Raw: The Ultimate Mc Collection (97 page)

“What’s your name?” I asked him angrily.

“Hawk, ma’am.  My name’s Hawk.”

CHAPTER FIVE

“So where am I?”

“You are at the clubhouse.  My clubhouse.  Well, the clubhouse for my motorcycle club.”

“Motorcycle club?!” I had obviously noticed his vest, but I hadn’t really given it much thought.  I was about to laugh at the absurdity of this, but he looked so serious.

“Yes, ma’am.  The Devil’s Horsemen.  I’m the president.”

“The president, huh?  And if all that you need to do is keep me safe, why do I get the honor of being watched by the president?  Don’t you have some minions to do that for you?”

“This is a special job.”

“I see. Hawk, does this have something to do with my father?  Do you even know who my father is?”  I hated saying that.  I hated who my father was, but he was running for the mayor of Los Angeles, and I had two thoughts beginning to form in my head.  Either I was here because of my father, or somehow my father would be able to get me out of this.

“I do know who your father is, yes, ma’am.”

“Please stop calling me ma’am.  My name is Vanessa.”

“Okay, Vanessa. You got it.”

“Okay, so you know who my father is. So, maybe there’s something my father can do for you and then you can let me go?  He has a lot of money, so maybe he can pay you even more than this client of yours?”

At this point, I was assuming I was being held for ransom or something.  I kept hoping Hawk would give me some clue, but he didn’t at all.

“Vanessa, I’m sorry, I can’t tell you anything.  But don’t worry, you won’t get hurt and I will personally see to your safety at all times while you are in my custody.”

“Custody?  You make it sound like I’m in jail.”  I jangled my chains to sarcastically prove my point.

“Can’t you at least unchain me?”  I asked.

“I’m sorry, that’s not possible at this time.  Maybe later.”

“Later.  Great.  That’s just fucking great.”  I plopped down on the bed, kicked off my uncomfortable high heels and folded my legs under me.  Obviously, I wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon, so I might as well get comfortable.

Suddenly, I thought of Pearl.

“But what about Pearl? Oh, my god! You have to let me go.”  I stood up again, panicked again about the fact that she was alone. “How long have I been here, anyway?”

“Just about twelve hours, that’s all.  Who is Pearl?”

“Pearl is my dog, dammit!  She can’t be left alone for too long.  Please?  You have to let me go, I can’t leave her alone.  Please, I’ll do anything, I will get money from my father for you, but I can’t let anything happen to my dog.  Please?”  I was begging now, my voice shaking as I was afraid that he would say no.

“No way.  I can’t let you go.” 

“You have to!”

“Dammit,” he replied, scratching his chin. “They didn’t tell me you had a dog.  Don’t you have a roommate or someone that will watch her?”

“No, I live alone!  You should know these things!  I have to get to my dog.”

“Look, just relax.  I will figure something out.  Like I said, I think you might be here for a few days at least.”

“My dog will die if I leave her alone that long.”

“Die? Really?  How old is she?” 

“Twelve.  And she needs her kidney medicine!”

“Fuck.”

He sat down in his chair, and I sat down on the bed, trying to calm down, and hoping that he had some ounce of decency in him that he wouldn’t let my sweet Pearl starve to death.

“Alright, look.  I’ll go get her.  I’ll bring her to you.”

“You will?” I asked, astonished. I guess that was better than nothing, but that meant he would be in my apartment.

“Can I go with you?” I asked.

“No way.  You have to stay here.  I’ll have someone watch you for a short while, and I’ll bring your…Pearl, is it?…back to you.  Is she dangerous?  Will she attack me?”

I bit my lip to keep from laughing.  Screw this guy.  I was shaking in fear, he could have a little fear himself.

“She’s selective about who she bites and who she doesn’t.  Good luck.”

“Fucking great.  Are your keys in your purse?”

“Yes.”

He grabbed my purse and rummaged through it, pulling out my wallet and my keys.  Opening my wallet, he pulled out my ID and whistled.

“Wow.  Fancy address.”

“Yeah, whatever.  Don’t forget Pearl’s medicine.  It’s in a blue bottle in the kitchen.  And her food.  And her water bowl, she won’t drink out of any other bowls.  And her treats, and her pink bed.  And look for a chewed up stuffed lamb.  It’s her favorite.”

“Oh, fucking christ.”  

I smirked as he left the room, and I hated myself for noticing how tightly his jeans fit his perfectly muscular ass as he walked away.

CHAPTER SIX

“Genevieve, have you heard from Vanessa today?”

“No, why?”  

“Fuck!” Dakota cursed into the phone. “We were supposed to meet for lunch and she isn’t here.  She’s not answering her phone.”

“Oh.  Well, maybe she’s still on her date from last night?”

“Maybe, but she would never just stand me up like this.  I’m going to have Bobbie drop by her apartment.”

“Okay, but don’t worry.  It hasn’t been that long. I just talked to her yesterday, and Charles said she made it to her date just fine last night. Maybe her phone is turned off or something.”

“Well, something is up. She isn’t the type to flake on me like this.”

“Dakota, I’m here with Veronica. We’re about to go to the spa. Call us when you hear from her.”  Genevieve replied, hanging up the phone.

“What’s up?”  Veronica asked when she turned to her.

“Vanessa didn’t show up for her lunch date with Dakota.  She’s not answering her phone.”

“Oh,”  Veronica said, “that’s not like her at all.”

“Hmm,” Genevieve looked contemplative, looking out the window as she spoke, “I guess not.  I’m sure she’s fine, probably just sleeping off a late night or something.  Listen, mon mimi, I’m going to make a quick phone call and then we’ll go, okay?  Why don’t you pour yourself a glass of wine or something while you wait.”

“Sure thing, boss.”

Genevieve wrinkled her nose, shaking her head at Veronica.

“You know I hate it when you call me that, darling.”

“I know,”  Veronica replied with a dash of sass in her voice, “that’s why I call you that!”

Genevieve laughed quietly as she walked down the hall to her bedroom.

Veronica walked into the kitchen, chose a bottle of wine from Genevieve’s extensive supply, and rummaged through the kitchen drawers looking for a corkscrew.  It wasn’t in its usual spot, but since Genevieve had a new cleaning lady, Veronica figured it was put in a different place.

Veronica walked down the hallway to ask Genevieve where it was.  When she reached her bedroom, the door was slightly ajar and she could hear Genevieve talking quietly.

“The dog? Merde! I forgot about it, too.  Listen, just go get it as fast as you can and get the hell out, okay?  I’ve got people sniffing around a lot sooner than I expected them to.”

Veronica stopped and listened at the door.  She strained to hear more of the conversation, but Genevieve moved into her bathroom and closed the door.

What was Genevieve talking about? A dog? Deciding it was none of her business, she turned and walked back to the kitchen.

Five minutes later, Genevieve walked back in.

“Did you get some wine?”

“Oh…um, no I couldn’t find the corkscrew. It’s fine, though. It’s a little early for wine anyway.”  There was no use in questioning Genevieve.  She didn’t want her to know she had been eavesdropping and it probably wasn’t important, and certainly wasn’t any of her business.

“Dammit!  I told the cleaning lady to put it back where she found it.  She thinks I have my stuff in all the wrong places, but I haven’t been able to find a thing since she started.”

“No big deal.  Shall we go now?”

“Yes, I am so ready for my massage!”  Genevieve replied.

Veronica pushed the conversation to the back of her mind, and led Genevieve to her car, ready for a relaxing day with one of her favorite people.

CHAPTER SEVEN

I was alone in the room with two of the biggest men I had ever seen, with two black pit bulls laying at their feet.  The men were huge, hairy, but apparently not very smart, and I had given up on trying to talk to them five minutes after Hawk left me alone with them.

“What are your names?”  I had asked them.

“Two Dog Dave.  And this is Crazy Mike.”

I opened my mouth to ask them how they got their names, but thankfully my brain figured that out pretty quickly.  With one glance of their menacing frames, I clamped my mouth shut and sat on the bed and waited silently. 

I was hoping I would somehow be able to escape while he was out and be able to get back to my apartment to get to Pearl before Hawk did.  Of course, I didn’t know where in the hell I was, so there was that obstacle.  It was increasingly difficult to think straight, considering I was chained to a bed in a dark room with two huge men standing as a barricade in front of the only exit.

At this point, I could only hope they didn’t hurt me, and that Hawk didn’t hurt Pearl.

An hour after he left, Hawk knocked on the door and Two Dog Dave and Crazy Mike parted like the red sea to let their president in the room.  The dogs jumped to their feet as a rush of white fluffy fur passed by them.

When Pearl saw me, she yapped, jumped from Hawk’s hands and ran into my arms immediately.  Relief swept over me as I snuggled her close.  I looked up at Hawk and saw annoyance in his eyes.

“You said she was vicious. All she did was lick my face when I went to pick her up,” he said.

“Well, then maybe you aren’t such a bad person after all.  She’s a very good judge of character.  Did you bring her meds?”

“Yes, I brought everything.  Here.”  He dumped a bag out on the bed, and all of Pearl’s favorite things fell out.  “Where’s her bed?”

“Her bed?  Oh fuck, I forgot that.”

“You forgot?  How could you forget?”

“Look lady, taking care of you is part of my job.  Making sure your princess dog is comfortable is not.  You’re lucky I went to get her at all.  That’s not part of the deal, but I have a soft spot in my heart for dogs, so you lucked out.”

Realizing I was indeed lucky, I conceded.

“Thank you.”  I said sincerely, looking into his eyes while Pearl wiggled in my arms.

“You’re welcome.”  

Her warm snuggles calmed me instantly, and my thinking began to slow down, letting me focus on exactly how I was going to get us out of this situation.  I was happy to see everyone leave the room except Hawk.  He closed the door and sat in the chair across from me once again.

“We can make her a bed with some blankets.”

“It’s okay.  She sleeps with me most of the time anyway.  She rarely leaves my side.”

“I can see that you two are very close.”  Pearl had placed her paws on my shoulders and was licking my face.  I pulled her away and placed her on my lap, looking over at Hawk.

“What can you tell me? You wouldn’t answer any of my questions, and I have no idea what is going on or why I’m here.  You are obviously a very kind man who takes his job seriously, and I can respect that, but if you can’t answer my questions, what can you say?”

“Vanessa, I’ve told you everything I can.  My client needs you out of the way, but safe. I don’t know why. I do know it’s temporary, and actions are underway as we speak to bring this situation to a quick conclusion. If all goes as planned, you and Pearl will be safe and sound back home before you know it.” He raised an eyebrow as he continued. “And what a home it is, by the way.”

I groaned. He was in my house. My sanctuary. A perfect stranger. Looking through my things, my art.  He did bring me Pearl, though, so I tried to push my feelings of being invaded aside.  Now that I was thinking a little more clearly, I was sure one of the girls or Genevieve would have taken perfect care of Pearl once they realized I was missing.