Resurrection (The Lone Riders MC Series Book 3) (7 page)

Ten

‘Am I disturbing you?’

Coby looked up, aiming a genuinely warm smile at Mia, something which automatically put her on the back foot. She wasn’t used to seeing him this way, all friendly smiles and warm eyes. ‘No, darlin’, you’re not disturbing me.’

She sat down on the stool next to him, nodding at Red as he held out a beer.

‘Had a good day?’ Coby asked, downing his whisky in one mouthful.

Mia shrugged, ripping the top off her beer and taking a long swig.

Coby just raised an eyebrow. He had his answer. ‘Time to kick back, huh?’ He looked around the packed clubhouse. This hadn’t been an organized get-together, but it would appear that a party had started from out of nowhere, and who was he to turn a night of drinking down? It was everything he needed to forget the shit Lexi was putting on him. The guilt he didn’t need to feel.

‘You seen Ben?’ Mia asked, her eyes darting around the clubhouse.

‘Not recently. You need him for something?’

‘No. Not really.’ She took another swig of beer before sliding down from the stool. ‘I’ll go see if he’s outside.’

‘Mia?’

She turned back around. ‘Yeah?’

‘Everything OK, darlin’?’

She threw him a smile, hoping it was sincere enough to stop him asking any more questions she wasn’t in the mood to answer. Mainly because she didn’t think she’d know how to. ‘Everything’s fine.’

She quickly headed out of the clubhouse before Coby had a chance to prolong the conversation. It was a little quieter out there. Not many people had congregated in the yard, even though a huge barrel fire was taking the edge off the slightly chilly evening temperature.

Making her way over to the bikes parked outside she checked to see if Ben’s was there. It was. So he was around here somewhere. But she was absolutely positive he wasn’t inside.

Turning back around she headed over to the office next to the garage. There was a light on, and she could hear voices so she stood back, keeping her eyes on the door. It was a few minutes before anybody came out, and she squinted slightly to see who it was, just making out Sheriff Bailey as he made for his car, driving off quickly and quietly.

Frowning, she continued to walk towards the office, standing still again as another figure came out, pulling the door closed behind him. Ben. But, for some reason, her feet wouldn’t seem to move. She was rooted to the spot as she watched him walk away, his head down, his hands in his pockets.

‘Ben?’ Her voice was little more than a whisper as he headed towards her, so she was surprised when he lifted his head, his eyes meeting hers.

‘How long have you been there?’

‘What was Michael doing here?’

‘Michael?’

‘I saw him leave. Just now.’

Ben took her by the wrist, pulling her around the corner, into the shadows. ‘You spying on me?’ His voice carried an almost sinister edge that sent a cold shiver up Mia’s spine.

‘Of course I’m not spying on you. Jesus, Ben, cut out the paranoia, OK? What the hell is wrong with you lately?’

He pushed her back against the wall, moving in closer, close enough for her to feel his breath on her face. ‘Nothing is wrong, Mia, I keep telling you that.’

‘And I still think you’re lying to me.’

‘What did I ask you to do, huh? I asked you to trust me, to know that I’m dealing with it. And yet, you’re still hassling me, still bitching about it, and I really don’t need your shit. Not on top of everything else.’

‘I hate not knowing what’s going on, Ben. I hate not knowing if you’re gonna be safe, if you’re even gonna get out of whatever this is alive…’

His mouth was on hers before she had a chance to take another breath, pressing down hard, his lips practically bruising hers with the force of the kiss. But then, almost as if something or someone else had taken the reins, the kiss became slower, gentler, his hands on her hips pulling her closer until their bodies touched.

‘I don’t need any more crap today, Mia. Do you understand? What I need is for you to quit with the whining, cut out the nagging, and let me do what I need to do without worrying about
you
. Are you listening to me here, sweetheart?’

‘Fuck you!’ she hissed, pulling his hands away from her and stepping out of his grasp, but he was too fast for her; too strong. And in one swift movement she didn’t have time to see coming he’d pinned her back against the wall, his face once more right up in hers.

‘I need you to back off, Mia. I really need you to do that, do you hear me?’

Her eyes bored deep into his, the strangest of sensations taking over, filling her with an almost warped excitement mixed with just a hint of fear.

‘Do you understand what I’m saying, baby?’

She didn’t. Not really. But it was like someone else was working her, like invisible strings had somehow been attached and every movement she was making now, they were all involuntary. So even though she was nodding, she couldn’t get her head around any of this. Where was the man she’d fallen in love with just a few weeks ago? When had everything changed; when had
he
changed?

‘Good.’ He smiled, gently stroking her cheek with his fingertips, his eyes still locked with hers. ‘That’s good.’

‘Ben…’

‘Ssh…’ he whispered, still stroking her cheek, his fingers lowering to skim over her collarbone, and it was a few seconds more before she realized his other hand was slowly pulling her panties down. Why wasn’t she stopping him? Because she wasn’t altogether sure that she wanted this. ‘It’s all gonna be OK, Mia, I promised you that, didn’t I?’ His mouth rested against hers as he continued to push her panties down over her thighs. ‘I promised you it was all gonna be OK…’

‘And like I said, Ben…’ Finding that inner strength she’d had to dig up every time she’d needed it with Lennie, she took hold of his hand and yanked it away, pulling her panties back up. ‘Fuck you!’

‘Jesus, Mia…!’

She didn’t look back, she didn’t want to. She didn’t even know who he was anymore, just that he wasn’t the man she loved. That wasn’t him.

‘Hey! Slow down, darlin’.’

She felt someone grab her arm, looking up to see Coby. And only then did she realize she must have been running. From Ben. She’d been running from Ben.

‘I’m gonna ask you this again, Mia. Is everything OK?’

She wrenched her arm free of his grip. ‘I need a drink.’

‘Aye.’ He glanced behind him. ‘Me too, darlin’. Me too.’ It was still quiet out in the yard, although the noise from inside the clubhouse seemed to be getting louder – music blaring, voices shouting; raucous laughter. ‘I’m guessing you don’t feel much like going back in there?’ Coby raised a questioning eyebrow.

Mia wrapped her arms around herself as a light breeze washed over her, causing her exposed skin to break out in goose bumps. ‘You guess right.’

‘Come on. I’ve got a bottle of twelve year old Scotch I keep in one of the tool draws over in the garage.’

She couldn’t help smiling. ‘Whatever gets you through the day, huh?’

‘Something like that,’ he laughed, jerking his head towards the garage. ‘Come on.’

Mia looked over to where she’d just left Ben, but he seemed to have disappeared. She guessed he must’ve gone inside, because she hadn’t heard anyone leave the compound.

Following Coby into the garage she pulled herself up onto the workbench, watching as he retrieved the bottle of Scotch, twisting off the cap and offering the bottle to her.

‘Sorry, sweetheart, I don’t do glasses in here.’

She took the bottle from him, taking a small swig, swallowing it down way too fast which caused her to cough as the warm liquid burned her throat.

‘Hey, take it easy. It’s strong stuff that.’ Coby smiled as Mia handed him the whisky.

She watched as he effortlessly downed a long mouthful before handing it back to her. ‘Slowly this time. And I guarantee it’ll take the edge off everything.’

Her eyes met his. ‘Anything
you
need the edge taking off?’

He leaned back against the workbench, folding his arms, but he stayed silent, breaking the stare by bowing his head. Mia raised her eyebrows, taking a slower swig of Scotch. This time it hit the spot, filling her belly with a welcoming warmth.

‘Coby?’

He finally lifted his gaze, his dark eyes once more meeting hers.

‘Can I ask you something?’

‘Aye, ‘course you can, darlin’.’

‘Ben… I don’t know what’s happening with him. I mean… should I have thought twice, about going into a relationship with a man who was once part of a club like the Dark Angels?’

‘I’m no expert when it comes to relationships, Mia. I’m the wrong person to be talking to about this.’

‘Do you trust him?’

Coby’s eyes narrowed, his body turning towards her. ‘Do you think there’s a reason I shouldn’t?’

‘I don’t know,’ she sighed. ‘He’s really fucking with my head right now… haven’t
you
noticed a change in him?’

‘Has he done something to hurt you?’

Mia shook her head, taking another swig of Scotch. ‘No. Not really. But he’s scaring me. This change in him, he’s scaring me. I saw him, just now, in the office, talking to Michael…’

‘Michael? Sheriff Bailey?’

Mia nodded. ‘And when I asked him about it, he just shut me down.’

‘How?’

Mia didn’t really know how much she should be telling Coby. Should she stay quiet, say nothing? But what if staying quiet put Ben in more danger? What if this was something Coby should know about?

‘Mia?’

‘He wanted to have sex, y’know, to try and steer me away from the subject, like I’m a kid that can be bribed into shutting up…’ She pushed a hand through her dark curls, taking a moment to catch her breath. ‘I wasn’t so keen.’

Coby looked right at her. ‘Did he…?’

‘No. No, he didn’t force me. I stopped him before anything happened. I didn’t want it, not like that. I didn’t want it, like that.’ She threw her head back, letting loose a long, frustrated sigh. ‘I’m not even sure I want
him
. Not the way he is; the person he seems to have turned into.’

Coby leaned back against the workbench. ‘I’ll keep an eye on him, darlin’.’

‘You know something’s going on with his father, don’t you?’

Coby let out a long, deep breath, pushing a hand through his hair before turning to look at Mia again, holding out his hand for the bottle of Scotch. ‘If he’s got family business to sort out, sweetheart, let him sort it.’

‘But this is Hector Almeda we’re talking about, Coby. And if he wants something from Ben…’ Mia’s voice was little more than a whisper as she looked at Coby with worried eyes.

He took a long swig of whisky, placing the bottle down on the bench when he was done. ‘I’ll keep an eye on him, Mia.’

She watched him for a second or two, well aware that he was shutting that conversation down. And she knew when to take a step back. But even though he was still an intimidating man sometimes, she was more comfortable in his company now than she’d used to be. Gone were the days when she’d been more than a touch unnerved by his booming Scottish accent and somewhat brusque manner. He wasn’t always like that. Sometimes he could come across as almost human. ‘Everything OK with you and Lexi?’ She decided changing the subject was probably the best course of action. ‘Only, she said you guys were butting heads over something.’

‘She shouldn’t be saying anything.’

‘She didn’t say what it was about.’

‘She shouldn’t be saying anything,’ Coby repeated.

Mia stayed silent for a beat or two. Maybe that subject change hadn’t been the best of ideas.

‘She thinks I should leave the situation with Shane alone.’

‘Shane?’ Mia could hardly keep the surprise out of her voice. This wasn’t something she’d expected Coby to share with her. And she wasn’t altogether sure how comfortable she felt about it. ‘I thought you
were
leaving it alone?’

Coby turned to face her, his expression firm, a harder edge to it now. ‘We were. But that isn’t what we do, Mia. Not really. You know that, darlin’. And so does Lexi, which is why I’m struggling to understand why she thinks I should just sit back and let it go. I can’t do that. I’m not
gonna
do that.’

‘Jesus, Coby…’ A slow realization began to dawn on her, and she felt that fear start to rise again. ‘Is Ben…? Is he involved in all of this?’

Coby threw his head back, letting out a long, loud sigh, so heavy with frustration Mia could almost feel it seeping into her. ‘I shouldn’t have said anything, darlin’. I shouldn’t have…’ He stopped talking, bowing his head, pushing both hands through his hair, backwards and forwards, again and again – an almost manic action, and one that slightly unsettled Mia. ‘I’m sorry.’ The sigh he gave this time was one of resignation. ‘Look, Mia, you know the score, darlin’. He’s a part of the club, and we’re all involved in this, whether we like it or not. And Ben, he can be a real help to us.’