41. Chapter 41
Red and I light out of the warehouse and into Reno, then pull into a convenience store parking lot to regroup.
“I’m gonna get a coffee,” Red says as he heads toward the door.
“No you’re fucking not,” I snarl. “We don’t got time for that shit.”
He stops, stalks back, towers over me. “You need a fuckin’ coffee, brother, cause you ain’t thinking straight. Your girl’s on her own, sure. With her friend I guess, and the fuckin’ Dalmatian, but she beat the shit out of those slobs at the warehouse and got away. She’s gonna go into hiding or try to call you. So fucking settle down.”
He turns his back again and I have to restrain myself from clubbing him in the head. The sonofabitch is right though. X is resourceful. She’s hiding, gonna call. It still doesn’t settle the sick feeling in my gut. I need to see her with my eyes, hold her in my arms, hear her say something that’ll drive me nuts.
Red returns with two takeout cups in hand and wordlessly hands me one. I take a sip and feel the rush of caffeine perk up my tired brain. Fresh, strong, and black. “Thanks,” I say then take another swallow.
Red leans his ass against his bike seat. “Let’s approach this rationally.”
I nod, letting him do the talking.
“She’s in Reno. She’s free. What’s she gonna to do next?”
I blow out a breath, take another sip of coffee. “I don’t know. She’s unpredictable.”
Red guzzles half his cup. “Well, who does she know in Reno?”
The warmth of the coffee cup in my hand settles my heart, but it doesn’t help me with the conversation. “Her friends live here, but the ex is dead, and Edgar’s in the hospital. Don’t know where the other two friends are, but according to Edgar, Lavender was grabbed by Moliter’s goons. Since we didn’t find her body at the warehouse I’m guessing she’s probably with X.”
“That all you got?” He finishes his coffee, crumples the cup and dumps it in the garbage can.
I feel defeated. “I’ve only known her a couple of days. I don’t know who else she knows or where she’d go.”
Red stares at me like I’m an alien. “I don’t fucking get you guys. I’ve been married, but I didn’t run around like a crazed maniac the first couple of days. Shit like that just don’t happen. You sure someone didn’t roofie you?”
“You got married ‘cause you knocked up the girl. Different thing altogether. One day you’ll meet the right woman and you’ll be as fucked as I am.”
Red shakes his head. “That’ll never fucking happen. Once was more than enough.”
“You say that now, but when she shows up, it’ll be game over for you.” Guilt smacks me. “I knew the moment I saw X, but she’s a handful. At first, I thought I couldn’t live with her and now, I realize, I can’t live without her.”
“You sound like a fucking Valentine’s day card.” He grins. “I like her though. She’s good for you.”
“Oh, fuckin’ shut up.” I’ve never had this kind of conversation with anyone before, man, woman, dog. And never want to again.
Red looks over at the convenience store. “Gotta piss, then I’m gonna get a sub. You want anything?”
The thought of a pre-made, three-day-old sub gives me heartburn. “I’m good, thanks.”
My phone rings as he walks away and I dig it out of my pocket. It’s Eight. “Hi,” I say.
“Your girl’s here. At Hook’s. With her whacked out friend.”
“She okay?”
“Yeah,” Eight replies. “Cooling her heels.”
Relief floods me, but knowing Eight like I do, I need clarification. “A little more info would be nice. Like is she beat up, crying, scared? How’d she get there?”
“I used to like you,” he snaps. “I didn’t ask who gave her a ride. She’s got a bump and some bruising on her forehead, some blood on her shirt, but I don’t think it’s hers. That enough for you?”
“No, it isn’t fucking enough! Is she still standing? Crying. You know. Shit like that”
“I’m not a fucking shrink! She walked in here, started mouthing off to Bannock, wanted a drink and some breakfast.”
His words settle me down. X is doing her thing. She must be okay. “Thanks. I’m on my way.”
“Make it fast.” He hangs up.
Red wanders back to me munching on a sub. “Who’s that?”
“Eight. X is at Hook’s.”
Red takes another bite, chews, then swallows. “Good. Now that she’s safe, we can join the hunt for Moliter.”
Any other time, any other woman and I’d agree with him, but this is my future wife. “No fucking way. I gotta see X for myself. Tell her about Belmonte. Get her to the hospital.”
Red scowls. “I didn’t join this fucking club to be a bodyguard.”
“I didn’t ask you to come with me! I can handle this on my own.”
“No, you fuckin’ can’t. They’ll still be after X because they lost their leverage and they need it. If you kept her at Hook’s she’d be safe, but you take her to the hospital, and she’s vulnerable again.”
He’s right, but the minute X hears about Paulie, she’s gonna want to go to the hospital. “It’s a risk I gotta take. Paulie needs X. What the hell would you do if it were your kid in the hospital? Or your sister?”
Red rubs his chin like he’s thinking. “Yeah, you’re right. I’ll stick with you.” He pauses, then, “What about the coke? Don’t think we should be packin’ it around.”
“We’ll leave it with Eight. He can deal with it.”
Red nods. “Okay, we got a plan, let’s head out.” He shoves the last of his sub into his mouth, throws the wrapper in the garbage, then gets on his bike, revs the engine and glides into traffic.
I follow him, my emotions at war. Yeah, I gotta see X, make sure she’s okay. Yeah, I gotta take her to her pops, but I also want to be in on the kill; I want to find the fuck who started this all. I want to be the one to end him.
At Hook’s, I park my bike in the alley, and head inside, Red on my heels.
“Where is she?” I say to Bannock as I walk through the doors.
He’s at the bar talking to Poppy. “She’s in back.” His face is hostile.
Poppy jumps in front of me. “It sounds like you’ve had a helluva day. Can I get you a drink?”
“No,” I snarl as I brush by her.
“I’ll have one,” Red says, but she’s already turned her back.
“Forget it,” I say. “We don’t have time for drinking.”
“Fuck off,” Red grumps.
Eight’s in the kitchen talking to Marty, our cook. They glance up when I enter. “Where’s X?”
As greetings go, it’s lukewarm, but my heart is thudding and my head is buzzing. It has less to do with what happened to her and more to do with my anticipation of seeing her.
Eight jerks his chin towards the cooler. “In there.”
“What?” I say as I freeze in my tracks. “You put her in the fucking cooler?”
Eight sighs as he approaches me. “She escaped the chamber, then got away from the fucks who nailed your truck. How the hell was I supposed to keep her here if she decided to go looking for you?”
He’s right, but the cooler? “She would have eventually gotten out of there too.”
“That’s why I told you to hurry.” He walks by me. “Things are in hand here. I’m headin’ out to help.” He says to Red. “You comin’?”
Red looks like a big kid as he pouts, “Gotta keep an eye on this asshole. He’s taking X to the hospital.”
I’ve already turned my back on the conversation as I head over to the cooler. The cooler isn’t soundproof, but it’s dead quiet on the other side. The panic sets in again as I yank open the door.
X explodes out of it with a rack of ribs in her hand and the friend starts lobbing potatoes. I duck X’s assault but get a potato square in the forehead. “X, it’s me!”
She stops dead, drops the ribs and launches herself into my arms. “Reaper!” she sobs. “I thought you were hurt, or maybe dead.”
I crush her in my arms. “Thank god you’re safe. I was going out of my mind.”
“This is Reaper?” I hear Lavender say with disappointment.
“Shut up,” X says as she grabs my hair, then kisses me hard on the lips.
“Okay,” her friend replies as she brushes by us and looks at Red. “Who’re you?”
“Red,” he says.
“Fuck off, both of you,” I growl as X and I collapse onto the floor.
Red bangs the door shut on us.
I roll on top of X and swipe her hair from her face. “Baby, don’t you ever fucking scare me like that again.”
She laughs through her tears, then hiccoughs. “It was awful. I couldn’t breathe when I thought about you. I had to convince myself you were still alive. What would be the point otherwise?”
I kiss her, gently at first, then take her deeper, my tongue playing with the seam of her mouth, then as she opens, invading it. Desperation gives way to aggressiveness as I squeeze her against me. “I gotta…”
“Me too,” she says breathlessly. She slides her hand under my shirt and caresses my belly, my chest.
Every one of my nerve endings light up. “Fuck, baby.”
I manage to undo a couple of buttons on her shirt, then get frustrated, so I shove it up over her tits. Her nipples are fucking icicles, pointing at me, seeking the warmth of my mouth. I accommodate one.
“Oh my God,” she moans as I tweak the other one. “I’ve missed that.” As if it’s been weeks since we’ve been apart.
I blow on the wetness of the nipple as I knead her breast. “I did too. Your tits are fuckin’ perfect.” I take the other nipple in my mouth, then grab at the buttons on her jeans.
“Let me,” she says as she slides out from under me. She rises onto her knees, her eyes lighting up like a forest fairy, her fingers fumbling to undo me.
“Hey, we were gonna do you first,” I say, but don’t resist the order of things.
“Patience. We’ll get to me.” She rubs my dick through my jeans, uses her fingers to trace my erection, then leans over and shoves her mouth on it, biting it gently through the material.
“Jesus,” I say as I jolt. “Don’t stop.”
An insistent bang on the door makes us both jump, X almost snapping her teeth shut. I grab her head and yank it up. “I’m gonna need that for later.”
“Sorry,” she purrs, but there’s nothing contrite about her smile.
Another bang on door of the cooler fucks with my lust high. “What the fuck do you want?”
It’s Marty. “I need some eggs! Put your clothes on and get the hell out of my cooler.”
X flushes as she grins. “He’s temperamental, isn’t he?” She buttons her blouse, her nipples still straining at the material.
For the first time since I opened the door, I realize she’s been in this cooler almost an hour. I climb to my feet and help her stand, then pull her against me again. “I’m a pig. Tackling you in here when you’re half-freezing.”
“I needed your body warmth.” She squeezes me, then steps back.
“Would you two hurry up!” Marty yells.
Fuckin’ cockblocker. “Then open the fucking door. No one’s stopping you.”