Chapter Four
Stormy
F ear consumes me, but the dogs don’t do anything but stare at me, as though they’re waiting for me to say hello. Both of them whine, but they’re well-behaved and obey Copper’s command.
“Don’t bite me,” I say to the dog closest to me.
Copper laughs and I don’t hate the sound. I never have. What sucks about being undercover all those months is I actually grew to like those bastards. Some more than others. Knowing Bermuda probably hates me is gutting. He reminds me a lot of my little brother, so it fucking sucks losing him.
“Talk to them. Blue collar is Hansel and pink collar is Gretel.” He reaches out to scratch behind Hansel’s ears that point straight up in the air. “Go on, little storm.”
I sneak a look at Copper as he smiles fondly at his dogs. Same smile he gets when he watches Nees, his son and prospect, at the Q—our monthly family barbeques.
Family.
I’d grown to think of them that way, hence why I blew my cover with Hadley. She was like a little sister—like my own little sister—and I couldn’t let them destroy her. It was all for naught, though. I should have known Koyn wasn’t going to hurt her. As soon as I stared him in the eye when he used her as a shield, I’d seen it.
Love. Loyalty. Fierce protectiveness.
And if it weren’t for that love toward her, my ass would be dead.
“Hi, Hansel,” I murmur. “Hi, Gretel.”
Hansel barks, causing me to squawk, burying my face into Copper’s arm. He smells like cologne and leather. The smell is calming.
“He said hi back,” Copper says. “Come on. We have work to do.”
True to his word, he scoops me up like I weigh nothing. I try not to look too closely at my captor. Of all the guys who could have taken me, Copper seems the sanest. Koyn and Dragon scare the shit out of me. And Filter…
Guilt clogs my throat. I used him. Slept with him and pretended to be stupidly in love with him. Filter is fucking hot and his body is built like a god, so it wasn’t a total hardship. Certainly beat having sex with any of my past lovers. At least Filter knew how to service a lady. Problem with Filter and I was he kept me at arm’s length. Never made me his ol’ lady. I think, deep down, he probably saw through my facade. If he got his hands on me now, I shudder to think what he would do for revenge.
“Why are you being nice?” I ask as we enter a room that must be his office based on the impressive oak desk and iMac sitting on top. “If we’re honest, I expected the same treatment as those men tonight.”
He sits me down in the chair across from his desk. “We’re assholes, but we don’t torture women.”
I’m not sure if I believe that. I think Koyn or Dragon wouldn’t think twice about hurting a woman if it served their purpose.
“You might not,” I grumble as he sits down in his leather desk chair, “but the others will if they get their hands on me.”
He shoots me a sharp glare. “I took responsibility for you, which means you’re my problem to deal with. They can answer to me if they’ve got something to say about it.”
A flare of appreciation for Copper ripples through me. As he powers up his computer, I take a moment to admire his profile. Strong, sharp jaw line. Dark scruff from not having shaved recently. Tattoos peeking out from beneath the arm of his white V-neck T-shirt on his massive bicep. His nearly black hair is styled in a messy way that suits him—longer on top and short on the sides. Even though he’s in his late forties, he doesn’t have the hard lines in his face like his younger brother, Koyn, does. Where Koyn lost his wife and child to a brutal rape and murder he witnessed, Copper still has his son Nees—also known as Blake—and even his ex-wife Krista. Koyn’s lived a life of revenge and Copper has remained as a federal agent with the FBI. They may be brothers who are both affiliated with the same MC gang, but they’ve lived very different lives in the past decade.
“Whatever happened to Erin?” Copper asks, turning slightly to bore his dark brown eyes into me.
I shudder at his words, fighting tears. “She went missing. I know that bastard took her, but there’s no proof. Besides, by the time I realized she was missing, I was already…with you guys.”
The reminder of my betrayal has his concerned expression melting into an irritated one. It bothers me, though it shouldn’t. Copper and his brother are monsters. The entire Tulsa chapter of the Royal Bastards MC are. They steal, beat, kill and never blink an eye while doing it. I shouldn’t care what Copper thinks of me, yet I can’t help feel the sting of his disappointment.
He taps away on his computer, not looking my way. “What happened when you left Collins’s office here in Tulsa after you got the lead on me and my brother?”
I let out a heavy sigh. “Went back to Montgomery. I told Johnson to look into the Koynakovs. He’d been irritated at my vigilante mission. It took some convincing, but I finally got him to promise he’d look into it.”
“Convincing?” Copper turns, his dark gaze sweeping down my face to my chest.
Heat burns at my cheeks with shame.
“I slept with him. So what?” I snap, irritated by the fact he’s judging me.
“Did your golden pussy work on your boss man?”
I let out a heavy, annoyed sigh. “I thought so. At least he led me to believe so. But then…” Disgust churns in my gut. “He put me on administrative leave.”
“Was he even a good lay?” Copper asks.
I close my eyes, remembering the way his man tits jiggled and how he dripped with sweat. It was disgusting. He came quickly much to my relief. Fucking Johnson was gross and humiliating, but I needed his help. When he put me on administrative leave, I wanted to kill him. Hell, I still do.
“No,” I bite out. “Not at all.”
Copper smirks at me, clearly amused by my story. “So you came back here and joined our group?”
“Not exactly. I did come back, but I went straight to the police here in Tulsa. I wanted them to open an investigation on you and your brother.” I cross my arms over my chest and lean back. “That’s how I met Brad and Denise.”
Brad was just another guy I slept with trying to further my agenda. I would have thought after Johnson, I would’ve learned my lesson. Apparently not. At least Brad was my age and not half bad in bed.
Now he’s dead because of me.
He and Denise both are.
“How’d you get in with dirty cops?” Copper asks, leaning back in his chair and swiveling around to face me.
I could lie and say they weren’t dirty, but I won’t. When I’d gone down to the station to try and open the investigation, Brad was the detective on duty. His partner, Denise, joined us. They were curious about my vigilante investigation. Both Brad and Denise had a successful side hustle selling confiscated drugs on the streets. Their interest in the Koynakovs was because they were hoping to score more product. I certainly played that to my advantage, promising that the Royal Bastards MC would be an opportunity to not just confiscate drugs, but also weapons, too. While we plotted and planned, I fucked Brad, hoping to keep him interested and eager to help.
“They wanted your drugs,” I mumble, not meeting his eyes.
“You know we don’t deal drugs.” His chair squeaks. “But you lied, didn’t you, Stormy? It seems like you lie a lot to get what you want.”
“Fuck you and the judgmental horse you rode in on,” I snarl out. “Do you want the story or not?”
His eyes narrow and his jaw clenches. I can tell I’ve pissed him off, but I don’t care. I’m not about to let him make me feel like a shit human because I was trying to save Erin while also taking down the Koynakov brothers.
“So you decided to infiltrate our group,” he says, lifting a brow. “And somehow ended up riding another dick in the process.”
Tears prickle at my eyes, but I refuse to let this man see me cry. I did what I had to do. Looking back, I regret it. I’ve slept with exactly four men in my life. A random guy at Langley so I could get rid of my stupid V-card, Johnson, Brad, and Filter. It’s a bit sickening when I realize not one of those was because I actually wanted to. Each one was an agenda.
“I got into the group through Filter after meeting him at a bar,” I mumble. “I wanted Koyn, but he’s a tough nut to crack.”
Copper’s features harden. “If you had fucked my brother, I would’ve probably put a bullet in your head too.”
A chill ripples through me, but I ignore it. “I’m not into getting raped, so your brother was spared having to sleep with the whore.”
Copper rolls his eyes at my flippancy. “So you got in. Then what?”
“Then I snooped. Everyone was tightlipped around me, but I learned a lot. I saw what you guys did. The torture and murder. The fact you were robbing people blind to pay for Koyn’s fancy-ass compound.”
“You got your proof we’re monsters,” Copper grunts out, irritation in his tone. “Fucked your way almost to the top. You found out Erin was missing but were no longer in a position to look for her since you’d fixated on us.”
Guilt claws at my heart. Erin is still out there because I thought there was more to the big picture. If the bad guys had stuff about the Koynakovs, then maybe they were the heart of the entire operation. As I got involved with the Royal Bastards, I soon realized I’d opened a can of worms, but it strayed from my original investigation. I became so fixated on the Royal Bastards, specifically the Koynakovs, since I was living with them, I lost sight of my goal.
“I’m not perfect,” I snap, scowling at him. “I think we’ve established that.”
He studies me for a beat and then sighs. “So back to Collins and Vidal. Why were they looking into us?”
“I’ve wondered that a lot, but I can’t seem to find an answer.”
He begins tapping away on the computer. I can’t see, so I stand and round his desk to get closer, abandoning my blanket on the chair. Copper doesn’t seem annoyed at my nosiness and continues to search through the FBI database for information regarding Collins and Vidal.
“The company name was Watcher’s Group. Check there,” I tell him. “There’s got to be something on Collins in the system.”
But, after a lengthy search, we come up short.
“I’ll have Koyn break into Collins’s server if we can locate one to see what we can find out.” He shoots Koyn an email and then leans back to look at me. “We’ll find out what happened to her.”
For a brief moment, we’re both Feds working on a case. I feel a swell of gratitude for this man. It’s quickly dashed when reality rears its ugly head. He’s just as bad as Vidal and Collins.
“Anything else you can remember about the file?” Copper asks. “Any emails or letters that stand out?”
“Nothing of any significance.”
“Then tell me all the insignificant things instead.”
I place my hands on my hips and shrug. “I saw notes like ‘follow the money’ and ‘he’s in hiding’ and ‘no emails or text correspondence because Koynakov is a tech genius.’”
Copper frowns. “Who’s in hiding?”
“I assumed they meant Koyn.”
“Koyn’s not in hiding. Everyone knows he’s a Royal Bastard and that his brother is a Fed. His property is under his legal name. My brother doesn’t fucking hide.”
“You then? A dirty rat?”
His jaw clenches at my dig. “I’m not hiding either.”
“I was the only female until Hadley came along,” I grumble. “How the hell am I supposed to know who ‘he’ is?”
“We need to find out who they were truly after. They clearly stumbled upon us looking for someone else.” He cocks his head to the side, his brows furled in confusion. “Who could they possibly be looking for? Why? Who would be hiding from these motherfuckers and keep that from us?”
His nostrils flare as he slams his fist down hard on the desk. He seems more pissed about this betrayal among one of his brothers than what I’ve done to them.
“I don’t know, but you’re going to find out, Copper.”
“Damn straight I am.” He stands up, sending his chair hurtling backward. “Let’s get you settled in your new accommodations.”
I crane my neck so I can look up at him. “You make it sound like I’m at the Ritz Carlton.”
“Stop sassing,” he growls. His hand grips my jaw as he angles my head back even further. He leans in and I’m forced to grip onto his T-shirt, ready to knee him in the balls if he tries to hurt me. “Let’s go.”
He releases my jaw to grip my bicep. His touch isn’t rough, but he’s not exactly sweet either. More like efficient in the way he drags me out of his office and into the hallway. I’m all poised and ready for a fight until I see one of the dogs. I squeal and damn near climb him like a tree.
“Such a pussy,” he complains, but I hear the smile in his voice as he grabs my ass.
Unashamed of my actions, I spread my legs, hooking them behind him as I hold on to his neck. It’s intimate for him to hold me this way. I try not to focus on the way my skin heats and my heart stammers. I certainly don’t allow myself to think about what sex with a man like Copper would be like.
He walks us into a guest room with a woodsy theme. I’ve noticed his rustic décor travels throughout the rooms of the house I’ve been in. I don’t tell him I like it because who admits to enjoying their prison cell?
“You have a bathroom and cable. I’ll bring you a snack before bed.” He grips my hips, sending a shock of a thrill shooting through me. “Let go.”
I huff but release him. He tosses me onto the bed. My tiny shorts and cami leave me underdressed and exposed. Because he’s a man and I have a body most men can appreciate, he drags his heated stare over every inch of me, settling on my tits.
“Be good,” he says as he leaves. “If you try to escape, you’ll pay for it, Stormy. Don’t make me regret bringing you here when it’d be easier to toss you into the fire at the slaughterhouse.”
“Never,” I lie.
Our eyes meet and I don’t hide the fact that one day I will leave this place.
“Always lying to further your agenda,” Copper states, penetrating me with a hard stare. “One day soon, you’re going to learn how much I don’t like liars.”
It’s on the tip of my tongue to taunt him like old times. This isn’t like before, though. I’m not a guest. I’m a captive. Because I’m a Fed, I know I can escape. I’ve been trained for situations like this. I’ll run at my first opportunity.
Unlucky for me, he’s a Fed too.
I’ll have to run fast and hide well because he’s been trained to find people.
I know for a fact the next time he catches me, he won’t be as nice. I have one shot and I can’t fuck it up.