Stoned (Unlikely Heroes Book 4) (19 page)

She didn’t believe him. He’d had plenty of opportunities to hurt her, but he never had. She hesitated. “Are you married?”

He snorted. “As if.”

“Have you ever
been
married?”

He was silent a moment. Karen waited while he took another drag on the joint.

“Once. Long ago. She left me for another man after only two years. Sadly, I was relieved to see her go. I’ve steered clear of women ever since.”

So he was gun shy. She didn’t blame him. She herself had only been married the one time, but she’d jumped into relationship after relationship over the years and had rarely been alone. They were different in that regard: he shied away from relationships, while she sought them out.

Until her cancer struck three years ago. She’d been alone ever since, afraid no man would want her now. Her self-esteem had taken a beating and she doubted it would ever be the same again. Now, thanks to Stoner, she felt like a real woman again.

He finished the joint, snuffed it out on the concrete floor.

“Did it work? Are you feeling better now?”

“A little.” He turned his head toward her. “I’m still sore, but not as bad as I was before.” He  studied her in the thin light cast out by the moon.

“You want me to rub this ointment on your wounds?” She fished the tube of antibiotic ointment out of her pocket. “I don’t know if it will do much good now since it’s been three days and your wounds might already be infected.”

He stuffed the blanket beneath him and leaned back against the wall. “Go ahead. It can’t hurt.”

Well aware that he was naked in this dark prison, she gently rubbed the ointment into the wounds on his chest and stomach, careful to avoid his groin area. He gingerly turned around while she attended to the ones on his back. She touched the bigger cuts, trying to be as gentle as possible. He flinched a couple of times, but for the most part he remained still and quiet until she finished.

She started to rise, but he captured her hand and pulled her back down.

His breath tickled her ear as his deep voice rumbled, “I can think of another place I’d like you to rub some of that.”

She choked out a laugh. “I’ll bet.”

He chuckled. Karen sat back on the floor and leaned against the wall. “Here, lean against me,” she offered. “I’ll try to keep you warm.”

He scooted back against her and pulled the blanket over him. He let out a quiet sigh. Karen wrapped her arms around his waist beneath the blanket, trying to help warm him. Her hand accidentally bumped against his naked, and very hard, erection.

She froze. Her breath caught. Holy hell. He wasn’t joking. Had she done that to him? With all his injuries, she hadn’t even considered that he might get turned on by her rubbing antibiotic ointment on his wounds. An unexpected surge of need rushed through her, heating her from the inside out, making her burn with longing.

It was ridiculous. He was sitting naked on a cold concrete floor with multiple injuries, yet somehow he was getting turned on by her. With his back against her front, and her hand near his lap…oh, it was way too tempting…

She hesitated.

No, don’t do it. You hardly know the man.

Maybe not, but you had delicious, incredible shower sex with him a few days ago.

She let out a sigh and resisted the urge. Barely.

“You can do it,” his voice rumbled in the dark. “I know you want to.”

She chuckled. “And I know you want me to. But let’s wait until you heal, until we’re in a more comfortable place. I think we’ll both enjoy it more.”

He made a sound of agreement. “Did I ever tell you how much I enjoyed our time in the shower the other day?”

Warmth spread through her. “No,” she whispered in his ear. “I enjoyed it too. There’s so many other places I want you to make love to me.”

“Really?” He squeezed her hand. “Tell me.”

She did, naming all the places and describing in explicit detail all the things she wanted to do with him. While she spoke, she got caught up in her fantasies. She closed her eyes and let herself be swept away by her imagination and the undeniable feelings that swirled around them.

“You fall asleep back there?”

His soft voice jerked her out of her passion-filled trance. Heat crept into her cheeks. She cleared her throat. How long had she’d been leaning against him, lost in the moment, fantasizing about something that might never be?

She cleared her throat. “No, I was just off in dream land, imagining...stuff.”

He squeezed her hand again. “Me too. I hope you were imaging the same things I was. You’re one of a kind, Karen. I can’t wait for the moment when I can get my hands on you again. And we can try all those things you suggested.”

A surge of heat shot straight to her core. “I’d like that.”
So much.

A door crashed open, startling them. A light clicked on. Footsteps clopped across the concrete floor.

Viper appeared in front of the cell. He glared through the bars at them.

“Get up, Stoner. It’s time for your next punishment.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Stoner was not in the mood to deal with Viper again. The last thing he remembered before he woke a few minutes ago was snuggling back against Karen, her soft words lulling him to sleep. How long had they been here? Three, four days? He was pretty sure she was what had kept him alive in this hell, that without her, he would be dead now.

The woman never ceased to amaze him. If he’d thought he’d had it bad for her before, now he was in deep shit. She was an incredible woman. Strong, courageous, willful, beautiful. He was more than smitten with her, more than enamored, more than madly in love…she consumed him, heart, body and soul. His every breath, every beat of his heart was linked to her. He didn’t understand it. It scared him, made him want to flee in the opposite direction as fast as he could.

Yet at the same time, to hold on tightly and never let her go. She—and only she—had the power to destroy him. Their lives were interwoven now, their souls entwined. He felt her deep in the recesses of his soul, her every breath, every word, every movement linked to him. She was “it” for him. He was completely lost in her. And he couldn’t even tell her who he was.

For the most part, he was the man he portrayed to her. Though he wasn’t a drug dealer or a badass biker, he was a hard ass, a bastard when he wanted. He hadn’t been lying when he’d told her he didn’t know gentleness, though Karen was making him see a gentle side of himself he hadn’t known existed. She brought out a protective instinct in him, made him want to fight off the demons and keep her safe.

But right now he had to deal with Viper’s vengeance.

Stoner rose to his feet with Karen’s assistance, letting the blanket fall to the floor. His broken ribs throbbed, but the doobie had helped soothed the pain a little. Just enough for him to block it out and deal with whatever came next.

Scorpion, Grizzly, Buck, Spike and Cougar all followed Viper into the cell. Stoner didn’t like the looks of this. If Viper brought all these guys with him, it couldn’t be good. Fear clenched at his gut. But not for him. For Karen. If they chose to harm her, he wouldn’t be able to stop them. Not in the condition he was in.

Scorpion and Grizzly stepped up to Stoner, each taking one of his arms. He didn’t fight—what was the use? Karen protested, trying to stop them. Grizzly shoved her backwards out of the way. She slammed into the wall, crying out in outrage.

“Leave him alone! Haven’t you hurt him enough?”

“Get her under control!” Viper ordered. Spike and Cougar approached her warily, while Buck hesitated. Buck had a crush on Karen and didn’t want to hurt her. But with Viper watching, giving orders, Buck would do what he was told.

Spike and Cougar grabbed her arms and pulled them behind her back, but she continued to squirm and fight in their grip, even though she had to know she couldn’t get away. Stoner had to give it to her—she was one hell of a woman.

“Don’t fight them, Karen,” he said quietly. “You’ll just make it harder on yourself.”

She swung those dark, tear-filled eyes toward him. She swallowed hard, then nodded. She trusted him. She went still, giving up the fight.

His heart squeezed. Dammit, she shouldn’t trust him. He couldn’t save her. Couldn’t she see that? But her trust humbled him and made him want to be her knight in shining armor. Made him want to slay all the dragons and bring her safely home.

“Here’s the deal, Stoner,” Viper announced, causing Stoner to swing his gaze back to him. “You can either tell me who you are, or you can watch all these guys fuck Ms. Williams right here in front of you. What’s it gonna be?” There was an evil gleam in Viper’s eyes that made Stoner want to slam his fist into the guy’s ugly face.

Karen whimpered. Stoner jerked his gaze back to her. Cougar wrapped a hand around her waist and yanked her back against him, leaning forward to whisper something in her ear. His tongue flicked out and he licked a trail up her neck to her ear. She shuddered, her eyes wide with fright.

Stoner swallowed hard.
Shit.
He couldn’t just stand here and watch them rape her. But if he told them the truth, all of his careful planning would have been for nothing, all these years he’d spent preparing his revenge would have been for naught. Telling them who he really was would be a death sentence, not only for him, but for Karen as well. Because if they killed him, he couldn’t stop them from killing her.

He was fucked either way. How did he choose the lesser of two evils when both evils would be unbearable?

Raping her wouldn’t kill her, or him, but a part of his soul would die inside if he had to witness that. And there was no telling what it would do to her. She was a strong woman, but being forced against her will, breaking her spirit like that, could wipe out her strength with one sweeping blow. Stoner wouldn’t be able to bear watching them break her like that. The emotional scars of such abuse could haunt her forever.

Cougar slipped a hand inside the front of her jeans, his gaze locking on Stoner’s. He smirked. He stuck his tongue out again and slurped a wet trail across her cheek. Karen squeezed her eyes shut, her body stiffening as Cougar’s vile fingers groped her intimately.

Fury slammed through Stoner, heating his blood. He was going to kill that son-of-a-bitch with his bare hands.

“Get your fucking hands off her! She doesn’t have anything to do with this.”

“What’s it gonna be, Stoner?” Viper repeated. “Looks like Cougar’s eager to get started. You gonna tell me your real name?”

Cougar yanked Karen’s zipper down, spreading open her jeans, his hand continuing to grope at her.

Then Karen did something amazing. She slammed her head backwards into Cougar’s face. There was a loud crunch as his nose shattered. He let out a bellow and released her, clutching at his injured nose.  

She tried to run to Stoner. Spike slammed her up against the brick wall and pressed his forearm against her throat, holding her still. She gasped in a breath, her eyes going wide.

“Looks like I get to go first,” Spike said with obvious glee. “I always hated sloppy seconds.”

Stoner fought against Grizzly and Scorpion’s hold on his arms, but he was too sore and weak to get away.

Viper’s gaze skewered Stoner. “Your name?”

“Don’t tell them,” Karen rasped against the arm Spike held against her throat. “Whoever you are, don’t tell them the truth. I can take it. I swear I can. Don’t die for me, Stoner. Don’t do it.”

God…dammit!

Stoner squeezed his eyes shut.

A rustling sound, then Karen’s soft gasp.

He yanked his eyes open. Spike had pulled her jeans down to her knees and was crudely rubbing himself against her.

That did it. He couldn’t take it anymore.

“Let her go! Goddammit, let her go! I’ll tell you whatever you want. Just…let her go.”

Viper motioned to Spike, who released her with obvious reluctance. She cringed away from him and pulled up her jeans.

I’m so sorry, Karen. I shouldn’t have let it go that far.   

“So.” Viper stepped up to Stoner. “Who are you?”

Stoner jerked his gaze back to Viper.

“I’m Blade.” He glared into Viper’s ugly face. “You know, Monica’s brother. Remember me?”

Viper blanched. He stumbled back a step, the shock on his face making Stoner want to laugh out loud. “What the fuck? Blade’s dead. I killed him myself.”

“You thought you killed me. But Monica was the one you killed.”

“No!” The veins popped out on Viper’s neck, the serpent slithering on his head. “I didn’t kill her! I didn’t! It…it was an accident, you hear me! An accident!”

“If you want to call murder an accident.”

Viper lunged at him, his hands wrapping around Stoner’s throat. The other men held Stoner in place, even though he didn’t fight.

“It was an accident!” Viper tightened his hands around Stoner’s throat. “An accident. I never meant for her to die. I loved her.” His hands fell away. He stumbled backwards, his face white. “I loved her,” he whispered, bowing his head.

Stunned by Viper’s emotional response, Stoner dragged air into his lungs while he stared, speechless. Viper always preached about how emotion made men weak and if they expected to be Cobras, they needed to get rid of their emotions. Stoner never would have thought Viper had been that affected by Monica’s death, but the man’s reaction told a different story. He never would have believed Viper had loved Monica. Maybe the man was human after all.

Viper lifted his head. He pinned Stoner with that creepy pink gaze again. “So you’re here for revenge then, is that it? A life for a life? You’re here to kill Tonya? My sister for yours?”

“No.” Stoner held his gaze. “Unlike you, I don’t kill innocent women. I came here to kill you.”

* * *

“What just happened?” Karen whispered after the cell door slammed shut and the bikers walked away.

Stoner had told Viper he was there to kill him. But instead of beating Stoner or torturing him or killing him, Viper had just walked away.

What the hell was going on?

“Hell if I know,” Stoner muttered. Karen rushed to his side and helped him settle back to the floor. “God, I hurt everywhere. But at least he didn’t kill me.”

She leaned him back against the wall, covered him with the blanket. She sank down on the floor next to him.

“I’m worried. Viper’s up to something. He has to be.”

“I can’t disagree with you there. But at least they didn’t rape you.”

Color crept into her cheeks. “I could have endured it for you. It wouldn’t be the first time someone forced me.”

He jerked his head toward her. “What?”

Karen shrugged. “It was a long time ago. Some guy I was dating. We were both drunk and got into an argument. I wasn’t in the mood for sex, but he…made me.” She sighed. “It was my own fault, really. I always dated the wrong kind of guys.”

A moment of silence stretched before he muttered, “It wasn’t your fault. If you say no, that means no, period. No matter how turned on the guy is.”

Karen’s chest squeezed. Beneath that badass exterior, Stoner had a good heart. He was a good guy. A
really good
guy. 

“I didn’t mean to ruin your plans,” she whispered.

“You didn’t ruin my plans,” he scolded gently. “Besides, I would never be able to live with myself if I let something like that happen to you. I’m still alive, so there’s a chance I can do what I came here to do.”

“You mean kill Viper?”

“Yeah.”

“Will you tell me about Blade, about the kid you used to be? What were you like? What happened?”

He let out a long sigh. “That was years ago.” He didn’t say any more and the silence stretched. At last, he went on, “I was a mixed-up kid, had a drug addict for a mother and never knew my father. Monica and I pretty much raised ourselves. I got involved in a gang in Los Angeles when I was fifteen. The Rumbling Rats.” He snorted out a laugh. “Seriously? What kind of name is that? Anyway, Monica fell in love with Viper, who was a member of a rival gang, The Loaded Lions.”

Karen giggled. “That’s even worse than Rumbling Rats.”

Stoner chuckled. “Yeah. Shows you what troubled kids with no parental guidance come up with. Viper and I hated each other on sight. It wasn’t just because we were in rival gangs. We just never vibed the right way. I told him to stay away from my sister. He refused. She said she loved him and wanted to run away with him. It was so messed up. A fight broke out one night between the gangs. Monica was killed. It was an accident, but it was Viper’s fault. He brought her along. I vowed I would kill him for it.”

“He said he’d thought he’d killed you. What happened?”

“He stabbed me with a stiletto in the fight that night, sank it deep into my chest. My heart stopped several times on the ambulance ride to the hospital. They didn’t think I was going to make it. But somehow I pulled through. The cop that handled my sister’s murder took an interest in me. He said he’d help me clean up my life, get me on the right track. I was reluctant at first. All I knew was the gang life. After some persuasion, I agreed. I’ve never regretted that decision. That cop helped me get out of the gang life, helped me finish high school and go on to college. If it weren’t for him, I have no doubt I would have ended up dead a long time ago.”

“So that’s what your scars are from. I wondered about that.”

“Yes.”

She cleared her throat. “So what did you get your college degree in? What do you do now?”

He lowered his gaze. “Do you have that other joint? My ribs are killing me again.”

She tried to ignore the hurt that spiraled into her chest at his obvious reluctance to tell her more. Didn’t he trust her enough to tell her the truth? After all they’d been through together? She was good enough to have sex with but not good enough to talk to? Damn him! She’d told him personal things about her life, about her cancer, things she’d never told anyone else before. Why couldn’t he tell her the truth about himself? Why couldn’t he trust her?

“Sure.” Karen fished the joint out of her pocket, glad the darkness prevented him from seeing how hurt she was. She lit it for him, watching as he took a long drag.

“Thanks. That helps.” He leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes. “I’m just going to smoke for a bit, then rest for awhile, okay?”