Satisfying Extortion (10 page)

“What is it?” She trembled as a cool breeze filled the room. “Kurt?”

“Suzette. Get dressed.” He peered behind the dated curtains hanging in her living room.

“What do you mean get dressed?”

“I mean, put your damned clothes on, honey. He’s here!”

“And you think it will matter if my body is covered?” She jumped from the table and scooped up her clothes, aware of too much jiggle in her chest as she slid the material over her hips and fastened the button at her side.

Kurt’s heated gaze swept over her once more as he took long strides across the room and grabbed her by the hand. “Let’s hope he doesn’t have a thing for unfashionable clothes.”

“Thanks.”

“I’m afraid he’s more interested in the woman hiding under these godforsaken garments.” He squeezed her hand. “And that’s where he and I are gonna have a real problem.”

* * * *

“Damn it!” Randon lowered the binoculars and handed them off to Pageant. “He didn’t do it.”

“What do you mean he didn’t do it?” Blaine asked.

“You’re privy to enough pack information. Figure it out.” Randon wasn’t a smartass by trade, but lately he’d been short on patience.

“He didn’t mate with her,” Pageant informed Blaine, tucking the field glasses in the case.

“You mean you were actually spying on them?” Blaine wrinkled his nose. “I thought you were covering their asses, not watching for the chance to see them grinding and fucking.”

“I could’ve done without that image,” Randon said, bracketing Pageant around the waist and keeping her close. They’d been in this sort of situation before. The last thing Randon needed was a separation point. If they weren’t adjoined at the hip, the extortionist would look for his chance and take any slight opening they gave him.

“I should’ve made you stay at home where you belong.”

Blaine’s mouth fell open in obvious surprise.

“Don’t even,” Randon said, shaking his finger at Blaine and turning to address the MC. “This is it guys. Remember to ride in a loose formation but keep your brothers in front of you in view and don’t lose those behind you.”

A few of them pounded fists. Others slapped him on the back in passing. Blaine tried to return the gestures but the big guys more or less ignored him. Randon couldn’t help but feel a little sorry for Blaine then. Before the extortionist, he’d been an admired sheriff. He’d taken care of his county and his town. He’d been respected.

Now, he couldn’t do much of anything without the help of the Bold and Free riders.

Pageant looked at Blaine with compassion. “Sheriff, I mean Blaine…I hate to admit this, but I don’t know that much about Suzette. What would you consider her greatest strengths?”

When Blaine didn’t immediately respond, Randon said, “We need to know what her greatest attributes are.”

“Why?”

They’d been over this a hundred and one times. “The extortionists tend to go after something of value to them. What does she have that he’d want?”

“You mean outside of a great rack?” Blaine blushed.

Randon’s expression likely mirrored Pageant’s. How the hell would he know what her tits looked like?

Thankful Blaez and Marcus were tracking at the moment, Randon didn’t ask. Instead, he watched as Blaine nervously ran his hand through his short hair. “I don’t know her well enough to tell you what her talents are, Randon. Bart and I were friends back in the day, back before he was attacked.”

“But you knew she had great tits,” Pageant pointed out.

Blaine sniffed. His face was beet red then. He stuttered and stammered all over the place before he said, “Hell, half the men in Pleasant would tell you the same thing. When she was eighteen or nineteen, some kid with a hard dick and an absent mind took pictures of her and posted them all over town. Poor girl almost didn’t get over it. She was as shy and backward as…”

“Wait a minute.” Randon felt his throat constrict. His head spun. His blood raced through his veins. His need to shift was upon him as the fury took hold.

“Randon, hang on,” Pageant said, undoubtedly aware of what was happening.

Randon took deep breaths, aware of his lungs filling with the warm night air and desperate to tame his inner animal. “Fellas! Hold up!”

“What is it?” Blaine sounded frantic. He gripped Randon’s shoulder. “Talk to us, Randon. What’s up? What are you thinking?”

“The extortionist isn’t a
he
. It’s a female.” Randon clung to Pageant then, desperate to keep her right beside him as he hurried to the lineup of men boarding their bikes. “Wait right here a second.” He tugged his phone free of his pocket. “We’ve approached this all wrong. We’re up against a female.”

“How do you know?” Marcus appeared from out of nowhere. Bare-chested, he’d obviously just returned to his human form. He stuffed his arms in his shirt. Marked concern furrowed his brow. “Well?”

“Did you pick up anything?” Randon asked, ignoring his first question.

“Blaez is on to something.” Marcus approached Sting and Root, two bikers from the Missouri charter. “Can you two meet Blaez behind the Seafood Grill and Tackle?”

“On our way, bud,” Sting said, swinging his leg over his bike.

Marcus turned his attention to Randon. “Why do you think this extortionist is a woman? That doesn’t make sense.”

Marcus was a little stubborn in his mindset. Once he thought something was one way, he rarely saw it another.

Randon hurriedly found Kurt’s number in his phone and held the small device to his ear. “Pick up, damn it. Pick up!” He shook his head when Kurt didn’t answer. How had he missed this! He shot Pageant a sideways glance. And why in mercy shame had he allowed Pageant to come there with him?

“This extortionist is a woman and she’s taking physical attributes she thinks a woman will want.”

“But that goes against what you’ve said about them taking women’s bodies in the past so they could come back and find self-pleasure more enjoyable.”

Sting looked at Randon as if he planned to add meaningful information to the conversation. Instead, he shrugged and said, “There’s one in every crowd.” Then, he twirled his finger in the air and barked at Root. “Let’s go, bud!”

Sting was right. There was always one in every crowd. Generally, Sting was
the one
, but since some little hot number had been yanking his chain, he’d chilled out.

“I think you’re right. We’re dealing with a female. A male wouldn’t have left the police station as quickly as the extortionist departed when it realized Blaez and Suzette were—”

“Exactly,” Randon interrupted her. “The jealousy and rage were enough to drive
it
crazy.”

“Or maybe
her
feelings were hurt,” Blaine suggested.

Root and Sting’s bikes roared away in the distance and Marcus grabbed the field glasses. “Who’s down there with them? I don’t see anyone.”

“They’re hiding,” Randon told him, pacing.

“Think about this, Randon,” Marcus said, tucking the binoculars back in the case and cocking his head. “On second thought, just listen.” He glanced at Blaine and then refocused on Randon. “We were out there fighting off this thing while you and Pageant were hiding and Blaez and Suzette were—”

“I think we know what Blaez and Suzette were doing,” Bart bit out, entering the clearing after a short stint in town. He’d gone to grab a bite to eat but Randon immediately suspected he had missed the meal and opted to spy on his former wife instead.

“Anyway,” Marcus drawled. “The fact is, this thing fought like a male.”

Pageant rolled her eyes. “But it makes more sense that we’re dealing with a female. When Blaez and Suzette were in the closet, what happened?”

Marcus nodded at Blaine. “Go on. You tell ‘em. You were the one who was closest to them.”

“It’s hard to explain. The images we all saw became more profound and definitely distinct. The facial features were sculpted with high cheeks and full lips.”

“Is that all?”

“Rage,” Bart spoke up again. “The damn thing was furious.”

“I think a female would be far more dangerous. Not only would she be jealous, but she might be more cunning. The males obviously approach with vengeance driving them. They let their fury guide them. With the females, it might be different. Their jealousy could dictate how they handle certain situations.”

“How would she be jealous?” Marcus asked, maybe coming around to accepting their current theory.

“These things are obviously envious of humans anyway, but I think if she watched a woman use her…physical attributes…to bring someone else pleasure, she might become more agitated and far more volatile.”

“She’s not after Suzette,” Blaine said suddenly.

“He’s right!” Randon gripped Pageant’s hand.

“Who’s she after then?”

“Kurt!” Randon helped Pageant on the bike. His hand went in the air and he pounded his fist forward, imitating three knocks. “Let’s ride! Keep a loose formation until we hit the strip along the beach!”

“I thought you wanted them to stick close together when there are more than ten in a group,” Pageant said.

“When you’re in the mix, we ride with your protection in mind,” Marcus told her, grinning as he secured his helmet on his head. He directed his attention to Randon. “How’d you figure this out?”

Randon glanced over his shoulder. “Something McKinney said.”

“We’re hitting the crowded strip based on what McKinney told you? Are you outta your mind?”

“You and I aren’t hitting the strip,” Randon said, nodding at the others. “They are. We’re going to help Kurt.”

“You’re the boss,” Marcus said, swinging his leg over his bike.

“Randon, Blaine mentioned Suzette’s most appealing attribute. Are you sure this extortionist isn’t after Suzette?”

Marcus frowned. “Makes more sense, Randon. These things have always pursued humans. They don’t initially target us unless we’re in their way. Plus the extortionist had its chance when Blaez and Suzette were hiding in the closet. If Kurt had been the object of its obsession, we would’ve seen a different outcome.”

Pageant’s face lit up. “You think this is some sort of strategy?”

“You’re the one who said females are more cunning,” Randon reminded her. He then pointed at two prospects. “You’re with us.”

“You got it,” one of them said.

“I wouldn’t miss this for anything,” the other one piped in, gripping his handlebars. “I can’t wait to see the look on Dandridge’s face when you tell him this extortionist bitch is after his woman’s rack!”

“What’s he talkin’ about?” Marcus asked, his expression changing in an instant.

“We’ll discuss it later,” Randon said, glaring at the prospect. “Just shut up and ride.”

“Randon.”

“Not a word from you either,” Randon said, patting Pageant’s hand. “And don’t let go of my waist for any reason. Understand?”

Pageant mashed her chest against his back. “I’m not going anywhere.”

Blaez met two bikers from Missouri and they gave him a lift back to Suzette’s. As soon as he walked up on the back patio, he sensed the friction in the air, the universal discord.

He reached behind his back for his piece and then bit out a few choice words. What the hell was he doing going for his gun? The only weapon a man could use against these extortionists was his brain.

About the time he slipped inside Suzette’s kitchen, a sultry voice filled the air. “You like me. Don’t you boys?”

Startled, Blaez jerked the sliding door closed and checked out the yard. Had he imagined a voice in his head or was someone playing tricks on him?

“I’m not a girl…or a kid.” The woman’s voice seemed closer than before. “It’s important that you fellas remember me.”

A blue bolt shot in front of Blaez’s face and he whipped around, trying to find the extortionist, the one who had somehow used Eva’s voice in order to lure him to the edge of the yard and away from the house.

Yanking his cell from his pocket, he keyed in one-one, the code for Marcus. It rang several times but Marcus didn’t answer. He dialed him right back.

Another bolt of light blue dashed in front of his face. A hard strike knocked the phone from his hand.

“I need to know positions.” Another bolt and then another. “It’s always been a fantasy.”

“You wanna play?” Blaez screamed out at the night, realizing everything he was hearing then had been said recently in the throes of passion, behind closed and lock doors in the privacy of his room at the club. “Is that what you want?”

“I’m not a girl…or a kid…” This time the voiced statement was at his ear.

Blaez pivoted to his left, prepared to fight and ready to strike. “Holy sweet fucking mercy.”

“Hi there, handsome.” Eva Mallory stood in front of him, larger than life and as naked as the day he’d fucked her. “But I’m not just a woman either, hun.”

Her breasts were as large as his head and her body was four or five times bigger than his own. She shrunk in an instant, becoming lifelike, human, and seemingly normal.