Chapter Four

Awareness slowly filtered through Leia's mind, rousing her from dreams. She cracked one eye open and squinted at the light. She hated mornings. Had always been a night person. It was why she was happy to get the overnight bar cleaning job. Denim greeted her field of vision and caused the other eye to open, and that's when she realized a jean-clad leg was her pillow. She had fallen asleep sitting next to him. How the hell did she end up using his thigh for a pillow?

He lay with his head back, mouth slightly open. As she snapped into an upright position, the handcuff still linking her to Brim jangled. He woke, sitting up and wincing. Reaching up with his free hand, he rubbed the back of his neck. Bringing her arm with his, stretching her closer to his face. The nearness was suddenly too much. She became acutely aware of the hardness of his body. His impressive muscles flexing against her softer ones. When her heart fluttered a little, she frowned at the unexpected sensation. She refused to become a victim of Stockholm Syndrome. The man was a beast, and she couldn't wait to get away from him.

Then she remembered their deal. Five thousand dollars to get him back to his club and warn him if someone was going to kill him. Fine. She could do that for a few days. Then she'd head back to her life, plead her case with her boss Clint, and be five thousand dollars richer. Not bad for a week's worth of work.

"I don't know about you, but I'm too fucking old to fall asleep on an uncomfortable couch," he muttered. "Damn. I've got a horrible crick in my neck."

Leia held up her cuffed wrist. "Take these off. I've got to pee."

He squinted one eye at her.

"I'm not going to run away," she said. "You're paying me to save your life and I'm going to collect that bounty."

He sighed and reached into his pocket to dig out the key. With a deft move he unlocked the cuffs and she immediately stood up, rubbing the slightly red patch of skin circling her wrist. Without another word, she turned and left.

The outhouse was just as horrid as she remembered. Maybe a little worse in the daylight. She couldn't wait to get back to civilization so she could flush a toilet. And bathe in a tub. Her belly rumbled and she hoped he had food in the cabin.

When she stepped out of the outhouse, he waited once more with hand sanitizer. Leia held out her palm and he squirted some gel onto it.

"We have to get breakfast in town," he said.

"Did you read my mind?"

"You've got the supernatural powers, not me."

She rolled her eyes. "Do your business then let's roll."

A little time later they headed away from the cabin toward a town she'd never known about. Leia held on for dear life, once more wrapping her arms around Brim. He had put his helmet on her, riding without one himself. The forest raced by them until they reached the main road, and then it only took about ten more minutes before they arrived at a diner. He cut the engine and this time when she dismounted her knees didn't threaten to buckle. Still, she held onto his arm for a moment to make sure she was steady. Brim slipped an arm around her waist, and she glanced up at him. Her heart fluttered once again. Through the visor, she glanced at his lips, and she inadvertently wondered how he would kiss. Rough? Demanding? Passionate? She tried to swallow, but her mouth had gone dry, and she noticed he was slow to release her.

Leia pulled off the helmet and Brim stored it on his handlebars before taking her hand. She tried to pull away, but he held firm. That one little contact had butterflies dancing in her belly, much to her annoyance. She was acting like all the dumb girls she read about in books, and she kept reminding herself he wasn't a good man. He had admitted to killing a man, which should have terrified her, plus he was in a motorcycle club.

Yet when he looked at her, when he held her, it was with a tenderness that surprised her. It belied his tough exterior. She had no misconceptions about their relationship, for lack of a better word, and once they ferreted out the so-called assassin, she was out of there.

"Stop frowning," he said.

"I prefer you not to touch me," she muttered, pulling her hand out of his.

"Sorry, darlin'. I was making sure you weren't going to yell for help."

"I told you I won't run. We have a deal."

He walked away, leaving her to follow, and she took a deep breath to steady her nerves before following. He waited until she slid into a booth before sitting, just as a waitress came over. They ordered breakfast and before she left gave Brim a wink.

"Girlfriend?"

"Jealous?" he asked.

She snorted derisively. "Absolutely not."

"If I had a girlfriend, I wouldn't be here with you. I'd be with her."

"Whatever," she said, shrugging, not believing him. No way would a man like him be faithful to one woman. It wasn't in a biker's nature. "So, are you one of those outlaw clubs? What do they call it … the one percent?"

"Where did you hear that term?"

"Duh. Charlie Hunnam, remember? Well, are you?"

"I'm not going to answer."

"By saying that, you've already confirmed. I hope you don't deal in trafficking women or kids. That's a hard no for me."

He sighed. "No, we don't deal in trafficking people. Man, woman, or child. My club is a little different. Satisfied?"

"Drugs?"

"Not your business."

"Weapons?"

"Drop it."

The waitress came back with coffee. While Brim drank his straight black, Leia put sugar and cream in hers until it was a nice light brown color.

"I see you like a little coffee with your creamer," Brim said.

"Coffee has an acidic taste for me. I like to diffuse that."

"Obviously."

She laid down her spoon and took a sip, smacking her lips. "Excellent."

Brim stared at her lips for a moment before locking gazes with her. For a moment, the world faded. A current zinged between them, and her heart took off racing like a Thoroughbred. She reached up to rub the area on her chest. Whatever was happening, she didn't like it, and with a considerable amount of force, broke eye contact. Breathing heavily, she collected herself.

The waitress came back once more to deliver their food. Brim murmured his thanks and Leia used the distraction to fix her eggs and pancakes how she liked. They ate in silence, and she reminded herself why she was there. She needed to treat him like a job and ignore everything else. Clearing her head, she used the time to begin to formulate a plan to introduce herself to his club. The most obvious way immediately sprung to mind, and as much as she tried to dismiss it, she couldn't think of another logical reason why Brim would bring her back to his club.

"I have an idea about how to explain me to you club," she said, once she finished eating and sat her fork down.

"I'm listening."

"We need to know things about one another."

"Like what's your favorite color? Or … if you hate spiders?"

"Something like that. Red, by the way, and yes. Who, in their right mind, would actually like spiders?"

"Epidemiologists? Arachnophiles?"

She ignored that. "Since we need to establish my identity in your life—"

"Your identity?" Brim pushed his plate away and sat back, sipping his coffee.

"We're going into a den of lions who wants to topple the king. You bring me in without a cover story and no one is going to talk."

"You've got a point," he said. "I take it you came up with a cover story?"

Leia nodded. "The girlfriend talk gave me an idea."

"Let me guess. You'll be my new girlfriend?"

"It fits. That way you can protect me like you vowed and will negate them from thinking I'm… What do you call the girls? Club pussy?" She waved her hand dismissively. "Being your girlfriend will make your men accept me so I can watch them."

He pursed his lips. "You watch a lot of television, don't you?"

"What? You don't think the potential assassin won't be immediately suspicious that you return right after the attempt on your life? And you show up with an outsider? Let whoever it is think your enforcer simply didn't get a chance to fulfill his task."

"All right, I'm game. You're my new old lady."

Satisfied, Leia relaxed. "So, we need to learn about each other. What's your full name?"

"Brimstone Jandreux. Somewhere down the line I obviously had a French ancestor. Forty-five. Birthday is July thirty. My favorite color is black. That about sums it up?"

"That's a good start. Any family?"

Brim tensed, looked away. "I have a mother. Her old man is in another club called The White Death."

Leia sensed he was hiding something. "That's your whole family?"

"Other than my club brothers, yes."

"Brim—"

"That's it, Leia," he snapped, glaring at her. "No one else. What about you?"

"No one," she replied quietly. "I horrified my parents with my little magic trick. They thought I was possessed by the devil, because I told them repeatedly about the shadow of death I kept seeing. Shipped me off to a religious school that was little more than a cult. They ended up dying in a car crash not long after and then I was shuffled into foster care."

"That's rough," he said.

She shrugged. "Now I realize that the irony is if they had kept me around, I could've warned them. I might have realized sooner that you could cheat death."

"Parents aren't infallible," he said softly. "Maybe they thought sending you away was better for you than they were. We just want the best for our kids."

She didn't miss his use of the word we. It made her want to question him more, but a shutter came down over his blue eyes, and his jaw hardened. He folded his arms over his chest, and she had the feeling he had just erected a wall.

"I think that'll do," he said.

"What are you talking about? We just scratched the surface."

"Leave it, Leia."

"This isn't going to work if you keep fighting me. You know what we need to do?"

"I'm suddenly afraid."

"We need to visit your mother."

He immediately shook his head. "Oh, hell, no."

"Why not? Your mom could help us sell we're a couple."

"We're not a couple, Leia."

"I know that, and if we show up at your club, everyone else is going to know that, too." Now that she suggested it, Leia liked the idea. "We definitely need to visit your mom."

"You have no idea what kind of hell you'll put yourself in."

"If she hates me that much, we can tell her what's going on. How bad can it be?"

He pointed at her. "Remember those words."