Exquisite Redemption (Iron Horse MC Book 3) (11 page)

He called me his queen.

My temples throbbed and I raised a hand to the back of my head, probing the goose egg there where I’d been pistol-whipped.

“Why,” I bit back a wince as I probed the wound, my hair all matted with dried blood and super nasty, “do you have a Spanish accent and yet you look like a really tanned Swedish guy?”

Humor danced in his eyes and I realized it had gotten bright enough that I could tell their true color, a blue so deep it was almost black, midnight blue in the truest sense of the words. Add to that the thick lashes framing those amazing eyes, along with his light copper skin, and you had a supremely hot man. The tense lines around his eyes eased a bit and he gently ran his scarred and tattooed knuckles down my cheek, leaving tingles in their wake.

“First-generation American,” he said with a small smile, “on my father’s side. He was Mexican, a professional dirt bike racer. My mother’s a lovely Texas lady who runs catfish tours. Spent the first six years of my life down in Mexico before we came back to the States with my dad. He passed away few years back, and my mom still works ’cause she loves her job.”

Blinking, I cocked my head to the side and grinned. “Your mama runs catfish tours?”

“Yep, her name’s Mouse. She’ll like you.”

“What?”

“She’ll like you ’cause you saved my life, and ’cause I like you.”

“Did you hit your head too hard?”

Smiling down at the phone while he sent another text, he murmured, “Boys are on their way. ETA fifteen minutes.”

He stared at my lips and I thought, despite our mutual battered state, he might kiss me, but the phone rang and Beach looked at me with a raised, blood-flecked dark blond eyebrow.

“Your dad is calling.”

Chapter 5

Carlos
“Beach”
Rodriguez

I
watched Sarah closely as she answered the phone, wondering if it was just a coincidence her daddy was checking in on her.

With a huff and an eye roll that made her momentarily appear younger, less jaded, she answered the phone. “Delta six eight breaker times two I’m happy-dappy Daddy-o, now calm the heck down. It’s not good for your heart.”

Baffled, I wondered if she had a concussion, but her pupil response was normal and she seemed coherent. Still, it worried me and I examined her closer, noting the line between her eyebrows deepening as a man yelled hard enough through the phone it made her wince. Caller ID had said “Dad” calling, but now I was wondering who the fuck was going off on her.

“Put Mimi on,” she said in a tight voice. “No, I’m not listening to you when you’re like this. I get you’re scared, and I appreciate you telling me that—your honesty really shows you’re working hard with your therapist, but that does not excuse you for losing your shit. Now put Mimi
on
.”

Well, it didn’t look like she’d have a problem standing up to her dad.

Made my life easier to know my woman could handle herself, not that I’m gonna let anything touch her. Easiest way of that happening was her coming home with me. For a moment I considered she might balk at going anywhere with me, past few hours haven’t been good, but I’d treat her so nice she’d never want to leave.

My lower back ached and, fuck, between getting shot, then knocked out, Tasered, then tossed around the back of a fucking van, I was running on fumes and needed my boys to get here quick.

Sarah sat up straighter and touched her side with a grimace. “Hi, Mimi, what the hell is going on?”

For a moment she was quiet, then her expression went downright pissed. “That asshole! He promised me, swore, that he wouldn’t put any trackers on my phone.”

Trackers? What the fuck kind of father put trackers on a phone? I mean, if I had a daughter as pretty as Sarah, I’d do the same, but it made me rethink my first thought that Sarah came from some nice, normal home in suburbia. Then again, no girl who spent most of her teenage years in the mall spending her dad’s money could take out the two men in the van with the efficiency that she did. I hadn’t been able to see much due to my bound position, and it happened fucking fast, but I had a few clear seconds of watching her snarl as she ended a man’s life. Savage and so sexy it made me fight my cock getting hard.

My brain was still addled from being knocked around, but I was chagrined to realize I’d been so blinded by her beauty that I hadn’t looked too far beyond her sweet and spicy exterior.

I wasn’t going to underestimate her anymore.

“It was just an app?” She looked slightly mollified, then stiffened. “Yeah, my ribs hurt like a bitch. I’m okay, but Beach was shot in the leg and probably hit over the head like I was. And I think he might have racked his back pretty good. Yes, I said his name is Beach. He’s a biker.” Even I could hear her dad yelling through her phone. “Tell Dad to calm down, Beach took a bullet meant for me. I owe him, so I’m not going anywhere without him. Yeah, there was a riot at this huge biker party and he fought his way through the crowd to get to me.”

I liked the way her expression softened before she said, “Mimi, I’m okay. Seriously. Dad has a friend on the way and Beach says his guys are coming. I’ve got my knife and he’s a good guy. No, seriously—he is. Look, I had a flashback and he pulled me out of it…I know.”

Trying to keep my interest hidden, I pretended to check over my injuries, wondering if she was talking about her freak-out back when we were in that holding cell. She’d been terrified, so completely undone that her body had radiated her fear, making my instincts roar for me to protect her. I’d never felt anything like it and I’d been desperate to somehow take away her terror. Thank fuck she’d responded to me.

“Yeah, touch therapy worked…he held me and made me feel safe.”

Something eased deep in my gut at her words, a sense of rightness.

She frowned, then looked up and scanned the area, blood still drying on her arms and face. “Shit. Okay, Beach isn’t in good shape but I’m going to get us deeper into the brush. Tell whoever is coming out on Dad’s behalf to give me warning that they’re in range or they’ll end up with a knife between their eyes.”

She said a few more words, but I was trying to bite back a groan of pain as I stood with the help of the rock and tested out my leg. It had started bleeding again after I’d hit it when the van crashed and Sarah was right, we needed to get under some kind of cover, but the vegetation really was sparse. My respect for her grew as she got me into a firm hold and helped me move as quickly as possible. I could feel the hard muscles of her shoulders shift beneath her silky skin as we made our way across the rocky dirt. In an attempt to take the worry out of her eyes, I gave her a light squeeze then kissed a part of her head where her hair wasn’t matted with blood.

“Anyone ever tell you you’re the most beautiful thing they’d ever seen?”

Her pale blue eyes cut to mine and some of the tension left her full pink lips. “Sweet-talk me when you’re not bleeding.”

We didn’t make it very far before we had to stop so I could catch my breath. Even though squatting clearly pained her, she knelt before me and whipped out her knife, quickly slicing my jeans so she could look at where I’d been shot. Her touch was light, but it hurt as my adrenaline began to fade. I looked down and watched her slender fingers gently examine me with a distracting grace.

“You have a nice slice, maybe a little bit of muscle damage, and you could do with some stitches, but you’re not going to bleed out on me. That would be inconvenient. Plus my dad would never let me live it down, a man dying on my watch.”

Not sure if she was joking or not, I sucked in a long breath then stood again. “I’m takin’ it your dad isn’t a suburban dentist or some shit, is he?”

Standing slowly, she lifted her chin to the left. “There’s a thicket of bushes, if we get in there we’ll be cool.”

I nodded and we moved again, each step sending a wave of hurt through me, but I sucked it up and tried to put as little pressure as possible on Sarah. I noticed the way she favored her side and I hated that I couldn’t immediately fix this situation. We settled into the bushes and I grabbed her phone, sending the guys a quick text about where we were, and that we were injured.

As soon as it was sent she grabbed it back and quickly dialed someone’s number. “Gotta call to make sure they don’t think I’ve been abducted.”

A big smile lit her face, but didn’t reach her eyes as she talked. “Hey, sugar, I’m hooked up with a biker hottie and I’m gonna hang out with him for a little longer. You know, my last hurrah before I enter the real world. This guy is so good I need another night or two of being bad. Might even take him down to Cozumel with me.” She gave a fake laugh that was totally at odds with her pained expression after listening for a few moments. “Huge. Yeah. Like Long Dick Dong.”

I rubbed my face as I tried to get my leg into a more comfortable position, keeping an ear open for company even as she chatted like she was layin’ in the fuckin’ sun somewhere with a margarita in her hand and a dental floss bikini.

“Just bring my stuff home with you and handle any business crap that comes up. I’m gonna hop a flight tomorrow to go visit my dad for a few days before returning home, you know how crazy he gets if I don’t check in. Maybe after that I’ll head down to Houston to see Swan.” She winced when I put some pressure on her ribs, but allowed me to feel for anything broken. “I know I’m never home, and I miss you too, but you should be happy you have a nomad for a roommate. Means you never have to put on a bra while you’re at home if you don’t want to.”

Her cheeks lost color as I touched a sore spot and I hated having to watch her in pain. Fucking killed me that I couldn’t heal her. Satisfied nothing was broken, I leaned back and closed my eyes for a moment, exhaustion hitting me hard.

She laughed and this time it had a real feel to it. “Fine, I’ll bring you back those coffee cups you love. Don’t worry about setting me up with a hotel in Houston, I’ve got my ID and credit card with me so I’m good.”

After a long goodbye, Sarah hung up and visibly sagged. I pulled her against me as gently as I could, leaning back on my arms. “Come here, put your head down.”

Her shoulders firmed and she lifted her head slowly. “I’m okay.”

“Just relax. I’ve got you.”

“Beach?”

I glanced down at her. “Yeah?”

“Thanks for uh, holding me and stuff back there. I’m sorry I lost it.”

“Hey, none of that shit. You got nothing to be ashamed of. You saved my worthless fuckin’ life, ain’t nothing weak about you. Nothing.”

“Okay,” she whispered back, soft and sweet, with her big, bloodshot blue eyes staring up into mine.

“Mean it,
mi riena
, I’m gonna change your world for the better, take care of you and treat you right.”

She closed her eyes and placed her forehead on my chest. “Once again, save the sweet-talk for when neither of us are bleeding.”

Looping my arm around her shoulders, I pulled her deeper into my side and she resisted at first, then let out a hitched breath and finally gave me more of her weight. Stroking her blood-and-sweat matted hair back from her face, I rested my head lightly on hers, relishing her warmth. Though she was tall for a woman, she was still small compared to me, the perfect size for me to hold and cuddle.

I placed my lips against her temple. “Gotta say, baby girl, this is a hell of a first date.”

A snort of laughter escaped her before her hand went to her side again. “Don’t make me laugh, it hurts.”

“Sorry, sorry. So you wanna tell me who your daddy is?”

Her body stiffened and she tried to pull away, but I wasn’t letting her go. “Not really.”

“Well, if one of his boys is on his way, it might be a good idea if I knew who I was dealin’ with.”

From nearby came the low hum of chopper blades drawing closer.

A text came through, letting me know Smoke was flying in with a helicopter ride outta here for me and Sarah.

“Come on, it’s my brothers.”

“The helicopter is your brothers?”

“Yep. Need to hustle as much as we can and get airborne.”

She hesitated, “Where are we going?”

“To Denver to rest up, then on to my home in Austin.”

“Uh—no.”

“Babe, you can’t stay here.”

She frowned. “I should wait for my dad’s friend. They’re going to be pissed if I bail.”

“He’d want you safe, right? Well waitin’ for his friend at the still-burning scene of a crime ain’t safe. My men will clean it up and the cops won’t get involved, but we gotta go. He’d want your ass on that chopper.” I caught her gaze and let her know I wasn’t going to put up with any of her bullshit. “Now get over here and let’s move.”

For a half second she paused, then ducked her head and muttered, “Annoying.”

Shoving her shoulder beneath my pit, she took a hitching breath and I knew she was hurting.

I hated to see her struggle, so I tried to take her mind off the pain and found myself being far more honest than I intended. “When I woke up I thought I was gonna find you dead, or worse. You have no idea how much it relieved me just to see you breathin’. Then the way you took those guys out, pure beauty.”

To my surprise, she visibly swelled with pride at my kind of fucked-up words of praise and stood straighter. “Thanks.”

Heartened by this, I kept up a constant stream of compliments to her as we hurried out to the road. One thing good about being on the plains was I could see for miles on either side. There was a dust ploom racing towards us from the direction of the rising sun, and the copter coming from the opposite direction. Thankfully I knew the chopper would make it here first, but I wondered who the fuck was speeding our way.

The big helicopter set down in front of us and the side door opened up as the blades slowed. Smoke appeared and jumped down, running over to us while Vance got out and provided cover with an AK-47. Both of them were deadly and completely capable of protecting us.

Smoke shouted, “Got company coming from the east. Three big-ass black SUVs.”