Fight (5 page)

7.

(Tripp)

She was fucking killing me.

Did I need to sit outside the
bathroom while she showered? Hell no. Did I need to make comments at her as she
strutted by me, that nice ass pressing against her towel? Not a chance.

But I did it anyway.

When she came out of her bedroom,
dressed, she looked even prettier. Her hair all messy and wet. A t-shirt that
hugged in all the right places. Jeans that did her hips sexy justice. And then
pink socks. Freaking pink socks.

I opened her fridge and saw that
she lived as poor as I did.

“
Yeah,
help yourself,
”
she said.

“
I
’
m checking for bad guys.
”
I looked back and grinned.
“
And beer.
”

“
I
haven
’
t been here in a long
time,
”
Winter said.
“
Sorry I didn
’
t go shopping.
”

“
No
worries, darling. Where can we grab some food and beer?
”

She called and ordered burgers,
fries, and told me that the place had a cooler with six packs. That was the
best thing I
’
d heard all
day.

She was pissed that I made her come
with me to get the food and beer. She was even more pissed when I escorted her
into the dive bar to get our order. Funny though, she didn
’
t seem all that mad when I paid.

Back in the car, she had the food
on her lap, the beer on the floor between her feet.

“
You
don
’
t like me up your ass,
do you?
”
I asked.

“
Doesn
’
t really matter. You
’
re here. I
’
m here.
”

“
At
least we have something to eat and drink.
”

Winter half smiled. She looked at
my hands again. She touched my right knuckles and said,
“
You have to tell me about this.
”

“
I
already did. I
’
m a fighter.
”

“
I
don
’
t know what that means.
”

“
None
of the guys in the MC fight?
”

“
You
mean
…
drunk and fight?
”

“
No.
I mean for money.
”

“
I
don
’
t know. I was never
invited.
”

“
That
’
s a good thing,
”
I said.

We drove back to Winter
’
s place in silence.

I went inside first, gun drawn, and
did a quick check of the rooms. I had no clue what to do to protect her other
than follow my gut and try to mimic things I
’
d
seen in movies.

We sat, ate, and drank.

Not quite a dream meal or a dream
evening, but it was something. And the beer was cold and good. I watched Winter
’
s eyes following my knuckles
each time I lifted and lowered my food and my beer bottle.

It took me four beers to finally
start to open up a little.

“
I
fought a guy called Killer Kidd,
”
I said.
“
That
’
s where the wounds came from.
”

“
Oh.
Okay.
”

“
It
’
s an underground thing. It
’
s all I
’
ve ever known to survive. Okay? I train, I fight, I
earn money.
”

“
So
you win all the fights?
”
Winter asked.

I gritted my teeth. I felt like a
jackass not being able to admit why I was actually there with her. Not because
I was a winner, but because I was a loser.

“
I
survive,
”
I said.
“
That
’
s all that matters.
”

“
I
know the feeling,
”
Winter
said.

“
Yeah?
Then tell me about all this. How
’
d
you end up here?
”

“
How
much time do we have to talk?
”
she said with a grin.

“
For
you, darling, I
’
ve got all
night.
”

Christ, Tripp, are you seriously
flirting with her?

Winter started to smile bigger,
those pretty blue eyes flirting right back at me.

I quickly stood up and grabbed the
empty containers. I put them in the brown paper bag they came in and walked to
the kitchen. The entire place wasn
’
t
really that big, which meant I couldn
’
t
get far from Winter.

I walked to the window and looked
out. There was an open field behind the converted garage. Then there were
lights of the town, the city, the night settling.

“
What
are you doing?
”
Winter
asked.

“
Just
looking.
”

“
So
what
’
s your plan? I mean,
this doesn
’
t make sense to
me either.
”

“
What
doesn
’
t?
”

“
Why
you
’
re here. I don
’
t understand why the club can
’
t protect me. Or why they can
’
t just send me somewhere. Or
…
if someone really wants me dead
that bad, why even bother protecting me?
”

I slowly turned.
“
That
’
s how you value your life?
”

“
How
do you value yours, Tripp?
”

“
This
isn
’
t about me. I
’
m asking you a question.
”

“
I
don
’
t know how I value
anything.
”

“
You
’
re just upset,
”
I said.
“
Mourning. That
’
s
normal. And for the record, the guy who sent me here is more powerful than
anything you could possibly imagine. The MC might be rough and tough bullies
who control what they want, but the guy I work for controls everything. It
’
s organized. And it all looks
legit.
”

“
So?
”

“
Point
is, darling, if this guy wants you alive, then your life has value.
”

“
You
know, that
’
s the sweetest
thing anyone has said to me in a long time.
”

I swallowed hard. I turned back to
the window. I was better off that way. Winter was driving me crazy. Her beauty,
her voice, her appeared innocence, her need to be protected, it all turned me
on. It was so bad that I was actually standing there at the kitchen sink
getting hard.

It took me a few minutes to calm
down before I could grab another beer.

I leaned against the back of the
couch.
“
I don
’
t want to rip into fresh wounds
here, but do you have any idea who would kill your husband?
”

Winter coughed and grabbed for her
drink. She drank, coughed, drank again. Her face was apple red and tears in her
eyes. She turned in her chair and looked at me.

“
What?
”

“
What
did I say?
”
I asked.

“
My
husband?
”

“
Yeah.
I was told you
’
re a widow.
”

Winter stood up. She put her fingertips
to the table to brace herself. Three beers in and she was already feeling it
pretty good.

Why did it turn me on that she was
a cheap drunk?

“
I
’
ve never been married,
”
Winter said.
“
Get that straight.
”

“
Okay.
I
’
m just going by what I
was told.
”

“
Fuck
what you were told,
”
Winter
said.
“
I was never married
to Rocky. I was his old lady. So, yeah, in the world of the MC, I
’
m a widow. But it
’
s not true. He never gave me a
ring. He never asked me. I never got the gown and all that, okay? I was just
his old lady.
”

Jesus, Winter,
”
I said.
“
I
’
m
sorry. You
’
re not a widow
then. Your boyfriend was murdered. Fine. I can live with that then. I
’
m just
…”

Winter stepped toward me. Her blue
eyes drunk, anger all around her.

Anger made people do crazy things.
Fight. Kill. The insatiable need to fuck or get fucked.

And I was against the couch. My
only defense would be to roll back and over the couch.

But I didn
’
t.

Winter put a hand to my chest.
“
I was his old lady, Tripp. That
meant anything he wanted, I did. No matter what. Like I was supposed to be some
lucky woman, you know? Because I had him. I had protection from him and the MC.
But that
’
s not how it
fucking works. He got himself killed and now I
’
m
out there. If someone from the MC wants me, they can stake their claim. Then I
’
ll just be an old lady again. I
’
ll get thrown around, smacked if
I do something wrong, and then I
’
ll
just be used. On my hands and knees, ass in the air, taking it
…
because
he
says so.
”

I gritted my teeth.

Now I was angry.

Was this the life Winter had been
living?

Winter blinked and tears filled her
eyes.

I resisted the urge to touch her,
comfort her.

I was here for business. To protect
her. To keep her safe.

That was it.

Her hand moved up my chest to my
neck. When his nails touched my skin, she set me on fire. My cock pressed
against my jeans. There was no controlling it. She was making me hard and
making it hard to keep my cool.

“
So
that
’
s how I feel,
”
Winter whispered.
“
I
’
m
just here to be used up and thrown around. Is that what you want to do to me,
Tripp? Go ahead. I
’
m drunk
enough. Order me around. You want to fuck me?
”

My hands shot out and I grabbed her
by the waist. I pushed her back to the table. She crashed into it, knocking
over all the empty beer bottles. They clanked on the table, a couple rolling
off and hitting the floor.

I ignored everything but Winter
’
s wild eyes.

The tip of my nose touched hers.

Fuck, it was just so tempting. I
could just go for it. I could just rip her clothes off, put her on the table,
and fuck her brains out. We both wanted it. Shit, we both needed it. She wanted
to feel protected and alive. I just wanted to fuck.

My hands squeezed tight at her
waist.

She was almost panting.

Then a tear fell town her cheek.

I shut my eyes and sighed.

“
Fuck,
”
I growled.

“
Tripp
…”

I pushed away from her and left
Winter standing there, knees bent, hands gripping the edge of the table, her
entire body screaming with a need for sex.

“
You
need to go to sleep,
”
I
said.
“
Right now.
”

“
You
don
’
t want to hear anything
else?
”
she asked.

“
Right
now? No. I
’
m not here to
baby you. I
’
m not your
fucking therapist.
”

Christ, Tripp.

I held myself like stone, just like
I had done with Aldo when I thought he was going to kill me.

Winter
’
s mouth fell open. She blinked faster, more tears
coming to her eyes.

“
Fuck
you,
”
she said.
“
Fucking asshole.
”

“
Go,
”
I ordered and pointed.
“
And don
’
t lock the door either. If you do, I
’
ll shoot it open.
”

Winter ran into the bedroom and
slammed the door.

I pictured her diving to her bed
and crying.

My hands were shaking like loose
leaves in an autumn breeze.

I spun around and threw a right
fist at the wall. I smashed through the drywall but then quickly found out -
and remembered - it was a fucking converted garage. My punch ended where the
concrete wall began under the drywall.

I growled and pulled my fist back.
I walked to the fridge and grabbed a fresh beer.

Then I sat at the table, lifting
the beer bottle with my right hand, fresh blood running down my hand and
dripping to the floor.