CRASH: An Evil Dead MC Story (The Outlaw Series) (7 page)

Rolling
to her side, she inhaled and breathed in his scent, still lingering on his
pillow. The same earthy, manly scent she’d breathed in when she fell against
him in the elevator. She thought about all the things that led her to be here,
lying in his bed. The bed of a biker she barely knew. She’d given up her car,
her phone, her belongings, her friends, even her family, all to hide out from
Nicklaus William Ralston III.

He
was nothing like what Cole and Crash thought him to be. They didn’t have a clue
who they were dealing with, and she was determined to make sure they didn’t
find out. Not if she could help it. They thought he was some young guy, the
rich son of someone in her social circle, maybe even someone she’d met in
college. When in actuality he was a major business mogul, an associate of her
father’s. A man far wealthier than her father and much more powerful. Why he’d
set his sights on her, she couldn’t be sure. She’d only met him once, briefly
at her father’s office before he began his relentless pursuit of her. He’d
taken one look at her and became infatuated, determined to make her his at
whatever the cost.

She
remembered that day. She’d shown up at her father’s office to hopefully talk
him into going to lunch with her. She’d planned to wile her way into getting
him to let her use the beach house for the summer. Instead, she’d breezed past
his secretary and walked in on a meeting between the two men.

On
first sight, she’d actually been attracted to Nicklaus. Very attracted. He was
good looking, in a blonde, British sort of way. He wore the best suits money
could buy, and he wore them well. He was a commanding figure.

She
remembered the first time his green eyes met hers. She’d actually been struck
dumb. She just stood there, staring back at him as if there was no one else in
the room. She’d forgotten about why she’d come to see her father, she’d
forgotten he was even in the room.

And
then Nicklaus had smiled that sexy smile of his and risen to his feet and
poured on the charm. He’d taken her hand and kissed it, actually bowing over it
as he introduced himself. And then somehow she’d ended up lunching with him and
not her father, forgetting completely about the beach house and why she’d ever
want to leave town in the first place when Nicklaus was right here.

At
first, he’d seemed to be everything she’d ever wanted. He was handsome, well-dressed,
well-mannered, well-educated, well-traveled and wealthy. And it was all
rolled-up with a British accent. She was all the things he was looking for, he’d
told her. She was beautiful, poised, classy, and smart. She had an appreciation
for fine arts and could hold her own with his friends and associates. He’d
wined and dined her. To top it all off, he seemed crazy about her.
Unfortunately, Shannon would soon discover that crazy was the definitive word.

As
their relationship progressed, the kid-gloves came off. He began to subtly criticize
her in public in a very passive-aggressive sort of way. He played a
psychological game with her, and he played it well, soon coming to make her
doubt herself and her every decision, whether it was what she was wearing or
what she ordered for dinner. Then he began to try to take control of making
those decisions for her. He would select her dress. He would order for her. He
would decide what days she could see her friends and what in his words ‘was
best for her’. Shannon had come to see just how manipulative he could be. For
Nicklaus, she came to understand it was all about control. He demanded it, in
all things.

When
she tried to break it off with him, she soon realized the lengths to which he
was willing to go to get what he wanted. And he made it clear, what he wanted
was her.

She’d
tried to talk to her father about it, to get his help in trying to extract
Nicklaus from her life, a life to which he’d tried to become more and more ingrained
every day. Her father had been no help, rather he’d told her she was being
silly and to stop her nonsense and that she shouldn’t let the best man she’d
ever find get away. Nicklaus had certainly won over her father. And then
there’d come the night where she’d found out just how entwined they’d become.

She’d
overheard a meeting between her father and Nicklaus. Standing outside the door,
she’d heard the whole thing…

“Shannon’s part of the deal.”

“What?”

“Shannon is part of the deal. I
want her, and I get what I want. Make it happen.”

“Nicklaus, I can’t make my
daughter fall in love with you.”

“I’m not particularly concerned
if your lovely daughter loves me. It would be helpful, but it isn’t a
requirement. Frankly, if she suddenly professed her love for me, I would find
that highly suspicious.”

“So, what do you expect me to do,
sing your praises?”

“Eliminate her options. Cut off
her funds. Remove her protection. In short, take away my roadblocks.”

“Nicklaus, she’s my daughter, I-”

“Put your mind at ease, Thomas. I
shall be very good to her. She will be treated like nothing less than the
little princess she is.”

“Perhaps her sister, Shelby,
would be more receptive to-”

“Yes, well, unfortunately it
isn’t Shelby that I want. I want Shannon. Shannon has spirit. Shelby, well, I
would break Shelby’s spirit in a week. No, I’m afraid I’m looking for a bit
more of a challenge, old chap.”

“But, Nicklaus-”

“Have I not been clear? Without
Shannon, there is no deal. And without the deal, you, my fine chap, are as you
Americans put it ‘screwed’. We both know it. You need this merger. I know it.
You know it. And if you need a bit more incentive, I have some information
regarding your use of insider information pertaining to my company, that I am
sure your Securities Exchange Commission would find very interesting indeed.
Insider-trading, I believe you Americans call it. A very serious offense, I’m
told. You could serve years in federal prison.”

“All right, Nicklaus. You’ve made
your point.”

“I’ll stop at nothing to make her
mine. Completely. Absolutely. Undeniably. Mine! And nothing and no one is going
to get in my way. Do you understand?”

“I understand.”

Shannon
had fled to her room. Not wanting to hear anymore.

And
now, here she was, hiding out with an MC. How pathetic was that? How had her
life ever gotten to this point? She caught a sob in her throat, not wanting to
awaken Crash, and a tear rolled down her cheek.

CHAPTER FOUR

The
next morning, Crash was lying on the couch, barely awake. He hadn’t opened his
eyes yet, but he knew it was morning. He could feel the sun streaming in from
the skylights up above. A moment later he heard the rumble of motorcycles out
on the street. They grew closer. He listened to the sound of their pipes and
counted them. One, two, three bikes rolled to a stop outside. Fucking hell.

A
moment later, his cell went off, not surprisingly. He put it to his ear.
“Yeah.”

“Get
up, fucker. And let us in the Batcave,” Red Dog’s voice boomed in his ear
before he disconnected.

Crash
threw the phone on the coffee table and sat up. He ran his hand over his face,
squinting at the early morning light. Christ, it was too early to deal with
these jokers. He got up, walked over to the security pad on the wall near the
elevator and punched in a code. He heard the steel garage door downstairs start
to roll up. Obviously, Cole wasn’t with them or they wouldn’t have had to call
him to get in. Cole was the only person who had the security code to gain
access to his building. Something that, thankfully, he didn’t abuse. Crash sent
the elevator down to the first level as he heard the sounds of their bikes
rolling inside and the door rolling back down. Then, yawning, he ran a hand
down his chest, and moved toward the kitchen.

He
was standing in the open door of the refrigerator, gulping down some orange
juice straight out of the carton, when the elevator came up. The gate crashed
open, and Red Dog, Green and Wolf poured out.

Great.

Crash
glared at Dog, wondering what the hell he’d brought these two along for. Dog
shrugged his shoulders and explained, “They heard about her. Words out, man.”

“Mack
doesn’t know, does he?”

“Naw.
Surprised Cole let these two yahoos in on it. Swore ‘em to secrecy, so you’re
all good.”

Green
was carrying Shannon’s bag. He set it down, glancing around, his eyes especially
traveling to the chain divider. “Where is she?” Crash knew with the sun
streaming in from overhead and sparkling off the silver chains that his
brothers couldn’t see shit, but it still irked him.

“In
my bed, fucker. What’s it to ya?” Crash slammed the refrigerator door and saw
Green’s eyes sweep down his body taking in the fact that he was barely dressed.

Green
grinned, “You tap that?”

“Shut
the fuck up,” Crash snapped back.

Wolf
strolled over to the sectional and plopped down. His eyes straying to the
pillow and blanket, he snorted, “Don’t look like. Looks like lover-boy, here,
spent the night on the couch
all by his
lonesome
.”

Red
Dog’s eyes came to Crash. “Seriously, man? No joke, you didn’t hit that up?”

Crash
rested his palms on the island and dropped his head, glaring at him from under
his brows.

Red
Dog grinned. “Don’t give me that look, fucker. I saw the bitch yesterday. It’s
a fair fuckin’ question.”

While
Crash and Dog talked, Green had wandered over to the entrance to the bedroom.
Crash heard the strands of paperclips tinkle as Green swept them to the side.

Red
Dog saw the look on Crash’s face. “You might as well let them see her. It’s
what they came for.”

Shannon
lay unmoving in the bed, she’d awoken when the gate to the elevator had slammed
open, her eyes flying open. She’d lain there, frozen, listening to the voices
of three other men. More members of Crash’s club, from the sound of it. Crap.
Here she was, lying in his bed, barely dressed in just his tee and a pair of
panties. And to make matters worse, she’d kicked the covers off with the heat
of the early morning sun streaming in. She could see the men clearly through
the chains that were only a couple of feet from the bed. Could they see her
just as clearly?

She
lay there listening to their banter back and forth as they ribbed Crash about
her. Her arm slid slowly down trying to get the sheet without them noticing her
movement through the chain, but, damn, it was out of reach. Then she froze as
she saw the shape of one of them heading straight for the entrance to the
bedroom. All she could think to do was shut her eyes and feign sleep.

She
heard the rustle of the paperclips tinkle and tried to see through a slit in
her eyelids.
 
The man had the strands of
paperclips swept to the side and held in one big fist. “You got a piece like
that in your bed, and you ain’t doin’ nothin’ with it?” she heard the man question
in a low voice. He stepped into the room, letting the clips fall. She squeezed
her eyes shut, praying that Crash would come, and make him leave.

“Goddamn,
she’s pretty.” This closer, like he was standing at the foot of the bed. She
tried hard to maintain slow and even breathing as if she were sleeping, the
whole time painfully aware that she was lying there uncovered, on her side, her
one leg canted, showing the curve of her hip. And to make matters worse,
Crash’s tee had ridden up and was all twisted around her waist, giving this man
a clear shot of her lace panties, her legs, the skin between her panties and
belly button and probably half her ass. My God, she was mortified and too
terrified to open her eyes. But, so help her, if he reached out and touched
her, she was going to jump up on the bed, scream and maybe karate kick him. Oh,
please, Crash, make him leave, she chanted over and over in her head.

She
heard the paperclip strands rustle loudly as if they’d been flung violently to
the side, and then Crash’s voice in a quiet rumble as if he was holding himself
back from shouting so as not to awaken her. “Get the fuck away from her.”

“Okay,
man. Chill out. I wasn’t gonna touch her,” the man whispered back.

Shannon
dared a peek through the slit in her eye, peering through her lashes. The man
was still at the foot of the bed, his hand resting on one of the posts. But
now, Crash was standing next to him staring down at her with a stunned look on
his face. His eyes traveling slowly over her. “She’s off limits. To all of
you,” he breathed.

“You
keepin’ her for yourself?” the other man asked in a low voice.

“I’m
taking care of her.”

“Yeah,
I bet.” She saw the man make a lewd thrusting movement with his hips
accompanied by a barely audible grunting sound.

“Knock
it off, dickhead,” Crash hissed, smacking him upside the head.

Then
another voice, and she noticed another figure step behind them, peering over
Crash’s shoulder and ask quietly, “So, you’re really not gonna tap that?”

Crash
looked over his shoulder at the new man, and then his gaze returned to her body
lying across his bed, and he responded softly, “She’s way out of my league,
Wolf.”

“She’s
in your fuckin’ bed, man. How can you resist that?”

One
of them shoved Crash forward toward the bed a step. “Come on, you can do it. We
got faith in you.”

“Yeah,
it’s just like ridin’ a bike,” another teased in a whisper.

“Knock
it the fuck off,” Crash hissed softly.

“Well,
you got more willpower than I would,” Wolf whispered in a serious voice.

Then
the first man replied. “Bigger balls, too.”

“Shut
up, fuck-wad.”

“Both
of you, out. Now,” Crash growled. She heard them all move out of the room and opening
her eyes, she saw them all return to the kitchen, where their banter continued.

“You’re
just jealous ‘cause I’m anatomically correct.”

“Go
suck a dick.”

Kissy
noises filled the air.

“The
only thing your lips are gonna be kissin’ is my fist, asshole.”

“You
got any coffee, Crash?” one of them asked.

A
moment later, one of them hollered out, “Hey, Baby-doll! Get out here, and make
your man some coffee!”

“Shut
up, man.”

“What?
You gotta train ‘em right, right from the start.”

Shannon
realized she couldn’t continue to pretend to sleep through all that. She sat
up, grabbed the sheet up and then reached over the edge of the bed to the floor
and picked up her bra. She fumbled with it under the covers and got it on. Then
she grabbed up her dress from yesterday and slipped it back on. She crawled out
of the bed and smoothed the dress down. Snatching her purse up off the bedside
table, she dashed to the bathroom and slammed the door.

Leaning
back against the door with her eyes closed, she heard their laughter. Mortified,
she opened her eyes and took in the bathroom. It was the only room in the loft
that was actually boxed-in, with walls, ceiling and a door. Directly in front
of her was a beautiful antique dresser that had been turned into a vanity by
the addition of a gorgeous glass bowl that sat on top and served as the sink. A
large framed mirror hung on the wall over it. To the right was a toilet, and to
the left was a large, glass enclosed shower encased in a beautiful slate tile.

Shannon
stepped forward, slung her bag on the vanity and leaned toward the mirror,
studying her face. There were dark circles under her eyes, and her hair was a
mess. She dug in her bag and got to work trying to make herself presentable. A
moment later, there was a tap on the door. She turned, staring at the closed
door and asked hesitantly, “Who is it?”

“Got
your bag, Princess,” Crash responded. “Thought you might want it.”

She
opened the door a crack and peeked out at him. He smiled and held the bag up.

She
reached a hand out, grabbed it, pulled it in and slammed the door shut. She
heard his laughter and a “Your welcome, babe,” as he walked off.

Crash
was standing in the kitchen, his arms folded over his chest, leaning back
against the counter listening to his brothers go on about their night last
night. And the whole time all he could think about was the way Shannon had
looked all spread out on his bed. She still hadn’t come out of the bathroom. He
really should just get these fuckers out of here while she was in there. He was
contemplating how to do it, short of just saying ‘get the fuck out’, which he
knew would only make them determined to stay longer, when he finally heard the
bathroom door open.

“And
then, Mary goes and dumps the whole plate of spaghetti on his head,” Wolf was
telling the story. “No one knew what to do. Fortunately, I had the presence of
mind to start the applause.”

“Fuck
you, Wolf,” Red Dog said.

“What?
Come on, man. You were sitting in a restaurant full of people with spaghetti
all over you. I didn’t take one shot. Now that’s love.”

Green
chuckled.

Just
then, Shannon walked around the corner of the L-shaped kitchen, and Crash’s
arms came unfolded as he took her in. She was dressed in a black
off-the-shoulder top made of a soft whisper-thin material that draped loosely
until it got to her waist, then it clung tightly, revealing her hips. It was
paired with white leggings. She had a pair of high-heeled slides on her feet.
Her blonde hair was up in a twist which showed off her beautifully bare
shoulders. Classy gold hoop earrings dangled from her ears. She moved past him,
ignoring them all and opened the refrigerator. That gave him, and unfortunately,
his brothers, a nice shot of the back view. And what a view it was. The white
leggings showed off her perfect ass. But it was the top that caught all their
eyes. It was held together by a string across her shoulder blades, leaving the
rest of her back bare and also revealing the fact that she was braless under
that draping. Holy shit.

She
turned with the orange juice carton, and Crash immediately moved to get her a
glass.

“Good
God Almighty.” This from Wolf, murmured low under his breath.

“Um-um-um,”
Green added.

Crash
took the carton from her shaking hand and filled the glass for her, grinning at
her.

“You
gonna introduce us, brother?” Wolf asked.

“Shannon,”
he nodded toward them. “The trifecta of fuck-ups. Larry, Curly and Moe.” He
watched a smile pull at her mouth as her tension eased with his joke.

“Seriously,
dude,” Wolf begged for mercy.

He
nodded again toward each. “Wolf, Green, and you probably remember Red Dog from
yesterday.”

Green
leaned his folded arms on the bar, eyeing her up and down with a grin, and then
he pulled the toothpick out of his mouth and pointed it at her with a smile. “I
remember you, darlin’.”

Shannon
looked at him with a stricken look, and Crash’s eyes cut between them.

Green’s
eyes skated to Crash and back. “Gave your girl, here, her first ride. Didn’t I,
sweetheart?”

“Green,
knock it the fuck off. Leave her be,” Crash snapped.

“You
remember me, don’t ya, babe?”

Crash
watched Shannon’s back straighten like someone had jammed a steel-rod in it,
and her chin came up. Then she tore into Green like Crash had never seen a
woman do before. “Yes, I remember you. I remember when you dropped me off at
the gate of my father’s estate you told me that I better remember what I’d been
told. That I’d better not say, how did you put it, ‘nuttin’ to nobody’? And
then you’d looked at the gate and back at me and sneered how I wouldn’t be too
hard to find. Yes, I remember you,” she snapped.