, tentatively at first. She was still bound, and I had every intention of letting her go, after I could be sure she was really on board with this.
“You okay?” I asked her, voice steady.
“Untie me,” she breathed against my mouth.
“How’d we go from fighting to fucking?” I asked, I needed to know.
“You aren’t turned on?”
“Yep, definitely turned on,” I said.
“You mean it, what you said about helping me? About that lead up north?” she asked and her voice was strained, raw even. I drew back and looked her in the eyes.
“I mean it, Hope. I’m fucking sorry as hell for what Tiny did. We don’t fucking roll like that.”
“You’ll make the call, first thing?” she asked.
“You want me to make it now?” I asked softly. Her breath caught and she nodded slowly.
“Stay here,” I got up and went to my office in the stern, returning with my laptop. I set it up on the coffee table.
“Untie me?” she asked and I looked back over my shoulder.
“You gonna behave?”
“You’re going to make the call right?” she asked.
“Yes.” I knelt down by the couch and went for the bindings around her ankles and loosened them, her skin silky and smooth beneath my fingers as I eased the leather of Marlin’s belt off from around her limbs. I massaged the indentations left behind by the belt and Hope sighed out in relief. Her eyes were closed as she concentrated on the feel of my hands on her and I liked that about her.
