“Search Tiny. See if he’s got more zip ties,” Swift instructs me.
Once again, I have no problem following her lead. Nor when I do find said items and she issues her next commands. “Hog-tie Kincaid and chuck me over some ties.” I do, and we soon have them both trussed. I search Kincaid, removing the knife from his ankle sheath and his phone and wallet. For good measure, I remove his boots. Swift copies my actions with the other man.
“What now?” I ask.
“We leave them here. I suspect Pip might appreciate us leaving him something to deal with.”
Still in professional mode, she ushers me out of the room. I close and lock the door behind me, then follow her up the stairs. The bruises I obtained on the way down throb to remind me exactly how I descended. That I’m limping heavily doesn’t surprise me. My breathing is coming fast, and I feel sweaty, and if I’m honest, a tiny bit dizzy.
When we reach the top, Swift looks around, inspecting the rooms, then starts opening doors and drawers.
“What are you after?”
“Something to use as a bandage for you.”
“Shouldn’t we call Pip?” That, to me, seems more urgent. While I’m certain the men are secured, there could be a snowball’s chance in hell they’d free themselves.
She rolls her eyes, and points. I notice with surprise that my arm has blood running down it in rivulets. I clamp my hand over the wound to try to stem it. “It just winged me. I’m all right. Call Pip.”
Another glance at the ceiling and back down, but she’s Swift. A quick assessment tells her I’m not in immediate danger of dying, so she’s not going to fuss. She picks up one of the phones we’d appropriated downstairs, and keys in a number. While I’m waiting for Pip to pick up, I realise my arm’s now starting to smart and throb. In the adrenaline rush, I’d forgotten all about it until Swift had pointed it out. Lifting my hand, I eye it. Nah, it doesn’t need stitches, just needs a bandage to stop the blood flowing. In a way, that pain’s a distraction from the ache in my leg and the tenderness on my chest. I’m a fucking mess.
When the phone is at last answered, she puts it on speaker.
“Yeah?” Pip sounds cautious. Well, it is an unknown number.
“Prez, it’s—”
“Swift? Fuck. You alright? How the fuck are you talking to me? I thought you were taken without your hearing aids.”
“I was. But Road brought them with him.”
“Road? Fuckin’ Road? Road brought them… You were there? At the vacation house?”
As her eyes widen, I realise she’s not got a clue where she is, but she recovers fast. “Not much of a vacation house. Got four rats in the basement. Two we managed to kill, two trapped.” Swift grins in my direction.
“They’re contained?”
“Yeah. Could do with an exterminator though.”
“I’ll get it arranged. Will be there as soon as possible. Both of you okay? Neither got bit I hope?” Pip’s voice drips with concern.
“One caught Road’s arm. But he’ll live.”
“We’ll be there to make sure your rodent problem is dealt with.”
The call ends abruptly. I’m certain Pip’s going to waste no time making arrangements.
Spying a first aid box up on the kitchen wall, I make my way over to it, taking out a roll of bandage and proceeding to try to wrap it around my arm in an effort to stem the blood. Swift bats my hand away and takes over for herself, making a much better job than I could do one handed. Moments later and with not a little gnashing of teeth on my part, my arm is wrapped tight enough to slow, if not stop, the bleeding.
“Have you seen my phone?” I ask, in part to take my mind off my various hurts. When I start looking around, hoping to find it, Swift does the same. It doesn’t appear to be in the house, so I go outside, wondering if they dropped it where they found me. Breathing in deeply, I pause once I’m outside, taking the chance to fill my chest with fresh air. I bend, placing my hands on my knees, coming down hard now that the fighting is done.
“Here. Is this it? It was in the kitchen. I think this is your wallet too. Hey, are you alright?”
I glance up, nodding as I recognise the device I was looking for. Taking it from her, I slide both it and my wallet into my pocket. “Sure. I just—”
“You did good, Brother.”
Her praise doesn’t affect me, her moniker does. I don’t want to be relegated to some damn team member.
I straighten again, and approach her, wishing I could make a better impression than limping toward her. “Swift,” I growl. “I’ve not forgotten our conversation.”
She doesn’t pretend to misunderstand. “Road, it wouldn’t work…”
I’m just about to contradict her, when my phone vibrates in my pocket.
Taking my phone out, I see it’s my prez.
“Drummer,” I acknowledge, cautiously.
“Road, what the fuck’s going on?”
He’s called at the worst possible moment, with adrenaline still coursing through me from the fight for our lives only moments before. My various injuries are making themselves known, making rational thought impossible. I want him off the line fast, so I try to reassure him. “Nothing, Prez.”
“Nothing? You’re telling me everything’s as it should be in Utah?” I know from his tone that my voice won’t be sounding quite like normal and I’m not surprised he picked up on it.
He’s caught me off balance. I’ve been shot, I’m just about to persuade Swift that us fucking is the best possible idea despite her objections, but he’s expecting me to come up with some fiction about the Utah club. “Nothing out of the ordinary,” I say again, knowing I’ll be out bad if I’m caught in a lie to Drummer, but right now unable to summon a better response. I’ve got Swift back, and my gut tells me I don’t want to lose her. To buy some time, I have to be careful what I say about this chapter. I’ve got to throw him off the scent.
But it seems Drummer’s intent on knowing more. “How do they make their money?”
“The usual stuff.” Well, it’s quite unusual, actually.
There’s a pause. It stretches out. “Seems like you’ve done what I asked and found out what our brothers in Utah get up to. So, you’re getting ready to come back? Marvel’s getting fed up staring at pussy all night.”
If he is, I suspect it’s more because he’s found managing the strip club is not all staring at naked bodies, he’s actually had to do some work. “Yeah, thinking about it, Drummer.” I’m also thinking seriously about transferring to Utah. Swift’s here, for a start. She wouldn’t be able to transfer to Tucson, and I couldn’t ask her to give up her patch.
He goes quiet again, then his voice blasts down the phone. “You’re thinking about it?” adding, so loudly I have to move the phone to one side, “You’re fuckin’ thinking about it? Don’t you think you ought to give me a heads-up if you’re staying away for an extended time? Or are you thinking of transferring? You’d have to ask me if you were. What’s Snatcher been saying to you? Is he pressuring you to stay?”
“It’s not like that, Prez.” My eyes land on Swift, and suddenly I know what to say that he would accept as a valid excuse. “There’s a woman.”
Another silence followed shortly by a strangled laugh. “You as well? Well why not bring her back with you?”
“It’s early days, Prez. I don’t know where, if anywhere, this is going to go.”
“Tell me how Utah makes their money,” he suddenly throws in, trying to catch me out.
“I gotta run, Prez. Speak later.”
I end the call, then look up to see Swift is half grinning, half looking concerned. “Was that wise?”
I shrug. “What can I say? He wasn’t going to let it drop.” I run back over the call in my mind. “He’s suspicious as hell, so I had to come up with something to throw him off the scent.”
“And this woman?” Now there’s a challenge in her eyes. “Now who would she be, this woman of yours?”
�
�Not yet mine,” I hold her gaze with mine, “but give it time.”
She returns my stare for a few beats, then tosses her head. “In your dreams,” she scoffs.
28
Swift…
I’m playing with Road. I know exactly who the woman is that he just told his prez about. The problem is, that woman is me, and while I guessed he was struggling for something to say to Drummer to get him off the line, I could also see from the softening of Road’s eyes, that in his offhand statement there was an element of truth.
I can’t be the reason Road stays here and doesn’t return to his Tucson brothers. It’s not fair to lead him on.
Road might say he’s good with a quick fuck so we can get our sexual frustrations dealt with and then both move on, but telling his prez he’s met a woman he might make his isn’t just a different ballgame, it’s not even in the same ballpark. The signs are there that Road’s words are at odds with what’s in his heart. He doesn’t want a one-night stand, he’s starting to view me as someone to whom he could make a commitment.
Trouble is, I’ve a sneaking suspicion I might feel the same way, and that scares me, far worse than the prospect of taking a man like Tiny on. The more Road and I are together and the more I see of him, the more I discover things I like. Unfortunately, so far, he hasn’t put a foot wrong.
He hadn’t once indicated as I was a woman, I should therefore follow his masculine lead. Instead, he’d followed every instruction I’d given, deferring to me as I’ve more knowledge and experience than him. He’s in pain but doesn’t complain about it and doesn’t try to make it all about him. His chest must be sore, his arm too, and that’s not even considering the pain from his leg. Yet, he’s not moaned once nor played on my sympathy.
Neither has he been making allowances for my injured hand or being overprotective. He’s given me exactly what I need, an acknowledgement it’s happened, acceptance there’s nothing that can be done to fix it, leaving any provision I need to make to me.
His quick smile, his deep laugh, his handsome looks, his hands that can kill but also be so gentle and which I want all over me are other positive factors. Everything about him leads me to suspect if we fucked, it might be me who wanted more.
While we’re waiting for the cavalry, I need to turn this unsettling conversation away from him and me. “I didn’t have time to ask earlier, but why the fuck are you here all alone?” That that’s not Pip’s way of operating has been playing on my mind.
“Duty came up with a number of places which had recently been rented.” He raises and lowers his shoulders. “One looked a probable, but I wasn’t included on the team to check it out. This one seemed a loser from the start, but Pip wanted it looked at anyway. It’s fifty miles from the clubhouse, you know that?”
I was unconscious when I’d been brought here. “I didn’t. They chloroformed me, remember.”
He raises his chin. “I could be here in under an hour on that ZX14R, and Bolt’s bike is almost as fast. He sent both of us to check this place out.” He grimaces and looks pained. “I thought he was getting me out of the way and fully expected the others would rescue you.”
“Bolt? But he’s not here.” I frown and quickly check. “Is he okay?”
“He had a blowout about ten miles out of town. He’s embarrassed but fine.”
Thank fuck for that. “How did they get you?”
Road’s eyes settle on me, and one side of his mouth turns up. He knows exactly what I’m doing by asking questions—I’m avoiding a discussion I don’t want to have. Then, he sighs, and touches at the bruise on his chest. It brings my attention to those pecs and abs I find so fascinating. Quickly I raise my eyes to his face, focusing instead on his lips, which is another mistake.
“I was careless, angry, frustrated at not being on the team going to the most likely place. I met a fisherman at the lake. He seemed to think there was a couple here. I didn’t fuckin’ think of security cameras or that there’d be people looking out.” An abrupt shake of his head. “I was so certain this place was a bust.”
“But there were.”
“Yeah. So it was my stupidity that I got caught. It’s thanks to Preacher that I was wearing Kevlar. Fuckin’ saved my life. When the bullet didn’t kill me, Kincaid decided he’d question me instead. Luckily their first thought was that I hadn’t come alone, so they secured me, as you know, and then went out to search.”
He’s not making excuses or justifying his actions. He’d been stupid, but at the end of the day, he found me and rescued me.
“It worked out,” I tell him sincerely, my hand somehow finding its way onto his arm. “And I can’t thank you enough for bringing my hearing aids” There are no words to express how grateful I am, how lost I felt when all my nightmares came true. I’d been stolen away because I’d had no warning anyone was coming, and held captive without being able to hear the threats or anything else being said. I had had to stay alert and awake and unable to relax. I’m tired and crashing fast now. With Road, I feel safe enough to admit. “I-I was scared.” I bite my lip even though I’m not known for doing such actions. Somehow with him, I feel like I can let down my guard. “I couldn’t hear what Kincaid was saying. I had no warning when they took my finger. I tried to get free, but it didn’t work. And I didn’t know what else they had planned. I felt weak.” I spit out the last word.
He raises my injured hand and gently rubs his fingers across the back of it over the top of the bandage. “Never weak. You kept it together, you’re so fuckin’ brave, Swift.”
Just then, in that moment, I don’t feel brave at all. Without thinking what I’m doing, I lean into him, resting my face against the warm skin of his chest. His arms come around me and he holds me loosely.
“It wasn’t what they did, Road. Though it hurt like the son of a fuckin’ bitch. I’ll survive without a finger. It was not knowing what else they’d do.”
“So fuckin’ brave,” Road repeats. Then his hands move, and he applies a little pressure. In a moment, he’s holding me at arm’s length, his eyes fixing on mine. “That would be terrifying for anyone, Swift. You know that, don’t you?”
“It hurts, Road. It throbs. And it’s not even bloody well there.” I don’t have to tell him I’m talking about the lack of my finger.
They’d stolen something from me which I’ll never get back. The stump will heal. I’m not even particularly concerned about it looking ugly. It’s that it will be a constant reminder of how I’m no longer complete. I pretend to be normal, as though losing my hearing is just a mild inconvenience. Instead, it’s a big fucking deal as the last couple of days had proved. They’d never have gotten the drop on me if I’d been able to hear. That’s going to have more lasting effects than the loss of my finger. Right now, I’m not sure where I’ll find the strength to pick up and carry on. Fear, I think, will be my constant companion. I can no longer pretend. I’ve experienced the worst of what can happen when silence descends.
He pulls me back into his chest, one hand smoothing my hair. I’m not ashamed to admit I’m taking comfort from him.
What would it be like to have him to lean on forever? Why is it with him I don’t need to insist I’m okay? Why do I let him see my weakness? Because he doesn’t mock me for it. He doesn’t act as if it’s unexpected, as though, me being Swift, he expects more.
“You’re so fuckin’ strong,” he reassures me, as though able to read my mind. “You’ll come back from this, Swift. Honor and Duty will already be thinking of ways to power proof your house, or cope with the lack of it. This has been a wakeup call, but you came out relatively unscathed. It’s all too raw now, but you’ll come through stronger than before. I know it.”
I wish I had his confidence.
“Christ.” His free hand squeezes between my back his front, and he rubs his chest. “I still feel I’ve been kicked by a horse.” His reminder makes me smile, then I’m actually giggling as he starts to chuckle. “We’re a right pair, aren’t we?”
&
nbsp; I need to concentrate on the positives. “We’re free.” We’d worked well as a team. I’d released him, he’d freed me, and together we’d taken the bad guys out. “I count that as a success.”
“Swift?” Road’s voice has become serious and slightly strained. I raise my eyes. “I’d like to kiss you.”
That’s all the warning I get. Before I can think to push him away, his hands cup my face, and turns it up. I’m about to say No, that’s a crazy idea, when his lips find mine. At first, it’s just a brush of our mouths meeting. Then, he applies a little more pressure, and I open, allowing his tongue to slip inside.
We’d kissed before in California. Despite my indignation at the time, I have to admit I enjoyed it. But that hadn’t prepared me for what happens when Road takes control of my mouth, and I start to melt beneath his onslaught.
The sound of multiple motorbikes approaching makes us both jump guiltily apart. I wipe my mouth with the back of my hand, knowing my eyes are wide. Road’s lips were soft, as was his beard against my face. Thank fuck Pip’s arrival has stopped me from making a mistake. Even that brief melding of our mouths was an error of judgement I shouldn’t have made.
I enjoyed it too much.
I’m not averse to exchanging kisses in the throes of passion, but don’t seek them out. If mouths are involved, then there’s another place where a man can use his tongue which is much more satisfying. Why waste time when sex organs aren’t involved? That’s the whole point of the encounter, isn’t it? I suppose I must have kissed back in my school days but can’t remember having an interaction involving just lips with a man before.
Why do my knees feel weak?
Because, I answer myself firmly, I’ve just come through an ordeal where I had to fight off PTSD with everything I have. Because the sound of those bikes tells me I can stand down and relax.
While I’ve been standing, shaken because of the kiss we just shared, Road’s pulled himself together faster. He’s walking toward the approaching bikes.
“Road.”
I hear Pip’s voice, put on my game face just in time to see Road getting slapped firmly on his back. Then Pip spies me and gives me the same brotherly hug.
Road Tripped: Satan's Devils MC Utah #1 Page 28
