Episode 38
Episode 38
The Desert Awaits
RHODES
“Sam, I put myself in the auction last night,” Maia shared with the man she’d told me was not only her landlord, but also her best friend. I watched as the man visibly got angrier, his gaze flicking to where I sat, waiting for Maia to give me the signal to get out.
Sam suddenly shifted Maia aside and pulled open the door to the limo. He pointed at me and roared, “I’m gonna fucking kill you!” as he attempted to crawl inside to attack me.
Flight or fight mode kicked in, and I pushed out the opposite side of the limo and came around the back to put myself between him and Maia. I held my hands up in supplication.
“I am not a threat,” I stated clearly and calmly.
The tall, muscular man scowled, puffs of air going in and out of his snarled lips. His face was a mottled red, matching the bandana he wore over his forehead.
The hotel limo driver, who was probably in his late sixties, finally got out of the car, a cell phone in his hand. “You start fighting and I’m calling the cops. I do not get paid enough to get in between whatever this is.”
“We’re fine. No cops needed,” I assured the driver who shrugged and got back into the limo.
“Sam,” Maia said as she slid from behind my back to my side. I kept my arm out, encouraging her to stay back just in case. Regardless of whether this man was friend or foe, he was visibly furious. Anything could happen, and I didn’t want her caught in the crossfire. “Rhodes is a good guy. I actually knew him before the auction. Stand down,” she instructed.
Sam crossed his impressive arms over his chest, the look on his face murderous. “Explain,” he demanded.
If he wasn’t staring at me like he wanted to pummel me into ash and run me over with his motorcycle for good measure, I’d likely respect the guy. He seemed genuinely ready to throw down for Maia. And from what she’d already shared, it didn’t seem like she had many people in her corner to count on.
“Rhodes and I met in the airport. I stole from him. We had kind of a moment…” She lifted her head to face me, a small smirk painted across her pretty lips. It was almost as if she wanted to see if I’d experienced the same special thing when we’d plowed into one another.
I nodded and put my arm around her shoulders, tucking her closer. “We did. Slammed into one another by accident,” I started, but Sam cut me off.
“By accident.” Sam snorted in disbelief. “She probably instigated the whole thing. My sister is clever as fuck.” He made a point to express her elevated status in his life as a family member. This man cared a great deal for Maia and wasn’t about to allow any man to drag her into something she didn’t want. “And no matter what you have to say, Maia has the protection of the Las Vegas Hounds, so consider your next words carefully.”
“I assume that’s your motorcycle gang?” I clarified.
Maia nudged me hard. “Rhodes, it’s a club, not a gang.”
Sam shook his head. “Nah, it’s a gang. And we back one another up, no questions asked. Maia is one of ours. You fuck with her, you fuck with the Hounds.” He stepped a steel-toed boot closer to us. It took everything I had not to back up. I needed to protect Maia and show I wasn’t a man that would back down just because I’d been threatened by a biker.
Sam squinted and took in my face and then my form entirely. “How old are you?” He leaned forward. “You look like you’re old enough to be her daddy,” he snarled. His breath smelled of coffee.
“Whoa, Sam that is none of your business and entirely uncool,” she snapped and pressed a hand to his chest, forcing him to back away from us. “Besides, I’ve never dated a man that wasn’t at least ten years older than me, which you already know,” she added.
My gaze shot to hers. Here I was thinking I was robbing the cradle and trying to wrap my own mind around how much younger she was than me, and she’s into older guys.
“Just turned thirty-eight a couple weeks ago,” I admitted. “Not much older than you I suspect, big brother.”
His nostrils flared as he continued to glare.
“Sam, you’re only a few years younger than him. And my birthday is next month. We’re fourteen years apart not twenty-five. I’m telling you right now, as a friend, step back, and lay off. Rhodes offered me an out of the marriage when he learned a bit more about my circumstances. I declined. He’s not in this to screw me over,” Maia shared, emotion filling her tone.
“I’m truly not. None of this was planned, man. We ran into one another at the airport, sparks flew, and then somehow, she ended up on that auction stage. A mutual friend of ours owns it, and I happened to be there. Then I saw Maia and…” My throat suddenly went dry as burnt toast. “I lost all sense and threw caution to the wind. Now we’re working together to figure it all out. I’m not in this to hurt her. I, uh, I’m a little smitten, if I’m being one hundred percent honest.”
Maia spun to face me again. Her mouth dropped open. “You are?” Her voice cracked, and those big brown eyes stared with such hope in them, I wanted to haul her into my arms and kiss away every last one of her fears.
“So, what I’m hearing is,” Sam cut into the moment. “You’re hot for my sister and you plan to wife her up and take good care of her, so that no one will ever hurt her again.”
“What do you mean, again?” I frowned and clenched my teeth.
Sam shook his head. “Not my story to share. Come here, squirt.” The growly biker opened his arms, and Maia left my side and went straight into them, her cheek to his chest.
Instantly, I felt colder without her close. How her little body could radiate so much heat, I didn’t know, but I sure as hell looked forward to finding out in the near future.
Sam pressed his chin to the top of her head. “You sure you’re good with this? Marrying some guy you barely know for a bunch of money?” he asked, and I waited with bated breath to hear her answer.
“It’s actually not just a bunch of money, Sam. It’s seven million life-changing dollars,” she corrected.
“Seven mil…shee-it. You want to marry me, too, Richie Rich?” His bearded lips cocked up into a wonky, still somewhat frightening, smile as he watched me like a hawk.
“Nope. I’m good with just Maia. It would be nice to have your blessing though. And, of course, we’d love to have you at the wedding when we work out the details,” I offered, knowing that, if this man had protected her from some harmful situations and given her a roof over her head when she needed it most, he was important to her.
Maia squeezed the man around his middle and then stepped back. “I’ll need someone to walk me down the aisle, you know, to give away the bride and all that. Unless, of course, you’re busy with the Hounds on a ride or something,” she tossed out.
“You want me there, I’m there. You know that. Me and you. Family by choice, yeah?” He confirmed exactly what I’d thought. “The brothers are gonna want to roll up to that wedding, depending on location. But even if I have to fly, I’m there, Maia.”
She nodded and sniffled, quickly wiping her eyes so that we wouldn’t see her tears. She was so tough. I wanted nothing more than to prove that she didn’t have to be so strong in front of me. I’d take care of her. Make sure she had all that she could ever want. We just had some things we needed to work through first to get there.
Sam rubbed the back of his neck and tapped his foot. “And if your fiancé pulls any shit, there’s a place in the desert that the Hounds visit on occasion. A place with no roads. No water. No one to come save you if you happened to get stuck out there alone. You get my drift… Rhodes .” He said my name as if it was the scum on the bottom of his steel-toed boot.
“Heard you loud and clear.” I reached out my hand for Sam to shake.
He took it and squeezed the hell out of it. I coughed at the short-lived pain and waited until he let it go.
“I think we understand one another. With that being said, if you swear you’re going to take care of her, I give my blessing.”
I jerked my chin in the affirmative. “I swear it. Which also brings me to why we’re here. We need to pack up her things as she’ll be moving to California soon.”
Maia spun around. “I will? California. You mean you don’t live in Las Vegas?” she asked.
“Los Angeles, actually.”
“Huh,” she puffed out her bottom lip, lost to her thoughts. “I’ve always wanted to go to California. But first, I’ve got business in Colorado. Is stopping there first a possibility?” Her question came out shaky, which was strange as she’d been relatively confident about everything else up until mentioning where she grew up.
“Sounds like you two have a lot to discuss.” Sam reached out and patted Maia on the head and ruffled her hair.
She ducked away and glared at him while he grinned wickedly.
“I need to pay you for this month’s rent.” She moved to pull her wallet out of her back pocket.
Sam waved his hand in the air and shifted toward his bike. When he got to it, he put a long leg over the Harley and fired her up. The pipes growled like a grizzly bear, my chest vibrating pleasantly to the sound. I’d always wanted to try to ride a motorcycle, but those dreams died when Portia got pregnant with Emily. Bikes were dangerous, and Emily needed me alive and kicking more than I needed to test the levels of my manhood on what was commonly called a death machine.
“Consider it an engagement gift. Let me know when you’re cutting out of Vegas and text me your new address.” Then his dark gaze lifted to mine. “She doesn’t check in with me regularly, me and my brothers will find you. There will be no hole deep enough to hide from us. You keep that in mind.”
“Sam!” Maia griped. “Stop threatening him. He gets it. Damn, and I thought Alana was scary. You’re batshit crazy.”
Sam shivered at the mention of Alana. Now that fear I understood. She could cut a man down to size with a simple tongue-lashing.
He pointed at me as he rolled his bike slowly past us. “You remember what I said. The desert awaits if you hurt her. I’ll be in touch.”
I lifted my hand in a wave. “I’ll protect her with my life.”
He slowed to a stop at the end of the driveway. “Not good enough, but it’ll have to do for now.” He made a facial expression that was half snarl, half smile before he shot off, his motorcycle blazing a fiery trail down the street.
“Well, that was interesting,” I ran my fingers through my hair and let out a relieved sigh.
“You actually handled that really well. Sam can definitely be scary, but there’s a teddy bear with a big heart underneath it all. He just wants the best for me. And he never liked the idea of the auction, so I think he had a knee-jerk reaction to it all. He seems good now.”
I chuckled as I followed her up the driveway to the stairs that led to the studio above Sam’s garage. “I think we have a different version of what the word good means, sweetheart,” I teased.
She grinned, and my chest filled with light. Making this woman smile was a new priority. She didn’t do it enough, but hell, when she did, it was mesmerizing.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” Her cheeks pinked up before my eyes.
“You’re just so pretty when you smile. I like seeing it.”
Maia ducked her head sheepishly as she unlocked her door. “Haven’t had a whole lot to smile about, but it seems like things are looking up,” she said, entering and stopping abruptly with a gasp.
“What is it?” I eased around her and noted the entire space had been ransacked. Pillows shredded, the stuffing everywhere. Some of the pictures hanging sideways on the walls. A small TV in shards in the center of the room. The closet had empty hangers with everything tossed willy-nilly, a lot of it in tatters. In the small eat-in kitchen, the cabinets were left open with all the items that were inside broken on the tile floor.
“I can’t… I don’t understand…uh…” Maia was struck silent, her eyes as wide as saucers.
“We have to get out of here. Call the cops. And call Sam back. He needs to see this and notify his insurance.”
“But…but…” Maia moved forward, pushing my arm away when I tried to prevent her from entering fully.
“Fuck!” I followed her in and both of us stopped and stared at the frightening message written in black spray paint along the back wall above her small bed.
SHE RUINED MY LIFE
NOW I RUIN YOURS
On seeing that note, ice-cold fear raced through my veins and propelled me into immediate action. I scooped Maia up and over my shoulder, then took the stairs to the street level two at a time, my focus on the waiting limo. I put her into the car and locked the doors.
I cupped her cheeks as she trembled, her face ghost white. “I’m right here. I’ve got you. You okay, baby?” I asked, then kissed each of her cheeks and her forehead before looking into her eyes. “Answer me?” I asked again.
She nodded but didn’t say anything, just blinked as if she was in shock.
I pulled my phone out of my pocket and dialed the police.
“Las Vegas Emergency Services.”
“Yes, my name is Rhodes Davenport.” I gave the caller the address. “My fiancé, Maia Fields, has been robbed and her life threatened. We need the police here as soon as possible.”
“We’re sending help now.”
“Give me your phone,” I held out my hand.
She pressed her thumb to the password protector and the display appeared. I went to her contacts and hit call on the contact simply named “Sam.” I took Maia’s hand, and she held mine with both of hers, then brought her legs up and curled into a fetal position, burrowing as close to me as she could get.
“Did you change your mind about marrying Mr. Moneybags?” Sam chuckled, sounding like a completely different guy.
“Sam, it’s Rhodes. You need to get back home. Maia’s place was ransacked, everything is destroyed, and she’s been threatened.”
“I’ll be there in five,” he clipped out and hung up.
I wrapped my arms around Maia as she clung to me, her face pressed against my chest.
“I’ve got you. I won’t let anyone hurt you. Not now, not ever.” I vowed as I kissed the top of her head and held on until the sound of approaching police sirens filled the air.