Mallory
I barely managed to keep my eyes open while I waited for a doctor to come to Margie’s house. Razor had contacted a doctor he “knew”; I suspected this would be the unofficial club doctor for the Leathernecks. The man had an uncanny resemblance to my childhood pediatrician, with kind sky-blue eyes set in olive skin on an oval face. His smile was gentle and reassuring. His silver hair was thinning slightly. His touch was as gentle as his smile, though I couldn’t say the touch was reassuring. I knew he was being delicate and using the utmost care, but it seemed like I could feel the follicle of every hair he moved out of his way to inspect the lump on the back of my head.
The doctor gave me a relatively clean bill of health. It would take time to heal, and he told me to rest all day. Being allowed to nap, but then being awakened every hour is its own brand of torture. As a self-proclaimed nap queen, I wanted to scratch Starla’s eyes out….and if it were possible, do it repeatedly. I had a mild concussion, according to the doctor, and thus the hourly cycle of nap interruption. I was keeping my breakfast down, which was a great sign. As the morning wore on, Razor laid down next to me.
“If you don’t mind, Fireball, I need to get some z’s. It took some doing, following those bastards without announcing myself on my bike once we were out of the Daytona area, so I’m wiped out.”
I stifled a yawn and nodded to him. I turned on my side away from him, and snuggled under the covers as sleep overtook me.
I woke up later and felt Razor’s groin moving rhythmically against my ass. At least I thought it was still Razor, but regardless, I was not up for this. I had curled into him while sleeping, and I tried to subtly arch away from him. When I did, he jolted, and a small startled snore left him. “Great. Must have been a sex dream. Sorry about that, babe.”
The pain in my head was actually starting to ease, but the pressure was still there if I made any sudden movements. Without so much pain demanding my focus, I thought about this entire situation. I had no idea where Gwen was. I should call Detective Davidson. Certainly a threat to me would be pertinent to an ongoing police investigation, right? It wasn’t like I was well versed in criminal justice, but I liked to think I was logical at least. Then I had to wonder about Razor. What was his stake in keeping me safe? How did I know he wasn’t trying to get Gwen to come crawling out of the woodwork?
Before I could ask him, Razor’s cell phone emitted a harsh ring tone which brought my pain back into searing focus.
“Ugh! Make it stop,” I wailed, as Razor answered his phone.
“Yeah, that’s her in the background. What? No, what the fuck are you talking about?”
I could discern some murmuring on the other end of Razor’s phone, and then he held his phone out my way. I took the phone and gingerly put it to my ear and rasped out, “Hello?”
Cal groaned, and said on an exhale, “Thank fuck, Mallory. Tell me you’re okay? Volt’s got a fuckin’ picture text that shows you cuffed to a tatty bed. Tell me that shit ain’t current.”
I sighed and said quietly, “Nope. Not current. We’re in Neptune –”
Cal cut me off. “Don’t tell me. Might be paranoid, but if you’re not with Starla, that’s all I need to know. We’re gonna take care of this shit, and then I’m gonna come get you, baby. You just hang tight.”
Well, it wasn’t exactly like I had a choice on hanging tight. I asked, “What about Tasha? How’s she doing?”
Cal chuckled. “She’s fine, baby. I won’t ever get on her bad side, and probably none of my brothers will, either. She’s got a fierce vindictive streak, like I’ve never seen in a woman. She and Jackie are heading home soon.”
I sighed. “They shouldn’t have to leave just because of my stupid problems.”
Cal growled. “Woman, your problems aren’t stupid, and Volt and I don’t have time to keep our eyes on two other women when you already managed to slip through my damn fingers. They’re getting to safety and that’s that. You been checked for a concussion?”
“Affirmative, and I have one. As reigning nap queen of Jacksonville, I want to inflict my own brand of hellish torture on Starla for this new ring of Hell I’ve been introduced to.”
I could hear the smile in Cal’s voice. “Guess it’ll take more than a whack to the head to knock the sass out of you, hunh?”
“You are not funny. Do you know how awful it is to just get into your dream only to be awakened just ‘cause a damn doctor says so? Fuckin’ bitch.”
“All right, sweet cheeks. Gonna talk to you later. Get some rest. I love you.”
My heart stuttered, and I whispered, “Okay, my man. I love you, too.”
Even though I whispered, next to me Razor groaned. He reached for his phone. “Yo! Volt, Cal, somebody there?”
When someone answered, Razor bolted out of the bedroom and took the call somewhere private. He came back in about fifteen minutes later, and lay back down on the bed beside me. He was on his side holding his head up in one hand and with his other hand he gently rubbed my bicep.
With a slight grin, he said, “Starla’s shit’s unraveling.”
“Yeah?”
He nodded and his blue eyes crinkled a touch. “She just sent Volt a picture of you from last night. Her old man’s a loan shark of the old-school variety. He uses many kinds of enforcement to get his money. He used to use Riot MC, so he and Volt know each other. Volt’s calling him now about this pic, and I’d imagine he’s not going to be too thrilled. I dragged you out of that dump five hours ago. They’ve got to know by now, you’re in the wind. So, when he gets Volt’s call, Starla’s gonna be up shit creek.”
I gave him a marginal chin lift and then said, “Speaking of that, shouldn’t we notify Detective Davidson about this? He’s been looking for Gwen, and I would imagine Starla’s father’s looking for Gwen too.”
The pleased glint in Razor’s eyes disappeared and was replaced by a hardened glare at me. He set his lips and took a deep breath.
“Shouldn’t have to tell you this shit, but clearly you need reminding. You’ve moved into our world. Whether it’s my club or Riot MC, if they’re one-percenters, they don’t involve cops. We sort shit ourselves, by our own standards. If you were mine, Starla and her fuckwad of a father would be dead and feeding the sharks right now. So, to answer your question, no. We aren’t notifying any detectives about this. You love your man, like I heard you say to him? You trust him inherently to deal with this for you.”
I pressed my lips together and said, “I was hoping you missed that.”
Razor leveled a look at me. “Fireball, I don’t miss much. I’m sharp.” Then, with a goofy grin for such a biker, he said in sotto voce, “Sharp like Razor.”
It was so out-of-character for him, and caught me so off guard, that I belly-laughed at him, and then stopped abruptly. The pressure in my head ratcheted way up with my laughter. Gah! I couldn’t get a full-on nap and I couldn’t get a decent belly laugh when it was warranted. Jesus. If I got my hands on Starla’s skinny ass, I was going to tear her limb from limb.
Razor’s full lips thinned again and he said, “Sorry, babe. Didn’t mean to make your head hurt. Even though you didn’t feel anything at the Ale House, things go south with Cal, you call me.”
I looked at him disbelievingly and asked, “What, the hostess didn’t pan out?”
After a rakish grin Razor said, “Never kiss and tell, hon.”
On that note, I rolled over and went back to sleep.
* * * * *
By two o’clock I couldn’t sleep any more, and I didn’t want to, in an effort to make sure I slept through the night. I took a quick shower in the guest bathroom and then I decided I shouldn’t overstay my welcome with Margie and Mo, so Razor and I left to get a late lunch. We went to European Street bistro and as we finished up our gargantuan sandwiches, Razor got a call from Volt. It was brief, and the result of it was that Razor was dropping me off at Cal’s.
I took some high-dosage ibuprofen Razor’s “doc” gave me, and prayed the pressure in my head would subside further. It was going to be a tall order, because the pipes on Razor’s bike were louder than Cal’s. That meant the ride from the beach to Cal’s house was going to be noisy in the extreme. However, I was excited to see Cal. It had been a long time since I had a man who cared about me, and it felt good to be loved. Razor pulled into Cal’s driveway, and Cal was standing there with Volt. Volt was leaning on his bike with his arms folded on his barrel chest. Their eyes came to us, and Razor brought the bike to a stop.
Razor put the kickstand down on his bike, and turned off the engine. I dismounted from behind him as quickly as I could. Cal had moved closer to the bike, but I still ran the four steps to him and launched myself at him bodily. His arms wrapped around me and squeezed me tight.
He whispered in my ear, “Fuck, I’ve been so worried. I felt like my heart had been shredded.”
I pulled my face out of his neck, and said, “I’m fine, honey.”
His hazel eyes bore into me and he said, “Thank God.”
Then he kissed me long, wet, and deep. I didn’t know if it was a soap opera style kiss or not, I just knew I loved every minute of it. I could hear not-so-subtle throat clearings behind us, and we pulled away from one another. Cal tucked me to his side, keeping his arm firm around my waist.
Volt was smirking at us, and Razor had his head turned to the side, but even in profile, his face seemed a little pained. I tried to pull away from Cal, but he growled and tightened his grip on my waist.
“Thanks, Raze. I mean it. Owe you big. This woman’s the first form of right and sweet I’ve had in my life in almost a decade, so you bringing her back to me is huge. Feel it deep. You need anything, let me know.”
Razor gave Cal a chin lift and said, “Mallory is pretty damn special. Take care of her and you won’t owe me anything.”
Volt and Cal were both shaking their heads at him, but Volt spoke first.
“This was more than just a solid, man. Seriously. You got a marker from us. Not for your club, but for you.”
I decided to get in on the gratitude-fest and said, “Yes, I don’t think I got a chance to thank you, Razor. Seriously, thank you for getting me the hell away from Starla and her crazy father. And thanks for getting me a house-call from your doctor.”
Razor gave Volt a chin lift, then he turned his eyes to me, “Told you, Fireball, no unpleasantness. You don’t need to thank me, though I will say if you got a sister, you could introduce me.”
I chuckled. “Sorry to disappoint, but no sister. Take care, sir.”
He nodded, kicked up the kickstand on his bike, and his bike roared to life. He gave us a two finger salute and took off.
I looked from Volt to Cal and asked, “So, does this mean the threat is gone?”
“Let’s go inside,” Cal said, and he turned us around to go through the front door.
Volt shut the door behind him, and the three of us sat in the massive living room. Cal planted himself in the corner of the couch and arranged me under the crook of his arm. Volt sat on the edge of the couch on the opposite side.
Volt looked at me and said, “Threat’s not totally gone. We got a hold of Starla, but her father was long gone. He’s out $150K because of Gwen, and he’s gotta make a move for that money.”
I leaned slightly forward. “She owes him that much money? So, they took me to get Gwen to pay up?”
Cal grumbled. “They took you to get me, or the club, to pay up.”
I turned rounded eyes to him. “What? Like that would work. You’d have to get like a second mortgage or HELOC on your house to come up with that kind of cash.”
A look passed over Cal’s face and I realized it was aimed at Volt. I looked at Volt and saw his shoulders lowering as if he had just shrugged. Cal turned my face back to his.
“I got that kind of cash, woman. Bottom line, Razor saved me from having to put it out there. However, I will be getting retribution from Allen Leventon.”
“Who?”
“Starla’s father,” Volt answered.
I shook my head. “Gwen really owes one-hundred-fifty thousand?”
Both men nodded at me.
I breathed out. “How?”
Volt stood up, but looking down at me he said, “Interest adds up quick. Leventon needs to make an example of someone, and oftentimes he puts in penalties on large loan amounts. He ain’t a federally regulated bank, Mallory. He can do what he wants, and he does. He’s got money to loan, but he doesn’t make money if the money and the interest aren’t repaid. Be nice to know where your mother-in-law has run off to, but leave that to us. We’ll find her, and get this shit sorted. You focus on getting over that head injury.”
I gave him a feeble smile, and said, “Tell Jackie I said ‘hey’.”
He gave me a chin lift and then said to Cal, “Later, brother.”