Chapter Four
Four
The warmth from the fire, coupled with Lyric’s body, lulled Keys into a long sleep.
He needed it, but he had too much to do.
It was morning when he woke, and the storm had passed.
Rain was intermittent and light. She had shifted position once in the night, sliding to the side of him, keeping weight off her injured arm and leg.
He had woken for a moment, just long enough to be aware.
He clamped his arm around her waist and pulled her into his heat before he fell back asleep.
Keys didn’t question the fact that he didn’t sleep with anyone.
That wasn’t something he ever wanted. He had vowed never to trust anyone to be in the same room with him when he went to sleep unless it was one of his Torpedo Ink brethren.
Even then, it had only happened a couple of times, and he hadn’t slept much.
He wanted Lyric as close as he could get her.
He also wanted her to stay right there against him, and he made certain she couldn’t move without his knowledge by wrapping her up in his arms. Then he slept the sleep of the dead, another thing that just didn’t happen.
He didn’t look too closely at the why or how he could be so different with Lyric than with anyone else.
For right now, while he was keeping her safe, he wasn’t going to question anything.
After taking her outside to find a spot where she could relieve herself, he spent time on the head wound, cleaning it with hot water and applying antibiotics.
He didn’t want to wash her hair, although it needed it.
He put it in two braids to try to keep it off the wound in her head.
Using butterfly stitches, he closed the gap as best he could.
He wasn’t going to try to glue it. He didn’t have anything sterile enough.
Her face was a mess, but he didn’t comment on that.
He didn’t have ice, but he had her hold a cold, wet rag against her eyes and cheek while he took a look at her arm.
That was going to heal nicely. He knew it was sore, but unless the injury got infected, it was going to be fine.
The leg worried him a little. The wound was deeper than he liked and still weeping.
“Don’t like this,” he informed her.
“I walked on it, remember? It didn’t like it, and it’s just making that known,” she said.
“Painful?” It was red and swollen around the edges.
“Nothing I can’t handle, Keys,” she assured him, but her gaze avoided his.
“I don’t like it when you lie to me, Wildfire.” Very carefully he slipped on the one flannel shirt that was dry enough to keep her warm, mindful of the wound on her arm.
“It wasn’t a lie. I didn’t say it wasn’t painful, only that I can handle it. Would you prefer me getting hysterical like I did in the coffin?”
“Babe. Really? That was different, and you had every reason to have a panic attack.”
“You didn’t. Not only were you completely calm, but you already had figured out a plan to get us out of the mess we were in. I wasn’t exactly a big help with my panic attack.”
“Seriously, Lyric? You snapped out of it fast. No one wants to wake up in a coffin with their arms pinned under them and a heavy body lying on top of them.”
He had the clothes, shoes and a new stack of firewood drying out. He handed her the water flask. “Drink. You need to stay hydrated.”
“Who’s Czar? You mentioned him several times so casually, I could tell he’s a big part of your life.”
He lifted her foot, drawing it onto his lap so he could massage her aching feet. He knew they hurt because she winced when she had first put them on the floor of their meager space.
“I have a question I’d like to ask you before I answer. That all right?”
“Of course. And you don’t have to share anything with me you don’t want to.”
He knew she’d never push him for any information.
That would be important once he took her home with him to Caspar.
He didn’t share that. “I told you my given name one night at the diner. Everyone thought my surname was Keys, including you. I wanted you to know the real me, and I gave you that and told you Keys meant something to me. You’ve always called me by that name, and as far as I know, you’ve never shared with anyone that my name is Lazar Alexeev.
You never ever, even when we were alone, called me by my given name. Why?”
“When you told me who you were, there was reluctance in your voice. You didn’t like the name. You also didn’t want it known to the general public. I figured there must be a reason for that, so it was no one’s business.”
That was Lyric. She would take his secrets to the grave, and he would never have to ask her. Even if she was pissed at him, he knew she would never give him up. She wasn’t a gossip girl despite owning a hair salon where every customer gossiped. He knew because he frequented it.
“I belong to a motorcycle club called Torpedo Ink. Czar is the president of the club. The charter members grew up together under very dangerous circumstances. Czar saved us with his planning and his ability to keep to a code of honor. Only eighteen of us survived that hellhole, but out of it, we got a brotherhood so strong it can’t be broken.
Two members are female. I think I mentioned them to you. ”
“The school where you learned your assassin skills.”
He nodded and tucked her foot back into the sleeping bag before picking up the other one.
“I’ve been giving you bits and pieces, mainly because I wanted you to know I could get us out of trouble.
The Headed for Hell club stinks to high heaven.
My club doesn’t like trafficking women and children.
We especially don’t like pedophiles. Don’t look at me like I’m a good guy, baby, because I’m not.
We’re a club of killers, and if we’re crossed, your time on this earth is limited.
” He was brutally honest because he was taking her home with him and she needed the facts.
“Why are you telling me this?”
“Because I know you’d never go to the cops. I think you’d endure torture and never give us up. I don’t know how, but I know that about you.”
She gave him a faint smile. “I’m the loyal type. You’re the only person I choose to be loyal to.”
“You ever going to tell me your story?”
She looked away from him. “I’m pretty certain you know I’m hiding out.
On the run. I’ve been on the run for a while now.
I stay in very small towns where there isn’t a lot of traffic, and I fly under the radar.
When I think it isn’t safe, I pack up and leave.
I can pack fast and carry most things in my backpack.
If necessary, I could live off the land for a long time.
Fortunately, I like my own company and don’t like clutter.
Like you, I live free, and no one gets to put rules on me because I don’t exist.”
That was the most she’d ever shared about her background. She was giving him the same kind of trust he was giving to her.
“I’ll want to know more at some point down the road. For now, I’m good with what you gave me. But I told you about Czar and the club for a reason. I didn’t want you to be caught unawares when you meet everyone.”
He got her eyes. “Meet everyone?”
“Yeah, babe. You’re going to have to come home with me. You can’t stay here. The Headed for Hell club will be out for revenge, and they’ll know we were the ones to kill their brothers. The club will send everyone they have after us.”
“I just told you I know how to disappear, Keys. I’m not your responsibility. I’m not anyone’s responsibility.”
“What the hell do you think I’m doing right now? I’m taking care of you. You need care, so I’m giving it to you. If the roles were reversed, you’d be taking care of me. That’s what friends do.”
“How would I know? You’re my only friend, and half the time you put spins on things just to get your way.”
That was true and so like her to call him on his shit. “That doesn’t negate the fact that I want you with me.”
She shook her head. “I don’t do well in environments like that.”
His eyebrow shot up. “Like what? A club?”
“Clubs are all about the members, Keys. Their freedoms, their wants and needs. They’re closed societies, and that works for them. No judgment, but any outsider, which I would be, is not looked upon as the family you claim you all are.”
What she said was the truth. They were a very closed club, more so than many others due to the fact that they killed people.
Things like that had to be handled with care.
They were used to working together and no one talked.
Not ever. Talking was a killing offense.
A betrayal. They would never put the women the men claimed in that situation if they could help it.
“Babe, several of my brothers have wives or are in committed relationships. It isn’t all parties and clandestine meetings.
For the most part, we live fairly normal lives.
I told you, I own a construction business with three of my brothers.
The same three play in a band with me. We respect our women, and every one of us would lay down our lives for them. ”
“I believe you, Keys. I absolutely do. I also think it is very unlikely that those women have a clue what you’re doing most of the time.”
“Why would it be necessary for you to know? Why would you even want to? You’ll come home with me.
I own a house but often stay at the VP’s home because I watch over him.
You’ll live in the house and enjoy the coast. You said you hiked the Lost Coast. We have the redwoods to backpack in.
We have the ocean, and most of the houses we own back up to forest. It’s beautiful there.
You don’t have to join the club. I just want to know you’re safe. ”
She burst out laughing. He had a thing for perfect pitch, and the notes she hit when she laughed were about as perfect as they could get. He sat back and enjoyed it.