Chapter Six

Cherie

Another night in the ER and another reminder of the plague of violence upon humanity. My shift had been filled with the worst shit that we humans do to one another, and I only had ninety minutes to go. I left one room with a nine-year-old victim who had to learn much too early just how awful men could be and was called into another by the newest ER resident, Dr. Hammond. “Cherie, I need a Spanish speaking nurse, stat.”

I rolled my eyes at the handsome raven-haired doctor. He was competent and good looking, but his bedside manner was for shit, and who took a medical job this close to the border with no Spanish language skills? “What have we got?” I asked instead of the other question.

“Multiple traumas, female, mid to late twenties,” he rattled off without looking at the patient.

I wondered how he even knew she was female because it wasn’t readily apparent based on her lopped off hair or the dirt and blood streaking her skin. “Hola, señorita. Español o ingles?” Hello, miss. Spanish or English?

The woman cast a wary glance at Dr. Hammond before her onyx gaze returned to mine. “I speak some Ingles,” she said in a shaky voice.

I nodded and gave her the same soft professional smile I used on all my patients because it put them at ease. “What’s your name?”

“Bonnie.”

I nodded and kept asking questions as I took her vitals. “Are you from around here, Bonnie?”

“El Salvador is my home.”

My stomach dropped at her words because there were only two reasons a woman would end up like this so far from home. Drugs or human trafficking. “Can you tell me what happened?” I asked as I continued to examine her while the doctor made notes. Bonnie was very badly beaten, one eye swollen shut and two deep gashes in her lips; blood poured from several spots on her torso and legs. Her feet were bare and, she was covered in a layer of dirt that had combined with the blood. “I need to clean you up a bit to make sure none of your wounds get infected, Bonnie, all right?”

She nodded, but the moment I began to rinse away the blood and dirt mixture, she started to scream, loud and torturous. “Oh no! Please, oh please, no more!”

“Bonnie, it’s okay you’re in the hospital. Everything is fine.”

“I’ll go get security,” Hammond said as he made his way to the door.

I glared at him. “She’s not causing trouble, she’s in shock. If you can’t handle it, go.”

He happily did, and I closed the door behind him before turning back to Bonnie. “What’s the matter, Bonnie, who did this to you?”

“El Jefe is a bad man. He is evil man who comes around in his fancy suits to punish us. We make his friends unhappy, he punish us. We get hurt, he hurt us more.” Tears streaked down her cheeks, leaving a clean trail on her dirty face. “He takes time from his busy life in government to torture us.”

In government? “You’ll be okay here, Bonnie. Don’t tell anyone what you told me,” I whispered as Hammond returned.

She nodded, dark eyes growing smaller as the sedative began to kick in. I finished cleaning and disinfecting her wounds as she drifted to sleep, making sure to leave a note that she was a victim of domestic violence so I could be sure no male visitors would be allowed in her room.

By the time my shift ended, I was exhausted and in need of a decent meal and a long, hot shower. All those things were on my list, but I couldn’t stop thinking about Bonnie. I knew just one person to talk to, but didn’t know if I wanted to. I had no control where Roddick was concerned, but I knew if I called Baz he’d worry and break his neck to get back here. I sucked it up and sent Roddick a message to stop by before I ticked a hot shower off my list.

“You called,” he said twenty minutes later as he unpacked what I hoped was a burger from a Black Betty’s bag. “I’m guessing it wasn’t a personal reason?”

“Did you want it to be a personal call?” I hadn’t heard from him in a couple days, so I still didn’t know what was going on between us. Casual sex or something more? “Never mind. I did call for a reason, though.” We worked in comfortable silence, gathering plates, barbecue sauce, and beer before we sat down to eat. Then I explained about Bonnie and what she told me.

“She said that he was in government?”

I nodded. “Seemed certain of it too, so I would assume he is well-known.” But his reaction only brought forth more questions. “I thought maybe you could help, but I see now that this news is more than important to you.”

His smile was sardonic. “Yeah, you could say that.”

That was it. No sharing. No details. Nothing. I could see clearly that something about this information bothered him, his silver blue eyes practically spun he was thinking so hard. But still, he said nothing. “What’s going on, Roddick? Is someone else going to end up shot? Or beaten or dead?”

He sighed and his gaze slammed into mine, filled with sorrow and fear and resignation. “I wish I knew, Cherie.” He reached for my hand and pressed his lips against my knuckles so gently I nearly cried out at his tenderness. “Things are changing, and I’m trying my best to make it better for everyone. But that means things might turn to shit for a while.”

“What is a while, Rod, a few weeks? Few months?”

“I don’t know.” He grabbed me and pulled me close so he could wrap his big strong arms around me. “I don’t fucking know, but I wish like hell I did.”

I let him hold me, stroke my hair, and press kisses against my head, my mouth, and my cheeks. He seemed to need the connection which surprised me, but I couldn’t deny that I was happy to be the one providing it to him. But this also hammered home that I needed to keep with my plans. “This is why I’m happy that I’ll be leaving town soon.”

“What the hell does that mean?” He pulled back and scowled down at me.

“Exactly what I said. I’m leaving Brently for good.”

“You can’t leave. I won’t let you!”

“Let?” I barked out a bitter laugh. “News flash, Roddick, you’re not my father, my brother, or my boyfriend. You can’t let me do anything.”

“Yeah?”

I nodded as he leaned over me, bracketing me in his arms. “Yeah,” I responded, feeling defiant. And a little turned on.

“You’re damn right about the first two, but I think we both know you’re lying to yourself about the last one.”

I opened my mouth to deny it, but his mouth crashed into mine, claiming me with a heady passion I’d never felt, or dreamed of feeling. I didn’t even know to dream of a kiss this consuming, slow and torturous. Soon I was lifted in the air, legs wrapped around him as he kicked the bedroom door open, dropping me on the bed and staring down at me with raw need blazing in his eyes. His gaze didn’t linger, though; he undressed and then me before plunging deep into my wet, needy body. Every thrust pounded into me and pushed me closer to the edge. I gave him everything, holding nothing back and came so hard I saw stars. The only sound in the room was his deep voice growling my name as he filled me so completely I knew I’d never be whole again without him.

And my stupid heart soared at how right it felt to fall asleep in his arms. My mind just hoped like hell that he’d be there when I woke up.

***

Roddick

“I can’t believe you’re ticklish!” Cherie laughed at the way I flinched whenever her hands went to my sides. “Big tough biker man is ticklish.”

“Not ticklish, woman, sensitive in that general region.” She laughed again, and the sound washed over me. “What about you?” I asked and pulled her closer, tickling her and producing a husky laugh that had me hard and aching for her. Again.

“Oh I’m ticklish as hell, but you’d never exploit that, would you?” She kicked a leg across my body until she straddled me, leaking her arousal all over my own. “You feel…so good.”

I groaned, holding her hips as they moved slowly, back and forth against the length of my cock. “You too, baby.” She looked so beautiful with her head tossed back, her breaths coming in faster as her arousal kicked up another notch.

The doorbell rang and seconds later the door slammed, and I went on alert, reaching for my piece when a man’s voice sounded. “Cherie! Where are you?”

Baz. I froze and watched as Cherie slid out of bed, casual as you please, and slid a robe over her shoulders. “I’ll be right back.”

I nodded and listened to the siblings talk.

“Why is Roddick’s bike out front?” Suspicion laced Baz’s question.

“None of your business.”

“Cherie,” he growled, but I knew she was one of the few people on the planet not fazed by his bark. “Don’t tell me you’re fucking him.”

“That is none of your goddamn business, Baz, so I’m going to ask you to leave. It’s early as fuck, and I’ve been pulling double shifts for weeks now.” She did sound tired, but I knew it had more to do with the fact that we hadn’t slept for more than an hour at a time because we couldn’t keep our hands—and other parts—to ourselves.

I stood and slipped on my jeans and nothing else. “What’s all the noise?” I heard the growl before his feet began to move and ducked the punch he threw my way. “What the fuck, Baz?”

“My sister? You’re banging my baby sister?” He lurched forward again, but he wasn’t stupid enough to throw another punch, so he just got in my face. “I fuckin’ trusted you.”

I held up my hands, but I wouldn’t back down. “Don’t act like I took advantage of her because I didn’t.”

“Oh yeah. You both just woke up one day and decided to fuck?”

Cherie squeezed between us and smacked her brother’s face. “Will you two stop this nonsense! God!” She pushed at his chest and then mine. “This is why I’m leaving! Everything with you guys is a fucking fight. Use. Your. Words.”

Baz scoffed, “You want words? This is fucked up! She’s my sister, man!” He pushed me, and I saw the hit coming and steeled myself for it. I wouldn’t hit him back because I knew I had it coming for sleeping with his sister.

“Feel better?”

“No goddammit, I don’t!”

“Too bad,” Cherie yelled. “Out! Get the hell out, Baz and don’t come back until you can act civilized!” Tears pooled in her eyes, and I knew this visit had steeled her resolve to leave Brently.

I wrapped her in my arms and dropped a kiss on her head. “I’m so damn sorry, Cherie.”

She pushed at my chest. “Don’t be,” she said, her head shaking and disbelief was written all over her face. “I can’t believe I kicked my brother out. I picked sex over him.” Watery brown eyes stared up at me, sad and disappointed. “You don’t love me, and I picked you over him.”

I didn’t know what I felt, so I couldn’t answer that accusation, but I held her face in my hands and spoke from the heart. “Sweetheart, I don’t know if this is love, but I know it ain’t just sex. I also know that it’s not fair for Baz to make you choose. Plenty of other women your age have sex without choosing, why should you?”

“I…need to be alone.” She turned away and quietly walked down the hall to her bedroom, closing the door behind her.

I would give her the space she wanted, but not like this. I followed her and dressed quickly before curling behind her on the bed and pulling her close, inhaling her sweet scent of vanilla and sex. “You mean something to me, Cherie. Something big but I won’t tell you anything else until I know how this shit will turn out. It wouldn’t be fair. But don’t think we’re done, darlin’.” I turned her head and kissed her, pouring all the words I couldn’t say into that kiss before pulling away and leaving, feeling torn as hell.

And pissed off about it.