Hide, Don't Seek

Chapter 3~

My phone vibrates on my desk, temporarily distracting me from my computers. I’ve been holed up in my room for hours searching for the primary headquarters for The Crimson Knights. Stupid fucking name.

These assholes have been causing chaos all over the damn city and we really need to bring them down. So far, the only ones we’ve been able to catch are peons who don’t know shit. And frankly, Even is about to go nuclear. I am so glad that he got out of the house tonight. I”m not sure where he ran off to, but hopefully, he comes back clearer. If not, I fear that Danny may curl into his darkness and not come out. He’s so damn sensitive. Usually, Even is perfect with Danny, but he”s been so terse lately that it’s causing Danny to shut down in all the wrong ways. Add that to the fact that Charlie has been on a separate mission for two weeks… and, yeah, something has to give.

My phone vibrates with another message. I run my hand over my face and stretch my arms over my head, yawning heavily. Swiping the phone off my desk, I lean back in my office chair and glance at the screen. The notification banners show I have a message from Queen Bea and another from Even. My heart does a stupid little flip, and I click on Queen Bea first.

Queen Bea:Hey! Need a repairman. Same place, no rush. kiss emoji>

My stomach tightens as my brain fantasizes what it would be like for her to actually kiss me. That woman has been the sole star of every one of my dreams for the last four years. But the security around her heart rivals that of the Vatican Secret Archives. I’ve never in my life been so thankful to stumble upon a crime in progress. I’m pretty sure that was the only reason she allowed me to help and, eventually, weasel my way into becoming her friend.

I’ve been sent to do recon on the Vipers’ new leader. I’m not usually a face associated with The Vidar Mercenaries so I can snoop around a little. And, with my thin frame and multiple piercings, I blend right in with the rowdy crowd in this smoky bar.

I make my way through the bar with relaxed purpose and slide into a corner seat at the bar. This place is out in the middle of fucking nowhere but is known for its various MC connections. An older woman, maybe in her early fifties, slides in front of me behind the bar. Her hair is a whole rat”s nest of brunette curls tossed into a messy bun on top of her head. And, no shit, there’s a fucking raccoon on a leash, sitting on her shoulder like some kind of parrot. I’ve never thought about getting a raccoon as a pet, maybe I should.

“Can I getcha something, doll?” She drawls with a big smile. She reminds me of my mom and I can’t help but smile in response to the graciousness that radiates off of her.

“‘Rona. Dressed please,” I respond, returning her smile. With a nod, she spins around and heads to the other side of the counter.

I’ve already clocked the Vipers, hanging on the other side of the bar playing Darts. They all seem relaxed and genuinely not looking to cause trouble but, I’ll wait around for a while to see if I can pick up any conversations.

A beer slides in front of me and the older woman winks as she walks away, the raccoon”s tail swishing across her back.

I chuff a laugh then dart my eyes around, taking in the other patrons hanging around. Clocking a few small groups of people, and a couple of loners at the bar, I free the lime from my beer, squeeze it in, and push the rind through the opening; allowing it to rest before taking a long pull. Just as I swallow down the glorious liquid, the front door opens and a trio of women walk in. They don’t look like the typical country or biker babes but, in a place that is literally lined with antlers, I know this place always draws a curious crowd.

I’m just about to dismiss them before the two women in front part just enough for me to get a good look at the third woman. I almost choke on my beer when I see her. She’s curvy in the most delicious ways. Her big tits look to be just over a handful and cause her navy Beautiful Badass shirt to stretch tightly across her chest but is loose around her stomach. She’s wearing skinny black jeans with rips along the thighs and top of her shins and a pair of slip-on black Converse. Her dark brown hair has a scattering of blonde highlights and lies straight down past her shoulders. She’s wearing just a little bit of makeup and, as she walks closer to the bar, I can see how the thin black eyeliner and mascara make her ocean-blue eyes pop.

Her head swivels constantly like she’s expecting something bad to happen. She seems skittish, shy even, and definitely uncomfortable. The other two girls are happily chattering about something, but she keeps to herself; chewing on her plump bottom lip like it’s a piece of gum. I want to take it in my mouth and suck on it.

As soon as I have that thought, the girls turn to her and ask what she wants. She orders a tequila sunrise; shocking the fuck out of me. She smiles brightly at the woman behind the bar and I have the overwhelming desire for her to smile at me like that. It completely transforms her face; like when the clouds part just enough that the sun peeks through.

Once the bartender slides their drinks over, the woman asks about the raccoon. I watch, entranced, as the bartender lets her pet the raccoon. She’s so gentle and her eyes seem to shine with genuine interest and excitement. And, I won’t lie, her round ass looks amazing in those jeans as she bends over the bartop to feed the raccoon a snack.

As the night wears on, I split my attention between The Vipers and the woman who continually pulls her shirt away from her stomach. It pisses me off that she’s clearly self-conscious about it, and if I weren’t here to do recon, I would absolutely try to get her number.

A new group of bikers enters the bar and judging by their patches; they are not part of The Vipers. Two things immediately catch my eye: 1) The Vipers abruptly stop what they’re doing to look at the newcomers and 2) the woman I’ve been watching all night suddenly goes rigid. Both immediately set me on edge. I slide my phone out, keeping it on my thigh, out of sight, just in case I need to hit the emergency button I installed on our phones.

The newbies approach the bar and start ordering beer as The Vipers slowly make their way to the tables lining the walls. Even though the music is still going, the tension in the air thickens. The man closest to me is a little taller than me with a bald head and a long, scraggly beard. He’s checking out the trio of women I’ve been watching and licks his lips like one of them looks particularly tasty. It’s then that I realize that the woman I was eyeing has disappeared. The bathroom is on the far left side of the bar so it’s very possible she slipped back there while I was sizing up these assholes.

Beers in hand, the newcomers stroll over to a pool table and begin horsing around. Baldie slaps one of them on his back and tilts his head towards the restrooms. The hairs on the back of my neck stand up as I scan the bar to double-check that my Beautiful Badass hasn’t re-surfaced.

A minute passes, then another, and another. I throw down $20 and wander to the back where the bathrooms are. I don’t want to startle her, so I check the men’s room first. I could be completely overreacting, which would be normal for my imagination. But something tingles in my gut, telling me that everything is not okay.

I check the men’s restroom- Nothing. My heart rate picks up and beats loudly in my ears as I immediately turn back around and march into the women’s bathroom. The empty women’s bathroom. I quickly check the other stall and twirl around; my brows furrowed. What the hell?

Backtracking, I step into the hallway and notice a small door a few feet past the bathrooms. There are no lights back here so it’s easy to miss. Without another thought, I march straight down the hall, slamming the door open.

The sound of the door clicking closed behind me is the only sound that breaks up the night-time symphony you can only get in the middle of nowhere. It’s pitch-black outside. The only lights out here are around the front of the bar and don’t illuminate much on my right before the dark woods swallow it up.

A sound similar to a grunt, and maybe a shuffle of gravel, causes me to whip my head to the left. As quietly as I can, I follow the wall of the bar until I hit the far corner, just before reaching the back. I take a deep breath, desperately hoping they aren’t fucking like rabbits and my over-active imagination is making it out to be something worse. Slowly, I peer around the corner and see a big, dark minivan. The side door is open; the dim interior lights are the only thing casting out the surrounding darkness. And… what the fuck?

I blink a few times, completely certain that I’ve lost my mind. But the longer I watch, the more I realize that I really am seeing this. Baldie is knocked smooth out and that little, shy woman I’ve been obsessing over is squatting next to the open door, trying to heave him into the backseat.

I stand there in complete shock for at least two minutes, watching her curse under her breath and struggle to get this man into the van. Eventually, curiosity wins out.

With a lazy grin, I shove my hands into the front of my black jeans and stroll over to the truck. “Need a hand?” I ask playfully. She startles with a yelp, and I can tell her eyes have gone wide. Dropping Baldie’s legs with athunk, she quickly looks around to see if anyone else has caught her.

“Um, he… he’s. It’s not what it looks like.” She stammers adorably.

I suppress a smirk as I approach the van and really take her in. “It looks like you knocked out a man twice your size.” I purse my lips and tilt my head, trying to get a read on her. “The question is: why?”

Narrowing my eyes I watch as a variety of emotions flit through the shadows of her eyes. But, the one I latch onto, is revenge. I feel my face drop and I swallow hard. Her lips tremble, and tears form in her eyes, but she straightens her shoulders, and I watch as she fills herself with confidence and bravery. Fuck, my dick is hard. She is a fucking vision.

“He deserved it. For what he did to me.” Nodding with understanding, I read the words she doesn’t say. Whatever happened between her and this man was bad. And he either got away with it or threatened her not to talk. So, she took matters into her own hands.

With a quick look around, I approach her and lift his legs. I nod in a silent command for her to hop in and grab his upper body so we can secure him and wrap this up before someone sees. She stands there for a solid twenty seconds, unblinking, mouth agape. “My Queen,” I purr sweetly, “Kinda need your help here.”

Her face scrunches up in confusion and it’s so fucking adorable that I have to bite my lip to stave off a groan. I feel myself grinning the longer she looks at me. But, we really need to move. I tip my chin towards the van”s interior, and she blinks a few times. Her eyes go wide, probably surprised that I”m offering to help instead of turning her in. Then, she scrambles into the back of the van to pull Baldie up by his shoulders.

By the end of the night, we had disposed of his body, and I learned through her raging at him, that he took what wasn’t his to take.

Her body; and maybe a piece of her soul.

I held her after she broke down, drew her a bath, and even shared a little bit of what I do as a mercenary. I couldn’t tell her the organization I work for, and still haven’t, but she has allowed me to help her deal with her demons ever since. During the first year of our friendship, I learned that Baldie wasn’t the first to take her body without permission; in fact, he was the sixth. Each one met their demise by my sweet Bea.

A little over a year ago, I finally tracked down the first offender; well, the first official one. I have a feeling she was used and abused a lot before that one. I made sure she was taken care of after she tortured him for 24 hours straight. He was the final person on her list, and I was both disgusted that ever happened to her and honored that she opened herself up to me and let me help.

Since then, she’s been on a mission to take down any other assholes who have slipped through the cracks in the justice system. Thankfully, she finally let me take over the removal and disposal part after the first two years. It doesn’t phase me after years of being with The Vidar Mercenaries, but it definitely made her spiral each time. Anything I can do to make her life easier, I’m all in.

My phone vibrates in my hand, bringing me out of my trip down memory lane. Looking down, I see that Even texted again.

E-Man:Waiting on pizza rolls at DDs. Need anything before I head that way?

E-Man:Also, I was thinking of going out tomorrow night. Maybe grab a few drinks at the bar around the corner that does karaoke?

My face turns into a scowl as I read and re-read his second message. Hanging out at a bar with karaoke? Is he joking? He barely tolerates Danny and me, and he’s in a relationship with Danny.

Me:Are you feeling ok? Fever? Hallucinations? How many fingers am I holding up? middle finger emoji>

I huff out a laugh and flip over to Bea’s message thread.

Me:You got it, Queen Bea. I’ll be there in about 30. Will let you know when it’s done.

Even responds with a middle finger GIF, and Bea responds with a blue heart. My heart pinches, knowing the blue one means she’s tumbling into Sad Town. I don’t even think she realizes she does that. Her heart colors all give me a glimpse of her mood. I can’t have that now.

I quickly type out a message to Even, letting him know I have to leave for a bit, but beers tomorrow sounds good. Then I grab my keys and head for Bea’s.