They talked to one another, and Kaiya wrapped her arms around herself. From the one-sided conversation she read from Boone’s lips, they really expected Cipher to show up, guns blazing. It made her pause. What if something
did
happen? She had no doubt that Boone and Gabby could protect themselves, but a desperate man was unpredictable, and shit happened. She hurried over to them and threw her arms around them at the same time—squeezing as hard as she could. Although she had quite a bit of height for a woman, they still towered over her a good five inches. They hugged her back, then they were gone, striding out the door. It shut behind them, and suddenly the room pulsed hauntingly around her. Alone and lonely, she hugged herself tightly, and sat on the edge of the bed.
* * * *
“She’s prickly about being left out, huh?” Boone asked.
“No. She’s prickly about being told what to do. She was in a hell of a frame of mind after Romeo’s decision.”
“One you took care of, I take it.”
Gabby smirked. “She was a bad girl who needed spanking.”
Boone smiled and straddled his bike. He put on his helmet, waited until Gabby gave him a nod that he was ready, then they roared out of the parking lot. The late afternoon shadows crept across the road, and the sun blazed directly in their driving path. It was cool despite the fact that it was July, but his heavy jacket kept him from being cold. It also concealed the two weapons strapped to his side as well as a third gun at his waist. Going to the locker made him and Gabby targets, giving Cipher the element of surprise. The asshole might have been the accountant of the Men of Hell, but he knew how to use a gun and he was still out there.
They pulled into the bus terminal, which wasn’t really a bus station, only a narrow building that hosted the buses coming and going. As he turned off the rumbling engine and dismounted, many people gawked at them. Boone figured he and Gabby looked a little out of place among the crowd with suitcases and family members. He wasn’t the least bit interested in the convenience store and walked around to the back, where two rows of storage lockers waited under an awning. The key had a large number sixteen on it so Gabby took point and watched the surrounding area while Boone located the locker and inserted the key into the small locker to open it. Inside lay a small duffel bag. He pulled it out and let the locker shut. Opening the bag, he glimpsed a bundle of cash and swore under his breath. Yes, he had suspected he’d find money, but now that it confirmed just how much Cipher had backstabbed them, his blood burned even hotter for payback.
“What is it?” Gabby asked.
“What we thought,” he replied. “I was willing to give Cipher the benefit of doubt, but this fucking shit just pisses me off.”
Gabby nodded.
“Come on, let’s get out of here. No need to press our luck.”
He led the way back to the bikes, gripping the duffel bag tightly. The money belonged to the Men of Hell. Even though Chloe had helped them out, he knew Romeo wanted to pay her back. Whatever cash was in here would help restore their coffers so they could be independent again.
By the time they hit the road to go back to Kaiya, twilight had fallen. The bus depot had been located in the middle of nowhere, in an industrial section of the city with little more than trees and warehouses around. Boone just started to relax when a vehicle jumped out at them from a dark service area, breaks squealing as the car’s back end whipped around. If Boone hadn’t been so experienced on his bike, or known his machine by heart, the car might have banged into him. But Boone swerved and accelerated, peeling away so rapidly that the bike shuddered under him, protesting the sudden sideways dancing forced upon it. Gabby throttled up next to him and the car gave chase. He pulled a gun free from his holster, flipped the safety off with his thumb and fired at the piece-of-shit jalopy. Beside him, Gabby did the same. Two sets of guns fired back, one from the driver’s side and one from the passenger. Bullets whipped by his head, and he ducked, returning fire. Just as his gun clicked empty, a loud pop boomed from the motor, and the vehicle swerved into the ditch as steam erupted from the engine. He and Gabby accelerated down the road, but quickly slowed enough to turn around and head back to the ruined car. He slipped the empty gun back into its holster and grabbed his other one as they approached the dead vehicle.
“Son of a bitch!” Gabby snarled as they came to a halt.
The doors stood wide open and no one was around. Whoever had been in the car had fled.
“Cipher,” Boone said grimly. “And he wasn’t working alone.”
“Fucking cowards for running.”
Boone looked around the empty road. Their car chase had gone unnoticed. However, he had the distinct feeling they were being watched. “Maybe they ran for a reason.”
Gabby stared into the dark tree line. “Luring us?”
“Not sure.” Boone put his gun back. “Let’s get the hell out of here, only let’s split up and circle the long way back to the motel.”
Gabby nodded, and they zoomed away, leaving the accident far behind.
Chapter Nine
“We could’ve killed them!” Cipher raged. “Why didn’t you let me shoot?”
Vicious grabbed his T-shirt and twisted, bringing Cipher face to face with him. Madness swam in his eyes, and it scared Cipher to his core.
“Because that’s too easy. Boone has to suffer. He
needs
to bleed out every drop of blood in his heart and I
must
watch him die emotionally before I finally slit his throat.”
Cipher blinked and once again he wondered what in the hell he’d been thinking to make this devil his ally. “Why do you hate him so much?”
Vicious released him and stepped back. The madness had been replaced with a stone-cold killer he’d come to know. The man who had owned the old car they’d used to shoot at Gabby and Boone resided in the trunk with a bullet in his brain. A shiver of unease crept down Cipher’s back. He’d best be careful or he’d end up with a similar fate.
“Doesn’t matter why,” Vicious replied. “What matters is that we know they’re going after your merchandise. We know where they’re heading.”
“The third locker is the most important,” Cipher said, darting his gaze around on the dirty little shithole they’d rented. Or more specifically, one that
he
had rented. Vicious said he didn’t have any cash. Typical. Cipher watched a roach scurry up the cigarette-smoke-stained wall and he couldn’t help but think that the bug was symbolic. He really needed to get away from this crazy asshole. “More than just the money is in it.”
Vicious cocked his head. “Like what?”
“A journal. I need it.”
“A fucking book?” Vicious shook his head. “You people with degrees are really fucked up, you know that?”
Cipher hesitated for a second before plunging on with his counter offer. There was only way to assure that he stayed alive when this partnership dissolved. “I’ll give you all of the cash. All I want is that journal.”
“You’re talking about three hundred grand?”
Cipher nodded. “Plus you get Boone and Gabby.”
“All for a book? What the fuck’s in there?”
Every muscle in Cipher’s body tensed. There’d be no rest for him tonight since he would now have to keep one eye open on this crazy motherfucker. “Nothing that would interest you.”
Vicious narrowed his eyes and rubbed his chin. “That’s a good pay off.”
“It is.”
“All right,” Vicious replied softly. “You’ve got a deal. Though I’m coming out the winner in this negotiation.”
Cipher didn’t dispute that. He needed to let the other man think that.
“Then we skip Omaha and go right to Sioux City,” Vicious said. “Wait. What about the money in Omaha?”
“They’ll be expecting us. Let them collect the duffel bag and come to us. It’ll confuse them when we don’t show up.” Vicious flashed a bone-chilling smile. “I have big plans for Sioux City, and once we kill them, you’ll have all you deserve.”
Cipher didn’t like the way he phrased that. “You mean my journal, correct?”
Vicious gave one, slow nod. “Of course.”
“Why can’t we just pry open the locker door?”
“Now what fun would that be? No, Gabby and Boone require something…explosive. Something they’ll never see coming. Ambush them when they’re vulnerable, when they think they’re safe. Then proceed to kill Gabby slowly so Boone knows what it’s like to lose someone he loves.”
“Is that what he did to you?” Cipher asked. “Kill someone you love?”
For a second, Vicious’ gaze turned inward, as if he were remembering something—or someone. Then his veneer cracked just a bit and bitter love shone through, until reality turned and hatred once more replaced any type of softer emotion.
“Boone’s going to wish he’d never been born,” Vicious said firmly. The promise was unmistakable.
* * * *
Kaiya paced back and forth, not because she was scared for Boone and Gabby, but because she was very impatient to see what the locker held. Odds were it was probably the money Cipher had fleeced. She’d done the books, knew how good he had been at hiding the transactions, but how much had he taken? With the exact amount, it would be a helluva lot easier to decode Cipher’s shorthand.
The distant reverberation of a motorcycle filtered through the room and she peeked out the window, expecting to see both Harleys pull up in front of the motel room. But the bike circled around back, and she waited for a moment before she went back to pacing. Questions slammed into her head as worry settled in her chest. She hadn’t missed the fact that only Boone had returned. A few moments later, he entered the room holding a duffel bag that he tossed on the bed. He closed the door quickly behind him, then he turned off the light. He slid her a grim look as he moved to the window. He pushed the curtain aside only wide enough to peek out of the side. Unease slithered down Kaiya’s back.
She tugged on Boone’s arm and when he looked at her, she signed her questions. “What’s wrong? Where’s Gabby?”
“We were shot at,” he said. “I think they wanted to tail us.”
He resumed looking out the window. It didn’t escape her notice that he hadn’t answered her second question. A few minutes later, he went to the door and opened it. Gabby walked in, then they locked the door tightly.
Kaiya’s heart thundered, and she quickly ran to him and threw her arms around him. He hugged her back, but that wasn’t what she wanted. She shoved him far enough away to run her hands over him, then she switch to Boone and did the same thing to him. She wanted to make sure they weren’t hurt.
“We’re fine,” Gabby signed, understanding her actions.
After a few more minutes of looking out the window, Boone relaxed enough to leave his surveillance. He turned on the nightstand light before reaching for the duffel bag. He unzipped it and flipped it over. Ten stacks of one hundred dollar bills, each labeled with a band denoting the amount as ten thousand, tumbled onto the bed. Kaiya’s mouth fell open. She had expected money, but if this locker had a hundred thousand dollars and there were two more keys, then Cipher had been a very busy accountant.
“I thought there’d be more,” Gabby signed.
She stared at him in surprise. “More?”
He shrugged. “I thought Cipher would’ve been greedier.”
“Skimming money takes a deft sleight of hand.” She gestured to the cash on the bed. “From what I’ve learned of Shepard, he wasn’t too trusting. He was probably studying those books too.”
“That’s club money,” Boone said.
She nodded and scooped up the ten stacks to set them on the table. Kaiya hurried through to her own room and grabbed her laptop. She had to sacrifice clothing to bring this along, but she needed her accounting program to plug in the new variables to Cipher’s little code. She had no idea what she would discover, or if his code meant anything at all, but her gut told her that Cipher wouldn’t go to all this trouble for a simple Dear Diary.
Sometime later, a hand touched her shoulder and she looked up. Gabby stood at her side. “You’ve been at this for an hour.”
Surprised, she looked at her computer and saw that he was correct. She straightened, her cramped muscles protesting the sudden stretching.
“I’m sorry,” she signed. “I didn’t realize how late it was.”
He held out his hand to her. “Come. It’s time you relaxed.”
“He’s hiding something. I know it.”
“I believe you,” he said. “But you need a break.”
The unmistakable bulge of his cock rubbed against her hip. Heat flared through her, and her gaze flew to his. Arousal turned his honey-colored eyes dark. Gabby circled around behind her, and the heat from his body caused little shocks of awareness to ripple over her skin. Her heart pounded with excitement, butterflies danced through her belly, and her pussy clenched in anticipation. He settled his hands on her hips, and her nerve endings jumped to attention—waiting. Slowly, he gripped the bottom of her tank top and slid it up. She didn’t stop him. Up her abdomen and torso, the material caught on her breasts for a moment before plunging over them. Her tits jiggled a little from the force. He pulled her shirt over her head and let it fall to the floor.
Boone watched them, his arms folded across his chest. Her nipples hardened under his scrutiny, pebbling into turgid little points. She really wished he would play with them. Tweak them.
Something.
But he just watched her, causing her breaths to come in little pants.
Gabby took hold of her hips with his big hands, and she jumped a fraction. This little striptease they were doing to her was torture—pleasant, arousing torture. He tugged on her sleeping pants and they slithered down her legs, leaving her only in her panties. Then he moved her hair aside and kissed her neck. A quiver of longing rushed through her. No matter how many times she fucked her men, she wanted more. Gabby swept her up in his arms and laid her on the bed. He moved away and Boone touched her leg, first on her knee then gently stroking upward. He crouched over her and settled his mouth on her mound, breathing against the thin cotton until the moisture from his breath dampened the material.