Hiding in Plain Sight (17 page)

I saw my eyebrows lower and forehead crease as I dragged a comb through my hair.

So, proceed with caution.  Have fun, but don't get caught up in all the romance stuff that your heart feels, because you enjoy his fingers and his boy-toy
, I told myself. 
Let him get you safe, say good-bye and move the fuck on.
  

Completing my toilet, I went back to the room and set it to rights, which included wrangling the mattress back into place and shrugging on a t-shirt before wandering downstairs.  There were wonderful smells coming from behind the swinging kitchen door.

"Good morning, Reese," Vana greeted me with one of her smiles.

"Good morning, Vana," I offered back and jutted my chin towards the coffee maker.  She nodded and turned back to whatever she had going on the stove.  After doctoring my coffee, I went to stand beside her at the massive appliance.  She was sautéing another mixture of peppers and onions in what smelled to be bacon grease.  Artery-clogging?  You bet.  But damn, the aroma was wonderful.

"Our men on porch.  They not happy," she said, her voice only a volume above the sizzle of the skillet.  "Too much time spent in other room early."  While she hesitated and stuttered through the English words, I got what she was saying.  Atin and Bay had been in the last chamber of the three bedroom house, the one set up with computers, early this morning.  And now they were discussing whatever it was they'd seen in the system, the internet, on the porch.

And they were not happy.

I sighed as I dipped my head toward my coffee cup.  The news kind of killed the attitude I was using to protect myself with But since there was nothing else I could do, I bumped her shoulder with mine and offered a rueful grin.

"Vana?" I started, determined to try and get information on a subject I knew nothing about.  "Who's Nadia?"

If you'd dipped her in quick-drying cement, Vana couldn't have gotten any stiffer.  It took more than a few moments before her eyes drifted back to mine, her hand reaching for her throat.

"Nadia?" she repeated.  I'd seen her face before the name came out of her mouth.  Stricken, scared and deep pain was what I read in her eyes.

But I was determined.  So I continued. "Yeah.  Nadia.  Who is she to Bay?"

The noises coming out of her mouth couldn't be identified as human.  And, when combined with her body's rocking motion, I knew I had stepped over the line. 

"Bay!" I bellowed, my feet moving as I sought help.  Both men barreled through the swinging door of the kitchen, and I watched as Atin took in the situation with a glance before carefully gathering Vana in his arms, crooning softly.

"What did you do?" Bay hissed into my ear.  I glanced up at him and found his face matched his tone.  The man was thoroughly pissed off.

"I asked her a question," I replied, worrying my bottom lip with my fingers.  I felt his large hand grip my upper arm as Bay pulled me out of the kitchen, through the living room and out the front door, slamming it behind us.

"Out with it!" he yelled into my face when we were on the driveway.  "What did you say to her?"

"I asked her about Nadia.  Okay?" I tried to make my voice as loud as his with my answer and saw him shift his body upright as if someone had shoved a rod up his ass.  His face went pale and his eyes looked wild.

"How do you know this name?" Bay asked, his voice a stricken whisper.  "Tell me how you know of Nadia."

 I stared at him, my mind racing.  Who was she, this Nadia, who got such immediate reactions from both Vana and Bayco?  "It's not important," I replied finally, holding up a hand and shaking my head.  "I get it.  I won't ask about her ag…"

My shoulders were grabbed roughly, and Bay's nose came to within two inches of mine when he yelled again.  "How do you know of Nadia?"

I twisted and turned trying to break his grip.  "Stop it, Bay!" I felt pinpricks of fear starting at the back of my neck.

"Answer me!" he demanded, giving me a shake.  I yanked and kicked out, hitting his shin which knocked me off balance and I landed on my ass in the dirt when he abruptly released me.

I'd had just about enough!  Staying down, I pointed my chin up at him and screamed, "it was you!  You said her name!"

The look on his face was as if I'd slapped him. 

"I did not," he whispered in horror, looking at me as if I was some sort of nasty-assed bug.

"You sure as hell did!  You were screwing me and called me Nadia," I yelled back.  Just mentioning that night brought back all the pain I had tried to cry out in the shower.  I shifted my ass to sit up and rubbed my hands to get the grains of dirt off my palms.  Tilting my head down, I blinked rapidly to prevent the tears filling my eyes from escaping.

He'd turned away and took a couple of staggering steps towards the road.  I watched from underneath my lashes as he propped a hand on a hip, rubbing his head, his t-shirt pulled tight over his back with his movement.

There was a very uncomfortable silence between us, only the sounds of the birds and an occasional car on the road breaking the quiet.

"What did I say, when I said her name?" he asked, his body still pointed towards the trees, away from me.  He'd stopped rubbing his head and had both hands planted on his hips.

"You said 'Come with me, Nadia'." I muttered as I stood, brushing the dirt off my backside.  I took a deep breath and turned away before releasing my exhale.  It was the only way I could breathe without a hitch giving away the hurt I still carried inside.  I swallowed around the lump in my throat, picking at the dirt that had made its way underneath my fingernails when I'd fallen.

"Did I hurt you, draga?" he asked from over my shoulder.  I hadn't even heard him move to where I now stood.  "I did not mean to grab you so hard."

"I've had worse," I mumbled, stepping away from the heat I could feel at my back.

I heard him sigh before he started speaking, "Nadia was…"

"We've got trouble, brother!" Atin yelled from the porch, interrupting whatever it had been that Bay was going to say.  And I saw him race to the door of the house.

*.*.*.*.*

Brand followed Atin up the stairs after doing a visual sweep over the front room.  Vana was nowhere in sight.  The shorter man led them into the computer room and pointed to a monitor.

"They set off the motion detector and the perimeter alarm when one of them exited the car and climbed the fence.  I rewound the tape and it appears they were trying to get closer in order to put their binoculars to good use," Atin explained.

Brand saw the dark blue sedan, dusty now, parked on the shoulder of the road.  The snaking asphalt was a quarter mile down Atin's dirt driveway emblazoned with 'Private Property' and 'Keep Out' signs.  There were now four men in the car with all four heads pointed towards the house.  One man appeared to be speaking on a cellphone.

Shit!  And he and Reese had been outside, yelling at the top of their lungs.

"Do you think they heard or saw…?” Brand began.

"I didn't see any reaction from them when you were outside.  It's possible but I'm guessing no," Atin said slowly. 

"I don't know how they found us," Brand mumbled.  "I know we weren't followed."

Atin shrugged.  "There are a number of us that took up farming when we settled.  They could be going from farm to farm."

"We've put you and Vana at risk by coming here."  Brand's mind was racing trying to find a way out of the trouble he'd dropped on his brother's doorstep.  "Is there a back way out?"

"Yeah, it’s a bit bumpy but definitely doable," Atin replied, a small smile creeping across his face as he followed Brand's thoughts.  "Take the Hog and leave the Glide.  It's too big and bulky to make it.  Switch out the helmets, too."

Brand was already moving down the hall to the back bedroom.  He gathered their bags and made a sweep of both the room and the bathroom to ensure nothing was left behind.  As he stepped his way down the stairs, he saw Atin unmoving on the bottom tread. 

Coming up from behind, Brand glanced over his brother's shoulder and saw Vana and Reese huddled together on the large sofa.  Both were crying and clutching each other's hands as they whispered, their heads pressed together.  He hated to interrupt but they needed to be away.

"We are leaving, Reese," he ground out, still carrying the guilt of what she'd confided outside.  He knew he was going to have to address it both in his mind and with her at some point, but he didn't have the time to do it now.

He watched as his draga gently wiped the tears from Vana's face and kissed her forehead before rising from the sofa.  "Okay, Bay," was what she said, but her face was drawn and her tone resigned.

Brand shouldered his way past Atin to stand in front of her.  She took her backpack but kept her eyes down.  There were a few moments of heavy silence before he heard her ask, "we leavin' or not?"

"Use the back door to get to the garage.  There is a roll door on the far side you can push the bike through.  Follow one of the corn furrows, and you'll find a dirt road about a half mile down.  Go right and it will take you to the county road," Atin instructed.  "I'll take care of the door after you are gone."

Brand dropped his bag and grabbed his brother in a tight hug, thumping his back.  "I am sorry for the trouble we have caused both you and Vana," he growled.  "Thank you for your hospitality."

"It was good to see you," Atin replied, his voice thick.  "Be safe and stay smart."

Brand could only nod as they disconnected.  He raised a hand towards Vana before turning away to snag Reese's fingers and move to the back door in the kitchen.

Chapter Sixteen

We rode for hours and hours after breaking our way out of the cornfield that stretched almost to the horizon behind Atin and Vana's house.  The furrow we rode on was ass-slamming bumpy, and I'd spent most of that time with my butt off the seat, as my feet held the bulk of my weight on the pegs.  By the time we made it to a dirt road, hidden between the fields, my thighs were burning and my arches, even through the soles of my boots, bruised.

But the pain helped keep my mind off the earlier scene I'd created with my innocent question.

We were on the interstate again, my helmeted head pressed into Bay's back as the scenery whipped by us when I felt him fumbling over the console.  This bike was much like the first one I'd ridden on with him.  Definitely not as comfortable as the pretty blue touring motorcycle he'd purchased in North Platte.  The seating on this one required me to again be scrunched up close to him, my arms around his waist.

I felt him twist in order to hand me a spiral cord over his shoulder.   As I took it, I saw him point to the bottom right of his helmet, which had a similar cable attached.  Blindly, I reached and found the socket on my helmet, pushing the connector in until I heard a small snap.

"Can you hear me, my draga?" I heard his voice through the helmet, coming through with a tinny sound.

"Yes.  I can hear you," I acknowledged.

"Shall we talk as we ride?" he asked.  "It might make the time go faster."

"If you want," I mumbled and even I could hear how flat my voice was in the amplification of the built-in mike of my helmet.  "Where are we going?"

"We will end our journey just outside of Missoula," his answer came back.  "But we will stop in Billings."

"We're talkin' Montana, right?" I asked, having no idea of the city names he'd referenced.  In a crunch, I might've been able to point out Montana on a map but didn't have a clue about the state itself.

"Correct," came back through my helmet.

We rode in silence for many miles before I started the conversation back up.

"What're we gonna find in Montana?" The sound of my voice, as carried through the cord, sounded different, rougher and deeper than usual.

"What do you mean?" he shot back.

"Uhm… you gotta wife and kids waiting there for you?"  I felt him immediately stiffen beneath my arms and hands.

"Do you think me so dishonorable that I would sweetly ride between your thighs if I was
married
?"  His voice was a shout, so loud in my helmet that I cringed. 

"Well…" I responded slowly.  My mind was racing to find a way to smooth things over.  Geez, today seemed to be my day for asking questions that pissed Bay off!

"No.  I am not, nor have I ever been, married.  I, also, do not have any children," he continued harshly.  "Satisfied?"

"Yes," I answered quickly before turning my head and placing it again on his back.  I thought it might be better to just remain quiet since I couldn't seem to say anything right.

From the angle of the sun, it appeared to be late afternoon, and I closed my eyes against the rays bouncing off the tinted visor.  It looked like the sun was going to be slipping behind the mountains on our left very soon. 

I had to admit, the country we were riding through was beautiful.  The sky was a wide expanse of blue, dotted here and there with fluffy, white flat-bottomed clouds.  And there were trees, so many trees that marched right up to the interstate, intermittently allowing the sunlight through as we rode. 

"We will stop in Billings for the night," he announced after a time.  "We are only about forty, forty-five minutes away."

"Okay," I breathed.  If I'd had a vote, I would've chosen to stay on the back of the bike until hell froze over.  Perched behind him, I didn't have to look at him or acknowledge the strain today's drama— the drama I'd caused— had placed between us.  Didn't have to feel or see how offended he was by me or my questions.

I let my mind go back to Atin's house when I'd let myself back in after seeing Bay race up the stairs.  When I'd swung my gaze around, I'd found Vana framed in the arch that led from the living room to the dining room.

"Vana, I'm…" I started, stepping quickly to where she stood.

"Shhh," she'd said and had placed her fingers on my mouth while looking deeply into my eyes.  "No sorry."  Her hand moved off my mouth and captured my fingers to lead me to the sofa.  We sat close together, the sides of our legs touching, and I saw her eyes go unfocused as she began to speak.

"Nadia," she began.  "My friend.  Sestra.  Sister.  Long time together."

I nodded to show I understood her.  They'd been friends a very long time and had become close, as close as sisters.

"She dead now." Vana's voice was a heartbreaking murmur in the still of the room.  "Died bad.  Ah, badly.  Still hurts here."  I saw her move her hand to between her breasts, over her heart.

"How long ago?" I asked, my voice as quiet as hers.

"Six years," came her reply and with the words, I saw her eyes fill with tears that began to spill over to run down her cheeks. 

Six years?  Both she and Bay were still deeply affected by a woman who'd been dead six years?  I couldn't help my own tears seeing how acutely the pain of Nadia's death was still felt by her friend, the sister of her heart.  I didn't have it in me to ask about Bay's connection to Vana's old friend.  So I cupped her face and used my thumbs to brush away the wetness on her cheeks.

I pressed my forehead against my new friend's, barely aware of the sound of boots on the stairs.  "I am sorry, though, Vana.  I didn't know me asking about her would make you hurt.  Can you forgive me?"

"Nëmam probleme," she replied, speaking her language before trying it in English.  "No problem."

I wanted to give her comfort, to find a gesture that demonstrated the emotions filling my insides.  And I remembered what Mama always did for me, the comfort she could provide with only a kiss on my forehead.  So, I raised my lips and did the same to Vana, gaining a small watery smile from her.

"Are you all right?" I heard Bay's tinny voice in the helmet.

"Yeah, why?" I shot back.

"It sounds as if  you are crying."  And he was right, I was, although I didn't remember when it started.  It wasn't like I was sobbing or anything.  Just my breaths were hitching and there were streams of tears wetting the nylon straps of the heavy helmet. 

 I wiped the wetness off my chin as best I could before resettling my arm around Bay's waist as we continued to eat up the miles towards Billings.

*.*.*.*.*

Brand tossed his helmet and put the metal saddlebags in a corner of their motel room before allowing his eyes to wander over the space.  While the room was cheerier than those they had been in before, it was still worn and showed years of use.  He saw Reese as she moved to the farthest side of the bed, carefully propping the backpack and her purse against the wall before shrugging her shoulders, rotating them as if they were stiff.

"I will go get dinner," he announced into the quiet. "While I am gone, you should shower."

"Okay," he heard her say, but she didn't turn towards him when she spoke.  In fact, she hadn't looked at him since her time on her butt in Atin's driveway.  When she'd screamed up at him.  Letting him know exactly when he'd cut her deeply by using Nadia's name, during the intimate moment between them.  Her words, screeched in pain and rage, explained her behavior of not only that night, but the time after as well.

"Do you have a preference for food?" Brand wanted her to look at him, to give him more of her words than the simple ones she'd been using for the last hour.

"No."  Her tone was flat, with no emotion expressed, and his already weary heart took another hit.

He automatically grabbed his helmet but released it when he remembered that Montana had no mandatory helmet laws unless you were under eighteen.  It would be good to ride without one, to feel the cool, sweet wind against his newly exposed scalp and skin.

As he was exiting the fast food joint, he saw Snake and Dice roar by.  He wasn't worried about being recognized by Hellion MC Members since this bike was not known to them, and his new haircut would not give him away.  But he shifted both bags to one hand and yanked his goggles up just to be on the safe side.  It wouldn't do to be seen until he'd secured Reese to him.

Brand made sure to perform their knock sequence before letting himself into the room.  She was still in the bathroom when he entered, so he placed her food and drink on the long dresser next to the TV while he sat at the table.  He was trying to compose his thoughts enough so they could talk. 

It was not a talk he was looking forward to having.

He watched her out of the corner of his eye as he made swift work of his meal.  She snagged her food and moved to 'her' side of the bed, her back to him, as she ate.  Finished, he crumpled up the wrappings and shoved them away before moving his chair to the side of the bed.  He removed his boots and socks before he straightened his legs, his leather pants creaking as he crossed his ankles on the mattress.

"We need to talk," he said, although it came out harsher than he intended.

"Let me guess," she drawled as he saw her shoulders stiffen. She was wearing one of his discarded t-shirts she'd appropriated and used as a nightshirt.  "Me, right?"

He couldn't help his grin at her words.  "No, my Reese.  Us."

That got her attention and her head whipped over her shoulder at his words.

"Wha' 'bout ush?" she mumbled around the food in her mouth, her hand covering her lips as she spoke.  

"We need to get married," he replied baldly, and if he was being honest, the shocked look on her face gave him a strange form of pleasure.

*.*.*.*.*

"We should
what
?" I yelled after I forced my throat to swallow my mouthful of food, still hearing his suggestion in my mind.

Bay's beautiful mouth continued to move, explaining I guess, but all I could hear thundering in my ears was the 'no, no, no' of my denial. 

I had pledged never to get married and there was no way in
hell
I would consider it even to save my own life.  Even to someone as wonderful as Bay.

Marriage was death of the slowest sort.  It meant shackles and the loss of choices.  It was being under the thumb of another person, the worst sort of person.  Someone who could do as they damn well pleased while you were molded, forced, to become whatever he wanted you to be, with whatever violence it took to get you there.

He grabbed my hands and pulled them away from my ears, something I hadn't even realized I'd done in order to not give credence to the crazy-stupid suggestion of his.  At his touch, the thunder abated somewhat, and I could hear him speaking loud and clear.

"…would take you out of their game.  It would make you
mine
, my Reese.  And what is mine, I hold onto," he roared, squeezing my fingers tightly.  His argument, even if most of it had gone unheard, hovered over us in the small room.  I hadn't seen him move from the chair to my side of the bed.

I shook my head, signaling in no uncertain terms, my complete and total disagreement with his plan.

He sighed and pointed his face away but kept my fingers prisoner.

"Deschames expects you to be a virgin when he takes you," he announced at last, his voice much gentler.  "You were not untried when our bodies came together so sweetly, my beauty."

The jerk of my body at his words was hard to miss.