Daredevil
H e kept Vixen close by, not wanting to let her out of his sight. If Savage was right, and Wyatt was a part of the Ghosts, they were all in danger—but Vixen the most. And for some crazy reason, he wanted to keep the stubborn woman safe.
“You are practically on top of me,” Vixen complained. “Can you give me a little space?” she asked. There was no way that he’d be able to do that after seeing Wyatt parked in the back of the lot. The guy seemed to be waiting for them to come out of the bar.
“Not a chance,” Dare whispered. “Wyatt is parked back in the corner.” She turned to look over her shoulder and Dare pulled her into his arms, smashing his lips against hers. He was worried that Vixen might struggle against him, giving away their ruse, but she didn’t. Instead, she wrapped her arms around his neck, tugging him closer. They stood in the parking lot for what felt like an eternity, kissing as though they were already familiar with each other. And when he finally let Vixen up for air, she smiled up at him, taking his breath away all over again.
“What was that for?” she asked.
“You were about to give us up. If you turned around and looked at Wyatt, he’d know that we saw him, and I want him to think that we’re oblivious.”
“I see,” she said, releasing him. Dare reached for her when he saw the disappointment in her eyes and she didn’t pull away from him, but instead, said just one word to stop him. “Don’t.” Vixen walked over to his pickup and waited for him to unlock the truck. He wasn’t sure how to fix things between them, but he was sure of one thing—he wanted to kiss her again more than he wanted his next breath. Right now, he had to get them both out of there and lose Wyatt, or they’d never be safe. At least she had promised to go home with him because he was sure that if he dropped her off at her place, Wyatt wouldn’t hesitate to take his chance with her again.
Dare helped her up into his truck and she politely thanked him. God, he hated it when she was polite to him. It was as though she had put her mask firmly back in place and her defenses back up. He wanted Vixen—the real Vixen and she wasn’t going to show him that side of her very easily again.
He rounded his truck and hopped in, looking in the rearview to check to make sure Wyatt was still in the back of the parking lot. “He’s still back there, isn’t he?” Vixen whispered.
“Yep, but that’s not a bad thing. At least we know where Wyatt is and what he’s up to. It’s when we can’t see him that we will need to worry,” he assured. He was a fucking liar. He was just as worried about Wyatt as Vixen seemed to be, he just wasn’t about to tell her that.
“If you say so,” she breathed. Vixen settled back into the passenger seat and buckled herself in. “I’m ready,” she announced. He almost wanted to laugh at how serious she seemed.
“Good to know,” he said. He drove out of the lot, keeping an eye on the rearview to make sure that Wyatt followed along. If his hunch was correct, Wyatt would tail them most of the night, and all Dare wanted to do was get Vixen back to his place and crawl into bed—preferably with her.
“So, you and Wyatt went out then?” he asked. He remembered the night that she left the club with him and the rest of their little group. Juno, Phoenix, Vixen, and Rebel had all been friends since they were just kids. He had a crush on Vixen for as long as he could remember. They were all around the same age as Dare, but never really ran in the same circles—not until the Royal Harlots were formed and became the sister club of the Royal Bastards. Then, he started seeing the four of them everywhere, and that was about the time that he set his sights on Vixen.
“No,” she spat, “we never went out. We hooked up for one night only, and now, he thinks that I’m going to marry him or something. Some guys can’t seem to take no for an answer,” she grumbled.
“Have you been telling him no, or just avoiding him?” Dare asked.
“Not that it’s any of your business, but once I found out that he was dealing drugs, I ditched him and have been avoiding him like the plague,” she said.
“How the hell did you find out he was dealing drugs?” Dare asked. Vixen didn’t seem like the type of girl who was into that scene, but he really didn’t know her very well.
“If you’re thinking that I do drugs, then you should just let me out of your truck right now,” she insisted. “Because I don’t.”
“I never said that you did, honey,” he drawled.
“I told you not to call me honey,” she reminded. “I found out that Wyatt was selling drugs because I caught him making a sale outside of Savage Hell. I don’t think that he saw me, but once I realized what was going on, I snuck into the bar and told my friends that I wasn’t feeling well, and then I headed back home.”
“Is that why you haven’t been to many of the Harlot’s meetings?” he asked. In his spare time, he tended bar for Savage on the nights that the Harlots used the clubhouse. He noticed each time that Vixen was absent from a meeting and worried that something had happened to her. Now, he knew that he was partially correct.
“Yes,” she breathed, “I was afraid to leave my place. In fact, I went to my store each morning, and straight home every night. Luckily, I don’t think that Wyatt knows where my shop is.”
“You have a store in town?” he asked. He already knew that she did, but he didn’t want to seem presumptuous. Vixen already seemed off by Wyatt’s stalking her, she didn’t need to think that Dare was doing the same thing. She’d never trust him if she did.
“It’s a secondhand boutique. You know, nice stuff that people don’t want to wear anymore, so they bring it to my store and put it on consignment,” she explained.
“Like a thrift store,” he said.
“No, it’s not like a thrift store,” she almost shouted. “It’s brand name stuff—some of it’s even couture.” Dare had no fucking idea what couture even meant and when he let her know that she huffed out her breath. Everything that he said and did seemed to piss Vixen off and turn him completely on. He loved a challenge and damn if she didn’t give him one at every turn.
“Okay, well, this conversation is going nowhere. I don’t have the energy to explain what couture means to you, Dare,” she grumbled.
“Well, I’ll just have to do some research then,” he offered. He was teasing, of course, but she nodded as though she thought his suggestion was a good one.
“What is it you do?” she asked. This was the conversation that he avoided having with almost everyone, and the last thing he wanted to do was have it with Vixen. “You’re a cop, right?” she asked.
“No,” he breathed. “I’m a tow truck driver.” That’s what he told people when they asked what he did, never admitting that he used to be a cop. Maybe it was him living in denial, but he really didn’t care.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” she breathed. “I thought that I heard a few of the Harlots say that you’re a cop. Do you drive for Riggs?” she asked.
“I do,” he admitted. “I really don’t mind the job—especially on nights when I can’t sleep. Being on call gives me a purpose.”
“That’s how I feel about my shop—as though it’s what I’m supposed to be doing with my life, you know?” Vixen said. He had no idea what that felt like anymore. He used to know when he was on the force, but he lost that feeling the day that he lost his team.
“Is Wyatt still back there?” Vixen asked when he looked in the rearview. He was, but Dare wasn’t sure if he should tell her that for fear of spooking her from coming back to his place.
“He is,” Dare said, “I have a feeling that Wyatt is going to follow us back to my place, and there will be nothing that we can do about it. We seemed to have pissed him off when we pretended to be a couple.”
“Well, that was on me. I was the one who made you pretend to be my boyfriend. I’m the one Wyatt should be angry with,” Vixen insisted.
“How about we argue about who’s at fault later? Right now, I need to call Savage and get him to send a few guys to watch my apartment. Wyatt can sit in the parking lot all he wants to, but there’s no fucking way that I’ll let him get into my apartment,” he growled.
“You think that he’d do that?” she asked, shivering in her seat. Dare couldn’t help himself as he reached across the console and pulled her hand into his own.
“You don’t need to worry about that, Vixen,” he assured. “I told you that I won’t let Wyatt get to you, and I meant every word. He won’t touch you again.” The thought of any man touching Vixen rubbed him the wrong way. He had a crush on her for so long now that he just wanted his chance with her—and Wyatt stalking her might just give him that chance.
Dare pulled out his cell and called Savage. “We need a few guys over at my place, man,” he said.
“Did that asshole follow you back to your apartment?” Savage asked, picking up on his meaning immediately.
“He is following us back there now. There’s no sense in hiding or running. Wyatt will just keep following us. But if we can get him to sit his ass downstairs in his truck all night, then Vixen and I can get some sleep.” Savage made a humming sound on the other end of the call and Dare wanted to tell him to cut it out.
“I’ll send you over four guys. They’ll take shifts when the two of you are at your place. But sooner or later, we’re going to need to talk about getting you both into a safe house until he gives up. It’s not safe for you or my guys if Wyatt is so completely delusional to believe that Vixen belonged to him after one night.”
“Shit, everyone is going to figure out that I spent the night with him, aren’t they?” she asked.
“Was it a secret?” Savage challenged.
“Not exactly, but I would like to keep my sex life out of this mess,” she insisted. Dare wanted to point out that her sex life was what had gotten her into the mess, to begin with but decided against it. Vixen was having a bad day and the last thing he wanted to do was pile on.
“I will do my best to keep your sex life on the down low, Vixen,” Savage assured. “The guys will be there in about twenty minutes. Can you circle around until then?” he asked. “I’ll have them text you when they are in position.”
“Absolutely,” Dare agreed, “thank you, Savage. I’ll owe you one.”
“And I’ll collect—someday,” Savage said, ending the call. Dare knew that his club’s Prez would make good on his promise too. Savage liked a give and take, and right now, Dare was the one taking, but he’d put everything on the line to help Vixen. He just needed his one chance with her.