Boomer Chapter 4

I shoved the paperwork on my desk away in frustration. I couldn't concentrate. Damn it, this had to stop! It was bad enough that my sleep and downtime were messed up, but now, so was my work. What the hell was wrong with me? She was just a woman. There were plenty of those in the world, and I'd met a lot. Why did none of them have the ability to distract me like she did? Hell, she was even starring in my dreams, too.

I could blame it on going to the riding lesson a couple of days ago, but it would be a lie. I'd been struggling since I met Bella over a month ago. She was shaking my conviction that I was brainwashed by my brothers into thinking I didn't want a woman of my own. Fuck it. I was calling it a day. It was close enough to five o'clock for me to leave, and no one would notice. Bullet and Phalanx would be here if anyone needed help.

Locking my computer, I got up and grabbed my jacket before heading out the door to the main work area. I'd tell my two brothers I was leaving, then jet. I found them both in the back working. Phalanx was smithing a gun, and Bullet was talking to him. When they weren't working on things like this, they worked as range safety officers, instructors for our classes, and pretty much anything else I needed. Hell, they even worked as staff in the store if we were in a bind. I did the same. I'd rather do those things than office work, but it had to be done. They were also trained to do the paperwork, but they'd prefer to take a beating than do it, so I rarely asked them.

"Hey, guys, I'm leaving early. Is there anything you need me to do before I go? Any problems I don't know about?"

"Nope, it's all good today. Get outta here. Hope you're doing something fun," Bullet said.

"Nah, just need a break to clear my head. Maybe I'll see you later at the clubhouse."

"If you need to clear your head, why don't you take a ride? It always helps me," Phalanx suggested.

He was right. It would help, and I hadn't taken a long ride in a while. It was still officially winter, although the weather was warming up past the fifties. Our temps were anywhere from mid-forties to mid-sixties, usually this time of year. It could be way worse. I thought of states in the north that were below freezing most of the winter months. No way I'd ever live in any of those. This Florida boy wasn't made for the cold. Texas was as cold as I was willing to get.

"I just might do that. How close are you to being done? Is there anything else you have to do? If not, care to take a ride with me?"

"Actually, this isn't scheduled to be picked up until Friday. There are no more range times or anything scheduled for either of us. Sure, if you think the kids can be left alone," Phalanx said. Bullet snickered, and I grinned.

"I think the kids can be trusted. Let's go. I'll go tell them to behave."

They nodded as I left them to clean up so I could check with the staff. I loved it when we called them the kids. We slipped a few times and said it to their faces, causing them to roll their eyes and grumble good-naturedly. A quick check-in with most of them showed they were good to go. By the time I finished, Bullet and Phalanx were done and had joined me. Waving goodbye, we went out the door to our bikes. We took a minute to confer on where to go. They chose the second option I gave them, and then we were off.

The sun was out, and the weather was great for riding. We were taking a circular route outside of Tenillo. Even though my tension seemed to ease, I kept having thoughts of Bella pop into my head at odd moments. It would take more than one ride to erase her. We rode for over an hour and were close to town on the return route when I realized the route chosen was taking us past her stable. Son of a bitch, why didn't I think of that? I would've altered our course if I'd thought of it sooner.

I was resolved to look the opposite way as we passed, but that was blown out of the water when we came upon it. I had to look, and when I did, I grew alarmed. There was an ambulance, a sheriff's car, and a fire truck parked by the stable. I automatically signaled the guys I was turning off. They followed me. My heart pounded hard as we rode our bikes up to the stable. I didn't waste time getting off mine. I ran toward the group of people.

The sheriff deputy standing outside held up a hand. "Please stay back," he ordered. He was a young guy who didn't look like he was old enough to shave yet.

"This is our friend's stable. We're going in," I barked at him.

I didn't know if it was my scowl, my tone, or the cut, but he didn't say another word, nor did he try to stop us from entering. As we did, I scanned for Bella. Relief filled me as I saw her standing up, appearing okay. On the ground was a middle-aged man who the paramedics were gathered around. I went straight to her. When she saw me, surprise registered on her face.

"Boomer, what're you guys doing here?"

"We were riding by, and we saw this bunch's vehicles. Are you alright? What happened?" I asked as I took her hand into mine.

"I'm fine. It's one of my student's dads. He came to pick his son up and suddenly said he didn't feel good. He complained of chest pain, so I called 911. They're taking him to the hospital to get checked out. Thank you for stopping, but we're good. You should finish enjoying your ride."

"We're almost done with it anyway. It's not a problem. We'll stay just in case," Phalanx told her.

"Okay, if you want. Excuse me, I need to talk to Walker."

I reluctantly let go of her hand. She walked over to the teenage boy standing out of the way. His anxiety was palpable—poor kid. I wondered if someone was coming to get him. I highly doubted they'd let him ride in the ambulance. Even if they would, he should have an adult with him. She was talking earnestly to him and had her arm around his shoulders.

"We need to find out if the kid needs someone to pick him up, or we could take him to the hospital," Bullet muttered.

"I'll ask him. I just want to give them a couple of minutes first."

"Find out if she needs us to stay and take care of anything. I bet she'll wanna go to the hospital too," Phalanx added.

"I will."

I waited a few more minutes, and then I went over to them. The kid gave me an awed look. I held out my hand. "Hi, Walker, I'm Boomer. Those are my brothers, Phalanx and Bullet. Son, do you have someone coming to pick you up? They won't let you ride in the ambulance, I'm afraid."

He shook it timidly. "I called my mom. She's coming to get me."

"Good. Bella, I figure you'll wanna go to the hospital. Do you need us to do anything here for the horses?"

She seemed startled at the offer. "Oh, well, uhm, no, I don't think so. Walker was my last lesson of the day, and I'll do a final check before bedtime. Thank you. Oops, they're getting ready to leave. Let me tell Will not to worry about you, Walker. I'll be back." She hurried over to the gurney, where they were finishing strapping the boy's dad.

I heard Walker snort. I glanced over at him. He was checking me out. "Are you her boyfriend?" he asked out of the blue.

"No, I'm not. Just a friend. Why?"

"Just wanted to know if my dad was about to get his ass kicked."

"Why would I kick his ass?"

"Cause he's got the hots for her. He always insists on bringing me to my lessons and picking me up. He thinks I don't know why."

Instantly, I was unhappy with his revelation. What the hell was a married man doing lusting after another woman? "Doesn't he know it's wrong to want another woman when he's already married?" I muttered, I thought, under my breath.

"Oh, he's not married. He and my mom are divorced. I mean, don't get me wrong, Bella is great, and if I had to have a stepmom, she'd be my pick. I just don't think my dad is the best guy for her. He's kind of an ass."

"Maybe you're wrong, and he doesn't like her that way."

"Oh yeah, he does. You don't know how he looks at her."

This had me watching the two of them closely. Surely, she wasn't into him. As I watched, I noticed she seemed to treat him with concern but nothing more. Switching to his face, I stiffened as I saw what his son had told me. Even in pain, he had an expression that clearly showed he was into her. I had the urge to march over there and tell him to cut it out. It was a few more tense minutes before they rolled him out to the ambulance and got him loaded. She stayed nearby. I wanted to tell her to get away from him.

While they loaded him into the ambulance, a car came racing down the drive. Walker was still beside me when we went outside to watch them take care of his dad. I heard him sigh. "There's my mom. Later."

"Later."

He hurried toward the car. Bella was going the same way. Bullet and Phalanx came over to me. "Who's that?" Bullet asked.

"His mom."

"Damn, hope she doesn't see how her man is acting toward Bella. Hate to see a catfight," Phalanx muttered softly.

I whipped around to stare at him. "According to Walker, they're divorced. How is he acting?"

"Come on, you don't see it? The guy's hurting, and yet he's still checking her over like he'd love nothing more than to have a piece of her. I guess if they're divorced, no harm in it," Phalanx said as he shrugged.

I held in my growl, or so I thought, until they suddenly both chuckled. "What's so funny?" I snapped.

"The look on your face. When are you gonna admit you like her?" Bullet asked.

"I don't like her! I just think it's wrong for someone to flirt with his kid's teacher. The kid totally sees it. He told me his dad likes her."

"We call bullshit. And who could blame him, even if she is his kid's instructor? Bella is hot. I can't believe she's single, honestly," Phalanx added.

"Maybe she's not. We'll have to ask Londyn. If she is single and Boomer doesn't like her for himself, we still have some single guys in the club," Bullet mused.

This got my growl to let loose louder. As soon as it did, I knew I was fucked. They'd never let me forget it. "Fuck off," I told them as they both laughed.

Not wanting to give them a chance to say something where she could hear it, I stomped over to my bike. I didn't bother to say goodbye to her. As I pulled away, I saw her watching me with a frown on her face. My two brothers were saying something to her.

As I finished my ride back to the compound alone, I tried to examine my reactions to not only Walker's dad but also the comment that if I didn't see her romantically, the other single guys at the club would. Would it bother me if they did? What if one of them dated her? What if they ended up together? I got a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach, which was ridiculous. She didn't mean anything to me. I must be reacting to the fact I hadn't gotten laid in a while. That was what I needed to do. It was time for me to find a woman and have a hard fucking. I'd get right on it, and these crazy thoughts would be a thing of the past.

???

Two days later, I still hadn't gotten around to finding female companionship for a few hours. I blamed it on becoming preoccupied with other stuff at work and then caught up at the clubhouse with the guys. Plus, the ladies who liked to hang out at the club usually didn't stop by on Wednesday and Thursday unless explicitly asked to do so. I didn't have any of them on speed dial. I didn't see any of them as special enough to have in the equivalent of a little black book.

Seeing it was Friday night, they'd be there tonight, but I decided I'd go hang at The Hangout instead. There'd be more likely candidates there. I waited until about eleven before I headed over. Our bar would be nice and busy by now. I knew it was likely some of the club members would be there, too, since not everyone was in the clubhouse tonight.

I was right about it being busy. The parking lot was full. I had a helluva time finding a place to park my bike where it wouldn't be knocked into. I walked into loud music and the hum of a large crowd of voices. I almost turned around and left, but my need to forget trumped my need to leave. Glancing toward our reserved section, I saw a few of the guys and their ladies. I went over to greet them first. If I didn't, they'd wonder why. Sitting there was Sin, Lyric, Talon, Lorelei, Lorelei's friend, Jude, Fang, Cami, Daredevil, and Ashes. They all smiled and greeted me back.

"See, you needed to get out of the clubhouse too. Grab a chair and have a drink," Sin said.

I took the seat across from him. I gestured to Ashes. "How did the prospect get a night out?" I teased.

"It wasn't easy. I had to promise a damn kidney and my firstborn," Ashes joked back.

"Is that all? Man, you got off easy," Fang told him.

"He did," Sin agreed.

I let the conversation flow. The music was good, and it didn't take long for a waitress to come to check if we needed drinks. It wouldn't hurt me to have one drink, but no more since I was riding. I ordered a beer. Several minutes later, I was almost done with it and ready to peruse the bar for likely candidates when I heard Daredevil whistle.

I looked over at him. He was staring at the middle of the bar. "Damn, she's looking better than ever tonight. I didn't know that was possible."

I turned to see who he was referring to, and I asked him, "Who?"

"Bella. That woman could lead a saint to sin," he responded. They laughed because he had inadvertently used our president's and vice president's names.

My gaze snapped back to him. Before I could say anything, I saw Ashes nodding, and then he said, "I agree, and it sure doesn't look like we're the only ones who think so. It seems like someone got the nerve to approach her. Let's see if she shoots him down," he said with a grin as he nudged Daredevil's arm.

This got the whole table to turn and stare. I scanned the floor desperately. It didn't take long for me to spot Bella. Daredevil was right. She looked even better, which was hard to imagine. I'd only ever seen her in jeans. Tonight, she was dressed in a dress that accentuated her killer body. She was over by the bar, talking to the bartender, Tobie. I didn't see anyone with her. Where the hell was her date? Who in their right mind would leave her alone? Could it be Walker's dad had finally asked her out? These questions flitted through my head one after the other.

The man Ashes was referring to came sidling up to her like a snake. He put his hand on her arm. She turned to him. I couldn't see her face because he was blocking her. It took everything in me not to get up and go over there to see what he was saying to her.

"I wonder who she's with, all dressed up like that?" Daredevil said. I glanced back at him.

"Whoever he is, he's a fool to leave her alone," Sin stated with a shake of his head.

"Oh shit," Talon muttered as he came to his feet.

My other brothers did the same. I jumped up as I turned back to see what had them reacting this way. She was no longer the only one with the man. Another guy had joined them. He must be her date. He was arguing with the one who was trying to chat her up. It was becoming heated quickly—it was time to shut this down before we had a brawl in the bar. Our chairs were pushed back, and I heard Sin tell Ashes to stay and watch the old ladies, which got him huffs of annoyance from them. I would've done the same in his shoes.

"If you need me, just holler. Otherwise, I'll stay and keep an eye on the ladies, too," Jude said as he stood to put himself between the women and the crowd.

"Thanks, Jude," Talon said.

I was moving away from them. They were taking too damn long, and things were getting more heated. The guys were shoving each other. Bella was trying to push them apart to no avail. Goddamn it, she needed to move back. She was gonna get hurt! I shoved people out of my way. I got to them before any of the bouncers. I signaled to Jackson, the new bouncer who took Jeb's place, that I had it when I saw him pushing his way to them. He nodded and stayed back, but he didn't leave.

People were standing around watching the drama and whispering, well, as close to whispering as they could get over the music. I saw Bella's face twisted up in a snarl, and she yelled back. When I got closer, I could hear what all of them were saying.

"I saw her first. Back the hell off and find your own woman," the first guy yelled at the second one. I saw him waver on his feet. He must be drunk—big surprise.

The second one shoved him, causing him to stumble back against the bar. "Fuck you. She wouldn't go for a guy like you."

"You both need to stop. I said I'm not interested. Grow the hell up and leave," Bella snapped at them.

They ignored her like she wasn't even talking. I heard and saw enough. I walked up behind them. She spotted me, and her eyes grew big. I grabbed each of them by the nape of their necks and squeezed. My hands were big, so they easily allowed me to reach around and press on their carotid arteries. I didn't have to do it super hard to cut down the blood flow or pinch the nerves, which made them unable to lift their arms. Both began to sag almost immediately. I gave each a slight shake.

When I opened my mouth to blast both of them, I didn't know what had taken over, but what came out of my mouth wasn't even on my mind. "You mind telling me why you two are hitting on my woman?" I growled low and mean. As I asked, I used my hands to make them turn their heads toward me.

When they saw me, they paled. I could see it in the dim lighting, so it was drastic. One guy's mouth fell open, but nothing came out. The other did speak. "I-I didn't know she was with anyone. I'm sorry."

"Look at her. Do you honestly think she wouldn't be with someone? Now, I suggest you both call it a night and go home. If you do and don't give me any grief, I won't tear your spines out of your bodies. What do you say? Deal?" I asked, giving them a ferocious glare. The chatty one nodded his head hard. The other guy, the one I suspected was drunk, gave me a bleary-eyed look but didn't respond.

"Brother, you want us to take these two off your hands so you can see to your woman?" I heard Sin ask from behind me. I detected the amusement in his voice. Fuck, I'd never hear the end of it for sure. What in the world made me say she was mine? Knowing I couldn't contradict him or it would negate what I said to the two morons, I let go of them.

Bella watched me with a stunned expression on her face. I pushed between the two idiots and went to her. I wrapped my arm around her and tugged her against me. Playing it for all it was worth now that I was committed, I gave her what I hoped was a loving look as I traced my thumb along her jaw.

"Are you alright, babe? Did they scare or hurt you?"

I wondered if she'd out me, but to my surprise, she didn't. She smiled up at me. "No, babe, they didn't. They were pissing me off because they wouldn't listen to me, and you know how I hate not being listened to. I was about to kick their asses, and then you came along and ruined my fun, spoilsport." She pouted.

I had an overwhelming urge to bite her lip. It took all my control not to do it or to kiss her. Instead, I chuckled. "Sweetheart, you can't keep doing that. Ass kicking is why you have me, among other reasons." I winked. As crazy as it sounded, I was having fun with this.

She threw back her head and laughed. "Yeah, you do have a few other great assets."

"Come on, you two. You're outta here," I vaguely heard Talon say. I glanced over to see him and Fang escorting the guys to the door. Sin was still standing there, watching us with amusement on his face.

"Bella, why don't you join us?" he offered.

She stepped away from me. "Thank you for the invitation, but I'm here with someone." She scanned the area.

My good mood evaporated and was replaced with anger. "If you're here with someone, why the hell didn't he stick close to you? Instead, he let you run around unprotected and then didn't even come to help when other men mobbed you. I suggest you rethink your taste in men," I snarled.

Her pleasant look changed to an angry one. I was taken aback, though, when she pointed her finger at me. "Don't get a pissy attitude with me, Boomer. I didn't do anything wrong. And who said I was out with a man? Even if I was, I don't need one to fight my battles. Thank you very much."

I was stunned. I hadn't gotten a lesbian vibe from her. Disappointment edged in, but I shoved it away. "Well, then, where's your girlfriend?"

"I don't have a girlfriend! God, I came and had a late dinner with Diane. We decided to stay and have a few drinks, not that it's any of your business. She got a call from Sadie, who was staying with a friend, and she had to take it. I should be able to be alone and not be molested by men!" she said indignantly.

"What else would you expect, coming in here dressed like that?" I fired back.

"What's wrong with the way I'm dressed?"

"Shut it," Sin hissed in my ear, but I ignored him.

"It's molded to your body! You're showing the whole bar your body, and you wonder why some guys would think you were up for a good time."

Her gasp of outrage told me I'd gone too far, and I knew it. While her dress did show off her body, it was far from indecent or sleazy. It was just the dress made you want to unwrap her to see what was underneath. Hell, a sleazy one would've probably been better.

"You chauvinistic ass! I guess you think if a woman gets raped, it's her fault because she was asking for it by wearing revealing or sexy clothes."

"I said no such thing!" I denied.

Diane chose that moment to walk up. She looked puzzled, but I saw she was dressed nicely. "What's going on?"

"Nothing. Let's go home. I've hit my quota of assholes for the night," Bella told her as she glared at me. Without another word or giving me a chance to say anything else, she stomped off toward the door. Diane gave us an uncomfortable smile and then hurried after her. I started to follow them, but Sin grabbed my arm. He shook his head.

"Don't. If you try to talk to her right now, she won't listen. You both need to cool off."

"You know that I didn't mean it would be her fault if she was raped."

"I know it, but your remarks kinda made it a good assumption. Come with me."

I went because when your president says come, you do it. He led me back to our table. The others were waiting for us. I cringed to have them hear what was said. The noise was slightly better in our section. He pushed me to sit in my old chair, so I did.

"What happened? Why didn't Diane and Bella join us? Bella looked pissed when she left," Lyric observed.

"She was. Knucklehead over here went from rescuing her to pissing her off. She was about to punch him," Sin said, amused.

"I'm glad you find this funny," I snapped.

"I do, for one reason. You're so determined not to care for her or to admit you want her that you're cutting your own throat. What the fuck is up with you?"

"I don't want her."

"Bullshit," Jude chimed in.

"What would you know about it?"

"I saw the way you were looking at her. You want her bad. Why fight it?"

"She's a friend to an old lady. No way Londyn would be okay with me screwing her best friend and then walking."

"Why does it have to be sex and done?" Lorelei asked.

"Because that's what I do. It's what I want. I don't want to be like the rest of you, settle down with an old lady, and have a couple of kids. I'm perfectly happy as I am."

"Then you're stupid. But if that's what you want, go for it. You're right. Leave Bella alone. She's not a one-night-stand kinda woman. It'll just leave the way clear for the rest of us who do want an old lady," Daredevil said.

Pure fury roared through me. I came bounding to my feet. I glared daggers at him. "Fuck off." Not saying another word, I turned and stormed out. I was done—time to go for a ride and then back to my bed.