Oliver (Inked Menace MC 2) (5 page)

6
Chapter Six

“That fucker is crazy,” Amara giggled to her sister as they ate at one of the small tables in the kitchen area of the club. There was a long wooden table with benches on either side, and a surplus of other round, rectangular, and oval tables with mismatched chairs. It made the space feel eclectic and homey. Not like the sterile environment she lived with back home.

“So he gave you a lift on his back?” Maura said with a brow raised, biting into her tuna sandwich.

“Yep.”

She mumbled around her food. “Interesting.”

“Not really, I think he was just fucking with me.”

Maura picked up her water and took a long swig before she shook her head and said, “I don’t know. He’s never mooned over a woman before, and I’ve known him a long time. He’s usually a fuck ‘em and leave ‘em type.”

“Awesome,” Amara said and dropped her piece of fried chicken back onto the plate.

“Not like that. I meant he keeps everything clean but fun. No strings. Every girl knows the score.”

“Fucking club whores.”

“You said it, not me.” Maura grinned, showing her perfect white teeth. “You ready to talk now?”

Amara shifted her glance to the long bank of windows. “About what?”

“The real reason you’re here.”

Amara whipped her face to meet the gaze of her sister and swallowed. “What are you talking about?”

“I’ve known you a long time, we’ve been through some shit together, you and I have, but I also know when you’re keeping something from me, and baby girl, right now, you are lying by omission and you know I can’t stand that.”

Years of practicing blank looks and confusion made it simple for Amara to school her face into an unreadable mask. “Don’t know what you're referring to, sister.”

Her sister drummed her fingers on the granite table and Amara waited.

She didn’t have to wait long as Maura said through clenched teeth, “What does Luther want you to do while you’re here?”

Amara tightened her hands into fists under the table in order to keep her temper in check. “Who’s asking? My sister, or the Inked Menace matriarch?”

Maura stilled and Amara met her intense glare, matching it with one of her own.

Neither of them noticed Brick standing in the open doorway to the kitchens, watching and listening, until he said,  “I suggest you take this conversation elsewhere, ladies.”

Amara choked and snapped her gaze toward the now empty door. “Do you know who that was?”

Maura’s face turned thoughtful. “Indeed. It was the fire breather. He usually skulks around this place, though he generally keeps to himself.”

“What’s his deal? Can he be trusted?”

“Are your secrets so damaging we can’t share them with the club?” Maura raised both eyebrows, eyes widening, and her mouth opened a fraction.

“Is anyone else eavesdropping?”

Her sister stood, and on silent feet walked the perimeter, checking the doors and the kitchen, before she padded back and resumed sitting. “We’re clear.”

Amara inhaled, and with a vice clamped around her heart, said, “I was sent here to seduce a member and gather information about Lucky’s mate.”

Maura’s face remained neutral. It was part of the reason she was such a good alpha. “To what end?”

Amara shrugged. “I’m not sure. I was just supposed to send the info direct to Luth.”

“So why the indecision?”

“What makes you think I’m undecided?”

“That little pity party last night, amongst other things.”

That was a little too close to home for Amara, so she said nothing. Her sister picked up her food and continued eating, seeming not to care about the awkward silence filling the large room, making it feel much smaller and confining.

After a couple of minutes, Amara flung her hands up and whispered, “He complicates matters. That’s why.”

Maura wiped the corner of her mouth with a napkin. “What are you going to do about it?” Gone was the best friend, the one she told her dreams and fears to, replaced by the club’s alpha.

“I don’t know.”

“You could just ask us the information you seek. We’ll probably just tell you.”

Luther was a right bastard, and she was almost positive he’d use the information for something nefarious, and from what she’d heard, Cecelia had already suffered enough. Amara didn’t need anymore demons haunting her nights.

Decision made, she said, “I owe him nothing. After he found me he didn’t offer to hunt them down and kill them. He didn’t ask my brothers for aid. No, he sat there and tried to figure out how he could also use me. I’m done being used.”

“You know you’re welcome here. We could put in for the transfer.”

Amara was already shaking her head. “Luther would never sign off. He’d never let me go.”

“Why not? It happens all the time.”

“Because I’m the best he’s got, and he knows it. Plus, I’ve worked damn hard to bloody get where I am. I’ll not give it up willy-nilly and just sign on to be a patch holder here.”

Maura dusted her hands together and stood. “Seeing as you already have this figured out, I guess there’s nothing else to say, then.” She started walking away.

Frustration hit Amara hard and she reached up and fussed with her hair. “Now you’re mad at me?”

Maura marched on and didn’t glance back. When she hit the back door, she shoved it open and kept going.

“Fuck,” Amara said, pushing soup around with her spoon as her mind spun in a hundred different directions. Her feet pressed into the cement floor until her toes grew numb.

The glowing watch face on her arm told her ten minutes had passed while she mulled all the strings people were pulling, almost as if she were surrounded by web-weaving spiders. But over-ruling them all was one strand of silver. The thread of fate.

Now, she needed to decide whether that fiber was worth fighting for or running from, and the only person who could make that decision, was her. And, well, Oliver.

7
Chapter Seven

“You’re a hard woman to track down,” Oliver said, plopping down next to Amara on a patch of grass under a large oak tree in the back of the park.

“If I’d wanted to be found, I’d have stayed at the club.”

Undeterred, Oliver shrugged. It had taken him about three hours to trail her from their warehouses to the main park. She’d positioned herself with her back to a tall tree with the woods behind her, children laughing while their parents watched.

“What do you want, Oliver?”

“To know why you’re out here, sulking.”

“I do not sulk.”

“What do you call it in your country, then? Wallowing? Self-pity? Oh, I know. You’re depressed. Now that’s just sad.”

“You know nothing about me,” she said and transferred her weight from one butt cheek to the other. Her ass was getting sore from sitting on the root of the tree under the enormous weight holding her down and nearly suffocating her.

“You’re right. Why don’t you enlighten me?”

“Why do you care?”

He reached out and clasped their hands together, tightening his grip when she went to pull away. “You know why I care. I know you feel the bond. It’s rather flimsy at the moment, but I’m hoping we can alleviate the stress of running from it.”

“What if I don’t want a mate-bond?”

Oliver’s stomach dropped, a hollow pit forming deep inside. It hurt and he wanted to lash out. “Fuck, you’re prickly. I understand though. Having gone through some of the horrific things you went through, you find it hard to trust.” He nodded, more to himself, trusting his instincts that he was on the right path. He continued. “We barely know each other, and it’s kind of a shock, the intensity between us. But I’m not going to give up without trying. It’s not in my nature, nor is it in my animal’s.”

The squeal of children shifted his attention from his trembling mate to the human kids playing tag on the lawn. He appreciated their innocence, their unique ability to see the best in the world without the horror imposed by years of baggage and pain.

“Do you want kids, Oliver?”

Amara’s hand clenched in his, almost as if the words were ripped from her soul. A lump formed near his rib cage and for a long second, it was hard to breath. He measured his words before speaking.

“Kids are great, but I have no immediate plans to raise cubs. If it happens, awesome, if it doesn’t, that’s fine too.”

Beside him, Amara let out a long, quiet exhale. Like she was trying to bury the pain he could feel rumbling in his chest.

“So no white picket fence, family-filled yard, and barbeques?”

Oliver leaned back against the tree and closed his eyes, letting the sunlight bathe him in warmth, forcing out the cold shiver snaking up his spine. “I didn’t say that. However, I learned a long time ago, never plan or have expectations, because things change, people die, and curve balls happen even with the best laid intentions.”

She blew out a breath, the air whispering across his arm, then her voice took on a hard edge. “Yeah. That’s too bloody right.”

“What about you?” Oliver said, turning the tables and starting his own inquisition. “What do you want out of life?”

He’d decided on the passive route to feel her out, not wanting to spook her or make those lethal claws come out. Maura was fond of telling stories of her kick-ass little sister.

“These days I don’t know what I want, or who I am. I find I’m surviving more than living.”

The air between their bodies thickened and he waited a moment before saying, “Tough road.”

At her silence, Oliver opened his eyes and turned to face her dead on. She’d squeezed her eyes closed and was pressing her head so hard against the tree bark he thought she might actually poke a hole in it through sheer stubbornness. Both of his hands grasped her face before he could think better of it, and he kissed her.

She jumped at the contact, resisting a little at first, her hands coming up to wrap around his wrists, unsure whether to pull away or claw closer. She gave up and returned his passion with the same intensity. Her arms bound around his neck, her tongue dueling with his, and he enjoyed the way she crawled forward, placing her thighs over his, scooting further until his cock almost touched her sex.

Time lost meaning, and he was so drunk on her scent and taste, a pack of wild dogs could have been gunning for them and he wouldn’t have noticed, nor cared. His fingers dug into her meaty thighs and he tugged her closer, until she moaned and thrashed, pressing her hips, urgently.

“Oh my gosh, would you two get a room?” a woman said from a few feet away. “There are children present. This is not a place for such activities.”

Oliver cracked an eye and saw a stern woman wearing a form-fitting pantsuit, leather handbag, and pointy stilettos holding a hand over a small child’s eyes- the same child who was fighting to get free of his authoritarian mother.

Amara pulled away and bit her bottom lip, the haze abating from her eyes as she measured their surroundings. She quickly glanced up, then away, and moved her body a safe distance from his, which, if he were being honest, really pissed him off, and he was about to give the cock-blocker the what for when Amara jumped to her feet and ran off into the woods without a word, or a yelp for back-up.

Rather than waste words, Oliver shrugged and high-tailed it after his crazy woman. The tiger listened while they ran, trying to discern what had made Amara tuck and run, but Oliver heard nothing but squealing laughter, yelling, and parents yapping. He followed her scent through the woods, until he came to a small clearing where a pond was nestled inside of the thick trees. As he made it past the last line of bark onto the sandy beach, he watched, fascinated, as Amara dove head first into the water fully clothed, and it was in that moment he finally realized. She was fucking insane!

To the left, Oliver heard shouts. The speakers getting closer, someone yelling out a name.

Oliver scanned the surface of the water, not sure whether to stay or jump in after Amara. The palms of his hands broke out in clammy nervousness, and he’d just kicked off his boots when her head broke the surface and she had a small human clutched in her arms.

“My baby!” a cry came from the far side of the pond where a half-dozen humans ran to the bank as Amara carried the child toward them. “My baby!” the woman cried again and sank to her knees in the sand. She had brown hair in messy tangles framing her face, and a torn dress, probably from all the pickers.

Blood pumped inside Oliver’s chest as he walked around the water’s edge to the group of people on the other side. Amara had passed off the child to someone else, and they’d begun human CPR. Amara sat on the beach, breathing hard, her clothing and hair dripping wet. A towel was handed to her at the same time Oliver jogged to her side and sank down.

He didn’t say anything. He stared at her, bringing a hand up to her face, then swiped a finger across her wet bottom lip. He cupped her cheek. “That was amazing, Amara.”

It took her three tries to clear her throat enough to speak. “I hope the little one makes it.”

A group had surrounded them, and now more shouting commenced as police officers and emergency personnel attended to the child. A uniformed man stepped in front of Oliver and Amara and said, “Ma’am? We need a statement about what happened here. Are you okay?”

Amara took a second and used the towel to mop the water from her face, then nodded at the officer. “Yes. I’m fine. How’s the girl?”

The man, who in Oliver’s estimation was not a day over thirty, glanced at the small form lying on the ground being worked on by a myriad of humans. His eyes were worried, but his voice didn’t waiver. “She has a weak pulse. They’re transporting her as soon as they get her stable.”

“Good.”

“How did you know she was in the water?”

The inflection in the officer’s voice set Oliver’s teeth on edge. He turned to face her, away from the prying eyes of the Uniform and raised a brow. It’s true what they said about cats. Curiosity would kill them, and right then he wanted to chastise his mate and hug her at the same time.

She looked up at the young badge from under her curtain of hair and said, “Instinct, officer. I thought I heard a cry for help and a splash, so I ran. I saw her head go down, so I jumped in.”

A stiff pride filled Oliver’s chest. Amara had a kind heart under all that armor. Now all he had to do was worm his way under her protective shields, woo her, then claim her as his.

Should be easy!