Road to Freedom

by Piper Davenport

  He raised his hands in surrender and I sighed. “Seriously, honey, I’m fine. I’m exhausted and I had a mini-meltdown. It’s all good now.”

  “I think you should come home with me.”

  “No,” I said immediately. “I want to sleep in my own bed. I promise, if that changes, I’ll let you know.”

  She narrowed her eyes, but finally gave me a nod. “Even if it’s the middle of the night.”

  I smiled. “Even if it’s the middle of the night.”

  “Grab your stuff, Grace,” Merrick said. “We’ll walk Remi to her car.”

  I followed Grace back into the room, pulled on sweats and my tennis shoes, then we headed out to the cars.

  Merrick waited for me to climb in and start my car before heading to his truck. He then followed me until he had to split off to take Grace to Flea’s.

  I drove to my apartment and let myself in, feeling safe for the first time in a long time. I showered, then dressed in a pair of sweats and a tank top. It was unusually warm and I kind of wished I had sprung for the air-conditioning unit. It was another fifty bucks a month, though, and I just couldn’t justify the expense.

  I dragged my box fan out of the closet and pointed it toward the sofa before flopping down and trying to find something on TV, just as my phone rang. “Hey, Poohbah.”

  Michelle Colter and I used to work together at our local coffee house in Savannah when we were teens. She was actually my manager, and we all used to call her the ‘Grand Poohbah,’ because when I first met her, I thought she was bossy. What I pretty quickly discovered, was she was brutally honest and defended her friends to the death. ‘Poohbah’ stuck, though, and Kennedy had also adopted the nickname.

  “Are you sitting down?” she asked.

  “Yes. What’s wrong?”

  She was fighting Leukemia...had been for over ten years. She’d been misdiagnosed for six years until they finally figured it out and it had been nothing but a nightmare.

  “I talked to the doctor today.”

  I sat up, my heart racing. “And, it’s bad?”

  “He gave me less than six months.”

  “What? I thought the chemo was working.”

  She sighed. “I stopped chemo.”

  “When?”

  “Three weeks ago.”

  “Chel, you can’t just give up.”

  “I’m not giving up, honey. The chemo wasn’t working. It was killing me faster than the cancer.”

  I swiped the tears from my cheeks. “There has to be something more they can do. You can’t stop fighting.”

  “I’m not,” she said with a sad chuckle. “They’re working on it. There’s an experimental treatment, but I’m not sure I’m going to qualify.”

  “What now?”

  “We wait, honey.”

  I muted my phone, so she wouldn’t hear my sobs.

  “But, enough about me,” Michelle said. “How’s PBC?”

  “I was fired.”

  “What?” she exclaimed.

  I sighed, then filled her in on everything that had happened over the last week.

  “Holy shit, Remi. What is up with all these assholes who like to use you as a punching bag?”

  “I don’t know. I’m over it, though.”

  “Yeah. I can’t believe that hottie from the bar’s your friend’s brother, though.”

  “Right? I probably should have asked more questions when we hooked up, but I was too busy experiencing orgasm after orgasm.”

  Michelle groaned. “Way too much information, Remington.”

  “I know.” I smiled. “I could have asked him in between, but that was when I had his cock in my mouth, so...”

  “Oh my god, bitch, stop.” My friend dissolved into laughter and my heart felt a little lighter than it had a few minutes ago

  “He did this thing with his tongue—”

  “I’m hanging up on you now,” she threatened.

  “Okay, I’ll stop.” I chuckled.

  “I promise, I’ll let you know if the end is nigh.”

  “Dramatic to the end, I see.”

  She chuckled. “Just wait until you see what’s on my tombstone.”

  “I thought you were donating your body to science.”

  “Oh, I am, but I still want a tombstone.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Okay, Pooh, we’ll get you a tombstone. But not for at least twenty years, so you can’t die until then.”

  “Workin’ on it, buddy.”

  “I appreciate that.”

  “I need to get to bed. I’ll call you next week.”

  “Sounds good,” I said. “Love you, Chel.”

  “Love you, too, honey.”

  We hung up and the stress of the past week swamped me as I curled into the fetal position on the sofa and cried.

  * * *

  Banging forced its way into my brain and I rubbed my gritty eyes. It sounded like the building was coming down. “Remington Charles, open this fucking door!”

  I jumped off the sofa with a squeak.

  “Remington!”

  I rushed to my door and called out, “Merrick?”

  “Open the door,” he demanded.

  I checked the peephole, then pulled open the door. “Why are you yelling? My neighbors are gonna get pissed.”

  He pushed in, closing and locking it behind him. “I’ve been knocking and ringing the doorbell for almost five minutes. What the fuck?”

  “I must have fallen asleep,” I explained, biting back a yawn. “Sorry.”

  He relaxed, but still pulled me in for a hug. “Fuck, Rem. You scared the shit out of me.”

  I fisted my hands at my sides. I didn’t want to ‘scare the shit’ out of him. I didn’t want him to care that much. “I really am sorry, but I think maybe I should just go to bed. You and I can talk another day, okay?”

  “Hey.” He frowned, lifting my chin. “You’re safe. Vitaly’s on his way back to Russia. He apparently raped the daughter of a high-level official, so he’s gonna be dealt with in the mother land.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes.”

  “He’s gone?”

  “Pretty sure he’s already left the country,” Merrick said.

  I dropped my head with a nod.

  “Did I do this?”

  “Do what?” I asked the floor.

  “Make you shrink away all of a sudden?”

  I squeezed my eyes shut. “You don’t have that kind of power.”

  “Fuck,” he whispered. “Honey, come here.”

  “I’m here.”

  “Look at me.”

  I swallowed and raised my head, forcing myself not to break. “Tweety, stop.”

  “Stop what?”

  “Looking at me like that.”

  He smiled. “Can’t help the way I look, Rem.”

  I rolled my eyes, the action causing a tear to escape.

  Merrick wiped it away gently with his thumb. “So fucking beautiful.”

  “Don’t.”

  “Don’t what?”

  “Don’t be sweet.”

  He grinned. “Okay, Rem, I’ll stop immediately.”

  “Good.”

  His hand slid to my neck and he raised my chin again. “You’re safe.”

  “For now.”

  “For always, Rem.”

  “Am I safe from you?” I whispered.

  He frowned, his gaze pensive. “Are you afraid of me?”

  Such a loaded question. I was afraid he’d disappear on me. I was afraid I’d do something reprehensible, and he’d never speak to me again. The fear was physical, and I rubbed my chest. “Only in here.”

  Merrick touched his mouth to mine gently, before kissing one cheek, then the other and wrapping his arms around me. “I’ve got you.”

  “You shouldn’t.”

  “Why not?”

  I squeezed my eyes shut as I confessed, “Because I might seem strong on the outside, but I’m really damaged goods.”

  Despite my self-imp
osed darkness, I felt his body stiffen. “Last time.”

  I met his eyes. “What?”

  “If I ever hear you say anything like that about yourself again, I’m gonna fuckin’ tear down the walls around us.”

  I pressed my lips into a thin line...not from fear, but to keep myself from laughing.

  “You think that’s funny?” he challenged, and I lost my battle with mirth, gripping his arms and laughing until I almost cried.

  “God damn, you’re fuckin’ cute when you’re crazy.”

  “You think I’m crazy?” I asked.

  “You wanna explain the laughing?”

  “So serious, Big Bird,” I teased, biting back another laugh.

  Before I could make another retort, his lips were on mine and I found myself gripping his vest to stay upright. God, he tasted amazing. Like mint.

  “Fuck!” he hissed after breaking the kiss and stepping away. “I’m sorry, Remi.”

  “Don’t,” I rasped, reaching for him. “Don’t stop.”

  “I have to.”

  “Why?”

  He shook his head. “With you looking at me like that, I honestly have no idea.”

  I licked my lips. “Stay.”

  “Remi, I stay, and this happens, we’re in this. I won’t make another one-night stand agreement with you. I want more.”

  “Oh,” I whispered.

  He stepped further back and crossed his arms. “Yeah, Remi. ‘Oh.’”

  “I thought bikers were whores.”

  A shadow of a smile crossed his lips. “Yeah? Who’d you hear that from?”

  “Everyone.”

  “Everyone, huh?” He stepped closer. “Everyone who?”

  I shrugged. “People. TV. Sons of Anarchy.”

  He dropped his head back and laughed. “Fuck me, you’re adorable.”

  “Am I wrong?”

  “No,” he admitted. “But I’m a one-woman man, so my whoring ways stop when I’m committed.”

  “To an asylum?”

  He grinned. “Yeah, baby. Don’t get to whore around in an asylum either.”

  I studied him for a few seconds, then blurted out, “My friend is dying.”

  He leaned back and frowned. “No shit?”

  The tears overtook me again and I pushed away.

  “Rem, come here,” he demanded.

  “I can’t,” I whispered.

  “How come?”

  “Because I need some distance and if I go there, I won’t want you to stop holding me.”

  “Kind of what I’m counting on,” he admitted with a smile.

  I walked back to him, dropping my head to his chest and wrapping my arms around his waist. “Stay,” I whispered, kissing his throat.

  His mouth landed on mine and he lifted me high enough to wrap my legs around his waist as he slid one hand under my shirt and the other under my ass. I cupped his face and panted out, “Bedroom.”

  “Which way?”

  “End of hall.”

  I kissed him again as he carried me to my room, dropping me gently on the bed and removing his cut and T-shirt. I let out a quiet gasp. God, this man was perfect. His left pec and bicep were covered with a detailed Celtic-tribal tattoo and a Dogs of Fire tattoo covered his right pec.

  “You have a new tattoo,” I observed. “Is that your club?”

  “Yeah.” He pushed my T-shirt up and kissed my belly.

  I shivered as his tongue dipped into my belly button. “I love it.”

  “Yeah?” he whispered as his mouth moved up my body.

  “Yes.”

  He slid my shirt up further and he ran his tongue over my nipple. “You wanna keep talkin’ about tattoos, Rem? Or do you want me to fuck you?”

  I squirmed, trying to get closer. “You can’t do both?”

  His eyes met mine and he grinned. “Forgot how funny you were in bed.”

  “I’m funny all the time.”

  He neither confirmed nor denied as he straightened, wrapping his hands around the waistband of my sweats and tugging them down my legs, panties and all. He threw the discarded clothing into the corner of the room and pushed my knees up, spreading my legs and kissing his way down my inner thigh.

  His mouth landed on my mound and I ripped off my shirt and wove my fingers into his hair as he sucked gently, before running his tongue between my folds. I moaned as he moved to my clit and sucked.

  “You like that, huh?”

  I nodded as I licked my lips and arched against his mouth, and he rewarded me with another suck. He slid a finger inside of me as he continued to suck, running the digit along my walls.

  “Merrick, I’m...”

  “Come, baby.”

  I didn’t want to yet. I really didn’t, but he played my body like Monopoly and I couldn’t stop myself from passing go and collecting my two-hundred-dollar orgasm.

  He removed his fingers and licked them before removing his jeans and boots, his dick springing free and my womb contracted with need. I bit my lip as he rolled a condom on and hovered above me. “You still like it hard?”

  Goosebumps broke out over my skin and I nodded.

  “You want it hard now?”

  “Yes,” I rasped, grabbing his arms. “Immediately.”

  He slid into me...slowly.

  “Tweety,” I growled, wrapping my legs around his waist and arching up against him.

  He grinned, pressing in deeper. “Still impatient, I see.”

  Anchoring himself with one hand on the bed, he slid the other between our bodies and fingered my clit. I whimpered again, my need quickly becoming an obsession, and then he moved. Slow and deep, pressing his finger harder each time he buried himself.

  “Merrick!” I cried out as an orgasm began a slow roll.

  He didn’t let me enjoy it. No. This time I was forced to pass go without collecting my two-hundred-dollar orgasm and straight to jail as he removed the hand between us, linking it with mine and dragging it over my head.

  “Merr,” I whimpered.

  His mouth covered mine, cutting off any further complaint and he slammed into me. I hooked my legs around him tighter and he rewarded my action with his dick buried deeper and harder as he continued to kiss me.

  Holding my hands hostage above my head, he thrust further and further into me, his tongue sliding against mine as his dick drove my pussy to new heights of pleasure. I screamed against his mouth as I came, tugging on his grip so I could touch him, and when he released me, I clawed at his back as my climax continued to swamp me.

  He wasn’t far behind me and I felt his cock pulse, then he kissed me again before rolling us onto our sides, facing each other and staying connected. Stroking my cheek, he smiled. “I fucking missed you, baby.”

  I nodded, unable to find my voice.

  “You okay?”

  I nodded again.

  “Glad you’re back, Rem.”

  The sting of tears hit my nose, but I bit back the sadness and forced a smile. “Me too.”

  “Gonna get rid of the rubber, then we’re gonna do this again, yeah?”

  “Yes, please,” I rasped. I needed more. STAT.

  Finch

  The next afternoon, after a relatively mild ball-busting by my Prez, I left the compound and headed to Remi’s. I was surprised Crow hadn’t sanctioned me or worse. I know I’d crossed the line breaking Vitaly’s kneecap, but I couldn’t honestly say I wouldn’t do it again. And if Hatch hadn’t stopped me, I can’t honestly say I wouldn’t have broken the other one. In the end, the Prez had issued me some grunt work the recruits usually did and left it at that. Flea’s sister, Katie, had looked at my hand and deemed it was probably bruised, not broken, but suggested I get an x-ray to be sure. I decided I’d ice for a couple of days and go from there.

  Now all I wanted was to bury my dick inside my woman again.

  The fact I was still on a high from my morning with Remi was probably why I’d taken my punishment without complaint. I’d never met anyone like her and I couldn�
��t wait to see her again...not just because of her fucking amazing body. I liked her. She was funny and smart, and didn’t take shit from me.

  I pulled up to her apartment building and removed my helmet as I walked up the stairs to her unit. Some creepy looking asshole was using a key to unlock her door.

  “Hey!” I bellowed. “What the fuck are you doing?”

  “Gotta clean out this unit,” he said.

  “That’s my woman’s unit, fuckhead. How about you check your notes?”

  He pulled his phone out with groan and checked the screen. “Your woman Remington Charles?”

  “Yeah.”

  “She split, man.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “She paid off her lease and told the manager to sell or donate whatever was left inside.”

  I scowled. What the fuck?

  “Did she leave a forwarding address?”

  “No,” the guy said.

  I gave him a chin lift and pulled my phone out, dialing Remi’s number. It went straight to voicemail. “Rem, need you to call me back,” I said, trying to keep my voice calm. “Some asshole’s cleaning out your apartment.”

  I hung up and ten seconds later, my phone buzzed with a text from her.

  Remi: It’s okay, Merrick. I left. I’m sorry.

  I turned on my heel and headed back to my bike, calling her again. When her voicemail answered, I swore. “Remington, what the fuck is going on? You need to call me. Just let me know where you are.”

  This time there was no return text, so I called my sister.

  “Hey, big brother.”

  “Where’s Remi?” I demanded.

  “What do you mean?”

  “She’s gone.”

  “Gone where?”

  I took a deep breath. “That’s what I’m hoping you know.”

  “Wait, back up. I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  I filled her in on what I knew, and she let out a series of swear words I’d never heard from her before. “So, you didn’t know?”

  “No, I didn’t fucking know,” she snapped. “God, I’m so pissed right now.”

  “Picking up on that, sissy.”

  “You need to have Booker trace her ass and find out what the hell her problem is.”

  “Yeah, Gracie, I’m on it.”

  “Then you need to tie her to the bed or something.”

  I couldn’t stop a laugh. “Sissy, I’m not tying her to the bed. Well, unless she asks me to.”