Page 14 of Bleed (Two Wheeled Psychos #4)

My insides are still shaken up when I pull into the lot behind my work, parking Luna in my normal spot, but not entering the restaurant. I don’t want to be caught by any other “jobs” when I’m on a mission now more than ever to find the bitch who is supposed to love me, not try to kill me.

Pot, kettle?

I stomp around the building and come out front into the bright lunchtime sunlight, cursing about not having sunglasses because the helmet’s visor is tinted.

It’s a lot of good that does me hanging on the bike handle though.

I’m cranky, irritated, hot, and ready to beat the fuck out of someone just to make myself feel better, but I know I can’t.

I have to wait for little miss thing and find out why she wanted me dead, besides the fact I’m supposed to kill her.

“Damien!” Valentino calls out from behind me, popping out of the dining room’s door onto the sidewalk as I emerge from the lot, shielding my eyes from the blaring sun. “Wait man.”

Without looking back at him I slow my pace but don’t stop. If he wants to talk to me he’s going to have to bark at my heels like a dog.

“What Valentino?”

“You find her yet?” He asks, huffing out his breath as he moves his short legs to keep up with me as I cross the street, holding up my hand for the oncoming cars to slow down.

“Yeah.”

“She dead?”

When he catches up with me at the opposing sidewalk he grabs my shoulder and tries to spin me around, but I stop and plant myself hard into the ground, keeping him from moving me. I don’t really want to deal with him right now, let alone look at him.

“No.” I say, shaking his hand off me and grabbing for the door to the café.

“Why not?” He spits out, following me in the door, sounding out of breath and irritated, making me stop just inside the door and turn around to face him.

“You didn’t tell me that the Recluse is Dani.” I snarl in his face, planting my hands on his chest and pushing him backwards out the door, closing it in his face as his brown eyes widen and he looks as shocked as I felt when I found out.

“I didn’t know.” He calls out through the door, not attempting to open it, because he knows better.

He can tell by my disposition that if he follows me again it will not end happily for him. He might be a rich kid all grown up, and in over his head sometimes with the family’s business, but he’s not stupid.

Ignoring him and leaving him standing there baffled on the outside of the small establishment, I grab the first seat I can find that’s empty and away from the clatter of the kitchen and the typing of laptop keys.

It’s a little loveseat meant for two, but I stretch out on the paisley fabric, putting my leg up on it, and lean back, closing my eyes, needing the dark and quiet to finish processing everything from the past twenty-four hours.

Dani, my Danielle is the fucking Recluse. I killed her boyfriend, and she sent an assassin for me. This is just too fucked up, even for me.

I need to talk to her, to figure out what all this is about, and for the answers I never got from her before.

So I sit and wait, passing the day away as the sun moves across the sky and then disappears at the horizon.

It’s a long, boring time that I sit still, keeping my gaze locked on the inside of my eyelids.

I’m not worried about missing her, I know her scent now, and her aura.

Like a cadaver dog, I’ll be able to feel and smell her when she arrives.

If she arrives.

“Well, well, well, who do we have here?” A female voice says from right in front of me, and I recognize it immediately. It’s the fiery ginger best friend who hates me for reasons unknown. I’d never even met the bitch till a day ago.

“Fuck off, Allie.” I grunt, shooing her away with the flap of my hands without even cracking an eye to look at her.

She’s alone, that I can feel, as well as the disdain that leeches out of her regarding me.

“How about you fuck off. Leave her alone. She left you. Take the fucking hint.” She spits at me, her words laced with hate.

“Such a good friend you are. Now be a good little girl and scamper on.”

“Fuck you.”

“No thanks. But I’ll fuck Dani when she comes back to me.”

“In your dreams, asshole.”

“Mmmm yes, and such nice, hot, and wet dreams they are.”

With a sick gagging noise she storms away and instantly the air fees lighter again, weighed down only by the smells of the cinnamon rolls and other pastries offered by the place.

She’s barely out of range when the little bell above the door rings and I’m smacked in the face with the fresh and sweet smell of jasmine. It invades my nose like a welcomed intruder as I breathe deeply, sucking it all into me.

There you are sweetheart.

Peeling one eye open, I watch as Dani walks up to the front counter and leans on it, talking to the barista like they’re good friends. I watch as she laughs and jokes with her, with a bright smile on her pretty face.

“Well you’re not too worked up over your boyfriend’s death.” I mumble to myself quiet enough that no one around me can hear it, but I swear she does, because her grin falls and she looks right at me.

Her brows furrow and she literally crosses her arms over her chest and stomps her foot like a spoiled child who was just told she couldn’t have nuggies and fries for dinner. It makes me chuckle softly, because I remember that attitude. It was one of the things I loved about her.

Smiling at her I lean back, stretching my arm over the back of the seat, making it obvious that I’m ogling her, and when she scowls at me, I throw her a playful wink.

Come on baby, you know you’re curious, you little brat. Mmmm, brat. I used to adore that side of you.

The memories of her being a spoiled little thing that had me wrapped around her little finger remind me of the best times of my life. When I kept working and play separately. I would do my “job” then come home to her and take her in every which way possible.

The things we used to do together…fantastic.

I can still feel her as if she were with me right now, and it makes my dick twitch in my jeans. I need her more than anything, I know this, but with these new things brought to light can I manage to have her and not kill her? Can she have me and not murder me?

“Would be kinda fun to find out.” I laugh out loud, making her stare me down even harder. “Oh come on Dani. Just get over here and get it over with.” I call out to her, sitting upright and patting the cushion on the seat next to me. “I won’t bite, I promise.”

Well not hard anyways, unless you want it, like you used to, baby.

With a dramatic roll of her eyes, she says bye to the barista and slowly stalks over to me, her gaze never leaving mine as she approaches.

The crystal blue of her irises is so clean, like a cloudless sky on a summer afternoon, shining brightly with the mischievousness that lives behind her bratty attitude.

“Damien. Or should I say Reaper?” She says as she stands in front of me, crossing her arms again, and all I want to do is grab them and pull her down in to my lap, but I restrain myself and just stare back up at her mimicking her attitude.

“Danielle. Or should I say, the Recluse.” I say raising my eyebrow at her, waiting for any kind of response to the fact that I know who she is now.

“How’d you find out? For years I’ve kept that hidden.”

“Well, if you know who the Reaper is, you’d know I always get my mark.” I laugh, softening my gaze to her, patting the seat again. “Truce, for now?”

“Truce? I didn’t want anything to do with you, until you killed my bodyguard.” She snorts, tapping her foot impatiently.

“I thought he was your boyfriend.”

“Ewww, no.”

“No?”

“Not my type. You should know that.”

“Do I really know anything about you? Besides I watched you kiss him.” I say to her as she relaxes her stance and looks at the love seat. “Just fucking sit. I promise not to murder you here.”

“Oh, just here huh?”

“Well…” I say, trailing off, leaving it open for any interpretation she so chooses.

“I kissed him because I knew you were watching. At that point I didn’t know you were following me to off me. I only thought you were an obsessed ex-boyfriend.” She laughs a little sound and finally plops down on the soft seat with me, crossing her legs tightly.

“Hmmm, trying to make me jealous?” I ask, leaning in closer to her, pulling her gaze back to mine, staring deeply into her eyes. “You always did like me a little jealous.”

“That was before I knew you’re a killer.”

“You only found that out last night.”

“Exactly.”

“So why’d you leave? I loved you.”

“I loved you too.”

“Then why?”

“I had to.”

“Care to elaborate?” I ask her, sitting so close to her that I can feel her breath waft across my cheek, and it does things to me, and the snake in my pants already dying to get to her.

“No.”

“Well my dear. I think you owe me an apology.” I say, bringing my hand up, cupping her cheek, rubbing the pad of my thumb across her soft skin, feeling that electric shock I always did when our skin made contact.

We used to be crazy together, so in love, so physical, so kinky. I miss it, and as I touch her now, I want it all back. Fuck the contract. Fuck everything.