Chapter 2 - Clueless
“What in the fuck were you thinking?” Tommy screeched as he slammed the hotel room door and locked it.
“Clearly, I wasn’t,” I quipped as I sat on the bed, avoiding his eyes. Fuck. I looked at the ceiling, my stomach flopping around like I was about to be chastised by my dad.
“I know you do some dumb shit, Izzy, but this takes the motherfucking cake.” He paced near the door, checking the peephole, as he ran his finger through his hair. “How in the hell do you get mixed up with an MC guy?” He stopped pacing, turned toward me, and tapped his foot.
I shrugged, not really having a good answer for him.
“A shrug. I get a goddamn shrug?” he groaned as he walked toward me. “Izzy, look at me,” he barked.
I looked up into his piercing blue eyes and could see a storm behind them. My mouth suddenly felt dry and I was at a loss for words—something totally out of my realm of comfort.
“Thomas,” I whined, trying to find the right thing to say.
“You are in over your head, Iz. This is some serious shit. If I hadn’t been there tonight or if Rebel had decided that he wanted you for himself, you’d be fucked, and so would I.” He rested his hands on either side of me and leaned into my space. “I mean that literally. This is a fucking nightmare.”
I blinked slowly, taking in the sight of my very pissed-off brother, and sighed. “I just wanted to have fun, Thomas. I wasn’t expecting all this bullshit.” I swallowed and concentrated on breathing through my nose. Pissed-off Thomas was a scary fucking dude.
“All this bullshit?” he whispered. “All this bullshit is what comes with an MC. They make their own goddamn rules.” He backed away, grabbing my hand as he sat next to me. “I have to keep you safe and get you the hell away from these guys.” He pinched the bridge of his nose and exhaled loudly.
“I’m sorry,” I choked out, tears forming in my eyes. “I thought Flash would protect me. He promised a weekend getaway.” God, I sounded like a fucking idiot. Mike and Joe had warned me. They’d pleaded with me not to go, but as always, I did whatever the fuck I wanted to.
“Flash is a fucking pussy and a complete moron. I worried he’d recognize me, but he was too young to remember me. Plus, he’s an idiot. Nice kid, but dumb as a box of rocks.”
“Why are you still here, Tommy?” I inquired. He’d always be Tommy to me—my big brother who had been missing from my life for more years than I’d like to admit. “Why haven’t you come home?”
He looked up at me; his shoulders slumped before he spoke. “I’m in deep, sis. I’ve moved up the ranks. I’m sergeant-at-arms now. I’m in the inner sanctum and doing everything I can to bring this club down. I don’t want the shit to be half-assed, either. I need to bring it to its knees. Cut off the head and burn the body. Leave nothing behind.”
“It’s so dangerous.” I knew my statement was obvious, but I didn’t have anything else to say. The thought of something happening to him made my heart feel like someone was squeezing it in their fist, and I didn’t want to feel it pop.
“It’s my job, Izzy. I have to see it through. I promise I’ll come home to everyone, and I’ll do it soon.”
“You better. Ma is beside herself with worry. Joey is going to have a baby. The family is changing and you’re not there to see,” I grumbled. I wanted to run out the door with Tommy in tow and head home.
“Joey’s going to be a dad?” he whispered, his eyes growing wide.
“Yes. You’re going to be an uncle soon. You need to come home.”
“I will, love. I will.” He wrapped his arms around my shoulders, bringing my face against his chest.
I rested my hands on his shoulder blades, gripping them for dear life. I didn’t want to let him go. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d seen my brother, let alone been able to touch him. How was I going to be able to walk out the door and leave him behind?
“Now what?” I asked, my voice muffled by his t-shirt.
“Well, everyone thinks I’m banging your brains out.” He blanched and gagged. “After, I have to bring you back.” He sighed, pulling away from me as my hands slipped from his back. “Let me make a call. Do you have your phone? Mine isn’t safe.”
I grabbed my purse, which I’d dropped on the floor when I’d sat down. I rummaged through the contents, pulled out my phone, and handed it to him.
“Who are ya going to call?” I asked. I did not want any of my other brothers in harm’s way. It was bad enough that I’d put Tommy in this fucked-up predicament, let alone the others.
“I only have one person near by I can trust to get you out of this clusterfuck.” He tapped the buttons on my phone but didn’t look up at me.
“Who?” I asked. “Don’t call Mike or Joe either,” I pleaded, lying back on the bed.
“Fuck no, woman. I’m calling a law enforcement buddy. Only he can pull this off without it looking like I had anything to do with it.” He stood, bringing the phone to his ear.
Well okay, then. He still hadn’t answered my question. I looked around the hotel room as he walked away from the bed. This place was an even bigger shithole than the place Sam and I had booked for the weekend. The room hadn’t been updated since it had been built in the ’70s. The color scheme was straight out of The Brady Bunch on meth. Mustard yellow, burnt orange, and avocado green decorated the flowery wallpaper and the bedspread. I didn’t want to even think about all the things that had been done on this bed. It had to be crawling with germs.
I stood, walking toward my brother, stopping to look out the peephole. The green shag carpeting did not make me want to kick off my shoes and feel the lushness. It was matted and trashed.
“Hey,” Tommy said into the phone. “I need your help.”
I turned, studying him as he moved around the room. He would’ve worn a path in the carpeting if the shag had still been good. I grabbed my purse and sat down on the bed, pulling my lip-gloss from my purse as I listened.
“My sister’s here. I need you to help me get her the fuck out,” Tommy said, running his fingers through his hair. “I know. She showed up with one of the prospects and Rebel almost claimed her for the night, but he offered her to me—thank fucking God.” Tommy stopped and listened before moving again. “Yeah, Izzy,” he said, his eyes darting to me.
My eyes grew wide. The person on the other end knew who I was, but I didn’t know them.
“She’s the only fucking sister I have, James. What the hell kind of question is that?” Tommy glared at me as James spoke on the other end of the phone.
I looked up at him, my mouth dropping open when I heard his name. James Caldo. He was the smug bastard who’d come to the wedding uninvited to drop off a card for Tommy. We’d shared drinks—way too many drinks. I’d woken up the next morning slinking out of his hotel room without saying goodbye. I’d gotten what I’d wanted, gotten the hell out, and never looked back.
James was…how do I say it? Hot as fuck, but a little too bossy for my liking. He reminded me of my brothers, but times ten on the macho bullshit. I’d waited for him to grunt, “Me caveman. You’re mine,” after he’d fucked me into a coma after the reception.
If I hadn’t been plastered by an abundance of Jack and Coke, I wouldn’t have been seduced by him and ended up in his bed…against the wall…on the floor.
Fuck. Why did he have to call James? My stomach started to flutter, a wave of nervousness filling my body. My leg began to shake, a nervous habit I had when I couldn’t control a situation, as I sat there and listened.
Maybe I wouldn’t have to see him. Oh God, please don’t let me have to see him. Maybe they’d devise a plan to get me out and that would be that. I closed my eyes, fell back on to the bed, and stared at the ceiling. I listened while crazy scenarios played in my mind.
Maybe James wouldn’t help because I’d hit it and quit it. Would he be that cruel?
Maybe he’d want payback with me on my hands and knees as a thank-you for my rescue. The sound of that wasn’t bad, but I would be subservient to no one, and certainly not James.
“Yeah. I can find a way to get her on my bike after we leave here,” Tommy said, sitting down next to me. He scowled at me, maybe having heard something from James about what had happened that night. “Okay. I’ll have her text you when we’re leaving the bar, and you handle it from there. I trust you, James. Only you. She needs to be safe and brought home. She shouldn’t be here. Can you do that for me, brother?” He stood again and walked into the bathroom, closing the door.
I exhaled, letting go of the breath I had been holding while thinking about James. I didn’t like the sound of this one bit. I closed my eyes and tried to block out the sound of the outside world and focus on Tommy’s voice, but it was no use. I couldn’t hear a fucking thing over my heart beating like the drummer in Anthony’s band. I wanted to run in the bathroom and throw up, but I stayed glued to the bed, waited for my brother, and closed my eyes.
The sound of the bathroom door smacking against the wall made me jump. I sat up quickly, looking toward the noise to see Tommy staring at me.
I gave him a fake smile and tilted my head. “Everything worked out?” I asked, my voice hoarse as I tried to hide my curiosity.
“Fucking perfect,” he grumbled as he moved toward the window, peeking through the now yellowed, sheer drapes. “How well do you know James?” he asked, turning to me.
“Um,” I said. Fuck. Lie—do not tell him the truth. “I met him at Joey’s wedding. He brought your card and we had a drink together.” I kept the fake smile plastered on my face, speaking quickly so as not to trip over my words.
“Just a drink?”
“Maybe two,” I replied, still smiling as my eyebrows shot up. God, I was horrible at the angel act.
“James seemed to be very interested in helping get you out of here. Maybe a little too eager,” he complained as he moved to stand in front of me.
I looked up at him. He could be intimidating, but he’d always be just my brother. I didn’t have anything to fear from him, but I wouldn’t tell him about my night with James. No fucking way.
“He’s your friend, Tommy. Naturally, he wants to help out. You called him for a favor, and as any good friend would do, he agreed to help.”
Tommy shook his head, a grin slowly spreading across his face. “You’ve never been a good liar, Izzy. I’ll kick his fucking ass if he tries anything with you.” One of his eyebrows rose and the muscles in his jaw ticked. “No one touches my sister,” he warned, the tiny grin disappearing.
“Thomas, I’m not a child. We had a couple of drinks, and even if I wanted more—which I don’t,” I insisted as I stood. “But if I did…it wouldn’t be any of your business.” I poked him in the chest, driving the point home.
His head dropped, his eyes staring at my finger as I held it against his chest. A rumble started underneath my finger and bubbled out through his mouth. He threw his head back, his laughter filling the room before he looked back at me.
“Izzy, love,” he said, grabbing my face, his blue eyes shining with tears. “That has be one of the funniest damn things you’ve ever said.”
“What the fuck? It wasn’t funny.” I poked him harder and with my nail. “I’m a woman now, if you haven’t noticed. I make my own decisions.” I tilted my head and glowered at him.
He was still laughing as he wiped his eyes. He shook his head as he spoke. “You’ll always be my little sister. Flash is going to get his ass kicked.” His laughter died. “He won’t know why, but I will. He’ll be hurting because I know he dirtied you. He’s not worthy of you.”
“Flash is just a friend,” I said, because it was the truth.
“He’s been in your pants, sister. Don’t try and bullshit me.” He glared at me, studying my every twitch. “He’ll pay.”
I sighed, blowing out the air I’d stored in my cheeks. “Whatever,” I blurted.
“James better not touch you either.”
“I don’t like James like that. I thought you boys were bad growing up, but he makes you guys look like pussycats.”
Tommy’s eyebrows drew together. “You got all this over a couple of drinks?” His jaw worked back and forth as he ground his teeth together. The sound sent shivers through my body.
“Yeah.” I kept it simple. No need to throw up a flag that alerted his big brother Spidey sense that James had fucked me senseless.
“Swear?”
“Yep.”
He sighed and wrapped his arms around me. Then he kissed my temple, and the warmth of his body felt great against me. He was my brother, and I had proof that he was safe and alive.
“We’ll leave here in ten minutes. We have to make it believable, Izzy.”
I looked up at him. “What do you mean make it believable?” I questioned, scrunching my nose as I thought about what that could mean.
“They have to believe that I had sex with you,” he said.
“Fuck,” I muttered, gnawing on my thumbnail.
We smudged my lipstick, tore my shirt at the bottom, and messed up my hair. The bar was dark enough that hopefully it would pass. The most important part would be my attitude.
“Don’t pretend to like me, but don’t hate me either. You aren’t attached to Flash, but you didn’t have a choice in coming with me, either.”
“I love you, brother. You’re cute, so it’s not like I would’ve had to bang Rebel.”
“Do not say the words bang and Rebel in the same sentence.” He cringed, opening the door for us to head back to the bar. “When we get there, just stay quiet and let me talk. I want to get us the fuck out of there as soon as possible so James can grab you.”
I sighed, wishing the fucking night were over and that I were in my bed…at home and on the other coast. “You know how quiet and I work out, Tommy.”
He stopped dead in his tracks and turned. “From here on out, I am not Tommy. Blue is my name. For fuck’s sake, Izzy, do quiet for me just this one time,” he pleaded before walking away.
“Men suck,” I mumbled.
As I approached his bike, Tommy turned and faced me. “I won’t see you again for a while, Iz. Although I’m pissed about you being here, I’m happy at the same time. I’ve missed you, baby girl.” His face softened as he held his arms out to me.
I looked around, wondering if someone was lurking in the shadows, unsure if I should hug him.
“It’s okay. Come here.” He motioned with his finger, beckoning me into his arms.
I wrapped my arms around his waist, holding on to him for dear life. What if I never saw him again? I couldn’t think that way. Thomas was the toughest man I knew. If anyone could live through all this bullshit and come out on the other side unscathed, it would be him.
“I’ll miss you,” I said, choking back the tears. I squeezed him tighter, rubbing my face against his t-shirt. “Come home soon.”
He released me, wiping the tear off my cheek with the pad of his thumb. “Don’t cry. I got this.” He grinned, his beautiful blue eyes twinkling from the streetlight. “Let’s get this shit over with so I can know you’re safe. You listen to James and do whatever he says, Izzy. He’ll keep you safe.”
I rolled my eyes, unable to hide my annoyance. My shoulders slumped as I thought about being trapped with James for any amount of time. It would be a total clusterfuck.
“Fine,” I sang, grabbing the helmet and putting on my head. “I don’t like it, but I’ll try to be good.”
“He’ll keep you alive. Remember that.” He climbed on his Harley and turned the key.
“Got it,” I said as I nestled behind him and encased him in my arms.
I rested my cheek against his back as we took off, headed back to the guys. I use that term loosely; they were more like animals that could talk.
If my brother had known the sordid details of my night with James, he wouldn’t have asked me to obey his every command. James hadn’t contacted me after the wedding, and for that, I was thankful. I hadn’t had to avoid his calls or block him from my phone. The man knew how to take a hint, but thrusting the two of us back together without being able to be in control freaked me the fuck out.
Why did I care so much about seeing him again? I closed my eyes, getting lost in the memory of the night that happened four months ago. James had been more of a man than I’d ever been with. He was a true alpha and didn’t take bullshit. Bullshit and me were the best of friends. He’d called me on everything, and I’d felt like he could read my thoughts. I didn’t want to be the type of woman that people could figure out. He knew when I was full of shit, and I didn’t like when anyone could figure me out so easily. I wasn’t a girl. I was fierce and no one’s pushover. Isabella Gallo was not subservient.