Smolder: A Devil Chaser's MC Romance (2 page)

I felt my phone buzzing in my back pocket, and I almost ignored it. I was enjoying the peace and quiet. I decided I’d better answer it, in case Bishop was looking for me. As the new Sergeant of Arms, I had to be there whenever he needed me.

When I looked at the screen, I was surprised to see that it was Taylor calling me. I hadn’t heard from her since Ace’s funeral. She’d been pretty pissed at the time, but I hoped that she had just been hurting and looking for someone to blame.

“Hello?”

“Hey Renegade. It’s Taylor.”

“Yeah, your name on my phone told me that much. How are things going? I haven’t heard from you in a while.”

“Things are getting better, I guess. Mom and Dad have gotten back into their old routines, and Mom is crying less every day. I’m liking my new job, so I guess we’re all adjusting.”

“That’s good. I’m glad your folks are doing better.” I wondered why she was calling. I wasn’t one to beat around the bush, so I just asked, “So, you call to chat, or do ya need something?”

“Well, I was wondering if I could come see you for a couple of days. Maybe even a week.”

“Sure, I’ll get you a room ready at the house. You can come and stay as long as you need to,” I told her as Bishop walked over and sat with me at the bar.

“Thanks. I was hoping you’d say that.” I could hear the worry in her voice.

“Is anything wrong? Do you need me to come there?” I asked as Bishop gave me a questioning look. I’m sure he was wondering who I was talking to.

“No, everything’s fine. I just need to get away for a few days. I thought I would come hang out with you and the guys for a little while. I plan to leave here around 11, so I should be there around 1.”

“Okay. I’ll see you tomorrow around 1 o’clock. Be careful.”

I hung up the phone and laid it on the bar. Something was up. She didn’t sound like herself.

“What’s that all about?” Bishop asked me.

“That was Taylor. She asked if she could come visit for a few days, maybe a week.”

Bishop raised his eyebrows. “What’s up with that? Y’all got something going?”

“No. It’s not like that, man. Even if I had a thing for her, she’s Ace’s sister. No way I could let anything happen with us.”

“You know Ace would be okay with it. She seems like a nice girl, and she’s beautiful… and it seemed like you had more than brotherly love for her when she was here for the funeral.”

“Yeah, I’ve had feelings for her for a while. She even wanted us to get together a few years back. I thought about it. I mean,
really
thought about it. At the time, I just couldn’t jeopardize my friendship with Ace. If I’d hurt her, he would’ve killed me. I’m the last thing she needs. You know I’ve never been one to settle down, and I don’t see it happening anytime soon.”

“Why is she coming here then?” Bishop asked.

“She has something going on. I could tell it in her voice. She wouldn’t tell me about it, though. She just said she needed to get away for a while. I told her she could stay at my place as long as she needed to. I’ll figure out what’s going on and help her if I can.”

Bishop nodded. “Keep me posted. If there’s anything I can do to help, just let me know.”

“Thanks. How’s Tessa doing with the move? Are the kids liking your place?” I asked.

“She’s doing better. That whole deal with her brother has really messed with her head. It’s going to take some time for her to get past all that. The kids are doing great, though.”

“She seems like she’s fitting in just fine with the guys. They all like her. I’m happy for you, man.”

“Thanks, that means a lot. You got anything that needs to be brought up in church tonight?” Bishop asked.

“Not that I can think of. Been pretty quiet around here,” I told him.

“Thank fuck for that. I’ll see you tonight,” Bishop said as he got up and went to his office. I finished up my beer and thought about what I needed to get things ready for her. I’d be staying at the clubhouse while she was at my house. I didn’t need to be tempted while she was here. Just knowing she was going to be sleeping in my house made it hard for me to think straight. She’d always been beautiful, but now she wasn’t a kid anymore. The young girl I’d met years ago had changed into a knockout. Keeping my distance while she was here was going to be tough, but I couldn’t let myself go there with her. She’d already been through enough.

I went back to my house and spent the night trying to make the place look presentable. I’d never brought a woman home, so I wasn’t sure what she’d think of the place. It’s pretty comfortable, but it’s far from decorated. I never saw the need to fix the place up. I’m rarely there, so I didn’t see the point. I changed the sheets on my bed and stocked the fridge with foods I thought she might like. I finally crashed on the sofa when I had the place looking better.

I woke up with the sun blaring through the cheap shades in my living room. I’d overslept. She was supposed to be at the clubhouse in half an hour, so I decided to take a shower and head back before she got there. I didn’t want to be late meeting her.

When I got back to the clubhouse, though, there was no sign of Taylor. Crack Nut Bobby was playing a game of pool by himself, so I decided to join him. I grabbed a beer and a pool stick and walked over to him. “Wanna play a round?”

“Sure thing, but I have to tell you, I’ve gotten a lot better since the last time we played. I might just beat you this time,” Bobby said sounding hopeful.

“Not gonna happen, Crack Nut. You and I both know you can’t beat me. I’ll give ya a fair shot, though. You break ‘em.”

We played two rounds, and I beat him both times. He looked a little disappointed, but he had to know that he couldn’t win. No one had beaten me at pool in years. Sheppard was sitting at the bar grinning like the Cheshire Cat.

“You couldn’t just let him win one game?” Sheppard asked teasingly.

“Why the hell would I do that? He’d never let me live that shit down. He’s still bragging about beating Doc, and we both know he let him win that game,” I said taking a swig of beer.

“Yeah, I see your point. Hey, Bishop said that Taylor was coming down for a visit. I thought she’d be here by now.”

“I’ve tried calling her four times already. She should’ve been here hours ago, and she isn’t answering her phone,” I replied, glancing down at my cell.

“Aw man, you know how women are. They’re late to everything. I bet she had to fix her hair or something. Don’t worry about it. She’ll be here soon. If she doesn’t show, we’ll go find her,” he said reassuring me.

“I don’t have a good feeling about this, Sheppard. She sounded strange on the phone. Something was bothering her. I know something isn’t right,” I told him. I really was getting concerned. Something was up, and I didn’t like it.

“It’s probably some dude. Is she dating anybody?”

“Hell, I don’t know. Probably. A girl like her doesn’t go single for long. I’m sure she has guys drooling over her all the time.”

“Yeah, it’s probably just some guy she had a fight with. I bet they made up, and she decided not to come,” Sheppard said.

“It’s not like her not to call me back, though. I’ll give it some time, but if she’s not here in a few hours, I’m going to look for her.”

“I’ll go with you. Just give me a heads up. You don’t need to go up there alone. If there is a problem, I’ll have your back.”

“Thanks, man. I’ll let you know,” I said. I patted him on the shoulder and went back to my room. I pulled out my wallet and removed the folded picture from the side pocket. It was an old picture of Taylor and me. I was standing beside her with my arm around her shoulder. We’d spent the day riding my bike out by the lake, and I’d taken her to my special place by the water. It was one of the best days that I could remember. I knew back then that I’d never want another girl like I wanted her. It almost killed me every time she hugged me or even brushed up against me. As I sat there looking at the old picture of us together, I decided that I would do anything for her.

It seemed like I had been staring at that picture for hours when I finally decided to try calling her again. When she didn’t answer, I’d had enough.

“Where the hell is she?” I shouted. I decided it was time to find out what was going on. I went back to the bar and found Sheppard.

“I’m done waiting. I’m heading to Kentucky. Something isn’t right.”

“Okay, let me grab a few things. We need to tell Bishop that we’re heading out. Depending on what’s going on, it might be a few days before we get back.”

I nodded. “I’ll call him. Meet me out front when you’re ready.”
      
It was close to midnight when we finally made it to Taylor’s apartment. We parked our bikes out front and walked inside. I was immediately pissed. The place had absolutely no security. No one even tried to stop us from entering the elevator. When the doors opened, we went straight to her door. I didn’t hear noise coming from the apartment, so I tapped on the door. When no one answered, I started banging on it with all of my might.

“Taylor! Open the damn door!” I shouted. I continued to pound on the door and call her name, until an elderly lady stuck her head out of her apartment across the hall. She was wearing an old tattered robe and slippers. It was obvious that we had woken her up.

“Haven’t you done enough to her? You need to just leave her alone! She’s a sweet girl, and she doesn’t deserve all this. You need to just go away,” she hissed as she gave us the stink eye.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about lady. I’m a friend of her brother’s, and I’m trying to see if she’s okay,” I tried to explain. “What’s going on? Do you know where she is?” I asked.

“Well, she’s not okay. Earlier today she was taken to the hospital. I heard her screaming from her apartment, and it sounded like someone was hurting her. Then, when I heard a man shouting at her, I called the police, but he was already gone by the time they got here. She was hurt pretty bad, so they took her to the emergency room.”

“Fuck!” The old woman jumped as I slammed my hand against the wall. I didn’t mean to scare her, but I couldn’t control my anger.

Sheppard gave me a warning look before he turned to her and asked, “We need to go see her. Can you tell us which hospital they took her to?”

She stared at me for a minute like she was trying to decide if I was telling the truth before she answered, “We only have one. They had to take her up to Caldwell County Hospital over on Highway 62. It’s about 10 miles from here.”

“Thank you. We’ll go check on her. Thank you for looking out for her,” Sheppard told her.

“She would do the same for me. You tell her to steer clear of that man she was seeing. I told her that he was bad news. She always sees the best in people, but I knew something wasn’t right about that boy.”

“What guy was she seeing?” I asked as I tried to get ahold of my temper.

“I don’t know the boy’s name, but he always wore a leather vest like yours. It was different though. I think his had a red dragon on the back. He’s a big guy, and he’s a handsome thing. I just always thought there was something off about him,” she said with concern in her voice.

“Do you think he’s the one that did this to her?” Sheppard asked.

I clinched my fists as I became consumed with anger. Sheppard noticed that I was losing control, so he stepped closer to me and tried to calm me down.

He leaned over to me and whispered calmly, “We need to go see if Taylor’s okay. I’ll come back and talk to the neighbor in the morning.” He turned to her and asked, “You mind if I come back tomorrow and ask you a few questions? It’s important that we know who we’re dealing with.”

“That would be fine, dear. You come by anytime. I’ll be here.”

On the way to the hospital, I was overcome with guilt. I’d let Ace down again. I should’ve been there when he made that delivery a few months back. He was my best friend, and he might’ve still been here if I’d been there to help. Now, his sister was hurt because I hadn’t taken the time to go check on her. I should’ve come to see what was wrong. Maybe this wouldn’t have happened if I wasn’t such a selfish asshole. What was I thinking?

I couldn’t imagine who’d ever think about hurting Taylor. She’d always been softhearted, but she never took shit off of anyone. Now I knew why she’d been trying to get away from here for a while. Some asshole was giving her trouble, and he was going to regret it. He’d better hope she’s okay.

When we finally made it to the hospital, the nurses wouldn’t let me go back to see Taylor. They bitched because it was after midnight and visiting hours were over or some bullshit like that. I tried to bully my way through, but they weren’t having it. One heavyset nurse threatened to call the police if I didn’t leave. I wasn’t happy about leaving the hospital without knowing if she was okay, but they didn’t leave me much choice. I’d have to come back first thing in the morning and figure out what the hell was going on.

Chapter 2

Taylor

The sound of Renegade’s voice echoed down the hall. I could hear him shouting at the nurses, demanding to see me. Thankfully, they stood their ground and wouldn’t let him in. It was way past visiting hours, and they told him he had to come back in the morning. God, I didn’t want him to see me like this. I’m sure my face looks like I was on the losing end of a bar fight, and this cast is a total nuisance. He’s going to freak right on out when he sees what Gage did to me.