Wanted: Devil Dogs MC (16 page)

He just laughs at her. “Don’t worry, beautiful. You’ll get your chance to see what it’s like to be with a real man.” He strokes the side of her face, making her stomach turn. “So pretty, it’s a shame he had to have you first. But don’t worry, I bet he hasn’t had you here.” He thrusts his hips, digging his erection into her behind and driving her even more desperate to get away. He applies more pressure with the knife against her throat, just in case she had any illusions that he was just using it as a prop. “I wouldn’t want to cut such a pretty face, but I will if you make me.”

“What the fuck?” Wesley’s voice makes her knees go weak with relief. “Jimmy, what the hell are you doing here?”

Isabel’s eyes widen at the realization that Wesley knows this guy, the guy who followed her, the guy who only a few seconds ago threatening to rape her. She feels the man stiffen behind her, as if he’s bracing himself for whatever’s about to happen. However he knows Wesley, he’s clearly a little afraid of him.

“Let her go, Jimmy.” Wesley’s voice is a growl. Even in the gloom she can see he’s looking past her, at the man holding her.

Jimmy laughs patronizingly. “What are you going to say next, Raeburn? ‘It’s me you want, not her’!” He laughs again and loosens his hold on Isabel, giving her a little more room to breathe.

“Let her go, Jimmy, and I may decide not to kill you.” The coldness in Wesley’s voice leaves her in no doubt that it’s not an idle threat.

“So I was right.” Jimmy sounds more than pleased with himself at the revelation. “You have gone soft on us.” Isabel feels him shake his head. “And for what? For some pussy?” He leans his head down and licks her cheek, making her want to retch. “She’s top shelf pussy, I’ll give you that, but what are you thinking, man?”

Isabel sees Wesley tense his whole body, as if he’s about to strike. His voice is quivering with anger. “Is that what you think? That I’ve gone soft?”

Jimmy shrugs expansively. “Well why don’t you tell me, Wes? You haven’t been on your best game on these last couple of jobs, letting the scum we pay you to take care of off too lightly. You were supposed to cut that guy’s fucking hand off tonight and you barely left him with a scratch! The Devil Dogs can’t afford mistakes like that, Wes. We need people to know they can’t fuck with us!”

“What have you taken, Jimmy? How much? It must’ve been a lot to give you the balls to come after me.” Wesley’s voice is deceptively calm. The quick glance he gives Isabel tells her this little exchange is for her benefit. It’s only then that she realizes what he’s talking about. She had been too scared to take on board exactly what is going on, but the calmness of Wesley’s tone focuses her mind. Jimmy is high, and if he’s high it’ll be easier for her to overpower him.

“Oh, you know, Wes. A little bit of this, a little of that. We’re not all fucking dry as dogshit like you, Wes.” Jimmy laughs at his own joke, relaxing his grip on her even more.

Isabel uses the moment to her advantage, awareness coursing through her that she may not get another chance. She twists her body, pulling as far away from him as she can, spinning around to slam her knee into his crotch, hard. She feels the impact as she hits pay dirt and Jimmy goes down, clutching his groin with both hands, dropping the knife.

She breathes heavily, feeling strangely elated at the outburst of violence. She feels a hand on her shoulder and allows Wesley to pull her back and away from Jimmy. He moves her behind him, using his body as shield to protect her from this psycho.

“Are you all right?” Wesley doesn’t take his eyes off the other man, but his hand is still on her arm, as if he needs the physical touch to make sure she really is safe.

“I’m fine.” Isabel is proud that her voice doesn’t wobble.

“Good.” Wesley’s nod is curt, his attention fully on Jimmy who has stood up and is now advancing towards them. “Because he won’t be.”

Isabel sees the glint of steel in Jimmy’s hand and she tries to tell Wesley to stop, that the other man is armed, that she doesn’t want anything to happen to him. But her mouth seems to have lost the ability to form words, all she can do is watch what’s unfolding before her, a spectator.

Wesley doesn’t show any fear. Instead of dodging and feinting, he sprints towards the other man, catching him by surprise. He barrels into Jimmy, knocking him off balance and down onto the ground. Isabel hears the knife clatter as it hits the porch stairs and she breathes a sigh of relief that it’s been taken out of the equation. There’s a little bit of grappling on the ground, but Wesley easily overpowers the other man, pinning him underneath him on the ground as Wesley straddles his stomach.

“You want to see how soft I’ve gotten?” His words are delivered without emotion and without him pausing for breath, as if he hasn’t even broken a sweat during the scuffle with Jimmy.

He doesn’t wait for Jimmy to respond; instead he proceeds to show him just how dangerous he is. Wesley punches the man over and over again, delivering blows to his ribs and face. Isabel hears the sickening crunch of bone as he breaks the other man’s nose. But he doesn’t stop there. He carries on punching him, pulling his arm back and delivering blow after blow. Jimmy has long since stopped fighting back; it’s all he can do just to try to ward off the punches that Wesley is throwing.

“Wes.” Isabel’s voice is low and full of fear. She can see what’s about to happen and she knows that she can’t let it. If she doesn’t stop Wesley, he is going to kill Jimmy. “Wes. Stop it! It’s enough!” Her voice is stronger this time, but she’s rooted to the floor, frozen and unable to move, hypnotized by Wesley’s rhythmic pounding. “Wes! Stop!” She’s virtually screaming now and she finally seems to have broken through the haze of Wesley’s anger.

He’s breathing hard, but his arm has paused its downward trajectory towards Jimmy’s face. He seems to be struggling against himself.

“Wes, you’re not like him.” Isabel’s legs are finally obeying her and she places her hand gently on his shoulder, trying to will him into believing what she’s telling him.

Slowly he drops his hand and stands up, looking down at Jimmy as if it wouldn’t take much to change his mind and pummel the man to death right there and then. “Get up.” The hate in his voice is palpable.

Isabel is about to intervene, to say she doesn’t think Jimmy is able to stand on his own two feet when he proves her wrong. Slowly, groggily, he gets to his knees, clutching his face and his chest. Now that she’s closer, she can see the mess that was once his face. It doesn’t take a doctor to figure out he’s in bad shape.

“Get up.” Wesley’s patience is clearly running out. He grabs Jimmy by his arm and yanks him up to his feet. Jimmy looks like he’s about to collapse again, but Wesley is holding him up, leaning into his face to make sure nothing he’s about to say is lost.

“You get out of here now and tell the Dogs that if they’re worried about me going soft, they can find another enforcer.” He leans in even closer, not giving the other man any space to breathe or move away. “You don’t ever come back here. You leave Isabel alone. You don’t even say her name out loud. And you better pray that I never see you again, because if I do, there won’t be anyone on this Earth who’ll be able to stop me. I’ll kill you.” The expression on Wesley’s face clearly tells the other man this is not just an idle threat. He doesn’t say anything, just looks down at his feet, not wanting to provoke him any further. “Now get out of my sight.” Wesley gives him a shove, sending the man tumbling down the porch stairs.

He lies there sprawled out on the grass for a few moments before he somehow manages to pick himself up and half-run, half-limp out into the darkness. Isabel stares out after him, her mind still reeling by what’s just happened.

“Let’s get inside.” Wesley takes her hand in his and gently leads her back to his bedroom, setting her down on the bed.

She is in a state of shock at the rage and the violence Wesley is capable of. Of course she had known that he isn’t exactly a boy scout, but seeing it play out in real time, right in front of her, is a completely different thing.

He kneels down between her legs, his hands on her thighs, warming her through and it’s only then she realizes she’s shivering so hard her teeth are chattering.

“You’re in shock.” His voice is calm, as if he’s seen this reaction a million times before. “It’s all right, Bel. You’re all right.” He rubs her thighs, trying to get some heat back into her body.

Isabel nods dully, wondering if she is ever going to be all right again. A man had tried to rape her at knifepoint and then she’d seen Wesley unleash the fury he holds within him. If she hadn’t stopped him, there’s no doubt in her mind that he would have killed the other man.

“Isabel, look at me.” He lifts her chin so that she meets his eyes. “He won’t be coming back.” The certainty in his voice is enough to convince her. Besides, she’d seen the look on Jimmy’s face, it was clear that he isn’t going to try his luck with Wesley again. The man may have been psychotic but he didn’t seem to have a death wish.

She nods again, gathering herself together, focusing on him. He holds her face between his hands, looking up at her tenderly and in that instant, Isabel knows she’s not going to like what he’s about to say.

“I have to go.” The look in his eyes tells her that whatever decision he’s made, he’s made it without her.

“Where?” She bites her lip as she feels the tears rising at the back of her eyes.

“Anywhere but here.” The finality of his words makes her wish she hadn’t asked. He strokes her cheek and she leans into his touch, but before she can say anything he’s already up on his feet, grabbing his bag from the closet.

She watches him open drawers and fill the bag with the few possessions he’d brought with him and realization dawns. “You’re leaving
now
?” She had thought they would at least have some time together, that he wouldn’t just walk out immediately, after everything that had just happened.

His back is to her. He doesn’t turn around. “It has to be now, Isabel. The longer I stay here, the worse things will be for you. You’re a target now. The Dogs know who you are and they know they can get to me through you.” He shakes his head. “I can’t let anything like tonight happen again. If you had been hurt, I would never have forgiven myself. Never.”

“And don’t I get any kind of a say in this at all? Don’t I get to decide what I’m willing to sign up for?” Isabel walks up to stand behind him, within touching distance. “Aren’t you even going to look me in the eye?”

He sighs deeply and turns around, his gaze latching onto hers and the pain in his face makes her wish he hadn’t. “You think I want to leave? Do you think it’s easy for me to walk out on the best thing that’s ever happened to me?” He crosses the distance between them, pulling her close to him.

“Then stay.” Isabel’s voice is quiet as she leans her head against his chest, breathing in the scent of him, feeling the comforting warmth of his body against hers.

He holds onto her tightly and, for a moment, Isabel thinks she might have convinced him, that there might be a chance for them after all. But then he releases her, stepping back as if to separate himself from temptation. It’s just as hard for him to be near her without touching as it is for her.

“I can’t, Bel.” Frustrated, he rakes his fingers through his dark hair. “If I stay, you’ll just get wrapped up in all this again. I can’t have that. And it wouldn’t just be you; it would be this house, everything your mother worked for, everything you’ve been trying to keep afloat.” He gestures around vaguely. “All this would be at risk, Bel. They don’t stop until they get what they want; it doesn’t matter who or what gets destroyed in the process.”

Isabel shakes her head, wanting to tell him it doesn’t matter, that it’s just a house, that it’s not important, that she’s willing to run the risk for him, for them. But she can’t form the words because she knows he’s right and that’s what makes this all so much harder. She knows her mother’s legacy – that house – can’t be the target of anything, not if she has any hopes of keeping the place up and running. It’s the only thing she really has left of her mother; she can’t afford to lose it.

The rational side of her brain reminds her she had never expected this to work out. There are too many odds stacked against them, too many reasons they can’t be together. She had known there isn’t a future for them, not really. But if that is true, why does she feel such an aching sense of loss in her heart?

“Thank you.” Isabel’s voice cracks so she tries again. “Thank you for coming to save me.”

She watches as his shoulders slump at her words. He wipes the tears away that she hadn’t even realized are coursing down her face.

“I told you no one was going to hurt you and I meant it.” He lifts her chin so she looks up at him. “Your safety is the most important thing to me and, right now, the safest place for you is as far away from me as possible.” He looks down at her, his eyes filled with something that looks a lot like love.

“Why does this have to be so hard?” She bites her lip, trying to keep the tears at bay. The last thing she wants is for his last image of her to be of a quivering wreck.

Wesley looks up at the ceiling, as if he might find some kind of answer there. Eventually he looks back down at her. “You know how much I care about you, right? You know I’m crazy about you.” He looks at her intently, reverently, trying to communicate with his eyes all that he’s feeling.

“But it’s not enough, is it?” There’s no accusation in Isabel’s voice, just a realization of the facts of the case.

“If I didn’t care, I wouldn’t be so sure I have to leave, Bel. You understand that, don’t you?” He holds her head in between his hands, a man on the edge of despair.

She nods slowly. The logical, objective part of her brain knows that what he’s saying makes sense, but at the moment her heart is doing all the talking and it just wants him to stay.

He leans down, covering her lips with his, tasting every part of her mouth, exploring her as if it is their first kiss. She clutches him to her, matching his desperation with her own. It’s as if they’re trying to imprint the each other’s shape onto their own bodies, as if they’re trying to make it impossible to forget.

Eventually, they both come up for air. Wesley leans his forehead against hers. “You take care of yourself, Bel.”

She nods, afraid if she speaks, the pretense of calm she’s hanging onto by her fingernails will shatter. He steps away from her, picking up his bag. Before he opens the door, he turns around and looks at her as if he’s about to say something. She holds her breath, barely daring to breathe, hoping against hope that he’s going to say there’s no way he can leave her, that he can’t live without her. She opens her mouth to say the words to him, to tell him she’s never felt like this before, that she needs him. But he’s already gone, slipping out the door silently, as if he’s never been there at all.

Isabel sinks down onto the floor the moment that he’s out of sight, her legs no longer able to keep her upright. She gathers her knees to her chest, hugging herself, trying to get rid of the cold that seems to have invaded her from the inside. He hadn’t made any promises, hadn’t said anything about coming back. She has no idea if she will ever see him again.

Letting him go is the hardest thing she’s ever had to do. It is right up there with watching her mother fade away in a hospital bed and not being able to do a damn thing about it. He hadn’t broken any vows to her; he hadn’t lied or given her any false hope. She can’t accuse him of that. She had created her own illusions, her own fairytale ending for a story that was never going to have a happily ever after.

Her life will go on without him. She knows that. She will carry on her day to day, running the boarding house, trying to keep the place afloat. She will think about going back to medical school and maybe one day she even might actually do it. She isn’t going to die because he had walked out. Losing someone you care about isn’t terminal; she had learned that lesson the hard way. But the knowledge of that doesn’t do anything to assuage the choking hurt in her chest.

She can’t help but think that she’s destined for the people that she loves most to leave her.