Page 5

Emma

I woke up feeling tired and cranky and sore.

“Rise and shine, sleepyhead!” Ace’s voice sounded from the other side of the door. “Coffee’s on but I might just drink it all if you don’t hurry up.”

“Yeah. Yeah. I’m up,” I mumbled. Not a brilliant comeback, but then I hadn’t had any coffee yet. There might be another murder committed if it was all gone before I managed to get dressed.

Right. No shirt. Just the ragged bits left after Ace cut it off me.

I found the bottle of painkillers and downed two with a glass of water from the ensuite bathroom. Handy, but not exactly the setup you’d expect from a biker. Then again, what did I know about bikers? Hollywood clichés and rumors.

Gritting my teeth against the pain caused by moving, I rinsed my face and hands in the sink before pulling on my pants.

I still had Ace’s T-shirt on, and as suspected it fell almost to my knees.

Much too long to wear out in public. Unfortunately, the alternative was to go topless, and I wasn’t feeling that adventurous this morning.

Compromising, I rolled the shirt up to my waist and tied the front in a knot to hold it in place. Not exactly high fashion but it would do until I could get something of my own to wear. As a bonus, it didn’t put any pressure on the bullet wound.

I gave my teeth a cursory brush with my finger and wandered out to the kitchen.

“Where’s the coffee?” The heavenly aroma teased my nostrils.

Ace slid off the barstool and walked over to a chrome appliance that bore no resemblance to any coffee maker I’d ever owned. “Made to order. How do you like yours?”

“Strong, with cream. No sugar.”

He rolled his eyes. “Cappuccino? Latte? Americano? “

“Seriously? You can make all those?”

“I wouldn’t offer if I couldn’t deliver.” He waggled his eyebrows suggestively. “I’m more than just a pretty face.”

I wouldn’t call the face pretty, more ruggedly handsome.

The nose was off center a bit, hinting at a break sometime in the past. His dark hair had the slightly shaggy look of needing a trim, and that damn five o’clock shadow added a macho charm.

The whole package was enough to send shivers of want down my spine.

“Cappuccino. With lots of foam.”

I watched him fiddle with the shiny contraption on the counter, then pivot with a flourish to present me with the perfect cup of cappuccino, complete with a foaming cap.

I took the cup, inhaling the delightful scent. “What’s that on top of the foam?”

He grinned. “My secret concoction of sugar and spices. Try it.”

I lifted the cup to my lips and took a sip. Pure heaven. “Not bad.”

He lifted one brow. “Not bad?”

I took another sip. “Okay. Quite good.”

“It’s perfect, and you know it.”

It was, and I did, but that didn’t mean I was willing to admit it. “Are you always this chipper in the morning?”

“Only when I’ve been up half the night rescuing a damsel in distress. How’s the side this morning?”

I made a face. “Should be better as soon as the pills I took kick in.”

“Hopefully that will be soon. We need to head over to the clubhouse.”

I cocked my head as a thought occurred to me. “I thought bikers all lived together, at a clubhouse. Yet you have your own house.”

He shrugged. “We all have rooms at the clubhouse for when we party too hard and don’t want to drive home, but some of us like to have our own places outside of the club property. I’m not exactly a social animal, and I like my privacy.”

“So, this is your house? Like you bought it just for you?”

He inclined his head. “Yeah. I like to putter and fix things. As soon as I saw this place, I knew it needed me. That, and I got it for a good price because of the shape it was in.”

I hadn’t really taken in much the night before, but as I looked around now I could see all the personal touches. The moldings on the ceiling, the fancy frames around the windows and doors with stained glass inlays. He’d done an amazing job on it. “It’s beautiful.”

“Thanks.” His phone chirped and he checked the screen. “Gotta take this.” Putting the phone to his ear, he turned and headed into the other room.

I took the hint and sat myself down to finish the cappuccino. Out the window, I could see people bustling up and down the sidewalk on their way to work. Cars sped past, and it looked like any other day.

Except it wasn’t. The man who’d been murdered in the park last night wasn’t going to get up today, or any other day. I wondered who the dead guy was. Did he have a family? Children that would grow up without a father?

“Look at me.” Ace was back in the room, standing right in front of me. I hadn’t even heard him return. I lifted my chin to look up at him.

“It’s over. Don’t go back there. There was nothing you could do that would have changed the outcome.”

How did he know what I was thinking? “I know. It’s just…” My voice trailed off.

Ace shook his head. “Just nothing. Life sucks sometimes. You just shake it off and get on with it. For all you know that guy was a drug dealer, or a human trafficker. Maybe he deserved what he got. It doesn’t matter. You’re here and you’re alive. That’s what’s important.”

I took a deep breath. He was right. “So, what now?”

“Now we get you to the clubhouse where I know you’ll be safe while we sort this out.”

“Okay.” I slid off the barstool, careful not to move my side too much. “But I’m scheduled to work tonight.”

“There’s no way you’re slinging drinks until your side heals up some. That’s on top of the fact that the murderer can probably find you there.”

“How long?” Murderers aside, I needed a job to pay my rent, and get my damn car fixed.

Ace shrugged. “We can ask Joker when we get to the clubhouse, but I’m guessing a few weeks at least. Bullet wounds are messy. No neat lines to stitch together. As for the murderer, hard to say. Depends on how much of a danger he considers you.”

“I can’t take two weeks off work, let alone an indefinite amount of time! I need to pay my rent, buy books, fix my car.”

“You’ve got an open wound on your side. If you don’t give it time to heal it could become infected, which is going to keep you down a lot longer than two weeks.

Plus, I’m guessing the bar isn’t going to be thrilled to have their employee dripping blood on the customers.

Or getting killed herself while on the job. ”

“Maybe they’ll forget about me. And I can bandage it better. It’s not bleeding now.”

“We’ll ask Joker. And you do what he says.”

I muttered a curse under my breath. “I have to at least phone in and tell my boss I won’t be there.”

Ace held out his phone to me. “And while you’re at it, you need to cancel your phone. I’ll have one of the prospects pick you up a new one today, along with a clean SIM card. Android or iPhone?”

“Android. And I’ll pay you back.”

His eyes twinkled with sudden mirth as he swept me with a lustful glance. “Yes, you will.”

“Not like that!” Although to be honest, the idea of having a hookup with Ace sent delightful shivers dancing down my spine. I just didn’t want to it to be payment for something.

You want it to matter , my treacherous heart said. I quickly squashed that thought down where it belonged.

He immediately looked repentant, reaching out to stroke one finger down my cheek. “I was just kidding around. I would never make a woman pay for something with sex. I want you to have a phone so you can call someone if you are in danger. It will make me feel better, so it’s really for me, not you.”

Damn, the man had a way of turning things around to make me like him even more.

“Make the call to your boss, and I’ll rustle us up some breakfast before we head out.” He turned around, rummaging in the fridge.

* * *

Breakfast turned out to be eggs sunny side up, toast and hash browns with crispy fried bacon. The man was full of surprises. When he said rustle up breakfast, I kind of expected him to pull muffins or something similar out of the freezer. Maybe a box of stale cereal out of the cupboard.

We ate in companionable silence, and he insisted that I sit while he stacked the dirty dishes in the dishwasher and turned it on.

“Do you feel up to riding on the back of my bike, or do you want to use the truck?”

I hesitated. I really wanted to say bike, but I wasn’t sure my side could take it. I’d never been on a motorcycle but the idea of the freedom it represented was tempting.

“How about we take the truck for now, and I promise you a ride on the bike as soon as you’re feeling better.” Ace’s eyes narrowed. “Joker will skin me alive if I do anything to open your wound up again.”

“Sounds like a sensible plan.” I wrinkled my nose. “Some days I’m just not a fan of sensible.”

Ace snorted. “Compared to the rest of us from the ‘hood, you are the epitome of sensible!”

* * *

Ace

Damn, she looked good sitting beside me in my truck, even wearing my oversized shirt rolled up and tied at her waist. I kind of liked the fact she was wearing my clothes. Like she belonged to me, even if I hadn’t put a cut on her yet.

Fuck. I needed to get myself under control. I was too old for her, and she was too good for me.

Still , a tiny voice in my head murmured, you know there’s major sparks there, on both sides. You could just have a sizzling one-night stand and part ways. Scratch that itch and walk away .

“The clubhouse is in town, right? I’m pretty sure I know where.” Emma’s voice dragged me back to reality.

“Barely in town.” I braked to let an old man and his dog cross the street. “It’s on the outskirts. More room, less nosy neighbors that way.”

I had her full attention now. “Why? Do you guys throw wild parties or something?

“Both.” Who knew how much fun it would be to tease her?

She tilted her head. “Both what?”

“Wild parties and something.” I grinned. “We do both.”

“What’s something?”

I shrugged; the grin still plastered on my face. “You’re the one that brought it up. You tell me.”

“Drugs?” She didn’t look happy at the thought.