Hollywood (Steel Demons MC #7)

Chapter Ten

Winter

I hadn’t been able to eat or sleep since I saw my dad. That damn black eye hit me like a ton of bricks to the gut. My dad, the dorkiest, sweetest, most loving man in the whole fucking world was beat up by some damn criminals and for what? Money? Obviously, money was an important thing in life, most people said it made the world go round, but this wasn’t some down on his luck schmuck who made a bad decision. This was a concerted fucking effort to get more money out of good man who was already scammed.

I was furious.

I was terrified.

And that translated into being unable to focus on anything other than my dad. Hollywood had insisted that I stay with him at the house he was renting, I wanted my dad to come with us too, but he refused, saying no one was gonna scare him out of his home. I tried to do a reading assignment for one of my classes and gave up after forty minutes of reading the same paragraph over and over without any comprehension. So I had skipped class for the last two days, barely leaving my room thanks to the important business of staring into space.

Thinking.

Plotting and planning—what, I didn’t know. I just knew that I had to do something. Even now, I’ve been up for at least an hour, yet I was still laying on my back as I stared up at the ceiling wondering if this would all turn out all right. Not that I didn’t have confidence in Hollywood, I did, but that confidence meant jack shit until I knew what type of criminals were after my dad. Were these just two-bit scam artists shooting their shot, or was this some organized crime syndicate who did whatever it took to make money and cover their tracks?

I still didn’t have any answers about anything and all I wanted was to talk to Luisa. I was dodging her calls because the moment I told her what was happening, she would lose her shit and then she would probably start digging into the company, which would put her in danger. I couldn’t risk that, but dammit I missed my best friend.

And if I didn’t text her soon to let her know I was okay, she might file a missing person’s report.

Hollywood hadn’t given me any information yet even though he had some big MC meeting a few days ago. I wasn’t sure if they hadn’t found out anything or if he thought he was protecting, but after spending this much time with him I would put money on it being the latter.

My bedroom door burst open, and it startled a scream out of me that was perfect for a horror flick. But it wasn’t any anonymous intruder, oh no, it was a too damn handsome biker with a stunning smile. He took in the sight of me, still in bed and under the covers. Silently judging me.

“Excuse me,” I said indignantly. “Get the hell out of my room!”

His eyes sparkled with amusement as if this was all some big joke. “Time to get up and face the day.”

“I am up,” I shot back with an annoyed sigh.

“No, you’re awake but you’re still in bed. Still wallowing. Still pouting.” He stepped inside the room and fisted the comforter at my feet in his hands. “Time to face the fucking day, Winter.”

“Go away.” I tried to fight for the comforter, but he was twice my size and three times as strong, so I let it go and covered my face with my arms.

“I will, as soon as you get up.”

“I don’t want to. I’ll get up when I’m ready. You’re my protector not my keeper.”

“I’m also your friend and I wouldn’t let anyone sit like this for more than two days before giving them shit until they realized it was easier to get the hell up than argue with me.”

“You’re annoying.”

He let out a loud, rumbling laugh. “I know, now get up or I’ll pick you up and put you in the shower myself.”

My body responded to his words instantly. My nipples went hard, and my breaths came in quicker, shallower. “You wouldn’t.”

“There are easier ways to get me in the shower,” he joked.

I wondered if he was joking or if this was just an elaborate ploy to get me naked. Did I care? Hell no. But I wasn’t in the mood for games, either. “You wouldn’t dare.”

“Don’t challenge me, Winter. Now get your pretty little ass in the shower. Meet me downstairs in thirty minutes.” Without another word, as though I would just do what he ordered, Hollywood left my room and closed the door behind him.

“Dick,” I muttered and swung my legs over the edge of the bed and got to my feet. A long hot shower sounded perfect, actually, but I was feeling petty so I took my time, giving my hair a long wash and a deep conditioning. I shaved my legs and did a quick vanilla body scrub. At the thirty minute mark, I started on my hair and makeup and about fifty minutes later, I trudged down the steps reluctantly and went in search of Hollywood.

“You’re late.”

I smiled brightly. “I’m ready to face the day,” I replied in a voice far cheerier than I felt. “Is there coffee?”

Slowly he got to his feet. “Coffee was twenty minutes ago.”

My lips curled into a grin. “You’re pissed.”

“Annoyed,” he clarified. “But I get it, you’re scared. Let’s go.”

I bit back a response because it would’ve been catty and because he wasn’t wrong. “Fine. Let’s go.” I followed him out and kept my eyes on his fine ass until I bumped into him. “Sorry.”

“Don’t be. Did you get a good enough look?”

“No. I could use a few more seconds.” I was being sassy and in that moment I realized that I liked sparring with Hollywood. It made me feel warm and delicious, and it was the perfect distraction to everything else going on in my life. I motioned for him to turn back around.

He laughed and handed me the helmet. “Too bad, your hair looks good today.”

“Thanks.” A warm flush stole over my body and produced a sweet, almost shy smile. I put the helmet on and let him fasten the chinstrap before I stepped back and watched his long leg swing over the bike and settle on the leather seat.

“Get on.”

I put my hands on his shoulders and pushed myself up to settle my body behind him. God, he felt so good, so comforting that I found the tension fleeing my body with each passing mile. The roar of the bike’s engine was just loud enough to drown out thoughts of my dad. The problem with that was that it refocused them on the man I was currently pressed up against like a cat ready to purr from sheer pleasure.

The ride was long and perfect. Thet sky was blue for as far as the eye could see, the sun was bright, and the wind was warm as it whipped against my skin. I needed this and I owed Hollywood gratitude instead of attitude. But after more than an hour on the back of a motorcycle, he did end up getting a bit more attitude thanks to shaky legs and a numb backside.

“You get used to it,” he told me through laughter at the sight of me punching some feeling back into my ass.

“How? This seems like unnecessary torture!” I gripped his forearms to keep my balance. “Surely there are motorcycle butt pillows or something.”

“Probably,” he shrugged. “Haven’t been on too many long rides yet but you seemed like you needed it.”

Damn, when pulled out the sweetness it was a one-two knockout punch. “I did. Thank you.”

“No problem.” His lips did that amused quirk thing that was so damn irresistible that I wasn’t sure how I’d make it through this time of protection without throwing myself at him. “How do you feel about food trucks?”

I shrugged. “Depends on the truck.”

He pointed to a taco truck as if he knew that was my weakness. “Hungry?”

I just nodded and made my way to the truck, ordering more food than I probably should but I hadn’t eaten a proper meal since the pizzeria, and I was an emotional eater. “You can share the salsa and guac, but the tacos are mine.”

He flashed another of those killer grins, and we took a seat at one of the tables set up between the different types of cacti and the critters who call the desert home. “Spicy.”

“Can’t handle it, tough guy?” I liked my tacos and sauces really spicy. “Don’t worry Dad can’t handle it either. Another thing you have in common.”

He glared. Hard.

I laughed. After knocking back two tacos too quickly to be called a lady, I slowed down and relaxed under the sun’s midday warmth. “What have you found out about the people my dad is tangled up with?” I was sure he’d found something, but I wasn’t sure why he hadn’t shared it with me.

“Not much.” The words came out even and credible, but still I didn’t believe him.

“Bullshit.”

He blinked to hide his surprise.

“I said, bullshit. You found something and it’s probably not very good and that’s why you’re keeping it to yourself.” Immediately my mind went back to all the worst case scenarios I’d conjured up over the past two days. “How bad?”

“Just drop it, Winter.” His jaw clenched, which might’ve been a sign to a smarter person to stop pushing.

In that moment I was not a smarter person. “No, I won’t just drop it Hollywood. This is my dad and he’s in real trouble, I need to know how much trouble and what kind, dammit.” I couldn’t be blindsided, I wasn’t sure I’d ever recover.

“Winter,” he growled in a warning tone.

“I am not a fucking kid,” I said to him in a controlled voice, barely above a whisper. “I know you’re supposed to be protecting my life but please don’t try to protect me from anything else. It’s not protection, it’s ignorance and let me tell you that shit isn’t bliss.” I was angry and scared, which was a really bad combination. “Hiding the truth from me now won’t matter if he ends up dead.”

“Dammit Winter! Of course he’s in trouble, what the fuck do you think that black eye was all about? It was a warning. He got mixed up with some really bad fucking people and the more questions he asks, the more danger he will be in. You too.”

I shook my head as if that could ward off the hard truth in his words. “Why would he do this, damn him?”

“He was trying to secure your future.” I knew Hollywood believed those words, but I didn’t.

“Bullshit!” I was fuming and his excuses for my dad only made it all worse. “A big pile of money won’t make up for the fact that I pretty much lost both of my parents at the same damn time. He was as gone as she was, a ghost of a man who barely looked at or acknowledged me for years. Years, Hollywood.” Tears began to fall. “I was so happy when he finally came back to me that I forgave him without him even asking for it. I loved having my dorky, slightly embarrassing dad back with his corny jokes and puns. It felt like that was only a few years ago but now I might lose him again—for real—this time because he’s trying to make up for something he’s never even apologized for. It’s fucking bullshit.” I spared a glance at the uneaten tacos and walked away from the table to cry in peace.

It wasn’t exactly how I pictured this day going but maybe I needed to hang on to this anger to get over lusting after my protector.