Chapter 7—Kooper #2
She looks up at me from her seated position, and I force myself not to stumble backward, gripping the door harder to stay upright.
That damn image from before pops into my head again.
She’s at the right height to be on her knees before me, and the narrowed look she’s throwing at me has me thinking it would be just like this.
Her challenging me. She wouldn’t be waiting with her mouth open like I’d pictured before.
She’d fight me every step of the way, but want it all the same.
Jesus, I need to get a fucking grip.
“Actually, that’s exactly what I’m going to do.
And unless history changes in the next ten seconds and somehow we go back to the Stone Age or some shit, you don’t get to tell me what the fuck I’m going to do or who I’m going to do it with.
So fuck off. Or, better yet, go get yourself laid.
Free country and all that. Find a vamp to suck you off so you can forget about what I’m doing for one night. It won’t kill you.”
“But it might kill you,” I growl.
Her words are both pissing me off and turning me on. I’m sick. Fucking sick is what I am. But she might be right. I might just need a fuck. It has been a while.
“Is that a threat?” she asks me point-blank. No fear in her voice, no worry. Just holding my stare as she challenges me.
I grind my teeth in response, and she raises an eyebrow, no doubt seeing my jaw clench.
“Didn’t think so. So stop cockblocking me and get the fuck out of my way. I did my job. Now do yours.”
She pulls hard on the door, and I let it go so it slams shut. She doesn’t even flinch before starting the engine and pulling out of the parking spot. I don’t move, even when some gravel hits my legs from the force of her wheels spinning.
I count to ten. Twice. Then once more backward. It doesn’t work. I’m still pissed off. Grumbling to myself, I get on my bike and head after her. I don’t want to do it. But I have to.
Not because her dad told me to get her home safe. But if asked, that’s what I’m going to tell everyone was the driving force. I refuse to say that the thought of her getting some punk-ass kid’s dick wet makes me want to go on a killing spree.
In some cultures, I’m old enough to be her dad. Others, a big brother. In this one, it’s just a work thing. I ignore everything as I zoom down the road and then ride her ass all the way back to her place. I make it known that it’s me. I let her see that I’m not going away.
And to my amusement, she goes home. Doesn’t stop at any place but her own.
I park a few spots down from her and watch her go up the stairs and inside her apartment.
She doesn’t even spare me a glance, but I smile anyway.
I ruined her night. Who the fuck knows if she had a date or not. She sure as hell doesn’t now.
I check her feeds and see that she’s alone with Natalie, then put my phone back into my pocket and get comfortable. It’s going to be a long night.
I wasn’t planning on spending it on my bike.
But if it keeps her from going out and doing something stupid, then I’ll do it.
And that’s the territory we’re in with Ruby right now.
She’s mad at me. When she gets mad, dumb shit happens.
It happens to everyone when they go looking for trouble. It finds them.
Lucky for her, I’m here to make sure I take out the problem before she even realizes it. Not that she seems to appreciate it, but fuck it. I’ve got nothing else to do tonight. Might as well do something I’m starting to enjoy—annoying the hell out of Ruby and ruining her fun.
“Bring my daughter back home. Kicking and screaming if you have to.”
Law’s words repeat in my head as I speed down the highway, not caring what the legal limit is. Boss gave me a job, and I’m not about to fail. I swear I was just here, but that was two days ago. Lots of shit’s happened since then.
We should have seen this coming. I should have. The Devils Damned aren’t idiots. Well, not all of them. Especially their VP, Duke. He must have known we were coming. Not sure how or if he actually planned for this shit to happen tonight.
Going after a Hound’s family is the definition of starting a war.
Going after the president’s daughter? This won’t end till Duke’s in the ground and most of his brothers are too.
I don’t give a shit if he has his club’s backing or not.
In my eyes, all of the Devils Damned just signed their death warrant when Duke made the comment that he’s taking out the club’s heart. Our weakness, he thinks.
I growl to myself at that thought. A heart isn’t a weakness but a strength.
Having a heart isn’t a flaw; it has you seeing things clearly.
Sure, sometimes you need to make a call that costs a person’s life.
Being emotionless isn’t good. It’s lonely.
It gets you nothing in life. I’ve done it.
Act it every day. I hide that my heart leads most of my moves.
I’d rather let people think what they want.
It leaves them more vulnerable than what they think leading with a bleeding heart does.
Boss made a call. He went after Duke instead of waiting to make sure his kid is safe. It’s the smart move, but I’m only one man. I can take out a lot, but I might not get to Ruby in time. Even if I do, I’m still only one man.
I feel my phone buzz and push the Call button to talk through my helmet. “Yeah?”
“I got her still at the school, in one of the auditoriums. Looks like a speaker or some shit,” Mike says quickly.
“You got eyes on her?”
I called in a favor, knowing Flint was too busy with his own stuff to waste a second on tracking Ruby.
Domino was manning the comms back home when Flint went to get his old lady.
After Flint confirmed he took out two of Duke’s men to keep them from getting Kitten, the call was put in to secure the rest of the property, to include Ruby.
Domino needs to keep his focus on the rest of the old ladies and what’s going on with Mad Max and his girl.
A single favor called in from a former DSS operative won’t wipe out the debt he owes me, and it saves everyone time when I do it my way.
“Yeah, third row from the back.”
I take a deep breath, but I know it isn’t over. Just because she’s there doesn’t mean that a threat isn’t.
“I’m fifteen out still. Keep me posted.” I end the call and pull back the throttle even more. A lifetime can pass in fifteen minutes, and I refuse to allow it to be Ruby’s. Not on my watch.
As I pull up to the front of the campus, I get a ping that Ruby’s event ended, and she’s headed out.
The next ping is a location drop. I drive across campus, ignoring the wannabe cops and people yelling at me to not drive on the grass.
I don’t give a fuck. Till I get Ruby in my sights and secured in a location that I feel is safe, I will do as I damn well please.