Hearts Collide

by Masters, Ellie

  “He was alone. Went to the Toy Box and left in his Porsche. Don’t worry, Piper…” He wrapped his massive arm around her shoulder and pulled her in for a hug. “We’ll find Lover Boy.”

  Road Trip

  Bent

  Bent drove for hours and out-raced the storm. Leaving the blustery weather behind him, his final destination remained a mystery. Many possibilities presented themselves, and he hadn’t yet decided where he wanted to begin his new life.

  Head south to LA? Keep moving and hit San Diego? He could travel further and blow past the border to Mexico. Maybe he could drive until he reached the tip of South America? Now that would be an epic trip. Noodles would approve the soul-searching Zen-ness of such an epic trip. If Bent had Ash’s Jeep, he might have given serious consideration to such a journey. However, the Porsche drew too much attention, and he didn’t trust it would make the trip.

  Although…did that matter? Wouldn’t that be the point? Face adversity and overcome it?

  He tapped his fingers on the steering wheel and the motion drew his eye. He must be getting fat. The fingers of his right hand had filled out. They still looked nothing like what they should, but the spindly Gollum fingers had disappeared sometime during the past few months. Now, his fingers looked skinny rather than spindly. Maybe not so skinny? They had some meat to them, and there was definitely more definition to his palm.

  It had been long enough since the injury that he couldn’t remember what his hand had looked like before the accident. It almost looked normal now. Not that it was…normal that was. He simply couldn’t remember what it should look like. A quick glance between the beefy thickness of his left hand and the smaller size of his right made it impossible to dismiss that there was a difference.

  Pismo Beach blew past, but with darkness settling over the land, the spectacular views were lost on him. The road curved eastward and would force him away from the ocean. The sweeping curves and hairpin turns evened out as the scenic highway turned into just an average road. Traffic thickened as he drove around the expanse of Vandenberg Air Force Base which claimed the ocean side views for miles. He drove past Santa Maria and finally made his first stop in Lompoc to refuel. There, he grabbed a quick bite at the gas station and continued south. Santa Barbara, Ventura, and Santa Monica passed behind him in the dark.

  When he approached LA, he made a decision, and turned away from the coast. Any driving further south would bring him to San Diego. From there, the road ran out. There was no way he would take his baby into Mexico, but he would take it across the country.

  It had been years since he’d traveled the breadth of the United States, and that trip might be exactly what he needed to re-center his life. Maybe he could write a book about a washed-up bassist? Only one thing had him considering turning around.

  While not happy with all of the decisions he’d made, Bent was content with his choices. He took I-10 and hooked east. Thousands of miles of God’s country stretched before him and he was eager to see what waited out there. Perhaps somewhere out there he would find the answers he sought. The town of Redlands approached sometime after midnight and he made the decision to stop for the night.

  He missed the guys, but they probably wouldn’t notice his absence for several days. Although they all lived together, they didn’t live on top of one another. Eventually, he’d have to check in and broach the difficult discussion about bringing on a new bassist.

  Piper hadn’t left his thoughts as the miles passed beneath the power of his twin turbos. Each time he tried pushing her from his mind, memories of their time together ghosted in his thoughts. Walks on the beach, scouring tide pools for shrimp, crabs, and other tiny sea creatures brought a smile. Long nights on his deck watching the sun dip below the horizon as it set the sky on fire made his chest swell with the deepest longing. Pulling her close as they cuddled in the Jacuzzi and searched for stars shooting across the heavens filled the aching loneliness in his chest. And best of all, memories of tangling her in sheets and the sounds of her soft, breathy moans made his dick grow hard.

  His chest seized with the loss of her, but he had made his decision. He’d walked out and left her behind, giving her the freedom to find a man worthy of the gift of her submission. Perhaps that was what hurt the most. He had stepped away from the one thing which had felt so incredibly right. It had been the honorable thing to do, giving her back her freedom.

  Too late now.

  If Piper was anything, the woman had fire burning in her veins. Her strength and resiliency would carry her through the temporary loss of him in her life. With time, she would understand why he had left. She would move on.

  What would she think when she saw the ruin of his rooms?

  Shit!

  He hadn’t even left her a note. Palming his phone, he turned it on. Or tried to. The battery had died somewhere along the way and he hadn’t thought to bring a charging cord. He actually hadn’t thought to bring anything. No clothes. No toiletries. Nothing.

  Maybe that was good too? New beginnings brought new things, even if it began with nothing more grand than a new change of clothes.

  Parking a Porsche in the parking lot of a superstore close to one in the morning might not be the smartest idea, but he wasn’t worried. A large man, he didn’t fear those he might find lurking about, and if something happened to the Porsche, so be it. A new car would be another new start.

  Thanks to Forest’s oversight, Bent’s money made money. He could buy a car if he needed to, not that he was reckless. He parked the Porsche at the front of the nearly deserted parking lot, beneath the glare of spotlights. Before exiting, he surveyed the surrounding area for trouble. Seeing none, he got out of the car and went in search of something to wear.

  Exiting a few minutes later with a small backpack stuffed with a pair of jeans, a couple T-shirts, toothbrush and toothpaste, he made it to the car before remembering he needed a charger for his phone. Thoughts of continuing passed through his mind, but exhaustion pulled at him, mentally as well as physically.

  He made it to a hotel, checked in, plugged in his phone, and crashed. Visions of Piper swam in his head as he drifted off to sleep.

  Plans

  Piper

  Piper paced along the inner curve of the large living area, far from the drummer, Bash, who prowled back and forth along the plate glass windows. The members of Angel Fire had gathered to discuss Bent’s disappearance. Ash reclined in an overstuffed leather chair and gripped his wife, Skye, around her pregnant belly. Skye ran her fingers through his hair and she leaned down close to whisper in his ear. Spike and Noodles sat at the bar. Dark expressions filled their faces as they took long pulls from their beer.

  For the moment, everyone was silent. Probably because of Bash’s roar and the tirade which had followed. He’d stopped his pacing and stood by the window, his back to everyone. The muscles of his shoulders and arms bunched as he curled and flexed his fingers. It looked like he was going to slam his fist through the plate glass, but he managed to keep it together.

  “I can’t believe he just fucking left.” Bash muttered.

  “Dude’s on a journey,” Noodles said. “He’ll be back.”

  Bash spun around. Anger reddened his face and fury clogged his expression. “He destroyed his room. His guitar. The guitar!” Bash cut a hard stare toward Noodles who dismissed him with a shrug.

  “So?” Noodles sipped from his beer, tilting it high to finish the last little bit. He reached across the bar, grabbed another, and popped the top.

  “Does that seem like he’s man on a journey? The asshole not only destroyed all his gear, but the guitar. He’s not coming back.”

  Piper didn’t know the significance of the guitar Bash kept referring to. Bent had never really discussed the row of guitars in his room. She’d assumed every bassist had a wall of guitars. Not one had really stood out from the others, but then Bash hadn’t played a note on a guitar since she’d known him.

  “We all gotta walk our path, bro�
�.” Noodles defended his comment with a raising of his hands.

  “I don’t need any fucking Zen crap now.” Bash marched along the length of windows staring out into the blackness of the night. He came to the end of the room and punched his fist against the concrete wall with a solid smack. “We have an album to launch and our bassist walked out on us! His brothers! Who does that? He’s leaving us in a lurch and didn’t think we needed to know?”

  “We don’t know that he left.” Forest’s rumble brought calm to the rising tension clotting the air. “Noodles might be right. Bent needs more time.”

  “Time!” Bash spat the word with venom. “How much fucking time does he need?” He turned the intensity of his gaze to Piper. “How long does it take? If his therapist had been doing her job instead of fucking around—”

  Piper jumped at the accusation and fisted her belly with alarm. She wanted to shrink in on herself as the weight of four men turned upon her as one.

  “Shut the fuck up!” Forest’s bellow brought silence to the room. His face turned red and he pivoted toward Bash. He took a step.

  “Or what?” Bash jutted his chin out in challenge.

  All Piper could hear was a horrific roaring in her ears.

  “You want to take this outside?” Forest took another step.

  “Don’t tell me to shut up.” Bash’s eyes narrowed and his fingers curled into fists. “And who the fuck do you think you are to threaten me?”

  “Boys…” Skye’s soft voice eased the escalating tension. Testosterone fueled the men’s anger and infused the air with the potency of masculine power.

  Skye struggled to get out of the chair, making it up and out only with the assistance of her husband. Ash gazed longingly at his wife as she glided between Forest and Bash, placing herself between them.

  “It’s too soon to jump to conclusions about what might or might not be going through Bash’s head. None of us should be judging him.” Her attention landed on Bash. “Nor, should we be judging others. Piper has made excellent progress with Bent. Her relationship with him is a good thing. She’s not the problem. Don’t lash out at her because she makes an easy target. Your anger is with Bent. Keep it there.” Skye circled around, coming to stand behind her husband. She ran her fingers through Ash’s hair and pursed her lips together, appearing deep in thought. “And Bash…”

  Skye’s voice might be soft, but she spoke with confidence and complete assurance her words would be heard.

  Piper wished she had a tenth of the confidence Skye exuded.

  “Yeah?”

  “Apologize to Piper.”

  Bash glanced away, staring out into the darkness, but he eventually turned around and focused the full force of his stare on Piper.

  “I’m sorry,” he said, looking contrite. “That was uncalled for.”

  Heat filled Piper’s face. She wanted to curl in on herself and disappear, but Forest had insisted she be present at this meeting; not that he could’ve kept her away.

  “It’s okay.”

  Somehow the words managed to make it out of her mouth, but things were anything but okay. She didn’t know what to do, and didn’t have the resources to do anything. Hell, she didn’t even have a car, or a license. These men, however, had millions of resources at their disposal. Despite Skye’s kind words, and Bash’s apology, recrimination and shame filled Piper’s entire being.

  What if Bash was right? Had she failed in her task? Had the distraction of the relationship growing between her and Bent clouded her judgement? Had she wasted time in VR with her sneaky plan to rehabilitate a very reluctant patient? If she had stuck to traditional methods, would Bent have made more progress? If it weren’t for her, would Bent still be here?

  Heat pricked behind her eyelids and she blinked furiously. It would be too easy for these men to bring her to tears. They were not her friends. Angel Fire was her client. Ash, Bash, Spike and Noodles had entrusted Bent’s recovery into her hands. She had failed not only Bent, but these men as well.

  Skye’s gentle voice continued. “Forest, what’s our plan?”

  Forest cleared his throat. “Looks like he stopped for the night. He’s in Redlands. I guess he’s heading east now, but how far he intends to go is anyone’s guess.”

  “So, what do you want to do?” Ash lifted his hand and cupped Skye’s palm in his. “Do we let him go, or intervene?”

  As an outsider, Piper remained silent, but she knew her vote. Frustration twisted in Bent’s head. If she could only make him see all the progress he’d made, maybe she could bring him home. She pulled out her cellphone and glanced at the screen. Still nothing from Bent. No response to her calls, voicemails, or the string of texts she’d sent. He probably thought she was a desperate and needy freak, and Bent wasn’t a man who responded well to desperate women.

  “Let him go,” Noodles said. “That’s my vote.”

  “Fuck that,” Bash said. “How long are we going to delay getting our next album out? We need to start fine tuning the songs.”

  Spike, who’d been silent the entire time, finally spoke. “Yeah, but Ryker can help with that.”

  The multiple piercings in his brows and lips made the man formidable appearing. Piper feared him for no other reason than the way he looked. Skye had assured her the man had a heart of gold, and Bent said he was a good guy, but Piper kept her distance. Noodles’s easy surfer grace made him easier to approach. Not that she had. She could count on one hand the number of conversations she’d had with any of the band members. Spike radiated a lethal presence, and out of them all, he was the one she hadn’t said one word to since she’d arrived at Insanity.

  “Ryker is going to be busy,” Forest interjected. “Consider him out.”

  “Busy?” Piper’s eyes widened.

  Forest gave a slow nod. “Maybe.” His tone urged her to caution.

  She didn’t know what that might mean. It could simply be more training operations for his covert team. It could be a mission that had nothing to do with her special request, but it was the first-time Forest had mentioned any activity picking up with his team. Not that Ryker would be on the sharp edge of that project. Ryker and Tia were more of the clean-up crew, tasked with fixing those who might sustain injury during Forest’s covert operations.

  Surprising herself, she spoke up and voiced her opinion. “We need to go after him.”

  “You think that’s best?” Forest placed his fists to his hips and focused the intensity of his arctic gaze upon her.

  “His mind is stuck, but his body is healing. Has healed.”

  Ash tilted his head back and gazed at his wife. Skye bent down and gave him a chaste kiss on the lips. Then he looked at Piper. “What do you mean by has healed?”

  “He has near full range of motion and dexterity returned to his right hand, not that he knows it.”

  “What the what?” Spike had her jumping with the harshness of his words. “What do you mean not that he knows it? I think he’d know.”

  “So would I, but Bent is stuck in a frame-set of…of…” She glanced at Forest, and implored him to help her explain.

  “Bent’s got his head up his ass,” Forest said.

  “Well, we all know that.” Bash went back to his pacing, but at least he’d stopped punching the wall. His tone turned curious and softened as he addressed his words to Piper. “Explain what that means: stuck in a frame-set.”

  Rather than diving in and explaining about the glove and the VR world, Forest crossed his arms over his chest and waited on her to enlighten the others.

  “It’s a technique I heard about called Transference. I read about it with psych patients with body dissociative disorders.”

  “Body what?” Bash shook his head. “Skye might have an idea what you’re talking about, but you’re going to have to break it down to the third grade level for the rest of us.”

  Skye suppressed a giggle. “Third grade?”

  “Hey, I hated school. Just speak so I can understand.” Bash did a fair
job of hiding his frustration, but it was clear he had no idea what Piper was talking about.

  “Basically, there are only ever two reasons why someone can’t do something.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Either they’re unable to do it, or they’re unwilling to do it.” Piper glanced around the room, seeing if everyone was following.

  Ash scooted up in his chair, sitting straighter. Bash stopped and leaned against a wall. He crossed his arms. Spike had moved and now lounged in a chair. His dark, ominous, gaze took her in, but he had his head cocked, like he was thinking about her words. Noodles sat on a stool, rocking and nodding his head. With everyone’s attention on her, Piper continued.

  “Before I started working with Bent, the first thing I did was meet with his physicians. I needed to know the extent of the injury to his arm and whether permanent nerve damage was present. His orthopedist said he would have stiffness and limited mobility, nothing that physical therapy couldn’t overcome. Bent’s at risk for arthritis as he ages, but they did a great job setting both his arm and the bones in his hand. His neurologist performed nerve conduction studies which didn’t show any nerve damage.”

  “So?” Bash kicked off from the wall and jumped over the back of a vacant sofa where he landed with a soft bounce.

  “It means Bent is capable of a near full recovery. His failure has nothing to do with anything physical.”

  “What she means,” Skye added, “is there was no reason for Bent not to be making progress.”

  “Exactly.” Piper gave a smile and a nod to Skye. “Bent didn’t want to get better. Or, he didn’t think he could get better. He has lingering trauma from that attack. The injuries didn’t just affect his arm and hand, but broke his spirit. He lost everything in that explosion.”

  “He didn’t seem out of sorts,” Bash said. “I mean, yeah, he got a busted arm, but Bent was all high spirits the rest of the time. He’s the one who got Ryker to play with us so the USO tour wasn’t a bust.”