Unbreakable (Highway Reapers Motorcycle Club Book 2) (9 page)

“…In other news, there was a violent crime in the city’s East Side where the people are looking for this man, Tyson Adler…”

The picture wasn’t the best they could have used, and there were a lot of shadows, but that was going to make getting out of here more difficult than he thought.

“Get your stuff if you’re coming, Ella. We have got to get out of here.”

She was already putting on her shoes, and the look of determination almost made him proud. He should be ashamed for bringing her deeper into a life she didn’t want. She’d wanted to start anew, and she was going to as a fugitive. The news reporter continued to talk through their frenzy of getting things together.

“…this crime scene was one of the worst this police chief had ever seen. Tyson is to be considered armed and dangerous. If you see him on the street, please don’t confront him, but call 9-1-1 and give his location.

Ella pulled out a souvenir ball cap that had the hotel’s logo on it and tugged it on his head. This woman was ride or die, and he couldn’t believe for one second that he was prepared to turn her over to these people.

“Let’s go, Tyson,” she said holding the door and looking both ways into the hallway.

CHAPTER SEVEN

From sugar to shit in a few hours. Ella hadn’t seen this glitch in their future, because when she won the money, she thought everything was going to be fine. It seemed like they both had such big money problems, but as soon as they’d got money, they acquired problems money couldn’t solve.

They opted to take the elevator since it would have taken a lot longer on the stairs, and they knew that that area was monitored as well. The one good thing is that they weren’t looking for her, so she could get a few things done before they figured out he wasn’t alone.

When they got to the lobby, there were a few police officers looking around at the people, and she could see that Tyson’s bike was being guarded by the police. Now what were they going to do? She went over to the counter and asked how she could go about renting a car. The people were very helpful, and she had her keys in a few minutes. It was amazing what a little cash could do.

They were led out to the back through a private entrance, and she almost couldn’t believe how easy that was. There were a few police that were hanging around and she didn’t know what would happen if they approached the car. She didn’t want to go back to jail, and she was almost positive she could go back for hanging out with another criminal, but she liked Tyson, and he’d proved he had some feelings for her as well. No matter what he thought she knew, there was something more to what they had. Even if it was just that he needed a Bonnie to his Clyde. She didn’t want him to be in it alone, and with all the things going on, she couldn’t say she was lonely.

Driving along the highway, she couldn’t believe they had made it past all of that. Slowing her pace, she didn’t want to do all that to end up getting a ticket for speeding.

“Where are we headed?” She didn’t know where she should head, but then figured that it probably didn’t matter.

“Where ever you’re going will be fine. Let’s keep going until we hit about 200 miles away from here. Maybe they won’t have seen the news, and we can stop somewhere to rest.”

Ella didn’t know what they were going to do, but they were together, and he sounded like he had good plans. It was good that she’d taken a nap twice, so she was well rested, but looking at Tyson, she recalled that he didn’t eat or sleep that well. The emotional turmoil he’d gone through that evening had to be more than anyone could stand. He’d been elated because he was out of debt and then shocked to find out he’d been framed. If anyone knew the hurt that came from the Reapers sticking their cock up your ass with no lube as you went down for some shit they did, it was her.

“If you want to lay your head back and rest or even get in the back seat I won’t mind. You have to be tired from the night you’ve had.”

She glanced over at him and found he had his head on the head rest already and looked like he was getting ready to go to sleep. At least he trusted her because she wouldn’t say that she trusted many people, and she’s talking about the ones she’d known for a good long while.

The trip didn’t take long, and the miles between where they’d been and where they were was in the hundreds. She stopped at a motel that looked like Mr. Bates ran it but figured that they were so far in the sticks the reception for the televisions probably didn’t work that well in the first place. They didn’t give her any problems and gave her the key to room number 8.

She got back in the car and drove to the cabin with the responding number. When she stopped the car the second time, Tyson finally stretched and woke up.

“Where are we?” He said with his voice sounding like gravel. She didn’t want to tell him how sexy she thought his voice was because they were in a heap of trouble, and that probably wasn’t the most appropriate thing to hit him with. She’d listen to him softly snore and could smell the essence that was a mix between soap and Tyson while she drove. Damned if that didn’t make her want to pull over and suck his cock.

“About 265 miles away from where we were. I thought this would be a great place to stop.”

“It’s as good a place as any, but you didn’t have to buy a motel. I could’ve traded places with you, and we could have gone even further.”

“I’m sure that is appealing to you right now, but I need to freshen up, and I want to get something to eat. Now that we have our money, we can live a little.”

“I don’t know how that works when the world is looking for you and you have been deemed a murderer, but by all means let’s live a bit.”

“I know your sarcasm is coming from a place that you don’t think I know about, but I do. I was incarcerated for more time than I should have had, and that was all on the back of the Reapers.” She looked at him as he had the good intention of being fairly chastised. He must have forgotten the time she spent in prison for reasons that weren’t her own.

“Sorry about that. I know you’ve had a lot go on with them. I didn’t mean to imply that you didn’t, but I was just feeling a bit sorry for myself. I need to just let it go and live in the moment, because these may be the only ones I have until I can prove my innocence.”

“Now you’re talking. A nice bath and some food should have you feeling better in no time.” She left him to find some food, and when she returned he was showered, shaved, and looked like a new man. Ella wouldn’t admit that she missed the scruff, but she understood why he had to get rid of it.

Placing the feast of scrambled eggs, French toast, sausage, and bacon before him, she watched as he fixed his coffee just the way he liked it with two creams and no sugar. Then he tucked into it like he’d not eaten in days. It’s funny how just watching him eat something she’d brought made her feel lighter than air, but there was a bit of tension that she couldn’t shake.

“So now that you’ve aided and abetted a criminal, I guess we’re in this together.” He watched her as she ate, but he seemed to want an answer even though it sounded like a rhetorical question to her.

“All the way. I meant it when I said I’m with you. We’ll get this solved, or we’ll end up in court together.” That should have made her shiver in her boots, but she didn’t feel anything but pleasure. She was happy they were together, but there was a little part of her that felt like maybe he killed Bruce himself. If that was the case, she’d found her trouble again, and this time it may be deadly.

***

He stared at her so long, she thought he was going to confess, and then she wondered what she would do if he did. On one hand, he probably did it to get out of paying him the money, but on the other hand if the crime was as gross as he’d described, she could be the next one cut up into little pieces.

Lifting his cup of coffee like it was a pledge that would end all pledges, he said, “Here’s to us, Ella, may we be stronger than what’s against us.”

There was no noise as the Styrofoam cups hit each other, but Ella wondered if she really heard the prison bars close when it happened or if she was just getting paranoid. Whatever the case, she was in for a penny and in for a pound. This need to burn had led her straight here… into his arms and into a heap of trouble. She’d play with the fire for as long as she could without getting singed, and she would enjoy every minute.

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CHAPTER ONE

Tyson Adler was cranky, conflicted, and confused. After a two day journey— well, if you can call being on the run from law enforcement where you are looking to be questioned about a man who was massacred in your apartment a journey—with his companion Ella Louise, he didn’t know if he was doing the right thing for either of them. On one hand, he didn’t want to have to answer the questions that would arise about his past when the police questioned him, but on the other hand, he knew a set up when he walked blindly into it. There was no way he was going to go down for the kind of heat that bloody mess would bring.

He could see Ella looking at him from the corner of his eye and could tell she was wondering what he was thinking about. It was her turn to drive, and after her many requests, he’d let her do what she felt was the fair thing to do. She’d been harping on it being her turn for over nine hours, but now that he sat in the passenger seat, the thoughts were hitting him over the head like bricks falling from a three story building. Indecisiveness wasn’t something he dealt with frequently, but ever since Ella had made an appearance, his life had been full of it. However, he couldn’t blame this latest one on her; the Reapers owned this one.

“Turn around,” Tyler said without looking at Ella. He didn’t want to try to explain why to her when he was struggling with the reason and rationale himself. She kept driving like he’d not said anything for so long, he started to wonder if he’d just said it in his head, so he repeated it a little louder.

“Are you sure?” She said sounding like she wasn’t sure if she should be happy or not. Ella was a trooper and had shown more loyalty than anyone he’d ever known, being that she didn’t know him all that well. She knew what they were running from was bad, but she didn’t know how bad the situation was because she wasn’t with him to see the dismantled body strewn all over his old bedroom with the man’s intestines in a bucket on the floor. Two days, eighteen hours, and twenty one minutes— that’s how long it took for Tyson to see the growing look of fear on his ride or die girlfriend. He didn’t know that much about her, but what he did know, he liked… a lot. She’d been through a lot at the hands of the Reapers from them pinning a drug charge on her and being forced to go to prison for that charge to them asking her to help find him and ending up in this mess.

“Yes.” That short word sounded so final in his head, but it was something he really didn’t want to do. This whole thing started about money, but it didn’t feel like that was the problem now. The issue seemed darker, deeper, and crazier. Who the hell cut up the middle man for losing another man who owed money? It was counter productive.

She looked back and forth between him and the road ahead before she turned into the closest motel parking lot. After she killed the engine, she just sat there, but her breaths were getting increasingly harder and louder. It looked like to Tyson that the anxiety of the experience was catching up with her or maybe she just realized what she was doing. He knew that she was pretty fresh from prison and that she’d wanted to turn her life around. He also knew that since they’d been together, she’d probably committed more crimes than she had before his old motorcycle club The Headless Reapers had framed her for some shit she didn’t do.

“Let me drive,” he said softly because she looked like she was on the verge of a break down. She was a small woman who had a lot of cute mixed up in her beautiful, but she didn’t want to hear that. It was a good thing she was also a bad ass so she could offset some of that cuteness. Watching her try to keep it together and failing miserably touched something in him, and he had wanted to get back in the driver’s seat as soon as he’d left it. He’d only ridden on his bike for the last 10 years, and he’d been the only one to drive Dick, his bike.

“Wait!” Ella sounded frazzled a little, and since he’d been doing all of this thinking without much talking, it was only right to hear what she had to say.

“What’s the problem?”

“We’ve been on the road for a couple of days only stopping once, and I just want to get some rest before we head back.” Her eyes were moist from tears she was trying to hold back, and he wanted to do what was best for her too, but this was challenging.

He had made a decision. Now that he had made the decision, he wanted to put the thought into motion. It was going to be hard enough to explain why he’d been missing in action for over four days… closer to five if they stopped for a much needed break. He looked over at his traveling companion and thought about the ideas that were probably going through her head. A little break was just what she needed, and if his plan didn’t go the way he wanted, this may be the last time they got to spend any quality time together without prison bars between them.

“Sounds like a plan. I’ll wait here and you can get the room.” He tried to act like that didn’t rile him up because he wasn’t used to sitting back and letting someone else take care of him, but the alternative was to face the chance that he’d be recognized. That would take the ball out of his court and right into the hands of law enforcement. Nope, he’d rather just set Ella up somewhere when they got back and then walk into the police department to turn himself in. His girl wouldn’t be in the middle of this shit storm if he could help it. He was going to ride this out alone. He wasn’t going to share his plan with her because he didn’t have it in him to argue about it. Just getting back into the city without anyone knowing they were together was going to be difficult, but he’d make it happen.

She was out and back with a key within a few minutes, and they walked to the door with the number 13 on the outside. It was right in front of the car so the trip wasn’t long, and he didn’t worry about anyone seeing him and thinking too much about it.

Ella looked weary. She was like a flower that had gotten too much water. Wilted, droopy, and limp. The woman opened the door and did a walkthrough of the room before falling on the bed with a huge sigh.

“Are you going to lay down with me?” She said after a few seconds of him standing by the door. She still had that allure thing going for her and damned if his cock didn’t start to firm up with her sexy voice coupled with that look on her face. He shouldn’t even be interested with as much as he had going on in his mind, but his body loved hers, and each and every time she crooked her finger at him, he seemed to be ready.

“How about a pizza and then a nap?” Tyson took out the book on the counter that had listings of all the delivery options and opened it to read the offerings aloud. The best thing was that Ella had won nearly two hundred and fifty thousand dollars at the casino and she’d requested it in cash. Before she’d gotten her winnings, they had all these problems that money could fix, but when they got the money and he’d tried to fix the problem, he walked into an issue that money wouldn’t make disappear. The whole damn thing was frustrating.

“Sounds good. Get three extra-large pizzas and make one of them with pepperoni, sausage, and extra cheese.” Her voice went from sultry to sleepy in seconds. She was so beautiful just lying there with her eyes droopy but rattling off her order. He didn’t know if there was something wrong with him or he was just feeling nostalgic. This is what he wanted… to be with Ella and just live life. It could be the fact that it looked like he’d be doing twenty to life for a crime he didn’t commit. That alone was making him long for the simpler things in life. He watched Ella as she eased into sleep. The soothing rhythm of her breathing and the rise and fall of her breasts comforted him in a way he wouldn’t have thought possible before he’d met her.

He sat on the overstuffed reclining chair and stared at her for who knows how long, but when he snapped out of the enchantment he seemed to be having with Ella and regretting some of the choices he’d made during his lifetime, the room was almost dark. Turning on the television gave him a bit of light to call the pizza place, and then he figured he’d take in the news as well. They were three states away, but as soon as he turned on the television, a picture of his face popped up. Of course, it was the meanest, gruffest looking picture they could have found. It was so bad that he didn’t think anyone would even recognize him if they saw him in person. Not that he was going to chance that. He’d cut his beard down a bit from the period that picture was taken so he looked like a totally different man.

His brief time on the news just said the police were looking into the crime and that he was a person of interest. Everyone was notified that he could be armed and dangerous and not to approach him yourself.
Enough of this shit
. Calling in the pizza and turning the television to a game show was the best thing to do all around. It would probably take a day or two to get back to where they were, and then he could do his best to settle this mess and get his life back to normal… whatever that was. The pizza was supposed to be there in thirty minutes or less, and he figured that was more than enough time to continue to watch Ella sleep. That was more pleasurable than anything he’d seen on television, and it gave him a chance to think about what he’d like his “normal” life to look like. Ella would be there and maybe a dog; that was about all he would be willing to commit to right now, because that  seemed like an unreachable dream at this point.

The pizza woman gave him the goods, and he’d kept the lights dim. She wasn’t the friendly sort, so he considered himself lucky. There was a lot to juggle, but he didn’t want to give the woman any more time to recognize him. She looked at the cash and was appreciative of the tip. He made it generous but not memorable.

The delicious smell of pizza woke up his version of sleeping beauty and he chuckled to himself. Forget an alarm for this woman; bring in the scent of food and she was up.

“Good morning, sexy,” he said as he watched her follow the pizza he carried to the table.

“It’s not morning… is it?” She grabbed for her phone and got up to come greet her meal. Swatting him playfully on the arm when she figured out it was still early evening, she said, “Oh, you.”

His flower looked refreshed. Like she’d been potted and watered, and now he was going to feed her. Who knew? She may want to get back on the road tonight. It probably would have been a better idea to take a nap with her instead of staring at her and trying to reign in all his thoughts.

“Dinner is served.” He loved the excited look on her face when she was getting ready to eat.

“I knew I was tired, but I feel like I went to sleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.” She sat down, opened up the boxes, and had a few slices on her plate within seconds.

“That’s almost exactly what happened. You called out your pizza order and then you were out faster than a light.” He should have gotten ice, but the pop was cold and the pizza was hot, so dinner was ready.

“I’m not even going to apologize about that one, because I was exhausted. I thought you’d be tired too.” She was already taking out another two slices and folding them to make one gigantic piece before taking a huge bite. Her appetite for life, sex, and food was an amazing thing. He could watch her all day and find something interesting and amusing about her.

“I don’t think it’s hit me yet. Getting the idea to turn around was one I made in the car, and I wanted to act on it quickly. It’s going to be hell for a man like me to try and explain what happened.” He wanted to get this out in the open, because he knew she’d have questions, but there were times he’d see wariness in her eyes, so he didn’t know if she’d just come out and ask.

“You don’t think they’ll believe you? If you’re turning yourself in, why would they doubt you?” Her bright green eyes were as sexy as they were the first time he’d seen them when she flirted with him at one of his favorite bars. He’d thought he was lucky that night, and he thought he’d be lucky this one.

“I was with the Reapers for a good long while. Fortunately for me, I’ve not been caught doing anything illegal since I was 19 years old, but my old motorcycle club could have a few cards up their sleeve. The police department always has a few undercover thugs that are willing to take kickbacks and offer trumped up information for a bit of cash.”

She took a big swallow of her food, and he wondered if they should wait to have this conversation when her belly was full. He wasn’t really hungry, but he loved watching her eat, and he didn’t want to spoil her appetite, if that was even possible.

“Then why are you going back?” Her question was quiet and thoughtful, but he didn’t think he could tell her the real reason he wanted to go back. It would make her sadder, and he didn’t want to hear the lie cross her lips.

“It’s something that needs to be done, and I want to make this right. Walking around not knowing who is going to recognize me and what they will do to you when they spot you with a wanted man is not the life I want to live.”