Stephanie Tyler - Vipers Run

“You were in a coma?”

“Yes.”

“When did the Heathens find out you were still alive?”

He glanced over at her. “When I called them and told them they’d have to try a hell of a lot harder than that.”

She bit her lip, then ran a hand over his scars. “This isn’t going to be an easy ride.”

“No one ever promised it would be.”

“The Heathens know I’m with you.”

“Yeah.”

“And Tenn said they know I worked with Bernie. That they’ll come after me in case I know something.”

“They’re ruthless, Calla. I wish I could tell you otherwise. I didn’t think that they were already watching Bernie. I thought I was smarter . . . that I could do it on my own, without backup.” He stared at her eyes, and there was understanding there.

“You didn’t want anyone else to get hurt,” she said quietly.

He nodded. “And in the process, look what happened. I made you a target. For me, that’s normal. I was born with a bull’s-eye on my back.”

“Can you use the information you got against the Heathens still? It’s not too late, is it?”

“Never too late, babe. But I’ve got to be careful who I give the information to. Law enforcement and motorcycle clubs aren’t exactly on the best of terms.” He sighed. “In the meantime, I need to find a way to stop a few of the higher-ups in that club. And I don’t want to talk about the Heathens anymore.”

It wasn’t fair to her at all—she had a right to ask all the goddamned questions she wanted to, even if he couldn’t give her the answers. But she looked at him, nodded and said, “I don’t either,” and he knew he was a goddamned goner.

Cage took a long drink of his beer and I did the same when he shared it with me. I was warm and tingly inside already, so I didn’t need much else to help. I was untouchable here with Cage. I’d take it for however long it would last.

“Storm’s coming,” he said. Until then, I hadn’t noticed the wind, but I quickly realized that the wind slammed the cabin doors. At any other time, the storm might’ve echoed the rising storm inside of me, but Cage eased the mind-numbing fear.

“How far away from Skulls are we?”

“Hours. Whole different world in these hills.”

“Whose world?”

“This is near Havoc territory,” he said.

“Is that a metaphor?”

“Another MC. Bad motherfuckers.” He handed me a beer.

“So, not friendly, then?”

“Better than the Heathens.”

I took another long drink from the bottle. “That’s not very comforting.”

“Not meant to be. This is dangerous shit.”

“And here I thought you weren’t scared of anything.”

His smile was easy. “Fear keeps you from being stupid, if you’re smart enough to see it.” His smile had been easy for a moment and then he turned serious. “The MC world . . . it’s nothing like you’ve seen.”

“We had MC members come into my family’s bar.”

“Seeing a couple of bikers in a random bar’s a lot different than living with an MC man,” he said, not unkindly, and I recalled the information Tenn had already provided me with. “But for the moment, I’ve ensured you’ve got no choice. You’re not safe without me, Calla, but that’s not the only reason I want you with me.”

How he could admit that so openly amazed me. Cage stated it like an immutable law and I didn’t want any other choice but to believe him. And rather than delving further into that, I asked instead, “Did the Heathens follow you to Tenn’s?”

His jaw tightened. “I think they were waiting there to see if I showed. They were still actively looking for you. They know Bernie, Tenn and I were in the Army together. Makes sense they’d stake us all out. Tenn said you didn’t leave the house, but I’m sure you went out on the back deck. Who knows if they saw you there and waited for me.” He paused. “You made a phone call from Tenn’s fax line.”

“Do you think . . . Was that traced somehow?”

“I don’t know, babe. I wouldn’t think they’d go that far but . . .”

I steeled myself for the anger, but none came. “Then you know who I called.”

“Yes.”

I pulled the blanket tighter around me. “He’s my father.”

“Did you tell him where you were? Or what happened?”

“No. I didn’t want him to worry about me. I’m sorry.” I kept the rest to myself. “Do you think the Heathens were tracking me through my father’s calls?”

“I wouldn’t think they’d be that smart to research who your dad was.”

The thought of my father being in trouble because of me made my stomach turn. “Bernie was helping my dad. Maybe someone made the connection.”

Cage watched me silently, waiting for me to spill everything. God, I didn’t want to. “Is this about the guy I’m going to find?”

My throat tightened. “No. Bernie was looking for my brother. He—Ned—stole money from me.”

“And your dad was helping?”

“Yes. He’s not Ned’s father so . . .” I shrugged, hoping that would end it. “I’m sorry—if I’d thought for a moment . . .”

“That you’d have a rabid MC on your ass, you would’ve behaved differently? I’m thinking not,” he said. “But from now on, you need to.”

“The way you talk about your club . . . do you like it there?”

“Most of the time, yes.” He paused. “I’m not sure how any woman survives it, though.”

His honesty floored me. “But some do, right?”

“Yeah, some do, Calla.”

I swallowed. “If you want to be with someone enough, you’ll deal with almost anything. As long as you’re doing it together, right?”

When I was younger, I looked for a love that would tear me up and have its way with me. I wanted to feel battered. Satiated. Terrified. The ups and downs of my mother’s love life made me think that was the only way it should be. It wasn’t until I got a little older—and wiser—that I realized that all I really wanted was a love that would set me free from all the pain of my past.

I knew it was out there, if for nothing else, because of all the time musicians and authors spend on the subject. It’s the Holy Grail and compromise is out of the question. Still, I figured that, after what happened with Harris, I’d never really be able to trust any guy again. That didn’t mean I didn’t try. I pretended I didn’t care. And while I never had another situation like that one, it didn’t mean I was happy. I’d had some good sex—I’d needed to in order to make up for the worst first time ever—but the attraction postsex was never there.

Not like this. “I’m going with you by choice, Cage. Not because I don’t have one.”

“Good.”

“Whatever happens . . . I don’t have any expectations. I don’t even want any. It’s all too complicated anyway. Sex is simple.”

He raised his brows. “You might be the first woman in history to say that. Even if I know you don’t mean it.”

I didn’t bother arguing.

* * *

I woke to the sound of bodies thumping against the wall, hard. I heard grunts and cursing and tried to make myself invisible against the back of the couch while I watched the shadows, really hoping that one of them was Cage.

“Son of a—”

Yes, Cage. I sagged in relief, especially when another man’s voice said, “She would’ve been proud to be called ‘bitch.’”

“Asshole.”

I blinked and watched the men stand, saw Cage shove the other man away hard. When the man I didn’t know turned to me, I immediately saw the resemblance to Tenn.

“You shouldn’t have done this shit alone, Cage.”

“Heard it from your brother. Don’t need to hear the same shit from you.”

“You’re going to hear it, and a lot more where that came from.”

“Calla, this is Talon,” Cage said, and Tenn’s brother smiled and corrected, “Friends calls me Tals.”

“She’s not your friend,” Cage replied.

Tals shrugged, unconcerned. “Now I can see why you didn’t want any of us near her.”

Cage groaned. “Ah Jesus, Tals. Shut it!”

Tals’s laugh was deep and booming. “You’ve got it bad.”

I, for one, was glad to hear it, but I wasn’t happy about the world intruding. Cage had warned it would happen, sooner than I’d want it to.

Cage ran a hand through his hair and sighed. “Why are you here, Tals? Coincidence?”

“You’re the one who always says there’s no such thing. No, sir, I’m your escort back to Skulls in the morning.”

Cage tensed immediately—and I wasn’t the only one who noticed it. Tals clapped a hand on his shoulder and said, “Preach is not happy.”

“How much does Preach know?”

“He knows everything,” Talon said simply. “Calla, honey, we’re just gonna step outside for a few minutes.”

“Knock yourself out,” I told him, then wrapped the sheet around my body and headed to the shower. I could’ve sworn they both whistled at me.

And I liked it.

* * *

Cage watched Calla’s retreating back until she shut the bathroom door behind her. Tals had whistled with him, but then his friend had turned away and was already on the front porch when Cage joined him.

“Tenn wouldn’t let me come get her.”

“He’s the smart one in your family,” Cage told him, and sidestepped a swipe at the back of his head.

“I wouldn’t have let anything happen to her. Christ, hers was the only name you kept saying, over and over and—”

Cage held up a hand. “I’ve heard it before.”

“You’re keeping her with you, then?”

“Yeah.”

“Why?”

“Lot of reasons. But I pulled her into this, and I’m the only one who can get her out.”

“Keep telling yourself that,” Tals muttered.

His friend was more pissed than Tenn after being shut out. Even though he’d known that Cage wasn’t dead pretty much the whole time. But before that, Cage had dropped out of sight for months, and he’d refused to return any calls. “I’m sorry, Tals.”

“Yeah, that you got caught.”

“Gonna make a great father with lines like that.”

Tals pointed at him, fear of the devil in his eyes. “Don’t you dare fucking curse me like that.”

Cage snorted. “Did Tenn get anything out of the Heathens?”

“They weren’t in a chatty mood and Tenn doesn’t have the patience for that shit.” Tals crossed his arms and stared at him. “Going to finally tell me what the hell really happened? Because I don’t believe the Heathens just happened to sneak up on you.”

“Got some intel.”

“Gonna share?”

“Tapes. Wiretaps.”

“Enough for a RICO case against them?” Tals asked.

Cage nodded. “It’s locked up tight, though. I won’t risk giving it to the feds until I know who I’m giving it to.”

“Your dad know you have it?” Tals asked, then paled. “Shit. That’s why?”

Cage kept his mouth shut. He wasn’t sure he could get the words out.

Tals whistled softly. “I knew it was Heathens, Cage . . . but . . . your dad?”

“He sent Troy.” And Cage didn’t know if that made it better or worse. “A lot of this is about me, Tals. But some of it’s about her.”

“We’ve had to tread lightly where Bernie’s concerned.”

Cage agreed. It was the only thing that kept him from breaking into the police database to see what they knew. The only thing that stopped him from calling Bernie’s sister. He thought about the burial, how he and Tenn and Tals had to avoid it . . .

“He always knew what he was in for with us,” Tals told him. “He went into things with both eyes open.”

“Calla didn’t.” Tals looked like he wanted to say something, but he didn’t, and so Cage continued. “Need a favor.”

“You’re serious? Beyond this saving-your-ass thing?”

“Where were you when I was trying to lose a Heathen tail tonight?”

Tals snorted. “Go for it. Just remember, you’re really racking them up.”

“Bernie was trying to help Calla.”

“And while you avoided all of us, you were figuring out a way to help her too.”

He nodded. “Her father’s Jameson Bradley.”

Tals whistled and shook his head. “And you got his baby girl in trouble.”

“I don’t think they’re exactly close. But she’s got a brother. Need to find him.”

“Take it we’re not paying a Welcome Wagon call.”

“As far from it as we can get,” he agreed. And there was also another guy out there who hurt her. Cage had that tucked into the back of his mind. Because as much pain as he’d been in that first night they’d talked, the pain in her voice when she’d admitted that a guy had hurt her in her past was unmistakable.

Every time he thought about it, his fists clenched, the way they were now.