11. Poppy
CHAPTER 11
POPPY
There weren’t many options on commercial flights out of the small local airport, so I booked the next flight out. Thankfully, it was headed to Phoenix. From there, I’d be able to easily catch a plane to Vegas. Juice wasn’t happy about driving me to the airport, but I’d told him I was going with or without him.
“I feel like I should be going with you. Crank’s going to kick my ass for letting you get on a plane.” He stopped in front of the building and shifted his truck into park.
“You’re needed in town where you can do the most good. I feel bad even having you take me this far. You should be keeping an eye out for the Savage Bones, not following me to Vegas to take care of something I should have done years ago.” I grabbed my bag and got out of the truck before he could change his mind. It was bad enough that Crank had been pulled into my past. I wouldn’t let anyone else risk their life for me.
“Do me a favor?” Juice asked.
“What’s that?”
“Don’t tell Crank I was the one to take you to the airport?” He smiled as he said it. “He’ll be pissed enough knowing I let you go.”
“I won’t.” In the long run, it wouldn’t matter. I’d either vanquish Beast and make Crank forget all about the promises he’d forced from Juice, or neither one of us would make it back and it wouldn’t matter.
“Good luck, Poppy.” Juice lifted his hand in a wave.
I turned my back on him and headed into the airport, eager to be on my way.
After two flights, a three-hour layover, and waiting in line for forty-five minutes for a rental car, I pulled onto a remote road outside of Henderson, Nevada. Juice had called ahead to let his friends know I’d be showing up to look for Crank.
Even still, my hands shook, and my breath caught when I came to a stop at a guardhouse sitting outside the fence line of a huge industrial-looking warehouse. The guy manning the booth looked over my license and checked it against the papers on his clipboard before waving me through.
I passed into the secure area, eyeing the razor wire sitting on top of the fence. Hopefully it was intended to keep people out instead of penning them in. Before I even got out of the car, Crank stalked out of the metal building in front of me.
“Poppy, what the hell are you doing here?” He didn’t look happy to see me, but he still pulled me into his arms and caught my lips in a kiss.
“You left. You promised me we’d handle Beast together, that I could come with you. Then you took off in the middle of the night and left me there.” I put my palms on his chest and pushed him away.
“I need you somewhere safe. I won’t be able to concentrate if you’re around.” He kissed me again, deeper this time. “Fuck. As much as I hate you being anywhere close to the danger, I missed you like crazy, angel.”
“I missed you, too.” Clinging to him, I pulled his head back down for another kiss. In the hours we’d been away from each other, I’d realized how much I didn’t want to run anymore. I’d spent the better part of the past three years watching my back, always anticipating the worst. I was ready to fight for my freedom.
“Let’s get inside.” Crank slung his arm over my shoulders and led me into the building.
Based on the outside, I expected the interior to look like an airplane hangar or a huge warehouse. Instead, it looked like an upscale bar. Crank introduced me to the guys sitting at high-top tables and a few who were engaged in a competitive game of darts before leading me over to a couch in front of a huge TV.
“Juice hooked me up with some guys he knows out here for backup. They’ve had some run-ins with Beast and his group and said they’d be more than happy to help me take them out.” Crank pulled me down onto his lap. “I’m going to cut off his balls for letting you leave the clubhouse.”
I relaxed against his chest and breathed in his scent. It seemed like weeks ago instead of just this morning that we’d been curled up in his bed together. “It’s not his fault. I was so pissed when I found out you left me that I would have strangled him myself if he hadn’t let me go.”
“I’ll deal with him when we get back. First, it’s time for Beast to pay for what he did to you.” Crank skimmed his palm down my arm. “No one’s ever going to hurt you again, Poppy. I swear.”
A shiver rolled through me. I believed him. “There’s something I need to tell you before we head out.”
He clucked his tongue. “You’re staying right here, angel. I wasn’t messing around when I told you I wouldn’t be able to focus if you were anywhere near me.”
“You can’t expect me to stay back while you and a bunch of men I’ve never even met put yourselves at risk.”
“That’s exactly what I expect.” He nudged my chin up and we locked eyes. “If anything were to happen to you, I’d never be able to forgive myself.”
A giant tear formed at the corner of my eye. “Then you know exactly how I feel. Letting all of you fight my fight?—”
“We’re together now. Your fight is my fight.” Crank pressed a gentle kiss to my forehead.
“I won’t stay put. If you leave me again, I’ll find a way to follow you.” I held his gaze, refusing to back down.
He stared at me for a few long beats before he shook his head and rolled his eyes. “You can come if you promise to stay out of the way and do exactly what I say. I can’t have you in the middle of things—it’s too risky.”
“Okay. I promise.”
He threaded our fingers together and lifted my hand to his lips. “What was it you wanted to tell me?”
“Just that I love you.” I smiled and batted my lashes. Opening myself up to him scared me. But instead of leaving me feeling vulnerable and exposed, admitting my feelings filled my chest with hope.
“I knew you would.” Crank winked at me as a huge smile took over his entire face. “We were meant for each other. It was just a matter of time before you realized it.”
For the first time in years, the darkness hanging over my future lifted. Staring into Crank’s eyes, the possibilities seemed endless. I was just sorry it had taken me so long to see it.
“It’s time to go.” One of the bikers who’d been playing pool came up behind us.
My heart skipped a beat, then pounded furiously against the walls of my chest. I’d spent enough time around Beast and his crew to know they wouldn’t go down without a hell of a fight. I couldn’t lose Crank—not when I’d just opened my heart again.
“You don’t have to do this, you know.” I squeezed his hand tight.
“Yeah, I do.” Crank helped me up from the couch, circled my waist with his arms, and clasped his hands together just over my ass. “You’re my girl, and I protect what’s mine.”
I knew him well enough to know that talking him out of going after Beast wasn’t an option. “Promise me you’ll be careful. I need you to come back to me.”
Crank checked his watch. “Four hours from now, we’ll be sipping drinks while we watch the fountains at the Bellagio go off.”
“You think the fountains will still be going off at two o’clock in the morning?” Resisting his smile was impossible.
“Hell, yeah. Then I’ll take you back to the hotel and get you off, too, baby girl.” He nuzzled my neck, his beard brushing over my skin and sending tingles down my arms, before dipping me back for a deep, long kiss.
Everything seemed to move in warp speed after that. Crank got me settled into the front seat of a four-door sedan that felt like a tank. A tall, dark-haired guy who looked like he could have played the entire defensive line for a professional football team got behind the wheel and we followed the line of bikes as they got on the highway leading toward Vegas.
I stared straight ahead, wondering which one of the taillights belonged to the bike Crank was riding. Then I crossed my fingers and hoped with all my heart that it would all be over soon.