The Wicked Horse Boxed Set (+Wicked Bond [5])

  When Bridger had left a voice message, he'd didn't bother to make up a story about selling a car. He needed something a little more enticing to induce Mr. Kizner to call him back as quickly as possible. So his voice mail merely stated he was trying to reach a high school friend by the name of Kyle Sommerville and that he'd heard Joseph had served with him in the army. All completely fictitious, but it got Kyle's name out there. Anyone in the office who might have listened to the message wouldn't be any the wiser that Mr. Kizner was not a salesman but was in fact an ATF agent.

  "Do you know who I am?" Bridger asks him. "Has Kyle mentioned me?"

  "He has," Kizner affirms. "Mentioned you several months ago as someone we could potentially use to gather further info on Mayhem's Mission."

  "Yeah? Well, I would have declined had you approached me," Bridger says dryly, "but Kyle got me messed up in this shit all the same."

  "What do you mean?" Kizner asks with obvious worry in his tone.

  "Zeke was keeping a woman prisoner at the club... name of Maggie Waylon. She and Zeke have a two-year-old daughter together named Belle. Maggie escaped with Belle and got her to safety, but Zeke caught Maggie. Had been beating her, and his old lady took matters into her own hands when Zeke went on a run here recently. Was torturing her and was going to kill her. Kyle got Maggie out and asked me to take care of her."

  "Jesus fuck," Joseph growls into the phone.

  "I take it you didn't know any of this?" Bridger asks.

  "We don't meet often. It's too risky, and we were supposed to meet yesterday, but he never showed. Wasn't anything I would be worried about though. We've had meets before where he doesn't show because something came up, but I figured I'd hear from him soon."

  "Well, something may be wrong," Bridger says somberly. "Zeke showed up at my house a bit ago looking for Kyle--said he hasn't seen him. I can't tell you why, but it didn't sound right to me. It's like I got the impression he knew exactly where Kyle was but was trying to figure out what I knew. I think he knows Kyle took Maggie out of there, and I think he knows I was hiding Maggie and her daughter, Belle."

  "Do you think he knows Kyle is working undercover?" Kizner asks, his voice now on full alert.

  "I don't know, but my gut says no," I tell him. "If he suspected that, wouldn't he be getting the hell out of dodge?"

  "Good point. Where are you?"

  "We've only been on the road a few hours. Heading to Salt Lake City, but we're not far from Montpelier, Idaho. I've sent Belle to Cheyenne with a friend whose father is the governor. She'll be well protected."

  "Okay," Kizner says, his voice now taking charge and brooking no nonsense. "We've got Zeke under constant surveillance as well as his higher-ups in the club. I'm going to check in with them, see where they are."

  "I don't think they're following us," Bridger supplies.

  "Then go ahead and pull off in Montpelier. Get a hotel and wait to hear from me."

  "What are you going to do?" Bridger asks pointedly. "Because we cannot stay on the run. I've got a business... Maggie wants to get back to her daughter."

  "I get that, and things are going to move fast. We're actually ready to take them down. All supporting agencies are in place, and we have enough agents ready to go. We were just waiting on this last meet with Kyle for the go-ahead. But if you think he's in danger, then we have to move now."

  "Like as in 'now', right now?" Bridger asks, his eyes cutting to me briefly.

  "As in a few hours," Kizner says. "It will go down tonight probably, after it gets dark. Probably let them party a bit... get relaxed."

  Bridger nods in understanding, but he adds on for Kizner's planning benefit. "Zeke invited me to the club. Expects me there at eleven PM. If you don't do it by then, he'll send some people out for me, I'm sure."

  "Then we'll have it go down before then," Kizner says. "This number I'm calling you from is my cell. Text me the hotel you're at and I'll let you know as soon as we have the club members in custody. We'll need you to come back and give a statement and such, but we'll worry about that later."

  "Got it," Bridger says, and then adds on, "And just so you know... if they are following us and come anywhere near Maggie or me, I'm going to shoot."

  "Wouldn't expect otherwise," Kizner says. "Talk later."

  And then he hangs up.

  Bridger draws his phone to his face, rubs the edge thoughtfully against this chin. "I wonder if Zeke knows Kyle is undercover or he just thinks he helped you escape?"

  "I don't know," I tell him. "But I can tell you this... Kyle was good in his act. I would have never thought he was a cop. He was an asshole, and like I said... he egged Kayla on when she was torturing me."

  "You know he was doing that to maintain his cover," Bridger points out.

  "Yeah, I get it," I say with a smile. "And I will totally give him a hug when this is all over."

  Bridger doesn't respond but puts his blinker on as the exit for Highway 30 looms ahead. He then holds his phone back out, chooses a contact, and dials, also putting it on speakerphone so I can listen.

  Woolf answers almost immediately.

  "Just checking in," Bridger says. "Where are you?"

  "About half an hour outside of Rock Springs," Woolf says. The trip to Cheyenne is over six hours in length so it will be at least four more before I know Belle is to safety.

  "Anyone following you that you can tell?" Bridger asks and I hold my breath waiting to hear his answer.

  "Nope," Woolf responds casually, and then adds on the best news I've heard yet. "Callie called her father and filled him in on what was going on and that we were heading his way. He arranged for the state police to escort us county by county to Cheyenne, so you don't have to worry about Belle."

  "Oh, thank God," I murmur, but Woolf apparently hears me loud and clear.

  "I'll take good care of her, Maggie. I promise," he reassures me.

  "Listen," Bridger says. "I just got off the phone with Kyle's ATF handler. Filled him in on what was going down, and they're concerned about Kyle. They're going in tonight to make the bust."

  "Thank fu--" Woolf starts to say, but then he stumbles and says, "Fudge."

  Bridger turns to me and we smirk at each other, because yeah... sometimes you have to watch your mouth when you have a two-year-old in the car.

  "At any rate, at his suggestion, we're stopping in Montpelier," Bridger continues, "but you should head on to Cheyenne. It'll hopefully be over by tomorrow, and then you can start back."

  "Sounds like a plan," Woolf says.

  "Later," Bridger says.

  He disconnects and puts the phone back in the console, his hand going to the top of the steering wheel again to resume his casual pose.

  Now that I know Belle is utterly safe and has police protection even as we speak, all of the tension I'd been carrying just melts away from my body. I don't care if I'm bait and Zeke comes after me, but knowing that Belle is safe right now makes me incredibly happy.

  "We'll Facetime with Belle once they get to Cheyenne, okay?" Bridger asks, glancing at me again.

  "Sounds good," I say as I lean back in my seat and look straight ahead. I don't bother looking at my side view mirror anymore, because it seems we're good.

  We're safe.

  Zeke's going down tonight.

  Belle and I will be reunited.

  And then I'll figure out what to do about Bridger.

  Chapter 21

  Bridger

  Maggie doesn't say a word as I pull the Hummer around the back of the Clover Creek Inn to the room I'd secured for the night. I handed her the magnetic key when I got back into the vehicle, wondering if she cared that I only got one room.

  I wondered because I'd laid my speech on her earlier today about us being too different from each other to survive in the long run. I figured my proclamation would send Maggie scurrying away from me, which is not something I wanted, but something I figured would happen since well... she's a woman. Women take more stock in the future a
nd looking past a single night--or just a few nights--of pleasure.

  But it made sense, only having one room, because there was still a danger presented from Zeke. Granted, I didn't think it was a big danger and it's pretty obvious we weren't followed. But still, it was a good excuse to insist we stick together.

  And I do want to protect Maggie. Wasn't lying to Kizner. I will shoot anyone that comes through that door after we get inside. But my ulterior motives are more because while I certainly will see to Maggie's protection, I want to be in the same room tonight because I intend to fuck her.

  I stand by my words to her. There are certain things I need in my life. I have certain demons I've learned to live with rather than abolish. Those things are probably not going to change about me, and Maggie is too sweet to have to deal with them for her future. She'd be hurt by me eventually, so I wanted to start getting her expectations set that this... whatever it is we have... has an expiration date on it. I'm just not sure what that date is right now.

  But it's not expiring tonight. We'll be staying here for at least the next twelve hours, and I intend to fuck her more than once. Belle's safe, we're safe, and the next logical priority for me is seeing how far I can take it with Maggie. I am way more excited and turned on by the prospect than I am fearful of it, and this is pushing me forward.

  Can I do in her pussy what I did in her mouth? I'm definitely bolstered by past success, and I'm not going to lie... I'm dying to feel her wrapped around me when I release. I want to feel the electric moment I felt when I was in her mouth. The orgasm was glorious, long-lived, and almost brutal in its power. Not like the flatlined orgasms I usually have that give me two to three seconds of mind paralysis at best. As much fucking as I do in my lifetime, I want it to be spectacular rather than ordinary just once.

  I pull the Hummer into a parking spot and get out of the vehicle. Maggie follows suit but waits for me while I get the bags out of the back. I then follow her to the room and wait while she unlocks the door. I stand close enough to her backside that I can smell the faint smell of her pear shampoo and the very vague odor of saddle leather from our ride this morning.

  When the door opens, she jets inside and heads straight to the bathroom, which tells me she's nervous. More importantly, she knows what my intentions are. I drop the bags on one of the beds and remove the guns. I do a quick check to ensure they're all loaded and ready, then I take my clothes off. I'd considered doing a slow seduction of Maggie, but then immediately discarded it. She knows I want her, and she wants me too. It's a waste of time, so I did away with it.

  I wait by the bathroom door patiently. She finally opens it to find me looming there naked. I expect her to jolt or even scream, but instead, she lets her eyes roam down the length of my body almost dispassionately before coming back up where she cocks an eyebrow at me. "So, that's how we're playing this?"

  "You mean by jumping right into bed and fucking? Yeah, pretty much."

  I wait to see how she'll take this. Will she smile, give me a small laugh, and jump into bed, choosing to show me a bit of levity over my brashness? Or will she be disappointed? Fearful? Disgusted?

  She grimaces at my remark, and there it is... an obvious flash of disappointment in her eyes. Fuck if that doesn't feel a lot like guilt brewing at the center of my chest, but I push it away as I wait to see what she does. I swear to fucking God, if I see a glimmer of a tear over my somewhat callous treatment of our relationship, I'm going to throw my clothes back on and just sit outside the hotel door all night, keeping myself far away from Maggie.

  "Fine," Maggie says pertly as she pushes by me, giving a slight elbow to my ribs so I'll move out of her way. She starts jerking her clothes and shoes off until she's as naked as I am. She then crawls onto the bed that doesn't hold our bags, and lies on her back, staring at the ceiling. In a voice that sounds intentionally robotic and uninspired, she says, "Oh, Bridger. Come and do me, you big stud. I can't wait."

  I don't know how to take that. Is she teasing me? Is she making a point?

  I walk across the room and hop on the bed, straddling her waist. She glares at me, although her eyes do drop to my dick, which is hard and ready, before peeping back up to me. She waits for me to make a move, and although she's acting put out, I can see the pulse in the base of her neck jumping and her nipples are beaded tight so she's not as unaffected as she wants me to believe.

  "Any chance you're on some form of birth control?" I ask her. "I know you're not on the Pill."

  She looks confused for a moment and then nods her head. "IUD. I got one after Belle was born. Wasn't about to give Zeke another child and tie me to him further."

  "Then we're fucking without a condom," I announce to her and wait to see her reaction.

  "What the fuck, Bridger?" she says in exasperation, but there... right there... I see her eyes flame with lust. But she retains a little bit of common sense when she says, "You don't even know if I'm clean."

  "You realize you didn't even bother asking if I am," I point out.

  "Well... I assume if you said you didn't want to use a condom it meant you were clean. I don't think you'd do anything to ever intentionally put me in danger."

  Fuck... that admission right there. It's exactly what I was seeking when I broached this subject. I wanted to know the depth of her trust in me. No particular reason for it, other than to stroke my ego where Maggie's concerned, because even though I have a connection with her that's different from all others, I still sometimes wonder exactly how she feels.

  And, of course... I couldn't do something as simple as just ask how she feels. No, that would be way too easy.

  "And you trust me?" she asks in what is a sweet, hopeful voice that lets me know right there... in addition to wanting me, Maggie is not taking my proclamation that we're too different to heart.

  But I fall prey to the tone of her voice, not wanting to hurt her. Never wanting to hurt her.

  "Mags," I say softly, placing my palm right over the middle of her chest. "If you were to sit here and tell me to my face that you're clean, I'd believe you wholeheartedly."

  Her eyes go round, but then slide off to the side to stare at the bedspread. In a small voice, she says, "I'm not sure. I mean... Zeke always used a condom, but that one time it broke. I've never been tested, but I've also never had any symptoms of anything."

  That right there is the truth, and she gave it to me point blank. Something shifts inside of me, and my respect for Maggie grows.

  "Well," I say carefully. "I do happen to know for sure you're fine. Jared ran a full workup on you when he first treated you, and I had him include an STD panel. I had no clue what your backstory was at that point, and I wanted to make sure you got proper medical attention."

  "Oh," she says as her eyes come back to mine. "Well... thank you."

  "So, the condom issue is dispensed," I tell her with a pointed look. "But we have one other thing that we need to talk about before we get started."

  "You make it sound like we're getting ready to start a board meeting or something," she mutters, but there's a pouty tone to it and it lightens the mood somewhat.

  "It's true what I said in the car a bit ago," I tell her as I move both my hands to the mattress by her head and dip my face down over hers. "I haven't given much thought to what you and I are, or what we'll do going forward. But it seems like things with Zeke are going down fast, and come tomorrow morning, you might not need me anymore."

  "Agreed," she admits, but fuck... it kills me how sad she sounds.

  "So I'm thinking about it right now," I explain my rationale. "And the one thing I know right now is that I really want to fuck you, and I hope it's going to be just as amazing, if not more so, than that stellar blow job I got last night. I expect I'm going to come deep in your pussy and I'm going to love that feeling, so I expect I'll do it again. I also expect I'll want you tomorrow, and the day after, and the day after that. But truthfully, that's as far as I've gotten, Maggie. I just don't have it in me to look too
far into my future. I've got doubts and insecurities just like anyone. So if you want to keep on with me, to see where it goes, that's great. But if you don't want to, because I can't give you more than what I did just now... I'll back off and put my clothes on. The choice is yours."

  She doesn't say anything right away, just looks at me without breaking eye contact. Finally, she says, "That's quite a speech, Mr. Payne."

  "Did it make sense?" I ask.

  "It did, and as it stands... I can appreciate you not knowing what you want. I can also appreciate your doubts," she says coolly, and my chest gets tight with anxiety that she's going to tell me to put my clothes back on. But then she gives me a sassy grin and her eyes sparkle playfully when she says, "I can appreciate those things as much as I can appreciate that fabulous cock that you're practically waving in my face right now, and I'm really wondering what it will feel like inside of me without a condom."

  Every bit of tension drains right out of me. At the mention of my cock, it stands a little straighter as if it's preening, and then starts to weep for her with eagerness. My chest also squeezes with the realization this woman is trying to make this easier on me.

  "You're just saying that to let me off the hook, aren't you?" I ask her.

  "I'm saying that simply because I understand your limitations, and right now... I'm okay with that. I'm also very okay with us having sex and seeing what happens after. It's just that simple."

  I smile at Maggie, immediately stretching my body down the length of hers. Her legs part for me and my hips settle in between, my dick laying heavy over her pubic bone.

  I look down into Maggie's green eyes as I hold myself off her somewhat by my elbows digging into the mattress. "I want you so bad, Maggie. When I came in your mouth last night, it busted me out of some shackles for sure. I want to know if they're completely banished."

  "Then you should probably get on with fucking me," she says impishly, and I appreciate her attempt to further lighten the mood.

  But I need her to know one more thing. "I think I'm good, Mags. I think I can do it. Hell, I want to do it so bad... come inside you. But same warning as before... it might not happen."

  "And I'm good if that's the case," she assures me with a smile.