Haven: Renegade Saints MC (8 page)

Victoria

I didn’t think that I’d ever been so sore in my life. Max and I made love almost all night long—four times! I couldn’t believe it. I always thought that was the kind of thing that happened in movies or TV, but never real life. Max had been the most thorough lover that I’d ever had, and I couldn’t believe he was mine.

“He’s your husband,” I said softly to myself. Next to me in bed, Max was snoring away. I was too excited to sleep, even though I was completely and utterly spent.

Finally, I managed to drift off to sleep. When I woke up a couple of hours later, I was foggy and confused. Max’s bedroom was still pitch black. Max was soundly snoring next to me, and I couldn’t figure out why I’d woken up at first.

Suddenly, I realized my cell phone was buzzing away on the nightstand. My body was filled with dread, and for a moment I hoped that I was still asleep. I even reached down and pinched my arm, hoping that I could wake up.

No luck. I was already awake. My heart started pounding in my chest as I reached for my phone. The number wasn’t listed, but I already knew who it was.

“Leave me alone,” I whispered into the receiver as soon as I’d answered. “I don’t know how you got this number! I’ve changed it so many times since we broke up!”

I winced, expecting the reply to be angry and powerful. But instead, Silas’s voice was meek, almost chastened. There was no trace of the angry man who had threatened me at the grocery store, no trace of the man who had hurt me so badly that my wrists were still bruised.

“Victoria,” Silas said in a pleading voice. “I’m sorry. I’m really sorry for what I’ve done, okay? I know I can’t begin to make it up to you, but please come back to me, please, Vicky!”

“Don’t call me that,” I said shortly. My breath was coming hard and fast. “I don’t know what you want from me, Silas, but I can’t help you.”

“Please give me another chance,” Silas begged. “I promise it won’t be like before.”

Max shifted next to me. The snoring stopped, and before I knew it he was sitting up in bed and flicking the light switch on. He grabbed the phone out of my hand and held it up to his face, looking tired and pissed off.

“Hello, is this Silas?” There was a pause. “Hi, Silas, I’m glad I got you. I just wanted to tell you to leave my wife alone, or else I’ll kill you myself. You got that, Si?”

Max hung up before Silas could answer. He tossed the phone on the floor and glared at me. “You wanna tell me how he keeps getting your number, Tori?”

I shook my head. “I don’t know,” I replied. My heart was still pounding and I felt more shaken up than ever before. “I keep changing it! I’ve probably changed it six times since we broke up!” Fear was making my skin clammy and I started to shake.

Max looked at me. “You need to change it again,” he said sternly.

“I’m scared, Max” I said. “He’s really going to hurt me now; he’s not fucking around.”

Max shook his head. I couldn’t make out his features too clearly in the dark, but I could see that he wasn’t as angry as he had been while he was on the phone. “He won’t try anything,” Max said confidently. “Trust me, Tori. I have this under wraps. He’s afraid of me.”

“Why aren’t you taking me seriously?” I looked at Max with my eyes wide open. “He’s hurt me before, Max, why wouldn’t he do this again?”

Max sighed. “Because he knows I’ll rip his dick off if he tries anything,” Max said. “Come on, Tori. Relax. Get some sleep.” He threw an arm around me and lay back down in bed, snuggling up to my ass.

But I couldn’t sleep after that. My mind was running wild with horrible thoughts of Silas. Max didn’t know Silas; he didn’t know him at all. Max didn’t know what kind of horrible things Silas was capable of doing, how evil and manipulative Silas could be. I had horrible vision of Silas breaking into Max’s house and sneaking upstairs, kidnapping me and torturing me all while Max slept on, oblivious to whatever was happening around him. I shivered as I thought about how Silas could lie and charm his way into just about anywhere, maybe even the neighbor’s house.

There was a noise downstairs and I about jumped out of my skin. Every time I started trying to relax, Silas would pop back up in my mind. I thought he was everywhere; sneaking around outside, downstairs, even in the hallway.

Maybe we can get a dog
, I thought to myself.
A good guard dog that would bite Silas and keep me safe at home on long nights
. I didn’t know just how much late-night business Max had with the Renegade Saints, but I knew that it couldn’t be a small amount. If I was going to be home alone at night, I wanted some
real
protection, not just a gun.

I shivered. There was one other thing that I knew would kill Silas: the marriage. Silas always talked about how he held marriage up to a high standard, how he didn’t think marriage should ever be broken or changed. Silas looked down on people who got divorced, saying they didn’t know how to work out their problems. I knew that he even thought similar things about his parents. He’d often called his mother a coward for not wanting to stay with his father, even though he ran around on her all the time. It had made me shudder at the time, it was almost like Silas was gripped by some kind of religious fervor when it came to marriage. He’d always told me that we’d get married, and that we’d be man and wife, and nothing would ever be able to tear us apart. That was one of the scariest things he’d ever said to me. He’d been able to make me shudder just by bringing it up.

But fervor or not, I knew he was going to go ballistic knowing that I was married to someone else. I stayed awake almost all night, turning over possible situations in my mind. I decided that in the morning, I had to talk to Max again. I had to make him understand the severity of this situation, I had to make him understand that Silas would hurt me if he was alone with me. Silas was sneaky, and he could be watching the house right now, waiting to see when Max left. He could be watching the windows for movements, staking a place out, biding his time. I shivered as I realized it wouldn’t take much more than a small rock to break the bedroom windows. Max’s house was all on the ground floor, and someone could easily crawl in from outside. He had a security system, but I couldn’t imagine that would help me out too much if Silas was already in the house.

All night, I twisted and turned in bed, getting progressively sweatier and more anxious as time went on. I couldn’t close my eyes without seeing Silas’s horrible face, his demonic eyes, his reedy figure. I remembered what I’d thought after the first time he’d ever hit me:
How could a man like that have punched me? He’s so slender! Doesn’t he realize that I’m stronger than him?

Now, that thought was enough to make me laugh. I’d done enough research about abuse to realize that Silas didn’t care if he was small or not. It didn’t matter; from almost the beginning, I’d belonged to him, and he’d known it every second of every day. From the day I’d become Silas’s girlfriend, I’d ceased to be Tori. I’d become Victoria, Silas’s property.

When Max woke up, I was dressed and sitting in a chair at the end of the bed. He frowned at me. “Couldn’t sleep?”

“Not after that phone call,” I said softly. “Max, I really need to talk to you about Silas. He’s a lot more dangerous than you think.”

Max sat up in bed and ran a hand through his dark hair, making it stand on end. “Tori, I know you’re freaked about this, but you have to relax, okay? I don’t mean to sound condescending, but I think you’re only afraid of him because you never had protection before now.” He smiled at me and I felt anger seize my throat. “Know that I’ll always take care of you, okay?”

I shook my head. “It’s not that, Max. Silas is really dangerous. He’s threatened my friends before!”

“Threatened,” Max said lightly. “He hasn’t actually ever done anything to them, right?”

“No, but—”

“Then it’ll be okay, Tor, I promise.” Max got out of bed and pulled on yesterday’s pants and shirt. “Listen, I got some shit to take care of, but you’ll see me later, okay?”

I sighed. “Please listen to me,” I begged. “I know you think I’m overreacting, but I’m really afraid! Silas knows that we’re married now, and he’s going to try to hurt both of us!”

Max came over to where I was sitting and kneeled down. “Tori, you can’t let fear control your life,” he said, reaching up and stroking my cheek. I was surprised at the tender gesture, but part of me was still angry with him for not listening to me. “It can’t be all about Silas anymore. Your life is about you now, okay? You’re my wife, and I promise nothing will ever happen to you again.”

Max glanced down at the floor where he’d thrown my phone from last night. “And see about getting that number changed, okay?”

I rolled my eyes. “I’ve changed it six times in a month, I’m not sure what one more would do,” I grumbled.

“Please?” Max looked up at me.

“Don’t go,” I said suddenly, throwing myself off the chair and into Max’s arms. He was clearly surprised, but he held me close for a minute. I closed my eyes and breathed in his scent of smoke and masculinity.

“Tori, everything will be okay,” Max said in a soothing voice. He stroked my back with one of his hands and I felt my skin start to slowly warm up.

“Can one of the guys come over and watch me?”

Max looked at me. “Okay,” he said. “If that will really help you feel better,” he added cautiously. “I’ll call Danny.”

Relief went through me like a wave. “Thank you,” I murmured. A blush came over my face and I realized I was still embarrassed about asking for help, especially now that Max didn’t believe me about Silas doing anything too awful.

While Max called Danny, I paced around the bedroom. “When are you coming home?” I asked after he hung up.

Max shrugged. “I got some errands to take care of,” he said in a businesslike tone. “Do you need anything? A credit card? Some money?”

I shook my head. I couldn’t explain it, but now I suddenly felt miserable. It was like the magic had completely gone away from our interactions. Now that we were married, I was going to have to rely on Max for protection every day for the rest of my life.
At least until Silas is taken care of
.

After Max left, I got back in bed and tried to close my eyes. Sleep wouldn’t come, but a new, troubling thought started to plague me. Just why exactly had Max married me? What was in it for him?

Max

I had to get out of the house. Tori and I hadn’t even been married for twenty-four hours yet and she was already getting on my nerves. I knew she was nervous about the Silas thing, but she was driving me up the fucking wall. I wanted to grab her by the shoulders and shake her and tell her that things would be fine, but I didn’t think that would be very effective.

Tori had every reason to be scared of that pissant before I came on the scene, but now that she was with me, she had absolutely nothing to worry about. Especially not with Danny guarding her back at my place. I knew Danny well enough to know he was a big softie, but to strangers, he cut a pretty mean figure.

That letter I’d found at Kristoff’s was bothering me. I knew that time was running out—if I wanted to get any prints or anything from it, I’d have to act fast. And that meant only one person could help me.

Maria. Maria D’nola was a girl I’d banged a couple of years back on the regular. She was a computer whiz who’d helped the club out with some business, and she had a smokin’ hot curvy body, too. Now, we were just friends, but I hadn’t seen her in some time. I wondered if there was going to be tension between us like always.

“You couldn’t have called?” Maria gave me a flirtatious smile that told me she didn’t mind one bit. I climbed out of my car as she started walking down the path of her home office. “I haven’t see you in ages, Max.”

“I know,” I said, flashing her a guilty grin. “I know it’s been a long time, girly.”

Maria laughed. She threw her head back, exposing pearly white teeth. “Too long, I’d say,” she said with a little giggle. “How have you been?”

As I got out of the car, I studied her. Even though she was only wearing dark jeans and a black top, she looked incredible. Maria had a body that wouldn’t quit. Her dark hair and tan complexion made her look like she’d just come from a day at the beach, even though I knew that more likely than not, she’d been up all night on her computer.

“You look good,” I told her. We embraced briefly—a small flare of lust went through my body as I imagined Maria flat on her back in my bed—and then pulled away. There was a smile on the sensual curve of her lips as she stared at me.

“You do, too, Max. What can I do for you today?”

I sighed and shrugged, pulling the letter out of my pocket. When I’d gotten home the other night, I’d wrapped it up in plastic to prevent further contamination.

Maria laughed. “I’m not in the CIA, boy,” she said with a little giggle. “I’m not sure what you think I can do with that.”

“Hold up,” I said defensively. “I didn’t ask you to do anything, not just yet.”

Maria smiled. “Come on inside,” she said. “Let’s have a cup of tea.” She walked in front of me, swinging her tantalizing ass from side to side. Normally, I would have been all over her like a dog in heat. But today, I just wasn’t feeling it. Maria was still one of the most beautiful women that I’d ever seen, but I had a feeling that things were over between us. We’d always flirt, sure, but I couldn’t imagine ever bedding her again.

Maria led me inside her quaint little house. She gazed around before turning to me with her hands on her hips and grinning. “This isn’t what you are used to, I know,” she said. “But maybe you can relax here for a little while.”

For about half an hour, we sat down and talked. Maria told me what was new in her life. She was a computer programmer who had recently started doing some work for a startup. She said it was going well, but I could tell she was feeling nervous about the whole thing. Maria and the Renegade Saints met a few years back—one of the guys paid her to do some hacking work when we suspected that the member who was keeping our books wasn’t doing a fair job. Maria put in a camera and a keystroke counter, and within a few days, we realized we were being scammed.

It had been about two years after Talia had died, and I was heavily in need of some comfort. Maria was perpetually single. I couldn’t believe it; she was gorgeous, but she said that her intelligence intimidated men. After spending a couple of hours with her, I didn’t exactly think she was lying. She’d been a great lay: very attentive, very loud, perfect body. But it had never gotten serious between us, and whenever Maria hinted at something more, I shut her down immediately. Deep down, I didn’t think she wanted a relationship, at least not with someone like me. But I knew that sometimes she had to be lonely.

“So, that’s what you’ve been doing?” I grinned at her. “Maybe this’ll be a break for you, then,” I said, reaching forward and plucking the plastic bag with the letter from her jacket. “I need some help analyzing this.”

Maria grinned at me. “And just what do you want me to do about that, Max?” She had a great smile and dazzling brown eyes, and for a moment, I found myself lost in their depths.

“Whatever you can do,” I said. “I guess.” I grinned at her. “You got any cop friends?”

Maria licked her lips. “I know some people,” she said after a pause. “What are you looking for?”

I shrugged. “Fingerprints, if they’re there,” I said. “If there aren’t any there, then I guess whatever DNA you can get from the paper.”

Maria threw her head back and laughed. “DNA? Seriously? This isn’t a cop show, honey,” she said, in her lightly accented English. “I’ll have them check for prints, though,” she added when she saw the look on my face.

“Thanks,” I said sourly. “I know I’m not science whiz, but you might be able to find something. Oh, and I touched the letter. So my prints are gonna be there, but hopefully you can find some other ones.”

Maria nodded. “I’ll tell my friends,” she said. She took a sip of her tea and looked at me with a smirk on her face. “You look good,” she said. “Not just nice. Good.”

I had to look away. I wasn’t used to taking compliments, especially not from a woman like Maria. I didn’t like talking too personally with anyone, but there was something about her that inspired me to feel more comfortable.

“I’ve been good,” I said with a smirk.  I stretched my arms over my head.

Maria gasped. “Oh, wow,” she said, reaching forward and grabbing my left hand. “Are congratulations in order?”

“Ha,” I said with a smirk. “Not hardly. It was a business deal.”

Maria shook her head. “If it was just business, you wouldn’t be wearing that ring,” she said with a catty smile. “I know men like you. Men like you don’t wear rings unless they want to.”

I glanced down, suddenly more conscious than ever of the feel of gold encircling my finger. “Seriously,” I said. “It doesn’t mean anything. It’s just an arrangement.”

Maria raised her eyebrows at me. “I’ll be right back,” she said. “Don’t you go anywhere.”

Maria stood up from the table and sashayed off into the kitchen. I heard the sound of her low heels tapping around on the floor. I frowned to myself. I didn’t see what the big fucking deal was about. Maria knew my ways, hell, she’d
been
one of my ways quite a few times. She knew what my deal was.

But she also knows about Talia
, I thought. I let out a sigh. When I’d first met Maria, the wounds from Talia’s death were still pretty raw. It had been a couple of years, but she hit me
hard
. Plus, I’d been so young when we were together. Talia had been my first real relationship, the only adult relationship I’d ever had. I was sure that we were going to spend the rest of our lives together. I’d told Maria about her one night after we’d fucked. Maria and I were lying in bed, and she’d asked me if I’d ever been in love.

“I could tell you,” I said, rolling over onto my side, “but then I’d have to kill you.” I grinned at her.

Maria didn’t take the joke. “I don’t think that’s true,” she said softly. “I think you have been in love, and you just don’t want to admit it.”

I flopped onto my back and stared hard at the ceiling. “You don’t know that, though,” I said.

Maria laughed shortly. “You men are all the same,” she said, turning to face me. “You think you’re impossible to read, like no woman could ever figure out your secrets.”

I shook my head. “That ain’t true,” I replied, even though she was more on the nose than I would have liked to admit. “I just went through a breakup, but I was a kid. I didn’t know shit.”

Maria laughed. “It’s not that. It’s just, I can tell. You’re removed when you’re with me. I can tell you loved someone once, that you opened up and gave someone everything.”

Her words were a little too close to the truth. I got out of bed and yanked my pants on, looking in the dim light for my shirt. “I gotta run,” I said.

“Come on,” Maria said. She rolled on her belly. “Tell me. I don’t care about your past, Max, and it won’t make me run away. But sometimes you need to get things off your chest.”

I sat back down on the edge of the bed. Not looking at her, I told her everything. How we met at a bar, how our first kiss was magical. How she tasted like sugar, and how I wanted to carry her away and never let anyone else have her.

“She died,” I finished. “She died, and there was nothing I could do to save her.”

Maria’s warm hand on my shoulder was comforting, but suddenly I had the feeling things were about to become uncomfortable and emotional. I stood up and grabbed my jacket, tossing it over my shoulder.

“Thanks for talking,” Maria said when I was almost out of the room. “I can tell it helped you.”

Maria shook me out of my daydream when she sat down at the table and pushed a flute of champagne towards me.

“What’s this?” I squinted down. “Nothing too expensive, I hope.”

Maria laughed. “I had to toast the new groom,” she said. We clinked glasses together and drank.

“Thanks.” The champagne was good: not too sweet, perfectly dry and crisp on the tongue. I downed my glass in two swallows, then I stood up.

“You gonna be okay?” Maria eyed me. “I don’t know when I’ll have results on this,” she added, tapping the letter, “but it shouldn’t be too long. I’d say a couple of days. That alright with you?”

“I’ll be fine,” I said. I didn’t want to tell her that I’d just remembered our talk about Talia, but I had a feeling that Maria knew.

As I walked out the front door and climbed behind the wheel of my car, I realized that she was likely right. It wasn’t just that I’d married Tori for protection. No, I’d wanted something from her, too. Turning the ring around on my finger, I stared off into the horizon.

I just don’t know what it is that I want.
What a fuckin’ mystery.