Wicked Man (9 page)

the opiate trade. Remembering Abbott’s past, Wick made a mental

note to keep her away from any drug parties if possible.

The White Death clubhouse was actually a large farmhouse set

in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by cornfields and a tall stone

wall. The compact dirt road had kicked up his dust, alerting all

someone was coming. Two members stood at the gate, watching him

as he approached on his bike, and he recognized Kix’s VP, Slade.

He came to a stop, dropped his feet to the ground, and turned

off the motor.

“Hey, Slade,” he greeted.

“Wick,” Slade said with a nod.

“You always stand guard?”

Slade shook his head. “But there are cameras all through

Rider’s Pass. Saw you coming.”

That slightly unnerved Wick. He hadn’t seen a thing. “Is Kix

here?”

“He’s at the grandstand but Piper is at their house.”

“I need to talk to him.”

“Figured as much.” He stepped to the side and nodded to the

other man who pushed a button to open the automatic gate.

He saw Slade glance at the affiliation patch sewn on his vest,

so he didn’t bother taking off his cut. Usually, he wouldn’t hesitate to

take off his colors as a sign of respect, but the White Death patch was

like a passport into their territory.

“I think you know where to go,” Slade called out.

Wick nodded, started his bike, and took off down the dirt road.

The members called the huge three story house the grandstand, which

might seem ostentatious but one look at the place and no other words

could describe the rambling home. Around it were several garages,

where bikes were parked and men worked on them, grease covering

their hands and clothes.

Another road turned off just before the grandstand and Wick

followed it, going past smaller houses until he came to the one that

belonged to Kix and his sister. It was a rancher, and Wick saw that

Piper had added a flower bed in the front yard.

“This is nice,” Abbott said once he turned off the engine.

“My sister’s place,” he said.

She got off and had to grab his arm as she chuckled. “Wow,

I’m not used to riding a motorcycle for so long. My knees are shaky.”

Wick wrapped an arm around her and pulled her into his body.

He ran a hand along her backside and cupped an ass cheek. “You just

hold onto me, baby. I’ll never let you fall.”

She clutched his shoulders. “Promise?”

Suddenly the atmosphere changed between them. Electricity

still sparked between them, and his heart raced just from touching her,

but he saw the worry darkening her eyes and the stress creasing the

area between her brows.

“Hey, I’ve gotta tell you something,” he murmured, pushing a

strand of hair off her forehead.

“What?”

He smiled. “I stink up the bathroom.

“Uh … excuse me?”

“And I don’t like crossword puzzles because I can’t ever

figure out the words.”

She cocked her head obviously confused, but she was listening

to him, and that was what he wanted her to do.

“Our instant message sex was so incredible that I couldn’t

even look at another woman. But our real sex? Good lord, my dick no

longer gets hard when I look at porn. Only when I look at you.”

A smile lifted the corners of her mouth.

“I fucking hate white vegetables, like potatoes and

cauliflower. But I love broccoli.”

“Why are you telling me this stuff?”

“Because I’m not perfect and I’m sure you’re not either. But

one thing I’m looking forward to is learning all your little quirks.”

She cupped his face. “As I learn yours.”

“Well, now you already know a few things about me.”

Happiness replaced the emptiness in her gaze and he was glad

to see the stress lines disappear. “I suppose we’ll have to invest in

multiple candles.”

“Or that spray stuff that eliminates odor,” he quipped. “That

would be a wise investment indeed.”

Abbott laughed just as the front door opened and his sister,

Piper, stepped outside.

“Wick? Kix never told me you were coming for a visit.”

“He doesn’t know,” he replied. He walked up the porch steps

and bent to kiss her cheek. Once he never would have done that, but

they’d been through too much together to not become as close as real

siblings. “It was kind of an emergency.”

She looked over his shoulder to where Abbott stood next to his

bike. His heart just about broke in two when he noticed she hugged

herself in a protective gesture while glancing over her shoulder.

“What’s going on?” she asked in a low voice.

“I needed to go someplace to protect her,” he said in an

equally soft tone. “She’s in trouble. Like you were in trouble.”

Piper’s concerned face turned fierce. “Then she’s more than

welcome to stay here with us.”

“Only until I can figure out how to find the asshole who’s hurt

her.”

Piper nodded, as if she understood, and he figured out of

anyone, she really
did
know what Abbott had gone through. What she

was still going through.

“Have you talked to Kix yet?”

“No,” he replied. “I came straight here, to you.”

“She can visit inside with me while you go talk to him.”

He nodded and turned to Abbott once more. “Hey, Abbott,

come up here and meet my sister.”

The wind blew Abbott’s long hair back, and it fanned out

behind her as she walked toward him. She was so lovely it took his

breath away, and he wondered how he became such a lucky son-of-a-

bitch that she was his.

He held out his hand and when she reached for it, he linked

their fingers. “This is Piper, my sister. Piper, this is Abbott Carney.

My woman.”

His words caused Abbott to tighten her hold and when he

looked at her, a dreamy smile softened her features.

Piper gave her a hug. “Welcome, Abbott. Why don’t you

come inside and have some iced tea? Wick has to go talk with Kix.”

“Okay. Thank you, that’s really kind of you.”

Piper pulled her away from him and led her into the house.

Knowing Abbott was safe eased the tension from his shoulders, and

he turned to head back to his bike. The ride to the grandstand only

took a few minutes, and members of the White Death glanced his way

with curiosity in their gazes. The only other time he’d been there had

been when he had been negotiating with Kix about the club

affiliation, so most probably didn’t know who he was.

Slade greeted him at the door and motioned for him to follow.

The grandstand was a lot more homey than his own clubhouse, and

had more of a woman’s touch with the bright color painted on the

walls and the lack of posters featuring naked chicks. There were the

usual big-screen televisions, dart boards, pool table, and bar, but Wick

quite liked the way the men seemed a little more refined. Maybe it

was an illusion due to the clubhouse, but still, different was nice.

Slade led him upstairs to a large room that clearly functioned

as the office. Two large bookcases, filled with old tomes, bracketed a

large mahogany desk where Kix Rockwood sat behind, like a

corporate executive about to give him a performance review.

Kix rose when he entered the room and held out his hand.

“Wick,” he greeted. “Slade told me you had arrived. I see

you’re wearing our logo.”

Wick shook his hand before tapping the patch on the front of

his cut. “Of course.”

“How’s the club? Isn’t Heart about to go on the first run with

our products? In return he’ll get the hundred percent grade-A

pseudoephedrine from our inside source to bring back to you. Best

there is to make your meth.”

“Yeah,” Wick said. “Only Striker is road captain this trip.

Heart’s uncle passed and he’s with his aunt, helping her.”

“Striker good?”

“I wouldn’t trust just anyone with this run,” Wick assured

him. “He’ll get the job done.”

“Good,” Kix said. “Give Heart my condolences when you see

him again.”

“I will.”

Kix sat down and gestured for Wick to do the same.

“Well,” he said. “If it’s not about the upcoming ride, then

what brings you to my territory, Wick?”

Wick took a deep breath and rubbed the lower part of his face.

“I need a favor,” Wick said in a low voice.

Kix threaded his fingers together and laid them on the desktop.

“What type of favor? Club favor?”

Wick shook his head. “Personal.”

Kix arched an eyebrow, stretching the black diamond on his

temple. “Gotta hear it first before I say okay.”

“I need to talk to your brother,” Wick admitted. “Jeff.”

“You got some fucking nerve asking for my brother’s service,

especially since you threatened to out me to my club,” Kix said

coldly.

“I know,” Wick said humbly. “But he’s the only one I can

think of to get me the info I need.”

“And what kind of info is that?”

“Abbott’s in trouble and I gotta know how she’s being

stalked.”

Kix folded his arms across his chest. “Who the fuck is

Abbott?”

“His woman,” Piper said from the doorway.

Wick scowled at her. “Where’s Abbott?”

Piper waved the concern off. “Don’t worry, she’s shucking

corn at my place. If you haven’t noticed where we live, there is an

overabundance of corn every night for dinner. I thought I’d come over

and see what the problem is.”

“Forget it, Piper, you don’t need to get involved.”

“Shut up, Wick. I recognized the signs as soon as I saw her.

Once upon a time, I had the same hunted expression. So, she’s being

stalked?”

“Yeah,” he said grimly. “The man is crazy but he’s clever.

Since she hasn’t used her social security number or credit cards, or

hell, a fucking bank for years, he’s gotta have something else. For the

past eleven years she’s moved from place to place, state to state, and

each time he manages to find her. Different names, different

addresses. She’s just got into town and already he’s tried to hurt her. I

need to find out about him. Where he is. How he operates.”

“And what’ll you do with the information?” Kix asked.

“Does it matter?”

“It’ll matter to Jeff.”

“I’m going to kill the motherfucker,” Wick answered

unwaveringly. “Once I torture the fuck out of him. I want to kick him

where it’s going to hurt the most.”

“I understand the pain that a stalker can give,” Piper said.

“The helplessness. The fear. It’s a ghost that haunts you day and

night.”

“I’m not asking,” Wick said, looking back and forth between

them. “I’m begging. I need to protect Abbott but I’ve got to find Billy

Walker in order to do that.”

“Of course,” she said.

Kix frowned. “Piper—”

“No,” she said, holding up her finger. “Wick took me in when

I needed help so for that alone, not to mention the fact he’s family, we

will repay him.
I
will repay him, even if I have to owe Jeff a favor to do it. Understood?”

Kix held up his hands in surrender before turning back to

Wick. “I take it Abbott doesn’t have a phone.”

Wick shook his head.

Kix picked up the phone and punched in a number. “It’s me. I

need a phone and your help in locating a man by the name of Billy

Walker. From Stevens. Yeah. Okay, thanks.”

He hung up and looked at Wick. “That was Mac, my tech guy.

He’s going to give you one of our special phones. The GPS has an

independent power source from the phone battery so it can emit a

signal for about seventy-two hours once it’s activated. And we can do

that remotely if need be.”

“Thank you,” Wick said humbly.

Kix shrugged. “It’s like Piper said. You’re family. And family

sticks together. So stay for a few days, relax. I’ll call Jeff with the

details. No one, not even this asshole, can track your Abbott to the

White Death. Mac is on top of security like a bee at pollination time.”

Over the next few days, Abbott saw a whole different side to

the concept of family. She hadn’t been very close with her parents,

and since she’d been an only child, she’d pretty much grown up

alone. When they had died a few years back in a car accident she’d

been sad, but there hadn’t been any remorse or devastation. All she

had really felt was regret that she hadn’t seen them to let them know

they’d been correct when they’d warned her that Billy Walker was no

good.

Piper took care of the grandstand, making sure it stayed clean

and the men well fed. Abbott wasn’t dumb, she knew what the club

ran for money and she figured out the cornfield was a good cover-up.

But that meant they had some type of corn every night, and she

always got shucking duty.

The phone Wick had given her rested in the pocket on the

inside of her hoodie. It was a hidden compartment she’d sewn to carry

important items, like her ID. If she had to make an emergency run,

she knew she’d at least have that. When he’d explained what it did,

one little sliver of relief swept over her. At least with it, if she ever did come up missing, they’d at least find her or find her body.

It was a grim thought, but a fact of life she had always carried

around.

On the third night at being at the White Death MC she stood at