Through The Weeds (Nightshade MC Book 2) (13 page)

“There's a doctor here. She needs a hand. Do you think that you can handle that? If you can't, there's no shame in it, so just be straight with me.”

Caroline had little experience with blood and guts, but she'd seen enough horror movies that she should be suitably desensitized to it. Besides, she wanted to do something because standing around with her thumb up her ass didn't sound like “I can handle it.” He nodded and took her hand. She noticed the blood on the sleeve of his shirt and the shirt itself.

She'd known that something bad had happened, but to see the evidence of it made dread creep back into her stomach. But she said nothing. She followed Buster up the stairs and into what was now apparently Nightshade triage.

The scent of blood was thick in the air. There was a pile of bloody bandages on the floor. She couldn't see the face of the man on the bed, but he had long dark hair, from what she could see. Monroe was on a chair with what appeared to be duct tape wrapped around both of his hands. It wasn't as bad as Caroline had imagined. She felt herself relax slightly.

“I got you some help, Maggie,” Buster announced. “This is Caroline.”

Caroline recognized the short-haired brunette who appeared to be about twelve months pregnant. “She knows who I am. Tell me what I can do, Maggie.” The woman and her husband had been frequent customers at Baked. Hector was dead now. She wondered if she should say something but decided not to.

Maggie smiled. “Thank God you brought me someone with a brain, Buster. I appreciate that. Caroline, the cuts on Monroe's hands need to be cleaned out. Flush them with the bottled water and then the brown solution. They're not deep enough for stitches, so we're going to close them with medical glue. And by we, I mean you,” Maggie informed her. “I've got to make sure this one doesn't bleed out.”

Caroline froze for a moment. This was so out of her comfort zone and what was familiar that she could have laughed. She didn't just. Instead she straightened her shoulders. Buster rubbed his hand over her lower back. “You've got this. You stay up here. Help Maggie, and I'll be back for you later. Okay?”

“Okay.” Caroline turned to where Monroe was sitting. “Alright, let me see your hands.”

<#<#<#<#

Caroline felt like there was still blood on her hands, even though she'd washed them a dozen times and used more hand sanitizer than was probably safe. She was in the main room of the bar, on a floral sofa that looked like it had come straight from someone's grandmother's house. It was still covered in plastic. Or maybe that was deliberate, to keep it from getting bloodstained.

“Here. Drink this.” She looked up as Amelia approached. “It's tea. It's calming.” Caroline accepted the cup. She opened her mouth to speak but didn't know what to say, so instead she just sipped the warm liquid. Amelia sat down next to her. “How are you holding up?”

“I'm okay,” Caroline replied. “Confused but okay. How about you?”

“I'm not surprised you're confused. Buster hasn't been back to talk to you. Must have been scary for you to just get scooped up by Ace.”

“I know. And yeah, he scared me from the moment he got there, but I was never scared of him, if that makes sense.”

“It does,” Amelia confirmed. “You handled yourself really well tonight. You should be proud of that. You seem to be handling all of this pretty well, actually. You and Buster have been seeing each other for a couple months now, right?”

“Something like that,” Caroline replied. “Just ask what it is you want to ask, Amelia.” She got the feeling this might not remain a friendly chat for very long.

“Alright, straight to the point. I like that.” Amelia lowered her voice. “Does he know that you're in love with him?”

“I never said that I was in love with him. We're just...” Caroline stuttered and then just gave up. She sighed. “It's complicated. And it's not funny,” she added when Amelia chuckled.

“I'm not laughing at you. I'm just thinking about how complicated things were for me and Danny. I can tell you one thing, it was worth it. All of it.”

“The two of you are great together,” Caroline told her. “Is he okay? Did he get hurt?” She hadn't seen Danny at all since she'd left the room upstairs.

“He's got some bumps and bruises. He's had worse. You're not going to ask me what happened?”

“Would you tell me if I did?” Caroline took another sip of the tea. “I know that you wouldn't. And no, I'm not going to ask. I've figured out there are things that I don't know. Buster will tell me what he can, and that's good enough for me.”

“Fair enough.” Amelia smiled. “You should go upstairs, there's a third bedroom up there. Get some sleep. It's almost two.”

“Shit. I've got to be at work in six hours. That's not going to be possible, is it?” Caroline took out her phone. She let out a laugh. “What am I supposed to say?”

“Tell him that you're sick, that you must have caught the bug going around Nightshade,” Amelia suggested. “He's a friend of the club, he'll figure it out. You're a friend to the club now, too, in more ways than one.”

“I guess that you're right.” Caroline sent the text. “Are you sure that you don't want to take the room instead?”

“I'm positive,” Amelia replied. “I caught a couple of hours earlier.”

Caroline took her at her word and walked up the stairs. Her phone vibrated. Ryan hoped she felt better. Everything had a slightly surreal feeling to it, possibly because she was so tired. All of the emotions rolling through her had really taken their toll.

She found the room to be clean, the bed made up, and there was even a tee shirt folded neatly on the pillow. The door to the room didn't lock. Caroline decided it would be worth the risk of being walked in on for the feeling of getting out of her clothes. The shirt was new, the material a little stiff, but it still felt pretty good. It felt amazing to actually slide beneath the surprisingly soft sheets. She yawned, and she knew that she was absolutely exhausted. Her last thought was that she'd forgotten to turn off the light, but she was so tired that she couldn't be bothered.

Caroline woke to the feeling of someone else on the bed. She panicked for an instant but then she smelled Buster's cologne and felt his hand slide over her hip. “You okay?” She shifted closer to him, felt his warmth and weight against her body.

“I am now.” His fingers slid beneath the shirt, found her skin. Caroline felt a tingle rush through her. “How are you? Amelia says you were a huge help tonight.”

“I'm better now, too.” Caroline shifted closer to him as his fingers grazed her upper thigh. “I'm glad that you're okay.”

“I'm sorry about dinner. I'll make it up to you. Do you want to go back to sleep? You've got to be tired.” His fingers continued to stroke the very tops of her thigh. Suddenly Caroline was anything but tired. All she wanted was him, in her and on her.

“I'm not tired.” To prove her point, Caroline shifted her leg and laid her hand over his. She heard him growl; it sparked the heat between her legs to know that he wanted her as much as she wanted him.

She almost came the second he started to touch her, really touch her. A frustrated groan escaped her throat as he pulled away. “Just one second, Caroline. Don't worry. I'm not going far. Stay like that, just like that.”

Caroline felt his fingers run along the exposed length of her thigh. Her nerves seemed to ripple at the touch. She nearly begged. His weight returned to the bed behind her, his hand slipped up the back of her knee. The move opened her up to him. She should have felt exposed, but instead she felt sexy, powerful even. Her head flew back against his chest as she felt the tip of him press against where she needed him the most. She did beg then, but there was really no need. Buster filled her with one powerful thrust. Her body burned as it stretched, screamed in protest but that soon changed to pleasure.

Caroline tried to scream but she couldn't. It was hard to even breathe because she'd never come so hard or fast before. Even when she could still feel her body twitching, she felt the tingling coil winding in her stomach. “Fuck. Fuck.”

Buster chuckled and pushed her onto her stomach. “Get up on your knees. I've been thinking about fucking you like this.” He ran his hand down her back, pushed down softly beneath her shoulder blades. Caroline lay down, kept her back arched. Anticipation tingled though her when he pushed down on her lower back. “Oh, fuck yes. Just like that.”

Caroline expected him to enter her again. She'd braced herself for it. Instead she felt his fingers between her legs. “Oh. Oh.”

“Don't move. Just take it. Just feel it.” He slid his fingers inside of her just as his thumb grazed over her clit. Caroline whimpered, arched her back more, desperate for him to be deeper. She wanted to be filled, to feel him completely inside of her.

She came again, felt the warm rush of it coat her thighs and his hands. “Buster! Please. Please.”

“You want more?” His voice was rough.

Caroline realized that it was more than just a simple question. She turned her head, the best she could in her current position, and met his eyes. “I want you.” She could only hope that he'd understand all she meant by it. She was also sure that this was the craziest, riskiest thing she'd ever done in her life. She didn't even know what had happened to injure so many men and put armed strangers outside, but it didn't matter. “I want you,” she repeated, in case he hadn't heard her the first time.

“Don't move.” He smacked his hand down hard on her ass. “You trust me?”

“Yes.” Once again, Caroline didn't hesitate in her answer. She whimpered as she felt his lips press against the base of her spine. He slid two fingers inside of her, and it was a struggle not to move because it felt good. So fucking good. She didn't really even have words for the way that it felt, all she could do was whimper and moan.

“That feel good?” His voice was a rough whisper.

“Yes,” Caroline replied. She flexed her hips to show just how good it felt and received a sharp smack to her ass.

“Told you to stay still.” His hand glided over the spot he'd just hit as his fingers worked harder and deeper inside of her. Caroline felt every muscle in her body tighten when his hand slid up. “Tell me if you want me to stop.”

Caroline took a deep breath, forced herself to relax or at least she tried to. His fingers, still slick from being in her, moved up over her anus before sliding back down to her heat. Buster continued to stroke her until she was actually relaxed.

She knew what was coming before his finger slid inside of her where no one had ever touched her before, but she couldn't stop the surprised gasp. Caroline didn't tell him to stop, even though her heart was hammering hard enough that it threatened to come right out of her chest. He moved his finger and she whimpered, but not with the pain she'd expected. It was painful but there was something beneath that, something that had liquid heat pooling inside of her stomach.

Buster made a feral sound when she cautiously moved her hips against him. He'd told her to stay still. She knew the price for it and quivered in anticipation of the smack, but it didn't come. Instead, she felt him slide another finger into her.

Caroline was unable to stay still, she pushed up on her arms and flexed her hips against him. The strange feeling of fullness and pressure was intense. She'd not expected her body's reaction to the new sensations. Her nipples were hard to the point that they were almost sore, and the ache between her legs was enough to make her want to weep.

“Say something, Caroline.” Buster began to move his fingers slowly. “Do you want me to stop?”

Caroline sucked in a deep breath. “No.” She flexed her hips again, pulling him deeper. “Oh, fuck. Fuck.” There was a familiar feeling unraveling in her stomach. “I think I'm going to come.”

“Damn right you are.” Buster was behind her again, his knees edging her legs open wider. At first, Caroline didn't understand but then he was back inside of her and she didn't care about anything else. He continued to work her ass with his fingers as her body reacted.

Caroline slammed her hips back against him, moaning each time his cock hit home and his fingers delved deeper. “Oh yeah, just like that. Come on, Caroline. Come for me.” She moved faster, harder until she did come with enough force that her arms couldn't hold her. She fell face forward onto the bed, her body still riding the wave of the orgasm as he continued to seek out his own. She felt him pulse a moment later, deep inside of her and then the comforting warmth of his weight on her.

Nothing had ever felt better in the world.

Chapter Eleven

Buster could feel the warmth of Caroline next to him, partly on him. She'd tossed her leg over his during the night. He knew that he should get up, deal with the aftermath of the day before, but he couldn't bring himself to, because once he did, everything that had happened yesterday became real again.

They'd been damn lucky to escape the ambush with no deaths. Bones was strong and should pull through, according to Maggie who, as far as he knew, was still sleeping in Train's room. Buster had been surprised when Train had offered the room, and his bed, without even a leer. He'd offered to take one of the fold-out cots, even though he'd never fit properly on it. Next to him Caroline stirred.

“It's too early to be thinking such deep thoughts.” Her voice was thick with sleep, her lips curved with amusement. “Go back to sleep.”

“Wish I could,” Buster replied. “We need to talk about what happened yesterday.” His words got her attention and her eyes opened. “First, I got to ask. Did you mean what you said last night? Do you want me?”

“I only said it like a dozen times.” She propped herself up on her elbow, the sheet that had been covering her fell down, and Buster found himself distracted by the sight of her beautiful bare breasts. “Focus, Buster.” She yanked the sheet up to cover herself from his view. “Why do you ask?”

“I'm not sure you know what it means to want me, to want to be with me. I don't know if you understand that it could be dangerous. More than that, I'm not sure that I'll always be able to keep you safe.” He'd put a lot of time into thinking about that. Everything that happened seemed to just confirm it more.

“I'm going to remind you that I'm not stupid. I figured out that your world was a dangerous one long before last night, when I literally glued a man's hands back together. I know that your world is dangerous and that you don't want me to know the details. I thought that you realized that. I thought that you understood when I said last night that I want you. I want all of you.”

“I might not be able to keep you safe.” Buster needed her to understand just how serious that fact was.

“I might get hit by a bloody bus the next time I cross the street, struck by lightening or simply have an aneurysm of the brain and die before my next breath.” She was angry now. Buster grabbed for her as she went to get off of the bed. “I'm not stupid. Stop acting like I am.”

“I never said you were stupid.” Buster was starting to realize how big a nerve it was with her. “I just want to be sure that you're sure.” She gave him a withering stare in response. “And now I know that you're sure.”

“Fantastic. Now seriously, let me up because I need to pee.” She wiggled away from him, grabbed her jeans from where she'd left them the night before, and pulled them on. “Any chance there's an extra toothbrush somewhere around this place?”

“I'm sure there is. I'll get you some clothes, too, if you want to shower.” Buster got out of the bed. “What?”

“I don't want to wear some pass-around's clothes. I'm fine in mine.”

“How about Amelia's clothes?” Buster asked. “She keeps some here. You should probably think about doing that, too, because if you're with me, this won't be the last crisis. Trust me.”

“I do. And I'll put together a bag. I wouldn't mind Amelia's clothes, but I'm pretty certain my fat ass isn't going to fit into her jeans so...” she shrugged. “A shirt would be nice, though.”

“You haven't asked what happened yesterday.” Buster pointed out. He'd expected her to ask at least something.

“It's Nightshade stuff, right? I know better than to ask, it's not my business.” She fished a hair tie out of her pocket, wrapped her hair in some sort of knot and secured it.

“It is if you want it to be. As my old lady, you can choose to know or not to know.” Buster hadn't realized the words that were going to come out of his mouth until he'd spoken. He'd never thought he'd call anyone his old lady, but Caroline was.

“Wait, what? You want me as your old lady?” Her look was one of confusion, or maybe shock.

“You are my old lady.” Buster had realized it the night before, after she'd fallen asleep in his arms. And it hadn't been because of the way that she'd given her to himself the night before. That had just been amazing and something that they were definitely going to explore more. On some level he'd known that things had crossed into serious before he'd pulled back from her. He'd known it even more when she'd given him shit for it.

“So, if I say I want to know everything, you'll tell me everything?” She looked skeptical.

“That's what I'm telling you, Caroline,” Buster assured her. “No matter what you decide, it doesn't change anything.”

“I want to know everything, starting with what happened yesterday.”

“I'll give you the quick version now.” A glance out the window showed him the sun had risen. It was time to start the day. “Yesterday, I arranged to meet Manuel. I took Danny with me. He was all I could spare from the jobs we had going on. Bones and Monroe were finishing the painting in one of the houses. Train and Rock were putting in new ceilings at another one. There was an ambush at the meeting and at both of the houses. It's how Bones and James got hurt. I got hit with some flying debris. Danny got grazed.”

“Who was it?”

“I figure it was the same people who went after The Street Kings, and I'm pretty sure that they're the ones responsible for the new drug on the street. It's called Binky. I'm pretty sure it was what Wayne was on that night.”

“Were the guys outside last night Street Kings? I didn't recognize them.”

“Yeah, they were. Manuel sent them to make sure the bar didn't suffer an ambush once we were all back.” Buster couldn't imagine the guilt the man felt over losing four of his men. He was trying hard to show Nightshade that the Street Kings were taking their newfound alliance very seriously. “He's a good man.”

“Why didn't they ambush the bar?”

“That's a question we've been asking as well. And we'll find out, in time. For now, we might have to stay here a few more days. Once it's safe to go home, I don't think that you should stay with Jillian anymore. You should come home with me.” Once again, the words were out before he knew that he was going to say them, but they felt right. The idea of Caroline in his home, in their home, was enough to make him grow hard.

“You're asking me to move in with you? Buster, I... I can't just leave Jillian, especially if things are going bad. Something happens and she's not going to call for help, or at least she's not going to call Nightshade. She'll be in danger.” She frowned, and his hard-on went down a notch.

“It's not your problem, Caroline, even if you are her friend. She's made her choice, like the rest of us, and she's got to deal with the consequences. She knows that she can call us. It's just her being stubborn if she doesn't.” There was no way that he was going to back down from this; the closer she was, the safer he could keep her?”

“And she should, what? Just get over what she was told about the challenges and her brother giving her a black eye and almost breaking her cheekbone? Does she even know that he's been using? That he's here, strapped down to a bed and gagged so he can't scream while he detoxes?”

“How did you know that?”

“I walked into the wrong room last night. Rock kicked me out pretty quick, but I got enough of a look to put two and two together.”

“We're doing all of that in his best interest. He needs to get that shit out of his system, and it's not an easy process.”

“I didn't say that to judge. I figured there was no good alternative. You didn't answer about Jillian?”

“No. She doesn't know. And we can't tell her now. There's too much going on. When he's clean and things are calmer, I'll tell her myself. Her knowing now isn't going to do anyone any good right now.” Buster waited for her to argue with him. She didn't. “I will tell her. I promise.”

She nodded. “You're probably right about not telling her now. And telling her now would most likely just push her more towards Jake, and I don't think that's a good thing. And fuck! We're supposed to have dinner with them tonight.”

“You're supposed to have dinner with them tonight,” Buster corrected.

“No, I forgot to tell you with everything. I saw Jake yesterday on my way to the bus stop. He gave me a ride and wanted to invite Edge to dinner and then he asked me to bring you. Something tells me that you're not going to be able to make it.”

“No one is going to be able to go. Jillian shouldn't go home yet, either. What did you tell her last night?” Buster realized that he'd done all the taking the night before and not given her a chance to tell him much of anything.

“Once she figured out that I was calling about Nightshade, she shut me down. I ended up telling Jake she shouldn't go home. I was vague. Said maybe he wanted to take her to the casino hotels and spend all night in the room.”

“Did Jake ask why?” Buster realized that even if they couldn't make dinner tonight, he was going to need to lay eyes on this Jake guy soon.

“No. I think he figured out it was something about Nightshade, though. Jillian pretty much shouted that out when I was trying to talk to her. I figured she wasn't going to listen. He told me that he's in love with her, so I figured maybe he would listen. I hope he listened.”

“Why don't you try calling her on your way to the shower?” Buster suggested. “I'm going to get dressed and see what's going on downstairs.” He rose from the bed and listened while Caroline made the call.

“Voice mail.” She sighed. “Straight to it, so her phone is off.”

“I'm sure that she's just doesn't want to be disturbed. Tell you what, I'll have someone ride past the house and make sure that everything is okay. I'd do it myself, but I need to get some NS Construction work done.”

<#<#<#<#

Buster wanted to sweep his arm across the desk, knock all the papers to the floor. Figuring out the schedule for the construction company's existing jobs with Bones out of commission was frustrating at best. He let out a bitter laugh. The success of the company was going to be the reason it failed. They were gearing up for war; he couldn't send his men to work. Sending the few other part-time employees he had was only a finger inside a dam. “Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.”

His phone rang and he snatched it up. “Hello.”

“I hear that you've been having some trouble. I thought that we discussed you coming directly to me if something happened rather than me having to hear it through the grapevine.” Joseph Miller sounded pissed, seriously pissed.

“Tried calling you. I got no answer. Didn't have time to sit around calling over and over,” Buster replied. With everything that was going on, calling Miller had been one of the first things he did after making sure that everyone was okay. “Looks like there's a new crew on the streets. You happen to hear anything about that?”

“I hear that Binky makes people unpredictable, depending on the dosage,” Joseph Miller replied. “I don't like unpredictable people or unpredictable things. Figure out who is behind it and exterminate them.”

Buster found it interesting that Miller's anger seemed more directed at the new crew than Nightshade. It was a good thing. Too good. “That's the plan.”

“I suggest that you deal with it swiftly.” Miller ended the call.

Buster swept the papers off of the desk then. Fuck it. Fuck it all. “What?” He barked as the door swung open.

“Someone grabbed food. Do you want something?” Caroline poked her head into the office with a smile. “A break might be good for you. You're sounding a bit frustrated in here.”

“I'm trying to figure out the work schedule with the current situation. There aren't enough bodies to go around.”

“Get more bodies,” Caroline suggested. “There's a bunch of guys who hang around RBS trying to pick up work. Ryan knows most of them. I'm sure he could hook you up with them. They'd be glad for the work. I could call him if you want. I've got to anyway, let him know the Nightshade flu is still going on.”

“I need to figure out how many guys.”

“Do you trust me?” Caroline walked into the office.

“Obviously, I do.”

“Get the hell out of here. Go eat and let me handle it. After all, this is what I do.” She grinned at him. “Just grab some food for me, if you wouldn't mind.” She crouched down and began picking up papers. “If this is your filing system, you really need to figure out a better one or find someone who actually enjoys doing stuff like this.”

Buster let out a laugh. “You know what, I think I might have found someone. Pretty brunette with a killer body.”

“Oh yeah? Anyone I know?”

“You might.” He watched as she set the papers down on the desk. “You sure that you don't mind doing this?”

“If I minded, I wouldn't be doing it,” she pointed out. “Go. Leave me to the fucking disaster area you created.”

“I'll be back with something for you to eat,” Buster promised. If everyone was hungry, they should eat before he brought up the call for Miller. A little bit of normal might do them a world of good. They were going to need to be at their best, strong and smart, if they wanted to survive this.

He was really looking forward to a time when they weren't fighting at every single step for survival. It had been a weight around their neck for too long; even during the calm times there was always the feeling of waiting for the other shoe to fall. And that shoe had been Miller for too long. It was now clear to him that Nightshade had two priorities. They needed to find, and end, the new crew before figuring out how to slaughter Miller and his top men.