CRASH: An Evil Dead MC Story (The Outlaw Series) (8 page)

Green
straightened, the smile turning into a murderous expression, and Crash watched
Shannon’s nerve falter as she took a tiny step back.

He
stepped between them, his back to Shannon. “Told you once, brother. Knock it
the fuck off.”

Green’s
expression smoothed right out as he tore his eyes from her and looked at Crash
and smiled. “It’s all good, man. Just playin’ with her. Little kitten’s got
some claws, don’t she?” He looked back to Shannon. “Sorry, darlin’. I’m really
not such a bad guy.”

“Yeah,
you’re a real sweetheart,” Wolf supplied. “In your own special psychotic way.”

Dog,
ever the peacemaker, asked, “How good’s your coffee, darlin’?”

“My
what?” she asked, looking at him, a little dazed by the switch in conversation.

“Coffee.
Make us some.”

Crash
watched as her gaze moved from Dog to him. He could tell she wasn’t sure how to
take them. He smiled at her and nodded toward the coffeemaker. “We’ll be up on
the roof, these guys want a smoke. Bring it up when it’s ready.” He loved putting
her in her place in front of his brothers. High time the little rich girl
earned her way. He made to move past her as she turned to look at the
coffeemaker.

“Where
do you put the thingy?” she asked him frowning at the machine.

“The
what?”

“I
only have the coffeemaker where you drop in the little cup thingy, press a
button, and voila! Coffee.”

“Voila!
Coffee?” he repeated. The guys burst into laughter behind him. “This ain’t that
kind, babe.” He looked at the blank expression on her face. “You seriously
don’t know how to make coffee?”

She
shook her head.

“Do
you even drink it?” he asked.

“I
drink it,” she insisted. “I’d kill for a cappuccino or a half-caff skinny
vanilla latte right now.”

“A
what?” he frowned, laughing. Shaking his head, he replied, “Don’t know what the
fuck you just said, but I drink my coffee black, baby.” Stepping behind her he
ran through the steps for her, pointing out where the water, filter, and coffee
went. “You got that or you need me to write it down?”

There
were more snickers from his brothers.

“I’ve
got it,” she bit back with a look that said she’d make him pay for that.

He
grinned and nodded for the guys to follow him out. He led them up on the roof.

“Hope
you don’t have any rat poison in there, cause brother, I think she’s probably
pissed off enough to dose your coffee with it,” Red Dog teased.

Crash
and Dog sat in the chairs, Green turned the wooden crate on end and sat on it,
and Wolf stood. Crash watched his brothers all light up. It was times like
these that he missed smoking, but he mostly got through the day knowing he
could have that one smoke tonight.

“Know
what today is?” Dog asked him.

Crash’s
eyes cut to him.

Green
filled in the answer. “Beat-down day.”

Crash’s
gaze swung to him. “Artie Asshole?”

“Yup.”

“You’re
lookin’ forward to it,” Crash observed.

Green
grinned. “You know it, man.”

“There’s
always a chance he folded up shop,” Crash suggested.

“Nope,”
Wolf replied. “Swung by on our way here.”

Crash
nodded, “Well, hate I’m gonna miss that. Way he treats those girls, wouldn’t
mind bloodying my fists on him.”

“You
ain’t gonna miss it,” Dog stated.

Crash
frowned at Dog. Cole knew he had Shannon. What the fuck?

“Sorry.
Hate to pull you away from this lovely,
lovely
job you lucked into, but Cole wants you there.”

Crash’s
eyebrows shot up as if to say ‘seriously’.

Dog
put his hands up. “Don’t ask me. Call him. Maybe he figures she’ll be safe at
the Batcave,” he offered, grinning.

“The
fuck of it is, the guy’s probably gonna pay up, and it’ll be a wasted trip as
far as getting the satisfaction of beating his face in,” Crash speculated.

Dog
grinned at him. “Chill out. You can always take your sexual frustration out on
Green on fight night.”

Crash
turned to Green. “You fightin’ next week?”

“I
threw my name in, yeah.”

Crash
nodded.

Shannon
walked up with the coffee. Wolf jumped to hold the door for her. “Ma’am.”

She
smiled up at him. “Thank you.”

Of
all his brothers, Wolf was the biggest flirt of all of them, which was
partially how he got his name. The ladies stood about as much chance with him
as Little Red Riding Hood had with the Big Bad Wolf. Crash suddenly felt like
putting his fist through Wolf’s handsome face.

She
walked forward with four mugs of coffee on a silver tray, like she was serving
the queen afternoon tea. “Sorry this took so long, boys.”

“That’s
all right, we still had forty-four bottles of beer on the wall,” Red Dog
teased, flicking the ashes of his cigarette to the side.

“Which
one’s got the rat poison in it?” Wolf asked her, with a wink, peering down at
the tray she held out to him.

She
smiled up at him. “All of them.”

He
looked crushed. “Darlin’,
I
didn’t do
anything.”

She
winked at him. “Guilt by association,
darlin’
.”

He
clutched at his chest. “Ahh, stabbed through the fuckin’ heart.”

She
held the tray up to him and tilted her head to the side with a smile. He
grinned and took one. She held the tray low, offering them each a mug. Dog,
Green, and finally, she held the tray out with the last remaining mug to Crash.
He frowned down at the tray in her hands. “Is that my pizza pan?”

She
shrugged. “Maybe.”

Dog
let out a snort. “Huh, ingenious little gal, ain’t she?” He took a sip of his
coffee, grimaced, and then reached over and grabbed the mug out of Crash’s
hands, switching with him. “Here, I think I got the one with the poison.”

Shannon
glared at him.

“What?
I’m kidding. It’s what we do,” he made a circle motion with his hand, including
them all. “We make fun of ya, ‘till it gets old, and then we move on.”

Green
looked at Shannon, who was holding the empty tray behind her back, and then he
looked back down at his own mug. “Wait a minute, how come you’re not having
any?”

She
just gave him a sly grin, then turned and sashayed back inside.

The
four of them looked at each other a moment, and then, simultaneously, all four
brothers turned their mugs upside down, pouring the contents out on the roof.

A
half hour later, the men trouped back in. Crash glanced over, finding Shannon
in the bedroom unpacking her bag. He carried the four empty mugs to the kitchen
and set them in the sink. Then he walked the guys to the elevator. “I’ll meet
you at the club.”

Green
grinned, glancing from Crash to the bedroom. “You ain’t got enough time to
smooth those ruffled feathers, son.”

“Sure
he does,” Wolf put in. “You just need to know how to handle women, which
you
don’t. But you can’t help it, can
you, Green? It’s hard to control a woman that’s not inflatable.”

Green
made a grab for Wolf’s throat, but Red Dog pushed him off. “Calm the fuck down,
Green. Shit, can’t anybody tease you anymore?”

They
loaded onto the elevator, and Crash slammed the gate behind them. He smiled
through the bars at Dog and said, “Later, Tater.”

Dog
smiled and shook his head as the elevator descended. Crash could see Green
shove Wolf, and then Wolf shove him back saying to Dog, “Can’t we put him to
sleep?”

“We
tried,” Dog replied. “The vet wouldn’t take him.”

Crash
chuckled as he walked to the control panel and put in the code for the garage
door to open.

After
the bikes rolled out, he went to get Shannon. It was time for her to make a
phone call.

He
found her setting an armful of beauty and hair products down on the bathroom
vanity. How the hell did all that stuff fit in that one bag? It’s like twenty
clowns piling out of a clown car. He glanced around, her crap was now cluttered
all over his bathroom.

Jesus
Christ.

“You
really need all this shit, babe?”

She
set down what must have been armful number two and turned to him. “Yes. My God,
I’m living out of one bag. I’ve never done that in my life.”

“Yeah,
I bet there’s a lot of firsts you’re gonna experience stayin’ with me.” She
rolled her eyes at him. He glanced down again at all the bottles. “You don’t
need all this shit, babe.”

“Yes.
I do.”

“No.
You don’t. You think you do, but you don’t. You’re a beautiful woman, Shannon.
Drop-dead gorgeous.”

She
looked up at him, her face softening at his sweet compliment. “Crash.”

Ah,
Christ. “Fine, whatever. Just don’t leave it all over my bathroom.”

“Yes,
sir,” she teased with a salute.

He
grinned. “I like that.”

“What?”

“You.
Being all obedient for a change. ‘Yes, sir.’ That’s got a nice ring to it.”

Her
eyes narrowed. “Don’t get used to it.”

He
chuckled. “Come on,” he took her by the hand and led her out of the bathroom.
“You’ve got a phone call to make.”

She
trailed behind him. “I do?”

He
led her to the kitchen and opened a drawer. It was filled with disposable
phones. He pulled one out and popped a battery into it, activating it. Then he
turned and held it out to her. “Call home. Let them know you’re all right.”

“What?”
She glanced from him to the phone in his hand. “No.”

“Yes.
Princess, your car and phone were abandoned at a mall yesterday. Your family is
gonna think the worst. We don’t need the police involved in a missing persons
report and your picture splashed all over the news.”

“Crash…I
can’t.”

“Yes.
You can. You have to.”

She
just stared at the phone.

“Babe,
seriously? Not even for your mother?” Her eyes looked up and met his. And he
watched them glaze over. And then she took the phone.

“What
do I say?” she whispered.

“Just
tell them not to worry. Tell them you’re okay. That you just need some time
away.”

She
took the phone and made the call.

When
she was through, Crash took the phone and pulled the battery out, tossing it
into the drawer. Then he grabbed another phone, loaded a battery and typed a
number into it. He handed it to her. “For emergencies. I have to go out for a
while. If you need me, my number’s in there.”

“You’re
leaving me here alone?” She had a panicked look on her face that pulled at
Crash’s heart.

“Princess,
you’ll be fine. I wouldn’t leave you, if I didn’t believe that. Nobody gets in
downstairs without the code to that door. It’s made of steel, babe, and there
are no windows on the first floor. Its solid brick all the way around. The only
way up is the elevator, and only you can send it down. The fire escape has a
retractable ladder. And most importantly, he doesn’t have a clue where you
are.”

“You’re
sure?” she asked in a shaky voice.

“Babe.”
He took a step toward her and put his hands on her upper arms. “You did good.
Dumping the car. Your phone. Taking a cab from the other side of the mall.
Hell, going to Cole in the first place. You were smart. About all of it.” He
dropped his head, looking into her eyes. “You’re safe here. I promise.”

She
stared up at him.

“Shannon,
you can trust me. I swear.”

She
nodded.

The
vulnerable look in her eyes as she gave her trust to him, something he could
tell wasn’t easy for her, touched him. It had him wanting to pull her into his
arms, but that would possibly lead to something else, and he didn’t have time
right now. His hands rubbed up and down her upper arms and then dropped away.
“Okay. Good.” Was that disappointment he saw flash for a moment in her eyes?
Shit, he was probably only seeing what he hoped to see. He stepped back and moved
to one of the barstools. Pulling his cut off the back, he slipped it on, then
walked to the elevator. “I’ll arm the alarm from downstairs and send the
elevator back up. When it comes up, you throw this red switch to the left, and
it’s locked in place.” He pointed to something in the elevator.

She
nodded. “How long will you be?”

“I
don’t know. Not too long, I hope.” He slammed the gate closed. As the elevator
began descending he smiled and said, “Figure something out for dinner.”

Shannon
watched the elevator descend. She shook her head, rolling her eyes and
grumbled, “He says, from behind the safety of a metal gate.”