Kristen Ashley - Mystery Man

Shit.

Time to lay ground rules.

“You should know, yesterday, I made a new life decision. I’ve sworn off men.”

His brows went up. “You have?”

“Yep.”

“Hawk know this?”

“I haven’t shared directly but I sent a message.”

His eyes grew intense. “Why?” he asked.

“It’s a long story and I don’t mean to be rude or anything but I have to get some work done. Then I have to gather up all my little black dresses and high-heeled shoes and take them to Goodwill. Then I have to go help clean up fire damage. Then I have to come home and make cookie dough. So maybe we can have your talk.”

He ignored my suggestion. “Sounds like you got a full day.”

“I have a full life.”

“Seems to me your fixin’ to punch some holes into that, no Hawk, no high-heeled shoes.”

“I’ve decided to take up hiking.”

He grinned.

“And ferret rescue,” I added.

His grin turned to a smile.

“Um… you wanted to talk?” I prompted.

“Yeah –” he started but didn’t continue because right then, the room exploded.

That’s right, exploded.

One second we were standing there bantering and the next the windows blew inward, glass shattering, plaster burst from the walls everywhere and then, of course, there was the loud noise of multiple automatic weapons all around.

I stupidly froze but luckily Tack didn’t. He picked me up at the waist, bent low but somehow managed to carry me through the living room to the kitchen where he put me on my feet and threw the door closed.

“What’s happening?” I shouted forgetting to pause and, say, check for bleeding gunshot wounds on him or me.

“Fuck,” he muttered, yanked his phone out of his jeans and flipped it open all the while crowding me across the kitchen until I hit the wall at the back at the same time the noise came into my living room.

I put my hands on him as he pressed in, shielding me with his body. “Tack!”

The noise stopped.

He had his phone to his ear and he had obviously engaged. “Drive-by, Gwen’s house. Sounds like three, four weapons. I’m cut off from my bike and Gwen’s car. I need immediate recon and I need to know why the fuck they targeted her house for a drive-by.” He paused. “Right.” Then he flipped his phone shut.

I was staring up at him, my throat feeling clogged, adrenalin surging through my system, every centimeter of skin on my body tingling, a feeling that was becoming all too familiar.

“Tack,” I whispered.

He looked down at me. “Stay here, hang tight. I’ll be back.”

He’d be back?

What did he mean, he’d be back?

Then he was gone.

Oh God. Shit. What did I do? Someone shot up my living room!

My purse was in the living room. My phone was in my purse. Shit.

Why hadn’t I put a phone in the kitchen? Why? Why, why, why? First thing whatever morning it would be when it was safe again to be in my fucking house I was putting a phone in every room.

The kitchen door opened and Tack was there, his arm extended to me. “Gwen.”

I was still pressed against the back wall and my panicked eyes went to him.

“What?” I snapped.

“Come here,” he said.

Was he crazy? Here was the living room! And ten seconds ago that room exploded!

“What?” I snapped again.

“Now!” he clipped back and I moved. Rushing to him, he grabbed my hand, dragged me through the nightmare that was my living room, out the front door and straight to his bike. He threw a leg over then I climbed up behind him, wrapping my arms around him and holding on tight. The engine roared, he backed it out, turning into the street and then we shot away.

* * *

Tack drove behind Ride where the garages were. I’d never been there but saw that also back there was a rectangular, one-story building. He rode right up to the door and stopped. I hopped off, he followed, grabbed my hand and a biker had the door held open for us as Tack took us into the building. It looked like a bar and bikers were all hanging around though they were hanging around alert and their eyes all came to Tack and me.

“Callouts, brothers,” Tack growled but that was all he said, he kept dragging me through the bar and around it to a back hall as men moved toward the front door.

Tack pulled me down the hall. It was filled with doors and he took me to the last one. He pushed it open and pulled me in. It was a bedroom and it needed to be cleaned, badly.

A biker followed us in and Tack looked at him and then he looked at me.

“You done with Hawk?” he asked what I thought was insanely.

“What?” I asked back.

“Babe, gotta know, you done with Hawk?”

“Um… yes,” I answered.

He stared at me and then asked, “You sure about that?”

“Yes! What are you –?”

I didn’t finish my question. The minute he got my answer he turned to the biker.

“Hawk shows, any of his boys, you aim to maim and you get her outta here. Yeah?”

Oh my God!

“Tack!” I shouted and he swung to me.

Then both his hands came to either side of my head and he pulled me up to his face.

“You may be done with Hawk but Hawk doesn’t finish with a woman until he finishes with that woman. You just bought yourself a situation, I don’t know why but I’m gonna know. And since I was there and nearly got filled with bullets right alongside you, peaches, now this is our situation. Do you get me?”

I was really, really afraid I did and by getting him that meant, for me, I’d jumped out of the frying pan smack into the freaking fire.

“Tack,” was all I could say.

“You get me,” he muttered, let me go and walked out of the room, slamming the door and I heard it lock.

I stared at the door.

Oh boy.

My body jolted and my eyes opened.

I was asleep on the unmade bed in what I was assuming was the Chaos Compound.

Night had fallen. I had been locked in awhile but luckily my biker rations included a delicious pastrami on rye with melted Swiss cheese, curly fries and a thick chocolate shake chased by a diet pop.

I was worried about my Dad and Meredith who would be worried about me and I was freaked way the hell out at the same time I was bored out of my skull. However, I never guessed when I chanced lying down on the unmade bed that I’d fall asleep.

Guess I fell asleep.

I tried to sense what made me wake and I couldn’t. I listened and looked into the dark room that was lit pretty well by lights coming in through the window.

I stared at the door and listened harder.

That’s when I heard it. A muted thump like a body falling to the floor. A big body hitting the floor. Maybe a big biker body falling to the floor.

Holy crap.

I scurried off the bed and blindly searched the room for weapons. There I was in another situation where I needed a crowbar.

I didn’t have time to find a weapon. There was a gunshot blast and I saw it because it blew off the lock on the door.

Shit!

I made a run for it, jumping on the bed and dashing over it toward the window (which I’d earlier noted was barred but it was my only hope). I was caught jumping off the other side of the bed with an arm around my belly. I made an “oomph” noise then I was turned and tossed over a shoulder.

This was when I decided to struggle and scream. I kicked and twisted and shouted my head off and in the hall my abductor bent fast. I landed hard on my feet then found myself shoved harder into the wall.

“Shut it, Gwen, and cool it or I’ll bind you and gag you. I’m not kidding.”

As I listened to the familiar deep voice, I stared into the shadowed face of Hawk.

Then I shut it and cooled it. Then I found myself back over his shoulder.

Once we made it to the bar, shadowy commandos flanked him. I also saw shadowy biker bodies littering the floor. The lights were out, no power at all, not even on the beer signs.

We made it out the door and Hawk and his troop jogged to SUVs.

Yes, even with me over his shoulder, Hawk jogged to an SUV.

Okay, maybe he wasn’t one step down from a superhero. Maybe he was a superhero.

Then Hawk opened the door of the passenger side of one and I was tossed in. Hawk rounded the hood as he holstered his weapon and I watched his other hand do hand motions as the commandos disbursed. He folded in beside me, started up the SUV, reversed like a speed demon so I quickly belted in and then we shot out of Ride’s premises and onto Broadway.

I took a deep breath and then started, “Hawk –”

“Do not speak,” he growled and I felt my breath catch.

He didn’t sound pissed. He sounded pissed.

He dug into a pocket of his cargos and pulled his cell out. He flipped it open, hit some buttons and put it to his ear.

A couple of beats and then, “Bax?”

Oh shit. Dad.

“She’s fine. I’ve got her.”

Shit!

Hawk stopped at a light. “Don’t know but she was in a safe place. Probably just freaked.”

“Can I talk to him?” I asked, my hand extended for the phone.

His head turned to me and I saw his face in the streetlights.

Then I pressed my lips together and dropped my hand.

Okay, so, I couldn’t talk to my Dad.

And also, I was in trouble.

Good to know… or not!

“Yeah, let me talk with her, see if she’s had food, get her shit together. Yeah?” Pause. “Right. Later.”

He flipped his phone shut and threw it on the console with just enough strength to make it clatter angrily.

I sucked in breath. Then I gave him a few moments to calm down. Then I tried again.

“Hawk –”

“Swear to God, Gwen,” he replied on another growl and didn’t finish but that was enough. I clamped my mouth shut. He clearly needed a few more moments.

He drove and I knew where he was driving. To his lair.

I stayed silent the entire way. I also stayed silent when he stopped outside the big rolling door to his big garage. I also stayed silent and stayed put when he got out, went in a door to the side of the big rolling door and then the big rolling door slid up. Further, I stayed silent when he climbed back in and drove into the garage, parked, grabbed his phone and got out.

I got out too.

He went to the box on the cable and closed the door. I waited. Then he went to the inside door, pushed it open and strode in. I sucked in a calming breath while I heard him beep in the numbers on the security panel and then followed.

I moved and stopped under the platform. He moved around and turned on lights. The one by the chair in the corner. Two standing lamps in the seating area. He hit a switch and lights I hadn’t noticed that hung on long cables from the ceiling lit the kitchen.

I leaned against an iron column that held up the platform.

“Can you explain to me why you’re so angry?” I asked quietly and I thought it was a good question. I mean I didn’t lock myself in the Chaos Compound. I didn’t do a drive-by on my house. I just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and unfortunately that place was my own house.

“First,” he replied, walking slowly to me and I knew it was not a good sign that he started by counting, “you just forced war.”

I blinked. Then I asked, “War?”

“War, me and my boys against the Chaos MC.”

“What?” I asked. “Why?”

“Babe,” he stated and stopped a few feet away from me. “You were locked in Tack’s room at the Compound. That’s a declaration. My boys and I had to infiltrate it to get you out. This will not go over well.”

“Um… I think you may be misinterpreting things. See, Tack was there when someone shot up my living room and I think he was trying to protect me.”

It must be said, though not to Hawk, that I thought this and I did it hopefully so I wouldn’t have a nervous breakdown. I thought other things too, things akin to what Hawk was saying but I didn’t let them have too much of my headspace considering they’d give me a nervous breakdown. I’d never had one but I was pretty sure nervous breakdowns were things to be avoided.