Brain (24 page)

Harmony

In the three days it took us to make it to Jamaica, I got to know the guys better than I’d ever wanted to. We found poker chips and played poker for hours, we all yelled at movies as we watched them, and I eventually got used to them waiting on me hand and foot. Duke’s wife apparently likes salads, and he made me some nice masterpieces, but mostly they fed me steak and eggs, and some version of potatoes.

And lots of bacon in the mornings, though I was used to how much Brain could put away, so I didn’t bat an eye at the amount they ate.

When we made it close enough for cell service, I logged into a box not associated with me, and saw a message from Brain letting me know they’d taken care of cleanup, returned the plane to its owner, and would be joining us on the yacht for the trip to Mexico after I saw a doctor. I let him know the time the captain had informed us we’d dock, and told him a doctor wasn’t necessary.

My leg hurt like a bitch, but it wasn’t infected, and wouldn’t heal any faster with a doctor than without.

When we docked, Brain and Ranger were waiting to board, and I was so happy to see Brain, I cried. He carried me into the living area and ran everyone out so he could hold me and let me cry until I finished, without hurrying me.

All of the emotions of the past days came out once I was safe in his embrace, and I couldn’t stop the tears. He didn’t talk to me, didn’t tell me everything was okay, just held me and let me cry, and I loved him for it.

When I finally stopped crying, he kept holding me, and eventually he leaned down to give me a quick kiss on the lips, but I reached for his head, pulled it back down, and kissed him again. He soon took over, and I melted into him and let him kiss me silly. I wanted more, and
more
, but with my leg hurting, sex was out of the question for a while. I didn’t care, though. Just being back in his arms was enough.

When he stopped kissing me and held me again, I whispered into his ear, “I killed him. I didn’t torture him, it wasn’t about revenge. He had to die, or I’d have never rested easy, knowing he was out there.”

“I know, Buttercup, and I’m glad it’s behind us. Now we can look forward, to the rest of your life. The rest of
our
lives. You have a new face, new life, new name you can use on the grid.”

I pulled back and looked at him a few seconds before saying, “I’ve forgiven Duke, Bash, and Gonzo. They took care of me, played cards with me, carried me when I couldn’t walk, and got me into and out of the shower with attention to helping me stay covered, helping me keep my dignity.”

“They helped you in the shower?”

I could almost see the fur on the back of his neck standing up, could hear the growl in his voice.

“They
helped
me. Kept me from falling, helped keep my leg dry. I did the actual showering part myself, they just got me in, got the water right, sat me in the chair with my leg propped up, and the plastic around my thigh.” I gave his arm a soft punch. “Tell your wolf to get over it, already. Duke couldn’t help much, because he said Gen wouldn’t be okay with it since there was someone else who could help. Bash mostly helped me, and it was hard at first, but he tried really hard to make it as easy as possible on me.”

He just held me in answer, without saying anything. I had no idea what that meant, but I let it drop.

We had some time before the yacht left again — Ranger and Duke were going into town on a grocery run, and planned to call Ranger’s girlfriend while they were gone. Duke’s wife was supposed to be at her house, so they’d get to talk to both of them with one call.

Bash and Gonzo said they’d be back in two hours. No one asked where they were going, and they didn’t offer any information.

Brain told me the new game plan was to get off the yacht in Cancun, drive a few hours to a private airstrip, and take another chartered plane to a small airport just north of New Orleans. This would keep us off the radar, and no one would know any of us had left the country. Ranger was expensive, but he was worth every penny.

* * * *

Brain

Harmony seemed fine, mentally. Her biggest problem seemed to be her frustration with her injury, and I was impressed she was staying off her leg and not pushing it.

I wasn’t sure what to think of everyone’s scent once we got underway. I’d expected tension and anger, but I smelled neither. Their scents were just… normal. Not exactly cozy, but not far from it.

Harmony sat on a bench seat with her leg propped up, and directed the guys as they cooked, everyone comfortably cutting up with each other. I knew they’d had a few days together, and it seemed the men had gone above and beyond in taking care of her.

I was glad they’d been there for her, but was a little jealous it hadn’t been me. Everyone backed off and let me do the carrying and holding, but they still brought her stuff — food, drinks, aspirin, penicillin. They knew what she needed and when she needed it, and it was going to take me some time to get up to speed, apparently.

Ranger had been in charge of planning our trip home, and I’d been tempted to accuse him of trying to drag this out as long as possible in order to try to give the maximum time for a reconciliation with the guys, but I’d had to admit this was the smartest plan. We didn’t know who was in on Ivankov’s trip, and didn’t want more Russians coming after us to avenge his death. We’d hidden ourselves well getting to the island, so no one could trace us back to our true identities, and this route home would make sure no one could follow our path back home.

Still, it’d been tempting to just charter a flight from here and get back to the U.S. right away, to avoid having to spend an extra four days with Duke, Bash, and Gonzo.

On the second afternoon, I fell asleep on the upper deck, and awoke to see Bash picking Harmony up. If I’d seen a picture of it, I’d have been upset at her arm around his neck. However, seeing it in motion, how tender and careful he was with her, how casual and relaxed and…
comfortable
the whole thing was — it finally sank home just what the men had likely had to do to get Harmony through the three days after her injury, without me.

And how she’d not only forgiven them, she’d grown close to them.

Duke, of course, knew I’d seen it, but he kept quiet until they were inside. He turned to me, his eyes solemn as he explained, as if he was afraid I’d be mad. “She needed to use the restroom and didn’t want to wake you.”

I’d figured as much. With the splint on her knee, she could get around okay as long as there were no steps to navigate, but there wasn’t a bathroom on this level.

“I need to find a way to thank all of you, for taking care of her.”

“Come home to us, Brain. We don’t need thanks. You’re our brother, she’s your woman. End of story.”

For the first time, I began to consider the possibility.

Harmony

How annoying that I didn’t
dare
lust after the five hunks on this boat with me, lest they smell my arousal, because all of them on the upper deck in shorts and no shirt was enough to make any woman swoon. I mean, sure, the only one I
wanted
was Brain, but with so much eye candy… damn it was hard not to stare.

Gonzo had horrid scars on his chest, which meant he hadn’t been born a wolf, and he’d been shot or perhaps stabbed when he was still human. The scars just gave him more of a rogue, muscled, bad-ass look, though, and somehow managed to work in his favor.

The captain had offered to take us by the Great Maya Reef, and said we could stop for some snorkeling, if we wanted. I was paying nearly a hundred grand to rent the yacht and captains, and figured the half-day excursion would help make it worth it — plus, it’d give us more happy memories. Not that anything could erase the bloodbath in the plane.

The outer wound area on my leg was healing well, and I thought a dip in the ocean would do me some good. I’d have to do one-legged kicks, but no biggie.

I hadn’t expected the sheer beauty of this underworld ecosystem, though, or the joy the guys would find in it. Perhaps it’s because they’re werewolves, but they pointed things out to me I’d have missed — little fish and other critters so well camouflaged, I had to look at where they pointed a few seconds before I saw what they were showing me.

It would’ve been so easy to just see the flashy fish, and miss the whole other world of creatures who didn’t want to be seen.

Our side trip helped with the timing, so we arrived in Cancun in the middle of the night. We disembarked, I tipped the crew, and we picked up the rental car Ranger had already made arrangements for.

The guys were back on guard, after being relaxed and at ease for a few days, but I understood the danger of travelling in Mexico with over three million dollars cash in our suitcases. However, if we didn’t tell anyone what we had, no one would know.

Brain could pull off badass when he needed to, but the other three guys looked pretty tough whether they were trying or not. Ranger walked as if he were lethal, Bash and Gonzo looked like they’d just as soon punch you in the face as smile at you, and Duke was just big and muscled and… confident.

We were all heavily armed, and we didn’t intend to stop during the nearly four hour drive from Cancun to the private airstrip.

I hoped my bladder cooperated.

We were in a minivan, and they situated me so I could prop my leg and keep it straight. Duke drove, Ranger was in the passenger seat, and Brain and I were in the middle seats.

Twenty minutes into our drive, no one had spoken, and I fished for something to talk about. “I know Brain and Duke were born wolves, what about the rest of you?”

No one said anything for a few minutes, and Bash finally said, “I was born into it, are you thinking of asking Brain to turn you?”

“No, I was just curious. If I shouldn’t have asked, I apologize.”

“It’s kind of personal,” Gonzo said from behind me, “to those of us who were turned. Kind of like asking about someone’s first time having sex, but I know stuff about you, so it’s only fair I share, I guess.”

“No, that’s okay,” I told him. “I didn’t mean to pry.”

“I won’t give details of how I lost them, but my wife died, and then my children were killed a few years later. A few hours later, I was nearly killed by the person who murdered my children, and when I finally recovered, my life was just…
gone
. I decided to sell everything I owned and hike the Appalachian Trail while I figured out what to do with myself. I hiked from Georgia to the section on the Virginia and West Virginia border, but I was so tired of being around people. I’d expected solitude on the trail, but some days it was a fucking freeway of hikers.”

He paused so long I wasn’t sure he’d keep going, but he finally did. “I took off on a side trail, intending to hike to a nearby city, but a local pack had taken some of their adolescents out on a long run. Those who are born have their first
change
during puberty, and it takes them a while to gain control of their wolves. I was mauled pretty bad before the adults could stop them. They carried me home, and doctored my wounds to keep me alive until my first
change
could heal me.”

I could hear the emotion in Gonzo’s voice, and I was sorry I’d asked. Bash picked up the story for him, and I once again marveled at how close the members of the pack I’d met so far were with each other. “During one of his
changes
, Gonzo ran into the woods and stayed wolf for five months. The pack finally got him back to one of their houses, and the local Alpha forced him back to human. He went through hell learning to control his wolf, since he’d been the wolf so long. It took him nearly a week before he spoke to them, he says he’d almost forgotten how language worked.”

This explained so damned much about the man. “I’m so sorry to have brought back bad memories, Gonzo.”

Gonzo ignored me, apparently in control of his voice enough to continue his story. “When it came time to swear loyalty to the pack and officially join it, I refused. The Alpha had helped me by forcing me back to human, but I didn’t want anyone to have the final say in my free will. Honestly, I think they were glad I refused, as it kept my fucked-up energy from mixing into their pack permanently. The father of one of the boys who mauled me gave me a Harley and the RTMC’s Atlanta address, and he let Bud know I was on my way and they should give me a chance.” He took a deep breath, let it out. “Brain and Duke are the ones who helped me find a way to truly be human again. I’d follow them to the ends of the earth, and I thought I was helping when I…”

“Don’t apologize again,” I told him when he trailed off. “It’s forgiven. I don’t even want to use you as a punching bag anymore, which I wouldn’t have believed possible a week ago.”

Ranger didn’t offer his story, and I didn’t ask.

I hugged Gonzo when we got out of the van, though, and thanked him again for sharing his story with me. He hugged me back and said, “I don’t know what the Russians did to you, and I don’t need the details to know the things Bash and I did brought back horrible memories and had to have put you in a terrible place. I’m truly sorry.”

The flight back was uneventful, and then we had a thirty-minute cab drive before someone picked us up in one of Aaron’s helicopters and took us back to Chattanooga.

I wanted nothing more than to go home with Brain, alone, but we agreed to stay in a guest room at Duke’s house that night, before he and Gen drove us home the next day.

I’d heard a lot about Duke’s wife, and I knew she and Brain were close, but after the little bit I’d been around her at Abbott’s, I hadn’t expected to like her as much as I did.

She lived in a huge house with a killer view, but she didn’t act like your typical rich bitch in ridiculous heels, though she looked the part when she first arrived home, shortly after us. However, she immediately changed into casual jeans and a plain t-shirt, her feet bare as she gave me the option of, “wine, beer, margaritas, or most anything else.”

“She likes Long Island Tea,” Brain told her, before I could decline.

I glared at him and said, “Only when I’m trying to get drunk.” I turned to Gen. “If you’re going to open the wine anyway, I’d like a glass with you, please.”

The second we sat in her living room, the guys with beer bottles, Gen and I with wine glasses, she told Brain, “Please tell me this means you’re coming back to the MC?”

“Don’t pressure him, Beautiful. He needs to make up his own mind, in his own time. Same as always,” Duke said, his voice sad, though he smiled at his wife as he said it.

“He’s my friend, too. I’ll pressure him if I want to.” I smiled at her tone of voice, and grinned at Duke as he rolled his eyes at Brain as if to say, “Sorry, dude, I tried.”

I’d settled up with Aaron when we arrived back in the ‘copter, thankful he accepted cash. I owed him for the final plane ride, cleanup on the original plane, and for the copter ride at the end. I’d tried to give Duke, Gonzo, and Bash fifteen thousand each, for their time and help, since that’s about what I’d have had to pay for three of Aaron’s men for that length of time. However, they’d all refused the money, saying Brain was their brother and it was the least they could do.

So now, my heart soared when Brain said, “Harmony and I have a lot to discuss in the coming weeks, to decide where we’ll live, what we’ll do. Coming back to the Chattanooga RTMC wasn’t an option before, now it is, but I can’t make any promises.”

Gen looked at me, and I told her, “The MC here is his family, and sometimes families fight, but they make up. My vote will be for him to rejoin his family, if we can make it work.”

She lifted her wine glass towards me before taking a sip and saying, “Thank goodness. I’ve really missed him, and I know the guys have.”

I learned Gen was a Realtor, and she’d known Duke as a teenager, though he’d never given her the time of day, since he was friends with her big brother and thus she was off limits. Hearing the story of how they’d gotten together helped explain how this well dressed, well spoken, beautiful woman ended up with the rough-and-tough barrel-chested biker.

Brain and I fit together so well because we’re so much alike, but it seemed in the case of Duke and Gen, it was the whole opposites attract thing.