Obsession (A Bad Boy's Secret Baby) (23 page)

“Ouch.”

“I'm sorry!” Flora laughed, her face reddening as she sat down. “It's just, I never expected a guy like you to be so...” She pierced the eggy cake, then looked up at me, eyebrows raised high as she tried to suppress her smile. She shrugged. “Domesticated?”

“If you're going to wound me...” I took off the mitts and snatched my pistol up off the table. I popped out the magazine to check that it actually was fully loaded. It was. I snapped it back in, clicked the safety on again and held it out to her, mockingly. “At least use the gun.”

“No thanks, I'll stick to the spoon. Less chance of blowing my own foot off.” She took a bite and let her head lull back. “This might be the best thing I've ever put in my mouth.” Flora caught the mischievous look I shot her way. She chuckled awkwardly, immediately clarifying. “Food! The best tasting
food
I have ever... yeah. So, uh.” She shoveled in a heaping mouthful, stalling as she searched for a way to change the subject.

“Yes?” I smiled expectantly, cruelly keeping her on the spot. I wanted to see what kind of small talk she'd come up with.

“Have you, um.” She waved her hand in a small circle. “Do you cook often?”

“Not as often as I'd like, convection ovens don't fit easily into the saddlebags.”

Flora muted a smile and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. Beneath her crusader exterior, and her paper-thin seduction attempts, she was surprisingly clever. It was nice. I rarely had casual conversations with the girls I surrounded myself with.

“So what's the deal with you? I take it you're in a biker gang, right?” she asked, pointing at my chest. “Who are the Steel Veins?”

The mirth drained from my grin. I looked down at my vest, my closest friend. The weight of the leather was such a part of me that I forgot I still had it on. Since the call with Poet, I was no longer a member. I really shouldn't be wearing it at all. “Something like that. It's a bit of a long story, and with you leaving soon... Really, the less you know the better.”

“Yeah, I guess so.” There were faint hints of melancholy in her resignation. Maybe I was reading into it, but it didn't sound like she was as energetic about going back with the Knights as she once was.

I now had some time to figure out a deal with Lucky that might keep Flora alive; maybe if I formally apologized and offered to pay her worth, or some shit. I didn't know exactly, but I knew I'd think of something. I always worked best under pressure.

“Suffice it to say that, as far as the outlaw MCs go, we're the good guys.”

Flora crinkled her nose. “Except you imprisoned me against my will. That's not a quality I'd associate with 'good guys.'”

“Well... 'good,' most of the time.” I shrugged casually with a smirk. While I had her here, maybe I could prepare her a little for what she'd signed up for. “Still, a comfy bed and breakfast is better than what you'll get with the Knights.”

“What do you know about them? Do you know where they may have taken Claudine?”

I blinked, thinking. “Hard to say. I know that the Knights have some major ties down south, but they've been
very
tight-lipped about this whole transportation gig. Maybe some of the officers in the Veins know more, but I didn't find out about it at all till, well, until you walked in that brothel. It's a mean business, Flora. Human trafficking is some heavy stuff. Not a lot of storybook endings there.”

“Yeah.” She looked past me. Her irises, the shade of clouds preparing for a hurricane, grew distant and unfocused. It wasn't what she wanted to hear, but I needed to be straight with her.

If not for her sake, than mine.

“Why me?” Flora's eyes cleared, she regarded me intently. “Out of all the girls back there, why did you take me?”

The words came out smoothly. “It's my nature, I suppose. I tend to gravitate towards the prettiest thing in the room.”

“Wow, practice that line much?” Flora chuckled, her cheeks reddening a shade. She put the spoon down and picked out the last strawberry. Looking up at me, she smiled, idly biting into the fruit.

I matched her stare. “Every chance I get.”

The way she sat up straighter made me smile.

“You were the greenest girl in there,” I went on to say. “Your eyes were dull from the drugs, but overall still vibrant. You either got yourself into heroin recently, or it took you by surprise. Either way, I knew you were worth more to them than the rest, and I wanted to hurt the Knights any way I could.”

“Oh.” Had my answer deflated her? She swallowed, then asked, “Speaking of them... When are they coming, by the way?”

“Unfortunately, not until tomorrow. Something came up.”

She tilted her mouth, pretty lips forming into a tight rosebud. It was obvious my news had upset her. Fuck, how could I make it clear that she had to back off of this path?

A noise in the distance made me immediately forget whatever lie I was about to tell. It was the distinct chug of a Harley motorcycle, getting closer by the second.

This time of year, with the chill of winter rearing its ugly head, most casual riders had their bikes in storage. That left mostly just MC members cruising around. The occasional, unaffiliated straggler or hardened rider would stick it out till the end of the month or so. What struck me as odd, was why anyone would come down a long, dead end drive to a bed and breakfast that was closed during the week, just to turn around and go back the other way?

Unless they were here for a purpose.

Flora said something, but I didn't hear her; I was too engrossed with concentrating on the sound.

The Harley wasn't alone.

“Roach, you dirty—” I shot up, stuffing my gun into the back of my pants and checking that I had everything else I needed for a quick escape. “Flora, we have to go. Now.”

“What's going on?” she asked, thrown off by my sudden movement.

“The Knights are here.”

“They're early? I thought you said—”

I reached for her. “Listen to me closely. We have to go.”

“No.” Flora jerked backwards, stepping just out of range. “No. This was the plan. I appreciate what you've done for me, but, I'm going with them!”

The bikes roared, tearing up the country road. It wouldn't be long now. “Dammit, girl! We don't have time for this! I'll explain later.” I lunged for her, this time firmly latching onto her arm and pulling her towards the foyer. I'd drag her out of here if I had to.

“Let me go! I'm going with them, I
have
to!” Her free arm punched my chest ineffectually.

“Flora, they're not going to take you to your fucking sister! Listen to me, they're—” That's when I felt cold steel jamming into the side of my head. I should've been paying more attention.

Insects are sneaky like that.

“Do what the girl says, Ronin.” Roach's voice oozed with smugness. I felt my gun get lifted out of the back of my pants. The sneaky prick must've slipped into the kitchen when my back was turned.

Gritting my teeth, I hissed a warning. “Flora, they're going to kill—” The thick wooden stock of Roach's revolver staggered me when it connected with the side of my head. The searing pain brought a burst of white fireworks to my eyes, but it was Roach's second strike that dropped me.

Only then did I feel Flora's forearm slip from my fingers.

The rumbling engines outside slowed to a rapid purr, like that of great metal cats that had finished their hunt. Then they turned off, causing the sound to cut out completely.

The Knights of the Only Order had arrived.

Ronin

––––––––

S
till in a daze, I finally managed to get the full warning out. “They're going to kill you, Flora, you have to get out of here.”

“Oh, they're not going to kill you.” Roach attempted to soothe Flora's growing apprehension. “I heard the whole story from the Knights. You'd be reunited with your loving sister by now if it wasn't for Ronin.” He shot me a derisive look. “'Ronin.' That means 'a master-less samurai' or some bullshit, right? Talk about fitting.” He laughed hoarsely. “You see,
Ronin
here has a problem with authority. He can't keep his pride in check, and now because of it, he got himself kicked out of his own fucking club.”

I could see her through my wobbling vision. Flora was pale as ivory.

Finally turning back to me, Roach kicked me in the ribs, growling, “You never could let things go, could you?”

My head was still swimming, but I was able to roll with the blow. It stung, but I'd been hit harder. On my hands and knees, I spotted the empty bottle of Jim Beam from last night. It had slid under a nearby cabinet.

“I'm a pacifist, man, I don't believe in violence,” I groaned the words out. “Nothing but good vibrations.”

“Yes, yes. Always with the fucking jokes. Well, who's laughing now, fuckhead!” Roach bent down to scream into my face, obviously venting some pent up rage. Then he stood back up, sliding a hand over his head, calming himself. He straightened out his vest before continuing his placation of Flora. “He's using you, dear girl. You're nothing but a poker chip to him. Expendable. Something to be spent.”

Curling her fists to her lips, she said, “Stop hurting him!” Her voice was fragile, unsure about the situation. “I don't understand. Ronin, why would you tell me you were letting me free, only to try and drag me off again?” Her eyes sought me out, wet and gigantic. “Was it a trick?”

She thought
I
was the liar, here? Maybe locking her up and claiming her story about Claudine was fake wasn't the best idea, after all. Between the three of us, including Flora, I was the only one in this damn room not actively trying to get her killed. And she was torn between believing me or siding with Roach.

It was depressing and funny all at once.

I heard the foyer door open, but it wasn't until they got in the kitchen that I realized only a pair of Knights had walked in. I'd heard three bikes pull up, so the third man must have stayed out to keep watch. Of the two inside, I only remembered one from the brothel. It was hard to forget the face of a man that had tried to kill you, especially when he walked in with an electric bone saw.

“Why didn't you just call them,” I asked, cocking my head at the Serbian and his lackey, “When I showed up, Roach?”

He snorted. “Because I had a good thing going before you fucking ruined it! The Knights paid me to feed the Veins with bad info, and the Veins paid me for the privilege of eating it. 'Another day.' Fuck you! I knew you were going to run. You forced me to pick a side.”

I spat a wad of blood at Roach's feet. “You'll roast for this, you traitorous piece of shit."

“Looked at a map lately, asshole?” he replied. “This is Knights' country, the Veins can't do shit to me here.”

I offered Roach a sadistic, bloody-toothed grin. “Well, lucky for us, I'm no longer in the Steel Veins.”

“Enough talk, ladies,” the Serbian cut in. “We got shit to do. Lewis, inside? Outside? You got plastic?”

From the growing worry on her face, I saw it fully start to dawn on Flora just how much trouble she was really in. These men were openly discussing how to best wrap her body in a way that wouldn't leak blood all over the place. “Plastic?” she whispered. “No, please, I won't make any trouble, I swear! I just want to be with my sister!”

They ignored her. Flora might as well have been yelling into the void.

“I think so,” Roach said. “I'll have to check, how much will you need? If you were to... guesstimate?”

The Serbian regarded Roach with exasperation, not looking forward to holding the man's hand through all of this. For all of his many faults, this would be Roach's first foray into actual murder. “Jesus Christ. Just bring her out back, Lewis. Find a spot with some grass that's still close enough to be hosed down.”

I cracked a smile at the Serbian, running my finger in a circle around my nose, pointing out the bandage he was wearing. The damage I'd inflicted on him was obvious. “That's a good look for you. The chicks must dig the hell out of it.”

The Serbian produced an awful, forced smile, then clocked me with a hard right cross. Even turning my head with it to lessen the blow, he still managed to ring my bell pretty good. A few more of those and I'd be relegated to only soft foods for a while; that was, if I survived at all.

Playing up the injuries, I slumped to the floor. I was already a little bloody from the pistol-whipping earlier, still nursing a kicking headache that was only getting worse, but otherwise, I was alright. It'd take more than that to put me down.

“Ronin!” Flora called out to me as Roach grabbed her and thrust the gun into her back.

Unfortunately, she was too far away, there wasn't much I could do for her. If only she'd run when she'd had the chance.

The Serbian whacked his partner on the shoulder and looked down at me. “Give me a hand with lover-boy here.”

Roach pushed Flora towards the back door, then hesitated at the threshold. Turning around, he asked, “When this is over, you're not going to leave them here, right?”

“The fuck do you think the bone saw is for?” The Serbian scowled.

Roach still didn't get it.

The big man spoke in a patronizing tone, he obviously wanted nothing to do with Roach or this assignment. “There's a pig farm we own a few miles out, we'll take them there.”

“Oh, okay.” Roach pushed Flora through the door and was gone.

“Grab his arm. We'll drag him out.” The Serbian shifted to the side to put the saw down on the counter, he knew he was going to need both hands to wrestle me out the door. Deadweight was a son of a bitch to move, and I sure as hell wasn't about to make it easy for these guys.

When the other biker began to hoist me up, I grabbed the thick bottle of Jim Beam under the table and smashed him in the face with it. The first blow shattered his nose, his face became a stream of red and salty tears.

With the second hit, I caught him in the front teeth, bashing at least four of them down his throat and knocking him on his ass.

“Mother fucker!” The Serbian whirled, drawing his gun.

Dropping the bottle, I rolled over and hooked the large man's leg with my arm, then wrenched it out from under him. Dexterity wasn't his strong suit; he tumbled, hitting the floor like a fallen tree. The Serbian was far from incapacitated. All I had really done was just bring him to the ground, and he still had his gun.