Burned Rebel (Comanche Sons Motorcycle Club Book 3) (9 page)

Riley didn’t know what to say or think. She was ecstatic, and yet at the same time, totally bewildered. This kind of a success she never expected. “Wow! That’s great, Fred. Thanks.”

“I cut my commission, and you will get the rest once the exhibition is over and we settle the accounts.”

“Yeah, that would be nice.”

“See you, Riley.”

After he put the phone down, she jumped and laughed. Chance opened the door. “What the hell is going on? Here I thought you were hard at work and you’re clowning about.”

“Fred called.” She gave him the news. “Four thousand six hundred dollars for four sketches? Can you believe it?”

“I fucking can’t.” He came and embraced her in a hug. “This is great news.”

“It’s better than great. It’s downright delicious, amazing, and mind-blowing.” She kissed him hard on the mouth. “Can you imagine all we can do with that kind of money?”

“You’re saving it, remember.”

She was already planning in her head. “I want to go to Europe. We’ll take a vacation when the bar is up and running smoothly. Ryan can handle things for a while. I’ve never been out of America. Have you? Of course, you have. You were in the army. But for me…this is like a dream come true. Actually, it wasn’t even a dream. I never ever thought I could make a success of my art. If you hadn’t pushed and nudged, I never would have done it.”

He kissed her again, and she felt that stirring of desire once more. It felt so amazing to be with a man who understood and loved her. “You’re welcome.”

“I love you.”

“And I love you more.” He nibbled on her chin. “Can’t wait to go home.”

The door opened again, and they both turned to see Kathy who was rolling her eyes. “Not again. I hate to break the two lovebirds’ session, but we have another problem.”

“Now what?”

“One of the waitresses has fallen sick.”

“I will attend to that.” Riley slipped out of his arms. She felt so good that it was hard to describe the emotions that swirled inside her. “See you later.”

As she went to attend to this new issue, Riley felt as if she was flying on air. This was the most wonderful day of her life. Well, actually, the best was when Chance told her that he loved her, and of course, when she told him that she did so, too. Yet, this was certainly one of those days that she would remember for the rest of her life. It was their beginning of their new lives. Now, nothing could go wrong. Nothing at all. 

Chapter Ten

As they walked down the pavement, Riley felt as if she was on cloud nine. The euphoria of her achievement hadn’t died. Their achievement, really. It certainly didn’t belong to her alone. If Chance didn’t push her, she never would have been able to get to this level. She might have allowed her sketches to languish on the wall of her apartment or rot in boxes as she traveled from one place to another.

He gave her this new life, and she was so grateful for it.

“What are you thinking?”

She glanced at their joined fingers. His skin was warm against hers—despite the brisk wind that blew. It was a cool evening, and she longed to get inside and perhaps make wild love to him to burn off some of the energy. “I was just thinking that you’re the best thing to have ever happened to me, and I must have hit the mother of all jackpots when I landed in this city, because you came into my life.”

He put a hand on his chest and pretended to fall. “I must be dreaming this.”

“Shut up!”

“No, really. Pinch me.” He held his arm up and obediently she pinched him. “Owww! Ok, so I am not dreaming. What has gotten into you?”

She pouted at his joviality. “It’s not as if I never give you a compliment.”

“Oh, sure you do. But you’re hardly ever this expressive.”

Riley stopped. She turned to face him. Letting of his hand, she cupped his face and kissed him on the lips. “If I have never done this before, it’s time to do this now. Chance, you are the most important man in my life. I love you and will do so forevermore.”

“I am touched, really I am.”

She pushed him. “You’re a clown.”

“Hey, I am really moved. I should have recorded that statement so that when you get mad at me, I can play it back to you.”

She shook her head. Even though she understood how much he loved her, she didn’t think he realized that she loved him the same way. Yes, he was more expressive, but she also had deep emotions. As they walked in, she wondered how she could express what she felt. Perhaps she could take him for a surprise vacation. Yeah, that sounded good. It would be nice to get away from the stress of the bar for some time. But not now. It would take them a couple of months to settle the place. Kathy was responsible to look after everything, and Ryan would pitch in. She could count on those two.

“Now what are you thinking?”

As she opened her mouth, Riley was surprised when an arm clamped on her shoulder and spun her around. Before she could scream, someone put a hand on her mouth and then carried her to the nearby dark alley.

“What the fuck?”

It was all she heard him say and then there were the sounds of a scuffle as two men grabbed Chance and pushed him behind her. “Go easy or she dies,” growled someone.

When the man pushed her against the wall and held her there, she took a look at her attacker. He was one of the men who enjoyed a drink at their place not more than two hours ago. Her instinct had been right; she should have paid more attention to it.

“What the hell do you guys want?” Chance demanded.

“You sent Mathew to jail?”

“He had it coming,” said Chance. His gaze darted to her and the fury in his eyes shook her. He was gearing up for something, and she hoped he wouldn’t do something stupid and then get hurt. If anything happened to him, she wouldn’t be able to bear it. “And it wasn’t me but the police who caught on to his activities. If you have a complaint, take it to them. Mind you, they are just as likely to put you in with him.”

“You think you’re funny?” The man who approached Chance was huge and tall. He had wide shoulders and a bull neck. “Man! I don’t like your sense of humor.”

“And I don’t like you, James, so I guess we’re even.” Chance gnashed his teeth. His face tightened and his shoulders bugled. He might have learned a few fighting moves in the army, but she didn’t think he was the right match with this hulk. A scream burst out of her mouth, and the men looked at her. “Leave her out of this.”

“Why the hell would we do that? She’s the one who started it all,” said the guy who was standing in front of her and pushing her against the wall. “If it wasn’t for her, everything would be fine.”

“Don’t be silly. Mathew had it coming. He got Simon killed. Murder isn’t something you can escape that easily.”

“If you take back your testimony…”

“I am not doing any damn fool thing like that,” Chance growled. “And even if I did so, it wouldn’t affect the case.”

“It would,” argued James. “The only connection from Wesley to Mathew is this girl—and your word that Mathew hired him.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. The police must have traced the money that Mathew gave him. They would check the phones for conversations. It’s not that easy to build a murder case, and you can be damn sure they won’t hang the whole thing on our testimony.”

“Enough of this nonsense,” said the man who was holding her. “We’re taking her away, and when you’ve come to your senses and are ready to help us spring Mathew from the jail, you can contact us.”

“I am warning you guys…”

James laughed. The sound reverberated in the silence of the alley. Riley hoped someone would come to help them, but they had chosen the location well. No back doors opened in this alley, and at this time, the traffic on the main road was low. Effectively, they were all alone. Three against two weren’t such big odds, but she didn’t think either of them could deal with James. He was built like a bulldozer.

“I will go with you guys,” she ordered. Everyone glanced at her. She didn’t look at Chance. It was the only hope of saving him. If he got away, he could come back to help her like he did last time. Whatever happened, she was determined to not let him get into a fight with these guys who were likely to beat him into a pulp. 

“The girl speaks sense.” James laughed. “Or maybe she loves you enough to make this sacrifice. You’re a damn lucky man. This is your chance to do right by her. Just make sure you come back and collect her or else you might find that she isn’t faring that well with us.”

“This isn’t a good choice that you’re making,” said Chance. His voice was cold, emotionless. “It won’t serve the purpose that you’re seeking. I can’t do anything to spring Mathew out of the jail. He is the one who messed up and needs to pay the price for it.”

“Don’t tell us what to do,” said the third guy who had been quiet all along. “We’re loyal to Mathew. Whatever happens, we’re determined to free him.”

“Does the new management at the Comanche Sons know what you guys are up to?”

“We’re not working for that bunch of old fuckers,” said the guy. “We’re not taking our orders from them. Mathew is our boss, and he is the only one we listen to. And now enough of this. You’re going to do exactly what we tell you to do, or else you lose this girl, and then we will come after you. If Mathew is not out within a few days, you’re going to pay for it with your life—and so will this girl.”

“If you lay a hand on her, I’ll break your fucking arm.”

Chance’s voice was low, but the anger that dripped from it made her blood run cold. She couldn’t look into his eyes that were now twin pits of darkness. She’d never seen him this enraged before. Riley hoped he wasn’t actually planning to fight these guys. There wasn’t a chance in hell that he would survive the encounter.

James clamped a hand on his shoulder. “Listen my man, we’re taking her. If there is anything you can do to stop us, the time to do so is now.” He glanced at his companions and laughed. They joined him. Riley’s gaze was fixed on his face, and she saw the laughter turned into a grimace and then a scream as Chance grabbed his arm and then pulled it way back. She heard the snap of his bone as it broke.

The other men didn’t even begin to realize what the hell was going on as James fell on his knees, screaming in pain. Chance leapt into the air and kicked the guy who was holding her in the face. She jumped aside as he pivoted on his feet and punched the third attacker as he came running. The second man who went down stood and grappled with Chance, but the fight didn’t take too long. A well-aimed kick to his groin sent him whimpering to the floor.

Riley gaped as she saw the men on the ground. What the hell just happened? It had barely taken two minutes, and he’d incapacitated all three men. Chance walked over to the third man who was crawling towards the wall as if it would offer some protection. Chance grabbed him and yanked him up. “Now you listen to me, and you listen well. Tell anyone who is loyal to Mathew that if they ever come to us and try to hurt me or this girl, I’ll  come after you guys, and this time I won’t stop at just breaking an arm, I will fucking put you guys in a hospital.”

There was enough menace in his voice to make it clear that he meant every word he said. Even she’d never seen this side of him. Riley knew that he was in the army, but she didn’t realize he could fight this well. It took him barely minutes to deal with three men who spent the better part of their life fighting. She shuddered to think what else he could do.

“Ok, ok,” sputtered the man.

“And I mean it. Don’t think you can send six men after me the next time. Not only will I kick their asses, but also I will complain to the police, and then you lot will be in trouble with the new management because I am sure they don’t want to deal with the police. Do you understand?” He shook the man. “Do you?”

James groaned.  “My arm. It’s broken.”

“You deserve it,” said Chance. He dropped the guy on the ground and then stepped over him to walk over to Riley who was frozen to the spot. “Now, we’re leaving, and I hope I never see your ugly mugs again. It would really annoy me if I ever saw you in the bar or around it. Stay far away—far, far away. Got it?”

“Yes,” said James.

“Yes,” said the guy he’d shaken like a dog.

Chance glared at the third man who was still nursing his groin. “Yes,” he muttered. “We won’t get in your way again.”

Chance smiled, as he grabbed Riley’s hand. “Great. Bye.”

They marched out of the alley, and she walked along as he led her. Riley still couldn’t make sense of what just happened. Did he actually beat the crap out of those guys without as much as breaking into a sweat? Yes, she saw it with her eyes. He moved like lightning. Batman. Spiderman. Perhaps Superman. Or else just a very well-trained soldier who hadn’t forgotten the moves he learned in the army. He was usually so affable and friendly that it never occurred to her he was capable to creating so much destruction.

“Are you hurt?”

“No.”

“You want to go to the hospital?”

She could read the concern in his voice, but she was too shell-shocked by what she saw. “No. Why would I want to do that?”

He stopped and made her turn around. Gazing in her eyes, he ran a hand over her cheek. “You don’t look so well. I think we should go to a hospital and have a doctor take a look at you.”

“And how the hell would he help me? I am not hurt…I am just confused.”

He looked bewildered by her claim. “Confused? About what?”

“About you?” she shook her head as images of his fight flooded into her mind. Fight? Not really? It had been too one-sided to really call it an even fight. “If you can kick a man’s ass like that, why didn’t you do it to at the warehouse where they were holding me?”

“I got the police to do it. It was so much better. Also, I don’t think it’s fair to use my skills. I was trained as an elite force, a special operations solider, and there is a lot of damage I can inflict on a human or a bunch of them if I choose to do it, but I don’t want that.”

She’d never asked him one thing ever before. “Why did you get into a fight at the bar after which you were kicked out of the army?”

“He was teasing a girl and when she tried to get away, he hurt her. I couldn’t see that.”