Brain (3 page)

Several long minutes later, my plan was formulated and I was going through some of the fine points when I heard, “Time’s up.”

“It isn’t about money or territory anymore for the Disciples,” I told him, “but about reputation. They want your territory because you’ve kicked their asses so many times. They worked a deal to bring the cartel in, giving up some income in exchange for the manpower, but then you befriended the head guy before he even moved in, worked a deal, and they
still
don’t get your territory. This next part is speculation, but they’re looking at a way to take you down in multiple cities at the same time, so none of the chapters can send men to help, because they’ll all be too busy at home.”

He looked at me a few seconds and said, “That was too easy. What are your terms?”

Damn, the man was smart, and way too sexy for his own good. What I wouldn’t give to climb on him and fuck him into oblivion right now. Hmmm, wonder if he’d release my feet if that were an option?

Focus
, dammit. This wasn’t a lie-there-and-take-it kind of guy, anyway. I might start on top, but he’d want to end there, and that didn’t work for me.

I shook my head, brought my thoughts back where they should be, and told him, “I have ten more tidbits as good as the last. Things I either know or have deduced. You’ll get one a week until our deal is complete, and if it only takes six weeks to complete, you’ll get the final four as I’m on my way out of town.”

He considered me a moment and said, “I need proof it was the Disciples, and I have some questions I need answered, but if you give me what I need, I’ll take it to Duke.”

Fox came back into the room, sat in a chair, crossed his legs at the ankles, and stared at me as if he were trying to see inside me.

I shook my head and looked back to Wulff. “You have my laptop, that’s where my proof is.”

I spent the next fifteen minutes telling him which folders and files to look in, and kept my eyes averted from Fox. The guy was giving me the heebie-jeebies.

Wulff stood, stretched, and told Fox, “I’m gonna ride to the bottom of the mountain and call in. Watch her.”

“No!” I exclaimed before I thought about it, and when Wulff gave me a questioning look, I crossed my arms and said, “Don’t leave me here with him. Can’t
he
go call in?”

“No, I need to do this one. He won’t hurt you, but he’s pissed because…” He shook his head and repeated, “He won’t hurt you. Just don’t do anything to tick him off while I’m gone and you’ll be fine.”

“Why do you need to go down the mountain?”

Brain shook his head and walked out the door.

Great, he told me not to tick Fox off, but he appeared to have just royally pissed him off by reminding him why he’s mad at me, and then left me with him.
Alone
.

I pulled my legs closer to my chest, wrapped my arms around them, and put my forehead on my knees.

“Don’t curl up in a fucking ball,” Fox sneered. “I’m pissed at you, but he’s right — while you’re cooperatin’, I won’t hurt you.”

My hands touched the rope under the blanket, and I realized with my legs under the covers, I could work on the ropes without him realizing.

I’d watched Brain bind them, though, and I’d have to undo a large portion of the rope before I could work down far enough to get it loose around my toes. If I started and didn’t finish, it would just piss them off.

Sighing, I realized now wasn’t the time, and I brought my hands out from under the covers so I wouldn’t be tempted. I’d build up a little trust, and would make double-dog sure I could succeed next time I tried to escape.

I had a dozen things to say to Fox, but they were all smart-assed comments so I kept my forehead on my knees and didn’t say anything at all.

Brain

I rode my bike partway down the mountain, parked it, and sat on a huge log on the side of the road before placing an encrypted call to Duke.

“She’s gonna take the deal.”

I told Duke what I’d gotten from her already, as well as the ‘one fact or supposition a week’ deal she was willing to make. I sighed as I added, “Bash is scaring her. I know he’s pissed because Dawg was gunned down.” If Dawg were human, he’d be dead — the Disciples had meant to kill him, and without access to our files they wouldn’t have been able to get to him the way they did. I held myself responsible, because I thought our security was good enough. It should’ve been, but Ice had found a way in, and I hadn’t even fucking known she’d been in until Duke realized there was a leak and I scoured the logs.

“I’m not happy with her, either, but I trust your judgment and it seems to have worked. You sure she’ll be loyal, if we hire her in the future?”

I’d never lied to Duke, and wasn’t about to start now. “No, and I’m not sure you should blindly trust my judgment, either. My wolf wants her, Brother. I’ve tried to convince him she’s the enemy, but he doesn’t see it. I convinced her I’d hurt her if it came to it, and you know I’ll do whatever it takes to keep my brothers safe, but…
damn
, Duke. She’s as smart as me, she speaks my language, and she gave me a run for my money for nine damned days. Literally. She was in my sights, running on foot, and still got away from me,
twice
.”

Duke sighed over the phone, was quiet a minute, and said, “Well, fuck. First girl you’ve taken an interest in, and she’s the enemy? Do I need to send someone else to take over?”

“No, she’ll outsmart anyone else and get away. She’s damned smart. I have to stay on my toes to keep ahead of her, even with her tied the fuck up. I fully expect her to be loose and on the run when I get back to the cabin, because Bash has no idea she’s ten times smarter than him. I’m good with it, though, because we’re miles from civilization and she doesn’t know to hide her scent trail from us.”

It was time to ask permission to out them as the RTMC, which wasn’t really outing them, since she’d guessed. “She figured out I’m Brain, and with the RTMC. I’ve avoided confirming or denying, but it’s kind of silly at this point. I’d like to go ahead and tell her she’s got it right, and explain why Bash is pissed at her.”

“You just told me I can’t trust your judgment when it comes to her.”

“You can trust me to tell you what she knows, what she’s likely to do next, how she’s planning to escape, but not whether to trust her. My wolf wants to see the best in her, and I’m starting to, as well.”

“Her motivation was money?”

“Yeah. I’ve been through her laptop, her notes about them, her research — nothing points to her having a personal relationship with any of them. They’re a paycheck, and she was wary of them. They think she’s a boy, and the way she worded her correspondence with them seems to have been carefully planned to keep up the ruse.”

“Okay. Tell her who you are, but Bash gets to decide if she knows his name. I don’t want her at the compound. Are you okay keeping her at your house, or do you want to stay where you are? If you’re close, we can rotate Bash and Dawg — since our boy has to stay out of sight, he can make himself useful helping you.”

“I don’t want Dawg near her. Besides, she doesn’t need to know he’s okay, either. She needs to think he’s injured and needing round-the-clock private care since we couldn’t let him go to the hospital with multiple gunshot wounds without getting LEO involved.”

Duke chuckled, but said, “Okay, good point, but we’ll need to rotate someone in. Bash’ll go crazy if he’s stuck with the two of you for six weeks.”

“Yeah, I can set my basement up, though I’ll need to move all my electronic equipment upstairs. I don’t want her to have access to the internet until we’re done with her.”

Duke’s exhalation sounded like he was relieved. “Thank goodness. You’re still thinking with your brain, not your cock. When do you plan to bring her?”

“Don’t know. Can you make sure the arrangements are in place for Christine’s snow-skiing accident and plastic surgery? I’m debating on whether to let Destiny’s eye be part of her new identity, and say it’s a result of the trauma from the accident, or keep it covered. I should probably get her input on it, before we decide for sure.”

“I’ll handle things on my end. Let me know when you plan to head back. I want to talk to her, get a feel for who she is.”

* * * *

Ice was curled in a ball on the sofa when I returned, and Bash was sitting across the room, staring at her as if he wanted to break her neck, tear her head off, and fuck the hole.

My wolf wanted to throw Bash out of the cabin, and Bash looked up in surprise when he felt my anger across the room.

“What the
fuck
?” Bash asked, his hands curling into a fist.

I shook my head, not ready to explain to Bash how hard I’d fallen for our prisoner, and how badly my wolf wanted to hurt anyone who threatened her. Instead, I told him, “Duke approved me telling her who I am, since she’s already guessed. Said you could decide whether to introduce yourself or not.”

“Oh, yeah, I have no problem telling her my name is Bash and I got the nickname because I’m prone to bashing people’s skulls in,” he snarled. “Or telling her I’m so pissed at her because she got one of my brothers hurt, almost
killed
, by handing our secrets over to our
fuckin’
enemies.”

Ice kept her head on her knees, didn’t look up, but I could smell the distress coming off her. She was terrified, and alone, with two bad guys.

I sighed and stepped to her, wishing I could hold her, take her into my arms to reassure her, but knew, even if Bash wasn’t here, it wasn’t an option.

I stooped beside her, waited for her to look up, and when she finally did, told her, “You were right. I’m Brain. Duke is making arrangements for Christine’s fake snow-skiing accident, and you and I will need to sit down and look through the data from the plastic surgeon, decide what look you want him to give you. We’ll leave here either tomorrow or the next day, and Bash and I need to discuss the best way to transport you. You haven’t used the bathroom in hours, do you need to go?”

She stared at me, unwilling to admit she needed to go. I shook my head, pulled the blanket off her, and was surprised to see the rope hadn’t been messed with.

“I told you this is about trust. I expected you to have removed at least some of the rope by the time I got back. Why didn’t you?”

She shrugged, and I didn’t push it. “Okay, it’s been a long day and you’ve done a lot of talking. You can be quiet a little while.” I lifted her, walked her to the bathroom, and stood her in front of the toilet.

She just stood and looked at me, and after a few seconds I said, “I’ll hold you while you sit. Don’t want you to fall.”

“I’m not peeing in front of you.”

“And since you left the rope alone on your legs, I’ll stand at the door with my back turned. It’s all about trust — you do things to earn it, we’ll reward you by trusting you.”

The more time I spent around her, the less I wanted to be her jailer, but no way was I letting Bash do this. My wolf wanted this woman. The man knew it could never happen, though. Not after I’d taken her captive.

Ice

Brain kept his back to me, and I peed, wiped, and stood, bracing a hand on the wall for balance.

“I’m done,” I told him, my voice soft and meek, which pissed me off, but I couldn’t help it. I wasn’t used to being bested, but Brain had done it.

I was beat, and there was no way around it.

He stood me in front of the sink so I could wash my hands, and when I finished I rotated sideways to face him, my voice harsh and rude now, but anything was better than soft and meek.

“If you’re going for some kind of messed up Stockholm Syndrome thing, go fuck yourself. I’m not falling for it. You’re an asshole, and I may be your prisoner, and will work with you enough to finish our deal, but it’s just about survival, and I’ll
never
forgive you.”

“I know, and I won’t apologize. You screwed us in ways you can’t imagine by stealing our data. It benefits us to turn you into a friend instead of killing you, so you’re alive.”

“Don’t expect me to thank you for keeping me prisoner.”

His eyes looked sad, though he grinned as he said, “So brave. Do you want to go back to the living room, or would you prefer the front porch? We have a great view of the valley and the other mountains.”

“And we’re secluded enough, you don’t have to worry about me screaming for help.”

He picked me up, carried me to the porch, and settled me on a rocking chair.

“Bash and I will need to figure out the best way to transport you away from here. Duke will want to talk to you once we return, and I need you to be honest with him, no matter what he asks.” Brain shook his head, looked out at the view a few moments, and then back to me. “You have no reason to trust me, but I have your best interests in mind, and I’m telling you it’s in your best interest to be brutally honest with Duke, whether you think the answer will piss him off or not.”

I considered him a few minutes, thought back to the sequence of events since he’d come into my hotel room. If Bash were in charge, things would’ve gone completely different, and at times it almost felt as if Brain were protecting me from the other biker.

“Where does Bash land in the hierarchy? I know Duke’s president, and you’re VP, and it seems the two of you are close. You’re one of only a few people who can write checks and act with legal authority on behalf of the club. Where does he fall?”

“I’m Duke’s second, and officially I’m VP and Treasurer. Bash is part of Duke’s inner circle, and is an important member of the MC. He’s my brother.” He cocked an eyebrow. “I hadn’t expected you to admit to how much you know about the inner workings of the club.”

I shrugged. “You know I have the data, and you know it’s still on my laptop.” As well as a few servers I maintain around the world, but I figured it best not to point that out. It was encrypted — if someone managed to find it, they wouldn’t be able to access a decrypted version, and I believed in keeping a copy of everything I’d managed to obtain. You never know when a bit of knowledge might work in your favor.

Brain would probably be able to find two of the servers, if he dug deep enough on my laptop, but he’d never get past the encryption. Good thing, as I had information on so many corporations, government agencies, politicians, media stars, and a host of others… no one should have so much information. I trusted myself to only use it if I had to, but I didn’t trust anyone else with the data.

“I’m surprised you’ve spent time reading so much of it, though. Don’t you usually just obtain the information and hand it over?”

“I used my great big brain to deduce the guy chasing me, who happened to drive a Harley, was part of the MC. So, yeah. I read through the data. Know your enemies, right?”

Brain nodded. “Same as me researching you, figuring out who you were and are.” He shook his head. “I can only imagine what you’ve been through since you went off the grid. You aren’t the same girl you were in college, though. Few people look me in the eyes with little to no fear when I’m threatening them.”

I’d instinctively known Brain didn’t want to hurt me. Bash, on the other hand, terrified me. I was still unhurt only because Brain was in charge.

“What happens next?”

He sighed. “If you’re honest with Duke from the beginning, he’ll get to step into this situation as the good guy. Knowing him, if he decides to make you a friend instead of a foe, he’ll make sure you’re happy with your guards. You’ll be able to request different people watch you, if you want.” Brain looked away a few seconds, conflicted, and then spoke while gazing off in the distance. “Our brother needs round the clock care. He nearly died, and a hospital wasn’t an option. We’re caring for him, and he’ll eventually recover, but I don’t know how many of my brothers are going to be interested in taking care of you after your reconstructive surgery.”

“And you?” Once again, my voice was soft and meek, and I wanted to lash out and hit someone for it.

He shook his head. “Part of me wants to turn you over my lap and spank you until you cry, and then spank you some more.” He stood, walked to the railing, crossed his arms and looked out, his back to me. “If you don’t send me away, I’ll take care of you.”

Shit, damn, and hellfire.
I wanted this man. His brutal honesty, and the way he looked out of his eyes, the way he stood, the conflict in his pose. He wasn’t going to spank me, and I was certain he had feelings for me, and was working around them to stay loyal to his MC. I could use that, later. When I wasn’t bound.

However, without the ability to get up and walk away, I pulled my feet into the seat, wrapped my arms around my legs, and put my forehead on my knees.
Again
. It was the only way to escape them with my feet and legs bound together, and I didn’t want him to see my face. He didn’t need to know how badly I wanted to climb on him and fuck his brains out.