Head Above Water (Nightshade MC Book 4) (19 page)

“If you did, I'm certainly not going to complain.” Monroe reached down and pulled her back up so that they were face to face and he could roll her onto her back. “I might have picked up a thing or two myself. Wanna see?”

“Fuck yes,” she said on a laugh that seemed to carry through the air.

Monroe couldn't remember the last time that she'd laughed like that. The sound was enough to get him hard once more. “You know, out here you can get as loud as you'd like because there's no one around to hear.”

There was no way for him to know that he was wrong.

Chapter Thirteen

Drea washed the last dish and set it to dry in the rack on the counter. There was no dishwasher at the cabin, but she didn't mind cleaning up, especially since Monroe had made good on his promise to grill the steaks. The meal had been amazing. The whole day had been.

She felt a bit of shame that before they'd left, she'd considered cancelling because there was so much going on at GP. At the last minute, she hadn't because of the excited look on Monroe's face when he'd video called her to make sure that she was ready. Drea knew that for the past few weeks she'd been a bit of a bitch, angry inside all the time, and it wasn't right to take it out on him. She knew it but still, she felt herself snapping at him when he had nothing to do with it.

Sometimes, she wondered why they were together, not because she didn't love him, but because he deserved someone who didn't take her shit out on him and who in general had her shit together. More and more she realized that she didn't have her shit together. Instead, she struggled to keep her head above water, and if she slipped under, she was likely to drag him right down along with her. Monroe hadn't said any more about the lenders, but she knew that he wasn't heeding her advice and staying out of it.

Alton had called that morning right after she'd got to GP, before the catastrophe of Mary Sunshine's sexually transmitted disease. He'd put her on edge. There was a tone to his voice, one that she couldn't read. Not for the first time, she wished that she'd gotten assigned one of the older guys who she'd met socially, for all the good it would have done, but she had to play the hand she was dealt.

Monroe didn't know about the call or about the meeting that she'd set with Alton, in Detroit, for the following week. It was time that they put all the cards on the table. Drea needed to know if she was going to be slowly bled dry, until death was a sweet release, or if she could actually plan on having something like a real life.

There was nothing more that she wanted than that real life with Monroe.

“You're still not done? The movie is about to start,” he said from behind her.

“I'm nearly finished.” Drea returned her attention to the task at hand, washing the last of the utensils. A flash caught her eye from outside. She looked up with a frown as she saw a shadow move into the cover of the trees. “What kind of animals are around here?”

“Last time I was here, I saw deer and moose. There are feral pigs too, but I've never seen one of them. Why do you ask?”

“I saw something move out by the trees. I thought I saw a flash or a light or something. Or maybe my eyes are just tired.”

“All of you should be tired,” he pointed out as he came up behind her and laid his hands on her hips. “After all, you had quite the workout this afternoon.”

“We both did,” Drea replied. She'd never had sex, or anything else intimate, outdoors before. It had been exhilarating to feel the warmth of the sun on her skin and Monroe's hands on her body. She turned off the water. “I've just got to put them away and I'm good to go.”

“Leave 'em,” Monroe wrapped his arms around her. “I'll put them away before we go to bed.”

Drea was well aware that he wouldn't, he'd mean to but he'd forget, and she'd end up doing it in the morning or during the middle of the night. “Okay, let's go watch the movie. I saw popcorn in cupboard. If you want, I can make it.”

“I don't want popcorn.” He leaned in and nuzzled his face against her neck. “I want you.”

“I'm right here.”

“Don't tempt me, I'd love to bend you over this counter.” His hands moved down to the hem of her tee shirt.

“That is a tempting thought, but I've got to admit, I'm a little sore.” Sex in the water was not as extra lubricating like Drea had thought it would be.

“Sore?” His hands went still and dropped her shirt. “Why didn't you say something sooner, hon?”

“Because the subject didn't come up; no pun intended.” She was all too aware of his erection poked against her now. “If you need a hand with that, I can help you out.”

“I'm good. Next time, don't wait for the subject to come up. You should have said that I was hurting you.”

“Hold on, I never said that you were hurting me. Did I seem like I was hurting?” Drea turned to face him. “Because for the record, I wasn't.” She draped her arms around his neck. “What's this movie about?”

“It doesn't matter, you're just going to fall asleep during it,” he teased.

“I won't fall asleep,” she insisted. “Not this time, at least.” It was true that she'd fallen asleep during the last few movies they started to watch together. “I've been kind of a shitty girlfriend that way lately.” Or actually a shitty girlfriend all around. “I'm sorry.”

“Don't be sorry. You're not a shitty girlfriend. I know you've got a lot on your mind.” His voice was low and soothing. “You need a break, that's why we're here. And when we get back, you should hire someone else at GP. Casey's great, but there's only so much that two people can do.”

Drea knew that he was right about hiring help and about her having a lot on her mind. It seemed like her brain never shut off unless she was asleep. All day and night, all she could think of was the future, what was going to happen? If her gut was right about the lenders, every day she was with Monroe put him more at risk, and not just him. Nightshade wouldn't stand idly by and let something happen. “I love you.”

“I love you too, hon. You sure that you're okay?”

“I'm just...” There were a million things that she could have said. Guilt burned in her chest at the thought of keeping secrets from Monroe. “I can't stop thinking about the lenders.”

“What about them?”

“I've got to know what the hell is going on. One way or the other, it doesn't matter. I need to know, so I set up a meeting with my contact, Alton.”

“When?” If Monroe was angry she'd done it without talking to him first, he wasn't letting on.

“After we get back. He's coming to Detroit.”

“I'm coming with you.”

“That wasn't what I agreed to with Alton. We know how they are about the rules.”

“I'm coming with you,” he repeated, more intently this time. “That's not up for debate, hon.”

“I'll ask.”

“You'll tell him,” he corrected. “I wish that you'd have come to me with this.”

“I'm capable of making my own decisions, Monroe. And I didn't tell you because I knew that you could talk me out of it, but I need to know. I can't just keep sitting around waiting for the other shoe to drop. Can't you understand that?”

“I'm coming with you, and we're going to figure this out together. Because we are in this together.”

“I don't know how I'll live with myself if something happens to you because of me, Monroe, and that's what I think is going to happen. I'm going to be the reason that so much bad stuff happens.” Drea couldn't hold back a sob. She dropped her arms from around his neck, tried to step back, but he kept a firm grip on her.

“I could tell you that nothing is going to happen to me, but we both know it'd be a lie. And I'm not just talking about the lenders, I'm talking about anything happening. I could drop dead right now. So could you.”

“That's reassuring, Monroe.”

“You didn't let me finish. It doesn't matter what happens, hon. What matters is us. Together we're going to be stronger than we ever could be alone. I know that you're scared, I am too. But you can't keep things like this from me. It makes things more dangerous.”

“Okay, I'll keep you in the loop.”

“Good girl,” he said with a smile. “Are you still ready for the movie?”

“Yes. And I'm not going to fall asleep. I promise.”

“I'll believe that when I see it.” He leaned in and pressed his lips to her forehead.

“I'm going to stay awake, I just promised. Maybe I should make some coffee.”

Monroe laughed. “If you're tired, you go to sleep. It's okay. I'm not taking it personally, thinking that I'm boring you or anything.”

“You're not. You never could.” Drea leaned into him and wrapped her arms around him. She leaned her head against his chest, shut her eyes and let relief wash over her. She basked in the warmth of him, the feeling of his arms around her.

Eventually they made their way to the living room, where they settled down on the comfortable couch. Monroe had chosen an action comedy. It was fast paced, funny and had borderline ridiculous action scenes. It was perfect. Being snuggled up next to him was perfect.

She had just started to doze off when a sound from outside made her jump. Drea wasn't the only one startled. Monroe got to his feet. “Stay here, I'll be right back.”

“Yeah, I don't think so.” Drea got up as well. “Where'd I put my tote bag?”

“What could you possibly need out of your bag right now?”

“My gun.”

“You brought your gun?”

“Are you telling me that you didn't bring yours?”

“They're in the truck,” he answered. “There's a shotgun in the pantry. Find your bag and wait for me.”

Drea finally found her tote bag in the bedroom. She had a full clip in the gun and a spare somewhere at the bottom of the bag. She set both down on the bed, grabbed a pair of jeans from her bag and pulled them on.

There was another sound from outside, a different one. It was more like a whoosh, and instantly Drea realized what it was. She ran from the bedroom. “Where's a fire extinguisher?” she demanded of Monroe.

“There's one in the kitchen, in the pantry. Why?”

“Get it. Is there a hose?”

“Side of the house,” Monroe replied. “Why?” he repeated.

“Something is on fire. Don't you smell that?” Before he could answer, an explosion rocked the air. Drea swore and ran for the kitchen. She found the fire extinguisher and ran out the back door without waiting to see if Monroe was behind her.

His truck was on fire; the explosion had likely been the gas tank blowing. No wonder it rattled the walls of the cabin. They were very lucky that he hadn't parked closer. There was no way that the extinguisher was going to even make a dent in the fire, so she dropped it to the ground.

“What the fuck?” Monroe shouted from behind her.

“I'm sorry,” Drea said, not sure that he heard her. As she watched the truck burn, she knew who had done this and that she hadn't been imagining the figure she'd seen skulking around. Her first instinct was that it was Frankie, the fucker loved fire, but the lenders would have known that as well since it had been in the news when Frankie burned down half the high school.

“We need to get back inside.” Monroe grabbed her by the arm roughly, jerked her back towards the relative safety of the building. “Whoever did this, they could still be out there watching.”

“We'll never know. It's too dark to track them,” Drea told him as she followed him back into the house. “It's too dark to try and walk for help either, we'd be huge targets.”

“Do me a favor, grab the phone and call the clubhouse while I make sure all the windows are shut and the curtains closed. I don't want anyone looking in.”

“What should I tell them?”

“Talk to one of the guys, tell them what happened and tell them to get here,” he answered as he headed for the windows.

Drea picked up the phone, started to dial and realized that she wasn't hearing anything but dead air. “The phone isn't working. It's dead. Someone must have cut the line.”

“You have got to be kidding me,” he sighed.

“This is my fault. This is either Frankie or the lenders. It has to be.” Hysteria rose inside of her. Drea didn't know if she should laugh or cry, maybe she'd just do both, but standing wasn't an option anymore. She sank down to the floor, phone still in her hand. “This is on me.”

“Fuck that. This is on whoever is doing this. I don't know if it's Frankie, the lenders or those inbred cannibals you mentioned earlier, it doesn't matter because we're getting through this. We've just got to wait until morning. We'll get cell service in a couple of miles.”

“If it's Frankie, he'll take us down before we even get close to a signal. It'll be like shooting fish in a barrel for him. He'd enjoy that. We should wait. Wait here. You said you'd need to call to check in. They'll know something is wrong when you don't.”

“No, they won't, hon. Buster told me to enjoy myself, not check in. The soonest that they're going to miss me is when we're not back when we're supposed to be. Sure, we've got enough food to make it until then, but if whoever blows up the truck comes back and torches the house, we're as screwed as if it was Frankie and he's out there waiting for us.”

Drea looked down at the floor, unable to meet his eyes. They were screwed either way, it was the ugly truth of it. “I'm sorry.”

“Stop that, Drea. All you're doing is pissing me off. This might not even be about you. It might be about me. Did you ever think of that? Like I said, it doesn't matter. Tomorrow morning, we head out at first light. We'll stick to the forest instead of the road, it'll be safer. We're going to be fine.”

As if to prove he was wrong, the large window in the living room shattered. Monroe turned towards it, hunting rifle in hand. Drea tried to get to her feet, but her legs wouldn't cooperate. Instead she was paralyzed with fear, especially when she heard the screech of the screen door opening.