Fight (7 page)

Yes. Yes, I fucking do.

I swallowed hard.

Winter grabbed the bottom of her
shirt and lifted. I saw her bare stomach, a little roll of skin, hiding her
belly button, driving me goddamn mad, because it meant she wasn
’
t obsessed with being
supermodel
thin
or some fake bullshit.

I caught sight of her bra, her
fingers going under her bra, and I grabbed for her wrist.

“
Fucking
stop!
”
I growled.
“
Christ.
”

Winter put her shirt back down. She
looked at me, her eyes glistening.
“
And
to answer your question, I don
’
t
know. I don
’
t know what me
and Rocky were involved with  or could have been involved with, okay?
”

“
You
don
’
t know?
”

“
I
don
’
t know,
”
Winter said.
“
There was always something
happening. Someone trying to come after the MC. They
’
d meet with other bikers, they
’
d meet with gangsters, they
’
d meet with men in suits.
”

“
What
about you?
”
I asked.
“
What about your past?
”

Winter fell silent.

So I hit the nail on the damn head.

Something from her past was
creeping forward. Christ, maybe it had nothing to do with the Red Aces MC and
that
’
s why Aldo sent me
here.

I gripped the wheel even tighter,
my mind making it impossible not to think about Winter naked. I shouldn
’
t have asked, poked, pried, or
cared. That
’
s why I pushed
her away last night, right? I just needed to keep her alive until Aldo called
me to come back.

I didn
’
t speak to her for the rest of the ride back to her
place.

When we got there, she hurried out
of the car and ran to the door.

I watched her open the door and go
inside.

That
’
s
when I hurried after.

She opened the door without her
key. And the door was supposed to be lock
ed
.

10.

(Winter)

I didn
’
t use my key.

That thought processed in my mind a
second before I saw the place. The couch flipped over. The dining room table
the same. Everything was touched, moved, some items broken.

Tripp flew up behind me. I turned
just as he was there, his hands scooping me up. Maybe he expected to find
someone in the place, but there wasn
’
t.
It was just a clear message sent directly at me.

Tripp lifted me up, carried me a
few steps, and then put me back down. He let me go and jumped back. His eyes
scanned the room.

“
Shit,
”
he said.
“
You shouldn
’
t have come in here.
”

“
What?
It
’
s my house.
”

“
The
door was unlocked. It
’
s a
set up.
”

“
Nobody
is here. I
’
m fine.
”

Tripp gritted his teeth. He took
out his gun and told me to stay near the front door and not to touch anything.
I really wasn
’
t in any
position to argue with him.

I watched Tripp walk through my
house. He was unbelievably sexy with the way he moved, the way he held the gun,
the instinctive look in his eye that screamed for survival. I trusted him more
than I trusted anyone in the MC.

Tripp emerged from the bathroom and
went into my bedroom.

It was the first time he
’
d been in there.

I bit my lip thinking about the way
I put myself out there with him when I was drunk.

Typical Winter, right?

Tripp came out of my bedroom,
shaking his head.

“
What?
”
I asked.

“
Nothing.
Whoever did this kept it right here. Nothing is missing?
”

“
Not
that I can tell,
”
I said.
“
Not that I have a secret safe
full of diamonds or something.
”

“
No
secret safe. Just secrets.
”

Tripp tucked his gun and walked to
the kitchen window and looked out. He then opened the fridge and kept poking
around the apartment. He fixed the couch and checked under the cushions. I
fixed the dining room table and grabbed paper towels to clean up the mess on
the floor.

We moved in silence until I stopped
and looked up at Tripp, towering over me as I was on my knees. His hands balled
into fists. His knuckles ripped up. Muscles rippling from his wrist up to where
his arms pressed tight against his shirt.

“
I
’
m not supposed to get involved,
”
he said.
“
I
’
m
supposed to just protect you.
”

“
So
what do you want? A medal? You want me to call your boss and tell him you
’
re putting in overtime?
”

“
Don
’
t get mouthy with me.
”

“
What
are you going to do?
”

I was challenging Tripp and I liked
it. He inched closer to me. He put a hand to the table and leaned down a
little.

“
Look,
darling, someone wants you dead.
”

“
They
really tried this time,
”
I
said.
“
Flipping over my
used couch. I
’
m terrified.
”

“
Yeah,
keep thinking that. That
’
s
how people get killed.
”

“
Oh?
”
I slowly stood up. Standing, I
wasn
’
t as tall as Tripp.
But I was closer to him. Closer to that steel cut jaw. Closer to the scruff on
his face. Closer to those scary brown eyes that were somehow still inviting and
comforting.
“
How would I
have gotten killed then? Tripped on something tipped over?
”

Tripp shook his head.
“
If you opened your door and saw
this, and I wasn
’
t here,
what would you have done?
”

I opened my mouth but stopped for a
second. If I had been alone, I would have freaked out, sure. Who wouldn
’
t have? Would I have stayed in
the house and cleaned it up so casually like I was with Tripp?

Probably not.

“
Silence,
”
Tripp said.
“
That
’
s what I fucking thought.
”

He started to turn and I grabbed
his arm. I pulled at him, bringing him back to me.

Tripp stood sideways. My fingers
moved up and over the natural round feel of his bicep. A muscle built off
throwing punches, defending himself, hurting other people.

Yet I still liked it. I still
touched him.

“
I
would have ran,
”
I said.
“
Okay? If I was alone and I came
in here and the place was trashed, I would have left. I would have grabbed my
keys and took off.
”

“
Shit,
”
Tripp said.

He shook away from me and ran to
the front door. A second later, he was gone. My fingertips were tingling,
wishing they were still touching Tripp
’
s
muscle.

I ran after him, outside and around
the side of the converted garage.

He went right to my car and
stopped.

“
What
is it?
”
I asked as I
approached.

“
Ten
bucks you don
’
t lock your
car.
”

“
I
don
’
t have ten bucks,
”
I said. I grabbed for the door
handle, knowing it wasn
’
t
locked. What the hell did I care to lock the door? There was nothing in the car
that was of value. The car itself was a piece of junk anyway.

Tripp grabbed my wrist and pulled
me close to his body.
“
Don
’
t.
”

“
Why?
”

“
They
trashed your place to get you into your car,
”
Tripp said.
“
Any idea why?
”

I shook my head.

Tripp gritted his teeth.
“
Just stand back in case I get
lit up. And if I do
…”
Tripp
took out his cell and handed it to me.
“
Dial
1 and just say that I
’
m
dead. I can
’
t promise
anything good, but it might be better than that MC.
”

“
Tripp,
what are you
…”

He rushed around to the driver
’
s door. Slowly, he opened it,
wincing. It was like he was waiting for the car to blow up or something.

Blow up.

The car
’
s going to blow up!

The car
’
s wired!

I gasped and stepped back.

Tripp was bold and brave, climbing
across the front seat. Digging around, searching. He then popped the hood and
moved out of the car. He went to the hood and opened it.

“
Fuck!
”
he yelled.

I ran toward him.
“
Tripp. What is it?
”

“
I
told you to stay away.
”

“
I
don
’
t listen. Get used to
it.
”

“
Look.
Right here.
”
He pointed to
a little box.
“
That right
there. That
’
s wired up to
your starter. You get in the car, turn the key, and
…”

“
Boom,
”
I whispered.

“
Yeah,
boom,
”
he said and laughed.
“
Christ, darling, doesn
’
t it scare you?
”

“
I
’
m numb to it all,
”
I said.

Tripp wiped a line of sweat from
his forehead. He backed up and slowly shut the hood.

“
What
do we do?
”
I asked.

“
I
’
ll make a call. I
’
ll get this diffused.
”

“
I
thought you were a fighter,
”
I said.
“
How do you know
about bombs and stuff?
”

Tripp turned and touched my
shoulder.
“
Darling, I didn
’
t survive this long just by
fighting. Okay? I
’
ve seen
things. I
’
ve done things.
Just do yourself a favor and keep away. Arm
’
s
length, okay? I
’
m sorry for
whatever you
’
re going
through. I
’
m sorry I pushed
at your past. I don
’
t give
a shit about it. Someone is out to kill you. My only job is to make sure that
doesn
’
t happen.
”

I was hurt.

Tripp was touching my shoulder
while telling me to stay away. He was a freaking hypocrite with this.

I wiggled away and put my hands up.
“
Fair enough. It
’
s for the better I guess.
Because as of right now, you kind of suck at protecting me.
”

Tripp lunged at me. My response
should have been to jump back and away from him, like I used to with Rocky.
Rocky would sometimes catch me, sometimes miss me. With Tripp, I just stood
there. He crashed into me and had his face inches from mine.

“
Get
in my fucking car,
”
he
said.
“
We
’
re out of here.
”

“
We
’
re out of here? What the hell
does that mean?
”

Tripp didn
’
t respond. He just started walking. He took me with
him, turning me around, basically dragging me to his car. I didn
’
t fight him off though. It was
almost comforting to know I wasn
’
t
going back inside that house again.

Then again,
where the hell was I
going?

11.

(Tripp)

I had hideouts. We all had
hideouts. It was just part of the life and the gig. This one wasn
’
t paid for out of my pocket, but
by Aldo. He gave me a key to the apartment a long time ago, telling me that if
shit ever got bad enough and I needed a night away, use it. To be honest, I
figured there was no chance in hell the key would actually work. After all, it
was a beachfront motel, not an apartment complex.

The damn key worked.

It slid right in and turned, the
lock clicking open.

The room was cramped, but it smelled
clean enough. There was only one bed, a nightstand on each side with a lamp on
each nightstand. A dresser with a mirror, a small television on the corner of
it. There was a closet, a bathroom, and one of the corners served as some kind
of kitchenette. The best part was the small balcony that overlooked the ocean.
The sight, the sound, that was my favorite thing in the world. It brought me a
sense of freedom. A sense of hope.

None of that shit I could let
Winter know about though.

I shut the door and locked it.

I had a bag of my clothes. Winter
had a bag of her clothes.

We barely spoke a word on the ride
over, and there probably wasn
’
t
much of a purpose to talk right now either.

I pointed to the bed and said,
“
Get settled. I have to make a
phone call.
”

Outside, I leaned against the
railing for a minute to catch my breath. Seeing Winter
’
s place trashed and finding a bomb under the hood
of her car really got to me. I thought I was going to be dealing with someone
trying to hurt her or take her, but to not plant a bomb. And after talking to
Stoney, it was all weighing on me.

I called Aldo.

“
Tripp,
”
a voice said. It was one of
Aldo
’
s thugs.

“
Where
is he?
”

“
Not
here. Grocery shopping.
”

Cue, he
’
s right next to me but
not going to talk to you.

“
Did
you fix the car?
”

“
Yeah,
it
’
s all fixed.
”

“
Any
idea what was wrong?
”
I
asked.
Who planted the bomb?

“
Eh,
it
’
s a car. You know how it
goes. They work, they break, you fix them.
”

“
So
you have no idea?
”

“
Did
you get where you had to go, Tripp?
”

“
I
’
m here,
”
I said.
“
All
is well.
”

“
Good.
You just stay where you are then. Nothing to worry about.
”

“
Except
the car breaking again,
”
I
said.
“
I didn
’
t sign up for this.
”

“
You
do as told. You know what waits.
”

I gripped the cell phone tight and
held it away from my ear for a second. I turned and saw Winter standing with
the door open.

“
I
have to go,
”
I said.

“
Take
care, Tripp.
”

The call ended.

“
You
didn
’
t sign up for this?
”
Winter asked.

“
What?
Is that supposed to be a shock?
”

“
I
guess not.
”

Winter turned and stepped back into
the room. She shut the door. So I stood there and grabbed the railing, facing
the closed door, looking through the glass as she just kept her back to me.

Protect her, man. Nothing else.
Nothing more.

I opened the door and went into the
room.

“
Let
me ask you something,
”
I
said.
“
Did you sign up for
all this? Is this where you expected to be? In the arms of a biker who winds up
dead? Now being protected by some thug like me.
”

That
’
s
when I saw Winter
’
s
shoulders starting to bob.

She was crying.

I rolled my eyes and tried to hold
back. I had no business getting closer to her and comforting her. This was her
life and it was her mess to deal with.

But I couldn
’
t stop myself.

I knew the feeling. That burning
deep inside when you
’
re
completely alone and have nothing or nobody. Nights I
’
d sit on the edge of my bed, listening to the
ocean, drinking a warm beer, and I
’
d
stare at my phone, begging for it to ring and have Aldo be on the other line
with a fight for me. Just so I could feel wanted. Of use. To grasp at anything
that resembled a purpose.

I touched Winter
’
s shoulders. I pulled at her,
letting her rest against my chest. My chin rested easily against the top of her
head. I could smell her hair. The faint fragrance of  shampoo mixed with dried
sweat.

It made me throb in a way it
shouldn
’
t have.

My hands eased down to her arms and
I started to rub, anything to settle her emotions and pain.

“
You
miss him?
”
I asked.

“
No,
”
Winter whispered.
“
That
’
s the thing, Tripp. I don
’
t. I never really wanted it. It was just
convenient. My chance to hide from the world. Like I
’
m doing right now.
”

She lowered her head and let out a
cry.

“
Jesus,
darling,
”
I whispered.
“
You don
’
t have to feel that way.
”

I brought my left hand up and
pulled her hair from her face, gently brushing it all to the right side of her
head and right shoulder. I caught sight of the side of her cheek. And then she
curved her neck, just a little, exposing skin, testing my hunger to taste her.

“
I
’
m right here,
”
I said.
“
I
’
m
not going to lie to you. Expect that from me. And if you don
’
t want to open up to me anymore
than you have, that
’
s fine.
I
’
m just trying to help
you. To protect you. You could have been killed today. If you were alone
…
and you hurried to your car to
get away. I mean, it was a terrible set up because your car wouldn
’
t have been there if you were
alone. Even still. Someone was there. Where was the fucking MC then?
”

“
Probably
drinking. Worried about who gets to fuck me next.
”

I felt a rage of jealous anger
surge through my body. I squeezed at Winter
’
s
arms. She let out a purring sigh. I shut my eyes and told myself no. The women
I fucked were one night stands. They lingered after the fights and sometimes
were paid for by Aldo as an extra prize for me.

This couldn
’
t
…

My lips brushed Winter
’
s neck. The tip of my tongue
flirted with her skin. I pulled my mouth away. I saw Winter
’
s bottom lip tremble. I kissed
her neck again. I pulled her body tighter to mine. My cock thickened, pressing
hard against my jeans and just as hard against Winter
’
s lower back. I knew she could feel me and she didn
’
t jump away in shock.

Fuck.

I flickered my tongue at her neck
and kissed one last time.

I then opened my hands and stepped
back.

I let out a long breath.
“
Shit. Darling.
”

Winter turned. She put one hand to
my face. Then in a bold move she put her other hand between my legs and tried
to cup my hard dick.

“
Don
’
t fight it for too long,
”
she whispered.
“
We might be dead soon.
”

Christ, if that wasn
’
t the most desperate and
romantic thing I
’
d ever
heard in my life.

My hands touched her waist. I
slipped my fingers under her shirt, touching her soft and warm skin. My hand
moved across her belly, my thumb touching her belly button. Her stomach tensed
and she gasped.
She was fucking ticklish.

Slowly, I moved both hands up her
shirt, grabbing it, wanting the damn thing off her body. Winter lifted her arms
and her shirt went up and over her head. It dropped to the floor. Her breasts
were beautiful, pushing so heavily against her white laced bra. There was
something innocent about the color white and it completely went against
everything that was happening with me and her.

I couldn
’
t take my eyes off her tits. I wanted to rip her
bra off and devour her.

Winter let out a cry of pain and I
opened my hands. That
’
s
when I saw the bruise on her left shoulder. My left hand touched her belly
again and I spun her so her shoulder was facing me.

God, her fucking tits were
amazing. They way they bounced when I moved her
…

“
What
happened?
”
I asked.
“
Did one of those fuckers touch
you?
”

Winter looked at me, her face
flushed.
“
No. You did it.
”

“
Me?
What?
”

I thought about the night before.
Being drunk. Did something happen? Did I hurt her? No fucking way. I
’
d never touch a woman like that.
Not after everything I
’
d
been through. No way
…

“
Tripp?
”

I shook my head.
“
What? What happened? How did I
…”

Winter turned to face me again. Her
tits were calling to me, but I forced to keep my eyes to hers. It was killing
me from the inside.

“
When
we went into the house,
”
she said.
“
You saw Harlan
on the couch and pushed me out of the way. I fell into the wall and hit my
shoulder.
”

“
Jesus
Christ, darling,
”
I said. I
touched just below the bruise.
“
I
’
m so sorry. I
’
d never
…”

“
I
believe you,
”
she said.
“
You didn
’
t mean to. You were protecting me.
”

The bruise took up most of her
shoulder. I leaned forward and pressed my lips to it. Winter jumped, winced,
and groaned. Her hand shot to the back of my head, her fingers digging.

My left hand was still against her
stomach. If I moved my hand up, I could cup her tit. Rip it right from her bra.
Feel the warmth and heaviness. My thumb teasing her nipple, feeling it getting
hard. Better yet, I could move my hand down. Shove my hand right into her jeans
and panties and find her wet slit. She
’
d
be wet for me. She
’
d be wet
for my touch. But she wouldn
’
t
be prepared for what I wanted to do to her.

I gritted my teeth and broke away
from her again.

I walked forward, my back to her.
“
Put your shirt back on.
”

“
What?
”

“
You
fucking heard me. Enough.
”

I rushed to the bathroom door and
slammed the door shut. I went to the sink and turned on the cold water. I
leaned down and considered drowning myself in. I considered opening my jeans
and stuffing my dick into the sink, too.

This was bullshit. This had to
stop.

I couldn
’
t touch her again. I couldn
’
t kiss her. I couldn
’
t
fuck her.

I had to keep to the plan.

Just keep her alive.