“Knox, what’s going on?” Ani shouted over the loud music.
“He’ll be fine. We need to leave.”
“I gotta go get Kate!” She snatched her arm away from him and stomped back toward where Kate stood on the dance floor.
“Damn it, woman!” She could hear the anger in Knox’s voice, but she didn’t really care. She wasn’t leaving her best friend to get caught in the middle of a bar fight.
By the time she made it to where Kate stood frozen a few feet from Charon, Ani noticed that there were now three men in the same Renegade cuts. She’d only made it a few steps toward Kate, when a hand grabbed her arm and snatched her toward an unfamiliar body.
“Get the fuck off of me!”
She turned to see the man who’d been in her office a few weeks before. “What did I tell you, Ms. Forrest? Better make sure you keep protection on you. I don’t think you could fit a gun in this dress.” His finger trailed along the hem at her thigh as he spoke into the crook of her neck. His touch was foreign to her and she turned her nose at the smell of liquor and stale cigarettes on his breath.
“You don’t want to know what kind of protection I have with me tonight,” she threatened as her eyes caught with Knox’s. She attempted to shake free, but his grip was too tight.
“Don’t fight it, baby. I see the way you look at me,” he whispered into her ear.
“Let me the fuck go, asshole!” Ani attempted one last time to plant her elbow into his stomach, but failed.
“You stay right there, King,” the man warned Knox.
“Chief, if you don’t let her go right now I’m going to burn you alive, along with every last one of your boys. I’ll enjoy every minute you beg for your life too.” The words coming from Knox’s mouth sent shivers up Ani’s spine; she’d never seen this side of him before.
Ani struggled to get free of his grasp once more, but had no success; her heart drummed against her chest as Jameson and Rage joined Knox’s side. She really didn’t want to be caught in the middle if they all began fighting. She glanced over to see Starla by Kate’s side, pulling her back toward the VIP section. The dance floor had all but cleared out and the two puny bouncers stood contemplating what to do next at the edge of the crowd.
“You should have known better than to step foot on our turf. We own Gatlinburg. You have no business here and now I’m gonna give you a friendly reminder of what happens when you cross boundaries,” Chief shouted toward Knox.
She wasn’t sure what it was at first when the click echoed through her head, until she cut her eyes to the barrel of the gun coming up to the side of her head. A sob escaped from her throat as she reached for Knox. She looked into his eyes, no longer seeing anger, but fear. And there wasn’t anything scarier than a man filled with fear. She shook under the grasp of Chief’s hand and then she saw Knox lunge toward them.
She didn’t want to die, this was never how she had expected it to happen and the thought clenched at her stomach. In those brief seconds, her life flashed in front of her eyes. Her father, her mother, Kate, and… Cash. She could see his grief, feel it resounding through her body. Their last conversation she’d been a bitch to him all because he cared about her. She readied herself for the pain, flinching when the loud explosion thundered next to her head. She couldn’t hear anything, but she could still feel his tight grasp around her. Was this what is felt like to die? She was too afraid to open her eyes, when suddenly she was free and falling to the ground.
“Ani! Open your eyes, baby!” She could just make out the distant voice in her head. “Please! Ani, look at me!”
Her eyes fluttered open, finding Knox kneeling in front of her on the ground. She tried to control her body but she felt like a robot that was malfunctioning. She choked on the air erratically going in and out of her mouth, finding enough to let out a blood curdling scream. Knox reached for her and she pushed him away as hard as her arms would let her. She stumbled to stand and fell back down to the floor; with the room spinning in every direction, she couldn’t make out who was who. She needed to get out of here, get away from all of these people.
She clutched at her ringing ears as Knox’s face came into focus and she clung to him as tightly as she could. “Knox, I want to go home,” she begged.
“Aye, baby,” he kissed her temple as he stood her up from the floor.
It wasn’t until she stood all the way up, that she saw the blood dripping from his arm. He’d been hurt.
“Knox!” She grabbed at his arm, releasing him as he grimaced. Holy shit!
“Nothing a few stiches won’t fix.” She stared at him in astonishment. He’d just been shot and he was acting as if nothing had happened.
“Knox, this is serious. You need to go to a hospital,” she urged.
“We don’t do hospitals, baby.” His eyes were heavy with remorse as he pulled her into his arms. “I’m so sorry this happened.”
She stood absorbing his embrace as the words sunk down to her core. Was this a life she was ready for? The questions clouded her head as she tried to comprehend what had just happened.
“Repo’s here, Prez. We gotta go,” Jameson came up next to them.
She clung to Knox as they left the club, making their way over to the large pick-up that was pulling up next to their motorcycles.
“You ride with Repo and we’ll meet you back at the clubhouse,” Knox brushed the stray hairs from her face.
“No! I’m not going anywhere without you,” she protested.
“Ani, get in the truck,” he commanded as he opened the door, “I’ll be right in front of you. I promise.”
She leaned up and kissed him before stepping up into the front seat. Kate and Starla filled into the back seat and Knox closed the door behind them. She watched as he wrapped a bandana around the large gash in his arm and straddled his bike. Their engines rumbled to life, pulling out of their parking spots one at a time. First Knox and then Rage, Jameson, and Charon filled in behind him. Like a pack. Repo pulled the truck out and followed behind them into the darkness. Ani’s eyes were heavy as she leaned her head back against the headrest. She wasn’t sure how to approach this with Knox, but she knew it was time to start asking the questions he’d been worried about answering. As the headlights of passing cars blurred, she felt herself drifting off and before they were out of Gatlinburg, she was sound asleep.
She awoke to light coaxing, “Ani, darlin’, you gotta wake up.”
She mumbled as a pair of arms wrapped under her legs and around her back. She blinked her eyes open sleepily as she breathed in Knox’s scent, nuzzling her head into his neck as he carried her into the house. He gently placed her down onto the bed, slipping her shoes off her feet and dropping them down onto the floor. Slowly she sat up as her head throbbed like the bass from the nightclub.
“Are you ok?” she whispered, eyeing the make shift bandage on his arm.
“Aye, I’ve had much worse.” His eyes were filled with sadness when she looked up at him, a storm brewing in them that was sure to strike at any moment.
“Knox, we need to talk.”
“I know.” He hung his head as he took her hand.
“What happened tonight?”
“I should’ve known better than to go to Gatlinburg. Should’ve never taken you there. What happened is all my fault,” he apologized. “I was supposed to keep you safe and I didn’t.”
“Knox, that isn’t what I asked you,” she tried to contain the anger that was flooding into her, “I want to know why some asshole had a fucking gun to my head!”
“He’s a fucking Renegade. Rival biker club. He was makin’ a point that we should’ve never been on his territory. Christ, Ani. I never meant for this to happen.”
“You know he comes into my bank? I’m gonna have to fucking see him again. And, I’m going to relive that moment every fucking time I see his awful face. He came in a few weeks ago, threatening me. Telling me I needed to watch out because I wouldn’t open an account for him. He’s not pla
ying around, Knox; he will fucking kill me.” Her breath was erratic as the panic began setting back in.
“What do you mean he threatened you?” Knox’s eyes were infuriated.
“He makes deposits for an account and he came in a few weeks back wanting to open a new account. I couldn’t open it and when he got an attitude with me, I stood my ground.” She paced back and forth across the room. What the hell was she going to do when this man came into the bank? She needed to call Cash; she needed to get some kind of restraining order against him. How she was going to do that she wasn’t sure; she didn’t even know the fuckers real name.
“Ani, I will fuckin’ gut him with my bare hands if he ever looks at you again.” Knox’s hands were in fists as each muscle in his body became swollen.
“Knox you need to calm down.”
“I don’t need to do shite, except find that fucker and make him pay for what he’s done.” With that Knox gave into the storm that had been brewing in his eyes, like a summer thunderstorm rolling in over the mountains. You see the first signs and then the sky opens up and floods the land with unforgiving rain and violent lightning. His voice vibrated off the walls as he called for Jameson and Rage.
She wanted to go after him, but she couldn’t force her body to move. The adrenaline seized her useless as she stood frozen in the middle of the room. She didn’t know what to do, this wasn’t something she could wrap her head around. Guns, fighting, the look of retaliation in Knox’s eyes when she’d said that Chief had threatened her. This wasn’t a life that she wanted, no matter how exciting and new it was. And she suddenly felt the call of a familiar need.
She trembled as she moved toward her purse, grabbing her cell and dialing the number, hoping that they’d pick up. She heard it ring once, twice, three times.
Come on, please answer. And as if God had answered her prayers, she heard the other end pick up.
“Ani?”
“Cash, I need you.”
Chapter eleven
Second Chances
For two weeks Ani ate, slept, and went to work; and even there she stayed shut into her office. Kate had tried to talk to her a few times about what had happened, but the damage was already done. She could feel herself shutting everyone off from her world. She didn’t know who to trust or who to believe anymore. She thought that Knox would have always made sure she was safe; she had felt that connection, but it was all just a lie. The night that she stared down the barrel of a gun proved that to her.
Every night the scenario had replayed itself in her head and each night she remembered something new. Maybe she was making it up as she went, trying to force herself to believe that Knox and the M.C. were no good for her. She could hold her own in most cases, with her attitude and strong will, but she knew she wasn’t tough enough for that kind of life. She was stupid to believe she could handle it in the beginning. She longed for Knox’s softer side, the man who could bring her to life with just his words; but that was only a part of him. She had to accept that their timing wasn’t right, maybe if she’d met him in a different time, or a different life, it could work. But for now their fates weren’t destined to be one.
She slipped on her Georgia Boots as she headed out to hook the long white trailer up to her truck. She kissed her dad gently on the cheek as he snored on the couch and then bounded into the fresh Tennessee air. Once she had the trailer attached, she took off toward Cooper Hollow Road. She took in the scenery as she drove, letting the breeze pull each of her worries out the window each time it whipped against her face. She pulled up to a large red barn, backing her truck up next to the first stall as an older gentleman in a plaid shirt made his way over toward her truck.
“Ani girl, how are you?” He pulled the toothpick from his mouth and smiled, “Glad you could still make it today. Looks like the rains gonna hold off for us.”
“Yes sir, Mr. Johnson. It was a nice drive over. How is she?” She couldn’t keep the excitement off of her face as she jumped from her truck.
“She’s been waiting for you. Come on over.” He led the way into the barn, turning before they made it to the last stall, “I had Bobby give her a bath so she’s all dolled up for you.”
As she stepped in front of the last barn stall a beautiful white and buckskin colored face poked out, sniffing at her hair. She looked up into the crystal blue eyes that she’d missed so much over the past week and smiled.
“I missed you too, Catori.” Ani brushed the black hair from her white speckled face.
“I took the liberty of putting her bridle on for you.” He opened the gate to the stall, leading the appaloosa mare out and back toward the entrance of the barn.
“Do you by chance have a good saddle that I can buy from you, Mr. Johnson?”
“I think I can round something up for you,” he smiled over the back of the horse at her.
They walked over to the trailer as Mr. Johnson tied off the lead and headed back into the barn, reemerging with a beautiful brown and teal saddle with an elaborately designed saddle pad made of the same matching colors.
“It’s beautiful, are you sure you want to get rid of this?” Ani asked running her fingers over the soft leather.
“This was the saddle that your mother gave Bri for her fifteenth birthday. I can’t tell you when the last time that girl got on a horse,” He smiled warmly as he walked it into the trailer and draped it on the stand. “I hope you like the name, I got her from a friend of mine up at the reservation; seemed to fit.”
“It does. I love her already.” Ani rubbed down the front of Catori’s face as the pony nuzzled toward her hand. “Well this should cover everything.” Ani ripped a check from her wallet and handed it to him, ignoring the shocked look on his face.
“Uh, Ani, this is more than twice what we agreed on.” He held the check closer to his face in an attempt to check his mental math.
“Don’t worry about it. Consider it a down payment for future help.” She reached up and untied the lead rope and walked the pony into the trailer.
“Well, I can’t tell you how much this means to me. Helps out the horses a lot.” He held the check, staring it over one last time before folding it and sliding it into the pocket of her shirt.
“You’re very welcome, thank you for all your help.”
She pulled back up to her barn shortly after, staring out at the golden rays that cascaded across the pasture. It had been long enough since it had been mowed for the patches of purple flowers to start popping up across the field. She led Catori gently from the trailer, stopping her at the gate to the pasture to saddle her. As she walked the saddle off the truck she heard a truck door shut and froze in place, peeking out through the slits of the trailer.
“Ani, you out by the barn?” She heard Cash’s voice.
She contemplated hiding, but figured with the horse roped off outside the trailer it would be hard to pull off. “Yeah, I’m out here.”
Cash came up to the back of the trailer, the sunlight beating off of his white shirt as he leaned against the door frame of the trailer. “I see you got your baby home,” he grinned over toward Catori.
“I did, we just made it back. I thought about saddling her up and taking her for a ride around the pasture. You should go get Tank and bring him down,” she lifted the saddle onto Catori’s back and began tightening it down.
“You think she’s up for a trail ride? You still have the path up the back forty right?” He ran his hand down Catori’s neck as she sniffed him questioningly.
“Yeah, I walked it the other day. It’s still pretty open and the creek’s full too.”
“Ok, let me go get him. I’ll be back down in a few minutes.” Cash stood next to Ani for a moment before he leaned down and kissed the top of her head, strolling back toward his truck.
She didn’t fight it, she no longer had the energy to. She knew that the best thing for her was to stay with what she knew; what was familiar. Yes, Cash had been her past and she hadn’t expected him to be her future; b
ut she knew he could provide for her in every way she could ever need. She’d tried to experience a new life, but each time she had Cash still remained prevalent in her mind. His memory was too firmly implanted for her to let him go.
She eased up onto the saddle as Catori shifted slightly underneath her. She had missed this, the connection, the feeling of being one with such an amazing creature. She could feel the trust flowing through Catori into her as she leaned forward and pulled the rope from the fence. She led her slowly into the pasture, feeling each step she took forward, the way she leaned and rocked as she went. She walked her around the edge of the pasture as she caught sight of Cash and Tank galloping up the driveway, a long trail of dust behind them.
Tank was a beautiful horse, a brilliant shade of red with the darkest black hair Ani had ever seen. He was tall and muscular, quite like Cash and the two looked like a scheming pair as they strolled into the pasture. Ani smiled at the cowboy hat that Cash had resting on the top of his head.
“Nice hat,” she said sarcastically as they trotted toward the gate at the back of the pasture.
“I thought you’d like it,” he smiled over at her, “So, anything exciting happen this past week? You didn’t have any problems at work did you?” She could hear the caution in his voice. She’d made it very clear that she didn’t want to talk about what had happened at the club. But she had to disclose some information to Cash so that he would know what was going on.
“Nope. Just a bunch of paperwork.”
“Good,” he hopped down and opened the gate to the back forty acres of the property, “So, when do you think I could claim that dinner voucher you owe me?”
“Cash,” her voice was practically a growl as he came up next to her.
“I just know you have to eat at some point; figured I could take you out to a nice dinner at the Steak N’ Shake. Get you a chocolate milkshake before laying some cheesy pick-up lines on you,” he laughed at the unimpressed look on her face.
She took a deep breath, “You can make me dinner tonight.”
Wild Heart (The Wild Heart Series) Page 12
