Loving The Biker (MC Biker Romance) (16 page)

Thirty-three

Terin

Knowing that Bronson was sticking his nose where it didn’t belong, made me livid. I wanted to drive to the precinct and threaten him with the tape I’d made, but instead I talked myself down and went home instead. When I arrived, I took a shower, to try and calm down, got into a white terrycloth robe, and sat down on the sofa to think things through. As I closed my eyes, the doorbell rang. Wondering if it might be my sister or mother, I stood back up and looked through the peephole. 

It was Bronson.

“What in the hell do you want?” I asked sharply, swinging the door open.

Bronson’s eyes went to my robe and he smirked. “I’m sorry, were you entertaining?”

“Very funny. Why are you here?”

“I think you’d better let me in,” he said. “Unless you want your neighbors hearing about your dirty laundry.”

Knowing that the nosey old lady next door probably had her ear to the door, I clenched my jaw and let him in. “So, what dirty laundry are you talking about?”

He pulled out his phone and showed me. It was the same picture that had been sent to me from Cole’s phone.

“What’s going on here, O’Brien?” he asked. “Fraternizing with the enemy?”

I gave him a dirty look. “Are you stalking me?”

“Not me. An associate.”

I should have known. “That picture means nothing,” I said, crossing my arms under my chest. “We were at the gym.”

“Looks like he was ready to work you out real good.”

“Fuck you. Get out of my apartment,” I said, pointing toward the door.

“I’m sure Walters will be very interested in seeing this photo. And this one too,” he replied, showing me another one, this time of me leaving Cole’s townhome.

  “I was interviewing him about Ronnie’s murder,” I replied angrily. “What, are you stalking me now?”

He ignored me. “And what were you doing here?” he asked, holding up another picture. This time it was of me on the back of Cole’s motorcycle. “Looks like you’ve been doing much more than interviewing him.”

“What do you want?” I asked coldly.

He began unbuttoning his suit jacket.  “I think you already know the answer to that.”

I pulled my robe in tighter. “You’ve got to be kidding.”

“Do you know what kind of trouble you’d be in if Walters sees these photos? You’d lose your job.”

“If you show him any of them, I’ll make sure your wife hears the tape I made yesterday.”

“You’re not going to play that for her. In fact, you’re going to give me the tape.”

“The hell I am.”

He lifted his phone and began typing. “Fine. You know, I’m tired of being married anyway. My wife is a dried up bitch who only knows how to complain. But, there’s one thing for certain, I know how much you care about your job, which you won’t have after I send these photos to Walters.”

I held up my hand. “Hold up.”

He looked at me.

“Please, don’t do this.”

“How much is your job worth to you, O’Brien?”

“Everything.”

He grinned evilly. “And that’s what I want from you. Everything.”

I glared at him.

“You can start by removing your robe,” he said.

“You’re despicable,” I said, not knowing what to do. I loved my job and the thought of being fired made me sick. The thought of him touching me made me even sicker.

Bronson unzipped his fly and began touching himself. “Come on. Show me what you got, O’Brien. I don’t know what it is about you, but I can’t stop fantasizing about what you’ve got hiding underneath your clothing.”

Horrified that he was masturbating in my apartment, I shuddered. “Stop it.”

“Get on your knees,” he ordered, breathing heavily.

Appalled, I pointed to the door. “Get out!”

He moved in front of me and tried sticking his hand under my robe. I pushed him away and stumbled over to the coffee table. Spying my cell phone, I picked it up.

“If you don’t fight, we can get this over with and I’ll be on my way,” he said, paying attention to what I was doing.

I pushed the Camera button, turned around, and got a picture of him, his hand on his penis. His face turned red with rage. I took another one as he shoved it back into his pants.

“You fucking bitch,” he growled, as I pressed a few more buttons on my phone. “What in the fuck do you think you’re doing?”

“You’d better delete those pictures of me and Cole, or I’ll send this one to Walters. I might still lose my job, but you won’t only be fired, you’ll go to jail.”

He glared at me.

“And I don’t know who your other stalker friend is, but he’d better delete his too.”

“Fine,” he said angrily. “You delete yours and I’ll delete mine.”

“Oh no,” I said, laughing coldly. “I’m not going to delete anything because I don’t trust you.”

“Why should I trust you?”

“Because I could have given the audio tape to Walters earlier today, but didn’t and I have integrity, which you don’t.”

A vein began to throb in his head. “You don’t know what integrity is. If you didn’t you wouldn’t be screwing the biker.”

“You have no proof that I screwed anyone but I have proof that you were trying to screw me,” I said.

Livid, Bronson charged me. He grabbed my phone and shoved me away roughly. “You think you’re so smart, you little bitch?” he sneered, pulling up the photos. He deleted them and then tossed the phone back to me. “Boom! How do you like me now?!”

Knowing that he’d try something like that, I’d sent one of the pictures to Cole. I told Bronson what I’d done and his smile fell.

“How do you like
me
now?” I said with a smirk.

“You crazy bitch,” he answered. “Do you know what you’ve done?!”

“I know exactly what I’ve done and you made me do it. Now, get the fuck out of my apartment or I’ll have Cole send one to Walters,” I said as my phone began to ring.

“You’re going to regret this,” he said, grabbing his jacket. Without another word, he stormed out of my apartment.

I answered the phone.

“Who the fuck was that?” asked Cole, talking about the picture.

I explained what had happened.

“Jesus, are you okay?”

“I am now,” I said, although my hands were shaking.

“I can’t believe that sonofabitch tried that shit with you. Where did he go?”

“I have no idea. Why?”

“Did you call the police?”

“No. I can’t. I’d have to explain what happened.”

“Okay. Don’t worry about him,” said Cole. “I’m going to make sure he leaves you alone.”

“You? What do you plan on doing?”

“Nothing you need to know about.”

And this was why I had to stay clear of Cole Johnson. “You can’t go after Bronson. Do you hear me?”

“Why? He went after you. He’s been stalking you. He needs someone to put him in his fucking place.”

“I can handle him.”

He didn’t say anything.

“I’m serious. Stay away from him. I’ll figure something out.”

“Fine. I’ll stay away from him,” Cole answered, his voice clipped. “If that’s what you want.”

I sighed in relief. “It is. You know it’s better if you don’t get any more involved in this than you already are.”

He ignored my comment. “Do you want me to come over?”

“No,” I replied, although I would have done anything to be held at that moment.

“Do you want to come back to my place?”

“I’d better not,” I said, sitting down on my sofa.

“What about tomorrow? Can I see you?”

“I told you before, I think it’s better if we don’t see each other again.”

“Is that what you really want?” he asked, sounding hurt.

No. It wasn’t. But there was no other choice. I couldn’t throw away my career away so easily. Not for a man I barely knew.

“Yes. It is.”

Cole sighed.

“I have to go,” I said, noticing that my sister was calling me.

“Terin, just… today was one of the best days I’ve had in a long time. I really, really enjoyed being with you.”

“I enjoyed being with you, too, Cole. But-”

“I get it,” he said quickly. “I want you to know that if you change your mind and want to get together again though, I’m here.”

“Thanks Cole,” I replied.

“And if Bronson gives you anymore trouble, I’m also here.”

I smiled. “I appreciate it. I need to take care of him on my own though.”

He let out a frustrated sigh. “I know. That’s the kind of woman you are. In many ways, you’re a lot like my sister. Anyone fucks with her and she needs to ‘handle’ it.”

I laughed humorlessly. “Maybe I should ask her for advice.”

He chuckled.

“I have to go. My sister is calling,” I said, noticing that Torie was calling back a second time.

“Okay. Call me if you ever need someone to talk to or… have a midnight rendezvous.”

I snorted. “Oh yeah? You mean if I want to hook up?”

“Of course. No strings attached either.”

I had to admit, sex with Cole had been the best I’d ever had. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“And I’ll keep up on my condom supply.”

I laughed. “Okay.”

“Goodbye.”

“Goodbye, Cole.”

After hanging up with him, I called my sister back. She’d learned about Ronnie and Pete and just wanted to chat about the murders.

“I don’t know anything,” I told her, feeling mentally exhausted.

“You sound tired.”

“I am.”

“Okay. I’ll let you go and we’ll talk later. We’re still on for Saturday, though, right?”

“Yes,” I promised her. “I’ll be there.”

Thirty-four

Terin

The next morning when I arrived to work, as usual Bronson was there and we both ignored each other.

“Did you hear? The charges have been dropped,” said Fred, stopping by my desk.

“What charges?”

“The ones against Chips and Gomer.”

I frowned. “How?”

Just then, Walters stepped out of his office and called me into his office.

“Close the door,” he said, not looking happy.

I did and sat down. The tension in the room told me that he was furious about something. I couldn’t imagine Bronson spilling the beans, however. Especially since I had the picture of him with his hands on his pecker.

Walters opened up a file that was sitting on his desk and pulled out a photo. It was the one of me and Cole, on his motorcycle.

“Can you explain this?” he asked.

“Where did you get it?” I asked, my heart sinking.

“It was in my In-box this morning,” he said sternly.

I clenched my jaw. “Was it from Bronson?”

His eyes narrowed. “No. Did he know about it?”

“Someone is stalking and taking pictures of me.”

“Sorry to hear that. My question is – what in the hell are you doing with Cole Johnson?”

“He gave me a ride. I had a flat tire,” I lied.

Walters studied my face. “Bullshit.”

“Look, there’s nothing going on between us. I swear to God. As far as this picture goes, so what, he gave me a ride.”

“And what of this picture?” he asked, pulling the one of me and Cole at the gym out of the same file.

I sighed. “I know it looks bad but I had no idea that Cole was going to be there.”

“So, you were trying to avoid him?”

“Yes. No. I guess I will be now,” I said. “Since everyone seems to think there’s something going on between us.”

“Look, O’Brien. I’m not naïve. You two look like you’re about ready to tear each other’s clothing off,” said Walters.

“Yeah, I know but if you’d been there, you have realized that it really was very innocent,” I answered, lying to myself this time as well as him.

“Innocent.” Walters leaned back in his chair. “Charges have been dropped against Chips and Gomer.”

“Why?”

He held up one of the photos. “Because of these pictures. We can’t charge them for attempted rape because their lawyer has these pictures too. Incidentally, they’re saying that you and Cole have manufactured this entire story because of his history with them.”

“That’s bullshit.”

“I know it is,” he answered. “But, we’re pretty fucked here.  There’s no case now that they have pictures of the two of you together.”

“What about Pete’s death?”

“We know who killed Pete. We don’t know who killed Ronnie. It certainly wasn’t the two men that were sitting in jail the last couple of days. We had nothing holding them and their lawyer knew it.”

“So, they’re free?”

“Yes. They were released about an hour ago.”

I swore.

“That’s not all. You’re suspended for thirty days.”

I sat up straight. “What?”

“You’re lucky it’s only thirty days. You’re lucky you still have a job.”

I let out a ragged breath. It could have been worse. “Fine.”

He handed me a suspension form, reiterating the fact that I couldn’t return to work for the next thirty days. I signed it.

“Look, I’m not blind. Something happened between you and Johnson. I don’t know what it was but you’d better get your shit together if you want to keep working in this department.”

“Yes sir,” I said grateful that he was giving me another chance.

Walters nodded toward the door. “Like I said, thirty days.”

I stood up and walked out of the office. I went over to my desk and grabbed my purse. It was then that I saw the grin on Bronson’s slimy face.

Fuck you, too.

I took out the audio recorder I had in my purse, waved it in the air so that he could see it, and stepped back into Walters’ office.

“What is it?” he asked.

I set the audio recorder on his desk. “You should know how one of your male employees treats women. Oh, and also…” I pulled out my phone and showed him the image of Bronson that I’d sent to Cole.

“What in the hell is going on here?” he asked angrily.

“Yesterday, Bronson tried threatening me with the same pictures that are in your file. He wanted me to have sex with him and in return, he wouldn’t show you those photos. When I told him to fuck off, he proceeded to masturbate in front of me. I, in turn, took that picture and told him that I’d share it with you if he didn’t get the hell out of my apartment.”

“Is that the truth?” he asked, staring over my shoulder.

I turned around to find Bronson standing back there, livid.

“It was consensual,” he replied. “Until she went nuts on me and decided to take pictures.”

I chortled. “Really? Consensual? I wanted you to pull that nasty thing out? You’re one sick bastard.”

“Don’t listen to her. She invited me back to her place yesterday and begged for it.”

Walters let out a ragged sigh. “Jesus, Bronson.”

“He’s lying,” I said. “Listen to that audio and you’ll hear him threatening me.”

Walters nodded and looked at Bronson. “I think we’ll listen to it together. Sit your ass down.”

Bronson glared at me but did what Walters ordered.

“You can take off,” said Walters, sounding exhausted. “I’ll give you a call later.”

I nodded and left.

***

Still angry and full of energy, I drove home, changed out of my work clothes, and headed to the gym. This time I stayed out of the weight room and was able to get on one of the treadmills right away. I turned on my music and began running. Fifteen minutes into my workout, I noticed someone getting onto the one next to mine. I looked over to see if it might have been Cole, but it was another tall, dark, but not quite as handsome stranger. He smiled at me and I smiled back. 

“How does this thing work?” he asked, pointing to the buttons on the machine.

“What do you mean?”

“I just want to run. I don’t want to climb any hills or anything,” he said, pushing buttons.

“Then you should select the ‘manual’ setting. That way if you want to make it incline, you can do it while you’re running and then lower it when you’ve had enough.”

“Oh.” He smiled. “There’s the button. Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.”

An hour later, as I was walking out of the building I bumped into him again.

“Thanks again for the pointers. I don’t know what I would have done without you.”

I chuckled. “You’ve never been on a treadmill before, have you?”

“No. I usually jog outdoors. I figured I’d try it out, since there was a free one available. They’re usually taken.”

“I know,” I answered. “They need to invest in some more machines.”

“They really do. Anyway, I was thinking about stopping across the street to the coffee shop. Would you care to join me?”

“Thanks for the invitation, but I’m sweaty and just want to head home,” I told him.

“I understand. How about another time?”

“Maybe,” I replied, thinking that he seemed very nice. “Hold up, you’re not in a motorcycle club, are you?”

He laughed. “Why?”

“Long story,” I answered.

“I know that some of the guys from the Gold Vipers work out here,” he said, looking around the lot. “Don’t worry, I’m not one of them.”

“Good to know.”

“So, can I have you your number?”

“Sure.” I gave it to him. “My name is Terin.”

“Terin? Interesting. I’m Tony.”

“Nice to meet you.”

“You as well. So, what are you doing Saturday night?” he asked, typing my phone number into his cell.

“I actually have a bachelorette party to go to,” I replied.

“Oh, oh,” he said, smiling. “Sounds like trouble.”

“I’m sure we’ll be getting into a lot of that,” I answered. “We’ll be bar hopping on a party bus.”

“Are there going to be strippers?”

I raised my eyebrow. “I really don’t know. Why?”

“I actually work part-time as a male dancer,” he answered, lowering his voice.

“Really?”

“Yes. I work for a place called Stars and Stripes All Male Review. We perform live shows and also do private parties.”

“Interesting,” I replied. “So, you strip down, all the time, in front of hundreds of women and yet
don’t
have a girlfriend?”

“In my line of work, you meet a lot of women, but most of them are hot for the guy they see on stage, not the person they are off of it. Take for instance, whenever I tell a woman that when I’m not dancing, I normally work in the mall, selling phone service plans, it somehow ruins it for them.”

I laughed. “You’re one of those pushy cell phone guys? Oh, man… that would ruin it for me, too.”

He gave me a puppy-dog stare.

“Okay, okay,” I replied. “I’d probably keep you.”

Tony laughed. “I was hoping you’d say that. Anyway, if your plans for Saturday night change, call me. I’d love to get together with you,” he said. “Even afterward. I’m a late person. We could still have coffee somewhere.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

He smiled at me and took off.

“Who was that?”

I turned around to find Cole standing there and wearing a stony expression.

“A guy I met by the treadmills.”

“What did he want?”

I frowned. “He asked for my number.”

His eyes pierced mine. “Did you give it to him?”

I couldn’t help but feel a little giddy that Cole was jealous. 

“It’s none of your business,” I said, wishing that he wasn’t so much more handsome than Tony. It would have made it easier for me to move on.

He gave me a cold, harsh smile. “Fine.”

I started walking toward my car when he grabbed my arm, pulling me back.

I scowled at him. “What do you-”

Cole took my mouth, hard and fast. Torn between wanting to kiss him back and being angry, I pushed him away.

“What is your problem?” I asked, wiping my mouth.

A slow smile crossed his lips. “You can’t replace me with a cheap knockoff. Besides, he takes steroids. You’ll piss him off easily and he’ll frustrate you because of his small pecker.” 

I laughed harshly. “How do you know he takes steroids of that he has a small pecker?”

“Because I’ve seen him shoot up. As for the other thing, steroids aren’t penis friendly. 

“I appreciate your concern, but I’m a big girl and can take care of myself.”

He didn’t say anything, which I was grateful for. Lately, I hadn’t done a very good job of taking care of myself. He and I both knew it.

“We had a great night and I’ll remember it always. But, you and I are not compatible.”

“It sure felt like we were yesterday. In my kitchen. On my bed. In the shower.”

The mention of yesterday’s escapades made my stomach heat up. Even now I wanted him and could tell that he knew it, too. “Goodbye, Cole,” I said, turning away. “Stay out of trouble.”

“Where’s the fun in that?” he asked, a smile in his voice.

I didn’t respond but I could feel his eyes burning into my back as I walked to my car.