Burnout: A Legal Heat Novella (13 page)

Maybe she could, but she didn’t have to. Not now. “You’re mine.”

A curious expression crossed her face—part longing, part fear—and then she turned away. “He betrayed Jason. Sold him out to the Red Dragons. Apparently Jason misappropriated a shipment of weapons and tried to make the Red Dragons think it had been confiscated by customs in port. That’s who shot up his house. But now I have the information we need to find him. Let’s get going.”

“Babe—”

“Hurry up, Ace. Ever since I met you I’ve been racking up the illegal activities: riding without a helmet, sex in a public place. But I have to say, use of excessive force, although purely in self-defence, sure gets the adrenaline going, if you know what I mean.”

One look at her flushed cheeks and he knew exactly what she meant. He also wondered if her sudden attempt to redirect his attention was prompted by his unexpected outburst. “We have to take him back to the clubhouse. Introduce him to Ice. Make sure we have all the information we need. The Red Dragons are one of the most brutal gangs on the West Coast. We can’t go looking for them unprepared.”

Lust was his undoing. Distracted, he didn’t pay attention to the man on the ground. Only when the skin on the back of his neck prickled in warning did he turn. Too late. He sucked in a sharp breath as pain exploded through his shoulder. Knife. And a long one at that.

“Ace!”

“Down, babe.” He grabbed her hand and pulled her to the ground just as Andre drew a weapon. A bullet thudded into the pillar beside them, and Ace shoved Sophie toward the protection of the counter. Gritting his teeth against the pain, he removed his gun from its holster.

“Head for the door. I’ll cover you.”

Sophie snorted. “You’re injured. Give me your weapon and I’ll cover you.”

“This isn’t the time for posturing. Get the fuck out now.”

A flash of silver. Followed by a whistle through the air. A knife thudded into the cabinet only inches from Sophie’s temple.

With a roar, Ace leaped to his feet and peppered the wall with bullets, only to realize Andre had already fled.

Sophie ran over to him and stared at the knife protruding from his shoulder. “Oh my God. Stay still. I’ll call 911.”

“No 911.” He held his arm against him and braced himself against the counter. “We got a doctor on call who knows how to deal with this kind of injury. Just got to get back to the clubhouse.”

“You need proper medical attention.” She found two clean cloths under the counter and twisted one into a donut shape. Taking deep breaths to keep her hands steady, she slid it over the knife and secured it with strips she tore from the second cloth.

“Where’d you learn that?”

“Police school. Basic first aid is mandatory.” She checked the wrap and dug his phone from his pocket. “Who should I call?”

“Ryder. He should be nearby. Mop and Kickstand are outside, too. Keep an eye on the door in case your friend returns. I’ll watch the back. I don’t want to go outside in case anyone sees the damned knife sticking out of my shoulder and calls the police.”

She gave him a wry grin. “Too late. The police already know, and if you pass out, she’s going to call 911 because you won’t be able to stop her.”

Ace eased himself into a chair, bracing himself against the pain. “That dude was fucking desperate to get away. Weasel like him probably ratted Jason out for a bagful of cash. I wouldn’t be surprised if he has the guns, too. Not that it matters. With the boys outside, he isn’t going anywhere.”

“You do seem to bring out extreme reactions in people,” she said softly. “You’re an excessive kind of guy.”

“Your guy.”

Sophie bristled. “I thought we were taking it one day at a time.”

He cupped her jaw with his free hand and brushed his thumb over her cheek. “Since I got a fucking knife through my shoulder, I’m not gonna beat around the bush. I’ve humoured you with the one-day-at-a-time bullshit. I tried to be understanding. Hell, I tried to be happy that’s all you wanted because that’s all I thought I wanted—casual, one night, maybe two. But that first night we were together, you became mine. I didn’t want it. You didn’t want it. But it happened anyway. Tried to stay away and found myself with the Tuscan twins in my hands knocking at your door. Tried to forget you with the sweet butts at the club and found myself on my bike heading to your apartment. Tried to leave you to handle this on your own and broke every speed limit on my way here. It feels right. You feel right. Never had the feeling before, so I’m gonna run with it.”

Pain flickered across her face. “This isn’t the time.”

“There is never going to be a good time,” he said, tracing her soft lips with the pad of his thumb. “But this fucking knife was a wake-up call. What if it had hit a couple inches lower? What if it had sliced through my heart? I would have died and never got a chance to find out what music you listen to and what you like eat and what you do for fun. I wouldn’t get to take you through the mountains on my bike, or do all the normal shit people do when they meet the one person they’ve been waiting for all their fucking life.”

A tear trickled down her cheek. “Please, Ace. Don’t do this. Not now.”

Ace swallowed past the lump in his throat. “I know your ex hurt you. He betrayed you in the worst possible way. He’s a lowlife piece of scum who doesn’t deserve to live. But I’m not him. I’m not perfect. I’m not educated. I never had a stable family or people around who really cared. And I hang around with the roughest bunch of guys you’ll ever meet. But they’re my brothers, and the loyalty I have to them is the kind of loyalty I can give to you. I won’t betray you. I’ll never hurt you. I’m not asking for forever, but I am asking for a chance.”

Her eyes glistened and she pulled away. “For a hard-ass outlaw biker, you say some romantic things.”

His tension eased. “Nothing romantic about what I’m expecting from you after you told me beating on that bastard turned you on.”

Sophie nibbled on her bottom lip, considering. “It didn’t turn me on. It was just…you know…kind of liberating not to have to worry about regulations or paperwork or getting sued for crossing the line. Plus…” A smile tugged at her lips. “I knew you were there. I think I’ve developed a special Ace radar.”

“If you knew I was there, why didn’t you—?”

She placed a finger over his lips. “Because I also knew why you hesitated before you stormed in to take over. Thank you for that ten seconds.”

“Pleasure.” Ace growled deep in his chest. “After I’m patched up and Ice has a knife-to-heart chat with Andre, we’ll go after Jason.”

“
I’ll
go after Jason,” she said, dropping her gaze. “I shouldn’t have asked for your help. Look what happened to you. I can’t let you get hurt again because of me. This is my problem. I need to deal with it myself.”

The door slammed open, and Ice walked in with Kickstand and Spook trailing behind him. He took one look at the knife in Ace’s shoulder and let out a growl. “We got the fucking bastard who knifed you. Slider’s taking him to the clubhouse. When he wakes up, he’ll learn what happens when someone fucks with one of our brothers. If he’s working for the Red Dragons, then they’ve just bought themselves a new enemy.”

Ice and Kickstand helped Ace to his feet and half dragged, half carried him to the door. Gritting his teeth against the pain, Ace glanced over his shoulder at Sophie, who had made no move to follow them. “Bring her,” he muttered under his breath.

Ice followed his gaze. “She’s not gonna come voluntarily and look after her man?”

“No, dammit.” He spat out his words. “She got spooked by the knife. Now she wants to go after Jason alone ’cause she doesn’t want me to get hurt. So fucking stubborn. But I gave my word to protect her, so she’s coming with us whether she wants to or not.”

Ice’s lips quivered with a smile. “She’s looking pretty feisty. How many brothers will I need to get her into the vehicle? One? Two?”

“Three. Maybe four. She’s gonna be pissed and it won’t be pretty.”

D
uct tape.

Sophie snorted as she inspected her hands, bound together at the wrists with a thick length of duct tape by the soon-to-be-suffering Kickstand.

Amateurs
. Did they really think it would hold her? One of the first things she’d learned in police training was how to escape from having her wrists bound with every criminal’s favourite restraint.

She glanced over at Ace asleep on the bed beside her. No doubt he had given the order to bring her to the clubhouse. If he hadn’t been injured and sleeping off a sedative the club doctor had given him while he dressed and stitched the wound, she might have had a few things to say. Maybe even a few things to do. But right now, she had to get out of here. Ace was going to be okay. He didn’t need her watching over him any longer.

Sophie wrinkled her nose as she eased herself to sit on Ace’s bed in his room at the clubhouse. Seriously, had the place ever been cleaned? She had no idea if there was carpet on the floor or hardwood because the debris was layers thick—pizza boxes, clothes, bike gear, magazines about bikes and women, and items she couldn’t identify from their state of deterioration. She itched to find some garbage bags and clean up the mess, but the faster she got out of here the better. Everyone would be asleep, and the night guards would be looking for people trying to get in—not trying to get out.

She stiffened when the bed creaked, and she looked over at Ace lying on top of the covers, still wearing his jeans, his chest bare save for the bandage over his shoulder. He’d been in rough shape when Ice and Ryder brought him upstairs. Apparently he’d lost a lot of blood, and they’d debated a long time with the club doctor whether to take him to the hospital or not.

Sophie could have slipped away during their conversation, broken the duct tape restraints, and made a run for it. She could have run when everyone had cleared the room, leaving her alone with Ace. But she’d been worried about Ace. He was hurt because of her. She owed him. And the least she could do was to watch over him and let someone know if his condition got worse.

Not that she’d really had a choice, but she felt better when she spun it that way. Just as she’d felt better when he’d fallen asleep and stopped mumbling about protecting her and never letting her go.

He was a biker, dammit. Sexist. Rough. Crude. A known philanderer. He should have been a safe bet. One night and he should have been happy to walk away. But no. She had to hook up with the one biker who wanted more, the outlaw with a conscience who saved a damsel in distress and decided to keep her.

You’re mine.

She imagined other women might have liked hearing the words Ace had uttered in the brewery, but not her. Protective she could handle, but not possessive. Not again.

Holding her breath, she dropped one foot to the ground. Something crunched underfoot. Papers rustled. Sophie barely managed to stifle a gasp. Was something alive down there? Mice she could handle, but not rats. She’d had too many bad encounters with rats when she’d patrolled along the Don River or in Toronto’s Chinatown or Little Italy.

Paper rustled again, and she caught movement out of the corner of her eye. “Good God.” She slid back on the bed, lifting her feet off the floor.

“You going somewhere?” Ace, now wide-awake, edged toward her and wrapped a thick arm around her waist.

“Home?” She raised her eyebrows in query. “Somewhere rats aren’t about?”

“You aren’t safe at home.” He drew in a ragged breath. “I talked to Ice after they brought you up here. He spent some… time… with Andre in our… basement. What Andre told you was true. He ratted Jason out to the Red Dragons, and he told them about your connection to him. They’ve got him at their base of operations. If he can’t settle the debt he owes them, they’ll come after you. It isn’t fair, and I know you aren’t involved, but they won’t care. It’s all about saving face and ensuring no one thinks they will let disrespect slide.”

“Oh God.” Her hand flew to her mouth. “What will they do to him?”

Ace’s arm tightened around her, comforting rather than restraining. “Ice has a contact in the VPD who told him about a man they’ve got undercover in the Red Dragons. He verified that Jason is with them and still alive, but you need to stay here until we can get him back. I can’t protect you if you leave.”

“I didn’t realize I had a choice,” she said bitterly. “Maybe I got confused when Kickstand and Spook wrapped duct tape around my wrists and dragged me into their SUV and told me I had to go with them, and then locked me in your room after the doctor finished stitching you up.” She wriggled in his grip. “But thanks for making it clear. I appreciate the hospitality. I guess I’ll be going now.”

“Stay.” Ace slid his hand up, cupping her breast in his warm palm. “With me.”

“You kidnapped me.” Sophie pushed his hand away and turned on the bed to face him. “Do you honestly think I want to sleep with you after that?” She tried to ignore the fluttering in her belly and the rush of heat between her thighs.

“Yes.” He tagged her around the waist and pulled her close, easing her onto his lap, her knees on either side of his hips. “’Cause you know I did it for the right reason.”

“You’re wrong.” She gasped when he rocked her over his erection, hard beneath his jeans. Her bound hands dropped to his chest, and she studied the man who was both her captor and her saviour. His thick, dark hair fell to his shoulders. His body, though relaxed, hummed with raw power. His jaw, bristly with two days of stubble, was strong and defined, and he had a slight cleft in his chin that she hadn’t noticed before. So handsome. Her gaze dropped to his lips, full and expressive and made for kissing.

The air between them crackled, and she dropped her bound hand to his chest, meaning to push herself away. Ace slid his arm around her waist and pulled her down, pinning her against his body, her hands trapped between them.

This close to him, the scent of soap and antiseptic, leather and musky male filled her senses. She could feel the tension thrumming through his body; see the challenge in his eyes.

“Stay,” he said again. The word was at once a demand and a request.