Riding Danger (BBW Biker Romance) (8 page)

“Why do you have to leave now?” she asked, wanting to understand. She wanted him to stay with her more than she had ever wanted anything.

He shook his head. “I have to keep moving. That guy, Ron? He’s bad news. I have a feeling that he’s working for Alec and if he finds me here...”

“But you lied about who I was,” she protested.

He rounded on her, his concern boiling over. “Listen to me, Piper, it doesn’t matter what I told him. He’ll add it up somehow. It’s Alec that’s put him on my trail, and he won’t let that trail grow cold. He’ll find me and I won’t put you in danger. I want you to pack a bag and stay with a friend for a while. Or I’ll get you a hotel room until this blows over and they know I’m not with you anymore.”

“You can’t just leave like this!” she exploded, panic rising like bile in her throat. But as she spoke, her phone rang, and she frowned as she saw the number on the caller ID. “Just wait a minute.” She picked up the phone. “Hello?”

“Hey girl, have I got some news for you.” Carrie’s voice was full of excitement and mystery.

“It’s really not a good time, Carrie. I’m in the middle of something.”

“Well, put it on hold because I have to tell you a couple of things.” Now she sounded serious, and it raised all sorts of red flags. “Listen, I have an amazing date. Well, actually, it’s not confirmed yet, but that sexy cop who came in a few days ago to talk to our gunshot victim came back in today and gave me his card. He told me to call him so we can have a drink in a couple of days.”

“Wait, which one?” Piper asked, her heart dropping to her stomach.

“The Latino one with the nice ass.” She laughed. “But anyway, he came in to see me and to ask about you and the gunshot guy. You know, the hot thing that signed himself out? He’s probably going to try to come in and talk to you in the next couple of days, see if the guy happened to tell you where he was in such a hurry to go. He said the guy just sort of disappeared, and he’s a big witness in some case they need to talk to and that you were the last person to talk to him. So if he comes by when you’re working, let me know. I’m sure he’ll probably ask for me.”

“Alright, Carrie. I’ll see you at work.” She hung up and turned to Jace. “The local police are looking for me to try to track you down.”

Jace cursed under his breath. “Like I said, you need to lay low for a while. You can’t be seen talking to the police just in case anyone looking for me is watching you.” He started to continue, but this time, it was his phone that went off. He cursed again and looked at it, a sinking sensation in his stomach. “Hold on,” he told Piper as he answered on what was likely the last ring. “Hello?”

“I assume you’re looking to make some sort of deal, Mr. Dawson,” Jason Morris sounded almost amused. “Why did it take you so long to call me?”

Jace grunted. “Oh, come on, Morris, you have to know I’ve got more than just you guys hunting me down. My own brotherhood wants me dead, not to mention other biker clubs. And by now, someone’s probably gotten word out to the fence and the supplier so they’re trying to find me, too. I had to bury myself where I couldn’t be found. I didn’t have time to call you.”

“Interesting. By the way, how did you get this number? I only left my direct line with a nurse at the hospital.”

Damn
, he thought.
He didn’t have a good answer for that. How did they overlook something so important?

“Dawson? I’m pretty sure I can guess. That nurse at the hospital seemed awfully sympathetic. Whether you knew her before or not, I think she might have found a way to help you out. Now, you can come talk to us, or we can hunt her down and question her, maybe charge her with accessory to a crime. I don’t think you want that to happen, do you?”

Grinding his teeth, Jace said, “I don’t need your threats, Morris. Remember, I called you. We just need to find a safe place and time, and I need to know that if I answer your questions, I’ll have immunity.”

“That’s a pretty tough order if you’ve been buried deep in this smuggling ring all this time. I might be able to get reduced charges for you.”

“Not good enough, agent. Think it over and let me know when you can help me out.” He hit the mute button and waited.

With a sigh, Morris came back. “Here’s what I can do. If we can get the information we need and use you to get us inside, I can guarantee you immunity. For now, I can tell you I’ll do my best. That’s all I’ve got until I know what you have for us.” There was another pause. “Come on, Dawson, work with me here. Give me twenty-four hours. I’ll get you a safe house and I’ll see if I can’t get you immunity. We’ll work from there.”

Jace growled, his expression twisted. “I’ll have my phone on me and I’ll be waiting for your call.” He hung up and shook his head, trying to clear his mind before he looked up and faced Piper, whose worried eyes burned a hole through his heart.

“Do you have a backpack?” he asked her, his voice heavy with resignation.

Piper nodded. “Yeah, you need it?”

“No, you do. You’re coming with me.”

* * *

I
gnoring the vibration of her phone as it rang steadily in her pocket, Piper wondered what the hell she was doing on the back of a motorcycle, cruising down the road with the wind in her hair behind a man who both thrilled and frightened her. She had money, a family, an incredible job that she loved, and now, she was almost a fugitive herself.

There were dangerous men who had seen her face and would likely kill her on the spot if she didn’t tell them where to find Jace, and according to Carrie, the local authorities were tracking her down. In fact, she wouldn’t be surprised if they were the ones calling her phone right now.

And yet for some reason, she felt safer sitting behind this gorgeous biker, nuzzled against his back, her hands clutching his strong waist, than she ever felt with anyone else. She didn’t even know where they were going except that they were headed south on 35, but it didn’t seem to matter. Piper knew to the depths of her soul that Jace wouldn’t let anything bad happen to her. He would protect her with his own life.

When he finally exited the highway, she didn’t recognize the area. She only knew it was south of Dallas, and they had been on the road long enough that they might be as far as Hillsboro. Either way, he turned toward a quaint little motel, pulled into the parking lot, and shut off the engine.

Turning to look at her over his shoulder, he smiled. “It’s just temporary, but it’ll get us out of town for a day or two until I hear back from the ATF.”

She smiled with all the encouragement she could muster. “It looks fine to me.” She hopped off the bike and he led her toward the front lobby to an older man who waited to check them in. He smiled patiently, and Jace pushed a hundred dollar bill across the counter at him. “We’d like a room with two beds for the next couple of nights.”

“Of course, sir. And your name?” The little man with thick glasses poised a pen over a page that looked like old-fashioned registration paper, which made Piper want to giggle.

“George Walker. George and Laura.” Jace’s lie was nearly her undoing, playing off the ex-president and First Lady, and Piper had to cover her mouth to keep from laughing as the elderly man wrote down the information without a questioning glance. Rather than presenting them with a key card that most places used these days, he handed Jace an actual key attached to a very large key ring containing a placard with the room number.

“Hold on one moment, Mr. Walker, and I’ll get your change.”

Jace waved him off. “Don’t worry about it.” Taking Piper’s hand in his own, he started toward the hallway in search of the room. When they were out of earshot, Piper giggled.

“Liked that, did you?”

“I liked it very much...George.”

Jace chuckled. “He doesn’t remember me, but he was friends with my grandfather when I was a very little boy. I’ve been here a few times over the years just to get a little peace and solitude.” Twisting the key in the lock, he opened the door. Piper stepped inside and tossed her backpack on the small desk in the room, eyeing the two beds and trying to decide which side she wanted to claim.

Watching her shoulders as they slumped and tensed, Jace stood behind her, trying to figure out if he’d done the right thing. He should never have gotten her involved in this mess, but now that she was, he felt responsible for her. At the same time, he’d just taken her away from everything she knew when he probably should have sent her straight to the police station in Dallas to divulge every bit of information she had on him. It would save her from other implications.

On top of that, she was obviously tired and trying her best to hold up under the pressure. She could lose her job, even her nursing license, for the things she’d done, and yet she’d never questioned him at all. Before he could consider his actions and think better of it, he moved up behind her, placing a hand on her shoulders and squeezing, pulling her back against his chest and inhaling the scent of her hair, which was still mussed from the motorcycle ride.

She sighed, and he could feel her relax against him even as he turned his head and dipped his face into the crook of her neck, placing a kiss just behind her ear that sent a shiver down her spine. He hardened instantly, wanting to possess her, to have her pressed to him like this without any barrier between them, skin on skin. Jace ran his hands up and down her arms gently and she moaned, making him grit his teeth against his own body’s reaction as his groin tightened further.

Jace’s warmth seeped into Piper’s bones and she turned in his arms, feeling like she was unable to get close enough to him. Facing him was better. She threw her arms around his neck and pulled his head down to kiss her lips the way he’d kissed her neck. He tasted of wind and something wild, and she wanted to drink from him until she was drunk with pleasure. She threaded her fingers up through his hair, pressing his face to hers, and she sighed into his mouth as his hands swept up her back, lifting her and pressing her into his strong embrace. His passion was evident, rock hard against her stomach, which caused a fiery heat to build between her thighs.

“Jace?” she asked, her voice so breathy she didn’t even recognize it as she moved her mouth to the corner of his lips. He ran his tongue over her neck in response, his teeth nipping at her skin, and she moaned, clenching her thighs together. “Jace, wait.”

He growled furiously and pulled away, frantically searching her eyes. He knew she was as hot as he was; he could feel her desire. He ached with the thought that she might stop everything now, as desperately as they needed each other, as tangible as their desire for each other was in the air around them.

“What’s wrong?”

Her heart and mind were racing at the same speed, and only one of them making sense. She shook her head. “Promise me this means something.” She didn’t know why she insisted on hearing him say the words, but she did.

“I have every intention of keeping you,” he rasped, his lips once again at her neck, her chin. He caressed the sensitive skin before wrapping his hand around the back of her neck, pulling her in. “And of pleasing you...over and over again.”

Piper shuddered as the wave of pleasure washed over her. Jace’s fingers worked through her hair, pulling her face to his, his mouth covering hers in a possessive kiss.

He wanted her now, but he had wanted her since the moment they met.  His attraction to her went beyond the physical, beyond the need to find his own release. And he didn’t even have to think about it before he breathed his desire into her ear. “I want you, Piper, and I have from the moment I saw you. But you’re more than just a gorgeous body. You have heart and you make me feel like someone important, like you care about what happens to me. I’ve never met someone like you before.”

His words melted what was left of her resolve and she found herself reaching out to pull up his t-shirt, exposing his muscled chest. She let her fingertips brush over the bare skin beneath as he kissed her, slow and tenderly.

“God, how I’ve fantasized about you,” he whispered, nipping at her lips. “All I could think about was how good it would feel to have my cock deep inside of you...”

Piper felt her body grow tense as electric sparks burned along her veins, up her arms, and straight to her core. He stood there, motionless, letting her quiver beneath his touch, as if she were nothing more than his to claim.

“And your lips...I longed to feel them wrapped around my cock, sucking it hard.”

She couldn’t bear the agonizing heat that tore through her body, and when his tongue surged between her lips, forcing its way into her mouth, she let out a cry that was muffled by his powerfully hot kiss.

Begging him not to stop, she abandoned all caution, allowing herself to get lost in the blinding pleasure of his touch.

The cell phone in Piper’s pocket buzzed, and it made her jump. She wanted to ignore it, but slowly, Jace reached in and took it out. “Who is Sterling?” he asked, his voice gruff.

Cursing at the timing, Piper ground out between clenched teeth, “She’s my sister. I don’t have to answer it.” But he held it out to her, and with an angry gasp, she took the phone from him and answered it. “What is it, Sterling?”

“Thank God you’re okay!” Her sister sounded both relieved and enraged. “Do you know how many times I’ve tried to call you since this story ran? Piper, you could at least make a phone call to the people you care about to let us know you’re okay.”

Confused and irate, Piper threw her hands up in the air before responding. “Would you tell me what this is all about? I’m confused.”

“Your apartment has been burglarized. Dad heard it on the police scanner so I drove over and sure enough, the landlord was there looking for you. And so were the police. And it only got worse when I called you several times and you didn’t answer for over an hour. What the hell is going on? Are you okay? Talk to me!”

Piper’s heart raced with fear. “I didn’t know...it had to have been in the last couple of hours. I left town earlier today.” She turned her wide eyes to Jace, not knowing what to do. “Do the police have any leads?”