Under Locke (29 page)

“
Chill
, Ritz,” Dex murmured gently, thumbs still circling.

My hand flew up to press against the skin over my heart, willing it to slow down. “Jesus, you scared me,” I panted.

In true, normal Dex fashion he didn’t smile in amusement or apologize. "What are you doin' here?"

"Sleeping?"

He sighed. "Blake didn't get my text?"

What was he talking about? I shook my head.

“Get up,” he ordered. “You need to go talk to your bro before we get outta here.”

I blinked again slowly as his words settled in. Talk to my bro? "Sonny's here?" My voice hitched up.

Dex nodded. "He's packin' some shit up. Pack a bag so you don't have to come back here for a while, then go talk to him."

Confusion swamped me in a million different ways. Where was Sonny going? Where the hell was I going? But mainly, I was wondering what was going on, period. There was too much secrecy
to
make me feel good.

Like a good girl, I tried to focus on what to pack so I could
figure things out
as soon as possible. Luckily, I had enough good sense before falling asleep to keep a pair of sleep shorts on because I usually slept in just my underwear and a bra. Dex flicked the lamp on while I grabbed a bunch of random clothes from the dresser.

“Where was he?” I asked him while stuffing my duffel with what I’d absently picked. I couldn’t even look at Dex as I asked him the question, it made me too nervous. I'd ask if
Sonny
was fine but he wouldn't be home packing if he wasn't.

“County hospital.”

My spine snapped up to standing, the muscles along my back tensing. "What?" I'm pretty positive I screeched out the words.

"The county hospital, babe. Some lady found him by the park unconscious this mornin' and called in an ambulance for him," he explained.

Without even thinking about it, my legs became unglued and started leading me around the bed to skip the whole packing thing and find Sonny instead. But Dex held up his arm, blocking me from going around him. "Calm down, Ritz. He just had a little concussion, a few bruises. He'
s
all right," he said softly. "Finish packin'."

What the ef constituted a little concussion?

I was going to be sick. Breathing in and out of my nose a few times, I looked up at Dex's eyes to see if I could catch a hint as to whether he was being honest with me or not. Those fathomless dark blue eyes were intent and clear in a challenge of the wills, like he could tell I was trying to catch him in a lie.

"He's okay," Dex insisted, nudging me back with the muscles of his forearm. "Finish up, babe."

Holy crap. He probably wasn't lying. For about the hundredth time in five minutes, I nodded, pushing back that sickening sensation in my chest again. “Okay.” Zipping the bag halfway, I yanked it off the bed and looked at him. "I think I have everything, I'm going to go hunt this moron down."

I didn't bother waiting for a response before I took off down the hallway to the opened door of Sonny's bedroom. The fan light was on, illuminating the room and the figure sitting on the edge of the bed with a duffel bag next to
him
. Even from behind, his features looked loose. Tired. Worn-out.

But it wasn't until I rounded the bed and saw the side of his face that made me gasp. "What the hell, Son?"

His cheek was swollen to twice the size it should
ha
ve been. The skin was broken and purple, only slightly worse than the awful split on the corner of his mouth. Yet, he managed to give me a little grin out of somewhere.

"Ris," he greeted me in a lower voice than usual. He patted the bed. "I'm fine, kid. Come sit down."

"My ass you're fine," I told him, taking a step to stand in front of him.

Sonny tilted his head back to give me a better view of the ass-beating those sons of biscuit-eating whores gave him. The entire right side of his face looked deformed from the swelling. I was kind of worried that maybe he'd lost some teeth but I couldn't be sure.

"I've had worse, believe me," he argued softly. "Come here and quit worrying."

I gave him a look that said it'd be a cold day in hell before I stopped worrying about him.

"C'mon, I don't have a lot of time before Trip gets here," he said, patting the bed again.

I wanted to argue with him but logic told me not to. My poor, poor brother looked like complete crap.
It made my stomach tense horribly, like I was having contractions or something. My hand was out and clinging to Sonny's instinctively.

"You remember I told you the sperm donor came down and asked me for money?"

Like I'd forget. "He asked Luther for money too, right?"

Sonny nodded slowly. "Yup, and he didn't give it to him either," he explained. "He didn't want to tell anybody what the money was for, except he just needed it real bad."

"How much was it?"

It looked like he tried to make a face but immediately stopped the effort once he remembered he looked like the Elephant Man's cousin. "Ten grand."

An ugly guffawing noise sprang out of my throat. "What?"

Sonny nodded again. "Exactly. No one in their right fucking mind is gonna let him borrow that much money for no damn reason. So nobody in the Club did." And I suddenly had a really bad feeling about the word choices my brother had chosen. No one in their right fucking mind...

"So what does that have to do with you exactly?" I asked him hesitantly.

"It turns out this wasn't the first time dear old daddy asked for money. A few months ago, he'd come down and borrowed
a healthy chunk
from the Reapers."

Oh crap. Oh boy-crap.

I'd never heard of the Reapers before but the puzzle pieces were making too much sense. "Those men?"

He
sighed. "Yeah,
Ris
. Daddy didn't stick to the payment plan, and from what Trip figured out today, they aren't exactly happy that he came into town, and then bailed. They want their money."

This had to be a bad dream. An awful dream.

"But you don't even—" What was I going to say? That he didn't matter to our father? It was the harsh truth.

He must have known what I was trying to explain because he lifted a shoulder in lame agreement. "I know, Ris. I know. But I'm not paying for his shit, and I'm not lettin' them come after you next now that they know you live here. I'm sure they know you're his too."

I gagged, earning a slap to the back from my brother.

"Quit it, kid. It's fine. I'm gonna go find this mothe
rfucker and make sure he pays his shit now. I’m not sitting around, waiting for God knows what to happen. The last thing he deserves is to get rescued by one of us. I’m not paying for his mistakes any longer and neither are you,” he stated evenly.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

Every minute just seemed to make this entire scenario seem so much more like a dream. A very hard dream that I couldn't swallow. "So we're going to go find him?"

Sonny didn't agree. The hand he'd left on my back after slapping it, slid up to rest on the shoulder furthest away from him. "No, Ris. I'm gonna go find him. Trip's coming with me. We don't know what other kind of pile he's dug himself into and you're better off staying here with Dex until all this shit gets sorted out."

The sound that came out of my mouth sounded like a squawk. "What?"

"You're staying with Dex. The house isn't safe and I don't trust you to stay with anybody else in the Club," he explained, squeezing my shoulder. "Hopefully I can find him in a few days."

But what would he do once he found him? The old man had obviously taken off because he didn't have the money to pay back the Reaper assholes. I almost, almost asked Sonny but by the look on the half of his face that didn't look like it'd gotten friendly with a baseball bat, Sonny had no limits on what he was capable of.

So making Curt Taylor find ten grand was going to happen one way or another. Of that I suddenly didn't have a doubt.

"Shit, Sonny," I whispered. How the hell had this mess fallen on us? On him? The one Taylor offspring who had less to do with his father than the other two. Christ.

The hand on my shoulder tightened. "Ris," he whispered, pulling me closer to him. The side of his forehead rested against the top of my head. "I'm coming back, all right? I swear to God I'm not leaving you here. I'm just gonna go find this asshole so we can get back to Tofu Tuesdays and shit," he assured me. "I'm coming back."

The intent behind his words weighed my sternum down. He was leaving. Leaving me in a new city all alone with his friend. I wasn't going to have a panic attack. I had a panic attack once when Will had first left, and then I'd dealt with it. But Sonny was coming back.

"It's only for a little while," he promised.

Leaning into his side, I nodded against him. I couldn't remember the last time anyone had hugged me like this. With so much reassurance and promises that I didn't doubt even a fraction that he wouldn't come back. It wasn't at all like when Will left. My own full-blooded little brother who gave me the quickest hug in history and
pinched my arm
before leaving.

"Are you sure you're okay?" I asked him, pushing away the fact I hadn't heard from Will in months.

Sonny laughed just a little, low and pained. "I've been better. I'll be all right once this all gets straightened out."

I slid my arm around his back. "I'm sorry you got dragged into this mess."

"Me too, kid, but I'd rather it be me than you who gets caught up in the shit-hole he's dug himself into." Sonny sighed
and it pained my heart.
"I need to get going though. Stay with Dex until I get back, okay?"

I wanted to argue with him but what was the point? We all had to do things we didn't want to at some point, and if the Reapers would beat the shit out Sonny for the mistakes of our estranged father, what
else were they capable of
?

"Maybe I should go to Lanie's," I suggested. "If they did that to you, won't they try and—"

"No, Ris. I'm a sign for the sperm donor, and Dex knows better than to be a dumbass. You'll be fine."

Oh man. This was a mess. A huge, surreal mess all caused by a man that had no connections to our lives anymore.

"You won't get in trouble at your job?"

Sonny laughed before loosening his hold on me and climbing to his feet slowly. "Don't worry about it. It's all good."

I blew out a breath and nodded, getting off the bed. His face looked bad, so bad, but Sonny was his own man. I couldn't and wouldn't beg him to stay.

"You got all your stuff?"

I nodded.

"Your bathroom stuff, too?" he asked.

In that moment, I suddenly wished that I'd had Sonny in my life from the very beginning. I mean, who else would remember bathroom stuff of all things? "No, I forgot."

He ruffled my hair lightly. "Go get it and I'll meet you outside."

I followed after him but split off to grab my toiletries from the bathroom. There wasn't much so it only took a second to put my things into my duffel. Just as I was about to walk out of the house, I heard Sonny and Dex speaking on the other side of the door.

"—been through too much, man. She doesn't need to go through anything else," Sonny spoke.

"I said I'd watch over her." That was Dex who replied.

"Fuck, I'll stay and this one can go with you." Another voice suggested. Trip, probably.

Dex made a noise I couldn't recognize through the door. "I'm stayin'."

There was a pause. “Keep your dick in your goddamn pants, Dex. I swear to God…”

Sonny murmured something else I couldn't hear because he must have been further away from the door than Dex. Feeling creepy enough for eavesdropping, I pulled open the front door to all three of them on the deck. Sonny standing just off the stairs, Trip and Dex right in front of me—well, the door.

A tired smile crept over my brother's face. "You ready?"

"Yeah." I looked over at the blonde standing next to Dex. "Hey, Trip."

“Hey gorgeous,” he murmured. The
color
under his eyes made him look like he hadn't slept in a while.

Dex's hand landed on my lower back, urging me forward. "Let's get going, Ritz. I'm tired."

"All right." I walked over to Sonny and wrapped my arms around his chest. "Be safe, all right?"

He pu
lled me in for a hug
. "I'll be back as soon as I can."

I pulled back just a little and kissed his beard covered cheek. "Okay. Let Trip drive though."

Sonny snorted and put both hands on top of my head, pushing my face down so that he could plant one on my forehead. "Whatever you want, kid."

Oh, the irony. If anyone knew you didn't always get what you want, it was Sonny.

"See ya, Son." I waved at him. "Bye, Trip. Be safe."

Sonny inclined his head forward, smiling just barely. "See ya, kid."

Trip added a sigh with his goodbye but I already had my attention forward, just pas
t
Sonny's frame.

Dex and my brother shared a strange look between them as the dark-haired one made his way down the stairs. I started to round the front bumper of my car to get in when he reached out to wrap his fingers around my elbow.

"Where ya goin'?"

Uh... "I'm following after you."

He made a tisking sound under his tongue. "No. You drive too slow. Hop on my bike and we'll get your car tomorrow."

I hesitated, looking back at my car.

“Iris.” I really liked it a little too much when he used my name. “Babe, get on. We’ll get your car later.”

I must have waited too long because the next thing I knew, he had an arm hooked around my waist and was half carrying me-half dragging me the distance to his Dyna. Dex took my duffel, handed me a helmet that
ha
d been left on the seat and replaced the empty spot with my bag, strapping it down.

He turned back toward me, took the helmet from my hands, and then lowered it onto my head silently. Once it was buckled on, he straddled his bike and tilted his head in my direction. “Hop on.”

Well then. Bossy ass.

There was all of about eight inches between Dex’s back and my bag, but what could I do about it? I had a feeling that if I argued with him more about whether I was riding with him or not, I’d lose anyway and to be honest, I was really tired. Having been on bikes with Sonny in the past, it was easy getting on but awkward when I had to shift forward on the seat so much that my crotch and thighs left no room for a sheet of paper between them and Dex’s outer thighs and beefy
butt
. Grudgingly, my arms slipped around his
ribs
as he started the bike up and backed onto the street.

Sonny’s house was already on the outskirts of Austin, so when Dex got on the freeway leading us further out of the city, I wondered where the hell he lived but didn’t ask. My cheek was technically to his back, arms tight around his chest. I didn’t realize until then that he had a leather jacket on that did nothing to hide how solid his build was.

Damn it.

It was too dark to see anything well, but I could tell that we were pretty much in the middle of nowhere. The trees were huge as we zoomed off the freeway ramp with only the loud roar of his bike breaking the monotony of the ride.

After about five minutes, he turned onto a farm road that had no name or real sign. An outline of a house was visible in the near distance over a hill. The closer we got, the more I was able to see under the moonlight. The house was a long one-story ranch style home. A huge front yard dotted with tall trees gave way to the
light colored
paneling of the home. It wasn’t at all the kind of place I expected Dex to live in. He seemed like the typical bachelor with a dirty apartment.

But maybe I was just assuming that of every member of the MC. To be fair, Trip lived up to the stereotype I'd built up.
There had even been socks crammed into the corners of his couch.

When he parked the bike right in front of the paved driveway, he dismounted first before holding out a hand and helping me afterward. I yanked the helmet off while he unstrapped my bag, tilting his head in the direction of the door as his wordless come on.

I followed in after him, taking in the minimal furniture in his living room: a brown microfiber sectional sofa, a
large
flat screen television mounted to the wall, an entertainment center underneath, and… that was it. Dex had dropped my bag onto the couch before turning to look at me.

“You can take the bed, babe. I got two other rooms but not another bed to sleep in,” he explained.

I was still looking around, past the living room to spy a kitchen that opened up directly to it but at his words, I shook my head. “No, I’ll stay on the couch. I can sleep just about anywhere.”

While it was the truth, I wasn’t about to point out that our sixty or seventy pound weight difference on top of half a foot in height difference would definitely make me a better candidate for his long but still somewhat narrow couch.

He opened his mouth to argue with me before I cut him off.

“Seriously, Dex. I’ll stay on the couch, don’t worry about it. If you can just get me a pillow and a blanket…?”

The flat, completely ill amused look on his face made think he wanted to discuss the sleeping arrangements more, but I think he understood my secret reasoning and was probably too tired to fight it. With a nod, he disappeared into a hallway to the right of the living room and couch for a couple of minutes, coming back with a pillow covered in a dark blue pillowcase and a white blanket under his arm.

Dex handed them to me silently, watching as I laid out the blanket with a yawn and dropped the pillow onto the end of the couch closest to the front door.

“The bathroom is down the hall, first door on your right, and my bedroom is that way,” he pointed toward another hallway on the left side of the living room. “Last door.”

“Thanks,” I mumbled with another yawn, dropping my butt onto the cushion.

He took a step back, locking those Crayola blue eyes on me. “Make yourself at home, and wake me up if you need anythin'.”

I nodded my answer, smiling at him sleepily. “All right. Night, Dex.” I paused. "Thanks for everything."

His nod was slow. “Night, babe.”

I didn’t waste any more time trying to watch him disappear into the hallway. The moment I slipped beneath the blanket and my head hit the pillow,
I realized how wide awake I was.

Ef me.

Small sounds creaked throughout the house. The rush of water through pipes pulled at my attention while I lay there, chin to chest, staring at the darkness. I closed my eyes and tried to will my body to wind down.

And then I tried some more.

Chapter Seventeen

I woke up the next morning both way too early and in almost the same way I’d gotten scared awake just hours before at Sonny’s. Dex’s ass was on the couch crammed into the area where my hips were, one hand on my shoulder shaking me.

“Time to get up.”

I opened one eye, immediately focusing on the digital clock of his DVD player. I groaned, shutting it right back again. “It’s barely seven.” I’m not sure if what I said even sounded like what I’d intended it to, but it must have been enough for Dex to understand.

“Yeah, babe, but we got a busy day. Gotta run some errands.”

What I meant to say was, “I don’t know what errands you want to run at seven in the morning,” but it probably sounded more like “I…errands…seven…”

Fingers swept back the black hair plastered to my face in a gesture I was too tired to appreciate. “I need to go sort Sonny's shit out.”

Sonny. Right.

With a grunt, I rolled onto my back and blinked at the white popcorn ceiling. I sat up half-delusional, sounding more like a man than a woman. “Okay, okay. I’m up.”