Military Romance Collection: Contemporary Soldier Alpha Male Romance (53 page)

Chapter 7

Flashing red and blue lights weren’t uncommon on the Vegas Strip, but they usually didn’t show up before ten or eleven, and they didn’t often cause a traffic jam of epic proportions down the main drag. Normally, Chase would have continued right by the foray, but something about it bothered him, and almost as though he was on autopilot, he found himself continuing down Tropicana rather than turning onto Las Vegas Boulevard, parking his bike and walking toward the MGM, trying to see what had caused the chaotic scene.

He didn’t have trouble getting close. Being a street rat in Vegas from the time he was eleven years old had taught him to be invisible, to go unnoticed when he needed to get somewhere he wasn’t supposed to be. And he managed to get up next to the black and white where there was a man in the back seat. Chase never wanted to be in that position again, but he was curious who’d been picked up this time. When he finally had an angle that allowed him to see the guy’s face, his vision went red.

That bastard!

He pushed through the crowd until he was at the police line and could see the back of the ambulance. Chase wasn’t certain for a moment, the blanket that covered her wrapped around her head like a hood, but then she turned slightly, and he caught her profile. He didn’t care how many uniforms tried to hold him back as he crossed the line and rushed to her. He heard the shouts, felt hands brush over him as they tried to grab at him, but he was too fast and too determined.

“Erin!” he called, and she turned to look at him. He was horrified at what he saw. Her left eye was swollen shut, and there were two gashes, one from her ear nearly to her eye and the other down the side of her neck and onto her shoulder. The medics were still cleaning them off, but she wasn’t going to get out of the stitches this time.

Her teeth were chattering, but as he approached, she smiled and dissolved into tears, all at the same time. “Chase!” she sobbed. She waved away the cops who came and started to take him away, and Chase threw them off with a glare. “How did you find me?”

Now that he was close to her, he could see how much damage the guy had done. He wanted to touch her face, but he was afraid to hurt her. “I just…had a bad feeling when I saw the flashing lights. What happened?”

“He made bail,” she whispered, her eyes haunted.

How could the judge allow that? Chase wanted to find the man who sat on the bench and do the damage to him that James had done to Erin. Then, maybe he would throw the guy behind bars and deny bail. “You aren’t going home this time,” he said, leaving no room for argument in his tone. “And you’re going to the hospital. You need stitches.” He felt like a failure for not being there to protect her this time.

She didn’t argue, only nodded. “Can you take me? I can’t afford the bill for the EMT ride.” She whispered so quietly Chase barely heard her.

While she was at least dressed warmly tonight, there was no way he was taking her on the bike looking like that. It would be excruciating for her. But he was determined to help and assure she got the care she needed. “I’ll pay for it.” She started to shake her head, but Chase put a hand on her knee to stop her. “No arguments. I want to do this.”

“Ma’am, we’re ready to transport, if you are,” one of the paramedics said.

Chase watched her swallow hard before she nodded, her tears still rolled down her cheeks. “Okay. Chase, ride with me. Please.”

His only hesitation was getting the permission of the medics, and at their nods, he hopped into the back with her. The EMTs loaded the stretcher into the bus, and he took a seat on the bench beside her, taking her hand in his. He laughed softly. “You know, we keep meeting under the worst circumstances. But it’s nice not to fear the cops, and it’s even nicer to be the helping hand rather than the one with my hand out for charity.”

“Is that why you do it?” she asked, wincing as she blinked and only one eyelid moved. “Is that why you help me? To pay it forward?”

Now, Chase laughed in earnest. He wished he was that guy. “Again, you give me too much credit. I’m not always a good guy. I mean, I keep my nose clean now, but I’m not the helpful, giving man. I can be really selfish.”

She looked at him with the one sad eye and repeated, “So why do you do it?”

He wished he could tell her. “I’m really not sure. I just know that it’s not okay to treat anyone the way that guy was treating you. And something about you draws me in.” He moved his hand to interlace their fingers, and he pulled hers to his mouth, touching his lips to it. It wasn’t exactly a kiss but more like a prayer. And her skin was so soft even her knuckles felt like a caress.

Their gazes locked, and something transpired between them wordlessly, something gentle and full of both hope and longing, and Chase, who never cried, felt a sudden urge to shed a few tears of his own. Erin touched more than the skin on the palm of his hand, more than even his heart. She touched his soul, and the sensation caused overwhelming feelings to envelope him.

“I didn’t blow you off,” she said, and Chase was confused. She tried to smile, but her face was too swollen. The bus started moving and she said, “When I didn’t call, I wasn’t blowing you off. And if you called, I didn’t purposely not answer.”

“I know,” he said, realizing she was trying to apologize. It was Erin’s turn to be confused, and he told her, “I was on my way back from your apartment. I met your roommate.”

“Oh, no. I’m sorry.” She was apparently embarrassed of Laura for one reason or another. “I hope she was at least decent.”

That was debatable, but he didn’t want to rag on the girl too much. Even if she was the reason Erin had gotten into this mess in the first place. “We didn’t exactly hit it off, but I convinced her to give me your new number. I was actually on my way home to change, get to the clubhouse, and give you a call when I rode by here.” He hesitated, but he had to ask. “Erin, why did you take that client?”

She sighed. “It was a favor to Laura. We needed the money, and I didn’t have anything scheduled for that night. She discussed it with him, and he said it would be fine. It would have, too, if he hadn’t had his hands all over me all night, like some cheap slut. He tried to stick his hand up my skirt at a charity function, and I told him I was going home. Maybe Laura puts up with that kind of behavior, but I don’t.”

“You know you shouldn’t take on someone else’s regular client, don’t you?” he asked. He hadn’t asked her how long she’d been in the business or how much experience she actually had, so he couldn’t be sure what she knew.

“I know,” she said quietly. “I should have known better. But the whole reason I got into the escort business was to make enough money to pay the bills. Laura took me in when I got here. She helped me get a job stripping, and when that wasn’t enough money, she got me into this. I was running short on rent this month because a couple of my regulars are out of town.”

They pulled into the emergency hospital entrance, and Chase was fuming. If he’d known the extent to which Laura was responsible for this, he might have decked her for it. And he never, ever hit women. “Listen to me, Erin. I’m going to keep you safe, alright? I’m not going to let anything else happen to you, and I don’t need anything in return. Just trust me, okay?” The back doors opened, and they wheeled her out. Chase followed them into the emergency room, but he was directed to the waiting room, since he wasn’t family.

The last thing he saw as they rolled her away was the terrified look on her face as he had to let go of her hand. He hated not being beside her, but he couldn’t do anything about it. What he could do was make a couple of calls that would help him assure Erin was safe and would stay that way.

He started with the police, trying to find out if James Canterbury had been brought in yet and what the charges were. He also wanted to find out when he’d see the judge about bail again. Chase figured he’d get charged with aggravated assault, assault with a deadly weapon, stalking, and probably some sort of violation of the conditions of his bail release. It was highly unlikely he hadn’t been mandated that he stay away from Erin, and probably from Chase, too.

But he wanted to know for sure. He could still change his mind and press assault charges against the man, if he wanted to. By the time everything stacked up, he’d go to prison for at least the next twenty years. And Chase knew what happened to men who went to prison for putting his hands on a woman. He’d never make it out alive.

But first, he needed to talk to a couple of his Cobra brothers. Someone had to have something that could help him out. He scrolled through his contacts, pacing back and forth in the waiting room full of people, and started making connections.

Chapter 8

A hairline fracture in her cheekbone, multiple contusions, and severe lacerations requiring a total of 32 stitches was the sort of diagnosis Erin would expect after a car accident. She’d never considered the possibility of anyone purposely causing her that type of bodily harm. And it could have been much worse. She’d narrowly avoided a puncture wound in what would probably have been a serious organ.

The good news was, the ER doctor didn’t think she’d have any scarring, and she didn’t have any serious injuries. What that added up to was that the doc suggested she stay overnight for observation, but he didn’t argue when she wanted to go home. He wrote her prescriptions for some hefty antibiotics, a cream she could put on the wounds to help them heal faster and reduce any scars she did get, and pain medication. Then, he signed her out, and she grabbed the shopping bags and her purse – which the medics had brought in with her – and walked slowly out to the waiting room.

It wasn’t hard to spot Chase. The room was crowded, but he’d found a short walkway and was pacing back and forth. When the doors to the clinical area opened, he looked up and seemed relieved to see her. She took a few steps forward, but he was fast, and his legs were long. He got to her quickly, and she gave him the rundown. “There’s not a lot of patching they can do, but I’m sure I look like the Bride of Frankenstein with all these stitches.”

He carefully turned her head ever so slightly, and his brows knit together as he examined them. “Actually, whoever did this did an excellent job. The thread is light and hard to see, and the stitches are really small and tight. You won’t scar at all, and you don’t look hideous. You couldn’t if you tried.”

There he went with the compliments again. “I appreciate that, Chase, but I know what’s going to happen when I look in the mirror.”

“Then don’t look.” It would have sounded like a joke if he hadn’t used such a serious tone.

She sighed and looked away. “I have to fill these prescriptions, but they can wait till tomorrow morning.”

“No, they can’t. We’ll find a 24 hour pharmacy and take care of it,” he said definitively.

She started to argue, but it obviously wouldn’t do any good. If she couldn’t afford to fill all of them right now, she’d just get the antibiotics. Everything else was a luxury. “And then what?” she asked. “If I’m not going home, where am I going?”

“You’ll stay with me.”

That sounded so good at the same time it raised all sorts of red flags. “Chase, I’m not going to be your charity case. I can take care of myself.”

“I don’t want you to be my charity case,” he told her, and there was something in his eyes that made her nervous. Men looked at her with lust every day, their gazes leering and their pupils dilated. But that wasn’t how Chase saw her. He looked at her with honest, open affection. She’d seen men give that look to other women, but no one had ever looked at her like that before, not even her own family.

She should have asked what he wanted, but Erin didn’t really want to know. She wanted him to keep looking at her like that, until she felt like a whole person again. And she had no clue how long that would take. “I don’t have any of my things, Chase.”

“I know, but we’re going to take care of that, first thing in the morning. I have someone covering my shift at work tomorrow, so I’m all yours, however long it takes to pack what you’ll need for a week or two, at least. And I’m borrowing a car from a friend so we have a trunk. Carrying a suitcase might be a little difficult on my bike.”

Erin almost smiled, but she remembered how painful that was. “Are you really willing to face Laura again to take me home to get my stuff?” She was making a bad decision, she was sure. No matter how safe she felt with Chase, there was something about moving in with a man, even temporarily, she barely knew that frightened her. Or maybe it was just that she was terrified of the way she felt about him.

On the other hand, it would give her a chance to demand the answers she wanted from him about so many things.

He laughed softly. “If it means taking care of you, then, yes, I am willing to face Laura again. Or any other demon you can throw in my face.”

She thought for another minute. She had been thinking about trying to find a place of her own. She didn’t want to be in the environment that Laura created in her apartment. It hadn’t always been that way, but things had changed. And especially after tonight, she didn’t want any of her clients – or Laura’s – knowing where she lived. It was too dangerous.

“I guess we can do that,” she relented. “Chase, I don’t have any way to repay you for any of this.”

“I don’t want you to repay me.” He touched the cheek that was almost healed, brushing his thumb over it and wiping away a tear she hadn’t realized had fallen. “I want to make sure you’re safe. That’s enough payment for me. Come on, let’s get out of here. Hospitals have always given me the creeps.”

She assumed he was going to take her back to his motorcycle, wherever he’d left it, but he gave the courtesy valet a ticket, and two minutes later, a black Cadillac Escalade pulled up. The valet saluted Chase, who gave him a five, and then he opened the passenger door while Chase helped her in. Erin didn’t know why her body was so sore, but she seemed to stiffen and ache more with each passing moment.

Chase hurried around to the other side while she looked around at the tan leather and chrome and took note of the premium sound system. “I bet this thing thumps,” she commented.

“Oh, you have no idea. If you’re up to it tomorrow, I’ll show you what it can do on the way to your place.” He smiled and pulled away, hitting a button on the side of her seat. Almost instantly, Erin warmed, and she gasped as she realized it was the heated seat.

“Nice ride. Does this belong to Brock?” Chase couldn’t possibly have a ton of friends with unlimited funds, could he?”

But Chase shook his head. “Actually, my friend, Dalton, is seeing this fashion designer chick. Billie’s her name. Anyway, this is hers.”

Erin took that in. “Is Dalton one of the Cobras, too?”

He turned to glance at her and then looked back at the road. “I guess you’ve heard of us, then.”

“Of course I have. Everyone who’s been in Vegas for more than a minute knows the Cobras run this town. I didn’t know you were one of them at first because I hadn’t seen the back of your vest. But I saw Brock’s, and I didn’t think you’d be consorting with a rival biker gang.” She had to stop talking so much. It was pulling at her face and making her hurt worse.

“Yes, Dalton’s a Cobra. I actually just got patched in not too long ago. But I’ve been with them for about a year.” He didn’t say anything else, and Erin wondered how he’d ended up with them. And where exactly he’d been before that. She guessed he’d been in a lot of trouble, but she didn’t know what kind. Whatever it was, it had made him wise to the world, and that had given him those deep, soulful eyes.

“Is your motorcycle going to be alright?” she asked, concerned now that he’d left it somewhere it could easily be stolen.

“Dalton’s taking it back to the garage at the hotel for me. It’ll be safe there.” He didn’t seem as worried about it as she would have expected. He obviously didn’t have a sick attachment to the machine the way some men did to their bikes or sports cars. “And it’s kind of nice to ride in complete comfort for a change. I love riding, but having heated seats, a stereo I can blast, and the luxury of sitting back for a change are all the little creature comforts that I miss when I’m riding.”

She could understand that. She would have replied, but she was shocked. He was already pulling into a parking lot in front of a pharmacy. He held out his hand. “Give me your scripts.”

Erin hesitated. “I’ve never come here before. They’ll want my ID and everything.”

He shook his head. “You can give me that, too. I know the pharmacist here. They’ll fill it. I don’t want you getting in and out of the car. And lock the doors while I’m in there. It’ll only take about five minutes. He’ll put me at the head of any line.” He started to get out, but Erin reached out and grabbed his hand to stop him.

He turned to look at her, and Erin didn’t know what scared her more, the idea of being alone out here in the dark or the urge that suddenly rose up inside her. Without thinking, she leaned over and kissed him, a brief but lingering touch of lips. She wished her face wasn’t so messed up; it would have been easier for her. But it didn’t matter. She could taste him on her mouth, and it made her heart pound in excitement.

She let go of him and pulled back, gazing down at her hands in her lap. “I’m sorry,” she muttered. She shouldn’t have done that. It wasn’t her place, and she didn’t want him to think she was trying to seduce him. Or that he could just expect her to do him sexual favors.

But Chase’s only response was to caress her arm tenderly before he hopped out and went inside, locking the door as he shut it.