Knight (99 page)

She needed me.

And I wouldn’t fail her.

Getting kidnapped wasn’t so bad when the captor got a girl a pepperoni pizza, change of clothes, and a good hair conditioner.

Then again, skipping to the second hotel in three days and hiding from the police, Sacrilege, Temple, and Kingdom wasn’t a relaxing vacation.

No amount of free cable or complimentary breakfasts healed tortured memories either.

Bodies. Heads. Bullets.

If it bothered Brew, he didn’t show it.

It bothered me, but I hoped he didn’t notice.

Even I had my limits. For as much as I liked a pair of muscular arms wrapping over me, I panicked when Brew trapped me in his embrace. He used me as collateral to save his ass, and I was grateful for it. But Brew had Goliath’s brutality, Red’s intelligence, and so much forlorn baggage that I feared I’d end up six feet under just like my father and uncle.

The thought bothered me.

A lot.

Too much.

I wavered on adrenaline-fueled, unrepentant stupidity when I challenged Brew about his past, but it worked. He told me about Anathema. He told me how he betrayed his club in an effort to save them with drug money and an underhanded attempt to destroy the usurper who split the ranks. He told me about Rose.

And I spent the thirty minutes he was in the shower weeping in utter terror. I thought Sacrilege and Goliath endangered me, but the dark side of Brew was a grenade waiting to explode. He tried to hide his past, but his memories and guilt would shatter it over us.

He knew it too. He stayed quiet, kept me fed, and bought me new clothes to replace the rags tattered by the road.

I won. I had his protection.

But it didn’t feel like a victory.

We ran. We hid. We endured three days of silence, most of it self-inflicted. I deliberately ignored the calls and texts from Sacrilege. It wasn’t like a kidnapper would give me access to my phone. It was easier to pretend that way. Somewhat.

But none of it was easy, especially since men were dead and unrevealed secrets threatened to rip Sacrilege apart. First the deal with Kingdom, then bargaining me as collateral, and now the murders. Nothing made sense, and Brew wasn’t talking. My gut told me he was the one with answers.

The word
traitor
hit harder than a fist to the jaw. Sacrilege was nothing like Anathema, but even our members stayed loyal. Brew told me the truth, but that darkness was dangerous.

A single man could cause a war, but he couldn’t prevent one. He tried to make deals to fix a problem bigger than himself. The pain he bore was a result of his own actions, and the danger he fought was the consequences of his own decisions.

He suffered through his guilt.

And I don’t know why, but it broke my heart.

We had half a pizza in the mini-fridge, but Brew offered to get us food. I didn’t blame him for wanting out of the hotel room. A man like him belonged on the road. He wouldn’t trap himself inside. In some ways, I envied his exile.

He traveled. Explored the country. Had no one to answer to, no one controlling him, no one to fear. That kind of freedom made any nomadic existence sound promising.

But I couldn’t do it. I had my bar. I loved my family. I tolerated Sacrilege before they fucked everything up. I didn’t want to leave. They gave me no choice. I didn’t trust anyone but Red.

Except a new foolish part of me trusted Brew.

That was going to be a problem.

My cell phone rang. My pulse raged, and I leapt to answer it. Brew warned we’d have to bolt in a hurry, and the tingling hairs on the back of my neck shivered for us to leave hours ago.

Red’s name blinked over the display. I sighed.

“
Please
tell me you have good news?” I said.

He snorted. “When do I ever have good news?”

“Oh, Christ.”

“You okay?”

I flopped on the bed. “The pizza joint put the pepperoni under the cheese.”

“What?”

“They sliced the pepperoni up into ribbons, and then they stuck it under the cheese. It was gross.”

“Oh, well fuck, I’ll call in the SWAT team and get you out of those deplorable conditions.”

“Don’t get me started on the hotel tap water.”

Red exhaled. He hated to be serious. Getting angry was much easier. I imagined him running a hand through his hair before kicking over a desk chair. Instead of the crash though, the sharp crinkle of the crushed can echoed over the phone. He was drinking then. At home. Alone.

Things were going well then.

“Martini.” He paused. “Seriously. Are you okay?”

“Yeah.” My honesty surprised me. “I’m safe. We’re cleaned up at least. No bloodshed for a few days. That’s gotta be good.”

“Where are you?”

It wasn’t that I didn’t trust him. I didn’t trust Goliath. If he knew Red talked to me, he wouldn’t hesitate to break all of his fingers, crush his toes, and yank out every last tooth to figure out where I was. I was not putting him in that danger.

“I’m in a hotel room.”

“That’s not what I mean.”

“Don’t worry about me. I’m safe and Noir’s a perfect gentleman. Even bought me ice cream yesterday.”

“Glad you’re living it up.”

I didn’t need his attitude. “What do you expect? You told me to go with him. I did. This is the first time in three days I’ve closed my eyes without seeing a pile of headless bodies.”

“Martini.”

“We’ve been running every day to stay ahead of these freaks. Stopping for a damn ice cream cone isn’t like a drink on the beach.”

“It’s about to get worse.”

“Of course.”

Red traded subtlety for profanity when he got overwhelmed. The string of expletives ringing in my ears was fit for a warzone. Somehow, I knew that’s where I was headed.

“Kingdom is blaming Sacrilege for what happened,” Red said. “Because you were with Noir.”

“But we got there after those men were killed.”

“Doesn’t matter. They think Noir killed their brothers, and they’re gonna start torching shit down here if we don’t give them what they want.”

“And what do they want?” I asked.

“Noir.”

I clenched my jaw. “Tell them no. You’ll never catch us.”

“We don’t have to,” Red said. His voice muffled as he rubbed his face. “Martini, the club voted.”

“On what?”

“You.”

I didn’t like the sound of that. “What’s happening?”

“We can’t catch Noir. But you’re there.” Red paused. “You have to kill him.”

My stomach lurched, but I was too far from the bathroom to make it. I forced the sickness down and dug my fingers into the bedspread.

“Shit already hit the fan,” Red said. “Goliath made the call. You have to kill Noir and call us. We’ll come out and…collect him.”

“I’m not
killing
anyone!”

“If we get the body to Kingdom, they’ll understand we’re on their side. If we don’t? We’re going to be front and center in this war.”

“That is Sam and Goliath’s problem. Not mine.”

Red tried to keep his patience. Failed. “If you don’t do this, Kingdom will come after you too. If they think we’re cooperating, they’ll leave you be. Otherwise—”

“Noir saved my life
twice
. I’m not going to hurt him.”

“You don’t have a choice!”

“This isn’t a choice. It’s murder!”

Red went silent. I threw a pillow across the room. It wasn’t as satisfying as a glass bottle, but I only had an empty two liter from the pizza run.

I lived in Sacrilege’s territory for twenty-five years. My father and uncle were members, and Red joined after dropping out of med school. I dated Goliath because I liked the thought of a powerful man in a dangerous club, but I never saw any of the hardcore business. I was just a gash. A woman to be property-patched and tattooed around the neck.

Maybe there was time in my life when I craved that excitement and danger and biker adventure. But I wanted parties and sex, not murder and crime. I wasn’t like them. I made the drinks and served my own brand of trouble. That was it.

And now they expected me to kill?

I’d sooner turn a gun on myself than kill someone else—and I had one hell of a will to live.

“Forget it,” I spat. “I’m not doing it.”

“Then you’re as good as dead.”

I swore. “Then tell them I can’t! Tell them Noir has me tied up and chained at his mercy.”

I pretended like I hadn’t already imagined the scene. Red didn’t buy it.

“Try not to sound so excited.”

“Screw you.”

He took a shaky breath. “I can buy you some time. A day maybe.”

“Gee, thanks. What the fuck would I do without you!”

“Sacrilege will be hunting for him. Kingdom already is. And if you’re telling me Temple’s on his ass too, you’re in trouble.”

“I won’t do it. Not now. I talked to him, Red. I got in his head. He’s finally decided to help me. He
wants
to protect me. We don’t have to do this. Not if we can prove he wasn’t the murderer.”

“How do we do that?”

My stomach twisted. “I don’t know. But has something to do with the deal and whatever the hell is on that laptop.”

Red stayed silent for a moment. He swore. “I’ll get the computer.”

“How?”

“Leave that to me. Just try to stay ahead of us, okay? Be safe.”

 I nodded. “He’s gonna watch out for me. I trust him.”

“Christ, I believe you.”

Brew rapped against the door. Three knocks and a kick to the base. I didn’t question his security. He kept me alive and, so far, he was the only one who tried to get inside the room.

“Gotta go,” I whispered.

“Martini. Look, it’s horrible, I get that. But so is what Kingdom and Goliath will do if they find you two first. Trust me.”

“I do,” I said. “I trust you’ll change their minds.”

I hung up and rubbed my face. Brew swore from the hall. I gave myself one breath to replace my terror and opened the door.

Brew scowled.

“Did you check the peep hole?” His smoky eyes smoldered when they should have blazed, but the glare was no less intimidating. “What did I tell you?”

I never did like being lectured—at least, not outside the bedroom where his tone might have bumbled something fun and dirty deep in my belly. I arched an eyebrow and placed a hand over his chest. My shove hardly moved his muscular bulk, but he got the point.

“Back in the hall then, stranger. Who knows what sort of creeper you are.”

Brew’s anger didn’t fade. I closed the door behind him with a smirk.

“My money is on the dresser, but you’ll have to ravish me quick,” I said. “My biker bodyguard will return any minute, and if he catches you—”

“Jesus, Martini.”

He tossed a bag on the bed. A bus ticket tumbled from the pocket. I didn’t touch it.

“Going somewhere?” My voice cooled.

Brew grabbed a water bottle from the fridge. “You are, Darling.”

“Oh.”

“Back home.”

Fuck.

“How come?” I asked.

He shifted the jacket from his chest, though his injured shoulder tensed as he peeled the leather from the muscles. He didn’t ask for help, and I knew better than to offer it.

He never acknowledged the pain or the poorly-healed gunshot wound. I figured enough of it out myself. A man had only one reason he’d tattoo something beautiful over something so painful. The blossom and calligraphic name etched into his skin symbolized why he suffered with the injury.

Brew must have defended her. He took the shot for her.

Rose lived, but he acted like she died. I had no idea how to fix that. It wasn’t even my place to fix. And, with a bus ticket in my hand, he obviously didn’t want any part of my help.

“You’ve gotta go back.” Brew didn’t meet my gaze. I stared at him anyway, trying not to curl my fingers over the crisp ticket. I didn’t show how badly the thought horrified me. “It’s not safe on the road with me.”

“I think you’re wrong,” I said.

“I imagined you would.”

“I’ll tell you why too.” I wagged my phone. “Just talked to Red.”

“I’m sure he was as helpful as always.”

I picked my words carefully, treading over the vile orders that wouldn’t help matters.

It didn’t matter what I did, what I said, or how I convinced him, he wasn’t taking me home. Not when everyone was out to kill him, and not when Goliath would kill me in a blind rage anyway.

Without Brew, I wouldn’t survive, and I wasn’t giving up. Not yet.

“Sacrilege is gonna start getting heat from Kingdom,” I said. “I don’t want to be anywhere near home when they lay the blame on Sam and his crew.”

“Kingdom won’t hurt you,” Brew said. “You’re just a gash to them.”

“Thanks.”

“But Temple?” His voice layered with a frightening truth. “They would hurt you. They find you with me, and they won’t have any mercy.”

He frowned. The thought rattled him.
Really
rattled him.

I had no idea what caused his shudder. Something pained his expression with guilt—as if Temple already destroyed me in front of him. A memory cracked in his mind. A crime he saw before. He didn’t want it to happen to me too.