by Ivy Black
Gathering my bearings, I realized there was a blanket pulled over me. I assumed that Dr. Marteau wasn’t the romantic type, so I figured Tess must have come in and covered me up before she went to bed. She’d always been that way, quietly caring for me, doing the things I was too dumb to do for myself. Half the time, I’d neglect my homework, eating, or even sleeping when I took care of Caid back before we left Hoppa. Tess would help me get my schoolwork done, feed me some lifted leftovers from her family’s dinner, and even soothingly run her hand through my hair until I couldn’t hold my eyes open anymore. For someone so young, the way she took care of me was unbelievable. She clearly was still up to her same antics in that regard. It’d be difficult not getting caught up in her before I left. I didn’t realize how much I missed her until I was talking to her again. It was almost enough to make a guy want to stay.
Almost.
I climbed out of bed, and my bladder made itself known almost instantly. Another luxury I’d forgotten all about was peeing in a place that didn’t have a tick risk. I thought of the door Tess pointed out the day before, grabbed my long-sleeved shirt off the desk, and made my way to it. At the very end of the hallway, I saw the door that Tess had pointed out as being hers. I reached the bathroom door, but I couldn’t drag my eyes away from Tess’ bedroom. It was probably a bad idea, but the pull was too sweet, and I continued past the bathroom door and down to the end of the hallway.
Thankfully, the door was cracked, so I tipped it open just a bit further and peeked my head inside. Unlike the more subdued decoration in the rest of Tess’ home, her bedroom was well designed and littered with pictures of her family and Lockjaw and tons of Steel Knights logos and sigils. Her bed was king-sized and covered in a dark blue comforter, and Tess was dead center in a nest of pillows. Her hair was spread across the bed above her head, and her sleeping face was perfectly calm and serene.
She was still the most exquisite sight I’d ever seen.
I could have stood there and stared at her forever if I didn’t have to pee and wasn’t concerned about her labeling me as a creep, so I snuck back out of the room and down to the bathroom to relieve myself. I pulled on the shirt when I was done and noticed for the first time how grungy and dirty it was. Hopefully, I’d be able to take some time to purchase a few new articles of clothing and take a long, hot shower before I had to get the hell out of dodge. As much as I wanted to stay and soak up more of Tess, staying in one place for too long was dangerous, and I didn’t want my trouble to find Tess or her family.
I left the bathroom and walked into the living room. I was planning on helping myself to some coffee and working on getting Lockjaw to not hate me, but the sight I found froze me in place. The coffee table was completely shattered, and not far from it was a concentrated stain of blood, droplets of which spattered across the floor in a line toward the front door.
Shit.
I rushed to the front door and threw it open. My heart started to race as I ran out to the driveway where Tess and I had left our bikes, and though I was expecting what I saw, it didn’t frighten me any less. Tess’ bike was banged up, but mine was mangled beyond recognition.
How did they find me so fast? Did Luther honestly anticipate that I would hide amongst the enemy? I’d been careful to keep my association with Hoppa to myself while I was running with the Dogs. I’d already dragged Tess into my trouble. It was too late.
I needed to run. As much as it would kill me to leave my bike behind, it wasn’t going anywhere in the condition it was in after the clearly ferocious beating it withstood last night while I slept. I could grab my stuff, hike out of Hoppa, and then see if I could catch a ride. Where I’d catch a ride to, I wasn’t sure, but if I could just get out of Luther’s purview, I could figure out my next step. With my wounds sufficiently patched, I could travel more than a few miles without needing to stop. I could start by getting out of Arizona.
But what about Tess? They knew where she was now. They’d caused all this damage as a way of leaving a message that they could find her if and when they needed to. If I ran and left her behind, Luther would have her head mounted on his wall by the end of the day. I couldn’t have that. She’d be difficult to convince, but I needed her to come with me. Given a choice, this wouldn’t be how I increased my time with Tess, but desperate times called for desperate measures.
I ran back into the house and down to Tess’ bedroom door. Unlike my quietly creaking it open a few minutes earlier, I slammed the door open, sending it colliding against the wall with a resounding crack. It alone stirred Tess, but I still clamored over to her bedside and started to shake her awake.
“Tess. Wake up. We gotta go.”
Tess stretched a little bit. “Huh?”
“We have to leave. They’ve found me. I don’t know how, but they found me.”
There were a few cracks as Tess twisted her head to one side then the other. She wasn’t exercising the urgency I needed her to be. “How do you know that?”
“I’m so sorry, but they broke in. They broke your coffee table, and they destroyed our bikes, and there’s blood on the floor. I don’t know whose…maybe Lockjaw.” It didn’t occur to me until that moment that I didn’t even stop to check for the dog. My stomach twisted, thinking that he’d be gone when I went back out—or worse, lying in his bed, gutted.
“Calm down,” Tess grumbled.
“Calm down? Someone’s trying to kill me!”
Tess looked at me with a mix of irritation for waking her up and pity for my fear. “Taylor broke the table.”
“Who?”
“Taylor. My brother.”
My fear abated. “Your brother?” That’s right. Tess had an older brother named Taylor. I very rarely saw him when we were growing up. If it weren’t for the fact that Tess mentioned him a few times when I would talk about Caid, I wouldn’t even have known the man existed. “Why would he do all that stuff? The blood was his?”
“The blood was probably Dr. Marteau’s,” Tess said with a yawn, “and he did it because he’s not playing with a full deck.”
“What did he do to Dr. Marteau?”
“No, that was me.”
I stood in silence for a second. Each additional thing she said brought the explanation further and further from anything I understood. “What?”
Tess snuggled one of her pillows closer to her and continued to look at me like it was just any other run-of-the-mill day. “I shot Dr. Marteau.”
She said it so simply. I recoiled a bit, but not out of fear. I was almost more impressed than anything. “Why?”
“Because I told him not to call my dad, and he did anyway. They came over, and when I mentioned that the friend I was helping was a man, Taylor flipped his shit, broke the table, and destroyed the bikes. I had to send Dr. Marteau a message. Don’t cross me. So I shot him in the shin and then left him to figure out how to get out of my house.”
“Wow.”
“I’m sorry about your bike, but we’ll get it fixed, don’t worry.” She scoffed. “The blood probably stained, huh?”
I was still trying to calm the errant ricocheting of my heart. “I think so.”
She tossed the covers back. “Shit. I’m gonna have to get it replaced again.”
Again?
Tess kicked herself out from under the covers and climbed out of bed, and the temperature in the room doubled instantly. She was dressed in nothing but a lilac lace nightie and a matching thong. When I’d last seen Tess, she was just starting to grow her feminine curves. She certainly wasn’t a little girl anymore. She had a form that rivaled some of the late 60s actresses like Marilyn Monroe. She wasn’t stick-skinny, but she had a flat stomach that umbrellaed into a wider waist and full thighs. Her backside was a plump peach shape, and with her shirt and jacket from the day before discarded, I could see that she had a large bust. It was unfair. All those dumb phrases I’d heard as a kid made much more sense to me now. All that and a bag of chips. A pocketful of sunshine. Good enough to eat. How
ever one chose to describe it, Tess was the kind of beautiful and sexy that someone should have to pay to see up close.
Though it felt like trying to force away two magnets, I managed to drag my gaze away from Tess as she sidled over to her dresser. Her near-naked image was already emblazoned on my brain, but that didn’t give me the right to gawk; she deserved respect. I waited to hear her drawers open or for her to duck into her bathroom, but after a few seconds of silence, I felt a hand on my arm.
I glanced over, and Tess was standing there, still in her racy nightclothes, looking up at me with a begging, starved gaze. My mouth was suddenly as dry as if I had never drunk water before in my life.
I wanted her so badly.
“Why do you look away? I don’t look good?” Tess asked.
I tried to stay tied into her intoxicating eyes. “You look amazing. I’m trying to be respectful.”
“If I didn’t want you to see it, I would have asked you to leave.” She leaned forward a little bit, and I couldn’t prevent my eyes from dropping down to take in her enrapturing chest. “That was a hint, you know.”
I’d gathered. The problem was, I’d spent most of the night calculating any outcome of allowing myself to take even a small bite of Tess. There was no way I couldn’t get attached. What would start as sex would quickly grow into something more because I had never gotten over Tess. She was the only person in my entire life that I’d allowed to see my mind, my emotions. Did I want to rip her nightie off and tackle her onto her bed? Sure. Would I then want to run away with her and act like I didn’t have a sick brother in Germany and a madman hunting me? One hundred percent, yes.
“I’ll meet you in the living room,” I said, and the words burned coming out. “I want to say goodbye.”
I turned to leave, but Tess’ hold on my arm clenched tighter, and she pulled me back. “You’re not going anywhere.”
God, please don’t make me have to verbally turn Tess down. I wasn’t strong enough for that. “I’m still recovering,” I managed to grumble out as an excuse.
“No. I mean you’re not leaving Hoppa.”
I furrowed my brow. “I can’t stay here. If I stay in one place for too long, I’ll get caught. It’s dangerous.”
“If you keep running, you’ll never heal, and you’ll get caught. That’s more dangerous because you won’t even be able to defend yourself.”
“I have medicine, and the doctor treated my wounds. I can deal with it well enough from here on out.”
Tess shook her head. “No. You came to me for help. This is me helping. You’re staying until you’re healed, and then you can go.”
“That could be weeks, Tess.” I imagined the scene from this morning and how convinced I was that Luther had found me. I should have known that he’d do much worse. I couldn’t let him get his hands on Tess. “It’s not safe for you either. I can’t protect you if they show up.”
Tess scoffed. “I’m not a damsel, I don’t need you to protect me, and as far as protecting yourself goes, I’ve got that figured out, too. You’re gonna prospect for the Steel Knights and get protection.”
If I was a man who laughed, I would have at that suggestion. Sure, Tess didn’t know that I was a former Unchained Dog, but she did know that I was a man she hadn’t spoken to in fourteen years who had shown up out of the blue, burned to shit and asking for help because I was being hunted. That suggestion made no logical sense, and that was very unlike Tess. She was probably behaving on the same impulse that I was trying to resist. It would be a convenient excuse to be together, but the idea on its own wasn’t smart.
“Tess, that doesn’t make any sense.”
“Of course it doesn’t make sense,” she replied. “None of this makes sense, but as long as you’re in the condition you’re in, you need to be stationary. Dr. Marteau said that he’d need to see you again in a few days and that you’re even worse off than you’re thinking. I get it. I get that you need to go, but if you try to leave now in your state, you’ll die, and if you try to stay and just fly under the radar, we could both die. This way, my dad and the Knights can keep us both safe, and as soon as you’re cleared, you can go. I won’t stop you.”
“I’m not about to drag you and your family into my mess.”
Tess stepped closer to me, bringing my attention back to how scantily she was still dressed. “You know, Colin. The medical attention cost a lot, and it was a huge risk. My bike is even damaged. You owe me.”
I clenched my jaw as the final three words hissed across her lips. I was painfully aware of how much I owed Tess for the last twelve hours. “I don’t have any money.”
Tess’ hands drifted up to my stomach and slid up to my chest. “I don’t want any money. I want a prospect.”
“Why?” I said, standing stone still and begging my hands to stay put.
“My father’s men don’t like me very much. I’m the VP in title alone. I want someone on my side for once. Even just for a little bit. You’re likable. Maybe they’ll like me more because they like you.”
Behind Tess’ minx-like expression was something genuine and pleading. Maybe it was because I was a man of honor, maybe it was because I was weak to Tess standing in front of me naked for as much of her body that her clothes covered, or maybe it was because I’d struggle to make it beyond the city limits without my bike, but for the first time in my entire life, I was considering banking on the lowest probable outcome. There was a possibility, minuscule though it may be, that I could successfully become a Steel Knight, stave off or even kill Luther, and get to be with Tess. Maybe I was staring down a barrel no matter what I did. If there was a chance that Tess’ plan could work or that I could at least improve her life a little bit before my inevitable end, wasn’t that worth trying?
“Fine.” I looked at Tess. “I’ll stay.”
Tess smiled. “Good.”
My brain immediately started working on a new plan. Germany.
If I could successfully prospect and start earning a little money, I could buy a one-way ticket to Caid. That was my freedom, my mecca, my Graceland. Germany was my way out, and maybe…maybe I could convince a certain redhead to come with me.
I’d never been much of a gambler, but running wasn’t looking much better than staying, and staying kept me near Tess. “Now,” she continued. “Are you going to take these off, or am I going to have to?”
I smirked. Words couldn’t express how much I wanted to take them off, but I couldn’t risk it. “Like I said,” I huffed. “I’ll meet you in the living room.”
I tried to ignore Tess’ challenge-accepted expression as I turned my back to her, but as I walked away, I heard her low, taunting chuckles and knew that I was in trouble.
Chapter Five
Tess
A person with less resilience would be convinced that Colin didn’t share my harbored feelings about our childhood love. I’d given him more than one opportunity to take me any way he pleased, but he didn’t seem to be biting. His excuse that he was still recovering was just that, an excuse, and a weak one at that.
The only thing keeping me from thinking that Colin just didn’t want me was the fact that I could feel the heat emanating off of him as he struggled to keep his eyes from drifting downward. The notable clench in his jaw and his balling of his fists were resistance tactics I’d seen before. My brother had half of Hoppa scared shitless to even look at me. People don’t often consider it with women, but we have sexual urges, too. I’d used my wiles to lure more than one man back to my place who knew well what would happen to them if Taylor caught them in my bed. They pulled all the exact same things out of their bag of tricks. Clench their jaws to keep from speaking their true desires. Ball their fists to keep from reaching out. Colin’s case was even worse. I could see it in his eyes. Hear it in his voice. He wanted me, too.
So why wouldn’t he take me?
I suppose this could be the one reason that I didn’t like Colin’s sterling coat of honor. Was he just practicing some sort of
gentlemanly code? If we only had a couple weeks to be together, I really wished he’d just hang it up, just for a little while. Even if Taylor didn’t scare men away, none of them made me hot the same way Colin did. None of them made my heart race and skin prickle. I’d get to him, one way or another. If I didn’t, who knew when I’d get something exciting again, if ever.
Lockjaw stood up and padded over to me as I walked into the living room. I reached down and patted his head, saying, “Morning, buddy.” I looked up and saw Colin sitting on the couch with a collection of my supply of meat—cold cuts, hot dogs, and one of my specialty orders, prime cut steaks.
“That’s a mighty big breakfast,” I said with a snicker.
He pulled a piece of bologna out and whistled. “I’m making friends.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Lockjaw can’t be…”
I watched as Lockjaw traveled away from my side and back over to where Colin was sitting. Colin held up the slice of bologna and ordered, “Sit,” and Lockjaw obediently sat, lolling his tongue out in anticipation of his treat. “Good boy.” Colin dropped the cut, and Lockjaw snapped it out of the air, taking a few quick bites to gobble it down before eyeing the stash of meat and waiting patiently for his next orders. Colin looked up at me. “You were saying?”
I walked around the scene and into the kitchen with a smile. “Huh. I guess he is food motivated.”
The truth was, Lockjaw was not food motivated because I’d painstakingly trained him not to be. I always thought that there was a possibility that someone would come to retrieve what I’d lifted, but during the bike ride from Rumble to Hoppa, I’d grown attached to my stolen pup. The first thing I did when I woke up the day after we got back home was start Lockjaw on a long, arduous path of loyalty only to me, in spite of any motivators. Female dogs in heat, the promise of a good fight, and yes, even all types and qualities of meat were paraded before him while I trained him over the next six months to respond to my commands perfectly and exclusively.
