Hard Drifter Page 6

  Someone could've found the bandana on the ground by her car, thought she'd dropped it, and tied it to the mirror for her to find. His request was strange. The receptionist inside the lobby could take the object or one of the police officers after hours could drop it in the box behind the desk.

  "Lena...Tigres, one of the gangs in the area, use a bandana to warn of an attack. It's usually used to mark the person they've got a vendetta against." Lieutenant Gomez put his hand on her arm. "I'd like to make a report about what happened here tonight and get more information on the threat you received on your phone. That way we have the incidence on record."

  An attack on her? There had to be a mistake. She worked, went home, and then returned to work. She had no social life. The people in her life were co-workers. She swallowed and looked up at Lieutenant Gomez. "This has been a mistake. I haven't done anything to anyone."

  Except, she'd been with Thad.

  Two days ago, when Thad dropped her off after their ride to Astoria, he'd walked away without a word. She'd disappointed him. He hid it well, but his silence spoke loudly.

  If she was honest with herself, she hadn't delved into him belonging to a biker gang and what that entailed. She'd assumed because he worked with the police department finding missing persons, his activities were based on good rather than bad. But, what if Tigres had a vendetta against Thad and not her?

  "Do you think...?" She clamped her mouth shut.

  The text came when she was with Thad. The warning from Tigres gang came after she went out on a date with him. Thad even questioned her about her relationship toward Gomez.

  "What?" asked Lieutenant Gomez.

  She slipped the handle of her purse over her wrist and crossed her arms. "How well do you know Thad Bowers?"

  "I've known him for the last twenty or so years. Why?"

  She shrugged, watching the police cars surrounding her vehicle turn off their flashing lights. "Just thinking."

  "If you have anything that'll help us figure out why you've been targeted, we'd appreciate you sharing the information."

  "I don't think I have anything that'll...help." She held her purse and coat closer to her chest.

  Thad was a biker, who belonged to a club, not a gang member. If someone had a beef with him, they wouldn't come after her. She barely knew him.

  "Lena?" Lieutenant Gomez lowered his voice. "I know you're seeing Thad."

  "Why would you think that?"

  He ran his tongue across his top teeth. "I noticed he walked you away from the bar the night I introduced you."

  "So?"

  "I know Thad well enough to know he doesn't go on walks unless he's planning on taking a break when he gets to where he's going." He inhaled deeply.

  Lena shook her head. That made no sense.

  "Do you want me to call him and let him know about what is happening here?"

  "No." She stepped off the sidewalk. "I don’t even know what is going on. Neither do you. It's a bandana. I just want to go home. I've been working a twelve-hour shift and right now the only thing I want to deal with is getting eight hours of sleep before I'm due back to work. The rotation schedule and mix of different shifts are kicking my ass."

  Lieutenant Gomez walked beside her. "I'll escort you home."

  "I thought you were off duty?" She fiddled with the keys in her hand.

  "I am, but I want to make sure you get home safely." He motioned in front of her. "I'll follow you."

  At her car, she became a little peeved that the men around her at work, and Thad, believed they could keep her safe as if she was helpless. "Are you going to follow me to work tomorrow, too?"

  Lieutenant Gomez dipped his chin. "It's my day off, but I'll find someone else to follow you over here."

  She rolled her eyes and unlocked her car door. Inside, she shoved the key into the ignition and put her seatbelt on. Glancing at the side mirror, the bandana that had gained Officer Johnson's attention was gone.

  The advantage of working with law enforcement and hearing every 911 call that came into dispatch, she knew how policemen were wired. They took the simplest activity seriously instead of assuming everything was normal. The disadvantage was that everyone made her paranoid and she went out of her way to protect herself and stay safe.

  It was a discarded bandana. That was all.

  Ten minutes later, she pulled into her garage, waved to Lieutenant Gomez, and pushed the button to lower the garage door closed. Shutting out the world, she relaxed. Her home was hers alone. The one place she belonged. Where she could be herself. Where no one judged her.

  Chapter 10

  Thad pushed out the door of Vavoom's Bar with Lieutenant Gomez closely following him. The night air blasted his face, failing to cool off his temper. "What the fuck are you talking about?"

  Gomez held up his hand. "I took Lena home after her shift ended."

  "You said that." Thad widened his stance. "Why?"

  Gomez held up both his hands. "I escorted her. That's it."

  His body flashed cold then hot. "Why?"

  "Damnit, Bowers. You know I can't tell you." Gomez lowered his hands. "I just thought you should know and what you do with that information is up to you. Though, I'd prefer if you didn't beat the shit out of me for passing on something I think you should look into."

  "Son of a bitch," he muttered, storming to his motorcycle at the curb. "If I find out something has happened to her and you're involved...I swear to God, Gomez, you're dead."

  "You might want to think about calming down before you go to her." Gomez stood sentry on the sidewalk, unperturbed over the threat. "Let her talk."

  He didn't need any fucking relationship advice from Gomez. Fuck relationships. There was no relationship. Lena made it clear she didn't want the same kind he did.

  He started his bike, checked the street, and pulled away from the curb. Whatever reason for Lena needing an escort home after work, he'd get rid of the problem. Gomez could latch on to someone else.

  Despite the late hour, he sped across town and pulled into Lena's driveway without worrying about waking everyone in the neighborhood with the pipes on his bike. He ripped off his helmet and slapped it down on his handlebar, knocking his mirror out of position.

  He marched up to the door, skipped the doorbell, and banged his fist on the door. "Lena? It's Thad. Open the door."

  Trying the door handle and finding it locked, he banged again. She had to have heard him. Hell, the neighbors on his right side probably heard him.

  "Hey," he shouted. "Give me five minutes, Lena."

  The window to his right opened. He stepped away from the door and squinted into the dark. She needed to keep her porch light on at night.

  "Lena?" He planted his boot in the flower bed and found her standing in the dark in her room. "Didn't you hear me knock?"

  "I'm sure everyone on the block heard you. What do you want?" He could barely make out her face behind the window screen.

  A half hour ago, before Gomez opened his mouth, he'd had his third beer and was starting to get his buzz on, hoping to forget about Lena and enjoy his Friday night. Already tense and irritated, he'd allowed Gomez to push him into a place he wanted to avoid.

  It wasn't his right to care about Lena. If he cared, he'd need to take care of her. And, if he were taking responsibility of her, Gomez sure in the hell wouldn't be escorting her home and telling him he needed to check his woman.

  "Can I come in?" he asked.

  "That's not a good idea. You're acting crazy."

  "Damnit, Lena." He looked at the ground and tapped down his anger. Anger he recognized as fear. "I'm worried about you. Gomez said something is going—"

  "He told you?" She scoffed. "I'm sure that's an ethic violation. I don't talk about what happens at the dispatch center or what kind of calls I send him on."

  "Lena." He exhaled in frustration. "Open the door."

  She slid the window shut. He flinched at the glass reverberating under the force and stepped over to
the door again.

  Lena turned on the porch light. He squeezed his eyes shut and squinted as she opened her house to him. He walked in and turned, making sure she locked the door behind him.

  Then, his gut tightened. She had on a pair of baggy booty shorts and a tight, white tank top without a bra. He ogled. Each time he'd been around her, he'd imagined what she looked like underneath her clothes. Then, he'd spent every free second away from her still imagining what she looked like naked.

  She gave him answers tonight. Part of the mystery he expected to leave alone only intensified with her breasts staring him in the face. He raised his gaze. Her face wiped clear of makeup, only looked more open to him. She had her hair pulled back and up, leaving her slim neck bare. His gut tightened, and a truth he wasn't even aware of had him reaching out.

  He'd go through her fucking obstacle course to have a relationship with her, future or no future.

  He hooked her neck and brought her to his chest. She trembled, and that sign of strength bowing and crumbling in front of him slowed him down.

  "What's going on?" he whispered, kissing the top of her head.

  She raised her chin and pulled back. He let her go. She hesitated and then crossed her arms, hiding her breasts. "Someone is, um, giving me a warning. A gang. That's what the police think."

  "What kind of warning?"

  Her lips pursed. "A blue bandana. They put one on my car at the police department at the beginning of the week. Then, an hour ago, another officer noticed a blue one hanging on the stop sign at the corner when he was patrolling the neighborhood. Lieutenant Gomez claims it's from a Tigres member. They place warnings by—"

  "I know what it means." He rubbed his jaw. "Do you have any connection to a member?"

  She gawked, turned away, and thrust her hands in her mess of hair. "I can't believe you're asking me that."

  "It's a legitimate question," he said.

  She whirled around. "Why are you even here? Why am I telling you any of this?"

  "Gomez mentioned it to me."

  "You made your choice not to have the kind of relationship I'm looking for." She glared. "The P.D. is taking the reports, trying to find security recordings of who is responsible, and escorting me back and forth to work. I don't need you."

  "Bullshit."

  Her head snapped back. "I've seen you three times in my life, Thad. I don't know what you think—"

  "I think you've got a hell of a complex and for reasons I don't know, you're going to throw the same shit at me that I throw at every woman I meet. Except, I'm not throwing it at you. From the start, it was different with you." He lowered his voice. "I take care of people I care about, and you can tell me I don't have the right to care about you, that's your right. But, it doesn't mean shit to me. I'm not listening."

  "I don't know what you mean," she said.

  "It means, I agree to the fucked-up rules you threw at me. From right now to when I can change your mind about how you view us, you're mine. That means, I'm yours. No other man is going to have you. That includes Gomez." He walked to her hallway. "Now that it's settled, I can stay here, or you can come home with me. But, you're not staying alone while you have a target on your back."

  She stumbled away from him until she found the chair and sank down. "You're suggesting we move in together?"

  "No, but until I figure out who is after you, I think it would be smart if you stayed at my house." He flexed his fingers and realized he still had on his riding gloves. Pulling the leather off each finger, he stuffed the pair in his pocket. "Tigres won't touch what belongs to me. I have connections inside the gang, and I can ask some favors to find out who is behind the threats and have them removed. Until then, I want you at my place."

  "How long will it take for you to make them stop?" She ran her hand over her forehead and along the top of her hair.

  "I need to go on a run tomorrow with the club." He pulled out his phone and put a text out to Notus. Lena was officially under their protection. "I can get started on Sunday. Give me a week to work something out with them. It depends on how tight they become when confronted and how hard it'll be to get answers and work out negotiations."

  "You're going to give them something to stop them coming after me?"

  He nodded. "Not your worry. I can get it done."

  "I can't believe this is happening." She bent at the waist and cradled her head. "The police promised to find the person. I don't need you...a biker to bring more crime to me."

  "The police can't go where I'll need to go. It'll be easier and quicker if I do it." He looked up from his phone before sliding his cell into his pocket. "It's up to you. You can let Gomez do his job or let me take care of business."

  "Are you doing this to sleep with me?" She sprang out of the chair. "This feels wrong, and I'm tired, and I never expected you to show up, and it's like I've been living a nightmare this week. First you, and then a gang. I can't deal with decisions right now."

  He approached her and turned her around toward the hallway. "Pack a bag. Keep it small, because I have my motorcycle. I don't want your car coming out of the garage until I decide how I'm going to move forward."

  "It makes more sense to let the police do—"

  "Who do you think sent me over here?" said Thad.

  "Lieutenant Gomez?" She shook her head. "I can't believe this."

  "Believe it tomorrow." He patted her ass. "We'll figure it out after you've slept."

  She walked toward her room, sliding her feet. He captured his breath in his lungs and stared after her. Lena disappeared into her room, turning on the light. He exhaled heavily.

  There.

  He'd made a decision about Lena. Somehow, he'd agreed to her messed up idea of a relationship all in the name of protecting her. He should feel guilty. He should feel...

  Fuck, he had no idea how he felt, except it was the first time all week that he could take a breath without feeling as if everything was coming down around him.

  Lena returned to the living room carrying a backpack and wearing jeans and a jacket. He studied her face. Along with covering up her body, she'd wiped any emotion off her face while in the other room.

  That defensive position she took when she couldn't get her way would stop now that she was with him. He wouldn't allow it. She needed to remain open with him.

  "Ready?" he asked.

  She walked to the door. "I might need to come back for some more things over the weekend."

  "Not a problem. We'll work everything out." He led her outside, locked the door, and put her on his motorcycle.

  Having her at his back lasted shorter than he wanted when he pulled into his driveway ten minutes later and led her inside and upstairs to his room. She glanced behind her to the hallway without voicing the question in her eyes. He had a spare room, but she wasn't going to sleep there.

  He put his phone on the nightstand. "It's after midnight. Get some sleep."

  "Bathroom?" she asked.

  He pointed, and she left the room. Stripping off his Notus jacket, he took off his boots, his clothes, his boxers, and dropped into bed. Wayne wanted all Notus members on the road at six o'clock in the morning. He needed to get some sleep if he was going to ride.

  Lena returned to the room. Her footsteps stopped at the door because he'd shut off the light.

  He rested his forearm on his forehead and kept his eyes closed. "Walk straight in. You'll feel the bed. You'll be sleeping on the far side, nearer the wall."

  "Like this isn't awkward, Thad." Her voice came louder the closer she got to the bed. "Do you expect me to fall on your dick now that you've made up your mind...and only because you think you can help me with that gang that wants to hurt me? If none of this would've happened, you wouldn't have agreed to have a relationship based on sex with me. Remember, you were the one who turned me down and then left me."

  Her hand bumped into his covered feet, and then the mattress dipped and jostled as she climbed from the foot of the bed to the top and slid
under the blankets.

  Lena stilled. He tried to relax having her in bed, but his cock had hardened at the first sign of the bed moving. Ignoring his problem, he went through the information Gomez handed him, and Lena added on to. Tigres wasn't a group to fuck with on their turf. He'd worked with them in the past when searching for missing persons. Their word meant nothing unless they received something in return. He only had to figure out what Notus had that Tigres would want.

  Lena sighed. "You're an asshole," she whispered.

  "An asshole that's going to take care of you." He rolled away from her to his side.

  He rather have her mad at him and alive than finding out she'd been hurt and killed.

  Chapter 11

  Sixty-seven.

  Sixty-eight.

  Sixty-nine.

  Lena strained, curling her abdomen, and touched her elbows to her knees. Seventy.

  She unlatched her hands from behind her head and let her arms fall to her sides. No matter how many times she tried, she could never do more than seventy sit-ups at one time.

  Groaning, she pushed to her feet and grabbed the towel she'd set on the coffee table. She wiped her face, knowing she couldn't use one more exercise to pass the time. Her muscles had called it quit ten minutes ago.

  The doorbell rang. She lowered the towel and looked around Thad's house. Was she supposed to answer his door when he was gone?

  "Lena?" yelled a man.

  Goosebumps covered her arms despite her sweaty condition. The person knew her name.

  She walked over to the window and peeked outside. An older man and woman stood outside holding a wicker basket. There was nothing threatening about them. They were probably in their seventies. The man wore a Chevy American T-shirt with black jeans. The woman's colorful jacket complimented her short, gray hair.

  The man shrugged at the woman and knocked on the door again. Lena hurried over and leaned against the wood.

  "Who is it?" she asked.

  "We're Thad's parents. He wanted us to bring some food over for you," said the man.

  She ducked her head and grimaced. It'd be rude of her to tell them to go away, and she was starving. Most of Thad's food was in his freezer. His refrigerator was stocked with beer, Gatorade, and milk. She'd settled for toast with butter for lunch because of the few easy choices.