She gathered her bag and Sasha’s leash and snubbed me as she went to the door. As she stepped out, she waved. “See you tomorrow, Veronica.”
“Not sure what you did to piss her off, but her favorite dessert is turtle cheesecake.” Veronica gave me a good-natured wink, and I nodded.
“Appreciate that,” I replied with a wave and followed Kira out. She was already in the Jeep with Sasha buckled in the harness in the back seat.
“You remember what I said?”
“About what?”
“I told you I was giving you some time to get your head straight. You agreed to be my ol’ lady, with all it entailed.”
“You didn’t say I would be looked at as property! That’s degrading!” She fumed.
“And I told you, it’s not like that. That brand you got on your neck protects you. There’s not a motherfucker alive that will risk my wrath to fuck with you. I don’t own you. You’re not a fucking dog. But make no mistake about it, Kira—you are mine.”
Not giving her time to argue further, I backed out and drove toward her house to get her vehicle. When we stopped at her place, I went in with her. Geneva was watching TV.
“Hey, you two!” she said with a happy twinkle in her eyes.
“Hey, Geneva. Kira’s moving in with me. I’ll pay the next two months of her portion of the rent so you’re not left hanging,” I said as Kira gasped behind me.
“Ogun! You can’t do that. I’m not making you pay my bills!” I hid my smile that she didn’t argue about moving in with me. Geneva made no effort to hide her huge-ass grin.
“Sounds good. I appreciate that. But if I get someone else in right away, there’s no need.” I waved her off. It was the least I could do for her trouble.
“Don’t bother arguing,” Kira said from behind me. “He does what he wants anyway.”
Geneva watched the volley between Kira and me with a giggle.
“I’m glad she’s figuring this out,” I said with a tilt of my lips. Geneva burst out laughing. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Kira throw her hands in the air and stomp to her room. The entire time, Sasha lay sleeping on the floor by Geneva’s feet.
She acted miffed, but Kira packed all her shit in several bags and suitcases. Holding my tongue, I helped her load everything into her vehicle and the back seat of mine. On the way back to my place, I stopped into Hy-Vee and grabbed a turtle cheesecake while she waited in her vehicle. She was trying to see what I’d gotten, but I kept it well hidden.
Once we arrived at the house, Sasha and Zaka hauled ass out to the backyard.
I put all of Kira’s bags in my room. Looking in my closet, I anticipated I’d need to move some of my shit to the spare bedroom closet. It would be worth it.
Kira was in the kitchen stomping around and slapping ingredients on the counter. As she went to walk past me, I grabbed her arm, bringing her to a halt.
“Look at me.”
She was petulant, but she listened. Her eyes held a fire that I’d have liked to see in a different circumstance. Like one where we were both naked.
“By the time we go to bed, I want you to have this shit out of your system. I’m not gonna walk on eggshells, nor am I gonna kiss your ass. But I sure as hell will fuck it out of you. Mark my words—by tomorrow, you’ll be too tired to be so sassy.” Her eyes widened with every word, and the tip of her tongue traced her bottom lip. Hungrily, I watched it glide.
Palming the front of her throat, I pulled her in. I loved to feel the jump in her pulse under my fingers when I did that. It sent a powerful surge through me. My lips hit hers, and like always, we combusted.
Before I knew it, she was sitting on the edge of the counter and I was pressed hard between her legs. My hands were up her shirt, and hers were in my hair.
Finally, we came up for air. “I need to start supper if we’re gonna eat,” she breathlessly said.
“Maybe I’m not hungry anymore. At least not for dinner.” A wicked grin curled my lips. An airy laugh slipped out of her, and she gently pushed me back.
“Well, maybe what I have planned for you requires you to fuel up,” she said, then bit her lip and ducked her head. Her hands were busied with her preparations, but I spun her around and stole one more kiss from her parted lips.
“Maybe you underestimate me,” I said before I nipped her neck, eliciting a squeal from her as she pulled her shoulders up.
We had dinner, but it was late.
We had dessert first.
“Lifelines”—I Prevail
The past week had been surreal, yet amazing. Ogun and I had developed a routine, and each night he held me in his protective arms. I’d begun to feel invincible with him at my back. Only one night did something strange happen. He’d been midthrust as he hovered over me, and he’d literally frozen up and stared blankly.
After that he was shaken, and I worried he’d had some kind of seizure, but he didn’t want to talk about it. Since then, everything had been damn near perfect.
I should’ve realized it was the calm before the storm and that all good things must come to an end.
Clichéd but so very true.
It had been an awful day at work. Two dogs that got bit by a timber rattlesnake came in late in the afternoon. I’d had to call Ogun and let him know I was going to be late. It was touch and go with one; the other suffered a “dry bite” and would be sore and swollen but likely just fine.
Pulling my hair out of the tight ponytail, I massaged my scalp. The headache that had been raging began to diminish. I shot off a quick text to Ogun to let him know I was almost done, then dropped my phone in the cargo pocket on my leg.
“Do you need me to help with anything?” I asked Veronica and Lexi. They were busy cleaning up after the procedure, and I hated leaving them behind to do all the grunt work. Doc was in the back with Mrs. Moran doing his final paperwork. I’d tried to offer to do it, but he didn’t like letting the rest of us do his charting even though the poor guy sucked with the computer.
“No, we’re good. You go home to that sexy biker of yours,” Veronica said with a sly smile. Lexi was a part-time high school tech, and she turned her head to hide her giggle. They’d been teasing me all week about Ogun.
Especially after they saw the tattoo.
Dr. Moran had seemed extremely concerned at first, but when he saw how attentive Ogun had been, he’d lightened up. Ogun had been by almost every day during his break, bringing me lunch or coffee when I hit that midday slump.
I laughed. “If you’re sure. Thank you for all your help today. You both did great.”
“Thanks, Doc,” they said in unison.
“Sasha, come,” I called, and she came running from the back office. “Goodnight, Doc and Mrs. Moran!” I called down the hall. I’d already said my goodbyes when they headed to the office, but I always let him know when I was going out the door.
“Goodnight, honey!” Mrs. Moran replied as she peeked her head out the door.
One last wave, and I made my way outside. Hitting the unlock button, I walked around to Sasha’s side. Though I was tired, I couldn’t wait to get home to Ogun. I’d missed him something fierce that day. Especially since he’d called to say he was working through his lunch.
Right as I opened the door, a meaty hand slammed over my mouth. Immediately, I tried to scream, but his hand was so big it not only covered my mouth, it nearly occluded my nose. There was a vicious snarl from Sasha, then the man shouted.
Fighting to see what was going on, my eyes wildly scanned around me right as I heard a gunshot, followed by a yelp. Behind the filthy hand, I screamed as he dragged me backwards and I saw Sasha lying on the ground with blood all over her. Fighting for all I was worth, I tried to get back to my dog.
“Shut up, bitch, or I’ll go inside and kill every one of those assholes inside. Keep fighting me, and you won’t make it two miles down the road. You ain’t worth much more alive than you are dead.” My heart was shattering as tears poured down my face. The man shoved m
e in the back of a pickup with a solid metal top on it.
“Hurry up!” Another guy rasped. “And she might not be worth more alive, but it’s the only way he’ll show up. Now get her in the goddamn truck!”
When he went to shut the back door, I scrambled to escape. The barrel of a gun against my forehead made me go stock still. “Don’t. Do. It.”
For two seconds, I thought I was looking into Ogun’s eyes, then the man pushed me back until I fell on my ass and slammed the door.
Pitch-black surrounded me, and I fought the panic clawing at my insides.
They drove like lunatics, leaving me to be tossed and battered around in the bed of the truck. It must have been hours before we finally stopped, and I’d cried the whole way. Nothing I tried could get the vision of Sasha bleeding onto the ground out of my head.
When the doors opened, I was so terrified, I wanted to scream.
Thanks to the bright fluorescent lights, my eyes took a minute to focus. When they did, it was like being tossed into some kind of alternate universe.
There was a man dragging me out of the back, but I couldn’t stop gaping at him. It was like looking at a blond Ogun. His face was a little more weathered, and a hideous scorpion was tattooed on it. The man who’d grabbed me came around the side of the truck just as the younger one smacked me for struggling.
“Bitch, I ain’t gun tell you agin!” Blinking rapidly to clear my tears, I realized they had heavy accents that sounded kind of like the people on that alligator hunting show. Though there was a strong resemblance to Ogun in the younger one, the older one was heavily scarred. The eyes were eerily the same on all three.
They had parked in an underground parking garage. Glancing around, I saw there wasn’t a soul in sight. The older one was messing on a phone, but all I heard was him muttering about no signal down where we were.
“Come on. He knows we here by now, anyway.”
“Move!” the younger one told me as he shoved me toward an elevator door at the other end of the garage.
It seemed to be a service elevator and essentially nondescript. Once we stepped off into a back hall several stories up, a sense of familiarity began to creep in.
The older one grabbed me by the hair and jerked me back. A huge knife was held to my throat. “Get the door, Skid.”
The one called Skid carefully opened the door, poked his head out, then motioned for us to proceed. The dread that blossomed in my chest was smothering me.
Because I knew exactly where I was.
A ridiculously tall door swung open at the end of the hall. Standing in the doorway, arms crossed, wearing an expensive, immaculate suit, was the man who should’ve protected me.
Before he punched me in the face, I heard him murmur, “Welcome home, daughter.”
I awoke lying on the floor of my old room as if I’d been tossed in. My head was pounding, and nausea swirled through me. Unsteady, I got to my feet and stumbled clumsily to the bathroom.
My knees protested the concussion of hitting the marble floors as I hurled into the commode. The heaves continued in their attempt to turn me inside out, well after there was anything left to bring up.
“Oh, God,” I whimpered as I carelessly lay my head on the seat. By the time I believed it was safe to get up, my legs had gone to sleep. Barely able to move one foot in front of the other without crying, I painfully made my way to the sink.
I was a mess. Black streaks from both my mascara and whatever had been in the back of that truck covered my face, arms, and scrubs. My eyes were swollen and red. Hair, wild and ratted, stood on end. Some of the black crap from the truck was in it too.
Dizziness engulfed me, and I gripped the edge of the sink. My head swiveled to the door when it stopped, and I took a few hesitant steps into the bedroom. The door was only about fifteen feet away, but it seemed like miles.
Slowly, I made my way to it. My heart fell when the door was locked, but in all honesty, I’d expected it. Not that I hadn’t been hopeful. It didn’t stop me from shaking the door and pounding on the wood.
Of course, no one came.
I tried the balcony doors, but they were locked as well. Not that I would’ve had anywhere to go. The balcony ran all the way around the penthouse, but it was innumerable stories up. Unless I could fly, I wouldn’t have been able to do anything but fall to my death.
Glancing around, I found my room was as I had left it the last time I’d been home, almost two years ago. It might be incredibly sumptuous, but it was a prison nonetheless. A gilded cage for a broken bird.
Part of me wanted to curl up in a ball and retreat inside my head as I’d become accustomed to as a young girl. Except the other part of me—the part that had a beautiful, badass tattoo on her neck—demanded I fight.
Filled with newfound resolve, I shuffled back to the bathroom, holding on to the furniture and walls to stay upright. Dizziness consumed me, and my legs were now painful as feeling returned to them. Once I got in there, I closed the door, locked it, turned on the hot water, and stripped. My pants hit the floor with a thud, and my brow furrowed in confusion.
In slow motion, I picked them up and found the source of the weight. My phone that I’d forgotten was in there.
Shit.
I could’ve called for help after they’d taken me. I wanted to cry all over again.
When I pressed the screen to wake it, I wanted to wail with the unfairness. It was nearly dead.
“It’s okay.” I started a pep-talk with myself. “Nearly dead isn’t dead.”
Then I saw I’d missed several calls from Ogun, but my phone hadn’t rung the entire time. It made me wonder if the metal of that freaking box I’d been in had blocked my signal.
After taking a deep breath, I first dialed Ogun. Except it rang and rang before it hit voicemail. I tried again and again. I tried Geneva. Voicemail for her too. Glancing at the time and the sun barely breaking through the Chicago skyline, I realized she was likely already at work. No one I tried was answering.
“Are you serious?” I huffed on a breathless sob. I considered calling my mother, but she wouldn’t be any help, because I knew she was in Fiji with my aunt.
Deciding I’d leave Ogun a message, I called again. It rang and rang. Voicemail picked up, but right as I said, “Ogun, I’m—” the phone went silent.
“No. No, no, no, no, no!” My head dropped until my chin nearly rested on my chest. A quick search of all the drawers for a charger I might’ve left behind left me empty-handed.
“It’s okay,” I assured myself again. “I’m going to shower and get my head straight.”
Except when the hot water hit my skin, the tears started again. Melding with the water, they trailed down my face and to the drain. Images flashed through my mind of Sasha lifeless on the ground, then of Ogun as he’d stared into my eyes the last time he’d made love to me. Knowing I’d likely never see them again, I slid down the marble wall and sobbed.
“Love Bites”—Def Leppard
Hours earlier….
As I finished up supper, I glanced at the clock. Kira should’ve been home. With all the dreams I’d been having about her being seriously hurt, I worried like crazy. The strange thing was, she was always wearing something different, but it was almost always white. Right when I picked up my phone, it began to ring with the number of the vet clinic.
“Did your phone die?” I asked with a grin.
“Mr. Dupré?” It was Dr. Moran. My smile dropped.
“Yes?”
“There’s been a… uh, situation. The police are here. Sasha was shot and Kira is missing,” he said, sounding like he might’ve been crying. My heart dropped as his words hit me.
“What are you talking about?” I was already pulling the food out of the oven and shutting everything off. As he explained what he knew, I grabbed my keys, shrugged on my cut, and pulled on my boots. “Zaka, guard!” I commanded as I went out to the garage.
“I’m on my way.” I ended the call, shot off a text t
o Venom, and was down the road within seconds. The entire way there, I stewed. I told myself there was a mistake. There had to be a logical explanation.
There were flashing lights as I pulled up. Kira’s vehicle sat there with the passenger-side door open. Doc was talking to one of the officers by the front of it. I jumped off my bike and started toward him.
One of the cops tried to stop me by putting a palm to my chest. Irate, I looked down at where his hand was on my cut. “Get. Your. Hand. Off. Me,” I bit out.
“This is a crime scene. You can’t go any closer.” The fucker was pissing me off. Looking around for Officer Kellogg or one of the others that worked with us, I was disappointed to see none of them were there.
Then I heard my name called from down the side of the building. Leaning back so I could see, I saw that Veronica was hanging out of one of the employee entrances. “His dog is in here,” she said with a sweet smile to the asshole cop.
Shooting him a snide grin, I jogged back to where she held the door for me. As soon as I was inside, she pulled it closed. “What the hell is going on?” I asked her. She was already moving down the hall, so I followed.
“Sasha was shot. Dr. Baranov—sorry, Kira—had just left with her, and we heard the gunshot. At first we weren’t sure what it was. When we looked out the back door to see if we could see anything, we noticed Kira’s passenger door was open and called for her. When we didn’t see anything, we called for Sasha. Nothing. Then we went around the vehicle and saw Sasha on the ground. We called the cops, and Doc Moran operated to try to save her.”
“What about Kira?”
She looked over her shoulder with a pained expression. “We don’t know.”
As we walked, I pulled out my phone and tried to call her.
Voicemail.
Twice more, same thing. Frustrated, I shoved my phone in my pocket.
We turned a corner and stepped into a procedure room. My heart ached at seeing Sasha’s normally lively form lying so still. No matter how tough I thought I was, that proved I was a bit of a softy. Tears filled my eyes.
Voodoo (Royal Bastards MC: Ankeny IA) Page 12
