“Crazy Bitch sent Sex Piston a text to tell me to get my ass outside. I assume she sent the same text to Beth and Lily. What did you do to piss her off this time?”
Calder thought back, realizing she had given him a warning when she hadn’t liked how he had blamed his sore dick on her.
“Apparently, I apologized too late for something I said.” Next time, he would be faster, or keep his big mouth shut.
“Brother, you’ve been around that crazy bitch long enough to be smart enough to fuck her with one foot on the bed and the other one ready to run.”
Stud didn’t know how true his warning was.
“I’ll let you go back to bed. If I’m not at breakfast, you know she killed me in my sleep.”
“You should be safe. I saw her peeking over your shoulder at Shade. That always puts them in a good mood.”
“Did you know he had that many tattoos?” If Calder didn’t like him, and if Shade hadn’t saved his and Star’s life a couple of hours ago, he would be tempted to throw the dangerous biker off the balcony.
“Jealous?” Stud gave him a commiserating look. “Don’t let it get to you. I use it to my advantage.”
“I don’t want her thinking of anyone but me when I’m fucking her.”
“You could get more tattoos?” Stud suggested. “If it bothers you that bad.”
“I might do that.” He twisted the doorknob to go back inside his room.
“Just so you know, Shade isn’t the only Last Rider who gets them horny.”
Jealous, he turned back to his brother. “Who else do I have to kill?”
“Knox.”
“That’s easy.” He shrugged. “I’ll just work out more if she’s into muscles.” He scoffed at him having to be worried about Knox.
“It’s not the muscles that get their motors running; it’s his tongue ring… and the ones he’s got on his cock.”
Calder’s hand unconsciously went to his still recovering dick as he ran the tip of his tongue over suddenly dry lips. “You know, the more I think about it, I don’t have a reason to be jealous of them. Shade and Knox are happily married men, right?”
“Keep telling yourself that, brother. That’s what I tell myself. It’s a hell of a lot easier than getting your dick pierced… or getting a bad tattoo.”
“One thing is for sure—it won’t be as painful.”
Opening the door, he saw Crazy Bitch lying on the bed, watching a movie. Shutting and locking the door behind him, he started to sweat when he saw it was a porno.
Switching from his jeans back to shorts, he carefully lay down on the bed next to her, trying not to flinch when she cuddled up to him. The low moans from the television made him nervous.
“You didn’t forget that Dr. Price said I couldn’t have sex for a week, did you?”
“Hot thang…”
He swallowed hard when she glanced up with eyes that had turned slumberous with passion.
“He said you couldn’t have sex for a whole week. Me?” She lifted one of his hands, sliding it underneath her T-shirt to her already hard nipple. “I can have all the sex I want.”
“Holy Moses! How did I not know this was in Kentucky?” Crazy Bitch stared up in awe at the castle.
Calder grinned as he got off his bike. “Probably because, when you go to Lexington, you take the interstate. I only knew about it because I took the back way a few times. We lucked out; they had a cancellation.”
He unstrapped the small duffle bag that he had tied to the back of the bike. Stud had taken their suitcases with them in his van. Both he and Crazy Bitch had only kept a change of clothes for the next day.
After checking in, they scouted around the lobby, hoping something would lead to the next clue. Deciding to go to their room to drop the bag off, they went up the stairs.
As they were going up the steps, Calder recognized the man and woman coming down.
“Rider.” Calder held out his hand to shake The Last Rider’s hand.
“Calder, Crazy Bitch.”
He didn’t miss the appraising look that Crazy Bitch gave the biker, or the hostile one she gave the other woman.
Last night, when he had watched her give Shade the once-over, he had thought it was about time she had some of her own medicine.
He turned his eyes to the sexy woman by Rider’s side, about to introduce himself, when Crazy Bitch took his arm, going up another step.
“Later.”
“That wasn’t polite,” he mumbled as they continued up the stairs.
“I didn’t like the way you were looking at Jewel.”
“I don’t look the way you look at Shade, Knox, or Rider.”
Crazy Bitch didn’t say anything until they reached their room.
“I didn’t like the way you looked at Jewel, so I said something. If you don’t like the way I look at other men, say something. I’m not a fucking mind reader.”
Tossing his bag onto the bed, he angrily stalked to where she was standing by the door. “I don’t like it.”
“Then I won’t do it anymore. Satisfied?”
He placed his hands on the door, caging her in. “When I’m with you, I’m never satisfied. I always want more. I’m not even satisfied when I’m done fucking you. I’m not satisfied when you come on my tongue and don’t beg me for more. I’m not satisfied that, if I walked away from you, you wouldn’t give a flying fuck. You know what would satisfy me? You quit playing around with me like you’re expecting me to fuck up and give you an excuse to stop seeing me.”
“You are going to fuck up—that’s what men do!”
“Woman, you act like you’re made out of armor. The problem is, it may be protecting you, but it’s keeping me away.” He traced the line of her stubborn jaw with his thumb. “You don’t have to protect yourself from me. I’m so crazy about you that I’m jealous over every man you look at.”
“I don’t want you jealous.”
“What do you want?”
Her eyes shifted sideways. “I want you to say you like me.”
Calder was stunned at her simple request. She wanted what no one had given her before. His heart ached that the only thing she wanted didn’t cost a dime, yet to her, it was as valuable as gold.
“Anna-Kate, I like you a lot. In fact, I like you so much I’m falling in love with you.”
“You are?” The woman whom he had considered to be hard as stone gave him an uncertain smile.
“A hundred percent.”
“You can’t go any higher than a hundred percent.”
“No, you can’t. I guess that settles it then. I’m definitely in love with you.”
She gave a smile so radiant he had to blink to make sure he was seeing it. It was like a flower that had unfurled in the sunlight, trying to catch the first rays of the morning. There was also wariness, but a gradual openness that let him catch sight of the gentle soul she kept guarded within her. As if one careless step would trample the budding love she was feeling for him.
He embraced her so gently he heard her breath hitch in her throat.
“Do you know how long I’ve been in love with you?” she asked.
“How long?” he asked huskily.
“When I looked over the edge on Black Mountain and you pulled me back. I’ve never had anyone do that for me.”
He frowned. “What, keep you from falling off a mountain?”
“Usually, people want to throw me off them, not hold me back.”
“That’s what makes me different. I would have gone over the cliff with you before I would have ever let you fall.”
22
Crazy Bitch stared at Viper’s brother, trying to keep her expression cheerful as Calder introduced them.
That Gavin had been through hell was obvious in the shadows of his eyes and the scars on his wrists where they must have kept him chained. It was in the lethal awareness that he was unconsciously watching her as if he didn’t trust her movements. He wasn’t a man who had survived unscathed. He was waiting
for hell to reach out and grab him back into its fiery grasp.
“I expected a woman named Crazy Bitch to be taller and scarier.”
“I only get scary the more you know me. I’ll take it easy on you until you get to know me better.” Prudently, she didn’t make any moves to go farther into his room as the tall man paced jitterily across the carpeted floor.
Gavin didn’t laugh at her teasing, but his lips did curl in the beginning of a smile. Restless, he kept rubbing his arms as if he was cold.
“I’m looking forward to it, if I ever get out of here.”
“Don’t rush getting released. My mother did, and both times she went back to using within a couple days. You can’t rush success. I didn’t understand that when I was in high school, so I dropped out. I thought the ones who stayed in school were the suckers. Made fun of them for wanting to go on to college. I was a fucking fool because I thought I could skip the steps that would make me a success in life.
“If I had to do it over, my ass would have stayed in school. I could have been a doctor, an astronaut, or a CEO, instead of a hairdresser. I’ll never know because I rushed into making a decision that I would regret, and I do.
“It took me years to get my GED, but when I did… Jesus, it was like someone had handed me the Pulitzer Prize or some shit like that when I got my diploma in the mail.”
Gavin stopped pacing. “Your mother was an addict?”
“Oh yes, she wasn’t like Killyama’s ma, who could hide it. My mother couldn’t hide her addiction. She lost custody of me a few times. She would swear to the courts and me that she was clean to get me back. She even managed to get through rehab and social worker visits to regain custody of me. Once she did, it would start all over again. She didn’t care enough about me or herself not to give in to the drugs again. Rehab gave her the skills to cope with temptation, but they can’t help you win the war unless you take advantage of their help.”
“I don’t need anyone’s help anymore.” He gravely regarded her.
“I said that about algebra. I flunked it three times before I found a tutor. It’s easier to dig yourself out of a hole if you don’t fall in there in the first place.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” He gave her a brief smile that was more of a grimace. “How’d you get your nickname?”
“Most of my friends got their nicknames because they were the opposite of their nicknames. Sadly, I deserve mine. I get a little crazy when I get pissed off.”
Gavin lifted a curious brow. “How crazy?”
“I made the news a couple times,” she bragged to the men who were looking at her skeptically.
“I don’t remember any of the brothers mentioning that.”
Crazy Bitch could hear the doubt in Calder’s voice at her gloating.
“I was in high school.”
“If you were in high school, it doesn’t count. We all do crazy shit in high school.”
She stared down at her fingernail polish, admiring the color. So far, it was one of her favorites. She should buy another couple of bottles in case they stopped making it.
“Does it count if you have killed?”
The two men stared at her in shock. Then Gavin burst out laughing, slapping Calder on his back.
“If I didn’t like you so much, I would steal her from you. She’s funny as hell.”
She arched her finely arched brow. “You think I’m joking?”
“I think you’re trying to take my mind off my Taylor coming, and it’s working.”
“Glad to help,” she said as a knock sounded on the door behind her.
Gavin nervously jumped, hollowed cheekbones flushed when she nodded toward the private yard behind his back.
“Calder and I will wait outside. If you need us, just open the door.”
She and Calder went out the back door as Gavin told the person knocking to come inside.
Being nosy, she took the patio chair that gave a view into the room. She couldn’t hear what the woman was saying when she came into the room, but when the stunning woman moved toward Gavin, an imaginary hand gripped her heart when she saw that Gavin’s visitor was pregnant and his reaction to it.
“He didn’t know?” she whispered out of the side of her mouth, wanting to make sure Gavin couldn’t hear their conservation.
“I talked to Viper while you were checking us out of the hotel. He said Gavin took the news better than he thought he would. Now, I see why. I think he wanted to pretend the last eleven years never happened.”
They sat watching the awkward meeting between the estranged lovers.
“I can see why he’s so hung up on her. She’s a beautiful woman.”
“Yes, she is.”
Crazy Bitch wasn’t jealous at Calder’s compliment.
The pain emanating from the other side of the glass door was tangible. She wanted to look away, but she was spellbound, like waiting for a car wreck to happen and helpless to do anything about it, other than watch it before her eyes.
“What do you think she’s saying?” Calder asked.
“I think she’s telling him that she doesn’t love him anymore, that she loves her husband.”
“How do you know that?”
“Because she’s twisting her wedding ring and crying.”
“Damn.”
“Yeah, it sucks getting your heart broken, but it beats her giving him hope.” Crazy Bitch turned her eyes away, unable to watch any more. “You want to know what’s really sad? I think she’s still in love with him. She keeps looking away from his eyes.”
“Why would she lie about something like that?”
“She’s married.” Crazy Bitch shrugged. “Some women take that shit seriously, especially when they’re knocked up.”
“She’s leaving.”
Crazy Bitch didn’t turn back to watch, finding it too painful. You could put a Band-Aid on someone who was cut, but there was no way to help someone who was having their heart ripped out.
When she heard Gavin calling Taylor’s name, she still kept herself turned away, giving him privacy. Her hands clenched into fists at the ragged plea for her to come back and not to leave him. A tear slipped down her cheek at the guttural moan that next came from Gavin’s room.
She heard Calder take off when the sound of glass exploding came from inside.
Standing, she saw Calder trying to hold Gavin back.
“Taylor, come back! Let me go, Calder. I don’t want to hurt you, but I will if you don’t. Taylor! God… Please don’t leave me.”
“Gavin, she’s gone. Don’t make it harder for her.”
“Hard for her? What about for me? She’s the only reason I’m alive.”
Crazy Bitch hesitantly walked into the room as Calder tried to keep Gavin from following the woman who had left with a heartbroken sob. She had thought Gavin would keep fighting Calder; instead, he stopped struggling to sit down on his bed, staring at the wall as if they weren’t there.
Calder looked questioningly toward her, neither of them knowing what to do next. Gavin might still have been in his room, but he was no longer with them.
A look crossed his face that had her stepping toward Calder in fear. Gavin’s appearance masked the desperation she knew he was feeling at truly losing the woman he loved.
Pushed beyond what his still fragile mind could handle, he didn’t move when Peyton came into the room, casting him a worried glance.
“Gavin?”
His eyes didn’t flicker as Peyton and Calder moved closer.
“Gavin, are you okay? Can I get you something?” When Peyton laid a hand on his arm, he didn’t respond, just continued to stare blankly at the wall. The lights were on in Gavin’s mind, but he was no longer there.
Peyton and Calder both tried to say something that could draw him out of his stupor. Then Peyton began crying when the nurse came rushing inside.
“I’ll stay with Gavin. You and Peyton go get something to eat,” Calder told her.
Crazy Bitch took P
eyton’s arm, leading her from the room. “Where do you want to go get something to eat?”
“I can’t eat.”
“Let’s go to the waiting room, and I’ll get us each a cup of coffee.”
Peyton sniffed back her tears, nodding as she looked back at Gavin’s door. “I should call Viper. He’s waiting for my call at the hotel next door.”
“You go ahead while I get the coffee.”
She had just handed Peyton her coffee and took a chair next to her when she saw Viper and Ton striding down the hall, going into Gavin’s room.
“I tried to tell him to wait before seeing her. He’s tried so hard to get off the drugs and put some weight on. I think he really believed she would leave her husband and stay with him.” Peyton looked down at her coffee cup, not drinking it.
“When you’re lost, you want the one you love to make you feel better. He wanted Taylor to make him feel better, and he crashed when she didn’t. He’s going to have to regroup and find another reason to keep living.”
“What if he doesn’t?” Peyton’s shaky hand nearly spilled her coffee. Crazy Bitch took it away, setting it down on the small table next to her.
“He will. If he has an ounce of Viper’s blood inside him, he will.”
They sat for several minutes before Crazy Bitch stood, wanting to stretch her legs.
“I haven’t eaten since last night. Calder was in too much of a rush to get here this morning to eat. I’m going to get me and Calder something. You want anything?”
“No thanks. I’ll tell Calder where you are if he comes out.”
Crazy Bitch went out through the sliding door.
She and Calder had spent most of the night searching through the castle, but hadn’t found any hint of another clue. She hoped the others in her crew had better luck.
The restaurant was busy. Taking a seat at the counter, she ordered two burgers and fries to go. When she finished ordering, she absently looked around the restaurant, seeing a couple arguing in one of the booths.
Recognizing the woman as Gavin’s ex-fiancée, she saw that the meeting in Gavin’s room hadn’t just taken a toll on him. Taylor was sobbing into a man’s shoulder as those sitting near them nosily looked on.