Authors: London Casey,Karolyn James

Wild Blaze (3 page)

BOOK: Wild Blaze

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“
Are
you serious?
”
Lane asked.
“
How
…”

Brody put a hand to Lane
’
s shoulder, and a hand to Jack
’
s.
“
Both of you, work together. Don
’
t fuck it up. Or I
’
ll shove my boots up your ass.
”
Brody turned and gave a wave to
Ronnie.
“
Stay out of
trouble, old man.
”

“
Thank
you,
”
Ronnie said as he put
his hands together and shook them at Brody.
“
Thank
you so much.
”

Brody left the back room and found
Ana standing near the counter. She had a finger in her hair, twirling it. Her
face was flush, her eyes wide.

“
It
’
s okay now,
”
Brody said.

Ana rushed to him, hugging him.
Brody hugged her back. It would be so easy to take her. Fuck, he could bend her
right over this counter. Thrust at her. Pump her body full
…

“
Thank
you,
”
Ana said.

Brody broke the hug.
“
Do you have headphones and music
or something?
”

Ana nodded.
“
Yes.
”

“
Good.
Lock the door behind me and take a break. Sit down and listen to music.
”

“
What
’
s happening back there?
”
Ana asked.

“
Teaching
lessons, that
’
s all,
”
Brody said. He stroked his
thumb along Ana
’
s cheek.
“
You don
’
t need to hear it, sweetheart. Just do what I said.
Then get the old man to the hospital and get him fixed up.
”

Brody smiled and walked to the
front door. He didn
’
t look
back because if he did he would have taken Ana. His eyes were focused on his ride.
There he stood and waited to hear the door lock. When the
thunk
sound
came, Brody put on his helmet and started his beast. It roared to life and he
cruised away from the rundown store.

He realized halfway to the
clubhouse that he forgot his smokes on the counter.

Fuck.

four.

Heather sat in a leather chair in a
desolate hallway. The one light near the window gently buzzed, flickering in
and out of life, waiting to die. It was some kind of symbol for the hospital.
So many rooms, so many people. Everyone just waiting to die. Some would die,
some wouldn
’
t. Hell, the
same could be said for all the people working in the hospital. Everyone was
just waiting to die. Between now and death there was nothing to do but kill
time.

These were the days Heather found
the job rough. She didn
’
t
regret the job and she didn
’
t
regret her decision to become a nurse. But she wished she could make a phone
call and hear someone
’
s
voice to soothe her. Better yet, she wished she could go home, take a long hot
shower, and then cuddle up on the couch with someone who would hold her, touch
her, whisper things that would calm her. And then love her.
Love her so hard
…
so long
…
hands everywhere
…
the need
…
the want
…

Heather closed her eyes. She tried
to dig far back in her memory to remember if she and Lyle were ever like that.
He had just been the quiet, best dressed guy a college bar one night. And
Heather had been celebrating something stupid. It wasn
’
t her birthday, so that meant something dumb like
passing a class or finishing out a semester. Waking up next to Lyle was fun for
the first morning
…
but now
years later she wondered just how it had gotten this far.

You know how it got this fucking
far. You fucking liar.

Heather hated herself for letting
things get out of control.

“
Hey,
girl, you listening to me?
”

Heather jumped and opened her eyes.
She looked up as Debbie looked down at her. She was holding coffee. It wasn
’
t hospital coffee either, but
coffee from a corner cafe. Delicious coffee.

“
That
for me?
”
Heather asked.

“
Yes,
”
Debbie said.

Heather took the coffee and Debbie
plopped down next to her. At the same time, they both took off the lids to the
coffee and blew into it. They stared at the blank wall across from them, the
silence some kind of blessing.

It wasn
’
t until they sipped the coffee did Debbie start to
talk again.

“
That
was a mess,
”
Debbie said.
“
A fucking mess. Those goddamn
biker guys. They
’
re always
causing goddamn trouble in this town.
”

“
I
can
’
t believe that guy
lived through that,
”
Heather said.
“
He was
burned damn near everywhere.
”

“
Yeah,
well, he
’
s lucky he had us.
Running around like damn fools so he could ride his motorcycle again. And cause
trouble. And do whatever else they do over there. Those businesses they have
aren
’
t real. Even the cops
know it and they do nothing.
”
Debbie turned to face Heather.
“
You
know what I think?
”

“
What?
”

“
I
think the cops need those guys.
”

“
What
guys?
”

“
Back
Down Devil,
”
Debbie
whispered.
“
That
’
s who they are. The bikers. But
I think they
’
re more than
just that. I think they take care of things the cops can
’
t and won
’
t.
That
’
s why there
’
s some kind of understanding.
”

“
Well,
no matter what happens to that man, he
’
ll
have some pretty bad scars,
”
Heather said.
“
He was
leaning in the car when the bomb went off. He
’
s
lucky the bomb was in the trunk and not in the backseat, or in his hands. He
’
d be dead then.
”

“
That
would have been bad,
”
Debbie said.

“
Easier
on us though,
”
Heather said
with a dry laugh.

Debbie patted Heather
’
s hand.
“
Oh, I didn
’
t
mean it like that. If one of those men died, all hell would break loose in this
town. Christ, hell is coming now. Whoever did that to them
…”

“
Won
’
t the cops investigate?
”

“
Like
I said, I think the cops need those men more than those men need the cops.
”
Debbie stood up.
“
Sorry to interrupt your break
here. I talk a lot when I
’
m
tired or stressed.
”

“
I
’
m not on a break. My shift is
done.
”

“
Done?
Then what the hell are you still doing here?

Heather laughed.
“
Not sure.
”

“
Get
out of here. Enjoy some freedom for once. Go home and let Kyle take care of you
…”

Heather nodded and smiled. Everyone
called Lyle by the wrong name. And never once did Heather care enough to
correct them. It just didn
’
t
matter enough to her.

“
Thanks,
”
Heather said.
“
Thanks for the coffee, too.
”

“
Hey,
that was a messy scene before,
”
Debbie said.
“
In my years
of experience, I
’
ve learned
it
’
s best not to think
about it. Not to dwell on it. Not to keep picturing it all. If you do that,
then the job literally never ends. We did good today. The doctors did good
today. It wasn
’
t our fault he
got himself blown up. It
’
s
our job to help and that
’
s
what we did.
”
Debbie paused
for a few seconds.
“
Have a
good night, Heather.
”

The truth was that Heather wasn
’
t thinking about the man wrapped
up in a hospital bed, covered in burns. She wasn
’
t
thinking about the sight of his face and body, the tattered clothing and
char-burned flesh. She wasn
’
t
thinking about the other guys, yelling and cursing, making her feel like a war
was going to start right in the emergency room.

She was thinking about going home.

What waited for her there. Lyle and
his bullshit. His punishments. It was a definite that Peter called Lyle to
complain about the coffee incident.

But fuck him. Right? Fuck him
and fuck Lyle. Fuck them all.

Heather walked to the elevators and
felt tears building up in her eyes. She hated herself even more for letting
this kind of fear get to her. The fear that crippled her and the fear that left
her commanded, even when she knew she was strong enough to do something better.

The elevator pinged and the doors
opened.

Heather wasn
’
t able to step forward. Instead, she backed up as
three men rushed from the elevator. They were tall and big. The front person
looked right at her. His stare sliced right through every emotion Heather knew
possible. His shoulders looked a mile wide. His shirt under his leather cut was
tight to his body, muscles hard, tight, and seemingly everywhere.

“
You
work here?
”
he asked
Heather.

“
Yes.
I
’
m a nurse. I
’
m going home.
”

“
Where
is he?
”

“
Who?
”

The man approached Heather. He
pulled at his leather.
“
Don
’
t be a smartass, sweetheart. Our
brother is here. Hurt. Got blown up.
”

“
Erik?
”

“
Yes,
”
the man said.
“
Where the fuck is he?
”

Heather pointed and gave general
directions and the room number.

The man reached out and touched
Heather
’
s shoulder.
“
Did you see him?
”

“
I
was there, yes.
”

“
Is
it bad?
”

“
Honestly?
Yes.
”

“
Is
he going to die?
”

“
I
don
’
t think so,
”
Heather said.
“
Depends on how much he wants to
fight to live. But he
’
s
going to have some scars. It was
…”

“
Okay,
”
the man said.
“
Thanks. Will you be here
tomorrow?
”

“
Me?
Yeah. I work here.
”

“
Then
I guess I
’
ll see you then.
”

The man let Heather go and took the
lead again.

Heather stood in silence and
watched as the three men walked down the hall. On the back of the leather cuts
Back Down Devil MC was written. It was pretty obvious who they were and why
they were here. But that one guy
…
the one that touched Heather
…

Heather looked at her shoulder and
then touched it.

“
Wow,
”
she whispered.

Had she ever seen someone so sexy
and brooding before? The way he came at her and the way he looked at her
…
that was real.

Heather shook herself to wake from
some kind of strange biker fantasy and she left the hospital once and for all.
The drive home was long and filled with fear. The small ranch house was outside
Frelen. There weren
’
t
neighbors and the closest buildings were parts of the town that had been shut
down and left to rot in ruin. Heather hated the place so much, but she knew why
Lyle chose it. It was the perfect place to hide. To stay away from any fires.
And as Lyle put it, a place where nobody could hear Heather scream.

Heather parked her car and climbed
out. She looked at the dark house and shivered. In her heart, she wished Lyle
wasn
’
t home. Better yet,
she wished that guy from Back Down Devil was here to escort her inside. To make
sure Lyle wasn
’
t
…

The porch light turned on and Lyle
was standing there. Right on the porch, under the light. He had a cigarette
between his lips, the cherry burning when he took breaths. In his other hand
was a bottle.

His nightly nightcap of a bottle of
vodka.

Heather had no choice now but to
approach. If she tried to leave, he
’
d
get her. He would always get her. That
’
s
just how her life was now.

Another thing Heather knew was that
she wasn
’
t supposed to talk
to Lyle until he spoke with her. So she walked in uncomfortable silence, his
eyes burning at her. He didn
’
t
speak to her until she was on the porch and just a few inches away.

“
How
was your day?
”
he asked,
his rough smokers voice sounding worse than it did yesterday.

“
Busy,
”
Heather said.
“
Bloody. There was a guy that
came in
…”

“
I
don
’
t give a fuck,
”
Lyle said.
“
You
’
re not a doctor. You
’
re
not like me. You don
’
t
understand the feeling. Get it?
”