Chapter 5

Peg

I hadn’t lied when I told Darcy I’d slept in worse places, but that hasn’t been for a very long time. Most of the night I spend tossing and turning, trying to get comfortable on a couch which is probably fine for sitting, but not made for my tall frame to lie stretched out. I either have to contort myself into a fetal position or have my legs hanging over the end, particularly awkward when you’re wearing a prosthesis. But I’m not going to remove it and be vulnerable in a place I don’t know, and a man I don’t trust two doors down the hallway. Even with the prospects watching him.

It doesn’t help that my thoughts are racing, thinking about how the evening before had begun and how it had come to an end. Two different women. Darcy, fuck, a firefighter, brave beyond my reckoning. What makes a woman take up such a career? The things she sees must haunt her, like the man she couldn’t save on yesterday’s shift. How does she deal with all that shit?

She might fight fires, but it’s clear going up against another human being is beyond her. But she’s got me for that. In the morning I’ll deal with the motherfucker who hurt her, give him a lesson so that he never comes back. Yeah, she’s got me in her corner…

No, she hasn’t. Not beyond tomorrow. I can’t take the risk. What if she has the same reaction as Lorelei when she sees I’m disabled?

Earlier this evening I’d decided I’d take the quick fuck that shallow woman was offering, but was already having doubts about going back, even before she came out and said what she had. I’d guessed my longing for a permanent relationship was at odds with her more immediate desire for my cock. Although hurt by her reaction to my disability, it didn’t upset me that things wouldn’t go further. Apart from the physical, though I’d tried hard to find something, there was nothing between us, no spark.

Not like what I feel toward Darcy.

But she’s a firefighter, and any spark there is she’s likely to put out. She’s a decent woman, wouldn’t want to get involved with the likes of a biker. My additional worry being I’ve no idea how she’d react to my missing limb. I’d rather leave in the morning, remembering her as a ship I passed in the night, never wanting to test her reaction, not wanting that disappointment to play on my mind. If her response was the same as Lorelei’s, I’d be ten times as hurt.

A house, a yard, throw a couple of kids into the mix. Am I dreaming when I think that could ever be mine? Turning over again, trying without success to get comfortable, I remember who I am. Peg, sergeant-at-arms. My role in the Satan’s Devils is to watch out for the club and keep it safe. Maybe that’s all I can ask. I’ve already got a family, mismatched as they are. More than some people have. Why should I deserve anything beyond that?

Maybe what I’ve watched my brothers bringing into their lives, old ladies and children, is something that’s never meant to be mine. Grouchy Peg with half a leg missing, why would any woman want to tie herself to me?

Tomorrow I’ll cancel my online dating accounts, I’ve had no success with them. This woman who’s attracted me tonight? I’ll watch from a distance to make sure she’s not bothered again, but it’s not fair to bring her into my world. She’s got a respectable job, and her happy suburban existence. I could only bring chaos into her life.

I’ve got my brothers behind and beside me, and the sweet butts for when I can’t resist the urge. It’s time I looked at what I have, not what I haven’t, and accept anything else is out of my reach.

Eventually, just as the sky is lightening, I manage to drop off, coming almost instantly awake when a loud crash sounds. In one swift movement, I’ve got my cut on and my gun in my hand, a few short strides taking me to the hallway. I’m not the only one to have been disturbed.

“Get back inside,” I snap at Darcy, who’s opened the door to her room. I must have snarled in my typical sergeant-at-arms fashion, as her face falls, but I’ve no time to baby her. From the sounds of it there’s one hell of a struggle going on inside the guestroom, and I want her completely out of harm’s way.

Used to being obeyed, I don’t wait for her to get back into her bedroom, instead throw open the guest room door and step inside. “What the fuck is going on?”

My loud shout provides enough distraction for Pete to grab a gun out of nowhere, raise it, and aim toward the door, straight in my direction. My fast reactions mean I’m out of the way before he pulls the trigger, but the bullet keeps travelling and hits the woman who, instead of complying with my instruction, is right behind me. As she lets out a scream, my stomach drops. Spinning, I see her slumping against the door jamb, her hand to her arm, and her eyes wild.

“What the fuck have you done now?” Seeing Hyde’s quickly placed chop to Pete’s arm, making him drop the gun which is now secured in the Fergus’s care, Darcy pushes me aside and steps forward. “You could have fucking killed me.” Pete backs up as she screams in his face. Glancing at her look of fury, I would have done the same myself. In that moment, she looks like an Amazon. Apart from the sweet butts, I’m not used to hearing a woman swear, but in the circumstances, would definitely give her a pass. I’d go so far as to say it sounds goddamn sexy coming out of her mouth, and my cock starts to lengthen at this most inappropriate time. I remind myself she works closely with men, in fraught situations, so it’s not surprising when riled she resorts to profanity. But that doesn’t affect the impact. Not at all. Her effect isn’t just on me. Pete seems to shrink in front of my eyes.

Still with her hand clenched to her bleeding arm, the sight of the blood immediately deflating my dick, she points at her unwelcome guest, her voice still shrill as she demands, “Where did you get the gun?”

That’s what I want to know. Fergus looks sheepish, his eyes meet mine. “He must have had it stashed under the mattress. Sorry, Peg.”

I file that away and will deal with him later. Fucker should have checked everything out.

“He woke up, Peg. Started striking out.” Hyde’s ruefully rubbing his chin. “He was trying to get to Darcy.”

Darcy’s waving her hand. “Pipe down everyone. Peg, can you get my phone please, it should be on the table in the hall.”

“Who you going to call?” My immediate reaction is, of course, not to get the authorities involved.

She turns that battered face toward me. “The police, of course.” As my head starts to move in a negative action, knowing she’s doing what any citizen would, her face widens into a grin. “It must be his gun, I don’t own one. I didn’t even know he had it. But the facts are quite clear. He’s fired at me and injured me. That together with the damage to my face must be enough to take him in. It gets him out of my life.”

“And we’re here, because…?” Cops come in, see us…. Nah, I don’t like that idea.

Though I can see the merits of her suggestion from her side. It saves him from a beat down by us. I’d like nothing better than to smash his face in, to show this man how it feels to be on the receiving end for once.

“Because you stopped and brought me home after Pete hit me last night and refused to leave my house.” She lifts her hand and touches the side of my face. “I know you don’t want to get the police involved, Peg, but this is the best way. He shot a firefighter in her own house. No way he’s getting away with that.”

“Bitch. You can’t do this. It was a mistake, I was trying to shoot an intruder. I was keeping you safe, Darcy. You can’t throw me out, I’ve nowhere to go….”

“I think the police might be quite accommodating.” She turns her attention from him to me. I wait a second, her touch almost mesmerising, making me want to do anything she wants. Even play it her way. I give her a nod. In a moment I’m back with her phone. She calls up a number. “Hey, Grover. I need some help. My housemate just shot me.” She pulls her phone away from her ear. “Just a graze, thank God, but he could have killed me.”

“Nah, I’ve got friends here, they’ve got him restrained.” She jerks her chin at me as if the man at the other end can see her.

“Uh huh. Thanks, man.” Sighing, she ends the call.

I’m staring at her, she shrugs. “I’m a firefighter. Got lots of friends in the police department. And,” she turns to Pete, “they really don’t like hearing that someone tried to take a member of any of the rescue services out.”

Of course she does. That’s another reason why I can’t even consider starting anything with this amazing woman. I lift my chin toward Hyde. “Make sure you keep hold of him.”

“And don’t rough him up,” Darcy instructs. “Sorry, but you’ll have to stay, as your fingerprints will be on the gun, Fergus, but there’ll be gunpowder residue on his.”

Fuck, this woman is smart. “Darcy, will you let me take a look at your arm?”

She looks surprised, and then down at her arm as though she’s already forgotten it. A grimace crosses her face as she spots more blood running down.

“Need to get our story straight before the cops come,” Hyde reminds me.

Darcy creases her eyes as she looks up. “Just tell the truth. Nothing more to say. You rescued me, stayed when you saw I needed help.”

I notice Hyde staring at me, and even Fergus is looking bemused. After thinking about it for a moment, I shrug. We’ve done nothing wrong, and can hardly disappear when fingers might be pointed young Fergus’s way. Telling the truth to the law is not the normal way we’d play it, but she’s right. It could work. I feel one side of my mouth turn up as my admiration for this woman grows.

When a friend of a cop gets attacked, the police obviously leap into action. Sirens come up the road, cars screech to a halt outside.

Cops rush in screaming, “Hands up, where we can see them!”

Pete takes a chance to run, but he only runs into the waiting arms of the police. He seizes the opportunity. “Those biker scum came in here, attacked and shot my girlfriend.”

There’s loud voices, and hardly anyone can hear through the din. It’s confusion, with the cops following their natural tendencies to put the blame on the men in leather cuts until one voice rings out above them all.

“I’m Darcy Cavanaugh. This is my house. That man who’s been staying here as my housemate, Peter Mercer, attacked me last night, refused to leave my house, and it was him who shot me just now.”

There’s a sudden lull, and one of the cops steps forward, his eyes still alighting on us with suspicion. “Which one’s Mercer?”

She points. “The one who’s trying to persuade you he’s innocent.”

A man in plain clothes pushes through the throng. “Cavanaugh.” He nods as he greets her. “Would you care to explain?” As he speaks, he motions for her to show him her arm. When he sees blood running freely, he shakes his head and stops her halfway through her explanation. “Fuck, Darcy you need to get checked out.” He casts a look my way. “You say these bikers helped you? Stayed here for protection?” I look, knowing it’s in vain, but hoping to see appreciation on his face, but his expression is full of suspicion.

Darcy must have noticed it, because she shrugs off his touch and adds, “I think Pete’s been taking drugs. I’d like you to search the house. Whatever you find has nothing to do with me.” Breaking off, she frowns. “And he obviously had a weapon, and I had no idea. Perhaps there’s more? Please make sure anything that shouldn’t be here is removed.”

The cops take a protesting Pete outside, but some of them remain. As I get a nasty feeling, I send off a quick text to the prez. My phone pings a few seconds later, but I don’t bother looking, I know it will be confirmation.

It’s not long before the three of us are on our way to the precinct, and Darcy’s been taken off to the hospital. She’d mouthed ‘sorry’ back over her shoulder as Grover led her out, knowing the police were taking advantage of us being on the premises where a firefighter got hurt.

Shortly after, as expected, I’m sitting locked up in a cell, Hyde and Fergus probably equally confined, but out of my sight and hearing to ensure we don’t get a chance to confer. It wouldn’t matter, our story would be the same even if we had a chance to work on it. They’d tried to question me, but I value my patch far too much to speak to a cop without the club lawyer present. If we were citizens it all would probably be cleared up in no time at all.

At last I’m led to an interview room. I nod to the lawyer, and sit down beside him, then look over the desk. I recognise the detective but can’t readily place him.

“Detective Reed.” He introduces himself, strangely stretching out his hand for me to shake, which I do automatically. “I’m a friend of Marcia Hannah.”

Ah, now I know who he is. He’d been the one who’d warned Heart’s old lady that some dirty cops were out to get her. I suppose it’s the friendliest face I can expect to see here.

“Marcia doing okay?” he enquiries politely.

I respond in an equally sociable tone, “Apart from being heavily pregnant with twins, she’s doing fine.”

An easy smile comes to his face. “And doing some excellent work behind the scenes, or so I hear?”

Now that I neither confirm nor deny. No one knows exactly what Marcia’s doing when she’s holed up with our computer guru, Mouse, but we know they’ve been getting results.

“Right.” He looks down at his notes. “Ok. Fergus and Hyde have already been interviewed. He pauses for the club lawyer to nod to agree he’d been present. Now, Mr Rinter, I’d like you to take me through exactly what happened last night.”

I hate the smell of this place and playing it straight down the line will mean I’ll be out of here sooner. Taking a breath, I start from the moment I stopped in front of her car, to the moment the police arrived this morning. He’s jotting down what I’m saying as well as consulting his notes. A couple of times he checks what I’ve said but doesn’t seem to have a problem.

At the end he looks up. “Right, that all tallies. I think we’ve got the story straight.”

“Will Mercer be let out on bail?”

He gives me a sharp look. “Too early to say. What you thinking, Mr Rinter? Wouldn’t advise you to take the law into your own hands.”

I pinch the bridge of my nose. “Look, Miss Cavanaugh seems like a decent sort. If this man’s got the hots for her, don’t want him to get close and hurt her again. I’ll get her locks changed and security beefed up.”

He takes off his glasses, polishes them, then puts them back on. “You said you just met her last night? Are you going to be a problem for her?”

“What? Me?” I huff. “No way.”

Perhaps now the glass he’s looking through is cleaner, he leans back on his chair and folds his arms, his chin resting on his chest for a moment. Then he raises his head and nods. “She does need to get her locks changed and for our part, if for some reason this man walks? Then we’ll make sure we’ll keep a close eye on Miss Cavanaugh. She plays an important part in the community. Brave woman.”

“Appreciate that.”