Chapter 28
Chapter Twenty-Eight
DEUCE
I enter the room, and Sammie startles, then lifts her head, her expression blank, her body limp like she’s drained of every ounce of strength.
“Let’s go,” I order.
She slowly pushes herself out of the chair and stands facing me with dead eyes and a blank expression. Her lack of emotion is unsettling. Normally, she’s full of attitude, heat and fire.
I jerk my head toward the door, and she follows me out of the room. I pause in the hall and put her in front of me then point to the back stairs.
We hit the landing, and she turns to me. “All this keeping me captive is unnecessary, or did you forget,” she motions to her ankle, “I’m already a prisoner.”
Her resigned tone hits me square in the gut. No sass, no sarcasm, none of her usual spice, just dull and uncaring.
She stops at her door, and when I nudge her forward, she gazes up at me. “You don’t have to keep an eye on me. There’s no need for all the espionage. I can’t leave the building, and even if I could, I’ve got nowhere to go.”
“Keep moving.” I jerk my chin toward my door.
She huffs out a sigh as I unlock my door and crowd behind her. She enters and stands in the middle of the room on point and ready to bolt, like she’s waiting for an explosion or an earthquake—or both.
“Sit.” I motion to the couch, then take the opposite chair.
“I’m starting to feel like a trained dog.”
“Bad fuckin’ choice of words.”
“Hmmm, true, but these one-word commands are demeaning.”
“You get what you give.”
“That comment makes absolutely no sense since you never really let me explain myself.” Her tone is still flat with no anger or will. Fuckin’ weird.
I flick my hand at her. “Now’s your chance.”
“My chance to what? Ace made it clear there’s no explanation or reason for me talking to a Dog prospect without your knowledge.”
“Forget what Ace said; it’s just you and me now.”
“You could’ve intervened or interrupted Ace at any time, but you didn’t. After all, you are the president of the Kings, right?” Her eyes flicker with a slight spark, then it fades away again.
“So, tell me now. Start at the beginning.”
“I don’t think so. I’m really tired, and you made yourself clear this morning in the hall talking to Ace, and then downstairs a few hours ago when you let your VP call me everything short of a whore without saying a word.”
“So, you refuse to tell your side of the story.”
She nods. “Yeah, I think we’re done here.”
“Fine.” I bolt out of the chair and glare down at her. “But you’re staying here tonight.”
“Why?”
“‘Cause I said so.”
She hops off the couch. “Please tell me you didn’t just order me to stay here.”
“I did and you will.” I pull her tight against me. “Or did you forget the missing part of this puzzle? Viper never got his flash drive, and the Kings have one of his prospects locked in our basement. Viper ain’t the type to let shit go, so, yeah, you’re staying here, in my bed.”
“Ohhhhh, no. You’ll have to kill me before I’d sleep with you again.”
“Don’t worry, wiseass, I’ll be sacked out here on the couch with one eye open.”
“You don’t care what happens to me, so why all this drama?”
Her question hits me hard. After all that’s gone down—why do I care?
“‘Cause if you’re in my clubhouse, you’re under the Kings’ protection.”
“I see.” She cocks her head. “You can’t stay awake all night.”
“Won’t be the first time.” The heat of her body surrounds me, and I push her away with more force than necessary.
I jerk my thumb to the bedroom. “Get some sleep; it’s been a long fuckin’ night.”
SAMMIE
I trudge into Deuce’s room with a mixture of emotions swirling through my brain.
Earlier, his cold stare and Ace’s vicious words had me afraid I’d die still attached to the ankle monitor. Then Deuce bringing me up to his room and keeping me here. Protecting me from Viper and the Dogs even though he claims I’m working with them. Doesn’t make sense on any level.
I eye his unmade bed. The same bed we had hot, sheet-gripping sex in. The same bed where he melted into me and gave himself to me without reservations. Vulnerable and needy with snippets of his life’s regrets.
I use the bathroom and splash cold water on my face, if for no other reason than to center me.
Way too much has happened in the last few hours since I met the Dogs’ prospect.
Situations I need to evaluate, plans I need to make, but right now, stripping off my jeans and crawling under the covers in my t-shirt and panties, and falling into a deep sleep is all-consuming until . . .
The smell of Deuce on his sheets surrounds me, captivates me and envelops me in a cocoon of regret and bad decisions.
I so want to say I hate him for the way he allowed Ace to talk down to me and demean me.
How he stood silent while I struggled for the words to make it all right.
How no matter what I said or how I pleaded, he relentlessly ignored me, showing no emotion. Not one ounce of compassion.
I punch his pillows, shift and twist the blankets, but it’s no use, I can’t fall asleep no matter how hard I try.
My phone pings with a message. I grab up the device and swipe at the message.
Viper: You’re in big trouble, bitch. You still have something that belongs to me.
Sammie: The prospect?
Viper: I don’t give a shit about him. I want that fuckin’ flash drive.
Sammie: I don’t have it anymore.
Viper: Well, you better get it back, or your old man will be dead by the weekend.
I slam the phone face down on the nightstand. No chance of sleep now.
I draw in a few deep breaths to calm my racing heart, but there’s no way out of this mess. Deuce put the drive in his pocket, and he’s surely not giving it up to me. Once he looks at what’s on it, he’ll never give it up. Perfect way to keep Viper in check no matter the consequences to my father.
My brain loops around and around with different scenarios.
None of them workable, none of them practical.
I’d like to think telling Deuce about Viper’s threats would change Deuce’s mind, but that would never happen.
The cold glare in his eyes made him an outlaw set on revenge.
Viper and Deuce are at war, and when outlaws fight, they don’t care about the damage they leave in their wake.
Deuce shifting in the next room breaks through my muddled thoughts. His feet pad across the floor. The refrigerator opens, then closes. More footsteps. Closer and closer until I see his huge frame outlined in the bedroom door.
I lie perfectly still in the dark room, willing him to go back to the living room. He stands there for what seems like an eternity, then turns and leaves. The sofa creaks, and I let out a long-held sigh.
DEUCE
Not being able to sleep is nothing new to me.
In the joint, I was lucky to get four hours a night, and even before then, I never slept more than six hours.
Even as a kid, I never needed a lot of sleep.
Being awake most of the day means more hours to get shit done, but times like this, it sucks big-time.
Back in the day, when Ace and I shared a place, the lucky bastard’s head would hit the pillow, and ten seconds later, I’d hear his even breaths of sleep. Not me—could take me at least an hour to fall off, and even then, I never slept long.
Maybe Sammie was like Ace, already asleep. It hit me how little I really knew about her, and that made Ace’s accusations all the more real. Not like me being fooled by a woman hasn’t happened before, and I get Ace’s fear and his need to step in and lay shit out even when it’s hard to hear but . . .
When Ace told me he had something for me to see, I wasn’t prepared.
Watching her on the surveillance video talking to the Dogs’ prospect, then giving him the flash drive nearly gutted me, but I couldn’t deny it anymore.
No matter how she tried to spin it, Sammie had the flash drive, never told me, and then handed it off to the Dogs.
Plus, the deal her father made with the Dogs gave them a shit-load of money.
Money they tried to use to take the Kings down.
But still . . . Sammie seems different, or her motives are different even though I still can’t help thinking she’s not coming clean about something. And, yeah, I didn’t let her explain herself ‘cause I was pissed, then she held back before just to fuck with me.
An hour later, I’m still awake, only now I’m pissed off and restless, with a hard-on that could pound nails. Pissed off ‘cause I wanna take care of Viper once and for all, restless for the same reason, and horny ‘cause every time I hear Sammie shift in my bed, my goddamn dick gets harder.
I eye the bottle of Jack on the kitchen counter, but I can’t afford to wake up tomorrow feeling like shit. Not with a possible war coming at us from the Dogs.
Fuck this shit! I’m the prez of the Kings of Anarchy, and if I want answers, I’m gonna fuckin’ get them.