Rising Heat (20 page)

What would I do and how would I have felt if my parents effectively disowned me? Turned their backs on me? Refused to forgive? I didn’t know what that was like. As much as I realized my family wasn’t perfect, I never once thought that my father, even in the throes of his alcoholism, would ever turn his back on me or my mother. And as for my mother? I knew that deep down she loved me very much.

Lying next to Ash last night in the darkness, I realized that I too, loved my parents very much, warts and all. No one was perfect. If the tables were turned, I could have easily found myself in the same position as Ash. I tried to think of what I would do or how I would feel if I had been driving a car with someone I loved beside me. If I had watched their life slip away because of me. I hoped to God I would never find myself in such a position.

But I did find myself in a similar position when it came to Ash. Was it really his fault that the gang was after him, after us, for whatever reason? Not directly. And yes, I believed him when he told me about his relationship with the gang. I knew that he regretted what was happening just as much as I did.

Ash had lived a hard life, but he was trying to turn it around. He said he was rich, that he had money. I wasn’t sure what he meant by rich, but as far as I was concerned, anyone with a few thousand extra dollars in their bank account was rich to me. The fact that his parents owned this cabin and who knows how much land around it was proof that at least some of his story was true.

When had they last been up here? It was obvious that someone occasionally came up to this cabin and cleaned and dusted. It was spotless. It wasn’t hard to hire housekeepers though, and out here, with so many vacation homes, I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised.

My thoughts were wandering, and I was doing it on purpose, trying to avoid addressing and facing my own growing feelings toward this guy lying next to me. This guy that I hardly knew.

So where did we go from here? Was this a one-night stand or something more serious? And how could I even think about developing a relationship with him when things were so uncertain? When I couldn’t even go home.

A spike of adrenaline shot through me as I remembered I was supposed to be at the pet shop this morning. What would Bodie think when I didn’t show up? Unexpectedly, tears filled my eyes and I realized that I wouldn’t hear Charlie calling out his endearing
Love me! Love me! Love me!
I wouldn’t hear the excited yipping of the puppies when I walked in the door. Would the puppies or the kittens miss me? Would they realize I wasn’t there? Would they be okay?

I hitched in a breath, choking back tears. Damn. This wasn’t typical of me. After all, I wasn’t the only one who worked at the pet store. I wasn’t the only one who took care of the animals. But I loved them. All of them. Well, most of them. I shivered, remembering Alice wrapped around my legs.

Trying to be reasonable, I reminded myself that I wasn’t there all the time anyway. Sometimes I would go for a few days without seeing them. They were fine then and would be fine now. Somehow, that made me even sadder. Would no one miss me?

The bed shifted, and I glanced over to find Ash staring down at me, a somber expression on his face. He reached out a finger and brushed the tear from my cheek.

“What’s the matter?”

I offered a half-laugh and a shrug. I swallowed and then tried to explain. “I was thinking about the animals at the pet store. I’m going to miss them this morning, and maybe tomorrow, and even the next day.” I gasped. “What about Alice? Who’s going to take care of her?”

“She’ll be fine for a few days,” he assured me. “I fed her yesterday before I picked you up.”

Had it only been yesterday? So much had happened since I climbed onto the back of his bike. Everything came flooding back. My heart started to race again. I had been able to let go of the fear for a little while, but now it was back with a vengeance. My gaze darted down to the bandage on his arm. It was bloody.

I sat up, holding the bedspread to cover my naked breasts. My cheeks flushed as I tried not to think about that, tried not to remember how his hands, his tongue, and his body sliding against mine had made me feel. Was making me feel now. Sensations erupted all over me. I stomped them down.

“I’ll have to take a look at that before we leave.”

He shook his head. “We’ll have to take care of it later. We need to get down the mountain and meet Bones at the motel. I need to warn him about what’s going on. Maybe if we put our heads together, we can figure a way out of this mess that I got you into.”

I said nothing, instinctively realizing that arguing with Ash would be a fruitless endeavor. Funny how I just assumed that. You’d think I had known him for months rather than just a couple of days. But the look on his face, the determination in his eyes, and yes, even the guilt I saw in them, made me realize that he was right.

I was scared. The gang had their home base in Denver. How was I supposed to go about my business, go to work, or even to school with the gang tracking Ash, and maybe even me?

“We need to go to the police, Ash. There’s no way either one of us will be able to go back to Denver and pick up the pieces of our lives if the gang—”

“It’s not that simple, Kathy,” he murmured. He rose and began to dress, apparently unconcerned that I could see him in all his naked glory. His ass, so perfect. His muscular thighs. He leaned down, and I caught a glimpse of his dick dangling between his legs. It was limp now, but—

He hissed in a breath as he lifted his arms to slide his t-shirt over his head. I was worried about his arm. If it got infected, that wouldn’t be good. He dressed quickly, every move purposeful with no wasted movements. While he sat down on the bed to pull on his socks and boots, his back still to me, I sat up and reached for my clothes, lying in a heap on the floor by the side of the bed. I needed to get ready. Over analyzing everything that happened last night would have to come later.

I turned to face him as he rounded the bed. “Ash, the police might be able to do something to help—”

“And what do we say to them?” He asked, pausing to turn toward me. “Who do we tell them is after us? I couldn’t identify them. Besides, going to the police would not just open a can of worms, but a damned Pandora’s box.”

I fumbled with the bra clasp until he moved to my side of the bed and fastened it for me. I pulled my t-shirt over my head and looked up at him. My question came out in a garbled whisper. “But who’s going to help us, Ash? What are we going to do?”

“The first thing we’re going to do is meet Bones. Then—”

“I don’t even know this Bones. Who is he? And what makes you think he can help us?”

Ash moved toward the bedroom doorway. “He’s the only one I trust.”

“But he belongs to the gang too, doesn’t he?” I stood, glancing around to make sure that I’d left nothing behind.

“He’s leaving it, like me. Maybe he can tell us what’s going on.” He paused by the door and turned to face me.

“Kathy, there’s a possibility that…that you won’t be able to go back to Denver, at least for a little while.”

His words hit me hard. I frowned at him, struggling to control my emotions.

“What would they do if they get their hands on you, Ash?” I asked. “They tried to kill you yesterday.”

“I think they were just trying to scare me. Us.”

I stared at him, not believing it for a second. “And if the bullet had hit you in the head instead of your arm?”

He had nothing to say to that. What could he say?

In a matter of minutes, we were leaving the cabin and its relative security behind. I didn’t want to go back toward Denver. What if the gang members were out there looking for him? Waiting somewhere along the way? But they didn’t know where we were. Hopefully. Had they managed to find us? Were they waiting just down the road, hidden among the trees, ready to pounce?

Ash straddled the bike, and I climbed on behind him, wordlessly sliding the helmet over my head, strapping it on. I was getting better at this. When he started the engine, and it roared to life, I winced. I wished he didn’t have to have such a loud motorcycle. The sound of the engine echoed off the mountainside, bouncing from one side to another, reverberating down between the hills, announcing our arrival from only God knew how far away. The deep vibration rumbled in the pit of my stomach. I felt sick.

Maybe when we got to the motel, I would say my goodbyes to Ash. This was his problem. I kept telling myself that. I didn’t want to be involved. Didn’t need to be involved. Didn’t need this trouble. Dammit!

The bike started to move, and I instinctively wrapped my arms around his waist. Maybe
I
would go to the police if he wouldn’t. And tell them what? That members of a motorcycle gang were after us? Ash was right. While I believe that the gang members who had accosted us yesterday at the turnout were members of the Outlaw Biker Boys, I hadn’t actually gotten a good look at their jackets. They could very well belong to any number of biker groups that hung around Denver. I couldn’t have picked one of those guys out of a lineup to save my life. So, at least in that regard, Ash was right. But I didn’t have to like it.

We wove our way down the mountain. The morning was crisp, and the cool air caused goosebumps to rise on my flesh. In areas where the sun was able to make its way through the trees lining the mountains and down onto the highway, it felt warm. Fresh. Staggering in its beauty as the sunlight glinted off the pine and aspen. Not a cloud in the sky. I wished I could have appreciated the beauty and ignored the pounding of my heart. The burden of uncertainty that weighed over my thoughts. What to do? What to do?

My mind continued to roam in numerous directions as we made our way down. I had no idea what to expect. Or to believe. I didn’t know how long we rode, but the sun was higher in the sky by the time we topped a ridge and were able to see down toward the plains. He had taken it slow. He was still trying to make me feel safe. After the daring and heart-stopping high speed chase yesterday evening, I appreciated that. He was trying not to scare me. Again.

As we came out of the mountains and into the foothills, heading down toward Golden, the beautiful vista of the valley that stretched into the plains below took my breath away. Damn, if only I had been with Ash under different circumstances, I would have asked him to stop so that we could sit and just stare out into the distance.

The beauty of the area stilled my raging thoughts, and when we pulled into the parking lot, I felt a little better. He pulled the bike up a slanted driveway and into the parking lot of the older building, stopping in front of the office. He turned off the bike and climbed off, instructing me to wait. I nodded and watched while he disappeared. He came out a few minutes later with a key.

He gestured for me to get off the bike and I did, removing my helmet. He pushed the bike around to the back of the building, then grabbed my hand, pulling me to the other side.

“If you hide your bike, how is your friend supposed to find which room we’re in?”

“He’ll know.”

I sighed, not bothering to ask how as he slid the key into the door lock and pushed it open, gesturing for me to enter before him. I did and sat down on one of the two double beds in the room, the one closest to the window. He shut the door and then pulled the drapes shut but continued to stand to the side of the window, keeping a careful watch outside through a crack.

I watched him for several moments. “I need to take care of your arm,” I said, brooking no refusal. “If it gets infected, you’ll be in a shitload of trouble.”

“It’s all right,” he said. “If it gets infected, I’ll deal with it later.”

His lackadaisical attitude really pissed me off. I stood and approached him, waiting until he looked at me. “I’m going to be blunt, Ash. You got me into this, and I expect you to get me out of it.” I gestured to his arm. “If your arm gets infected, you develop a fever, or, heaven forbid, you end up with blood poisoning or sepsis, you can’t protect me. You owe me. You owe me to do your best to get us both out of this mess. And you can’t do that if we don’t make sure that your arm isn’t getting infected. Got it?”

He stared at me and then grinned. “You’re bossy, you know that? It makes me hot.”

I scowled at him but couldn’t help the urge to grin. Arrogant ass. Why did he have to be so dammed cute? “Sit down and let me look at it, okay?”

He remained still while I carefully unwrapped the bandage. I
tsk tsked
when I saw the wound and gave him a look. The edges of the bullet wound were red and angry looking. Swollen around the edges. Dammit. “I’m seeing signs of infection. Do you think there’s a pharmacy nearby?”

“I’m sure there is, but I don’t want to be seen, or heard, in Golden on my chopper.”

I understood that, but his arm still needed to be dealt with. “How about this? I’ll call a cab. They do have cabs up here, don’t they?”

“I’m sure they do. Might be independent contractors, but they’re around.”

I nodded. “Okay, I’ll go to the office and have the manager call me a cab. I don’t want to use my phone except for an emergency, just in case.” He nodded in agreement. “You got any money on you?”

He frowned. “I don’t want you wandering a—”

“I’ll be quick. Besides, they won’t recognize me as easily as they would recognize you. They’re looking for a guy on a motorcycle, not a woman going into a local pharmacy. We’re not far from downtown Golden, are we?”

He shook his head. “No, maybe ten more minutes before you enter the main drag through town. But I still don’t like—”

“Frankly Ash, I don’t care whether you like it or not. It has to be done. Now either you go and get the supplies, or I go.”

“Why don’t we just wait for Bones—”

“And what if someone is following Bones? The gang knows the two of you are friends, right?”

He couldn’t refute that. “Actually, maybe it’s better if you’re not around when he gets here. Bones will be careful to make sure he isn’t followed, but better safe than sorry. Smart thinking.”

He grinned his approval. It stroked my ego until I realized I didn’t have anything to be self-satisfied about.