Bad Boy's Toy: A Bad Boy Mafia Romance

by Nicole Fox

  At least, the weather had finally cooperated, and the rain had slowed to a dull trickle.

  “I don't like leaving him out in the wind like this,” Thorn growled to Danny.

  “Well,” Danny said as he peaked around the corner to watch Karl at the apartment's front door, “we all gotta grow up sometime, old man. Besides, you wanted me to take charge, didn't you?”

  Karl was doing his best impression of a nervous college kid looking to score. At least, that's what Danny hoped the display was. Whether it was an act, or not, Danny thought he was doing a good job pulling it off. He knocked on the door, giving it a good rap-rap-rap.

  A minute or so later, the door opened, bouncing back against its chain. Karl said something to whoever was just inside, then glanced back towards Danny and Thorn and gave a little nod after it closed.

  “He's in -” Danny started to say, but was cut off by the front door flying open and two Free Jackals bruisers barreling out into the drizzle. “Shit! Karl!”

  Karl spun back around, a wide-eyed look of surprise on his face. He backpedaled as fast as he could, but one of the Jackals swung a wild haymaker and clipped his chin with a fat ham of a fist. The young recruit went down in a jumble on the front walkway as Thorn went rushing around the corner with a roar.

  With his own bellowing war cry, Danny followed after Thorn, fists balled as his feet pounded across the wet grass and concrete.

  Thorn clashed with the closest biker, taking him down in a football style tackle that sent both men down in a rumble-tumble of fists, leather, and yells.

  Danny veered towards the other guy, the bigger of the two who was standing over Karl still.

  The Free Jackal was a little surprised by the two rival bikers' sudden appearance, it seemed, and had left an unprotected leg outstretched in front of him. His shaggy, bearded head swung in Danny's direction as the Fallen Knights biker came bounding towards him.

  Danny kicked out with his heavy boot at the man's unprotected leg, roaring in satisfaction as he felt the man's leg give way.

  The Jackal went down, screaming in agony, and Danny slashed him to the ground with one, two, three quick strikes to the face. He splayed out in a mess next to Karl's groaning form, his jaw slack and his eyes closed.

  Danny reached down and offered Karl a hand up. “You okay, buddy?”

  “Yeah,” Karl said, groggily, as Danny pulled him to his feet. “Fuckers must've seen me coming from a mile away.”

  “Or, they got tipped off we were coming,” Danny offered. He swung his head towards Thorn, but the old man was already extricating himself from the scrabble on the ground. His Free Jackal was subdued, too. “Come on,” Danny called and went rushing ahead of his MC brothers into the apartment.

  He slammed into the apartment door, throwing it wide, and surveyed the room.

  The place wasn't too different from Quentin's. There was little furniture, no decorations on the walls, and a stench of human body odor and soul-deep depression that hung heavy in the air. A door that seemingly led off to a back bedroom was partially cracked open on one side, and the entryway to the kitchen stood open.

  A familiar looking form lay crumpled on a dirty mattress near the partially opened door. The carpet around him was stained with spilled drinks and pocked with burn marks. Used needles littered the floor.

  “Jed?” Danny asked, taking a step closer.

  The figure rolled over. Even beneath the ragged hair and untrimmed beard, the unwashed clothing and wrecked body, that was his brother. He'd deteriorated since the last time Danny had seen him in the alley by the hardware store. But, still, he'd know Jed anywhere.

  “Danny?” his brother croaked through dry, cracked lips. “That you?”

  “It's me, bro,” Danny said, his voice full of anguish as he crossed over to him. He kicked aside the dirty needles and knelt down beside his brother. He looked behind him, to see if Thorn and Karl were coming, but they must have been tied up outside still. “You okay? We're here to take you home.”

  “To see Mom?”

  “Yeah,” Jed agreed, “to see Mom.”

  The door beside them creaked. He'd thought the place was empty!

  Danny scrambled up, careful of the needles, and whirled around.

  Standing in the door was a big mountain man of a biker. His eyes were steely, unflinching, and cold with rage. Before Danny had a chance to react, he swung down with a wooden baseball bat clenched in his hand, hitting him in the shoulder.

  Danny reeled away, back against the wall, bellowing in shock. Nothing was broken as far as he could tell, so that was good. But still, baseball bats hurt!

  The man bore down on him, swinging for his side.

  Danny swung up his arm to take the main force of the blow, but was only able to partially block the bat from hitting him in the ribs.

  As Thorn and Karl yelled from the front entryway, the Free Jackal swung a last time, clipping Danny near the temple. Lights exploded behind Danny's eyes and a crushing pain flooded his head.

  Danny's world went black, and he tumbled into the darkness.

  What felt like moments later, he came to, the world fading back into existence like a cheap movie special effect.

  Karl was hovering over him, slapping his face lightly. “Danny, buddy? You okay, chief?”

  Danny had the worst headache he'd ever experienced. Pulsing pain raged through his head. He struggled away from Karl, smacking away the pledge's hand. “I'm fine, I'm fine. You guys catch that big fucker?”

  Karl shook his head. “Sorry, man.”

  “He went out the back,” Thorn said, “and over the patio wall as we were coming in.”

  “Who was he?” Karl asked.

  The man's face flashed into his vision, and Danny shook his head. He knew he should recognize him, but couldn't remember from where. “Dunno. But, we need to get Jed outta here. Someone might've called the cops with all that fighting.”

  “Agreed,” Thorn said as he stooped down beside Danny's younger brother and gathered him up, putting Jed's arm around his shoulders. “Let's go.”

  As they stumbled out to Thorn's pickup, questions raced through Danny's mind. There was no love lost between the Free Jackals and the Fallen Knights, that was certain. But, the way that man had looked at him, the anger and hate was unreal.

  There was murder in those eyes, a deep and abiding hatred that seemed to consume the world around him. Danny had never seen so much anger in his life, like the emotion had somehow become almost palpable. Danny knew, right then, that if Thorn and Karl hadn't come into the apartment when they had, that Free Jackal would have finished the job right there.

  Danny helped Thorn get Jed's near deadweight into the rear seat of the pickup. No matter who had walloped him with that baseball bat, he still had Sara to get home to.

  She, and a bottle of painkillers, would help him forget.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Sara

  The sun had already set behind the horizon long before. Darkness had settled in and, with the cloudy night, a blanket of shadows seemed to settle over the world outside.

  Inside Danny's childhood home, Sara and Danny's mother sat in front of the TV, watching some reality show that wasn't doing much to catch the younger woman's attention. It wasn't that she thought less of reality television, but the fear of what might be happening to Danny was driving her up the wall.

  And, top it all off, she was stuck in this box with his mother.

  There wasn't anything wrong with Cathey Reynolds. Sara just knew Danny's mother didn't like her. The disdain was on her face, in her movements, in the way she looked at her when she thought Sara wasn't paying any attention. There was always that attitude of “You're not good enough for my boy.”

  And, now, with just the ticks of the clock on the wall to remind her of the passage of time, she waited. She waited for some sign of him. Waited for a message on her phone, or a call. Not that he'd ever been big on either of those in their short time . . . doing whatever they wer
e doing.

  But, all the while, she was stuck with a woman who didn't care much for her. Hell, she'd hardly said two sentences to Sara since she'd gotten there. She'd just plopped down on the couch and turned the TV on like it was no big deal.

  “It doesn't ever get easier,” Cathey said after a while, startling Sara from her thoughts.

  “What?” Sara asked, looking over at the older woman. Cathey didn't even bother to return her attention, though. “What do you mean?”

  “Waiting for them to come back from doing something big and manly for their club. Wasn't easy with Logan, their father, and definitely isn't any easier with Danny.”

  At least Cathey was talking to her, even if it was with a dismissive edge to her voice that implied Sara wasn't going to be around long enough to get accustomed to the wait. “Do you get used to it at least?” Sara asked finally.

  Cathey just shook her head. “Nope. But, there's a reason why we love them.”

  “What's that?” Sara asked, genuinely curious to hear this old woman's insight on her son, and the men like him.

  “Cause they're men, real ones. They're not some stock trader, or some guy selling insurance. Sure, they probably won't ever be rich, either. But, they'll respect you, and they'll take care of you when you need to be taken care of. They'll fight for what they want, inside the bar or out, when it comes to defending their honor, and they don't take ‘no’ for an answer. Plus, they're simple. You cook 'em food, they'll be happy. You screw their brains out, and they'll be more than just happy.” At the last part, she did turn and grace Sara with her attention, but only for a knowing moment.

  “Plus, they've got those sexy bikes of theirs,” Sara added.

  Cathey turned and rewarded her with a slight, knowing smile for that one.

  Finally, after what had seemed like years, a pickup truck pulled up to the house. As Sara heard his voice from outside, she realized she hadn't been breathing freely since he'd left. It was like a weight was coming off her, relieving her and allowing all the anxieties to drift away on the wind.

  She and Cathey got up from the couch, as if by some unspoken agreement, and headed into the kitchen to wait for them.

  The brothers came bustling in through the back door, Jed malnourished and weak as a kitten, and Danny looking exhausted. Sara inhaled and exhaled, her chest loosening as she suddenly felt most of the tension leave the room. Attention was on Jed, and away from her, thank God.

  “Oh my,” Cathey breathed, as she got up from the kitchen table and went to her baby boy.

  “Hey mom,” Jed slurred out, his voice sounding as dejected as his face looked.

  Sara took one look at the poor guy and knew, just knew, that Cathey had her work cut out for her. This boy needed some serious detox time. A hot shower was going to be just the start.

  Cathey Reynolds didn't say a word. She just went to wrap him up in her frail arms, despite his protests. “It's okay, honey,” she soothed. “We'll get you better.”

  Danny stood aside, letting them embrace.

  Sara tried to catch his eye, just so he could see that she cared that he was safe, but his attention was focused on Jed and his mother. That was okay, though. Tonight was about the lost son returning home. He was family, and at least they had a hot shower to offer.

  A tear ran down Jed's cheek. “I'm sorry,” he groaned. “I'm so sorry.”

  “It's okay,” Cathey said again, smoothing down his mat of tangled hair. “We'll get you a shower, alright? Then get you to bed? Have you eaten?”

  “Aw, Mom. I'm not hungry.”

  She pulled back, her hands on his shoulders, and looked him in the eye. “Well, let's go get you cleaned up, then?”

  Danny stepped in and offered to help, but Cathey just waved him off. “I've got it. Why don't you get Sara home, and stop by in the morning?”

  “Yeah,” Danny said with a nod, “I can do that. Just let me know if you need anything, okay?”

  “I will,” Cathey assured him as she and Jed went into the living room. “I think we'll be fine, though. And, Danny?”

  “Yeah, mom?”

  “Thank you for bringing my boy home. Say thank you to Thorn, too.”

  He nodded. “I will.” Danny, his face neutral, turned to Sara. “You ready to go?”

  Sara nodded, noticing the way he kept his emotions in check. “Yeah, let me just grab my stuff.”

  A few minutes later, they were out in the pickup truck the two men had arrived in, and headed back to Sara's place. Sara realized how strange this one small thing was, to be able to look to the side, and actually see his face while he was driving. She'd gotten used to being curled up around him, feeling the familiar vibration of the bike between her thighs, as he tore down the highway with her on the back.

  “Think your mom knows what do with him?” she asked as they headed back to her place.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Kicking smack isn't exactly something you can do on instinct. He's gonna have to detox, and it can be pretty bad.”

  “Yeah,” Danny said, “I thought about it. But, I figured he'd be good for tonight, at least.”

  She nodded, her thoughts going back to the times when her mother couldn't get her fix. “It probably won't get bad till tomorrow.”

  They lapsed into a comfortable silence, with Sara thinking about their future together. Or, rather, lack thereof. That kiss earlier in the day, when he'd left her at his mom's. There'd been true affection there, and she could still feel the burn of his touch on her lips.

  She turned and looked out the window, watched the lights as they rushed by on the other side of the glass. All those people, all those little lives existing at the same time. Why did hers have to be like this? Why did her life have to be so fucked up and confusing?

  A little while later, they pulled up at her place. Danny reached down and grabbed her bag before she had a chance to, and hopped out of the truck with her overnight luggage in hand.

  “I can get it,” Sara said as she closed the passenger side door behind her.

  “I know. I can too, though.”

  Sara smiled to herself as she walked ahead of them and unlocked the door. They both went inside and she flipped the lights on. Nothing had changed since he'd come to get her earlier in the day. Everything was all just as she'd left them.

  Thank God.

  “So,” she said as he dropped her bag on the couch, “is this what life with you would be like? Danger? Not knowing if you'll come home? If you'll come back?”

  “Pretty much,” he said with a shrug and a wince. “Goes with the territory. Think you can handle it?”

  “A life with you, huh? Does that mean you're offering one?” she asked, her eyes wandering over his body, and his skin tight shirt. She saw, then, where the bruise forming on his upper arm peaked out from beneath his shirt sleeve. She couldn't suppress her surprise in time. “You're hurt!”

  “What?” he asked as she crossed the floor and began to peel his shirt off. “This? I've had worse.” He pushed away her hands from the sleeve of his shirt.

  She clucked her tongue and looked up at him, sideways. “What happened?”

  “Guy with a baseball bat,” he said nonchalantly.

  “Shit, Danny,” she whispered as she slapped his hands away and pulled his shirt up over his head. “Come on, let's see how bad you are.”

  He winced as she took off his shirt. Giant purple-red blotches had spread on his left shoulder and arm, and a big one was starting to form on his ribs. They looked nasty, but nothing seemed to be broken.

  She didn't even think. She just leaned in and kissed his shoulder.

  Chapter Twenty

  Danny

  “Do they hurt?” she asked him after she kissed his ribs. “Did you get any others?”

  “Nothing hurts when I'm with you,” he said and wrapped his arms around her. His words were a lie, of course, but they actually made him feel better as they passed his lips. Before she could react, he'd scooped her up in
his arms.

  She squealed as she put an arm around his shoulders and pulled herself closer to his naked chest. “What are you doing, Danny Reynolds?”

  “Showing you how unhurt I really am,” he said as he carried her back into her bedroom. He pushed the door open with his foot and carried her to the bed. He leaned down and kissed her as he lay her down on the comforter, kissed her long and hard like he'd been wanting to since he'd left her at his mom's.

  “You're right,” she whispered as she touched his face and smiled up at him, “you don't seem very hurt.”