Ruined Mercy

by Brook Wilder

  I had to get him back home so we could pack up and leave town. Neither he nor my mother would be safe, and if I was successful in saving him from his captors, I would be in just as much danger. So much for getting that degree.

  Unfolding my legs, I stood and straightened my clothes, my heart pounding in my chest. There was no loud music or laughter on the other side of the wall, the rain likely keeping the club members away. I didn’t know how long I had lain on that bed, but it’d been long enough for the darkness to fall once more, and I had no idea where Harrison was.

  But something told me he wasn’t far. He might try to stop me from going after my father, which was why I couldn’t tell him what my plans were.

  I needed to cause a distraction with Harrison. My body hummed with anticipation as I thought about last night, and how he had let his guard down with me during that very special time. Or at least I’d thought he had. As much as I hated the idea of manipulating him, I would need to distract him again.

  Not that I hated the thought of having sex with Harrison again. If I wasn’t going to make it back from trying to rescue my father, then I wanted to spend my last moments with Harrison.

  I unlocked and opened the door, wondering if Harrison had ever come by here and found it locked against him. I had just needed some time to process the fact that I was going to risk my life for my father’s.

  That I was going to lie to Harrison once more and probably for the last time.

  Harrison sat at the end of the hallway, a glass of amber-colored liquid in front of him.

  I slipped onto the stool next to him, placing my arms on the bar top. “It’s quiet in here.”

  “Bikers are afraid of melting in the rain.”

  I smiled at his quick attempt at a joke. “Well, that’s better than being worried about their bikes rusting.”

  “I just want to--” He started.

  But I beat him to it. “I want to apologize. I had my own reasons for hiding that card and not telling you about it. I hope you understand that.”

  He drained the glass before setting it down on the bar top. “Did you fuck me just to get on my good side?”

  I didn’t even flinch at his crude question. “Of course not. I slept with you because I wanted to. Because I like you.” It was the truth. I liked him, a lot.

  Harrison made a noise and pushed away from the bar, striding toward the door. He walked through it without slowing. Why was he acting like a child about this? I had apologized. I’d told him the truth about why I slept with him.

  Yet he still felt the need to walk away. Couldn’t he at least forgive me for this one thing?

  Getting angrier by the minute, I followed him, walking out into the raging storm and circling the small porch that wrapped around the building. Harrison was at the far end around the corner, the faint glow of a cigarette the only indicator he was even there. It was pitch black, the rain coming down in sheets, and I tried not to shiver at the coolness coming from the movement of so much water.

  “What was that about?” I yelled over the rain.

  He turned as I approached. “What?”

  “Just up and leaving,” I answered. “I didn’t take you as someone who pouted.”

  He chuckled, dropping the cigarette and stomping on it with his boot. “There’s a lot you don’t know about me, princess.”

  “I don’t want to know it all,” I said softly. “I just want to know you, Harrison.”

  He grabbed me so fast I didn’t even have a chance to blink. He had me pressed against the cold concrete wall the next instant.

  “You want to know me?” he asked, pressing his body against mine. “Well, here I am, princess. What do you think?”

  His voice was harsh, but his arousal pressed against my stomach. I knew he was trying to scare me away. I didn’t even think he was mad at me about the SIM card anymore.

  This was something else. “I think you’re trying to hide behind your tough guy routine again,” I answered, my voice barely heard above the driving rain. “And it doesn’t scare me, Harrison.”

  “It should,” he growled. “I’m a dangerous man.”

  I wanted to touch him so badly I could hardly stand it. Instead I looked into his eyes, the lightning flashing and illuminating his face. “I don’t care,” I said, my voice trembling. “I don’t care about how many people you killed or what you did before you met me. I care about this moment on, and how that impacts me.” I didn’t know where my bravado was coming from, but maybe time with Harrison was starting to rub off on me.

  And I wasn’t about to give up on him.

  “You need to walk away from me, Sabrina,” he said roughly, emotion in his voice.

  “I’m not,” I challenged. “I’m not going anywhere, Harrison.”

  The fight left him and his mouth crashed against mine, the taste of whiskey and cigarettes on his tongue. I didn’t push him away; instead I grabbed his shoulders and pulled him closer, unable to get enough.

  “I need you,” he said against my lips. “I need you so fucking bad.”

  I didn’t answer, already sliding my hands under his shirt to touch his warm body. Harrison growled in response, his hands on my jeans, and I gasped as he pushed them over my hips, his finger finding my aching core.

  His mouth found my neck and I threw my head back, giving myself up to Harrison. My heart was racing, my body wound unbelievably tight as his finger brushed against my swollen clit again and again, building that delicious pressure my body craved.

  Boldly, I cupped the bulge in the front of his jeans, not believing this had escalated so quickly.

  But I didn’t want anything else. I wanted this.

  Not for my father and not for that damn SIM card.

  Because he and I wanted each other.

  Thunder crashed and I whimpered when his finger increased pressure, his mouth finding my collarbone and sucking there. White hot lightning shot through my body and I let go, the rain swallowing up my scream.

  When Harrison picked me up and pushed into me, I gasped at the invasion, tightening my legs around his waist.

  “This okay?” he asked, his breath harsh in my ear.

  “Y-yes,” I answered, surprised I could find my voice. “Please.”

  “Damn, I like it when you beg.”

  I whimpered as he moved, slamming into me and pushing me to another orgasm that shook my entire body. I didn’t care if anyone came around the corner and saw us. I didn’t care about the soreness between my legs, or that I was going to be even sorer when this was all over.

  I wanted this.

  I needed this.

  “You are so fucking wet,” he said, gripping my waist tightly. “So fucking tight.”

  “Please,” I cried out, not sure what I wanted him to do. I wanted him to fill me to my very core and to always make me feel this way. I arched my back and he swore, pushing even deeper until I was sure I would split in two from his rampant thrusts.

  Just when I thought I couldn’t take it anymore, Harrison stiffened, our cries drowned by the blinding rain.

  ***

  A little while later, I lay next to Harrison, feeling his hand in my hair. After our romp against the clubhouse wall, I was drowsy and wanting to go to sleep in his arms.

  I couldn’t, though. I had a plan and I was determined to stick to it.

  “I’m not mad at you.”

  I sighed against his shoulder. “If you are, you have a funny way of showing it.”

  His chest rumbled from laughter. “I was hurt that you didn’t trust me, but I understand.”

  His words tugged on my heart. “I trust you, I really do. I just… I was worried about my father.”

  “Yeah, I know,” he answered, his hand stilling in my hair. “And I stick by my promise to get him back, Sabrina. Just be patient, alright? Even if Chains says no, I will ride out alone.”

  I couldn’t let him do that. He was still healing from the last time he tried to help me rescue my father. It was my turn to figure
things out this time. “Who will protect you?”

  “I don’t need anyone to protect me,” he said. “But I do need to know that you are safe.”

  My heart flipped over in my chest. He cared about me. He truly cared about me. “Why? Why can’t I worry about who is going to protect you?”

  “Because I am not worth the worry.”

  That broke my heart into a million pieces. He was so worth the worry to me. I didn’t want anything to happen to him. Raising my head, I met his gaze. “I will whether you like it or not.”

  Harrison grunted and closed his eyes, apparently not wanting to comment on my declaration. Fine. I would let it go this time.

  So instead of arguing, I snuggled against him and didn’t say anything, waiting until his body relaxed, and sleep overtook him.

  Then I executed my plan.

  Carefully, I pried myself out of his grip, freezing he murmured my name.

  Oh God, how was I going to deal with never seeing him again?

  With a heavy heart, I dressed quickly, making sure to grab the keys for both his bike and his truck from Harrison’s jeans that were thrown on the floor. I would be taking his truck, but the bike… I couldn’t make it easy for him to follow me.

  I allowed myself one last look at him before I snuck out of the room, shutting the door softly behind me. When Harrison awoke, he would likely try to come after me, and though I couldn’t stop him from doing so, I could get a good head start, putting some distance between us.

  As I walked out of the clubhouse and into the rain, I tried not to think about the task at hand. I was walking into the lion’s den, hoping I would somehow find my father still alive and get us both out.

  The odds were stacked against me, but for my father, I was willing to at least give it a shot.

  Chapter 16

  Harrison

  The first thing I noticed when I woke was that I was in the bed alone.

  Again.

  Sitting up, I looked at the bathroom, finding the door open and the light off. Sabrina wasn’t hiding from me this time. There were no secrets between us.

  But the concern didn’t stop there. When I noticed her clothes were gone, I shot out of bed, shoving my legs into my jeans before moving out of the room and down the hall. The rain had finally stopped, the club eerily quiet as I checked the main rooms for her, finding her nowhere.

  Shit. She had done it to me again.

  Walking back to the room, I quickly finished dressing, a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. I didn’t want to consider that she might do something as stupid as go after her father herself, but the evidence was stacked against her.

  Sabrina had just signed her own death sentence.

  Swearing, I reached into my pocket, coming up empty for my keys.

  Damn her. Didn’t she know she was no match for whoever had her father? Didn’t she know what it would do to me if she wound up dead?

  Of course not. I hadn’t given her any reason to think this thing between us was any more than just a fuck or two.

  But it was far more than that. When she had come out there after me, I knew I couldn’t stay angry with her. She had only been doing what she thought was right for her father and Chains was being unnecessarily cruel by making her wait for his decision.

  Any rational human being would have done the same thing she had.

  I had just been too wrapped up in wanting her to realize she was saying goodbye.

  “Shit,” I breathed, shoving a hand through my hair. I should have known better. I anticipated this, but it was still a shot to the gut when it happened.

  Reaching into my pocket, I grabbed my cell phone and found Chains’s number, pressing the send button. He picked up on the second ring. “What the hell, man? I was sound asleep.”

  “She’s gone,” I growled, shoving my feet into my boots. “Damn you.”

  “Ah dammit,” Chains said with a heavy sigh. “I’m sorry. I guess I didn’t think she would have the balls to do it.”

  “Well she did,” I answered, grabbing my guns from the top drawer before striding out of the room. “And she’s unarmed. If something happens to her, I will hold you personally responsible.” I didn’t care if I was talking to the president of the Jesters. If he had just told her he would’ve gone after her father, she might still be here with me.

  “I’ll be there in ten.”

  I didn’t answer, shoving the phone in my pocket as I walked out to my bike. I wanted to hit something, hard. Just knowing Sabrina was going up against the cartel, alone, made me sick to my stomach. Like a lamb to slaughter. I had seen what the cartel could do to a person.

  I couldn’t deal with Sabrina in a ditch somewhere. I had barely survived Val’s death.

  ***

  The rain fell around me, but I didn’t bother to step out of it, watching as the priest gave Val her last rites. Her mother sat under the funeral home tent, crying softly into a handkerchief and I wanted to say a few comforting words to her, but my mind kept coming up blank. I felt numb, still waiting for the moment I would wake up from this horrible dream and thank the good Lord above that it had only been a nightmare.

  But I wasn’t going to wake up. Val wasn’t going to climb out of that casket and give us all that winning smile of hers. She was dead, killed by the cartel, all because she chose to fight back.

  Well, they wouldn’t be kidnapping any other girls. I had ruthlessly hunted down the ones who had been responsible or even remotely involved, spending the last week doing nothing but hunting their asses and killing them without hesitation. Even though I knew I had given her peace, it still didn’t fill this hole in my chest, the hole where my heart had been.

  Sure, we had ended things badly, but I still loved her.

  The priest finished his rites and went to greet the grieving family, but I stared at her coffin, my jaw clenched tightly against the threat of tears clogging my throat.

  I wouldn’t go through this again. Not with anyone.

  ***

  I reached for the key switch console, using my knife to loosen the screws so I could expose the terminal. A simple twist of the wires had my bike purring like a kitten in a matter of seconds.

  Fuck Chains. I wasn’t about to give Sabrina any more leeway than she already had. I had to try and stop her from giving herself over to the cartel, because if she did, I would never get her back.

  Unless it was in a coffin.

  I pulled out of the clubhouse with a screech, roaring down the silent street with adrenaline pumping through my veins. I had to find her, talk some sense into her. She couldn’t take on the cartel by herself.

  But just as I thought about the angry words that would come out of my mouth when I did catch up with her, I knew it was more than just Sabrina running off to face God knows what.

  She had gotten under my skin, far too easily in my opinion. What was so special about her to begin with?

  There was a hell of a lot, actually.

  I didn’t want to walk away from her, or for her to walk away from me.

  The shot came out of nowhere when I turned the corner, the bullet striking my handlebar and sending up sparks before the second took out my tire. The bike lurched sideways, and I gripped it tightly, pulling into the alley like a man on fire.

  In a flash, I discarded my bike so I could pull out my gun, edging to the entrance of the alley. The shooter had to be high to be able to make two shots like that, which meant I was a sitting duck the moment I stepped out of this alley.

  Drawing in a slow breath, I cocked the hammer back on the gun and waited for the next shot. When it didn’t come, I peered around the building, seeing nothing in the night that would worry me.

  Who had shot at me? Whoever it was, I was dead in the water now going after Sabrina. My bike was busted, and I would have to go back to the clubhouse to bum a ride.

  Shit.

  ***

  Thirty minutes later I climbed out of Chains’s truck, my mood dark. My bike was in the back, but
I didn’t care. I had blown it with Sabrina. She was so far ahead of us now that no matter how hard I pushed, I wouldn’t reach her in time.

  Hell, I didn’t even know where she was going in the first place.

  “Whoa, slow up Crankshaft.” Chains was walking my way, his jaw set.

  “What?”

  “I know you want to find her, but don’t go do anything rash.”