22. Chapter 22 – Peyton
Chapter 22 – Peyton
I woke up, groggy and disoriented, as I tried to remember what happened, and then I sat up ramrod straight, looking around.
Lincoln.
I was in his room, in his bed. After he obliterated my door to save me from an intruder in the middle of the night. And then shot him!
I blinked away the fitful sleep I managed to get, groaning when I saw it was half-past eight already, making me officially late for work.
Did I have to work after watching my boss blow off a stranger’s ear in my living room four hours prior? That seemed insensitive.
I still didn’t know who the devastatingly handsome Englishman was that broke in, stumbling his way through my messy living room and groaning as he reached my bedroom like he couldn’t wait to—sleep?
I shook my head, none of it made sense, of course, because Lincoln had been zero help in answering any of my questions as he shoved me into his room, and left.
“Get into the bed, Peyton.” His thick honey voice saying my name would play on repeat in my fantasies for years to come. And that made me sick to my stomach because I felt guilty for lusting at my mysterious and infuriating boss, even as I longed and ached to feel my monster’s body on mine again.
I looked over at my phone where I left it after finally crawling into Lincoln’s bed, hoping to see a message from Dane on the screen waiting for me. But it was black.
“Are you there?” I whispered, just like I had every morning, praying he’d respond someday.
But still more silence. I was really starting to think I would never hear from him again. What if I fucked it all up when he pushed me out of my comfort zone and freaked out? Wasn’t him pushing me out of my comfort zone the whole point of fucking a stranger in the woods like a good little slut? I just didn’t know I’d have a minor freak out until I did. And now I didn’t know how to make it all better.
Last night when the man broke into my temporary residence, I imagined Dane following him in and saving me. He was always watching beforehand, but he wasn’t watching last night.
No, Lincoln was the one who saved me last night, not Dane.
Lincoln was the one who broke down a solid ass door with his bare foot and shot the intruder, even though I was pretty sure they were related. There was something about the man, Tamen, as Lincoln called him, that was like my boss.
They looked nothing alike, unless you count their dark handsome features, but that was it. Their eyes were different, their body structures, even their continental residences. But something was familiar between them.
I rolled over, allowing myself one last selfish inhale of Lincoln’s pillows, taking in that expensive masculine scent that embodied him, and then forced myself to get out of his bed. I’d never allow myself back into it, so there was no point in allowing my body to get comfortable in it. After dressing in a casual outfit, considering he didn’t pack me anything work related, I took my bag and vacated his room.
My bare feet didn’t make a sound as I looked up and down the empty hallway, trying to figure out what exactly I was supposed to do. Would it be wise for me to head back to my place and start cleaning up the mess? Should I go about my normal work day even if I was late and under dressed? Should I find Lincoln and ask him exactly what he expected from me.
Never mind, I was a grown ass woman who fought off an attacker in the middle of the night, I could go home if I wanted. I slipped from the still quiet house and down the patio steps to my place. The door from the patio sat askew in the frame and I grimaced as I remembered the ear-splitting noise it made as it shattered under Lincoln’s foot.
“Sorry about that, by the way.” A voice called out from behind me and I jumped and shrieked as I swung on the man.
It was the man from last night. The intruder.
I backed up as he sauntered across the pool deck toward me. Why did he have to look so yummy?
He wore just a pair of black jeans and no shirt or shoes. And he didn’t fucking need them either, for they simply covered the beauty of his body. He was muscular with a perfectly defined six pack and a drool worthy adonis belt right above the low riding jeans. And ink.
A new unlocked kink for me, thanks to Dane apparently.
I stared at him, holding my bag in a death grip as he got closer. He didn’t seem intimidating, as he strolled, with one hand in his pants pocket and the other wrapped around a pink coffee mug with a picture of Mrs. Straight and her kids on it .
“The door,” He nodded behind me and stopped a few feet away. I had been right when he walked through the dark last night, he had to be six and a half feet tall. “I apologize for my brother, at least. Since he’s the one who kicked it down.”
“Broth—brother?” I stammered like an idiot as I tried to imagine tight laced Lincoln Bryce and the tattooed dark and dangerous man in front of me having the same genetics. I mean, I guess when I allowed myself to remember that Lincoln Bryce pulled not one but two guns and even shot one of them at the man in front of me last night, the dark similarities were noticeable.
The man grinned and took a sip of his coffee. “I tend to bring the worst out in Linc. I always have.” His hair was the same dark chocolate color as Lincoln’s, but their eyes were opposite. My infuriatingly sexy boss had eyes so dark you couldn’t even differentiate the pupils most times, but his brother had bright blue ones that somehow made his features seem even darker in contrast.
I glanced at the guest house behind me and then back to the man, “Is that why you came in last night?”
He nodded, “I usually stay in there when I visit. I didn’t know he’d have you all the way out here, though I should have guessed.” He grinned again like there was something deeper meant to his words, and then he closed the gap between us and held out his hand. “I’m Tamen Bryce.”
“Peyton Everett.” I shook his hand, ignoring the way the large thing completely dwarfed mine.
“Has my brother been a terrible bear to deal with in Mrs. Straight’s absence?” He tilted his head to the side and for half a second, I imagined him as Dane. The mannerism seemed so natural to him, and goosebumps broke out over my skin. If it wasn’t for the simple fact that his accent was so thick, I would have nearly believed that he was my anonymous stalker turned lover.
“He’s manageable.” I said, after a long pause. “If you don’t mind, though, I need to get started cleaning this mess.” I motioned toward the mess of my living space and took a step back.
“Say no more.” He bowed gracefully, it was odd how natural it looked compared to the creepy head tilt he gave me a moment ago. How did he master both? “I’ll see you around.”
“You’re staying?” I asked, dumfounded. Mrs. Straight said no one ever visited, let alone anything about a long-lost brother staying for a while.
He shrugged with an amused glint in his eye, “Someone has to keep Lincoln on the straight and narrow.” He turned away and casually tossed over his shoulder, “He’s been known to get himself into trouble when he’s been bored in the past.”
I didn’t reply as I watched him walk back across the pool whistling a tune on a cherry sunny morning like he didn’t have a worry in the world. “Fucking wild twilight zone.” I whispered, and then walked around the front of the house to use the undamaged front door.
As I worked, cleaning up the remaining evidence of the entire ordeal, my mind wandered to Dane and how I was going to get him to talk to me again. I mulled over different tactics than just yelling at my phone, hoping he was watching me, including seeing if my secretive sister Olivia could hack him back. But that would open me up to so many questions I wasn’t ready to answer, so I had to figure out another way.
I was adjusting a picture on the wall that had been knocked askew at some point when I noticed a hole in the wall.
The bullet hole. From the gun Lincoln shot, that made my ears ache with the vibrations .
With a gentle touch, I pressed my finger against the rough, exposed drywall mess, a clever idea coming to mind to grab Dane’s attention.
A sinister smile pulled my lips up as I imagined how terrible the entire thing could blow up in my face if I wasn’t careful, but I was just desperate enough to try, anyway.
First, I needed to go back into town. Next to the post office where Dane sent me my dirty gifts, I noticed a store front with metal bars and cages on the inside of the windows.
I was going to lure Dane back after a stop into Larry’s Sporting Goods and Gun Shop.
“ Y ou can do this.” I whispered to myself, trying to make myself feel as brave as I had been earlier when I hatched my Get Dane Back plan.
My hands shook as I grabbed the handle and opened the door. I couldn’t back down though, I was too far in. Hell, I’d even sent Olivia a location pin and told her if I didn’t check back in within three hours to send the authorities. I wouldn’t be surprised if she showed up in place of the police long before the three-hour window, though, given how she already threatened to drag me back home after finding the hacker bug Dane left on my computer.
So I had to keep going. One foot in front of the other, my favorite red bottom heels that Dane bought me clicked against the sticky brick floor as I walked deeper into the biker bar he sent me to the first night he chased me.
My dress was so indecent; I belonged in a centerfold instead of surrounded by dirty, disgusting men who were just stupid enough to take what wasn’t theirs. I really hoped I hadn’t overestimated whatever invisible barrier held them back from actually touching me last time.
If I did, then the new toy I bought earlier at the sporting goods store would get used without a second thought. But I didn’t think I’d need it.
I was banking on Dane breaking his silence.
Didn’t mean my asshole wasn’t puckered tight with fear as the whole place fell silent as I walked across the place to the bar. I kept my head high, ignoring the whistles and leers as I slid onto the same barstool I sat on the night I met Dane.
The same female bartender from that night came over right away and leaned over the polished surface. “Are you nuts?” She hissed, leaning over the top. “You need to go.”
“I need a strawberry margarita, please.” I said back, trying to be polite, because she wasn’t wrong. Placing my phone on the top of the bar, I hoped Dane was getting an eyeful of my surroundings.
“He’s not here.” The bartender widened her eyes.
“Who?”
“The Ghost.” She whispered, looking at me like I was dumb when she was talking in tongues. “The only reason you made it out last time was because he orchestrated the entire thing, sitting right there to make sure no one stepped out of bounds.” She nodded to the corner of the bar and I looked over my shoulder at a dark booth along the edge.
He would have had a perfectly clear view of every inch of the place from there .
One time, I’d asked out loud if he was watching me as I stared at my phone. He had texted back almost instantly, Always Puppet.
Which was obviously a lie. Because I had told him I changed my mind. God, what I wouldn’t do to take those words back in the heat of the moment.
“They’re rough tonight.” She tried once more, setting down a drink in front of me. A coke. “Rougher than normal, and that’s saying something. So drink your drink if you must and then get the fuck out of here before something happens that you won’t survive.” She looked down at my dress and shook her head.
I nodded to her, grimacing at the chiding. She wasn’t wrong. I wasn’t either, though. I had no other way to get Dane’s attention besides throwing myself into the literal lion’s den and hoping he showed up before they tore me to shreds.
“Well, well, well.” A man took the seat next to me, sitting with his back against the bar and leaning toward me as the smell of sweat and cigarette smoke assaulted me. “Look at this pretty kitty all alone in the dog pound.”
I glanced up at him briefly and then turned my attention back to my drink, no longer interested in it.
“Pretty little kitty didn’t bring her escort with her tonight.” Another man sat on the other side of me. They were the two that sat down beside me that first night too. The first man had a patch on his leather vest that said President under his name, Blade. I’d watched enough Sons of Anarchy to know he was the leader of the group.
I also knew if anyone in the place was going to call the shots, it’d be him.
“How do you know?” I looked over at the other guy, noting the VP patch on his vest. “Do you always see him when he’s around? ”
I didn’t have a fucking clue what I was saying, but I had to think on my toes to keep myself safe long enough to give Dane a chance to figure out what I was up to. If I ran with my tail between my legs in the first two minutes, I may not make it out alive.
I kept my face forward, but noted the way the VP looked around me to Blade, like what I said wasn’t farfetched.
“You do call him the Ghost, don’t you?” I tried to be as non-chalant as possible, using the tidbit of knowledge the bartender had given me.
“I don’t call him anything.” Blade gruffed, leaning his elbow on the bar so his hand brushed against my bare arm. He was an ugly motherfucker, and he smelled even worse, and as he leaned over to intimidate me even more, I nearly threw up in his lap from the disgusting color of his teeth. “I will call you something though,” He rubbed his knuckles up my upper arm. “Kitty.”
“That’d be silly.” I scoffed and turned to him. “Because I fight like a fucking bear.” I slid my hand into my purse on my lap, gripping my new toy tight in my palm in case I needed it. I knew for a fact I wouldn’t get out of the crowded bar with just it defending me, but I was sure it’d shock the fuck out of whoever tried to stop me first and maybe even second, no pun intended.
Blade grinned and opened his mouth to say something when his phone rang loudly in his pocket. At the very same time, my screen lit up on my phone laid on the bar.
My heart raced when I recognized the same inconspicuous text bubble front and center.
Get the fuck out of there. NOW!
Dane !
My fingers shook as I picked up my phone, acutely aware of Blade growling as he brought his own phone to his ear. I wasn’t a rocket scientist, but I knew it was Dane.
I pulled a five-dollar bill from my purse and laid it on the bar as Blade simply listened to whatever Dane was saying on his end and turned to stand up. Before my heels could touch the floor, though, the VP wrapped his meaty hand around my upper arm and stopped me. He squeezed my arm so tight a soft whimper escaped through my clenched teeth before I could stop it.
“Not so fast, Kitty.” He sneered, “No fucking way are you walking out that door twice without letting me take a taste.”
I had my phone in one hand, and the other wrapped tightly around my only way out of the place, ready to use whatever means necessary to escape his tight clutches.
“Let her go.” Blade sneered, pocketing his phone again and standing up over the top of me.
“What?” His VP snapped, and I tried pulling my arm free, but he stood up, yanking me off my stool with him as he disobeyed his boss. “No fucking way, Blade. He can’t call the shots. This wasn’t scheduled!”
“I said let her go.” Blade thundered, and the entire bar fell silent for a second time since I walked in. “Unless you want death himself on your fucking doorstep.”
“He ain’t fucking shit!” The man yanked me again, putting more distance between us and my exit. I tried pulling away again, and he somehow tightened his hand even more on my arm, making me wonder if I’d hear a crack if I even took a deep breath.
My phone buzzed again, and I glanced at it.
Back exit. Just like the other night. Run and don’t fucking stop until you’re home.
I didn’t think I just acted. I shoved the pointed heel of my stiletto into the man’s calf and shivered when I felt it pierce skin and then cut its way down through the muscle. His painful howl echoed in my ears as I tore away from him, passing by stunned on lookers and ran for the back exit.
As my feet twisted in the gravel, I instinctively kicked off my shoes and abandoned them. Leaving one shoe now stained in blood, I ran barefoot through the darkness towards the woods I knew were located diagonally across from Lincoln’s estate.
I wasn’t sure what exactly would stop the bikers from following me, but I sure fucking hoped something would.
“You fucking cunt!” The VP roared from the back door to the bar, “Don’t ever come back here again!”
I didn’t stop, I just ran for dear life. Thankfully, I’d used a ride share to get there, or I would have abandoned my car for good, there was no way I was going back again.
Suddenly, my foot snagged on a low branch, causing me to lose my footing and tumble onto the forest floor, landing on my hands and knees.
My phone and purse scattered into the bushes around me and I quickly lost track of them in the darkness. “Fuck.” I hissed and then froze when a shadow moved beyond the trees behind me and a figure stalked toward me. “Fuck.”