BikersLibrarian (10 page)

“Since Shooter called this emergency meeting, he has the
floor,” Moose said.

“Long story short—my old lady has a preppy, rich, pretty boy
who doesn’t know how to take no for an answer. He left a fucked-up note on her
window telling her he’s been watching her and now that she’s dating he’s going
to take action.”

“So we go over tonight, rearrange his face and trash his
ride.” Rocky popped his knuckles.

“I wish it were that simple. He’s not your average douche
bag. He’s got some shady shit going on. A sex club called Room 801 where women
are on the menu.” Shooter sneered. Money made the world go round. It pissed him
off to no end. “He has a lot of money and power backing him.”

“He’s not exaggerating.” Specs lifted his head from the
computer he’d set up. “According to the web he’s worth like ten million by
himself. His father runs a prominent law firm and has his hands and money in
quite a few judges and congressmen.”

“Did you find any link to the dirt he’s doing?” Tiny asked.

“Not yet.” Specs shook his head, fingers flying over the
keyboard as he toggled through screens and ran more searches.

“Keep looking. No way this psycho bastard has clean hands,”
Shooter said. “Juliette said he likes to date women, break them down and pimp
them out.”

“This sounds like more than a case of unrequited love.” The
inquiry in Tiny’s eyes made Shooter’s stomach hurt. He didn’t want to air all
her dirty laundry. “Did he do that to her?”

“No But he’s a real sick fuck. I’m sure it was a matter of
time. She was lucky to get away when she did.”

Understanding darkened Tiny’s eyes. “What do you want us to
do?”

“I want her tailed and protected. If he gets ahold of her
again, I honestly think he’ll kill her. You don’t trail someone for months and
let them walk away.”

“Can your girl shoot?” Hawk asked.

“No,” Shooter said.

“She’d better learn quick. Give her one of our .38 Specials
and lessons to go with it. Whatever you need to do, we’ll back you.”

“Thank you.”

“We take care of ours, Shooter, you know that.” Tiny turned
to Specs. “I want you to keep digging, see what you can find to use against
him. We’ll assign a few prospects to trail her discreetly in cars. I get the
feeling the librarian wouldn’t appreciate the gesture.”

“You’d be right,” Shooter said in a droll voice. Laughter
filled the space, chasing away the tension.

“Did you have something in mind?” Tiny asked Shooter.

“Trail him. Figure out his habits and the best place to
catch him alone, off the radar. I want him to see my face.”
While I beat the
fuck out of him.

“We’ll do our recon and go from there. Unless someone has
something else to say we’ll call it a night.” Tiny paused. “All right, we’ll
meet back here in a few days.” Standing, Shooter’s chest swelled with pride.
Logically he’d known they all had his back, but this was his first time being
on the receiving end. One by one his brothers clapped him on the back in a
silent show of support before they left to go their separate ways.

Knocking on the door to avoid startling Juliette, he pushed
it open. She lounged against the headrest, legs tucked under her and an
e-reader on her lap.

“Well you’re still here, so that’s a good sign.”

“You’re never going to let me live that one down, are you?”
She smiled, but there was no joy behind it. After setting the e-reader aside on
the nightstand she placed her hands in her lap. “I was attempting to lose
myself in a book. For once it didn’t work. It was Peter who sent those flowers.
I looked it up. Forget me nots, bachelor buttons for anticipation and tonight
begonias, which mean beware. He’s building up to something.”

“No you shouldn’t be dealing with it all, and soon you won’t
be. Why come back now?”

“ I don’t know that’s what I’ve been trying to figure out.
What did you decide?”

“We’re going to do some investigating and then go from
there. We didn’t get to be where we are by making rash choices.” Sitting beside
her, he pulled her body to his. “Do you know anything that could help?”

“I know I wasn’t the first girl he did this to. I used to
wonder why a man five years my senior, with a swimming pool full of cash, would
be interested in me. It ended badly with a few other girls on campus and he’d
gotten a reputation. Unfortunately, I didn’t move in the right circles to hear
about it in time.”

“You think there was a paper trail?” Shooter asked, eager to
avenge his old lady.

“Maybe a deeply buried trail, or a payoff with a
non-disclosure.”

“Do you remember the girls’ names?”

“Not offhand but I could go home and search through some of
my old school stuff and figure it out. I see people all the time from school
coming through the library.”

“Do you work tomorrow?”

“Yes, I have the early shift. I have to be there by eight to
get everything set up to open at nine thirty.”

“I’ll accompany you home so you can get ready and then I’ll
make the necessary changes while you’re at work. New locks and a hi-tech alarm
system. Regardless, I want you over at my place until this is finished.”

“I am not leaving my home.”

“Then I’ll be staying with you.”

She opened her mouth.

“No. This isn’t up for discussion. If he could keep his
crazy under wraps for five years, there’s no telling what the fuck he’s capable
of. This is what I do, trust me.”

“How long do you plan on keeping this up?” With a heavy
sigh, her shoulders drooped.

“That depends on him.”

“I can’t believe this is happening.” The fear in her eyes
gutted him.

“I swear he’ll never touch you again. I’ll kill him first.
You know that, don’t you?”

“Shooter…”

“I was special forces in the Marines, a sniper. I can make
it clean, quick and untraceable.”

“Please don’t do that.” Her eyes grew wet.

“Why would you care?”

“Because he’s not worth the darkness that would stain your
soul.”

“It’d be one of many blots there. Knowing you’re safe would
be worth more than any mission I ever undertook for Uncle Sam.” The thought of
anything happening to the woman who’d begun to heal his shattered heart one
piece at a time made his gut ache. “I’m a bastard. Because right now all I can
think of is being so deep inside you we can’t tell where you begin and I
start.” Reaching around her, he removed the pins from her thick hair, smoothing
the tangled tresses until they tumbled down her back. His dick thickened and he
palmed it with a moan. “You’re a fire in my blood consuming me a little more
every day.”

“The depth of my emotions frightens me. I see secrets in
your eyes, Shooter. Ones you’ve made no attempt to share with me.” Placing a
finger across his lips, she shook her head. “I wasn’t fishing.”

He flicked out his tongue to caress her finger. “I owe you a
story and soon I’ll pay that debt.” Backing away from her, he reached under her
dress then pulled her down to lie on her back. She opened her legs wide and
rested her hands on his chest.

“Make me forget what his hands felt like on me.”

He hooked his fingers in her underwear, pulling them down as
he slid onto his knees. She followed him to the edge, propping herself up with
her arms. Her brown eyes were haunted. There was a strain around her eyes and
her mouth.

Keeping their gazes synched, he leaned in and traced her
slit with his tongue. He brought his fingers up to spread her lips so he could
reach her creamy center. He delivered a few flicks to her clit and her nectar
began to flow.

“You always taste so sweet. My own personal brand of candy.”
Adding a finger, he circled her walls and sucked her swollen nub into his
mouth. She jerked, whimpering as she rode him in time to the rhythm set.
Tension melted away like butter and her pussy gripped him tight. When her walls
begun to quiver, he stopped. “Not yet. I want you to come around my cock.”
Scrambling onto his feet, he made quick work of his fly, shoving his pants
around his ankles as he lined up and surged balls-deep.

“God yes.” Her back came off the bed, and her legs snaked
around his hips. They came together in a frenzy as he drove into her like a man
possessed. He held her steady as she gave as good as she got. Screams spilled
from her parted lips, urging him to go faster, harder and deeper without her
saying the words.

He never made her beg—it would remind her too much of a past
he wanted to erase. Her pussy tightened and her muscles grew tense. Tilting her
hips, he stroked faster, driving so deep he hit her cervix. Her walls pulsed
around him and her hungry pussy pulled him under the waves of completion,
sending him flying as he emptied himself in his personal heaven.

Juliette entered the code to her brand-new alarm system,
disarming and resetting it. Specs had come in with Gadget, wired, programmed
and explained it to her in laymen’s terms. It’d become second nature…and she
hated it.

What had been her sanctuary now felt like a prison. The
beautiful woods behind the home had become a threat. Walks, runs and
reminiscing among the trees had come to an abrupt halt. Yoga was done in her
home. Any cardio took place in a gym. Tension was a piano wire stretched a bit
tighter every day.

Since the note there’d been no contact whatsoever. Peter
seemed to have disappeared off the face of the planet. Whatever Shooter had
planned, he kept it under wraps, which was probably for the best.

Things worked well when his business stayed his. They had
differing definitions of right and wrong. He walked in that gray area. In her
mind, that didn’t detract from the fact he was a good man. She’d never been so
well taken care of in her life. Her mother’s man radar had been tripped and
she’d begun to pester her about meeting the man taking up so much of her
daughter’s time.

A smile tugged her lips up as she imagined the stunned
expression on her mother’s face when she met Shooter. She couldn’t get further
away from Peter if she tried. Tossing her keys and purse on the table against
the wall, she walked into her bedroom. Slowly but surely, Shooter had
infiltrated the space. A pair of his boots sat inside her open closet. A few
t-shirts and a couple pairs of jeans, boxers and socks lived in their own
drawer.

The newest, unwelcome but necessary, addition peeked at her
from its home beside her bed. A .38 Special rested in a case, loaded in safety
mode, ready to be cocked and used at a moment’s notice.

When it came to her safety, Shooter was a task master,
forcing her to practice cocking, aiming and firing daily. Even with the minimal
kickback, firing felt awkward. The day it didn’t, a part of her would die a
bit. After stripping out of her pencil skirt and blouse, she tossed the items
in her hamper, replacing them with a comfortable pair of shorts and a Lords
tank top. Shooter was out on a run for the week, so she’d be on her own. The
house felt almost empty without him.

Leaving the hectic pace of her day job behind, she walked
into the kitchen, washed her hands and began to pull out the ingredients for
pizza. The girls were headed over to keep her company and watch a few flicks
and it was her turn to provide food. After telling them about the reappearance
of Peter they’d gone out of their way to lend extra support.

Peeling back the blue corner of the dough canister, she
cringed.
Wait for it, wait for it.
Pop.
The explosion made her
jerk. No matter how many times she opened dough it never failed to jar her.
After stretching it out onto the pizza pan, she sauced, cheesed, added
pepperoni and turned on the oven to preheat.

The doorbell sounded.
Someone must’ve left work early.
She tossed the empty cheese packet into the garbage, headed to the door and
peered out the peephole. The man dressed in the brown uniform holding a
cardboard box confused her.

She opened the door, keeping her newly installed chain lock
attached.

“Can I help you?”

“Ms. Moore?” The man in the brown uniform with a matching
hat might as well be offering up poison. Her palms grew slick with sweat and
her heart began to gallop.

“Yes.”

“I have a delivery for you.” He held up a tablet. Everything
proved in order, and she found herself desperate to receive Peter’s message.
Maybe
I can outsmart him
Removing the sliding lock, she opened the door wide.

“I just need you to sign here.”

After signing with the stylus, she took the box from the
deliveryman.

“Have a nice day, ma’am.”

“Thank you.” He took the machine and returned to the giant
brown vehicle in her driveway.

Curious, she walked inside. She grabbed the scissors and
opened up the box with shaking hands. Peeling back the flaps, she found a
single dark-red rose.
What does that mean?
A glance at her watch told
her the girls would be arriving any moment.

Determined to forget about it for now, she ran the box into
her room and moved to pop the pizza in the oven. The problem would still be
there. Right now what she needed more than anything was normalcy and support.

Twenty minutes later a knock sounded on the door. She
removed the pizza and went to answer it. Spotting Hil, she grinned and opened
the door.

“Just in time for pizza straight out of the oven.” They
hugged and Hil walked inside.

“Good, I’m starving. I got caught up finishing my last two
chapters of my book and next thing I know, it’s five o’clock.” Hil followed her
into the kitchen and they sat at the table.

“Did you finish it?”

“Maybe… I want to take a few days away from it and read it
with fresh eyes.”

“Congrats on another book finished!”

“Thank you. I feel like we should be toasting.” Hil laughed.

Juliette stood. “I have a bottle of Merlot.”

“Perfect.”

The doorbell rang again.

“I’ll get that if you pop the cork and pour the wine,” Hil
said.

“Deal.” Juliette removed the dark glass bottle with the red
label from the cupboard and gathered wineglasses.

Ten minutes later they were all gathered at the kitchen
table, sipping wine and snacking on slices of pizza.

“I didn’t want to say anything before, but I got more
flowers today.”

The girls tensed.

“From Peter?” Hilary asked.

“I’m pretty sure it wasn’t from Shooter.” She sighed.

“What did this one mean?”

“I don’t know, it’s a dark-red rose. Doesn’t that mean
love?”

“Let’s look it up,” Hilary said, whipping out her phone.

Shifting her weight, Juliette moistened her dry mouth.
Seconds felt like minutes as silence fell.

Hil tapped her lips with her forefinger. “Maybe you should
call Shooter.”

“What does it mean, Hil?” Juliette asked.

“It means mourning,” Hil whispered.

“Juliette,” Joey leaned across the table, starring her down.
“You need to call Shooter.”

“No, he’s taking care of some business out of town and I
don’t want to interrupt. Even if Peter did send the flowers, he’s not breaking
any laws or threatening me. It’ll hold until Shooter gets back. In the
meantime, I’m going to throw this in the garbage.”

“For the record, I don’t like this,” Hil added.

“Trust me, none of us do. I refuse to let him ruin our night
though. We have an ’80s movie marathon to watch.” Presenting a brave front, she
secretly wondered what else Peter had in store.

For once in her life, John Hughes and his brilliant writing
in
Sixteen Candles
didn’t immerse her. Though laughing and smiling at
the right places, she felt like an actor stuck on stage.

“Are you sure you want us to go?” Hil studied her carefully.
“I could write just as easily from here and I know Evonne and Joey always have
a room ready. I do too for that matter.”

“No. I’ll be fine, guys.” Juliette kept her voice steady and
strong. “Running didn’t work. This time I have to take a stand. I let him take
so much last time. I can’t do that again.”

Shame heated her face. “How could I let it get to that
point?” Even now she didn’t understand it.

“None of us saw him for what he truly was until it was too
late, Jul.” Evonne wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “We saw you daily, went
out with you on many occasions and had no clue about the hell he put you
through. He’s good at playing a role. It’s how he sucks women in.”

“I’m sure all that old money and power that comes with his
name has intimidated and paid many women into silence.” Joey sneered.

“Don’t internalize this, Jul. He’s the one at fault, not
you. We’re just so damn glad you reached out to us when you did. The important
thing is you walked away. Who knows what else he would’ve done?”

Juliette shuddered. She knew. It was why she left.

“I’ll be fine if anything happens, which I doubt it will,
I’ll call the police, followed by you.”

The girls lingered in front of the door, reluctant to leave.

“If you’re sure.” Joey hovered in the doorway, concern
swimming in her almond-shaped eyes.

“Positive.” Juliette opened the door and they left one by
one. “I’ll talk to you girls tomorrow.” She waved, watching them get into their
vehicles before she closed the door and armed the alarm. Alone with only
silence and her memory to keep her company.

* * * * *

 “How you holding up?” Hilary asked.

Juliette toyed with the uneaten chicken wrap on her plate
and sighed.

“Okay, I guess. I barely slept last night.”

“I told you to come home with one of us.” Hilary frowned.

“You coming by and taking me out to lunch is plenty. I
wasn’t scared, just trying to figure out why he’s doing this now.”

“I don’t think crazy ever has a logical reason.” Hil shot
her a sympathetic look.

“There is that I suppose.” Juliette forced herself to pick
up half the wrap and take a bite.

They’d opted to eat outside and enjoy the nice weather.
Seated in the shade of a large oak, they had the ideal spot at the local shop.

“When’s Shooter getting home?”

“Hard to tell. He’s away on club business.” She shrugged.
“We sort of have a don’t ask, don’t tell policy going on with that. Women don’t
really get the rundown on the extracurricular activities.”

“And you’re okay with that?” Hilary frowned. Juliette could
see the shock in her friend’s eyes. It must seem weird, tolerating secrecy
after what she’d gone through with Peter.

“It’s the way things are run. If I want Shooter I have to
accept the club too.”

“And he means enough for you to do that?” Hilary glanced up
from her plate with a shuttered expression.

“It’s pretty damn serious, Hil.” Juliette narrowed her eyes.
Hil had been a bit edgy. Watching her friend go from an optimistic believer in
true love and finding Mr. Right to a shrew caught in a divorce battle that
wasn’t hers had been painful.

Hilary stabbed at the lettuce on her plate.

“You don’t approve?” Juliette’s heart grew heavy. “I know
we’re unlikely, trust me. I questioned myself about this a million times. “

“I’m worried about you. He comes with a lot of baggage.”

Juliette snorted. “It’s my past that’s causing trouble. This
mess with Peter is all on me.”

“No, it’s all on Peter. But I understand what you’re
saying,” Hilary said.

“Well, yeah if you want to be technical about it.” Juliette
rolled her eyes. “Why don’t you tell me what’s really bothering you, Hil?”

“I think you should call Shooter and tell him what’s going
on. This feels like a huge threat. The other flowers were a warning This is a
direct promise of action. What is it he thinks you’ll be losing soon? ” Hil
wrinkled her nose.

“I love you, Hil, but I think that writer’s brain of yours
is running away with you.”

“No, it’s not. There’s a reason he’s doing this. Besides
won’t it make Shooter pissed you hid it?”

“I’ll deal with it.” Juliette stifled a laugh. Hilary was
clever.

Hil’s lips formed a straight line.

“Hil, the boys are keeping an eye on me. He didn’t up and
completely abandon me. I’m being diligent. There have been no more notes, no
suspicious phone calls. Even if I went to the police about the flower delivery,
nothing would be done. I could try to get a restraining order but I don’t have
any compelling evidence to get it granted…I checked.” Juliette watched the
hustle and bustle of lunchtime on the street.

People walked to their destinations, talking on their phones
without a care in the world. A few weeks earlier she’d been among them. Now she
stood on the outside looking in, a child at Christmas with her nose pressed
against a window display of something she desperately wanted.

“You okay, girl?” Hil asked.

“Yeah, I’ll be fine.” Juliette nodded and forced her
trembling lips into a facsimile of a smile. “It’ll pass. Hardest part was
walking away, right?”

Hil placed her hand over Juliette’s. “Yes. We’ll get through
this.” Hilary sighed. “Look, I’ve been doing some research. There’s a pattern
with him. Girls have filed against him and it’s always dismissed due to lack of
evidence, a judge I’m sure they had on the payroll or the woman retracting her
statement. You aren’t the only one he’s done this too.” Hil shook her head.
“This needs to stop before he kills someone…if he hasn’t all ready. I’m not sure
what is going on here, but it goes far deeper than a singular obsession.”

Fear choked Juliette. Hilary was too smart for her own damn
good.
She can’t find out about the club.
“Do you think he’s capable of
that?” Juliette whispered, playing dumb.

“Intentionally…maybe not, but in the heat of passion when
she’s not doing what he wants, absolutely. He’s a man who grew up with no
boundaries, never hearing the word no and getting everything he wants. The
tantrums of childhood have morphed into something truly ugly. With his parents’
enabling, he’s become a monster. Normally I’d be insisting we go to the police,
but his connection and Shooter’s…disposition toward authority says that’d be
the worst way to go. We have to fight smart.”

“And how do you propose that?” Juliette leaned forward,
eager to hear what she had to say. The breath of new hope invigorated her.

“We keep documenting everything. Continue going through the
nightly footage from your surveillance cameras, taking pictures of the flowers.
I know they’re handled by the staff so there won’t be any prints, but it still
counts.”

“I know, that’s why I placed it in a plastic bag. I’ve had a
few hang-up phone calls I documented as well. I hate that he has all the power.
It’s a waiting game.”