Chapter Six
Rocky
Iunlocked my apartment door and stepped inside.
It had become habit to sweep the place for anything unusual.
I hadn’t lasted this long with a club like the Copperheads to get caught out of carelessness.
I had security in place or I wouldn’t have brought Wren.
My present situation, however, warranted an abundance of caution.
Three days since I'd seen Wren. Three days of playing my part with the Copperheads while she haunted every corner of my mind. Nothing about my feelings made sense. I barely knew her, was essentially using her feelings as a fail safe in case I needed a quick escape. No matter how infatuated I became with her, once she knew meeting her had been calculated on my part, she’d never believe I didn’t fuck her to manipulate her.
I crossed to the kitchen, grabbing a beer from the fridge. The cold liquid hit my throat as I leaned against the counter. The beer tasted like shit, but I drank it anyway, needing something to calm my mind without dulling my wits.
Wren texted me back after a brief delay. I'd stared at her reply for a full twenty minutes, trying to read between the lines.
Been busy. Maybe soon?
Had she discovered who I really was? Did she suspect? Or did my guilty conscience bother me? Hell, I thought an awful lot of my prowess and my charm. She probably had half her club sniffing after her. Why would I suddenly be the one she couldn’t forget?
Fuck, this wasn't supposed to happen. Wren was meant to be a strategic connection. A friend. Without benefits. Not someone who invaded my thoughts, whose scent I could still catch on my sheets despite washing them twice. Not someone whose laugh played on repeat in my head during silent moments.
I crushed the empty beer can and tossed it in the trash, then moved to the bookshelf.
The Harley-Davidson repair manual on the third shelf looked identical to the others.
I pulled it down, feeling the slightly different weight.
The pages had been hollowed out, creating a hidden compartment where I kept the satellite phone, the link I had with Vittorio Luca.
I hadn't called Tori in since he’d given me instructions to befriend Wren, and yes, he hated being called Tori.
Just meant I did it more often than I would have otherwise.
Just not in front of anyone important. I wasn’t exactly sure what I intended on saying to the man, but he needed a heads up that I’d bungled this big fucking time.
I slid the phone into my jacket pocket and grabbed my keys.
Couldn't risk making the call from here. Even though Acid seemed to trust me more and more, I wouldn’t put it past the bastard to be playing me.
If so, the best way to draw them out would be to go somewhere I could easily spot them.
I'd ride out of town, find somewhere isolated, somewhere the only witnesses would be stars and wind. If Acid had me followed, I’d kill the tail. End of problem.
I checked my gun again, made sure it was secure at my back, then grabbed the leather jacket hanging by the door. I’d had to replace the Copperhead insignia patch on the back after a fight had damaged it.
With one final glance around the apartment, I flicked off the lights and stepped back into the hallway before shutting and locking the door. As I headed down the stairwell, each step echoing in the empty space, I tried to prepare myself for the conversation ahead.
Tori needed to know about Wren. More specifically, he needed to know I’d slept with her.
Normally, Tori would give two shits, but this was one of his enforcers’ daughters.
Ghost might be vice president of the club, but he made decisions just as much as Bloody Jack.
The last thing I wanted was to jeopardize Tori’s relationship with Bound in Blood.
Of course, fucking Wren had seriously jeopardized his relationship with the club in the first place, but maybe Tori could help me out. Maybe keep me from getting killed.
But mostly, he needed to know I wasn't compromised. That I could still do what needed to be done, still finish this mission, still bring down the Copperheads and their trafficking network. Unfortunately, my confidence in success might not be so good anymore.
I headed out, looking forward to the ride. I needed to clear my head before talking to Tori . Climbing on the big Harley always eased my spirit, as would the wind howling around me as I rode down a ribbon of highway.
The engine rumbled to life beneath me, a throaty growl I felt in my bones. I pulled out of the lot and headed out of the city.
The night air bit at my exposed skin as I navigated through the outskirts of town.
I didn't expect to be followed but kept a close eye out.
The Copperheads still saw me as a useful new recruit with some sense about me, someone with skills they needed.
But a lifetime in Tori 's service had taught me to assume I was always being watched. Paranoia kept you breathing.
I made one stop to make doubly sure no one was following before I took the freeway on a route with multiple exits very close together to where I needed to change roads.
When no tail gave itself away, I took my route with more purpose, exiting to a highway that would eventually take me up winding mountain roads.
I drove for three hours. Overkill? Maybe.
But what I had to tell Tori could not be heard by anyone who could use Wren against me.
By the time I reached my little hunting cabin, it was two in the morning.
I’d had to leave my bike in a barn closer to the county road, but I was more confident about that barn being secure than anywhere other than my cabin.
No way was I taking my Harley through the woods.
I had an ATV in the barn specifically for this reason.
I parked outside and scrubbed a hand over my face. Despite the time it took to get here and the remoteness of the location, this cabin represented the only place I ever felt truly at home.
Once I cut the engine, the silence nearly overwhelmed me. I took a breath, closing my eyes to center myself. My heart pounded with the enormity of my situation and I had to admit, I might be in over my head.
Honestly, what the fuck did I know about women like Wren? She challenged me with her harsh innocence. She had a vulnerability about her at odds with the way she presented herself. I pegged her as experienced. While not a virgin, I was fairly certain she’d never had a man like me.
With a deep breath, I dismounted and went up the steps to the one room cabin.
I called it a hunting cabin but the place was more like a one room apartment.
I took pains to make it look rough on the outside, but it was sturdy and well insulated.
I had a basic security system designed mostly to detect game in the surrounding area, but there was just enough cell service to get a message when motion was detected and recorded everything for thirty minutes after the last detected movement.
Once inside, I locked the door again, then used my phone’s flashlight until I got a lantern lit.
I pulled the sat phone from my pocket. For a moment, I just stared at it, wondering what the fuck I'd say to Tori when I called. I owed the man the truth. Besides, since he’d ordered me to form a friendship with Wren, I considered this as much his fucking fault as it was mine.
Even though it sounded far too much like I was an amature who couldn’t keep his dick in his pants, I prided myself on my ethics.
I’d do whatever I had to, but I didn’t hurt innocents. In any way.
I'd fucked women on jobs before. Used sex as a tool, a way to get information, to solidify cover, but never with someone who was completely innocent or ignorant of the situation.
This was different. Wren was different. The way her eyes had seen through my bullshit, the way her laugh had cut through my defenses like they weren't even there.
The way I couldn't stop thinking about her, even when my life depended on focus.
And I had no idea how she felt about me. Kind of ironic. Or poetic justice.
I also had information he'd want. The fragments I'd been piecing together over a couple of months. I dialed Tori ’s number from memory.
"Rocky?" Tori sounded puzzled but he hadn’t been expecting my call. I had another couple of days before our next scheduled call. Tori had guided me since I was seventeen and he’d helped me kill my father after the bastard had killed my mother. I’d followed him loyally ever since.
"Yeah," I said, my voice steady despite the tension coiling through my body. "We need to talk."
“Do we need to do it face to face?”
“Up to you.” I scrubbed a hand over the back of my neck. “Honestly, knowing what I’m about to tell you, I think I’d rather do it from way the fuck over here.”
There was a beat of silence. Then he said what I knew he would say. “You bastard. You fucked that girl. Didn’t you.” He didn’t phrase it as a question and I didn’t feign ignorance.
“It was more like a mutual fucking.”
“Christ, Rocky. How long did you wait before dragging her to your bed?”
“You make it sound a lot worse than it was.”
“Yeah? So you didn’t fuck the daughter of Bound in Blood’s VP, who, by the way, is barley in her twenties.”
“You’re the one who put her in my path. You ordered me to make nice with the girl!”
“Don’t remember telling you to have sex with her.” He sighed and there was a long pause. “Kind of expected it, though.”
“Wait. What?”
“Wren is a wild child. You’re exactly the type of man she goes for. At least on the surface.”
“Tori , after all these years, please don’t make me finally give in and kick your ass.”
He laughed, sounding genuinely amused. “Look, just be careful with her. Is she clinging? Getting too obvious with her interest? I’ve been waiting to read Bloody Jack into what we’re doing until I’m ready for him to move, but I can tell him to have Ghost lock his daughter down for a week if I need to. ”
“That’s kind of the problem, man. It’s been three days. I finally gave in and texted her. Much as it pains me to admit it, I’m not sure I made that big of an impression.”
“If it wasn’t your safety in the balance here, this would be funny as shit.”
“Swear to God, Tori . I will steal every last Mars bar you have if you tell anyone about this.”
“No promises.” His chuckle said he was telling his brothers first fucking second he got. “How’s everything else?”
“Well, so far so good. I’ve got a file I uploaded to the server. Have Gabriel look it over. The patterns are unmistakable. My only question would be the fact that they are so clear. It’s almost like they want to get caught.”
“Or they’re careless.”
I snorted. “If you look up ‘careless’ in the dictionary…”
“You get a picture of a Copperhead next to it.”
“Smart these guys ain’t, Tori. At least all of them but Acid. He’s intelligent but lazy.”
“Same as being stupid,” Tori muttered. “I’ll get Gabe on it. In the meantime, do you think you can salvage anything with Wren? She’s the quickest way for you to get in touch with Jack if you need out because he’s not going to wait by the phone for you or even my brother.”
“But he’ll pick up for Ghost’s daughter if she calls. I get it. Honestly? I’d have to actually speak with her to gauge where I am with her. It was a one night stand. I gave her my number and she still has it because she answered, but I’m not holding my breath.”
“You need anything?”
“You mean besides bleach for my brain? No. Once you have what you need to follow the trail on this skin highway, I want to be the one to take out these fuckers.”
“That can be arranged.” I heard ice clinking in a glass in the background of the phone call. Bastard probably had premium grade Scotch. “Any particular reason?”
“Yeah. I can’t unsee some of the shit they do to women.
I try to redirect the bastards when they get too rough, but I can’t free these girls until I’m ready to get out unless I want to die.
And, information you need or not, you’ve got another week at most before I say fuck it and take care of business. ”
“Use your own discretion, Rocky. You know I trust you.” There was a pause. “Just don’t let your dick get you killed.”
“Bastard,” I muttered before I disconnected the call to the sound of Tori’s laughter.