Page 26 of Fox (Road Rebels MC 4)
“So, The Road Rebels or whoever the fuck you are, decided to stop illegal activity, and you just decided you weren’t gonna have it? And now I have to pay for it!?”
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I let my greed get in the way. I let things in my life cloud my judgment, and now everyone around me is paying for it. But if you let me protect you like I know I can, when this is all do, I’ll let you go. You can leave me behind, and I won’t stop you. You can report me to the police, and I won’t try to fight it. Just let me guard you for now until I can fix this.”
I turned around and looked back at him, taking in his haggard form. His shoulders were hunched, and his eyes were empty. He was no longer the strong man I’d allowed inside of me earlier. He was vulnerable. Worried. Aching deep inside and exposed like a raw nerve. I shook my head and bit the inside of my cheek as I clenched my fists at my side.
I was irate, but I was also in trouble.
I believed him when he said that.
“Where would we go?” I asked.
“What?”
“If I went with you, where would we go?”
“To the club’s lodge. We’re all holed up there right now, trying to stay safe. And you wouldn’t be the only woman there. You’d have people to talk to. People outside of the group that understands the position you’ve been put in.”
“So, your group makes a habit of this,” I said.
I heard him sigh as I shook my head. I couldn’t believe this was happening. What the hell was I supposed to do? I had a job to work. Clients that relied on me. An apartment to upkeep and pay for. Bills to take care of. I couldn’t just take Fox at his word and have him whisk me away to some super-secret lodge filled with people I didn’t know.
What kind of woman did he think I was?
“You can hate me all you want,” Fox said, “but you’ve gotta let me protect you. I’m not leaving here without you.”
Chapter 23
Fox
Harlow was furious, and she had every right to be. She didn’t believe me, even with all the doubts I knew were swirling around in her head about her father. She was frustrated. Mistrusting. She was throwing up walls even as I looked down at her angry form. She was pacing up and down the hallway of her parent’s home, red in the face and ready to throw punches with those delicate hands of hers.
But I had to get her out of here.
She had to be safe.
“I know you have no reason to believe me-”
“I sure as hell don’t,” Harlow said. “I thought you liked me, Fox. Really, actually liked me.”
“I do,” I said.
“No, you fucking don’t! You just stood right there and said you were trying to get to me because of my father! What the hell am I supposed to do with that!?”
“Things changed, Harlow. They morphed. Things never morph with me, but this did. And I don’t know why, but I care about you. And I’m not leaving here until you’re on the back of that bike with me.”
“I’m not in danger. If anything, I’m in danger because you keep associating with me. Leave me the hell alone, and all of this will go away.”
“Harlow, look at me.”
She shook her head, turning her back towards me as her long, flowing hair ruffled around her shoulders.
“Harlow, please.”
I’d never begged in my life. It was not in my nature. If people didn’t wanna listen, that was their shit to contend with. It wasn’t my responsibility to make them see my worth in something, it was simply their responsibility to trust me.
But I would’ve done anything at that moment to get Harlow’s eyes locked with mine.
She slowly turned around, taking in the way I was pleading with her. I saw her beautiful eyes come into view, their shining light locking with my darkness. I watched her stiffen, drawn to me in the mysterious way I was drawn to her. Harlow fully turned her body towards me, even though I could still see that fight raging on behind her gorgeous eyes.
“I know you don’t have a reason to believe me on my feelings, and even though I know you doubt your father right now, you still don’t have a reason to trust me on that. But I know you trust me on this. Your life is in danger. Real, present danger. And I can protect you from that. But you have to come with me. You cannot stay here a minute longer.”
I watched her falter as her shoulders relaxed. I knew if she looked at me, she would cave. She was that kind of woman. She could stand her ground until she was open with someone. Vulnerable. And I had to capitalize on that.
If that were the only way to save her life, then I would take advantage of that weakness in her.
“Can I take my car?” I asked.
“No, you have to ride with me.”
“Why? So, I don’t escape?”
“No, so if the people tracking you see your car here, they’ll assume you’re here,” he said. “They won’t come looking for you that way. It’ll throw them off for a few days.”
“What about my parents?”
“Your father and your mother will be fine. These people aren’t after them. They are after you. Because you mean something to me.”
“I don’t have any clothes,” she said.
“We’ll get you some. You can wear mine. I’m sure I’ve got boxer shorts and t-shirts that’ll fit you just fine.”
“You’re massive. They’ll swallow me whole.”
“But you won’t be naked.”
“I thought you enjoyed me that way.”
I saw the brief presence of a glimmer of playfulness in her eye. I felt my back tense as my cock began to pulse to life. I drew in a few deep breaths through my nose as we stared at one another, fighting between slapping the other and kissing the other. Harlow backtracked into the kitchen and grabbed her purse, then jogged to the stairs before she started up them.
“Harlow?” I asked.
“I think I’ve still got a few things here. Let me grab a bigger purse so I can take some things with me, then we’ll go,” she said.
Ten minutes later, she emerged at the top of the stairs. I could see a few articles of clothing sticking out of a purse that was big enough to be a carry-on bag for a fucking airplane. She left a note for her mother saying she had a work emergency she needed to tend to. That one of her co-workers picked her up and that she would be back in a few days to get her car, then we headed towards my bike. I drove off as fast as I could, my eyes keeping watch for anyone that might be following us.
And I reveled in how tightly Harlow’s arms wrapped around my waist.
I knew the guys at the lodge would be pissed. My phone was still off, and they had probably sent out a fucking search party for me. The closer we got to the lodge the more my heart hammered against my chest. This was it. This was the moment I would have to come clean on everything. On Harlow. On the information on her father.
On my dealings with the KG9’s.
I had no idea what Mac was gonna do. I didn’t know if he would beat my ass, strip me of my membership, or toss me to the dogs. At the very least, I would lose my status within the club. I’d no longer be part of a core group I’d been elected to over the past two years. I gripped the handlebars of my bike as hard as I could as we rode up to the parking lot of the lodge.
And before the two of us could dismount my bike, they were all slamming out of the lodge.
“Where the fuck have you been?” Mac asked.
“Your fucking phone’s off,” Snake said.
“What the hell is all this bullshit?” Hawk asked.
“Holy fuck, is that Harlow?” Talon asked.
I felt her clinging to my leather jacket. I moved her behind me, trying to shield her from the barrage of anger and questions. Their faces were red, and their eyes were demanding answers as they tried to look around my body. I could feel Harlow trembling, her grasp getting tighter and tighter as my hands wrapped back around her.
Making me vulnerable to whatever punches the guys decided to throw.
“Let’s get insi
de and let me get Harlow set up, then I’ll explain everything,” I said.
“I want some fucking answers now,” Mac said.
“Then let’s start with this. Harlow’s life has been threatened. You want information about her dad, we keep her safe,” I said.
I felt her body trembling as the guys looked around at one another. Their postures softened, even though their fists were still balled up. I ushered a shaking Harlow into the lodge, maneuvering her to my room. Sydney was there to take her things and help her get settled while Laiken kept giving me these knowing glances.
The girls knew why she was here.
Now I had to update the guys.
“What the fuck is going on?” Snake asked. “Why the hell did you storm out of here so quickly? And why the fuck’s your phone off?”
