Twisted Mercy (Red Team Book 4) (19 page)

“No.” She frowned. “Do you?”

He shook his head and smiled in wonder. Was she that innocent? He laughed and continued on without her, mostly because it was so much easier to leave her than to look into her green eyes and know they weren’t seeing in him what he saw in her.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Hope looked out of the windows on three sides of her little house, seeing nothing but darkness. The compound had long ago grown quiet. It was only a few hours to dawn, the time when none of the bikers were still awake and moving around. She stepped into the shop so she could check the view from the other side of the house. It was as still and quiet as everywhere else.
 

She checked herself over, hoping the black attire she wore would be the cover she needed. Even her sneakers were black. She checked her pocket yet again, making sure her mini-flashlight was still there.

She’d been practicing what she was going to say to her brother, but it still sounded like a whole bunch of crazy. Would he believe her? Maybe she could convince him. Maybe this whole thing could be over tonight.

She slipped out the shop’s back door into the dark. She sent a quick look around, then jogged the long distance over to the boys’ quarters. She paused outside, breathing hard from her run and the excitement of finally meeting her brother. Their Quonset was dark. She didn’t know if they were inside sleeping. She leaned in to one of the windows, but couldn’t see inside. She walked stealthily toward the back of the building. There was a side door into the back room. She sent a look around her, worried Mads had somehow followed her. As best she could tell, she was alone. She tried the doorknob. It wasn’t locked. She pushed the door open and stepped inside.
 

The room was even darker than the night outside. She shined her flashlight around the room, seeing only a Spartan suite of furniture—bed, nightstand, desk, and bookshelf. All army surplus stuff. The bed had not been slept in.
 

Once again, she’d missed her brother.
 

She sighed, trying not to be crushed by disappointment. After a minute, she tiptoed over to the door to the main area of the building. Cracking it open, she saw that it, too, was unoccupied at the moment. The beds were all still made.

Where were they? Why would they be out at night? She flashed her light around her brother’s space, looking for photos or mementos, something that might tell her a little about him. A book was opened on the desk—a study of medieval battlements.
 

Frustrated and saddened, she walked outside. No sooner had she done so, she was surrounded, as the boys gathered around her silently, like whispers. A ring of black shadows, they blocked her forward progress. A chill skittered down her back. Too late, she remembered Mads’ warning to stay away.
 

One boy, about her height, stepped forward. His hoodie hid much of his face. Was he her brother?

“Are you Lion?” she asked. The boy didn’t answer. Another stepped forward. This one much taller. With the deep hoodie, she couldn’t make out his features.

“I am Lion. Who asks?”

Hope’s mouth went dry. He was here. Her brother was here. She looked around them at the crowd of shadows. How would she ever get him away from them?

“Mouse, take the others inside,” her brother quietly ordered. “We’re finished for the night.”

The shadows stepped away, entering the Quonset from the front entrance, leaving her alone with Lion. “May I see your face?” she whispered.

He lowered his hoodie. Lights had flipped on in the Quonset and now illuminated his lean features. His head was bald.

She lifted her hands to cover her mouth. They had the same chin, the same mouth, the same high cheekbones and long dimples. They might have been twins except for the differences in their size and ages.
 

Tattoos etched in an ancient script arched over his eyes where his brows should have been. She touched the pads of her fingers to the smooth ink, tracing the words
Fear
and
The Lion.
Tears welled in her eyes. He wasn’t just in a cult; he was its very fiber.
 

He caught her wrists and pulled her hands away from his face. “Do I know you?”

“I’m Hope. Your sister.”

His eyes narrowed. His grip on her wrists tightened. “I am alone. I have no siblings.”

She smiled. “Look at me. You look just like me.”

He let go of one of her wrists and gripped her face, turning her to catch more of the light. He nodded. “Very well. I’ll play this game. It’s your move.”

“I came to take you away.”

“Did Mad Dog send you?”

“No. He doesn’t know I’m here. He can’t know it.”

A frown tightened his brow. “The others said you visited with him.”

“I did. I needed to find you. You don’t belong here. You don’t have to stay here. We can leave right now.”

“This is my home. The boys you saw are my family. I’m not leaving them.”

“You’re not Lion. Your name is Randall Brawner. Our father stole you from our mother the day you were…born. You were never meant to live here, to live without me.”
To live alone…

“I’m living the life that was meant for me.”

“Randall—”

“I am Lion.”
 

She shook her head. He started to walk away. “Wait. Please. I’ve put myself in grave danger coming here for you. We cannot stay.”

“I’m not leaving. I have my family. Here.” He went inside the Quonset, leaving her adrift in the shadowy night.

She turned toward the shop and her house. Despite the day’s heat, the night was cold. She folded her arms in front of herself, as if the contact could hold the emptiness inside of her. She choked on a sob, then held her breath, refusing to surrender to the wave of emotion swallowing her. She wasn’t alone. She had a brother. She’d found him, and having seen him, she couldn’t doubt any longer that he was indeed her brother. There was another piece of her out in the world. Here.
 

And he wanted nothing to do with her.

She stumbled into her house. A shadow moved on her couch, too big, too solid to be merely a play of light. She flipped the light switch, then gasped. Mad Dog was sprawled on her shabby sofa. She was surprised it hadn’t collapsed under him. It creaked when he stood up.
 

She shook her head, unable to handle a scene with him right now. She went over to the front door and held it open for him. “You need to leave.”

He stood rooted to the middle of the living room floor. “Where were you?”

“Out.”

“Out where?”

“I’m not doing this right now, Mad Dog. You need to leave.”

He walked over to her. “Answer my question.”

She looked up at him, seeing in him one hurdle too many on such a trying night. Tears slipped down her cheeks, and her breath hitched. He didn’t batter her with more words. Instead he wrapped his arms around her head and shoulders and pulled her against his body.

Hope resisted the comfort he offered, keeping her arms folded, her fists tight between their bodies. Her breathing was ragged. He was so warm. She leaned her forehead against his chest. That much she would take from him. That much and no more.

He bent toward her and whispered, “Who hurt you? Who did this?”

She didn’t answer him, just spread her arms a little and leaned more of her body into his.

“I will tear him limb from fucking limb.” His words rumbled from his chest against her ear, more felt than heard. Never had she been held so gently, so fiercely, by anyone. His hands weren’t all over her. He took no advantage of her vulnerability. Her arms eased open farther and slowly, slowly she wrapped them around his body. He was a big pillar, giant and solid.

Max felt Hope’s slender body lean into him, felt her slowly open to him. He unraveled his arms from around her head and shoulders, moving a hand down to stroke her back and the other to cup the back of her head. His fingers slipped into her hair. Her breathing was irregular, and it felt as if she were trembling.
 

He didn’t know where this female stood. She was hiding something. Greer had alerted him when she left her house. He’d ridden over and waited for her return. He knew she’d gone to the boys’ barracks—Greer had seen her go via the cameras Max had set out on her house. No one was listening to their convo now; Max had shut off his comm equipment. This wasn’t Red Team business. It was personal.

After a minute, Hope pulled free and stepped back. He let her go, but didn’t move away.

“Thank you,” she said as she looked at his chest. “For the hug. You should go.” He didn’t move. “You can’t help with this.” He didn’t speak. Her gaze moved up his chest, his body, then met his eyes. “Mads, please. I can’t talk to you about this.” She waited for him to say something, but he didn’t. “If you got involved in this, you’d have to be disloyal to the club, which is something you would never do.”

“Try me.”

She stared up at him for a minute. Her mouth opened, but she still hesitated, then her words spilled out. “I came here to take Lion away.”

So. The truth. Finally. But what did it mean for him, for the op? “What do you want me to do?”

“I saw him tonight. I spoke to him. He won’t leave. Mads, they shaved his brows, tattooed his fake name there.”

“Tell me your real name.” He was curious to see if she knew the truth and if she’d still try to hide it from him.

“It’s Hope.”

“Hope what?”

She stared at him, visibly weighing her response. “It’s all you need to know. Will you help me? Or at least not turn me in? I just want my brother, then I’ll leave. I don’t care about the rest. I don’t care about what’s happening here.”

“If you take him, you’ll go to the authorities. They’ll raid the compound. No thanks.” For real, that was a concern. He couldn’t deal with a lot of heat right now.

“I won’t. I promise. I won’t tell a soul. I won’t do anything that puts him in jeopardy.”

“Your presence here does that.”

“We’ll disappear. No one will hear of us again.”

“You said he wouldn’t leave.”

She shook her head. “He thinks the other boys are his family. He refused to leave them.”

“Does Feral know about this?” Maybe that was why she’s been snuggling up to him.

“No. No one does.”

Kit wanted him to figure out what the hell the boys were up to. She could be his ticket in. “If I do this for you, what are you willing to pay? What’s your half of the bargain, ’cause, honey, everything has a cost now that I’m out of freebies.” If he was going to do this, she better have some skin in the game.
 

“I can tune up your bike.”

He shook his head. “Bike doesn’t need it.”

“What do you want, then? I don’t have money.”

His gaze slipped over her, his own body tightening in response. “You. One night. As many times as I want.” One night with her. All night. That might be enough. Fuck. Who was he kidding? If she was as good as she looked, one night would only be the first bite of an endless buffet.

She wiped her tears away. Good. ’Cause this was getting serious. “I’m not into pain.”

He ground his teeth. They always assumed he enjoyed inflicting pain on anyone but himself. “Then no pain.” He shrugged. “There may be bondage, but I'll respect your safe word.” He grinned.

She sucked in a breath of air. Fear? Or excitement, he wondered. “No phones,” she stipulated. “No video. No one else but us. No blood. No pain. And you must wear condoms.”

“Agreed.” He cocked his head and studied her. “I thought you were smarter than to surrender to one of us.”
 

“Is there another way?”

“Do you want my help?”

Her answer was no more than a movement of her lips, not even a breath. “Yes.”

“Then no.”

She looked into his eyes, gauging his intent. “You will try to get Randall away, right?”

He nodded. “I can’t promise I’ll be successful. If we get him out, and you turn around and bring trouble back here, it’ll be the last thing you ever do. There is nowhere you can go to hide from the club. Be damn certain you want this.”

“I am.”

“Keep this between us,” he told her. Her eyes were wide as she nodded solemnly. He looked at her for a long minute. “Come by my house tomorrow evening. If I don’t see you, I’ll know you decided to not go through with it and the deal’s off.”

* * *

Mouse and Hawk were waiting for an update from Lion when he went inside. The door to the main bunk area was open. He didn’t close it. The boys were most likely listening. He was fine with that. He had no secrets from them.

“The girl said she’s my sister. She wants me to leave with her.”

Hawk calmly watched him. He was rarely a victim of his own passions, unlike Mouse. Lion was glad that Hawk had taken on the challenge of finishing Mouse’s training. “Are you going to do that?”

Lion sat on his desk chair. Hawk had already been a member of the pride by the time Lion arrived. It had been Hawk who helped him settle in and learn what was expected of them…and how to avoid Mr. Holbrook’s punishments.
 

“No,” he answered his friend. “The pride is my family. Why would I leave?”

“None of us has family,” Mouse said, “except for each other. No one comes here unless they are alone.”

“Do you believe what she said?” Hawk asked.

Lion considered that question. He had almost no experience with women, but he was an expert in lies and subterfuge, thanks to Mr. Holbrook. “I believe she believes what she said.”

“Are you going to tell King?”

Lion shook his head as he looked at the boys. “No. Nothing has changed. You are still my second in command. We are still watching the tunnels. If she is my sister, then she has always been my sister. There is nothing that has changed.”

Hawk and Mouse left after that. The boys had been taking longer shifts, monitoring the tunnels since Hatchet had been caught sneaking into them. His pride should be exhausted, but he could tell from the quiet noise of the other room that they were having a hard time settling. Lion was planning on letting them sleep in a little longer in the morning. Tired watchers made mistakes.