“He’s the one who rescued all my belongings from my car after the crash.”
“Oh, right,” she said. “I heard about that. Didn’t he also beat the shit out of the guy who hit you?”
“Did he?”
“Apparently so,” Harmony confirmed.
“How do you know that?”
“I have my ways,” she said.
“What ways?”
“Just ways.”
“NiNi.”
“Jaxon found out everything when he did a deep dive into the crash.”
“Why is Jaxon doing a deep dive into the crash?” I snapped.
“Because I asked him to.”
I took a deep breath and dropped my head so I didn’t squeal like a banshee. “Harmony, sweetness, why did you ask him to look into the crash?”
“Because he has contacts here that I don’t.”
“I swear to God, sissy, I’m about to lose my religion,” I ground out.
“Sorry.” Harmony sighed. “I know I’m being purposely obtuse, but I didn’t really want to talk about this here. Can we talk when we get home? I promise I’ll tell you everything.”
“Fine,” I said. I was too tired to think right now anyway, and I didn’t have the energy to fight with her.
“I’m going to grab our stuff and we’ll get out of here, okay?” Harmony said. “Jaxon’s going to stay behind and help clean up.”
“He doesn’t need to do that, NiNi, the event center will take care of it.”
“But he will make sure all of your stuff makes it home safely.”
“Okay. Thank you,” I said, and Harmony left me.
“Sit,” Doom demanded, appearing behind me with a folding chair.
“Where did you come from?”
“Just behind the stage. Take a seat, Angel.”
“Doom, I—”
“Just sit in the goddamn chair, Lyric,” he said as he unfolded it.
I lowered myself into it, nearly crying out in relief.
He hunkered in front of me and removed my heel, giving my foot a squeeze, then standing again. “You should take something.”
“I’m okay.”
“Or you could stop being brave when you don’t have to be and take a pain pill.”
I cocked my head and studied him for several seconds. “What is your deal?”
“What do you mean?”
I shook a finger at him. “You want people to think you’re an asshole, but you’re not.”
He let out a hiss which meant I’d hit pay dirt.
“You good?” he snapped.
“I’m great,” I snapped back.
He turned on his heel and stalked away and I couldn’t help a smile. I was beginning to put the pieces of one Lincoln ‘Doom’ Marxx together and I was liking what I saw.
“You look like the canary who swallowed the cat,” Harmony mused as she walked toward me.
I shook my head. “I think I’m just tired and losing my mind.”
“Well, let’s get you home and tucked into bed. You deserve to sleep for a couple of days.”
“That sounds amazing.”
* * *
Doom
I climbed on my bike and headed to Burt’s, an underground fight club that changed locations every month or so. I didn’t always go…but I always knew where it was, just in case I needed to get out some frustration.
Which I did.
Right fucking now.
I pulled up and headed inside, the smell of blood and sweat strangely calming to me. My heart raced a little as I pushed through the crowd and stood at the edge of the circle.
“You come for a fight?”
The question came from my left and I looked that way to find Burt sidling up to me. He had a half-smoked, fatty cigar clenched in his teeth and his shirt was unbuttoned enough to see more hair than a seventies porn star, complete with gold chains gleaming in the low light.
“Yeah,” I said.
“On a scale of one to ten?”
“Twelve.”
“Shit,” he said, but he grinned. There was nothing Burt loved more than money, well, except blood, so the fact he knew I was itchin’ for a fight meant he had someone who could draw enough to make me hurt.
“You got someone good?” I asked.
“I got someone mean.”
I grinned. “Perfect.”
“Iggy’ll be your second.”
“Whatever,” I replied. I didn’t really care who watched my back. I wanted to hurt. I needed pain to wash away the beauty I’d experienced tonight. I didn’t deserve it and I needed a reminder of that fact.
“I’ll be back in a few.”
I gave him a chin lift and focused back on the current fight. The knockout didn’t take long and the crowd was a little disappointed that the carnage was quick, but this just gave Burt an opportunity to rile them up again with what he had in store.
“We got a special treat for you assholes!” he called over the mic, nodding toward me. “This here’s Doom. He’s in the mood for a challenge, so I’m gonna give him one.”
The crowd’s din grew and Burt turned waving his arm. A giant of a man emerged from the back and I couldn’t stop a smile. Yes. This was exactly what I wanted.
At six-foot-four, I was not small, but the man I was going to fight dwarfed me and I knew I was going to enjoy this battle.
I walked into the circle, removing my cut and T-shirt as I went, handing everything off to Iggy, then meeting my opponent in the middle. Burt walked the perimeter, taking bets, then met us in the middle with a huge smile. “You know the rules.”
We both nodded and Burt walked into the crowd.
The hit that came, came hard and I relished it. But I didn’t let it happen again. Because my opponent was several inches taller than me, I focused on his kidneys and got several jabs in. We sparred for three minutes before the bell rang then we rested for a minute. Iggy gave me water and patched me up as best he could, then we were back in.
I don’t remember anything after that, just the blessed black that covered me as unconsciousness came.
* * *
“Jesus Christ, Doom,” Doc hissed, pushing away from his truck.
“Whad-dar-you-doin-here?” I slurred through my swollen, bloody mouth.
“Burt called.”
Iggy handed me off to him and Doc helped me into the truck.
“Thanks, man,” Doc said.
“No problem.” Iggy jogged back into the building and Doc shook his head.
“You need to get a handle on this shit.”
“Wherez-bike?” I asked as Doc climbed into the truck beside me.
“Rabbit drove it back to the compound.”
“I’m gonna sleep.”
“You’re not gonna fuckin’ sleep, Doom,” Doc snapped. “We’re gonna get you back to the compound and I’m gonna make sure you don’t have a concussion.”
“Shul-check-ribs.”
“Fuck,” Doc ground out. “Yeah, I’ll check your ribs.”
I chuckled, then coughed, then groaned at the pain.
“Jesus, brother, we gotta have a conversation about this.”
“Later.”
“Yeah,” he said with a sigh. “Always later.”
I leaned against the coolness of the window and watched the street lights whiz by, trying not to pass out again.
* * *
Lyric
Harmony handed me a glass of water and I took a muscle relaxer and a pain pill as she joined me at the kitchen table. “Why are you having Jaxon look into my crash?”
It was well past midnight but I was amped from the night’s events and wasn’t ready to turn in yet.
Harmony shrugged. “I just have a feeling.”
I sighed. “I’ve always come to fear your ‘feelings’.”
She chuckled. “But my feelings are never wrong.”
“Which is why I fear them.”
“Have you noticed anything weird? Anyone following you? Strange phone ca
lls, stuff like that?”
“No. Nothing.” I reached over and squeezed her hand. “He’s in jail, Harmony. I know. I check weekly.”
“I know. I do, too.” She smiled gently. “Jaxon’s put everything in the hands of a few of his contacts here and no one’s found anything yet, so it’s probably nothing. I just wanted every stone unturned, you know?”
“I know, NiNi. Thank you.”
She stood and leaned down to kiss my cheek. “Let’s get you upstairs.”
Before my meds kicked in, Harmony helped me limp up the stairs and then I managed to get myself undressed before falling into bed.
Lyric
“WELL, TELL HIM he’s an asshole,” Melody snapped, and hung up, dropping her phone onto the coffee table.
“Melody!” I admonished. “We weren’t raised to speak to people that way.”
“Well, he deserves it.”
“What’s wrong?” Harmony asked, handing Jaxon a beer and sitting beside him on the sofa.
It was the next afternoon and we were enjoying our final day together before Jaxon and Harmony returned to Portland early tomorrow morning.
“Doom was supposed to pick… um… me up for our date tonight,” Melody said. “But apparently, he’s not coming.”
“Oh?” My heart sung, but I stuffed down that emotion and forced myself to look at my laptop screen. “Did he say why?”
“Oh, he didn’t say anything at all,” she snapped. “Someone named Doc informed me that he wasn’t going to make it.”
“That’s weird,” Jaxon said.
“Why is that weird?” Harmony asked.
Jaxon stood. “Gonna find out. Give me a few.”
I glanced at Harmony who shrugged.
Jaxon returned a few minutes later and sat back down. “Yeah, he can’t make it.”
“Why not?” Harmony asked.
“He just can’t.”
Harmony turned her body on the sofa to face him. “Again, honey, why not?”
“Let’s just say his face wouldn’t be very good company.”
I frowned, closing my laptop. “What does that mean?”
Jaxon took a swig of his beer.
“Jaxon,” Harmony pressed.
“He’s got some injuries.”
I gasped. “What kind of injuries?”
“The kind that means he can’t take Melody out.”
“Did he crash his bike?” Harmony asked.
I gasped again. “Oh my god, did he?”
“No,” Jaxon said.
“Someone needs to start giving me information, or I swear I’m going to hit something,” I warned.
“Not my story to tell,” Jaxon said. “Sorry, Lyric.”
I picked up my cell phone and swiped the screen, scrolling to Shawn Campbell’s number and dialing.
“Hey, Lyric, how are you feeling?”
“I’m doing okay, Shawn, how are you?” I asked.
Shawn Campbell had been my firm’s top investigator for over ten years and he was always my first call whenever I needed something fast and accurate.
“Good. What can I do for you?”
“I need information on Lincoln Marxx, two x-es. He’s part of the Dogs of Fire motorcycle club and his club name is Doom.” I heard Harmony tsk, while Jaxon groaned, but I ignored them both.
“How much information do you need?”
“As much as you can give me,” I said.
“Give me a few days.”
“Okay, Shawn. Thanks.” I hung up and leaned back in my chair with a satisfied smile.
“Major invasion of privacy,” Jaxon said, his tone one of caution. “He’s not going to like that.”
I shrugged and focused back on my screen. “I have an obligation to protect my sister.”
“No,” Melody rushed to say, which was odd. “You really don’t. I don’t care. Seriously. It’s all good.”
“You just called his friend an asshole because Doom couldn’t make it,” I pointed out.
“Technically, I told him to pass along the message to Doom,” Melody countered. “Call Shawn back and cancel your invasion of privacy thing.”
“No.”
“God! Why do you have to ruin everything?” she snapped, then huffed and stormed out of the room.
“I think you should listen to Melody,” Jaxon said. “You dig into information the Dogs haven’t offered freely, they won’t be happy.”
I rolled my eyes. “Are they criminals?”
“Not that anyone has ever been able to prove, no,” Jaxon said. “But that doesn’t mean they don’t have reach, and Doom’s not a man to mess with, Lyric.”
“No one will ever know what I find out, Jax, especially Doom. You don’t have to worry about me.”
He raised his hands in surrender. “Okay, babe. Said my piece.”
I forced a smile and hoped it appeared genuine. “I appreciate your concern, Jax. I really do. We had to rely on only each other for what felt like forever, so please don’t think I take your words lightly.”
“As long as you remember I’ve had your back for a long time and will continue to do so,” he said.
“We do, honey,” Harmony said, squeezing his knee.
I nodded in agreement.
* * *
A little over a week later, life had returned to my new normal. Harmony and Jaxon had returned home, Melody was on the first leg of her sold-out tour, and I was up and moving around a little more, but still on crutches and relying on Uber and coworkers to take me where I needed to go. I hated every second of it. I could not wait to get this damn boot off.
I had promised Georgia I’d sit in on one of her other cases at trial this week, the case we had together had been granted a continuance due to my injury, and I was late to the courthouse on account of the fact that I hobbled everywhere right now, so I was not paying attention as I swung my way into the courthouse on Monday morning.
“Shit,” a deep voice ground out as I slammed into his hard body.
“Oh, my word, I’m sorry.”
“Lyric?”
Doom. I looked up and frowned. “What the hell happened to your face?”
He raised an eyebrow. “You should see the other guy.”
“Is this why you canceled your date with my sister?”
“Yeah. Sorry.”
He didn’t sound sorry in the least bit. “What happened?”
“You late for somethin’?”
“You didn’t answer my question,” I accused.
“I didn’t. You’re right, counselor,” he said, glancing around. “You should probably get where you need to be, huh?”
“Why are you at court?”
“I had to fight a parking ticket.”
I couldn’t stop myself from running a finger over one of his bruises. “What did you do?”
He leaned back like my touch burned him. “You need help gettin’ where you need to go?”
“No.” I cocked my head. “I have a file on you.”
Jesus H. Lucifer Christ, why the hell did I just say that out loud?
The darkness I’d grown familiar with covered his face again. “What?”
“I haven’t opened it.”
“Fuck me,” he growled, and put distance between us.
“I would really like to sit down and have an adult conversation with you and have you tell me your story, rather than reading whatever my investigator found out.”
He stepped back to me and leaned close. “Why the fuck do you have a file on me?”
“Because I always do a background check on the men my sisters date.”
“I’m not dating your sister.”
I raised an eyebrow. “But you will.”
“I won’t.”
“She bid fifty-thousand dollars on you, you don’t find that a little bit intriguing?” I challenged.
“No.”
“Bullshit.”
“Woman, I know everything I need to know about your sister, and no offense, but fucked up, ditzy,
and rich enough not to care about anything but herself is not my type.” He jabbed a finger toward me. “I will honor my commitment because I don’t bail, but no further.”
“Contrary to popular belief, my sister isn’t actually ditzy.”
“Don’t give a fuck. Not one single one.” He dragged his hands through his hair. “Forget it. Tell your sister I’ll refund her fuckin’ money, but I’m out. Have a nice life.”
He stalked away and I felt like a complete asshole.
I made my way down to the courtroom and took a seat as close to the front as I could, then tried to put my bad behavior aside for the moment.
* * *
“How bad was it?” Georgia asked as we walked out of court.
“What are you talking about?” I countered, sliding my bag over my shoulder. “You did great.”
“You must have some feedback. I didn’t come at Waller hard enough on cross. If it had been you, he would have folded much quicker.”
I sighed. “You make me sound like a ball buster.”
“Well, you are.” She grinned. “In all the best ways.”
I rolled my eyes. “Let me think about it and I’ll send you an email later today. Honestly, though, I think you have your own style and that works perfectly for you.”
She smiled. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Can I drop you somewhere?” she asked.
“No, actually, I need to file a couple of things, so I’ll be here for a bit.”
She nodded. “Okay, I’ll see you on Monday.”
My phone rang as Georgia walked away and I saw it was Melody, so I sat on one of the benches and answered it. “Hey, DiDi.”
“Hi, how are you?” I could hear noise in the background, so I deduced she was getting ready for a show.
“I’m good, how are you?” I said.
“So good. I met someone.”
I rolled my eyes. “Oh?”
“I’ll have Brandy send his information so you can do your thing.”
I dropped my head back against the wall. “What about Doom?”
“Who?”
“The man you bid fifty-grand on a couple of weeks ago?”
“Oh, him,” she said dismissively. “I bid on him for you.”
“Excuse me?”
“Yeah. You didn’t figure that out?” She chuckled. “He’s totally into you, silly. You probably just couldn’t see it because of the drugs. I figured I’d just help you jump start some vag action.”
Quieting the Biker's Rage Page 4
