Chapter Thirty
“Are you really going to sit there like that when he walks in?” Toni asked as she folded her arms across her chest and attempted her best pissed off glare. Hard to do when the nerves she was trying to hide trumped irritation.
“Fucking A, baby.” Zach’s eyes immediately landed on her breasts where they plumped over her crossed arms.
Men. So predictable.
So frustrating.
So damn hot, it drove her crazy.
“Don’t you think this is all a little overkill?” She threw in a foot tap to go along with the overlapped arms and squinty-eyed glare.
Looking like a man without a care in the world, lounging on her couch with his legs wide, arm on the arm rest, and posture all relaxed, Zach said, “No, baby, I don’t think it’s overkill. Overkill would be taking a good ole Babe Ruth style swing at his head the moment he walks through that door. But Louie here promised not to do that. Unless the suit pisses him off, then I can’t predict how Louie’s going to react.”
Louie. The man named his bat. The bat he used as enforcer for the Hell’s Handlers to scare the pants off…well, she wasn’t really sure who, but to scare the pants off of people the club didn’t like, apparently.
Named his bat.
And apparently, that bat had a mind of its own and communicated its plans to Zach. Childish much? “Bikers!” Toni threw her hands in the air and stomped toward the apartment’s tiny kitchen.
“Aw, come on, baby, don’t be like that. Louie and I are both going to be on our best behavior. You’ll see.” The laughter in Zach’s voice as he called after her did nothing to douse her fiery temper.
Okay, in truth? She was glad. Thrilled even, that Zach had accompanied her from Tennessee to Chicago and was now sitting in her apartment ready to shield her if need be. But that was a big if, and she’d have much preferred he waited in her bedroom and only made an appearance if things got out of hand with Chris, who was due to arrive any second.
She’d even come up with a plan. A code word she’d say loudly if the conversation wasn’t going well. Zach had laughed, laughed in her face, kissed her, and plopped in the chair with that blasted bat. If he wasn’t careful, she’d snatch the thing and use it on him.
It was exactly two weeks to the day since she’d agreed to be Zach’s ol’ lady, and aside from the looming threat of a sex scandal hovering over her head like a bird about to shit, the fourteen days had been amazing. Zach was fun, spontaneous, attentive, protective, and it turned out the man could cook and was relatively neat. They’d seen each other every day, whether it was just him stopping in for a quick coffee at the diner or a full-on date out on the town. He took her dancing, to a movie, and to more than one party at the clubhouse.
Toni loved his brothers and they all seemed taken with her as well. More often than not, she’d sent a mountain of food to the clubhouse when the diner closed and had quickly earned the nickname of Aunt Jemima, which was immediately shortened to Jem. Everyone seemed to call her by the name except Zach and Shell, who stuck with Toni.
It was easy, re-fitting into Townsend and slipping into Zach’s world. She’d been accepted as is. No questions asked. And that was a great feeling. Somehow, her relationship with Zach was both comfortable and exciting at the same time. The way they interacted, how she could completely be herself around him, and the way he accepted her was the comfortable part. The way he lit her body up with just one look was more exciting than anything she’d ever experienced.
The doorbell rang, and Toni jumped as though the tinny ding-dong had been attached to a live wire placed under her skin. She raced out of the kitchen and back through the small living room.
“Babe, wait,” Zach said from the chair. How was it he could sound like the person at the door was doing nothing more than selling magazines for their high school basketball team? Hell, he’d probably sound more pissed off it was a solicitor. “Come here before you answer it.”
Toni shifted her gaze from Zach to the door and back again. He crooked his finger and she sighed. “I have to get the door, Zach.”
“The suit can wait for a minute. Come close.”
She walked until she was directly between his spread legs, her knees butting up against the couch.
“Closer,” he said. “Bend down and give me those lips.”
She did as he requested, and he caught her by the nape of her neck, dragging her mouth to his for a kiss that was as sweet as it was gentle. Not exactly the norm for them, since they usually flared out of control the second their lips touched. But now, without anywhere for it to go, tenderness was the name of the game.
And it was better than a fistful of valium for calming her.
He pulled back after a second, kissed the tip of her nose, and held their foreheads together. “Everything will be fine, Toni.”
“Thank you,” she whispered. “I’ve been a wreck.”
“I know, baby. Now get the door so we can get this over with and I can take you to your room and eat your pussy. I’m feeling the need to leave my mark on this apartment.”
Jesus. And saying those words wasn’t even the dirtiest thing he could do with that mouth. He released her and she stumbled back a few steps. Could he tell how his promise affected her?
Probably.
Zach seemed to be able to read her like a book.
With her mind full of the filthy things her new boyfriend wanted to do to her, she opened the door and admitted her old boyfriend into her apartment. Before she even had a chance to greet him, he was wrapping his arms around her and holding her way too close for comfort.
“I’m so glad you came to your senses, Toni.”
The moment his arms closed around her, she went completely stiff. Like a two-by-four, instead of the soft, pliant woman she became whenever Zach’s hands were on her. The too-intimate hug needed to end before Zach, or worse yet, Louie, got angry and stepped in.
Toni shoved against his chest to no avail.
Damn it.
She couldn’t even be stronger than Chris? Time for some weight training.
Instead of picking up on her subtle as a pissed off bull cues, Chris lowered his head as though he was going to kiss her.
Zach decided that was the perfect moment to clear his throat.
Chris froze, but only for a second before gripping her shoulders and holding her an arm’s length away. “What the fuck is he doing here?” The word he sounded more like Chris was speaking of the devil than one lone biker.
“Chris—”
“Guess you want the world to see it, huh? See you whoring yourself out for some gangbanger’s fuckfest. Your choice, sweetheart.” As he spoke, he shook her, only once, but it was so hard her neck snapped back then her head wrenched forward before she had a chance to get control of it.
She needn’t have worried about what to do next since her role there had apparently ended.
Zach shot out of the chair and pinned Chris to the back of the closed door so fast, Toni lost her footing as she was released. After staggering a few steps, she regained her balance and stared slack jawed at the scene before her.
Gone was the Zach she’d fallen so hard for over the past few weeks. The man who could make her laugh, smile, swoon, and lose her mind all in the span of a few minutes. Instead, she was wholly in the presence of the Hell’s Handlers’ enforcer.
And had she met this man when she first returned to Tennessee, she’d have run fast and far.
Because he was scary.
No, scary was a movie with creepy music and ghosts popping out at unexpected times. Scary was a Freddie Kreuger Halloween mask showing up at her door. Zach? Well, Zach was terrifying.
His blue eyes had darkened to a midnight color and there wasn’t a hint of warmth. They were so cold, they were almost inhuman. Robotic.
His jaw was clenched so hard, the muscles ticked and his neck corded. He had Chris against the door with Louie across his neck. Chris gasped and sputtered for breath, his face growing paler by the second.
She’d never seen Zach this enraged. Not when he first saw the infamous video. Not when she volunteered to take Maverick’s place. And not when she tried to push him away and end their relationship.
No, this was a new level of anger and uncharted territory for her. There was a good chance if she didn’t step in, the man she loved was going to kill her ex who wasn’t even worth a few sore knuckles, let alone a prison sentence.
Yes. She loved him.
No doubt about it.
“Zach,” she said, working hard to keep the tremor out of her voice. “I think you need to ease up before you k-kill him.” Holy shit. Was she really advising her boyfriend to avoid killing someone? What the hell happened to her boring life?
Sick as it was, she felt a little thrill knowing the troubles she currently faced actually came from that boring life. Not the motorcycle club she’d taken up with. Not that she needed it any longer, but the realization kind of reaffirmed her decision to be with Zach.
It was strange to see such a violent scene playing out right beside a bright wall hanging of happy yellow sunflowers. A print she’d purchased at the botanical gardens. “Zach, please. I don’t want you to get in trouble for hurting this asshole. He’s not worth it.” She took three steps forward and put a tentative hand on Zach’s shoulder.
He didn’t speak, but moved the bat from Chris’s throat to his chest, allowing a choking Chris to inhale.
“Th-thank you, Ton-Toni,” Chris said as he sucked in air. “God, Toni, he’s a maniac. Can’t you see that?” He coughed and inhaled a whistling breath. “He would have killed me if you weren’t here.” Color was returning to his face, but he still couldn’t move due to Louie’s continued presence across his chest.
Zach snorted.
“Shut the fuck up, Chris. I didn’t tell him to stop because I don’t want you dead. I said it because you aren’t worth going to prison for. You aren’t worth shit. Zach, let’s just do what we came to do and get out of here. I want to go home.”
He reacted then, turning his head until his mesmerizing gaze bore into hers. The corner of his mouth turned up.
He liked her calling it home.
In that moment, she wanted nothing more than to tell him she loved him. In fact, she had to clench her lips between her teeth to keep the words from spilling out. Because she’d be damned before she’d spill something so important in front of her stupid ex.
But she’d tell Zach later.
She’d tell him every day.