He went down the stairs and walked toward the French doors. Just before he stepped outside, her voice echoed through the house. "Roche! Attends! Are you still here?" Panic played on the edges of her words. Warmth radiated throughout his body as he silently walked back to the staircase. She stood at the top of the stairs gripping the bannister, her knuckles white. Her watery gaze scanned his face as she rocked in place.
Stone-faced, he crossed his arms. "Hurry it up."
A slow grin spread as the color slowly came back to her face. She spun around and scurried to her bedroom.
"I got my bike, so don't bring a bunch of shit," he yelled after her.
He figured they'd be back at the clubhouse in a couple hours. I wonder what the fuck Banger's gonna say about this.
He knew his president wouldn't be happy.
And at that instant, he didn't give a damn.
* * *
Frederick opened the door at exactly five o'clock, his gaze turning dark when he didn't see her kneeling on the floor, waiting for him. Anger sizzled inside him and he took long strides into the family room, expecting to see her sitting on the couch. She'd lost track of time before when she'd become too immersed in a book. The family room was empty and an eerie silence blanketed the house.
He ran upstairs calling her name, but there was no answer. When he saw that her small room was empty, he knew she'd left him. Disbelief mixed with raw anger and sadness befell him. He sat on the edge of the bed trying to make sense of what had happened. Frederick pinpointed the restlessness he'd sensed in her beginning when he'd had the outlaw group watch his house. There's something not lining up. I caught her talking to that muscle head in the kitchen, the same one who stopped by our table at the restaurant. Has she left me for him? The idea seemed inconceivable. He could give her the world. Maybe he'd been too hard on her after the incident with the biker in the kitchen. He'd been so angry it'd taken him over an hour to cool down before he'd punished her for her disobedience.
He picked up the phone and dialed her number, but it went straight to voice mail. Maybe she's been hurt. Kidnapped. He rushed downstairs to his office and turned on the monitors, rewinding the tapes to see what had happened. He leaned forward and stared at the screen, the rage creeping through his body threatening to explode. The snowy screen confirmed what he'd known since he'd realized she wasn't there: she'd run off.
We had an agreement. If the cunt wants to break it off, there will be hell to pay.
Frederick had never been the forgiving type, and he had no intention of changing that.
His pet would regret humiliating him like this.
He was bringing her back. And then she would pay for what she did to him: slowly, painfully, until she was hoarse from begging for mercy. His eyes narrowed and his jaw clenched.
He'd take her out of her misery.
He'd choke her until her body crumpled down on the floor in a lifeless heap.
Chapter Nine
Clotille's hair whipped around her face as the Harley sped past evergreens and pine trees. Each curve made her stomach lurch and she buried her face in Rock's back, not daring to look down at the steep drop-offs on the narrow, twisting road where guardrails didn't exist. Every once in a while she'd sneak a quick glance at Rock, whose eyes were fixed straight ahead as he maneuvered the scariest road she'd ever been on. The wind tangled his hair and she longed to run her fingers through it, but she didn't dare release her death grip on him. She closed her eyes again and made herself concentrate on Rock's hard stomach muscles under her hands and his scent of leather, cloves, and earth that filled her nostrils. She'd always thought he was incredibly handsome, but he had matured into a panty-melting hunk. She squirmed a bit on the leather seat as she remembered how powerful his thrusts inside her had been that night they made love in the park when they were teens. How little she'd known about pleasing a man back then.
After forty minutes of terror around the mountain pass, they finally hit a long stretch of road. She breathed a sigh of relief that they'd made it in one piece. Expecting him to take her into town, she was surprised when he turned down a narrow dirt road. They bumped around for several minutes before stopping at a concrete and steel security booth. The man sitting inside waved at Rock, opening the gates so they could ride in.
When she got off the bike, her legs felt like jelly and she collapsed into his arms. He laughed. "Was this your first time on a motorcycle?"
She nodded, loving the way his strong arms felt around her. "It was thrilling, but I never want to drive on that road again."
He smiled, his fingers gently pushing her hair away from her face. "I took a back road for extra security. The road is definitely not for novices. It's even shut down in the winter. You think you can walk now?"
The strength had come back in her legs, but she wanted to stay in his arms. She felt safe in them, and being cocooned by him made it feel like none of the crap she had going on in her life existed, like it'd all been a bad dream.
"So can you?"
His deep voice melted her and she nodded. The minute he let go, she missed his closeness. He took out her small bag of essentials and cocked his head toward a large three-story brick building.
"Where are we?" she asked as she followed him.
"My clubhouse."
"I thought I'd stay in a hotel. I have some money." The truth was she had quite a bit of money since she'd been extremely frugal in spending the monthly stipend Frederick had given her for the past four years. Most of what he'd given her she'd stashed away. Knowing she had money of her own had given her a sense of freedom in her regimented life.
"Too risky. The security at the club is top-notch. There's no way anyone can come in here unless they break through with a fuckin' tank."
She had no doubt in her mind that Frederick would purchase a tank and crash through in order to take her back. She shivered and walked through the door he held open for her.
When they entered, she spotted a few men sitting at the bar and a couple more shooting pool. Hard rock music played in the background. The men's eyes took her in and all at once she felt self-conscious, scared, and insecure about her decision to leave the world she'd known for the last few years. The world where all decisions had been made for her. There had been comfort in that.
An older man grinned at her while he greeted Rock. "Dude. You're back." His gaze slowly ran up her body and she flinched. "Now I know why you went away. Fuck, dude, you got taste." The other men at the bar chuckled, each of them assessing her boldly. Instinctively, she circled her hands around his arm, pressing closer to him.
He laughed at the guys and dismissed them with a wave of his hand. He looked down at her. "Come on. I'm on the third floor." He pulled away from her and clomped up the stairs.
She walked into a room she presumed was his. Posters of barely clad women in various poses on Harleys dotted his walls, along with Cajun folk art paintings. The room was well lit since it was a corner one, sunlight bathing the room in a hot, white light.
"Is this where you live?" She stood by the door, her arms crossed around her.
"Yeah. You can stay here until you figure out what the fuck you're gonna do."
"Have you always lived here?"
"Yeah. Everything I need is close by. I like it."
"It's a big room. Do all the men live up here?"
"The third floor is reserved only for officers. We got a few free rooms up here for visiting officers. The guys who live here have rooms in the basement. The club girls live in the attic."
"Club girls?"
He grinned. "The women who like the protection of the club. We give them room and board and a monthly allowance."
"And what do they do for you?"
"Keep the place clean, cook, and keep us satisfied." He winked.
With a pinched expression, she tugged at the hem of her top. "I can see why you live here."
He raised his eyebrows and chuckled. "It definitely has its perks." He walked over to a short dresser. "I'll clear out a drawer so you can put your stuff in there. I'll crash in one of the empty rooms in the basement."
Panic zigzagged through her. "I don't want to be alone. I'd prefer it if you stayed with me, or else every noise will have me thinking Frederick is busting in." She laughed nervously.
Rock paused and stared at her for a long moment, then blew out a long breath. "Okay. You can take the bed and I'll sleep on the floor."