Everything got worse. The entire place was swimming and spinning. I felt like I was swaying. My body slid sideways and I couldn’t seem to stop it from happening. Two strong arms wrapped around me. A hard body pressed against mine and an earthy smell filled my nose. I tried to get my legs under me, but they felt like noodles. Before I could utter a word, the man lifted me into his arms, carrying me like a bride, and someone else snatched my purse and book from the table.
The fresh scent of the outside air hit me, but my eyes were closed to help keep the nausea at bay.
“I’ll find out who drugged her,” a deep grumbly voice said. “Take her to your place, Outlaw. Keep an eye on her. I want to know who she is and why she’s here. Girl like that doesn’t belong in a place like this.”
Outlaw? What a strange name. And yet the sheer strength of the man holding me made me feel as if an ordinary name would never do for someone like him. I didn’t know how he’d earned that name, but the man speaking seemed to trust him with me. Not that I knew either of them. For all I knew, they would kill me and hide the body. That didn’t seem to be what they wanted of women, though. I thought back to the woman bent over the table, and I wondered if this man would do the same with me.
For whatever reason, the idea didn’t trouble me. If anything, it turned me on even more.
“I’ll keep her safe.” I felt the vibration of his words and realized it was the man holding me. Outlaw is what the other one had called him. It made me giggle the more I thought about his name. Was he like Billy the Kid? Or Jesse James?
“Careful with that one.” The other man’s voice was laced with humor. “Looks like she’ll be a happy drunk, but she might come out of it like a pissed-off honey badger. I’ll check in after I have this shit sorted.”
I heard the door open and loud music pour out before things got quieter again. The man holding me started moving, going down the steps, then I heard the crunch of his boots on gravel. He muttered a curse and something I didn’t quite catch about trucks, but otherwise remained silent. I didn’t have any sense of time but eventually I heard another door open and shut. Where was he taking me? I could open my eyes and find out, yet I didn’t know if my stomach could handle it. I knew I should be terrified, but I couldn’t seem to muster a hint of fear. I just felt… good. Was this what it felt like to be buzzed? I’d heard the girls in church whispering, but I’d never experienced anything like it myself.
Of course, they’d also giggled and whispered about other things too.
“Can you open your eyes, sweet girl?” the man asked.
I fought my eyelids and won the battle, opening them a little. Things were still not quite in focus but I tried to look up at the man holding me. I could see that his hair was a reddish brown, and he had a beard. Nothing else was clear enough at the moment. My eyes slid shut again and I groaned, my head starting to pound.
“Can you tell me your name?” he asked.
“Elena,” I whispered, or tried to. My tongue felt heavy and like it was tied into knots. Even to my ears it didn’t sound right. What was wrong with me?
“I’m Outlaw and you’re safe. No one will touch you or hurt you. Do you want the couch or my bed?” My breath caught and I must have tensed or something. I could almost feel his urgency to reassure me. “Alone. I meant you could have my bed all to yourself.”
I tried to answer, but everything started to feel heavier, like I was being weighed down and pulled under by thick sludge. My mind went blank, and then I was out. Only one thought hit me right before I sunk completely under. I hope he really is nice and won’t hurt me. Or maybe he’ll hurt me in a good way.
Chapter Two
Outlaw
Jesus Christ. The curvy body pressed against me was starting to get a rise from my cock, which was startling enough I nearly dropped her. It had been over four years since I’d had the shit beat out of me and had nearly died. And during that time, I hadn’t gotten hard once. Didn’t matter if one of the club sluts had her tits pressed against me or in my face. A few had even rubbed all over me, and still nothing. The doctors hadn’t found any reason my dick wouldn’t work, but like my hands, it seemed to have been damaged during the attack. Or maybe it was something just fucked up in my head.
Not that I would have done anything differently. Even if I couldn’t hold the simplest of items without a shit ton of pain going through my fingers, or type, for that matter. My days of hacking were pretty much over. I could do some basic digging, but the hardcore stuff I had to hand off to someone else. It was a bit humiliating. I’d never been the level of Wire and Lavender, but I’d held my own. Until now.
The important thing is that I’d distracted the assholes long enough that Wire’s woman was safe. That’s all that had mattered.
I carried Elena to my room and eased her down onto the bed. I flexed my hands a few times, wincing as sharp pain shot through them. Carrying her hadn’t been easy. Not because she was heavy, but because my fingers had been broken in multiple places. Three had even been shattered. They hadn’t healed quite right, but I wasn’t about to have surgery now to try and fix anything. I could still use them, but certain things caused me a good deal of agony. I’d also noticed that after more than a few minutes, my grip would weaken if I was holding something. Holding small objects made my fingers cramp and hurt, and riding a bike was sometimes more difficult, but I wasn’t about to admit that shit to anyone. It made me feel far older than my thirty-six years.
The little Latina in my bed was a pretty thing. Her long, dark hair hung in glossy waves and I itched to touch it. I’d felt it brush against my arm when I’d carried her from the clubhouse. She had curves in all the right places, even if she did look a bit young. I hoped like fuck she wasn’t underage. Not only because I’d gotten hard holding her, but the club could be in some serious shit if we’d let someone not-quite-legal in the gates. I wondered if the shithead on duty had even checked her ID when he let her inside, or if he’d just seen a pretty face and waved her through. We’d had some issues with that in the last several weeks.
I just didn’t know what the hell to do with her right now. It was obvious someone had laced her drink with something, but I didn’t know what, or who. We had some new Prospects, but I’d thought they were vetted. I couldn’t do the job anymore, but I’d asked for some help from Surge and Wizard. Now I was wishing I’d gone to Wire instead. I tried to keep my distance from him and Lavender. Every time that woman looked at me, I could see that she felt responsible for what happened. I didn’t want her feeling guilty over something she couldn’t control.
“I don’t know where you’ve come from, or why you’re here, but I won’t let anyone hurt you,” I murmured to the sexy woman in my bed. She seemed innocent. Sweet. And too damn young for me, not that my body cared.
Heading back to the front of the house, I checked my phone for any messages, then decided to make some coffee. I didn’t know how long it would take Grizzly to sort shit out, but I wanted to stay alert in case anyone came for Elena. She was the fourth woman who had been drugged, and so far, the slippery fucker had evaded us. My money was on a Prospect doing this shit, but it could have easily been anyone at the clubhouse. There were plenty of women up there who were regulars, pretty much all club whores, and those women didn’t like competition.