He took her arm. She yanked away. “I can’t do this. You fought with the Black Dragons.” She stared at a cut on his forearm, seeing it for the first time. “I can’t put myself or Vivi in this danger. I won’t.”
“I can protect you.”
No, you can’t. But God, she wished that were true. She spun on her heels and walked, half ran to his house across the street. She didn’t stop until she was inside the house, her back pressed against the wooden door, as if that could protect her heart from breaking or the Black Dragons from breaking in.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Three o’clock Sunday morning, banging on Finlay’s front door wasn’t where Liam expected to be. He expected to be in a hotel on the beach with Sabrina in his arms, making love until they collapsed from exhaustion.
Next to Liam, Mack, who was none too pleased to be out of his bed well before the crack-ass of dawn. “You want to give him a minute to answer?” he grumbled. When Liam’s mouth curled in a silent snarl, Mack shuffled a few feet away from the door. “You know he’s coming armed, right.”
“Where are his patch members?” There were at least two men on the property the last time he stopped by.
“He got tired of looking at them and sent them away. No one had the balls to tell him it was a dumbass idea.”
“Including you.” Before the shooting, Liam wouldn’t have cared. Finlay was more than capable of taking care of himself. Tonight, that had changed. “You do realize what’s at stake, right?” He glared over his shoulder at Mack as he continued to bang on the door.
“I’m here, ain’t I? I called everyone, didn’t I?” Mack snapped. A light flicked on inside the house. “I’d step back if I were you.” The words were barely out of his mouth when the door was yanked open and Liam stared down the barrel of a shotgun.
Liam froze as Mack muttered, “I told you.”
Finlay peered around Liam to glare at Mack as he lowered his gun. “Who’s dead?”
“No one, yet.” Liam moved around Finlay and entered the house.
“Yet?” Finlay closed the door behind Mack, propped the gun next to the door and crossed his arms. “Spit it out. This ain’t a soap opera.”
“I had a run-in with the Black Dragons’ enforcer and prez.”
Mack snorted. “Run-in? You said you choked the bastard enforcer out. In a bar. In front of his men.”
Finlay reared back, then jerked forward all excited. “That bastard, Razor? The one who put a hole in mae?”
Well that put a new spin on shit. “Is there another Razor who’s the enforcer for the Black Dragons?”
“And Caleb, the prez, was there?” Finlay asked and received a nod. Finlay scratched at the beard covering his florid cheeks. “They’re gonna retaliate,” he said in a matter-of-fact tone. “We were gonna retaliate against them for pluggin’ me. It’s the way of things. Thanks for the warning.” Finlay shuffled into the kitchen. He opened the refrigerator and pulled out a cold beer, then headed for the living room where he plopped his ass in his favorite recliner.
“Old man.”
Finlay cocked his head at Liam. “Did yae hurt him? Hurt ’em bad?” His brogue thick.
The glee in his voice struck a chord within, a dark chord he couldn’t deny. Maybe Sabrina was right. “He’s still alive.”
Finlay studied Liam and the weight of that clinical assessment registered. He wasn’t a boy anymore, afraid of his father’s ire. He’d spilled blood, taken lives. Not in some random back alley over a brick of cocaine or a square block. The muscles in his right leg twitched in remembrance of the blood he’d spilled.
The moment the fists started flying, he was back in the sandpit, grappling with an insurgent who’d gotten into his blind spot and nearly killed him. He’d lied to Sabrina when he told her the scars were from a roadside bomb. One had killed his friends, but he wasn’t in that Humvee. He was in the one behind them.
“You could’ve killed him and didn’t. An opportunity lost.”
“Killing him would’ve escalated—”
Finlay waved him away. “Too late for that and yae know it. Just admit yae couldn’t do it.”
I could’ve done it, all too easily. Thank God Sabrina was there. No maybe about it. She was right to push me away.
The sounds of motorcycles approaching echoed in the night. It wasn’t long before the house was filled with the Mayhem hierarchy. Finlay summed up the situation and, in the process, made him seem like a fucking hero.
“This is war.” Snoop pounded his fist into his palm.
“Damn straight.”
“We need to go into lockdown. Get the women and children to safety for however long this takes.”
“Agreed,” Finlay said and pointed to Jackie, the Road Captain. “Make it happen.”
Murmurs circled the room as plans were made. All Liam could think about was Sabrina and Vivi. How was he going to protect them? Would she let him wasn’t the point, because he would, with his life.
“What about you, Liam?” Mack asked. “You’re prime target number one after Finlay. You need to get Sabrina and the baby to the compound upstate.”
The last place she’d want to be is surrounded by violent, armed men, even if they were lapdogs around their women and kids. She’d want no part of it. His brain tripped over an important fact that he’d forgotten and now remembered. Caleb said he knew her.
Murmured conversations swirled. The men on their phones talking to their women. Liam zeroed on Mack. “Pack some shit, baby… Enough for a week… I know you have clients… I got shit to do too but this is serious. I’m not fucking around… Yeah, get the guns out too…. Nah, call the girls, tell ’em not this weekend. We’ll go for a long weekend after everything is over. I promise… I love you, be home soon.”
Mack whistled and the men started heading out. “Come on,” he said to Liam. “We’re headed in the same direction.” Liam followed Mack to their bikes.
I know you. Caleb’s exact words before Liam stepped in. He thought it was a pickup line and saw red. But it wasn’t. And if it weren’t a pickup line, if Caleb hadn’t been shooting his shot, then that means…he meant what he said. I know you. Which led to the question of how did he know her?
Mack’s phone rang again. “Yeah, honey? What— Ah, hell. We’ll, we’re on our way.”
Liam’s blood ran cold. “What?” he demanded as Mack shoved his phone into his back pocket.
“It’s Sasha. She’s in labor and Billy’s on a run.”
“Are you kidding me? His girl’s due and you send him out of town?”
“It’s a short run. He’s an hour out, but his truck broke down on the way back. No one thought she’d go into labor now. We already sent two members out to help him,” Mack grunted.
“No one thought. That’s the damn problem.” Liam snarled and climbed on his bike. He peeled out of the driveway with Mack close on his heels.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Sabrina never liked the dark. She wasn’t afraid of it, just had no fondness for it outside of sleeping. Now, for the last ninety minutes, she sat perched on her secondhand couch, in her rented, silent house. No TV, no radio, no cell to occupy her mind, no baby to occupy her time. Just her and a choking fear. Where to run? Where to go? What money she had she’d spent on a haircut and clothes. She could kick herself.
It wasn’t fair. Hurting her and Vivi wouldn’t hurt Vincent, who was safer in prison than walking free on the street. Her fingernails dug into her palms until the pain made her stop. Sitting here did nothing. Nothing but waste time she didn’t have.
Pack the car. Get Vivi from Anna. Get on the highway headed east. With no money other than a paycheck pending on Thursday. Others had started with less. It was doable.
So why am I sitting here?
She got up, went to the kitchen for a large glass of tap water. She sipped slowly. A stalling tactic. She didn’t want to go, didn’t want to run. Tired of running. Didn’t want to hide either.
He said he loved
me. I can’t deny I love him. He deserved the truth. Before she left, he’d get it.
She’d never been part of a lockdown. After tonight, a lockdown was the logical conclusion. One hadn’t occurred with the Black Dragons while she and Vincent were together, but she’d listened to the stories told by a few of the older members. All the members and their families crowded together in one secure location until whatever threatened the club was over. The longest lockdown lasted six weeks. People lost jobs, subsequently lost homes, relationships crumbled, children suffered.
Bikes approached, the rumble of their pipes growing exponentially. Moment of truth. She went out to the porch, absently realizing she hadn’t worn shoes. The wood still held the warmth of the day and felt good on her bare feet. She ignored the sensation and concentrated on the growing headlights. Any second he would see her and what? There was so much to say.
The first headlight appeared. Then the second headlight appeared. Mack and Liam returned. Both had ridden off minutes after she locked herself in her house. Across the street, two houses down, Sasha and Willa exited Sasha’s home. Sasha doubled over, clutching her distending belly, Willa supporting her as they shuffled to the Acura parked in the driveway.
It’s baby time. She waved and shouted, “You need help?”
“Go back inside,” Willa yelled back.
That wasn’t what Sabrina expected to hear. “What?” She jogged down the three steps and crossed the front yard, the grass tickling her ankles.
Willa shoved Sasha into the car, then ran around to the front and practically threw herself into the driver’s seat. She gunned the engine and whipped out of the driveway. She jerked to a stop in front of Sabrina. “Get in!”
Afraid and confused, Sabrina backed up. The rumble of the motorcycles got louder.
“That’s not Mack and Liam. Get your ass in here, now!” Willa screamed.
Sabrina’s head snapped up and for the first time she saw that it wasn’t two motorcycles, but five. Five headlights rolling down their street. Sabrina climbed into the back seat of the Acura. If she had any sense, she would’ve flattened herself against the floorboards and not stare out the fucking window like a tourist at a safari.
They saw her, looked right at her as Willa hit the gas and the car left the thirty-miles-per- hour speed limit in the rear view. The prez was in the lead, followed by his VP and enforcer, Dean and Razor, and other riders wearing the Black Dragons cut.
“How did you know?” she asked Willa, her focus locked on the bikes trailing them.
“I spoke to Mack a few minutes before I heard the motorcycles. No way it could be him and Liam.” She took a hard left out of the cul-de-sac, onto the main road.
Sasha cried out and one hand clutched the overhead bar, the other her belly. “Sorry.” Willa shushed Sasha.
“I was already at Sasha’s because she was having steady pain and Billy is out of town. Mack called and told me what happened, told me about the lockdown. I’d just hung up when her water broke. Then I heard the bikes.”
“Please tell me we’re going to the hospital!” Sasha panted.
“That’s the plan, with a quick detour past the police substation.” Willa handled the car like she’d driven in the Grand Prix, absolutely fearless. She didn’t give a shit about the motorcycles flanking the car. With the streets almost empty, every time one got close, she swerved, forcing them to choose being sideswiped and dying, or getting out of the fucking way. Sasha screamed with each swerve. Sabrina braced against the backseat and the driver’s seat, but that didn’t stop her from being pinballed.
One of the patches freed a gun from his vest and pointed it at the car. The patch next to his signaled not to shoot. Probably so they could kill her later. Can’t make Vincent pay, so they’ll make her pay for his crimes. Bastards. Thank God Anna had Vivi.
Willa blew through a red light barely missing a semi. A crash echoed behind them. “I hope he’s dead.”
So did Sabrina. “Maybe. We still have three on our tail.”
Willa took another turn. “Almost there!”
Sabrina could see the building and the rows of police cars out front. Willa lay on her horn as she took the turn too tight and the car bounced over the curb. Policemen exited the building, weapons drawn but lowered as Willa slowed to a decent speed and came to a stop.
“Get out of the car!”
She rolled down all the windows. “Don’t shoot. We have a pregnant woman in here and she’s about to deliver!”
A female officer stepped forward and peered into the car. She holstered her gun and yelled out to another officer before yanking open the door. “Call an ambulance. Do you feel like you have to push?”
“It just hurts like hell,” Sasha whined.
“First baby?” the officer asked.
“First and last.” Sasha doubled over and groaned.
The officer laughed. “I said the same thing. Now, I have two.”
Sabrina found a pair of flip-flops behind the driver’s seat. She slipped them on and climbed out of the car. The low rumble of pipes drew her attention to the street. The Black Dragons rode past the police substation moments ago at a sedate pace. It wasn’t over.
Willa joined Sabrina on the sidewalk, her phone in her hand. “Honey, we had to leave in a hurry. Sasha’s contractions picked up speed… We’re at the substation waiting on an ambulance.” She strolled away, her voice now too low to hear.
With the hospital only three miles away, it didn’t take long for the ambulance to arrive. They took Sasha’s vitals, got her on a stretcher and in the ambulance with the help of the police. The ambulance took off and the female officer offered Willa and Sabrina a police escort. They didn’t turn it down.
Willa shot off a quick text to Mack and started the car. “Prayers answered. I told them to meet us at the hospital. They’ll let Billy know. He was an hour away when we left the house.”
“Is Liam with Mack?”
“Yeah. Don’t worry. He’s fine and he’ll be there when we arrive.”
Lights flashing, sirens blaring, they followed the police car. Not a sign of the Black Dragons anywhere.
“You and Liam got together fast.”
Where was this conversation going? “I guess.”
“Liam is a good guy, a playboy, yet a good guy. There were a few women I thought he’d get serious about. Thought Michelle was the one.”
“Was that the blonde he dumped in the red mustang?” Sabrina remembered her. She was gorgeous.
“Yep. That’s the one. She stole ten thousand dollars from Liam.”
“What?”
“And he forgave her. No man I know would’ve done that. He’s what I categorize as a good bad boy. If my daughters didn’t live up north, I’d definitely set one of them up with him.” Willa glanced at Sabrina. “Chelsea, my oldest will be home next week. She’s thinking about moving back to the area. If you’re not serious—”
“I am.” The words burst out her mouth. “We are.”
“Good.” The ambulance drove past Liam and Mack, and they all turned into the emergency bay. Willa rolled to a stop. “Chelsea just got engaged, by the way; and Candice is gay. I guess I missed my chance to make Liam my son-in-law.” She shrugged. Mack opened her car door and pulled her into his arms.
“We had some trouble,” Sabrina heard Willa say, then she was out of the car, standing in front of Liam. “Dragons showed up. I didn’t pull a weapon. I just grabbed Sasha and Sabrina and got the hell outta there. Would’ve been different if Sasha hadn’t gone into labor. I owe Billy Jr. a solid.” Willa summed up the situation as only she could.
Liam pulled Sabrina into his arms, held her tight to his chest, the heavy thud of his heart echoed in her ear. “This is my fault. I’m so sorry.”
Sabrina inhaled his musky, windblown scent and brushed her cheek against his stubble, the abrasion on her skin making her aware of him on every level. “It’s not your fault, Liam. It’s mine. They weren’t after you for retribution. They were
after me.”
She braced for an outburst. When there was none, she met his gaze. Questions lurked in the depths of his dark eyes, yet none left his lips. Mack and Willa approached.
“We’re gonna hang around until Billy arrives. We got more members coming to help keep watch. What about you two?” Mack asked, his arm draped around his wife.
“We’re heading to a hotel. We’ll meet up with everyone tomorrow. Keep us posted on Sasha and Billy. I’ll call you when the sun’s up.”
The two men slapped hands and patted backs. In a slick move Sabrina caught only because she was standing so close, Mack slipped Liam a 9mm. “It’s clean. No bodies on it.” Another pat on the back and he took Willa’s hand and headed inside the hospital.
Liam slipped the weapon into the small of his back. Gaze neutral, he eyed her and climbed on his bike while she stood there watching, waiting.
“Get on.”
She climbed on the bike and held on.
He eyed the flip-flops on her feet. “We’re not going far. I already got us a room.”
Not far? The hotel at the beach was at least thirty minutes away. Five blocks from the hospital, he made a left into a La Quinta Inn. He parked in the rear and took her hand as they walked through the hotel to the front desk. Not a single word passed between them until they entered their room and Liam closed and locked the hotel door behind him.
“Tell me, Sabrina.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Liam tossed his keys and gloves inside his helmet and placed it on the desk. His jacket followed on the back of a chair while she wandered around the room, stalling. He wasn’t in the mood.
He had a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. Whatever she had to say wasn’t anything he wanted to hear. He had a list of deal breakers: lying, cheating, stealing, and wondered which one she’d broken. He’d put her on a pedestal, the only female to achieve that status and until this moment, he hadn’t realized it. What she was able to spill could crush him and he wasn’t okay with that. Not at all.
Plain Jane and the Bad Boy (Plain Jane Series) Page 21
