Taming Crow (Hells Saints Motorcycle Club) (22 page)

After Crow dragged a screaming, clawing, Jaci out of Meliss
a’
s house, she walked back into the kitchen from the hallway. Melissa and Jules shared a long, hard, silent look. When the big guy lifted a questioning brow and gestured to the whiskey bottle that still sat on the counter, Melissa grabbed it by the neck and chugged down a bracing amount. When she slammed it back down on the shelf, her eyes hit the splintered gaping flooring. Melissa realized fully for the first time just how badly she could have gotten hurt. Then she thought of how Jett walked over that same floor space several times a day. Her eyes suddenly filled with tears and she swayed unsteadily.

“Sit the fuck down, woman.” Jules voice sounded far away, but his tone brooked no argument. Melissa fought to keep the wave of nausea in check as he examined her for broken bones, took her pulse and looked into her eyes for evidence of concussion. Satisfied that, except for the deep lacerations, she was otherwise fine, he cleaned and bandaged her wounds with a surprisingly gentle touch.

Her already frayed nerves were suddenly hit by the deadly quiet. She was not sure where Crow had taken his ex, but the crazy look in Jaci’s eyes told Melissa that the screaming woman was not finished. So with a heartfelt
thank you
to Jules, Melissa left him sitting at her table, rolling an enormous joint and staring at the gaping hole in the floor.

Melissa made the painfully slow trip up to her bedroom,  stripped down and threw the bright yellow, blood-stained dress in the trash.

She could feel almost feel its disappointment as it sat banished in the wastepaper basket.

She knew exactly how those little daisies felt.

She wanted to cry.

But instead comforted herself by pulling on a favorite pair of pajama shorts and a matching tank.

As Melissa fought through the growing pain of a blinding headache, she wondered again at what the hell had just happened. The floor giving way had just been a matter of time, she guessed.

Okay, maybe that particular calamity could be reasoned out,
she allowed.

But Jaci?

Why had she been knocking at her door? Crow had told her they were divorced.

Or was that something she had assumed?

Or maybe heard from Patrick?

It was all too much.

Melissa’s mind barely had time to form those questions before the pain wrapped around her head like a boa constrictor. When the unmistakable roar of an angry engine filled the air, Melissa flinched and glanced out the window. She saw Jaci’s Porsche scream a loud retreat down the driveway.

Good riddance,
Melissa thought through the haze of massive migraine pain.

Now she stumbled to the bathroom where she rifled her way through the medicine cabinet until she found the prescription bottle sitting on the top shelf. She held it in her hand hesitantly. Although the prescribed narcotic was effective, the side effects were wicked. Melissa knew once she took it that she would be useless for the rest of the day and probably pretty fuzzy into the next morning.

Another sharp flash of blinding pain made her run to the bathroom and begin to vomit in a gasping stream of dry heaves. No longer hesitant, Melissa groped for the medicine bottle that she had dropped on the tile floor next to her.

With shaking hands, she tried and failed repeatedly to open the child-proof cap. When she finally was able to unscrew the top, Melissa pushed a pill down her throat in a quick gulp, then held her mouth straight under the faucet. She walked unsteadily to her bedroom, turned on the fan and pulled the shades tight against the light of day.

As she lay curled up in bed and waited for the medication to kick in, she felt herself falling in and out of consciousness. It seemed she had just dozed off for a moment or two when she heard the squeak of the bedroom door open. Melissa turned her head sharply against the intruding light and saw stars of pain explode again behind her eyes.

“Jett …” Melissa groaned as the door open further and she tried to pull herself up.

A set of heavy footsteps crossed and stood by her bed.

“Melissa? You okay?”

Melissa slumped back on the bed. The soft rumble of his voice caused her to quiver in pain.

“Crow?” She whispered. “Where’s Jett…what time is it?”

“It’s about two and Jett’s at the campout. You don’t remember?”

“Oh. Yeah. That’s right.” She whispered fuzzily. “My leg hurts like a sonofabitch, but I'm okay.”

Crow raised an eyebrow at hearing her use the very unlike-Melissa phrase.

“This medicine makes me a little loopy, but when it kicks in it'll take away the pain.” She sighed from behind closed eyes.

“What medicine?” Crow asked.

“Migraine meds,” she answered.

“Since when do you get migraines?” he asked.

The floorboards squeaked under his feet and Melissa felt a fresh burst of pain and another wave of nausea roll over her.

She clutched the sides of the bed and groaned. “Go away.”

Crow bent towards her and laid a cool hand on her head.

“What causes them? I’m sorry about that shit with Jaci…”

She groaned. “No. It’s not that. They just come on kind of suddenly. And hurt like hell.”

Crow saw the prescription bottle on the nightstand. “Whoa. This is some intense shit.”

Melissa let out a long sigh “I know. It makes my mind all fuzzy… gets me dizzy.”

Crow sat on the bed and pushed away the damp strands of hair that clung like spiders to her pale face. “Babe, these pills…”

Melissa interrupted him in a soft slur of words.

“…are the only things that give me some relief. I don’t take them often. It has been a long time since I had a headache this bad…” Her voice trailed off. Melissa began to doze again, then felt the blessed coolness of a wet cloth being placed tenderly on her forehead. She sighed as Crow’s strong hands gently lifted her head and moved to the back of her neck where his thumbs pressed against the stinging knots of muscles. A tear formed and slipped down her cheek as the pain began to recede.

Melissa heard the quiet alarm in his voice. “Am I hurting you?”

When he went to pull away, she immediately reached for his hands. "No…please… don't stop… it helps."

As Melissa slumped back onto the pillow, Crow’s hands beneath her head massaged the tight clumps of muscles at the base of her skull.

He stayed with her through the afternoon. He alternately rubbed her neck and temples and refreshed the cool cloth on her forehead until the quiet rhythm of her steady breathing was interrupted by only an occasional moan. The need to blame someone for Melissa being hurt under his watch was strong. His thoughts volleyed from a feeling of angry self- recrimination to a murderous rage directed at Patrick Murphy.

While Crow blamed himself for not doing a better job of inspecting the kitchen floor, it had never occurred to him that the spongy spot he had felt was something other than surface rot. Truthfully, the fact that it had extended all the way to the subflooring and ceiling rafters of the basement? That spoke volumes about the overall condition of the basic structure of the house. And that was on Murphy.

The property manager/attorney, who should have spent a little less time putting together a fancy folder of potential buyers, and a little more time making sure the fucking place was safe enough for a woman and a kid to live in.

Crow was not fucking happy.

At all.

And just a few moments ago, he had sent off a more than willing Jules to let Patrick Murphy know just how damn unhappy he was.

Exhausted now with the stress of the day, Crow moved from the side of Melissa’s bed and pulled out the easy chair from the corner of the room. He had just settled in for a minutes worth of uninterrupted peace when the small sound of Melissa's voice punctuated the silence and sent him back to a state of full alert. He leaned in to hear her drug induced mutterings.

“The headaches…they started after Jesse’s funeral. There were so many people talking …
sorry
…they kept saying that they were
sorry
…” Melissa let out a sigh of abject misery.

“Shhh, baby. It's okay.” Crow murmured reassuringly.

A tear formed and slipped down her cheek. When Crow moved to wipe it away, she grabbed his hand with surprising strength.

“They didn't know… no one knew,” Melissa repeated over and over, fighting through the haze.

“What didn’t they know, baby?” He rubbed her forehead gently.

“They… didn’t know… that it was my fault… they didn’t know… that I
killed him,
” Melissa shocked Crow by muttering.

Crow stayed by her side as Melissa continued her low rant, murmuring all the while in small fragmented sentences. At times, her voice was no more than a whisper. So low that it made her words almost impossible for Crow to hear.

Almost.

But not quite.

Melissa awoke hesitantly. Her mind was still dull from the effects of the migraine medication, but thankfully the blinding pain behind her eyes seemed to be gone. Pieces of the day before came flashing back to her in jagged flashes, starting with the accident in the kitchen and ending with a vague memory of Crow sitting by her bed. But the rest of it was a blur.

Images of Jaci. Jules. A gaping hole in the floor and Crow.

Jesus. No wonder she had gotten a migraine.

Coffee.

The warm, welcoming aroma of fresh brew reached in past the fuzziness of Melissa's awakening senses and teased her into full alertness. Someone was banging around in her kitchen.

And whoever that someone was had made coffee.

Melissa got out of bed, threw on a light robe and made her way down the stairs to find Crow leaning against the counter talking into his cell. When he saw Melissa, he gave her a small nod in greeting. Then, without breaking his conversation, he poured and handed her a cup of a dark roast from the full pot on the counter.

Crow ended the call.

“Morning.”

Melissa closed her eyes and sighed deeply at the taste of the hot fresh brew.

“Morning.”

“Feeling better?” Crow asked.

“Yeah. I am. What are you doing here?” Melissa took another sip from the cup.

“Boys and I are gonna be working on the house,” he answered.

“The boys and you?” Melissa frowned.

“Yeah. A crew’s coming up from Fallsview. Missed the last exit so they had to take 84 south off the thruway, but they should be here soon.” Crow looked pointedly at Melissa's robe.

She pulled the ends of the light cotton closer together and tightened the belt. “Was that them on the phone?”

“Yeah. I've been here for a couple of hours checking out the flooring. The rot extends farther than I thought it did. Gonna have to replace the whole damn thing. I had no idea it was this bad when I went through it. I’m really fucking sorry, Melissa
.
”

He looked her over then and his eyes hit the long scratches and the dark bruising that had begun on her leg.

“ I feel like shit that you got hurt. Jules told me he looked at your leg. Said that that long gash was real close to needing stitches, but that you’ll be okay. You good with that? The brother knows his shit but if you want to see a regular doctor, just say the word. I’ll take you to the walk-in clinic right now or even the emergency room if that’ll ease your mind.”

“No. I’m okay. Just scrapes, really. As long as I keep them clean, I should be fine.” Melissa could
n’
t help but be touched at the obvious concern and worry she saw on his face.

“Headache?
”
Crow moved closer to her and smoothed the top of her hair.

“Gone. I'm still a little fuzzy from the pills, but I'm better. Thanks for sitting with me and…” Melissa paused and colored slightly. Although she had vague impressions of him sitting with her for a while, she wasn't sure how long he had been there or what had happened while he was.

Crow pulled her close and kissed the top of her head. “Go get dressed and start packing.”

“Packing?” Melissa pulled away from him.

“Yeah. Packing. The house needs some serious work. Once we stop up the cracks in the foundation and dry out the basement, I’m gonna have the brothers dig up the sludge, pour a concrete slab and dig out a few drains. I ordered an industrial sump pump that’ll be here Monday. We’re gonna replace the whole kitchen floor, and inspect all of the headers and support beams. Then we are going to pour some new footings for the porch. I got my boy Riker coming up from Crownsmount. He’s a roofer by trade. Might as well get that shit done too, while we’re at it.”

Crow grabbed the pencil and added something to the list on the legal pad that sat next to him on the counter.

“Wow. How long is this going to take?” Melissa bit her bottom lip and looked at the appointment book sitting on the desk in the living room.

“Couple of weeks,” Crow answered.

“Can’t I stay in the house? Maybe Jett and I can just hole up upstairs. He has camp and I have the business to run. I can’t be gone that long. Besides I really don’t have anywhere to go…” Melissa’s voice trailed off as she automatically started calculating how much money she would lose if she had to close down her business for that long. Because thanks to Toni’s love of phone tree banter, word had spread about Melissa’s hot new landlord.

While Melissa had been amused at the growing parade up her driveway of high-heeled, tightly dressed women hoping to catch Crow’s eye, she was mostly just grateful for the new business their lust-driven curiosity had generated.

“Yeah,” Crow’s voice broke through her thoughts. “I figured you wouldn't exactly be thrilled with the plan, but I have to get this shit done, Melissa. Renovations are long overdue and have now turned into serious safety issues. I can't be worrying about the place falling apart around you two. Jaci never should have had Murphy rent it out like this. And he never should have fucking done it.”

At the name
Jaci,
Melissa flinched.

Visions of Crow’s ex-wife flashed before her eyes. Melissa had forgotten how beautiful Jaci really was. With her long legs, pouty lips, and perfectly shaped tremendous tits, Melissa knew she was no match in the looks department for the hard-hearted woman. Melissa sighed deeply and frowned.

“She’s gone. This time for good,” Crow had seen that flinch.

It sucked that he got how insecure the thought of Jaci made her.

“Who?” Melissa feigned confusion and rubbed the spot between her brows. “I’m just thinking about all the money I’m gonna lose.”

Crow frowned back and mumbled “Yeah. Right.”

He looked like he was going to say more, but changed the subject.

“You know you can always stay in my house.” He winked at her and lightened the mood. “Got that new big bed now and I‘ve been feeling pretty damn lonely sleeping in it all by myself.”

“Crow…” Melissa stiffened and got ready to release a thousand reasons why that just would not be a good idea. The biggest reason still sat unopened in her dresser drawer upstairs. Before she moved forward with Crow or anyone for that matter, she had to put the past with Jesse to rest once and for all.

Crow interrupted her. “Don't sweat it, Melissa. I know what you're going to say, and I would probably try to talk you into it anyway, except the next couple of weeks this place is going to be crawling with brothers. I don't want any of those assholes hitting on my woman.” His eyes sparkled at her sudden blush. “Besides, they’re going to be working on my place too. Might as well do it all in one shot. So here’s what I was thinking. Jett’s coming home today, right?”

“Yeah. He should be home about noon,” Melissa answered.

“Isn’t he done with camp after this?” Crow asked.

Melissa looked at Crow for a minute, her head still fuzzy from the medication. Her thigh had begun to itch where the gauze bandage covered the longest scrape. She glanced over at the calendar hanging on the wall.

“Yeah. I had forgotten, but I guess he is. He's done with this session of camp now. Then he has two weeks off before the next round. He liked it so much he asked me to sign him up for another session before he goes back to school.” Melissa had walked over to the calendar to flip to the next month.

“Didn’t you say your dad was taking him fishing?” Crow reminded her.

“Yeah, he is.” Melissa consulted the calendar. “Wow, that’s the week after this one. I hadn’t realized how fast the summer was flying by. Actually I had planned to drive him up and come right back home. The trip would take a couple of days, so I already had scheduled some time off for myself…”

Crow looked at her, waiting.

Melissa took another long sip of coffee and continued, “Yeah, that’ll work. It would be nice to go up earlier and spend some time before they take off. The ride is too long to go straight through anyway. This will make it fun. Jett loves to stay in hotels. Maybe I’ll even take a few days and go up to the camp with them.…” Excitement crept into Melissa’s voice at the thought of vacationing for a few days with family at their favorite fishing spot.

But then she frowned. “Jett’s birthday party is scheduled for just a few days after we get back. Do you think the house will be ready by then?”

“Yeah. I can make that happen for the little warrior.”

The loud rumble of pipes interrupted their conversation. Crow and Melissa moved to the front window in time to see at least about a dozen Harleys and two utility vans pull into the driveway.

“Looks like the boys found the place,” Crow grinned.

Then he turned to Melissa, fisted her hair, and kissed her deeply.

Melissa was both surprised and warmed by the spontaneous gesture. When the kiss ended, Crow looked into her eyes, and said, “Go upstairs and change. Then put some shit together for you and Jett to take with you. Have a good time, safe trip, and all that other bullshit, but when you come back? Me and you? We’re gonna talk.”