Outlaw MC Bear (3 page)

S
abrina Rizzo drew
in one last frustrated breath, struggling with her necklace clasp again. Diamonds were a girl’s best friend, but the chains they came on—

“Priceless,” she muttered sarcastically, throwing the chain down on her vanity and replacing it with a simpler white gold necklace with a diamond infinity loop pendant—and a much easier clasp.

At this rate, she’d show up to the gala with one earring, one shoe, a disheveled up-do and cramped fingers, and she’d still be late. She was about ready to throw her hands up in supplication to the social gods when there was a loud, abrupt bang against her vanity wall. The necklace slipped between her fingers and slithered to the floor as she jumped backward with a small gasp. A glass bottle of perfume tipped over, leaking floral fumes all over her counter. Sabrina was on alert now, already one step back, eyes wide.

Another loud thump.

This time with a muttered swear and a litany of arguing.

What in God’s name was going on next door?

More banging.

A harsh order.

The sound of something shattering.

With the sharp tang of the fragrance stifling her nose, she jerked back into action, leaning forward to grasp the bottle and stand it up again. Her stomach twisted in knots and her shaky hand fumbled. The sweet pool of slowly evaporating liquid was growing larger by the second. Soon it would cascade over her sterling silver tray and onto the carpet. It was the distracting thought that tingled across her scalp to help her avoid the fearful question of what was going on in a room nearby. That distraction didn’t work, though. All it did was make a bigger mess of the spill. Panic caused the back of her mouth to taste sour now, and she struggled not to break out in nervous hives. She managed to mindlessly grasp the towel she’d just used after her shower, and swabbed up the perfumed mess.

Each second her fingers plunged into the damp towel, she pretended she wasn’t leaning forward to get closer to that wall between her and the ruckus next door. At least until her ear was pressed up against it, one hand thrown back in the mess.

“…I had it on good authority I wouldn’t be dealing with anything fucked up and underhanded tonight. I must have been wrong—”

“Funny, I don’t remember anyone making that promise. The thing I do remember…”

“Watch yourself, fucker.”

“I’m making things crystal clear, and this is the best way I know how…”

There was an extended block of muffled conversation, then Sabrina pressed her ear so hard against the wall she thought her eardrum would pop from the suction. It worked. She could hear almost every word.

“I merely need assurances that you will deliver.”

“I just gave you the location of the goods.”

“I need to see them…the same way you saw the cash in that briefcase. It’s a little insurance so you don’t make off with my money. Surely you agree that’s reasonable?”

“Depends on how you define the word reasonable,” the other man choked out. “Can I get a little breathing room before your goon goes down and never wakes up again?”

There was a sharp snap, and Sabrina flinched back from the wall. She didn’t dare breathe.

“Let me call my boys. I’ll have them swing by to pick up…”

Her brow pinched as the voices faded too much to hear again. It was maddening, only getting half of the conversation, but she mentally kicked herself for even making it her business in the first place. Whatever was going down next door, she needed to ignore it. This was the type of thing her law firm associates would advise clients to stay away from. The three monkeys applied here, especially the
hear no evil
part. What mattered tonight was getting herself ready for the gala and out the door.

For some unknown reason, she remained glued to the spot on the wall, listening. She couldn’t ignore it. Something nefarious was going on over there, and maybe she might hear something that could come in handy. With a short sigh, she released her hold on the towel and pressed her ear harder on the lavender wall of her bedroom.

Nothing.

There was not another sound on the other side of that damn wall.

Goosebumps prickled all across her exposed arms and legs, and she realized she was breathing deafening gasps in and out of her mouth. With a wince, she clapped a hand over her red lipstick covered lips.

They started up again, to which she breathed a small sigh of relief.

“There. Look at the tiny screen. See the tiny people? Those are my guys at the warehouse. See the street sign? We weren’t lying about the location.”

“What the fuck…”

“You know, this really isn’t a great way to start off a new partnership.”

“Really? I see it as…illuminating…”

There was some more muttering she couldn’t make out.

“Satisfied?”

“If you want to call it that, we can. But you’ll be hearing from me if the weapons aren’t as exactly as you promised.”

“I wouldn’t expect anything less, champ.”

Another beat of silence.

Sabrina could hardly contain her giggle at the man’s moxie. Did men even have moxie? A swirl of new questions overloaded her already filled up brain when she heard someone open a door. She jumped away from the wall as if she’d been burned. With her arms around her midsection, she replayed the bits and pieces, trying to put all her secret information in its proper place.

Money. Weapons. Warehouse.

Her eyes closed and she took a seat on the padded stool in front of her vanity.

“You’ve got to be kidding me…” she mumbled to herself.

Each minute that ticked by she did her best to remember to breathe in through her nose and out through her mouth. Yet nothing—and everything—made perfect sense. Someone was doing an arms deal on the other side of that wall.

No. No, she was not getting involved in this mess. She shook her head over and over to reiterate that fact. There was nothing she could do, not even if she called her father. She vaguely knew how these deals worked, and the man who took up residence on the other side of that wall was confident that nothing would get in his way. With a decided nod, she swept up the towel and threw it in the laundry hamper. Snatching up her other shoe, she slipped her foot in, and found her clutch. It was time to go about her day-to-day and forget what she’d heard. Picking up the fallen necklace, she slid it into her clutch, and grabbed her wrap off the back of the chair.

Though the conversation still rang in the back of her mind, she was determined to act like it never happened. Deniability was the best policy when so much was already at stake. She’d been dragged down by too much in her life. There was no way she was going to flick the next domino of another undesirable chain of events and screw up her life even more. After she grabbed her car keys and shut the front door, she kept her stare trained on the carpet as she locked up. It was a chore to walk nonchalantly down the hallway while also maintaining a speed that got her the hell out of there.

Halfway down the corridor, her heel caught on the carpet. She avoided a full stumble against the wallpapered wall, grateful that her keys quietly hit the plush floor. A small frustrated noise climbed up her throat. When she scooped them up, a door opened down the hallway. She didn’t dare look backward. The man next door who she already despised didn’t have a good reputation, and she really didn’t want to get mixed up in any more of his shady dealings by accident.

She’d watched a documentary about murderers once, where the interviewed convict advised viewers that if they ever witnessed a crime, they should wipe the image of the perpetrator’s face out of their minds.

Seemed like damn sound advice. Except how could she ignore the face of the man she was promised to?

“Shit.” Sabrina felt a random itch running down her leg from a spot at the back of her left hip. She reached down toward her backside without looking, then she thought better of scratching it. Her pantyhose must have ripped, and she sure as hell wasn’t going back to change it.

What seemed like an hour later she was repeatedly pressing the elevator’s down button with a manicured finger. Each little ding as the elevator car reached another floor was way too slow compared to her heartbeat. Jesus, were those men coming closer? Afraid to look backward, she whirled around to take the stairs instead. That was when she collided with a solid, broad, well-developed, muscle-shirt-wearing chest.

Her pink manicured fingers spread across the dizzying expanse of the man’s black t-shirt. She might as well have been feeling him up. “Oh, Christ! I’m sorry…I apologize…I didn’t mean—” she sputtered, backing away.

He caught her wrist to steady her as the world started to swirl with bright sparks of light ahead of her eyes. “Whoa, it’s okay… take it easy.”

His fingers burned into her forearm where he held her with a solid grip, but not too tightly, because she felt like her body was swaying a few inches in one direction, then again in the other direction. She looked up at the man, way up past the expanse of black muscle shirt, and craned her neck to take in gorgeous cerulean blue eyes, a slight cupid-bow mouth, and thick eyebrows, which at the moment nearly reached up to the hairline of his full head of black gelled-back hair.

“Uh,” she breathed under her breath, holding back the hissing sound she really wanted to make after seeing this sexy God of a man.

“Are you okay, miss?”

His concern seemed genuine. She struggled to shake off whatever dizziness was clouding her vision from looking up too fast into the stunningly handsome stranger’s face.

Wait. Is he that tall? So tall I’m getting dizzy?

Or am I just really dizzy right now?

Her wobbly gaze tripped back over him.

“Hey, focus. Do you need a doctor, honey?”

Sabrina gritted her teeth against the endearment. She somehow summoned the strength to pull out of his hold, while every molecule in her body was screaming for her to latch her nails onto his chest. With a mental shake, she took two quivering steps backward until her back was pressed up against the wall beside the elevator.

“I’m fine, thanks. Really.”

The elevator dinged, and she wanted to kiss the mechanical wonder for its on point timing.

“Okay. If you say so.” The gorgeous man’s lips quirked, but he kept his smile at bay as he motioned for her to get into the elevator. “After you.”

Suddenly the large elevator seemed a whole lot smaller with the two of them in it. The doors slid shut and she hit the underground parking level, grasping the gold bar that circled all along the car at about waist height. What the hell was going on with her equilibrium? It felt like she was underwater. The world ducked and weaved, bright colors shimmering and then becoming so clear it hurt her head.

“Where are you headed tonight?”

“Huh?” she blinked, making an effort to understand and process his words. “Oh, uh…”

Even with a bad case of vertigo, she hesitated. He shuffled awkwardly from one foot to the other beside her, so close that his leather cut brushed her bare arm.

“Alright, you don’t have to tell me. I’ll just consider it my duty to tell you how amazing you look, and we’ll call it a day.”

Something about the leather he was wearing sparked a memory. But it was too far away for her to grasp.

“Tha-thank you.”

He grunted, and she couldn’t focus enough to get another look up at his face. God, she couldn’t turn her head. A low moan escaped from her lips. Despite how hard she clamped them shut he must have heard, because he pivoted toward her and placed a hand on the small of her back. It felt reassuring and way too personal all at the same time.

“I’m fine,” she managed to get out between gritted teeth.

“Somehow, I don’t think that’s entirely true.”

There was a reason he shouldn’t be touching her, some obscure fact that was more than his stranger status. Alarm bells went off in her head. She glanced down at the swimming carpet and around behind her, vaguely noticing that there was a dart sticking out from her hip.

Holy shit.

Did this guy just dart me?

“Please,” she mouthed, unable to make her dry mouth fully form more words.

The world was becoming slippery. More than hazy. It was as if the elevator were melting away while she wavered beneath this man’s steady, firm grip that held her upright. His touch was equal parts hot and cold, and she couldn’t catch her breath because of it. Did he have something to do with her being attacked and darted? A jagged stab of fear made her gut cramp. She subtly pushed him away, but touching him was like trying to push through a solid wall, and he only held on harder, speaking in low tones that warped in her ears.

A bear. There was a bear insignia on the front of his cut.

Shit.

A member of the Beartooth Brotherhood motorcycle club, one of the most infamous and dangerous MCs west of Chicago, had just wrapped her up in his arms.

“You’re a terrible liar.” The man’s voice echoed, and his warm breath caressed the shell of her ear.

That was the last thing Sabrina registered.