CHAPTER TEN
– LIVI –
Blinking a few times, I slowly wake and become aware I’m not alone in bed. Yesterday was intense with all the things going full speed in my life. With this I not only mean between me and Thorsten, but also my cousin stepping in to help with his suggestions.
I didn’t expect him to challenge Thorsten the way he did, but the confrontation brought out a very protective streak in my old man. To be honest? I kinda liked it. A lot. Just like now when his body is pressing against my back, his arm protectively around my waist.
This whole thing, me living here, entering his life is a sham. An undercover persona and yet it feels too freaking real between us. The way he comforted me last night after I spilled a part of my personal life felt too good to be true. Even if our time has merely started, there is a ticking clock along with an end date.
The most ironic thing for me was my body’s reaction to Thorsten and our chemistry. All my life I’ve heard my grandfather’s opinion when it came to bikers. He harbored a deep hatred for them, and until this day I have no clue why.
Especially when I recently became aware of the fact that he stole the first and newborn daughter of the president of Areion Fury MC. How can a person do such a thing and go to the parents to tell them their daughter died in a fire? I swallow hard and my next breath comes out choppy.
Thorsten’s arm tightens around me and I feel his voice rumble through his chest against my back when he says, “Morning, babe.”
I pat his hand and slip out of the bed.
“Morning,” I mumble and rush into the bathroom.
Turning on the shower, I reach for my toothbrush and throw some toothpaste on it before shoving it into my mouth. Quickly stripping out of the shirt and panties I wore to bed, I slip into the shower.
Normally I’d take my time to enjoy the warmth of the water. This morning, I’m on edge and rush through everything. When I turn off the water and grab a towel to rub my hair dry that’s when I hear stumbling in the next room.
I freeze and when silence meets my ears I quickly rub my hair and body dry. Unease fills my veins. It’s a gut feeling telling me something is wrong. I hear a grunt coming from right outside the door along with mumbling.
Whipping my head around, I try to think what to do and am glad to have followed my aunt Lynn’s advice when she told me to hide a weapon in each room. I take the gun I hid behind the stack of towels. Wrapping a new towel around my body, I make sure to palm my gun and keep it hidden behind the towel, right under my other arm.
Using my free arm to open the door, I calmly take a breath and prepare myself for anything or nothing. The sight before me is not what I expected and it’s why I scream at the top of my lungs.
Normal reaction for a girl who isn’t used to the dangerous life of bikers, right? Especially when there’s a guy standing in my bedroom holding Thorsten at gunpoint. A guy I recognize as Nilo. I don’t know his last name but I do know he’s part of the Feliza Cartel.
Fuck.
“Let her go,” Thorsten growls. “She has nothing to do with this.”
Nilo’s gaze slides over my bare legs. “No? A little birdy told me she’s your old lady.” He swings his arm in my direction. “I think I’m going to kill you and take her with me. It wouldn’t settle the score because we need you to keep the deal in place. So, I will have to only wound you and take her as leverage. If you handle the transport well, we could give her back.”
I feel dirty with only the man’s gaze on me. He’s creepy as hell.
“My old lady isn’t going anywhere,” Thorsten states in a calm and deadly tone as he turns his body.
Nilo flashes his arm back to point the gun at Thorsten. “Move again and you’ll regret it. Just like your woman will once I fuck her ’cause she might not want you after she had–”
I’ve heard enough and decide screaming is my first option to distract him…right before I drop the towel. His eyes are on my breasts and he’s unable to react when I take aim and squeeze the trigger.
Once. Twice. Three times while I move forward and watch Nilo’s body jerk. The gun falls from his hand, and he stumbles back, hits a wall, and sags down onto his ass. The white wall now has bloody smears.
Tearing my gaze away from the stained wall, I keep my eyes on Nilo’s dead body, my aim as well, when I ask, “Thorsten, you okay?”
When he doesn’t answer, I rush toward Nilo and kick the gun away from him as I squat down to check his pulse. Dead. Knowing he’s not a threat anymore, I rise and turn to face Thorsten who is staring at me. I have no damn clue what’s going through his mind.
Another quick look at the body allows me to push forward and get shit going.
“You need to leave,” I tell Thorsten and throw my gun on the mattress to free my hands to get dressed.
“The fuck I am,” he grits and jumps out of bed to reach for his jeans.
Thorsten is standing in front of me, eyes blazing, as soon as we’re both dressed. “Where the fuck did you learn to shoot like that, eh?”
“My grandfather,” I automatically reply and reach for my phone. “He taught me how to use most weapons and took me to the shooting range on a regular basis. I still have all the guns he owned when he died in the car accident.”
His face doesn’t show any emotion. “You’re telling me you had one of your grandfather’s guns just lying around in the bathroom? Don’t even blink fucking twice at killing a man, and have a steady aim while looking fucking badass naked doing so?”
I shrug as I hit send on a 911 message to Archer. The way Thorsten is looking at me? The sound of his words? I have no clue what he’s thinking, but my gut is telling me something is wrong. Well, other than the fact I just killed a cartel member in my freaking bedroom.
“You need to leave,” I tell him again.
“And you need to tell me who the fuck you really are,” he snaps.
The rumbling of bikes gets louder, and I hope it’s Archer. Though, living next to a motorcycle club doesn’t give me much hope.
“I have no clue what you mean, asshole,” I growl back. “Why the hell are you angry at me? I’m the one who saved your ass. You were just lying around while this fucker wanted to kidnap me, rape me, and who knows…torture before killing? I’m sure he would have been creative with the threat he made against you. And you dare to ask who I really am? I thought I fucking told you already. I’m a motherfuckin’ madwoman, you asshole. Now, get the fuck out of my damn house.”
“Livi,” Archer bellows from my living room.
Thorsten holds my gaze for a heartbeat longer and steps back to open the window. He disappears right when Archer steps into the room.
“What the hell happened? Are you okay?” he asks and glances me over. “Shot? Bleeding? Hurt? Shit. Ma is gonna kill me if you got hurt.”
“I’m fine,” I huff, and I feel the adrenaline rush fade as I glance at the window.
Before I can say anything, Archer is standing in front of me and says, “Come with me.” Leaning close he adds on a whisper, “We’ll go somewhere we can talk.”
I bob my head and let him guide me out of the house. There are a handful of bikers in front of my house, all wearing Broken Deeds patches.
“Wyatt, Ganza, Arrow, Austin, there’s a dead body in the bedroom. Handle it and meet me back at the house,” Archer orders.
He glances my way and jerks his chin in the direction of my bike. “You good to ride?”
I fish my keys out of my pocket and mumble, “Yeah, sure.”
Straddling my bike, I fire it up and ride next to Archer as we head for the house they’re currently staying in. All while my mind drifts off to the confrontation Thorsten and I just had. Did I expose myself by the way I reacted? Does he suspect I’m law enforcement? If so…what will the consequences be?
My chest tightens at the thought of losing what we have between us. Insane because the reason I stepped into his life was an undercover mission. Our time together was bound to end and for damn sure isn’t based on trust and honesty. I pretended to be someone else to build a case against his MC.
We were doomed from the start and never meant to be more than the betrayal and anger of the consequences.