CHAPTER SIX

Sofia had screwed up.

Her cousin’s men had tied Wolf’s hands and feet and stuck him in the garage. Still dark outside, dawn a few hours away, she had to get Wolf free before her cousin did something he would regret. She’d never seen him so angry.

“What were you thinking getting involved with a fucking biker?” Concern mixed with anger filled his dark eyes.

“When we first met I didn’t know he was a biker.” She really didn’t want to say more. Anything else would only upset him further.

“Not just any biker, but a mother-fucking Mayhem Brother. How long have you been seeing each other? Is this why Ramon left you?”

“What? We already went over this.” Was he not listening to anything she said? “No. I didn’t meet him until Ramon and I separated. Did you forget I kicked that asshole out of the house for not only hitting me, but for cheating on me, not the other way around?” What had Ramon told Hector?

Then she remembered what Wolf had said.

“Why didn’t you tell me that Ramon was released?” She hugged herself. “You’re letting him live in my house.”

She had purchased the house a year before marrying Ramon. He’d never paid one payment, but due to their divorce decree, her ex was getting half. So her cousin had promised to sell the house and give her half of the profit. She’d counted on it to buy a car. The one she’d been using belonged to her cousin’s auto shop as a loaner. The other half would pay for Ramon’s legal fees. How sick was that? She had him thrown in jail, but she had to pay all the bills.

“Little one, the house belongs to Ramon too. I couldn’t tell him no.” The tone he used she recognized. He’d sweet talk her, and she would always give in. Not this time.

“I’m going to bed.” She hoped he believed it.

She planned to sneak through the kitchen into the garage. She only hoped Hector wouldn’t assign a guard inside. From that point, she didn’t have a clue what to do, but she would think of something.

“We’ll talk some more about it tomorrow.” He started to turn away, but looked back.

Oh, no. How had she given away what she planned?

“Ramon was my second in command, as near to a brother as a man can have. I really thought you two would be good for each other.” His words almost broke her. She understood. When he had kept insisting on them dating and getting to know each other, she’d wanted it to work too.

Only problem was, Ramon didn’t see her as Hector’s beloved cousin, but as a way to become powerful in Toro’s organization. He continued living the single life, disappearing for days—“handling Toro’s business”—and returning with the smell of pot, beer, and women on his clothes and skin. He had never loved her. She knew that for a fact. He’d told her many times after they married.

“I did too,” she admitted.

“Then why not give him a second chance?”

To have Ramon touch her again? Her skin crawled. A heavy feeling surged up her throat. Just the thought of going through that hell again caused her to feel sick.

“No. We’ve talked about this many times. I’m going to bed.” She quickly returned to her room and softly closed the door. Hector could be so hardheaded and chauvinistic at times.

After entering her bedroom, she’d heard a roar from the direction of the garage. She prayed that Wolf would still be alive when she reached him. How in the world was she going to help him escape? A glance toward her large closet gave her an idea. For the next hour, the house settled down and each time she checked the bedside clock, she swore the hands were not moving.

Eyes scratchy and her nerves about to shatter, she crept out of her bedroom and through the kitchen, grabbing a steak knife on the way. No guard as she expected. She twisted the doorknob slowly, hoping nothing would alert anyone in the garage.

Only the workbench light was on. None of Hector’s men stood around the cars or near the small work area. She noticed a dark shape on the floor. Prepared to run back into the house, she craned her neck for a better look. It moved and groaned.

Wolf was hunched over. He was probably in terrible pain from Hector’s men’s kicks and punches.

She tiptoed around the front of Hector’s car and kneeled next to him. Blood covered his colors.

“Wolf,” she whispered and touched his shoulder, prepared to jump back.

With a speed she hadn’t expected, he turned and held a screwdriver to her jugular. The tip scratched her neck.

“Damn it—” Squeezing his eyes shut for a second, he inhaled and then glared at her. “Don’t ever sneak up on a man who had the shit kicked out of him.”

He fell back on his ass as if he’d used all his strength. Despite having his wrists and ankles tied, he’d found a way to protect himself.

She wanted to reach out and touch his bruised face. Instead she balled up her fists as she took in the damage. One eye swollen shut. Blood poured from a cut at his temple, from his nose and his lip. Looked as if a tooth had sliced it open.

She quickly sawed through the rope.

“Can you walk?” She looked down his body. Where could she place her hands? He was most likely bruised in more places than she could see.

“Yeah.” He eased to his feet.

She held his elbow but wasn’t much help. His height and weight proved too much for her smaller frame.

He headed toward the side door leading outside.

“No. Come this way.” She tried to pull him into the house.

“We’ll have better luck if we make a run for it,” he said.

Considering how he dragged his feet, she didn’t see him running anywhere. And there wasn’t going to be any we involved. Her intent was to stay.

“I have an idea. It’s crazy enough to work.” She caught the skepticism on his face. “Hector has guards standing outside. None are inside.”

It took another minute of explaining what she planned to do.

“I’m not sure how much longer I can stand.” When she looked at him with unease, he added, “You’re right, it’s a crazy plan. But I sure as hell don’t have another one.”

He followed her into the house. She returned the knife to the drawer and then glanced down at his hand. He still held the screwdriver, his scraped up knuckles white from holding on so tight. She left it alone.

As soon as they reached her room, she pointed to a cleared spot in her closet. Earlier, while she waited for the house to settle down, she’d stacked all of her shoes in one corner. He gave her a dubious look, but eased down.

She lifted a finger to her lips, reminding him to be quiet. Then she carefully closed the bi-fold louver doors. Without delaying another second she pulled out the garage door opener from her purse, her cousin had given it to her though she parked in the driveway. Easier to use than a key. She pressed the button. Though she couldn’t hear the noise back in her bedroom, she knew the faint rattling of the metal rollers and the buzzing of a small motor reverberated into the other end of house. The same area where her brother’s office and bedroom sat.

The rising sun painted her curtains gold as she slipped into bed and pretended to sleep with her back to the door, hoping her plan worked.

Immediately, she heard shouting and feet stomping inside the house. A few minutes passed and her door slammed open.

“What did you do, Sofia?” Hector’s voice shook the walls.

She didn’t pretend to be asleep. That would be overacting. “I’m just trying to get some sleep.”

“Someone opened the garage door and released our prisoner.” He glanced around the room and squatted down, looking under her bed. She gave him a confused look. His eyes narrowed.

“Do you really think I’d hide him in the house? That would be crazy.” She hoped she didn’t sound that way.

It hurt lying to Hector, but she knew what he was capable of.

He jerked his chin up and grunted, pressing his lips together in a straight line. His way of saying that he had his doubts, but didn’t want to fight with her about it.

“Stay put. You’ll be safer in your bedroom.” His gaze drifted over the room and then he closed the door behind him.

She waited to see if he would try to trick her and come back. Time crept by and finally she dared to check on Wolf.

“It’s me. Everything all right there?” Her voice stayed low as she carefully opened the closet doors.

Inside, Wolf’s head rested against the back wall. The swelling on his face looked worse than earlier. His left eye was only a slit of flesh. She wanted to cry and hold him. No matter how horrible the last few weeks had been, she cared about him.

Afraid he might be dying from internal injuries or oh, my God, he could be dead. He hadn’t moved. She reached out and pressed two fingers against his throat. That was what she saw on TV and in the movies. Relief flooded her body. She felt a beat. Not as strong as she expected, but she wasn’t a nurse and really didn’t know if it was strong enough.

She heard more voices outside her window. Without waking Wolf, she quietly closed the doors and slid into bed. Time crawled by and she finally heard what she waited for. Car engines revving up and leaving the neighborhood. Checking one more time on Wolf, she lifted his head and placed a small pillow for his cheek to rest on. She wanted to cry.

Yep. She had it bad for him.

––––––––

Head throbbing like he’d been on a three-whiskey-bottle bender, Wolf tried to roll over, but his knees hit something that rattled.

“Shh. I’m coming.”

Sofia?

Then daylight blinded him. Throwing his hands up, he groaned.

“Shh. Be quiet. The last guard should be leaving by lunchtime.”

He tried to open his eyes, but only one cooperated. Touching his face, everything came back to him in a rush.

“Fucking ass-wipes,” he said under his breath. He placed one open palm above his working eye, blocking the damn sun, and glared at her. “I thought you said they would all leave this morning.”

“Hector said he didn’t want to take a chance of you doubling back and grabbing me.”

He grunted and nodded. That set off the loose rocks in his head. He had to be as dumb as a box of rocks for being there.

His vision cleared a little and that was when he noticed her hair was damp. His gaze slid down. Her robe gaped open at the top. Shit. The woman had nice tits. That he knew from the times he palmed them, but this was the first time he’d seen the beauties. He bet her dark nipples tasted sweet. Despite being in pain, his dick hardened. Fuck. Even that hurt.

She snorted and stood, wrapping the belt on her robe tighter. “Give me a minute to get some clothes on, and I’ll get you out of here.”

She turned and walked over to the opposite side of the room. Just before she closed the bathroom door, she stared at him with eyes narrowed and a frown wrinkling her forehead.

He chuckled softly. If she didn’t like him looking, she needed to get over it. He planned to look his fill and more.

Time for him to start moving. Stiff and sore all over, he carefully rolled onto his knees out of the closet, biting off a groan. He tried to stand but promptly landed on the large flowery rug next to her bed. He took gulps of air in an effort to not throw up from the pain. After a few seconds testing each joint, he pushed his torso off the floor and forced himself to his feet again. Finally, he remained upright.

Fuck. Damn. Shit.

By the time the blow dryer turned off and she stepped into her bedroom fully clothed, he stood with one trembling hand pressed to the wall. He peeked outside between the curtains. Last night, he’d stashed his bike in some thick bushes down the street and hoped no one had found it.

“Time for us to leave,” he said.

“I’ll help you, but I’m staying here.”

He looked back at her. The smell of roses drifted over to him from her direction. It took all of his concentration not to toss her onto the bed and part her legs. Fuck, he bet she felt like rose petals all over.

Without hesitation, he exaggerated. “I need your help to get to my bike. I’m not sure how far I can walk without help.” Keeping her safe and by his side was worth enduring her anger later.

The longer he stood the stronger he felt.

The concerned look she gave him made him feel worse, but she was high on crack if she thought he was going anywhere without her. He was the only one who could keep her safe. Sure, Toro had beat his ass pretty good with help from three of his men, but her cousin wouldn’t protect her against Ramon. For some reason, Toro was blind when it came to his ex-brother-in-law. From the info Wolf gathered before coming after her, the lunatic had some mental problems. The talk on the street was her ex planned to teach her a lesson about having him thrown in prison.

“Fine, but that’s it. I’m not leaving with you,” she said as she grabbed his hand and opened the bedroom door.

He grinned behind her back.

Their escape turned out to be a breeze. They eased out of the house by way of the back door. There was a wooden gate that blended in with the rest of the fence in the far right corner. The hinges were greased and the latch lock easily lifted without a sound. He leaned heavily on her, pretending to need her assistance in walking down the block to where he’d hidden his bike.

He should feel ashamed for his ruse, but really, it was for her own good.

The massive bushes came into sight. A seven-foot-thick wall of greenery had several places perfect to hide in. They reached the side he’d stashed his bike. Nothing.

“Shit, shit, shit,” he said quietly, trying not to draw any attention their way. He hadn’t counted on being gone so long. He stepped into the small space between the leaves and stems. Nothing.

“Is this where you hid your bike?” She pushed several branches away.

“Fuck, someone got it.” He smoothed back his hair out of his face as he looked around.

“Hey, are you looking for your motor-sickle?” An old woman asked from her porch. She wore a long, bright-green, cotton housecoat, her hair stuck up in the back as if she’d jumped out of bed without looking in the mirror.

“How you doing, Mrs. Biddy?” Sofia smiled big at the older woman.

Wolf followed Sofia up to the front of the porch.

“Mrs. Biddy?” he said beneath his breath, almost choking in laugher at the name.

Sofia pinched his side.

“Doing fine as long as I don’t sit too long. Then my back acts up. So that sickle . . . is that yours?”

“Yes, ma’am. That is, it’s my friend’s. He left it here. Did you see who moved it?”

He could only hope Sofia’s cousin hadn’t found it.

“Sure do. My grandson rolled it into our garage. I didn’t want anyone messing with it until the owner showed up.”

“That’s wonderful,” Sofia said.

“The side door is unlocked, your good-looking friend can get it.” The older woman smiled. “Looks like your cousin didn’t care for him spending the night.”

“Just a misunderstanding. And thanks, Mrs. Biddy.” Sofia waved.

She pinched him again.

“What was that for?” He rubbed his side.

“I wanted to make sure you didn’t make fun of her name again. And get your hand off my butt,” she said as they gradually reached the garage door.

He grinned. How cute was she taking up for an old lady? She was irresistible and her ass too. No way could he move his gaze elsewhere as he followed her inside.

The dim building smelled of oil and dust. Lawn chairs, a mower, and boxes upon boxes crowded the area. His motorcycle was lodged a mere two feet inside the door.

He examined his badass machine. Everything looked good. When Sofia stepped over to the door to peer outside, he quickly stuck his hand into a saddle bag and slipped handcuffs into his back pocket. He hated to use them again, but he knew she wouldn’t cooperate otherwise.

Before she stepped away, he grabbed her upper arms and slung her around, against a tall stack of boxes. He pressed her back until he held her wrists above her head. Her dark brown eyes widened.

“You’re beautiful and worth every jab and kick, just to touch you again,” he whispered.

Then he kissed her. More like fucked her mouth. So hot and sweet. His groin pressed to hers. Damn, he needed her so bad. He wanted to sink deep into her wet, hot body. He was tired of playing the gentleman. No one would believe that anyway. Besides, it wasn’t the time or place, but he found it hard to pull away.

A rapping on the doorframe near his head brought him around, pushing Sofia to the opposite side away from the threat.

“Sorry, man, but Nana wanted to make sure your bike was okay.” The pimpled face teenager blushed when they just stared. “Betty Biddy is my nana.”

Wolf swallowed hard, pushing down the laugh. Betty Biddy? That was just fucked up.

“Everything’s fine. Tell her thank you for looking after it.” His fingers still held tight to Sofia.

“I told her everything was okay, but she wouldn’t let up until I came over here. The button to lift the big door is there.” The teenager pointed a shaky finger to the far wall. An open path led to the wide panel door.

Wolf could tell the boy wanted to be anywhere but talking to a Mayhem Brother with ferocious looking bruises.

“Sure. Looks good.” Sofia tried to pull away but he squeezed her wrists with enough pressure for her to stop. He nodded to the kid. “Tell your nana that we’ll be on our way in a couple minutes.”

The teenager looked at Sofia and tucked in his chin before scrambling out the door. Wolf shook his head when a potted plant near the walkway crashed. He remembered being all legs and arms. It took months to get his body under control after each growth spurt.

“Let me go, Wolf. I’m going back home.”

“No. You’re going with me.”

She sighed in frustration.

“Yes. You are,” he said firmly. Then his mouth covered hers again as he dropped her wrists. Her breasts filled his palms. Holy shit! Just the right amount. He massaged and squeezed, rubbing the hard tips beneath all of the material.

One hand dropped to pull out the handcuffs from his pocket. Snap. Snap. He locked one over her left wrist and the other over his right before she could do more than protest.

“No! Not again.” She jerked away, but he merely wrapped his other arm around her and lifted her off the floor.

“Yes. Again. Quit fighting it. Your bruises won’t get better if you keep doing that. I’ll protect you better than your cousin.” He could tell that she wasn’t having any of it. “You have to remember your asshole ex-spouse is his best friend.”

“I’ll scream.” The tone wasn’t forceful.

Maybe he was wrong for forcing his decision on her, but if anything happened to her, it would kill him. She had no idea how much her life meant to him. “You do and your poor neighbor’s grandson could get hurt.”

“Now you're being an asshole.”

“I’m a Mayhem Brother. What do you expect?” He grinned down at the frustrated expression on Sofia’s face. Damn, he was crazy about this woman.

“You wouldn’t harm them.”

“Do you want to take the chance?”

He liked knowing she had confidence in his common decency. That he wouldn’t truly harm two innocents. But he would use any means necessary to get his way and be the one in control.