Final Ride (Lords of Mayhem) (3 page)

Hilary sneered. “Somehow I doubt it.”

“You and that mouth.” Hawk shook his head. Most women would
be afraid for their lives right now.
If Hilary is, she sure as hell doesn’t
how it.

Chapter Two

Hilary tried not to let her nervousness show as she sat on
the couch and took in her surroundings. The adrenaline was wearing off, and she
began to realize the gravity of her situation. For the unforeseeable future,
she and Hawk would be joined at the hip. The cabin smelled like him. She was
surrounded by the scent of leather and a subtle cologne that made her mouth
water. She scanned the space with a critical eye, shocked to find it neat and
orderly.

“You expect a pig sty?” Hawk said. The amusement in his
voice struck a raw nerve. It was like he saw through her front to the terrified
woman shaking her boots. This was heavy shit. She’d seen what these men were
capable of and knowing she was number one on their list of things to fuck over
was nothing to sneeze at.

“I didn’t know what to expect.”

“I keep a clean house, and I run a tight ship.” The
authority in his voice made her want to purr. She respected strong figures. A
pool began to form in the center of her panties.
Traitor.
Her long-neglected
body saw sex on two legs. It didn’t give a fuck about her feelings.

“Is this where you lay down the law to the little woman?” she
huffed. While the M.C. wasn’t as bad as she’d imagined, she couldn’t stand the
skanky biker bunnies ready to do whatever they needed to do just to gain a
morsel of someone’s attention. It sickened her.

“Harpy, we both know there’s nothing small about you.” His
gaze raked over her, leaving flickers of fire in its wake. Unable to withstand
his penetrating gaze, she looked away.

“Harpy? Are you really calling me that?”

“Sharp tongue, take no shit attitude. I think it fits.”

“It’s not very flattering,” she said.

“You want me to flatter you, Hilary?”

“What? No.” She glanced at him, mortified.
Can he see how
much I want to toss him down on the bed and ride him to completion?
Her
face grew hot.

“Just checking. Because I can be very nice when I have a
mind to. That’s one thing you need to remember. You treat me with respect and I’ll
do the same for you. This situation isn’t ideal, but it’s necessary. We both
know that. The things I’ll ask you to do are for your safety. I’m going to be
straight with you and say right now, you’re not going to like them.”

Her stomach bottomed. “I’m not going to like what?”

“The way you’ll become invisible and be treated like
property. House mice are generally seen and not heard. They don’t talk back,
and they don’t assert themselves, which is always going to be your first
instinct. You need to bury that deep. This is to keep you safe. They tracked
you down and tried to take you out once. We want to make it harder for them
find you. ”

“You make this sound like some Master-slave type
relationship. We were freed by Lincoln, you know?”

Hawk snickered. “See that right there.” He pointed. “I like
your spunk. But it has no place in this world, not with the role you’re
playing, and you’d better learn to play it well. First thing you need is a
crash course in all things M.C. I’ll have Fancy and a few of the other girls
talk to you.”

“I’ve been around long enough to get the picture, Hawk.”

“No.” He shook his head. “Not as a house mouse. Your girls
are old ladies; there’s a world of difference in those positions. You need to
look the part too.”

“Look the part?” she said.

“As much as I love those curls, they have to go. They’re
like a signature thing with you, and dye wouldn’t hurt.”

Her hand flew up to pat at her tendrils. “Dye! Straighten.
No I can’t.”

“You can and you will, Harpy.”

“Who’s going to make me?” she asked, desperate to take back
some of the life being ripped from her hands.

“Me if I have to.” He took a few steps forward, pausing a
few inches from her body. She looked up. “See I have this theory that you’re in
need of a good spanking. So I wouldn’t put me to the test.” His voice deepened,
and she pressed her thighs together to relieve the pressure building between
her legs.

“I don’t need to be manhandled into doing what you want.”
She clenched her jaw, ignoring the quivering going on in her belly. No one had
ever spoken to her like this. A part of her liked it. Her nipples hardened.
Maybe a little too much.

“Oh, I think you need to be handled pretty badly.” His minty
breath caressed her face, stirring curls of her hair.

“You don’t know what I need.”

“Do you?” He arched a brow.

“I used to think so,” she whispered. The events of the day
caught up with her and the fight seeped from her body. Her shoulders slumped,
and self-doubt attacked like an invading army who’d found a weakness in a
fortress.

“Hey you’ve been through some shit today. It’s a lot to take
in.” Hawk’s voice softened, and the kindness was her undoing. Her eyes watered,
and her lower lip trembled.
Do not cry in front of him. Do not cry in front
of him.
He sank down beside her and wrapped an arm around her side. “Sit,
breathe, relax. You didn’t bargain for this kind of trouble. It’s okay to let
down your walls, babe. We got you. You’re Mayhem. I didn’t mean to freak you
out. But I want to make sure you understand how serious this is. We need to
play it to the letter.”

“I get it. I do.” She swallowed air, evening out her
breathing and blocking the tears that wanted to fall. “I’m good now. Thank you.”
She cleared her throat, embarrassed.
The last thing I needed was the V.P. of
Mayhem seeing me about to dive head first off the deep end. He probably thinks
I’m some sort of liability.

“Look at me, so I know you’re here with me right now.”

She glanced up and fell into the brown pools of his eyes. “We’ll
get through this, all right? Don’t fall apart on me now. You’re a tough broad.
I admire that. Don’t let these bastards pull the rug out from beneath you. We
will be your muscle as long as you follow the rules.”

She bit back her acidic reply and nodded her head. He was
right. Without their help she’d be a sitting duck.

“What do you want me to do?”

“Stage an unexpected yet totally believable trip for the
people in your life who’d worry. Leave, but pay with cash only so there’s no
trail. During that time we’ll do a bait and switch. You’ll get a makeover and
come and live with me.”

“And then what?”

“When you’re in our house or in the club around Mayhem
members, whatever you want. I’m not your slaver. Around anyone else, however,
you play your role.”

“You keep saying that. What is my role?”

He wrapped a strand of her hair around his finger and she
shivered. “To be my doting, smoldering sexpot who hangs over me like a cheap
suit and does what I say.”

“Seems like you’re enjoying this more than you need to,” she
muttered.

“One thing you’ll learn about me, babe. I take pleasure and
find happiness wherever I can. Life’s too short to be all gloom and doom and
the shit I deal with on a daily basis would break most people. I live for the
fun, pretty girl. You should too.” He released her hair and peered into her
eyes.

“I can’t live like you. By the seat of my pants with no
concerns but the ones I choose to make a priority.”

“Why not?”

“Because I have responsibilities.”

“Like?”

“Bills, a mortgage, family…fuck.” Thought of her parents
threw a monkey wrench into Hawk’s carefully laid plans.

“What?” he said.

“My parents are going through a nasty divorce. They’ll lose
their shit if I drop off the face of the earth.”

“Why? You aren’t the one married.”

“No but I’m the only child, and it just came out my father’s
been cheating for years. It’s messy and I’m the unofficial mediator.”

“That’s fucked up, babe. They need to hire a professional to
do that shit, not put you in the middle of some fucked-up game of tug-of-war.”

The truth stung like nettles. “Family sticks together. You
understand that. It’s how the club operates.”

“It’s not the same thing and you know it. I hate to speak
ill of your folks, but it sounds like they’re being selfish as fuck right now.”

She turned away. “It’s a difficult time for everyone.”

“All the more reason for them to believe you need time to
yourself.”

He isn’t going to let go of this.
“So I just bail on
them?” Her stomach churned at the thought. Some days she thought she was the
only thing keeping them from murdering each other.

“What do you think your presence does?”

“Keeps things level and semi-calm. Without me there’d be
total chaos.”

“So it’s your job to be the one who upholds the peace? That’s
a heavy weight. I’m not a parent, but one thing I do know is kids come first.
That doesn’t stop once they hit eighteen.”

“It’s easy to say when you’re on the outside looking in.”

Hawk shook his head. “I been there. You got to learn to step
away from shit and let people work things out for themselves. One thing I know.
You can’t be responsible for what someone else does. You can’t make them be the
way you want them to.”

“Your parents?” she asked, shocked.

“No, my brother. Best thing I ever did was realizing I wasn’t
his keeper, not really. Nothing I did or said was going to stop him from doing
exactly what he wanted to do. Made life a lot simpler once I figured that out.”

She mulled over his words for a minute. “So you just stopped
caring?”

“I’m not a cold-hearted bastard. I cared, still care, but I
couldn’t waste my life bailing him out, bitching, and trying to force my will,
and that of our parents on him. Rayen loved smoke more than he did anything
else. I think jail was the best place for him. Forced him to get straight and
think about shit.” Hawk shrugged. “Point is, you can’t save someone who doesn’t
want to be saved, and even if you could, it’s not your job.”

She blinked as his words hit her. What he said had a lot of
validity. Still, guilt ate her up from the inside. What kind of daughter left
her mother high and dry when she learned her whole marriage had been a lie?

“Just think on it. Either way, we’re going to have to go
with my plan.”

“You haven’t even talked it over with Pres yet,” she said,
grasping at straws.

“It was his idea. He made you my responsibility. That means
we do it my way. I’m not some prospect who has to run every thought that enters
his head by another person. I’m V.P. for a reason.” He tapped his patch with
his pointer finger, and she mentally swore. Damned if he didn’t looks sexy as
fuck with his hair tumbling in his face and confidence etched on every strong
line of his face. He reminded her of the cover models from the old Western
novels with the Native American decked out in his tribal finery. Only, he had a
hell of a lot of rough edges, and a few scars. One in particular cut through
his right eyebrow, lending to his air of mystique.

“You aren’t going to say anything?” Hawk said.

“Why? It’s not like I have a choice.”

“Now you’re learning.” He stood. “But for the record I like
it when you fight. I’m sure your girls are chomping at the bit and driving
their old men crazy. I’m going to let them know you’re good to have visitors.
After that I’ll have the house mice talk to you.”

She watched him leave the room, completely confused. The man
ran hot and cold. He had a crazy charisma she’d never noticed before.
Yes, I
did. That’s why I never let myself be around him too much. How in the hell am I
going to live with him and play this role without
giving in to my very
insistent urge?
With her insane writing schedule, promotions, research, and
travel, her libido had been all but dead lately. No man had piqued her interest
because quite frankly she’d had a one-track mind. The writing industry was hard,
and romance could be downright cutthroat. It’d taken every ounce of creativity,
determination and a shit ton of sacrifice to get where she was. Being stuck
here with everyone had shown her just how much she’d neglected. It was like
waking up from hibernation in a cave full of berries and honey.

* * * * *

She answered the door and found herself bombarded with hugs
and concern. She basked in the care of her friends.

“Are you okay?” Juliette asked shakily.

“Physically yes, other than a few scrapes and bruises.
Mentally? I’m walking on that thin line between anxiety and hysteria. If I
hadn’t had dropped my cellphone I’d be dead right now.”

Her knees weakened, and she leaned into Juliette and Evonne,
who kept her standing.

“This is getting more and more dangerous,” Joey said,
rubbing her baby bump as she rubbed Hil’s back. She soaked up the gentle touch.

“They’re going to handle it,” Juliette said firmly.

“At this point, it’s us or them,” Evonne said.

“Good thing we’re on the winning team,” Juliette said. The
conviction in her voice gave Hil strength. Juliette’s man, Shooter, was
sergeant in arms. If anyone knew how hard the boys went, it was her.

“I’m scared,” Hilary whispered.

“We all are,” Joey said.

“What are we going to do?” Hilary asked.

“Whatever they tell us to. Hil, I know you. You’re
hard-headed and you buck the rules. Promise me you won’t this time,” Juliette
said.

Hilary ground her teeth. “You know they placed me with Hawk,
right? They want me to go undercover as his house mouse.”

“Shit,” Joey said.

“Yeah,” Hilary said. Drolly.

“Wait, what’s a house mouse?” Evonne asked.

“Basically his bitch,” Joey said.

“Wow,” Evonne said.

“Yeah, you think you’re surprised,” Hilary mumbled.

“I don’t care how uncomfortable it is as long as you’re
safe. I live with the knowledge that this all stems from me. No, I didn’t make
Peter crazy or pick his friends, but you’re all in danger because of your
association with me. So I take the overseeing of your safety seriously,” Juliette
said.